6o REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



male behaves in a most peculiar manner, dancing in front 

 of the female, standing with the fore-part of the body 

 raised on its fore-legs, bowing its head repeatedly, and 

 continually opening and shutting its mouth. 



In Agama the body is somewhat depressed, with a 

 dorsal crest, which, if at all present, is but feebly de- 

 veloped. A group of spines is often situated on the sides 

 of the hinder part of the head. 



The Agamas, the species of which number over fifty, 

 represented throughout Africa, Southern Asia, and South- 

 Eastern Europe, are usually found in barren localities. 

 The Egyptian species are called by the Arabs " judge 

 of the desert," in allusion to the way in which they raise 

 the head, as if surveying the surroundings. 



Some of the lizards of this genus, especially A. colonorum, 

 of West Africa, rival the chameleons in the rapid and 

 striking changes of colour which they undergo. 



According to Mr. W. A. Lambon, the latter species is 

 found in groups of six or seven females, headed by a male, 

 the females looking to one lord and master only. Their 

 respect for the male is such, that if one them drops a number 

 of butterflies, they almost invariably wait for the male to 

 take his fill before satisfying their own appetites, and not 

 without good reason, for, should one of the females presume 

 to attempt to share the meal, the male becomes so filled with 

 the desire to inflict vengeance, that he will desert his prey 

 to chase and admonish the offender. Females so greatly 

 outnumber males that the former are forced to various 

 artifices to secure their share of his attendance, such 

 solicitation taking the form of running up and performing 

 various antics in front of him. The males are very 



