LIZARDS 67 



creature Is swimming, but this statement appears to be 

 a mere fable, not having been confirmed by any rehable 

 person. 



Although generally reputed to be exclusively vegetarian, 

 specimens of B. americanus and B. vittatus at the Zoological 

 Gardens refused the lettuce and fruit offered, feeding 

 entirely on worms. 



Scdoporus is a genus of smallish lizards, four to twelve 

 Inches in length, popularly known as Swifts, on account 

 of the rapidity of their motions. The genus extends 

 from the United States to Guatemala. The body, devoid 

 of dorsal or caudal crests, is short, thick, and depressed, 

 with strongly keeled scales above. 



The Undulated Swift, S. undulatus, the commonest 

 species, frequently offered for sale in this country, abounds 

 in the pine forests of the Western States, choosing the bark 

 of trees as its resting-place. Its food in the wild state Is 

 said to consist almost entirely of such insects as are found 

 under decayed wood. 



Captivity does not usually agree with any of the Swifts, 

 as in confinement they soon become weakly and sluggish, 

 belying the name bestowed upon them on account of their 

 great activity. 



Iguana, the type genus of the family, Is represented by 

 two species only, which inhabit the forest districts of the 

 greater part of Tropical America. 



The body, which is somewhat compressed, is provided, 

 especially In the males, with a much-developed dorsal 

 crest, composed of soft spines. The genus Is further 

 remarkable for the extraordinary development of the gular 

 appendage. The tail, which is long, more than half the 



