LIZARDS 79 



very elegantly disposed in cross bars. V . albigularis, which 

 has a larger head and shorter neck, and which is somewhat 

 less aquatic than F. niloticus, is greyish-brown above with 

 large round, yellow, dark-edged spots, arranged in trans- 

 verse series on the back. 



The Banded Monitor, F. sahator, one of the largest 

 species, attaining a length of nearly nine feet, inhabits 

 Ceylon, Bengal, South China, Burma, and the Malay 

 Peninsula and Archipelago. The general colour is brown 

 above, with yellow spots and bands on the sides of the 

 body. It is found in marshy localities or in the branches 

 of trees overhanging water, preying upon small mammals, 

 as well as birds and their eggs. When disturbed it dives 

 from a considerable height into the water below. The 

 flesh of this species is appreciated by the lower caste of 

 Hindoos, who capture these lizards by digging them out 

 of their burrows on the banks of the rivers. As in the 

 case of the Iguanas, they are also occasionally hunted down 

 by dogs, specially trained for the purpose. 



The Singalese, by whom the lizard is regarded as an 

 omen of ill-fortune, believe that its fat, when externally 

 applied, is a cure for various skin diseases, but that when 

 taken inwardly it is highly poisonous. In India some of 

 the Monitors, and especially the conspicuously marked 

 young, are regarded by the natives as very venomous, and 

 go by the name of " Biscobra." 



In Australia the two commonest forms are the Lace 

 Monitor, F. varius, and Gould's Monitor, F. gouldii, 

 both attaining a length of five to six feet. The head scales 

 in the former species are large, while in the latter they are 

 quite small. Gould's Monitor is not nearly so arboreal as 



