LIZARDS. 69 



membrane of the Flying Squirrels, enabling them 

 to take long leaj)s from tree to tree. 



The food of this Order consists principally of 

 insects, but the Monitors of tropical America, 

 which approach the Crocodiles in size, and in 

 some other peculiarities, are said to prey upon 

 other reptiles, the eggs of birds, &c. ; and the 

 Iguanas feed on fruit, as does also the Gallywasp 

 of the West Indies, one of the ScincidcB, as we 

 know from personal observation. Mr. Darwin 

 mentions a species of AmhlyrhyncJius, a native 

 of the Galapagos Islands, which swims out to sea, 

 in order to feed on the sea-weeds that grow at the 

 bottom. 



Several of the foreign species are used as 

 human food ; Humboldt asserts that all the South 

 American kinds within the tropics, that inhabit 

 dry regions, are esteemed delicacies for the table. 

 The flesh is white, and is said to resemble that of 

 chicken. The Iguanas of the West Indies have 

 always been prized by the Spanish settlers, though 

 the English have commonly rejected them from 

 prejudice. 



The tropical regions of the globe swarm with 

 Lizards, the species of which are very numerous ; 

 the grassy turf, the sandy plain, the sunny bank, 

 the trees and bushes, the dilapidated wall, every 

 heap of stones, and even the houses of the in- 

 habitants, have their Lizards ; some of which are 

 of pleasing forms, most are distinguished for agile 

 and graceful motions, and many are arrayed either 

 in burnished mail, or in various brilhant hues. 

 The colours of some, as the Chameleons, and the 

 Anoles, are subject to changes, not produced by 

 the play of light, as from the iridescent scales of 



