IGUANAS. 



93 



Family III. Iguanad^. 



{Iguanas.) 



Some of the largest and some of the smallest 

 of the Lizards are fomid in this Family, for 

 while the true Iguanas sometimes measure six 

 feet in length, there are some of the Anoles 

 which scarcely attain half as many inches. It 

 comprises many genera and species, which, with 

 scarcely an exception, are confined to the warmer 

 parts of the American continent and the adjacent 

 islands. They are marked by a long and slender 

 body, and greatly lengthened tail ; by having 

 five toes on each foot, which are very unequal in 

 length, those of the hind feet particularly so ; by 

 the eye being protected by eyelids, meeting in a 

 longitudinal line ; by the tympanum or drum of 

 the ear being membranous, and but little beneath 

 the surface ; by the tongue being thick, fleshy, 

 and not extensile, and notched only at the tip ; 

 by teeth in the palate ; and by numerous others 



TEETH OF IGUANA. 



attached to the inner edge of the jawbone, which 

 for the most part are lobed or dilated, and have a 

 crenated or notched edge. Besides these dis- 

 tinctions, the body is covered with scales or tu- 



