126 SAURIA. — LACERTAD^. 



it. Thus it will often take a great number of 

 the smaller insects, preferring those of the dipter- 

 ous order ; though it will not refuse many of the 

 coleoptera or orthoptera, if they be not too large. 



" Instead of depositing her eggs in the sand to 

 be hatched by the warmth of the sun, the fe- 

 male of the present species retains the eggs 

 within the oviduct until the young are ready to 

 leave them, and they are produced alive. As in 

 all the ovo-viviparous reptiles, the covering of 

 the egg is very thin, and merely membranous. 

 In this respect they differ from those which de- 

 posit their eggs before the embryo is formed. 

 In the latter case a more efficient protection is 

 necessary, and the covering is either calcareous, 

 as in the Tortoises and Crocodiles, or of a sub- 

 stance resembling parchment, as those of the 

 Snakes and most Lizards. In the Viper, which 

 also produces its young alive, the covering, as 

 in the present animal, is extremely thin and 

 very easily torn ; and there is reason to believe 

 that the laceration of this membrane and the 

 emancipation of the young take place in, and are 

 occasioned by, the very act of parturition. 



" As the young ones are occasionally found 

 with the mother, there is some reason to believe 

 that these little animals are not wholly devoid of 

 the instinct of parental care and tendance ; but it 

 is scarcely probable that the exercise of this feel- 

 ing is ever very powerful, or that it endures for 

 any considerable period. The young, when 

 brought forth, are fully formed and capable of 

 running about, and very shortly afterwards of 

 taking their own food. The usual number is 

 from three to six. 



