176 THE LIVING ANIxMALS OF THE WORLD 



TUBERCULATED IGUANA 



Thii ipeclSi it esteemed for Jrjod hy Amcruart Indians 



interest in some neighbour's hen- 

 roost, and recei\'ed across its tail a 

 stroke with a spade or other cutting 

 instrument that was intended ior a 

 more vital resijion. Disgusted b}- such 

 unfriendly ti-catmcnt, it e\idently 

 lietermined that free board and lodg- 

 ing at the hands of its former owner, 

 albeit with the sacrifice of freedom, 

 was a pleasanter line of life than 

 libert)' and a precarious commissariat, 

 with added bodily risks. An almost 

 ^ ' ~"^-^ .;A identical episode of the voluntary 



^' -" '■ — '^ return to capti\'it)' of an escaped 



monitor has been reported to the 

 writer of a species from Borneo by 

 Dr. G. D. Haviland. 



The monitors, as a rule, are not 

 distinguished for brilliancy of colouring, shades and mottlings of brown or black being usually 

 dominant. The male of the Australian lace-lizard, after 

 newly changing its coat, is, however, an exception. In 

 addition to the highly ornate lace-like reticulated pattern 

 of its skin-markings, previously referred to, the throat of the 

 animal is resplendent with mingled tints of sky-blue and 

 lemon-N'ellow. It is necessary, howe\er, to observe that its 

 natural surroundings and the ardent rays of a sub-tropical 

 sun are requisite to bring these brighter tints to their full 

 development. Examples kept in close confinement in the 

 London Zoological Gardens yield little or no indication of 

 their colour potentialities. 



While the Monitor Family is not represented on the 

 American Continent, we find there another group of lizards 

 whose members are of considerable size, and agree in their 

 carnivorous propensities and general habits in a marked manner with the Monitors. These 

 are the "Gre.WEd" Liz..\RDS, named with reference to the peculiar skin-folding on their 

 legs. One of the largest and most familiarly known representatives of this group is the 

 TeguE.MX, or Dl.\MOND-LlZ.\RD, indigenous to the greater portion of tropical South America, 

 and also to the West Indies. This lizard attains to a total length of a yard or more, 



and is of a robust and 

 '^ thick-set build, with the 



*• hind limbs much longer and 



' stouter than the front ones. 



The colour of the teguexin is 

 also notable, the ground-tint 

 being oli\e or tawny >ellow, 

 upon which are superimposed 

 black bands and markings 

 I which for the most part take 

 a transverse direction. Like 

 the Monitors, the tuguexin 

 in capti\it}- exhibits a sulky 



SMALL VIVIPAROUS LIZARD 



Occurs on heaths and commons in [he South of 

 England 



J>holo by H. O. F. Spurrtll, £j?.] 



lEastbot 



Th 



WALL-LIZARD 



species IS parttiularly abundant tn Italy 



and 



disposition, 



