NOTES FROM THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 591 



The Heloderm has a round, heavy tail, of no service to it 



in swimming, and short, weak fingers, ill suited to climbing ; 



and it passes its lethargic existence on the sandy plains of 



Mexico, manifesting in its actions, or rather in its inactivity 



and stealthiness, a conscious timidity and cowardice. 



Motionless for hours, with an impulse to retreat if molested, 



but attempting to bite if angered, its noxious saliva would 



seem to be rather protective than aggressive. It may have 



formidable enemies at home ; and by all we see of it here, 



it does not use its teeth as a means of obtaining food. In this 



respect, therefore, it is an exception to deadly serpents, and 



cannot take its venom into its stomach as they do. And, 



again, the remarkable development of its tongue suggests a 



peculiarity of food. In lapping the egg, the action of it is 



apparently perfected by practice ; the tongue is twisted, 



extended, twined under, then over, now used as a shovel, a 



scoop, or a broom, as occasion requires. It is the very reverse 



of what I noticed in some other lizards feebly lapping up an 



egg (see p. 71), for in a most expeditious manner does 



Heloderm cause its raw eggs to disappear. 



A word a propos of its name Jiorj-iduni, supposed by many 



to refer to its objectionable qualities. Unfortunately the 



word * horrid ' has almost entirely lost its original signification 



and become mere slang in English. But when Wiegmann 



assigned it the name of Helodcrnia Jiorridinn in 1829, ' horrid' 



was understood according to its original meaning, from 



Jiorridus, rough, rugged, etc. ; and as this reptile has a 



remarkable skin, dotted over with little prominences, like 



knobs or warts (hence its generic name, Hclodevvia, wart}' 



skin), there can be but little doubt as to the intention of 



2 p 



