131 



Order LACERTILIA. 



Lizards. 



Animals varyiug in form from stout and almost toad-like to long, 

 slender, and snake-like. Limbs usually present, but absent in a few forms, 

 as in our Glass-snake. Vertebrae few to many. Bones of the brain-case 

 not so firmly united as in the snakes; those of upper and lower jaws less 

 loosely connected than in the serpents, as a result of which the mouth is 

 not distensible. Mandibles united at symphysis by suture. Teeth pres- 

 ent. Skin usually provided with granular or overlapping scales. Vent 



transverse slit. 



A large and widely distributed order, divided by Dr. Boulenger into 

 wenty-one families. Of these four are represented by species in Indiana. 



Key to the Families of Indiana Lacterilia. 



A. Whole tongue or its posterior larger portion covered with close-set 

 papillae, like the pile of velvet. 

 a. Tongue thick, little free, not or but feebly notched in front, 

 wholly covered with villiform papillae. Limbs present. No 

 bony plates underlying the scales. Iguanidce, p. 131, 



aa. Tongue posteriorly thick and with villiform papillae ; anteriorly 

 thin, free, deeply notched, and covered with scale-like 

 papilke. Scales underlaid with bony plates. 



Anguidce, p. 134. 

 AA. Tongue covered with scale-like papillae. 



a. Tongue free in front, ending in two long points. No bony 

 plates underlying the scales. Teiidce, p. 136. 



aa. Tongue rather long, free in front and sides ; slightly notched in 

 front. Bony plates underlying the scales. 



Scincidce, p. 138. 



Family III. IGUANID^. 



Lizards varying in form from short and thick to elongated and slender. 

 All with functional limbs. Dentition pleurodont. Tongue thick, fixed 

 to the floor of the mouth or slightly free in front. The tip slightly or not 

 at all notched. Plates of the upper surface of the head usually small, but 

 well developed in our genus Sceloporus. No bony plates beneath the 

 epidermal scales. 



A large family, containing, according to Boulenger, 50 genera and 

 about 300 species, with few exceptions inhabiting the New World. Only 

 one species known in Indiana. 



