THE GREEN LIZARD, LACERTA VIRIDIS 71 



the absence of species in places apparently well 

 adapted for them. That White was not very familiar 

 with the green lizard is evident from the first sentence 

 of the very next letter (Letter XXIII.), where he says : 

 "It is not improbable that the Guernsey lizard and 

 our green lizard may be specifically the same ; all 

 that I know is, that, when some years ago many 

 Guernsey lizards were turned loose in Pembroke 

 College garden, in the University of Oxford, they 

 lived a great while, and seemed to enjoy themselves 

 very well, but never bred." Indeed, the naturalist 

 of Selborne appears to have given very little attention 

 to the local reptiles, if one may judge from the paucity 

 of his references to them. 



Then, of course, green lizards are not uncommonly 

 found as escaped captives. I am not aware to what 

 extent they were kept as vivarium pets in the days 

 when Gilbert White wrote, but nowadays a very 

 large number of people have vivaria with them in 

 captivity, and like all lizards they are quick to 

 take the opportunity of a door left open, so that 

 the real wonder is that not more specimens are thus 

 encountered. I know hzard lovers, too, who, desirous 

 of introducing such a graceful and beautiful creature, 

 have deliberately set free some specimens in their own 

 locality, but I am not aware of any of these having 

 been recaptured. The conclusion is absolutely certain, 

 however, that L. viridis is not an indigenous lizard to 

 the mainland of Great Britain, although in time, if 



