THE GREEN LIZARD, LACERTA VIRIDIS 73 



colour will be noticed. As in other reptiles, age has an 

 influence on the colouring. In this species it affects 

 •specially the stripes on the sides, which in the you^g 

 ones are yellow. These disappear in the older males, 

 but are persistent in some of the adult females. 



There is a distinct semicircular collar on the neck. 

 The eyelids are prominent, the head flattened, and 

 the snout rather pointed. The post-nasal shields are 

 generally two in number, one overlapping the other. 

 The head shields are large, the scales on the back 

 small, the ventral scales in longitudinal rows, the 

 scales on the tail elongated and hexagonal, again 

 arranged in annular fashion. The transition from the 

 small body scales to the long hexagonal tail scales 

 is abrupt, and the tail very gradually tapers to a 

 very fine point. These characters can be made out in 

 the illustrations, and the several species may be com- 

 pared to show their respective prominence. 



Haunts and Habits. — Since it is only in the 

 Channel Islands that we have to deal with the 

 green lizard as a British species, it will suffice to 

 say that, as far as its haunts are concerned, it prefers 

 rocky ground at a somewhat high altitude. 



In its habits it is mainly terrestrial, but not ex- 

 clusively so, as it has frequently been observed to 

 climb trees, especially when endeavouring to elude a 

 pursuer. Dr. Gadow states that in these circum- 

 stances, if hard pressed, the green lizard will take 

 tremendous leaps down to the ground, curiously enough 



