British Reptiles : Lizards 



to make the problem of distinction more acute, espe- 

 cially when it comes to naming a specimen from a 

 casual glance. So far as scientists have discovered, the 

 Viviparous species is not confined to any special or 

 defined locality within our mainland, whereas the Sand 

 Lizard seems rigidly confined to mid-England and the 

 southern counties. 



In length the Sand Lizard is from 7 to 9 inches. 

 It has a shortish head and blunt nose. The scales 

 over the back are angular and well keeled. The tail is 

 rather heavy looking, and is about half as long again 

 as the head and body ; fore-legs almost a quarter as 

 long as the body, and the hind ones half as long. The 

 upper parts are coloured olive brown, with faint green 

 colouring underneath, usually marked with black dots. 

 The male is usually of a more intense green than the 

 female, but both are marked with dark spots and 

 blotches. The female as a rule has three rows of 

 dull brown spots along the sides, and these spots look 

 fainter towards their centre. 



The young are generally pale brown on the upper 

 portions, with lighter spots. The latter are duller in 

 tint towards their margins. On the under parts a 

 uniform grey or white prevails. These youngsters are 

 hatched from eggs, which thus makes the species 

 oviparous. The eggs are deposited in midsummer in 

 some sandy bed, and left to the atmospheric influences 

 of the season. Like other reptiles, this species sleeps 

 during the colder months of the year. 



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