THE LIZARDS 177 



threat; at such times the head remained flat upon the 

 ground unless the body was pinched: then the head 

 swung about for the offender, while a tiny pink mouth 

 gaped as widely as possible in a display of harmless 

 bluff. The writer kept his specimens on a layer of damp 

 wood pulp, too thin for them to burrow into, though 

 through it they rooted vigorously. They shed almost 

 entire skins, like snakes and proved far more hardy than 

 would be imagined with such subterraneous reptiles. 

 During the several years they thrived their food con- 

 sisted of earthworms and strips of raw beef. All be- 

 came tame enough to take food from the fingers when 

 it was held in front of their snouts. The food was sub- 

 jected to a crude mastication. In proportion to the 

 small mouth, large morsels were gulped down, prac- 

 tically entire. 



The Florida Worm Lizard, Rhineura floridana> is 

 the only species of the Amphisbcenidce found in the 

 United States, where it is restricted to the Florida pen- 

 insula. Its color is a uniform, pale lavender, over which 

 plays an iridescent bloom. Preserved specimens fade 

 to a lusterless yellowish-white. A full grown example 

 is eight and a half inches long and a quarter of an inch 

 in diameter at the thickest part of the body. The species 

 bores long tunnels in soft ground through which it wrig- 

 gles backward or forward. It is commonly discovered 

 when the fields are ploughed. 



The Lacertidce : The pleurodont species of this 

 strictly Old World family are analogous in general form 

 and scalation with the Teiidce of the New World. The 

 tongue is long, deeply forked and frequently employed 

 as an organ of investigation. All of the species have 

 well-developed limbs and a long, gradually-tapering, 

 fragile tail. There are no strikingly degraded forms. 



