THE LIZARDS 181 



these are less than an inch in length. As the mother 

 leaves them immediately to shift for themselves, they 

 hide among leaves or grass, living as do all young rep- 

 tiles for the first few days after birth or hatching upon 

 a portion of the egg yolk that has been absorbed through 

 the abdominal opening. The first food consists of 

 minute insects that are always to be found in crevices 

 of the ground. 



A closely related species, Lacerta agilis, ranges much 

 like the preceding. Eastward, however, it does not 

 extend beyond central Siberia, nor in the British Isles 

 is it found in Scotland or Ireland. In England it is 

 restricted to the southern portion. While the coloration 

 appeals strongly to that of L. vivipara,, the males show 

 traces of green on the back and sides. During the 

 breeding season some males are tinged with vivid shades 

 of green, particularly on the sides. Female examples 

 are invariably brown, with dark and light spots; each 

 side of the back the dark spots fuse, producing a ragged, 

 but well-defined band, this bordered by a whitish streak 

 and causing the lizard to look as if having a striped 

 pattern. On the males this character is seldom so dis- 

 tinct. Adults are eight inches long. From the allied 

 species we may note a difference in habits, for Lacerta 

 agilis is strictly oviparous, depositing 6-12 thin-skinned 

 eggs. 



Composed of ten species, inhabiting southern Spain 

 and Portugal, southwestern Asia and Africa north of 

 the Equator, the genus Acanthodactylus contains some 

 prettily-marked species that live in sandy places. The 

 toes are fringed, which arrangement keeps the lizard's 

 feet from sinking as it runs over the loose soil. On all 

 of the species the scales of the back grow coarser toward 

 the tail. This is especially pronounced with the Sand 



