186 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



its exceedingly broad and flat purplish tongue. Insects 

 are also eaten as well as young mice and birds. 



Scincus, composed of eight species that inhabit the 

 deserts of northern Africa, Arabia and Persia, presents 

 some particularly interesting examples of adaptation to 

 a life in fine dry sands. We may select the Egyptian 

 Skink, Scincus officinalis, found in the Sahara and 

 common in Egypt. The maximum length is eight to 

 ten inches. The snout is flattened to such a degree it 

 forms an excellent scoop, while the toes are so wide and 

 thin they look like feathers. Thus these animals may 

 walk over fine sand without the feet sinking and, if they 

 wish to burrow, they employ the scoop-like snout. Their 

 eyes are minute and beady and the ears are concealed 

 by scaly flaps. Unless kept in a baking temperature, 

 captives move as if paralyzed. A temperature of 90 

 or 100 degrees Fahrenheit produces normal vivacity. 

 They are fond of meal worms. The species is beauti- 

 fully marked, usually being a rich cream-color crossed 

 by blackish or dark red bands. The young are pale 

 pinkish ; as they grow older the transverse bands appear. 

 Queerly enough, the abdomen is much flattened, forming 

 an angle with the sides, as seen among many constricting 

 snakes. In progressing over declivities in the sand the 

 body follows the outlines of the soil, producing a sinuous, 

 serpentine impression, even though the limbs are strong 

 and well-formed. 



Allied to the preceding genus is Chalcides, with eleven 

 species, found in southern Europe, southwestern Asia, 

 Syria, Persia and northern Africa. The body is much 

 elongated — snake-like, while the limbs are small and 

 weak. The species are covered with smooth, shining 

 scales; some have a conical snout; on others the snout 

 is wedge-shaped. Chalcides sepoides is found in the 



