j LIZARDS. ri 
the palates. Hach foot possesses five toes, armed with sharp and 
powerful claws. The young of this family are very prettily 
marked, the. markings more or less disappearing with age. The 
Monitors inhabit the Old World—Africa, Southern Asia, and 
Australia—in the New World they are represented by the 
Iguanide. There is only one genus, which contains about 
twenty-eight species. 
Some of these creatures live in water or in its neighbourhood, 
others on dry and sandy ground, occasionally quite remote from 
water. Those Monitors which frequent water have compressed 
tails, serrated above, by the help of which they are able to swim 
very quickly. On the slightest alarm they plunge into the water, 
and often remain for a considerable time beneath its surface. Dr. 
Giinther explains in the following words why these creatures are 
able to continue under water for so long: “‘ the external nasal 
opening leads into a spacious cavity situated on the snout; when 
the animal dives it closes the nasal aperture, and retaining a 
certain quantity of atmospheric air in that pouch, or rather in 
the two pouches, it is enabled to remain under water for a pro- 
longed period without the necessity of rising to the surface in 
order to breathe. It is the same plan of structure as that with 
which a large northern seal (Cystophora borealis) is provided.” 
The Land Monitors have rounded tails, and live in little caves 
in the rocks or burrow in the soil; in the vicinity of these they 
hunt for their food, some of them in the day-time, some in the 
evening, and others probably during the night. The Varanide 
live upon eggs, often those of the Crocodile, Rats, Mice, Lizards, 
Snakes, Fish, Frogs, Birds, Worms, and Insects. One writer 
says that he has seen some Monitors pursuing a Fawn, and when 
they caught it, draw it into the water; and he also records that 
in the dead bodies of others he has found the remains of Sheep. 
Dr. Brehm, however, thinks that there must be some mistake 
here, for he does not believe that these Reptiles would hunt such 
large animals for the purpose of eating their flesh. 
These Lizards on the slightest alarm will, according to their 
kind, rush to the water or their holes, but should their retreat 
be cut off they will then fight with great fierceness, sometimes 
even springing at their would-be captor’s face. They are able to 
