LIZARDS. 137 
The body is depressed, and covered above and below with curious 
scales, each containing in its centre a spine which varies a great 
deal in size. Many of the spines are very large and prominent, 
and are placed more or less in rows along the creature’s body. 
There are rings of large and sharp spines around the tail. There 
are five toes on each foot, armed with long, sharp claws. The 
colour is a palish yellow, spotted with dark brown. 
The Moloch is not often brought into this country, and I believe 
only one specimen has been kept at the Zoological Gardens, 
London ; but as it is so strange and interesting an animal, there 
ought, I think, to be a brief mention of it in these articles. In 
captivity it has been fed upon mealworms, beetles, young and 
hairless mice, and raw meat. It grows to a length of about 6in. 
It is not very hardy. 
Reference has already been made to one of the chief differences 
between the Iguanidz family and that of the Agamide. The 
former is even a larger family than the latter, for it numbers 
nearly 300 species, and quite fifty genera. Some of the Iguanide 
are among the ugliest Reptiles in existence, while others are 
certainly very beautiful. 
‘The habits of the numerous members of this family are as 
varied as their physiognomy. All the forms which we have 
observed in the Agamoids are repeated here, save the parachute- 
_ bearing Dragons, which have no pleurodont analogues. On the 
other hand, such types as the Anoles, with their digital expan- 
sions, and the semi-marine algivorous Amblyrhynchus, are un- 
represented in the acrodont series. However, this apparent 
parallelism between the Agamoid and Iguanoid series of genera is 
very superficial, and there is, it appears to me, not one form so 
exactly repeated in both as to deserve to be united into the same 
genus, were the character of the dentition, on which the family 
distinction is based, not to be considered.’’—(Catalogue of 
Lizards, Brit. Mus., N.H., 1885.) 
Some of the Iguanide are nearly six feet in length, while 
others, when fully grown, are not as many inches. Several of 
the most beautiful and interesting of the family may be kept 
happily in captivity with moderate care. Most of these Lizards 
are imsectivorous, the members of only seven genera being 
