BIGHT VANNUAL TREPORT. 149 
brown body was brilliantly imprinted in pale yellow with the out- 
lines of the mesh, where the shadow from the wire screen had 
rested on the reptile. This pattern faded away within twenty 
seconds. 
The common colors of the Chameleon are grayish brown, green 
with irregular patches and spots of a lighter shade, or, when ex- 
posed to moderately strong sunlight, brown with ocellz of green 
or yellow. From these phases the creature varies. To sum up 
our observations on this lizard, it appears that the changes of 
color are influenced involuntarily mainly by light, temperature, 
excitement and the health of the individual. Few chameleons ex- 
hibit a definite color pattern. Indistinct stripes, spots and ocellz 
come and go with the changing shades of the body. 
Rivalling the Chameleon in abrupt changes of color is a North 
American lizard, the Anolis, also called “Chameleon” (Anolis 
carolinensis). In its agility this little creature exhibits a marked 
contrast to the African reptile, and it is a highly interesting and 
easily procured example of the character under discussion. Be- 
ing an inhabitant of an area where changes of temperature are 
frequent, and likewise so prolonged that the reptile hibernates 
during the colder months, it does not appear to display the sensi- 
tive color changes due to temperature, as noted in the Old World 
Chameleon. Light and excitement, however, strongly affect this 
reptile. The writer has observed two male specimens, previously 
a velvety brown as they sported in the sunshine, suddenly ap- 
proach each other and engage in combat, which with one termi- 
nated in the loss of the larger portion of its tail. Within half a 
minute after the fighting began, which was accompanied by an 
energetic bobbing of heads and frequent dilations of the throat 
fan, the participants had become a beautiful shade of emerald 
green. On watching the victor as he triumphantly strutted along 
a fence rail with the writhing tail of the victim in his jaws, it was 
noted that the green soon faded. Dropping the souvenir of bat- 
tle, the reptile settled down to rest and bask, and within two or 
three minutes after the fracas it had faded to a dull yellow, 
which soon gave way to the sober brown first noted. 
In collecting these lizards and placing them in wire-covered 
boxes, the writer has invariably noticed their change from a 
variety of shades prior to capture to the same emerald hue in a 
scrambling collection of several dozen individuals. If the collect- 
ing box be laid down for a few moments and left undisturbed, 
the lizards acquire a brownish tint, but as soon as the box is again 
carried about, and the occupants become shaken up and fright- 
ened, the brilliant green appears on all. When sleeping, this liz- 
