IGUANIDAE 531 



luxuriant vegetation on the banks of the rivers of the Tierra 

 Caliente of Mexico and in Giiatemala. They lie vipon the 

 branches of trees, preferring those which overhang the water, 

 into which they plunge at the slightest alarm. The high 

 crests, being restricted to the male sex, are not essential to 

 their swimming ; they propel themselves by rapid strokes of the 

 fore-limbs, letting the long rudder-like tail drag behind. The 

 eggs, measuring 20 by 13 mm., are laid in April or May, and are 

 hidden in a hole at the base of a tree. About one dozen make 

 a set, and they are said to be hatched within a very short time. 

 Owing to their being strictly herbivorous, these pretty and 

 striking-looking creatures do not endure captivity in Europe, 

 unless indeed their particular food can be procured. 



Iguana. — The body and tail are laterally compressed and are 

 covered with very small scales, while those on the top of the 

 head are large. The neck and back carry a high crest, which 

 is composed of separate, laterally compressed, soft spines. A 

 similar but lower crest borders the anterior edge of the large 

 gular sac, which is not dilatable. The lateral teeth are remark- 

 able for their finely serrated or denticulated anterior and 

 posterior edges. Both sexes have long rows of femoral pores. 

 Only two species in Tropical America, absolutely herbivorous. 

 Their delicate flesh is much esteemed as food. 



I. taherculata (Fig. 132), of South and Central America and the 

 West Indies, reaches a length of 5 to 6 feet. The general colour 

 of the upper parts is a mixture of green and blackish, frequently 

 speckled with white or yellow, and there is usually a pale band 

 in front of each arm. The flanks are marked with dark, light- 

 edged bars. The under parts are pale greenish or whitish. The 

 Iguanas live in the trees, and when there is danger they jump 

 into the water whatever the height of the tree, coming down with 

 violence. In going up some of the narrow, unfrequented creeks 

 in the Mosquito country, according to Napier Bell,^ the voyager 

 often encounters quite a shower of falling Iguanas, and runs some 

 risk of getting his neck broken. Large specimens, 6 feet long, 

 weigh perhaps 30 lbs. They burrow deep horizontal holes in 

 the sloping side of a bank. About two dozen eggs, nearly 2 

 inches long, are laid in a hole, where they are hatched in tne 

 month of May. 



^ Tangweera, London, 1899. 



