CHAMAELEONTIDAE 



573 



obstinately. Once I have even seen a Chameleon, wlien put 

 into the greenhouse, make straight for a tank and actually 

 drink in gulps. 



After they have lattened tliemselves in the autumn, Chame- 

 leons, at least those of Xorth Africa, withdraw to hibernate in 

 the ground. But nothing is known about how, when, and 

 where they do this, nor is it known if tropical species aestivate 

 during the dry season. 



Chameleons are notoriously difficult to keep successfully, 

 whereby we do not mean the keeping for three to six months. 

 This is easy enough, since it takes them several months 

 to die of starvation. The difficulty is to keep them through 

 the winter. To enable them to do this, it is absolutely necessary 

 to fatten them up during the summer and autumn. Otherwise, 

 although kept in a warm place, they are liable to lose their 

 appetite in the autumn, when they become restless, probably with 

 the desire to hibernate. Those few individuals which get over 

 this critical period, say during the month of October, and do not 

 refuse food, are probably safe. But those are doomed which 

 refuse to eat meal-worms or cockroaches or such food as can be 

 procured easily during the winter. 



The origin of the Chameleons is unknown. They form only 

 one family, Chamaeleontidae, with between fifty and sixty species, 

 which, with a few exceptions, belong to the genus Chamaeleon. 



Gil. vulgaris is the Common Chameleon of North Africa, Syria, 

 and Asia Minor. It occurs also in a few parts of Southern Andalucia, 

 for instance near Jerez, and near Nerja, to the east of Malaga, where 

 it has possibly been introduced. A series of conical, slightly 

 enlarged granules forms a little crest on the median line of the 

 throat. A whitish line, which does not change colour, extends 

 from the chin to the vent. The rest of the skin, with the 

 exception of a median dorsal series of slightly enlarged tubercles 

 on part of the back, is composed of small granules. A small 

 but distinct lobe of leathery skin extends along either side of the 

 occiput towards the posterior end of the median parietal crest. 

 Dead or spirit-specimens are usually pale yellow ; living ones are 

 greenish, usually with differently coloured patches on the sides. 

 Exceptionally large males reach a total length of about 9 inches, 

 females reach the length of perhaps a foot, but about half 

 of the total length belonus to the tail. 



