104 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
body is green, variegated, spotted, and reticulated or ocellated with 
black, having large round blue spots upon the flanks ; the under-part 
of the body is white, frosted with green ; in size it is about twenty 
inches. ‘They are found at Fontainebleau, in the south of France, and 
in Spain. They secrete themselves in hard sand, often between two 
beds of calcareous rock, upon some steep declivity, more or less 
directly exposed to the south; they are also found between the roots 
of old stems, either in hedgerows or vineyards. ‘They feed almost 
exclusively on insects ; but are said to attack mice, shrews, frogs, and 
even snakes, and to destroy the eggs of the partridge. ‘They have 
sometimes been tamed. 
[In the genus Of/iops, two species of which inhabit Asia Minor, 
and one of them the shores of the Mediterranean, the eyelid is 
rudimentary and the eye exposed, whence the name, signifying 
“snake eye.” So far as known, the habits of the various Lizards 
which constitute the family of Zacertzd@ are much the same. 
The family of Zee is peculiar to the New World, and some of 
the species attain to the length of several feet. In these Lizards the 
head is pyramidal, and is covered with regular many-sided shields ; — 
supra-orbital plate horny ; the teeth solid and well rooted; tongue 
elongate, flat, free (rarely slightly sheathed at its base); the scales 
of the back are regular and keeled, and of a rhombic shape; sides 
flat, and covered with small granular scales; the throat scaly, with 
a double collar, rarely indistinct. 
In some the throat has two cross-folds, with large six-sided scales 
within ; and of these some have the ventral shields small, long, and 
smooth, while others have them much broader. The former are known 
as the Teguexins (Zeus and Cadllofistes), and the latter as the Ameivas 
(Ameiva, and three other genera). One species of Teguexin, Zeus 
teguexin,: May commonly be seen alive in the London Zoological 
Gardens. This is a large and powerful Lizard, exceeding five feet in 
length when full grown, and extremely active. It feeds on small living 
animals of any kind, and will even devour poultry or their eggs, for 
which latter it manifests an especial liking. Sometimes it has been 
known to prey on kindred lizards, as the Ameivas. The teeth of this 
species are strong, and they can bite with much severity. It is a bold 
and determined combatant when attacked, and if it succeeds in seizing 
its foe, retains its hold with pertinacity. Its flesh is eaten by some 
people, who consider it excellent. ‘Together with a second species, 
T? nigropunctatus, it inhabits Brazil, and two species of Cal/opistes are 
also South American, one of them occurring as far south as Chili. 
The species of this family, although strong and agile, never ascend 
