TEIDiE. Ill 



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 establish 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 by feeding them 

 on milk. 



[In the genus OpJiiops, 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 eve." So far as known, the habits of the various Lizards 

 which constitute the family of Lacertidcs are much the same. 



The family of Teidm 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 {^Teius and Callopistes), and 

 the latter as the Ameivas {Ameiva, and three other genera). One 

 species of Teguexin, Teius teguexin, may commonly be seen alive 

 in the London Zoological Gardens. This is a large and j)owerful 

 Lizard, exceeding live feet in length when full grown, and ex- 

 tremely active. It feeds on small living animals of any kind, and 

 will even devour poultry, and especially their eggs, for which 

 latter it manifests an especial liking, as observed in captivity. 

 Sometimes it has been known to prey on other and kindred 

 Lizards, as the Ameivas. The teeth of this species are strong, 



