The South Australian Naturalist. 143 



THE MOLOCH LIZARD (Moloch horridus, Gray) 

 By W. J. Hosking. 



Comparatively little having been written on the life his- 

 tory of this Australian lizard, perhaps a few notes on the 

 animal and the habits of captive specimens may be of interest. 

 The Moloch, or Mountain Devil, belongs to the family 

 Agamidae, a family comprising over two hundred species. In 

 general appearance the animal closely resembles the horned 

 lizard, or Calif ornian toad, Phrynosoma cornutum; but the 

 latter, a native of some of the hottest and driest parts of America, 

 is one of the family Iguanidae, a family not represented in 

 Australia. The dentition of the groups mentioned is of two 

 distinct types, the teeth of the Agamidae being erupted on the 

 ridges of the jaws in an erect position, and known as the Acro- 

 dont type, while in the Iguanidae the pleurodont type prevails, 

 the teeth being attached by their sides to the outer walls of the 

 jaws. The moloch grows to a length of seven or eight inches, 

 and the body is completely covered with conical spines. The 

 head is comparatively small, with an extremely short snout, on 

 the summit of which are the two nostrils, the openings being 

 distinctly visible immediately in front of two tiny curved spines. 

 The eyes have circular pupils, as is usual in animals of diurnal 

 habits, and the eyelids are well developed and movable. The 

 body is depressed, the tail somewhat short, the powerfully built 

 legs terminating in feet of five toes, each armed with a sharp 

 claw. On each side of the head, immediately above the eye, is a 

 horn about 15 mm. in length, curving outwards and backwards. 

 Just behind this horn is another smaller spine, a third being 

 situated immediately in front of the ear, in which organ the 

 drum is exposed, there being no external canal. Two somewhat 

 larger spines occupy a position on the occiput. Above the neck 

 is a peculiar protuberance, resembling the lizard's head in form 

 and carrying two tliick conicjil spines. On the back the spines 

 form ten or more longitudinal series, of which the outermost are 

 the largest. The under surface of the body, legs, and tail are 

 covered with sharp spines of varying size. The colour of the 

 creature is yellowish, ornamented with symmetrical chestnut or 

 reddish-brown markings defined by dark slate borders. Richard 

 Lydekker, B.A., F.R.S., etc., in describing the moloch lizard, 

 mentions that this species differs from all other members of the 

 Agamidae in having the buccal, or cheek, teeth of the upper jaw 

 placed horizontally, with their summits pointing inwardly. The 

 two specimens I have before me, the jaws of which I have care- 

 fully dissected, certainly do not possess this peculiarity, the 

 teeth of the upper jaw in each instance being placed on the 



