126 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



about their walls catching spiders, on which it fed. Schneider has 

 shown it was the Stellio of Pliny. Linnaeus mentions three species, 

 which he places with his great genus Lacerta. Modern herpetologists, 

 following Cuvier and Dumeril, class them according to the structure 

 under the several genera Ascalabotes, Platydactylus, Hemidactylus, 

 Ptyodactylus, Thecadactylus, Stenodactylus, and Gymnodactylus^\ 



The Wall Gecko (P. homalocephalus, Fig. 30) is of an ashy grey 

 colour, as if powdered on the upper part of the body, and is white 

 underneath. It inhabits the islands of the Mediterranean, as well as 

 the countries which form the basin of that sea, such as Italy, France, 

 Spain, and Africa. They are generally found in old walls; they are, 

 however, sometimes seen running on those of modern habitations. 

 They feed principally on dipterous insects and Arachnida. 



CHAMELEO (Laurenti). 



The members of the interesting and extraordinary genus Chameleo 

 are natives of Africa and Asia, and naturalised in Southern Europe. 

 They live on trees, clinging to the branches by their feet and pre- 

 hensile tails ; they move slowly and with great caution, feeding 

 upon insects, which they catch with singular dexterity by the rapid 

 elongation of their tongue, which is viscid at the tip. 



Certain groundless metaphors, deeply rooted in the popular mind, 

 have singularly distorted the truth in respect to these Reptiles. It is 

 commonly believed that the Chameleon often changes its shape, that 

 it has no fixed colour, but takes that of objects on which it rests. 

 This singular idea has descended from ancient times. According to 

 the reports of Theophrastus and Plutarch, the Chameleon takes all 

 colours in turn ; according to Aristotle, it changes colour all over the 

 body ; but ^Elian seems to have had views more in accordance with 

 those of modem observers, for he says when it takes other colours 

 than grey to disguise itself, it covers only certain parts of the body 

 with them. Altogether, the ancients made the Chameleon a very 

 wonderful creature ; hence, in the familiar comparisons in literature, 

 they serve as a type to designate unprincipled persons; to paint 

 fawning men, who have neither character nor individuality of their 

 own, but who bend themselves to the will and adopt the opinions of 

 others. Putting aside the imaginary attributes accorded to the 

 Chameleon by the fancies of the ancients, and painting them such as 

 they are, we see in them peculiarities most worthy of observation and 

 highly interesting to the naturalist, as well on account of the singular 



