THE AGAMOID LIZARDS 



2479 



of Africa, but excluding India proper, together with Ceylon and Burma, although 

 including the Punjab, Sind, and the Himalayas. As indicated by their depressed 

 bodies, agamas are mainly ground lizards, generally frequenting barren localities or 

 rocks, although a few species resort to shrubs. The circular pupil of "their eyes is 

 equally indicative of diurnal habits, and a large number of species are fond of bask- 

 ing on rocks in the full glare of the sun. In such situations, as in the valleys 

 around Kashmir, they may be seen in numbers on almost every roadside mass of 

 rock, where their extreme agility renders them very difficult to capture; the best 

 method, according to the writer's experience, when specimens are required for pres- 

 ervation, being to strike with the lash of a hunting whip, whereby they are instan- 

 taneously stunned or killed. As regards food, all appear to be insectivorous. 



ARMED AGAMA. 



(Two-thirds natural size.) 



From among rather more than forty representatives of the genus, 

 ia three are selected for especial notice. The first of these is the armed 

 agama (A. armata} of South Africa, which is represented in the illustration, 

 and attains a total length of some twenty inches, of which rather more than six are 

 occupied by the tail. Belonging to the second great group of the genus, or that in 

 which the occipital or hindermost median scale on the top of the head is enlarged, 

 this species is characterized by the spinose scales on the back being of unequal size, 



