THE AGAMOID LIZARDS 2481 



agama, together with the second European species (A. caucasica] and a third (A. 

 microlepis] , are peculiar in that the tail is divided into distinct segments, each com- 

 posed of a pair of rings of scales. Growing to nearly a foot in length, the species 

 under consideration is distinguished by its stout body and the moderate degree of 

 depression of the head, the cheeks of the male being somewhat swollen. The color 

 of the upper parts is olive, spotted with black, and generally with a series of large 

 yellow, or olive spots down the middle of the back; the throat of the male having 

 fine bluish gray net-like markings. Occurring in Europe, in Turkey, and certain 

 islands of the ^Egean sea, the rough- tailed lizard is distributed over the whole 

 of Asia Minor, Syria, Northern Arabia, and Egypt, being much more common in 

 the latter regions than it is in Europe. To the Arabs it is known by the name 

 of kardun; and it is commonly tamed and kept in captivity by the itinerant 

 snake charmers of Egypt. As shy and agile in its movements as its congeners, 

 it feeds largely on flies and butterflies, which are captured with remarkable address 

 and agility. 



Before taking leave of this extensive genus, it may be mentioned that there is 

 a third group, agreeing with the last in the small size of the occipital scale of the 

 head, but distinguished by the absence of rings on the tail; the agile agama (A. 

 agilis] of Persia being a well-known example. The genus Phrynocephalus of 

 Southeastern Europe and Central Asia comprises rather more than a dozen lizards 

 nearly allied to Agama, but easily distinguished by the concealed aperture of the 

 ear. 



Although the swollen callous scales in front of the vent in the males 

 of the agamas have some resemblance to them, the whole of the pre- 

 Lizard ceding members of the family are characterized by the absence of true 

 pores on this part of the body or on the thighs. In a second group 

 such pores are, however, present in both, or in one or other of these situations; 

 and we select as our first example thereof the remarkable frilled lizard ( Chlamydo- 

 saurus kingi) of Australia the solitary representative of its genus. This extraor- 

 dinary-looking creature, which attains a length of nearly thirty - two inches, 

 about eleven of which are taken up by the tail, is at once recognized by the curious 

 frill-like membranous expansion surrounding the throat and extending upward to 

 the sides of the nape. The frill, which is much more developed in the adult than 

 in the young, has a serrated margin, and is covered with scales of larger size than 

 those on the back; it irresistibly reminds one of the frills with which our ancestors 

 were wont to adorn their throats, and communicates an altogether strange appear- 

 ance to its owner. In form, the body of this lizard is slightly compressed, and 

 although the scales of the back are strongly keeled there is no distinct crest in this 

 region. The aperture of the ear is exposed, and the tail is either round or slightly 

 compressed, the latter condition occurring in. the adult male. The general color of 

 the upper parts is pale brown, which may be either uniform or mottled with dark 

 brown, or blackish mingled with yellow. 



The frilled lizard is an inhabitant of Queensland and Northern and Northwest- 

 ern Australia, as well as some of the islands of Torres Straits; its fossil remains 

 occurring in the superficial deposits of the first-named district. Recent observa- 



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