2496 SCALED REPTILES 



is surmounted by a number of conical spine-like shields of relatively-large size. 

 The investing scales of the body are small, and although keeled on the back, are 

 smooth below. In the stoutly-made limbs the toes are rather short, the third one 

 in the hind-foot being strongly serrated on its inner border of its basal joint. The 

 compressed and crested tail is about equal to one and a half times the length of the 

 head and body, and is covered with equal-sized keeled scales. In color this lizard 

 is black or blackish brown above, with the abdomen and the inner surfaces of the 

 thighs not unfrequently of a dirty white. In the young state, however, the upper 

 parts are brown with paler spots, and more or less distinctly-marked dark cross- 

 bars on the back. In weight, full-grown examples reach as much as twenty 

 pounds. 



The sea lizard is extremely common on the rocky coasts of the various islands 

 of the Galapagos group, but is seldom found more than some ten yards from the 

 shore. Of its habits Darwin writes than ' ' this lizard swims with perfect ease and 

 quickness by a serpentine movement of its body and flattened tail the legs being 

 motionless and closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sank one, with a 

 heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly, but when, an hour aft- 

 erward, he drew up the line, it was quite active. Their limbs and strong claws 

 are admirably adapted for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava, 

 which everywhere form the coast. In such situations, a group of six or seven of 

 these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above 

 the serf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs." After mentioning that the 

 stomachs of several examples that were examined contained finely-minced seaweed, 

 and also observing that the droves seen swimming out to sea were doubtless in 

 search of food of this nature, the same author proceeds to state that, when fright- 

 ened, these lizards absolutely refuse to enter the water. " Hence," he continues, 

 " it is easy to drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging the sea, 

 where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their tails than enter the wa- 

 ter. They do not seem to have any notion qf biting, but when much frightened 

 they squirt a drop of fluid from each nostril. I threw one several times as far as I 

 could into a deep pool left by the retiring tide, but it invariably returned in a di- 

 rect line to the spot where I stood. It swam near the bottom, with a very graceful 

 and rapid movement, and occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its 

 feet. As soon as it arrived near the edge, but still being under water, it tried to 

 conceal itself in the tufts of seaweed, or it entered some crevice. As soon as it 

 thought the danger was past, it crawled out on the dry rocks, and shuffled away as 

 quickly as it could. I several times caught the same lizard by driving it down to a 

 point, and, though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and swimming, noth- 

 ing would induce it to enter the water, and as often as I threw it in, it returned in 

 the manner above described. Perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may 

 be accounted for by the circumstance that this reptile has no enemy whatever on 

 shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous sharks. ' ' Later ob- 

 servers have borne testimony to the extraordinary numbers in which the sea lizards 

 are to be met with in the Galapagos, and likewise as to their food consisting mainly 

 of broad-leaved sea leaves. 



