2504 SCALED REPTILES 



or but slightly notched; while there are well- developed eyelids, and the drum of the 

 ear is exposed. The back is either clothed with large shield-like, and mostly- 

 keeled scales, arranged in well-marked transverse zones, or, more rarely, with gran- 

 ules, the head having large, regular shields. As regards their teeth, these lizards 

 conform to the pleurodont type, each tooth having its base widely open. Resem- 

 bling in many respects the Iguanoids, from which they are distinguished by the os- 

 sifications in the skull, these lizards also approach the members of the next family, 

 from which they differ by their simple tongues, the hollow bases of the teeth, and 

 the structure of the bony plates underlying the scales, when such are present. In 

 the South- African snake-like genus {Cham&saura) the fore-limbs are wanting, and 

 the hind pair rudimental, while the tail is of extraordinary length. All the mem- 

 bers of the family appear to be carnivorous. 



We take as our special example of this small family one of the mem- 

 bers of the South- African girdle-tailed lizards (Zonurus], a genus 

 represented by seven species. These lizards differ from the other 

 three genera in having the scales of the back underlain by bony plates of simple 

 structure; and, resembling in appearance the rough-tailed lizard among the aga- 

 moids, they have a flattened triangular head, and a tail of moderate length. On the 

 upper surface the neck and back are covered with large quadrangular shield-like 

 scales, while beneath there are large flat shields; the limbs bearing keeled overlap- 

 ping shields, and the tail being protected with whorls of spinous scales. The teeth 

 are small, and the rounded tongue is scarcely notched. The figured species (Z. 

 cordylus), which attains a length of rather less than eight inches, generally has the 

 back and tail of a dirty orange color, the head and feet of a lighter yellow, and the 

 under parts white, although there are considerable variations from this normal col- 

 oration. All the members of the genus inhabit rocky districts, and prefer those 

 where there are ledges, upon which they run in search of food or warmth. They 

 are excellent climbers, and far from easy to catch, often leaving their tails with their 

 would-be captors. 



THE SNAKE-LIKE LIZARDS. 

 Family ANGUID^ 



Nearly allied to the preceding family is a small group of lizards of variable 

 bodily form, typified by the common English blindworm. Rigid in their bodies, 

 and having large symmetrical bony shields on the top of their heads, these lizards 

 resemble the girdle lizards in the presence of bony plates beneath the overlapping 

 scales, and also in that the temporal fossae of the skull are roofed over with bone. 

 They differ, however, in that the bony plates beneath the scales are permeated by a 

 series of radiating or irregularly arranged canals; and also in the conformation of 

 the tongue. The latter is composed of two distinct portions, namely, a thick basal 

 half, covered with villose papillae, and a smaller thin terminal moiety coated with 

 scale-like papillae, which is extensile, and capable of partial withdrawal into a sheath 



