2528 



SCALED REPTILES 



group is sometimes spoken of as the burrowing lizards; and it may be remarked that 

 their spindle-shaped bodies, covered with highly-polished scales, their short legs, 

 and frequently abbreviated tail, as well as the transparent window in the lower eye- 

 lid, are all features specially adapted for such a mode of life. From among the 

 numerous genera, the limits of our space render it necessary to confine our remarks 

 to four, which are selected as examples of very divergent types. 



Described as far back as the year 1699, the stump- tailed lizard 



( Trachysaurus rugosus} of Australia is the sole representative of one 



of the most remarkable genera in the entire suborder. With a short, 



pyramidal depressed head of great width, a short but distinct neck, a long, thick, 



STUMP-TAILED UZARDS. 



(One-third natural size.) 



and flattened body, and a very wide and stumpy tail, the creature is clothed with 

 an armor of rough, thick, brown scales, which give it very much the appearance 

 of a living pine cone. On the lower surface, the scales are smooth and much 

 smaller. The small and stout limbs are widely separated, and terminate in five 

 short toes, each provided with strong curved claws. In length this strange reptile 

 measures about fourteen inches, and its color above is brown with spots or irregular 

 bands of yellow, while beneath it is yellowish, with brown spots, marblings, or 

 longitudinal and transverse streaks. The cheek teeth have subconical crowns. 

 Beyond the fact that it is a burrower, scarcely anything appears to be known of the 

 habits of the stump-tailed lizard in a wild state, although many observations have 

 been made on captive specimens. In the latter state it is slow and lethargic in its 



