IQ2 FAUNA OF SHROPSHIRE. 



Common Lizard by its heavier build, larger size, more 

 sluggish movements, oviparous habit, by the presence 

 of minute teeth on the palate and granules over the 

 eyes (absent in the common species), and by the more 

 numerous, but smaller scales on the body. In colour 

 it varies greatly, and, according to some authors, these 

 variations coincide with the habitat, so that the animal 

 is brownish when it occurs on sandy heaths; greenish 

 when it lives in grassy places. Be that as it may, the 

 ground colour of the back is always some shade of 

 brown or green, while the sides are greenish in the 

 male, brownish in the female, with a varying number 

 of white spots ranged usually in three longitudinal rows. 

 The under parts are white with small black spots. 

 Length, about eight to nine inches. Like other reptiles 

 it passes the winter in a torpid state. It is said to refuse 

 food in confinement, and is not so readily tamed as the 

 preceding species. 



BLIND-WORM, or SLOW-WORM. Truly appearances 

 Anguis fragilis. are deceptive, and accordingly almost 



with one accord this harmless little 

 creature is dubbed a Snake, and very venomous, though 

 it is neither the one nor the other ! The names by which 

 it is generally known Blind-worm and Slow- worm are 

 equally incorrect : the animal is not blind but has smal 

 bright eyes ; it is not particularly slow, for it can wrigj 

 along the ground rapidly enough ; lastly, it is not a worm 

 but a lizard ! Yes, a lizard, but without legs ; under 

 the skin, however, it has rudiments of limbs, and if we 

 look carefully we can see certain places on the body 

 where the scales stand out as if covering a knob, anc 

 these indicate the position which the hind-limbs woulc 



