CHAPTER IV 



CHAMELEONS TUATERA 



CHAMELEONS 



THE CHAM/F.LEOXS differ in so many 

 important structural points from the 

 ordinary lizards that they are usually 

 regarded now by scientists as a distinct reptilian 

 sub-order. The essential characters, externally 

 recognisable, that serve to distinguish the chamse- 

 leons are : Firstly, the extraordinary develop- 

 ment of their worm-like extensile tongue, the tip 

 of it club-shaped and highly viscous, and the 

 shaft cylindrical and as elastic in texture as india- 

 rubber. Adapted for the special object of catch- 

 ing flies, this organ can be projected from the 

 mouth to a distance of 6 or 8 inches or more 

 with lightning-like rapidity, and rarely misses its 

 quarry. Comparing small things with great, 

 the chamaeleon's tongue and its action might be 

 likened to a schoolboy's popgun, having its pellet 

 secured to the barrel by a long elastic ligament. 

 Presuming further that the pellet is covered 

 with a viscid secretion such as bird-lime, and 

 that the object shot at is hit and brought back 

 to the shooter's pocket by virtue of the liga- 

 ment's intrinsic elasticity, we have an almost 

 veritable replica of the chamaeleon's fly-catching 

 apparatus. The second remarkable structural 

 peculiarity of the chamceleon is the independent 

 relationship of the two eyes. The eyes them- 

 selves are unlike those of any other lizards ; they 

 are large, prominent, skin-covered cones, perforated 

 only at their extreme apex for the minute pupil- 

 opening: while one eye may be fixed on an 

 object in front of it, the other may be rolling 

 around in search of a second quarry. This 

 independent capacity of vision, while peculiar 

 among reptiles to the chameleon, is common to 

 many fishes, such as blennies and flat-fishes. A 

 third anomaly in the chamaeleon's structure is 

 the character of the feet; these resemble those 

 of a parrot, the toes being bound together in 

 two opposable bundles. In the fore foot the 

 inner bundle contains three and the outer one 

 two toes only, while in the hind foot the order 



S3: 



by W. Savillt-Kint^ 



CHAMELEONS ASLEEP 



The tail of the sleeping chameleon is frequently coiled spirally like 

 the proboscis of a butterfly 



Pnatt bj W. Savillt-Kint, F.Z.S.] 



A CHAMELEON IN A RAGE 



Puffing and hissing at an approaching intruder 



