102 Reptilia and Amphibia of Cambridgeshire 



Lacerta vivipara, the Common English Lizard, is, accord- 

 ing to the Rev. L. Jenyns, " very common on banks, heaths, 

 and other open places; often seen in the drier parts of the 

 Fens... the young broods appearing in June arid July." It is, 

 however, very local, for instance near Fulbourn, Will>raliam 

 Fen and at Sawston Moor. I do not know of an instance of its 

 occurring on the Gog- Magogs, at Grantchester, or at Madingley. 



Lacerta agilis, the Sand Lizard. Whilst the Common 

 Lizard occurs throughout Great Britain and even in Ireland, 

 the Sand Lizard seems to be restricted to the southern half of 

 England, where it prefers sandy heaths, the edges of copses, 

 railway-banks and similar, rather dry, localities. Its occurrence 

 near Cambridge, e.g. along the Devil's Ditch, near Newmarket, 

 and thence into Norfolk, seems to mark the northern limit of 

 this species. But there is no doubt that L. agilis is often 

 confounded with L. vivipara. Jenyns, for instance, did not 

 distinguish between them. 



The main differences are the following : L. vivipara is 

 viviparous ; has a single postnasal and a single anterior loreal 

 shield; and the supra-ocular and supraciliary scales are in 

 contact with each other; the coloration, although subject 

 to much variation, is brown to reddish above, with small darker 

 and lighter spots; often with a blackish vertebral streak and 

 a dark lateral band edged with yellow ; underparts orange to 

 red in the male with conspicuous black spots ; yellow or pale 

 orange in the female, with or without scanty black spots. 



L. agilis lays eggs ; has usually a single postnasal but two 

 superposed anterior loreals, the three forming a triangle. The 

 supraoculars are separated from the supraciliary scales by 

 a series of little granules. As a rule the Sand Lizard appears 

 longitudinally striped, owing to rows of dark and white spots 

 along the sides of the back, flanks and tail. The prevailing 

 ground-colours are a more or less pronounced green in the 

 male (hence often called "Green Lizard"), in the female brown 

 and grey. Underparts in males yellow with black spots, in 

 females cream-coloured. 



