34 THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS. [3. II. 



river- cocodiles have eyes like hogs, and great sharp teeth, 

 strong claws, and an unbroken scaly skin. In the water 

 their sight is imperfect, but very good on land. They pass 

 the greatest part of the day on land, and of the night in the 

 water, for they cannot bear the cold air. 



CHAPTER VII. 



1. THE chameleon has the whole of its body like that of a 

 lizard, and the ribs, descending downwards, are joined to- 

 gether on the hypogastric region, like those of fish, and 

 the baek-bone stands up, like that of a fish ; its face is like 

 that of the chceropithecus. 1 It has a very long tail ; the ex- 

 tremity is very smooth, and rolled together like a thong. It 

 is raised, upon longer legs than a lizard ; the joints of the legs 

 are bent in the same direction as the lizard's. 



2. Each of its feet is divided into two parts, having the 

 same relation to each other as our thumbs have to the 

 rest of the hand : and, for a short distance, each of these is 

 divided into toes ; in the fore-feet the internal part has three, 

 the external two toes ; in the hind feet the internal part 

 has two, and the external three toes ; there is a claw upon 

 each of its toes like that of birds of prey ; its whole body 

 is rough, like the crocodile. 



3. Its eyes are placed in a hollow, and are very large 

 and round ; surrounded with skin like the rest of its body, 

 and in the middle is left a small aperture through which 

 it sees ; this is never covered with skin. The eye is turned 

 round in a circle, and it can direct its vision to any side, so 

 that it can see where it will. The change in the colour of 

 its skin takes place when it is filled with air. It can acquire 

 either a black colour, like that of the crocodile, or ochreous, 

 like that of the lizard, or spotted with black, like the pan- 

 ther ; and this change takes place over the whole body, for the 

 eyes also change like the rest of the body, and so does the tail. 



4. Its movements are slow, like those of the tortoise ; 

 when dying, it becomes ochreous, and retains this colour after 

 death. The oesophagus and trachea of the chameleon are 

 similar to the same parts in lizards ; it has no flesh, except a 

 little on the head and cheeks, and upon the appendage at the 

 end of its tail. It has no blood, except about the heart, and 



1 Simla rostrata, or perhaps baboon. (The identifications of the 

 animals, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the German translation 

 by Struck, 1816.) 



