98 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[SCINKS. 



Catesbv it appears earlier in the *prinsf tlian any of | 

 the snake-tribe, and is numerou* in sandy woods. j 



Fig. 219C represents two heads of this reptile, n | 

 and b, of which the latter is depicted with the sin- 

 gularly-fornied tongue tx\>o»ed. 



The glass snake is subject to considerable varia- 

 tions of colour ; M. Bibron enumerates four varie- 

 ties ; the first is marked above with alternate 

 longitudinal lines of black and yellowish, the under 

 parts being white. 



The second has the scales of the sides and neck 

 black ; those of the upper surface and tail brown, 

 w ith a spot of black, and a streak of greenish yellow. 

 The head is marbled with yellow on a black ground. 

 Under jiarts white. 



The third is chestnut with white spots, almost en- 

 tirely encircled by black, generally arranged in trans- 

 verse bands ; the sides are mostly black, the edges 

 of each scale being more or less spotted with 

 whitish or reddish. Under parts pale orange. 



The fourth is of a yellowish grey above, with a 

 broad black median line from the back of the head 

 to the end of the tail ; while on the sides five more 

 slender black lines alternate with white. Sides of 

 the head and neck are mottled with white and 

 black. 



Ctttesby de.scribes the colouring as yellowish 

 preen, spotted with black above. The tail is longer 

 than the body, and the head is very small. " A 

 small blow with a stick," he observes, "will cause 

 the Jjody to separate not only at the place struck, 

 i)ut al two or three other places also ; the muscles 

 being aitieulated in a singular manner quite through 

 ihe vertebr*." 



We shall now turn to the section Glyptoderma, 

 the general distinguishing characters of which we 

 have already detailed. 



We may here add that the mode in which the 

 teelh are implanted varies in this group. In most 

 they are affixed by the side to the internal face of 

 the maxillary bones; in others they are fixed on 

 the ridge or summit of the bones, as in the genus 

 Trogonophis. 



2197. — The Channelled Chirotes 



(Chiroles cnnaUculatus). Lacerta lumbricoides, 

 Shaw ; Chamiesaura propus, Schneider ; Bimanus 

 propus, Oppel ; Bipes eanaliculatus, Bonnat. 



These singular animals, says M. Bibron, would be 

 Amphisbaenas, were they not provided with a 

 sternum and two fore limbs— the only differences, 

 in fact, by which the genera are distinguished : the 

 body is nearly cylindrical, being somewhat flattened j 

 on Its under surface ; the head is of the same cir- i 

 cumference, the former having the muzzle and 

 borders of the mouth covered with plates, the only 

 portions of the animal where the skin is not marked [ 

 by depressions, dividing it into little quadrilateral 1 

 compartments disposed in rings. The fore limbs, 

 which alone exist, are placed at a short distance 

 behind the head, and spring from the under surface of 

 the neck ; they are short, moderately robust, and ter- 

 minated by five toes, of which four are well deve- 

 loped, and armed with robust, curved, and pointed 

 claws ; the fifth is a simple scaly tubercle, destitute 

 of a nail. Along the body, on each side, is a sort of 

 suture descending from the shoulder to the origin of 

 the tail ; at the lower part of the abdomen is a row of 

 small pores. The teeth are strong, conical, simple, 

 and slightly curved backwards; the nostrils are 

 lateral ; the eye is very small ; the muzzle arched ; 

 the tongue horny al the tip, and but little extensile. 



This singular reptile is a native of Mexico, and 

 measures eight or ten inches in length. The colour 

 of the upper surface is yellow, each little square 

 compartment having a mark of chestnut ; the under 

 parts are vihitc. It was first described by Lacepede 

 under the title " Le Canneld." With respect to its 

 habits, they are most probably subterranean, like 

 those of the Amphisbsena ; but on these points 

 nothing appears to be definitely known. Fig. 2197 

 is accompanied by a delineation in outline of the 

 Head and one of the Paws. There are no eyelids. 



2198.— The Dcskt Amphisb.«na 



(Amphlsbama fiiliffinosa). The genus Amphisbsena 

 diffei-s from Chirotes principally in the absence of 

 limbs; the head aud body are of uniform thickness, 

 and the tail terminates bluntly; so that at a first 

 glance it is not very easy to distinguish between the 

 head and tail, more especially as the minute eyes 

 are buried, and only to be detected through the 

 horny plate that covers them, as little black dots, in 

 which neither iris nor pupil is perceptible. In some 

 species, where the plates are more thick, they are 

 scarcely to be observed. It is from this similarity 

 of the head and tail that the natives of South Amej ica 

 considered this reptile to have two heads, one at 

 each extremity ; and that if it was cut in two, so far 

 from being killed, each distinct portion would con- 

 tinue to live, and that the two heads would mutually 

 seek each other, and the bodies become reunited as 



if nothing had happened. Stedraan, in his ' History 

 of Surinam,' says, •• Another snake which I observed 

 here is about three feet long, and unnulated with 

 diflerent colours. It is called Amphisbaena, from the 

 supposition of its having two heads : and the truth 

 is, from its cylindrical form the head and tail so 

 much resemble each other that the error is almost 

 pardonable ; besides which the eyes are nearly im- 

 perceptible. This is the snake which, supposed blind, 

 and vulgarly said to be fed by the large ants (ter- 

 mites), is in this country honoured with the name 

 of King of the Kmmets. The flesh of the Amphis- 

 bsena, dried and reduced to a tine powder, is con- 

 fidently administered as a sovereign and infallible 

 remedy in all cases of dislocation and broken bones ; 

 it being very naturally inferred that an animal which 

 has the power of healing an entire amputation in its 

 own case should at least be able to cure a simple 

 fracture in the case of another." AVe may here 

 observe that the term Apiphisbsena («/*?''», utrinque ; 

 ^/w, incedo), though the animal has not two heads, 

 is correct, as it is capable of crawling with the head 

 or tail foremost with equal facility. 



The head of the amphisbaena is blunt and short, 

 and the muzzle resembles a small arched beak : 

 sometimes it is rounded ; it is covered with plates ; 

 the skin generally is divided into quadrilateral com- 

 partments disposed in circles round the body ; and 

 in some species a furrow runs down the middle of 

 the back, and also along each side. At the lower 

 part of the abdomen is a range of pores. 



The specimens of amphisbaena which we have seen 

 alive were dull and inanimate, with no grace or 

 activity in their movements; they crawled slowly 

 about, and, when handled, languidly twisted their 

 bodies and opened their mouths, but made no 

 attempt to bile ; their appearance was far from 

 being attractive. One of these animals, kept alive 

 some time since in the Gardens of the Zoological 

 Society, took milk very freely, and subsisted on it 

 for six months. 



The Dusky Amphisbaena is a native of Brazil and 

 Cayenne, where it bores in the soft earth like a 

 worm, working its way with considerable despatch ; 

 it is harmless and inofiensive, living principally on 

 ants and their larvae and termites, and is often found 

 in the mounds raised by these insects, or in their 

 subterranean habitations. It measures nearly two 

 feet in length, and the eyes are apparent as black 

 dots. Its general colour is dusky brown. 



MM. Dumeiil and Bibron enumerate ten species 

 ij of amphisbaena, of which one is a native of Guinea, 

 and one of North Africa, Spain, and Portugal ; the 

 rest are American. Besides, there are three species 

 separated into a genus termed Lepidosternon, also 

 natives of South America. 



Family SCINCID.E (SCINKS or SKINKS). 



The present family, " Les Lcpidosaures " of Du- 

 nieril and Bibron, presents us with characters dis- 

 tinct from those of our last ; but through a series of 

 forms it also conducts us to the serpents, the body 

 becoming snake-like, and the limbs disappearing, 

 till at length they are lost. The transition forms 

 from the more typical genera are Evesia, in which 

 the limbs are reduced to little footless appendages ; 

 one species is known, a native of India — Scelotes, 

 in which there are no anterior limbs, and the pos- 

 terior are divided into two small toes ; one species 

 (Sc. Linnaei, Bibron ; Anguis bipes, Linn.) is known ; 

 it is a native of South Africa; Hysteropus (Bipes, 

 Cuv.), presenting us with one species, of snake-like 

 lorm, ii native of New Holland ; it has two nidi- 

 mentary posterior limbs, in the shape of little flat 

 appendages. In the Pygopus Cariococca, a snake- 

 like reptile of South America, there are only rudi- 

 mentary hinder limbs as in the preceding — minute 

 flattened appendages. We then come to the genera 

 Anguis (Blindworm), Acontias, and Typhlops, in 

 which the limbs have disappeared, and the figure is 

 serpentiform. To the general character of the 

 Sauria the Family Scincidae adds many peculiari- 

 ties. The head is covered with large plates, of an 

 angular figure, with the edges fitting together ; the 

 body, generally, is clad in scales of variable size and 

 form, resembling a coat of mail, and arranged in 

 quincuncial order, and overlapping each other like 

 the pointed or rounded tiles of a roof; or like those- 

 of a carp, or of other osseous fishes. The tongue 

 is free, fleshy, rather flat, notched at the tip, and 

 covered by scaly papillae : the abdomen is cy- 

 lindiical, without lateral folds, and clad with scales 

 usually arranged in the same manner as those of the 

 back. There is little or no distinction between the 

 neck and body. We may here observe, with respect 

 to the large angular plates of the head, that they do 

 not occur in the Chameleons, the Geckos, Iguanas, 

 or Varans, but are met with in the Teidae, the true 

 lizards, and the Chalcidae ; but, then, in the Teidae 

 and true lizards, the scales of the under parts are 

 arranged ditferently to those of the back ; and in the 

 Chalcidae, the scales are not only disposed so as to 

 form circles or transverse bands, but a lateral fold is 



carried from the head to the origin of the tail. Tlie 

 limbs in the Scincida-, when present, are short, and 

 generally the whole surface of the scaling is smooth 

 and polished. This group is found in the most 

 arid districts of the hot and temperate regions of 

 every portion of the globe : Europe, indeed, pos- 

 sesses but a limited number of species, which, be 

 it observed, are not restricted in their geographical 

 range to that quarter of the globe, but are far more 

 widely distributed. The greatest number belong to 

 Australia and the Polynesian Islands. We may now 

 direct our attention to some of the forms of this ex- 

 tensive family. 



2199. — The Cochin-Chixa Tropidophowts 



{Tropidophorus CociticmensU, Bibr.). Leposoma 

 Cocincinensis, Cuv. ; Tropidosaurus monfanus. Gray. 

 In the genus Tropidophorusthe tongue is notched 

 and squamous; the teeth are simple and cylindrical, 

 none are palatal ; the auditory orifices are closed by 

 a tympanic membrane; the feet are all five-toed, 

 and armed with slightly-compressed claws; the tail 

 is compressed and keeled; the scales of the upper 

 parts are lozenge-shaped, each having a raised 

 median carination, prolonged into a point behind. 

 The species figured is a native of Cochin-China. 

 Its general colour above is yellowish brown, with a 

 tinge of olive, crossed with deep brown bars in the 

 form of the letter X, in succession. The tail is 

 spotted : the flanks present a row of white dots ; 

 under parts white. I>etter a, represents the head 

 viewed from above ; b, the head in profile, with the 

 mouth open to show the tongue. 



2201, 2202.— The Ofhcinal Scink 



(Scinais officinalis). El Adda of Bruce ; Skink, 

 Shaw's Barbary., i'lyyh or 2«iy«( of the Greeks. 



In the genu's Seincus the tongue is notched and 

 scaly ; the teeth are conical, simple, and blunt ; 

 there are teeth on the palate, which is longitudinally 

 grooved ; auditory orifices operculated ; muzzle 

 wedge-shaped ; limbs four, with five toes on each ; 

 tail conical and pointed ; general scaling smooth, 

 glossy, and fish-like. 



The officinal Scink, of which there arc three or 

 four varieties, is a native of Arabia, Northern Africa, 

 Egypt, Syria, and Abyssinia. It occurs also ia 

 Senegal. 



In the IGth century this lizard was generally be- 

 lieved to be endowed with wonderful medicinal vir- 

 tues, and consequently was an object of commerce ; 

 it was one of the most approved remedies in eases of 

 debility, and was regarded as an infallible renovator 

 of a shattered constitution. This supposition is of 

 very ancient date ; for Pliny states that these Scinci 

 were imported into Rome in a salted state (asBelon 

 says they were in his time, 1551), and that their heads 

 and feet were taken in white wine. He also cites 

 Apelles as an authority for their efiicacy in the case 

 of wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows. We need 

 not say that this lizard no longer maintains a place 

 among the articles of the materia medica. Indeed, 

 in Egypt and Arabia its reputation is gone. M. 

 Alexandre Lefebvre, who collected, says M. Bibron, 

 a number of individuals of this species during an 

 excursion in 1828 into the oasis of Bahrieh. informs 

 us that this lizard " is met with on the hillocks of 

 fine light sand which the south wind accumulates 

 at the foot of the hedges which border the cultivated 

 lands, and of the tamarisks which strive to vegetate 

 on the confines of the desert. There it may be seen 

 tranquilly basking in the rays of a burning sun, cr 

 cha-sing from time to time the Graphypteri, or other 

 coleopterous insects which pass within its range. 

 It mns with considerable quickness, and when me- 

 naced buries itself in the sand with singular ra- 

 pidity, excavating in a few instants a burrow of 

 many feet in depth. When taken it endeavours to 

 escape, but beyond this neither attempts to bite, nor 

 to defend itself with its claws." 



In all specimens of this reptile the lower and 

 lateral parts of the head, body, and tail are silvery 

 white, more or less pure. The upper surface varies 

 in markings. M. Bibron enumerates the following: 

 Var. «.— General colour of the neck, back, and 

 tail, yellow, or clear silveiy grey, mixed with brown 

 or blackish, which forms great spots dilated trans- 

 versely, most frequently putting on the shape of 

 transverse bands, the number of which is commonly 

 seven or eight. 



Var. b. — A yellow tint spread over the surface of 

 the cranium. Neck, back, and a great part of the 

 tail chestnut-brown, sprinkled with very small 

 obscure whitish spots, two or three on each scale. 

 Across the back five or six large white bands, with 

 an irregularly-dilated black spot at each of their 

 extremities. These spots are not situated on the 

 back, but on the most elevated part of the lateral 

 regions of the trunk. 



Vnr. c. — All the scales of the neck, back, and 

 first half of the upper surface of the tail silvery 

 grey, widely radiated with white, with one or two 

 brown spots on the posterior border of the radiations. 



