LOPHYRUS. REPTILES. 347 



C. vulgaris. Body fine blue, with transverse white bands ; two rows 

 of spines behind the ears ; tail very long. 18 inches long. In- 

 habits India. Shaw, iii. pi. 64. 



Gen. 16. LOPHYRUS, Dumeril. Lacerta, Lin. 



Body shagreened ; dorsal crest prolonged upon the tail ; tail 

 compressed vertically. 



L. scutatus, (L. scutata, Lin.) Dorsal crest high on the neck, 

 formed of many rows of vertical scales ; two bony ridges continued 

 from the muzzle, terminating in a point at the eye. 1 2 to 1 6 inches 

 long. Inhabits Ceylon. Shaw, iii. pi. 68. 



L. superciliosus. Body pitchy black ; back and tail crested above ; 

 a slight appearance of a ridge over the eyes j occiput callous and 

 spinous ; scales of the body rhomboid. 12 to 16 inches long. 

 Inhabits S. America Shaw, iii. pi. 68. 



Gen. 17. BASTLISCUS, Daud. Lacerta, Lin. 



Crests edged, supported by long spiny apophyses of the verte- 

 bras, extending on the back and at least part of the tail ; crests 

 scaly, as the rest of the body ; scales of the belly and tail small, 

 of a square form ; teeth strong, compressed, without notches ; 

 no palatine teeth ; a row of pores on the thighs ; skin of the 

 throat loose, without forming a pouch. 



The Basilisks of modern naturalists have nothing of the deadly properties attribu- 

 ted by the ancients to their fabulous animal of this name. Though rather repulsive 

 in their appearance, they are harmless animals, inhabiting woods, feeding on insects, 

 and leaping from branch to branch by the assistance of their crested back and tail. 



B. mitratus, Cuv. (L. basiliscus, Lin.) Mitred Basilisk. With a 

 crest on the back,, another on the first half of the tail, and a third 

 on the occiput ; tail long and pointed. 2 to 3 feet long. In- 

 habits Brazil. Shaw, iii. pi. 63. 



B. Ambomensis, Cuv. Head quadrangular, with a convex scale on 

 the middle ; crest on the origin of the tail, and dorsal crest pec- 

 tinated ; tail long. 4 feet long. Amboyna. Shaw, iii. pi. 62. 



Gen. 18. DRACO, Lin. 



Six false ribs, extending in a right line and supporting an exten- 

 sion of skin, which forms a kind of wing ; body covered with 

 imbricated scales, those of the tail and legs carinated ; a long 

 pointed gular pouch under the throat ; tail long ; no femoral 

 pores ; a small dentation on the nape ; four incisors in each 

 jaw, a long and pointed canine, and twelve triangular molar 

 teeth. 



This genus possesses the scales and gular pouch of the Iguanas, with the head and 

 teeth of the Stellios. They are of small size, seldom exceeding ten inches in length. 



D. lineaius, (D. volans, Lin.) The flying Dragon. Body varie- 

 gated with blue and gray above; wings brown, longitudinally stri- 



