REPTILES. 395 



Among the batrachians we had occasion to mention and figure a pecu- 

 liar ' flying-frog ' from the East Indies. It was a member of a group of 

 tree-frogs, perfectly adapted for an arboreal life. Among the geckos, als< i 

 climbing animals, occurs a form somewhat similar in that it is capable of 

 sailing (not really flying) in its descent from the trees. In the flying-frog 

 it was the feet that furnished the parachutes ; but the flying-gecko (a native 

 of India) combines this with a broad, flat membrane, much like that of a 

 flying-squirrel, except that it extends from the sides of the head and tail, as 

 well as from the body between the legs. When the animal wishes to 

 take its flight, it spreads its legs and extends the membrane, and then sails 

 gracefully downward, much like a flying-squirrel. 



Somewhat similar are the flying-dragons of the East Indies, of which 

 there are several species. In these the membranes are more confined to 

 the sides of the body, and when extended are supported by the ribs. These 

 forms are seven or eight inches long, and are beautifully mottled with 

 brown and gray, so that as they crawl over the trunk of a tree in their 

 search for insects, they can hardly be distinguished from the bark on which 

 they rest. Their leaping powers are considerable, though they are excelled 

 by those of the flying-gecko, already mentioned. 



What can be more repulsive than the subject of our next cut, the 

 moloch ? Its scientific name, Moloch horridus, is well deserved. Every- 

 where it is covered with spines of enormous size, its body is fat and ugly- 

 shaped, and its legs are too weak to keep the animal from the ground ; 

 while on the back of the neck is a hump which the ' hunchback of Notre 

 Dame ' might have envied. Yet ugly as it looks, this creature is perfectly 

 harmless. All that it desires is to be let alone, and no doubt its extensive 

 spiny armor protects it from many a form which might otherwise be 

 tempted to make a meal from it. 



In Madagascar dwells a lizard which must not be neglected. It is the 

 famocuntrata of the natives, who hold it in the utmost detestation, notwith- 

 standing the fact that it is perfectly harmless. From the sides of the 

 head, body, and tail depend a series of fringes contributing somewhat to its 

 appearance, while its bold habits, rushing as it does, with open mouth, 

 towards any one who disturbs it, render it an object of terror. Many are 

 the tales told of its awful habits, — none of them exactly true, and many 

 wholly false, — but none of them exceeds the belief, firmly implanted in 

 every Malagassy breast, that whenever it has a chance it attaches itself to 

 the human breast so closely that it cannot be pulled off, but must be cut 

 away with a knife, or else the victim will surely die. 



In tropical America occur the iguanas, some of them of large size, 

 while others are much more moderate in their dimensions. The typical 



