152 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



proach their food with a scampering rush, and feed largely upon 

 beetles and their larvae, which they hunt in the crevices of bark. 

 These species also feed largely upon ants. 



The true Chameleon, of Africa, affords an exaggerated exam- 

 ple of the manner in which many insectivorous lizards secure 

 their food. The specimens in the Reptile House, always exceed- 

 ingly sluggish in making their way among the shrubbery of their 

 cage, are supplied with mealworms, grasshoppers and flies. Ap- 

 proaching an insect with an air of great deliberation, a Chameleon 

 regards it steadfastly for a few seconds with one rolling eye, 

 while the other indifferently examines other objects. A sudden 

 dart of the long tongue follows, to a distance nearly equal to the 

 length of the reptile's body, and the morsel is snapped back into 

 the lizard's jaws, where it is well crushed by the sharp teeth 

 before being swallowed. 



Omnivorous Species. — Under this head come a number of La- 

 certilians that have generally been credited with herbivorous hab- 

 its. There are few, if any, exceptions of these alleged strictly her- 

 bivorous lizards that do not continually vary their diet with in- 

 sects, and even larger prey. The Iguanas serve well to illustrate 

 this characteristic. It has been the custom in the Reptile House 

 to feed the common Iguana (Iguana tuberculata) with such ten- 

 der vegetables as lettuce and celery, besides various fruits. The 

 cages being overcrowded, several species of insectivorous lizards 

 were placed with the Iguanas, and it was soon noted that the lat- 

 ter showed an equal enthusiasm for the insect larvae and earth- 

 worms provided for the smaller reptiles as for their own vegeta- 

 ble food. Investigation soon demonstrated that they were fond 

 of small birds and mammals. The experiments continued, and 

 proved conclusively that certain species of Iguana, particularly 

 the large Metopoceros cornutus, or Rhinoceros Iguana, and the 

 Iguana delicatissima, preferred the carnivorous diet, and more- 

 over displayed in obtaining it an amount of agility and voracity 

 equal to the strictly carnivorous monitors. 



A number of the smaller species of the Iguanidce in the Reptile 

 House have been observed to be omnivorous. Interesting obser- 

 vations were made of the Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus col- 

 laris), and the Leopard Lizard (C. wislizenii) — two Lacertil- 

 ians interesting in many ways — the former from its peculiar 

 habit when alarmed of running erect on its hind legs for a dis- 

 tance of twenty-five feet or more, after which curious perform- 

 ance it drops upon all-fours and darts over the ground with an 

 amazing show of speed. These lizards are largely cannibalistic 

 in their feeding habits, but they are also herbivorous and insec- 



