REPTILES. 205 



granular, nearly uniform ; with irregular folds in the skin, which 

 are fringed at the top with a series of rather larger scales. An 

 oblique ridge of larger scales on each side of the base of the tail, 

 and a few shorter longitudinal ridges of rather smaller ones on 

 each side of the upper part of the tail. 



There is a young specimen of this species more brightly co- 

 loured in the Museum of Haslar Hospital, Gosport. 



" I had been apprized of the existence of a large lizard, which 

 the natives called Tuatera, or Narara, with a general name, and 

 of which they were much afraid. But although looking for it at 

 the places where it was said to be found, and offering great rewards 

 for a specimen, it was only a few days before my departure from 

 New Zealand that I obtained one, which had been caught at a 

 small rocky islet called Karewa, which is about two miles from 

 the coast, in the Bay of Plenty, and which had been given by the 

 Rev. W. Stack, in Tauranga, to Dr. Johnson, the colonial sur- 

 geon. From all that I could gather about this Tuatera, it appears 

 that it was formerly common in the islands ; lived in holes, often 

 in sandhills near the sea-shore; and the natives killed it for food. 

 Owing to this latter cause, and no doubt also to the introduction 

 of pigs, it is now very scarce ; and many even of the older resi- 

 dents of the islands have never seen it. The specimen from which 

 the description is taken I had alive, and kept for some time in 

 captivity : it was extremely sluggish, and could be handled without 

 any attempt at resistance or biting." Dieffenbach. 

 Fam. HYDRIDE. 



7. Two-coloured Sea Snake. Pelamys bicolor. Polack, 



N. Z.,i.318. 

 Inhab. New Zealand, River Hokianga. 



Polack observes, a native showed Captain Cook a drawing of a 

 guana and a snake: he suspects the latter must have been a 

 conger-eel. N. Z., i. 318. 



*' Neither sea nor land snakes have ever been seen by me. 

 An English captain tried to introduce (!) the common black snake 

 of New South Wales, but it is said that they died, and frustrated 

 his benevolent design." Dieffenbach. 



Fam. TESTUDINID.E. 



" On the authority of Mr. Charles Heaphy I state here that a 

 small land tortoise was found near the Wanganui River, in Cook's 

 Strait ; the natives never mentioned to me the existence of such 

 an animal." Dieffenbach. 



