CHAPTER XVIII 



THE LIZARD AND ITS ALLIES 



THE lizards belong to the class of Reptiles, 1 which are 

 vertebrates in whose skin horny or bony scales or plates 

 are formed. They constantly breathe by means of lungs, 

 and lay large eggs provided with a tough leathery or 

 calcareous shell. 



The Sauria, or lizards, constitute a large order charac- 

 teristic of the tropical and subtropical countries and 

 reaching the maximum of its development in South 

 America, while in the northern continents it is relatively 

 poorly represented. Lizards are, as a rule, carnivorous, 

 and since they destroy insects injurious to vegetation, they 

 may be counted as beneficial to man. 



Anolis 2 is one of the family Iguanidae, 3 a large group of 

 lizards characteristic of the Western Hemisphere. The 

 family is known by the thick tongue, by a large scale 

 in the middle of the head in front of the eyes, and by the 

 fact that all four legs are well developed. The genus 

 Anolis contains eighty tropical species. Oar species lives 

 in pine woods from the latitude of Tennessee south to the 

 Gulf and the island of Cuba. Its graceful form and bright 

 colors make it one of the most beautiful of lizards. It 



1 A key to the four orders of Reptiles will be found in the Appendix to 

 this Chapter, page 280. 



2 Anoli, native name. 3 Native name. 



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