400 



REPTILIA ORDER III. SQUAMA TA. 



This long-tailed lizard, which grows to a length of over thirty inches, is an 

 inhabitant of open sandy deserts, and is peculiar in that it habitually walks 

 on its hind-legs alone. It does not, however, hop, but walks with a bold, 

 swinging gait. Probably the frill is given to the creature for the purpose 

 of terrifying its enemies, as when alarmed this lizard sits up on its hind- 

 limbs, expands the frill to its fullest extent, and shows its teeth ; its appear- 

 ance is then distinctly alarming, 

 although the creature is per- 

 fectly harmless to large ani- 

 mals. From the preceding 

 forms this lizard and a number 

 of allied genera differ by hav- 

 ing pores on the under surface 

 of the body near the vent, or 

 on the thighs, or in "both of 

 these situations. A closely re- 

 lated species is the sail-toiled 



Fig. 13, FRILLED LIZARD (Chlamydosaurus kingi). lizard (Lophurus amboynensis) 



of the Malayan and Philippine 



Islands, in which the upper surface of the basal portion of the tail carries a 

 huge vertical crest, while the nape and back are ornamented with a ridge of 

 enlarged scales. This lizard, which has a compressed body, and an olive- 

 green ground-colour with irregular black markings, is an inhabitant of 

 wooded districts near water, and if frightened, immediately plunges into the 

 latter element. It is a vegetable feeder, and its flesh is stated to be tender 

 and well-flavoured. 



The tail is an important part in distinguishing many of the lizards of this 

 family, and its characters form an easy means of recognising the thorny- 

 tailed lizards of Northern Africa and South- Western Asia, which constitute 

 the genus Uromastix. Whereas the body is smoothly scaled, the whole of 

 the rather short tail is invested with a series of rings of large scales each 

 armed with a thorn-like spine. They have very short and rounded heads; 

 the drum of the ear is visible, and there are 

 pores in front of the vent as well as on the 

 thighs. A feature in which these lizards differ 

 f i-om all those noticed above is the large size 

 of the front teeth, which in the adult are 

 separated from those on each side of the jaws 

 by a gap. Thorny lizards are abundant in the 

 sandy plains of Arabia, Persia, and the Pun- 

 jab, where they live in burrows. Probably tho 

 thorny tail is a means of defence, as if one of 

 these lizards can but get its head and body well 

 within its retreat, it seems to be pretty safe 

 from attack . The writer once tried to drag one 

 from its hole by seizing hold of the projecting 

 tail, but the appendage gave way, leaving 

 the creature secure from further harm. Their food is entirely of a vegetable 

 nature; and the Arabs by whom these lizards are frequently kept in cap- 

 tivity are very partial to their flesh. The last member of the family that 

 can be noticed is the moloch lizard (Moloch horrid\^} of South and West 

 Australia, a creature which looks more like some monster in a pantomime 



Fig. 14. THORNT TAILED LIZAIID 

 (Urojuastix). 



