CHAPTER XIII. 



ANGUIS FRAGILIS. 



Class, REPTILIA. Order, Lacertilia. Family, Anguidce. 

 Genus, Anguis. Species, fragilis. 



THIS little reptile obtains its family name from its snake-like form, 

 without any trace of limbs externally, and there are a great many 

 of the group in various parts of the world. It has no broad, 

 ventral scutce as in snakes, its scales being alike all round ; neither 

 has it any palate teeth, but the jaws are toothed. The scales are 

 close set, of a roundish form, and very smooth ; in length it 

 averages twelve to fourteen or fifteen inches. Its colour, though 

 almost uniform, varies in each individual, with the exception of 

 several rows of very small darker spots down the sides of the 

 body, and a faint dark line down the back ; but these markings 

 are too feeble to interfere with the predominating colour, which 

 is mostly of a silvery, brownish-grey, or olive tint, darker or lighter. 

 The one mentioned in the last chapter was so black that no 

 markings were distinguishable ; in the lighter ones they are plainer, 

 and so on. There was a so-called " white " slow- worm at the 

 Zoological Gardens a few years ago : but, like the " white " viper, 

 it was of a pale, dingy, pinkish hue; and as its eyes were also 

 pink, one may call it an albino, with a general deficiency of the 

 colouring pigment in its skin. In the male the tail is quite as 

 long, often longer than the body, and in the female the body 

 exceeds the tail in length ; so that it is not difficult to distinguish 

 the sexes. But when the tail is very much shorter than the body, 

 it has probably lost an inch or so. It is very common to say that 

 the slow-worm breaks in "halves;" a figure of speech arising 

 from the fact of its having a long tail, as it is only this latter that 

 breaks, never the body, of course. It is a most gentle, timid little 

 creature, fear causing it to contract its muscles to such an extent 

 that it becomes brittle, and requires the most careful handling. 

 You will feel it tightening itself round your fingers, which it does 

 for safety, and from fear of falling when in a strange situation ; 



