458 SOUTHERN EUROPE 



Distinguished by its convex shell being devoid of keels, with a smooth margin, 



in colour it is yellow or greenish yellow broadly bordered with black, and each 



shield marked with a dark brown centre; the plastron, or lower shell, is yellow, 



and the head and legs yellowish ; the shields are marked by faint grooving running 



parallel with their borders, and the tail terminates in a conical nail-like point. 



These tortoises feed on cabbage and lettuce and other juicy vegetables, and 



although popularly supposed to do so, never eat insects ; they may live for over 



thirty years, and always sleep through the winter. They have a well-developed 



sense of locality, and are not insensible to music. In the pairing-season, which 



begins in May, they utter a feeble piping cry. The eggs, two to four in number, 



are buried in the ground. This tortoise is not only a native of Greece but of the 



whole Balkan Peninsula, as well as of Italy and the south of France. The very 



similar T. rnarginata ought properly to be called the Grecian tortoise, as it is 



contined to Greece. It agrees with T. grceca in the absence of a tubercle on 



the posterior surface of the thigh, but differs in the form of the shields on 



tin' shell. 



Of the lizards found abundantly in the Mediterranean countries 



of Europe, and demanding notice here, the green lizard (Lacerta 



viridis) attains a length of 17 inches. The males are green above, with small 



whitish and yellowish dots, and greenish yellow below, with a blue patch on the 



throat in the breeding-season: the tail being greyish or brownish towards the tip. 



The females, on the other hand, never develop a blue patch, and are browner, with 



black-bordered yellowish spots on the sides. The home of the green lizard is south 



and south-eastern Europe, and south-western Asia ; but it also occurs in a few 



localities in central Europe, being found not only as far to the north-west as the 



valley of the Moselle, but also in the island of Jersey. Its favourite haunts are 



rocky districts where there is plenty of sunshine and warmth, although it lives in 



the Alps up to 4000 feet. Difficult of approach, and swift in flight, this lizard, 



when taking refuge on a tree, as it often does, will jump from a great height to the 



ground without injury, in a desperate effort at escape. It leaps as it runs, climbs 



well, and swims excellently. 



The wall-lizard (L. muralis) is on the average about 8 inches 

 Wall-Lizard. v ". 



in length, and has a long depressed head with a pointed muzzle, and 



a series of granules between the shields above the eyes and, as a rule, only six 



rows of ventral scales. It varies so much in colour that several races or 



subspecies have been described, but these all grade into one another, the typical 



form being brownish grey with a bronzy sheen, spotted and streaked with black. 



Several of the varieties are confined to particular localities ; there is, for instance, 



a special form in one of the islands of the Cyclades group, another on the island 



of Milo, and others, again, on Pelagosa in the Adriatic, Filfola south of Malta, 



F.n.iglione near Capri, Monacone east of Capri, and Galli between Capri and 



Amalfi. The one inhabiting Faraglione is blackish above and rich blue below : a 



very similar coloration characterising those of some of the smaller Balearic Isles. 



Wall-lizards are principally distributed over the Mediterranean countries, but 



range north up the valley of the Danube into Austria, and down the Rhine valley to 



Holland: they are also found in Portugal, France, Switzerland, Belgium, etc. : in 



