THE CAMELEON. 



31 



Utility of irs tongue and tail. 



much unlike that of a frog ; at the end there is 

 a hole on each side for the nostrils,, but there are 

 no ears, nor any sign of any. The length oF its 

 body is about ten inches, and that of the tail, 

 which is cylindrical, nearly the same. In figure 

 it is extremely ugly and disgusting, yet in dis- 

 position perfectly harmless, feeding only on in- 

 sects, for which the structure of its tongue is 

 peculiarly adapted, being long and missile, and 

 furnished with a dilated, glutinous, and somewhat 

 tubular tip. By means of this it seizes insects 

 with the greatest ease, darting it out, and in- 

 stantaneously retracting it, with the prey secured 

 on its tip, which it swallows whole. The jaws 

 are furnished with teeth, or rather with a bone 

 in the form of them, which the animal makes 

 little or no use of. The skin is covered with small 

 warts or granulations, and down the middle of 

 the back it is serrated. The feet have five toes 

 united three and two, to enable it to lay firm 

 hold of the branches of trees, in which it princi- 

 pally resides ; and to this end also its tail' is pre- 

 hensile, and is always coiled round the branch 

 till the animal has secured a firm footing. Its 

 motions are very slow. The lungs are so large 

 as to allow it to inflate the body to a vast size. 

 The structure and motions of its eyes are singu- 

 lar; these are large and globular, and so formed 

 that at the same instant it can look in different 

 directions. One of them may frequently be seen. 

 to move when the other is at rest ; or one will 



