44 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Green lizard of Carolina. 



js insects, and they themselves are devoured by 

 birds of prey. They are all perfectly harmless, 

 yet their form strikes almost ev6ry beholder with 

 disgust, and has occasioned great obscurity in 

 their history. Mr. Pennant mentions a lizard 

 killed in Worcestershire in the year 17 J4, which 

 was two feet six inches long, and four inches in 

 girth ; the fore legs were placed eight inches 

 from the head, the hind legs five inches behind 

 those; the legs were two inches long; and the 

 feet divided into four toes, each furnished with 

 a sharp claw. Another of the same kind was 

 afterwards killed in that county; but whether 

 these large lizards were natives of other coun- 

 tries, and imported into England, or whether 

 they were of British growth, is uncertain; though 

 the former is more probable, as in this country 

 they scarcely ever exceed six inches. This spe- 

 cies has a pretty long verticillated tail., with sharp 

 scales, and a scaly collar. 



The green lizard of Carolina is so denominated 

 from its color ; it is very slender, the tail nearly 

 double the length of the body, and the whole 

 length above five inches. It inhabits Carolina, 

 \vhere it is domestic, familiar, and harmless. It 

 sports on the tables and windows, and amuses 

 with its agility in catching of flies. Cold affects 

 its colors; in that uncertain climate, when there 

 is a quick transition in the same day from hot to 

 cold, it changes instantly from the most brilliant 

 green to a dull brown. They are a prey to cats 



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