174 REPTILIA. 



MONITOR. 



This genus contains species of the largest size ; they have two teeth in both 

 jaws, but none in the palate ; the greater number are recognised by their 

 laterally compressed tail, which renders them more aquatic. The vicinity of 

 water sometimes brings them in the neighbourhood of crocodiles and alligators, 

 and it is said that by whistling they give notice of the approach of these dan- 

 gerous animals. This report is most probably the origin of the term Sau vegarde 

 or Monitor applied to some of their species, but the fact is very uncertain. 



Lac. nilotica, Lin. Strong conical teeth, the posterior of which become 

 rounded by age ; brown, with pale and deeper coloured dots, forming various 

 compartments, among which we observe transverse rows of large oscellated 

 spots that become rings on the tail. It attains a length of five and six feet. 

 The Egyptians pretend it is a young crocodile hatched in a dry place. It was 

 engraved upon the monuments of that country by its ancient inhabitants, and 

 possibly, because it devours the eggs of the crocodile. 



LACERTA, properly so called, 



Or true Lizards, form the second genus of the Lacertians. The extremity 

 of their palate is armed with two rows of teeth, and they are otherwise distin- 

 guished by a collar under the neck, formed of a transverse row of large scales, 

 separated from those on the belly by a space covered with small ones only, 

 like those under the throat; and by the circumstance that a part of the cranium 

 projects over their temples and orbits, so as to furnish the whole top of the 

 head with a bony buckler. They are very numerous. 



FAMILY III. 



IGUANIDA. 

 THIS third great family of Saurians possesses the general form, long tail, 



a "^ ^ ree anc * une< l ua l toes of the Lacertians ; their eye, 

 ear, &c., are also similar, but their tongue is fleshy, 

 thick, non-extensible, and only emarginated at the tip. 

 They may be divided into two sections ; in the first, 



or that of the AGAMIANS, there are no palatine teeth. 



In this section we place the following genera, 



STELLIO, Cuvier. 



In addition to the general characters of the family of the Iguanida, the tail 

 is encircled by rings composed of large and'frequently spiny scales. It is 

 divided by naturalists into various subgenera. 



