78 THE STORY OF REPTILE LIKE. 



genus Iguana have the edges of the teeth 

 finely serrated, in which particular they bear 

 a close resemblance to the teeth of the Giant 

 Dinosaurs, which has been named on this account 

 Iguanodons. 



In the curious Galapagos lizards, Conolophus 

 and Amblr/rhynchuS) the teeth are trilobate in 

 form, a character apparently directly connected 

 with the creature's herbivorous diet. 



When the tongue is ndt used for the capture 

 of food, it appears either to become degenerate, 

 or to become modified into an organ of touch, 

 forked at the top, very sensitive, and capable of 

 being protruded or withdrawn with great rapidity. 



With this brief survey we must pass on to 

 consider the peculiar characteristics of the in- 

 dividual groups which form the subject of the 

 chapter, and the part they play in the economy 

 of nature. 



One of the oldest groups of the Lizard tribe is 

 that represented by the Geckos. Of almost world- 

 wide distribution, and numbering nearly 300 dis- 

 tinct species, considerable differences in habitat, 

 as might have been expected, are met with. Many 

 have become peculiarly modified to enable them 

 to climb, and these are the most generally known 

 forms. Their strange shape and weird move- 

 ments have long attracted the attention of man- 

 kind, among whom they, have, in many cases, 

 engendered feelings of dread and animosity, which 

 are totally undeserved. They are believed in some 

 countries to be capable of emitting venom from 

 their toes, and poisoning whatsoever they crawl 

 over, whilst one species at least is credited with 



