96 THE STORY OF KEPTILE LIFE. 



Lizard. This remarkable creature, as its name 

 implies, a native of the Galapagos Islands, has 

 been vividly described by Darwin in his " Voyage 

 of the Beagle." It lives, he tells us, exclusively 

 on rocky sea beaches, never venturing for more 

 than a few yards inland. Its whole sustenance 

 is obtained from the sea, its food consisting of a 

 peculiar kind of sea-weed which grows on the 

 bottom of the sea at some distance from the land. 

 Like herbivorous mammals, this lizard appears 

 to be gregarious, and to set out for its feeding 

 ground in herds of considerable numbers. When 

 swimming, the legs are pressed closely to the 

 sides of the body, progression being effected by 

 a serpentine movement of the body and tail. It 

 is noteworthy that this creature has undergone 

 comparatively little change in form, in spite of 

 its markedly aquatic habits. The most noticeable 

 modifications are an incipient web between the 

 toes, and the flattening of the tail from side to side. 

 The peculiar habits of the animal will account 

 for the fact that, although more aquatic than 

 terrestrial, yet its original terrestrial structural 

 features predominate. Darwin has shown that 

 it has an inherent dread of remaining at sea 

 longer than necessary. So much so, that it will 

 not even seek temporary safety in the sea when 

 threatened on shore. " Hence," says Darwin, 

 "it is easy to drive these lizards down to any 

 little point overhanging the sea, where they will 

 sooner allow a person to catch hold of their tails 

 than jump into the water. . . . Perhaps this 

 singular piece of apparent stupidity may be 

 accounted for by the circumstance that this 



