106 THE STORY OF REPTILE LIFE. 



Geckos, are arboreal. In this case, however, 

 there is no possibility of mistaking any member 

 of the genus Anolis for a Gecko, for though the 

 feet have come to acquire a similar form, the rest 

 of the body is unmistakably lizard-like. 



The second case of convergent evolution, that 

 of an arboreal lizard, Lyriocephalus scutatus, which 

 represents a genus in itself, is a much more 

 striking instance. The animal in question has 

 come to bear a remarkably strong resemblance 

 to a Chamseleon. The likeness, however, is con- 

 fined to the general shape of the body, the feet 

 being lizard-like and not in the least resembling 

 the peculiarly modified feet of the Chamseleon. 



CHAPTER V. 



SNAKES. 



FROM the point of view of evolution the Snakes 

 are an extremely interesting group. Their near 

 relationship to the lizards we have already re- 

 ferred to ; indeed the differences between the 

 two groups are comparatively slight, consisting 

 chiefly in the structural modification of the jaws, 

 characters which are intimately connected with 

 the peculiar habits of feeding which characterise 

 the snake-tribe. 



The invariable absence of limbs in the Snakes 

 constitutes one of the most obvious and striking 

 features which these creatures possess, and it is 

 this character alone by which they are popularly 



