1 40 LIZARDS. 



of as much as a yard and a half, two-thirds of which are occupied by the tail. The 

 general colour is green or greenish, becoming lighter on the under-parts : but the 

 upper surface may be either uniform, or variegated with darker brownish bands, 

 the flanks usually having light-edged vertical dark bars, while the tail has more 

 or less distinct dark rings. There is frequently a whitish band in front of the 

 arm, and some of the large tubercular scales on the sides of the throat and neck 

 are often light-coloured. 



Both species of iguanas, of which there are several varieties, are essentially 

 arboreal lizards, generally frequenting those regions of the forests where the trees 

 overhang the water. Here they move with great agility, climbing or springing 

 from bough to bough, while the harmony of their coloration to their surroundings 

 renders them well-nigh invisible. Towards evening they not unfrequently descend 

 to the ground to feed; but, when frightened, immediately rush to the topmost 

 boughs of the trees, or plunge headlong into deep water. In the latter element 

 they are, indeed, perfectly at home, and swim strongly and swiftly, with their limbs 

 closely applied to their bodies, and impelled by their powerful tails. They are 

 likewise expert divers, frequently remaining for a considerable time below the 

 surface; their activity in the water being such that they are able to avoid all 

 enemies save crocodiles and caimans. Their chief food consists of leaves, flowers 

 and berries, although they will also eat insects; the numbers of small worms 

 sometimes found in their stomachs having probably been swallowed accidentally. 

 Generally seeking to escape at once from human beings, iguanas when unable to 

 flee show fight, erecting their heads and assuming a fierce aspect, while at close 

 quarters they bite savagely and administer severe blows with their powerful tails. 

 The female deposits from eight to seventeen eggs in a hole dug in sandy soil, but 

 as several individuals will not unfrequently lay together, as many as ten dozen 

 eggs may be found in a single nest. In spite of their somewhat repulsive appear- 

 ance, iguanas are hunted for the sake of their flesh, which is white in colour and 

 delicate in flavour, and is said to resemble the breast of a chicken. The eggs also, 

 which consist almost entirely of yolk, are highly esteemed as articles of diet. 

 Iguanas are generally captured by means of nooses, which are thrown over their 

 heads as they repose on the branches. The much smaller horned iguana (Meto- 

 poceros cornutus), of San Domingo, constitutes a separate genus, distinguished by 

 the presence of an inflatable pouch on the throat. 



Ring-Tailed The West-Indian ring-tailed iguana (Cyclura carinata) is selected 



iguana. ^ o represent a group of genera distinguished from the foregoing by 

 the crowns of the cheek-teeth being three-cusped or simply conical. While four 

 of these genera among which is the Fijian iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus) 

 are characterised by the shortness of the row of pores on the thigh, the present 

 species is one of those in which they form a long series ; and it is further char- 

 acterised by the presence of a serrated crest down the back and tail, and also 

 of a pouch and slight transverse fold on the throat. The head is large, swollen 

 below the ears, and furnished with enlarged scales on the snout ; while the body 

 and tail are compressed, the body being covered with small scales. The species 

 derives its name from the rings of keeled scales which form regular segments on 

 the sides of the tail ; each segment being composed of from three to five series of 



