146 



LIZARDS. 



Scheitopusiks. 



The typical representative of this genus of snake-like lizards 

 saurus a p us ) was nrs t discovered by Pallas in the wooded 

 valleys of the steppes bordering the Volga, where it is known, in common with 

 true snakes, by the name of scheltopusik, a term which may be conveniently 

 applied to all the members. The species was subsequently discovered in other 

 parts of Russia, as well as in Hungary, Istria, Dalmatia, Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, 

 Persia, Transcaucasia, Transylvania, and Turkestan, while it is replaced in Morocco 

 by a more brilliantly coloured variety. Four other species are also known, which 

 extend the range of the genus to North-Eastern India, Burma, and North America. 

 Agreeing with the American four-limbed genus Gerrhonotus in the presence of a 

 fold along the sides of the body, and the more or less conical teeth, the scheltopusiks 

 are distinguished by their moderately elongated snake-like form, and the absence 

 of functional limbs ; the European species alone having the hinder-pair represented 



by minute rudiments on the 

 sides of the vent. These crea- 

 tures are covered with squared 

 ^ scales, arranged in straight 

 longitudinal and transverse 

 series; and they are furnished 

 with teeth on the pterygoids, 

 and in certain cases on some 

 of the other bones of the palate. 

 The European species, which, in 

 addition to rudiments of hind- 

 limbs, is distinguished by an 

 aperture to the ear, attains a 

 length of rather more than a 

 yard, of which about two-thirds 

 are occupied by the tail. The 

 arrangement of the shields on 

 the head is very much the same as in the blind- worm ; and the general colour is 

 brown, becoming lighter on the lower surface. The young are, however, olive- 

 grey, with wavy dark brown crossbands on the back, and bars on the sides of the 

 head. Dwelling among the dense underwood of thickly - wooded valleys, the 

 scheltopusik harmonises so closely in colour with its surroundings, that it can 

 only with difficulty be detected, as it glides away among the dead leaves and 

 sticks at the approach of a footstep. Although as free from venom as ordinary 

 lizards, it is frequently mistaken for a snake, and then meets the fate which so 

 often, under similar circumstances, befalls the blind- worm. Preying largely upon 

 mice 'and voles, and not even hesitating to attack and kill the deadly viper, the 

 scheltopusik is, however, a fierce and active creature, gliding swiftly and suddenly 

 upon its victims among the moss and leaves of the woods. It also subsists largely 

 upon snails ; and is further reported to eat the eggs and young of birds. Its eggs 

 are laid under thick bushes and leaves. The scheltopusik is believed to be t 

 long-lived animal, the natives of the countries it inhabits stating that its full 

 period of existence is from forty to sixty years. Fossil scheltopusiks occur in 



XT* 



COMMON SCHELTOPUSIK. 



