30 VERTEBRATA. REPTILIA. 



membrane, by which, as a parachute, it is enabled to 

 take longer leaps than usual ! It has, also, a long, 

 pointed dewlap under the throat, which can be in- 

 flated. The wings (if so they may be called) are 

 folded up during rest. The Dragons are harmless 

 little animals, inhabiting the forests of Africa and 

 the Indian Islands: they rarely descend to the 

 ground, where they crawl with difficulty ; but they 

 have been seen swimming in a river. The Green 

 Dragon (D. Firidis) is common enough in Java : it is 

 said to inflate its dewlap when it flies, that it may be 

 lighter; but its flights do not extend to a greater 

 distance than thirty paces ; the agitation of its wings 

 produces a slight noise. It is neither venomous nor 

 mischievous. The inhabitants handle it without fear 

 or danger, and it is often itself devoured by ser- 

 pents.* Shaw believes that it is in the habit of fill- 

 ing its dewlap with insects, preserving them there for 

 some hours, and afterwards feeding on them. 



Iguana^ the Iguana. 



The Iguanas are chiefly found in the Isles of the 

 East and the West Indies. They are covered with 

 small overlapping scales ; the neck is furnished with 

 a long, pendent dewlap, notched at the edge: a 

 range of erect spinous scales runs down the back ; 

 the head is covered with plates ; the teeth are pecu- 

 liar, being compressed, and triangular, the edges cut 

 into notches, like a saw. The Iguana, so common in 

 * Bontius. f A negro name. 



