H E R P E T O L O G Y. 



; ik 



Miculau. 



kgi . 



I, _;:.. -- 

 Ui. 





I ...:*'::-. 



Fn 



Argtita. 



(juinque- 



Siriata, 



Le L. velocr, Dauil. iii. p. 302. 

 Lacerta vrlux, Liun. a (imelin. p. 1072. 



SECT. IV. Spoiled Lizards. 



22. /,. Ifpi'ta. Languetloc L. Body greenish blue 

 above, with nine or ten transverse black bands, spotted 

 with sniiill round white eyes ; belly whitish; tail scarce- 

 Iv lunger than the b<Kly. 



" 7,r I., gcnlil tin Ijinguedoc, Daud. iii. p. 204. pi. 

 sxx vii. fig. 1. 



23. /.. mm-itlala. Spotted L. Blackish blue above, 

 with a tew round spots of a pale violet; belly whitish; 

 tail once and a half as long again as the body. 



Le L. tacfiftcd'Efpagiic, Daud. iii. p. 208. pl.xxxvii. 

 fig. 2. 



SECT. V. Grey Lizards. 



24. L. agilis. Agile L. Ash coloured above, whi- 

 tish below ; back marked with a longitudinal dotted 

 brown line, and a subreticulated brown longitudinal 

 stroke, edged with paler colour on each side of the body. 



Le L. grit des murailles, Daud. iii. p. 21 1. pi. xxxviii. 

 fig. 1. 



25. L. brongniardi. Brongniardian L. Bluish grey, 

 irregularly marbled on the back with black spots, and 

 with three longitudinal lines of black spots and dots on 

 each side. 



/.c L. brotigniardien, Daud. iii. p. 221. 



'JG. L. Sertcea. Silky L. Brownish above, shaded 

 u ith glossy green and blue ; pale green below ; tail 

 twice as long as the body, and a little streaked. 



Le L. soyeux, Daud. iii. p. 224. 



27. L. laureiilii. Laurentian L. Ash brown above, 

 everywhere spotted, with the spots upon the back ob- 

 scure, those on the sides disposed in a triple longitudi- 

 nal row. 



Le L. de Laurenli, Daud. iii. p. 227. 



28. L. arenicola. Sand L. Brownish grey, paler 

 without spots below, with a row of brown spots upon 

 the back, and a double series of brown eyes dotted with 

 white, and another single row of white dots on each 

 side. 



Le L. arcnicole, Daud. iii. p. 230. pi. xxxviii. fig. 2. 

 29- L.fusca. Brown L. Dark brown, with a lon- 

 gitudinal row of obscure spots on each side ; belly paler. 

 Le L. Itrtm, Daud. iii. p. 237. 



30. L. argulo. Sharp snouted L. Tail short and 

 verticillated, thick at the base, and very sharp at the 

 tip ; a remarkable double plate under the neck ; gene- 

 ral colour sea green, with numerous transverse black 

 bands ; belly white. 



Le L. a museau poiniite, Daud. iii. p. 240. 

 Lacerta argtila, Linn, a Gmel. p. 1072. 



SECT. VI. Dracmoid Lizards. 



Having two scaly folds under the neck, and a cylin- 

 drical tail verticillated at its proximal, and reticulated 

 at its distal, half. 



31. L. quinqnelineata. Five-streaked L. Bluish, 

 with five longitudinal black lines upon the back, and 

 white spots on each side. 



Le L. a cinq rates, Daud. iii. p. 243. 



SKCT. VI. Striated Lizard*. 



32. L. ttriata. Striated L. Grey, bluish at the sides, 



Saurian 

 Reptiles. 



with two longitudinal brown lines ; scales of the back 

 and belly carinated, and forming longitudinal streaks. 



Le L. strie, Daud. iii. p. 247. 



A considerable degree of uncertainty and ambiguity 

 prevails among writers, respecting the animals called 

 Lizards. It', with Linnaeus and his followers, we com- 

 prehend under this name not only the species just enu- 

 merated, but the Tupinambes, the Stellios, the Basilisks, 

 the Guanas, the Geckos, the Chameleons, the Scinks, and 

 the other tribes of the Saurian order, we shall find it com- 

 prehend above 1 50 species ; and even curtailed as it is 

 by the modern French naturalists, we see that it is 

 pretty numerous. As it is impossible for us, within the 

 circumscribed limits of an article like the present, to 

 describe even all the most important species, we shall 

 here confine ourselves entirely to a general account of 

 those which are found in the British islands. 



Mr Pennant, in the 3d vol. of his British Zoology, has 

 described only three species of lizard as belonging to 

 Britain, viz. the Scaly lizard, (a variety of Lacerta agi- 

 lis, Linn.) the Warty lizard, (Lacerta palnstris, Linn.) 

 and the Brown lizard, (Lacerta vu/garis, Linn.) He 

 indeed mentions two more, the Little brown lizard, and 

 the Snake-shaped lizard, from Ray, but gives nothing 

 on these species from his own observation. 



Mr Revett Sheppard, in a paper published in the 7th 

 vol. of the Linnean Transactions, has particularised six 

 species as being indigenous in this country, viz. Lacer- 

 ta agilis, scaly or swift lizard ; L. aidura, swelled-tailed 

 L. ; L.'anguijbrmis, viperine L. ; L. vulgaris, brown L. ; 

 L. palustris, warty lizard ; and L. macula/a, spotted L. 

 Of these he seems to consider the 2d, 6th, and per- 

 haps the 3d, as new species. His descriptions of these 

 species are sufficiently minute, but he adds nothing re- 

 specting their habitats or manner of life. 



The species most common in this country are the 

 Warty lizard, or water newt, and the Brown lizard, or 

 common land newt ; and of these the former has been 

 most minutely examined. The warty lizard is extreme- 

 ly common in ponds and other stagnant waters. The 

 young lizards continue for some time in an imperfect 

 or larva state, and the perfect animals annually change 

 their skin. * 



GENUS XIII. TAKVDROMUS. TAKYDROME. 



THIS genus has been formed by Daudin for the pur- TAKY- 

 pose of including two species, which differ from the li- BBOME 

 zards, properly so called, in having a very slender bo- Genus - 

 dy, which, as well as the extremely long tail, is verti- 

 cillated, or formed of scaly carinated rings. They 

 have also two small vesicles at the base of each thigh, 

 a long extensile forked tongue, and a remarkable con- 

 traction between the head and body. There are two 

 species, viz. 



Species 1. Talcydrowus quadrilineatus. Four-streak- Quadrili- 

 ed Takydrome. Brown above, whitish below, with two neatus. 

 longitudinal white lines on each side. 



Le Takydrome brim a qitalre rates, Daud. iii. p. 252. 



2. T. sexlineattts. Six-streaked T. Bright shining Sexlineatus. 

 blue, with three longitudinal black lines on each side 

 of the body. See Plate CCXCVII. Fig. 15. 



Le T. nacre a six rates, Daud. iii. p. 256. pi. xxxix, 



These animals inhabit dry places, and, as their ge- 

 neric name imports, run with great swiftness. 



We hare laid (p. 31.) that the lizards are innocent reptiles, a position now generally maintained by modern naturalists. We arc, 

 however, united, by an intelligent friend, a clergyman, tliat when a boy, he bod one of bis fingers so much affected, in consequenee of 

 handling * brown lizard, u to be very neatly in a jtatc of gangrene. 



