54 LIZARDS 



eggs with great avidity. In their habits they are partly 

 tree-climbing and partly terrestrial. By reason of their saw- 

 toothed backs they are so odd and showy they always attract 

 attention. Were it necessary to select but one species to 

 represent all the species of Lizards, that one should be the 

 COMMON IGUANA* of the West Indies, Central and South 

 America. It is from 4 to 5 feet in length, in color it is an 

 irregular mixture of green, black and yellow, and it may be 

 recognized at a glance by the row of long, slender, fringe- 

 like scales which rise along the centre of its back. One good 

 look at its extremely long and slender toes is enough to sug- 

 gest the idea that it is a climbing animal. It makes its home 

 in thick tree-tops, and feeds chiefly upon fruit and soft vege- 

 tation. I can testify that its flesh is palatable food, for in 

 the hungry Orinoco country we ate it more than once. 



Iguanas generally possess one good trait w r hich is suffi- 

 cient to forever endear them to zoological garden people. 

 They are good-tempered animals, and never fight, no matter 

 how many are placed in one cage, nor how many species of 

 Iguanas are represented. Owing to the ease with which 

 these creatures are captured, their price in New York is 

 about $2 each. 



THE MARINE IGUANA, 2 or SEA-LIZARD, of the Galapagos 

 Islands, is a creature of gregarious habits, which means the 

 habit of flocking or assembling together in companies of 

 noteworthy size. So far as we know, this is the only lizard 

 which elects to assemble in companies of several hundred 

 individuals. When Mr. R. J. Beck visited Narborough Is- 



1 1-guan'a tu-ber-cu-la'ta. 2 Am-bly-rhyn'chus cris-ta'tus. 



