KANGAROO LIZARD 61 



During the first year the body is black, with bright yel- 

 low stripes, and the tail is brilliant blue. In the second the 

 tail is slaty gray, and the black of the body is less intense. 

 In the third the body becomes brownish, and the stripes are 

 indistinct. In the fourth, and thereafter, the body is brown, 

 the head vermilion and the stripes have disappeared. The 

 length of a large specimen is about 8 inches. 



All the small lizards and skinks are insect-eaters, and in 

 captivity thrive best upon meal-worms and insects generally. 

 Their quickness of movement is almost beyond belief, and 

 even with a long-handled net it is very difficult to capture 

 one alive and unhurt. 



THE RING NECKED LIZARD/ which should be called the 

 KANGAROO LIZARD, represents a group quite different from 

 the skinks, and also nearer to the iguanas. It is a creature 

 of the canyons, deserts and dry mountains of the Southwest, 

 from Texas to southeastern California, and northward into 

 Utah and Nevada. It is often found on mountains up to 

 5,000 and even 6,000 feet. (Merriam.) 



This is a plump-bodied creature, and its colors vary to an 

 extent that is apt to create confusion. It is either dark 

 green or bluish above, and the sides, back and thighs are 

 covered with light spots. The under surface is yellowish 

 white, sometimes tinged with pale green. This lizard derives 

 its name from two bands of black which stretch across the 

 shoulders between the fore legs. 



The most interesting feature about it appears never to 

 have been observed and recorded until Mr. Barnum Brown 



1 Cro-ta-phy'tus col-lar'is. 



