278 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



appears to be that they are often associated with the Crocodiles in the same waters, and give no warn- 

 ing whatever. The NILE MONITOR, or Varanus,* grows to a length of six feet, the tail forming one 

 half. The head is rather long, and the nostrils small and rounded ; the tail is keeled on the top, and 

 compressed from side to side, and the fourth toe is the longest, and contrasts with the small fifth one. 

 The reptile has no web to its feet, crawls about watery places, and suns itself on the sand. Known to 

 the ancients as a devourer of Crocodiles' eggs, the Monitor is not restricted to the Nile, although it 

 reaches into Nubia, for it, or a closely allied species, is found in the great rivers of the West, and is 

 known also in South Africa. 



In this locality it is generally discovered on the banks of rivers or margins of lakes, and it plunges 

 in the instant it is disturbed, and if the water is deep the Monitor remains quiet there until the 

 danger is past. 



NILE MONITOR. 



THE BAND MONITOR, OR VARANUS.f 



This is an Egyptian kind which, instead of frequenting the banks of the rivers and the water, 

 lives in dry places. It is less carnivorous than the Monitor of the Nile, and its food, although con- 

 sisting of eggs to a certain extent, is moi-e insectivorous. 



Another terrestrial kind is from South Africa. When it is surprised it seeks concealment in the 

 chinks and crevices of the ground, holding on to any projections with its toes, so as to require much 

 force in withdrawing it. A single man is not sufficient for the task, even with a rope attached to 

 the hind legs by way of assistance. 



It appears to feed on frogs, Crustacea, small mammalia, and is often found near running sti-eams. 

 It is called the White-throated Monitor, j 



Amongst the Varani with nostrils, or an oblique slit placed quite, or nearly, in the middle of 

 the face between the eye, and the end of the snout, are some from India. 



The Common Indian Water Lizard sometimes attains the length of four feet, the tail being 

 longer than the body, and it is of a brownish olive colour, with more or less numerous black dots, 

 each of which occupies a scale. It is found in Bengal, Nepal, Southern India, and in Ceylon, where 

 it is called the Goana, Kelaart says that "it is found in great abundance in all the maritime 

 provinces, but rarely in the Kandian districts. The natives are partial to its flesh, and we have once 

 tasted some excellent soup made from a Goana, which tasted like hare. They live in holes and come 

 out in mid-day after their food, which consists of smaller reptiles and insects. They attack aiit-hills, 

 and at Trincomalee they used to be hunted down by dogs and sold in the market." 



The Ocellated, or the Two-banded Water Lizard, || lives in China and Siam, and it is said to 

 occur in Ceylon. Cantor says it is very numerous in hilly and marshy localities in the Malayan 



* Monitor (Varanm) niloticus. t Monitor, or Psammosaurus arenaricus. J Monitor (Varanus) albor/vtaris. 



Monitor (Varanus) dractena. \\ Hydrosaurus sa!vator=Varanus salvator=Monitor btiittatus. 



