CLASS III. REPTILIA; ORDEK 3. SAURIA. 



381 





THE COMMON CHAMELEON OF EUKUPE. 



togetlier by skin, tliat eacli foot may be described as forming a hand composed of a single finger 

 and thumb. By m6ans of these grasping organs, aided by their prehensile tails, the chameleons 

 climb about upon shrubs and trees in search of the insects which constitute their sole nourish- 

 ment, but they exhibit none of that agility which renders many of the other small lizards such 

 interesting objects. All their motions, in fact, are very slow, and give the spectator the idea of 

 the most painful caution ; they are very sluggish, and sit for a long time motionless upon a 

 branch, only occasionally giving a scarcely perceptible sign of life, by moving one of the eyes, 

 each of these standing out and being capable of independent motion. The eyes, one often look- 

 ing one way and the other in a different direction, have a most extraordinary appearance. 



At fii'st sight it would appear that a sluggish creature like this would have but little chance 

 of capturing a sufficient number of flies and other insects, the active denizens of the air, which 

 constitute its only diet, to satisfy the necessities of its appetite ; but on examination we find 

 that the structure of the tongue of the chameleon is admirably adapted to assist in procuring 

 food. This tongue is composed of a hollow tube, capable of extending itself with the rapidity 

 of lightning to an enonnous comparative length ; it is terminated by a fleshy knob, which has a 

 cup-like cavity in its anterior surface, and this is always imbued with a viscid secretion. When 

 the chameleon has marked an insect for its prey, it rolls about its strange looking eyeballs, and 

 immediately darts the tongue at it with the most astonishing rapidity, and rarely misses its aim, 

 although the tongue is often protruded to more than twice the length of the whole body of the 

 creature. The fly, or other insect, is of course drawn back with the tongue into the mouth. The 

 difficulty of observing processes which are effected so instantaneously, coupled with the fact that 

 the chameleon can support a very prolonged abstinence without injury, led the ancients to the 

 opinion that this animal was nourished by air alone ; and this, which has frequently furnished 

 the poet with similes, is still, to a certain extent, a matter of popular belief. 



Another curious subject connected with the chameleon, and which has also been much exag- 

 gerated, is its power of changing its color. The variation in this respect appears to be that the 

 animal, under certain circumstances, passes gradually from its natural pale gray color through 

 pale green to yellow and dingy red ; and if the exciting cause of the change be continued, it 

 will finally become dusky violet, or nearly black. The cause of this phenomenon is described as 

 follows : beneath the transparent epidermis there is a great quantity of minute, soft granules, 



