MARINE OREOOEPHALE. Oreocephalus cristdtui 



Captain Collnett in his voyage says that they go out to sea in shoals to catch fish. With 

 respect to the object I believe he is mistaken, but the facts stated on such good authority 

 cannot be doubted. 



"When in the water, the animal swims with perfect ease and quickness by a serpentine 

 movement of its body and flattened tail, the legs during this time being perfectly motion- 

 less and closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sunk one with a heavy weight 

 attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly, but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up 

 the line, the lizard was quite active. Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted 

 for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava which everywhere form the 

 coast. In such situations, a group of six or seven of these hideous reptiles may often- 

 times be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with 

 outstretched legs." 



In this reptile the throat is not formed into a pendent pouch, but the skin is much 

 crumpled, so that the animal can dilate it at will. The whole body is covered with sharp, 

 rough, tubercular scales, and a crest of longer scales runs along the back. The teeth are 

 sharp and three-lobed, and although, when the wide mouth is opened, they present a very 

 formidable array of weapons, the creature is quite harmless, and feeds on vegetable diet, 

 seaweeds forming the chief part of its subsistence. The middle toes are united by a strong 

 web, and the claws are large. There is some difference in the aspect of the young and 

 adult, this distinction being most obvious in the head, where the scales are rather convex 

 in the young, but in the adult are enlarged into unequal and rather high tubercular 

 shields. 



