THE CHEIROTES, OR HAND-EARED LIZARD. 35 



In speaking of this reptile, Stedman has the following remarks : " This is the snake 

 which, supposed blind, and vulgarly said to be fed by the large ants, is in this country 

 honored with the name of King of the Emmets. The flesh of the Amphisbaena, dried 

 and reduced to a fine powder, is confidently administered as a sovereign and infallible 

 remedy in all cases of dislocation and broken bones, it being very naturally inferred 

 that an animal which has the power of healing an entire amputation in its own case, 

 should at least be able to cure a simple fracture in the case of another." 



This process of reasoning alludes to a curious popular error respecting the Amphis- 

 bana. The people of the countries which it inhabits believe that if one of these reptiles 

 is cut in two, each half, being furnished with a separate head, hastens to its fellow part, 

 and neatly fitting the severed surfaces, repairs the breach and is soon restored to its 

 original condition. 



It is rather a dull and sluggish animal when exposed to light, crawling slowly upon the 

 ground, twisting itself lazily about, and opening its mouth in a purposeless kind of 

 fashion without any definite intention of biting or escaping. 



The color of the Sooty Amphisbaena is rather variable, but consists of black and 

 white. Its length is about three feet. There are several species of this genus, in the 



SOOTY AMPHISB/eNA.-A/np/i/s6na Americana. 



British Museum, one of which, the White Amphisbaena (Amphisbcena alba) is of a white 

 color, and remarkable for a little pellucid dot in the front edge of each scale. 



CLOSELY allied to this creature is another reptile, very appropriately called the 

 CHEIROTES, or HAND-EARED LIZARD (Cheirotes lumbricbides}. This is a native of Brazil, 

 and as far as is known, is of subterranean habits, like the amphisbaena. 



The Cheirotes is the only example of all the amphisbaena that possesses 

 external limbs, and even in this instance, they are small and but slightly developed. 

 There are no hind legs, but the two fore legs are set just behind the head; nearly 

 in the place where the ears might be expected to be seen. They are very short, rather 

 flat and strong, and are terminated with five toes, four of which are armed with a toler- 

 ably strong claw. The fifth toe is very small and without a claw. 



The head of this creature is no larger than the body, the teeth are conical, moder- 

 ately strong and slightly curved backwards, the muzzle is arched, the tongue horny at the 

 tip, the tail is short, and there is a row of small pores on the under side of the abdomen. 

 Its length is about eight or ten inches, and its color is yellow, spotted with brown 

 above, and whitish below. This species is the sole representative of its family. The 



