63 



THE ACONTIAD^E. 



The ancient Egyptians seem to have held this little reptile in religious veneration, as 

 there are several known instances where it has been honored with the ceremony of 

 embalming, and placed in the sacred tombs, together with other creatures formerly 

 reverenced as types of divinity. 



The Sphaenops has four legs, moderately well shaped, but rather weakly formed, and 

 the feet are divided into four toes, each of which is furnished at the extremity with a 

 claw. The head is wedge-shaped, rounded in front, the palate is without teeth, and the 

 lower eyelid is transparent. The general color of the Sphaenops is pale brown, with a 

 longitudinal series of black dots, and a black streak on each side of the muzzle. 



OUR last example of this family is the TILIGUGU (Gongylus ocdldtus), or EYED TILI- 

 QUA, another of the numerous reptiles classed under the common title of Mabouya by 

 the ignorant and fearful. 



It inhabits the countries bordering the Mediterranean, and is found in Sardinia, Malta, 

 Egypt, and even in Teneriffe. Like the preceding species, it is quick and active in its 



ACONTIAS. Acoatla* mclcagri*- 



movements, and when seized does not attempt to bite. It is a lover of dry and elevated 

 spots, where the sand is loose, and there are plenty of stones under which it may hide 

 itself. The food of this reptile consists of insects. Beside the names which have already 

 been mentioned, it is also called LACEPEDE'S GALLIWASP and the OCELLATED SKINK. 

 In coloring it is one of the most variable of reptiles, but the general tints are gray with 

 a bronze gloss, diversified by a number of white spots edged with black. It has four 

 legs, the toes are five on each foot, the head is conical, with a rounded muzzle, and the 

 lower eyelid has a transparent disc. 



The ACONTIAD^E form the next family, which contains three genera. The head is 

 small, the upper eyelid is either very small or altogether absent, the body is cylindrical, 

 and the limbs, when present, are very weak and small. In two of the genera, Nessia and 

 Evesia, there are four limbs, in the former with three toes, and in the latter with the feet 

 small, imperfect, and not divided into toes. The upper eyelid is distinct though small. 



