THE MARINE OREOCEPHALK 



79 



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 mo- 

 tionless 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 admi- 

 rably 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 oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the 

 sun with outstretched legs." 



MARINE OREOCEPHALE.-Oreocepfta/us crlstatus. 



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. 



