LIZARDS 



171 



every day by taking them into 

 the garden and placing them 

 in communication with a 

 swarming ant track. By care- 

 ful observation it was found 

 that no less than from 1,000 

 to 1,500 ants were devoured 

 by each lizard at a single 

 sitting. The ant-devouring 

 proclivities of these prickly 

 little lizards can no doubt be 

 turned to very useful and 

 effective account in clearing 



ant-infested domiciles, and p*. <./ w. S^M,.K.M, F.Z.S. 



were in fact thus utilised by . AUSTRALIAN WATER-LIZARD 



the Writer On more tnan one f^ s // zar( /;, of aquatic habits, and runs on its hind legs when traversing long distances 



occasion. 



The lizards included in the Agama Family are essentially inhabitants of the Eastern 

 Hemisphere, none occurring in America. In the western continent, however, we find an 

 equally extensive but structurally distinct group which presents many singularly corresponding 

 types. This family comprises the true IGUANAS, many of them of considerable size, and a 

 numerous assemblage of smaller forms. Among those species which present a striking parallel 

 in size and aspect to the peculiarly characteristic Old World Agamas, mention may be made 

 of the little so-called HORNED TOAD, or SPINY LIZARD, of California. This species might 

 readily be taken by the uninitiated for a near relation of the Australian Moloch Lizard, or 

 Mountain-devil, last described, its flattened diminutive form and bristling spiny armature 

 seemingly justifying such a supposition. The crucial test afforded by the character of the 

 dentition, however, distinctly indicates its true position to be with the Iguanas. In the Agamas 

 the teeth are invariably developed from the apex, or summit, of the jaw. These teeth, 



moreover, are varied in character. 

 In the Iguanas, on the other hand, 

 the teeth are all more or less uni- 

 form in character, and are attached 

 to the outer sides of the jaw. 



The larger iguanas are, for the 

 most part, exclusively fruit- and 

 vegetable-feeders, and arboreal in 

 their habits. The thick forest scrubs 

 in the vicinity of streams and rivers 

 are their favourite resort. After the 

 manner of the Australian water- 

 lizards, these Iguanas are expert 

 swimmers, and delight in lying along 

 the overhanging branches, whence 

 at the slightest alarm they can pre- 

 cipitate themselves into the water 

 beneath. When swimming, the 

 fore limbs are folded back against 

 the sides, the tail only being used 

 as a means of propulsion. Sev- 

 eral of the larger Iguanas, such 

 as the common or tuberculated 



L 



Pbcto tf (f. Savi 



AUSTRALIAN WATER-LIZARD 



Showing attitude ivhen running 



