196 NATURAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



REPTILES continued. 



323. THE order of Lizards comprises a great variety 

 of animals exhibiting some of the characteristics of the 

 Crocodile tribe mingled with some which are peculiar to 

 the Serpents. They resemble the former in their long 

 body, tapering off in a tail ; but, instead of the large bony 

 plates of the Crocodiles, they have the small scales of the 

 Serpent tribe ; and, though they usually have four feet, 

 in some of them there is but one pair, and in others the 

 feet are so short, and so covered up by the skin, that the 

 animal looks entirely like a snake. There is much vari- 

 ety in the habits of this order. Some are more or less 

 aquatic ; some are terrestrial, digging holes in the ground 

 as places of retreat ; and others are wholly arboreal. 

 Their colors have a relation to their habits ; the ground 

 Lizards being brown and speckled, while the tree Lizards 

 have bright colors, green predominating. When the sun 

 wakes up the latter to activity, their quick movements 

 make the play of their brilliant colors very beautiful. 

 The principal families in this order are the following: 1. 

 The Chameleons. 2. The Geckos. 3. The Iguanas. 4. 

 The Monitors. 5. The true Lizards. 6. The Snake Liz- 

 ards. 7. The Naked-eyed Lizards. 



324. The Chameleons are distributed through the 

 warmer parts of the Old World, but are not found in the 

 New. They are distinguished from the other families 

 by very marked peculiarities. Their bodies are flattened 

 sideways, and there is a sharp ridge along the length of 

 the back. Of the five toes of each foot, two are directed 

 backward, so that the animal can grasp firmly the branch- 

 es of trees in climbing. Its tapering tail is also prehen- 

 sile, and is used in its arboreal mode of life as the Spider 



