CEESTED SNAKE. 377 



remarkable for the smoothness of their contour, 

 many such are familiar to us in the Saurian Order. 

 The inflatable hood on the occiput of Basiliscus, the 

 serrated crest of Iguana, Cyclura, and Anolis, might 

 present analogies to the coronal appendage of this 

 mountain reptile of the Antilles ; while the dewlap of 

 Iguana and Draco, the protrusile bright-hued goitre 

 of Anolis, Dactyloa, and their allies, and especially 

 the cheek-frills of Chlamydosaurus, would afford some 

 precedent for the lateral " wattles" with which it 

 is said to be furnished. 



So great was my curiosity to obtain all the inform- 

 ation possible about this creature, that, some time 

 before I left the island, I published in one of the 

 periodicals an appeal to the well-wishers of science, 

 intimating ray desire to possess this interesting rep- 

 tile in particular. I heard, however, nothing further 

 on the subject at that time. 



But since my return to England, my kind scien- 

 tific correspondent, Mr. Hill, again alludes to this 

 matter in the following words : — " Mr. Jasper Car- 

 gill informs me, that when visiting Skibo in St. 

 George's, an estate of his father's, in descending the 

 mountain-road, his attention was drawn to a snake 

 of a dark hue, that erected itself from amid some 

 fragments of limestone-rock that lay about. It was 

 about four feet long, and unusually thick-bodied. 

 His surprise was greatly increased on perceiving that 

 it was crested, and that from the side of the cheeks 

 depended some red-coloured flaps, like gills or wat- 

 tles. After gazing at him intently some time, with 

 its head well erect, it drew itself in, and disappeared 



