300 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



capture, and can be secured only by a combination of in- 

 genuity and quickness. 



The Skinks (Scincid^) are a widely spread group of 

 comparatively low forms, some of which reach a length of 

 two feet. The Two-lined Skink (Eumeces qiiinqueline- 

 atus) is found sparingly in Massachusetts, but is more 

 abundant in the southern states. Adult specimens are 

 brown, with reddish heads, younger individuals being black 

 with yellow stripes. This lizard is strong and active, but 

 many of the skinks are heavy in body, and appear to be 

 furnished with legs much too weak to support them. 



Curious little creatures are the Geckos, of which there 

 are a great many species, of very wide distribution. The 

 toes of these lizards are provided with sucking disks, anal- 

 ogous to those of the American Chameleon, by means of 

 which they are able to run at high speed over perpendicular 

 surfaces. They are nocturnal in habit, hiding in the daytime 

 and coming forth at the approach of evening to feed on 

 insects. When peeling bark from dead trees in the tropics, 

 in search of insects, the writer has often happened on 

 Geckos, safely hidden from the light. These lizards discard 

 their tails at the slightest alarm, and it is not easy to secure 

 perfect specimens. In captivity they should be fed on live 

 insects. 



The Horned "Toads," or, more properly. Horned 

 Lizards (Phrynosoma) , probably are the most weird-look- 

 ing of all the lizards. The short, squat, sandy-colored body 

 simply bristles with a mass of strong spines, of varying 

 length, which protrude from the most unexpected places, 

 and it is not surprising that the harmless little creature is 

 credited with all sorts of dreadful possibilities. More than 

 a dozen species are known, distributed in the southwestern 

 United States and Mexico. In captivity the Horned Toad 

 must be kept warm. Its box should be well sanded, and 



