498 M.F.Sumichrast on the Habits of some Mexican Reptiles, 
family Varanide, inhabits exclusively the hot zone which extends 
from the western slope of the Cordilleras to the shores of the 
Pacific: it has never been met with, to my knowledge, on the 
side of the Gulf of Mexico. Its conditions of existence confine 
it to hot and dry localities, such as the districts of Jamiltepec, 
Juchitan, and Tehuantepec. 
The observation of the habits of the Heloderma is the more 
difficult, as this animal, from the sedentary mode of life imposed 
upon it by its semi-nocturnal habits, eludes continuous inyesti- 
gation. Moreover the extreme terror which it inspires in the 
natives has contributed not a little to leave its history in obscu- 
rity. The gait of this reptile is exceedingly slow and elumsy, 
which is explained by the shortness and relative thickness of its 
limbs, as also by the want of flexibility in the articulations. In 
very old individuals, or in the females before oviposition, the 
belly acquires a great lateral development, and drags upon the 
ground—a deformity which adds still further to the repulsive 
aspect of this curious creature, 
It is usually in holes of greater or less depth, dug at the roots 
of trees or under a mass of vegetable débris, that the Heloderma 
takes up its abode. Here it remains, during the greater part of 
the day, rolled up in a state of almost complete immobility. It 
rarely issues from this state of torpor, except early in the morn- 
ing, before day, or in the evening, at the times when the terri- 
colous insects are creeping upon the pathways in the woods. 
As might be expected from the constraint and slowness of its 
movements, the Heloderma can only attack an easy prey. Its 
food consists essentially of apterous insects, earth-worms, Myria- 
pods, and small species of Batrachia, and sometimes even of 
putrefying animal matters. It is fond of the eggs of Iguanas ; 
and it is not unusual to meet with it roaming about near the 
holes dug in the sand, in which these eggs have been left to the 
action of the rays of the sun. 
The Heloderma is a terrestrial animal in the full acceptation 
of the term, and its organization is in intimate relation with its 
mode of life. Its round and heavy tail could not in any way 
serve it as an instrument of natation, and its short, thick toes 
could not enable it to climb trees. Hence it is not in the im- 
mediate vicinity of rivers or in the depths of the thick forests 
that this reptile must be sought, but rather im dry spots on 
the margins of the woods, or in old clearings, the soil of which 
is covered with vegetable débris, with rotten trunks and grasses. 
Without having any positive evidence upon this point, I am 
much inclined to think that this Saurian remains for a longer or 
shorter time in a sort of estival lethargy, analogous to that which 
has been observed in the Alligators in some districts of America. 
aa on ae ee, ee 
DS GE ROSA A tierce 
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