502 M.F.Sumichrast on the Habits of some Mexican Reptiles. 
with their lower surface. The tail, of the ground-colour, is 
traversed by ten or twelve broad and indistinctly limited blackish- 
brown rings. The raised and compressed scales which form the 
dorsal crest are alternately grey and black, in accordance with 
the arrangement of the lateral bands which terminate at them. 
The dimensions of the body are very different according to 
the age of the individuals. That from which the preceding de- 
scription was taken was an adult, and gave the following mea- 
surements :—Total length 30 inches (m. 0°75) ; from the anus 
to the chin 18°8 inches (0°27); from the rostral to the first 
scales of the dorsal crest 2°8 inches (0°07). I should add that 
these dimensions are those of a Cyclura of middle size, and that 
they very often exceed the numbers above given. 
The maxillary teeth of the Cyclura are three-lobed at their 
apex, and the lateral margins are destitute of that fine denticu- 
lation which is observed in those of the true Iguanas. By 
means of this peculiarity they are rendered capable of triturating 
harder substances; and, in fact, berries with hard kernels, and 
even insects, are found in the stomach of the Cyclura. I have 
also been assured that, in the vicinity of inhabited places, these 
reptiles do not disdain to feed upon human excrements. 
The Jguane are more inhabitants of the neighbourhood of 
water than the Cyclure, as indeed is proved by the simple com- 
parison of the organs of these two genera of Saurians. The tail 
of the Cyclura, which is rounded and covered with spines, would 
embarrass rather than assist them in the act of swimming, for 
which, on the contrary, that of the Iguane, which is long, 
slender, ‘and flattened laterally, is admirably adapted. From 
this difference it results that, whilst the Jguane invariably dwell 
near water, the Cyclure can depart far from it, without the con- 
ditions of their existence being thereby altered. 
In traversing the low forests which extend as far as the eye 
can see on the vast plains of Western Mexico, glades are met 
with from time to time in which the bare and cracked soil indi- 
cates that these bottoms have been covered with water in the 
rainy season. A few stunted trees, the feet of which still bear 
the traces of the mud which has bathed them, form the sole 
vegetation of these wild spots. It is here that, during the season 
of Lent, the Indians seek the Cyclure, the flesh of which is 
regarded by them as a royal dish. Arrived at the open glade, 
they carefully examine all the holes and clefts of the trunks; 
and it is rarely that their piercing sight fails speedily to dis- 
cover some of the poor animals, the objects of their avidity, 
buried in these cavities. The great difficulty, however, consists 
in getting the animal to issue from its prison, in which it is 
literally incrusted. When the trunk is not too thick, a few 
Pe a es 
