Crested Amblyrhymchus.- 



-REPTILES.- 



-Basilisk. 



27 



no unimportant weapon. The dentelated upper edge, 

 drawn rapidly over the body and hmbs of an enemy, 

 cuts like a saw. The twisted attitude wliich it assumes 

 when approached, is converted into a quick turn, in 

 which movement the tail is nimbly struck by an over- 

 blow from one side to another, and then jerked round." 

 The negroes informed Mr. Hill, that dogs in attacking 

 these reptiles frequently received desjierate punisli- 

 ment, from the gashes and lacerations that were made 

 in the thick muscles of their legs by the rapid flinging 

 round of the animal in defending itself. The sudden 

 jerk with which it threw back its tail was said by them 

 to be sufficient to rasp the very flesh off the bone. 



The Galapagos Islands abound in two species of 

 lizards of the Iguana family, which appear to be exclu- 

 sively confined to that archipelago, and have been 

 described at considerable length by Mr. Darwin in his 

 "Journal of a Naturalist" during the voyage of the 

 Adventure and Bcaijle. One is aquatic in its habits, 

 the other terrestrial. 



THE CRESTED AMBLYEHYNCHUS {Amhhjrhynchus 

 or Oreocephalus cristatus), the aquatic species, is 

 extremely common on all the islands throughout the 

 group, living exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, 

 and never being found ten yards in-shore. It is 

 a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, 

 slupid and sluggish in its movements, and growing to 

 the length of three and even four feet. When in the 

 water, to which it often takes, being sometimes seen 

 several hundred yards from the shore, it swims with 

 perfect ease and quickness by a serpentine movement 

 of its body and flattened tail, the legs being motionless 

 and closely collapsed on its sides. The creature seems 

 very tenacious of life. A seaman on board, says Mr. 

 Darwin, " sank one with a heavy weight attached to 

 it, thinking thus to kill it directly ; but when, an hour 

 afterwards, he drew up the line, the lizard was quite 

 active." The food of this animal consists e.xclusively 

 of sea weed. It does not appear to have any notion of 

 biting ; but when much frightened, it squirts a drop of 

 fluid from each nostril. It is mentioned as a curious 

 fact in this creature's habits, by Mr. Darwin, that 

 though it is decidedly aquatic, yet when frightened, it 

 cannot be made to enter the water. If driven down to 

 a point overhanging the sea, it will rather allow itself 

 to be laid hold of than take to the water ; and if taken 

 up and thrown into the sea, it will immediately return 

 in a direct line to the shore, crawl up the roclis, and 

 shuffle away as fast as possible. " Perhaps," says this 

 observer, '■ this singular piece of apparent stupidity may 

 be accounted for by tlie circumstance, that this reptile 

 has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it 

 must often fall a prey to the numerous sharks. Hence 

 probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct that 

 the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emer- 

 gency may be, it there takes refuge." 



THE SUB-CRESTED AMBLYEHYNCHDS {Amhbj- 

 rhyiiclius or Trachijcepludus subcrislalus),tlie terrestrial 

 species, is confined to the central parts of the archi- 

 pelago, and is a little smaller than its aquatic brother. 

 As described by Jlr. Darwin, these lizards are ugly 

 animals, of a yellowish-orange colour beneath and of 

 a brownish-red above, and have a peculiarly stupid 



look. They are exceedingly numerous, and live in 

 burrows which they excavate for themselves in the 

 dry soil. Mr. Darwin tells us in an amusing manner 

 that he watched one of them forming its burrow, and 

 looked on till half its body was buried. " I then 

 walked up and pulled it by the tail ; at this it waa 

 greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see what 

 was the matter, and then stared me in the face, as 

 much as to say — "What made you pull my tail?" 

 They are perfectly harmless, but are not timorous. 

 When encountered by any one, they curl their tails, 

 and raising themselves on their front legs, nod their 

 heads vertically with a quick movement, and try to 

 look very fierce. If the observer, however, only stamp 

 his foot on the ground, down go their tails, and off' they 

 shuffle as quick as they can. When cooked, these 

 animals yield a white meat, which by many people 

 is much relished. This species is herbivorous also, and 

 is very fond of the cacti which grow on these islands. 



Under the once dreaded name of " B.\silisk," we 

 have another species belonging to the group of perch- 

 ing Iguanas. Tlie Basilisk of the ancients and of 

 romantic fable was an animal generally referred to the 

 serpents, but usually represented with eight feet and a 

 crown upon its head. It was said to infest the deserts 

 of Africa, and that no other animal dared to dwell in 

 its neighbourhood, of which it retained the sole and 

 undisputed dominion. It was said also to possess the 

 power of striking its victim dead by a single glance. 

 Lucan, in his celebrated poem of Phaisalia, thus men- 

 tions it — 



" But fiercely hissing through the poisoned air, 

 The basilisk exerts his deathful glare ; 

 At distance bids each vulgar pest remain, 

 Aud reigns sole monarch of his desert plain." 



Seba in his great work, " Le tresor de la Nature," 

 figures a species of lizard, with its head surmounted by 

 projecting lines, and its back furnished with a broad 

 vertical crest extending over the tail. This creature 

 he calls the Basilisk or dragon of America, and speaks 

 of it as a flying amphibious animal. The reptile from 

 which his figure and description were taken, formed 

 part of the collection ceded by Holland to France, and 

 is now in that of the Museum of Natural History in the 

 Garden of Plants at Paris. Of tliis species Laurenti 

 formed the genus Basiliscus, which has been adopted 

 by all succeeding writers on Reptiles, and is readily 

 distinguished from its congeners. 



THE HOODED OR MITRED BASILISK {Basiliscus 

 mitnitus or Americaiius) is the only species. The 

 head of this animal is of an elongate shape, produced 

 backwards, and furnished with a compressed, vertical, 

 triangular crest of skin. The throat has a small 

 pouch and a well marked cross fold of skin. The 

 back and tail are furnished with a high compressed 

 crest, which is much more distinct in the rcales than 

 in the females, and is supported by bony rays. The 

 tail is long and compressed, and the outer hindiT 

 toes are webbed at their base. When full grown, 

 the Basilisk measures upwards of two feet in length, 

 of which the tail usurps more than the half. Its 

 colour is of a yellowish-brown, passing into whitish 

 on the under parts | and a longitudinal stripe of while. 



