I.IZAKnS.- 



-REPTILES. 



-SLENDKR-ToNfillKIl I.IZAI.IIO. 



to enter into minute details of these, nor would a dry 

 definition of them, according to their zoological charac- 

 ters, be at all interesting to the general reader. " The 

 truth is," says Mr. Griffiths, " that when we come to 

 treat in detail concerning the reptile tribes, there is an 

 abundant scantiness of that sort of information con- 

 cerning them, which would prove interesting to the 

 majority of readers. However useful and curious may 

 be the investigation of their specitio characters, it must 

 be owned to the many it is dry and repulsive. It ia 

 I'ariare to the general." We will therefore only select 

 a few of the more important or interesting. 



THE MONITORS {Monitorixla;) — Monitor, one who 

 gives warning or admonishment, from the Latin word 

 moneo, to warn or admonish ; these animals being 

 believed to give warning of the crocodile's approach — 

 form the first family we shall mention. Tlie Jlonitors 

 are the largest of all the lizard order of reptiles. Tlioir 

 body is very long, of a romided form, and without any 

 crest along the back. Their tail, in most of the 

 species, is slightly flattened on the sides, and at least 

 twice the length of the body. Their feet are strong; 

 the toes are five in number, very long, but of unequal 

 size, and terminate in strong hooked claws. The skin 

 on the head, back, and flanks is furnished with small, 

 round, tubercular, projecting scales, which are always 

 arranged in circular bands or rings. It varies in 

 colour from black to a more or less deep gi-een, with 

 spots scattered throughout, assuming the form of 

 regular patterns, and presenting the appearance of 

 beautifully arranged mosaic work. From the firm 

 structure of this integument, and the hard sym- 

 metrical arrangement of the scales, it has been often 

 used for covering little trinket cases and other small 

 articles, as it is well adapted for resisting the cftccts 

 of friction. They have a long, fleshy tongue, which, 

 like that of the serpents, is deeply forked, and is 

 capable of being withdrawn into a sheatli placed at its 

 hase, and protruded again to a considerable extent. 

 Tlieir eyes are large and bright, and the openuigs of 

 their ears are very apparent, and seated low down on 

 the skull, near the angles of the mouth. The head is 

 covered with small many-sided shields. 



The Monitors are only found in the warmer parts of 

 the Old World, none having ever been discovered in 

 Europe. They Uve near the water's edge, and the 

 greater number are aquatic in their habits. A few, 

 however, are completely terrestrial, living in dr\-, 

 sandy deserts. The structure of the tail indicates 

 their special residence. In the aquatic species, this 

 organ is compressed laterally, and is surmounted by a 

 crest formed of two seiies of flattened scales. It thus 

 becomes a powerful organ of progression, when the 

 animals are in the water ; with it they propel them- 

 selves along with considerable swiftness, movuig it 

 from side to side, with powerful and rapid action, and 

 steering the body by means of it also, as by a rudder. 

 In the terrestrial species, the tail is conical in shape, 

 and uf a rounded form, appearing as if its only use 

 cniild be to act as a counterpoise to the weight of 

 the rest of the body, or, as it rests upon the ground 

 it may assist the aiiimals in springing upon their prey. 

 Their motion along the surface of the gi-ound is 



rapid but sinuous, like the serpent; they run 'swiftly 

 on the level plain, but are not capable of climbing 

 rocks or trees. The Monitors are carnivorous animals; 

 they live upon small quadrupeds, birds, and tlie larger 

 kinds of insects. They often devour the eggs of 

 crocodiles and aipiatic birds ; and even small fishes, 

 lizards, and tortoises faU victims to their voracitj'. 

 M. Dumeril informs us, on the authority of j\l. 

 Leschenault de Latotu-, that some of the aquatic 

 species unite on the borders of rivers and lakes, in 

 order to attack quadrupeds coming there to quench 

 their thirst ; and that that traveller had seen them 

 fasten upon a young deer which was trying to swim 

 across a river, pidl it under the water, and drown it. 

 He had, moreover, found the thigh-bone of a sheep, in 

 the stomach of an individual which he was dissecting. 

 THE NILOTIC MONITOR (Monitor Nilolicns)—'Phte 

 1, fig. 1. About twenty-three species of Monitors 

 have been described. Of the aquatic s])ecies, which 

 are by far the most numerous, the best known is the 

 one just mentioned. The Nilotic Monitor is about 

 five or six feet long, and of a greenish-grey colour, 

 mottled with black. The nape of the neck presents 

 four or five horse-shoe marks of a yellow luie ; and 

 along the back seven or eight rows of spots of a 

 yellowish-green tint, e.xtend from the shoulders to 

 the root of the tail. The tail is compressed through- 

 out nearly its whole length, and strongly crested 

 or keeled on the upper edge. It is one half longer 

 than the body, and is marked on the upper half 

 with circular bands composed of spots like those 

 on the back, and on the lower moiety with rings of 

 giecnish-yellow. The legs are strong, and the toes 

 are long, and armed with compressed, very sharp, and 

 hooked claws. The teeth are short, and consist of 

 twentj'-two in the lower, and thirty in the upper jaw. 

 It is a native of Africa', inhabiting most of the rivers of 

 that country. It is very common in the Nile ; and is 

 also found m the rivers of North Africa, Western 

 Africa, and South Africa, as far as the Cape of Good 

 Hope. This animal is held in great veneration by the 

 natives of Egypt, who assert that by the hissing noise 

 which it produces, it gives warning of the approach of the 

 crocodile. Hasselquist informs us that the Egyptians 

 have also an idea " that it is hatched from the eggs (if 

 the crocodile that have been laid in the sand, whilst the 

 crocodile itself is the produce of those eggs which have 

 been deposited in the water." He gravely adds — " I 

 have no need to say that this is false !" llepresenta- 

 tions of the Nilotic Monitor occur on the ancient 

 monuments of Egypt, and Cuvier has suggested that 

 this may have arisen from the belief amongst that 

 early people, that they devoured the eggs of the 

 crocodile. Its food consists of small animals, uisects, 

 &c., which it always takes alive. M. Geoffrey St. 

 Ililaire says that it is very voracious, and that even in 

 captivity, it attacks all the little animals which it can 

 reach, and throws itself with the utmost avidity upon 

 the food presented to it. When irritated, it whistles 

 violently, and tries to bite or strike with its tail. It 

 would appear fi-om Sparrmann's account of an individu.i I 

 caught by him at the Cape of Good Hope, that it is 

 very tenacious of life. " One of this species," he says, 



