Lizard J. - 



-REPTILES - 



-Sr.ENDFK-ToxnuF.n LizAnns. 



long, fleshy, and movable. They are not much better 

 off witli regard to the sense of hearing ; but tlie organ 

 of vision is much more highly developed, and their 

 sense of sight is, in consequence, very active in most 

 of the species. In this, however, there are exceptions; 

 as, in the case of the Blind Worm, for instance, this 

 sense is almost entirely wanting. 



Tlie animals belonging to this order live entirely 

 upon li\-ing prey, their food consisting of small mam- 

 malia and birds, fishes, moUusca, and insects. They 

 are remarkable for their voracity, devouring a gi'eat 

 quantity of food at a time, though one meal suffices for 

 several days. The jaws are furnished \vith teeth, which 

 are small, simple, conical, unequal, isolated, and without 

 true fangs. The mouth is destitute of lips, is generally 

 large, so as to admit of their swallowng large pieces of 

 flesli, and the hinder nostrils open into its back part. 

 Tlie tongue varie.s a good deal in the different families. 

 In tlie Monitors and true Lizards it is protractile, is less 

 so in the Geckos, but in the Chameleons is exceedingly 

 long, cylindrical, and worm-like in appearance. The 

 structure of the heart and lungs, and the circulation of 

 (he blood, are the same as has been already described 

 in tjie preliminary remarks upon Reptiles. One of the 

 most distinctive characters of the Saurian reptiles, is 

 the existence of a breast-bone, or stenmm, which is 

 generally of large size, and of a cartilaginous structure. 

 This sternum, along with the shoulder-bone, forms a 

 )irotection for the heart and large vessels. The species 

 of Heptiles belonging to the Lir.ard order gi'ow very 

 slowly, and the duration of their life is in general very 

 lengthened. Many of them, in course of time, acquire 

 large dimensions, as the Monitors and Iguanas. They 

 are chiefly to be found in very wami and humid 

 climates. Egypt, for example, the temperature of 

 which is so burning hot, while the soil is periodically 

 moistened by the overflowing of the Nile, possesses an 

 immense number of Saurians, especiall}' of the Lizard 

 famil}', and they are remarkable there for there lilhe- 

 nesB, their agility, and the vigour of their movements. 

 Bruce, speaking of them, says — "There is no genus of 

 quadrupeds that I have known in the East so very 

 numerous as that of the lizard, or of which there are 

 80 many varieties. The eastern or desert parts of 

 Syria, bordering upon Arabia Deserta, which still have 



moisture sufficient, abound witli them beyond a possi- 

 bility of counting them. I am positive that I can say, 

 without exaggeration, that the number I saw one day 

 in the great court of the temple of the Sun at Baalbec 

 amounted to many thousands ; the groimd, the walls, 

 and stones of the ruined buildings, were covered with 

 them, and the various colours of which they consisted 

 made a very extraordinary appearance, glittering under 

 the sun, in which they lay sleeping or basking." A 

 very limited number of species, and these all of small 

 size, inhabit our island, and the parallel and more 

 northern countries of the adjacent continent. As we 

 advance into cold climates they disappear altogether, 

 but when we pass southwards, their number, specifically 

 considered, increases ; and among them some occur of 

 unexpectedly large dimensions, as, for e.\ample, tliat 

 beautiful species, the Eyed Lizard, measuring sixteen 

 or seventeen inches in length, and which is a native of 

 Spain, Italy, and the South of Fiance. 



The flesh of many Saurians is held in high re|iuto 

 in the countries in which they are found, as an article 

 of food. Dampier, in his " Voyage," tells us that tlie 

 island of Blanco (in the South Seas) was plentifully 

 stored with " Guanos. Their flesh," he says, " is 

 much esteemed by privateers, who commonly dres.s 

 them for their sick men ; for they make very good 

 broth." In America the Iguanas are regarded by 

 epicures as a gi'eat delicacy ; and in Asia the Scinks 

 are considered to have aphrodisiac powers. Medicinal 

 properties have been attributed to many, especially by 

 the Arabian phj'sicians. But this belief was not con- 

 fined to the East. " One species," says Mr. Martin, 

 " the Adda of the Arabians (Scwcus ojjidnaliii), for- 

 merly obtained a place in the British Materia Medica' 

 its flesh was supposed to be a restorative, and of great 

 avail in leprosy and other diseases. It was one of the 

 ingi-cdients in that compound known as theriaca or 

 confectio damocratis ; the 'wild exuberance,' as Dr. 

 Lewis expresses it, ' of medical superstition in former 

 ages."' 



None of the Lizard order are poisonous, though the 

 ancients regarded many as poisonous in the extreme ; 

 and the vulgar, in our own times, frequently look upon 

 them with great horror, and entertain a strong suspi- 

 cion of their noxious qualities. 



Sub-Oeddr I.— SLENDER-TONGUED LIZAKI.)S. 



The Slender-torgued Lizards are divided into two 

 tribes, the Ring-scaled Lizards {Cyclosunra), and the 

 Tile-Hke Scaled Lizards {Geissosanra), so named from 

 the structure and arrangement of the scales with which 

 their body is covered. 



Tkihe L-CYCLOSAURA.* 



This tribe contains ten families, and is thus character- 

 ized. Scales of the belly square, in cross bands; those 



• From the two Greek words, lixthlos {«yxAo(), a circle, and 

 aiiMra (iratiga), a lizard. 



of the back and tail rhombic and imbricate, or circular 

 and subgranular, placed in cross rings; of the sides, 

 generally granular, rarely like the back. Tongue elon- 

 gate, flattened, base sometimes sheathed, generally free, 

 orjly attached to the gullet by a long bridle, and with 

 two elongate, cylindrical, horny tips. 'J'ail elongate, 

 with whirls of scales, generally conical, tapering, some- 

 times compressed, with two elevated crests above. 

 Eyes diurnal, with two valvular lids. Feet formed for 

 walking. Toes unequal, compressed, 

 i One hundred and fifty-four species of this tribe are 

 i enumerated. Our space, of course, will not allow us 



