ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY IJULLLTIN 



297 



hours' time. \\ lic-n ulitaininj; his photngraph of 

 the s])ocies, Mr. .Sanl)orn was cautioned not to 

 touch or even step heavily near his very sensitive 

 sul)jects, as a half-day's wait would be the inevitable 

 result. 



In direct contrast to the former species is the 

 Leopard Tortoise, (Tesliido pardalis), a dozen fine 

 examples of which were procured by Dr. French 

 in Abyssinia. It grows to a weight of seventy-tive 

 pounds. The shell is exceedingly high — tlome-like 

 — while the sides are nearly vertical; in fact the 

 actual shape of this creature's shell is like the 

 ■cranial portion of a high-built human .skull. The 

 ]jo])ular name is not only signitlcant. but decidedly 

 ai)pro])riate, as the upper shell is straw color, thickly 

 and vividly blotched with black, imparting an 

 immediate suggestion of the leopard's pelt. The 

 largest specimen on e.xhibition compares favorably 

 in size with a 100-pound example of Tesludo 

 iiigrild — one of the giant tortoises from the Gala- 

 pagos Islands. 



(Jwing to the fact that we have received a number 

 of specimens of Tcsliido pardalis from Abyssinia, 

 the writer is able to greatly enlarge the limits of the 

 Jitibiltit. As heretofore known, Boulenger gives 

 the distribution as ".\frica, south of the equator," 

 recording the species from East Central Africa, 

 Algoa Bay and South Africa. From such regions 

 our records are far removed. Doubtless, the sjie- 

 ■cies is generally distributed, at least as far north 

 as Abyssinia. Dr. French informed me that he 

 found it generally common in rather dry, farming 

 country. He several times observed large indi- 

 viduals stalking across the fields. One exam|)le 

 brought to him was so large it required four men 

 to readily carry it. 



Another of the African tortoises exhibited is the 

 Iberian Tortoise, (Tesludo ibcra), a small species 

 inhabiting the northwest portion of the continent, 

 as well as Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia and 

 Persia. Its olive shell, blotched on the margins of 

 the shields with black, causes it to closely resemble 

 the nearly allied Euro[)ean Tortoise, (Tesludo 

 ^ruca), also represented in the collection. In a 

 temperature of about go° F., the latter two species 

 are so active they may be justly described as fairly 

 running over the ground in search of food or in 

 amorous play. Many tortoises are just as active, 

 and the assertion that such chelonians are natur- 

 ally .sluggish, even "studied" in their movements, 

 conies from observation made with reptiles in a 

 far lower temperature than that to which thev are 

 accustomed. 



The spacious Tortoise Yards are now completed 

 and the numerous specimens revel on the dry, 

 sun-warmed sand. These quarters are shared with 

 the large tropical lizards, and the consequent ex- 

 hibit is one of the most interesting phases of the 

 reptile collection, .■\mong the African lizards that 



will >hare the>e new yards are a number of large 

 Mastigures, or Si)ine-Tailed Lizards, (L'roinasli.v 

 spiiiipcs). They are the largest of their kind that 

 have ever been exhibited in the Re|)tile House, and 

 their structure is quite remarkable, the tails having 

 the a[)i)earance of the most cruelly devised war- 

 clubs. This, and several allied species, inhabit the 

 deserts of northern .\frica and .Arabia. 



The S|)ine-Tailed Lizards run with considerable 

 activity, but their gait is tardy in comjiarison with 

 many of the desert forms, just why they should 

 be ])rovided with the extraordinary bristly tail, 

 with stout spines arranged in regular, ringed 

 formation, is a pn/./Av. Possibly the tail is useful 

 in blocking the burrow of this creature, for no 

 enemy could ]xiss the formidable organ with im- 

 punity; besides the lizard has the power to rotate 

 its entire bod\- when attacked, or deal powerful 

 blows with the tail. 



Of all lizards, Mastigures are the most difficult 

 to maintain in good health. They have the most 

 capricious appetites. It appears that they are 

 chietly herbivorous, yet it is impossible to satisfy 

 them with lettuce leaves, celer)', clover and other 

 succulent greens. .As the food is thrown to them, 

 sexeral individuals will rush for it, take a single 

 mouthful, swallow the same, then deliberately walk 

 away. Occasional examjjles will eat mealworms. 

 When the pan of insect food is placed near the 

 lizards, there is the same rush of several interested 

 members. A few of the mealworms are eaten ; then 

 the lizards stalk otT after having eaten enough t(j 

 nourish a creature but onctenlh their size. From 

 all a|)])earances they are continually hunting for 

 food native of their deserts, that we are neither able 

 to produce nor imitate, and in the meantime they 

 are starving. Ivverything that has ever been eaten 

 by a lizard in the Reptile House has been offered 

 these strange brutes. They present a curious prob- 

 lem, but we ho])c to solve it. 



Of the other .\frican lizards, the Geckos attract 

 the immediate interest of visitors. To the aston- 

 ishment of the observer, one of these thick-bodied, 

 warty-looking lizards, weighing as much as a half- 

 grown rat, will suddenly rush up the smooth wall 

 of the King (Cobra's cage — in which they live with- 

 out molestation — then, so unexjjectedly as to make 

 the onlooker gasp with amazement, the reptile 

 jumps to the ceiling and runs across it like a gigantic 

 fly. Such actions of heavy-bodied lizards appear 

 quite mysterious until one understands that the 

 geckos have a disc-like sucki^r on each toe. At 

 night, when these reptiles are particularly active, 

 they run all over the big glass front of the cage. 

 The species exhibited is known as Tarenlala an- 

 nularis. It is a native of .Abyssinia, Egypt and 

 Arabia, and characterized by four cottony-white 

 spots on the shoulders. The food consists of other 

 species of small lizards, as well as insects. 



