Zoo Notes 
resembles the voice of a man moaning, and 
its latter part as if 11 were making a violent 
effort to vomit. As it is loud and frequent, 
it might, perhaps, have sometimes been 
taken for that of a human voice in distress, 
and have given rise to the accounts of 
the Ancients, who tell us that the hyena 
makes its moan to attract unwary travellers 
and then to destroy them; however this 
may be, it seems the most untractable 
and, for its size, the most terrible of all 
the quadrupeds. Nor 
does its courage fall 
short of its ferocity; 
it defends itself 
against the lion, and 
seldom fails to con- 
quer. The spotted 
variety is also given 
as an illustration, its 
habits being sim1- 
lar to that of the 
striped ; if 1s some- 
what smaller, and 
is found nearer the 
Cape, hence it is 
often called the 
Cape Hyena. An- 
other nick-name it 
enjoys is the “ Tiger- 
Wolf.” 
IO 
YET another extra- 
ordinary creature 
from South America, 
in the shape of one 
of the Lizard family, 
known by the native 
name of Teguexin. ~ ri 
These lizards are 
found in sugar plantations and among scrub 
and bush, and can swim well, 
but do not take readily to 
water. They measure from 
three to four feet long and seem very 
ferocious, the one photographed being quite 
snappish. The legend that they utter 
a warning sound on the approach of 
wild beasts (whence they are sometimes 
called Safeguards) is apparently without 
foundation. 
Black Pointed 
Teguexin. 
CUNNINGHAM SKINK. 
217 
AusTRALIA furnishes us with a great variety 
of lizards, and those of the 
genus Tiliqua are named 
Cyclodus, with the prefix of 
any distinguishing marking or 
size as an additional name. These lizards 
are under one foot m length, although in 
the photograph they look as large as the 
Teguexins. These reptilia are natives of 
Australia and very much resemble the skink 
in appearance. They are quite harmless, 
and when placed in 
a position remain 
for several minutes 
as immovable as 
the stone upon 
which they lie; at 
least, this was my 
experience. 
Black and 
Yellow and 
Blue Tongued 
Cyclodus. 
Wa" 
THE Skink tribe is 
a very numerous 
one, com- 
Skinks. prising up- 
wards of 
thirty-five genera 
and nearly four 
hundred species, 
the Common kind 
coming from South 
Europe, and Cun- 
ningham’s from 
Australia. The 
name ‘Common ” 
is derived from its 
having been exten- 
sively employed as 
an infallible remedy 
for almost any 
disease under the sun, and its reputation as 
a healing agent still survives among the 
Arabs, who use the flesh both as an article 
of food and as a drug. According to Canon 
Tristram, the flesh of well-broiled skinks 
forms a dish not to be despised even by 
an European palate. Frogs and snails many 
of us have eaten, I won't say (for myself) 
with a relish, and no doubt deyilled skink 
would make a good entrée with Kgyptian 
sauce. 
