A Strange Resemblance 131 
of the chameleons; while 
if we were to examine the 
tongue of the former it 
would be found to be quite 
unlike the type assumed by 
that organ in the latter. 
The resemblance 
between the two 
reptiles is, in fact, 
entirely superficial, 
and is doubtless 
correlated with the ‘ 
similarity of their : 
mode of life, both 
being purely ar- 
boreal creatures, of —_ 
slow and ~ sluggish 
habits, and feeding 
upon insects.  Ar- 
boreal lizards of 
all kinds, it may be observed, differ from their terrestrial 
cousins by the more or less marked lateral compression 
of their bodies, this form being probably better adapted for 
climbing than is the depressed body of an ordinary lizard, which, 
when pressed close to the ground, tends to render its owner in- 
In the case of the chameleons, at any rate, the compressed form 
is likewise a protective aid, for when these creatures see the 
enemy they immediately shift their position to the opposite side 
THE CHAMMLEON-LIZARD. 
conspicuous. 
of the body 
approach of an 
of the bough 
to which they are clinging, and intensify their usual slenderness xp 4 by compressing 
the ribs, when, if the bough be sufficiently thick, they g = become practically 
hidden. Possibly the same may be the case with the y chameleon-lizard. 
The strange thing about the matter is why the resem- f blance between the 
lizard and the chameleon should be so close. If both inhabited the same 
country it might be a case of mimicry, and if chameeleons are disliked as 
food by reptile-eating birds and mammals we might have a ready explanation 
of the phenomenon. As it is, the chameeleon- lizard occurs, as already said, just 
beyond the limits of the range of the chameleons. 
It might be suggested that chameleons once inhabited Java, but have become 
extinct in that island. One among many objections to this idea is that the chameleon- 
lizard is a member of a large genus, some of the species of which are inhabitants of 
a part of chameleon-land, that is to say, India and Ceylon. But these species, I 
believe, do not present nearly such a close resemblance to chameleons as is the case 
with Ganyocephalus chameleontinus and a few other closely-allied Malay species. 
The resemblance appears therefore to be an iexplicable puzzle. I had hoped to 
find some reference to such an interesting point in Dr. Gadow’s excellent volume on 
reptiles in the “Cambridge Natural History,” but was somewhat surprised to see that 
he does not even mention the genus of which the chameleon-lizard is a member. 
