40 



THE WHITE-THROATED REGENIA. 



color is yellow, spotted with brown above, and whitish below. This species is the sole repre- 

 sentative of its family. The other two families — namely, the Trigonophidse and the Lepido- 

 sternida? — may easily be distinguished by the fact that in the former the teeth are set in the 

 margin of the jaws, instead of on their inner side as in the other families ; and that, in the 

 latter, the scales on the chest are larger and of different shapes, whereas in the other two fam- 

 ilies they are all squared. Moreover, the pores under the abdomen are absent. 



SCALED REPTILES; SQUAMATA. 



LIZARDS ; OR SAURA. 



SLENDER-TONGUED LIZARDS; SEPTOGLOSS^E. 



E now leave the shielded reptiles and proceed to the Scaled Lizards. These creat- 

 ures form a very large and important group, and may be distinguished from the 

 previous section by the covering of the body, which is formed of scales either 

 granular or overlapping each other, instead of the straight-edged plates which 

 cover the bodies of the tortoise and crocodiles. The tongue of these animals is 

 rather long, nicked at the tip, and often capable of extension. The young are 

 produced from eggs, sometimes hatched before being deposited, but generally 

 after they have been laid in some suitable spot. The eggs are covered with a rather soft, 

 leathery shell. 



The true Lizards have four limbs, generally visible, lair in a few instances hidden under 

 the skin. Their body is long and rounded, and the tail is tapering and mostly covered with 

 scales set in regular circles or '•whorls."' The mouth cannot be dilated as in the snakes; 

 because the under jawbones are firmly united in front, instead of being separable as in the 

 serpents. The ear has a very singular appearance, the drum or "tympanum" being mostly 

 distinct and exposed. . 



There are twenty-four families of true Lizards, and passing by several anatomical and 

 structural distinctions, which will he found at the end of the volume, we will proceed at once 

 to the fust family, called the Monitors. In all these creatures the head is covered with very 

 little, many-sided scales; the tongue is long, slender, and capable of being withdrawn into a 

 sheath at its base ; the scales are small, rounded, and arranged in cross rings, those of the side 

 resembling those of the back ; the legs are four in number, and each foot has five toes. They 

 are all inhabitants of the ( >ld World, and are seldom, if ever, found far from water. 



On: first example of the tine Lizards is the White-throated Eeoexia, or White- 

 throated Varan, a remarkably tine and powerful species of Lizard, inhabiting Southern 

 Africa. A rather full and accurate description of this Lizard is uiven by Dr. Smith :— 



"It is usually discovered in rocky precipices or on low stony hills, and when surprised 

 seeks concealment in the chinks of the former or the irregular cavities of the latter, and where 

 any irregularities exist on the surface of the stones or rocks, it clasps them so firmly with its 



