CoLENSo. — On a supposed new Species of Naultinus. 256 



strong muscular power pulling against me, so that the whole outer skin of 

 the tail came off, as at first, in one unbroken piece. The cast skin is damp, 

 soft, and slightly clammy, on its being shed, but it quickly dries and 

 hardens. 



The young lizard (No. 1) next cast off its skin on the 31st December, 

 having assumed the milky appearance already mentioned the day before ; 

 and to my great surprise this same lizard again put on the cloudy milky 

 appearance on the 13th January, and again shed its skin on the following 

 day when its scurf was just a fortnight old ! As before, it began to break 

 away at its snout, but on this occasion, somehow, possibly owing to its 

 fineness, it got rolled up together and backwards behind its eyes, giving the 

 animal with its white wig the drollest appearance imaginable, so that I often 

 laughed outright ! This time it was very slow in castmg off its rags, as parts 

 of its skin were still hanging on its sides on the 24th January — ^just ten days 

 — when I caught it and helped it. This lizard again shed its skin on the 1st 

 March, when it was two days in getting it wholly off : often biting it and 

 tearing at it with its claws. The next time it did so was on the 19th April, 

 having assumed the usu.al milky appearance two days before ; on this occa- 

 sion its old scurf first broke through over its back. 



The other young lizard (No. 2) again cast off its outer skin on the 5th 

 February, having the day before put on the peculiar milky appearance. 



So that, during the past seven or eight spring and summer months, 

 those three lizards have each shed their epidermis as follows : — 



Big adult male, 1878, November 16 ; 1879, January 24 ; March 16.* 

 Young one. No. 1, 1878, December 6, December 31 ; 1879, January 14, 

 March 1, April 19. Young one. No. 2, 1878, December 16 ; 1879, Feb- 

 ruary 6. 



Their manner of taking their prey (flies) is peculiar : When the lizard 

 clearly sees the fly, and makes sure it is living, it steals towards it in the 

 most stealthy manner. As the lizard nears the fly, and when within two 

 inches of it, then is the time closely to notice its actions. First it arches 

 its neck to a tolerably sharp angle, and its eyes swell and bulge out, or 

 rather upwards, over their orbits, and the expression of its countenance 

 alters greatly, taking on a fierce look ; next it lifts its little hand-like paws 

 and moves them, only a toe or a finger at a time and often in the air, very 

 slowly and cautiously (much like a little child does its hands when stealing 

 along on tip-toe), and then it nears its head towards its prey, but so very 

 slowly that I have better detected its movement by watching its shadow 

 cast on marked paper by strong sunlight, — reminding me of the almost 

 imperceptible movement of the hour-hand of a clock. At last it has got to 



* Vide Addendum. 



