XVII TERRESTRIAL AMBLYRHYNCHUS 415 



througiiout the year ; but they consume much of the succulent 

 cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off by 

 the wind. I several times threw a piece to two or three of 

 them when together ; and it was amusing enough to see them 

 trying to seize and carry it away in their mouths, like so many 

 hungry dogs with a bone. They eat very deliberately, but do 

 not chew their food. The little birds are aware how harmless 

 these creatures are : I have seen one of the thick-billed finches 

 picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which is much relished 

 by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a lizard was 

 eating at the other end ; and afterwards the little bird with the 

 utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile. 



I opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of 

 vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an 

 acacia. In the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and 

 astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees I have 

 seen these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. To 

 obtain the acacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees ; 

 and it is not uncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst 

 seated on a branch several feet above the ground. These 

 lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, which is liked by those 

 whose stomachs soar above, all prejudices. Humboldt has 

 remarked that in intertropical South America all lizards which 

 inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the table. The 

 inhabitants state that those which inhabit the upper damp parts 

 drink water, but that the others do not, like the tortoises, travel 

 up for it from the lower sterile country. At the time of our 

 visit, the females had within their bodies numerous large, 

 elongated eggs, which they lay in their burrows: the inhabitants 

 seek them for food. 



These two species of Amblyrhynchus agree, as I have 

 already stated, in their general structure, and in many of their 

 habits. Neither have that rapid movement, so characteristic of 

 the genera Lacerta and Iguana. They are both herbivorous, 

 although the kind of vegetation on which they feed is so very 

 different. Mr. Bell has given the name to the genus from the 

 shortness of the snout ; indeed, the form of the mouth may 

 almost be compared to that of the tortoise ; one is led to sup- 

 pose that this is an adaptation to their herbivorous appetites. 

 It is very interesting thus to find a well-characterised genus, 



