574 THE LIVING ANIxMALS OF THE WORLD 



TUBERCULATED IGUANA 



Thii speciCi ii £i1ccnifd /-or food /ly American hulians 



interest in some neighbour's hen- 

 roost, and received across its tail a 

 strol^e with a spade or other cutting 

 instrument that was intended for a 

 more vital region. Disgusted b)' such 

 unfriendly treatment, it evidently 

 determined that free board and lode- 

 ing at the hands of its former owner, 

 albeit with the sacrifice of freedom, 

 was a pleasanter line of life than 

 liberty and a precarious commissariat, 



k— ~K^.,^_^^^ - I with added bodily risks. An almost 



^.^'^\fi. "^v. - ~-^»- — . ^ identical episode of the voluntary 



~ .:4*.iai^*_\ - \..i^% ' m return to captivity of an escaped 



monitor has been reported to the 

 writer of a species from Borneo by 

 Dr. G. D. Haviland. 



The monitors, as a rule, are not 

 distinguished for brillianc)- of colouring, shades and mottlings of brown or black being usually 

 dominant. The male of the Australian lace-lizard, after 

 newl}' changing its coat, is, howe\'er, an exception. In 

 addition to the higbl\' ornate lace-like reticulated pattern 

 of its skin-markings, prexiously referred to, the throat of the 

 animal is resplendent with mingled tints of sky-blue and 

 lemon-)'ello\\'. It is necessary, however, to observe that its 

 natural surroundings and the ardent ra\-s of a sub-tropical 

 sun are requisite to bring these brighter tints to their full 

 development. E.xamples kept in close confinement in the 

 London Zoological Gardens yield little or no indication of 

 their colour potentialities. 



While the Monitor ]^\amily is not represented on the 

 American Continent, we find there another group of lizards 

 whose members are of considerable size, and agree in their 

 carni\-orous propensities and general habits in a marked manner with the Monitors. These 

 are the " Gl<E.\\'i:i) " Lizakds, named with reference to the peculiar skin-folding on their 

 legs. One of the largest and most familiarly known representatives of this group is the 

 Teguexix, or Dl.VMOND-EiZ.VKD, indigenous to the greater portion of tropical South America, 

 and also to the West Indies. This lizard attains to a total length of a yard or more, 



and is of a robust and 



SMALL VIVIPAROUS LIZARD 



Occurs on heaths and commons in (he South of 

 England 



Fholo bv JI. G. I'. Sfurrd!, Ks</.'\ 



WALL-LIZARD 



77//J sfjciu's h par [uuUii ly ahutidiifiC hi Italy 



lEaitboi 



thick-set build, with the 

 hind limbs much longer and 

 stouter than the front ones. 

 The colour of the teguexin is 

 also notable, the ground-tint 

 being oli\e or tawny )'ellovv, 

 upon which are superimposed 

 black banils and markings 

 which for the most part take 

 a transN'erse direction. Like 

 the Monitors, the tuguexin 

 in captivity exhibits a sulky 

 and aggressive disposition, 



