318 GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DISTEIBUTIOK. ' 



is found on any of the continental divisions of the Old World, but 

 two genera of terrestrial habits, Hoplurus and Chalarodon, appear 

 in Madagascar. 



The true Old "World representatives of the iguanas are the 

 agamas (Agamidse), which might be said to present a parallel series 

 of forms to the iguanian types of the New World. Their distribu- 

 tion covers the greater part of the continent of Africa, the warmer 

 tracts of Asia, especially the islands of the East Indian Archipelago, 

 and much of Australia. No species has thus far been obtained 

 from New Zealand. A limited number of species is found in Asia 

 north of the Himalayas (Trapelus, Phrynocephalus — Tartary to 

 Afghanistan), and their occurrence in Southern Europe (Agama, 

 Stellio *) has already been noted. Several genera have representa- 

 tives in the Andaman and Feejee Islands groups. Among the more 

 remarkable forms of the family are the flying-lizards (Draco) — in- 

 habitants of the East Indies (except Ceylon) — which are provided 

 with a tegumentary expansion specially adapted for sailing through 

 the air; the frilled lizard of Queensland, Australia (Chlamydosaurus 

 Kingii), which is ornamented with a broad fan-like collar nearly 

 encircling the head and neck ; and the spine-covered Moloch hor- 

 ridus of Southern and Western Australia. The agamas proper range 

 throughout Africa, and eastward to India. 



The geckga (Geckotidse), which, with the exception of the 

 cosmopolitan skinks, have the broadest distribution of all the 

 lacertilian families, number about two hundred species. They 

 occur in the hotter parts of all the continental regions, and are 

 largely represented even in the more distant oceanic islands — Ma- 

 deira, Ascension, the Seychelles, New Zealand; the Solomon, An- 

 daman, and Sandwich Islands groups, &c. — evidently possessing 

 some special means for dispersion which is wanting in other rep- 

 tiles. Several of the more largely represented genera, as Gyrano- 

 dactylus, Phyllodactylus, and Hemidactylus, have practically the 

 range of the entire family ; Gonatodes is found in tropical America 

 and East India, but is wanting in Africa. The genus Gecko, as 

 restricted, has about seven species, which are confined to China, 

 Japan, the Papuan Islands, and the islands of the East Indian 

 Archipelago. Most of the geckos are nocturnal in their habits, 



* Boulenger ("Catalogue of Lizards," British Museum, 1885) considers 

 Trapelus and Stellio as synonyms of Agama. 



