LIZARDS. 411 



movable and scaly, and only a single pair of limbs, the posterior, which are scaly and 

 undivided. P. lepidopus has the scales of the back keeled, and the pre-anal pores 

 numerous. In its general structure and habits it resembles Fseudopus. Delma is an 

 allied genus, having smooth scales, no pre-anal pores, and shorter rudiments of hind 

 limbs, while Aprasia, of the same habitat, western Australia, has no indication of 

 limbs whatever. 



We now come to one of the more interesting families, the Agamid^, which is 

 represented in the eastern hemisphere by several acrodont genera. 



Aciama proper has the body covered with keeled scales, the head triangular, the 

 tail round and covered with imbricate scales, the femoral pores absent, and the pre- 

 anals in a row across the abdomen. A. ecelaticeps inhabits the warmer portions of 

 Africa, being particularly partial to diy and arid localities, where it is very watchful 

 and suspicious. If it cannot intimidate the object of its disturbance by its gesticula- 

 tions, it quickly retreats and conceals itself. 



The genus Calotes inhabits India and Ceylon, and includes several species which 

 resemble each other in having the tympanum naked; the scales of the back and sides 

 equal, regularly arranged, and their tips directed slightly upward ; the dorsal crest 

 formed of non-united spines ; the gular sac but slightly develojjed ; the sub-candal 

 scales as broad as long, and the femoral pores absent. The representatives are all ar- 

 boreal, feeding oh insects, tender leaves, and berries. C. versicolor, the so-called 

 ' blood-sucker,' is one of the most common animals of the whole continent, extending 

 north into the cooler zones of the Himmalehs. The vernacular name was perhaps 

 given because of the occasional reddish hue of its throat. ,The female deposits her 

 eggs, sometimes to the number of sixteen, in the hollows of trees, or in holes which 

 she digs in the earth ; the young appearing after a lapse of eight or nine weeks. 

 During and after showers these animals often descend to the ground, to search for the 

 numerous larvae and small insects which are washed from the trees. 



The genus Draco is characterized by a most remarkable growth along the sides of 

 the body, the skin being horizontally spread out as a parachute and supported by five 

 or six false posterior ribs. A pendant appendage like that of the iguana is also 

 present. 



The members of this genus, the flying-dragons, are confined to the East Indies, 

 where they lead an arboreal life, lightly shooting from tree to tree by means of their 

 expanded pai-achutes, or, with these folded to the side of the body, running along like 

 ordinary members of the order, and resembling in their general habits the Anoles of 

 the New World. The several species are extremely similar, the distinctions being 

 chiefly based on the relative length of limbs, the position of the nostrils, and the gen- 

 eral scutellation. The tail is undoubtedly of considerable assistance in directing their 

 course through the air ; to this end it is long and slender, and more firmly articulated 

 than that of less aerial relatives. Cantor, in speaking of the flying-dragons, says: 

 " The transcendent beauty of their colors baflles description. As the lizard lies in the 

 shade, along the trunk of a tree, the colors at a distance appear like a mixture of 

 brown and gray, and renders it scarcely distinguishable from the bark. Thus it re- 

 mains with no signs of life except the restless eyes, watching passing insects, which, 

 suddenly expanding its wings, it seizes with a sometimes considerable, unerring leap. 

 The lizard itself appears to possess no power of changing its colors." 



The several species, of which there are fourteen, are between seven and eight 

 inches in length. Three or four whitish eggs are occasionally found in the females. 



