LIZARDS. 



413 



The genus JUstiurus has the compressed back and tail armed with a crest; that of 

 the tail being much the larger. A representative is the sail-lizard, H. amboinensis, so 

 called from the enormous perpendicular developme,nt surmounting its tail. It is one 

 of the largest tree-lizards, being nearly four feet ill length, and is of a general brown 

 color, shading into green on the neck and head. The animal is chiefly known through 

 the writings of Valentyn, the early Dutch traveler and divine, who found it in the island 

 of Amboyna, where it lived in the woods and thickets bordering streams. The diet, be- 

 sides seeds and berries, is made up of water-plants, worms, millepedes, and such like. 

 When it is frightened it seeks safety by diving and hiding under some submerged 

 rock, from which retreat, being exceedingly stupid, it will allow itself to be taken in 



Fig. 239. — Moloch Iwrndus. 



a net, or may even be grasped by the hand, not offering the slightest opposition to its 

 capture. The natives destroy large numbers of them for food, the flesh being white, 

 tender, and very palatable. 



The genus Phrynocephalus is restricted to central Asia, and may be recognized by 

 the stout head and anteriorly directed nostrils. The tongue is not notched, but 

 slightly pointed ; the eyes small, with well-developed lids, of which the upper is rudi- 

 mentary and hidden below the projecting superciliary ridge. The body is much 

 depressed and covered above with minute scales, which along the sides become granu- 

 lar ; the legs are well developed and are without piores. The tail is said to be prehen- 

 sile, though this is doubtful. 



