420 



LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



terrible reptile would cower, and that the travelers of \he deserts might be protected, 

 they often carried with them a supply of these loud-voiced chanticleers. 



Such are the traditions connected with the name of a harmless, inoffensive animal, 

 seldom exceeding the length of three feet, and inhabiting the forests of Guiana and 

 Martinique. It differs from the other members of the family in not possessing the 

 long extensible skin of the throat, and in being provided with an elevated unsegmented 

 crest along its back, and a second along the dorsal side of the tail, which is strength- 

 ened by the elongated spinous processes of the vertebral column. Though it might 

 be inferred from the compressed tail that the animal is aquatic, such is not the case, 

 as it lives an arboreal life, preferring the low branches of trees in the neighborhood of 

 some quiet brook. Upon the occiput is a most singular hood-shaped crown, which is 

 said to be capable of considerable distention. 



Fig. 243. — Anolis prinGlpalis, 4-niencaii cliaiiieleoii. 



The widely distributed genus Anolis is represented in the United States' by two 

 species, of which A. principalis, inhabiting the southern states, is by far the most 

 abundant, and is known as the American chameleon, or scorpion. The figure of 

 this animal is considerably enlarged, as its body seldom exceeds the length of three 

 inches and a half, though the elongated tail may be half a foot in length. The 

 entire animal is covered by minute scales, those of the jaws and head being somewhat 

 larger, and regularly arranged. The gape of the mouth is capacious, and the ear 

 opens just back of its commissure. The dewlap extends from the chin to the ster- 

 num, and by a special arrangement can be vertically expanded like a fan, when it is of 

 a deep red shade, or may be retracted so as to be scarcely visible. Though the gen- 

 eral color of the animal below is white, above it may assume almost instantly shades 

 varying from a beautiful emerald to a dark and iridescent bronze color. 



