LIZARDS. 



435 



ruins and debris. They are said to live in pairs ; the father and mother, while having 

 considerable mutual regard, assuming a most indulgent disposition towards their often 

 wayward offspring, leading them to situations where they may be warmed into activ- 

 ity by the sun, or sheltering them from the cold. All, at the beginning of winter, 

 dig for themselves little cavities in the earth, in which they coil up and sleep until 

 the approach of spring. L. viridis, the green-lizard, is found in Jersey and localities 

 around the Mediterranean ; a most beautiful animal, inquisitive, confiding, sprightly, 

 and courageous, it is always watched with interest. JL. muralis is abundant about the 

 ruins of southern Europe and on the islands of Sardinia and Malta. 



Zootoca vivipara is peculiar in that the eggs are hatched while in the oviduct. 



Fig. 251. — Lacerta viridis, green-lizard. 



It is a very abundant animal throughout England, being particularly fond of heaths 

 and warm banks, where the female is said to lie in the sun for some time before the 

 young are born, that the eggs may be incubated by its warm rays. The scaly-lizard, 

 as this animal is popularly known, is very active ; and, being quite sharp-sighted, its 

 capture is anything but an ordinary occurrence. 



Trachysaurus rugosus is one of the most peculiar creations of nature. The head 

 is short, pyramidiform, and distinct from the short, thick neck. The trunk is elon- 

 gated and bulky, and the tail is short, large, flat, and rounded at the end, and so 

 abbreviated as to appear at first sight to be a mere remnant, the rest seeming to be lost 

 by some mishap. The short, thick legs, terminated by toes which are armed with 



