THE LIZARDS 157 



has every row of plates above the folds sharply keeled. 

 Such are the points employed by the scientist to sep- 

 arate the different species. 



The Keeled or Plateb Lizard, G. multicarinatus, 

 common in the United States from Texas to California 

 and northward to Vancouver, stands as a typical species. 

 All of the plates above the fold on the sides are sharply 

 keeled. Among different individuals the length of the 

 tail greatly varies. Some have an exceedingly long tail, 

 nearly twice as long as the combined head and body. A 

 big specimen is sixteen inches long. 



Plated Lizards are most frequently found on fallen 

 trees in sparse belts of timber. They are very shy, 

 dodging around the log so as to get on the side 

 opposite the observer. Few lizards are found actually 

 ascending the living trees; their only reason for haunt- 

 ing the fallen trunks is apparently to search for wood- 

 boring insects. If stalked carefully they may be caught 

 without much trouble. They are not nearly so active 

 as many lizards of their size. But care should be taken 

 not to grasp the reptile by the tail. In that event a 

 single, slight twist on the animal's part discards an 

 organ that immediately begins to cut up a series of 

 astonishing capers; writhing and twisting in one's 

 fingers it may suddenly begin a quivering motion, when 

 without warning comes a sudden twist, freeing it from 

 the fingers to jump about on the ground like a live 

 thing. For the instant, the observer is involuntarily 

 attracted to the strange object. In the meantime, the 

 much shortened owner has made good its escape — to 

 grow another tail within a few months; the second ap- 

 pendage to be not nearly so elaborate as the original 

 one. 



In its coloration the Plated Lizard is sober and un- 



