^r.-]h•/\/' ./.I//.7 i7,7/)-,\v//r.v 



411 



■ 111)- other place an aboriginal. 'JIic boiies ol a toiloise at 

 Mauritius, asscjciated with those of the extinct I)o(_|o, have 

 L;cncrall)- been considered as belon,L;inLj to this tortoise ■ if this 

 had been so, undoubtedl)' it must have been tlieie indigenous; 

 hut M. l^ibron informs me that he believes that it was distinct, 

 as the species now living there ccrtainl)' is. 



The Amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is 

 confined to this archipelago ; there are twf) species, resembling 

 each other in general form, one being terrestrial and the other 

 aquatic. This latter species ('A. cristatusj was first character- 

 ised by Mr. ]-!ell, who well foresaw, from its short, broad heatl, 

 and strong claws of ecjual length, that its habits of life would 

 tiun out very peculiar, and different from those of its nearest 

 all)-, the Iguana. It is c.vtremely common on all the islands 



.\MHL\HII\\CII["- CRIST 



\L S17F-, AND LIKEWISE ]\1ACX1FIF.D. 



throughout the group, and lives exclusively on the rock}- sea- 

 beaches, being never found, at least I never saw one, even ten 

 )ards in-shore. It is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirt\- 

 black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its movements. 1 he 

 usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard, but there arc 

 some even four feet long ; a large one weighed twenty pounds : 

 on the island of Albemarle they seem to grow to a greater size 

 than elsewhere. Their tails are flattcncLl sidewa)'s, and all 

 four feet partially webbed. They arc occasional!)- seen some 

 hundred yards from the shore, shimming about ; and Captain 

 Collnett, in his Wiyage, sa)'s, " The)' go to sea in herds 

 a-fishing, and sun themsel\-es on the rocks ; and ma)' be called 

 alligators in miniature." It must not, however, be sui)i)0sed 

 that they li\e on fish. When in the water this lizard swims 

 with perfect ease and (luickness, b)- a sci-pentine movement of 



