266 SNAKES, UtJRTLES, LIZARDS, CROCODILES 



Says Packard, "notwithstanding the fact that snakes 

 •have no legs, they can creep, ghde, grasp, suspend them- 

 selves, erect themselves, leap, dart, bound, swim, and dive." 

 All of which shows that they are wonderfully well adapted 

 to their environments. 



Many lizards possess feet adapted to cHmbing trees. 

 The toes are long and end in claws especially well adapted 

 to clinging to the bark of trees. The Old World chameleons 

 have feet especially modified and adapted to clasping 

 branches because they spend their Uves in trees. The 

 tongue of this Uzard is remarkably well adapted to catching 

 insects. 



More remarkable still, are the so-called flying dragons, 

 or dracos of the East Indies. The dracos have a horizontal 

 expansion of skin along each side of the body which is sup- 

 ported by several of the posterior ribs. These animals, 

 from seven to eight inches in length, live in trees and are 

 constantly shooting through the air from tree to tree by 

 means of the side parachutes. Other hzards burrow in 

 the ground and have their feet modified for digging. 



In considering the turtles, we find those that live in the 

 sea have paddlehke legs for swimming, while those hving 

 partly on land and partly in the water have legs for walking, 

 but the toes are webbed for swimming, while those wholly 

 terrestrial have legs fitted for walking and toes without 

 webs. 



The crocodiles and alligators are aquatic animals and 

 possess at least one very remarkable adaptation for such 

 a life. There is at the base of the tongue a transverse 

 fold which, meeting a similar fold on the palate, completely 

 shuts off the mouth from the throat, thus preventing the 

 water entering the windpipe when they drown their prey. 



