-/'^ KEPT ILIA. 



taincfl by lung spinous vrrtchral apophyses ; this crest is scaly \\k': the rest of th-e body ; the Ijclly and 

 caudal scales are small, and a[)proacli a liLtle to a :i(piare form; the teeth are strong, compressed, and 

 nndcnticulatrd, and arc found only on the jaws ; there are femoral pores, and the skin of the throat is 

 lax, without forming an appendage. 



Tub Dragons {Draco, Lin.) — 

 Are known at the firist glance from all other Saurians, l.)y their first six false ribs, instead of encircHng 

 the abdomen, being extended in a straight line, so as to support a production of the skin, which forms 

 a sort of wing, anil acts as a parachute when the animal leaps from bough to bongh. They are small- 

 sized reptih"^, c\ery\\ here Cdvrred \\ tlh minute iuibrieated scales, tlioi^e of the tail and lirnbs being 

 kceli-Ml. Their tongue is Hcsliy, but slightly nutehcd and little extensible. IJeneath the throat i^ a 

 long pointed [intlatablc] appendage, sustained by the hyoid bone, and laterally by two other small 

 bones. The tail is long; the thighs have no pores ; nnd there is a slight dentelation on the neck. 

 Each jaw lias fVnir small incisors, llankcd by a long and pointed canine, behind which are a dozen 

 triangular am.l trilobate molars. 



Tliey have, therefore, the scales and tlirnat-appendage of the- Ig-iianas, witli the head and teeth of the Stcllians. 

 All the known species are from the East Indies. 



Sittnia, Cu\'., dillers in the non-prolongation of the ribs, and by liaving an enormous throat-appendage, which 

 ]-enehes to the middle of the belly, and is more than double the height of the animal. 



It is perbojis to this tviljc of Agjimas that we should ap))roxiDiate a most extraordinary fossil 

 rcjdile, the remains of which arc iuilicddcil m the Jura Inuestoue, — 



The Ptkuodactvlus, Cuv. 



It had a very short tail, a veiy long neck, and very large head ; tlio jaws armed with even and 



pointed teeth ; but its principal character consisted in the excessive elongation of the second toe of its 



fore-feet, which extended twice the length of the trunk, and probably [undoubtedly] ser\-ed to sustain some 



membrane by which the animal was enabled to fly, similar to that which the ribs of the Dragon support. 



The second section of the family of Iguanas, or that of the Iguanas proper, is distiuguiihcd 

 from the preceding by the existence of palatal teeth. 



Tiir; Iguanas, properly so called, {If/xona, Cuv.) — 

 ITavc the body and tail covereil With small imbricated scales; a range of spines along the hack, or of 

 raised, compressed, and pointed scales, ami midm- tlie throat a eompresse'd ami pointed appendage, the 

 edt£:c of whicli is sustained by a cartilaginous production of the hyoid bouc. The thiL,hs have the same 

 range of porous tubercles as in the Lizards proper, and their head is covered with plates; each jaw is 

 surrounded by a range of triangular, compressed tcelli, ^liih denticulated edges; and there arc also 

 two little ranges at the back of the palate. 



A species common in all tropical America {Lnc. hjiiaiia, Lin.), ■\\liich gjows to four or five feet in lenp^th, is 

 esfeemed very fine eatinp, though hurtfulin syphilitic disorders. It lives chiefly upon trees, occasionally enters 

 the water, and subsisfs on fruit, grain, and leaves. The female dt;|iosits eggs in the santi as large as those of a 

 Pigeon, wiiieh are agreeable to tin- taste, and almost without white. ;~evcral others uiliaiut the same countries. 



OpniLVJ!:ss.\, Doie. 



Small imbricated scales, a slightly projecthig dor>al cre&t prolonged over the compressed tail, palatal 



teeth, and dcnticulaled maxillary teeth whieli apiu-o\iinalc it to the Iguanas, but no throat-ap['cndage 



no*" femoral pores. 



Tnr, Basilisks {Basilkcuf:, r»and.) 



No femoral pores, but [lalafal teeib as in the Last; the body covered with small scales; and a 



continuous elevated crest along the back and tail, which snpixirts spinous vertebral apophyi^cs as in 



the tail of hthirns. 



The Marblets (Poli/chrus, Cuv.) — 



Have palatal teeth, and femoral pores, like the Iguanas, but which arc inconspicuous: their body, 



however, clad \\ith small scales, is not crested ; the In ad is covered with plates; tail long and :>barper- 



cdgcd ; the throat extensile, forming an appendage at ihr will of the aninud ; ami ihey change colour 



lilvc the Chameleons, having a very voluminous lung, wliieli tills m:ar]y the wlmlc lnuly, and subdivides 



into nurncrons liranehes ; their false ribs also svuTOund the ab(h.)men, as in the Chameleons, and unite 



to form eoni[d''tc circles. 



