BASILISK. 127 



these Lizards and the huge Tortoises feeding together. To obtain 

 the acacia leaves, they crawl up the low, stunted trees ; and it is 

 not uncommon to see one, or a pair, quietly browsing, whilst 

 seated on a branch several feet from the ground. 



" The meat of these animals, when cooked, is white ; and hj 

 those whose stomachs rise above all prejudices, it is relished as 

 very good food. Humboldt has remarked, that in intertropical 

 South America, all Lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed 

 as delicacies for the table. The inhabitants of the Gallapagos say, 

 that those inhabiting the damp region drink water, but that the 

 others do not travel up for it from the sterile country, like the 

 gigantic Land Tortoises. At the time of our visit, the females 

 had within their bodies numerous large elongated eggs. These 

 they lay in their burrows, and the inhabitants seek them for 

 food." 



These two curious Lizards of the Gallapagos agree nearly in 

 general structure, and in many of their habits ; and neither of 

 them has that rapidity of movement which is chargf^^eristic of 

 various other Iguanidai. The form of the head resembles a good 

 deal that of a land Tortoise, and we find the same form of Lead, 

 and again the same disinclination to bite, in certain herbivorous 

 Lizards, such as the Urom'J.styx and kindred forms, which are 

 referred by Dr. Gray to the corresponding Old World family of 

 AgamidcB.'] 



In the family of Iguanas the Basilisk may be noted. According 

 to ancient authors, reproduced by writers of the middle ages, the 

 Basilisk, although such a small animal, could produce instant death 

 by its sting. The man whose eyes met theirs was supposed to be 

 at once devoured by an intense fire. Such are the fabulous ideas 

 which tradition has transmitted to us about these animals. It is 

 to be remarked, however, that the Basilisk of modern herpetology 

 is not the /Sao-iXio-Kos, or Roj^al Serpent, of the ancients, the Cocka- 

 trice of Scripture. The reptile which now bears the name is an 

 inofi'ensive animal, living in the forests of Guiana, Martinique, 

 and Mexico, and leaping from branch to branch, in order to gather 

 the seeds or seize the insects on which it feeds. 



The Basilisk is distinguished from the other Iguanian Lizards 

 by the absence of the long and dilatable skin under the throat. 



