212 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 
Order Il. Lizards (Lacertilia). General Character- 
istics.—The lizards (Fig. 253) are scaly reptiles with cy- 
FIG. 253.—Skeleton of a lizard. 5, spinous processes, which in the tortoise 
are flattened into plates; 7, ribs; s, shoulder-bone; @, upper arm; ¢, 
elbow ; /a, forearm; 4, hip-bone; ¢4, thigh-bone; 4, knee; /, bones of 
the leg; 7, quadrate bone between upper and lower jaw. 
lindrical bodies, long, slender tails, and have usually two 
pairs of feet. The jaws are not extensible, as in the snakes, 
and are armed with sharp, conical teeth. The tongue is 
free, long, and sometimes forked. All lizards are ovipa- 
rous. Their eggs are deposited either in the ground or in 
hollow trees. About seventeen hundred living species are 
known ; eighty-two species are found in North America, 
north of Mexico. 
‘Chameleons (Chameleonide).—These strange lizards 
(Fig. 254) are 
found in Africa 
and Asia, thirty 
species being 
SY known. The 
Si. body is com- 
= pressed, the 
'\ skin rough, the 
tail round and 
| ” oupeas *) prehensile; the 
ASIA EI StS E dy tongue is cylin- 
FIG, 254.—The chameleon, showing tongue. drical, and ca- 
