LIZARD. 



are pccviliarly n'-imerous in the eaftcrn regions. The defert gant fpecimen. The dialcides is an animal of a very l\arm- 



parts of Syria bordering on Arabia Dcfcrta abound with lels nature, frequenting moill ftiady places, moving rather ' 



them to fiich a degree, as to render it imponible to count flowly, and feeding on infects, finall worms, &c. It is a 



. them. «' I am pofitive," fays the traveller, " that I can viviparous fpccies, and is faid to produce a great many 



fay, without exaggeration, that the number I faw one day young. The ferpents to which it bears the nearell alliance, 



in the great court of the temple of the fun at Balbec, in point of form, are thofc of the genus angiiis, and parti- 



amounted to many tlioufands ; the ground, the walls, and 

 ttoucs of the ruuied buildings were covered with them, and 

 the various colours of which they con filled made a very ex- 

 traordinary appearance, glittering under the fun, in which 

 they lay flecping and baflcing. 



SciN'CdiDHS i Scincoid lizard. Tail round, middlc- 

 fized ; legs fhort ; toes very fliort. 



This fpccies is a variety of the occtdua of Dr. Shaw, to 

 which he gives the name of the galliwafp. It is nearly two 

 feet long, according to him ; but Gmclin makes it about 

 eighteen inches only. It is a native of New Holland. The 

 body is a pale yellowifh-brown, witli a long patch of deep 

 brown or black'.fli each fide the neck ; fides tinged with the 

 fame colour j tail deeper than the fides ; teeth fomewhat ob 



cularly the A. fragilis, or common ilow-worni 



The " Chalcide," defcribed by the count dc Cepede, ap- 

 pears to be extremely allied to the one jull mentioned ; but, 

 inftead of having imbricated Icales, it ia marked into a con- 

 tinual fcries of annuli throughout its whole length. 



Seui'ENs; Serpent hzard. Head, body, and tail, a con- 

 tinued cylinder ; legs very minute, remote, five-toed, and 

 clawed. It inhabits Java ; is about four or five inches long. 

 Its fliape is very much like that of a ferpent, but more co- 

 nical ; the upper part of the body is decorated with from 

 fourteen to twenty brown, longitudinal llripes ; beneath it 

 is filvery. It has an auditory canal. 



AxGUINA ; Snake lizard. I'ail verticillate, ftifliOi at the 

 extremity ; body ilriate ; feet without toes, fubulate. The 



tufe, fiiort. The tongue in this, as in other fcinks, is (hort, animals of this fpecies are about fourteen inches long, of 



fiat, rounded and entire ; not forked, as in moll lizards. 



The occidua or gaUiwafp itfelf is a native of the American 

 iflands, and is particularly common in Jamaica, where it 

 frequents woody and marlhy dillrifts. Its colour is ufually 

 a palifli brown, clouded with fomewhat irregular bands of a 

 deeper call ; but it is faid occafionally to change its colour 

 into a lively golden yellow. It was formerly thought to be 

 the molt venomous reptile in the ifland of Jamaica, and it was 

 faid that no creature could recover from its bite ; but this is 

 now regarded as a popular error. 



Oci:i.L.\TA ; Ocellate lizard. Tail roundifh, (liort ; body 

 beneath white, above greenifli-grey, with roundifh ocellate 

 fpots, brown on the margin, redlangular and white on the 

 difl<. It is found in Egypt, is very beautiful, and about a 

 fpan long. 



GuTTAXA ; Spotted fcink. Tail round, long, the tip 

 and four tranfverfc fpots black ; body above hoary, dotted 

 with white, beneath whitiih. 



.It is a very fmall fpecies, not much exceeding three inches 

 in length. It inhabits the deferts of Ural. The body is 

 fmooth above ; the feet are five-toed, with claws. 



Seftion L. The animals of this divifion crawl on the 

 belly; refembhng both the lizard and ferpent. 



Species. 



C^IALCIDES. Tail round, long; feet five-toed ; legs very 

 fliort. Inhabits fouther:i Europe and Africa. It is found 

 of different fizes, from the length of a few inches to that of fized goofe-quill. This lizard was defcribed by Linmus 



which the body itfelf is only four. The head is rather 

 fmall ; the nofe taper ; the legs very fhort, placed near the 

 head and vent, and apparently terminating in one undivided 

 toe or proccfs ; the whole animal appears covered with ovate 

 fcales, and is brown above, alh-colourcd on the fides, and 

 yellowifh beneath ; the upper furface is marked throughout 

 its whole length by feveral dark lines or flripes. It is a na- 

 tive of the Cape of Guod Hope, where it is found in great 

 plenty in the water, and about the rocks in the Table 

 bay. 



Lu.MBUlcoiDE.s ; Lumbriciform lizard Body fubequal, 

 round, ferruginous, telfellate with fquare ftreaks ; beneath 

 paler; there are no hind-feet, but the others are fhort and 

 four-toed. This is the la canncUe of the count de Cepede, 

 who firll defcribed it in his Hiftory of Oviparous Quadru- 

 peds. Its length is about eight inches, of whieh the tail is 

 only one inch. Along the whole body, from head to tail 

 on each fide, runs a continued fulcus or channel, feparatin^ 

 the upper and lower furfaces ; legs only two, extremely fliort, 

 placed near the head, and divided into fire minute toes with 

 claws. Colour of the living animal fufpected to be green ; 

 paler beneath. It inhabits Mexico. 



BlPivS; Biped lizard. Body fubequal, round, pale, im- 

 bricate ; each fcale with a brown dot. There are no fore- 

 feet ; hind-feet with two toes. This is a very Imall fpecies, 

 faid to be found in South America and in India. Its length 

 is fix inches ; the diameter no larger than that of a good. 



a foot, or even more. The head is covered in front with 

 large fcales, and is terminated by a (lightly tapering, but 

 not pointed, fnout ; the eyes are fmall, and the openings of 

 the ears very diftindl. There is no neck, the diameter con- 

 tinuing nearly equal from the head to the beginning of the 

 tail, which is often longer than the body, and gradually 

 tapers to a fmall point. The colour of this animal is pale 

 ferruginous, or chefnut brown ; hence its name, with fome 

 naturahils, is the-" Ferruginous lizard." 



In the living animal, the colour is generally faid to have 



in the Mufasum Adolphi Frederici, as a fpccies of fnake, 

 under the title of " Anguis bipes." 



Apt'.-, ; Cylindrical hzard. Head, body, and tail, a con- 

 tinued imbricate cylinder ; it has no fore-feet, and fcarcely 

 any that can be fo called behind. Tiiis fpecies is a lliU 

 nearer approach to the fnake tribe than even the chalcides. 

 It is a native of Greece, the foutliern parts of Siberia, and" 

 probably of many other parts of Europe and Alia. It is 

 fometimes full three feet long, and fo perfectly rcfembles. 

 the general form of a large fnake, that it requires very clofe 



a kind of metallic or bralfy call, which probably gave rife infpudlion to find that it belongs to the race of lizards. It 



to the fpecific appellation " Chalcides," and " Chali 

 dica." 



" This fingidar lizard," fays Dr. Shaw, «' is defcribed 

 by Linnius as having feet furnifhed with five toes ; but 

 whatever may have been the cafe with the individual fpeci- 

 pien which he examined, it feems pretty certain that the 

 general number is tliree. In tlie Britilh Mufueum is an cle- 



inhabits the trralfy meadows of the deferts of fouthcrn Si- 

 beria, and near the rivers Sarpa, Cuma, and Tert-k. 

 Though in general appearance it refembles a Inake, in its 

 internal itruCture it is formed like a lizard. 



Two fpecimens of this ifeard were brought from Greece 

 by Dr. John Sibthorp, profelfor of botany in the univerfity 

 of Oxford. 



Having, 



