150 CLASSIFICATION OF REPTILES. 



(151.) The arrangements proposed for the great as- 

 semblage now before us^ are almost as numerous as the 

 authors who have written upon them ; nor would it be dif- 

 ficult to make just as many more "^ by different hands/* 

 provided these Reptiles are to be viewed as an isolated 

 groupj having no relations or resemblances to the other 

 portions of the animal kingdom. To occupy our few 

 remaining pages^ therefore^ with columns of technical 

 names^ would neither interest the scientific naturalist 

 or the general reader ; the former wUl find aU these 

 enumerated or abridged in the admirable descriptive 

 volumes of ]\1M. Desmarest and Bibron ; and the latter^ 

 we are persuaded^ would rather be interested by a 

 sketchy however imperfect_, of the natural arrangement 

 of the groups^ according to our usual principle of show- 

 ing their relation to other animals. M. Cuvier has de- 

 signated the primary divisions, and has omitted most of 

 those sub-genera to which we have objected. It has been 

 customary, and even still is, to divide the whole of the 

 lizards into two great groups, — the one with short and 

 thick tongues ; the other, where this member is long and 

 slender. This is precisely analogous to the old divisions 

 of ornithology into land and water birds : both are 

 true, abstractedly, but such characters in either case are 

 not enough ; neither are they natural, because there 

 are groups, as among the skinks, which are neither one 

 or the other ; and because they bring together, under 

 one head, animals of the most opposite structure and 

 appearance. Nevertheless, we find that the formation 

 of the tongue, when combined with other characters, 

 leads to important results. Bearing this in mind, we 

 shall now divide the whole order into the following 

 primary groups or families : — 1. The Chameleonid^, 

 or chameleons, whose tongue is of immense length, but 

 obtuse, and whose feet and tail are both scansorial. 

 2. The Iguaxid^, or Iguanian lizards, having short 

 thick tongues and palatine teeth, the tad long, and the 

 scales upon the belly not imbricated. 3. The Laceb- 

 TixiD^, or typical lizards with small head, thick neck. 



