THE REPTILES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS. 



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called hybernation) for a very short time. In colour this Lizard 

 is so variable that it is most difficult to find two specimens 

 perfectly alike. The females and young males are of a very 

 sober colour, being brown, generally with longitudinal stripes of 

 darker brown on the back, and whitish or bluish or yellowish 

 white on the under parts. The adult males, during the spring 

 especially, possess the most gorgeous hues ; their emerald-green 



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1. Fungus Rock Lizard. 2. St. Paul's Islands Lizard, 

 3. Typical Wall-Lizard from Malta. 



backs (in some being varied with black or yellow, or both) and 

 their bright orange under parts, and their flanks of a most 

 delicate cerulean blue, make them so conspicuously beautiful as 

 to be admired even by those who shudder at the mere mention 

 of the word Lizard. 



The Pilfola Lizard, which is a variety of the species just 

 described, is peculiar to Filfola, an islet about one mile in 

 circumference, situated at not more than three miles away from 

 the south coast of Malta. In size this variety surpasses the 

 typical Wall-Lizard, often attaining a length of ten or even eleven 

 inches. Its general colour is a deep charcoal black, having, 

 however, markings in other colours which make it almost as 



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