Fauna of the Islands of: Fernando de Noronha. 867 
ran down the faces of the rocks, and turning, stuck their heads 
above the edges to watch me. I caught a great many of them! by 
keeping quiet until they came within easy reach and then snatched 
them. They bite freely, but their teeth are too short and weak to 
inflict a severe wound. Upon one occasion when climbing with 
my photographic apparatus up a steep bluff, where great care and 
attention had to be given to every step and motion, my movements 
were not sufficiently rapid and decided to keep the lizards off my 
person, and as neither of my hands was free, they became offen- 
sively familiar. Several of them crawled leisurely over me 
examining my clothing ‘and my person, and one even got up the 
leg of my trousers, and for nearly an hour crept around and around 
my waist just below the band of my trousers. 
I was told by the inhabitants that there was another kind of a 
lizard on the island which had two tails. I found, however, that 
the so-called forked-tailed lizard was the same as the above men- 
tioned one. The tail of this species is long and slender, and is so 
easily broken that it was quite difficult to catch one without break- 
ing off a portion of its tail. If the piece broken does not fall off 
entirely, the break may heal over sufficiently to hold it securely, 
while the growing out of the new tail gives the lizard a forked or 
double one. I have seen it stated, I believe in the Challenger 
reports, that this species has never been found elsewhere in the 
world than upon Fernando de Noronha, and that the species to 
which it is most nearly related occurs in Demerara. 
I saw no snakes upon the island, and the old residents say there 
are none, save what is known in Brazil as the cobra cega (blind 
snake) or cobra de duas cabeças (double-headed snake). I found 
one specimen of this. It is a species of Amphisbeena. 
Several insects are found, the most abundant of which is a spe- 
cies of wasp, which does considerable damage to grapes, and by 
building nests in the cajú trees renders itself very obnoxious. 
Spiders are also very abundant. A few beetles and butterflies were 
taken, but the material was turned over to Mr. Herbert H. Smith, 
and I am unable to say what they are. All kinds of domestic 
* These specimens, like all the other material collected upon this 
island, was deposited in the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro. As far 
as I know, none of it has ever been worked up. 
