LIZARDS 257 



I have sharp, chisel-like edges while the claws of the front legs are 

 I used to tear the food. 



Turtles are very strong for their size. The stout legs carry 

 I the animal slowly on land. In some water turtles the front limbs 

 I are modified into flippers for swimming. The strong claws are 

 I used for digging, especially at the egg-laying season, for some 

 I turtles dig holes in sandy beaches in which the eggs are de- 

 li posited. 



Turtles are mostly aquatic in habit. Among the exceptions 

 I are the box tortoise and the giant tortoise of the Galapagos Islands. 

 I Many of the salt-water turtles are of large size, the leatherback 

 j| and the green turtle often weighing six hundred to seven hundred 

 i! pounds each. 



Lizards. Lizards may be recognized b}^ their long body with 

 I four legs of nearly equal size. The body is covered with scales. 

 I The animal never lives in water, is active in habit, and does 

 I not undergo a metamorphosis. Lizards are generally harmless 

 I creatures, the poisonous Gila monster of New Mexico and Arizona 

 being one exception. Lizards are of economic importance to man 

 I) because they eat injurious insects. The iguana of Central America 

 I and South America, growing to a length of three feet or more, has 

 the distinction of being one of the few edible lizards. 





Wright Pierce 



The Gila monster is the only poisonous lizard in the United States. It is brilliantly colored in 

 red and black. What may be the value of this coloring ? 



