LIZARDS. 
195 
very large, being nearly three feet in length, but rather 
sluggish lizards, with a dorsal row of high, thin spines. 
They are said to bo excellent eating. A still larger forn\. 
resembling tlie iguanas, is the sea-lizard {AmUyrhynclius) 
of the Galapagos Islands, where it lives on the rocks by the 
shore, feeding on sea- weeds. The largest lizard of the West- 
FiG. 237.— West Indian Gekko. From Liitken's Zoology. 
ern Territories is the iTeMerma or ^^Gila monster;" it is 
allied to the iguanas, but the body is heavily tuberculated. 
Its bite is poisonous. The largest of all existing lizards are 
the monitors, or species of Varamis, of Australia and the 
Fig. 238,— Horned Toad. From Liitken's Zoology. 
East Indies, which nearly rival the crocodiles in size^ being 
five or six feet in length. 
Order 'd, Chelonia {Teshtdinata, tortoises, turtles). These 
animals are at once recognized by their shell, the upper 
part forming the carapace and the lower the plastron; 
these two parts unite to form a case or box, within w^hich 
the turtle can retract its head and limbs and tail. 
There are about forty species of Chelonians in America 
