98 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW, 
terminating a carcase unparalleled for meagreness, are not the 
only parts of the Chamseleon which demand attention. 
It is true that a rank equal to that usually conferred on the 
Chamaeleons might be awarded the singular Hatteria ( Sphenodon 
or Rhynchocephalus ) of New Zealand, whose characters have 
been so well described by Dr. Giinther.* It, too, recedes from 
the typical lizards, while it approaches the crocodilians and 
otheV reptiles. Its nearest affinities are less with recent saurians 
than with certain long extinct members of its order. In so far 
as it is an aberrant, it is also, for the most part, a generalized 
lizard, resembling lower rather than higher forms. The Hatteria 
deceives us, for its outward aspect gives little clue to the solution 
of the riddle propounded by its deeper anatomical peculiarities. 
For this reason it was at first erroneously classed with the 
Iguanas, to some of which in habit it sufficiently approximates. 
But the ways of the Chamaeleons, no less than those morpho- 
logical features which yield so much delight to the pure 
anatomist, are at once seen to be very exceptional and worthy 
of note by the ordinary observer. Thus, whether we consider 
their structure or their mode of life, these reptiles may fairly 
claim the isolated position commonly assigned them. 
Does the sub-order and family of Chamaeleons include more 
than one genus? The late Dr. John Edward Gray, who, during 
his later years, would seem to have felt a passion for the 
subdivision of old genera and the institution of new ones, 
has endeavoured to establish no less than fourteen genera in 
place of the one usually admitted. It is difficult, if not im- 
possible, to agree with this author’s estimates. His thirteen 
new genera rest on characters which are either paltry in them- 
selves, and perhaps not always of even specific importance, or 
taken from one sex only. Rightly to classify Chamaeleons, we 
need very extensive suites of specimens preserved in fluid, 
collected from as many localities as possible, and accompanied 
by the notes and drawings of intelligent travellers. 
A much more competent authority, Dr. Gunther, dis- 
tinguished among living zoologists for his knowledge of the 
species and genera of cold-blooded vertebrates, has lately 
proposed a new genus of Chamaeleons, which we have no choice 
but to admit for the present. This genus, Rhampholeon , contains 
one well-marked species (R. specti'wn), whose strange characters 
are manifest at a glance (see PL iii. figs. 1, 2). It is a small 
species, with an exceptionally short tail. The male has a total 
length of thirty-nine lines, the tail being thirteen ; the female 
is thirty-five lines, with a tail nine lines in length. 
‘ The tail is so short that it can serve as a prehensile organ 
* See his memoir in the Philosophical Transactions for 1807. 
