40 
THE WHITE-THROATED REGENIA. 
color is yellow, spotted with brown above, and whitish below. This species is the sole repre- 
sentative of its family. The other two families— namely, the Trigonophidse and the Lepido- 
sternidse — may easily be distinguished by the fact that in the former the teeth are set in the 
margin of the jaws, instead of on their inner side as in the other families ; and that, in the 
latter, the scales on the chest are larger and of different shapes, whereas in the other two fam- 
ilies they are all squared. Moreover, the pores under the abdomen are absent. 
SCALED REPTILES; SQUAMATA. 
LIZARDS ; OR SAURA. 
SLENDER-TONGUED LIZARDS; SEPTOGLOSS^E. 
E now leave the shielded reptiles and proceed to the Scaled Lizards. These creat- 
ures form a very large and important group, and may be distinguished from the 
previous section by the covering of the body, which is formed of scales either 
granular or overlapping each other, instead of the straight-edged plates which 
cover the bodies of the tortoise and crocodiles. The tongue of these animals is 
rather long, nicked at the tip, and often capable of extension. The young are 
produced from eggs, sometimes hatched before being deposited, but generally 
after they have been laid in some suitable spot. The eggs are covered with a rather soft, 
leathery shell. 
The true Lizards have four limbs, generally visible, but in a few instances hidden under 
the skin. Their body is long and rounded, and the tail is tapering and mostly covered with 
scales set in regular circles or “whorls.” The mouth cannot be dilated as in the snakes; 
because the under jawbones are firmly united in front, instead of being separable as in the 
serpents. The ear has a very singular appearance, the drum or “tympanum” being mostly 
distinct and exposed. 
There are twenty-four families of true Lizards, and passing by several anatomical and 
structural distinctions, which will be found at the end of the volume, we will proceed at once 
to the first family, called the Monitors. In all these creatures the head is covered with very 
little, many-sided scales ; the tongue is long, slender, and capable of being withdrawn into a 
sheath qt its base ; the scales are small, rounded, and arranged in cross rings, those of the side 
resembling those of the back ; the legs are four in number, and each foot has five toes. They 
are all inhabitants of the Old World, and are seldom, if ever, found far from water. 
Oijr first example of the true Lizards is the White-throated Regenia, or White- 
throated Varan, a remarkably fine and powerful species of Lizard, inhabiting Southern 
Africa. A rather full and accurate description of this Lizard is given by Dr. Smith : — 
“It is usually discovered in rocky precipices or on low stony hills, and when surprised 
seeks concealment in the chinks of the former or the irregular cavities of the latter, and where 
any irregularities exist on the surface of the stones or rocks, it clasps them so firmly with its 
