86 
THE STELLIO, OR HARD1M. 
“We repeatedly tried the courage of this Lizard, and it certainly fought bravely when- 
ever attacked. From the animal making so much use of its frills as a covering and means 
of defence for its body, this is probably one of the uses to which nature intended the append- 
age should be applied.” 
This remarkable Lizard was discovered by Mr. Allan Cunningham, who caught the first 
specimen as it was perching on the stem of a small decayed tree. 
The general color of the Frilled Lizard is yellow-brown mottled with black, and it is remark- 
able that the tongue and the inside of the mouth are also yellow. The frill, which forms so 
conspicuous an ornament to this creature, is covered with scales, and toothed on the edge. It 
does not come to its full size until the animal has attained maturity, and increases in regular 
proportion to the age of its owner. In the young the frill does not even reach the base of the 
fore limbs, while in the adult it extends well beyond them. The head is somewhat pyramidal 
in shape, and four-sided. There is no pouch on the throat. A small crest runs along the 
nape of the neck, but does not extend to the back. The tail is long and tapering, and like the 
back, is devoid of a crest. The eyes are rather prominent during the life of the reptile, and 
the tongue is thick, short and nicked at the end. It is rather a large species, measuring when 
full grown nearly a yard in total length. 
Ix the genus Grammatophora, the head is three-sided, and rather flattened, with a 
sharpish muzzle. There is no throat-pouch, but the skin of the chest is folded into a kind of 
cross plait. The tail is long, conical, rather flattened at the base, and covered with over- 
lapping keeled scales. All the members of this genus inhabit Australia. 
♦ 
The Muricated Lizard, or Gramm atophore, is a native of New Holland. It is almost 
arboreal in its habits, being seldom if ever seen except on trees, which it traverses with 
remarkable agility, being quick, sharp, and dashing in its movements. It feeds on insects, 
and is enabled to catch them as they settle on the leaves or branches. It also eats caterpillars, 
grubs, and other larvae, which it can find in profusion among the boughs. 
The coloring of this Lizard is rather variable. Generally the back is brownish-gray, 
traversed by sundry brownish bars, running longitudinally on the body and transversely 
upon the legs and tail. Upon the nape of the neck and the back run a crest composed of 
triangular compressed scales, having two or three similar rows of pointed scales at each side. 
Upon the sides of the nape are rows of triangular keeled scales, and the sides are covered with 
, little compressed scales intermixed with large keeled shields. The toes are long, and the two 
central ones are much longer than the others. This is a small Lizard, only measuring when 
full grown about fourteen inches. 
The Stellio, sometimes called the Hardim by the Arabs, is a well-known Lizard inhabit- 
ing Northern Africa, Syria, and Greece. 
It is a very active little creature, haunting the ruins of ancient dwellings, heaps of stones, 
rocks, and similar localities, among which it flits from spot to spot with ceaseless activity. It 
has a curious habit of bending or nodding its head downwards, a movement which is greatly 
resented by the stricter Mahometans, who are pleased to consider the Lizard as offering an 
insult to their religion by imitating them in their peculiar actions of prayer. The more 
religious among them, therefore, take every opportunity of killing the Stellio, blending amuse- 
ment, piety, and destructiveness with a happy appreciation of their several merits, earning a 
good position in Paradise on easy terms, and consoling themselves for the present dearth of 
infidel heads by slicing off those of the unbelieving Lizards. 
The Stellio lives almost entirely on the various insects that flit about the sand, and its 
quick, rapid movements are needed to secure its prey. A kind of cosmetic was anciently made 
from this reptile, and even at the present day the Turks employ it in the offices of the toilet. 
The color of the Stellio is olive-green above, clouded with black, and the under parts are 
yellow, sometimes tinged with green. There is no crest upon the nape of the neck, and the 
scales of the tail are rather large, and arranged in distinct whorls. There is no decided throat- 
