Tegukxin. REPTILES. True Lizards. 11 
tion of South America and the West Indian Islands. 
Madame Merian found it in Suiinam, and deseribes it 
as growing with time nearly as large as the alligator. 
It never attacks human beings, she says, but lives upon 
insects, the eggs of birds, &c., and wages war occasion- 
ally upon small fishes. “ When it wishes to lay its 
eggs, nature teaches the female to make hollows in the 
sand, on the bank of some river, and leave to the sun 
the care of hatching them.” These eggs are as large, 
she says, as that of a small fowl, and are much 
relished by the Indians. Azara, an acute observer, in 
his description of the animals of Paraguay, informs us 
that these lizards are called by the natives of that 
country the Teyu-giiazu,* and that they are generally 
tound on the edges of woods, and in dry plains, in 
which latter places tliey form burrows, into which they 
retreat during the winter. Their motion is very swift, 
and being rather timid animals, they plunge into the 
water when pursued or alarmed, and remain there till 
the danger is over. He confirms Madame Merian’s 
statement that they live upon insects, aVid further 
says, they eat frogs, serpents, young birds, and eggs. 
Dumeril and Bibron have always found the remains of 
insects in the stomachs of those they have opened, 
and, on one occasion, mi.xed up with the remains ol 
some beetles, portions of the skin and bones of a lizard. 
The natives of Paraguay informed Azara that the 
1'eguexin is very fond of honey, and that to obtain it 
the reptile approaches close to the hive, and strikes it 
a pretty smart rap with its tail ; it then runs off, but 
shortly returns, and with repeated attacks of this kind 
succeeds in frightening away the bees, and finallj' 
regales itself upon the dainty meal thus cleverly 
obtained. Its flesh is esteemed as good eating. The 
colour of this species is highly beautiful, consisting of 
an elegant variegation of brown, blackish, and purple 
spots, on a pale bluish-white, and, in some parts, yel- 
lowish ground. In length it is in general about thirty- 
eight inches ; the tail is round for the first half, but 
the latter portion is somewhat compressed. When it 
walks the belly and tail trail upon the ground, while 
the head is kept erect. The flattened structure of the 
tail shows its fitness for oceasionally inhabiting tlie 
water, while its strong claws prove its adaptation for 
digging in the sand. 
THE AMEIVAS {Ameivina) resemble the Teguexins 
in general form, but the head is more slender and 
compressed; the extremity of the muzzle is pointed, 
and there is no division in size between the neck and 
the body. The tail is more than two-thirds of the 
length of the whole body, and is of a rounded tetra- 
gonal form. They do not like them, however, frequent 
the neighbourhood of water; they only inhabit arid 
places. They live on worms, insects, snails, and herbs. 
THE COMMON KWEVi h. {Ameiva Sunnamenns) is a 
native of Guiana and Brazil, being spread all over the 
latter country. It is about a foot, or a little more, in 
length, and has the back more or less picked out and 
spotted with black, and vertical rows of white ocelli 
bordered with black on the flanks. 
* Teyu is the general name for lizards, giiazU alludes to 
its size ; this sjiecies being larger than any oilier lizard of 
Paraguay. 
THE TEYU-HOBY, or Green Lizard of Paraguay 
{Acrantus teyou), dilVers from all the other species 
belonging to this family, in having only four toes on 
the liinder feet, like the Crocodiles. The head is short 
compared with the Amoivas, and the tail is thick at 
the root, and terminates in a very sharp point. It is 
nine inches long, tail ineluded, and its eolouration is 
very beautiful. The head is of an enamelled green, 
this colour being prolonged in a line along the back, 
and the body is marked with six yellow rays, three on 
each side ; each of the intervals between the rays being 
filled up with a series of tolerably large black spots. 
This green lizard is very common in Paraguay, in the 
thickets, living there till the end of October, and at 
the approach of winter retiring into holes. It runs 
very quickly. 
THE CROCODILE-TAILS {CrococUlurina)* in size 
and aijuatic habits, and in the form of the tail, approach 
the Crocodiles. They frequent the large rivers, lakes, 
or wide morasses of South America, and pass a great 
portion of their life in the water. 
THE ADA, or Great Di!AGON {Ada Gnianensis), 
is an example. It attains the length of from four to 
six feet, and is a native of Guiana. Its flesh is accounted 
excellent by the natives, who eornpare it to that of a 
fowl. Its eggs are also in request. 
THE TRUE LIZARDS (Lacei'tida;) eomprise amongst 
them some of the smallest and prettiest species belong- 
ing to the Saurian order of Reptiles. They are rathei 
numerous, upwards of fifty distinct species being enu- 
merated by Dr. Gray in his British Museum Catalogue 
of Lizards. They are distinguished by having a pyra- 
midal head, covered with regular many-sided shields ; 
a scaly throat, often with a cross fold in front, and a 
collar of larger scales behind; a lengthened, flat tongue, 
not sheathed, but free at the base, divided at the tip 
into two long forks, and capable of being projected 
to a considerable length. Their teeth are hollow at 
the roots internally. They are all natives of the Old 
World and Australasia, and are all terrestrial. We do 
not know a single species which is really aquatic. 
Their tail, instead of being compressed and capable of 
acting as an oar, as in some of the preceding groups, 
is perfectly round, and in general very long. But 
though they are all terrestrial, they do not all inhabit 
the same kind of places, nor do they possess the same 
habits and manner of living. For instance, many of 
them cannot exist except in such situations as abound 
more or less in vegetation and herbage, whilst others 
are only found in desert and arid places. The first set 
are those which are found climbing habitually upon 
shrubs in thickets, or upon walls or hedges and palings 
which serve as inclosures of our habitations. In these 
the toes are always simple, compressed, and quite 
SRiOoth. The second set never rise from the sandy 
soil, upon the surface of which they run with great 
rapidity; for, however unfavourable at- first sight such 
a surl'ace might appear for walking upon, the struc- 
ture of their feet enables them to traverse it with 
the greatest ease. The toes in these are exceedingly 
flattened, keeled beneath, and dentated, or hhiged on 
* From the two Greek words, crocodilus (xioxeSsiXos), a 
crocodile, and oum a tail. 
