10 
Liza HUS. KEP FILES. Slknueu-tongueu Lizards. 
THE CALTETEPONS, or Heloderms {Helodermidm), 
liave been separated from the Monitors, and form a 
fondly by themselves ; though as yet only one species 
—the Rough Caetetepon {Hdoderma horruluni), 
fig. 3— has been discovered belonging to it ; it is rare 
in collections, and is a native of Mexico. The body 
and head are covered with large convex scales, and 
the teeth, unlike those of other Saurians, have a groove 
behind, like the fangs of serpents. Hernandez, in his 
“ History of the Plants and Animals of New Spain,” 
was the first to make us acrpiaiuted with this curious 
animal. He describes it as “ a terrific kind of lizard. 
Fi; 
:. 3. 
Tlie Rough Caltetepoii fllelodeniia horriduni). 
called Scorpms by the natives, two ells in length, with 
a long tail, short legs, a broad, red, and bifid tongue, 
which it sometimes rolls about, and a twisted head ; 
heavy and slow of motion, and covered with a hard 
skin variegated with brown and white spots, like small 
jiearls or the seeds of the Lithospcrmnm, wfiiich, from 
the hinder legs to the e.xtremity of the head, are dis- 
Fig. 4 
j)Osed in various forms, but on the tail form rings, 
chiefly of a brownish colour, which also surround the 
body trivnsvcrsely at intervals.” “ The bite of this 
animal,” he adds, “ is hurtful, but by no means deadly, 
so that it is more horrid to the sight than in realit}^, 
and attacks nobody unless injured or irritated.” The 
flesh of this animal, he further informs us, w’as con- 
sidered by the natives of New Spain as an aphrodisiac, 
and prized as much as that of the scink rvas in the 
East. 
THE SAFEGUARDS {Sauve-gardes of the French 
authors), or Teguexins {Teidcv), have also been de- 
scribed by many authors under the name of Monitors, 
and no little confusion has in consequence been created. 
The name, no doubt, has originated 
in the same belief th.at these animals 
w'ere useful to man, in giving warning 
of the approach of the crocodile or 
alligator. By retaining the name of 
Monitors for the first group, the con- 
fusion will be removed by assigning 
to the latter the name of Teguexins, 
a name given to one of the sjiecies by 
the Indians of South America. In 
this family the head is covered with 
large regular shields, whilst the inte- 
guments of the back and limbs have 
only small scales, which arc not dis- 
posed in tile fashion, but in trans- 
verse bands. The skin of the throat 
generally forms two or three simple 
transverse folds. The tongue is long, 
flat, extensile, and only occasionally 
sheatb.ed at the base. The legs are pretty strong, and 
the tail is usually rounded. The species belonging to 
this family are all natives of the warm parts of the 
New World, and some of them grow to a considerable 
size, reaching the length of four or five feet. 
THE COMMON TEGUEXIN (I'eius Teguexin) — fig. 4 
— is the best knowm. It is a native of the greater ])or- 
