38 
NATURAL HISTORY. [[UPPER FLOOR. 
spines round its tail. The Trapeli or Mutable Againee, so 
called from the rapidity with which they change the colour 
of their skin, are generally armed with irregular, spine¬ 
like scales ; as the Cape Agama ( Trapelus hispidus), the 
Yellow-striped Agama (Agama atra ), and the Mutable 
Agama ( Agama ruder at a). 
The Earless Agamee ( Phryriocephali ) have the same 
irregular scales as the Mutable Agamee, but they differ 
from them all, by their ears being hid under the skin, as 
in the Chameleons : one of the Phrynocephali ( Phrynoce - 
plialus auritus) has the margin of the lips produced and 
fringed, and the claws very long, differing in that respect 
from the others, as Pallas’s Phrynocephalus (Lacerta cau- 
divolvula'), and the Ocellated Phrynocephalus (Agama 
ocellata ). 
The Dragons ( Dracones ) differ from all these by the skin 
of the sides being extended into the form of wings, and 
supported by the end of the ribs. The wings, when 
the animal is at rest, are folded together on the sides of 
the body, but when it leaps from branch to branch 
they are expanded, and act as a parachute; there 
are several species, differing from one another in the 
length of the throat-pouches, and in the colour of the 
wings. 
The rest of the Agamae are furnished with a series of 
minute glands on the under side of the hind legs. Some 
of the species, peculiar to New Holland ( Gemmatophorce ), 
have rough scales like the Mutable Lizards; as the Muri- 
cated Agama (Lacerta muricata). 
The Lophyri have a crest of large scales on the back ; 
as the Amboina Lophyrus (Lacerta amhoinensis ),which has 
been confounded with the Basilisk. 
The last group of Agamee are peculiar for the tail being 
surrounded with verticillate bands of scales. In some of 
these ( Uromastyx ), the caudal scales are large and spinous; 
as the Common Uromastyx (Stellio spinipes ), from Egypt, 
and Hardwicke's Uromastyx (Uromastyx Hardwickii), 
from India; while in the Chinese Uromastyx ( Uromastyx 
Revesi ) they are small and smooth. 
In the lower part of the Case are the Chameleons, ani¬ 
mals long celebrated on account of the rapidity with which 
they change their colour; but most of the other Saurian 
