37 
the tongue long and deeply forked; namely, the Mo¬ 
nitors of the Old World and its islands. Among these 
are the Two banded Monitor (Mon. bivittatus ) from 
India; the Laced Monitor (Mon. varius ) from New 
Holland; the Ornamented Monitor (Mon. ornatus) from 
the Cape, and the Grey Ouran (Mon. scincus) from 
Egypt. All these specimens live near the water’s 
edge, and are venerated by the natives, who assert 
that they give notice of the approach of the Crocodiles, 
by hissing when they perceive one of those animals. 
Whether this be fact or fiction, the name, Monitor, is 
probably to be traced to that origin. The Americans 
have a similar idea with regard to the Safeguards 
( Terns) of the New World. In the Collection are the 
Double-crested Ada (Teius bicarinatus ), very like the 
Crocodile in shape; the Variegated Safeguard (Teius 
monitor ); various species of Ameiva ( Lacerta ameiva , 
Lin.); and the Intermediate Centropyx ( Teius inter - 
medius ), remarkable for having lanceolate abdominal 
plates, and, the males, two spiniform scales on each side 
of the base of the tail. Next follow the True Lizards, 
which, like the Monitors, are peculiar to the Old 
World ; but they are at once distinguished from them 
by their tongue being, like those of the Safeguards, 
simply contractile, whereas that of the Monitor is with¬ 
drawn into a sheath under the gullet when at rest, in 
the same manner as the tongue of snakes. The Col¬ 
lection contains several specimens of this genus, most 
of which are found in Europe, as the Ocellated Lizard 
(Lac. ocellata), Green Lizard (Lac. viridis ), and the 
Wall Lizard (Lac. muralis ), found on heaths near 
London. This animal is said to be both oviparous 
and viviparous, and has been confounded by authors 
with another species (Lacerta agilis ), not a native of 
Britain. Lastly, the Swift Lizards ( Tacky dr omus ), 
which very much resemble the True Lizards, but have 
an exceedingly long body and tail, with their fore and 
hind legs very far apart, and the back covered with 
shields 
ROOM X. 
Nat. Hjst. 
