ROOM II.] 
natural history. (Animals.) 
31 
of America. They grow to a large size. The Crocodilurus has two 
keels in the tail like the crocodiles. 
Case 7. The Seines and other allied genera, which are generally 
small and polished. They come from the warmer parts of both hemi¬ 
spheres. Some have distinct and strong legs, and others rudimentary 
ones; as the blind worms, which have the bones of the legs hid under the 
skin; they are all quite innocent. 
Cases 8, 9. The Geckos, or night lizards, which have the power of 
walking up glass, or even to run with facility back downwards on the 
ceiling of a room, like a fly. They come from the warm parts of both 
hemispheres, and differ greatly in the form of their toes; some have the 
skin of the sides spread out to assist them when jumping from tree to 
tree. In the lower part are the various lizards allied to the Guanas. 
They are only-found in America, and live on trees; are very quarrelsome, 
and often fight with great ardour when they meet; they have the 
faculty of changing their colour with great quickness. The Anoles 
have the end of their toes dilated, which enables them to walk on 
smooth and perpendicular surfaces, like the Geckos. 
Case 10. The different genera allied to Agama. They are only 
found in the warmer parts of the Old World and Australia; as the Mo¬ 
lochs, which are almost entirely covered with large spines; the Dragons 
of India, which have the skin of their sides spread out into the form of 
wings, held up by the ends of the ribs; when at rest these wings are folded 
together on the sides, but when it leaps from branch to branch they are 
spread out and act as a parachute; the frilled agama ( Chlamydosaurus ), 
which has a large folded frill round its neck like a Queen Elizabeth’s 
ruff, which it can elevate when excited. The lower shelves contain 
the different kinds of chameleons, which are found in Africa and 
India, and the islands near them; they have been long celebrated on 
account of the rapidity with which they change their colours; and 
they are remarkable for the distance to which they can protrude the 
tongue in order to catch insects, which form their principal food. 
Wall Cases 11—17. The Snakes or Serpents. 
They differ from the lizard in always swallowing their food entire. 
Wall Case 11. The Poisonous Serpents. 
In the upper shelves are placed the Rattle-snakes peculiar to 
America, which have a rattle at the end of the tail; this rattle is formed 
of a series of horny joints, fitting one into the other, which the animal 
can shake at pleasure; there are several detached rattles, to show their 
structure; the fer de lance of the French colonists in South America, 
and the different kinds of poisonous snakes allied to the rattle-snake 
which come from India. The Vipers; as the adders of Europe, the 
long-nosed viper ( Ammodytes) of Southern Europe ; the crested or 
douole-horned viper of Egypt and North Africa; the nosehorn viper 
of Guinea, and the puff adder or short-tailed viper of the Cape of 
Good Hope and Western Africa. The viper is the only reptile found 
in Great Britain possessed of dangerous poisonous qualities. 
