370 
THE STORY OF THE LIZARD. 
rarely seen. As the lizard lies in shade along the trunk of a tree, its colors 
at a distance appear like a mixture of brown and gray, and render it scarcely 
distinguishable from the bark. There it remains with no sign of life, except 
the restless eyes, watching passing insects, which, suddenly expanding its 
wings, it seizes with a sometimes considerable, unerring leap. The lizard 
itself appears to- possess no power of changing its colors. When excited, the 
appendages on the throat are expanded or erected; and the ordinary move¬ 
ments of the creature take the form of a series of leaps. 
There is an Australian species commonly known as the moloch, but termed 
by the settlers the spiny lizard or thorny devil, which seems of peculiar in¬ 
terest to me. This differs from all the other members of the family in being 
covered with large conical spines. About eight inches in total length, this 
extraordinary lizard has a small head, with an extremely short snout, on the 
summit of which are pierced the nostrils. On each side of the head imme¬ 
diately above the small eye is a large horn curving outwards and backwards, 
while there is a smaller conical spine above the nostril, a second behind the 
horn over the eye, a third and larger one in front of each ear, as well as one 
on each side. On the back the spines form ten or more series, of which the 
outermost are the largest. 
Inhabiting Southern and Western Australia, and being not uncommon in 
several localities in the neighborhood of Port Augusta, the moloch is found 
only in districts where the soil is dry and sandy. Occasionally two or three 
may be observed basking in company on the top of a sandhill; and it is the 
frequent habit of this lizard to bury itself in the sand to- a small depth below 
the surface. Although generally very slow in its movements, it has been 
known, when disturbed, to make for a neighboring hole with considerable 
speed. 
