no 
The Hifiory of A N I M A L S. 
Lacerta cauda tereti longa , pedibus pentadaEiylis , dorfo 
firiato . 
The long and rounded-tailed Lizard\ with five toes to 
the feet) and a ftriated back 
This is a fmall but an extreamly beautiful fpecies; it rarely grows to more than 
fix inches in length, and is flender in proportion : the head is fhort, broad, and tinged 
faintly with reddifhj the body is of an olive brown, with four or five longitudinal 
lines of yellowifh running from the head to the beginning of the tail: the tail itfelf is 
long, rounded, not flatted, and of a beautiful blue : the legs are fhort, and the claws 
or toes long and flender. 
It is a native of America, and is very frequent in many places: it is fuppofed to be 
poifonous, but there does not feem to be any great foundation for this opinion. 
Ihe other fpecies of the Lacerta are, i. The common, brown, land Newt, or 
Lacerta. 2. The long-legged and thick-bodied, fmall, green Lacerta. 3. The long 
and flender, beautiful, deep green Lacerta. 4. The very long-tailed, brown Lizard, 
called,^ from the fiercenefs of it’s afped, the Lion Lizard. 5. The Lacerta, with the 
two-edged tail with the anterior feet with four divided toes, and the pofterior with 
five palmated ones, and the belly fwelled : this is called the Rana pifcis, and is fup¬ 
pofed to be produced by a change of a frog into a fill), though it neither is the one, 
nor ever was the other. 6. The Lacerta, with the tail verticillated with denticulated 
fcales, and with five toes to the feet; this is called the Cordylus. 7. The Lacerta, 
with a verticillated tail, with the feet divided into five unguiculated claws, and the 
Icales of the body fquare. 8. The Lacerta, with a rounded, verticillate tail, with five 
unguiculated toes to each foot, called the common Lizard. 9. The Lacerta, with the 
rounded tail, and with only three toes to each foot, called the Chalcides. 10. The 
Lacerta, with a long, rounded tail, with muticous feet, with four toes on the ante¬ 
rior, and five on the poflerior. 11. The Lacerta, with a long and rounded tail, with 
five toes on the feet, and with the crefl: of the gula and the lummit of the back 
fmooth, called the Principalis, and the fmooth-backed Guana. 12. The Lacerta, 
with a long, rounded tail, with five toes on each foot, with the gula fubcriftated, and 
dentated in the anterior part, and with the back fmooth, called the Marmorata. 
13. The Lacerta, with a long, rounded tail, with five toes on each foot, the back 
denticulated on the anterior part, and with the hinder part of the head and the neck 
aculeated. 14. The Caletes, or Lacerta, with a long and rounded tail, and with five 
toes on each foot, with the back dentated on the anterior part, and the head denticu¬ 
lated behind. 15. The Ameira, or Lacerta, with a long, rounded tail, and five toes 
on each foot, with the abdomen covered with fcuta, and with no crefi. 16. The 
Gecko, or Lacerta, with a rounded and moderately long tail, with five criftated toes 
imbricated on their under part on each foot, and with the body verrucofe, or covered 
with fmall, rough protuberances. 17. The Barbara, or Lacerta, with a rounded and 
moderately long tail, with five toes on each foot, with fmooth, round, greyifli fcales 
on the back, and brown ones at the fides. 18. The Lacerta, with a rounded and 
fhort tail, with fives toes on each foot, two or three of which grow together: this is 
the Chameleon. 19, The Lacerta, with a fhort and rounded tail, with unarmed feet, 
the anterior ones having four toes each, and the poflerior five. 20, The Teguixicon, 
or Lacerta, with a long and rounded tail, with five toes on the feet, with no crefl, 
but with plicated fides. 21. The Lacerta, with a long, rounded tail, with five toes 
on the foot, and with a longitudinally firiated back. 22. The Lacerta, called by many 
the Tarantula. 23. The flying Lizard, called by many the Dragon. 
The dragons figured and defcribed by authors would come in this place, or follow 
the Lizard, if they had, indeed, any place in nature, but that is not the cafe • the 
love of talking of firange things, in i^anie writers, and the credulity of others, have 
given birth to thefe monflers of the vitiated fancy. Aldrovand has figured two dra¬ 
gons under the name of Hydras j the one from Gefner, the other from his own 
fancy, each with two legs; and another ftranger monfter, which he calls a Bafilifk, 
with eight legs, with a body like a hog, the tail of a lizard, and the head of a bird 
of prey, with a crown on the fummit of it: and Parey and others have added dragons 
with 
