ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
147 
scales. All lizards possess teeth, but these differ in num¬ 
ber and position, and are of two distinct kinds. In the 
first kind the teeth are arranged along the inside of a jaw- 
parapet to which they ultimately become attached by their 
sides, and are hence known as pleurodont teeth ; while in 
the second kind they are arranged along the top of the jaw- 
parapet and are known as acrodont teeth. The individual 
pieces of the backbone or vertebral column are of two 
distinct kinds, first, those in which the centre or thick por¬ 
tion of each piece or vertebra is concave in front and behind ; 
and, second, those in which this portion is concave in front 
only. The classification of lizards is sometimes founded 
upon these structural differences in the vertebral column, 
associated with characters of the skull, but other classifica¬ 
tions have been, derived from the nature of the tongue 
which is also a good guide in arranging them. If the visi¬ 
tor will notice the tongue of the Chameleon,— one of these 
lizards being in a cage in this verandah,—he will see that 
the tongue is vermi-Ungulate, that is, long and worm-like ; 
the Gecko in an adjoining cage is crassi-Ungulate, or has a 
short and thick tongue ; whereas the Water Lizards, a few 
of which are placed in an isolated cage a little to the south 
of this house and close to the bridge, exhibit the type called 
fissi-lingulate, meaning, that the tongue is divided or split 
at its extremity, and it is also long and protractile. With 
this knowledge we can see how inappropriate it is to 
apply the term Iguana to the Water Lizard of India, 
which is frequently done in this country, although the 
Iguana is a short-tongued lizard and peculiar to America. 
The young of one of the Water Lizards, the Sacred Lizard 
or Hydrosauris salvator, is the famous Bis-Cobra, said to 
be more deadly than the Cobra itself, but this lizard 
