GREAVED LIZARDS. 
1 55 
may be recognised by the tail being round at the root and slightly compressed 
near the middle, the double fold of skin on the neck, the uniform scales of the 
back, the rather small squared shields of the under surface of the body, which are 
arranged in more than twenty rows, the want of teeth on the palate, the com¬ 
pressed tricuspid cheek-teeth of the young, and the long tongue, which is of nearly 
equal width throughout, and sheathed at the base. In old individuals the crowns 
of the cheek-teeth become obtuse. The teju, which attains a length of about a 
yard, is a bulky and strikingly coloured lizard. Above, the ground-colour is olive, 
upon which are markings and bands of black, and more or less distinct rows of 
Surinam ameiva (J nat. size). 
lighter spots; while the under surface is yellowish, with interrupted black bars; 
the lines of division between the shields of the head being black. 
Ranging from Guiana to Uruguay, the teju is said by Bates to be very 
common in the forests of the Amazon, where it may be observed in numbers 
during the midday stillness scampering, apparently in sport, over the dead 
leaves; while in other districts it haunts sugar-plantations. Although frequently 
found in the neighbourhood of water, it apparently never enters it; and 
generally dwells in wide-mouthed holes situated beneath the roots of trees. Shy 
and retiring to a degree in inhabited districts, when driven into a corner it shows 
light, hissing at and striking with its muscular tail the dogs employed in its 
pursuit. When sitting, the head is generally raised, while the forked tongue is 
in constant motion. Its diet comprises such living creatures as it can capture, 
