LIZARDS. 
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Typical The typical members of the family constitute a genus ( Amphis- 
AmpMsbsenas. Jjcena) common to Tropical America and Africa, and represented by 
nearly thirty species. Belonging, like the last genus, to the group in which the 
teeth are attached to the inner edges of the jaws, these limbless amphisbsenas are 
specially characterised by the anterior body-rings not being enlarged, by the 
laterally placed nostrils being pierced in a special nasal shield, by the rounded or 
slightly compressed snout, the obtuse, cylindrical tail, and the presence of pores in 
front of the vent. The figured species {A. fitliginosa) is a well-known kind from 
Tropical America and the West Indies, deriving its name from its pied skin, and 
attaining a length of about 18 inches. Writing of the habits of a member of the 
genus, Bates observes that their “ peculiar form, added to their habit of wriggling 
backwards as well as forwards, has given rise to the fable that they have two 
heads, one at each extremity. They are extremely sluggish in their motions, and 
live habitually in the subterranean chambers of the saiiba ant; only coming out 
spotted amphisb.ena (§ nat. size). 
of their abodes occasionally in the night-time. The natives call the amphisbsena 
the mai das saiibas, or mother of the saiibas, and believe it to be poisonous, 
although it is perfectly harmless. It is one of the many curious animals which 
have become the subject of mythical stories with the natives. They say the ants 
treat it with great affection, and that if the snake be taken away from a nest the 
satibas will forsake the spot. I once took one quite whole out of the body of a 
young jararaca [a poisonous snake], whose body was so distended with its contents 
that the skin was stretched out to a film over the contained amphisbsena. I was, 
unfortunately, not able to ascertain the exact relation which subsists between 
these curious reptiles and the saiiba ants. I believe, however, that they feed upon 
the saiibas, for I once found the remains of ants in the stomach of one of them.” 
The True Lizards. 
Family Lagertieje. 
The true lizards, constituting the typical representatives of the suborder, form 
a large family, with seventeen genera, distributed over Europe, Asia, and Africa 
