MALTA AND SICILY. 
93 
near the spot, and by approaching very 
cautiously with the blow-pipe pointed towards 
him, after several unsuccessful attempts, we 
at length had the pleasure of seeing him in 
our bottle. He proves to be one of those 
lizards which are called “ wood-slaves ,” 
(Gecko -) and an extremely ugly crea¬ 
ture he is. He has a very large mouth, and 
the head and body are wide and flat, with 
the legs projecting sideways, so that he runs 
with the belly touching the ground, and he 
appears to move with equal facility and 
rapidity in all directions, backwards, for¬ 
wards, or sideways. The colour is a brown¬ 
ish grey, rather lighter on the under-parts, 
and the back and tail are beset with pro¬ 
tuberances, or warts. His eyes have a very 
unpleasant, and almost a wicked expression. 
They are nearly the same colour as the body, 
and have long narrow pupils like those of a cat 
