39 
LACERTA. 
yellow Inftead of white, and In fome fpeclmens even of a 
bright gold-colour. The markings on the body alftq in¬ 
stead of the general ocellated pattern of the preceding, 
confift rather of rounded or flightly-fubangular fpots and 
variegations; the limbs, as in the preceding, are marked 
either with numerous bands or fpots, andthetail is banded : 
the claws are very large and ftrong. Native of New Hol¬ 
land ; and about fifteen inches long. 
9. Lacerta bicarinata, the bicarinated lizard : tail com- 
p refled, with a double ridge on its upper furface; and 
four rows of carinated fcales on the back. This fpecies, 
which Cepede appears to have confounded with the dra- 
cxna, as mentioned in that article, is in general of much 
fmaller fize, the fpecimen figured in the work above-men¬ 
tioned meafuring but two feet five inches from the tip of 
the fnout to the end of the tail. In its habit it bears 
fome refemblance to a crocodile in miniature, having hard 
tuberculated and carinated fcales on the upper parts of 
the body, and two rows of fcales more prominent than 
the reft running from the upper part of the back to the 
tail, at which part they become confluent, and are conti¬ 
nued, in the form of a ferrated creft, to the tip : the head 
is fmall; the mouth wide; the fnout fharpifli; the teeth 
pretty numerous; thofein front of the mouth fmall, thofe 
fituated backwards larger, and more obtufe ; the tongue 
forked. The colour of this animal, according to Cepede, 
is a reddilh brown more or lefs tinged with greenifh in 
fome parts. It is a native of South America, where, like 
the guana, and fome other lizards, it is occafionally ufed 
as food : the eggs alfo are faid to be much elteemed for the 
fame purpofe. It frequents woody and marfliy regions. 
Monf. de la Borde, a correfpondent of Cepede, kept 
one alive for fome timet it often continued in the water 
for hours together, hiding itfelf when difturbed or af¬ 
frighted ; but delighted in coming out occafionally, and 
balking m the fun. 
The Ignarucu is a large lizard found in Brafil, efpecially 
about the river St. Francis, much refembling the crocodile, 
and is faid to climb trees with great facility. It feems to 
be a variety either of this fpecies or of the dracana ; but 
it is of a darker colour, and its claws are weaker. 
10. Lacerta cordylus, the cordylus: tail Ihort, fur- 
rounded with rings of fharp-pointed and denticulated 
fcales ; body fmooth. yhe Linnasan character, “ body 
fmooth,” muft be underftood as applying to the back and 
belly, when compared with the legs and fides, and efpe¬ 
cially with the tail, for on the infides of the thighs there 
are fimilar rows of tubercles with thofe on moft of the li¬ 
zards. The fpecies which forms the fubje< 5 t of this arti¬ 
cle is found in Afia and Africa, and appears likewife to 
inhabit the fouth of Europe, as Ray mentions having met 
with it near Montpellier. The name of cordylus , which is 
exclufively appropriated to this fpecies by Linnteus, has 
likewife been applied by fome writers to feveral others, 
and particularly to the dracana, already defcribed. The 
following defcription is given by Cepede from feveral in¬ 
dividuals preferved in the imperial cabinet at Paris. The 
head is fomewhat triangular, enlarged at the back part, 
and very much flattened ; being covered on the top and 
fides by large fcales. The jaws are covered by two 
other rows of large fcales, and armed with fmall ftrong 
fharp teeth of an equal fize. The noftriis are fmall; the 
openings of the ears are narrow, being fituated at the two 
extremities of the bafe of the triangle of which the muz¬ 
zle forms the apex. The body is much flattened ; the 
belly being covered with tolerably-large and alnroft-fquare 
fcales, arranged in half-rings, or tranfverfe bands. The 
fcales on the back are larger than thofe on the belly, and 
are likewife almoft fquare ; thofe on the fides are all ridged, 
giving the flanks a prickly or fpinous appearance. The 
tail is almoft equal in length to the body ; and the fcales, 
which cover it in overlapping circles, have each a promi¬ 
nent ridge, terminating in a kind of lengthened prickle, 
which is provided with a very fmall fpine at each fide. 
Thefe fcales, being of confiderable length, and rifing up 
at their ends, form very diftimfl waved rings, fomewhat 
diftant from each, giving the tail the appearance of being 
compofed of feveral joints, or portions. In a female, the 
tail of which was entire, were counted nineteen of thefe 
circles. The fcales which cover the legs referable thofe 
on the tail, being rigid longitudinally, and ending in 
fharp points. The feet have five toes each, all of which 
are armed with claws. The colour of the fcales is blue, 
more or lefs mixed with chefnut in blotches or ftripes. 
Total length, ten inches. 
Cepede mentions a variety, with the fcales much fmaller. 
III. Back and tail, or the whole body, covered with denticulated 
or Jharp-pointed fcales. 
11. Lacerta pelluma, the pelluma lizard: tail verticil- 
late, longifli, with rliomboidal fcales. This is one of the 
middle-fized lizards ; the total length being nearly two 
feet, and the length of the body and tail nearly equal. 
It is a native of Chili, where it is faid to inhabit hollows 
under ground. It is covered on the upper parts with very 
minute fcales ; and is beautifully variegated with green, 
yellow, blue, and black : the under parts are of a glofl'y 
yellowifh green : the tail long, and verticillated by rows 
of rhomboid fcales. The fkin of this lizard is faid to be 
ufed by the Chilians for purfes. 
12. Lacerta ftellio, the ftarry lizard: tail encircled with 
various rings of fcales, head and body befet with fpines. 
The tail of this lizard is ufually rather fhort, or of w'hat 
is called a middle length ; being taper in its form, and 
diminifliing from the root to the tip. This animal is ex¬ 
tremely dilagreeable in its appearance; refembling the 
toad a good deal, efpecially in the general form of the 
head; in which circumftance it refembles the orbicularis, 
infomuch that fome authors have given the fame name to 
both. Its colours, however, make up in a great meafure 
for the difgufting appearance of its form, being a very 
beautiful variegation of white, black, and grey, and fome- 
times green, which are difpofed like the colours of mar¬ 
ble. It inhabits all parts of Africa, from Egypt to the 
Cape of Good Hope: it is likewife found in the eaft, in 
the iflands of the Archipelago, in Judea, and in Syria; in 
which two laft-mentioned countries, according to Belon, 
it grows to a confiderable fize, being as large as a weafel. 
Cetti, in his Natural Hiftory of Sardinia, informs us that it 
is common in that ifland, where it inhabits the houfes, being 
called tanntolc fly the Sardinians and in feveral parts of 
Italy ; which name is likewife given to a variety of the 
green lizard, and even to fome others. The ftarry lizard, 
however, is chiefly abjundant in Egypt; being found in 
great numbers about the pyramids and the ancient tombs, 
where they live among the crevices of the ftones, feeding 
on flies and other winged infefts. 
The pyramids, thofe almoft indeftruffible monuments 
of human power and vanity in times far beyond the reach 
of hiftory, feem deftinedto prefent very extraordinary ob¬ 
jects of various kinds. Both in ancient and modern 
times, the excrements of this lizard have been gathered 
among the pyramids with great care. By the ancients, 
who fuppofed this fubftance to be the excrement of the 
crocodile, it was called crocodilia ; and the fame name, ac¬ 
cording to Belon, is retained by the modern Greeks. Per¬ 
haps thefe excrements would not have been in fo much 
requeft, had they been known not to proceed either from 
the largeft or the fmalleft of the lizard tribe; for the ex¬ 
tremes of things, whether in greatnefs or minutenefs, are 
apt to impede on the ignorance of thofe who are unable 
to confider the great chain of nature. The mdderns, how¬ 
ever, being better informed on this fubje£f, have referred 
that fubftance to the ftarry lizard, which pofieffes no re¬ 
markable properties; but, the true or falfe value of itsex- 
crement having been already eftablifhed, it ftill continues 
in ufe, efpecially among the Turks, who confume large 
quantities of it as a cofmetie. It may be here obferved, 
that the lizard which we may fuppefe to have been em¬ 
phatically termed fellio by the ancients, from its being 
marked with fpots refembling ftars, feems at prefent un¬ 
known, It is, however, obfervable, that in one cf Stbi’s . 
3 plates 
