SNAKES 
101 
6. Lizards. — There is a great variety of lizards. A 
common lizard is the chameleon (ka-me'le-un), which has the 
power of changing the intensity of the color in the skin 
by moving the color material nearer the outer surface or 
drawing it away. The 
horned toad of the West¬ 
ern United States is a 
lizard with scales of vary¬ 
ing length which give it 
a horny appearance. 
Horned toads, instead of 
laying eggs, have the 
eggs hatched while yet 
in the oviducts and the 
young horned toads are 
born alive. A poison¬ 
ous lizard is the Gila 
(he'la) monster that oc¬ 
curs in New Mexico and 
Arizona. It has the poison glands in its lower jaw. 
87. Snakes. — Snakes are legless vertebrates with long, 
cylindrical bodies covered with scales. They move by 
means of the scales (scutes) on the under side of the body. 
Most snakes lay eggs, but a few bring forth living young. 
Since snakes eat insects, 
frogs, mice, rats, and rab¬ 
bits, they should be con¬ 
sidered beneficial. 
Rattlesnakes 1 and cop¬ 
perheads are the most 
common poisonous snakes 
of our country. Their jaws are provided with fangs (Figure 
85), by means of which a poison is injected into their prey. 
1 The two most common rattlesnakes are the mountain rattler and the 
massasauge (mas-sa-sa'ge) 
Figure 87. — Rattles of Rattlesnake. 
Figure 86. — Horned Toad, a Lizard. 
Native in western part of United States 
and Mexico. 
