2 
The Naturalists’ Journal. 
who desire to dive deeply into the study of our native herpe¬ 
tology I would recommend the following two books, namely, 
Bell’s “ British Reptiles ” (second edition), and Lord Cler¬ 
mont’s “ Quadrupeds and Reptiles of Europe.” 
Reptiles are divided by all modern specialists into two 
great groups or sections. 
Section I.— Reptilia. 
The reptiles proper may be distinguished from the am¬ 
phibians by their possessing scales on their bodies in addition 
to many other points ; they constitute the mailed knights, as 
it were, of the reptile empire; the other class or section com¬ 
prising the unarmoured host which have no such protection 
from their enemies. 
Three orders are represented in the British Isles. 
Order Chelonia. 
This order consists of the tortoises and turtles, two of the 
latter, both marine species, being included in the British list 
on the strength of the occasional occurrence of a few speci¬ 
mens on the coasts of our islands. These are the hawk’s-bill 
turtle ( Chelonia imbricata ) and the leather-back turtle ( Sphargis 
coriacea). 
The first named constitutes the tortoiseshell of commerce, 
which is produced from the shell or carapace, which in large 
specimens measures about two feet in length. The other 
species, namely, the leather-back turtle, inhabits the Atlantic 
Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and its shell possesses seven 
long projecting ridges along it, separated by grooves. 
It is not very likely that many of my readers will come 
across specimens of either of the above species. 
Order Sauria. 
This group includes the lizards, of which we have four 
species (including the slow-worm.) 
The common or viviparous lizard {Zootoed vivipara ) is pro¬ 
bably familiar to every practical naturalist. It is a very 
agile and graceful creature, frequenting most sandy heaths 
throughout this country. Its usual length is from five to six 
inches. I possess a specimen in my collection, however, 
which measures fully seven inches, which was found by 
myself some years ago in Sutton Park, near Birmingham, 
where I may remark it is pretty plentiful. 
The sand lizard {Lacerta agilis) is a much more local species 
than the preceding, but is very common in certain places in 
the South of England. It is less agile and more bulky in 
appearance than the common lizard, its colour being sandy 
