.y?^J^ '^iwr^^ ■l|fiU,*^.;J.>.lR^LH)W9r^'^ ^?>> y/- inniHSfir?*: K^\■ 7^-7/7: *M.M^A . ■. . *fc . The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924090302138 EEPTILES AND BIBPS> COi CO; [>0i o= COi o= 03 = 00 = 1IA"\VKING IK THE MIllDLE AOES. Reptiles and Birds. POPULAR ACCOUNT OP THE \'ARIOUS ORDERS WITH A DESCRIPTtdX IJF HIE Habits and Economy of the Most Interesting: LOUIS riGUlER. EDiri;!) \)\ PARKER GILL M O R Ii Author of "Gun, Rod, cui. 37. if'ig. 17.— yuake-chaiTriera. 74 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. curious spectacle; being the Serpent 'chiefly used by snake- charmers in these countries, terrible as it seems to us. The action of the snake-charmer is as follows : he takes in his hand a root, the virtue of which is supposed to preserve him from the venemous effects of the bite of the Cobra. Drawing the reptile from the cage in which he keeps it confined, he irritates it by presenting a stick to it ; the animal immediately erects the fore part of its body, swells its neck, opens its jaws, ex- tends its forked tongue, its eyes -glitter, and it begins to hiss. Then a sort of battle commences between the Serpent and the Kg. 18.— Hooded Snake. charmer; the latter, striking up a monotonous sort of song, opposes his closed fist to his enemy, sometimes using his right hand and sometimes his left. The animal fixes its eyes upon the fist which threatens it, follows all its movements, balances its head and body, and thus simulates a kind of dance. Other charmers obtain from the Cobra an alternating and cadenced movement of the neck by the help of sounds which are drawn SNAKE-CHAEMING. 75 from a whistle or small flute. It is said that these mysterious jugglers are ahle, by some sympathetic action they possess, to plunge these dangerous enemies into a sort of lethargy and death-like rigidity, and to bring them at will out of this mo- mentary torpor. It is -certain, at any rate, that they handle these animals, whose bite is extremely dangerous, with consider- able impunity, and without having in any way neutralized or intercepted the venom. It is supposed by some that these charmers take the precaution of exhausting the venom of the Cobra every day by forcing it to bite something several times before exhibiting it. It is also certain that they more frequently draw the poison fangs — a wound from which can kill in the course of two or three hours. The Asp {Naja haje) has a less dilatable neck ; it is of a greenish colour, and marked with brownish spots. It is smaller than the former ; is found in the west and south of Africa ; and is espe- cially common in Egypt. It was said to have been this Ileptile which caused the death of Cleopatra. [The genus Hamadryas of Cantor ( Ophiophagus of Giinther) differs very little from the true Cobras, but has a less developed hood, and a single small tooth placed at some distance behind the fang. The only species, H. elaps, attains to thirteen feet in length, and is proportionately formidable, being much less timid and retiring in its habits than the Cobras of the genus J^aja. it preys habitually on other Snakes, and seems to be more plentiful eastward of the Bay of Bengal than it is in India. In Burmah it is styled the Gnan, and Mr. Theobald tells us that its venom is fatal in a few minutes. " One of these ISnakes," he adds, " was brought in alive, and a snake-charmer came up to display his command over the animal. At first (as I am told) the Snake seemed cowed by the authoritative ' Hah ' of the man ; but sud- denly, through some carelessness on his part, the Snake struck him on the wrist. The poor fellow at once ran ofi" home to get an antidote, but fell down before reaching his own door, and died in a few minutes. When at Tonghu," continues Mr. Theobald, " I heard a case of an Elephant being killed by one of these Snakes, which I have no reason for doubting. The Elephant was a fine powerful male, and was pulling down with his trunk some creepers 76 OPHIDIAN REPTILES. or boughs, when a large ' Gnmiy which Was disturbed in the tree, struck the Elephant on the truak between the eyes-. The Elephant at once retreated, became faint, and died in about three hours." This terrible Snake would appear to be not uncommon in the Andaman Islands, and its range of distribution extends through the Malay countries to the Philippines and to New Guinea. The genus Bungaru^ is so called from the vernacular appellation of Bungarum, which is applied to one of the species on the Coro- mandel coast. Some of them are very like Cobras without the hood, as the " Kerait " {B. cceruleus), which is a much-dreaded Snake in India, but the geographic range of which extends neither to the countries eastward nor to Ceylon. The Snakes of this genus have a row of broad hexagonal scales along the middle of the back. The Kerait grows to four feet and a half in length, and has the upper parts of a bluish or brownish black,, either uniform or more generally marked with numerous narrow white cross-lines, which mostly radiate from a white vertebral spot. In its habits it resembles the Cobra, preying on small Mammalia, Lizards, Toads, and probably other Snakes occasionally.- The " Raj -samp " (lite- rally Lord Snake) is a larger and thicker species than the Kerait, beautifully marked throughout with alternate broad rings of black and golden-yellow. This one is found almost generally through- out the Indian region, and would seem to prey entirely on other Snakes, especially of the Tropidonotus genus. It is of very sluggish habits, and freq^uents moist places and the vicinity of water. A species, or local variety (B. ceybnicus), takes its place in Ceylon, and there is also a kindred species {B. semifasciatus) in China and Formosa. According, to Cantor, the Bungarums are capable of darting nearly the anterior half of the body. Their bite is very dangerous ;. but " the magnitude of the danger," remarks Dr. Giinther,, " depends, as in other venemous Snakes, on many circumstances — chiefly on the size and energy of the indi- vidual Snake and on the place of the wound. As the fangs of the Bungarums are comparatively short, the wound is always super- ficial, and can be easily excised and cauterised ; also, experiments made on some of the lower animals show that the general eflect on the whole system becomes visible only after a lapse of time." Of poisonous Snakes akin to the Bungarums, there are the POISONOUS SNAKES. 77 Xenurelaps bungaroides, founded on a single specimen received from the Khasya hills (north of Sylhet) ; and the Megcerophis Jlaviceps, which inhabits the Indo-Chinese and the Malayan countries, but not India. The latter attains to more than six feet in length, and when alive or fresh the head and neck are vivid blood-red, which soon fades to a pale buff hue in specimens im- mersed in spirit, and hence the faulty name oi Jlaviceps. As many as seven genera — Glyphodon, with two ascertained species; Diemansia, with four ; Hoplocephakis, with eight ; Pseudechis, with one ; Pseudo-naja, with one ; Brachysmna, with three ; and Ver- micalla, with one — are peculiaa- to Australia with Tasmania, making twenty known species of Colubriform Venemous Snakes in that range of territory, whereothers doubtless remain to be discovered ; and there is one descrifeed as Pseudo-elaps superciliaris, which is suspected to be a second species of Pseudo-naja. The Cyrtophis scutatus of South Africa is a sort .of hoodless Cobra, without any small teeth behind its fangs. In America there is only the genus Elaps, with numerous species, which are mostly of small size, and in some instances are very brightly coloured, as one of the Coral Snakes* of Brazil {E. coraUinus) , which is beautiful coral-red, with the body encircled by equidistant black rings. The genus Elaps in America is represented in Africa by Homorelaps, in the Indian region by Callophis, and in Australia by Vermicalla. In general, these are small and slender Snakes, too much so to be held in much dread. What Dr. Griinther remarks of the species of Callophis will apply, as we believe, equally to the others : — "They appear to prefer hilly countries to the plains, live con- stantly on the ground, and are slow in their movements. In their habits, in their form, and in their powerless muscular organization, they show the greatest similarity to the Calamarice ; and this is why the Callophides feed almost entirely on the latter, the venemous Snake being able to overpower the non- venemous. Both of these genera have also the same geographical distribution ; and Ceylon, where we do not find the Calamarice, is not inhabited by a single Callophis. If we are allowed to judge from the number of indi- viduals of both genera brought to Europe in collections, the Calamarice are about twice as numerous as the Callophides." * This name teing also applied to the harmless Tortrix acytaU [vide p. 46.) 78 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. Cantor, who had opportunities of observing them, states that they are generally seen lying motionless, with -the body thrown into many irregular folds, but not coiled. Although they are diurnal, their sight, from the minuteness of the pupil, appears to be as defective as their sense of hearing, and they may be closely approached without apparently being aware of danger. He never observed them to strike voluntarily, even when provoked, and he had difficulty in making an adult C. gracilis bite a Fowl ; although, of course, the venom of these Snakes is as virulent as that of a Yiper, the animals used for the experiments having died in the course of from one to three hours after they had been wounded. Therefore the greatest caution should be observed in catching or handling these Snakes. The shortness of their fangs and the small quantity of their poisonous fluid, however, will always give a very fair chance of recovery if the proper remedies be applied, should an accident occur. Two or three species of this genus inhabit India, and the rest are found in the Indo- Chinese and Malayan countries, one of the most common of them ( C. intestinalis) having likewise been received from the Philippines. The C. nigrescens of the mountains of southern India attain to four feet in length, but they are mostly about half of that size, or even smaller. Lastly, we arrive at The ViPERiNE Snakes, Which have a long, perforated, erectile fang on the maxillary bone, which is extremely short and bears no other teeth. This is described in greater detail subsequently (pp. 93, 94). They are arranged under the two families Crotalidce, and Viperidce. The Crotalidce, or Pit Vipers, have the body robust, the tail of moderate length, or rather short, sometimes prehensile; head broad, sub- triangular, frequently scaly above or imperfectly shielded ; a deep pit on the side of the snout, between the eye and nostril ; the eye of moderate size, with vertical pupil. They are viviparous. The Pit Vipers are found only in Asia and America ; those of the New World surpassing the Asiatic species in size, and therefore they are much more dangerous. Some live in bushes, others FEE-DE-LANCE. 79, on the ground. A rudiment of the curious caudal appendage of the American Rattlesnakes is found as a simple spine-like scale in the Asiatic species, constituting the genus Halys. Some have the head covered with scales, having small shields on the edge of the forehead and brows ; the cheeks are scaly, and the tail ends in a spine. Of these, the American genus Craspe- docephalus and the Asiatic genus Trimeresurus have .the sub-caudal plates two-rowed to the tip. The genus Craspedocepkalus comprises the terrible Fer-de-lance of certain islands in the West Indies, which occurs on the main- land of South America, where four other species are recognised — one of them being found as far north as Mexico.] The Ter-de-lance ( C. lanceolatus) is met with in Martinique, I Fig. 19- — Fer-de-lance {Iriffonocephala mycalee). Santa Lucia, and in the little island of Boquin, near St. Yincent. It attains to a length of nearly six feet ; its colour is not always yellow, sometimes it is greyish, and even marbled with brown ; the 80 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. head, which is large, is remarkable for a triangular space, the three angles of which are occupied by the muzzle and the two eyes. This space, raised at its front edge, represents the head of a lance, large at its base and slightly rounded at the summit. On each side of the upper jaw, one, sometimes two, and even three, fangs are visible ; all of which the animal makes use of for the purpose of wounding and discharging his venom. Of the poison fangs of the Fer-de-lance, Professor Owen remarks, " that they (in common with the Rattlesnake and Viper) are coated with a thin layer of a sub-transparent and minutely cellular cement. This disposition of the dentinal tubes is obedient to the general law of verticality, and the external surface of the tooth can be exposed to no other pressure than that of the turgeecent duct with which it is in contact." It feeds on Lizards and the smaller Mammals, especially Rats, but it is capable of killing large animals, such as Oxen. The Negroes working among the sugar-cane, and soldiers in the Martinique service, often become victims to the Fer-de-lance. This Snake is, unfor- tunately, very prolific, and its venom is so subtle, that animals stung by it die three hours, twelve hours, one day, or several after the accident ; but their death is certain. The wound pro- duces extreme pain, and is immediately followed by m^ore or less livid swelling ; the body becomes cold and insensible, the pulse and respiration become slower, the head becomes confused, coma appears, and the skin turns bluish ; sometimes extreme' thirst and spitting of blood are experienced, and paralysis attacks the whole system. Another species is known in Brazil as the " Jararaca " (C. brasi- liensis), and there is a third in the same country, the C. bilineatus ; a fourth, C. elegans, is believed to be from the west coast of South America ; and a fifth, C. atrox, inhabits from Demerara to Mexico. All of them are most highly formidable and dangerous Snakes, which are held in especial dread. The ten or more species of Trimeresuriis occupy their place in the woodland districts of tropical Asia and its islands. In them the hinder labial shields are the smallest. The head is triangular, covered above with small scales, except the foremost part of the snout and the superciliary region, which generally are shielded ; VIPEEINE SNAEES. 81 body with more or less distinctly keeled scales, ia from seventeen, to twenty-five series. Body and tail of moderate length, prehensile. These reptiles are more or less arboreal, as is indicated by their prehensile tail, and by their green or varied coloration. " In general," remarks Dr. Giinther, " they are sluggish, not attempting to move out of the way, and as they very closely resemble the branch on which they rest, they are frequently not perceived until they prepare to dart, vibrating the tail, smd uttering a faint hissing sound, or until they have struck the disturber of their rest. Accidents caused by them, therefore, are not of uncommon occur- rence, and it is a fortunate circumstance that comparatively few of them attain to a size of more than two feet, so that the conse- quences of their bite are less to be dreaded than that of various other poisonous Snakes. Indeed, numerous cases are on record which show that the symptoms indicating a general effect on the system were of short duration, extending only over from two to forty-eight hours, and confined to vomiting, retching, and fever. After the pain and swelling of the bitten member or spot have subsided, the vicinity round the wound becomes discoloured, mortifies, and is finally thrown ofi' as a black, circular slough, after which health is speedily restored. The bite of larger speci- mens, from two to three feet long, is more dangerous, and has occasionally proved fatal ; so that the greatest care should always be observed in the immediate treatment of the patient. When roused, these Snakes are extremely fierce, striking at everything within their reach ; and Cantor states that in the extreme of fury they will fix their fangs in their own bodies. Frogs, small mam- malia, and birds form their food, and I have never found a Lizard or Snake in their stomach." Three or more of the species inhabiting India and Burmah are of a beautiful leaf-green colour, which changes to dull blue after long immersion in spirit. The commonest of them, T. carinatus, varies remarkably in colouring, however, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ; if, indeed, the species be quite the same. These grow to over three feet in length, of which size they are sufficiently formidable. The kindred genus, Peltopelor, is founded on a single species inhabiting the mountains of Southern India, P. macrolepis, which is remarkable for the very large scales with which its head 82 ■ OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. and body are covered. Lachesis, with two species, is another kindred genus in South America, in which the end of the tail has four rows of scales underneath. The Calloselasma rhodostoma is a very formidable reptile of this same series, which inhabits the Malay countries. It has a remarkably broad head, and grows to three feet or more in length. Dr. Giinther states that " it is one of the most beautiful and most dangerous of venemous Snakes. Feeding on frogs, it frequents grassy plains, and approaches gardens and human dwellings. Kuhl was eye-witness to a case where two Men, bitten by one and the same Snake, expired iive minutes after." Another Malayan species is known as the Atropos acouba. The genus Halomys is characteristic of the fauna of Central Asia, the species being found in Tartary, on the northern side of the Himalayas, in China, in Japan, and in Formosa. One of them occurs in the Western Himalaya, at an altitude of 9,000 feet, and another has been referred to this genus from the moun- tains of Southern India. The "carawalla" of Ceylon (Hypnale nepa) is likewise found on the mountains of Southern India. It is a small species, but a good deal dreaded, although, remarks Dr. Giinther, "its bite is but exceptionally fatal to Man, and in such cases death does not occur before the lapse of some days. There is always every hope of restoring the patient by a timely applica- tion of the proper remedies." Its crown is more shielded than is usual with Snakes of this family, and it varies much in colouring. The rest of the Crotalidm are American, and consist of the famous Rattlesnakes and their immediate kindred. In the genus Cenckris the tail ends with a spine, and the tip of the tail has several rows of scales beneath. The well-known " Copperhead " (C contortrix) belongs to this genus, and the black "Water Viper " ■( C. piscworus). The last has bred repeatedly in the London Zoological Gardens, and is rather a large species, of very aquatic propensities. " The Copperhead," according to Dekay, " is a vicious reptile, and its venom is justly dreaded, being considered as deadly as that of the Hattlesnake ; and an instance is recorded in which a Horse, struck by one of these reptiles, died in a few hours. Its motions are sluggish, and when aj)proached it assumes a threatening aspect," raising its head and darting out its tongue. It chiefly occurs in pastures and low meadow grounds, feeding on ' EATTLESNAKES. 83; Field-mice, Frogs, and tlie smaller disabled birds." The poison of the black Water Viper is equally to be dreaded. The true Rattlesnakes have the tail furnished with the extraor- dinary appendages at its tip which will be described presently. According to differences in the shields and scales covering the head, Dr. Gray arranged them into three genera — Crotalopkorus, with three species ; Uropsopkus, with one ; and Crotalus also with one, C. horridus, which appears to be the only one known in South America. Of the common Northern Rattlesnake {Urop- sopkus durissus), Dekay remarks that, " although furnished with such deadly weapons, the Rattlesnake can scarcely be termed a vicious animal, for he rarely strikes unless almost trodden upon. "When suddenly disturbed, he throws himself into a coil, and warns the aggressor by rapidly vibrating his rattles, which, however, can scarcely be heard beyond the distance of a few yards. This is most usually the case, but they occasionally strike without the slightest warning. At the moment the Snake strikes, he ejects the venom forcibly into the wound. In an instance of a very large Rattle- snake from Florida (C horridus), which was irritated, he struck violently against the iron wire on the side of the cage, and spurted the venom to the distance of three feet." * The fibula, or rattles, seldom exceed fifteen in number, and are rarely so many.] The common Northern Rattlesnake sometimes attains to six feet in length, the middle being about the size of a man's leg ; the colour of the back is grey, mixed with yellow. Upon this foun- dation extends a longitudinal row of black spots, bordered with white ; towards the muzzle the flat head is covered with six scales larger than the others, and disposed in three transverse rows, each formed of two scales. The males are smaller, much more brightly and less darkly coloured than the other sex. The vej-y long and visible fangs are situated in front of the upper jaw. The scales on the back are oval, and raised in the middle by a bone which extends in the direction of their greatest diameter. The underpart of the body is furnished with a single row of large plates. The Rattlesnake owes its name to a remarkable peculiarity in its struc- ture ; the extremity of the tail is furnished with small horny cells, * "We have seen a Cobra thus spurt its venom against the plate-glass cover of the hox ia which it was kept. — Ed. g2 84 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. articulated one into the otter. When the animal advances these little capsules resound slightly, like the dry husks of beans which still retain their seeds, thus giving notice of the approach of this terrible enemy. The sibilant rattle of these appendages is not very loud, but it may be heard about thirty paces off, and announces the approach of the reptile while it is still at that distance. Fig. 20, — ^Northern Rattlesnake {Uropsophus durissus). Rattlesnakes feed on small mammals and upon other reptiles, wait- ing patiently for their approach ; when close to them, the Rattle- snake throws itself upon them. They are oviparous ; and for some time after they are hatched, the young are said to seek a refuge in the mouth of their mother. During summer Rattlesnakes remain in the midst of stony mountains, uncultivated places, or places covered with wild wood ; they generally choose those parts most exposed to the heat, — the sunny shores of a fountain or stream where small animals come to drink. They like also to place thmeselves under the shadow of an old fallen tree. Audubon, the celebrated ornitho- logist, says that he has often met with Rattlesnakes rolled up in a FASCINATING A SNAKE. 85 state of torpor when the temperature was low. Rattlesnakes are revered hy some of the American natives, who know how to lure them from their houses without killing them ; for it is a singular fact that this terrible animal is not insensible to the sound of music. Chateaubriand's remarks will be read with interest : " In the month of July, 1791," says this celebrated writer, " we were travelling in Upper Canada with some savage families of the Ounoutagnes. One day, when we had stopped in a plain on the banks of the river Grenedie, a Rattlesnake entered our camp. We had a Canadian amongst us who played on the flute ; wishing to amuse us, he approached the animal with this new kind of weapon. At the approach of his enemy, the splendid reptile at once coiled itself up spirally, flattened its head, pufPed out its cheeks, con- tracted its ears, and showed its envenomed fangs, while its forked tongue moved rapidly, and its eyes burned like red-hot coals ; its body became inflated with rage, rose and fell like a pair of bellows ; its dilated skin bristled with scales ; and its tail, which produced a sinister sound, oscillated with lightning rapidity. The Canadian now began to play upon his flute. The Snake made a movement expressive of surprise, gradually drew its head backwards, closed its inflamed mouth, and, as the musical sounds struck it, the eyes lost their sharpness, the vibration of its tail relaxed, and the noise which it made became weaker, and finally died away altogether ; the coiled-up line became less perpendicular, the orbs of the changed Snake opened, and in their turn rested in wider concentric circles on the ground. The scales of the skin were also lowered, and immediately recovered their wonted brilliancy, and, turning its head slowly towards the musician, it remained immovable in an attitude of pleased attention. At this moment the Canadian walked away a few steps, drawing low and monotonous tones from his flute ; the reptile lowered his neck, opened a way among the fine grass with its head, and crawled in the steps of the musician who thus fascinated him, stopping when he stopped and following him when he began to move away. The Snake was thus con- ducted from OUT camp in the midst of a throng of spectators — as many Red-skiis as Europeans — who could hardly believe their eyes." It is generally agreed that Rattlesnakes only attack Men in self- 86 OPHIDIAN REPTILE^. defence, but it is at all times a dangerous neighbour, and it is im- portant to know bow to keep tbem at a distance in countries wbere tbey abound. The Pig is an excellent auxiliary in obtaining this result. In the west and south of America, when a field or farm is infested by these ferocious reptiles, it is usual to put a Sow with its young brood there, and the Snakes, it is said, will soon be eaten up. It appears that owing to the fatty matter which envelopes the body of this animal, it is safe from the Tenemous bite. Besides, it likes the flesh of the Snakes, and eagerly pursues them. Accord- ing to Dr. Franklin, when a Pig sees a Rattlesnake, it smacks its jaws, audits hairs bristle up ; the Snake coils itself up to strike his enemy ; the Pig approaches fearlessly, and receives the blow in the fold of fat which hangs upon the side of its jaw. Then he places a foot on the tail of the Snake, and with his teeth he begins to pull the flesh of his enemy to pieces, and eats it with evident enjoyment.* The Pig is not the only animal employed to destroy Rattle- snakes. Dr. Rufz de Lavison, who has long resided in the French Antilles, and who has since been manager of the Jardin d' Acclima- tation, of Paris, has published a highly interesting work, in which he relates the very important services which certain birds, especially the Secretary-bird, or Serpent-eater (imported from South Africa), render by destroying Rattlesnakes in the West Indies. We have said that the Crotalidce are some of the most dangerous of any Snakes ; let us mention^ some facts which show the frightful power of their venom. A Crotalus, about three feet in length, killed a Dog in about fifteen minutes, a second in two hours, and a third in about four hours. Four days after he bit another Dog, which only survived thirty seconds ; and another, which only struggled four minutes. Three days afterwards it bit a Frog, which died at the end of two seconds ; and a Chicken, which perished at the end of eight miniites. An American, named Drake, arrived at Rouen with three live Rattlesnakes. In spite of the care which he had taken to preserve them from cold, one of them died. He put the cage which con- * Dekay, inhis " Natural History of New York, "remarks that it is a popular telief that'Hogs are particularly destructive to Eattlesnakes ; but neither their bristly hide nor their thick teguments afford them perfect immunity from fhe stroke of this reptile. I was informed by a respectable farmer that he lost three Hogs in one season by the poison either of the Copperhead or Eattlesnake. — Ed. EXPEEIMENTS WITH RATTLESNAKES. 87 tained tTie otter two near to a stove, and excited them with a small stick, to assure himself that they were alive and in health. As one of the Snakes made no movement, Drake took it by the head and tail and approached a window to see if it was dead ; the animal turned its head quickly, and bit the unfortunate man on the back of his left hand ; as he replaced it in the cage he was bitten anew in the palm of the same hand. " A doctor ! a doctor ! " cried the unhappy man. He rubbed his hand upon some ice which was close by, and two minutes after, he bound the wrist tightly with a cord. Four hours later a doctor arrived, and cauterized the wound, but alarming symptoms soon appeared. Syncope, noisy respiration, scarcely any pulsation, and involuntary evacuations followed; the eyes closed, their pupils contracted; the limbs became paralyzed, and the body cold. Drake died at the end of nine hours. Some experiments made by a friend of Dr. Bell seem to present different results. This gentleman had I'eceived a living Rattle- snake from America, intending to try the successive effects of its bite upon some Rats. He introduced one into the cage with the Snake : it immediately struck the Rat, and the latter died in two minutes. Another that was placed in the cage ran to the farthest corner, uttering cries of distress. The Snake did not attack it immediately ; but after about half an hour, on being irritated, it struck the Rat, which, however, exhibited no signs of being poisoned for several minutes ; nor did it die for aboui twenty minutes after the bite had been inflicted. A third Rat, remarkably large, was then introduced into the cage, and exhibited no signs of terror, nor did it seem to be noticed by its dangerous companion : after watching some time, the gentleman retired to bed, leaving the Rattlesnake and Rat in the cage together. In the morning the Snake lay dead, and the Rat had supped on the muscular part of its backbone. Unfortunately, Dr. Bell does not remember at what season this experiment took place, but thinks it was not in very warm weather. The climate of France differing only slightly from that of the United States, it is consequently well adapted for the production of Rattlesnakes. If a living male and female of these dangerous CrotalidcB were to escape from a menagerie, they would soon 88 OPHIDIAN EBPTILBS. infest the country with their terrible progeny. It is for this decisive reason that public exhibitions of Rattlesnakes are for- bidden in France. Nevertheless, two or three may be seen in the collection of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, miserably installed in a chest, which is quite unworthy of this establishment. The Rattlesnakes are enclosed in a double cage, and every measure of precaution is taken which prudence demands. It is a remarkable fact that the poison is secreted after death. Dr. Bell, in his " Historyof British Reptiles," adduces the follow- ing as evidence of the facts : — He was dissecting very carefully and minutely the poison apparatus of a large Rattlesnake, which had been dead some hours ; the head had been taken off immediately after death ; yet, as Dr. Bell continued his dissection, the poison continued to be secreted so fast as to require to be dried up occasionally with a sponge or rag : and his belief is, that there could not be less than six or eight drops of the poison. It is obvious that such experiments require the utmost caution, seeing that preparations are not without danger. [The family of the Viperidce, or true Vipers, are peculiar to the Old World, inclusive of Australia, with the sole known exception of one species in Peru. They have generally a robust body, with non-prehensile tail.; the head broad or thick, generally scaly above or incompletely shielded ; the eye of moderate size, with vertical pupil, and they are at once distinguished from the Crotalidce by the absence of the pit below the eye. The scales are keeled except in one genus {Acanthopis). For the most part, these reptiles inhabit exposed and arid situations, though perhaps all of them will take to the water on occasions, as does the common British Adder. They are divided, firstly, into those which have a depressed head, rounded on the sides, and covered with acutely-keeled scales. Some of these have large nostrils in the centre of a ring- like shield, edged with a large scale above. Such are the genera Daboia in the warmer parts of Asia, and Clotho, which is peculiar to Africa — both genera are terrifically veneipous. The famous Tic-polonga of Ceylon {Daboia elegans) is also widely diffused over India and Burmah. It is beautifully marked with three rows of white-edged, oblong, brown spots. Occa- PUFF-ADDEES. sionally tlie spots forming the middle row are connected like the beads of a necklace, whence the name Cobra monil (literally Coluber moniliger), applied to the young of this Viper by the Indo- Portuguese, and now corrupted into " Cobra de Manilla," which bears the reputation of being a highly poisonous Snake of diminu- tive size ; it attains, however, to a length of nearly five feet, the tail then measuring about eight inches, with considerable thick- ness of body. It is nocturnal, and preys chiefly on Mice. InBurmah this ^formidable Viper is dreaded almost as much as the Hama- dryas. It has been obtained in the Himalayas at an elevation of 5,500 feet, at Almorah, and elsewhere. Mr. Theobald has known one to kill a Bull-terrier in twenty minutes. The D. xanthina is a second species of this form inhabiting Asia Minor. The genus Clotho consists of the terrible Puff-adders of Africa, of which there are at least four or five species. Among the best known of them are the ordinary Puff-adder (C arietans), and the Berg- adder (C. atropos), of the Cape colonists. The Rhinoceros Puff-adder, C. na- sicornis, of Guinea, has the scales over the nostrils of the male produced into a long recurved spine ; and in the Horned Puff-ad- der, C. cornuta, of South Africa, there is a group of small horn - like scales over each eye. Examples of the Common and of the Rhinoceros Puff-adders may generally be seen in the reptile house of the London Zoological Gardens. The last mentioned is a huge Viper of wondrous beauty, both of colouring and in the complex pattern of its markings, especially Fig. 21 The Horned Puff-adder {Clotho cornuta). 90 OPHIDIAN EBPTILES. as seen when it has newly shed its epidermis ; but the aspect of its surprisingly broad, flat, and triangular-shaped head unmistakably betokens its terrific powers. Its head is remarkably massive. One peculiarity of the Puff-adders is that they sometimes hold on to their victim, by their long fangs. Thus, of the common C. arietans Sir A. Smith remarks that " although generally inactive, it is by no means so when attacked — its movements are then bold and energetic, and when once it seizes the obnoxious object, it retains its hold with great determination, and some considerable exertion is often necessary to detach it." * The traveller Burchell remarks of this Snake that "its venom is said to be most fatal, taking effect so rapidly as to leave the person who has the mis- fortune to be bitten no chance of saAang his life, but by in- stantly cutting out the flesh surround- ing the wound. Although I have often met with this Fig. 22 — The Unadorned Puff-adder (CTotAo inoniate). Snake" he adds " yet, happily, no opportunity occurred of witnessing the effects of its poison ; but, from the universal dread in which it is held, I have no doubt of its being, one of the most venemous species of Southern Africa. There is a peculiarity which renders it more dangerous, and which ought to be known to every person liable to fall in with it. Unlike the generality of Snakes, which make a spring or dart forward when irritated, the Puff-adder, it is said, throws itself backwards, so that those who should be ignorant of this fact would place themselves in the very direction of death, while imagining that by so doing they were escaping the danger. The natives, by keeping always in front, are en- * In Chapman's "Travels in the Interior of South Africa" (vol. ii. p. 59), we read — " May 19th. I lost my best Dog, Cassar. He had seized a large Puff-adder hy the tail, and shook it. Wheuthe Snake was released it darted at the Dog's face, and having fixed its fangs in its cheek, stuck there like a Bull-dog until it was killed. The Dog only survived ten minutes." — Ed. CEEASTES AND ECHIS. 91 abled to destroy It without much risk. The Snakes of South Africa, as of Europe, lie concealed: in their holes in a torpid state during the colder part of the year. It is, therefore, only in the hottest summer months that the traveller is exposed to the danger of being bitten." Dr. Gray refers doubtfully to this genus both the Echidna inornata of Sir A. Smith, and the E. mauritanica of Dumeril and Bibron, from Algeria ; like^vise a Peruvian species named Echidna ocellata by Tschudi, which is the only known instance of a member of this family inhabiting the New World. The appellation Echidna, however, belongs properly to the Porcu- pine Ant-eaters of the class Mammalia. The species of Cerastes and of Echis have the nostrils much smaller than the preceding, and are Vipers of less formidable size. In the two species of Cerastes, or Horned Viper, the eyebrows of the male bear commonly a sort of horn. C. Hasselquistii is com- mon in Egypt, and the other, C. Richii, inhabits Tripoli. Of Echis there is one species in Egypt and North Africa — E. arenicola, and another in India — E. carinata. The latter grows to about twenty inches long, of which the tail measures two inches and a third. These Vipers commonly lie half-buried in the sand, which they much resemble in colour. They feed upon Centipedes {Scolopendra), and no case is known of their bite having proved fatal. The remaining Viperidm have the head more or less shielded. They are divided by Dr. Gray into Vipera (with two European species, not found in Britain — V. aspis from the Alps, and V. ammodytes from the countries bordering on the Mediterranean) ; — Pelias, which contains only the Common British Adder, P. berus ; Sepedon, with one species only, from South Africa, *S. hcemachates ; Causus, with also only one African species, C. rhombeatus ; and finally, Acanthopis, founded on the Death-adder of the Aus- tralian colonists, A. antarctica, which is the only member of the family Viperida known to inhabit Australia, where the Poisonous Colubrine Snakes are so numerous. It is also the only known species the scales of which are smooth or not keeled. It seldom exceeds thirty inches in length, and varies a good deal in colour. Like other Viperidce it is sluggish in its movements, but when irritated it flattens itself out generally in the form of the letter S, 92 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. turning round to one side or the other with astonishing rapidity, but never jiunping at its enemy or throwing itself backward, as the Puff-adders are described to do. The Death-adder is found in almost every part of Australia northward of the thirty-sixth parallel of south latitude.] The Common Adder {Pelias berus), is not improbably the E;(is of Aristotle, and the Vipera of Virgil, as it is the Manasso of the Italians, the Adder of the country-people in England and Scotland, and the Vipere of France. It is found in all these countries, and in Europe generally. The Common Adder varies in length, from thirteen or fourteen Fig. 23.— The Common Adder (Pelias berus). inches to double that length ; and from two to three or even four inches in girth. Its general colour varies considerably ; in some it is olive, in others reddish -brown, varying sometimes to an ashy-grey ; at other times it is greyish-black. A waving brown or blackish line runs along the back. A row of unequal spots of the same colour is observable on the flanks ; the belly is slate- coloured ; the head nearly triangular, a little krger than the neck, obtuse and trun- cated in front, and covered with granulated scales. Six small plates cover the muzzle, two of which are perforated for the nostrils, which are lateral, forming a blackish spot. Above is a .sort of V shape, formed by two black bands. The upper jaw is a WEAPONS OF THE VIPER. 95 white ground, spotted witli black ; the lower jaw is yellow. The eyes are small and sharp, edged with black. The tongue is long, grey, and forked. Adders are met with in the wooded, stony, and mountainous regions of southern and temperate Europe — in Prance, Italy, England, Germany, Prussia, Sweden, Poland, and even Norway. They are met with in the heaths near London and in the neigh- bourhood of Paris ; they are met with at Montmorency, and in the forest of Fontainebleau. They feed upon Lizards, Frogs, mol- lusks, worms, insects, and small mammalia, such as Field-mice, Shrews, and Moles. They pass the winter and early spring in a state of torpor in deep hollows, where they are sheltered from the cold. It is not unusual to find several Adders coiled up together in one heap, entwined and intimately interlaced together. The movement of Adders is abrupt, slow, and irregular. They appear to be shy and timid creatures, shunning the day, and only seeking their food in the evening. The young come into the world naked and living : so long as they are maintained within the mother, they are enclosed in eggs with membranous shells. Soon after their birth the young Vipers, whose length does not exceed six or seven inches, are abandoned by the mother, and left to shift for thetiiselves. They do not, however, acquire their full development till they are six or seven years old. Adders are justly considered objects of fear and horror both to Men and to other animals. They carry with them a formidable apparatus, of which it is important that both the structure and the mode of action should be known. This venomous apparatus is composed of three parts — the secreting glands, the canal, and the hooked fangs. The gland is the organ which secretes the venom ; it is situated upon the sides of the head, behind and a little beneath the globe of the eye ; it is formed of a number of inflated bladders, composed of a granulous tissue, and disposed with great regularity along the excretory canal, not unlike the barbs of a pen-feather. This arrangement, however, is only visible through a micro- scope. The tube destined to conduct the secreted venom through the gland is straight and cylindrical ; after being filled, in its short journey it ends in two peculiar hook-like teeth, called fangs, tapering to a point, and in shape horn-like. They 94. OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. are nmch longer than the others, and placed one to the right, the other to the left of the upper jaw. The Adder, then, is fur- nished with two of these poison- fangs ; they are curved and sharp- pointed, convex ante- riorly, and furnished with a straight duct which commences in one part by a slit placed Tig. 24.-Fa.g. and Tongue of a Poisonous Colubrine Snake. ^^ ^-^^ anterior part of its base, terminating by a second and smaller cleft towards its point, and on the same side. This last cleft is like a little trench or fine furrow, which extends the whole length of the convexity. These hooked teeth are surrounded by a fold of the gums, which receives and partly hides them, like a sheath, when they are at rest or hidden. They are attached to the upper maxiUary bones, which are small and very mobile, and are put in motion by two muscles. Behind them are dental germs, intended to replace them when they fall out. The other teeth in the roof of the mouth belong to the palate, where they form two rows. Such are the terrible weapons of the Viper group. It is not, therefore, as many persons still believe, with the tongue that the Adder inflicts its wound ; the forked, projecting tongue serves them as a feeler, and to drink with, but cannot inflict a wound. We have said that when in a state of repose the hooked teeth are hidden ; when the animal wishes to use them, they issue from their fleshy sheath, somewhat in the same manner as a man draws his knife, when attacked, to defend himself, and in this case the knife is poisoned. Adders use their fangs to seize the small animals which serve as their prey. They do not voluntarily attack a Man ; on the con- trary, they flee at his approach. But if he imprudently places his foot on or attempts to seize them, they defend themselves vigorously. Let ua see how an Adder conducts itself when it hunts its prey and takes it. In this case it may be supposed to act without passion, merely seizing its prey for food ; it simply bites, sinking its fangs into the body of its victim. In pro- EEMEDIES FOE VIPEE WOUNDS. 95 portion as the fangs penetrate the body of the animal the poison flows into the canal, which again conducts it to the fangs under the influence of the contracting muscles, by which they are raised and made to press upon the gland ; but this movement causes the Adder to close its mouth, and the venom is injected into the wound. Adders bite in much the same manner when seized by the tail or middle of the body ; but when they think themselves attacked and become irritated, they strike rather than bite. At first they coil themselves up into several superposed circles, then they will uncoil themselves to their whole length with excessive quickness, extending their bodies like a spring, drawing it out with the rapidity of lightning, and gliding over a space equal to their own length ; for they never leave the ground. They will now open their jaws wide, erect their fangs, and strike, first throwing back their heads, by which means they contrive to strike as with a hammer. Dr. Bell expresses doubts, in his " History of British Reptiles," of the existence of any well- authenticated case in this country of an Adder bite terminating fatally.* At the same time he cau- tions all persons against exposure to them in the heat of summer and autumn, when the poison is most virulent. The remedy applied to such a bite is to rub the part with olive oil, over a chafing dish of coals, and to take a strong dose of ammonia (spirit of hartshorn) internally. Open copses, dry heaths, new woodland clearings, and sandy wastes are the usual haunts of the Adder ; and in such places its hibernaculum is usually found in winter, where several of the same species lie intertwined in a torpid state. It was long supposed that Adders, and Snakes generally, Exercise a sort of magnetic action from a distance — a power which has been called fascination. This impression has been denied, and attributed, not without reason, to a less mysterious cause; namely, the sentiment of profound terror which these creatures inspire. This terror manifests itself in animals by tremblings, spasms, and convulsions. The sight of a venomous Snake some- times renders its victims immovable, incapable of flight, and as it * A few cases have teen known. — Ed. 96 OPHIDIAK EEPTILES. were paralyzed, and they allow themselves to be seized without opposing the slightest resistance. Others give themselves over to confused movements, which, far from saving them, only make their capture easier. M. Dumeril, while pursuing experiments in the Museum of Natural History, demonstrative of the sudden and mortal action of the hite of a Viper on little birds, saw a Grold- finch, which he held in his hands, die suddenly, merely at the sight of the Viper. In warm countries, wounds produced by the larger species of these terrible reptiles are extremely dangerous — they swell, become red and ecchymose, and sometimes livid ; the wounded person is seized with syncope, fever, and a series of morbid symptoms, which often terminate in death. The remedy is to bind immediately a ligature above the wound with a band, such as a rolled hand- kerchief, a cord, or a string, so as to stop all communication of the blood with the rest of the body, and thus prevent the absorp- tion of the venom into the system till more ejSFectual means can be adopted. It is well to suck the wound and make it bleed ; it is necessary also to make an incision, so as to expose the internal parts, and then to cauterize the wound immediately, either with a red-hot iron or by means of a caustic agent. For this purpose the following composition may be employed : — Perchloride of iron 60 grains. Citric acid 60 „ Hydrochloric acid 60 „ Water 144 „ A few drops of this is poured on the wounded part, which is then covered with a small piece of lint. Iodine or iodinet of potassium can also be employed. M. Viand-Marais has sub- stituted the following composition for this compound with great success : — Water 50 grains. Iodinet of Potassium 50 „ Metallic iodine .... .... 50 „ To facilitate the introduction of caustic into the wound, the same naturalist has invented a little bottle closed with emery; the stopper, which is long, and conical at the lower end, plunges VENOM OF SNAKES. 97 into tlie liquid. By means of this stopper the medicated sub- stance can be made to penetrate by drops as far as the bottom of the wound, which has been previously enlarged by the bistoury. This little apparatus will replace with advantage the bottle of volatile alkali with which Viper-hunters are usually furnished. But all these means are only useful when applied immediately. The limbs and round about the wound m.ust besides be rubbed with ammoniacal liniments. Afterwards emollient poultices should be used to lower the swelling and reduce the chances of congestion ; while tonics, sudorifics, and sometimes ammoniacal potions should be given internally. It is a remarkable fact that this venom, which is one of the most virulent poisons known, can yet be swallowed with impunity. It is neither acrid nor burning, and only produces a sensation on the tongue analogous to that caused by greasy matter. But if introduced into a wound in sufficient quantities, it enters into the blood, and causes death with frightful rapidity. This is a charac- teristic common to all morbid and venomous virus. The strength of the venom varies according to the species of Snake, and likewise the condition of the animal. The same species is more dangerous in hot than in cold or temperate regions. The bite is serious, according as the poison is more or less abun- dant in the glands, and probably with the degree of rage expe- rienced by the animal, as Professor Owen supposes. [Of Snakes in general it has been remarked that " all strangers in countries where these reptiles abound are apt to exaggerate their danger ; but in a year or two they think as little of them as we do in England. I never knew an instance of a Snake attacking a person unless it was trodden upon or molested, and even then they almost always give warning by hissing, or endea- vour to effect their escape. During my residence in the Cape colony, I have at different times trodden on them or kicked them in the grass unintentionally, but was never bitten." * This writer, however, could hardly have accidentally placed his foot upon a Puff-adder. t] * Moodie'e "Ten Tears ia South Africa," vol. i. p. 318. t Suteequent experiments with the Tirus of the Indian Cohra hare conclusively- proved that ammonia is not a sufficient antidote, as alleged in p. 95. — En. H OHAPTEE III. The Order of Lizards. — Sauriaxs. This is tlie second order of the great section of Scaly Reptiles {Squamata), as distinguished from the Shielded Reptiles {Cata- pkracfa). The name Saurian, Saupos, given by Aristotle to the genus of Lizards, has heen more comprehensively applied to a group of Reptiles which have the body elongated, covered v^ith scales, or having the skiu rough like shagreen. They have, for the most part, four feet, the toes of which are furnished with hooked claws ; their eyelids are movable, and their jaws armed with encased teeth ; they have a distinct tympanvim, a heart with two auricles and a single ventricle, sometimes partially valved, having sides and a sternum. They are not subject to metamorphosis, and, finally, they are furnished with a tail. ["By far the greater number of the Saurians," writes Dr. Giinther, " are easily distinguished from the other orders of reptiles by their elongated form, by their movable thorax covered with skin, by the presence of legs, and by their general integu- ments, which are either folded into scales, or granular, or tubercular, or shielded ; still, there are many Saurians which, at a superficial glance, might easily be taken for members of the preceding order — that of the Snakes ; and it cannot be denied that there is a gradual transition from one of these orders to the other. On the part of the Saurians, we allude to those which have no externally visible limbs, and which combine with a greatly elongate, cylindrical body, the peculiar kind of locomo- tion we observe in Snakes. Yet the greater affinity of these reptiles to the ordinarj' Lizards is indicated by another character, which is in intimate connection with their mode of life. The SAUfilANS. 99 Snakes, having movable maxillary bones, and mandibles not joined by a symphidis, are enabled to swallow other animals of appa- rently greater bulk than their own. In the Saurians the maxillas are fixed and immovable, and the mandibles are joined by an osseous suture, so that the cleft of the mouth can be dilated only in the usual vertical direction. Moreover, in these limbless Saurians we always find bones of the shoulder hidden below the skin, whilst no trace of them can be discovered in the true Snakes. The motions of some Lizards are extremely slow, while those of others are executed with very great, but not lasting, rapidity. Many of them have the power of changing their colours, which depends on the presence of several layers of cells loaded with difiereut pigments ; these layers the animal compresses by more or less inflating its lungs, whereby the changes in the coloration are efiected." Dr. Giinther does not follow Dr. Gray in arranging all true reptiles into the two grand divisions of Shielded Reptiles ( CatapJiracta) and Scaly Reptiles (Squamata), but he includes the CrocodilidcB among the Saurians as a first grand division of them — Emydosauri, and the other Lizards constitute his second grand division of them — Lacertini. These latter are again primarily divisible according to the structure of the tongue. Thus, in the series of Leptoglossa, the tongue is elongate, forked, and exser- tile, much as in the Ophidians ; in that of Pachyglossa the tongue is short, thick, attached to the gullet, and is not exsertile ; and in the Vermilingues it is Worm-like, club-shaped in front, and very exsertile. The various genera of Saurians which have either not a traceof external limbs, or have them more or less diminutive and rudi- mentary — either the usual two pairs or one pair only, and in the latter case sometimes the fore and sometimes the hind pair being deficient — are included among the Leptoglossa, or the series which have a forked and protrusile tongue ; and, so far as is practicable, we will commence by noticing the difierent serpentiform genera ; only, in a classification which is not confessedly superficial, it will be found that the various Snake-like Saurians appertain to several distinct natural families, most of the other genera belong- ing to which have, in sundry cases, limbs that are well developed. h2 ,100 8ATJEIANS.: Some of them, therefore, will have to be noticed as the different families to which they belong are successively treated of; and there will yet remain the curious serpentiform family of Am- phisbcenidcB, which Dr. Gray refers to his grand series of Shielded Reptiles {Cataphracta). The same naturalist divides the Leptoglossa into two tribes, which he styles Geissosaura and Cyclosaura ; and, as constitut- ing particular division of the former, he includes under it the family Typhlopidce, which Dr. Giinther refers — as we have seen — to the order of Ophidians. In the series of Geissosaura, the scales of the belly and (almost always) of the back and sides are quincuncial, rounded, and imbricate ; the tongue is narrow, short, flat, and but slightly forked ; and the head is of a conical shape, and is covered with regular shields. Of the families thus characterised, some only have distinct eyelids, as the families Acontiadce, OpMomoridce, Sepsidce, and ScincidcB ; while others have the eyelids rudimentary and the eyes exposed, as the families LialisidcB, Aprasiadm, Pygopodidce^ and Gymnopthalmidce. In the Acontiadce the nostrils are placed in the enlarged rostral plate, with a longitudinal slit behind. The form of the body much resembles that of our common Orvet, or Blind-worm, and their limbs, when present, are so rudimentary that they can aid little in locomotion. One genus, Acontias, is without limbs, and the eyes are furnished with a lower lid, while the upper eyelid is rudimentary. Of this, one species, A. meleagris, inhabits South Africa; and another, A. Layardii, has been dis- covered in Ceylon. The genus Nessia has four rudimentary liAbs, and the rostral shield is large, sub-conical, and depressed. In one species, N. monodactyla, the limbs are diminutive, the pos- terior placed far apart from the anterior, all being very short, weak, and undivided into toes. In another, N. Burtoni, each foot is divided into three minute toes. Both species are peculiar (so far as known) to Ceylon, and the habits of this family are much the same as those of our common Orvet {Anguis fragilis) . The family of OpMomoridce is founded on a single genus and species, Ophiomorus miliaris, which inhabits North Africa. As remarked by Dr. Gray, this reptile seems to be intermediate to the Acontiadce and the Scincida, and makes it appear as if the large SEPSID^. 101, rostral sMeld of the former was formed of the united rostral, supra-nasal, and nasal shields of the present family, and of the Scincidee. It has an elongate, cylindrical body, without external limbs, and the ears are hidden under the skin ; the eyes are dis- tinct, with valvular eyelid ; and the scales of the body and some- what elongate tail are hexagonal. The SepsidcB differ from the preceding, and also from the great family of the Scincidee, by having the nostrils placed in the front edge of a small shield, in a notch at the hinder side of the rostral plate, which latter is rather large and square. The eyes are dis- tinct, the lower eyelid scaly, or with a transparent disk. Body fusiform or sub- cylindrical, elongate. These reptiles burrow in dry sand, and are peculiar to the anciently-knowncontinents and certain islands. Some have a wedge-shaped head, with prominent rostral plate. Of these the genus Sphenops has more developed limbs, each dividing into four toes ; and the only species, S. sepsoides, inhabits Egypt and other parts of North Africa. SpJienocephalus has a more slender and elongate shape, and the limbs are placed more distantly apart ; the anterior minute, and fitting into a groove, the posterior as large as in Sphenops, and each of them having but three toes, of which the innermost and next are sub- equal, and the outer much shorter. The only known species, S. tridactylus, is common in Afghanistan. In Scelotes the ante- rior limbs disappear altogether; and the only known species, S. bipes, inhabits South Africa. Other genera have a pyramidal head, with the rostral plate erect, and rounded in front. Such are the five following, each founded on a single species: — Gongylus ocellatus, from North Africa and the borders of the Mediterranean ; Thyrus Bojeri, from the Mauritius ; Amphiglossus astrolabi, from Madagascar ; Seps tridactylus, from the south of Europe and north of Africa ; and Heteromeles mauritanicics, from North Africa. The last has only two toes to the fore-feet, three to the hind ; and Seps has three toes to each foot, while the other three genera have five to each foot. In general these animals are found in dry and elevated spots, where they hide themselves in the sand or under stones. The Scincidee have the head covered with shields, which are symmetrically arranged. Tongue slender, free, extersile, termi- 102 BAUEIANS. nating in two pointed lobes. Scales on the back rounded, quin- cuncial, imbricate ; those on the belly similar to those on the back and on the sides. No fold across the throat or along the side ; no femoral or inguinal pores. Tail generally long, rounded, fragile. Eyes and eyelids well developed. N^ostrils in a separate plate, between the frontal and labial shields. Generally four limbs, moderately developed, sometimes feeble or hidden below the skin. The species of this family are exceedingly numerous, and inhabit almost every part of the tropical regions, some extending Fig. 25.— Seps tridactylus. into the temperate zones. They are thoroughly land Lizards, preferring dry ground, and hiding themselves in the sand, under stones, fallen leaves, &c., very few of them entering the water. They do not attain to any considerable size, only a few species of Australia and the West Indies growing to the thickness of a man's wrist, and exceeding a foot in length. Some of them are viviparous, others deposit from eight to twelve globular eo-o-s. Dr. Gray divides them into the sub-families of Scincirue, or those which have the scales thin, smooth, and neither striated nor keeled ; the nostrils in a single smooth plate, without any lunate groove behind ; and the tail round, tapering, unarmed ; and TropidopJiorin^, or those which have the scales thick, bony, rugous, striated, and with one or more keels upon each of them ; BLIND -WOEM. 103 the rostral plate rounded in front, and the body fusiform, with well- developed limbs, which terminate always in the full comple- ment of toes. A few species of the Scincince have no external limbs, thus approximating in their appearance to certain of the burrowing Ophidians.] The Orvet, or Blind- worm, Anguis fragilis, is small, cylindrical in shape, about eleven or twelve inches in length, and having the exterior appearance of Snakes. The scales which cover the body are small, smooth and shining, being red in the middle, and edged with white, of a silvery yellow on the upper part, and dusky beneath ; the sides somewhat dusky brown, and the throat slightly marbled with white, black, and yellow. Two larger spots X Fig. 26. — Orvet, or Blind-worm (Anguis fragilis). appear, one above the muzzle, the other upon the back of the head ; from this point two blackish longitudinal rays start, which extend to the tail, as well as two other nut-brown rays, which start from the eyes; the markings vary, however, in different countries, and probably with age and sex. The Orvet is found in woods and dry, sandy, and stony wastes. They are timid, harmless creatures, retiring into holes and concealing themselves in moss at the foot of trees to hide themselves from observation. They feed upon worms, insects, and the smaller mollusks. Although perfectly harmless, the 104 SAUEIANS. country-people are strongly prejudiced against them, believing their bite to be a deadly poison. This animal is extremely brittle. Laurenti and others assert that when captured it throws itself into a position of such rigidity that it sometimes breaks in two, and that a smart blow of a switch will at any time divide it. [There are little-known species of Anguis in India and South Africa, which are at least provisionally so considered, and certainly do not differ essentially ; and next we come to forms in which the limbs are successively more developed. Such are the OpModes . striatus of Brazil, which has two short, flattened, undivided, and one -pointed limbs, corresponding to the usual hind pair; the Brachymeles bonitce -of the Philippines, in which there are two pairs of short and rudimentary limbs, the fore bearing two minute claws, while the hind -are undivided; Venira hicolor, of the same archipelago, has very short limbs, the fore and hind being placed distantly apart, but in this genus all have five distinct toes ; Chiwmelea lineata, from some part of India, and Hagria Vosmaerii, from Bengal, are kindred forms which conduct to the genus Eumeces, the species of which are very numerous, and spread over nearly all the different countries between or near the tropics, and in certain of them (as the Burmese JE. anguimis) the limbs are still remarkably diminutive, and (as in E. isodaetyluh of Cambodia) the fore and hind limbs are placed very far apart, the body and tail being long and anguiform. In various other species of Eumeces, however, the proportions are more those of an ordinary Scink, as again in the kindred genera Mabonia and Plestiodon, which are widely distributed. In other series of Scinks, the distinctions of which are far from being conspicuous, we again have limbless genera, or nearly so, as the Australian Soridia lineata, which has one pair of small, posterior, undivided extremities ; while in another Australian form, the Rhodona punctata, the anterior pair of limbs are simple and undivided, while the hinder divide into two unequal toes, and the two pairs of limbs are situate as distantly apart. And thus we may continue to trace the successive gradations, in sundry genera, until we arrive at the Scincus officinalis of North Africa, a well- known reptile, the geographical range of which extends eastward into Afghanistan, and which was formerly in considerable request SCINKS. 103 for its supposed medicinal properties. Indeed, this notion still prevails in Hindustan, into wMch country dried specimens of both this reptile apoAoi Sphenocephalus tridactylus (p. 101) are brought by Afghan traders, and are sold in the bazars. Both of these are Sand Lizards, which burrow into the sand with great rapidity. "We now come to the Tropidophorinm, or second sub-family of Scinks indicated by Dr. Gray (wafep. 102), which have always well- developed limbs, the body only moderately elongated, and the' scales variously keeled. Several species of larger size appertain to this series, as the Cyclodus gigas of Australia, and the curious Stump-tail Lizards, Truchydosaurus rugosus and 7'. asper, of the same insular continent, which latter have most prominently rugous scales, and the tail literally appearing like the short and abrupt stump of one. Egernia Cunninghami and Tropidolesma (of different species) are other comparatively large Australian Lizards ; and examples of most of those that have been mentioned may generally be seen alive in the London Zoological Gardens, where the Cyclodus gigas has bred and proves to be viviparous. Of the species of Euprepes, of which several inhabit the Indian region, some (as the very common E. rufescens) are viviparous, and others (as E. multica- rinatd) are oviparous. These have three more distinct, though not prominent, keels upon each scale ; and the different species inhabit both the Old World and the New, as well as Australia. The GalKwasps ( Cdestus) of the West Indies, and sundry other genera, do not greatly differ. Of Tropidophorus, which has exceedingly rugged scales, the species inhabit the Indo-Chinese countries, and one {T. cocinsinensis) is found likewise in the Philippines; while of another (^T. Berdmorei), in Burmah, Mr. Theobald remarks that "its scales are dull and lustreless, and the coloration peculiar for a Scink. It harbours under half-iramersed stones, and enters the water and gravel freely." In several of this family of Lizards the scales are beautifully iridescent, and many of them show longitudinal pale or white lines, or are otherwise variegated. Nearly akin to the extensive family of Scincidce, there are three small families (as classed by Dr. Gray), the species of which are peculiar to Australia. They have small, undivided, posterior limbs only, or are quite limbless. These families are the Lialisidw, founded on three or more species of a single genus, Lialis; the 106 SATJEIANS. Aprasiadce, founded upon one species only — Aprasia pulchella, which is limbless ; and the Pygopodidm, comprising the two genera Pygopus and Delma, the former containing two, the latter only one ascertained species. The Gymnopthalmidce constitute still another small family, quadrupedal, but with the limbs small and weak. Of seven genera referred to it, five are Australian, one is European, and one belongs to South America. Ablepkarus panrw- nicus is a small Lizard of this family, inhabiting Eastern Europe, with a congener, A. bivittatus, in the Caucasus ; and Gymno- pthalmus lineatus inhabits Brazil and the Island of Martinique. In the second tribe of Leptoglossa, entitled Cyclosaura, the scales of the belly are square, in cross bands ; those of the back and tail are rhombic and imbricate, or circular and subgranular ; the tongue is lengthened, and more or less conspicuously furcate ; and the eyes are diurnal, having two valvular lids. The limbs are generally well developed ; but in several genera they still are more or less rudimentary, or even absent. There are four small families in which the sides are rounded and covered with scales like the back. Of these, that of ChamcBsauridce is founded upon the South African Lacerta anguina of Linnasus, now ChamcBsaura anguina, which has the limbs quite rudimentary. In the American families of Cercosauridoe, Ckirocolidce, and Anadiadce, the limbs are moderately developed, and have each five toes. The two last-mentioned families are founded each upon a single species, Chiroeolus imbricatus and Anadia ocellata ; and the other contains the two genera Circosaura and Lepisoma — of which the first com- prises some two or three species only. All of these reptiles have exceedingly long tails, though not so inordinately long as in the Lacertidm of the genus Tachydromus. Certain other families have a distinct longitudinal fold, covered with small granular scales on each side. These are the families Ckalcidcs, Holaspidce, and the more extensive one of Zonuridce. The Chalcidoe have the head covered with regular many-sided shields, and the lateral fold is indistinct ; limbs small and rudi- mentary, and the hind feet are undivided in the genera Chalcis and Bachia, with three tubercles in place of toes in Microdactylus, and with four clawed toes in Brachypus. Each of these genera is founded on a single species, and all are doubtless peculiar to the ZONURID^. 107 New World. The Holaspid(B is also founded on one species only, the Holaspis Guentheri, which again is supposed to he South American. It has four well- developed limbs, a double row of plates along the back and upper surface of the tail, and the latter organ is curiously serrated laterally. The Zonuridce constitute a considerable family, to which some eighteen or twenty genera are assigned, and which present con- siderable modification of form. The ears are distinct, whereas in the Ckalcidm they are hidden under the skin. The head is pyramidal, or depressed, and covered with regular many-sided shields ; eyes with two valvular lids. Limbs mostly well developed, but short in some, and rudimentary, or even wanting in the so- called " Glass-snakes " which constitute the sub-family Pseudo- podinm. There is no external trace of them in the North American Glass-snake, Ophisaurus ventralis ; and in the Old "World genus, Pseudopus, there is only one pair, posterior, rudimentary, and undivided. These reptiles are long, and serpentiform in shape : whilst in other Saurians the whole skin of the belly and of the sides is extensible, the extensibility is limited in the " Glass- snakes " to a separate part of the skin ; and, as Dr. Giinther remarks, " the scaly covering of the upper and lower parts is so tight that it does not admit of the same extension as in Snakes and other Lizards ; and the Pseudopus, therefore, could not receive the same quantity of food in its stomach as those animals, were it not for the expansible fold of the skin running along each side of its trunk." One species of Pseudopus, the P. Pallasii, inhabits Asia Minor and the south-east of Europe ; and there is another, P gracilis, in the Indo-Chinese countries (or those lying eastward of the Bay of Bengal). A second sub-family, Gerrhonotince, is peculiar to America, and consists of more ordinarily-shaped Lizards, which are ranged in four genera. Together with the Ophisaurus, or American Glass-snake, they are the only known Zonuridce that inhabit the New World. The great mass of this family and all of its most characteristic species are African, and these are arranged by Dr. Gray under the sub-families Cicigninae and Zonurince. In the first of these sub-families the tail is smooth, or unarmed, and in the second it is spinous. The Cordules, Cordylus, Zonurus, &c., are very characteristic Lizards chiefly of Southern Africa, several 108 SAUEIANS. species of whicli have been figured by Sir Andrew Smith. They are mostly of shortish form, and the neck is more or less spinous ; the body-scales in some (as Zonurus cataphractus) being extra- ordinarily rugous. These Lizards squeeze themselves into crevices in the rocks, in which they hold on so firmly by their nuchal spines that it is next to impossible to dislodge them, the tail com- monly giving way at once if it be attempted to pull them forth by means of it. The family of Lacertidm, comprising our ordinary European Lizards, have no longitudinal fold along the sides, but generally one across the throat; the tail is very long, rounded, with its scales arranged in rings, being also fragile ; the head is covered with shields, which are symmetrically arranged ; scales on the back granular or rhombic ; on the sides granular ; on the belly largely quadrangular or rounded, and arranged in cross-bands ; eyes diurnal, with eyelids ; the tympanum distinct ; limbs always four, and well developed. This group of Lizards has no repre- sentative in America or (so far as known) in Australia. The sub-family of Tachydrominm is included by Dr. Gray in the family Zonuridce. These are Asiatic Lizards, with a most in- ordinate length of tail, the fore and hind limbs being not placed distantly apart, as in the various anguiform Lizards already treated of — there is an indistinct collar, and the toes are not ser- rated or keeled. Two genera have been distinguished, Tachy- dromics and Tachysaurus, the latter founded on a Japanese Lizard, T.japonicus. At least three species are known of Tachydromus, two of which inhabit China, T. septentrionalis and T. meridionalis; the third belonging to the Indo-Chinese countries, T. sex-lineatus. In an example of the last, measuring fourteen inches long, the tail occupies eleven inches and a half. It is the longest-tailed creature that we have any knowledge of, in proportion to its other parts ; indeed, something quite wonderful to behold and muse over. The rest of the Laeertidm are chiefly from Africa and the south of Europe ; there are probably more of them to be discovered in Middle Asia, and only three or four species are known to inhabit the Indian region. Fifteen or more genera are recognised. In temperate Europe (inclusive of the British Islands) two species GEET LIZAED. 109 are common — tlie Zooiica vivipara and tte Lacerta agilis. The former, as its name imports, is viviparous, whereas the other genera belonging to the family are (so far as known) oviparous. Others occur in the south of Europe.] The common Grey or Sand Lizard [L. agilis), sometimes attains the length of from eight to ten inches, of which the tail occupies more than half. These little inoffensive creatures, so common in Southern Europe, are slender and active ; their movements are so rapid that they escape the eye as quickly as a bird. They require a mild tem- perature, and seek shelter among ruins. When the sun strikes with its meridian force upon a wall, they may be seen basking in its rays, enjoying themselves delightedly upon the heated surface. They seem to be pervaded with the blessed warmth, and mark their pleasure by soft undidations of the tail. It is commonly said that the Lizard is the friend of Man, since far from flying at his approach, they seem to regard his appearance with great complacency. They pass the winter at the bottom of small holes which they have hollowed out of the earth, where they become torpid. At the commencement of spring they issue from their hiding-place, and each seeks its mate ; they go in pairs, male and female, it is said, living in faithful union for many years, sharing between them the domestic arrangements, which com- prise hatching the young and nursing them in their helplessness, carrying them into warm and sunny places, and sheltering them from cold and damp. Lizards feed chiefly upon insects, and especially flies. All who have watched the actions of the Grey Lizards must have observed that the caudal vertebrae are so extremely fragile that they separate on the slightest touch, the tail remaining in the hand of any one attempting to seize it. These tails sometimes grow again. When an attempt is made to seize a Grey Lizard on the wall it lets itself fall to the ground, and remains there a moment immovable before attempting to run, evidently simulating death. Grey Lizards are easily tamed, and appear happy in captivitj^ From their extreme gentleness they soon become familiar with their keepers, and return caress for caress, approaching mouth to mouth, and suck the saliva from between their lips with a grace that few people would allow them to display. no SAURIANS. In the Green Lizard, L. viridis, the scales of the temple are many- sided and unequal, with a central layer; back granular and oblong, with shelving sides; throat fold distinct. Nothing can be more brilliant than the variegated colouring with which it is ornamented. Its favourite locality is a slightly elevated woody place, where the sun's rays readily penetrate. It is also found in sunny meadows. It feeds upon small insects, and shows no alarm at the presence of Man, but stops to look at him. Snakes, on the contrary, they Fig. 27. — G-reen Lizard and Ocellated Lizard. seem to fear much, but when they cannot avoid them they fight courageously. In length they are about eighteen inches. Grreen Lizards are found in Jersey and Guernsey, and other warm countries of Europe, on the African coast of the Mediterranean, and they are not rare in France. How often have we admired their magnificent colours in the neighbourhood of Montpelier, where they rival the green of the meadows, and glitter in the sun like so many living emeralds ! In the Ocellated Lizard, L. ocellata, the upper part of the body TBID^. Ill is green, variegated, spotted, and reticulated or ocellated with black, having large round blue spots upon the flanks ; the under-part of the body is white, frosted with green ; in size it is about twenty inches. They are found at Fontainebleau, in the south of France, and in Spain. They establish themselves in hard sand, often between two beds of calcareous rock, upon some steep declivity, more or less directly exposed to the south ; they are also found between the roots of old stems, either in hedgerows or vineyards. They feed almost exclusively on insects ; but are said to attack Mice, Shrews, Frogs, and even Snakes, and to destroy the eggs of the Partridge. They have sometimes been tamed by feeding them on milk. [In the genus Ophiops, two species of which iahabit Asia Minor, and one of them the shores of the Mediterranean, the eyelid is rudimentary and the eye exposed, whence the name, signifying " snake eye." So far as known, the habits of the various Lizards which constitute the family of LacertidcB are much the same. The family of Teidce is peculiar to the New World, and some of the species attain to the length of several feet. In these Lizards the head is pyramidal, and is covered with regular many-sided shields ; supra-orbital plate horny ; the teeth solid and well rooted; tongue elongate, flat, free (rarely slightly sheathed at its base) ; the scales of the back are regular and keeled, and of a rhombic shape ; sides flat, and covered with small grantdar scales ; the throat scaly, with a double collar, rarely indistinct. In some the throat has two cross-folds, with large six-sided scales within ; and of these some have the ventral shields small, long, and smooth, while others have them much broader. The former are known as the Teguexius {Teius and Callopistes), and the latter as the Ameivas {Ameiva, and three other genera). One species of Teguexin, Teius tegiieocin, may commonly be seen alive in the London Zoological Gardens. This is a large and powerful Lizard, exceeding five feet in length when full grown, and ex- tremely active. It feeds on small living animals of any kind, and will even devour poultry, and especially their eggs, for which latter it manifests an especial liking, as observed in captivity. Sometimes it has been known to prey on other and kindred Lizards, as the Ameivas. The teeth of this species are strong. 112 SAUEIANS. and the reptile can bite with great force. It is a bold and determined combatant when attacked, and if it succeeds in seizing its foe, retains its hold with pertinacity. Its flesh is eaten by- some people, who consider it excellent. Together with a second species, T. nigropunctatus, it inhabits Brazil, and the two species of Callopistes are also South American, one at least of them occur- ring ia Chili. The species of this family, although strong and agile, never ascend trees, but range at will the hot sandy plains or the dense and damp underwood on the margins of lakes and rivers, into which they plunge when alarmed, and remain below the surface until the danger has passed away, their capacious lungs and imperfect circulation permitting them to endure a very long immersion without inconvenience. The Ameivas have a long whip-like tail, and peculiarly elongated toes on their hind feet. The species of Ameiva and Cnemidophorus are numerous, and the genera Dicrodon and Acrantus are founded each of them upon a single species. In general these are Lizards which correspond with the ordinary Lacertida of the Old World. One species only, Cnemidophorus sex-lineatus, inhabits the Southern States of North America ; there are at least four others in Mexico, and the rest belong to South America and the Antilles. " The Ameiva dorsalis," writes Mr. Gosse, '■' is one of the most common of the reptiles of Jamaica, and is as beautiful as abundant. Its colours are striking, but not showy, and. its countenance has a very meek expression. All its motions are elegant and sprightly; when it is proceeding de- liberately, its body is thrown iato latent curves the most graceful imaginable ; but when alarmed its swiftness is so excessive that it appears as if it literally ^e^y over the ground, and the observer can scarcely persuade himself that it is not a bird. It is very timid, and though its toes are not formed as in the Geckos and Anoles, for holding on against gravity, I have seen a large Ameiva run with facility on the side of a dry wall, along the perpendicular surfaces of the large stones." A second series occurs in those Teidm which have a collar of large shields on the throat. As many as five genera of them have been established, each upon a single species, and all are from intertropical America. In Crocodilurus lacertinus the two rows VAEANTD^. 113 of crests along the tail recall to miad the Crocodiles, whence the name bestowed. Others have been styled Dragons, as the Great Dragon, Ada guianensis, and the Smaller Dragon, Ciista bicarinata. All bear a certain amount of superficial resemblance to the Croco- diles, and the Great Dragon grows to six feet in length, and is found in many parts of South America. This large reptile runs up the trunks of trees with facility, is quick when on the ground, and it also swims, though not particularly well. It preys upon such small animals as it can manage to seize, and chiefly frequents the inundated savannahs and marshy localities, where it is seen bask- ing in the sunshine ; but there is considerable difficulty in taking this Lizard, as it makes generally for its burrow in some raised spot, and bites desperately in self-defence. Its flesh is eaten, and is considered a delicacy. Its eggs, also, are considerably esteemed at Cayenne and other places, and each female lays some dozens of them. The family of Helodermidm is founded on a very remarkable Lizard from Mexico, the H. korridwn, which is of the same size as the Great Dragon, and in some respects approximates the following Old World family of Varanidce. Its back and sides are covered with oblong, hexagonal, very convex and shield-like scales, and the belly with oblong, rather convex plates ; tail cylindrical, with oblong, convex scales above, and flat, elongate, thin plates be- neath. The head is somewhat flattened, and is covered with poly- gonal, convex shields j the muzzle is rounded ; and the teeth are on the inner side of the jaws, incurved, with a groove on the front of their inner side. The bite of this reptile is said to be severe. The family of Varanidm inhabit South-eastern Asia and its islands, Africa, and Australia. In this family are comprised the largest of existing Lizards, with the exception of the Crocodilida. They are very commonly miscalled Iguanas by Europeans and their descendants, in the countries where they are found. These reptiles have a pyramid- shaped head, more or less elongated, and covered with small and scale-like, but not imbricate, shields. Their teeth are acute and compressed. The tongue is elongate, slender, terminating in a long fork, and is retractile into a sheath at its base. Their scales are small, equal on the sides and on the back, and arranged in cross rings; those on the belly and tail are I 114 SAURIANS. square, in cross bands. Tail long, and generally more or less compressed. The feet are well developed, with iive toes on each, which are armed with strong claws. Most of them live near water, and they are excellent . swimmers, their long and com- pressed tail serving as -a propeller. Their movements on land are not much less rapid than in the water. Several of the species climb trees, and they are more or less nocturnal in their time of action, though also about by day. They are exclusively carni- vorous, feeding on the different water animals, and on the eggs of birds, and likewise on those of other large reptiles ; some of them are also destructive to ducklings, and to various Snakes. Dr. GHinther remarks that "their external nasal opening leads into .a spacious cavity situated in the snout ; when the animal dives, it closes the nasal aperture, and retaining a certain quantity of air in that pouch, or rather in the two pouches, it is enabled to remain under water for a prolonged period without the neces- sity of rising to the surface in order to breathe. It is the same plan of structure as that with which a large northern Seal {Cystophora borealis) is provided." In like manner, the air-bag connected with the one developed lung of the Ophidians retains the necessary supply of air during the tedious process of degluti- tion or swallowing. The nostrils are variously placed, either mid- way between the eye and muzzle, or nearer to one or to the other ; and according to this and some other differences. Dr. Gray divides the Varanidm into as many as seven genera, but Dr. Giinther would seem to admit not m.ore than two genera. When the tail of these Lizards is mutilated, the lost portion is never renewed ; whereas in the preceding families of the Zonuridce, Lacertidce, and Teidce a new tail or portion of one soon sprouts forth — but this renewed portion contains no bony ver-tebrse, and it remains smooth exter- nally; when the fracture is cleft, as sometimes happens, two new tails are put forth. Another family of Lizards in which the tail is thus commonly renewed is that of the Geckos ; but never in the Iguanidm, the Agamidce, and the Chameleonidce, any more than in the Varanidm. The species of this family defend them- selves vigorously, when attacked, by lashing forth smart blows with the tail, as do also the Crocodiles and the larger Iguanidm. In the genus Varanus, the nasal apertures form an oblique VAEANIt)^. 113 slit, in, or nearly in, tlie middle, between the eye and the tip of the snout. The scales are elliptic and small ; those on the back and on the sides are not imbricate, each of them being surrounded by a small, circular, granular fold. Tail with a low crest, formed by two or four series of strongly keeled scales. Throat with a transverse fold. One very common in India and Ceylon is the V. dracmna, which grows to a length of five feet, the tail being longer than the body. These reptiles live in holes, and in midday they steal out of their cells to seek their food, which consists chiefly of the smaller reptiles and of insects. In many parts of India, and in Ceylon, the flesh is much eaten by the natives. The late Dr. Kelaart states that he once tried some excellent soup made from it, which tasted not unlike hare-soup. At Trincomali, he tells us, they are hunted down by Dogs, and sold in the market for sixpence each. This species climbs walls, and holds on so firmly with its strong claws, wherever these can be inserted, that it is actually used by house- breakers in India to help in raising themselves up a wall or building, the man grasping the tail, while the reptile afibrds a lift by endeavouring to escape from him upwards. It lays twenty or thirty eggs, which in texture and appearance resemble those of many Snakes, being similarly agglutinated together by a viscid mucus. Sir J. E. Tennent remarks that " one of the earliest, if not the first, remarkable animal to startle a stranger on arriving in Ceylon, whilst wending his way from Point de Galle to Colombo, is this large Lizard, which may be seen at noondaj' searching for Ants and other insects in the midst of the highway and along the fences. When disturbed, but by no means alarmed, by the approach of Man, it moves off to a safe distance ; and the intrusion being at an end, it returns again to the occupation in which it had been interrupted. It lives in any convenient hollow, such as a hole in the ground, or the deserted nests of the Termites ; and some small ones, which frequented my garden at Colombo, made their retreat in the heart of a decayed tree." Of another species, V.Jiavescens, which inhabits Lower Bengal, and to the eastward in Burmah, &c., Mr. Theobald remarks that " large specimens are not often procurable by Europeans, as they are much sought after by both Burmese and Karens as choice articles of food. They are chiefly hunted with Dogs, whose scent i2 116 SAUEIANS. enables them to discover the Varans in the hollow trees in which they habitually shelter themselves. A Burman, though ordinarily a lazy man, will think nothing of cutting down and breaking up a large tree in which one of these creatures has sought refuge. The Varanidce deposit their eggs in the ground, usually selecting a deserted White-ant's nest. The eggs are cylindrical, with taper- ing ends, of a dirty white colour and leathery texture (those of V. draccena are two inches long), and, being esteemed an uncom- mon luxury by the Burmese, sell dearer than fowls' eggs. They are oily and feculent-looking, though devoid of any nauseous odour, and some Europeans eat them with pleasure. A well-known African species, the V. or Psammosaurus scincus, extends (without the slightest difference) to the extreme desert region of the north-west of India, and more habitually frequents dry localities than others. In this species the nasal apertures are placed very near the eyes. In the genus Hydrosaurus, the nostrils are more or less rounded, and are situate near the extremity of the snout. These animals are more decidedly aquatic than the preceding, and some of the species grow to seven or even eight feet in length. Such is the H. giganteus of Australia, where three, if not four, species inhabit. In all south-eastern Asia and its islands, its range extending to Lower Bengal but not to India proper, although found in Ceylon, the H. salvator is a common species, which, according to the late Dr. Cantor, is "very numerous in hilly and' marshy localities of the Malayan peninsula. It is commonly, during the day, observed in the branches of trees over- hanging rivers, preying upon birds and their eggs and smaller Lizards, and when disturbed it throws itself from a considerable height into the water; it will courageously defend itself with teeth and claws, and by blows with its tail." We have now to treat of the Pachyglossa, Which are those Lizards which have the tongue short, thick, at- tached to the gullet, and not exsertile. These fall under two very distinct tribes — the Strobibsaura and Nyctisaura of Dr. Gray, or laUANAS. 117 the tribe of the Iguanas and their kindred, and that of the Geckos and their kindred. The tribe of Stbobilosaura Have the scales of the back and sides imbricate, generally rhombic, and those of the lower parts imbricate and of small size. Tail with more or less distinct whorls of scales. The eyes diurnal, with round pupil, and valvular lids. Feet with toes of very unequal length. Many of these reptiles have a row of spines or spine-like scales along the back and tail, which in some are very long, while others have high dorsal and caudal crests, an expansile gular pouch, or other adornments. Like the Varans among the Leptoglossa (p. 114), these Lizards do not renew the tail, or a portion of it, after mutilation. There are two great families of them — one peculiar to the Old World with Australia, the other to the New World ; but as families they do not differ much, and might very well be retained as divisions of the same extensive family. In the family of Jguanidm, all of which inhabit America or its islands, the teeth are round at the root, dilated and compressed at the tip, and toothed at the edge; they are placed in a simple series on the inner side of the jaws, just below the edge, and are covered on the inner side by the gums ; as they faU out they are replaced by others, which grow at the base of their predecessors, and gradually cause the absorption of their roots. Probably not fewer than a him.dred and fifty species are now recognised, which are distributed under more than fifty genera. We can only notice a few of the most remarkable of these Lizards, some of the larger of which attain a length of five or six feet, with propor- tionate bulk of body. As a general rule, the larger species are mainly herbivorous, while the smaller are chiefly insectivorous, though many of the latter also devour fruit. As most of them are remarkable for their rapid changes of colouring, the name of Chameleon is often misapplied to them, in the supposition that the Chameleons are the only Lizards in which that curious phe- nomenon is observable. In one remarkable species, the Sph(Srops anamalus, inhabiting Brazil, it is stated that the eye nearly re- sembles that of the true Chameleons, and it is also one of those which are particularly celebrated for its changes of hue.J 118 SAUEIANS. The name Iguana was given by Laurenti to a heterogeneous group of Saurians, various forms being included which were first separated by Daudin. The Iguanas, as thus restricted, are characterized by a very large thin dew-lap under the neck, a double row of small palatal teeth, and a crest on the back and tail ; the latter long, slender, compressed, and covered with small imbricated and cari- nated scales. Messrs. Dumeril and Bibron describe the genus, thus modified, as principally remarkable for the cutaneous prolongation which constitutes the deep and thin dew-lap, or pouch, the free border of which describes a curved line, and is dentated at the part Fif'. 28. — Iguana tuberculata. nearest the chin. The head is moderately long, and has the form of a pyramid with four faces. The neck is slightly compressed, the limbs long, the toes unequal and sometimes denticulate on the edge. The five toes of the posterior feet are graduated ; the tail, which is long and slender, is slightly flattened from right to left. IGUANAS. 119 The Iguanas live chiefly on trees, but they take readily to the water, swimming with great facility. There are numerous species, all of whieh aere found in South America and the Antilles. In the Island of Isabella, Sir E. Belcher found swarms of them which he had reason to consider omnivorous, feeding voraciously on birds' eggs and the intestines of birds and insects. The Common Iguana, /. tuberculata, which inhabits a great part of South America, is one of the best known species of this family. These reptiles are easily recognised from the large pouch under- neath the neck, and thedentated crest which extends from the head to the extremity of the tail. The tail, feet, and body are covered with small scales. On the upper part, their colour is a more or less decided green, sometimes becoming blue, at others slate- coloured ; the lower part is of a yellowish green. The sides present zigzag, roundish, brown scales, edged with yellow ; frequently a yellow line is traced obliquely in front of the shoulder, and some indi- viduals are sprinkled with brown ; others have the limbs spotted with brown on a black ground. The tail is surrounded with brownish rays alternating with others green and yellow. When full grown it attains the length of four feet, but the more ordi- nary, length of the animals is about thirty inches. They are very gentle creatures, and perfectly harmless, feeding almost exclu- sively on vegetables. They are hunted in America for their flesh, which is excellent ; and they are especially common at Surinam, in the neighbourhood of Cayenne, and in Brazil. [Of a kindred species, Metopoceros cornutus, whieh also is common in the Antilles, an excellent description has been pub- lished by Lieutenant Tyler,* which we must endeavour to con- dense. This reptile attains a length of five, and sometimes even of six feet, the tail being about twice and three quarters the length of the body. When first hatched it measures four inches. The mouth is large, and is armed with two rows of maxillary and two of palatal teeth, which appear simply to be intended to crop leaves and to provide the stomach with vegetable food. Each maxillary tooth is a little double-edged saw, and they are so lapped over each other that the reptile, in closing its mouth upon * " Proceedings of the Zoological Society " for 1850, p. 106. 120 SAUEIANS. a leaf, cuts through it completely. The tongue is curiously used by the animal to draw food into the mouth, and to forward it down the gullet, or to repel it at will, and the only use of the palatal teeth appears to be to secure the food while the tongue moves forward to afford fresh assistance in its journey down the throat. The tongue is always covered by a glutinous secretion, which is perceptibly appended to the jaws when the mouth is open. Between the lower jaw and the chest is a pouch, which the animal draws m or extends simultaneously with the compression or swelling out of the body when enraged or excited. The portion of the gular pouch attached to the jaw is inflatable, and food is sometimes retained in it for a considerable period, but the lower part is merely extensible. " Whilst always retaining the same colours, this Iguana has the power of considerably changing its hues ; but these changes are gradually performed. The colours become more dull as the period of the change of cuticle approaches — which is not, however, very frequent. Each scale has its own tint, and the colours being thus irregularly blended, an appearance is given, particu- larly to the younger reptiles, very much like that of worsted- work. " These Iguanas live principally on trees, and near the wind- ward coast of the island" (of St. Lucia). " They are not much seen, excepting in the months of February, March^ and April, when they quit their hiding-places, and repair to the sea-shore or other sandy places to lay their eggs in the sand. The older females lay a great number of eggs. I have known an instance of qne in confinement laying five in one day, and thirty-two within the space of ten minutes five days afterwards, making thirty-seven in all. Younger females are much less prolific, according to their size. The eggs are very liable to destruction by Ants, which fact probably accounts for their being usually deposited in sea-sand. They are soft, and without any white, and their shell resembles the most beautiful kid leather used for French gloves, of a very ' light straw-colour. They are about the size of those of a domestic Pigeon, but rather longer ; but they vary in dimensions according to the age and size of the Iguana. " This Iguana is not averse to water, when not too cold, taking IGUANAS. 121 to it only when the sun is shining ; in fact, not moving ahout much at any other time. Its mode of swimming diflfers from that of other Lizards, inasmuch as it places its four legs close by the side of its body, and swims entirely with its tail. It dives with great facility, and remains sometimes for a considerable time under water. I believe that it never ventures into the sea. The taO. is a very valuable limb ; for, besides being the sole means of swimming possessed by the animal, it is of great use in climbing trees, although not prehensile ; and it is a most important weapon of defence, a blow from it being frequently sufficient to inflict a severe wound. In fact, this reptile is rather formidable when brought to bay in the woods. It is hunted by the natives with Dogs trained for the purpose. The Dog, immediately upon scenting it, gives tongue, and, if on the ground, the Dog seizes it by the back, and either kills it or maims it, which makes its capture easy ; if in a tree, the Iguana is either shaken down — a matter ordinarily of no small difficulty — or the branch is cut off. It is almost useless to attempt to find these reptiles without Dogs, as the resemblance of their colour to that of the trees which they inhabit prevents them from being easily seen. Few Dogs but those accustomed to the sport will touch them, as, in addition to the blows which they inflict with the tail, they bite and scratch furiously ; and when once they lay hold of anything with their teeth, they can only be made to let go by an inducement to bite some other attractive object being offered to them. They run into holes when chased, if an opportunity offers, and when their eyes are hidden from view, they fancy that their whole body is safely covered. The flesh, particularly of the female, is a great delicacy ; it is cooked in various ways, sometimes in a fricassee, with the eggs whole, sometimes roasted or stewed. The eggs have a very glutinous consistence. The flesh is said to disagree with some constitutions. " Unless when caught young, it is very difficult to induce these reptiles to feed in confinement, and particularly when watched. Their disposition is sulky and savage, and I have known some of them," continues Lieutenant Tyler, " to die in confinement from starvation, rather than feed. This has caused me to try the following plan, which I find very successful, of affording them 122 SAURIANS. nourisliment : — I hold them by the lower part of the body with one hand, and with the other I irritate them until they open their mouth and attempt to bite, when I insert food ; and by annoying them in this way, I have not only made them eat their natural food, but I have killed some of them by forcing them to eat corn and leaves, which appear to have disagreed with them. By some of the natives this Iguana is said to eat Lizards and insects ; but I have opened several, and I have never succeeded in finding any but vegetable matter in the stomach." Of the habits of a kindred species of Iguana, the Cyclura lophura, inhabiting Jamaica, Mr. Gosse has given an elaborate description ; and he tells us that the gular pouch in the IguanidcB " is exten- sible, but not inflatable,^' as is the current opinion. Holbrook and others have remarked the same ; and Professor Thomas Bell describes the fold of skin as being drawn down by a peculiar arrangement of the lingual bone, and a singular cartilage fixed to it and attached also to the skin. These parts are moved by deli- cate muscles, so that, when the cartilage is drawn down, the skin of course is distended, and follows it " in the same way that the silk is stretched over the whalebone of an umbrella." " In fact the skin," writes Professor Holbrook, " when distended in life by the animal, does not resemble the inflated vocal sacs of the Frogs and Toads, which are round, but looks^ like a fold of the skin, pinched and drawn down, the two portions of it being in contact, like a dewlap." It appears that the Cyclura, also, is exclusively herbivorous ; and Mr. Gosse remarks upon the severe wounds which it inflicts upon Dogs with its sharply-serrated tail. In general, the larger species of this family are solely vegetable- feeders, while the smaller kinds (such as the Ancles) are more or less insectivorous ; and there are some, of intermediate size, which even prey occasionally upon the kindred Anoles and other small, animals. The genera of these reptiles are exceedingly numerous, as we have seen, and amongst so many there must be considerable variety in the habits ; but we can only notice a very few of them. Within the limited area of the small archipelago of the GaUapagos, situate on the equator about ten degrees west of South America, there are two remarkable species of Iguanidm, of which the habits have been described and commented upon by Mr. Darwin in his IGUANAS. 123 Tolume of the " Voyage of H.M.8. Beagle." One of them is particularly so, because, as that naturalist observes, it is the only existing Saurian which can properly be said to be a maritime animal. In the whole of that group of islands, as he tells us,( there is only one rill of fresh water that reaches the coast ; yet this reptile frequents the sea-beaches, and no other parts of the islands. He adds that it is the only known existing Lizard that feeds exclusively on aquatic productions. Although he refers both species to the genus Amblyrhynchus, the aquatic sort now con- stitutes the genus Oreocephalus of Dr. Gray, and it bears the name of 0. cristatus. This Lizard, according to Mr. Darwin, " is ex- tremely common on all the islands throughout the archipelago of the Gallapagos. It lives exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, and is never found — at least, I never saw one — even ten yards inshore. It is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid and sluggish in its movements. The usual length of a full- grown one is about a yard, but there are some even four feet long. I have seen a large one which weighed twenty pounds. On the island of Albemarle they seem to grow to a greater size than on any other. These Lizards were occasionally seen some hundred yards from the shore swimming about ; and Captain Oolnett, in his ' Voyage,' says, ' they go out to sea in shoals to fish.' With respect to the object, I believe that- he is mistaken ; but the fact stated on so good an authority cannot be doubted. When in the water the animal swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine movement of its body and flattened tail — the legs, during this time, being motionless and closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sank one, with a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly ; but when an hour after- wards he drew up the line, the Lizard was quite active. Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava which everywhere there form the coast. In such situations, a group of six or seven of these ugly reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs. I opened the stomachs of several," continues Mr. Darwin, " and in each case found it largely distended with minced sea- weed of that kind which grows in thin foliaceous expansions of a bright 124 SAUEIANS. green or dull red colour. I do not recollect having observed this sea- weed in any quantity on the tidal rocks ; and I have reason to believe that it grows at the bottom of the sea, at some little distance from the coast. If such is the case, the object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is explained. The stomach contained nothing but the sea- weed. Mr. Bynoe, how- ever, found a piece of a Crab in one ; but this might have got in accidentally. The intestines were large, as in other herbivorous animals." The food of this Lizard, equally with its compressed form of tail, and the certain fact of its having been seen voluntarily swim- ming out at sea, absolutely prove its aquatic habits ; nevertheless, as we are told by Mr. Darwin, " there is in this respect one strange anomaly, namely, that when frightened it will not enter the water. From this cause, it is easy to drive these Lizards down to any little point overhanging the sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their tail than jump into the water. They do not seem to have any notion of biting ; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of fluid from each nostril. One day I carried one to a deep pool left by the retiring tide, and threw it in several times as far as I was able. It invariably returned in a direct line to the spot where I stood. It swam near the bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet. As soon as it arrived near the margin, but still being under water, it either tried to conceal itself in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered some crevice. When it thought the danger was passed, it crawled out on the dry rocks, and shuflled away as quickly as it could. I several times caught this same Lizard by driving it down to a point, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and swimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water ; and as often as I threw it in, it returned in the manner above described. Perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted for by the circum- stance that this reptile has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous Sharks. Hence, probably urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may be, it there takes refuge. I asked several of the inhabitants if they knew IGUANAS. 125 where it laid its eggs : they said, that although well acquainted with the eggs of the other kind, they had not the least knowledge of the manner in which this species is propagated — a fact, con- sidering how common an animal this Lizard is, not a little extra- ordinary. During our visit (in October) I saw extremely few small individuals of this species, and none I should think under a year old. From this circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season had not commenced." The terrene species, Amhlyceplialus subcristatus, unlike the aquatic one, is confined to the central islands of the Gallapagos archipelago, where they inhabit both the higher and damp, as well as the lower and sterile parts ; but in the latter they are much more numerous. " I cannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers," relates Mr. Darwin, " than by stating that, when we were left at James Island, we could not for some time find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our tent. These Lizards, like their brothers of the sea-kind, are ugly animals ; and, from their low facial angle, have a singularly stupid appearance. In size, perhaps, they are a little inferior to the latter, but several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds each. The colour of their belly, front legs, and head (excepting the crown, which is nearly white) is a dirty yellowish orange ; the back is of a brownish red, which, in the younger specimens, is darker. In their move- ments they are lazy and half-torpid. When not frightened, they slowly crawl along, with their tails and bellies dragging on the ground. They often stop and doze for a moment, with closed eyes, and hind legs spread out on the parched soil. These Lizards inhabit burrows ; which they sometimes excavate between frag- ments of lava, but more generally on level patches of soft volcanic sandstone. The holes do not appear to be very deep, and they enter the ground at a small angle ; so that when walking over one of these Lizard warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to the annoyance of the tired pedestrian. This animal, when excavating its burrows, alternately works the opposite sides of its body. One front leg for a short times scratches up the soil, and throws it towards the hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the mouth of the hole. This side of the body being tired, the other takes up the task, and so alternately. I watched 126 SAUEIANS. one for a long time," continues Mr. Darwin, " till half of its body- was buried ; I then walked up and pulled it by the tail ; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shufHed up to see what was the matter ; and then stared me in the face, as much as to say, ' What made you pull my tail ? ' They feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows ; and, if frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except when running downhill, they cannot move very fast ; which appears chiefly owing to the lateral position of their legs. They are not at all timorous ; when atten- tively watching any one, they curl up their tails, and raising them- selves on their front legs, nod their head vertically, with a quick movement, and try to look very fierce, but in reality they are not at all so ; if one just stamps the ground, down go their tails, and off they shufHe as quickly as they can. I have several times observed small fly-eating Lizards, when watching anything, nod their heads in precisely the same manner ; but I do not at all know for what purpose. If the Amblyrhynchus is held, and plagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely ; but I caught many by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. If two are placed on the ground, and held together, they will fight and bite each other till blood is drawn. Those individuals (and they are the greater number) which inhabit the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout the year; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the branches of which are occa- sionally broken off by the wind. I have sometimes thrown a piece to two or three when together ; and it was amusing enough to see each trying to seize and carry it away in its mouth, like so many hungry Dogs with a bone. They eat very deliberately, but do not chew their food. The little birds are aware how harmless these creatures are : I have seen one of the thick- billed Finches (peculiar to the Gallapagos) picking at one end of a piece of cactus — which is in request among all the animals of the lower region — whilst a Lizard was eating at the other ; and afterwards the little bird, with the utmost indifference, hopped on the back of the reptile. The- stomachs of several that I opened were full of vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of a species of Acacia. In the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees I have seen BASILISK, 12Y these Lizards and the huge Tortoises feeding together. To obtain the acacia leaves, they crawl up the low, stunted trees ; and it is not uncommon to see one, or a pair, quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch several feet from the ground. " The meat of these animals, when cooked, is white ; and by those whose stomachs rise above all prejudices, it is relished as very good food. Humboldt has remarked, that in intertropical South America, all Lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed as delicacies for the table. The inhabitants of the Gallapagos say, that those inhabiting the damp region drink water, but that the others do not travel up for it from the sterile country, like the gigantic Land Tortoises. At the time of our visit, the females had within their bodies numerous large elongated eggs. These they lay in their burrows, and the inhabitants seek them for food." These two curious Lizards of the Gallapagos agree nearly in general structure, and in many of their habits; and neither of them has that rapidity of movement which is characteristic of various other IguanidcB. The form of the head resembles a good deal that of a land Tortoise, and we find the same form of head, and again the same disinclination to bite, in certain herbivorous Lizards, such as the Uromastyx and kindred forms, which are referred by Dr. Gray to the corresponding Old World family of AgamidcB.'l In the family of Iguanas the Basilisk may be noted. According to ancient authors, reproduced by writers of the middle ages, the Basilisk, although such a small animal, could produce instant death by its sting. The man whose eyes met theirs was supposed to be at once devoured by an intense fire. Such are the fabulous ideas which tradition has transmitted to us about these animals. It is to be remarked, however, that the Basilisk of modern herpetology is not the /3a