OCR Text |
Show 36 REPTILIA. Opl. torquatus, Cuv. (The Black-collared Grey Quetzpaleo.) A black half collar on each side of the neck. From Brazil. ANoLius, Cuv.(l) In addition to all the peculiarities of form of the Iguana, and particularly of the Polychrus, these animals have a very peculiar and distinctive character: the skin of their toes is spread out under the antepenultimate phalanx into an oval disk transversely striated beneath, which assists them to attach themselves to various surfaces, to which, independently of this, they cling with great pertinacity by means of their nails, which are very much hooked. Their body and tail, moreover, are uniformly roughened with small scales, and most of them have a dewlap under the throat, which under the excitement of passion becomes inflated and changes colour. Several enjoy the faculty of changing the colour of their skin, to an equal degree with the Chameleon. Their ribs form entire circles like those of the Polychrus and Cameleon. Their teeth are trenchant and denticulate, as in Polychrus and Iguana, and they are even found in the palate. The skin of their tail is doubled into slight fold~ or depres· sions, each of which contains some circular rows of scales. This genus appears to be peculiar to America. The tail of some is ornamented with a crest supported by the spi· nous apophyses of the vertebrre, as in Istiurus and Basiliscus.(2) .lln. velifer, Nob. (The Great Crested Anolis.) A foot long; a crest on the tail occupying half its length, supported by from twelve to fifteen rays; the dewlap extends under the belly. Its colour is a blackish ash-blue. From Jamaica and the other Antilles. We have found berries in its stomach. Lac. bimaculata, Sparm. (The Little Crested Anolis.) Half the size of the preceding; the same crest; greenish, dotted with brown about the muzzle and on the flanks. From North Arne· rica and several of the Antilles. .lln. equestris, Merr. Fawn-colour, shaded with an ashy lilac; (1) .!lnoli, .!lnoalli, the name of these Saurians in the Antilles; Gronovius, very gratuitously, has applied it to the .!lmeiva. Rochefort, from whose work it was taken, only gives a copy of the Teyugua~u ofMarcgrave, or the Great Sauvegarde of Guiana. Nichol8on seems to assert that this name is applied to several species, and the one he describes appears to be the .!ln. roquet, which, in fact, was sent to the Museum from Martinique under the name of .!lnolis. MM. de Tonnes has even ascertained that it is the only one by which it is now known. (2 They have been confounded with each other, and with some of the following ones, under the names of Lac. principalia and bimaculata. SAURIA. 37 a white band on the shoulder; tail so fleshy that the apophyses of its crest cannot be perceived; a foot long. Others again have a round tail, or one that is merely a little compressed. Their species are numerous, and have been partly confounded under the names of Roquet, Goitreux, Rouge-gorge, and .flnolia, -Lac. strumosa and bullaris, L. They inhabit the hot parts of America and the Antilles, and change colour with astonishing facility, particularly in hot weather. When angry, their dewlap becomes inflated and as red as a cherry. These animals are not so large as the Grey Lizard of Europe, and feed on insects which they actively pursue; it is said that whenever two of them meet, a furious combat inevitably ensues. The species of the Antilles, or the Roquet of Lacep. I, pl. xxvii, which is more particularly the Lac. bullaris, Gm., has a short muzzle speckled with brown, and salient eye-lids; its usual colour is greenish. Its round tail excepted, it closely resembles the Lac. bimaculata. The .llnolis raye, Daud. IV, xlviii, I, only differs from it in a series of black lines on the flank. It seems to be identical with the Lac. atrumoaa, L. Seb. II, xx, 4, and is somewhat longer than the preceding species. The Carolina .llnolis, lguane goitreux, Brongn. Catesb. I, lxvi, is of a fine golden green; a black band on the temple and a long and flattened muzzle give it a peculiar physiognomy . and render it a very distinct species.( 1) It is to this family of the Iguanre with palatine teeth, that belongs an enormous fossil reptile known by the name of the Maestricht J.lnimal,and for which the new name ofMosAsAu- Rus has recently been coined.(2) . (1) Add the .!lnolis a points blanca, Daud. IV, xlviii, 2;--.dn. viridia, Pr. Max. lib . VI;-.!ln. gracilis, I d. and several other species, of which, unfortunately, 1 have ao figures to cite. (2} See Oss. foss. Vol. V, part. II. Many large reptiles have been discovered in a fossil state, which it appears should be approximated to this family, but their characters are not sufficiently known to enable us to class them with precision. Such are the GEouuRus discovered by Sa:mmering, tho MEGA.LouuRus of M. Buckland, the IGUANODON of M. Mantell, &c. See Oss. Foss. ut sup. \ |