. The life-history of British lizards and their local distribution in the British Isles. point of view, inasmuch as itis the only reptile to be found in Ireland, the sandlizard as well as the slow-worm having apparentlycome under the decree of banishment ascribed toSt. Patrick. Why this species alone should havebeen permitted to set foot upon Irish soil is not quiteclear, but very likely the viviparous lizard precededthe others in the spread of reptiles to the British Islesfrom the Continent at a time when the mainland wascontinuous from the Continent to Ireland. Irelandthen became cut off fro
. The life-history of British lizards and their local distribution in the British Isles. point of view, inasmuch as itis the only reptile to be found in Ireland, the sandlizard as well as the slow-worm having apparentlycome under the decree of banishment ascribed toSt. Patrick. Why this species alone should havebeen permitted to set foot upon Irish soil is not quiteclear, but very likely the viviparous lizard precededthe others in the spread of reptiles to the British Islesfrom the Continent at a time when the mainland wascontinuous from the Continent to Ireland. Irelandthen became cut off from Great Britain, and GreatBritain from the Continent, but in the case of GreatBritain the viviparous lizard had been followed by theslow-worm and the sand lizard, as well as the threespecies of snakes before the separation this is actually what took place or not, itis one view which gives a feasible explanation of thecurious distribution of the British reptiles. On the Continent this common or viviparous lizardis, as we have said, widely distributed, ranging through. ^ < X ^ ^ ~H T l_j ^ •^ ^ /^ ^ 1—( *--, V I\ ^ T 1 Ni < •P^ ^ f^^ o u THE COMMON LIZARD, LACERTA VIVIPARA 47 Northern and Central Europe and Siberia to the Amoorcountry and the Island of Saghalien. It does notoccur south of the Pyrenees or south of the Alps. ^In Ireland its distribution seems to be irregular andsomewhat local, occurring, for instance, in the countyof Meath, and in the south-eastern counties, Water-ford. ^ A writer in The Zoologist (p. 7172) describesit as being unusually numerous in the year 1860 inthe county of Down, where, he also states, the commonlizard had never occurred before except in rare casesof single specimens. Description.—A careful examination of the illustra-tions in this book, all of which are from photographsof living specimens, will convey a better idea of theappearance of the hzard than any amount of writtendescription. Coloured plates are very
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