British reptiles and batrachians . ovements of many are snake-like, even where there arefour limbs; but which scarcely raise the body from the ground,and are of little use in locomotion, or are rather assisted by theundulations of the body. Others have well-developed feet orclaws, furnished with five toes each, and often strong hard nails,with which they scratch and dig into the earth, either in searchof food or to hide themselves. You may see lizards in captivityconstantly scratching the earth or sand, or any dry surface; orpersevering, hour after hour, at the glass sides of their cages ;whic
British reptiles and batrachians . ovements of many are snake-like, even where there arefour limbs; but which scarcely raise the body from the ground,and are of little use in locomotion, or are rather assisted by theundulations of the body. Others have well-developed feet orclaws, furnished with five toes each, and often strong hard nails,with which they scratch and dig into the earth, either in searchof food or to hide themselves. You may see lizards in captivityconstantly scratching the earth or sand, or any dry surface; orpersevering, hour after hour, at the glass sides of their cages ;which does not say much for their intelligence in not learning byexperience that many weeks of such labour produces no effectupon the glass. Most lizards are good climbers, especially thesmall and agile species which inhabit rocks, walls, and trees. Othersaurian characteristics are that they have movable eyelids, non-extensible jaws and mouth—which compels them to limit thesize of their prey—and movable ribs. A sternum is always 6. a o —IV V If) CO ti THE SAURIANS. 8$ present, even should there be no limbs, as in Anguis fragilis ; andthere is generally a vestige of a pelvis, but more thoroughlydeveloped where there are legs to support. Most lizards areexceedingly active, darting about with a swiftness that almostbaffles the eye, while to detect motion in the legs is those thick-set species, which in confinement appear sosluggish, scarcely moving from day to day, are, in their nativetropics, almost as nimble as the slender ones. The skeleton ofa lizard (fig. 28), with its long and flexible spine, movable ribs, andslender limbs, all indicate activity and nimbleness. Lizards are said to be able to reproduce their limbs if lost ormaimed. So far as my own observation goes, I doubt if thebony structure is ever perfectly renewed, but only an imperfectcartilaginous claw or tail-tip. It is possible that by very slowdegrees the cartilage may become ossified; but the sam
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