British reptiles, amphibians, and fresh-water fishes . uired itsspecific name of fragilis because, when handled, it hasthe habit of not only becoming quite rigid, but if doubledup or struck, it snaps, or breaks, in two. Indeed whenin this rigid state its body can be broken into severalsmall pieces. Although it does not occur in Ireland,it is a familiar object in England, Scotland, and Wales, but it often escapes detection because of its fondness for16 SLOW WORM keeping perfectly still. It is probably because of thisthat it has obtained its name of Slow Worm. I havefound it most frequently in K
British reptiles, amphibians, and fresh-water fishes . uired itsspecific name of fragilis because, when handled, it hasthe habit of not only becoming quite rigid, but if doubledup or struck, it snaps, or breaks, in two. Indeed whenin this rigid state its body can be broken into severalsmall pieces. Although it does not occur in Ireland,it is a familiar object in England, Scotland, and Wales, but it often escapes detection because of its fondness for16 SLOW WORM keeping perfectly still. It is probably because of thisthat it has obtained its name of Slow Worm. I havefound it most frequently in Kent and Cornwall, but thereare few, if any, counties in which it does not occur,though in several it is of local distribution. It hauntscommons, downs, heaths, grassy waysides, and woods,and when discovered may be picked up and handledwithout fear of any harm accruing to the captor. Butcare must be taken not to interfere with the tail, as manyspecies of Lizards have^a knack of snapping off a portionof that appendage with the idea apparently of making. good their escape. Moreover, it is a capital device for enabling the Slow Worm and its cousins to escape from natural enemies when a hold is secured of the tail end. The reptile, minus a part of its extremity, goes off to all intents and purposes no worse for its adventure, and its pursuer has obtained a meal. Lizards reproduce either by depositing eggs, or bringing forth living young. The present reptile comes under the last-named category. 17 BRITISH REPTILES The eggs are carried by the female until they are hatched,and the young has little or no difficulty in breaking thetransparent egg-membrane, and making good its in Autumn the thread-like young ones make theirappearance, and they number from six to twelve, some-times less. It takes several years for them to reach theadult state. The favourite food of this gardeners friendis slugs, and these are sought for when it is getting instance is recorded of a male
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubject, booksubjectreptiles
