. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . ents, the Cocka-trice of Scripture. The reptile which now bears the name is aninofiensive animal, living in the forests of Guiana, Martinique,and Mexico, and leaping from branch to branch, in order to gatherthe seeds or seize the insects on which it feeds. The Basilisk is distinguished from the other Iguanian Lizardsby the absence of the long and dilatable skin under the throat, 128 SAUEIANS. and by the presence of an elevated crest whicli runs alongthe whole l
. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . ents, the Cocka-trice of Scripture. The reptile which now bears the name is aninofiensive animal, living in the forests of Guiana, Martinique,and Mexico, and leaping from branch to branch, in order to gatherthe seeds or seize the insects on which it feeds. The Basilisk is distinguished from the other Iguanian Lizardsby the absence of the long and dilatable skin under the throat, 128 SAUEIANS. and by the presence of an elevated crest whicli runs alongthe whole length of the back and tail. The Hooded Basilisk, B. americanus (Fig. 29), measures seven oreight inches from the nose to origin of the tail, which is itself nearlythree times as long, being nineteen or twenty inches in the occiput it has a sort of horn or bag, in shape like ahood, roimd at the summit, and slightly inclined towards theneck. This bag, when distended, is about the size of a pidletseffor. In the male the back and tail are sm-mounted bv a OO* raised crest, such as we have described above, sustained in its. Fig. 29.—Hooded Basilisk. thickness by the knotty process of the vertebrae. The generalcolour is a mixture of sandy brown, slightly marbled on the backand sides, with shades of blue on the upper part, and a silverywhite underneath. On the throat are larger bands of brownand on each side of the eye is a white ray bordered with black,which is lost upon the back; and the tail is so remarkablyattenuated towards its extremity as to show the articidations of thevertebrae beneath. [According to Mr. 0. Salvin, the Basilisk is very common aboutLanquin, in the province of Guatemala, where it may frequentlybe seen on the low branches of a bush, and it is particularly fondof basking on the boughs of a felled tree in a clearing near a ANGLES. 129 stream. In some specimens of the males, we are informed, tlie tail ismuch more compressed than in others. In a series
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