. The popular natural history . Zoology. 426 THE GECKO. masses of rotten wood; and on heathery soils, where the ground slopes con- siderably, it selects a spot where it will be well sheltered from the winter's rains and snows, and burrows deeply into the dry loose soil. Like the snakes, the Blindworm casts its skin at regular intervals, seeming to effect its object in various modes, sometimes pulling it off in pieces but usually stripping it away, hke the snakes, by turning it inside out, just as an eel is skinned. A NEW group now comes before our notice, the members of which are distinguished
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 426 THE GECKO. masses of rotten wood; and on heathery soils, where the ground slopes con- siderably, it selects a spot where it will be well sheltered from the winter's rains and snows, and burrows deeply into the dry loose soil. Like the snakes, the Blindworm casts its skin at regular intervals, seeming to effect its object in various modes, sometimes pulling it off in pieces but usually stripping it away, hke the snakes, by turning it inside out, just as an eel is skinned. A NEW group now comes before our notice, the members of which are distinguished by the formation of their tongues, which, instead of being flat and comparatively slender, as in the preceding Lizards, are thick, convex, and have a slight nick at the end. On account of this structure, the species of this sub order are termed PachyglosS/E, or Thick-tongued Lizards. These reptiles are divided into sundry groups, the first of which is termed the Nyctisaura, or Nocturnal Lizards. These creatures have eyes formed for seeing in the dusk ; cir- '"^^'i ]''^C .â ;a«P'''*"5^ cular eyelids, which, how- j% ^SAV. 2' ^ 'IJS tL ^^^^' "^^"^""^ To&^x. over the ^i -f ,-\, ^j^fz^'^y^ eyeball, and in almost every J ^ ^VHIH^' K11 "^^^^ ^^ pupil is a long nar- row slit like that of the cat. The body is always flattened. The limbs are four in num- ber, tolerably powerful, and are used in progression. Of these Lizards, the first family is the Geckotid^e, or Geckos, a very curious group of reptiles, common in many hot countries, and looked upon with dread or adoration by the natives, sometimes with both, where the genius of the nation leads them to reverence the object of their fears, and to form no other conception of supreme power than the capability of doing harm. The Common Gecko, or Ringed Gecko, is an Asiatic species, being as common in India as the preceding species in North Africa. It may be easily known from allied Fan-foot by the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
