. The life-history of British lizards and their local distribution in the British Isles. SLOW-WORM : ALMOST COMPLETE PORTION OF TAIL OF SLOW-WORM FRACTURES. TWO INCOMPLETE [Facing- />. io6. FRAGILITY OF THE TAIL IN LIZARDS 107 at once evident that while the integument rupturedreadily round the circumference of the lower half (theventral half) of the tail at the point of fracture, it didnot do so nearly so easily on the dorsal aspect. Infact, some degree of force was necessary to completethe division of the skin all round. But by bendingthe two halves of the tail, as one would ben
. The life-history of British lizards and their local distribution in the British Isles. SLOW-WORM : ALMOST COMPLETE PORTION OF TAIL OF SLOW-WORM FRACTURES. TWO INCOMPLETE [Facing- />. io6. FRAGILITY OF THE TAIL IN LIZARDS 107 at once evident that while the integument rupturedreadily round the circumference of the lower half (theventral half) of the tail at the point of fracture, it didnot do so nearly so easily on the dorsal aspect. Infact, some degree of force was necessary to completethe division of the skin all round. But by bendingthe two halves of the tail, as one would bend a stickacross the knees, the fracture was completed. Thestructures thus separated in the following order:— First, the ventral integument; Then the ventral muscles; Then the lateral integument and muscles oneach side; Then the dorsal muscles; Lastly, the dorsal indicates the degree of ease with which theparts separated, the ventral aspect rupturing mosteasily, the dorsal remaining intact the longest. Thefirst thing that struck me was that the initial point ofseparation was in the skin, not, apparently,
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