At a glance there is little beyond its superior size to distinguish the Sand Lizard from the Common Lizard; and in consequence the earlier records of its occurrence in certain localities have had to be severely revised. It appears to have been the rule of many recorders, when specimens of the common species that exceeded average proportions were captured, to put them down as Sand Lizards without any critical examination. The truth is that as a British species the Sand Lizard is found only in certain restricted localities in the southern counties of Dorset, Hampshire, and Surrey, and the sandhills by the sea in Lancashire and Cheshire. Its southern habitats agree almost exactly with those of the Smooth Snake, for which it provides a favourite food. It is not found either in Scotland or Ireland.

The adult male of the Sand Lizard is about seven and a half inches long, of which more than half is tail. The female is about half an inch longer, but the additional measure is added to the body, for the tail is less than half of the whole length. The general colouring may be described as a sandy-brown, with broken bands of darker tint. There is, of course, a considerable amount of colour variation, and in the males there is a marked tendency to a green suffusion, which in many cases is so pronounced as to lead to a belief that the examples in question are the non-indigenous Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis). It was, no doubt, some markedly green males of the Sand Lizard which Gilbert White saw "on a sunny sandbank, near Farnham, in Surrey," and thought were true Green Lizards. There are rows of dark and white spots along the sides of the back, flank, and tail, which give the appearance of longitudinal stripes. The green of the male is more pronounced during the breeding season (May-June) when it is also evident in the usual black-dotted yellow of the underside. The black spots along his sides have white centres. The under parts of the female are cream-coloured, and the three rows of white-centred spots on the sides are dark brown.

[Pl. 88.]][K 140.
Sand Lizard.
The tail, seized by an aggressor, has been parted with.

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[Pl. 89.]][K 141.
Slow-worm.
Young hatching from newly laid eggs.

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