CHAMELEON.
In our cold and northern regions the captive Chameleon cuts but a sorry figure: but in his own and sunny regions, which extend from southern Spain and Sicily to the Cape, and eastwards from Arabia and Hindostan to Australia, it is said to be by no means deficient in beauty, in spite of its strangely-formed carinated head, its enormously projecting eyes, and its granulated skin. Its manner of hunting for the little winged insects, that form its principal food, is very peculiar. Although the movements of its head are very limited, on account of the shortness of its neck, this deficiency is amply supplied by the wide range of its vision, each eye being able to move about in all directions independently of the other. Thus, while one of them attentively gazes upon the heavens, the other minutely examines the ground, or while one of them rolls in its orbit, the other remains fixed; nay, their mobility is so great, that without even moving its stiff head, this wonderful lizard, like Janus, the double-faced god of ancient Rome, can see at the same time all that goes on before and behind it. When an insect comes flying along, the Chameleon, perched on a branch, and half concealed between the foliage, follows it in all its movements by means of his powerful telescopes, until the proper moment for action appears. Then, quick as thought, he darts forth, even to a distance of five or six inches, his long fleshy glutinous tongue, which is moreover furnished with a dilated and somewhat tubular tip, and drawing it back with the same lightning-like velocity, engulphs his prey. This independence of the eyes is owing to the imperfect sympathy which subsists between the two lobes of the brain and the two sets of nerves which ramify throughout the opposite sides of its frame. Hence also one side of the body may be asleep while the other is vigilant, one may be green while the other is ash-blue, and it is even said that the Chameleon is utterly unable to swim, because the muscles of both sides are incapable of acting in concert.
Destined for an arboreal life, he is provided with organs beautifully adapted for supporting himself on the flexible branches; for, besides the cylindrical tail nearly as long as his body which he coils round the boughs, his five toes are united two and three by a common skin, so as to form, as it were, a pair of pincers or a kind of hand, admirably suited for a hold-fast.
IGUANA.
Among the Iguanas, a huge lizard tribe, characterised by a carinated back and tail, and a large denticulated gular pouch, the common or Great American Guana (Iguana tuberculata) deserves particular notice, as its white flesh is considered a great delicacy in Brazil and the West Indies. Notwithstanding its large size, for it not seldom attains a length of four or five feet, and the formidable appearance of its serrated back, it is in reality by no means of a warlike disposition, and so stupid that, instead of endeavouring to save itself by a timely flight, it merely stares with its large eyes, and inflates its pouch, while the noose is passing round its neck to drag it from its hole.
The Bahama Islands abound with Guanas, which form a great part of the subsistence of the inhabitants. They are caught by dogs, trained for the purpose, in the hollow rocks and trees where they nestle, and either carried alive for sale to Carolina, or kept for home consumption. They feed wholly on vegetables and food, particularly on a kind of fungus, growing at the roots of trees, and on the fruits of the different kinds of pine apples, whence their flesh most likely acquires its delicate flavour.
MONITOR.
The famous South American monitory lizard or Teju (Tejus monitor) is one of the largest and most beautiful of the whole race, as he measures no less than five feet from the snout to the tip of the tail, which is nearly twice as long as the body, while his black colour, variegated with bright yellow bands and spots, produces an agreeable and pleasing effect. The head is small, the snout gradually tapers, the limbs are slender, and the tail, which is laterally compressed, gradually decreases towards the extremity. The Teju lives in cavities and hollows, frequently under the roots of trees. When pursued, he runs rapidly straight forward to his burrow; but when his retreat is intercepted, he defends himself valiantly, and proves a by no means contemptible antagonist, as he is able to bite through a thick boot, and a stroke with his strong and muscular tail will completely disable a dog. Though the Monitor generally lives on land, he is an excellent swimmer, and catches many a fish in its native element. His chief food, however, consists in various fruits, rats, mice, birds, and he also devours a large number of the eggs and young of the alligator. The attachment to man which is universally attributed to him in Brazil, and the warning which, like his relation the Monitor of the Nile, he is said to give to him of the approach of the cayman or the crocodile, by emitting a peculiar and shrill sound, are idle fables which hardly required the contradiction of Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied, who in all his travels never once heard the Teju’s monitory cry, although occasions were not wanting when it might have been of service.