Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/101

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IGUANAS.
93

Family III. Iguanadæ.

(Iguanas.)

Some of the largest and some of the smallest of the Lizards are found in this Family, for while the true Iguanas sometimes measure six feet in length, there are some of the Anoles which scarcely attain half as many inches. It comprises many genera and species, which, with scarcely an exception, are confined to the warmer parts of the American continent and the adjacent islands. They are marked by a long and slender body, and greatly lengthened tail; by having five toes on each foot, which are very unequal in length, those of the hind feet particularly so; by the eye being protected by eyelids, meeting in a longitudinal line; by the tympanum or drum of the ear being membranous, and but little beneath the surface; by the tongue being thick, fleshy, and not extensile, and notched only at the tip; by teeth in the palate; and by numerous others

TEETH OF IGUANA.

attached to the inner edge of the jawbone, which for the most part are lobed or dilated, and have a crenated or notched edge. Besides these distinctions, the body is covered with scales or tu-