File:The life-history of British lizards - and their local distribution in the British Isles (1903) (14759972226).jpg

Identifier: lifehistoryof00leig (find matches)
Title: The life-history of British lizards : and their local distribution in the British Isles
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Leighton, Gerald (Gerald Rowley), b. 1868
Subjects: Lizards Reptiles
Publisher: Edinburgh : George A. Morton London : Simpkin, Marshall
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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arts are whitish. ^A careful description such as the above shows howimpossible it is to convey an accurate impression ofthe colour of this species by a coloured plate. Com-paring the shields with those of the viviparous lizardwe find that the sand lizard has, as a rule, two anteriorloreal shields in place of the one in the smaller lizard,these two along with the single post-nasal shieldmaking a triangle. The average size of the male sandHzard is about 7 J inches, the female being a little larger,8 inches or rather more. Again, it is to be observedthat the tail in the male sex is relatively longer than inthe female, in the latter it is less than one-half of theentire length of the lizard. The tail is cylindrical,and covered by a number of rings of scales, thesescales being more elongated than those on the dorsum.These annulations have a distinct relation to the positionwhere fracture of the tail is apt to occur, a pointwhich is dealt with later. * Gadow, Amphibia aiid Reptiles, p. 554.
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THE SAND LIZARD, LACERTA AGILIS 63 Haunts.âThe popular name of sand lizard in thiscase appears to rest upon a good foundation, sandydistricts it undoubtedly affects. There is good reasonfor this in connection with the two physiological pro-cesses in this species of reproduction and hibernation.The warmth of the sand assists the formerâfor inthis case the eggs are deposited early, while the easewith which it can burrow in loose sandy soil assistsin hibernation. Sunshine is a much more necessarycondition of life to the sand lizard than to the slow-worm, hence the former keeps to the open and un-disturbed sandy heaths and commons, with sunnybanks on which to bask. Much of its life is passedunderground, and on the slightest approach of cold itretreats from exposure to air. But on bright warmdays the sunniest spot in its local habitat will find thesand lizard deriving all the heat it can for its cold-blooded system from the sun. it is a dweller inplains rather than mountains. Habits.â

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