The animals of Australia : mammals, reptiles and amphibians / by A.H.S. Lucas ; assisted by W.H. Dudley Le Souëf.

  • Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The animals of Australia : mammals, reptiles and amphibians / by A.H.S. Lucas ; assisted by W.H. Dudley Le Souëf. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Genus Track,ysaurns. The Shiiiu'le-hack or Stump-tailed Lizard, T. rugosus, is the only species. It has a wide ran^e, though not recorded from the Centre or extreme North, nor from Tasmania. The head is short, thick, and blunt, the body long and thick, and the tail very short, broad, and llattened. The limbs are very short, and the animal is so lethargic in its movements that it is known in places as the Sleeping Lizard. The colour of the upper surfaces is a rich Vandyke brown, uniform or variegated with yellow, of the lower surfaces yellowish, blotched or mottled with brown. The tongue is blackisli-purple. Length 14 inches. Sluggish, as it is, the Shingle-back has a great reputation as an inveterate i-Vom/(/.■, Tili(iim scincoides. enemy of snakes, the grip of the jaws holding the snake tenacion.sly. iMcCoy showed that the single young is brought forth alive, being as mneh as 5 inches long at birth. Genus Tiliqua. Five species of Blne-tongued Lizards are known from Australia, while the other species is found in Java, the Moluccas, and New Cuinea. They are all large lizards with large heads, long bodies and tails, and short legs. The scales are moderately large and smooth. They are met with on the ground, and are usnally easily captured, though on a hot sunny day, if warned in time, one must run very quickly to overtake them before they reach cover. They live easily in captivity, and will lap
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