Museum Notes NEW ZEALAND’S LIZARDS

Southland Times, Issue 23992, 6 December 1939, Page 15

Museum Notes NEW ZEALAND’S LIZARDS

GOOD ASSORTMENT IN MUSEUM MOST COVERED WITH SCALES With the finding of a rather uncommon lizard at Lochiel a few days ago, attention is focused on these humble creatures by medium of these notes, for they are of particular interest to the student of New Zealand natural history comprising as they do one of the few groups of native fourlegged fauna. The lizard order is not one which lends itself well (except in the very large members of the group) to the art of taxidermy, and in consequence most museum specimens must be shown preserved in glass bottles. In the Southland Museum there is a good assortment of the various kinds, some native and others foreign. The order of Lacertilia comprises some 1500 species of lizards represented in all temperate and tropical climates and varying greatly in form, size and habits. It is evident that lizards at one time enjoyed a 'far wider distribution than at the present day—large iguanas being represented by fossils in Hampshire and France., The largest true lizard known is an extinct monitor that could not have measured less than 30 feet. Modern lizards are covered with scales and usually possess two welldeveloped pairs of limbs. A few, however, are snake-like in form, but in these the pectoral and pelvic girdles are always present. The presence of a movable tongue and the horizontal cleft of the vent are characters which separate then from the crocodiles. From snakes they differ in the structure of the lower jaw, the mouth being non-extensible while the halves of the lower jaw are united by a suture and not connected by an elastic ligament. In . the majoirty yf lizards eyelids and ear-openings are present and the senses of sight and hearing, are usually well developed. TONGUES AND TAILS The tongue is an important organ and differs much in shape in various species. It may be broad and short and merely an organ of taste, long and forked and acting as a probe with which to explore the immediate surroundings, or exertible and sticky and adapted for catching insect prey _ In one genus the teeth are developed into poison fangs, being grooved and connected with poison glands.

The tail in some lizards may be cast off and by its reflex movements hold the attention of the enemy while its former owner-makes good its escape. When it is cast off, the tail is not disjointed, but one of the vertebrae is snapped clean across. The broken end at once begins to grow and in time gives rise to a new tail while injury to the tip may result in the tail becoming forked. The tail may be heavily armoured with spikes and knobs and form a formidable weapon, or be ornamented with a fin and serve as a useful means of propulsion through water; in one family it is highly prehensile. Most lizards reproduce by laying a moderate number of oval soft-shelled eggs which are usually buried in the earth, or sand and hatch in a few weeks. A few forms are viviparous, bringing the young forth alive. The voice is generally a mere hiss, but some lizards are more vocal and utter cries of varying pitch and volume. Voice and colour may both play an important part in courtship and at the breeding season males of many species may fight fiercely for their brides, and seek to attract them with a dazzling display of colour. NATIVE SPECIES Native to New Zealand are some 14 species exclusive of the renowned tuatara. The latter could be best described as a > lizard-like animal but with considerable difference in tht skeleton, among which are a welldeveloped breast-bone and abdominal ribs. The affinities of the tuatara, too, are equally close to the turtles as they are to lizards, while the uncinate processes of the ribs are very bird-like. In the genus of Naultinus we have one of our most handsome and useful geckoes. The colouration varies from canary yellow to a grass green and they are often kept as pets, proving quite adaptable to a life in captivity and useful in keeping down the übiquitous house-fly. In their natural state they live on shrubs and in open fem land. They hibernate during the winter and are viviparous, bringing forth from one to three young ones at a time between July and September. In the summer they cast their skin several times. When molested they have been known to emit a peculiar chattering sound which the Maori termed laughing and of which they had a widespread superdread. The laugh of the green lizard was enough to terrify the bravest warrior and the reptile itself was an object of fear to all, This superstition does not seem to have pertained in the extreme South very much all the same but it certainly did in the north. Another handsome species is the tree lizard or as the Maori called it, makapapa. It is found in native bush and is sluggish in habits. One of its most unusual characteristics is the changing of its ground-colour of grey to a pink-red and it does this sometimes three of four times a day. This colour change does not seem to take place chameleon fashion and very little is known of its cause as yet.