Neither
have that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera Lacerta
and Iguana. They are both herbivorous, although the kind of
vegetation on which they feed is so very different. Mr. Bell has
given the name to the genus from the shortness of the snout:
indeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to that of the
tortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation to their
herbivorous appetites. It is very interesting thus to find a
well-characterised genus, having its marine and terrestrial
species, belonging to so confined a portion of the world. The
aquatic species is by far the most remarkable, because it is the
only existing lizard which lives on marine vegetable productions.
As I at first observed, these islands are not so remarkable for the
number of the species of reptiles, as for that of the individuals,
when we remember the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of
huge tortoises--the many turtles--the great warrens of the
terrestrial Amblyrhynchus--and the groups of the marine species
basking on the coast-rocks of every island--we must admit that
there is no other quarter of the world where this Order replaces
the herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner.
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