So seen, we note that they are about five inches in length, which is only an average size. The maximum attained by males is six inches, and by females seven inches. The females are not merely longer, they are altogether of larger proportions; but the male is the more graceful of the two, his tail tapering gradually from the slender body to the very fine tip. Though the tail is in both sexes equal in length to the head and body, that of the female appears shorter owing to its sudden tapering beyond the thick basal portion. The colour is some tint of brown, varying considerably in different individuals from yellow-grey to purple-brown, as a ground tint, upon which is laid variable dark spots forming more or less broken longitudinal lines. There is sometimes a blackish line or band following the course of the backbone to a little behind the hips, and a dark band along the sides edged with yellow. On the underside the males are orange or red, spotted with black; the females, orange, yellow, or pale greenish, with or without black spots, or a few small grey dots. They appear to moult, or "slough," in patches, though entire sloughs are found occasionally. [Illustration: *Skeleton of Lizard.*] The limbs of the Lizards agree structurally with those of the Mammals, each ending in a well-formed hand or foot with five long and slender digits, each with a curved claw--those of the hand worn short and blunt by their use in scraping the earth. Their principal food is furnished by the various tribes of insects--flies, beetles, moths, and caterpillars, though spiders are greatly appreciated. Unless they are very small, caterpillars do not appear to be swallowed, but rather chewed and the skin rejected. The name _vivipara_ refers to the fact that the female retains her eggs until they are fully developed and ready to hatch, so that the young are born free from the egg-membrane, or the egg breaks in the act of oviposition or immediately after. They are deposited anywhere: there is neither nest nor concealment, and the mother exhibits no interest or concern in her progeny. These number from six to twelve, and are nearly black. They remain motionless where they were born for several days. They are about an inch long. They start life so well nourished that they take no food for several days, then start hunting for small insects, such as Aphides and other soft-bodied species. The teeth are very small and conical, and unfitted to deal with hard substances; and as the two halves of the lower jaw are firmly connected there can be no distension of the small mouth to accommodate large parcels of food, as happens with the Snakes.