Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/104

96 goître is almost always of bright colours, usually some tint of orange or red, and is not susceptible of change in hue, as has been erroneously stated even when the colours of the body are mutable.

The food of the smaller species of the Iguanadæ consists chiefly of insects, in the capture of which they display great agility. We have, however, seen specimens of the genus Dactyloa (allied to Anolis) engaged in feeding on pulpy berries; and MM. Duméril and Bibron state that in their dissections of many of the larger species they have found the stomach filled with vegetable matters, such as flowers, leaves, and seeds, in considerable quantities, and hence these herpetologists conclude that most of the species are herbivorous. The true Iguanas are said, however, to feed voraciously on animal matters also, such as the eggs of birds, the intestines of fowls, and insects.

An interesting anecdote recorded by Professor Bell of one of the smallest of the Iguanadæ shows that insectivorous animals may be exposed to danger from the noxious qualities of the insects which they attack. “Some years since,” observes this zoologist, “I had in my possession two living specimens of the beautiful little green Anolis