Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/79

Rh toes are five, as in the majority of Saurians, but these are arranged in two sets, three in one set, and two in the other, each set being enveloped in the common skin as far as the claws. These two parcels of toes are opposibleopposable [sic] to each other, and thus each foot forms a true grasping hand, and is used in the manner which this structure indicates; the Chameleon moving with slow and deliberate steps, always grasping with a firm hold the branch on which it is creeping, before the other feet are relaxed for a fresh step. The tail is round and prehensile at the tip, like that of the American Monkeys; its under surface is roughened, with small granulated papillæ as is that of

the toes also, probably for the more delicate perception of the surface grasped. The tongue affords an analogy to the same organ in the Woodpeckers, no less singular than that of the feet; for though ordinarily concealed within the mouth, it is capable of being darted forward at its insect prey, and being furnished with a glutinous secretion, secures it by its adhesiveness.