Page:VCH Worcestershire 1.djvu/175

 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS Great Britain possesses seven species of reptiles and six batrachians, including the edible frog {Rana esculenta), which is probably an intro- duction from the continent. It has however ' come to stay,' and has stayed so long that it may now fairly rank as a British species. Of these thirteen species Worcestershire has eleven, five of the reptiles, and six of the batrachians. It has both the lizards {Lacerta vivipara and L. agilis) and the slow-worm {Anguis fragilis) . But all of them seem to be decreas- ing in numbers, especially the slow-worm, which is now seldom seen even in places where it was formerly common. Two of the three snakes are also resident : the ring snake [Tropidonotus natrix) and the adder {Vipera berus). There is no trustworthy record of the third, the smooth snake {Coronella austriaca), having ever been seen in the county, possibly because its favourite food the lizard is by no means abundant. The ring snake is fairly common ; so is the adder in certain places, especially in Wyre Forest. Of the batrachians the common frog [Rana temporaria) is abundant everywhere, but R. esculenta has not yet been found in the county. The toad {Bufo vulgaris) is a common resident, but is at times more abundant than at others. There are but few records of the appearance of the natterjack toad {Bufo calamita) ; one was found on Dodderhill Common on August 29th, 1860.^ Of the newts the great crested newt {Molge cristata) is common, so is the common newt {M. vulgaris), but the palmated newt {M. palmatd) is only locally plentiful. It is often confounded with and mistaken for the common newt, whose company it frequents, REPTILES LACERTILIA has been found, as well as on Hartlebury I. Common or Viviparous Lizard. Lacerta Common and in Wyre Forest. vivipara, Jacq. 2. Sand Lizard. Lacerta agilis, Linn. Although so abundant in the southern coun- Pennant, in his British Zoology (vol. iii. ties of England, the present small species is p. 12, 1769) mentions a lizard which was rare in Worcestershire, or at any rate very killed at Wollescote in the parish of Old Swin- seldom observed, owing no doubt in some ford, Worcestershire, in 172 1, measuring 2 feet measure to its unattractive appearance. There 6 inches in length, and having a girth of is however every reason to conclude that 4 inches ; the forelegs were 8 inches from careful search would discover it in localities the head, and the hind legs 5 inches from where it has not yet been noticed. On them, and the legs themselves 2 inches in the Ridgeway, which divides the counties length. That statement of dimensions is of Worcester and Warwick, this small lizard wholly incredible, and doubtless Pennant was 1 Transactions iVorcestershire Naturalists' Club, i. p. 60. 137