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American fauna. Characteristic of the area is the abundance of Chelonians and Iguanidae, to which Tejidae have to be added in the S.; equally characteristic is the See also:

COMPLETE

complete See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of Pleurodirous Chelonians, of Chameleons, Agamidae, Lacertidae, Varanidae and Viperinae. The fauna is composed as follows: Crocodilia, with Crocodilus americanus and See also:

ALLIGATOR (Spanish el lagarto, " the lizard ")

Alligator mississippiensis in the S. Of Chelonians the Chelydridae, See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar to the E. See also:

HALF

half but for the reappearance of a See also:

SPECIES

species of Chelydra in Central America; many Cinosternidae like-See also:

wise almost peculiar to the area; of Testudinidae an abundance of See also:

FRESHWATER

freshwater forms, notably Chrysemys,'and Emys in See also:

COMMON

common with See also:

EUROPE

Europe, whilst terrestrial tortoises are extremely scanty, namely one species of Testudo, T. See also:

POLYPHEMUS

Polyphemus, the See also:

GOPHER (Testudo polyphemus)

gopher, and two of Cistudo, e.g. C. carolina; lastly, two Trionyx in the whole of the See also:

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi See also:

basin and thence N. into See also:

Lake See also:

WINNIPEG

Winnipeg, 51° N. Lacertilia: Geckos are very scarce; N. America has received only Sphaerodactylus notatus from the See also:

ANTILLES

Antilles into See also:

FLORIDA

Florida, and Phyllodactylus tuberculosus into See also:

California from the Pacific See also:

side of Mexico; Eublepharinae are absent. Of Iguanidae we have a typically Sonoran set, e.g.

Crotaphytus, Holbrookia, Uta, Phrynosoma, Sceloporus, and a S. set of which only Anolis extends out of the tropics. It is significant that only a few species of Sceloporus and Phrynosoma extend into the United States, although far N.; of the large genus Anolis only A. carolinensis enters See also:

TEXAS

Texas to Carolina. Sceloporus may be called the most characteristic genus of Sonoraland and Mexico. Of the tropical See also:

FAMILY

family of Tejidae only Cnemidophorus, with many species in Mexico, a few in the adjoining N. states, and with C. sexlineatus over the greater See also:

PART

part of the See also:

Union. Angusdae: Ophisaurus ventralis in the United States; the other species in the Old See also:

WORLD

World. Diploglossus peculiar to mountains of Mexico. Gerrhonotus, the See also:

main genus, centred in Mexico, but G. coeruleus ranges from See also:

Costa Rica along the Pacific side right into See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

COLUMBIA

Columbia, the most See also:

NORTHERN

northern instance of a New World reptile. Xenosaurus grandis of Mexican mountains is the monotype of a family, and the same would apply to Heloderma (H. suspectum, the Gila See also:

monster of the hottest See also:

LOWLAND

lowland parts of See also:

ARIZONA (from the Spanish-Indian Arizonac, of unknown meaning,—possibly " few springs,"-the name of an 18th-century mining camp in the Santa Cruz valley, just S. of the present border of Arizona)

Arizona and New Mexico; and H. horridum of Mexico) if it were not for Lanthanotus of See also:

BORNEO

Borneo. Scincidae: of this See also:

COSMOPOLITAN (Gr. Kbvµos, world, and IroXirgs, citizen)

cosmopolitan family America possesses the smallest number, and it is significant that the number of species decreases from N. to S.; Eumeces from See also:

MINNESOTA

Minnesota and See also:

MASSACHUSETTS (an Indian name, originally applied to a tribe of Indians)

Massachusetts through Mexico, with many species, and Lygosoma s. Mocoa laterale from S.E. and Central States to Mexico. Xantusiidae, a small family,. is composed of a N. or Sonoran and a S. or Central American-Antillean See also:

GROUP

group; e.g. Xantusia of the deserts of See also:

Nevada and California.

Amelia, monotype of a family of California to El Paso, Texas, i.e. peculiar to Sonoraland, Amphisbaenidae with Rhineura in Florida and the marvellous Chirotes in See also:

LOWER

Lower California and the Pacific side of Mexico; the other members of this family are tropical so far as America is concerned. See also:

SNAKES

Snakes: of Typhlopidae only Anomalepis mexicana, peculiar to Nuevo See also:

Leon; of Glauconiidae several extending N. into Texas and Florida. Boinae continue N. as the arenicolous Lichanura of Lower California and Arizona, and the likewise arenicolous Charina bottae which extends from California to the See also:

state of See also:

Washington; the other members of the family are all tropical, extra-regional. Of Viperidae only See also:

PIT (O. E. pytt, cognate with Du. put, Ger. Pfutze, &c., all ultimately adaptations of Lat. puteus, well, formed from root pu-, to cleanse, whence gurus, clean, pure)

pit vipers occur, but of them rattlesnakes See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the whole of the habitable area; Ancistrodon, without a rattle, e.g. the See also:

MOCCASIN (a North-American Indian word, of which the spelling and pronunciation vary in different dialects)

moccasin snake and the See also:

WATER

water See also:

VIPER

viper, has other species in central and E. See also:

ASIA

Asia. Of Elapinae, far into the E. United States only the genus Elaps with a few species, of which E. fulvius, the commonest, ranges from S. See also:

Brazil far into the S.'and E. states. A few opisthoglyphous, terrestrial, snakes just enter the United States from Mexico, e.g. Trimorphodon. Of aglyphous colubrines species of genera like or resembling Tropidonotus, Coronella and Coluber, including Pityophis and Spilotes, are abundant, the latter being very characteristic; Ischnognathus and Conga, Ficimia and Zamenis likewise are clearly nearctic, or Sonoran. The Greater Antilles have essentially neotropical, i.e.

Central American and S. American See also:

AFFINITIES

affinities, but there is also some Sonoran infusion.—There is Crocodilus americanus; no Chelonians are natives except one or two Chrysemys. Of Lacertilia, geckos are abundant; of Iguanidae several arboreal forms, notably the large See also:

IGUANA

Iguana, and Metopoceras of See also:

HAITI [HAITI, HAYTI, SAN DOMINGO, Or HISPANIOLA]

Haiti, and Cyclura, both peculiar; of Anguidae Celestus, peculiar, but closely allied to Diploglossus; of Xantusiidae the peculiar genus Cricosaura s. Cricolepis. Of Amphisbaenidae See also:

AMPHISBAENA (a Greek word, from &pegs, both ways, and flaivav, to go)

Amphisbaena itself occurs in Puerto Rico and on the Virgin Islands. Of Tejidae only Ameiva, not Cnemidophorus. Snakes: a Typhlops in Puerto Rico; of boas Epicrates, Ungalia and Corallus, the latter re-occurring in See also:

MADAGASCAR

Madagascar. Absent are: Viperidae, Elapinae and Opisthoglyphs; of aglyphous colubrines the Central American genera Urotheca, Dromicus, Drymobius and Leptophis; the genera of distinctly northern origin.

End of Article: NORTH AMERICA

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