/ol. XXIII NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1923 No. 6
TRAILING THE RHINOCEROS IGUANA IN SANTO DOMINGO One of the major objectives of the Angelo Heilprin Expedition of 1922 G. KINGSLEY NOBLE DOGS AS FISHERMEN A little-known habit that canines indulge in for sport, to obtain food, or in the service of man E. W. GUDGER A WASP THAT HUNTS CICADAS Episodes in the life history of Sphecius speciosus WILLIAM M. SAVIN "THE MOST WONDERFUL PLANT IN THE WORLD" With some hitherto unpublished correspondence of Charles Darwin regarding the insectivorous plant, Venus's flytrap FRANK MORTON JONES HOW ELEPHANTS ARE MOUNTED A chapter in the history of taxidermy FREDERIC A. LUCAS
THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHES, AMERICAN MUSEUM Its aims and achievements BASHFORD DEAN
TREASURE HOUSE OF SPAIN-MOUNTING HORSE SKELETONS TO EXEMPLIFY DIFFERENT GAITS AND ACTIONS W'mMJW 5 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN g Q MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (1 EXPLORATION RESEARCH-EDUCATION D. .G
NNUAL SUBSCRIPTION $3.00 SINGLE COPIES 50 CENTS FREE TO MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS OF THE MUSEUM NATUR L H TORY THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
DEVOTED TO NATURAL HISTORY. EXPLORATION. AND THE DEVELOP- MENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION THROUGH THE MUSEUM
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1923
[Published December, 1923] Volume XXIII, Number 6
C^opyright, 1923, by The Ameriran Museum of Natural History, Xew York, N. Y, .
^ V maq H ^ Jl ^ ml -^ Si ^^1 - ^ c 1 o z: 1 '^ . *M •^ ^^ Q 1 J- 1 C-^ (— o ^ ^ ^ t*, K o ^ V V- .^ c ^ £ a c 2-S o £ 1 ^ cl -<-^ -«- '^ ' ocS^ — c -= B -*:: o tN « |.. o < 3 '^ ^ S c § 1 o -H fl E: 'J2 c3 (- o •Si C '•Jo z o EH -H ^ " ' M ^ »v^ c c — be a ii: c K O "3 ^ Doir exhibiti Santo on of placed aroas ly ,- t' ^^H " fc, ^ C 3 i t ^o F*« =S "Hi ^ S w v^ h~ -^ ? c c «J c cr ;_ •~i u ;j «— ^ ^^ X X O .c t t*H "€ J= o c eg- ^ "c . _ r =£ — ^ NATURAL HISTORY Vol-l MK XXIII iNOVKMUKK-Ul'AKMliKU .Nl MIlKK '» Trailing the Rhinoceros Iguana HOW rnK 1 ACTS iMn;si:NTi:i) in i hi; (ikoipoi -niiisi; i{i;i'riLi;s Kl•:(•^:^^I,^ INS'IAIJ.Kl) IN rHK \Mi:UI('AN MISKIM. W lilU! oU lAI NKI ) F\ IIIK riKLi) in nil: ancklo iikilpkin Kxi'KDrrioN Hv (;. KIX(;SLKV NOIM.K ( \>>«>(i!itf t iir.'iti'i 111 MtrpriolojfV ( In "li!irir»'). \rii(ri<:iii Mumiiih BLANC'HKI) cliffs of .jii^^mI cor- with iiiollusks and tropic fish in als shut ill on both sides the splendor and brilliancy of color. Later viscid waters of Lak(» Knri(}uillo. came an orogenic movement which I'lider the dazzlint]^ ^lare of a Domini- cut off the strait fiom its mother ocean can sun these waters have jiradually and transformed it into two large lakes. evaporated, turninj>; first from a brack- Enriquillo to the east and Saumatre ish solution to a brine, leaving behind to the west. Mountain streams poured miles and miles of scorching .so/ar/a-s fresh water into these lakes; the sea (salt plains) to dance in the broiling life died. With the tropical sun beat- heat. When the sun has reached its ing down from overhead, the water fullest intensity, great, dark-skinned gradually receded, leaving the skeletons lizards here and there slide out from of dead sea creatures ghastly white on the tunnels which they have clawed the parched plains. through these cliffs of coral limestone. This region has bet^i a valley of Wagging their ponderous heads in death ever since man can remember. mechanical-toy fashion, they gaze with At first avoided by the Lidians because seeming contentment upon their deso- of its sterility, it later became a refuge late world. for natives that had escaped from their A portion of this i-egion has been vSpanish masters. At one time, six represented in the rhinoceros iguana hundred such fugitives gathered about group recently placed on exhibition in the lake, and under the wise guidance the American Museum, for it was in the of their chieftain Enriquillo, defied the vicinity of this shrunken Lake Enri- Spanish for many years. At length a quillo that the Angelo Heilprin Expedi- treaty was made and the district turned tion first went to hunt these powerful into an Lidian reservation, soon to be saurians. Although fully equipped destroyed by Spanish treachery. and provided with two Ford cars, the Today a few natives still gain their expedition required a month of the living near the mountain streams which most difficult traveling to capture the flow into these ever-receding lakes. specimens exhibited and to ferret out One of the largest of these settlements, the secrets of their strange life. known as Duverge, had been selected During a part of the Pleistocene, as our first base in the search for the this whole region was under the sea. rhinoceros iguanas. Toward this vil- A great arm of the ocean then separated lage, accordingly, we directed our two southwestern Haiti from the rest of Fords one September morning in 1922. the island. Corals and sea fans vied In these small outlving settlements I 'Photograph> hy G. Kingsley Noble and Ruth Croshv Xnble .541 542 XATlhAL HI STORY the most intiuciitial man is ai)t to be bettei'. Instead of gc^ing in for religion, the one with the blackest reputation. he went in foi- Americanism as he con- In Duverge the villag'e chief was an ceived it and adopted all the trappings Armenian ex-lmndit who had adopted of civilization which went with it. the name of Juan Herrei-a. In the Di'awing upon his treasure chest he neigh})orin^ town of San Juan, the role bought a stiaw hat, a Ford car, and of leadei- had been assumed bj^ ''Papa even set up an electric light plant in Lavoria." The latter, dressed hke a his hacienda. The Marines wiseh^ gave Zoiiav(\, had instituted a religious sect, him an official title and let him wear a U ^i A> -.^^ -^lrry^ * EnriquillO; the dead sea.—No life can exist here except where some mountain stream has worked its way across the scorching plains to mingle with the saline waters. The feral pig in the distance has been startled by the approach of members of the Heilprin Expedition and had won sufficient fame to have revolver. The added prestige delighted a brand of rum named after him. Al- Juan. He set aside his best thatched though the U. S. Marines had come to hut as quarters for visiting [Marines oi Santo Domingo to drive out the bandits, for their American friends. Hence it they coidd not do so if the latter hap- came about that we were to be his pened to be the leading citizens. The guests while at Duverge. next best thing was to make friends Duverge proved to be a scattering with these marauders of high station, of dingy huts staggering about without and try to reform th(Mn. ''Papa La- reason on the arid plain between Lake voria" would not leform. His crimes Enriquillo and the Sierra de Bahoruco. continued imtil he was finally shot in The enormous load of palm thatch attempting a bold getaway. With which smothered each hut served as an .luan Heir % k Duvergo, at the foot of tht- Sici-ra dc Halioruco, was made tlic first liasc in the hunt for flic rliinocoros iij;uana The customs house near Las Lajas on the Haitian-Dominican border, one of the few well-built houses in this region, was devastated by l)andit.s in 1919 and has remained in ruins ever since tined to withstand during the fol- a few miles away. Ashy forests of lowing weeks. cacti and tamarind growing in dense The morning after our arrival we profusion in the valleys crowded against went with two guides into the hills the base of these hills, but the rugged 544 NATURAL HISTORY The home of the rhinoceros iguana on the western shore of Lake Enriquillo. The burrow: are clawed through fossil corals sometimes for a length of forty feet slopes were only sparsely clothed with grown here had been scorched out o vegetation. One of the guides took the existence, leaving only their gnarlec lead and without looking to right or roots to twist and writhe among th( left moved swiftly across the hills in a sun-heated limestones. Here and ther( westerly direction. In this desert little clumps of organ cacti had sur region of Santo Domingo the rains fall vived by drawing close together, lik< only during a short season, but then so many soldiers withstanding a fina the downpour is so violent that it attack. The guide had stopped anc carves deep chasms in the hills. These was pointing at something far up ii the natives call arroyos (streams), the canon. At first I could see only th( although they are dry throughout most twisted roots of the dead trees. Grad of the year. As I scrambled along ually there took shape in the shadov over the hills, I felt myself gradually of one of the larger trunks the crest of j wilt. Dark blotches of perspiration rhinoceros iguana. Slowly the beas spread rapidh' over my khaki trousers. I'aised itself. His deep-set eyes starec My leather putties turned from tan to coldly in our direction. I noted that h( nearly black and began to droop in was directh' in front of a jagged bur soft, damp folds al)out my ankles. row and quietly I slipped my heavies We came at length to the brink of charge into the breech of my shotgun one of those dr\' arroyos, one that was a Slowly the stock came to my shoulder little dustier and more stifling than the a terrific report echoed through th( others. The acacias which had once cafion. The lizard reared, then droppec . ruMLiM, rill': uiiimh ehos khaxa .VI f) tlowii llir ImrioNv. WC nisliid up tlir As it l)ec;ime more ;ifid more (jouht- bank and tri(Ml iti xaiii h* di^ liiiii out. ful whether we wouhl secure any hirK<" N(*\t nioiniii^ we cainr l>a(l\ with >^pecimens, some of the natives came to pick and sIiontI. The luninw went in us .-ind >;iid that out in I.ake Mnri- 13}2 f(M»t, ^;iadually tuiiiin^ lo (Ik- (piiiio t heir wa> an island abounding in riji;ht. At tli»' end \\a- ;i chainlHT tinrc gigantic iguanas. To be >iue, no one tVot s(|uan' and about I'j tVct lii^li. had been to the island for twenty years. Hut there was no si«z;n ol" the i^;uana. Knri(piilio was a dead sea and there The wounded hzard had ol)\iously were no boats on the lake. In fact, escapeil (hninu: the nii»:ht there was no need for boats, as fish did \'\)v a week we searched these canons. not exist in water oO [)er cent more We found that the rliinoceros ijjjuanas saline than the ocean. dug their l)urrows only in the stony A few days later, however, the town cHtfs or in the vertical walls of occa- of Duverg^' was startled by the sight sional sink holes, iievei- in the sandy of a boat carried aloft on a Marine playas which stretched for miles and Corps's truck througii the heart of the miles on all sides. With native help village. Our host, Juan Herrera, was we rounded up a numhi^r of half-grown particularly excited and inuuediately iguanas, hut the large ones always organized a part\^ to assist in exploring escaped us. the iguana island. E^irly on the mor- At home,—a detail from the Rhinoceros Iguana Group (frontispiece). Most of the clififs which border Lake Enriquillo have a similar composition of fo.ssil corals and shells 1 .i4r. NATURAL HISTORY To reach Knricjuillo tlie boat had to he draKK*^ streaked mud. tisMired with sun eraeks having: a rey;iilai- polyclonal form r The unfrequented island in the lake proved to be a great sand Hat adorned with enor- mous candelabra-Uke cacti row eight pairs of hands dragged the from the water's edge. The boat boat across the two miles of quaking would hold only four and it was mud that separated the terra firnia decided to take Juan, a guide. Mrs. — 77^^W/./\^ 'nil'. iniIMn I'Jios !(,( .l.\.i vr Nohlf. aiitl iii\>cll. I'oiii iiiilo III I'ut out friend>« wen- waiting <*x|mt- opt'Fi wntrr st ictclicti hciwmi thr taiitly for n- on I he other .nhon* iiiid .«*<> island aiul (tin >^i-I\«'>. A »lr ti» had alicadx «^|)iini«i up and I lie wavo tinued ri.se. The tiuide and I ua>lit'd daiiLifi <)n>l\ clox' l(» llir liun- -leadied 1 Ik lio.al u il li oni oar-. \\;i\e walc ot our lilllf ciall. I look the aft<'r wa\'e came oxer' the gunwah*. oars anil had made pcihap^ a mile Mis. Noble bailed frantically while \vh(Mi >uddrnlv a liical hiack •-noiil .Iii.in hinig limply over the side of the arost' tVoin I he iiiccn \va(('i> and >hol boat. In >pite of om shouts ".SV/r// out ahead ol our Ijows. ll \\a> a tKjiia!" .Iua!i i"einain<'(| motionless crocodili' perhaps twcKc h'cl in Icnufh. until the guide i'einiiide(| him of the The waves strikinji on his inuz/lc ci'ocodiles when he recovered hi- broke into spi-a\'. wliich liHstened in the vitality with start ling suddeimess. It sunH^ht. A croeoihle in a dead sea. was soon apparent we could not make hmdlocked. and sepaiated tVoin the the ()p|)()site shore, and it was e(jually ocean hv forty miles, nnisi lead a dangerous to attempt a j-eturn to the ])recarious existence. Surely he must island. While Juan alternately swore he very hungry! and prayed, we })egan to drift straight Two houi's later we reached the down the lake with a distance of more island. It was a lon^- sand spit twelve than ten miles between us and the lee miles in l(Mij2;th by a mile in width. shore. Four hours later our boat Strange can(lelal)ra-like cacti con- half full of water - scraped bottom just t"ront(Hl oui' ev(*s on all sides. As we off a beach. We all jiunped out and moved inland. ther(^ was a rush and pulled our s|)eciniens clear of the tum- four grotes(]ue saurians charged out bling waves. It was now dark and we from under some fall(Mi cacti. Befoi'e had drift(Ml many miles from any they disai)peared I noted that th(»y hal)itati()n. In true bandit fashion lacked the tusk of the rhinoceros ig;uana Juan lit a fire, and the guide aftei- but were equijiped instead with num- much grumbling startcMl out in search erous whorls of spikes on the tail. of the Fords. They were, in fact, a diffc^rent species— A few days later we gave up our —Cychira ricordii—and one that had search for adult iguanas in the vicinity been lost to scienc(^ for more than fifty of Duverge and struck out for Lake years. We soon found that these Saumatre on the Haitian border. It lizards were everywluMc on the island. was long after dark wIkmi we reached Unlike the rhinoceros iguanas, they Las Lajas, the last Dominican outpost. dug holes into the flat salt-encrusted In the dim light of Guardia lanterns the playas. Of the rhinoceros iguana we half dozen hov(ds that form this settle- could find no trace. After hunting a ment seemed untenable. We were half day we gave u]) and went back to directed w^ith much c(^remony to the the boat. casita of Roque Valdez,—the customs By this time the dead sea had be- officer and first citizen of the town. It come lashed into a mass of white- was a dingy hut of thrive rooms, palm- caps. Dominicans are traditionally thatched and adobe-walled, vet the poor sailors and Juan was eager to elaboratelj' embossed rum glasses on a remain overnight on the island, hoping massive table were obvious indica- to venture acrosswhe^nthe w^ind abated. tions that we were in the home of a , 548 NATURAL HISTORY The rhinoceros iguana {Cydura cornuta), the largest of the rock iguanas.— It was primarih- to work out the Hfe history of this saurian that the Angelo Heilprin Expedition went to Santo Domingo gentleman. Dinner had already been clay floor. A snarl, a few gulps, and prepared for us. With surprising the rind had disappeared. reHsh I consumed my share of burned The island which we had selected for goat meat, fried plantains, and fresh our hunt in the morning, though not papaya, then leaned back to take a look indicated on any map, is nearly a around. There at my feet, staring quarter of a mile long and a hundred up with eyes of hunger, was the lean- yards wide. In all our iguana hunts, est yellow dog I had ever seen. How a when we wished to capture the beasts hungry dog can stare ! The rind of my alive, dogs were essential. Various., papaya was still on my plate. Just to natives had promised me hunting dog&, avert the stare of those eyes I dropped that morning, but of course they did the scarcely edible portion upon the not appear. In my dilemma I came to 'I'h'MLJM. rill: inilMH'KlHtS KH'ASA :>»* The Dominican s>pike-taile(I iguana (Cyclura ricordii).—This huge saurian is found in the same region as the rhinoceros iguana, but has vers' different habits. The photograph \va> made on the island in Lake Enriquillo by stealthily approaching a wild specimen think of the lean yellow dojj; with the blow, a slinking shadow in tiie home of terrible appetite. "Was the little Roque Valdez. Yet this morning any dog a hunter? What was his name?'' dog was better than none and the Roque only shook his head and said, worst was worth a try-out. So it '^No ser-vee, no ser-vee"—a corruption came al)out that "No Ser-vee" be- of no sirre, nieaning g;ood for nothino-, came a member of our party. and nnplyino- that the dog did not Just as we were loading our e(}uii)- deserve a name. Most Dominican nient on to the small boat we had dogs are brought up to chase pigs or brought with us. two Haitian boys goats. The yellow pup had apparently- came along with a second yellow dog. not proved very valuable and had this one slightly larger and more mus- therefore become the object of many a cular than Roque's. The boys gave us I OGQ ;-> o O 15 a. - -^ ^ -*^ i :^ o :2 ^ i ^ c O OS3 J3 C X s of >^ *ti PI s u u y •/. 2 /, •/. /. » ^ ^ w u 2 ^ — •* ^ = r 3 5^ - t£ = - -s •^ - M ~ w ^ X — X >i S — 7". C, 552 NATURAL HISTORY The "Mayflower" at anchor off Beata.—An iguana hound kept watoh while the mei unloaded the boat in preparation for a hunt on the morrow to understand that this dog was espe- been swallowed up by the brush anc cially trained to hunt iguanas, for on the gray streamers of Spanish mos: the Haitian side of the island these which swung from the cacti. Separatee lizards are highly prized as food. from the party, I picked my way alom An hour later the boat grated on through the forest toward a ridge, tht bottom close to the island, and dogs outer edge of this rugged island. and blacks scrambled pell-mell across Suddenly a dog's yap broke tht the few yards of glaring limestone silence, followed by a rattle of shorl to a forest of cacti that covered the barks. There was a scramble, and ther central core. In a moment all had an iguana—mouth agape—shot frorr 'j'h'\ii.i\(. riir iiiii\(f( A/.'n.s i(,i .1 \.i the hru.sli, with the (iodil Ini' .\olli- ca.-e ol the mnana Uf had an e\|)lana- ilil^" ^\^^^l close at liis Ihm'Is. 'V\]t' irp- tion. .Mthough the iguanas in their tilr tiiiiKMl al hav a \ai(l liom the oi«linai\' round of existence avoid the water l)Ul \\\r little (JtiL!, (I(>\(' at liiiii. seji. ne\'ertheless. when thrown by Allot Ihm" scufiy, a in I hoili don ;iii,| accident into it. they are perfectly i^;uaMa sjilaslicd into the water. Tlie al home. Potentially they are water little (Ion eaine out as (juiekly as he re|)tiles, ex'eii though the daily exigen- went in and stood shakinii hiinsell cies of life do not call fort h any contact witli his tail between hi> leii>. Most with the ocean. W hili' I \va- thus yellow dotis are not \'ery luaoie in a|)- musing, one ot the Haitian boys had pearanee, l>ut when such a do«i' is \'ery stripped off hi> clothing and plunged thin and very wet. he excites only pity. into the lake. .\ shower of spray, and Ot" tile iguana nothing was to he seen. the boy emergecl holding the iguana liad the rej)tile Ix^en swallowed up firmly by the neck. .\ pair of out- by the lake? 'I'hese saurians li\'e their stretche(l hands relieved him of the whole life on land, enieriiin^ from their prize and nimble fingers tightened burrows only when the sun is shininj»; cords about the l)Ooty. brij!;htly. Ileat and drou^iht seem The days that followed yielded other essential to their livelihood. 'rh(>y iguanas. ( )ur pack now includecl many avoid regions of luxuriant growth, oi dogs and thes(^ hunted well. Kach even of moderate humidity, prc^ferring swelt(»ring chase added a little to our always the sun-bak(Ml rocks and scrub growing information regarding these of the bad lands. The iguana must reptiles. Their food habits, the places surely be drowned, 1 thought, when where they occur, the form of their after nearly five minutes of patient burrows,—all had to b(^ determined. waiting, there was still no sign of him. But while these pr()})lems were soon Just then a dark object rose slowly solved, some of the most important toward the surface. Stiff as a bar. (juestions remained unanswered. and nearly vertical in the water, Where did the iguanas lay their eggs? the iguana was cautiousl}^ seeking air. Why had we seciu'cnl no very large Hardly had the horned snout cleared specimens? In desperation, we changed the surface, when the reptile saw our hunting grounds again, first re- the two excited dogs and the four tiu'ning to the coast with the speci- humans gazing at him. With a gulp mens we had secured. he dove again into th(* blue depths of Back in Barahona the Marines the lake. turned the barracks over to us in which These singular actions made clear to house ourselves and the iguanas we to me a problem which had long been a had taken alive. We tied up the puzzle. Why is it that many of the thirty or moi-e captives to the springs West Indian islands which are sup- of the cots. There they stood solcMun posed to be volcanic in origin,—to have and statuescjue. pecking with sullen arisen from the depths of the sea,— dignit}' at those of the passers-by w^ho are, notwithstanding, peopled b}' re})- cautiously kept their distance, and tiles and amphibians that are nevei* offering a warning gurgle to the more known to approach the sea and hence curious. Bananas were placed before could not have been carried from the the creatures and these they devoured mainland bv accident? Here in the at a gulp. 554 NATURAL HISTORY At last, with only a couple of weeks left before the boat would arrive that was to take us and our captives back to New York, we decided to make one last effort to find the eggs. A Marine had told us that far down the coast on a little islet called Beata (the blessed one) he had seen iguanas ''as big as crocodiles." Not knowing where else to turn, we engaged a little sloop—the ''Flor-de-Mayo" (''Mayflower") and the last day of September started out to sea with five men and the two yellow (logs we had brought from Las Lajas. By dusk of the following evening we dropped anchor in a cove on the west side of the island. Beata is a triangular block of eroded limestone about seven miles in length. Its leeward, or westerly, part is densel}- covered with a tangle of cacti and bush, while its eastern arm is al- most devoid of any cover. Although At night uncanny sounds arose from the no one lives on the island, turtle fisher- thickets: the hermit (;ral)s of the seabeaoh were cHmbing trees in search of prey men occasionally stop there and on The expedition joined forces with a hand of pig hunters — i'h'Mi./\(. ri/K i:in \iK /:i:(fs k.i .\\.\ >).>.) rarr occasions sonic Iniiitcrs come lo pull out the iguana, and th<'V all be- seek the lioats and pi^s which haxc inn ban to >^hoiit **Vivnr jt'ini, vinie p*au." feral there toi- manv years. hut the dog paid no attention. The It so happciietl llial one ol these balking grew weaker and weaker. hnntinii; parlies liad jii>l landed on llic Tiien suddenly a shrill yelp arcj.se island. Tliat ni;!;ht we joined forces from the deptli>. and the little dog and thus added six do^is and three men came charging out diipping with to our iiiuana paity. \\ V were a blood. Ill- had been b.'idjy bitten in stranj2;e «:;rou|) seated al)out tlie cain|) the head. We hastened to bandage tii(\ Half the nuMi were stri|)i)(>(i to the him up, and at last sent him back to waist and all save my two (Inanha camp with one of the men. wore mach(»tes, which shone l)l()()d-re(l A short distance beyond we canu' to in the hiiht of th(» camp fire. (Ji-ad- a little clearing. To the seaward side ually, al)ove the voices of tlie men 1 was a gi'cat pile of conch shells, each made out a (hy, rustlintj; sound, a shell very much w<'athered but show- cniwlin<2; noise, as if someone were ing the roinid hole made by some iha^i^iniz; dead bon(\s out there in tlie Carib fisherman when cutting out darkness. I seizotl my hand lamj) and th(^ molhisk. This was obviously the shotoun and tii:)toed out of the circl(\ camp site of an ancient Indian settle- Now the sound came from above u\y ment. I began to inspect the ground head. My electric lij2;ht flashed up- clos(dy and came at length upon some ward, cut a great hole in the black- broken eggshells. They were larger ness. Numerous white balls were than chicken's eggs, but shrivelled moving in every direction up and down and leathery in appearance. They the trees. I drew nearer and found could not be turtle eggs, for most of the last thing I would have expected these have hard shells like those of a —hermit crabs, usually to be seen only chicken. Could they be iguana eggs? between the tide lines, here clambering Manuel was on his knees and digging. noisily over the branches, carrying their He was nearly down to his arm-pit shell houses with them. when he abruptly jerked up and there Next morning we waited until the in his hand was a tiny iguana in the sun was well up and then started out in very act of hatching from an egg. a body. We had gone only a few steps when, with a yelp, the dogs started some- thing. It proved to be an enormous iguana, which easily waded through the pack and disappeared down a burrow. Then a strange thing hap- pened. The little yellow dog we had brought with us from Las Lajas, the one that had been considered useless by Roque Valdez, plunged headlong down the burrow^ after the iguana. His barks became less and less audible into ground. as he went deeper the Leiocephalus beatanus, one of the four The natives were now very excited. species of lizards new to science which came It was impossible for the little dog to to the camp at Beata CD 03 C > "2 .^ a; § o .5I bC'c /i <1 bC X ;*,o a; -f- r. bC o b£ . t-H Q an O) -^ •S »- —< K "a; ^ • J3 r . o c -2 ^ 2-r. -^ t It if s ^ r C ^ 3e s c 3P "c — X 7^ - ^ < -f. ^ - o - . 4. f ? a - -=^ .2 -*- ^ ,^ .- - c - = 2 ^ "S §• :^-2 2 ^ 5 O f 11 = 3 o . o5S NATURAL HISTORY We now began digging- everywhere the verv dooi- of our shelter. Beata, in tlie sandy clearing. In a space the unknown, was truly a reptilian 150 X 70 feet we found five nests. paradise. Obviously, the iguanas were somewhat While the story of our group ends gregarious during the breeding season. \\vY(\ the story of the iguanas continues This was of special interest, for the even as I write. More than forty were rhinoceros iguana is supposed to be re- brought to New York alive and many lated to the Central American iguana, of these were sent to Bronx Park. The which is known to dig holes in sandy keepers of the reptile house were duly areas similar to the one we had just warned of the ferocit}^ of these new discovered. But the Central American arrivals. But Head Keeper Toomey iguana has gone one step further in its tried the experiment of making friends gregariousness : the females frequenth^ with them. Within a few months one lay their eggs in the same hole, until of the largest of the iguanas had been so there may be more than ten dozen in a won over by this show of good will that single pile. when Mr. Toomey entered the cage, he Not onl}^ the nests but the young would jump playfully on his knee like a also gave us a clew as to the relation- kitten and look this way and that in ships of the species. The young had an ahnost affectionate manner. After pale eyes and fleshy mouth parts simi- my weeks of chasing and fighting the lar to those of some of the less special- iguanas in the field, this performance ized rock iguanas. Furthermore, the seemed almost incredible. But more young were cross-barred with black surprising still was the change of food very much in the manner of certain habits which Mr. Toomey induced. I species of '^ black" iguanas {Ctenosaura) had proved that the creatures were While we had been digging, the rest purely vegetarian in nature. One day of the party had been scouring the at the Park when the supply of bananas thickets and before noon the men re- was low% Keeper Toomey gave the turned carrying two iguanas much iguanas some mice. These they seized larger than those we had seen before, quickly, shaking them as a cat might do, though hardly the size of crocodiles. and immediately engulfed them in their That night the crawling sound of great jaws. From these experiences it arboreal hermit crabs sounded almost would seem that the rhinoceros iguanas joyful to me, and the bats as they are among the most changeable of whirred through our rancho, only a reptiles. We had believed them ter- few inches above my face, seemed to restrial and they convinced us that understand something of our satis- they are at home in the water; we faction in their island. The morning had thought them ferocious and they came and yielded not only more and revealed themselves as affectionate; we larger iguanas, but additional data had proved them, as we thought, to be regarding the life history of these vegetarians and they demonstrated to saurians. Four species of smaller lizards us that they could stalk mice in a most new to science were captured at un-reptilian manner.