Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon Part 25

Carpophaga pusilla. The little-hill dove a migratory species found by Mr. Layard in the mountain zone, only appearing with the ripened fruit of the teak, banyan, &c., on which they feed.

Gallus Lafayetti.--The Ceylon jungle fowl. The female of this handsome bird was figured by Mr. GRAY (_Ill. Ind. Zool._) under the name of G.

Stanleyi. The c.o.c.k bird had long been lost to naturalists, until a specimen was forwarded by Dr. Templeton to Mr. Blyth, who at once recognised it as the long-looked-for male of Mr. Gray's recently described female. It is abundant in all the uncultivated portions of Ceylon; coming out into the open s.p.a.ces to feed in the mornings and evenings. Mr. Blyth states that there can be no doubt that Hardwicke's published figure refers to the hen of this species, long afterwards termed G. Lafayetti.

Galloperdix bicalcaratus. Not uncommon in suitable situations.

CHAP. IX.

REPTILES.

LIZARDS. _Iguana_.--One of the earliest, if not the first remarkable animal to startle a stranger on arriving in Ceylon, whilst wending his way from Point-de-Galle to Colombo, is a huge lizard of from four to five feet in length, the _Talla-goy[=a]_ of the Singhalese, and Iguana[1] of the Europeans. It may be seen at noonday searching for ants and insects in the middle of the highway and along the fences; when disturbed, but by no means alarmed, by the approach of man, it moves off to a safe distance; and, the intrusion being at an end, it returns again to the occupation in which it had been interrupted. Repulsive as it is in appearance, it is perfectly harmless, and is hunted down by dogs in the maritime provinces, and its delicate flesh, which is believed to be a specific in dysentery, is converted into curry, and its skin into shoes. When seized, it has the power of inflicting a smart blow with its tail. The Talla-goy[=a] lives in almost any convenient hollow, such as a hole in the ground, or a deserted nest of the termites; and some small ones, which frequented my garden at Colombo, made their retreat in the heart of a decayed tree.

[Footnote 1: Monitor dracaena, _Linn._ Among the barbarous nostrums of the uneducated natives, both Singhalese and Tamil, is the tongue of the iguana, which they regard as a specific for consumption, if plucked from the living animal and swallowed whole.]

A still larger species, the _Kabara-goy[=a]_[1], is partial to marshy ground, and when disturbed upon land, will take refuge in the nearest water. From the somewhat eruptive appearance of the yellow blotches on its scales, a closely allied species, similarly spotted, formerly obtained amongst naturalists the name of _Monitor exanthematicus_, and it is curious that the native appellation of this one, _kabara_[2], is suggestive of the same idea. The Singhalese, on a strictly h.o.m.oeopathic principle, believe that its fat, externally applied, is a cure for cutaneous disorders, but that taken inwardly it is poisonous. The skilfulness of the Singhalese in their preparation of poisons, and their addiction to using them, are unfortunately notorious traits in the character of the rural population. Amongst these preparations, the one which above all others excites the utmost dread, from the number of murders attributed to its agency, is the potent kabara-tel--a term which Europeans sometimes corrupt into _cobra-tel_, implying that the venom is obtained from the hooded-snake; whereas it professes to be extracted from the "kabara-goy[=a]." Such is the bad renown of this formidable poison, that an individual suspected of having it in his possession, is cautiously shunned by his neighbours. Those especially who are on doubtful terms with him, suspect their servants lest they should be suborned to mix kabara-tel in the curry. So subtle is the virus supposed to be, that one method of administering it, is to introduce it within the midrib of a leaf of betel, and close the orifice with chunam; and, as it is an habitual act of courtesy for one Singhalese on meeting another to offer the compliment of a betel-leaf, which it would be rudeness to refuse, facilities are thus afforded for presenting the concealed drug. It is curious that to this latent suspicion has been traced the origin of a custom universal amongst the natives, of nipping off with the thumb nail the thick end of the stem before chewing the betel.

[Footnote 1: Hydrosaurus salvator, _Laur_. Tail compressed; fingers long; nostrils near the extremity of the snout. A black band on each temple; round yellow spots disposed in transverse series on the back.

Teeth with the crown compressed and notched.]

[Footnote 2: In the _Mahawanso_ the hero Tissa, is said to have been "afflicted with a cutaneous complaint which made his skin scaly like that of the _G.o.dho_."--Ch. xxiv. p. 148. "G.o.dho" is the Pali name for the Kabara-goy[=a].]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KABARA-GOYA.]

In the preparation of this mysterious compound, the unfortunate Kabara-goya is forced to take a painfully prominent part. The receipt, as written down by a Kandyan, was sent to me from Kornegalle, by Mr.

Morris, the civil officer of that district; and in dramatic arrangement it far outdoes the cauldron of _Macbeth's_ witches. The ingredients are extracted from venomous snakes, the cobra de capello, the Carawilla, and the Tic-polonga, by making incisions in the head of these reptiles and suspending them over a chattie to collect the poison as it flows. To this, a.r.s.enic and other drugs are added, and the whole is "boiled in a human skull, with the aid of the three Kabara-goyas, which are tied on three sides of the fire, with their heads directed towards it, and tormented by whips to make them hiss, so that the fire may blaze. The froth from their lips is then added to the boiling mixture, and so soon as an oily sc.u.m rises to the surface, the _kabara-tel_ is complete."

It is obvious that a.r.s.enic is the main ingredient in the poison, and Mr.

Morris reported to me that the mode of preparing it, described above, was actually practised in his district. This account was transmitted by him apropos to the murder of a Mohatal[1] and his wife, which had been committed with the _kabara-tel_, and was then under investigation.

Before commencing the operation of preparing the poison, a c.o.c.k has to be sacrificed to the _yakhos_ or demons.

[Footnote 1: A native head-man of low rank.]

This ugly lizard is itself regarded with such aversion by the Singhalese, that if a _kabara_ enter a house or walk over the roof, it is regarded as an omen of ill fortune, sickness, or death; and in order to avert the evil, a priest is employed to go through a rhythmical incantation; one portion of which consists in the repet.i.tion of the words

Kabara goyin wan d[=o]sey Ada palayan e d[=o]sey.

"These are the inflictions caused by the Kabara-goya--let them now be averted!"

It is one of the incidents that serve to indicate that Ceylon may belong to a separate circle of physical geography, that this lizard, though found to the eastward in Burmah[1], has not hitherto been discovered in the Dekkan or Hindustan.

[Footnote 1: In corroboration of the view propounded elsewhere (see pp.

7, 84, &c), and opposed to the popular belief that Ceylon, at some remote period, was detached from the continent of India by the interposition of the sea, a list of reptiles will be found at p. 319, including not only individual species, but whole genera peculiar to the island, and not to be found on the mainland. See a paper by Dr. A.

GuNTHER on _The Geog. Distribution of Reptiles_. Magaz. Nat. Hist. for March, 1859, p. 230.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CALOTES OPHIOMACHUS]

_Blood-suckers_.--The lizards already mentioned, however, are but the stranger's introduction to innumerable varieties of others, all most attractive in their sudden movements, and some unsurpa.s.sed in the brilliancy of their colouring, which bask on banks, dart over rocks, and peer curiously out of the c.h.i.n.ks of every ruined wall. In all their motions there is that vivid and brief energy, the rapid but restrained action a.s.sociated with their limited power of respiration, which justifies the accurate picture of--

"The green lizard, rustling thro' the gra.s.s, And up the fluted shaft, _with short, quick, spring_ To vanish in the c.h.i.n.ks which time has made."[1]

[Footnote 1: ROGERS' _Paestum._]

The most beautiful of the race is the _green calotes_[1], in length about twelve inches, which, with the exception of a few dark streaks about the head, is as brilliant as the purest emerald or malachite.

Unlike its congeners of the same family, it never alters this dazzling hue; whilst many of them possess, but in a less degree, the power, like the chameleon, of exchanging their ordinary colours for others less conspicuous. One of the most remarkable features in the physiognomy of those lizards is the prominence of their cheeks. This results from the great development of the muscles of the jaws; the strength of which is such that they can crush the hardest integuments of the beetles on which they feed. The calotes will permit its teeth to be broken, rather than quit its hold of a stick into which it may have struck them. It is not provided, like so many other tropical lizards, with a gular sac or throat-pouch, capable of inflation when in a state of high excitement.

The tail, too, is rounded, not compressed, thus clearly indicating that its habits are those of a land-animal.

[Footnote 1: Calotes sp.]

The _Calotes versicolor_; and another, the _Calotes ophioimachus_, of which a figure is attached, possess in a remarkable degree the faculty, above alluded to, of changing their hue. The head and neck, when the animal is irritated or hastily swallowing its food, become of a brilliant red (whence the latter species has acquired the name of the "blood-sucker"), whilst the usual tint of the rest of the body is converted into pale yellow.[1] The _sitana_[2], and a number of others, exhibit similar phenomena.

[Footnote 1: The characteristics by which the _Calotes ophiomachus_ may be readily recognised, are a small crest formed by long spines running on each side of the neck to above the ear, coupled with a green ground-colour of the scales. Many specimens are uniform, others banded transversely with white, and others again have a black band on each side of the neck.]

[Footnote 2: Sitana Ponticereana, _Cuv_.]

The lyre-headed lizard[1], which is not uncommon in the woods about Kandy, is more bulky than any of the species of Calotes, and not nearly so active in its movements.

[Footnote 1: Lyriocephalus scutatus, _Linn._]

As usually observed it is of a dull greenish brown, but when excited its back becomes a rich olive green, leaving the head yellowish: the underside of the body is of a very pale blue, almost approaching white.

The open mouth exhibits the fauces of an intense vermilion tint; so that, although extremely handsome, this lizard presents, from its extraordinarily shaped head and threatening gestures, a most malignant aspect. It is, however, perfectly harmless.

_Chameleon_.--The true chameleon[1] is found, but not in great numbers, in the dry districts to the north of Ceylon, where it frequents the trees, in slow pursuit of its insect prey; but compensated for the sluggishness of its other movements, by the electric rapidity of its extensible tongue. Apparently sluggish in its general habits, the chameleon rests motionless on a branch, from which its varied hues render it scarcely distinguishable in colour; and there patiently awaits the approach of the insects on which it feeds. Instantly on their appearance its wonderful tongue comes into play.

[Footnote 1: Chameleo vulgaris, _Daud_.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: TONGUE OF CHAMELEON.]

Though ordinarily concealed, it is capable of protrusion till it exceeds in length the whole body of the creature. No sooner does an incautious fly venture within reach than the extremity of this treacherous weapon is disclosed, broad and cuneiform, and covered with a viscid fluid; and this, extended to its full length, is darted at its prey with an unerring aim, and redrawn within the jaws with a rapidity that renders the act almost invisible.[1]

[Footnote 1: Prof. RYMER JONES, art. _Reptilia_, in TODD'S _Cyclop. of Anat_. vol. iv. pt. i. p. 292.]

Whilst the faculty of this creature to a.s.sume all the colours of the rainbow has attracted the wonder of all ages, sufficient attention has hardly been given to the imperfect sympathy which subsists between the two lobes of its brain, and the two sets of nerves that permeate the opposite sides of its frame. Hence, not only has each of the eyes an action quite independent of the other, but one side of its body appears to be sometimes asleep whilst the other is vigilant and active; one will a.s.sume a green tinge whilst the opposite one is red; and it is said that the chameleon is utterly unable to swim, from the incapacity of the muscles of the two sides to act in concert.

_Ceratophora_.--This which till lately was an unique lizard, known by only two specimens, one in the British Museum, and another in that of Leyden, was ascertained by Dr. Kelaart, about five years ago, to be a native of the higher Kandyan hills, where it is sometimes seen in the older trees in pursuit of insect larvae. The first specimen brought to Europe was called _Ceratophora Stoddartii_, after the name of its finder; and the recent discovery of several others in the National Collection has enabled me, by the aid of Dr. A. Gunther, to add some important facts to their history.

This lizard is remarkable for having no external ear; and it has acquired its generic name from the curious horn-like process on the extremity of the nose. This horn, as it is found in mature males of ten inches in length, is five lines long, conical, pointed, and slightly curved; a miniature form of the formidable weapon, from which the _Rhinoceros_ takes its name. But the comparison does not hold good either from an anatomical or a physiological point of view. For, whilst the horn of the rhinoceros is merely a dermal production, a conglomeration of hairs cemented into one dense ma.s.s as hard as bone, and answering the purpose of a defensive weapon, besides being used for digging up the roots on which the animal lives; the horn of the _ceratophora_ is formed of a soft, spongy substance, coated by the rostral shield, which is produced into a kind of sheath. Although flexible, it always remains erect, owing to the elasticity of its substance. Not having access to a living specimen, which would afford the opportunity of testing conjecture, we are left to infer from the internal structure of this horn, that it is an erectile organ which, in moments of irritation, will swell like the comb of a c.o.c.k. This opinion as to its physiological nature is confirmed by the remarkable circ.u.mstance that, like the rudimentary comb of the hen and young c.o.c.ks, the female and the immature males of the _ceratophora_ have the horn exceedingly small. In mature females of eight inches in length (and the females appear always to be smaller than the males), the horn is only one half or one line long; while in immature males five inches in length, it is one line and a half.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CERATOPHORA TENNENTII and C. STODDARTII]

Among the specimens sent from Ceylon by Dr. Kelaart, and now in the British Museum, there is one which so remarkably differs from _C.

Stoddartii_, that it attracted my attention, by the peculiar form of this rostral appendage. Dr. Gunther p.r.o.nounced it to be a new species; and Dr. Gray concurring in this opinion, they have done me the honour to call it _Ceratophora Tennentii_. Its "horn" somewhat resembles the comb of a c.o.c.k not only in its internal structure, but also in its external appearance; it is nearly six lines long by two broad, slightly compressed, soft, flexile, and extensible, and covered with a corrugated, granular skin. It bears no resemblance to the depressed rostral hump of _Lyriocephalus_, and the differences of the new species from the latter lizard may be easily seen from the annexed drawing and the notes given below.[1]

[Footnote 1: The specimen in the British Museum is apparently an adult male, ten inches long, and is, with regard to the distribution of the scales and the form of the head very similar to _C. Stoddartii_. The posterior angles of the orbit are not projecting, but there is a small tubercle behind them; and a pair of somewhat larger tubercles on the neck. The gular sac is absent. There are five longitudinal quadrangular, imbricate scales on each side of the throat; and the sides of the body present a nearly horizontal series of similar scales. The scales on the median line of the back scarcely form a crest; it is, however distinct on the nape of the neck. The scales on the belly, on the extremities, and on the tail are slightly keeled. Tail nearly round. This species is more uniformly coloured than _C. Stoddartii_; it is greenish, darker on the sides.]