WCP5119

Published letter (WCP5119.5626)

[1]1 [p. 1]

Mr. A. R. Wallace, F.Z.S., read the following extracts from letters of Mr. John Wallace:—

"Stockton, California, May 1870.

"There is common on dry sandy plains a small animal known [2] [p. 2] here as the 'Horned Toad,' but which is a Lizard (Phrynosoma, sp. ?), having a broad body and short tail, covered all over with horny protuberances, and on the head five or six short and stout horns arranged like a crown. Under certain circumstances, apparently as a means of defence, this creature squirts out from one of its eyes a jet of bright-red liquid very much like blood. This I have observed three times from three different individuals, although I have caught many that did not do it. They do not generally use this defence when first captured, although I caught one a few days ago which squirted the liquid a distance of six inches over the back of my hand, and another ejected it when I flourished a bright knife before its eyes."

1
Editor Charles H. Smith's Note: Extracts from letters from Wallace's brother John read and commented on by Wallace at the 3 January 1871 meeting of the Zoological Society of London, and later printed in their Proceedings series.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP5119.5626)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Smith, Charles Hyde [2013-03-04] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-03-04]

Please cite as “WCP5119,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5119