Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-01
WEIRD LIZARD SENT
zOOFROM PACIFIC
ISLES BY P|NCHOT
ConoIophus From Hot and
Rocky Land That Defies
Occupation by Humans.
HEAD is PAVED WITH
"COBBLESTONE SCALES"
Shipment With Duncan Island Tur-
ties to Be Given Native
Cactus and Stones.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.


Conolophus subcristatus, a wierd
creature which seems to have stepped
out of the dragon-haunted cons Of the
past is on its way to the National Zoo
logical Park.
DR.. William M. Mann, director of the
zoo, yesterday received a message from
Clifford Pinchot, now cruising the Pa
cific in the neighborhood of the Celia
pages Islands, that he had succeeded in
capturing two of these giant iguanaS
and was deDositing them in Washington
until Mrs. Pinchot desired to withdraw
them as pets This contingency, the
former Governor said, was quite TN
likely" considering the nature of the
animals.
When full grown the reptile is more
than a yard long with a very heavy
head and forebody. The head is paved
with cobble-ston like scales" On the
neck is a low crest of curved spineS.
The head is lemon yellow The back is
red, merging into dark brown on the
TANKS, The belly is dark yellow with a
tinge of reddish brown.
The lizards are coming to Washing
ton in the same shipment as the Dun
can Island turtles captured by the
Pinchot party, which have been pre-
sented to the Zoo. These animals, DR..
Mann said. have seldom been in cap
tivity. Their habits were first described
by Charles Darwin in The Voyage Of
the Beagle"
Combined to Galapagos.
These wierd animals, DR.. Mann said,
are confined entirely to certain desert
islands of the Galapagod group, al
though they have some near relatives in
South America. They are notable in
showing no fear of man. having existed
for thousands of years without coming
in contact with him. AS a result they
refuse to bulge from his path. They
live largely on the cactus. which is al
most the only growth on the islands
they inhabit. Another curious habit of
conolopuS, or closely allied species, is
to run to the land for safety, even if
it is directly into the hand of its enc
mics. This is due to the fact that for
SO many centuries all its enemies have
been in the water, and its safety on
land. and it is unable to change its
defense reaction on short notice.
Although fearful in appearance, DR..
Mann said. the giant lizard is quite
harmless and becomes docile in cap
tiyity. It is scared of nothing because
it never has had occasion to fear any
thing.
Although the Galapagos have been
visited quite frequently in recent years
by explorers, according to DR.. Mann.
very few animals have been captured
owing to the peculiar nature Of the
country, and creatures out Of the
South America of millions of years
ago may still be living there unknown
to science" The island, inhabited by
the turtles and lizards are simply great
stretches of sharp, hot, rolling stones
and entirely devoid of water. A man
cannot go far inland because the soleS
of his shoes soon are cut to pieces, and
even a powerful athlete is exhausted
after a mile or so of such travel. Thus
the creatures have an almost perfect
natural defense, and the labor of the
Pinchot party in bringing out the two
giant turtles from Duncan Island must
have been tremendous.
Clouds Indicate Life.
So the nature of the interior of some
of the islands is entirely unknown.
There is one island in the center of
which is an extinct crater over which
are loW-hanging clouds. This indicates
that there must be water there, which
probably means that much of the wierI
primitive animal life of the Galapagos
is still living there. 1t would be a
paradise for a naturalist, but it might
DR.. Mann, 1T probably would cost
million dollars to get there" The
hoofs of mules would be cut to bits
long before they reached the mysterious
valley and the only hope Of getting in
probably would be with large expedi-
ton. equipped with bodybuilding ma
chinery and supplies for long time.
DR.. Mann expects to reproduce
Galapagos Island scene in the new
of hn va nlY
ground for the lizards and the turtles.
He hopes to secure some of the actual
volcanic rocks from one of the islands
as floor and some of the native cacti
and shrubs, which probably can be
grown under glass in Washington.
The animal life of the Galapagos, Dr.
Mann said, is practically devoid of
behind when this group split off from
South America. The only mammals
we're few bats, one Of the weirdest of
which has been captured by the Pin
chot expedition. The reptiles now are
largely confined to the rocky and in
accessible islands because the larger
islands, like Albemarle Island, which
have grass and water have been oc-
cupied for long time by Ecuadorian
sheep herders. The sheep dogs have
practically eXterminated the turtles
and lizards.
Long Lived Animals.
The Duncan Island turtles, DR.. Mann
said, probably will be living in Wash
ington long after they are eXtermi-
mated ON the island itself. They are
probably the longest-lived of all ami
mails, simply wearing out in the course
of three or four centuries. Otherwise
apparently nothing kills them.
The Zoos population of rare animals
was increased this week by two new
species of birds of paradise, making in
all seven species of these birds, the
nearest complete collection in America.
One is the 12-wired bird of paradise.
named for its IL long, wirelike tail
feathers.
This is one of the largest of the fam
fly. The second is small member OF
the family which probably has never
been in captivity before. 1t has bright
blue head, bright yellow mantle along
the neck and back Of metallic GRIM
son.
This species is found only en- the
small, UNEMPLOYED islands OF Waigiou
and Batanta, near New Guinea. Until
this year, DR.. Mann said, birds OF Para
disc were extremely difficult IN obtain
and expensive, but explorers have lately
been penetrating the UNEMPLOYED jun
giles of New. Guinea. AS result. these
most exquisitely colored of all birds are
beginning to come on the market.