Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1895 — The Dreaded Ant Lizard. [ARTICLE]

The Dreaded Ant Lizard.

The natives of Mexico say that what in the volcanic districts troubles them most in cutting through the forest is the perro sompopo, or ant lizard, a dreaded creature that travels in great armies and attacks everything that comes in its path. The pero compopo resembles the ordinary lizard in its bodily conformation, but its head is wider and flatter, and its eyes are large, protuberant, of extraordinary brilliancy and at night are said to be phosphorescent. When te'n thousand of these creatures are in motion in one direction on a dark night, they give the trees of the forest the appearance of being set in a bed of undulating fire. The bite of the perro sompopo is fatal, and the agony r preceding death is said tc be something frightful. The lizard usually attacks the instep —the natives are always barefooted—and within ten minutes the foot begins to swell and in half an hour the swelling has extended to the body, which begins to turn a purplish red, not unlike the neck of a man in an apoplectic fit. The unfortunate wretch loses the power of speech because of the dilation of the vocal organs and the thickening of the tongue. The whole body generally becomes paralyzed, and the end comes usually within an hour after the bite has been inflicted. No antidote has yet been discovered for this poison.