It was similar to
the ear spools of the Maya
and Aztecs, but more important, it also appeared to relate to the scroll
design that emerges from the back of the maw of the frog glyph illustrated
above. Its mouth is outlined by square segments,1 more appropriate to
other "frog" glyphs found on the wall panels in Palenque.
I remember some ancient stories about the iguana. The reason why iguanas are used to represent "touching the earth" which Linda Schele found to be equivalent "to be born in the flesh", is because iguanas bury their eggs. Later on when the eggs are hatched in the warm sands, our people could see the little creatures emerging from the earth. We also believe that when the iguana cries is because, it might be a drought and he is praying for rain.
Here is a perfect compliment to the the Mexican lizard. However, this bull frog IS abundant
and widely distributed, but its natural range is the eastern half of the
United States, although it is found in some parts of the west including an
area of the trans-Pecos in Texas.2 Both of these areas, Linda was
familiar with.
1 Roberts, Mervin F. and Martha D. (1976) All About Iguanas,
TFH Publications, Inc., Ltd. p. 36.
2 Barker, Will, (1964) Familiar Reptiles & Amphibians of America,
p. 150, Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.