222 



VERTEBRATA: REPTILIA OR REPTILES. 



SUB-SECTION IV. 

 THE ORDER OF OROCODILIA OR CROCODILIANS. 



THE Crocodilians often called the Loricata are sauri- 

 ans which have the body covered with horny scales formed 



from the outside skin, and 

 with bony plates formed in 

 the true skin or derm. They 

 are found only in warm cli- 

 mates, and include the Croc- 

 odiles of the Nile, the Gavi- 

 als of the Ganges, the Alli- 

 gators of America, the fossil 

 Teleosaurs, etc. 



The Crocodilians have 

 four cavities in. the heart, as 



in warm-blooded animals. 



a 



^ Their dorsal vertebrae are 

 ~ concave in front and convex 

 .2 behind. Their sacrum is, in 

 : most species, composed of 

 & only two vertebrae. They 

 have four toes before and 

 five behind. The bones of 

 their skull and face are 

 very firmly united together. 

 Their teeth are set in sock- 

 ets in a single row, and are 

 in a constant process of re- 

 newal as fast as shed. Their 

 tongue is fleshy and fixed to 

 the bottom of the mouth. 



