On the Snake-Wee Proteus. 625 



become bis colleague and successor, he ran his long career 

 with a prosperity which he owed as much to himself as to the 

 circumstances in which he was placed ; until, at the age of 

 eighty-eight years, a short and scarcely painful illness closed, 

 without effort, a life so well and peacefully spent, on the 1 5th 

 of September, 1836. 



Art. II. On the Snake-like Proteus (Prbteus anguinus Lam.*) 

 By Viator. 



As I think a sketch of that most singular and rare amphi- 

 bious animal, the Snake-like Proteus, would not be altogether 

 devoid of interest to some of the readers of the Magazine of 

 Natural History >, I will therefore make no apology for sending 

 it to you. 



Cuvier, in his first edition (1817) of the Animal King- 

 dom, placed the genus Proteus among the frog-like animals 

 " les Batraciens," which constitute the fourth order of his 

 third class of Vertebrata, Reptiles. 



I, however, consider that this arrangement is liable to many 

 objections, not only in the application of the term reptile to 

 this animal, but also for other reasons, which I need not here 

 detail at length. I propose classing it in a fourth division of 

 Vertebrata, under the old Linnaean name Amphibia, instead of 

 referring it to that of the Reptilia Cuv. ; thus : — 



Vertebra^ta. — Class IV. Amphi'bia. 



Order Manentibranchia Mihi. Branchiae permanent. 



Family Proteidae Mihi. Genus Proteus Laurenti. 



Before I give any account of my own observations on this 

 remarkable animal, which may be properly termed, " bran- 

 chipneumonian " (i. e. gill-lunged, breathing both by gills 

 and lungs), I will add the following accurate description, which 

 the same illustrious anatomist has given at p. 102. of the 

 liegne Animal, and which I have translated as follows: — 



u This genus is formed, at present, by only a single species, 

 the Proteus anguinus Laur. 9 or Siren anguina Schn. The 

 animal is more than a foot in length, about equal to a finger 

 in thickness, having its tail compressed vertically, with four 

 little legs, of which the fore feet have three, and the hinder 

 only two, toes. Besides internal lungs, it bears, like the larvae 



* The author of this article upon the Proteus has not made us ac- 

 quainted with his name ; and we would assign this as a reason to him for 

 having so long postponed its insertion. Should he favour us with any more 

 communications, we hope he will not wish them to appear anonymously ; 

 especially if, like the present, characters are introduced with " Mihi " 

 appended to them. 



Vol. I. — No. 12. n. s. z z 



