354 Mr Neill on the Habits of a 



The animal has, since it came into my possession, decidedly 

 increased in volume, particularly in thickness or plumpness ; but 

 I am not, as already noticed, aware of the least change having 

 taken place in the appearance of the fimbriated branchia?, where 

 a change should first be looked for were the animal a larva. 



The scars of the injuries which he received in his subterra- 

 nean excursion of May 1826, remained visible for a year after 

 the occurrence ; but they have now (January 18^8) completely 

 disappeared, and the whole body is covered with a dark glossy 

 epidermis, consisting of very minute scales, and marked with 

 small dots of white. 



j^^The results of the observations now made seem to be : — That, 

 as Dr Monro'*s specimen of the Siren lacertina did not " soon 

 die when out of the water," — did 7iot^ like the Italian pro- 

 teus, " die as fishes do,"" when removed from that element,'-^biit, 

 on the contrary, lived many hours out of the water, respiring 

 atmospheric air by means of its lungs ; and as it has often been 

 observed to remain for hours under the water without coming 

 to the surface to breathe. Baron Cuvier is right in regarding 

 the siren as a perfect animal, of a truly amphibious character, 

 destined to breathe through life either by means of external 

 branchiae or of internal pulmonary apparatus, according to the 

 situation it may for the time occupy in its native marshes :— 

 That Mr Barnes was right in doubting the story of its being 

 a fragile animal ;- — That it has a voice like the croaking of a 

 frog, but not a vojc cantillans^ if this last imply any thing 

 musical ; but here it should be remarked, that Mr John Ellis 

 accurately characterizes it as a " croaking noise or sound i"— 

 That, as it attacked a large banstickle, and probably devoured 

 some small ones as well as larvae of Lacerta aquatica, it may, 

 in its native lakes and swamps, attack small fishes, or even small 

 serpents, as mentioned by some naturalists : — That Configliachi 

 and llusconi have been misled by trusting to " analogy," and, 

 by an error of Dr Pockels, who mistook the Amphiuma means^ 

 which he saw in the Hunterian collection at London, for a per- 

 fectly developed siren. These naturalists expressly admit, that 

 they had not themselves enjoyed an opjxjrtunity of dissecting a 

 siren {p. 90- Note) ; and it is also evident from dther parts of 

 their monograph, that they had never seen a living specimen- 



