On the Fossil Crocodilia of England. 249 



they run, either periodically, as the Nile for example, or with 

 less regularity, like the Ganges ; or which bear a broader 

 current of tepid water along boundless forests and savannahs, 

 like those ploughed in ever-varying channels by the force of 

 the mighty Amazon or Oronooko ; — such form the theatres 

 of the destructive existence of the carniverous and preda- 

 cious Crocodilian reptiles. And what, then, must have been 

 the extent and configuration of the Eocene continent which 

 was drained by the rivers that deposited the masses of clay 

 and sand, accumulated in some parts of the London and 

 Hampshire basins to the height of one thousand feet, and 

 forming the grave-yard of countless Crocodiles and Gavials \ 

 Whither trended that great stream, once the haunt of Alli- 

 gators and the resort of tapir-like quadrupeds, the sandy bed 

 of which is now exposed on the upheaved face of Hordwell 

 Cliff. 



Had any of the human kind existed and traversed the land 

 whei'e now the base of Britain rises from the ocean, he 

 might have witnessed the Gavial cleaving the waters of its 

 native river with the velocity of an arrow, and ever and anon 

 rearing its long and slender snout above the waves, and 

 making the banks re-echo with the loud and sharp snappings 

 of its formidably-armed jaws. He might have watched the 

 deadly struggle between the Crocodile and Palseother, and have 

 been himself warned by the hoarse and deep bellowings of 

 the Alligator from the dangerous vicinity of its retreat. Our 

 fossil evidences supply us with ample materials for this most 

 strange picture of the animal life of ancient Britain, and what 

 adds to the singularity and interest of the restored tableau 

 vivant, is the fact that it could not now be presented in any 

 part of the world. The same forms of Crocodilian Reptile, it is 

 true, still exist, but the habitats of the Gavial and the Alliga- 

 tor are wide asunder, thousands of miles of land and ocean 

 intervening : one is peculiar to the tropical rivers of con- 

 tinental Asia, the other is restricted to the warmer latitudes 

 of North and South America ; both forms are excluded from 

 Africa, in the rivers of which continent true Crocodiles alone 

 are found. Not one representative of the Crocodilian order 

 naturally exists in any part of Europe ; yet every form of the 



