CROCODILIDAE 



455 



retain the five teeth in each half of the preniaxiUa. Tlio 

 mandibular symphysis is sliort, extending only to the level of 

 the fourth or :ifth tooth. The snout is stout, ratlier hroad ; the 



upper and 



top of the head is rough but without any ridges, 

 lower jaw each contain nineteen teeth 

 on either side. The nuchal scutes, ^0 .j..l) 

 six in number, are packed closely ^nrf\(^.' 

 together, the four biggest forming a '^' ^' 

 square. Four smaller scutes are 

 arranu'sd in a curved line on tlie 

 occiput. The dorsal shield is com- 

 posed of four, sometimes of six rows 

 of larger scutes, of which the central 

 pair is the broadest. The fingers are 

 webbed at the base ; the outer toes 

 are broadly webbed, and the outer 

 edg;e of the hind-limbs is turned into 

 a serrated fringe. The general colour 

 of the upper parts is dark olive- 

 brown : the young are pale, with fig. 107.— Dorsal view of the skull 



of CrocodHtis puluufn'.s. x |. 

 The arrangement of the uuchal 

 scutes is shown in the upper 

 left-hand corner ; Ji, position of 

 the ear-flap. 



black spots. The length of twelve 

 feet is considered a fair average size 

 for a large specimen. 



This, the " Marsh Crocodile," has 

 a wide distribution. It inhabits the rivers, ponds, tanks, and 

 marshes of India and Ceylon, extending eastwards through 

 Burma and Malacca into most of the Malay islands, westwards 

 into Beluchistan. This species is freciuently venerated by the 

 Hindoos, and is kept in a kind of domesticated condition, 

 attended by fakirs. One of the most famous crocodile ponds, 

 the so-called " mugger-peer," lies in an oasis «»f the sandy 

 stretches to the north-west of Karachi. A. i.. Adams has 

 described a visit to this pond.^ 



"The greater pond is about 300 yards in circumference, and 

 contains many little grassy islands, on which the majority of the 

 Crocodiles were then basking ; some were asleep on its slimy sides, 

 others half submerged in the muddy water, while imw ;iinl then 

 a huge monster would raise himself upon his diminutive legs, and 

 waddling for a few paces, fall fiat on his belly. Young ones, 

 ' Wanderings of a Naturalist in India, Edinburgh, 1867. 



