204 THE HERPETOLOGY OF CUBA. 



A free translation of Gundlach's fascinating and simple Spanish style fol- 

 lows : — 



" I have kept in the same tank for many years two Cocodrilos and one Caiman, and 

 thus I have been able to observe them constantly. The Coeodrilo walked with its legs in 

 such a position as to carry its abdomen lifted from the ground, while the Caiman walked with 

 its abdomen against the ground. This gives more agility to the Coeodrilo, and also makes 

 it appear higher than the other. Humboldt says referiing to the Coeodrilo " that it was very 

 daring." This I have also been able to confirm by observations. My specimen of the 

 Caiman was a larger animal than either of the two Cocodrilos, but even so it would run away 

 from them when I fed them, making it necessary that I feed first the Cocodrilos and when 

 these were satisfied, the Caiman. If the Caiman was in the water it would at once leave it 

 upon the entrance of either of the Cocodrilos. Humboldt also says " they never mix with 

 each other." This I have also foimd to be true from my experience in the Cienaga de Zapata 

 which is inhabited by hundreds of Cocodrilos, and there is not a single Caiman to be seen. 

 I have been assured that the same conditions exist in the Isla de Piiios. The Coeodrilo 

 lives in fresh waters, the Caiman in mLxed or brackish waters at the mouth of streams, as 

 also in nearby lagoons even if these are of fresh water. There are many places on the coast 

 of the Island of Cuba, which are known as " Caimaneras " by reason of the abundance of 

 Caimanes. Of these I mention the two best known, which I have personally visited, one in 

 Cienfuegos harbour, and the other in the harbour of Guantanamo. While I am making 

 comparisons of the two species, I shall indicate the principal difference between them as to 

 the length of the snout; it cannot be determined unless one has the two species together for 

 comparison. The difference that may best be noted when one has but one species, or a part 

 of the body only are: the Coeodrilo has six perfect rows of keeled scales, while the Caiman 

 has but four perfect rows, the other two being imperfect and scattered. The eye of the 

 Coeodrilo is dark olivaceous, while that of the Caiman is light greenish. The colour of the 

 body of the Coeodrilo is variegated yellow on a dark background, while that of the Caiman 

 is uniform ashy green. 



" One may read most interesting accounts of this group of Cuban animals in la Sagra, 

 but with all I must correct some of those data. On the bottom of page 40 he says ' We feel 

 we have reason to indicate that the species known in that country (Cuba) by the name of 

 Coeodrilo (C. actdtis) rarely grows to the size of the other species, Caiman, which reaches 

 a length of from six to seven feet, but we cannot explain the reason for this &c. &c.' In 

 the first place one must invert the names in the above quotation, as I have already said that 

 the Coeodrilo is the Crocodilus rhombifcr, wliile the Caiman is the C. acutus; in the second 

 place, it is quite impossible to know which of the two reaches the greatest length, as this 

 depends on the age of the individual who continues growing in size throughout his whole life; 

 and in the third place they may reach three times the length indicated by Cocteau. I have 

 seen, (and in fact have its skull), a Coeodrilo (C. rhombifcr) whose length was sixteen and one 

 half feet, and a Caiman (C acutus) eighteen feet in length. Neither of these are, I am sure, 

 the largest that grow. 



"Again Cocteau says: 'Both these Crocodiles live in the same places, but always fight- 

 ing each other.' I have already said that tlie^' do not live in the same localities. Some 

 may call ray attention to the fact that there have been Caimans taken from the river Hati- 

 guanico which drains the Cienaga de Zapata, the latter being full of Cocodrilos; to these I 

 shall answer that this river is brackish near its mouth, where it enters Broa bay. 



" On page 50 of the same work one may read an observation of la Sagra's that a five foot 

 individual kept at the Botanical Gardens at Havana in a corral made of stout stakes driven 



