No. X. 



Some Observations on the Anatomy and Phffsiology of the 

 Alligator of North America. Lacerta Alligator, Gmel. 

 Crocodilus Lucius, Cuvier. Communicated to the Ameri- 

 can Philosophical Society by N. M. Ilentz, Member of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. — Read 2ist 

 July, I8g0. 



I WAS first induced to write the remarks which 1 have 

 made on the anatomy of this animal, from observir g the 

 singular structure of the orga?is of circulation, presented on 

 dissection ; which 1 believe have hitherto been inaccinately 

 described. I frequently repeated my dissections, and always 

 found the same organisation of those parts, and have con- 

 cluded to lay my observations before the Society. 



It is not my intention to give the whole anatomy of the 

 animal ; such an attempt would be not only useless but al- 

 together out of my power, under present circumstances ; 

 and its osteology has already been ably described byM. Cu- 

 vier in the .Sfinales du Museum. It is highly pi'obabie. Iiow- 

 ever, that in Europe the examination of the viscera has 

 been confined to very young subjects. 



M. Correa de Serra had the goodness to inform me 

 that a traveller in the West Indies, Descourtils, had written 

 a dissertation upon the anatomy of tliis animal. M. Cu- 



