466 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [May, 



has been considered an act of merit for Buddhist priests to buy the 

 creatures from their captors whenever possible, and free them. 



Fauvel got his first specimen in April, 1879, and he published an 

 account of it in the North China Daily News on the 9th of May. This 

 specimen was dug from the mud of the river bank near Wuhu. He 

 later obtained a second specimen from Chingkiang, and later still 

 got a skull in the native city of Shanghai. He mentions two being- 

 kept alive by Herr von Mollendorff, German Consul at Shanghai, who 

 got his from Poyang Lake. 



Fauvel discusses the fact that the creature is also spoken of in 

 Korean literature, and seems rather to incline toward the belief that 

 it will ultimately be found in rivers or lakes of southern Korea. This, 

 however, is extremely unlikely, and it has only been definitely proved 

 to exist in the lower Yangtse River and its affluents. Fauvel sent his 

 type to Paris. 



We next hear of it in Yaillant. 2 This was simply a condensed 

 digest, translated into French, of Fauvel' s original description. Von 

 Mollendorff himself published a note 3 on the specimens which he 

 procured. In 1888 Dr. Oscar Boettger 4 published a note regarding 

 the history of the discovery of the species by Swinhoe and Fauvel, 

 and regarding the living specimens belonging to von Mollendorff. 



In 1890, Dr. G. A. Boulenger, 5 published a paper entitled "Remarks 

 on the Chinese Alligator," a specimen having been received at the 

 British Museum, and two others alive at the Gardens of the Zoological 

 Society. He contributed some notes regarding variations among 

 characters previously supposed to be diagnostic, but which were 

 really inconstant. His figures are excellent. 



Boettger mentions it again in the collection of Dr. Schmacker in 

 *■ Materialien zur herpetelogischen Faune von China, III." 6 



In 1898 Yaillant 7 contributed an excellent account in his "Con- 

 tribution a l'etude des Emydosauriens." 



Up to the present time in these various publications but ten speci- 

 mens altogether appear to have come to the collections of museums 

 in the Old World. As a considerable number of specimens lack definite 

 data, it is impossible as yet to limit its range with any degree of cer- 

 tainty. Most of the specimens have been taken near the two towns 



3 Ann. Sc. Nat., (6th) IX, Art. 8, 1880. 



3 Sitz. Ber. Niederrhein. Ges. Bonn, 1880, p. 32. 



4 Ber. Offenbach. Ver. f. Nat., 1889 (1888), p. 111. 



5 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, p. 619, pis. 51, 52 

 8 Ber. Senck. Nat. Ges., 1894. p. 142. 



• 7 Nouv. Arch. Mus. Paris, (3) X, 1898, p. 206, pi. 13. 



