■^ Fauna : Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish 



men, women, and children who imprudently go down to the 

 edo-e of a river. I have killed one ot these crocodiles quite 

 close to Monrovia. But they are tar less common in the 

 coast waters th:in they were seventy or eighty years ago when 

 the Americo-Liberians first came to this country. The flesh 

 of the crocodile is eaten by most of the inland tribes. 



The Slender-snouted form {Crocodilus c at ap]ir actus) was 



308. THE COMMON CROCODILE (CROCUUILUS NILOTICUS) 



supposed at one time to be a near relation of the Indian 

 gharial, but this is not the case. It is simply an independent 

 development of a long, slender-jawed type of true crocodile. 

 This form grows to considerable size and lenoth. It differs 

 from the common crocodile not only in the slenderness of 

 its snout but by the proportionate length of the bones of 

 the upper jaw ; also in the bony armour of the adult form : 

 VOL. II 817 20 



