THE HERPETOLOGY OF HISPANIOLA 



383 



Variations. — The four young Hispaniolan crocodiles are very similar 

 in tooth structure as well as in head proportions. Their nuchal shields, 

 however, are not entirely identical. While there are two pairs of 

 large anterior nuchals in all four specimens, the posterior nuchals are 

 absent in one case, single in one case, and paired in two cases. 



A fifth specimen, from Lake Assuei, has a total length of 1,640 mm., 

 the head and body measuring 840 mm. together. This animal is like 

 the others in every essential. It has two pairs of anterior nuchals, 

 the inner ones much the larger and separated from the outer ones. 

 No posterior nuchals occur in this individual. 



Relationships. — On the basis of the material at hand, no separation 

 seems to be possible between the West Indian acutus and those on the 

 mainland. Mook has carefully compared the skull characters of 

 various examples and finds that there is considerable age variation; 

 most of his specimens lacked locality data, however, so that conclu- 

 sions as to regional differentiation were not possible. 



Distribution. — While this species occurs in southern Florida, the 

 Greater Antilles (except Puerto Rico), and on both coasts of Central 

 America from Mexico to Ecuador and Colombia, its distribution on 

 the island of Hispaniola is not yet very well mapped out. Fraser's 

 specimen from Puerto Plata is practically the only record from the 

 Dominican Republic. Parish and Perrygo collected several young 

 individuals on tie a Vache, where it is common. At Aux Cayes, 

 opposite lie a Vache, Mr. Perrygo heard a report, from a native whose 

 reliability he did not doubt, that a crocodile 12 feet in length had been 

 killed some time before his visit, on the road bordering the coast near 

 a bridge about 8 miles northeast of Aux Cayes. He saw a skin on 

 Gonave Island that was over 6 feet long, and he encountered many 

 smaller crocodiles at Anse a Galet. He heard reports that crocodiles 

 were to be found in most of the lakes of Haiti and that they had been 

 taken in the Artibonite River. Dr. Abbott's single specimen is from 

 Lake Assuei. The difficulty of preserving and transporting so large 

 and heavy a reptile as a crocodile no doubt explains why we have few 

 preserved examples from a region where travel has hitherto been 

 exceedingly difficult. 



Specimens examined. — As listed in table 75. 



Table 75. — Specimens of Crocodylus acutus examined 



Museum No. 



U.S.N..M. 

 10259 



60602 



80892, 80893, 81073 (all juv.) 



M.C.Z. 

 1339 



Locality 



ruerto Plata, D. R 

 Lake Assuei, Haiti. 

 lie a Vache, Haiti 



"Hayti". 



Collector 



C. A. Fraser. 



W. L. Abbott. 



L. H. Parish and W. Perrygo. 



Buckley and A. Jardins. 



