©ROCODILUS. 5 



Malay names. Bnaya ; huaya temhaga (" brass-coloured cro- 

 codile "), alluding to juvenile specimeus. 



Snout 1| to 2\ times as long as broad at the base, M'ith a more 

 or less strong ridge on each side in front of the eye, slightly 

 converging towards its fellow. Four large nuchal scutes forming 

 a square, M'ith one or two smaller ones on each side; postoccipital 

 scutes usually absent, sometimes small and irregular. Dorsal 

 shield well separated from the nuchal, the bony scutes forming 

 16 or 17 transverse and 4 to 8 longitudinal series, these scutes, in 

 a transverse series, separated from each other by the leathery 

 skin. Fingers webbed at the base ; outer toes extensively webbed. 

 A serrated fringe on the outer edge of the leg. Adult dark olive 

 above ; young pale olive, with large black spots on the body and 

 tail, and dots on the head ; yellow beneath. 



Grows to a length of 30 feet. 



India, Ceylon, Burma, and Southeru China to Xorth Australia 

 and the Solomon and Fiji Islands. Entering salt water and 

 frequently occurring out at sea. Exceedingly numerous in every 

 suitable locality in Malaya. Every year many people lose their 

 lives in the Peninsula by being seized and carried off by Crocodiles. 

 Commonest among the mangroves of the coast, and therefore much 

 rarer on the east side of the Peninsula, where the shores are 

 mainly sandy. Does not extend to the upper reaches of the 

 rivers, where the water is clear and swift, but travels overland 

 for considerable distances to occupy small ponds and lakes or 

 deserted mining holes, where it frequently attains a large size. 



The largest specimen on record in the Peninsula is one ob- 

 tained in salt water near Matang, Perak, which measured 24 feet 

 1| inches. A doi'sal strip of its skin is now in the Perak Museum, 

 Taiping. 



A good account of the methods employed by Malays in the 

 capture of this reptile is given by W. T. Hornaday (* Two Tears 

 in the Jungle,' pp. 305-307: New York, 1897). 



^ -^ Crocodilus palustris. 



Lessen, in Belang. Vov. Ind. Or., Zool. p. 305 (1834) ; Giiiith. Kept. 



Brit. Ind. p. 61, pi. Viii, fifr. A (1864) ; Bouleng. Cat. Chelon. &c. 



p. 285 (1889) ; id. Faun. Brit. Ind., Eept. p. 5 (1890) ; S. Flower, 



P. Z. S. 1899, p. 625. 



If^-^ Crocodilus vulqaris, part.. Cantor, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xvi, 



--> p. 621 (1847). 



Malay name, ? Buaya l-afaJc=.^' toad ci-ocodile." 

 Snout I5 to 1| times as long as broad, without ridges. Four 

 large nuchals forming a square, with a smaller one on each side ; 

 two pairs of smaller scutes in a transverse series behind the 

 occiput (postoccipitals). Dorsal shield well separated from the 

 nuchal, the scutes usually in 4, rarely in 6, longitudinal series, 

 these scutes, in a transverse series, suturally united to each other. 

 Fingers webbed at the base, outer toes extensively webbed. A 



