108 SIXTH KKPORT — 1836. 



for the discovery of many more. These are described in the 

 " Phihidelphia Journal of Natural Sciences," the " Lyceum of 

 Natural History of New York," " Sillimau's Journal," and 

 other periodical works, the chief writers being Messieurs Green, 

 Say, Harlan, and Gilliams. A summary of the whole is con- 

 tained in a paper by Dr. Harlan, entitled " Genera of North 

 American Reptilia (including Amphibia), and a synopsis of the 

 species," read in 1826 before the Philadelphia Academy, and 

 subsequently reprinted, in a separate form with some alterations. 

 Still more recently Dr. Holbrook of Charlestown has com- 

 menced a " North American Herpetology," which is to be 

 completed in four quarto numbers, each containing from 20 to 

 30 coloured engravings and 200 pages of letter press. Wieg- 

 mann has also published a volume of his " Heiyetologia Mexi- 

 cana," embracing both reptilia and atnp/nbia, having previously 

 described many species in the Tsis. 



The warm, moist atmosphere of tropical America is very 

 favourable to the existence of reptilia, which are more numerous 

 there than in any other quarter of the world ; and they occur 

 even in North America, in much greater numbers and variety 

 than in Europe. In the present imperfect state of North 

 American herpetologj^, it would serve little purpose to attempt 

 a formal disquisition on the distribution of the reptiles of that 

 country, or to compare their numbers with those existing in 

 the European zoological province, especially as these tasks may 

 be performed with so much more success, when we become ac- 

 quainted with the labours of Holbrook and Wiegmann. In the 

 mean time we shall merely offer a few brief remarks. With the 

 exception, perhaps, of one or two species of sea-turtles, none 

 either of the reptilia or amphibia are common to the New and 

 Old World ; and it will be observed that the reptilia, though 

 fewer in number in Europe, attain higher latitudes there than 

 in North America. An eynys inhabits the river Winipec in the 

 latter country in the 50th parallel, but the eniys Kuropcea goes 

 some degrees further north in Prussia. The crocodilus acnttts, 

 which resembles the crocodile of the Nile so closely as to have 

 been even mistaken for it, keeps within the tropics ; it is an 

 inhabitant of the West Indies and also of the Spanish Main, but 

 to no great distance from the equator, for Humboldt believes that 

 its northern limit is the peninsula of Yuccatan or the southern 

 part of Mexico. Now, though crocodiles do not in the present 

 day descend the Nile lower than Upper Egypt, they formerly 

 inhabited the Delta at the mouth of that river, lying under the 

 314° degree of latitude, where they were wont to pass the three 

 winter months in burrows. In this respect they resemble the 



