Great Salamanders and their Associates 



extinct crocodiles equals the great living 

 Mugger or salt-water ci'ocodile (^Crocodilus j^oro- 

 stcs) of southeastern Asia and northern Aus- 

 tralia, a man-eating species, which on rare oc- 

 casions attains a length of 30 feet, although 

 examples of half that size may be considered 

 large. There is a greater range of size among 

 large reptiles than there is among other verte- 

 brates, for the reason that they have no fixed 

 period of growth, but practically continue to 

 grow as long as they live. These belodonts 

 have been spoken of as crocodiles, but only for 

 want of a more exact name, for while they 

 resemble crocodiles in outward appearance 

 there were many internal differences between 

 them, and they also claim relationship with the 

 race of dinosaurs. The range of these reptiles 

 in point of time was short, for up to the present 

 they have not been found outside of rocks be- 

 longing to the Triassic system, and the occur- 

 rence of belodont remains is looked upon as 

 proof conclusive of the age of the strata in 

 which they are found. 



The varied relationships of the anomodonts 

 135 



