the Crocodile of the NUe: J 41: 



|Jebbles, the polish of which announced that they had served 

 tor the trituration of the ahmcntary matters. The stomach 

 had over it a bag, which was terminated by the pylorus. 

 In the intestines, which were 3-67 metres in length, nothing 

 could bedistinctJy observed but the rectum, in consequence 

 of its' great thickness. The duodenum, a little below tlie pv- 

 lorus, was rcuiai-kable by a double contour, which it uiadc 

 fi-om the' tt)p upw ards for the extent of o- 14 : its folds, which- 

 touched each other, were united by an adipose mcnibi-ane 

 s,plit in three ditlerent places. The rest of the l;itestines, in 

 which no trace of a ccecuni is observed, was strongly at-, 

 tached to the loins by means of the mesentery. 



III. Organs of Respiration. 



The flatness of tlie tail of the crocodile, and the mcm- 

 Waiies extended between the toes of its hind feet, suth- 

 ci(;ntly account for tiie decided taste which tliis animal has 

 for rivers ; but as the ears and back part of the mouth are 

 each provided with a cartilage, which, when necessary, 

 prevents the introduction of the surrounding liquid, I had 

 rcascm to expect a similar relation between the puhnonarv 

 prgans and those of natat on. 1 therefore alwavs wislied 

 that I might be able to describe these pulmonary organs as 

 compared with those of other lizards, in order to trace out the 

 inost essential anatomical characters by which the genus of 

 the crocodile dillers from various other families of reptiles. 

 If 1 therdbre give this description, it is not because most 

 pt the preceding anatomists have omitted to do it : on the 

 contrary, we are acipiainted with those of \ esalius, sir HiUis 

 Sloane, J'crrault, JtJasselquist, and that more minute by the 

 Jesuit missionaries to Siani, to which Duvcrney has added, 

 and which might be considered as complete. 



The trachea opens in the centre of the broad piece of the 

 OS hyoid(;s, and accompanies it backwards nearly (that I 

 may employ the comparison already used) as the handle of 

 a wooden sIiovtI accompanies the lower part. A little be- 

 fore it divides itself into two branches, ir is folded back, and 

 turns to the light side, as is observed in several birds. Its 

 length in a straight line, as far as the point of its bifurca- 

 tion, is o*S8 metre. It is composed of ci)niplcte, broad, 

 cartilaginous rings, separated trum each other by a very 

 iiarrow incinbranous ring. I Ibund only the first ten rings 

 complete. Duvcrney, in the crocodile of the Academy, 

 counted sixteen, the portions of which were united b a 

 membrane. The Jesuits above mentioned found a greater 

 number iu ti.c crocodiles of Siani. It is this meiubraue 

 . • strond'v 



