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inches in the shorter diameter, with a capacity six or 

 seven times that of the Ostrich, and 140 times that of 

 an ordinary Barn-door fowl. 



Reptiles. — The lower groups of animals have 

 been less fully studied than the Mammalia and Birds. 

 In Eeptilia there are several snakes, butiao venimous 

 ones are known in the central hill-region. The Cos- 

 mopolitan family of the Coluhrince is represented by 

 two American genera, Phylodryas and Heterodon, 

 and by a third genus {Herpetodi'yas) common to China 

 and America. The other genera are all endemic, but 

 belong to widely spread tropical families. Two fami- 

 lies, LycodontidcB and Viperldce, both abundant in tro- 

 pical Africa and tropical Asia, are absent. 



Lizards are numerous, belonging mostly to spe- 

 cially African or widely-spread tropical families. 



There are some species of two American genera 

 of Iguanidce, and that family except for these, is en- 

 tirely restricted to America ; and a genus of Qeckces, 

 which also inhabits America and Australia, occurs also 

 in Madagascar. 



Crocodiles are plentiful and troublesome ; and 

 there are several Tortoises of African affinity, including 

 a gigantic species which is probably now extinct in 

 Madagascar, but which still survives in the small 

 uninhabited Islets of the Aldabra Group, 4o further 

 North. There are two living specimens of this huge 

 creature at the Zoological Gardens (Lend.), of which' 

 the male is between 5 and 6 ft. long, rather broader 



