CHARACTERS OF CROCODILES 



to bask upon the shore, or to make short excursions in 

 quest of other pools, is not a feature which absolutely 

 differentiates the group from the lizards, for there are 

 many aquatic forms to be found there ; but it is a 

 feature which is characteristic of all crocodilians. 

 These reptiles do not follow the lacertilian plan of 

 shedding their skin in conspicuous bits ; the wear and 

 tear of the outer covering of the body is like that in our- 

 selves ; it is constant and imperceptible. Underneath 

 the scales are bony plates, which are mostly to be 

 found only upon the back, though in the caimans of 

 South America there are ventral scutes, as these 

 armoured plates are termed, in addition to those upon 

 the back. No lizard has so extensive a series of plates 

 of this kind, though there are corresponding, but only 

 slightly developed, plates in some forms. Many of 

 these plates, and the bones of the head also, are irregu- 

 larly pitted and honeycombed, a characteristic which 

 can be readily seen in crocodiles. The nostrils, it will 

 be noticed, are at the top of the snout, and the animal 

 can lie nearly submerged, with only the nostrils and 

 eyes projecting. An ingenious apparatus, not found 

 in lizards, enables crocodiles and alligators to swallow 

 their prey beneath the surface without running the 

 risk of choking themselves. The internal nostrils open 

 into the throat far back, and a soft downhanging pro- 

 cess shuts them off from the proper mouth cavity, 

 which can be thus opened and closed without admit- 

 ting water into the lungs. In internal anatomy the 

 differences which distinguish this group of reptiles are 

 numerous and profound. 



Although the Chinese alligator was not known to 

 Europe forty years ago, the Chinese writers were well 

 acquainted with it, and heaped it round with much 

 legend and mystery. The N'Go or To, as this animal 

 is named, is said to attain to an extremely green old 

 Z.G. 273 T 



