2378 CROCODILES, DINOSAURS, AND FLYING DRAGONS 



notch on the side of the upper jaw, so as to be partially visible when the mouth is 

 closed, while the number of teeth varies from seventeen to nineteen on each side of 

 the upper jaw, and fifteen in the lower. From the stumpy crocodile they are dis- 

 tinguished by the aperture of the nostrils in the skull not being divided by the for- 

 ward prolongation of the nasal bones. While some of the species resemble the 

 alligators in their broad and short snouts, others have elongated, narrow snouts, 

 approaching those of the garials; but as there is an almost complete gradation from 

 the one type to the other, this affords no ground for generic distinction, so that the 

 most that can be done is to arrange them in groups. 



Commonly known to the natives of India as the magar, and mis- 

 ** n _ named alligator by Anglo-Indians, the Indian crocodile (Crocodilus 



palustris) is the best-known representative of a group of four species 

 which, in their broad and short snouts, make the nearest approach to the caimans 

 and alligators. In all these the length of the snout does not exceed one and a half 

 times its basal width; the bony union between the two branches of the lower jaw 

 does not extend behind the level of the fourth or fifth tooth; while on the palate 

 the line of union between the anterior and main jawbones (premaxillae and maxillae) 

 extends nearly straight across the skull, as shown in the figure on p. 2358. The 

 Indian crocodile has no bony ridges on the snout, while there are usually four longi- 

 tudinal rows of bony plates on the back, and there are five teeth in each anterior 

 upper jawbone or premaxilla. An allied species (C robustus) from the interior of 

 Madagascar, differs by having six longitudinal rows of plates on the back; while 

 the Cuban crocodile (C. rkombifer), of Central America, and a nearly-related spe- 

 cies (C. moreleti}, from Guatemala, are distinguished by having a more or less dis- 

 tinct oblique ridge in front of the eye. 



The habitat of the Indian crocodile includes India, Ceylon, Burma, and the 

 Malay Peninsula and islands; its most westerly range being Sind and Baluchistan. 

 Inhabiting rivers, lakes, and marshes, it appears to be an exclusively fresh-water 

 species, never venturing into estuaries. As to the dimensions attained by this spe- 

 cies, there is some uncertainty, although it is probable that at the present day spec- 

 imens seldom grow to the size that was reached before firearms were common. 

 Nowadays from twelve to fourteen feet appears to be a large size for this species, 

 but a length of eighteen feet has been recorded, while skulls in the Calcutta Mu- 

 seum would seem to indicate still larger individuals. A nearly-allied extinct species 

 has left its remains in the Siwalik hills of Northern India. Swarming in most of 

 the rivers and marshes of India, except where the current is too swift, the Indian 

 crocodile is stated to be less ferocious than the species next mentioned, generally 

 preying on the smaller animals, and not unfrequently dragging down a wounded or 

 dead bird before the eyes of the gunner. When the waters they frequent become 

 dried up these crocodiles will either travel across country by night to another lake 

 or river, or bury themselves in the mud. 



Resembling its compatriot in its pale olive color, conspicuously 



Crocodile s P ttec ^ with black, the estuarine crocodile (C. porosus}, of India and 



other regions, may be at once distinguished by its longer and more 



slender snout, as well as by the presence of only four teeth in each anterior jawbone 



