181 



In fart, tin- |x>sition in which th.-s.- creatures are placed depends wholly on the amount of 



to tin- reptilian <T pi-,, in,- characteri. 



THK species known by tin- name <.f Li I-IIMI-I Mini i-n. is found in Africa, inhab- 



iting tin- lx<U <( nnnlily riven. 



Th-- liiiLii- <>f this creature are very remarkable. I.hing in loralitim h.-r- tin- -un 

 attains a heat so tenili.- during : Ion- |-riod of the year that the waters are dried and ex en 

 th-ir niiiddv U-ds baked into a hard and stony flooring, these animals would be soonextif|>aii-<i 

 link -ii.-y had Home means of .-, m n_' themselves against this periodical intli<-iion. an I 

 obtaining throughout tin- year some proportion of that moisture for la<-k of xshich th.-\ would 

 soon dk. Tin- mode of self-preservation during the hot season is MTV like that which has 

 already been mentioned in the case of certain frogs* and other similar creatures, but is mark, d 

 by several curious modifications. 



When tli- hot season has fairly commenced, and the waters have begun to lessen in 

 volume, tin- Ijepidosiren wriggles its way de. ply into tin- mud. its eyes being so const ructed 

 that tin- wet soil cannot injure them, and the external nostril- U-iiu; merely two shallow Mind 

 me* After i 1 has arrived .,! ;, patebta d.-|tL. ii < m N ii-.-lf i..und. uith it- t.-,il \xi-a pj-d 

 partly over the head, not unlike the |M>culiar attitude assumed by fried whiting*. except that 

 its flexible spine enables it to squeeze the two sides closer together than can I..- accomplished 

 in that fish, and in that ]>osition awaits the coming rains. It xxill Ik in a torpid condition for 

 a very considerable space of time, depending entirely on the advent of rain for the re-assump- 

 tion of vitality. 



After it has curled itself up and resigned it. If to the exigencies of its condition, a large 

 amount of a slimy substance is secreted from the Uly, which luw the effect of making the 

 walls of ita cell very smooth, and probably aids in binding the muddy particles together. 

 When the rains fall, the moisture |M-ietrate.s rapidly through the fissures of the earth, cracked 

 in all directions by the constant heat, reaches the cell of the Lepidosiren, dissolves its walls. 

 and restores the inhabitant to life and energy. 



Several specimens have U-en brought to Europe, most of which I have had op]iortunities 

 of seeing while alive, as well us of examining part* of their structure after death. 



While retained in an ordinary aquarium, it peases much of its time in an apparently semi 

 torpid condition at the l>ottom of the tank, generally seeking the darkest corner and squeezing 

 itself along one of the perjiendicular angles of the case. It was found, however, that whenever 

 the surface of the water was disturbed, the creature woke up, as it were, and rose to see what 

 was the mutter. In this way it could be induced to come at a signal to take the food on which 

 it lived. 



Further investigations and experiments on a larger scale, afforded a considerable insight 

 into the habits of this singular creature. 



Several batches of these animals have been kept alive, all of which have died, some after 

 a life of only a few weeks, and others after surviving for three years. It will, however, be 

 useless to follow the fortunes of each separate individual, and we will therefore only examine 

 the general habits which seem to be common to all. 



The Lepidosirens, or Mud-fish as they are popularly called, were sent while still in 

 their muddy nests, or "cocoons," according to the technical term, and, in one instance, 

 three specimens were inclosed in a single lump of hard mud, weighing when dry about twenty 

 pounds. 



One of the cocoons is now lying before me, together with the dried and shrivelled body of 

 ite former inhabitant, still curled up in the singular fashion already mentioned. The walls 

 of the cocoon are composed of a thick, grayish clay, quite hard and dry, and intermixed here 

 and there with remnants of vegetable matter. The hollow in which the 1,-pidosjivn resided is 

 quite smooth in the interior, but gives no idea of the real shape of the inhabitant, the cell 

 seeming to be somewhat large, most probably on account of the coat of mucous substance 

 with which it was lined, and part of which is to be seen still adhering, like flakes of di 

 brane, to the sides of the cell. 



