170 



SUBKINGDOM VERTEBRATA. 



tion it can knock its victim forward into the mouth which is 

 turned sideways to receive it. The eggs are laid in an arti- 

 ficial heap of mud and vegetable matter, which in decaying 



Fig. 285. 



Skeleton of Alligator. 



affords heat to hatch them. The mother remains near, and, 

 attracted by the yelping, tears open the pile, liberates the 

 brood of fifty or sixty, and leads them to the water.* 



LORICATA. 



MUZZLE NOTCHED TO RECEIVE THE FOURTH 



TOOTH OF THE LOWER JAW ; FEET WEBBED 



TO THE NAILS. 



MUZZLE WITH A HOLE TO RECEIVE THE 



FOURTH TOOTH OF THE LOWER JAW ; FEET 



PARTIALLY WEBBED. 



V Crocodilidaj, Crocodile. 

 ( Alligatoridae, Alligator, etc. 



Crocodilidae. The Crocodile of the Nile and the Ganges 

 is thirty feet long, while that of the Western Continent sel- 

 dom exceeds fifteen. It often ventures out several miles 

 at sea. 



Fig. 286. 



Crocod/Um vulgaris, Crocodile. 



* They are so generally the prey of birds, tortoises, and male alligators, that the 

 race would become extinct were not the progeny so abundant. 



