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species among mammals and birds.) The powerful jaws are furnished 

 with large conical teeth. These teeth are firmly lodged in sockets 

 (see p. 230), and, as in carnivorous mammals, some bite between each 

 other, some outside others. The jaws form, in fact, two powerful 

 toothed shear-blades ; and by shutting them with a snap the monster 

 can easily tear off a leg or the head of any of the larger mammals 

 which come to the shore to drink (antelopes, goats, sheep, horses), or 

 tear a man to pieces. Its food, however, consists principally of small 

 aquatic animals, especially fish. Though a bold creature in its natural 

 element, the water, the crocodile is cowardly on the land, where, how- 

 ever, it also moves fairly rapidly by the aid of its powerful legs. In the 

 hot season, if the waters of its habitat dry up, the animal buries itself 

 in the mud, and indulges in a summer sleep. The female lays annually 

 about two hundred hard-shelled eggs, of the size of goose eggs, and 

 buries them in the sand or mud. The flesh, fat, and eggs of the 

 crocodile are considered a delicacy by the natives. From the contents 

 of four musk-glands, two near the anus and one behind each cheek, 

 the inhabitants of the Soudan prepare a salve or ointment, used by the 

 women for rubbing on the hair and body as a perfume. 



Allied Species. 



The Garial (Garialis gangetius) is found in the Ganges, Indus and 

 Brahmaputra. It is distinguished by its elongated, beak-like snout, and 

 reaches a length of more than 17 feet. 



The Alligator, or Caiman (Alligator mississippiensis), is abundant in 

 the southern parts of North America. Its head bears a strong resem- 

 blance to that of the pike, and it attains to a length of about 15 feet. 

 The female lays its eggs in bushes and reed-banks, and covers them with 

 reeds, leaves, etc. The eggs are hatched by the warmth which is 

 generated by the decay of this vegetable matter. The animal, as a rule, 

 is not dangerous to man. 



ORDER IV.: TORTOISES (CHELONIA). 



BODY broad, enclosed in a shell composed of a dorsal and ventral shield. 

 The jaws are toothless and covered with horny sheaths. Two pairs of 

 limbs present. 



