342 REPTILES. SAUHIA. 



. and two projecting ridges on the top of the muzzle ; plates of the 

 i* neck six. Inhabits India Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 20. 



C. acutus, Cuv. Muzzle elongated, gibbous at the base ; plates of 

 , . the back ranged in four rows, the exterior ones placed irregularly 

 and^with the ridges more projecting ; plates of the neck six. In- 

 habits West India Islands. Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 21. 



C. rhombifer, Cuv. Muzzle subconvex, with two converging ridges; 

 plates of the neck six ; scales of the back in sixes, square ; those 

 of the limbs thick and carinated Ann. Mus. x. 65. 



C. galealus, Cuv. Top of the head with a bidentate elevated crest; 

 plates of the neck six. Inhabits India Ann. Mus. x. 65. 



C. biscutatus, Cuv. Intermediate scales of the back square ; outer 

 ones irregular, both in form and situation ; plates of the neck two. 

 An. Mus. x, 65. 



Gen. 3. ALLIGATOR, Cuv. 



Muzzle broad, obtuse, teeth unequal ; the fourth tooth on each 

 side of the lower jaw entering a cavity in the upper ; feet 

 semipalmated, and with dentations. 



A. sclerops, Cuv. (Lacerta alligator, Lin.) The Alligator. Green- 

 ish brown above, with irregular marblings of greenish ; pale yel- 

 low below; muzzle flat, a little narrower than the head, with a 

 transverse ridge uniting before the projecting margin of its orbits ; 

 jaws with nineteen teeth on each side; neck withfour rowsof strong 

 plates. 18 to 20 feet long. Inhabits Guiana and Brazil. An. 

 du Mus. x. 31. 



The Alligator or American Crocodile abounds in the rivers and lakes of Carolina 

 and Florida. They pass the winter in holes or burrows in the marshes. In the 

 spring at the period of their coupling, they make a loud bellowing ; and at other 

 times, make a noise by opening and shutting their jaws forcibly. They swim with 

 facility, but their movement on land is slow. The young feed chiefly on insects. 



A. Lucius, Cuv. Muzzle parabolic, depressed, with four large plates 

 on the neck, and eighteen transverse rows of carinated plates on 

 the back. 11 to 14 feet long. N.America. An. du Mus. x. 29. 



A. palpebrosus, Cuv. With bony palpebrae; neck furnished with four 

 bony carinated bands ; 21 teeth on each side in the lower jaw, 

 19 above. Ann. du Mus. x. 35. 



A. trigonatus, Cuv. With bony palpebrse, and the neck furnished 

 with irregular triangular carinated scales. Seba, i. pi. 105, fig. 3. 



FAMILY II. LACERTINID^E. 



This family is distinguished by a slender and extensible tongue, terminating in 

 two long filaments, as among the vipers. Their body is elongated and their motions 

 quick. All their feet have five toes, armed with nails, separate and unequal, espe- 

 cially those of the hind feet. Their scales are disposed under the belly and around 

 the tail in transverse and parallel bands. Their tympanum is on a level with the 

 head ; a production of the skin, longitudinally cleft, and which shuts by a sphincter, 

 protects the eye ; under the anterior angle is the vestige of a third eyelid. Their 

 false ribs do not form a complete circle. The male organ of generation is double, 

 and the anus is a transverse cleft. 



