Liberia <- 



the scutes on the throat and belly of the slender-snouted 

 crocodile solidify into bone, and offer a resemblance to the 

 bony ventral armour of extinct forms. In colour the slender- 

 snouted crocodile is very similar to the Nilotic form a dark 

 olive-brown above and a yellowish white below. Young 

 forms are splotched with blackish markings, particularly vivid 

 on the tail. These persist to some extent in the adult. 



309- 



(RO(Ol)lI.K (( . CATAPHRACTUS) 



Crocodilus cataphractus is not met with in the estuaries of 

 the rivers, as it seems to dislike brackish water. It is 

 consequently very seldom seen by Europeans in Liberia unless 

 they leave the coast region and penetrate beyond the first 

 rapids of the rivers. The accompanying photograph, which I 

 owe to the kindness of Mr. Cecil H. Firmin, was taken from 

 a large specimen of slender-snouted crocodile killed in the 

 Mano River. 



8T8 



