478 SAURIANS 



and may be avoided without difficulty, when on land they at- 

 tempt the pursuit of man. 



The Crocodiles of the Nile were regarded as sacred by the 

 ancient Egyptians, and sometimes, when caught young, they 

 were so tamed as to follow in the train of their religious proces- 

 sions. In some localities they have been killed of the length of 

 thirty feet, (Swain.) Those of Egypt and Senegal, (Africa,) 

 are less numerous, but more dangerous than those of this conti- 

 nent. No living species of this family is found in Europe, nor 

 has any yet been detected in Australia, but remains have been 

 discovered which indicate the former existence of this animal in 

 territory now included in the British dominions. 



Alligator (Lat. a binder) Champsa, (Gr. Crocodile, Hesiod.) 

 ALLIGATORS. (See fig. on Chart.) 



These have the head broad ; the muzzle wide and rounded ; 

 the teeth of unequal length; the fourth or canine tooth of the 

 lower jaw, (counting from the fore part of the jaw,) is the longest 

 and is received into a corresponding cavity or pit in the upper 

 jaw, when the mouth is closed, so that it is concealed. The 

 hinder limbs are rounded and destitute of rigid scales ; the webs 

 between the toes are short. 



The Alligators pursue fish with much dexterity, driving a 

 shoal of them into a creek, and then getting into the midst of 

 their prey and devouring them at pleasure. They also seize 

 and feed upon dogs, frogs, pigs or other animals incautiously ap- 

 proaching too near to their lurking places. The usual method 

 of capturing the Alligator is by baiting a large four-pointed hook 

 and suffering it to float in the river. When the creature has 

 swallowed the hook, he is hauled on shore and killed. Audubon 

 gives an interesting account of the chase of a wounded Ibis by 

 one of these animals. It had almost reached the terrified bird, 

 " when," says he, "by pulling three triggers at once, we lodged 

 the contents of our guns in the throat of the monster. Thresh- 

 ing furiously with his tail, and rolling his body in agony, the 

 Alligator at last sunk to the mud ; and the ibis, as if in grati- 

 tude, walked to our very feet, and then Iving down, surrendered 

 to us." 



The principal species are the Caiman with bony eye-lids, A. 

 palpelrosus, (Lat. from palpebra, an eye-lid.) found in Cayenne 

 and Brazil, also in the Mississippi, as high as the Red River, in 

 Carolina and Florida, and sometimes twenty feet in length. 



The PIKE-NOSED ALLIGATOR, (see Chart.) A. Indus, (Lat. a 

 pike,) found in the southern rivers of North America. In 

 Louisiana, the Alligators of this species bury themselves in 



