322 ZOOLOGY OF 



C. REPTILES AND FISHES. 



Like all tropical countries the Amazon district abounds in 

 Reptiles, and contains many of the largest size and most singular 

 structure. The lizards and serpents are particularly abundant, 

 and among the latter are several very venomous species ; but 

 the most remarkable are the boa and the anaconda, which 

 reach an enormous size. The former inhabits the land, and 

 though it is often found very large, yet the most authentic and 

 trustworthy accounts of monstrous serpents refer to the latter, 

 the Eumctes murinus of naturalists, which lives in or near 

 the water. The Indians are aware of the generic distinction 

 of these creatures, for while they call the former "Jiboa," the 

 latter is the " Sucurujii." 



The largest specimens I met with myself were not more than 

 from fifteen to twenty feet long, but I have had several accounts 

 of their having been killed, and measured, of a length of thirty- 

 two feet. They have been seen very much larger, but, as may 

 be supposed, are then very difficult to kill or secure, owing to 

 their tenacity of life and their acquatic habits. It is an undis- 

 puted fact that they devour cattle and horses, and the general 

 belief in the country is that they are sometimes from sixty to 

 , eighty feet long.* 



Alligators of three or four distinct species abound in the 

 Amazon, and in all its tributary streams. The smaller ones 

 are eaten by the natives, the larger often devour them in 

 return. In almost every village some persons may be seen 

 maimed by these creatures, and many children are killed every 

 year. The eggs of all the different kinds are eaten, though 

 they have a very strong musky odour. The largest species 



* As so few Europeans have seen these large serpents, and the very 

 existence of any large enough to swallow a horse or ox is hardly credited, 

 I append the following account by a competent scientific observer, the 

 well-known botanical traveller Dr. Gardner. In his " Travels in Brazil," 

 p. 356, he says : 



" In the marshes of this valley in the province of Goyaz, near Arrayas, 

 the Boa Constrictor is often met with of considerable size ; it is not un- 

 common throughout the whole province, particularly by the wooded 

 margins of lakes, marshes, and streams. Sometimes they attain the 

 enormous length of forty feet : the largest I ever saw was at this place, 

 but it was not alive. Some weeks before our arrival at Safe, the favourite 

 riding horse of Senhor Lagoriva, which had been put out to pasture not far 



