OF THE MOUTH. 283 



There is an adaptation to this mode of destroying 

 its prey, by carrying it under water, in the mouth, 

 as well as in the thorax and lungs. The crocodile 

 has no lips ; it lies on the shore basking with its 

 mouth open, and flies light upon and crawl into 

 its mouth. Against these the air tubes are pro- 

 tected, not by the lips and sensibility of the mouth, 

 but by an apparatus which separates the mouth 

 from the throat and windpipe. This partition be- 

 tween the cavities is necessary when the animal 

 seizes its prey : for as it plunges under the water 

 with open mouth, the air tube must be protected 

 against the ingress of the water. For this pur- 

 pose, there is a transverse ridge, arising from the 

 body of the bone of the tongue, which raises a 

 duplicature of the membrane so as to form a sep- 

 tum across the back part of the mouth ; whilst 

 the curtain of the soft palate hanging from above 

 meets the margin of the lower septum, and they 

 form together a complete partition between the 

 anterior and posterior cavities. Thus the animal 

 is enabled to hold its prey in the open mouth, 

 without admitting the water to the air passages. 



With these observations, we hope the reader 

 will return to peruse, with increased interest, the 

 conclusions so well stated by our author, vol. i., 

 p. 191. 



