62 THE STORY OF REPTILE LIFE. 



S. Asia, Malaysia, Australia, and America. Three 

 groups may be distinguished according to the 

 shape of the head. In the first the head is 

 long and narrow, recalling that of the Gharials ; 

 the second is intermediate in type between the 

 first and third, which last has the muzzle very 

 short and broad like that of the alligator, from 

 which, however, it may readily be distinguished 

 by the peculiar notch in the upper jaw for the 

 reception of the fourth tooth. 



One of the best-known of the Crocodiles is the 

 Marsh Crocodile (Crocodilus palustis\ known in 

 India as the " Mugger." This species inhabits 

 the rivers and marshes of India and Ceylon, 

 extending eastwards through Burma and Malacca 

 into the Malay archipelago. 



In India it is held in veneration by the 

 Hindus, and is kept in a state of semi- 

 domestication, attended by fakirs. Mr A. L. 

 Adams has given a graphic account in his 

 "Wanderings of a Naturalist in India," of a 

 visit to a celebrated crocodile pond or " mugger- 

 peer " at Karachi. This pond, some three hun- 

 dred yards in circumference, and studded with 

 small islands, was the home of hundreds of these 

 scaly creatures of all sizes and ages. Visitors 

 being expected by the fakirs who have charge 

 of this pond and its inmates to pay for their 

 entertainment by providing a feast for the scaly 

 monsters, Mr Adams had a goat slaughtered, 

 "during which operation," he says, "the brutes 

 seemed to rouse themselves as if preparing for 

 a, rush. Then our guide, taking piece after piece 

 of the flesh, dashed it on the bank, uttering a 



