THE CROCODILE. 97 



animals, the body is lengthened into a very long and 

 very powerful tail, which, as we have already seen, not 

 only acts the part of a propeller, but as a weapon. If 

 a Crocodile be driven to fight, its tail is far more to be 

 dreaded than its jaws, formidable though they may be, 

 for its sweep is enormous, and the power of such a 

 weighty mass, lashing about as sharply as if it were 

 nothing but a slight whip, is sufficient to clear the 

 ground of any foe which it may encounter. 



The teeth, again, are adapted to the peculiar mode 

 in which the Crocodile has to kill its prey. They are 

 not intended for mastication, but simply for retaining 

 the prey when it is alive, and tearing it when it is 

 dead. In fact, they are of the kind that is popularly 

 and graphically called " snatch-and-swallow/' They 

 are all conical, rather long, and sharply pointed, and 

 are slightly curved, the curve being in the direction of 

 the back of the mouth, so as to give a better hold en 

 the prey. 



As the struggles of some of the larger animals 

 would probably break off one or two teeth before it 

 was rendered helpless, there is a provision for their 

 renewal. They are hollow, and filled with a pulp 

 which is perpetually engaged in forming a new tooth 

 within the old one, ready to take its place when it shall 

 fall. I have in my collection an Indian shikarry's 

 necklace, composed of fangs and claws of the tiger, 

 claws of the great sloth-bear, and teeth of the Crocodile, 

 all trophies of the owner's prowess in hunting. One 

 of the teeth must have belonged to a very large Croco- 

 dile, as it is blunted and chipped from hard usage, 

 while others are quite smooth and sharp. 



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