24 VERTEBRATA. REPTILIA. 



square plates along the whole length of the back. 

 Individuals have been seen of more than thirty feet 

 in length. In ancient Egypt, whose idolatry, with 

 all its learning, was of the most besotted and de- 

 grading character, the inhabitants worshipped the 

 Crocodile. "At Memphis, the sacred individual 

 was reared with the greatest care, and nourished 

 with abundant food. Sacrifices and offerings were 

 presented to him : he was adorned with trinkets, 

 and lodged in a lake or basin in the midst of the 

 temple. Thus treated, the Crocodile lost its fero- 

 city, and became so tame as to be led about in 

 religious processions and ceremonies. In that coun- 

 try, so vaunted for wisdom, persons have been known 

 sufficiently foolish and infatuated to rejoice when 

 any of their children were devoured by the Croco- 

 dile."* 



The Gavial of the Ganges (C. Gangeticus) differs 

 but slightly from this : it is said to feed only on 

 fishes, and to be inoffensive to man. 



The Alligators are confined to America, and are 

 distinguished from the true Crocodiles merely by 

 slight differences in the teeth : they are frequently 

 termed Caymans. The Pike Alligator (C. Lucius) 

 is common in the great rivers of America, especially 

 in the Southern United States, where it attains the 

 length of fifteen feet. 



* Griffith's An. Kingd. 1831, ix. 91. 



