418 



VERTEBRATA. 



ci.imii.'ii ill tin- ». ^tcni waters of \e\v York, aii.l in tlioso of Oliio. It is popularly called tlic 



Big Water Lizard. 



Genus SIREDON : Sin-don.— To 

 this bc'loii^'s the AxoLOTL of Mexico, 

 S. jjinciforuw, ten to fifteen inches 

 long, of a hrownish or fjrayish color, 

 spotted with Mack. On cacji side 

 of the neck tliere is a large aper- 

 ture, "within ■which there are branchial 

 arches: there are also projecting 

 branched gills attached to the oper- 

 cula or flaps, which close these ori- 

 fices. It is common in the Lake of 

 Mexico, and also in the lakes of the 

 neighboring mountains. It is cook- 

 ed like eels, and is regarded as a 

 great luxury. It was so plentiful 

 at the time of Cortez' invasion that 

 he is said to have fed liis army up- 

 on it. 





THE AXOLOTL. 



ORDER 4. APODA. 



The term xVpoda signifi!es without feet. The animals belonging to this order, in the form of the 

 bodv, closely resemble large earth-worms ; they are totally destitute of limbs, and covered with 

 a soft, viscous skin, which" is annulated and wrinkled, and contains numerous miiuite horny scales, 

 exactly resembling those of fishes. They form a single family, the Coeciliidce, that is, Blind- 

 worms, so called in consequence of the minute size and occasional absence of the eyes. They 

 live in the tropical regions of both hemispheres, where they burrow in marshy ground, like earth- 

 worms, in pursuit of the larvtie of insects, upon which they feed. The species generally measure 

 from one to two feet in length ; but Cuvier states that he possessed the skeleton of a Cojcilia 

 which was more than six feet in length, and contained two hundred and twenty-five vertebrae. 



THE LEPIDOSIREN PARADOXA, 



ORDER 5. LEPIDOTA. 



The name of this order signifies small-footed ; the animals belonging to it have a fish-like 

 form, covered with scales laid over each other, like those of fishes ; the legs are simple styliform 

 organs. The organization is, however, rather that of the Batrachia than that oi the fishes. 



Three species are known ; they are found in the fresh waters of the hot regions of South 

 America and Africa. The South American species, Lepidosiren paradoxa, is between two and 

 three feet in length ; another species, the L. annectens, about a foot long, is found in the river 

 Gambia. During the dry season these creatures buiy themselves in the mud ; and one of them 

 is said to make itself a sort of nest in which to pass the period of torpidity. In these burrows 

 they await the return of the wet season, which recalls them to their aquatic life. The Gambiau 

 species is said to pass nine months of the year in its torpid state. 



