192 THE PEOTEUS. 



are analogous to similar structures in certain reptiles already described and figured. These 

 are not true limbs, and the cartilaginous ray by which they are supported has no joint. 

 They are quite soft and flexible, as if they were made of leather, and are of very trifling 

 use in locomotion. The two fore-limbs are set at the shoulders, just behind the head, 

 and widely separated from each other, while the hinder pair are quite close together at 

 their bases. In the species just described, two short tubercular appendages, about an inch 

 in length, accompany the larger limb-like projections, and, except in dimensions, bear a 

 close resemblance to those organs. I may take this opportunity of remarking that the 

 creature is not known to leave the water and to crawl on land, and that the figure 

 is represented as lying partly on the bank of the stream, not to intimate that it is capable 

 of terrestrial locomotion, but merely in order to show the peculiar shape to better 

 advantage. 



The specimen now (January, 1862) living in the Zoological Gardens has not attained 

 to any great size, being scarcely half as large as the individual just described, though it 

 has lived in England for three years. The tank in which it resides is small, and may 

 probably account for the slight increase in dimensions. It is interesting to watch this 

 creature move about its prison, as the peculiar screw-like or spiral movement of the limbs 

 is well exhibited. 



The whole body is covered with rather large scales, embedded deeply in the skin, and 

 not easily to be seen in living specimens. The name of Lepidosiren, or Scaly Siren, is 

 given to this creature on account of its scaly covering. At about one-third of the distance 

 from the head to the tip of the tail a rather narrow and fin-like membrane arises, which 

 runs completely round the tail until it is terminated close to the bases of the hind pair of 

 limbs. It is strengthened throughout by a series of soft jointed rays. 



The flesh of the Lepidosiren is very soft and white, and is thought to be excellent for 

 the table, so that in its native country it is dug up from its muddy bed and used for food. 

 It usually burrows to a depth of eighteen inches. This creature possesses both lungs and 

 gills, the latter organs being twofold, the external gills being tufted on the under side, and 

 the internal gills being placed on the edge of the divisions between the gill openings on 

 the side of the neck. The heart is more reptilian than piscine, having three com- 

 partments, two auricles and one ventricle, and affords one of the strongest reasons for 

 ranking the creature among the former class. 



There are several species of Lepidosiren, divided, in the catalogue in the British 

 Museum, into two genera, distinguished from each other by the number of ribs. The 

 species which is found in Southern America, and is there known under the popular name 

 of CARAMUEU (Lepidosiren paradoxa), has fifty-five pairs of ribs, whereas the African species 

 has only thirty-six pairs. The colour of the Lepidosiren is darkish brown with a wash 

 of grey. 



THE next order of Crawling Batrachians is called by the name of Meantia, and contains 

 a very few but very remarkable species. In all these creatures the body is long and 

 smooth, without scales, and the gills are very conspicuous, retaining their position 

 throughout the life of the animal. There are always two or four limbs, furnished with 

 toes, but these members are very weak, and indeed rudimentary, and both the palate and 

 the lower jaw are toothed. 



The first example of this order is the celebrated PEOTEUS, discovered by the Baron de 

 Zois, in the extraordinary locality in which it dwells. 



At Adelsberg, in the duchy of Carniola, is a most wonderful cavern, called the Grotto 

 of the Maddalena, extending many hundred feet below the surface of the earth, and con- 

 sequently buried in the profoundest darkness. In this cavern exists a little lake, roofed 

 with stalactites, surrounded with masses of rock, and floored with a bed of soft mud, upon 

 which the Proteus may be seen crawling uneasily, as if endeavouring to avoid the unwel- 

 come light by which its presence is known. These creatures are not always to be 

 found in the lake, though after heavy rains they are tolerably abundant, and the road by 

 which they gain admission is at present a mystery. 



The theory of Sir II. Davy is, " that their natural residence is a deep subterraneous 



