i 9 2 THE PROTEUS. 



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 tobe seen in the 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 dis- 

 tance 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 compartments, 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 CARAMURU {Lepidosiren paradoxa), has fifty-five pairs of ribs, whereas the 

 African species has only thirty-six pairs. The color of the Lepidosiren is darkish brown 

 with a wash of gray. 



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

 tains 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 to 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 PROTEUS, 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 

 consequently 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 endeavoring to 

 avoid the unwelcome 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 H. Davy is " that their natural residence is a deep subterraneous 



