146 SAUEIANS. 



The Caimans have the jaws oblong, depressed, rounded, and 

 swollen at the end, without frontal ridges or maxillary pits ; 

 teeth unequal, the lower canines fitting into pits in the upper 

 jaw ; toes wehbed. There are three species described C. trigo- 

 natus, C. palpebrosus, and C. goddeceps, all natives of Tropical 

 America. 



The Jacares, Alligators, and Caimans are natives of America, 

 which country is fruitful in other species of the family. C. 

 acutus is also found in Martinique and San Domingo ; C. rhom- 

 bifor, at Cuba ; A. palpebrosus, A. sclerops, A. punctulatus, and 

 A. cynocephalus are natives of the southern part of the Ame- 

 rican Continent ; and A. lucius is found in the north.] 



The principal characteristics of the American Crocodile are 

 a head one-third its length, and a very short muzzle ; teeth 

 unequal in shape and size, the fourth lower tooth being buried 

 in the upper jaw when the mouth is closed ; the first teeth of 

 the lower jaw piercing the upper at a certain age, so as to appear 

 through the muzzle when closed. The hinder legs and feet 

 rounded, having neither crest nor indentation on their edges; 

 the intervals of the toes more than half covered with a short 

 membrane, forming semi-palmated feet. 



It is generally admitted, as we have stated above, that there are 

 five species of this genera, all exclusively American, the type of 

 which is the Alligator, or Caiman. A. Mississipensis (Gray) belongs 

 properly to North America, through the whole southern extent of 

 which it is found. They are gregarious, living together in large 

 herds in the Mississippi and its southern tributaries ; they are also 

 found in the lakes and marshes of Louisiana, Carolina, and even as 

 far north as thirty degrees of north latitude. Alligators do not ap- 

 pear to leave fresh water. During the winter season they bury them- 

 selves in the mud of the marshes, and await in a state of torpor the 

 return of spring, which is the signal of their restoration to activity. 

 In the neighbourhood of Bayou Sarah, on the Mississippi, flats of 

 lakes and marshes stretch away to a vast extent on either bank ; 

 every year these reservoirs are flooded by the overflow of the 

 river, when they are visited by myriads of fishes. The heat soon 

 partly dries up these lakes, leaving only about two feet deep of 

 water, thus displaying a vast amount of prey ready prepared for 



