TUATERA. O 



The false Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii] is intermediate 

 between Crocodiles and Gharials. It has long been known from 

 Borneo, but its presence has recently been ascertained in Sumatra 

 and the Malay Peninsula. A stuffed specimen from Perak is 

 exhibited in a Case opposite to Wall-case 1. 



The Gharials (Gavialis) may be readily recognized by their 

 extremely long and slender snout. The Gharial of the Ganges 

 (G. gangeticus), of which a large specimen and a skeleton are 

 mounted in the middle of the Gallery opposite to the entrance, is 

 abundant in that river and its tributaries, and attains to a length 

 of about 16 feet. It feeds chiefly on fishes, for the capture of 

 which its long and slender snout and sharp teeth are well adapted, 

 but occasionally devours human bodies. Old males have a large 

 cartilaginous hump on the extremity of the snout containing a small 

 cavity, the use of which is not known. 



In the Alligators (Alligator] the fourth lower tooth is received [Oases 

 in a pit in the upper jaw, when the mouth is shut. With the 

 exception of one species which occurs in the Yang-tse-kiang 

 (Alligator sinensis), they are found only in America. They do not 

 grow to the large size of the true Crocodiles. The species most 

 generally known is A.mississippiensis,w}i\ch abounds in the south- 

 ern parts of North America. The Black Alligators (Caiman 

 niger and sclerops) are common in South America as far south as 

 32 lat. S. 



Order II. RHYNCHOCEPHALIA. 



Of this Order, which seems in the Permian and subsequent forma- [Case 11.] 

 tions to have been represented by various genera, one species only 

 has survived to our period. It is the Tuatera of the Maoris, or 

 Hatteria or Sphenodon of naturalists. Case 11 contains examples 

 of this interesting Reptile, with skeleton and skulls. It is the 

 largest of the few Reptiles inhabiting New Zealand, but scarcely 

 attains to a length of 2 feet. Formerly it was found in several parts 

 of the northern island and in the Chatham Islands ; but at present 

 it is restricted to a few small islands in the Bay of Plenty and Cook's 

 Straits, where it lives in holes, feeding on lizards, insects, worms, 

 and other small animals. Externally there is nothing to distinguish 



