4 REPTILE GALLERY. 



rior provided with five, the posterior with four digits, of which three 

 only are armed with claws, and which are united together by a more 

 or less developed web. The tail is long, compressed, crested above, 

 very powerful, and admirably adapted for propelling the body 

 through the water. The back, tail, and belly are protected by a 

 dermal armour formed of quadrangular shields, of which the dorsal 

 and, in several Alligators, also the ventral contain true bone. 



The Crocodilians are thoroughly aquatic in their habits, and 

 the most formidable of all the carnivorous freshwater animals. 

 Crocodiles and Alligators, when young, and the Gharials through- 

 out their existence, feed chiefly on fish ; but large Crocodiles 

 attack every animal which they can overpower, and which they 

 drown before devouring. The eggs, of which one (of Crocodilus 

 porosus) is exhibited in Case 4, are oblong, hard-shelled, and 

 deposited in holes on the banks of rivers and ponds. The flesh 

 of these animals is not eaten, but their hides have lately been 

 introduced as an article of commerce; a portion of the skin pre- 

 pared for the trade may be seen in Case 4. 



The large stuffed Crocodilians are arranged in a row along the 

 left side of the Gallery, those nearest the entrance being the 

 Old-World forms, the other the American kinds. The smaller 

 specimens occupy Wall-Cases 1-9. 



About 25 species are known. 



Crocodiles proper (Crocodilus) are distinguished from the Alli- 

 gators by having the fourth lower tooth passing into a notch of the 

 lateral edge of the upper jaw. They inhabit Africa, Southern 

 Asia, the tropical parts of Australia, Central America, and the 

 West Indies. The Indian Crocodile (Crocodilus porosus) is very 

 common in the East Indies and Tropical Australia, and has been 

 said to grow to a length of 30 feet. This, however, is very 

 doubtful, as a very large specimen obtained in North-east Australia 

 and exhibited in the Gallery measures only 17^ feet. The African 

 Crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) attains nearly to the same size as 

 the Indian species. It was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, 

 and was once common in Egypt proper. It has now been almost 

 exterminated in the lower parts of the Nile, but infests in great 

 numbers all the freshwaters of Tropical Africa; and it is believed 

 that more people are killed by Crocodiles than by any other of the 

 wild beasts of Africa. 



