780 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



No XV.— NOTE ON THE 'MUGGER' CROCOBILUS PALUSTRIS; 

 CONTENTS OF THEIR STOMACHS, FOLKLORE, Etc. 



The following 'are the records of the contents of the stomachs of two 

 specimens shot in the Bilaspur District, Central Provinces. 



A small specimen 4'-6" long inhabiting a Jheel contained the following : — 

 32 Water Beetles, Cybister confusus. 



15 Giant Water Bugs, Belostoma indicum. 

 4 Opercula of Amjjullaria. 



14 Paddy grains. 



16 Small stones. 



A large specimen 10'-8" long (tail docked) inhabiting the Twlsua Nuddy 

 and which was shot in the afternoon, only contained the following : — 

 1 Large Frog, Rana tigrina. 

 6 Large stones. 

 12 Small stones. 



The weight of this latter specimen was about 440 lbs. and it was with 

 some, difficulty taken out of the water while still alive by means of bill- 

 hooks, bamboos, etc. After it was safely landed, the natives engaged in the 

 process fell to discussing crocodiles in general ; they alleged that these 

 reptiles swallowed one stone every year and thus the age of a specimen 

 could be ascertained by the number of stones found in its stomach. They 

 also believed that after the creature has reached maturity the tail gets 

 shorter year after year by the casting off of one of the vertical blades at 

 the distal end of the tail. They said that there used to be a very old 

 individual in an adjoining stream which had only two vertical blades left. 

 It was venerated by the villagers near its haunts because it had never 

 attacked a human being. It was subsequently killed by a Gond with his 

 bow and arrow. It is worthy to remark that a large number of muggers 

 one sees have their tails docked. Young specimens with complete tails 

 have about 19 upright blades while some large adult ones have only 8 or 10. 



They said that the villagers in the vicinity would be greatly pleased to 

 hear of the destruction of this crocodile as the larger specimens were in the 

 habit of drawing their cattle into the water while they went to drink. A 

 crocodile, they also remarked was not one to let go its grip once it got 

 hold of anything and while this specimen was being drawn ashore they 

 warned each other to keep at a respectable distance from its mouth. This 

 nuddy they alleged v/as full of muggers and through fear of them, fishing 

 in it was out of the question. 



E. A. D'ABREU, r.z.s. 

 Camp, Bilaspub District, C. P., ^ 



2\.st January 1915. 



No. XVI.— THE THORNY TAILED LIZARD. 



Those who reside in the arid and sandy plains of the Punjab must have 

 observed and become familiar v?ith the lizard depicted in the photograph, 

 which is that of Uromasti.v hardwickei . 



There are seven species of this lizard, which are found inhabiting North- 

 ern Africa and South Western Asia and unlike other lizards are clearly 

 distinguished by the fact that the front teeth, instead of being small and 

 conical, are in the adult large and united into one or tv/o broad cutting 

 teeth, separated from the cheek series by a gap. They are externally easi- 

 ly recognised by the absence of any crest along the back, or of folds or 

 pouches in the neck, and by their short tails covered with well defined rings 

 of spiny scales. Their heads are short and round, the body depressed, and 

 the apertures of the ears exposed. 



