160 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 27. 



ofTered to bite, unless the examination was pro- 

 longed or roughl}' conducted ; then he would 

 curl up, slowl3- open his mouth, and make an 

 awkward longe at the fingers or hand that 

 held him. Sometimes he would only open his 

 mouth, and hiss in a subdued manner. On 

 one occasion, however, this reptile succeeded in 

 getting out of his tub during the night. When 

 I found him, in the morning, in a distant part 

 of the room, he snapped at me quite savage- 

 I3' several times before he was retaken. It 

 was amusing to see the wa}^ in which he suc- 

 ceeded in leaping out of his place of confine- 

 ment, — a large tin bath-tub, with the water 

 seven or eight inches below the brim. He 

 swam round and round with increasing rapid- 

 ity till the necessary impetus was acquired, 

 when he would prettilj- make a sort of spring 

 over the side of his tub on the floor, where he 

 would squirm round like an eel until he was 

 replaced. In such situations he uses his legs 

 to the full extent to which they seem capable 

 of being put ; in the water, too, these members 

 are constantlj" brought into use, — the fore-pair 

 when he desires to move verj' slowly forward, 

 in which case he may or may not, generally 

 not, use the hind-pair in aiding the action. 

 The fore-pair are also used alternately to push 

 himself one way or another, when he wishes 

 to change his course. A common use for the 

 hind-pair, is to throw them forward, and brace 

 them against the ground he m&y be passing 

 over, in order to check his onward movement 

 either j)artially or entirely. In swimming 

 about he has all the appearance of the com- 

 mon eel; and during these times he draws 

 both pairs of limbs close beside bis bod^', when 

 his action is graceful and interesting to behold. 

 When these sirens are at rest, thej' either 

 stretch out in gentle curves, sluggishly along the 

 bottom, or, what is not verj- uncommon for 

 them to do, curl up tightly, in a spiral manner, 

 the latter two thirds of their length, while the 

 head and remaining third is protruded for- 

 ward in a direct line. In this curious position 

 they float near the surface, the head being 

 lowermost. If two occupy the same vessel, 

 they often curl about each other in a rather 

 affectionate manner ; but I have never wit- 

 nessed them quarrel or fight. One time I 

 threw a dead king-snake into the tub of my 

 first small specimen, the snake being at least 

 three times as long as the siren. Imagine my 

 surprise to see him fly at the intruder, seize 

 him just below the head, straighten out as stiff 

 as he could, then rapidlj^ vphirl round, as a 

 drill does, causing the dead snake to be spirallj^ 

 coiled about his bod}^. A moment of quietude 



followed this strange manoeuvre, during which 

 time one could see a crunching movement on 

 the part of tlie jaws of tlie siren going on ; 

 but, finding his enemj' showed no resistance, 

 he slowly let go his hold, and, freeing himself 

 from the dead snake's coils, swam about the 

 tub without paying him any further attention. 

 In a few moments, however, I repeated the 

 experiment, when he made the same attack 

 with just as much vigor as before ; but all sub- 

 sequent trials failed, and I could never induce 

 him to take further heed of such a harmless 

 enemy. 



This siren will eat crayfish in confinement ; 

 but I could never induce one to take anj" thing 

 else, although raw meat is the commom bait 

 used bj- the negroes in catching them for me. 

 Sometimes before a meal, or may be after, your 

 captive will swim gracefully' about his limited 

 quarters, and occasionally rise to the surface, 

 stick his nose out of the water, and give 

 vent to a loud blowing sound, that may be 

 heard anj'where in a large room, even if con- 

 versation be going on. As remarked above, 

 my collectors usually took such specimens as 

 were brought me, with the ordinary hook and 

 line, baited with fresh meat ; but very often 

 they are captured in hand dip-nets, or even 

 thrown out of a shallow drain or bayou with a 

 stick. Thej' are most numerous after heavy 

 rains, when their usual places of resort are 

 flooded over. When taken bj' others than 

 those who are collecting for me, thej^ are in- 

 variabh' despatched on the spot, and dread- 

 iyiWy and wantonly mutilated, so deep-seated 

 is the detestation and dread of this harmless 

 creature in the minds of all the people here- 

 about. 



In a large, shallow tank of water, I have be- 

 fore me now two fine living specimens of this 

 siren, which have been under my observation 

 for nearl3' a fortnight. The larger of these 

 two has a total length of eighty centimetres, 

 with a mid-girth of fourteen centimetres. I 

 have kept specimens alive that measured a 

 hundred or more centimetres, but they have 

 since been consigned to alcohol. The speci- 

 men now before me, just measured, is of a dark 

 olivaceous brown above, and entirelj' so on all 

 the parts bej'ond the hind-pair of limbs. A 

 patch of this color is also found upon the 

 throat. The color of the under parts is a dull, 

 whitish leaden hue, being mottled with an in- 

 termediate shade as it joins the darker and 

 more sombre color of the dorsal aspect of the 

 bod}-. This mottling grows denser as it ap- 

 proaches the hinder limbs, where finally- it 

 merges into the general tint of the upper sur- 



