170 



StJBKINGDOM VERTEBEATA. 



tion it can knock its victim forward into the mouth which is 

 turned sideways to receivo it. The eggs are laid in an arti- 

 ficial heap of mud and vegetable matter, which in decaying 



Fig. S8S. 



Skeleton of Alligator. 



affords heat to hatch them. The mother remains near, and, 

 attracted by the yelping, tears open the pile, liberates the 

 brood of fifty or sixty, and leads them to the water.* 



LORICATA. 



Muzzle notched to receive the fourth 



tooth of the lower jaw ; feet webbed 



to the nails. 



Muzzle with a hole to receive the 



fourth tooth of the lower /aw ; feet 



partially webbed. 



Crocodilidse, Crocodile 



\ 



{. Alligatorii 



idge, Alligator, etc. 



Crocodilidse. — The Crocodile of the Nile and the Ganges 

 is thirty feet long, while that of the Western Continent sel- 

 dom exceeds fifteen. It often ventures out several miles 

 at sea. 



_n%f^^^.^. 



Croco<Mlus vulgaris^ Crocodile. 



* They are so cjenerally the Drey of tjirdR, tortoises, and male alligators, that the 

 race would become extinct w&re not lue pi-ogaijy so abundant. 



