323 



ORDEKS OF REPTILES— CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS 



with a narrower head than the preceding, and with 

 two more rows (six in all) of bony plates along 

 its back. It is the smallest species of crocodile 

 now living, and so far as I have observed, also 

 the most savage in disposition. It is olive green 

 in color, slender in form, quick as lightning in 

 some of its movements, and much given to roam- 

 ing overland, or following up tiny watercourses, 

 in search of new hunting-grounds. I once shot 

 a full-grown specimen in a very small brook, near 

 the geographical centre of the Isle of Pines, Cuba, 

 and saw others in a salt-water lagoon on the north 

 shore of that island. So far as known, it is not 

 found elsewhere than in Cuba. 



The American Crocodile inhabits the north- 

 ern coast of South America, and the Gulf coast 

 of Central America, up to Mexico. In the la- 

 goons along the coast of Colombia, a short dis- 

 tance eastward from the mouth of the Magdalena 

 River, there are small bays so thickly infested 

 with reptiles of this species, and of such great 

 size, that very courageous men of my acquaint- 

 ance have not dared to enter in a small boat. 



Tiie Orinoco Crocodile^ is marked by a very 

 narrow snout, by which character it is but two 

 places removed from the slender-beaked gavials 

 of India and Borneo. In 1876 I found this spe- 

 cies abundant in the Orinoco River, seven miles 

 below Ciudad Bolivar, and killed a twelve-foot 

 male specimen which was undoubtedly very old. 



Of the Cai'mans, there are five species, all of 

 which strongly resemble our alligator, and in- 

 habit Central and South America, and portions 

 of the West Indies. The Eyebrowed Caiman 

 has the widest distribution, and is found from 

 southern Mexico to the Argentine Republic. 

 The Black Caiman, of the Guianas and Brazil, 

 is the largest, and is said to attain a length of 

 twenty feet. (Bates.) The Rough-Backed Cai- 

 man, of the Upper Amazon, is said to be quite 

 small — only six feet in length. (H. Gadow.) 



The Alligator^ is so well known it needs 

 no particular description. In individuals over 

 eight years of age, and ten feet in length, the 

 eight yellow bands around the tail practically 

 though not wholly disappear, and from that time 

 on the animal is of a uniform dull black color 

 above, and dirty yellow or white below. I never 



' Croc-o-di'lus in-ter-mef di-us. 

 '' Al-li-ga'tor miss-is-sip-pi^en'sis. 



saw a living specimen larger than "Old Mose" 

 (12 ft. 5 in.), and only one mounted skin which 

 exceeded fourteen feet. That one measured 16 

 feet 3 inches, and is beheved to be in a museum 

 in Louisiana. 



The AlUgator finds its northern limit in south- 

 eastern North Carolina. From thence its range 

 extends southward along the Atlantic and Gulf 

 coasts to Cape Sable, the southern point of 

 Florida, and westward through the Gulf states to 

 the Rio Grande in southern Texas. Twenty- 

 five years ago, this reptile existed in certain por- 

 tions of its range, especially Florida, in great 

 abundance ; but about that time Alligator leather 

 became fashionable, and the demand thus cre- 

 ated has reduced the visible supply of Alligators 

 by about 98 per cent. To-day you may travel 

 from Jacksonville to Miami without once seeing 

 the black line upon the water which betokens the 

 existence of an Alligator; arid an experienced 

 Florida hunter has declared his belief that there 

 is not now living in that state a specimen as large 

 as " Old Mose " of the Zoological Park. 



The habits of this reptile are quite similar to 

 those of crocodilians generally. In Florida it 

 burrows in sand-banks precisely like the Florida 

 crocodile, and builds a mound of earth, moss, and 

 grass about two feet high, in which it lays from 

 twenty to forty eggs. 



The Alligator is the only Crocodilian I ever 

 heard utter a vocal sound of any kind. The 

 bellow of this animal, however, is well known. 

 Every day, regularly when the whistles blow, 

 the five Alligators in our Reptile House lift their 

 heads out of the water at an angle of 46°, and 

 bellow, or roar, in concert, four or five times, 

 making a truly unearthly noise. "Old Mose" 

 is an excellent living understudy of "Pfafner," 

 the bellowing dragon of Wagner's "Siegfried." 



The Chinese Alligator was discovered in 

 1870 by Swinhoe, and described by Fauvel in 

 1879. It is quite strange that the nearest living 

 relative of our Alligator should live in the Yang- 

 tse-Kiang River, in China; but it appears to be 

 true. It is a small species, only about six feet 

 in length, of a greenish-black color, dotted with 

 yellow. A specimen in the author's possession 

 so closely resembles our American species that 

 specific differences are difficult to point out. 



