REPTILES. 



The fcinks and geckos diffc-r only in having the tongue 

 notched at the extremity ; and in that refpett it refembles 

 the 'tongue of the flow-worms, to which, in general, the 

 fcinks are very much allied. 



In common lizards, the tupinambis, or monitor, &c. the 

 tongue is fmgularly extenfile ; it terminates in two long 

 flexible points, though fcmi-cartilaginous ; it completely 

 refembles that of ferpcnts, if we except the flow-worms and 

 the amphifbsena, which cannot elongate their tongue, but 

 which have it flat, and only forked at the extremity. 



The cameleon has a cylindrical tongue, which may be 

 confiderably elongated by a mechanifra analogous to that 

 which takes place in wood-peckers. 



StruBure of its Surface. — The tongue of the tor.oii^e is 

 furnifhed fuperiorly with long, foft, clofe, conic papilla, 

 which give it the appearance of velvet. 



In the crocodile they are very fliort, and reprefent rather 

 flight rugas than papillae. They form, on the contrary, a 

 ver)' dillinclly villous furface in the iguanas and the ftel- 

 iions. The tongue of the cameleon is furniflied with deep, 

 clofe, and very regular tranfverfe rugx ; in the lizards, with 

 extenfile and forked tongues ; and in the ferpents, that 

 organ is Angularly fmooth, and as it were horny towards 

 its points. 



The falamanders have, like the iguanas, a fine villous 

 furface to the tongue ; but in tlie frogs and toads the fur- 

 face is perfeftly fmooth to the eye, and always mucous. 



No reptile has two kinds of papillae, nor glands with a 

 calyx. 



Peculiar Organs and Secretions. — Mzny amphibia produce 

 fingular and Ipecific odours, particularly wlien irritated. 

 In the water newts the fmell has been compared to that of 

 chopped parfley ; in toads to garlic ; in the crocodile there 

 is a very ihong fmell of muflc ; and feveral tortoifes have 

 this mufli-like fmell. A Angularly fetid odour is pro- 

 duced by the rattlefnake, when angry. May we fuppofe 

 that this is a defence againlt hottile attacks, in the falaman- 

 ders and water newts, as it fcems to be in the viverrse, and 

 fonie frogs ? 



It may probably fcrve in Ipring, as Blumenbach fuggeits, 

 as a means of s'enereal excitement. For if, after handling 

 female toads for fome time, the hand is plunged into water, 

 where there are male toads, they flock inltantly to the fpot, 

 and clofely embrace the fingers. Specimen, p. 29. 



The notion th?.t this odour is employed by the rattlefnake 

 to fuffbcate, fafcinate, or in any way whatfoever to aft on 

 the animals which form its prey, is entirely ungrounded, as 

 we have already explained. 



There are generally manifeft organs for the fecretion of 

 the fubftances in which thefe properties refide. Small gra- 

 nulated tubercles are feen under the thighs of the lizards, the 

 chalcides, and the marbled iguana of Surinam, and near the 

 anus of the amphiibxna, producing, particularly in the 

 coupling fcafon, a fluid, and fmelling like dry hay. 



Mtj/i Gland nf the Crocodile. — It hes under the flcin of the 

 lower jaw, on each fide, about its middle. It is a fmall 

 gland, of a homogeneous whitifli tifl^ue, and covered by a 

 tendinous ftieath. It fecrctes an unftuous blackifli-grey 

 fluid, fmelling moil ilrongly of muflc, and collefted in a fmall 

 bag, which opess externally by a large orifice. 



Anal Glands have alfo been obfcrved in the crocodile and 

 alligator, as well as in feveral ferpents. They may be feen 

 of confiderable fize in female colubres, under the tail behind 

 the cloaca, in the part occupied by the penes of the males. 

 They contain a thin yellow fubllance. Tyfon has defcribed 

 them ill the rattlefnake. Other fnakcs have been defcribed 

 as producing powerfully fetid odours from the mouth. 



Poifonous and Acrid Secrelions.~-Thete is a ftriking difiij - 

 ence in this refpeft between warm-blooded animals and 

 reptiles : none of the former produce any thing poifonous, 

 untefs we fliould make an exception concernhig the liver of 

 the urfus arftos, which is defcribed by Ger. de Veer, one of 

 the unfortunate fufferers, to have been nearly fatal when em- 

 plo)-ed as food by Heemfl<erk and his companions, com- 

 pelled to winter in Nova Zembla. Blumenbach's Specimen, 



P-30- 



Befides the terrible poifon with which fo many ferpents 



are armed, already defcribed in our account of the teeth, 

 there are feveral more or lefs aftively hurtful fecrctioiis in 

 this clafs. 



The glands or ciypts under the flcin, forming the cuta- 

 neous eminences in the falamander and toad, produce an 

 irritating fluid, which they feem to have the power of ex- 

 creting at pleafure. Blumenbach defcribcs the acrimony of 

 this fluid in the rana bombina, from his own experience of 

 its effefts. Having cut his hand while handling fome of 

 thefe animals, and applied it to his mouth to fuck the wound, 

 he found a cauftic heat fuddenly pervade the tongue and 

 fauces, like what is produced by chewing the bark of the 

 laurel ; and it continued for feveral hours. P. 24. 



It feems to be an analogous fluid in the falamander, by 

 means of which this mofl innocent little animal, fo unjuilly 

 deemed venomous, can extinguifli a few coak when placed 

 in them. But the contortions of the body fufficiently atteil 

 the pain produced by this cruel experiment, which is loon 

 fatal, if prolonged. The fabulous notion of the ancients, 

 that this httle reptile can live in fire, is well known ; and 

 Benvenuto Cellini has ventured to aflert the truth of it, on 

 the faith of his own experiments. See his Life. 



The notion of the falamander being able to live in fire is 

 the more extraordinary, when we contrail it with the faft, 

 that it has been found in cakes of ice, and after remaining 

 frozen for fome days, recovered. So that it can aftually 

 furvive congelation. 



Dr. Barton of Philadelphia has named an aquatic fala- 

 mander, which he found near that city, falamandra ve- 

 nenofa, from the nature of the fluid which exudes from the 

 tubercles of its back. Daudin, torn. viii. p. 229. 



The gecko of Egypt produces a poifonous fluid of con- 

 fiderable aftivity. " It exudes (fays Haflelquift) from the 

 lobules of the toes ; the gecko feeks for places and' objefts 

 impregnated with marine fait, and pafling feveral times over 

 them, leaves its venom behind. I faw in 1 750, two women 

 and a girl, who nearly died in Cairo from eating cheefe which 

 had been thus poifoned. I had another opportunity of 

 noticing the acrimony of this fluid, in the produftion of red, 

 inflamed, and itching pufl;ules on the hand of a man, who 

 endeavoured to catch the animal." The French naturalilts, 

 attached to the Egyptian expedition, confirm the report of 

 Haflelquift^. Daudin, tom. iv. p. no, 1 11. 



Rattle of tie Genus Crotalus, — This fingular organ confifts 

 of many pieces, from one to thirty, or more, perfeftly 

 fimilar, not only in form, but often alfo in fize, compofed 

 of a brittle, femi-tranfparent, horny fubllance, fimilar to 

 that of fcales. The piece immediately connefted to the 

 body forms a fmall ftieath, moulded on the lail vertebrae of 

 the tail, which it inclefes, and from which it is feparated 

 only by a thin membrane. Its furface prefents three circu- 

 lar rifings, correfponding to three elevations of the verte- 

 bra : the firft, or neareft to the animal's tail, is the largelt, 

 and the two others decreafe fucceflively. All the pieces 

 are encafed one in the other, the pofterior two-thirds of each 

 being enveloped by the following. Of tlie three rifings or 

 rings on each piece, the anterior only is vifible, the two pof- 

 terior 



