REPTILES. 



then liccomcn mufciilar anJ contrafted, and is naiTowcr 

 than the duodenum. The latter is the widcft part of tlie 

 intcftinc, which becomes fmaller towards the amis. Al- 

 thoiigii longer than the abdominal canal, and conlequently 

 forming feveral flight turns, it exhibits no great folds. 

 There is no cxcuni, nor any remarkable change of llruiture 

 to point out the diltinftions of different kinds of intelline. 

 The pylorus has no valve ; tlie mucous membrane of the 

 ftomach is fmooth ; that of the intellme has papillx like 

 fmall fcales. 



The .canal is fupported by two parallel mefentcries, of 

 whicli the right adheres to tlie whole length of the liver. 

 There is no omentum. 



The liver is black, elongated, and occupies more tlian 

 three-fourths of the length of the abdomen. The gall- 

 bladder is lodged in a deep groove towards its middle, and 

 furniflies a fmgle canal, opening into the intefline a little 

 beyond the pylorus. No dutt could be perceived coming 

 directly from the liver, but fueh a one might have been con- 

 founded with the numerous mefenteric vefl'els. 



A fleiider and very long fpleen is attached to the mefen- 

 tery of the left fide, and occupies more than three-fourths 

 of the length of the abdomen. 



Organs of Generation. — The individual examined by Cu- 

 vier was a female. The ovaries were contlderably developed, 

 about one-fourth of the length of the abdomen, oblong, 

 compofed of lobes, filled with very vifible ova, although fo 

 flaccid that they probably did not approach to the fize which 

 they would have reached in the feafon of reprodufton. A 

 fliort and ftraight oviduft was clofely conne6ted to the kid- 

 ney : this part was very different from the long tortuous 

 tubes of the frog and falamander, and approached to the 

 ftrufture of fiihes. 



Organs of Secretion. — The kidnies were fmall, well fup- 

 plied with blood-velfels, and iituated at the fides of the 

 reftum. The bladder elongated, and not divided as in 

 frogs. 



The conclufions drawn by Cuvier from the preceding 

 account are; i. That the firen, into whatever ftate it may 

 pafs, is a diltindl animal, different in all the details of its 

 organifation from the falamanders and their larvae which we 

 are acquainted with. 



2. That it is very certainly not deftined to poffefs hind 

 feet, and confequently is a biped reptile. 



3. There is no reafon to fnppofe that it ever lofes its 

 branchix, fince it is found to poiiefs them at the largelt fize 

 to which we know of its reaching, and the unanimous 

 teftimony of thofe, who have feen the animal in its native 

 country, proves that no individual has ever been feen with- 

 out them. 



4. That it is effentially different from fiilies in its ofteo- 

 logical ilru£lure, and even in the organifation of the 

 branchis. 



5. That it therefore conftitutes a particular genus of ba- 

 tracian reptiles, preferving always the double rcfpiratory 

 organs ; and may be confidered as a permanent larva of that 

 family. . 



Anatomy of the Proteus j4nguinus.—T\\\i animal was firil 

 noticed in the Synopfis Reptilium of Laurenti, in 1768. 

 Scopoli gave a more minute account of it in 1772, in his 

 Annus quintus Hiltor. Nat. p. 75. Naturahfts were divided 

 in opinion, whether it fhonld be regarded as a perfeft ani- 

 mal, or only as the larva of fome reptile. An excellent de- 

 fcription of it, both as to its external charafters and flruc- 

 ture, was publifhed in the Philofophical Tranfaftions for 

 1801, pt. 2, by Dr. Schreibers of Vienna, in a paper en- 

 titled " An hiltorical and anatomical Defcription'of a doubt- 



ful amphibious Animal of Germany, called by Laurenti 

 Proteus Auguinus." Cuvier has fince dcfcribed it in his 

 Recherches fur quelques Reptiles douteux. 



The individual examined by Cuvier was 0.25 of a metre 

 in length, and of the fize of the little finger: Mr. Schrei- 

 bers faw one of 0.33, or 13 Englifli inches. The body is 

 flightly compreffed, and grooved at the fiiles, like the firen. 

 The tail is more flattened, and furniflied at its edges and 

 end with a fin, which does not reach either above or below- 

 farther than the anus. The feet are flender ; the knee and 

 elbow being about their middle, and directed as in the fala- 

 manders ; the fore-feet are terminated by three equal toes 

 without nails, the hind-feet by two only ; a combination, 

 which is hitherto unique in the animal kingdom. 



The head has fome refemblance to that of an eel ; the 

 opening of the mouth is of moderate fize, and furnifhed 

 with thin lips. The noffrils are a longitudinal flit on each 

 fide, parallel to the fide of the upper lip. No eye is per- 

 ceptible externally ; but when the animal is flcinned, it is 

 feen under the integuments as a black point, about the thir- 

 tieth of a line in breadth. 



In the depreflion produced by the mufcles at the fides of 

 the cranium are feen the openings of the branchia:. They 

 are three, covered in fome degree by a prominence of the 

 fkin, fupported by a mufcular ilratum. The branchii are 

 three fmall appendages, of a red-blood colour in the living 

 animal. 



The flciii is whitifli, foft, fmooth, and prefents fome fmall 

 prominences, when examined with a magnifying glafs. 



Ofleolngy. — When the mufcles, that fwell the cranium 

 externally, are removed, it appears flat, and quite on a 

 level with the face ; the latter terminates in a point in front. 

 The middle of the cranium has its fides parallel ; the pof- 

 terior part fwells out in the fituation of the prominences to 

 which the lower jaw is articulated, which are direfted for- 

 wards. Behind, the occiput has two lateral criftx for the 

 mufcles. The head is articulated with the atlas by two con- 

 dyles : the under fiirface of the cranium is very fiat. 



There is no diftinft zygomatic arch, orbit, or temporal 

 foffa. 



All round the upper jaw is a row of fmall pointed and 

 vertical teeth ; and in front only a fmall additional row be- 

 fore the others. The inferior jaw has a fingle row of teeth. 

 Its two branches are nearly redfilinear, and make an angle 

 of about 45'. It has no afcending branch, aiid the coro- 

 noid procefs is inconfiderable. All thcfe parts are well 

 olTified and firm ; and, although the futures are Hill vifible, 

 we cannot fail to fee that the bones belong to an animal 

 very near the adult (late. 



The bony apparatus of the gills is much more firm than 

 in the firen or axolotl, and fomewhat differently compofed. 

 The hyoideal branches are flender, and fufpended to the 

 fides of the cranium behind the articulation of the lower 

 jaw. The OS hyoides is fhort and thick, and fupports be- 

 hind two pieces equally fhort and thick, which diverge a 

 little. The firit arch of each fide, which is the largeft, is 

 articulated to the extremity of one of thefe pieces, and has 

 the two other arches attached to its poflerior edge. 



There are fifty-fix vertebrre : the pelvis is attached to the 

 thirty-firft ; and the twenty-five following belong to the tail. 

 Six only of thefe vertebne, beginning with the fecond, fup- 

 port rudiments of ribs, ftill fmaller than thofe of the fala- 

 mander and the firen. 



All the vertebras, excepting the laft of the tail, are per- 

 feftly oflified : their form is peculiar to this fpecies. 



Organs of Digcjiion. — The tongue is fhort, with little 

 power of motion in front, and fupported by the anterior 



8 extremity 



