174 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 



the lower jaws are very pale yellowish white. It is 

 pugnacious, but can easily be tamed. 



The broad-fronted, or stumpy-nosed crocodile [Osteo- 

 hemus tetraspis, P. II., fig. 1), is very pretty 

 when small. The ground colour is dull ochreous, 

 the shields dorsal and caudal, and the surface of 

 its head is light umber. It has wide blackish or 

 dark brown bars and large spots. The colour scheme on 

 the back is very irregular, usually one dark bar crosses 

 from side to side obliquely, others unite to form arrow- 

 head marks, pointed forward and not necessarily mesial, 

 others again terminate centrally ; large dark spots being 

 interspersed between the bars. The tail is spotted and 

 barred obliquely. The outer surface of the lower jaw is 

 ochreous, with brownish spots a fifth or sixth of an inch 

 in diameter. The eyes are large and prominent, the irides 

 brownish. There is a deep groove between the eyes, snout 

 very short, under surfaces leaden hue, becoming black 

 with age. 



Caimans are shyer than any of the preceding species. 

 Their colour scheme shews a tendency to spotting more 

 than barring. The body is slightly longer also. Their 

 heads are short, with raised prominent forehead and eyes. 

 Their snouts are less broad than alligators ; the nasal 

 portion is raised into a small hump. They do not become 

 as ravenous feeders. Five species are known, all of which 

 range through Central and South America. The commonest 

 is the rough-eyed, C. sclerops (PI. II., fig. 8). The dorsal 

 surface of the rough-eyed Caiman is a darker ochre, with 

 an abrupt transition to a lighter colour on the sides. 

 Under surfaces yellowish white. The sides are profusely 

 spotted with well-marked black spots quite a fifth of an 

 inch in diameter. The colour scheme on the back consists 

 of four pairs of piriform curved dark marks. These pairs 



