186 



ON ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, AND THE 



makes an approach to that of birds and quadrupeds, and differs very essen- 

 tially from that of fishes, insects, and worms. Upon the whole, however, 

 there is no class that offers so great a diversity in the make of its respiratory 

 Groans as the class before us, of which I had occasion to take notice in the 

 progress of our last series of study. In the tortoise and others among the 

 more perfect of the amphibious tribes, the remark of their approximation to 

 the respiratory organs of the higher classes will unquestionably hold ; but it 

 will by no means hold in various cases of the lizards ; while the proper place 

 for the siren, which is possessed of both lungs and gills, remains doubtful to 

 this moment : it is sometimes grouped among the fishes, sometimes in the 

 order of amphibious reptiles ; while Linnaeus, after having in the earlier edi- 

 tions of his system fixed it in this last situation, appears to have intended, 

 ha'd his life been spared long enough to have formed a new order of amphibials 

 for the express purpose of receiving it, which he proposed to denominate 



MEANTES.* 



As the Linnsean class of amphibials at present stands, it consists of not 

 more than two orders, reptiles, or amphibious animals possessing feet ; and 

 SERPENTS, or amphibious animals without feet. The different kinds under 

 each are but few : the reptiles containing only five ; the testudo, draco, 

 lacerta, rana, and siren ; or, in plain English, the tortoise, flying dragon, lizard, 

 frog or toad, and siren. The serpents comprise only seven genera : the cro- 

 talus, or rattlesnake; boa; coluber, or viper ; anguis, harmless snake, or blind 

 worm; amphisbaena; coecilia; and achrochordus. 



Among the reptiles, the most extensive and important kind is the lacerta 

 or lizard ; for it includes, among other species, the alligator, crocodile, proper 

 lizard, chameleon, salamander, newt, and eft. 



Among the seven genera of serpents, the first three, rattlesnake, boa, and 

 viper, or rather coluber, are more or less poisonous : the rattlesnake in all its 

 species, which are six or seven; the boa, in five, out of about seventeen; and 

 the coluber or viper, in about thirty, out of about a hundred and thirty ; the 

 two most fatal of which last are, c. Cerastes, or horned serpent ; and c. JVaja, 

 hooded serpent, or cobra de capello. In both Asia and Africa we meet with 

 whole tribes of barbarians who are capable of handling the most poisonous 

 of these amphibials, and of eating them up alive from head to tail, without 

 the smallest injury : even the bite itself producing no mischief. These bar- 

 barians, some of whom were known to the Greeks and Romans, and are par- 

 ticularly alluded to by Celsus and Lucan, were formerly called Psylli. The 

 power they aff"ect has been laughed at by M. Denon, but without any kind of 

 reason for derision. It is a curious subject, however, and connected with 

 others of equal singularity ; and must, therefore, be reserved for a future 

 study. t 



The poisonous serpents differ from each other in their respective kinds, by 

 having their bodies more or less covered with scuta or plates, instead of with 

 mere scales ; excepting that the rattlesnake is chiefly distinguished by the 

 rattle at his tail. The four harmless genera are characterized by having their 

 bodies covered altogether with simple scales, and never with plates, or as 

 being ringed, wrinkled, or tubercled. 



This class is not much disturbed by M. Cuvier's later arrangement; but he 

 has separated the tortoises from the lizards, denominating the first, as an 

 order, chelonia ; and the second, sauria ; and has removed the frogs, sala- 

 manders, and siren, into a fourth order, to which he has given the name of 

 BATRACHiA, characterizing them by the possession of a naked skin ; feet ; with 

 branchiae in the young. 



But we must hasten in our rapid career to the bird class, distinguished by 

 having the body covered with feathers and down ; protracted and naked jaws ; 

 two wings, formed for flight ; and biped. This class consists of six orders : 



*Gmelin and Camper introduced it into the class of fishes; and in Turtonit occurs in tlie class Mam 

 malia, order Bruta, as a variety of the trichechus manati, or lamantin. 

 * See Lecture vi. of this Series. 



