154 



SOME TROPICAL TRAUMATISMS 



E. Snout short and broad — 



Crocodilus palustris, India and Malaysia; Osteolcemus 

 tetraspis, West Africa. 



F. Canine teeth of lower jaw fit into a pit in upper jaw — 



I. Snout as in D: Caiman trigonotus, Upper Amazon; 

 C. sclerops, Central and Southern America; C. pal- 

 pelrosus, Tropical South America. II. Snout very broad 

 and rounded: C. later osfris, Tropical South America; 

 C. niger, Tropical South America; Alligator mississi- 

 piensis, U.S.A.; A. sinensis, China. 

 The celebrated man-eating species are — • 



Crocodilus niloticus, the Nile crocodile; C. porosus, the 

 salt-water crocodile. 



The American species are said to be inoffensive, as there are no 

 records of attacks upon man. 



Another important anatomical feature of these reptiles is the 

 length and strength of the tail, by means of which they can strike 

 a man standing on the low bank of a river such a powerful blow 

 that he may be knocked into the water. 



Accidents are commonly met with while people are crossing 

 streams, or bathing therein, or while women are washing clothes 

 or filling vessels with water at a river or lake. Anyone sitting on 

 a steamer or other craft on a lake or river with his feet hanging over 

 the side, or leaning over with his hand in the water, simply provides 

 bait for any crocodile in the vicinity. 



As a rule, if the victim is rescued, it is found that a portion of a 

 limb has been bitten off, but we have met with a case in which only 

 a large portion of the pect oralis major was removed. In this case 

 the victim attributed his escape to driving his thumbs into the 

 crocodile's eyes. The wound healed excellently, though of course 

 there was practically no pectoralis major left on the side in question, 

 and in its place an area of scar tissue. Crocodile bites, in our ex- 

 perience, are not nearly so liable to septic infection as the bites of 

 the Carnivora. 



Traumatisms caused by the Larger Selachii. — By far the greatest 

 number of sharks live in the seas of warm climates, and are well 

 known because of the great danger of their bite, which is often 

 fatal. The greatest risk is to bathers or fishermen, but it is a curious 

 fact that divers for pearls appear to incur little risk. It is probable 

 that the noise of the large number of people employed in this work 

 frightens the sharks, which keep away. 



Carcharias gangeticus was for a number of years a source of great 

 danger to the crowds at the bathing ghats of Calcutta. Sir Joseph 

 Fayrer says that they used to feed upon the partially burned bodies 

 which were formerly thrown into the river, but when this custom 

 was discontinued they began to attack the people at the bathing 

 ghats, especially in the months of April and May, when the river 

 contains much salt water. He says that they would dash into the 

 crowd at the bathing ghat and inflict dangerous and, at times, 



