602 



ilEL-SHAPED SIRE>f. 



of Amphibia, under the title of Meant es ^ ; an 

 order, however, which does not stand among the 

 rest of the Amphibia in the Systema Naturse, but 

 is mentioned in a note at the end of the second 

 part of the first volume of that work. 



The genus with which the Siren has evidently 

 the greatest possible affinity, is the Lacerta or 

 Lizard. It even very much resembles the larva, 

 or first state of a Lacerta ; and it is still doubtful 

 whether it may not really be such : yet it has 

 never been observed in any other state, having 

 two feet only, without any appearance of a hind 

 pair : the feet are also furnished with claws, where- 

 as the larvse of all the Lacertse are observed to be 

 without claws ; or, in the Linnsean phrase, digitis 

 muticis : the mouth has several rows of smallish 

 teeth : the body is eel-shaped, but slightly flat- 

 tened beneath ; marked on the sides by several 

 wrinkles, and slightly compressed towards the 

 extremity of the tail, which is edged with a kind 

 of soft skin or adipose fin, as it were : on each side 

 the neck are three ramified branchial processes, 

 resembling, on a larger scale, those belonging to 

 the larvse of water-newts, and at the base are the 

 openings into the gills: the eyes are very small, 

 and blue. The general colour of the animal is a 

 deep or blackish brown, scattered over, especially 

 on the sides, with numerous minute whitish 



* The characters of this Order are thus given by Linnaeus, 

 viz. Branchlce 8^ Pidmones simul. Pedes brachiatij ungukulati. The 

 generic character stands thus, viz. Corpus bipedum, caudatum^,, 

 nudum. Pedes brachiati, unguiculati,, 



