JULY, 1900. 
WEST— THE AMERICAN CROCODILE. 
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are of a drab or lead color on the back and sides, shading into a 
white below, and we judge do not grow to exceed sixteen feet 
in length. 
We found the dermal armor quite deficient of bony plates, so 
far as the neck was concerned, thus accounting for more freedom 
of motion of the head than is generally the case with this family. 
As is common to all crocodiles, the toes, of which there are five 
on each of the anterior limbs and four on the posterior pair, are 
considerably webbed, while the three inner ones are provided with 
claws, the hind limbs being handsomely fringed. 
The tongue seemed to be attached all around to the bottom 
of the mouth ; the lungs confined to the thorax ; the heart four 
valved, the venal and arterial blood mingling outside the heart. 
Traces of a diaphram were very pronouncd in one specimen, thus 
showing an approach in organization to the warmer blooded ani- 
mals, and beyond doubt placing them among the highest order 
of living reptiles. The teeth are distinctly socketed, with exactly 
thirty-six on upper jaw and thirty on lower, the two second teeth 
of the lower jaw, when the mouth is closed, projecting through 
holes in the upper jaw, and the tenth tooth of the upper jaw being 
by far the largest. The fourth, or canine teeth, so-called, of the 
lower jaw, are the largest on that jaw. Each tooth contained 
from one to four smaller teeth, one fitting closely over the other. 
The brain cavity was about double the size of that of the alli- 
gator. The stomachs of two which we examined contained only 
fragments of fish and turtle. The writer concluded that the 
American Crocodile is particuliar with his diet, never eating dead 
things when he can kill his own food, and that he does not take 
food to his cave and let it putrify, as many writters suggest; 
possibly, however, because of the abundance of food in his Amer- 
ican home. 
We heard none make a noise of any kind, excepting the hiss 
common to reptiles, and while we ''grunted" out alligators from 
their muddy retreats with ease, our efforts in this direction with 
the crocodile were futile. 
