370 
YERTEBR ATA. 
corresponding holes of the upper jaw, in which they are concealed when the mouth is closed. 
The hind legs and feet are round, and neither fringed nor pectinated on the sides ; the toes are 
not completely webbed, the connecting membrane only extending to their middle ; and finally, 
the post-orbital holes of the cranium, so conspicuous in the tru'e crocodiles, are very minute in 
the alligators, or even entirely wanting." The crocodiles, properly so called, on the contrary, 
liave the head at least twice as long as it is broad ; fifteen teeth on each side of the lower jaw, 
and nineteen on each side of the upper. The incisor or front teeth, as in the alligators, pierce 
through the upper jaw at a certain age, but the fourth or largest of the lower jaw, instead of 
being received into a corresponding hole of the upper, passes into a notch on each side of it; 
and finally, the hind-feet are bordered by a denticulated fi-inge, and the toes are completely 
united by a swimming membrane. Notwithstanding these differences of conformation, the man- 
ners of the crocodiles and alligators are very similar, the former, however, attaining a greater size 
than the latter. 
THE ALLIGATOR. 
The Mississippi Alliqatok, A. Mississippiensis, sometimes called Pike-headed ylZZi^/ater, inhabits 
the rivers and lagoons of the Gulf States. It grows to the length of fourteen or fifteen feet, the 
head being one-seventh of the entire length, and half as broad at the articulation of the jaws as it 
is long. It appears to be more fierce and voracious than the South American species, often attacks 
men and quadrupeds while bathing or crossing the rivers, and is said to prefer the flesh of 
the negro to all other food. During the heat of the day, these animals either lie stretched and 
languid on the banks, or in the mud on the shores of the rivers and lagoons, and as the other 
natives of such localities — ^the winged ones which sport in the sun excepted — are generally at 
rest at these times, the consequence is, that, during the day, they capture but few animals, ex- 
cepting such as wander near them. When evening comes, however, they begin to move, and 
the roaring of the larger" ones is terrific. It is described as a compound of the sounds of the bull 
and the bittern, but far louder than either ; and it grates and shivers on the ear as if the ground 
were shaking. AVhether it produces any efi"ect upon the prey of the alligators, in making that 
prey disclose itself by its eff'orts to escape, is not known ; and, indeed, harsh and terrific as it is, 
