GROUND FLOOR. 
45 
III. A large gallery containing the collection of stuffed speci- Reptile 
mens and skeletons of Eeptiles, including Crocodiles, Lizards, GaUery * 
Snakes and Tortoises. As is trie case with the fishes, very 
many of the animals of this class are necessarily preserved in 
spirit, and therefore not suitable subjects for exhibition. The 
gallery contains examples of all the forms of general interest, for 
an account of which the visitor is referred to the special guide.* 
The fine and unique series of Gigantic Land Tortoises which 
are either extinct or doomed to speedy extermination ; the 
interesting skeleton of the Leathery Turtle (Spliargis) in which 
the carapace is separated from the true skeleton; the large 
stuffed examples of the Fish-eating Gharial and of the dangerous 
Crocodiles of Africa, India and Australia ; the Snake-eating 
Snake (Ophiophagus), the largest of poisonous snakes ; and the 
great stuffed Anaconda (Boa murina) at the end of the room — 
are the objects which will most attract the attention of the 
visitors to this gallery. 
In this Gallery a large table-case is placed, containing a 
selection of the most important forms of Batrachians, which are 
divided into such as possess a tail — Salamanders and Newts, 
and into those without tails — Frogs and Toads. These animals 
live during some period of their existence in the water, when 
they breathe by gills, and are therefore very closely allied to fishes. 
IV. A small gallery is called the Star-fish Gallery, from being star-fish 
specially devoted to Star-fishes and their allies — the Echino- GaUer y* 
dermata ; these are arranged systematically in table-cases 1-6, 
and in case 7 there are specimens illustrating the anatomy 
of the skeleton, and models and figures descriptive of the 
remarkable changes undergone by these animals in the course of 
their development. As magnificent examples the visitor should 
not fail to notice in 1 D Pycnopodia hclianthoides, and in 2 B and 
C the fine series of Linckia, and in 2 D-F and 3 A Pentaceros 
call imor pirns and the extensive collection of Oreaster; in 3 E 
are two remarkable specimens of Astropccten ; in 4 C an almost 
complete example of the brittlestar (Ophiomastix annulosa) 
should be noticed, and on the tops of cases 5 and 6 are good 
examples of Diadema and Echinus. In a separate case on the 
east side of the gallery is Luidia savignii from Mauritius, one 
* ' Guide to the Reptiles and Fishes.' Price sixpence. 
