lacerta; 
The negroes will sometimes attack and kill a 
■single crocodile, by stabbing it under the 
belly, where the skin, at the interstices of the 
scales, is soft and flexible. It is also, in some 
countries, the custom to hunt the crocodile 
by means of strong dogs, properly trained to 
the purpose, and armed with spiked collars. 
It is likewise pretended, that in some parts of 
Africa crocodiles are occasionally tamed ; 
and it is said that they farm an article of 
royal magnificence with the monarchs of j 
those regions, being kept in large ponds or 
I lakes appropriated to their residence. "We 
may add, that the antient Romans exhibited 
these animals in their public spectacles and j 
triumphs. Scaurus, during his axlileship, 
treated the people with a sight of five croco- 
diles, exhibited in a temporary lake; and 
Augustus introduced one into his triumph 
over Cleopatra, as well as several others, tor 
the entertainment of the people. 
2. Lacerta alligator. So very great is the 
general resemblance between this animal and 
the crocodile, that many naturalists have j 
been strongly inclined to consider it as a ' 
mere variety, rather than a distinct species, i 
] The more accurate discrimination, however, 
of Blumenbach and some others seems in re- 
i ality to prove that the alligator or American 
! ctoeodile is specifically di tinct from the ni- 
lotic, though the difference is not such as 
immediately to strike a general observer. 
The leading difference, if it be allowed to 
I constitute a distinction of species, seems to 
| be. that the' head of the alligator is rather 
| smooth on the upper part than marked with 
. those very strong rugosities and hard cari- 
; u a ted scales which appear on that of the cro- 
I codile ; and that the snout is considerably 
; flatter and wider, as well as more rounded at 
! the extremity. The alligator arrives at a size 
j not much inferior to that of the crocodile, 1 
specimens having been often seen of 18 or ! 
20 feet in length. 
“ Though the largest and greatest numbers 
of alligators,” says Catesby, “ inhabit the 
■torrid zone, the continent abounds with them 
10 degrees more north, particularly as far as 
the river Neus in North Carolina, in the lati- ! 
tude of about 33 degrees, beyond which l j 
have never heard of any, which latitude 
nearly answers to the northernmost parts of i 
Africa, where they are likewise found. They I 
frequent not only salt rivers near the sea, ] 
but streams of fresh water in the upper parts 
of the country, and in lakes of salt and fresh 
water, on the banks of which they lie lurking i 
among reeds, to surprise cattle and other j 
animals. In Jamaica, and many parts of the 
I continent, they are found about 20 feet in 
length : they cannot be more terrible in their 
aspect than they are formidable and mis- , 
j chievous in their natures, sparing neither man i 
nor beast they can surprise, pulling them 
down under water, that being dead, they may 
? with greater facility, and without struggle or 
resistance, devour them. As quadrupeds do 
i not so often come in their way, they almost 
subsist on fish ; but as Providence, for the 
| preservation, or to prevent the extinction of 
| defenceless creatures, has in many instances 
I? restrained the devouring appetites of vora- 
I cious animals, by some impediment or other, J 
I so tins destructive monster, by the close con- 
| rexion of his vertebra 1 , can neither swim nor 
I run any other way than straight forward, and 
k is consequently disabled from turning with 
that agility requisite to catch his prey by 
pursuit: therefore they do it by surprise in 
the water as well as by land ; 'for effecting 
which nature. seems in some measure to have 
recompensed their want of agility, by giving 
them a power of deceiving and catching their 
prey by a sagacity peculiar to them, as well 
as by the outer form and colour of their body, 
which on land resembles an old dirty log or 
tree, and in the water frequently lies floating 
on the surface, and there has the like ap- 
pearance, by which, and his silent artifice, 
fish, fowl, turtle, and all other animals, are 
deceived, suddenly catched, anddevcured v 
“ In Carolina they lie torpid from about 
October to March, in caverns and hollows in 
the banks of rivers, and at their coming out 
in the spring make an hideous bellowing 
noise. The hind part of their belly and tail 
are eaten by the Indians. The flesh is deli- 
cately white, but has so perfumed a taste and 
smell" that I never could relish it with plea- 
sure.” 
3. Lacerta gangetica. The gangetic cro- 
codile is so strikingly distinguished both from 
the nilotic and the alligator by the peculiar 
form of the mouth, that it is hardly possible, 
even on a cursory view, to confound it with 
either of the former ; the jaws being remark- 
ably long, narrow, and perfectly straight, and 
the upper mandible terminated above an ele- 
vated tubercle. In a very young state the 
length and narrowness of the snout are still 
more conspicuous than in the full-grown ani- 
mal. The teeth are nearly double the num- 
ber of those of the common crocodile, and 
are of equal size throughout the whole length 
of the jaws. This species is a native of In- 
dia, and is principally seen in the Ganges, 
where it arrives at a size at least equal to the 
nilolic crocodile. 
4. Lacerta iguana. Though the lizard 
tribe affords numerous examples of strange 
and peculiar form, yet few species are perhaps 
more eminent in this respect than the guana, 
which grows to a very considerable size, and ! 
is often seen of the length of three, four, and 
even five feet. It is a native of many parts 
of America and the West Indian islands, and 
is also said to occur in some parts of the East 
Indies. Its general colour is green, but with 
much variation in the tinge of different indi- 
viduals: it is generally shaded with brown in 
some parts of the body, and sometimes this 
is even the predominating. -colour. The back 
of the guana is very strongly serrated ; and 
this, together with the gular pouch, which it 
has the power of extending or inflating occa- 
sionally to a great degree, gives a formidable 
appearance to an animal otherwise harmless. 
It inhabits rocky and woody places, awd feeds 
©n insects an I vegetables. It is itself reck- 
oned an excellent food, being extremely nou- 
rishing and delicate ; but it is observed to dis- 
agree with some constitutions. The common 
method of catching it is by casting a noose 
over its head, and thus drawing it from its 
situation; for it seldom makes an effort to 
escape, but stands looking intently at its dis- 
coverer, inflating its throat at the same time 
in an extraordinary manner. 
The guana may be easily tamed while 
young, and is both an innocent and beautiful 
creature in that state. 
! 5. Lacerta basilisctis. The basilisk ©f the 
43 
of all poisonous animals, and of which the 
very aspect was said tube fatal, is a fabulous 
existence, to be found only in the representa- 
tions of painters and poets. 
Rut the animal known in modern natural 
history by this name is a species of lizard, of a 
very singular shape, and which is particularly- 
distinguished by a long and broad wing-like 
process or expansion continued along the 
whole length of the back, and to a very con- 
siderable distance on the upper part of the 
tail, and furnished at certain distances with 
internal radii analogous to those in the fins of 
fishes, and still more so to those in the wings 
of the draco volans, or flying lizard. This 
process is of different elevation in different 
parts, so as to appear strongly sinuated and 
indented, and is capable of being either di- 
lated or contracted at the pleasure of the ani- 
mal. The occiput or laud part of the head 
is elevated into a very conspicuous pointed 
hood or hollow crest. 
Notwithstanding its formidable appearance 
the basilisk is a perfectly harmless animal, 
and, like many other Qf the lizard tribe, re- 
sides principally among trees, where it feeds 
on insects, &c. The colour of the ba- 
silisk is a pale cinereous brown, with some 
darker variegations towards the upper 
part of the body. It is principally found in 
South America, and sometimes considerably 
exceeds the length before mentioned, mea- 
suring three feet, or even more, from the 
nose to the extremity of the tail. It is said 
to be an animal of great agility, and is capa- 
ble of swimming occasionally with perfect 
case, as well as of springing from tree to tree 
by the help of its dorsal crest, which it ex- 
pands in order to support its flight. 
6. Lacerta calotes. This species is consi- 
derably allied to the common guana in habit 
or general appearance ; but is of much smaller 
■ size, rarely exceeding the length of a foot 
and a half from the tip of the nose to the ex- 
tremity of the tail. It is also destitute of the 
very large gular pouch, so conspicuous in 
that animal ; instead of which it has merely a 
slight inflation or enlargement on that part. 
In colour it occasionally varies, like most of 
this tribe; but it is commonly of an elegant 
bright blue, variegated by several broad, and 
somewhat irregular white or whitish trans- 
verse bands on each side of the body and 
tail. It is a native of the warmer regions 
both of Asia and Africa, and is found in many 
of the Indian islands, and particularly in Cev- 
lon, in which it is common. According to 
the count de Cepede it is also found in Spain, 
&c. and is said by that author to wander 
about the tops of houses in quest of spiders; 
and he observes, that it is even reported to 
prey on rats, and to fight with small serpents 
in the manner of the common green lizard, 
and some others. See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 
230. 
7. Lacerta monitor. The monitor, or 
monitorv lizard, is one of the most beautiful 
of the whole tribe, and is also one of the 
largest ; sometimes measuring not less than 
four or five feet from tire nose to the tip of 
the tail. Its shape is slender and elegant, tine 
head lieing small, the snout gradually taper- 
ing, the limbs moderately slender, the tail 
laterally compressed, and insensibly decreas- 
ing towards the tip, winch is very slender and 
sharp. Though the colour of this lizard are 
