OF REPTILES, 
GREAT SEA SERPENT. 
We shall commence this section with an account of 
the Great Sea Serpent. 
This very extraordinary animal, which lately occupied 
the public attention in a high degree, and excited the 
curiosity of every class of people in this country, has at 
length assumed a scientific rank in the grade of animals 
on classical record. For this, we are indebted to the 
persevering industry and ingenious researches of that 
respectable and honourable institution, the New England 
Linncean Society , who have conferred a lasting* obligation 
on the scientific world by this very valuable deposit in 
the archives of natural knowledge. From a careful pe- 
rusal of the documents supplied by the committee of the 
institution, there appears but little doubt remaining, that 
this mammoth prodigy properly belongs to the class of 
Amphibia , order of Serpentes: but its generic characters 
are entirely new; it therefore justly claims an indepen- 
dent rank in the zoological list. The committee have, 
therefore, very properly denominated the enormous rep- 
tile, the SCOLIOPHIS ATLANTICUS. They were 
induced to confer this name upon it, fr pm a considera- 
tion of the flexuous structure of the spiiie, which is very 
remarkable, and different from that of all animals hither- 
to known. We shall, therefore, introduce this creature 
under the generic formula, which the committee have 
devised, after having made some prefatory observations. 
The natural history of this creature of course is but 
little known. It appears to be migratory; and to pursue 
the schools of small fish, such as mackerel, herring, &c. 
