322 
ORDERS OF REPTILES— CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS 
with a narrower head than the preceding, and with 
two more rows (six in all) of bony plates along 
its back. It is the smallest species of crocodile 
now living, and so far as I have observed, also 
the most savage in disposition. It is olive green 
in color, slender in form, quick as lightning in 
some of its movements, and much given to roam- 
ing overland, or following up tiny watercourses, 
in search of new hunting-grounds. I once shot 
a full-grown specimen in a very small brook, near 
the geographical centre of the Isle of Pines, Cuba, 
and saw others in a salt-water lagoon on the north 
shore of that island. So far as known, it is not 
found elsewhere than in Cuba. 
The American Crocodile inhabits the north- 
ern coast of South America, and the Gulf coast 
of Central America, up to Mexico. In the la- 
goons along the coast of Colombia, a short dis- 
tance eastward from the mouth of the Magdalena 
River, there are small bays so thickly infested 
with reptiles of this species, and of such great 
size, that very courageous men of my acquaint- 
ance have not dared to enter in a small boat. 
The Orinoco Crocodile 1 is marked by a very 
narrow snout, by which character it is but two 
places removed from the slender-beaked gavials 
of India and Borneo. In 1876 I found this spe- 
cies abundant in the Orinoco River, seven miles 
below Ciudad Bolivar, and killed a twelve-foot 
male specimen which was undoubtedly very old. 
Of the Cal' mans, there are five species, all of 
which strongly resemble our alligator, and in- 
habit Central and South America, and portions 
of the West Indies. The Eyebrowed Caiman 
has the widest distribution, and is found from 
southern Mexico to the Argentine Republic. 
The Black Caiman, of the Guianas and Brazil, 
is the largest, and is said to attain a length of 
twenty feet. (Bates.) The Rough-Backed Cai- 
man, of the Upper Amazon, is said to be quite 
small — only six feet in length. (H. Gadow.) 
The Alligator 2 is so well known it needs 
no particular description. In individuals over 
eight years of age, and ten feet in length, the 
eight yellow bands around the tail practically 
though not wholly disappear, and from that time 
on the animal is of a uniform dull black color 
above, and dirty yellow or white below. I never 
1 Croc-o-di'lus in-ter-me' di-us. 
2 Al-li-ga'tor miss-is-sip-pi-en'sis. 
saw a living specimen larger than “Old Mose” 
(12 ft. 5 in.), and only one mounted skin which 
exceeded fourteen feet. That one measured 16 
feet 3 inches, and is believed to be in a museum 
in Louisiana. 
The Alligator finds its northern limit in south- 
eastern North Carolina. From thence its range 
extends southward along the Atlantic and Gulf 
coasts to Cape Sable, the southern point of 
Florida, and westward through the Gulf states to 
the Rio Grande in southern Texas. Twenty- 
five years ago, this reptile existed in certain por- 
tions of its range, especially Florida, in great 
abundance ; but about that time Alligator leather 
became fashionable, and the demand thus cre- 
ated has reduced the visible supply of Alligators 
by about 98 per cent. To-day you may travel 
from Jacksonville to Miami without once seeing 
the black line upon the water which betokens the 
existence of an Alligator; and an experienced 
Florida hunter has declared his belief that there 
is not now living in that state a specimen as large 
as “Old Mose” of the Zoological Park. 
The habits of this reptile are quite similar to 
those of crocodilians generally. In Florida it 
burrows in sand-banks precisely like the Florida 
crocodile, and builds a mound of earth, moss, and 
grass about two feet high, in which it lays from 
twenty to forty eggs. 
The Alligator is the only Crocodilian I ever 
heard utter a vocal sound of any kind. The 
bellow of this animal, however, is well known. 
Every day, regularly when the whistles blow, 
the five Alligators in our Reptile House lift their 
heads out of the water at an angle of 45°, and 
bellow, or roar, in concert, four or five times, 
making a truly unearthly noise. “Old Mose” 
is an excellent living understudy of “Pfafner,” 
the bellowing dragon of Wagner’s “Siegfried.” 
The Chinese Alligator was discovered in 
1S70 by Swinhoe, and described by Fauvel in 
1879. It is quite strange that the nearest living 
relative of our Alligator should live in the Yang- 
tse-Kiang River, in China ; but it appears to be 
true. It is a small species, only about six feet 
in length, of a greenish-black color, dotted with 
yellow. A specimen in the author’s possession 
so closely resembles our American species that 
specific differences are difficult to point out. 
