all. He takes in liis food witli inconceivable rapidi- 
ty. In this respectj as well as many others^ he bears 
a striking analogy to the tribe of fishes. Like the 
fishes, the Salaraandra horrida, &c. he is often 
caiisiht with the hook and line. Sometimes, after 
swallowing several large worms, I have observed 
the Siren to dash himself about in the water, witli 
great force and quickness. Possibly, these violent 
motions are occasioned by uneasy sensations which 
the living worms excite in the stomach of the Siren. 
It seems worthy of remark, that while engaged - 
in swallowing large wnrms, great bubbles of<air fre- 
quently escape from the pectinated openings, which 
all communicate with the pharynx. And if the worm 
be covered with mud, the dirt is strained off through 
the openings, before the food enters the oesophagus. 
I have so frequently witnessed this latter circum- 
stance, that I cannot but consider the branchial open- 
ings as destined, in part, to serve the office of strain- 
ers of the animaFs food. This idea will, I think, 
seem highly probable, when it is considered how 
large a portion of the Siren’s food is necessarily co- 
vered with mud and filth. 
Mr. Ellis is of opinion, that the Siren is capa- 
ble of biting and grinding the hardest kind of food.”* 
I grant tlie structure of the animal’s jaws and palate 
seems well adapted for biting and retaining its food. 
But neither this structure, nor what 1 have observed 
of the living animal, lead me to believe, that it ever 
grinds its food at all. It is possible that the Siren, 
like some species of serpents that are known to me, 
* Philosophical Transactions, vol. 56, 
