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NARROW BEAR’D CROCODILE. 
r JPHE Narrow Beak’d Crocodile of the Ganges, with an open bel- 
A ly, delineated on the plate from our author’s drawing, is the Lacerta 
(CrocodilnsJ ventre marfupio donate faucibus Merganferis rojlrum cemulantibus . 
Three of thefe Crocodiles were fent from Bengal about the year 1747, to 
the late Dr. Mead, Phyfician in ordinary to the King; two of which he 
preferved in his collection, and prefented the third to the late curious Mrs. 
Ken non ; and fince the deceafe of thefe worthy perfons, they became the 
property of Mr. James Lemon of London, who obliged Mr. Edwards 
with one of them to produce to the Royal Society. The narrownefs of the 
beaks is the molt extraordinary circumftance in this crocodile, which ap¬ 
pears like the bill ©f the bird called Goofeander (Merganfer) . It has fmall 
fharp teeth. Another peculiarity is a paunch, or open purfe, in the middle 
of the underfide of the belly, which Teems to be naturally formed with 
round hips, and a hollow within, perhaps to receive its young in the time 
of danger ; as it appears in the American animal, called an Opojfum : Dr. 
Parsons gave it as his opinion, that the opening in the belly was really 
natural, it having no appearance of being cut or torn open. In other re- 
fpe&s, it hath all the marks common to Allegators and Crocodiles , viz. par¬ 
ticular ftrong, fquare fcales on the back, which in the young ones appear 
diftinCl and regular, but in the old ones lofe their diftind form, and be¬ 
come knobbed and rough, like the bark of an old tree, and in having fmall 
round and oval fcales on the fides, which in the young ones are no bigger 
than rape feeds, and the belly is fcaled to appearance a little like the laying 
of bricks in a building. It has fins on the outfides of its fore and hinder 
legs, as other Crocodiles have. It has alfo a great diflinguifhing mark of 
the Crocodile kind, viz. two rows of fins on the upper fide of the tail, 
which begin infenfibly fmall on the fetting on of the tail, and increafes 
gradually as they advance towards the middle of the tail, where they be¬ 
come 
