47 
A feta remarks on the question, whether the great 
Serpent, seen in the harbour of Gloucester, be 
the Scoliophis Atlanticus, will close our report. 
The appearance at nearly the same time and place of two 
creatures, agreeing with each other in certain important and con¬ 
spicuous particulars, disagreeing in the most remarkable of these 
particulars with other animals of their class ; and between whom 
no difference, but that of size, has been discovered, must natur¬ 
ally lead to a conjecture that they are of the same species. The 
evidences in favour of this supposition are so considerable, that 
your Committee would not be justified in neglecting to direct 
your attention to them. 
The principal circumstances which encourage the idea that 
these animals possess the same structure and configuration are the 
following. 
The appearances noticed in the depositions, relative to the 
great Serpent, except in the few instances of contradiction, all of 
them agree with, and are accounted for, by a structure like that 
of the Scoliophis. The protuberances seen above water mipht 
be produced in two ways. By bunches on the back projecting 
out of the water, while the animal was at rest, as in No. 8 and 
No. 18, or by vertical undulations of the body when in motion, as 
stated in Nos. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10. The supposition that both 
these appearances have been presented at different times, is the 
most satisfactory mode of accounting for the variety of testimo¬ 
ny with regard to the number, size, and distance of these protuber¬ 
ances. The other facts stated in relation to the form and gener¬ 
al arrangement of colours in the large Serpent, apply sufficiently 
well to the Scoliophis. The shape of the head and proportion 
of the eye—the protuberance on the side of the head, just above 
the eye—the form of the mouth—the distance from the head to 
the commencement of the protuberances—the brown colour of 
the body, and the whitish colour of the under part of the head 
and neck—the disappearance of bunches from what was suppos- 
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