TRUE CROCODILES. 
27 
Orinoco 
Crocodile. 
such as Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Florida, this crocodile is also met with in 
the West Indian Islands. 
Nearly allied to the last, although with a still longer and more 
slender snout, is the Orinoco crocodile ( C. intermedins), which is 
referred by Mr. Boulenger to a third group, characterised by their very slender 
and garial-like snouts, of which the length is equal to at least twice the basal 
breadth; and also by the bony union between the two branches of the lower jaw 
extending as far back as the sixth, seventh, or eighth tooth, instead of stopping 
short at the fifth. In this particular species the snout, which has no ridges, varies 
in length from twice to twice and a half the width at the base; while the six bony 
plates on the neck are widely separated from those of the back, and are arranged 
in a square of four, with a pair on the sides. The colour is olive above and 
yellowish beneath, while in both this and the preceding species the length is about 
13 feet. The Orinoco crocodile appears to be confined to the river from which it 
takes its name and its affluents. The best accounts of the Orinoco and sharp¬ 
nosed crocodile are by Humboldt, who states that these reptiles swarm on the 
Apure, where they may often be seen in parties of eight or ten lying on the open 
space between the shore of the river and the forest. At the time of his journey 
the river was, however, still low, and consequently hundreds of crocodiles were 
lying concealed beneath the mud of the adjacent lowlands. In the stomach of one 
that was opened were found a half-digested fish and a granite pebble; the latter 
having probably been swallowed inadvertently while the animal was groping about 
in the mud in search of food. In spite of their comparatively slender jaws, these 
crocodiles frequently seize the natives while stooping to draw water from the river. 
A large portion of their prey is, however, afforded by the defenceless carpinchos, 
which are met with in droves of from fifty to sixty head, and fall victims to the 
jaguars on land and to the crocodiles in the water. In their young state—when 
only from 7 to 8 inches in length—the crocodiles themselves are, however, devoured 
by vultures, who seize them on the shore or in the shallow water. It was curious, 
observes Humboldt, to see the address with which the little reptiles defended 
themselves for a time against their aggressors. As soon as they perceived the 
enemy, they raised themselves on their fore-paws, bent their backs, and lifted up 
their heads, opening their wide jaws. They turned continually, though slowly, 
towards their assailant to show him their teeth, which, even when the animal had 
but recently issued from the egg, were very long and sharp. Often, while the 
attention of one of the young crocodiles was wholly engaged by one of the 
vultures, another seized the favourable opportunity for an unforeseen attack, 
pouncing on the unfortunate reptile by the neck and bearing it off in the air. The 
anecdote told by Humboldt of a native of Calabozo being awakened in the middle 
of the night by one of these crocodiles suddenly breaking through the mud of the 
floor of his hut, beneath which it had retired for the dry season, is probably 
familiar to most of our readers. 
Long-Nosed Omitting notice of the small Johnston’s crocodile ( C. johnstoni), 
Crocodile. 0 f North Australia, the last member of the genus is the curious long- 
nosed crocodile (C. cataphractas), of West Africa, which forms a kind of connecting 
link between the other true crocodiles and the garials. In this species the snout 
