L A C E R T A, 
The ancients, and even fome modem authors, have fup- 
pofed that the crocodile had no tongue; but its tongue is 
in reality very large, even larger in proportion than that 
of an ox; it is, however, fo firmly attached to the two 
fides of the lower jaw, by means of a membrane, that it 
cannot be thru ft out of the mouth. On our firil Plate, 
fig. 2 is intended to exhibit this peculiar conformation. 
The crocodile however has no lips; fo that, even when 
■walking or fwimming with the utmoff tranquillity, the 
teeth are bare, and the afpeft feems animated with rage. 
Another circumftance, that contributes to increafe the 
terrific nature of its countenance, is the fiery appearance 
of the eyes ; which, being placed obliquely and very near 
each other, have a malignant afpedt: thefe are furnifhed 
■with two hard, moveable, and very-much wrinkled, eye¬ 
lids ; over which is an indented rim, refembling an eye¬ 
brow drawn together into a menacing frown. This ge¬ 
neral afpedl of malignity and hideoufnefs has certainly 
contributed greatly to produce a reputation for infatiable 
cruelty, which fome voyagers have attributed to this ani¬ 
mal. The eyes, as in thofe of birds, are defended bv a 
membrana niclitans, which adds confiderably to their 
power. The ears are placed very near to, and fomewhat 
higher than, the eyes, and are covered by a fkin, which is 
cracked and elevated in fuch a manner as to refemble fliut 
eyelids; from which circumftance, fome naturalifts have 
been induced to believe that the crocodile had no exter¬ 
nal ears, efpecially as thefe paffages are not very obvious 
in many other fpecies of lizards. The upper portion of 
this fkin, which covers the paflage, is moveable, and, 
when lifted up, the tympanum, or drum of the ear, can 
be diftindlly feen. Some voyagers feem to have been de¬ 
ceived by this refemblance of the fkin covering the ears 
to eyelids, and have reported that crocodiles had been 
killed which had four eyes. Notwithftanding the flight 
projection of thefe ears, we are informed by Herodotus, 
that the ancient inhabitants of Memphis hung pendants 
to the ears of the facred crocodiles which were kept at 
that city. The brain is extremely fmall. The tail is 
very long, and is as thick at the root as the body, of which 
it feems only to be a prolongation. In its figure, it is 
flattened laterally, having fome refemblance to an oar, 
and, by its means, the crocodile manages itfelf when 
fwimming in the water with great eafe, and is enabled to 
fwim with great fwiftnefs. Befides this inftrument, the 
toes of the hind feet are united by webs, fo that they can 
be employed as fins to affift in fwimming. Of thefe toes, 
which are four in number on each hind foot, and five on 
each fore foot, only the three innennoft on each foot are 
in general provided with claws, which are ufually an inch 
®r two in length ; but the fkeleton defcribed by Grew had 
daws on all the toes. 
Crocodiles are naturally defended by almoft impene¬ 
trable armour. Their whole body is covered with ltrong 
bard fcales, except the top of the head, where the fkin is 
fixed directly over the bones of the fkull. The fcales on 
the flanks, on the legs and feet, and on the greater part 
of the neck, are round, of various fizes, and very irregu¬ 
larly placed : thofe on the back, and on the upper fide of 
the tail, are fquare, and are diftributed in regular tranf- 
verfe rows or belts. Hence, in our attempts to kill or 
wound this animal, we mull not direct the ftroke from 
behind forwards, as in thofe animals in which the fcales 
are imbricated over each other: it is neceflary to inflict 
the wounds between the rows of fcales, where nothing 
but fkin occurs. The fquare fcales are exceedingly firm 
and hard, and are at the fame time fufficiently flexible to 
prevent them from being brittle. Labat fays, that they 
are proof againfl: a mufket-ball, unlel's it is difcharged very 
near, or the piece be very ftrongly charged ; and that the 
negroes make caps, or rather helmets, of their fkin, which 
are fufficiently flrong to defend them againfl the ftroke of 
a hatchet. The hardnefs of thefe fcales is probably in 
proportion to the age of each individual, and perhaps va¬ 
ries in the different fexes. M. de la Borde fays, that they 
31 - 
are impenetrable to mufket-balls, except under the flioul- 
ders; and, according to M. de la Coudreniere, they may 
likewife be wounded in the belly and near the eyes. Each 
of thefe fcales has a kind of creft, or ferrated ridge, on its 
middle, which adds to its ftrength, and in general enables 
them to refift the force of a mufket-ball. On the mid¬ 
dle of the neck, there are two tranfverfe rows of thefe tu- 
berculated fcales, in the form of cocks’ combs, one of 
which confifts of four and the other of two pieces. Each 
fide of the upper furface of the tail is furnifhed with a 
longitudinal row of thefe crefted tubercles, which extends 
the whole length in a ferrated ridge of fharp points, that 
unite together in a fingle row near the tip of the tail. The 
fcales which cover the belly, the under fide of the head, 
neck, tail, and feet, and the inner fide of the legs, are 
placed in tranfverfe rows : thefe fcales are fquared and 
fomewhat flexible, like thofe on the back, but are much 
weaker, and have no protuberances. The cetaceous and 
other voracious fifties attack the crocodile in thefe weaker 
parts of the body : in this manner, as we are told by Pliny, 
the dolphin often kills the crocodile: and in the furious 
combats that take place between the crocodile and the 
faw-fifh, the latter, finding it impoflible to penetrate 
through the ftrong tuberculated armour on the upper part 
of the body, dives below his enemy, and wounds him in 
the belly. 
The colour of the Nilotic crocodile is a greenifii yel¬ 
low, more or lefs variegated with pale green in blotches 
and tranfverfe bars, having a general refemblance to brafs 
flightly rufted. The under parts of the body, tail, and 
feet, and the inner fides of the legs, are yellowifli white. 
It has been alleged, that the name of this animal, in Greek 
and Latin, from which the French and Englifh names are 
diredtly copied, is derived from or crocus, faft'ron, 
owing to the refemblance of its colour to that fubftance. 
Some authors, on the other hand, derive it from xgoxo;, faf- 
fron, and JsjXoj, afraid, pretending that it was afraid of 
that drug. Arillotle feems to have confidered the croco¬ 
dile as being black : thofe indeed of the river Senegal are 
often very dark brown, verging towards black ; but that 
ancient naturalift could not know any thing of the pro¬ 
ductions of that part of Africa. The length of the cro¬ 
codile varies according to its different ages, and accord¬ 
ing to the temperatures of the countries which it inhabits. 
It feldom exceeds twenty-five or twenty-fix feet, even in 
the molt favourable climates ; and, in other countries, as 
on the coalt of Guiana, which l'eein lefs favourable to its 
growth, it hardly ever grows beyond thirteen or fourteen 
feet long. The fpecimen in the royal cabinet at Paris, 
from which Cepede’s account is drawn up, meafured al¬ 
moft fourteen feet long, and more than four feet in cir¬ 
cumference at the thickeft part of the body ; from which 
we may conclude, that the largeft individuals are between 
eight and nine feet round. 
The fexual union takes place in the beginning of fpring, 
the female lying on her back, as in all the lizard tribe. 
It was long thought, that the female crocodile laid all her 
eggs at onetime; but M. de la Borde informs us, that Ihe 
lays twice, and fometimes three times, with an interval of 
a few days, producing from twenty to twenty-four eggs 
each time. Hence each female may lay feventy-two eggs 
in one feafon ; which agrees fo far with the aflertion of 
Linnaeus, that the number of eggs from one female in a 
year fometimes amounts to a hundred. Thefe eggs aie 
laid on the banks of the rivers, in a hole in the fand. In 
Cayenne and Surinam, according to the information ofM. 
de la Borde, the female prepares a fmall hillock of fand, 
with a hollow in the middle, which (lie lines with leaves 
and other vegetable matter; then depofits her eggs, and 
covers them over with leaves. The vegetable fubllances 
ferment, which produces fome heat, that, in addition to 
that of the atmofpbere, hatches the eggs. In Cayenne 
the crocodiles and tortoifes lay their eggs at the fame fea¬ 
fon, in the month of April ; but the laying-feafon of the 
former continues rather longer than the latter. It is very 
remarkable^ 
