LACE R T A. 
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The 'Black Crocodile is another African variety, deferibed 
by Adanfon in his Hiftory of Senegal. Cepede makes it 
a diftinft fpecies. The mod ftriking difference between 
this and the former is, that the jaws are longer than in 
the common crocodile, whereas in the other African va¬ 
riety they are fliorter. This variety is almoft black, while 
the fpecies is of a greenifh or brown colour. Adanfon 
firfl difcovered this in the great river Senegal in Africa. 
The black crocodile is more deftruftive than that of the 
Nile. “The difference of colour in this crocodile,” fays 
Cepede, “ cannot certainly be referred merely to the in¬ 
fluence of climate; for Adanfon faw vaft numbers of the 
common green crocodile in the fame rivers, which are 
•precifely fimilar to thofe of Egypt. But thefe black croco¬ 
diles have not been feen in any other part of the world, 
except in the river Senegal; and M. Adanfon is the only 
naturalid who has hitherto deferibed them.” Hence per¬ 
haps it might be fair to conclude that M. Cepede was juf- 
tified in marking this as a diftinft fpecies. 
2. Lacerta Gangetica, the gavial, or Gangetic crocodile: 
muzzle very long, rounded, and almoft cylindrical ; the 
tail armed with two ferrated ridges, which unite back- 
•wards into one. In colour fimilar to the preceding, and, 
like that, grows to a very confiderable fize. By compar¬ 
ing the dimenfions of a part of the jaws of one of thefe 
■crocodiles with the fame part of a complete fpecimen 
near twelve feet long, both of which are preferved in the 
imperial cabinet, there is reafon to conclude, that the 
individual, to which the fragment belonged, had meafured 
thirty feet ten inches in length. . It is probably this fpe¬ 
cies which Tavernier mentions having feen on the banks 
of the Ganges, from Toutipour to Acerat. In defeend- 
ing the river, the firft: day he faw a great number of thefe 
animals lying on the fand. He fired among them, and 
wounded one in the jaw, but it efcaped into the river. 
Next day, he faw a great number in a fimilar lituation, 
and fired at two of them, with three balls each time, and 
killed them both. 
It would appear that the gavial was not altogether un¬ 
known to the ancients; for ./Elian mentions, that in his 
time crocodiles were found on the banks of the Ganges, 
which had a kind of horn at the extremity of the muzzle. 
Edwards, however, is the firft modern naturalift who has 
mentioned this fpecies; for it was not deferibed by Lin- 
nseus; but has been inferted in the Syftema Naturae, fince 
his death, by Gmelin. Edwards tells us, that three of 
thefe creatures were fent from Bengal about the year 1747, 
to the late Dr. Mead, phyfician in ordinary to the king. 
Two of them the doftor preferved in his collection, and 
prefented the third to the late curious Mrs. Kennon ; and, 
fince the deceafe of thefe worthy perfons, they became 
the property of Mr. James Lemon of London, who 
obliged our author with one of them to produce to the 
Royal Society. The narrownefs of the beak is the moll 
extraordinary circumftance in this crocodile, which ap¬ 
pears like the bill of the bird called goofeander. It has 
Email (harp teeth. Another peculiarity was a paunch or 
open purfe in the middle of the under fide of the belly, 
which feemed to be naturally formed round the hips, 
and hollow within, to receive its young in time of danger, 
as it appears in the opofTum and kanguroo. Dr. Parfons 
gave it as his opinion, that the opening in the belly was 
really natural, it having no appearance of being cut or 
torn open ; but later writers fuppofe it to have been no¬ 
thing more than the paffage by which the umbilical 
veflels of the animal were attached during its confinement 
jn the egg. 
The teeth are nearly double the number of thofe of the 
common crocodile, and are of equal fize throughout the 
•whole length of the jaws. The general ftrufture of the 
feet is fimilar to that of the common crocodile, except 
that,the third and fourth toes only, and this on the fore 
as well as hind feet, are connected together by a web. 
eyes,” fays Edwards, “are very prominent, and 
feem to be fo con Articled that they may be carried above 
the water, while the reft of the animal is wholly under 
water, in order to watch its prey on the furface, or on 
the banks and ffiores of rivers.” In the Britilh Mufeum is 
a fpecimen of this animal meafuring about eighteen feet. 
3. Lacerta alligator, the alligator, or American croco¬ 
dile: head fiat, imbricated, naked or uncarinated neck, 
and tail furoiftied above with two rifing lateral lines. 
So great is the general refemblance between this animal 
and the crocodile, that many naturalifts have been ftrong- 
ly inclined to confider it as a mere variety, rather than 
a diftinft fpecies. Among others, Cepede is of this opi¬ 
nion, and declares, that on examining feveral fpecimens 
of American crocodiles, and collating them with thofe of 
the Nile, he could not but confider them as abfolutely of 
the fame fpecies ; and that the (light differences obferva- 
ble between them may be w'ell luppofed to be owing mere¬ 
ly to the effeft of climate. Both animals, he obferves, 
agree in the number of teeth; and the general manners 
and habits of both are found to be fimilar in the old and 
new continent. The more accurate diferimination, how¬ 
ever, of Blumenbach and fome others feems in reality to 
prove, that the alligator or American crocodile is fpecifi- 
cally diftinft from the Nilotic,, though the difference is 
not fuch as immediately to (trike a general obferver. The 
leading diftinftion feems to be, that the head of the alli¬ 
gator is rather fmooth on the upper part than marked 
with thofe very ftrong rugofities and hard carinated feales 
which appear on that of the crocodile; and that the fnout 
is confiderably flatter and wider, as well as more rounded 
at the extremity. The alligator arrives at a fize not much 
inferior to that of the crocodile; fpecimens having been 
often feen of eighteen or twenty feet in length. 
“Though the largelt and greateft numbers of alliga¬ 
tors,” fays Catefby, “inhabit the torrid zone, the conti¬ 
nent abounds with them ten degrees more north, particu¬ 
larly as far as the river Neus in North Carolina, in the la¬ 
titude of about 33, (beyond which I have never heard of 
any,) which latitude nearly anfwers to the northernmolb 
parts of Africa, where they are likevvife found. They 
frequent not only falt-rivers near the fea, but dreams of 
freffi water in the upper parts of the country, and in lakes 
of fait and frefh water, on the banks of which they lie 
lurking among reeds, to furprife cattle and other animals. 
In Jamaica, and many parts of the continent, they are 
found about twenty feet in length ; they cannot be more 
terrible in their afpeft than they are formidable and mif- 
chievous in their natures, fparing neither man nor bead 
they can furprife, pulling them down under watfr, that, 
being dead, they may with greater facility, and without 
ftru ggle or refiftance, devour them. As quadrupeds do 
not fo often come in their way, they fubfift chiefly on fiffi. 
Carnivorous animals get their food with more difficulty 
and lefs certainty than others, and are often neceffitated 
to fad a long time. Reptiles particularly, by fwallowing 
what they eat whole, digeft llowly, and can live long with¬ 
out food. Wolves are laid to gorge themfelves with mud, 
to fupply the want of better food ; for the like caufe many 
alligators fwallow ftones and other fubftances, to diftend 
and prevent the contraction of their inteftines when 
empty, and not to help digeftion, which they feem in no 
need of. For in the greater number of many I have 
opened, nothing has appeared but clumps of wood and 
pieces of pine-tree coal, fome of which weighed eight 
pounds, and were reduced and worn fo fmooth from their 
firft angular roughnefs, that they feemed to have remained 
in them many months. In South Carolina they are very 
numerous, but the northern fituation of that country oc- 
cafions their being of a fmaller fize than thofe nearer the 
line ; and they rarely attack men or cattle, yet are great- 
devourers of hogs. In Carciina they lie torpid from 
about Oftober to March, in caverns and hollows in the 
banks of rivers; and, at their coming out in the (bring, 
make a hideous bellowing noife. The hind part of their 
