CHARACTERS OF CROCODILES 
to bask upon the shore, or to make short excursions in 
quest of other pools, is not a feature which absolutely 
differentiates the group from the lizards, for there are 
many aquatic forms to be found there; but it is a 
feature which is characteristic of all crocodilians. 
These reptiles do not follow the lacertilian plan of 
shedding their skin in conspicuous. bits ; the wear and 
tear of the outer covering of the body is like that in our- 
selves ; it is constant and imperceptible. Underneath 
the. scales are bony plates, which are mostly to be 
found only upon the back, though in the caimans of 
South America there are ventral scutes, as these 
armoured plates are termed, in addition to those upon 
the back. No lizard has so extensive a series of plates 
of this kind, though there are corresponding, but only 
slightly developed, plates in some forms. Many of 
~ these plates, and the bones of the head also, are irregu- 
larly pitted and honeycombed, a characteristic which 
can be readily seen in crocodiles. The nostrils, it will 
be noticed, are at the top of the snout, and the animal 
can lie nearly submerged, with only the nostrils and 
eyes projecting. An ingenious apparatus, not found 
in lizards, enables crocodiles and alligators to swallow 
their prey beneath the surface without running the 
risk of choking themselves. The internal nostrils open 
into the throat far back, and a soft downhanging pro- 
cess shuts them off from the proper mouth cavity, 
which can be thus opened and closed without admit- 
ting water into the lungs. In internal anatomy the 
differences which distinguish this group of reptiles are 
numerous and profound. 
Although the Chinese alligator was not known to 
Europe forty years ago, the Chinese writers were well 
acquainted with it, and heaped it round with much 
legend and mystery. The N’Go or To, as this animal 
is named, is said to attain to an extremely green old 
Z.G. 273 v 
