INTRODUCTION.

The animals of which we propose, under the general title Erpetology, to give the classification and natural history, belong to the class Amphibia, and the order Reptilia, in the Linnaean arrangement. The animals included under this class have obtained the denomination amphibious, from the supposed circumstance that they are equally capable of living both on land and in the water. But in this view, the application of the term is inaccurate, for there are few, or perhaps no animals belonging to this class which can always exist, or even perform the functions of life for any considerable length of time, in the water. Many of them, however, possess this faculty to a certain degree, and therefore, the name has been extended to all which are distinguished by the same peculiarity of external form, and a similar structure of internal organs.

Some naturalists have denominated this order of animals oviparous quadrupeds. This denomination is undoubtedly sufficiently characteristic; for although some species are viviparous, and in this circumstance, as well as being furnished with four feet, exhibit some resemblance with the higher order of quadrupeds, the striking difference which is discovered by the anatomist and the physiologist affords unequivocal and decided marks of distinction. From the structure, habits, and general economy of this order of animals, we derive characters which are sufficiently distinctive between it and the class of birds, to which the term oviparous is strictly applicable. This denomination, therefore, which is also employed by the Count de la Cepede, is sufficiently characteristic of the class of animals which are included under it.

The word reptile, by which this order of animals has been distinguished by Linnaeus, seems not to be liable to much objection. All the individuals of which it is composed have very short legs, and these are placed at a great distance from each other, so weak, that they are unable to support the weight of the body. The gray lizard, for instance, which is one of the most active of the tribe, is obliged to support itself on its belly, as soon as its progressive motion is greatly diminished; so that it employs its limbs rather for the purpose of crawling than that of walking. And indeed all the animals of the order, from the peculiar structure and disposition of their limbs, when their motions are slow, must drag the body along on the belly, other modifications of their locomotive powers depending only on the great length and relation of the instruments of motion. In this view, therefore, the Linnaean name of the order is not improperly applied to almost all the individuals which it comprehends.

The term erpetology, which we have given to this treatise upon the order reptilia, was formerly employed by the Swedish naturalist Klein, in a more extensive sense. Under this title he included the order serpentes, as well as that of reptilia, thus comprehending the whole class of amphibia. Here we have adopted it in a more limited acceptation, and confined its meaning to the last order, pursuing the plan of M. Bonnaterre, in his arrangement of the same order of animals in the Encyclopedie Methodique.

Linnaeus has adopted as a mark of distinction of this order of animals, the peculiar structure of the heart, which in the language of the anatomist is said to be unicellular, or furnished only with one ventricle or cavity. This doctrine has been admitted by eminent anatomists, as well as by some of the greatest physiologists, such as Baerhaave, Haller, and some others; and called in question only when some exceptions have occurred, of animals belonging to this tribe, which have exhibited somewhat of a different structure. One instance of this is quoted in the heart of an Indian inland tortoise, which was examined by the French academicians of the 17th century, and in which they discovered three ventricles instead of one. But other physiologists are of opinion, that the heart of this order of animals is really furnished with two ventricles, having an immediate communication between them; they must therefore be considered as having a double heart.

The lungs of the order reptilia, are, in their appearance and structure, widely different from those of other animals. They are in general composed of two large bladders, or membranaceous bags, which, in the different species are divided into a greater or smaller number of canals, or subdivisions; among which are distributed the pulmonary blood-vessels. These bear, but a small proportion to the venous part through which the ramifications are carried; in this respect differing greatly from the lungs of the higher order of quadrupeds, or mammalia, in which the proportion of the blood-vessels is so much greater than that of the air-cells, that the lungs have more of a fleshy than of a membranaceous appearance. In this order of animals, therefore, in which the blood is cold, the venous system far overbalances the venous; but in the class mammalia, which are warm-blooded animals, the venous system prevails over the venous.

Of all the animals which occupy the surface of the earth, and which the Almighty creator has dispersed throughout his works, to fill up the void space, and to produce motion, the tribe of reptiles seems at first sight to have been least the objects of benevolence and wisdom. In their structure, habits, and modes of life, when compared with other orders of animals, they exhibit marks of degradation and neglect. The body in general presents only a rude inactive mass; their senses are extremely obtuse; their instincts are limited to the grossest sensations, and the extent of their enjoyments reaches only to the gratifications of appetite. On the boundaries of land and water, in those vast marshes, which are remarkable only for immense depictions of mud, few or scarcely any possess the graces or elegance of other terrestrial animals; like the latter they enjoy not the pleasure of associating together for amusement or defence, or of indulging in sporting tricks on the land or in the air. On the contrary, they crawl on the earth, on the margin of extensive lakes, surrounded with unwholesome vapors; or they live in the cavities of the rocks, or in the midst of barren deserts, undisturbed by other animals, and far retired from the habitations of man. Some delight in exposing themselves to the rays of the sun; while others retire during the day to shady, moist, and sequestered places, proceeding from their retreats only during the night, as it were to conceal their deformity, and to spare man those feelings of fear, disgust, and horror, with which their presence inspires him. But as the study of every part of the long chain of beings is worthy of our attentive consideration and regard, these animals, in the eyes of the careful observer of nature, are far from being wanting in exciting his interest and curiosity. He cannot fail to be highly gratified with contemplating the resources which they derive from the peculiar structure of their external form, as well as from the nature of their functions. Their manners, their habits, and the relations which they bear to beings of a higher order, on the one hand, and the distance to which they are removed from brute matter on the other, are objects worthy of the contemplation of the naturalist. This study, properly directed and applied, unveils to our eyes the beneficent design. design and riches of creation, and raises our admiration to the wonderful and extensive variety of animated beings.

The uses of some of the animals belonging to this class, as valuable articles of food in those regions where they abound, or as furnishing the tables of the luxurious in other countries with a rich delicacy; the peculiarities of external form, and of internal structure, as well as of several of their functions, such as circulation and respiration; their great length of life; the reproductive power of some, and the long abstinence which others can undergo, give additional interest and importance to the natural history of these animals.

In the following treatise, we propose to lay before our readers a brief but comprehensive view of the natural history of this order of animals; and for the sake of perspicuity we shall treat this subject under two general heads. We shall first consider the classification and natural history of the order reptilia; and secondly, we shall give a short sketch of their anatomy, with the principal facts connected with their physiology. These will form the subjects of the two following chapters.

CHAP. I. OF THE CLASSIFICATION AND NATURAL HISTORY OF REPTILES.

In the Linnean arrangement, the order reptilia is divided into four genera. Other naturalists have adopted a different arrangement. De la Cepede, in his history of oviparous quadrupeds, has divided this order into two great classes. The first class includes those animals which are furnished with a tail, and the second comprehends those which have no tail. The following table exhibits a view of the classification of this eminent naturalist.

Class I. Animals furnished with a tail. Genus 1. Tortoises, having the body covered with a bony shield. Division 1. The fingers very unequal, and lengthened out in the form of fins. Division 2. The fingers very short, and almost equal.

Genus 2. Lizards: the body having no bony covering. Division 1. The tail flattened; five fingers on the fore feet. Division 2. The tail round; five fingers on each foot, and elevated scales on the back. Division 3. The tail round; five fingers on the fore feet; scaly bands under the belly. Division 4. The tail round; five fingers on the fore feet, without scaly bands under the belly. Division 5. The fingers furnished underneath with large scales, covering each other, like the slates on the roof of a house. Division 6. Three fingers on the fore and the hind feet. Division 7. Membranes in the form of wings. Division 8. Three or four fingers on the fore feet; four or five fingers on the hind feet.

Class II. Animals which have no tail. Genus 1. Frogs: the head and the body lengthened out, and the one or the other angular. Genus 2. Tree-frogs: the body long, with soft viscid tubercles under the toes.

Genus 3. Toads: the body thick and round.

Appendix. Biped reptiles. Division 1. Two fore feet. Division 2. Two hind feet.

Of this arrangement it may be observed, that, although it exhibits much minuteness and ingenuity, the distinctive characters upon which some parts of it are founded, are not always constant and fixed; for it has been found that these characters vary in the different individuals in which they have been observed. This variety, it has been conjectured, arises from the difference of age, and peculiarities in their food and modes of life.

M. Bonnaterre has adopted a different arrangement. He has also divided the whole order of reptiles into two classes, as will appear from the following table.

Class I. Reptiles which have no tail. Genus 1. Frog. Genus 2. Tree-Frog. Genus 3. Toad.

Class II. Reptiles which are furnished with a tail; Genus 1. Tortoise. Genus 2. Chameleon. Genus 3. Crocodile. Genus 4. Lizard. Genus 5. Flying dragon. Genus 6. Salamander. Genus 7. Chalcis.

This arrangement is undoubtedly, in many cases, convenient and proper; yet, as there seems to be in others an unnecessary multiplication of genera, we shall still adhere to the Linnean classification, which, though more simple, will in general be found not to be much less accurate; and the objects which it comprehends not being very numerous, it is sufficiently distinct. Linnaeus divided this order into four genera. The following are the characters of the genera, of which we give a translation, for the accommodation of the English reader.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

Genus 1. Testudo. Corpus caudatum; lorica ossea, aut coriacea supremae et inferne, vel squamis superne obtectum. Oris mandibula superior inferiore pyxidum instar claudens.

Genus I. Tortoise. Body having a tail; covered above and beneath with a bony or coriaceous shell, or scales above. The upper jaw closing over the lower like the lid of a box.

Genus II. Genus II. Rana. Corpus tetrapodum, nudum, ut plurimum ecaudatum: pedibus posterioribus longioribus.

Genus III. Draco. Corpus tetrapodum, caudatum, alatum: alis propriis.

Genus IV. Lacerta. Corpus tetrapodum, elongatum, caudatum, nudum: pedibus aequalibus.

Genus II. Frog. Body four-footed, naked, generally without tail; the hinder feet longest; and without any integument but the skin.

Genus III. Flying Dragon. Body four-footed, furnished with a tail, and on each side with an expandible wing-like skin.

Genus IV. Lizard. Body four-footed, elongated, furnished with a tail, without any additional integument: legs equal.

I. TESTUDO, or Tortoise.

From the great similarity which prevails among several species, and the variety in size, colour, and other circumstances, according to the different periods of their age, considerable difficulties have arisen in discriminating them with precision. The observations of later naturalists have shown, that the specific characters of Linnaeus are not sufficient for the purpose of accurate distinction; nor have the descriptions of the Count de la Cepede been more useful in furnishing proper characteristic marks. One set of characters, which have been usually employed for this purpose, it has been observed by Mr Schoepf, ought not to be trusted. They are derived from the number of claws on the feet of marine tortoises, or turtles. These, however, are found to vary so much, that they are not to be considered as affording uniform and constant characters of distinction. As a proof of this observation, if different individuals of the common green turtle (Testudo midas), be compared together, it will appear that some have only a single claw on each foot; while others are furnished with two, and sometimes three; sometimes with two on the fore feet, and with one on the hind feet. Similar variations have also been observed in the number of claws of land tortoises, and particularly in those of the common tortoise, (Testudo graeca); in some individuals of which the fore feet have four, and in others five claws. Avoiding, therefore, these uncertain and varying characters, the shape, pattern, colours of the shell, and form of the head, Dr Shaw observes, furnish the most accurate marks of distinction.

Some of the species belonging to this genus are natives of the ocean; some are confined to the land, or to fresh water. This affords a natural division into land and sea tortoises. In following out this division, we shall treat of them in two sections, including under the first those that frequent fresh waters.

Sect. I. Land and Fresh-water Tortoises.

1. Testudo Graeca. Lin. Common Land Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is hemispherical, and of a black and yellow colour, and having a bunch behind; the pieces of which the disk is composed are convex, and the sides are obtuse.

Description. The length of the common tortoise is about six inches, and rarely exceeds eight: when full grown, it is about forty-eight ounces weight. The shell is composed of thirteen middle pieces, and about twenty-five marginal ones; is of an oval form, and very convex above. The middle pieces, or those which constitute the disk of the shell, are mostly of a square form, somewhat oblong; their colour is blackish or dark brown, each having a broad yellow band running along one side, which is continued half way along the upper part. The colours vary in different individuals, and the shape of the pieces is also subject to occasional variations. The fulci or furrows which appear on the surface of young animals are obliterated as they grow old. The belly part of the shell is of a pale yellow colour; the head is rather small, the upper part covered with irregular tough scales, and the neck with smaller pieces, which admit of the motion of the head; the eye is small and black, and the mouth does not extend beyond the eyes. The legs are short; and the feet, which are moderately broad, are covered with strong ovate scales. The feet have usually four stout claws, but their number is found to vary in different circumstances. The tail is rather shorter than the legs, is covered with small scales, and terminates in a naked, horny, pointed tip.

The land tortoise is a native of almost all the countries round the Mediterranean; but it has been supposed to be more frequent in Greece, from whence it has derived its specific name. It is also found in the islands of the Archipelago, in Corsica, Sardinia, and in many parts of Africa. From the account of the Danish naturalist Forkal, it is employed in Greece for the purpose of food. "The inhabitants," he says, "often swallow the blood recent, and eat the eggs boiled, which are about the size of those of a pigeon, four or five in number, and of a white colour. In September the animal hides itself underground, and again emerges in February; laying its eggs in June, in a small hole, which it scratches in some funny spot, out of which, after the first rains of September, the young are hatched, which are about the size of a walnut. The males of this species are said to fight often, butting at each other with such force, as to be heard at a considerable distance."

The land tortoise, when it is kept in gardens in Italy and Germany, is commonly observed to conceal itself in October, and to reappear in April. The period of retirement in England is about the end of October, and the time of its appearance is about the middle of April; but it ought to be added, that these periods vary in different countries, and according to the temperature of the season.

The land tortoise lives to a very great age. In several instances which seem to be well authenticated, it has considerably exceeded the extraordinary period of an hundred years. One instance which is perhaps not the least remarkable, is recorded of a tortoise which was introduced into the archbishop's garden at Lambeth, Tortoises, both, about the year 1633, and lived till the year 1753; the shell of which is still preserved in the library of the palace at Lambeth. Another remarkable circumstance respecting this individual is, that it was of a larger size than usual. The shell measured 10 inches in length, and five and a half in breadth.

None of this order of animals is more tenacious of life than the tortoise. The experiments of Redi afford a remarkable proof of this fact. In the beginning of November he made a large opening in the skull of a land tortoise, extracted the whole of the brain, washed out the cavity, that no part might remain; and having left the hole open, let the animal go. It walked off seemingly uninjured, excepting that it closed its eyes, which never afterwards opened. At the end of three days, during which time the whole of the skull began to close; the wound was covered with a complete skin; and thus without brain it walked about as usual, and lived for six months. The same naturalist cut off the head of another tortoise, which lived for the space of twenty-three days afterwards.

This animal is not less remarkable for its abstinence. Blafus kept an individual of this species for ten months, during which time it tasted no kind of food whatever. It died about the end of that time, but this was ascribed to the severity of the season, rather than to the want of food; for the intestines being examined, they were found full of excrement of the natural colour.

Mr White, in his Natural History of Selborne, has given so full and distinct an account of the natural history of the land tortoise, founded on facts drawn from his own observation, that we shall lay it before our readers in his own words.

"A land tortoise (says he), which has been kept for thirty years in a little walled court belonging to the house where I now am visiting, retires under ground about the middle of November, and comes forth again about the middle of April. When it first appears in the spring it, discovers very little inclination towards food; but in the height of summer grows voracious: and then as the summer declines, its appetite declines; so that for the last six weeks in autumn, it hardly eats at all. Milky plants, such as nettles, dandelions, sow-thistles, are its favourite dish. In a neighbouring village one was kept, till by tradition it was supposed to be an hundred years old. An instance of vast longevity in such a slow reptile!

"On the 1st of November, I remarked that it began first to dig the ground in order to the forming its hybernaeum, which it had fixed on just beside a great tuft of hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground with its fore-feet, and throws it up over its back with its hind; but the motion of its legs is ridiculously slow, little exceeding the hour-hand of a clock; and suitable to the composure of an animal said to be a whole month in performing one feat of copulation. Nothing can be more assiduous than this creature night and day in scooping the earth, and forcing its great body into the cavity; but, as the noons of that season proved unusually warm and sunny, it was continually interrupted, and called forth by the heat in the middle of the day; and though I continued there till the thirteenth of November, yet the work remained unfinished. Harder weather, and frosty mornings, would have quickened its operations. No part of its behaviour ever struck me more than the extreme timidity it always expresses with regard to rain; for though it has a shell that would secure it against the wheel of a loaded cart, yet does it discover as much solicitude about rain as a lady dressed in all her best attire, shuffling away on the first sprinklings, and running its head up in a corner. If attended to, it becomes an excellent weather-glass; for as sure as it walks elate, and as it were on tiptoe, feeding with great earnestness in a morning, so sure will it rain before night. It is totally a diurnal animal, and never pretends to stir after it becomes dark. The tortoise, like other reptiles, has an arbitrary stomach as well as lungs; and can refrain from eating as well as breathing for a great part of the year. When first awakened it eats nothing; nor again in the autumn before it retires: through the height of the summer it feeds voraciously, devouring all the food that comes in its way. I was much taken with its sagacity in discovering those that do it kind offices: for, as soon as the good old lady comes in sight who has waited on it for more than thirty years, it hobbles towards its benefactress with awkward alacrity; but remains inattentive to strangers. Thus not only "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib," but the most abject reptile, and torpid of beings, distinguishes the hand that feeds it, and is touched with the feelings of gratitude!

"The old Sussex tortoise, (he adds,) that I have mentioned so often, is become my property. I dug it out of its winter dormitory in March last, when it was enough awakened to express its resentments by hissing; and packing it in a box with earth, carried it eighty miles in post-chaises. The rattle and hurry of the journey so perfectly roufed it, that, when I turned it out on a border, it walked twice down to the bottom of my garden; however, in the evening, the weather being cold, it buried itself in the loose mould, and continues still concealed.

"As it will be under my eye, I shall now have an opportunity of enlarging my observations on its mode of life and propensities; and perceive already that, towards the time of coming forth, it opens a breathing place in the ground near its head, requiring, I conclude, a freer respiration as it becomes more alive. This creature not only goes under the earth from the middle of November to the middle of April, but sleeps great part of the summer; for it goes to bed in the longest days at four in the afternoon, and often does not stir in the morning till late. Besides, it retires to rest for every shower; and does not move at all in wet days.

"When one reflects on the state of this strange being, it is a matter of wonder to find that Providence should bestow such a profusion of days, such a seeming waste of longevity, on a reptile that appears to relish it so little as to squander more than two-thirds of its existence in a joyless slumber, and be lost to all sensation for months together in the profoundest of slumberers.

"While I was writing, a moist and warm afternoon, with the thermometer at 59°, brought forth troops of shell-snails; and, at the same juncture, the tortoise heaved up the mould, and put out its head; and the next morning came forth, as it were raised from the dead, and walked about till four in the afternoon. This was a curious coincidence; a very amusing occurrence! see such a similarity of feeling between the two Φεγγανοι! for so the Greeks called both the shell-snail and the tortoise.

"Ibid. p. 251.

"Because we call this creature an abject reptile, we are too apt to undervalue his abilities, and depreciate his powers of instinct. Yet he is, as Mr Pope says of his lord,

Much too wise to walk into a well!"

and has so much discernment as not to fall down a hah; but to stop and withdraw from the brink with the readiest precaution.

"Though he loves warm weather, he avoids the hot sun; because his thick shell, when once heated, would, as the poet says of solid armour, "foal with safety." He therefore spends the more sultry hours under the umbrella of a large cabbage-leaf, or amidst the waving forests of an arparagus-bed.

"But as he avoids heat in the summer, so, in the decline of the year, he improves the faint autumnal beams, by getting within the reflection of a fruit-wall: and, though he has never read that planes inclining to the horizon receive a greater share of warmth, he inclines his shell, by tilting it against the wall, to collect and admit every feeble ray.

"Pitiable seems the condition of this poor embarrassed reptile: to be cased in a suit of ponderous armour, which he cannot lay aside; to be imprisoned, as it were, within his own shell, must preclude, we should suppose, all activity and disposition for enterprise. Yet there is a season of the year (usually the beginning of June) when his exertions are remarkable. He then walks on tiptoe, and is stirring by five in the morning; and, traversing the garden, examines every wicket and interstice in the fences, through which he will escape if possible: and often has eluded the care of the gardener, and wandered to some distant field. The motives that impel him to undertake these rambles seem to be of the amorous kind: his fancy then becomes intent on sexual attachments, which transport him beyond his usual gravity, and induce him to forget for a time his ordinary solemn deportment."

2. Testudo Marginata, Marginated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is blackish-brown, variegated with yellow, oblong, and gibbose, widened and depressed on the hinder part.

The length of this species is nearly fourteen inches, the breadth about ten, measuring the curvature of the shell. The head which is flat and triangular above, is nearly two inches long, above an inch broad, and one inch deep. The eyes are furnished with a nictitating membrane; but the lower eyelid only is moveable. The mandibles are strong, notched, and internally beset with protuberances which have been sometimes mistaken for teeth. The external orifices of the ears are covered with the common skin. The tail is very short. The fore legs are about three inches and a half long; the hind legs are about two and a half long. The skin is grainy, and covered with brown coloured, unequal, hard scales, extending over the head, legs, and tail. Some of these scales on the ends of the feet are large, hard, and pointed; so that at first sight they might be taken for claws. The feet are thick, and so covered with the investing membrane, that the toes are only distinguished.

The disk of the shell is composed of thirteen pieces which are striated on the margin. The border consists of twenty-four pieces; all of which, especially the posterior ones, are proportionally larger than in the other species. From the position of the latter, the circumference of the upper shell appears toothed. The upper shell is very convex, being more than four inches deep: in consequence of this form, when the animal is placed on its back, it can recover its former situation.

The colour of this species is generally dark, or blackish-bay. The convex part of the pieces which compose the disk are irregularly varied with yellow. The pieces are also variegated with the same colour. This prevails chiefly on the posterior divisions, and these are distinctly striated or furrowed. The width or dilatation of these divisions, being greater than in other species, constitutes the principal characteristic mark of the present. The colour of the under shell is pale yellow; each division is marked on its upper joining with a transverse blackish band, which runs into a pair of pointed or triangular processes, extending nearly to the inferior division. Another specific difference between this and the common tortoise is, that in the former the outline of the shell, seen from above, is proportionally longer, and has a slight sinking or contraction on each side.

It is supposed that this species is a native of America, but this seems not to be certainly determined; and little, or scarcely any thing, is known of its natural history.

3. Testudo Geometrica, Geometrical Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is black and ovate; the scutella elevated, and radiated with yellow.

The number of pieces of which the disk is composed, is subject to variation. Instead of thirteen, fourteen pieces have been observed in different specimens. These pieces are very prominent, striated distinctly with numerous lines on their sides, and terminated above by a yellowish coloured, flat, hexagonal roughened space, from which proceed, in a radiated direction, some well defined yellow streaks towards the edge; in this forming on the black ground colour, something like geometrical figures. The marginal pieces are commonly 24, but sometimes 26. They also are streaked with yellow. As in other species, the brightness of the colours is subject to variation, but their regular distribution is never entirely obliterated.

This species, it is said, is a native of Asia, Africa, and also of America; but this seems not to be fully ascertained, which is rather surprising, as its shell is oftener met with in Europe than that of any other species. Thunberg says that it is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where it frequents shrubby places. It is said also that it is found on the coast of the Pine islands, between the continent of America and Cuba, where they frequent moist and marshy places in the forests. They are very easily taken, and are sought after as food. It is usual for the natives to put a mark on the shell, and then to allow them to go about in the woods, finding them again almost as readily as any domesticated animal, when they transport them to Cuba. This species 4. Testudo Radiata, Radiated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell ovate, black; scutella flattish, and radiated with yellow.

This species has sometimes been confounded with the preceding; it often however exceeds a foot in length, and its outline is nearly smooth. The size of the geometrical tortoise is less, its outline is very much tuberculated, and the pieces of which it is composed rise greatly towards their centres.

According to Grew, it is a native of Madagascar; and its characters correspond nearly with one described by Browne in his history of Jamaica, so that it must also be considered as a native of that island. Grew has given a very particular description of it.

5. Testudo Indica, Indian Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell brown, reflected above the neck; the three upper scutella are marked with a tubercle.

This is a very large species, which was first described by Perrault in the history of animals published by the Royal Academy of France. It measured from the tip of the nose to the tail four feet and a half; the height or convexity was about fourteen inches; the shell itself was in length three feet, and two in breadth; the colour was of a dull brown. The pieces composing the shield were large and dissimilar, of which the three anterior were marked in the middle with a round knob or tubercle, about half an inch wide. The skin of the head, feet, and neck, was wrinkled and granulated; the fore legs were nine inches long, the feet undivided, with five blunt claws; the hind legs were eleven inches long, with four toes, each armed with a claw; the tail six inches thick at the base, fourteen inches in length, and terminating in a horny bent process. This species is a native of the coast of Coromandel.

Var. 1. A variety of this species brought from the Cape of Good Hope, is described by Volmaer: it was about 2½ feet long, 1½ foot broad, one foot high, with thirteen pieces in the disk, and twenty-five in the margin. In this, the three tubercles on the anterior pieces of the shield are wanting.

Var. 2. Another variety of this species, of a very large size, has been brought from the South Sea islands. The shell, which is of a dull uniform brown, with a smooth surface, is of an ovate oblong form, widening at the bottom, and contracting considerably on each side of the neck. It is at least three feet and a half long; the divisions are all even, but the whole surface of the shell is marked with regular elevations and depressions.

6. Testudo Rugosa, Wrinkled Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell black, wrinkled, mottled and variegated with yellow; the middle dorsal piece subpanduriform.

This species, of which a specimen is preserved in the Leverian museum, is described by Dr Shaw. The tortoise colour is dark brown, or black, thickly mottled with small confluent spots of pale yellow, which are largest on the sides of the shell. The form of the shell is long oval, dilated or widened behind; the depth or concavity is very considerable. The three middle divisions of the row of scutella on the back are somewhat panduriform, or fiddle-shaped. The upper piece resembles the outline of a pitcher; the lowest approaches to a hexagonal form. The number of the side pieces is four, of the usual form; that of the marginal pieces is twenty-five, the upper one very small. A carina or ridge runs down the dorsal row; the upper surface of the shell is strongly wrinkled. The under shell is smooth, and of a yellowish white colour, mottled with black. The length of the shell is nine and a half inches; width in the middle five inches. Its native country is unknown.

Var. A variety of this species is also described, consisting chiefly in the colours of the shell, and owing, it is supposed, to a sexual difference.

7. Testudo Europea, Speckled Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell oval, flattish, smooth, dark-brown, marked with numerous yellowish specks and streaks.

Testudo orbicularis, Lin.

This species is from four to five inches long; the colour is blackish or olive brown; the shell flattish, but slightly convex, marked with numerous, oblong, yellow specks, disposed in a radiated form on each division of the shell. The skin of the neck and breast is similarly spotted. The disk consists of thirteen, and the margin of twenty-five pieces. The under shell is of a whitish yellow, tinged with brown at the joints. The head is ovate, somewhat convex above, flattish on the sides and beneath. The skin of the neck is wrinkled and loose. The legs are short, and covered with scales. The feet are webbed, the fore feet having five toes, the hind only four. The claws are sharp pointed and crooked; the tail is nearly half the length of the body, and is thin and compressed.

This species is a native of Italy, Sardinia, France, Hungary, and Prussia, as well as other parts of Europe. It inhabits lakes and muddy waters, feeding on small fish, insects, snails, and aquatic plants. The flesh is esteemed and employed as food, and in some places brought to market for sale. It is sometimes kept in ponds for the purpose, and fed with lettuce leaves, bread, &c. It may be kept in a cellar, and fed with oats scattered on the floor, which it eats as soon as they begin to germinate. In the beginning of spring it deposits its eggs in sandy places, exposed to the sun; and it has been laid, that these are not hatched till the spring following. The growth of this animal is extremely slow, and it varies somewhat in colour, according to the climate where it is found.

8. Testudo Lutaria, Mud Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is flattish, and the tail is half the length of the body.

The length of this species does not exceed seven or eight inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. The breadth is about three or four inches. The disk is composed of 13 pieces, which are striated and slight- ly punctuated in the centre. A longitudinal ridge runs along the middle range. The margin consists of 23 pieces slightly fringed on the edges. The shell is blackish, as well as the skin; the feet are webbed, and have five toes before and four behind.

This species is a native of many parts of Europe; it is also found in different parts of Asia, as in India and Japan. It is very common in France, particularly in Languedoc, and in different parts of Provence. It is said that such numbers were found one time in a lake half a league wide, in the plain of Durance, that the neighbouring peasantry were supported by them for more than three months.

This species always lays its eggs on land, digging a hollow in the ground, and covering the eggs with earth. When the young are first hatched, they are only about half an inch in diameter. The motions of this species are quicker than those of the land tortoise. It continues to grow for a long time, and lives for upwards of 24 years. It has been found useful in gardens, by destroying small snails, and other animals which are destructive to vegetables; but it ought to be observed, that it is disposed to attack, and destroy the fish in fish-ponds.

9. Testudo Carinata, Carinated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Feet digitated; shell gibbous; four first dorsal scutella carinated; sternum entire.

The shell of this species does not exceed three inches in length. The form is broad, and somewhat orbicular; the colour is brown, and each scutellum is marked with a pale zone of confluent spots, which surround the centre part, the edges of each being surrounded with three or four distinctly marked furrows. Marginal pieces 25 in number, including the uppermost, which is very small. Its native country is unknown.

10. Testudo Carolina, Lin. Testudo Clausa, Shaw. Closte Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell blackish, irregularly spotted with yellow; dorsal carina obtuse; under shell bivalve, completely inclosing the upper shell.

This species is thus described by Edwards. "The head is furnished with a hard or shelly covering of a dark brown colour on the top; on the sides and throat it is yellow, with small black or dusky spots; its nostrils are near together, a little above the end of the beak; the eyes are of a yellowish colour; the neck is covered with a loose skin of a dark purplish flesh colour, which partly covers the head when it is not fully extended; the hinder legs and parts about the vent are covered with a skin of the same dull flesh colour as the neck; the fore-legs and feet are covered with yellow hard scales; it hath five toes on each foot forwards, and four on each of the hinder feet, all armed with pretty strong claws; the shell above rises pretty much, and is round, divided into separate scales of the horny substance called tortoise shell; each scale is engraved, as it were, with rings round its extremities, which lessen inwards to its centre; the shell above is of a dusky brown colour, with yellowish spots of various forms; underneath it is flattish, and of a yellow colour, with black clouds and spots; it has only the rudiment of a tortoise tail, on which the vent is placed; the lower shell is divided across the middle of the belly, and joined to the upper shell by a tough though flexible skin, by which means it can, when it draws in its head and legs, close up its shell as firmly as an oyster." From this peculiarity in its structure, this species has derived its name; and this proves so strong a defence to the little animal, that it seems not only not to receive any injury, from having a weight of five or six hundred pounds laid upon it, but to walk under the load without any inconvenience.

The length of this species seldom exceeds four or five inches. It is a native of North America, and is chiefly found in marshy situations; but it also sometimes appears in dry and warm places. It lives both on vegetables and animals. Of the latter beetles, mice, and sometimes serpents, are its prey. These it seizes, draws them into its shell, and crushes them to death. It is much in request on account of its eggs, which are esteemed a great delicacy. They are about the size of a pigeon's egg.

11. Testudo Sulcata, Sulcated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell brown, ovate; scutella furrowed, and yellow on each side.

This species exceeds a foot in length, from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail; so that it is one of the larger of the land tortoises. The shell is very convex. The disk is composed of 13 pieces, which are five and fix-fidged; and each is transversely and strongly furrowed from the lower edge to the upper area; across these run three impressed lines in an opposite direction; the marginal pieces are furrowed in the same manner. The colour of the shell is in general a dull yellow; but both the shield and marginal pieces have a brown and yellow division. The head is large and covered with fix-fidged scales of different sizes. The fore and hind legs are also scaly; on the former are five claws, on the latter only four. The tail is very short.

This species is a native of the West Indies; and it is supposed to be the same with the hicatee described by Browne in his History of Jamaica.

12. Testudo Tabulata, Tabular Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell brown, oblong, gibbous; scutella of the disc rectangular and furrowed, having yellowish coloured centres.

The shape and size of the pieces of which the disc is composed, are more uniform than in any other belonging to this genus. This seems to be the principal mark of discrimination. Each piece is slightly convex, and in general fix-fidged, excepting some of the pieces towards the sides, which are five-fidged. The central part of each piece is large, and slightly granulated, and the sides are distinctly sulcated. The whole has a kind of flattened or tabular appearance; the colour is a yellowish chestnut; it is paler on the centre of each division; the legs are thick, and spotted with red; the number of pieces on the disc is 13, that of the margin 23. The length of the shell is from five to six inches. It is supposed to be a native of Africa; but according to some, it has been found in Brazil. 13. Testudo concentrica; Testudo Palystris, Lin.

Concentric Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell somewhat depressed, slightly ridged, oval, of a yellow colour; having the scutella marked with brown concentric zones.

The shell of this species is flatter than that of others; in some of the larger specimens nearly smooth: the middle row of pieces, of which the disc is composed, are five in number; they are more elevated than those of the sides, are six-sided, and project behind into an obtuse carina. There are four side-pieces on each side, which are pentagonal. The ground colour of the whole is pale, and marked with brown zones and centres. The shell is from four to six inches long.

This tortoise is a native of North America, and is met with in the markets at Philadelphia, where it is sold under the name of terrapin. It is also a native of Jamaica, where it is very common. It is said, by Browne, who seems first to have described it, to be a wholesome and delicate food. In that island, it grows to the length of eight or nine inches.

14. Testudo picta, Painted Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is oblong, and slightly convex, smooth, and of a brown colour; the scutella are bordered with yellow.

This species is well distinguished from all others, by the remarkable colours of the shield, which consists of 13 segments nearly square, and deeply edged with pale yellow. The marginal pieces are 25 in number. The shell is from four to six inches long.

The painted tortoise frequents fresh waters, and in particular, is found in the slow and deep rivers of North America. In bright sunshine weather they leave the water in great numbers, and bask themselves on stones, pieces of wood, and the banks of the streams, suddenly retreating into the water, when they are disturbed. They walk very slowly, but swim with great rapidity. They can remain for many hours together under the water, but live only a few days in the open air. They are extremely voracious, and are known to destroy young aquatic fowls, seizing them by the feet, and dragging them under water. Sometimes they are employed for the purpose of food.

15. Testudo guttata, Spotted Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell oblong, slightly convex, smooth, and of a brown colour, with scattered yellow spots.

This species is also sufficiently distinguished by its remarkable colour. The pieces both of the disc and margin being marked with a few distantly placed round yellow spots. These spots vary, as well as the ground, in different individuals. The young of this species, which itself is small, are not larger than a pigeon's egg, are very black, and beautifully spotted with gold colour.

This tortoise is a native of North America, frequenting lakes and rivers.

16. Testudo elegans, Elegant Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is round, convex, and of a yellow colour, with transverse, oval, brown spots.

This is a very small species, only about two inches long; the shell is of a bright yellow colour, the surface apparently smooth. At each of the joinings which compose the disc, there is a large, leaf-shaped, dark brown transverse spot. The marginal pieces are marked with a transverse black zone; the head is short and thick.

Nothing particular is known of its natural history, or to what country it belongs.

17. Testudo areolata, Areolated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—The shell is slightly convex; the scutella are nearly four-sided, elevated, deeply furrowed, and are furnished with depressed rough areolae.

The length of this species is from three to four inches. The scutella, which are nearly four-sided, are broader than long, with a pretty large, depressed, central part, which is of a yellow colour, roughish, and surrounded by a pale zone. The margin is composed of 25 pieces; the disc, in some individuals, of 15, and in others of 14.

This tortoise, according to some, is a native of Brazil, according to others, of the East Indies.

18. Testudo serrata, Serrated Tortoise. Testudo spengleri, Lin.

Specif. Char.—Shell depressed, of a yellow colour, and minutely freckled with dusky specks. The scutella of the disc are all ridged; the hinder margin of the shell serrated.

This tortoise is considered and described by Dr Shaw as a new species; it is small, only about three quarters of an inch long, and about two inches and a half broad. It is of an oval form, and slightly convex. The colour is of a yellowish brown, and when closely examined, appears thickly marked with minute, confluent, dusky spots. The under shell is blackish, with a yellow margin.

The native country of this species is unknown.

19. Testudo pusilla, Little Tortoise. African Land Tortoise of Edwards.

Specif. Char.—Shell hemispherical, with convex, trapezoidal scutella, striated on the margin, and dotted on the disc. Feet subdigitated.

The shell of this species measures only about four inches in length. The whole animal, from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, does not exceed six. This species has a considerable resemblance to the common tortoise, or testudo greeca. It is particularly described by Edwards, who kept two of them which he received from West Barbary for two years in the garden of the college of physicians in London; but of its natural history, nothing farther is known.

20. Testudo tricarinata, Tricarinated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell oval, slightly convex; margin entire; all the scutella of the disc carinated.

This species resembles a good deal the testudo orbicularis, Lin. In size it scarcely exceeds that of a large walnut; the colour is blackish; the shell is composed Tortoises of 13 scutella; the number of the marginal pieces is 23. Each scutella is marked in the middle with a longitudinal ridge, and wrinkled on the sides with several furrows and roughish points.

Its native place, and its natural history, are unknown.

21. Testudo Scabra, Rough Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell flatfish, the intermediate scutella elevated on the back; feet palmated.

This tortoise is about two inches and a half in length, and nearly two in breadth. Its form is somewhat corrated, of a light reddish colour, finely variegated on the head and shell, with waved white lines and spots. The feet, each of which is furnished with five toes, with sharp claws, are marked with red spots. The head is prominent, and the eyes are small.

It is considered by some naturalists as a native of Amboyna.

22. Testudo Scripta, Letter'd Tortoise. Testudo Scabra of Thunberg.

Specif. Char.—Shell depressed, orbicular; scutella marked with various figured characters; marginal pieces spotted underneath.

This species is either very small, or the specimen from which the descriptions have been taken were very young, as it did not exceed the size of a half-crown piece. It is flatfish, of a round form, and whitish colour tinged with yellow. The upper surface is marked with various figures, having somewhat the appearance of written characters. The pieces of the margin, which are 25 in number, are marked with similar characters as those of the scutella. The feet are large, webbed, and have five toes furnished with sharp claws.

It is not mentioned to what country it belongs.

23. Testudo Galeata, Galeated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell depressed, oval; the three middle scutella sharply ridged; marginal pieces 24.

This is a small species, not exceeding two inches and a half long, and about two broad. The colour of the shell is pale brown, and the disc is composed of 13 scutella, of which the middle row is very broad, and strongly ridged in the middle. Marginal pieces 24 in number, and similar in colour to the disc, but having white edges. The head is smooth, furnished with a kind of shield, from whence it derives its specific name.

Its native place is unknown; but an individual of this species, brought from India, lived two years. It was kept in fresh water, and could occasionally remain for a few hours in the open air. Its food was bread and flies. It continued in a kind of dormant state during the winter, taking no food from the beginning of October till the middle of May, and scarcely ever raising its head above the surface of the water.

24. Testudo Denticulata, Denticulated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell roundish, and heart-shaped; marginal segments denticulated; feet subdigitated.

This species is about four inches long and three broad. The shell is of a pale yellowish brown colour; the disc is composed of broad five and six-sided scutella. They are flatfish, and have a large distinct space in the middle, granulated with small tubercles. The other part of the scutellum is marked with five furrows; the marginal pieces are 23 in number, and project in a serrated form.

It is supposed to be a native of North America.

25. Testudo Pennsylvanica, Pennsylvanian Tortoise. Small Mud Tortoise of Edwards.

Specif. Char.—Shell brown, smooth, elliptic; back flatfish; the middle row of scutella somewhat rhomboidal and imbricated. The first is subtriangular.

This is a small tortoise; the length of the shell, at its full growth, does not exceed three or four inches. In this species, the middle row of dorsal pieces are longer than in others, and are so arranged as to overlap each other at the tips. The marginal pieces are 23 in number, the upper one being very small. The edges of the shell are tinged with dull yellow. In the joinings of the pieces, this species resembles the structure of the clove tortoise, so that the animal has the power of concealing itself almost entirely, by closing up its shell.

It is a native of North America, and is particularly found in Pennsylvania, where it frequents muddy waters, and hence its trivial name of mud tortoise. When alive, it is said that it gives out a strong musk smell.

Several varieties of this species have been noticed by naturalists.

26. Testudo Longicollis, Long-necked Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Smooth, ovate; neck very long.

This species is about five inches and a half long, and four and a half broad. The shell is of an oval form, of a dark olive brown colour, resembling in some parts of it the grain of common black leather. The disc is composed of 13, and the margin of 25 pieces. The under shell is of a yellowish colour, marked with black brown at the joinings. The claws on the feet, which are four in number, are like those of birds.

It is a native of New Holland.

27. Testudo Caspica, Caspian Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell orbicular, head fleshy, tail naked; five claws on the fore feet, four on the hind.

This species of tortoise grows to such a size, that several men can stand together on its shell. The pieces of which the disc is composed are nearly four-sided, and square; those of the margin are in the form of a parallelogram. The colour is variegated with black and green; the under shell is blackish, spotted with white.

It is a native of Hyrcania, and frequents fresh waters.

28. Testudo Ferox, Fierce Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell ovate, cartilaginous; three claws on the feet, which are tubular; nostrils prominent. This species is about one foot and a half in length, and about 15 inches in breadth. The shield, which is hard or osseous in the middle only, while the edges become gradually flexible and coriaceous, is a sufficiently characteristic mark of distinction. The head is small, and somewhat trigonal, with the snout much elongated. The colour of this species is brownish; olive above; and on the under parts white.

This species is a native of Pennsylvania, Carolina, and other parts of America. It is extremely vigorous and swift in its motions, and when it is disturbed or attacked, it springs forward towards its enemy with great ferocity. Some which have been found in the rivers and lakes of East Florida, weighed from 30 to 40 lbs.; and it is said that they even grow to such a size as to weigh 70 lbs.

A species described by Thunberg, under the name of testudo rostrata, is supposed by Dr Shaw to be an individual belonging to the above, not yet arrived at its full growth. The testudo triangulitis of Forskal seems also to be a variety of this species.

29. Testudo Granulata, Shagreened Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell granulated, orbicular, flattish; border cartilaginous.

The shield of this species measures about 3½ inches in length, and 3½ in breadth. It appears as if it were composed of two shields, the upper of which is the smallest and shortest. This is of a bony substance, roughened all over like the surface of shagreen. It is composed of 23 pieces, eight of which are placed on each side. The borders of this shield are cartilaginous and somewhat transparent, through which may be seen the ribs of the animal.

This species is said to be a native of India; but of its habits and natural history nothing is known.

30. Testudo Fimbriata, Fimbriated Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell oval, a little convex, and having a triple ridge; neck fimbriated on each side; snout cylindrical, and feet subdigitated.

The length of the shell of this species is above 15 inches, and the breadth 11. The length of the animal, from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, is two feet three inches. The head is large and flat, edged on the sides with wrinkled membranaceous appendages, and covered behind with a three-lobed prominence. The nose is cylindrical, and somewhat resembles a proboscis. It is 10 lines long, truncated, and pierced at the tip by the nostrils. The disk of the shell is a little convex, and composed of 13 semicircular pieces, which are nearly conical. They are all wrinkled, and irregularly notched at the hinder part. The marginal pieces are 25 in number, nearly square, radiated on the surface with oblique wrinkles, and toothed on the inner edge. The colour is brown, and somewhat paler beneath.

This species is said to be a native of Guiana, and was once common in the rivers of Cayenne; but it is now rarely to be met with, having been much sought after as a nourishing food. Its food is aquatic plants; and it is said that it leaves the river, and wanders about in the night, to some distance from the banks, in search of pasture. The individual from which the description is taken by M. Bruguierre, was brought to him alive, and lived for some time on herbs, bread, and some other substances. It laid several eggs, one of which produced a young tortoise in the box where it was kept.

31. Testudo Serpentina, Snake Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Shell ovate, depressed, triply carinated, and sharp scaled; rounded and acutely serrated at the posterior margin.

This species grows to the weight of 15 or 20 lbs. The general colour is of a dull chestnut brown, but lighter or paler underneath. The head is large, triangular, and covered with a warty skin. The neck is also covered with scaly warts. The toes, which are five in number on the fore feet, and four on the hind feet, are all distinct, but connected by means of a web. They are armed with long claws. The tail is straight, two-thirds the length of the shell, compressed, and crested on the upper part with sharp bony scales, pointed backwards.

This species is a native of North America; inhabiting flagrant waters, where it preys on fish, ducklings, &c., seizing its prey with great force. And indeed, whatever it seizes with its mouth, it holds with such force, that it will suffer itself to be raised out of the water rather than quit its hold. The more easily to catch its prey, it is said too, that it conceals itself in muddy waters, leaving out only part of its back, which has the appearance of a stone.

32. Testudo Squamata, Scaly Tortoise.

Specif. Char.—Body ovate, smooth beneath; but the upper part with the neck, feet, and tail, covered with numerous scales.

The head of this species is small, resembling that of a snake; the eyes are small and moveable, the teeth sharp. All the upper part of the body is covered with scales; the under parts are soft, smooth, and tender; the tail is pretty long.

It is said to be a native of China and Java. The flesh is accounted a great delicacy, and the scales, pulverized and dissolved in water, are given by the Chinese as a remedy in cases of dysentery and colic.

Sect. II. Turtles, or Sea Tortoises.

The large and long fin-shaped feet, which include the bones of the toes, are the most obvious characteristic marks of distinction between the sea tortoises, and the species included under the preceding section. In the sea tortoises the shell is also composed of a strong bony covering, which is coated externally with hard horny plates, which in some of the species are much thicker and stronger than those of the land tortoises.

33. Testudo Coriacea, Coriaceous Turtle.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown, paler beneath; shell coriaceous, marked with five longitudinal, tuberculated ribs.

This species, in the form of its body, which is proportionally longer, and in its outer covering, which is not not of a horny substance, but resembles strong leather, is sufficiently distinguished from others. Five distinct, prominent, tuberculated ridges run along the whole length of this covering. This species is not furnished with an under or thoracic shell. The head is large, and the upper mandible is notched at the tip, which gives it the appearance of having two large teeth. The fins are large and long, and covered with a tough leathery skin. The general colour is dusky brown, but paler beneath.

The coriaceous turtle is a native of the European seas. It is also found on the coasts of South America and Africa. It frequents the Mediterranean sea, and has been occasionally met with on the coasts of France and England. This species, of all the turtles, grows to the largest size. Some have been taken eight feet in length, and weighing no less than 1000 lbs. One was taken in the month of August 1729, not far from the mouth of the Loire in France, which measured seven feet one inch in length, three feet seven inches in breadth, and two in thickness. It is reported that it uttered so hideous a noise when it was taken, that it might be heard at the distance of a quarter of a league. At the same time it foamed at the mouth, seemingly with rage, from which it emitted a noisome vapour. Another was taken in 1778, on the coast of Languedoc, which measured seven feet five inches in length. One taken on the coast of Cornwall in July 1756, measured, from the tip of the nose to the end of the shell, six feet nine inches, and the weight was supposed to be near 800 lbs.

The Greeks, it is supposed, were acquainted with this species of turtle, which they employed in the construction of the ancient lyre or harp. The flesh of this species is extremely fat, but coarse and ill-flavoured; but the religious order of Carthusians prefer it to that of every other.

34. Testudo Mydas, Green Turtle.

Specif. Char.—Of a brownish colour, with 13 scales on the side.

This is the eelent, or common green turtle; the latter name being derived from the colour of the fat. This is supposed to be owing to the vegetable matters on which the animal feeds, and especially the zoofera marina, or turtle grass, of which it is said to be extremely fond. This species is one of the largest of the genus, often exceeding five feet in length, and weighing 500 or 600 lbs. The shell is somewhat heart-shaped, pointed at the extremity, and composed of 13 dorsal divisions, with 25 marginal pieces. The colour is of a dull pale brown, more or less variegated with deeper undulations, but less strong and beautiful colours, than the hawkbill turtle, which yields the tortoise shell.

The green turtle is a native of all the seas within the torrid zone.

This species of turtle has been long esteemed a delicious food by the inhabitants of many of the islands and continents within the torrid zone. In the time of Sir Hans Sloane, the inhabitants of Port Royal in Jamaica employed 40 sloops for the purpose of catching them. The markets were at that time, as they are at present, supplied with turtle in the same way as those of Europe are with butcher's meat. Many of them, according to Catesby, are carried from the Bahama islands to Carolina, where they are esteemed as a great delicacy. "They feed," he adds, "on a kind of grass growing at the bottom of the sea, commonly called turtle grass." The inhabitants of the Bahama islands, by frequent practice, are very expert at catching turtles, especially the green turtle. In April they go in boats to Cuba, and other little neighbouring islands, where in the evening, especially on moon-light nights, they watch the going and returning of the turtle, to and from their nests, at which time they turn them on their backs, where they leave them, and proceed on, turning all they meet, for they cannot get on their feet again when once turned. Some are so large, that it requires three men to turn one of them (a). The way by which the turtle is most commonly taken at the Bahamas islands, is by striking them with a small iron peg turtle of two inches long, put in a socket at the end of a staff of 12 feet long. Two men usually set out for this work in a little light boat or canoe, one to row and gently steer the boat, while the other stands at the head of it with his striker. The turtle are sometimes discovered by their swimming with their head and back out of the water; but they are oftenest found lying at the bottom, a fathom or more deep. If a turtle perceive he is discovered, he starts up to make his escape; the men in the boat pursuing him, endeavour to keep sight of him, which they often lose, and recover again, by the turtle putting his nose out of the water to breathe. Thus they pursue him, one paddling or rowing, while the other stands ready with his striker. It is sometimes half an hour before he is tired; then he sinks at once to the bottom, which gives them an opportunity of striking him, which is by piercing him with an iron peg, flipping out of the socket, but is fastened with a string to the pole. If he is spent and tired by being long pursued, he tamely submits when struck, to be taken into the boat, or hauled ashore. There are men who, by diving, will get on their backs, and by pressing down their hind parts, and raising the fore part of them by force, bring them to the top of the water, while another flips a noose about their necks."

"The turtle never go on shore, except to lay their eggs, which is in the month of April. They then crawl up from the sea above high-water mark, where they dig a hole two feet deep in the sand, into which in a single night they drop above 100 eggs. At this time they are so little liable to be disturbed, that they have been known to drop their eggs into a hat held by a person under them. If, however, they happen to be disturbed before they begin to lay, they forsake the place, and seek another. They lay their eggs at three, four, and sometimes at four different times, a period of fourteen days elapsing between each time. When they have laid their complement of eggs, they fill the hole with

(A) We have seen the same mode of watching and turning the turtle practised in Jamaica, and the phrase there is not to take or seize the turtle, but to turn it. with sand, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. This is usually accomplished in about three weeks. The eggs are round, white, covered with a smooth parchment-like skin, and about the size of tennis balls.

Although the green turtle be a native of the seas within the torrid zone, it is sometimes found on the coasts of Europe, where it has probably been driven by storms, or has fallen overboard from ships from the West Indies. A turtle of this kind, of the enormous size of six feet long, by four broad, and of the weight of 800 or 900 pounds, was taken at Dieppe in France in 1752; and two years afterwards, another still larger was taken on the same coast.

The flesh of the green turtle is not only highly esteemed in those countries of which it is a native, but also so much sought after in Europe, that the importation of it now forms a considerable article of trade, few ships returning from the West Indies without bringing some turtle. But the turtle which now forms a dish, by no means uncommon at the tables of the luxurious, seems to have been little known in Britain previous to the middle of the 18th century; and indeed it was so rare an occurrence, that when one was eaten, it was announced to the public as a piece of news. This appears from the following articles of intelligence. "Friday, August 31, a turtle weighing 350 pounds was eaten at the King's Arms tavern, Pallmall; the mouth of an oven was taken down to admit the part to be baked." Gent. Mag. for 1753. "Saturday, September 29, the Turtler, Capt. Crayton, lately arrived from the island of Ascension, has brought in several turtles of above 300 pounds weight, which have been sold at a very high price. It may be noted, that what is common in the West Indies, is luxury here." Ibid. 1753. "Saturday, July 13th, the Right Honourable Lord Anson made a present to the gentlemen of White's chocolate house, of a turtle which weighed 300 pounds weight, and which laid five eggs since it was in their possession." Its shell was four feet three inches long, and about three feet wide. When its head was cut off, at least five gallons of blood flowed from it, and so full was it of life, that the mouth opened and shut for an hour after it was cut off." Ibid. 1754.

35. Testudo Caretta, Loggerhead Turtle.

Specif. Char.—Variegated with 15 dorsal scales, of which those of the middle row are gibbous toward the tip.

This species most resembles in general appearance the last species, or green turtle. The larger size of the head, the proportional breadth of the shell, the deeper and more variegated colours, are marks of distinction sufficiently characteristic; but the number of dorsal segments, amounting to 15, affords the principal character; for not only the middle row, but those of the sides contain five pieces; and this number is almost always uniform and constant. There is a considerable protuberance on each of the pieces of the middle row, which constitutes a range of tubercles along the back of the shield; the fore feet are very large and long; the hind feet are broad, but much shorter.

This species frequents the same seas with the green turtle, but it is also found occasionally in very distant latitudes, as in the Mediterranean, and particularly about the coasts of Italy and Sicily.

Excepting the coriaceous turtle, this species is the largest in size which has yet been discovered. In the Leverian museum, there is a skull which seems to belong to this species. It measures above a foot in length, and it is said that it was taken from a turtle, the weight of which exceeded 1600 pounds.

In a commercial point of view the loggerhead turtle is of little importance; for the flesh is coarse and rank, and the plates of the shell are too thin to be applied to the usual purposes of tortoise shell. It yields, however, a considerable quantity of oil, which is fit for burning in lamps.

This species is very strong and fierce; it can defend itself very vigorously with its legs, and with its mouth strength of it is able to break the strongest shells and other substances. One which was exhibited at Bologna, in an infant bit in two a thick walking stick which was offered to it.

The following is the account of this species of turtle which is given by Catesby. "The loggerhead turtles, and fierce says he, are the boldest and most voracious of all others; nefs, their flesh is rank, and therefore little sought for, which occasions them to be more numerous than any other kind. They range the ocean over; an instance of which, among many others that I have known, happened in April 1725, in N. Lat. 32°, when our boat was hoisted out, and a loggerhead turtle struck as it was sleeping on the surface of the water. This, by our reckoning, appeared to be the mid way between the Azores and the Bahama islands, either of which places being the nearest land it could come from, or that they are known to frequent, there being none on the north continent of America farther north than Florida. It being amphibious, and yet at so great a distance from land in the breeding time, makes it the more remarkable. They feed mostly on shell fish, the great strength of their beaks enabling them to break very large shells, as the large buccinum and trochus."

36. Testudo Imbricata; Imbricated or Hawksbill Turtle.

Specif. Char.—Variegated, and having thirteen imbricated scales on the disk.

In this species the outline of the shell exhibits more of a corded form than any other; and the termination of the shell is more acute. Each of the middle row of scales on the back is also of a sharpened form at the tip, and a ridge runs down the middle. The head is proportionally smaller than in other turtles; and the neck is longer, narrower, and more curved, thus resembling the bill of a hawk; hence deriving its trivial name. The specific name of imbricated is taken from the peculiarity in the disposition of its scales, which overlap each other at the extremities like the tiles on the roof of a house.

The length of this species is about three feet from the tip of the bill to the end of the shell; but some individuals have been found which measured five feet in length, and weighed from five to six hundred pounds; and it is said that some have been met with in the Indian ocean, of enormous magnitude.

The hawksbill turtle is a native both of the American The ancients employed the shell of this species of turtle for the purpose of a shield; and even at the present day it is used for a similar purpose among rude nations. The flesh of the animal is not held in any estimation as a food; but the plates of the shell being thicker, stronger, and clearer, than those of any other species, render it of great importance as an article of trade. These plates constitute the substance which is well known under the name of tortoise shell. Being semi-transparent and finely variegated with many beautiful colours, they afford, after proper preparation and polishing, numerous elegant ornaments.

To obtain the tortoise shell, the external coating is separated from the bony part by means of heat. A fire is placed under the shell, the effect of which is to make the plates start, and then they are easily detached from the bone: the thickness of the plates varies according to the age and size of the animal. They measure from one-eighth to a quarter of an inch in thickness. Eight pounds of tortoise shell, it is said, may be obtained from a large turtle. Some even yield, according to other accounts, fifteen or twenty pounds; but unless the weight of the animal itself be equal to 150 pounds, the shell is worth little.

It may, perhaps, not be uninteresting to our readers, to mention the method which is employed by the artist, to give to tortoise shell the particular forms which are wanted for the different purposes to which it is applied. The first part of the process is to soften it sufficiently. This is done by steeping it in boiling water, after which it is introduced into a strong metallic mould of the form wanted, and to this great pressure is applied. When a considerable extent of surface is required, different pieces must be joined together. This is done by scraping the edges of the pieces to be united, thin, and laying them over each other, while they are in the heated and softened state. Strong pressure being then applied, they become completely agglutinated. It is in this way that gold, silver, and other metals, for different ornaments, are made to adhere to tortoise shell.

This substance was greatly sought after by the Greeks and Romans for ornamental purposes. It was not unusual, among the latter people, to see their beds, the doors, and pillars of their houses, decorated with tortoise shell; and especially in the reign of Augustus, when this kind of luxury reached its greatest height.

"The Egyptians, according to Mr. Bruce, dealt very largely with the Romans in this elegant article of commerce. Pliny tells us, that cutting them for veneering or inlaying, was first practised by Carvilius Pollio, through which we should presume that the Romans were ignorant of the art of separating the laminae by a fire placed in the inside of the shell when the meat is taken out; for these scales, though they appear perfectly distinct and separate, do yet adhere, and oftener break than split, where the mark of separation may be seen distinctly. Martial says that beds were inlaid with it. Juvenal, and Apuleius in his tenth book, mentions, that the Indian bed was all over shining with tortoise shell on the outside, and swelling with stuffing of down within. The immense use made of it in Rome may be guessed at by what we learn from Velleius Paterculus, who says, that when Alexandria was taken by Julius Caesar, the magazines or warehouses were so full of this article, that he proposed to have made it the principal ornament of his triumph, as he did ivory afterwards, when triumphing for having happily finished the African war. This too, in more modern times, was a great article in the trade to China, and I have always been exceedingly surprised, since near the whole of the Arabian gulf is comprehended in the charter of the East India Company, that they do not make an experiment of fishing both pearls and tortoises, the former of which being so long abandoned, must now be in great plenty and excellence; and a few fishers put on board each ship trading to Jidda, might surely find very lucrative employment, with a long-boat or pinnace, at the time the vessels were felling their cargo in the port; and, while buried in this gainful occupation, the coasts of the Red sea might be fully explored."

37. Testudo ———, Green-shelled Turtle. La Tortue Ecaillée Verte de Cepede.

Specif. Char.—Shell green and variegated.

This species, in general, resembles the common green turtle, both in appearance and manners; but is distinguished from it in having a small rounded head, and never growing to so large a size. It derives its name from the colour of the shell, which is of a fine green, beautifully transparent, and although it is thin, may be applied to many ornamental purposes.

The green-shelled turtle is a native of the south seas, and is found near the American rivers within the torrid zone. It is found particularly in great abundance near Cape Blanco in New Spain. The flesh is in great estimation, and is even preferred by some to that of the green turtle.

38. Trunk Turtle.

This species is mentioned by Catesby, who says that he never saw it; but from information he has described the upper shell as being more convex than in any other species. It is said that it grows to a very large size.—The flesh is rank; but it yields a great quantity of oil, on which account only it is valued.

39. Rhinoceros Turtle. Cepede.

This species also bears a strong resemblance to the common turtle; but it is distinguished from it in having a large soft tubercle on the tip of the snout, and in this are placed the nostrils.

This turtle is said to be a native of the American seas, within the torrid zone, and is eaten in the same way as the common turtle.

II. RANA, FROG.

This genus has been divided by some naturalists into three genera; and undoubtedly there is some foundation for this distinction, both from the form and structure of their bodies, and from their manners and habits. 1. The ranae or frogs, properly so called, and by the French grenouiller, have light active bodies, and are furnished with strong limbs, which enable them to perform their motions by leaping. 2. The hylae, in French rainettes, or tree-frogs, have slender limbs, and have soft tubercles on the toes, by which they can adhere to smooth surfaces, faces, as to the leaves of trees on which many of them reside. 3. The toads or bufones, in French crapauds, which constitute the third genus or division, have large heavy bodies, thick short limbs, and a slow crawling motion. But without multiplying genera, we shall consider the whole under one, distributing them into three sections, according to the division which we have just mentioned.

Sect. I. Ranæ, or Frogs.

1. Rana Temporaria, Common Frog.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown, spotted with black; a lengthened brown patch beneath the eyes.

Of all the European species this is the most common. The general colour is of an olive brown, variegated on the upper parts of the body, with irregular blackish spots. The patch beneath each eye, which reaches to the setting on of the fore legs, seems to constitute one of the principal specific distinctions. The under part of the body is of a pale greenish colour, and but obscurely spotted. But it ought to be observed, that the colour of the frog varies at different seasons of the year, and perhaps in different places. Towards the end of summer, for instance, the colours are much brighter; and as this species frequently casts its skin, the cuticle falling off irregularly from different parts of the body, produces considerable variations in the intensity of the colours.

The frog has a light elegant form, and a lively appearance; the limbs are well calculated for its peculiar motions, and the hind feet being strongly webbed, enable it to swim well. The frog, it is said, does not reach its full size till it is five years old, and it lives from 12 to 15 years. It retires during the heat of summer to the water, and in winter it becomes torpid, and is generally found in the soft mud at the bottom of flagrant waters, or in the cavities beneath their banks, where it remains till the return of spring.

The frog, as well as many other of the reptile tribe, is extremely tenacious of life. It survives for a considerable time, the loss even of some of its essential organs, and it has been found to exist for several days when entirely confined under water.

The frog deposits its spawn in the month of March. This is composed of a gelatinous transparent mass, including the ova or eggs, in each of which is imbedded the embryo or tadpole, which has then the appearance of a round black globule. The period of hatching varies according to the temperature of the season, but it is commonly about a month or five weeks. In its progress the egg becomes gradually larger, and before the tadpole is excluded, it is seen in motion within the surrounding glutin. When they are first hatched, their only food is the remains of the glutin in which they were included. A few days afterwards, if they are minutely examined, a pair of ramified branchiae, or temporary organs, may be observed on each side of the head, which after a short time disappear. The tadpole, which is so extremely unlike the animal in its perfect state, seems to consist only of a head and tail. The head is large, black, and roundish; the tail is slender, and margined with a broad transparent fin. The motions of the tadpole are very lively. Its food consists of duckweed and other small water plants, with different kinds of animalcula. The mouth is furnished with very minute teeth, and when the tadpole has reached a certain size, it may sometimes be heard gnawing the edges of the leaves on which it feeds. By means of a sucker placed between the lower jaw, with which the animal in this state is furnished, it can attach itself at pleasure to the under surface of aquatic plants. When it is very young, it sometimes hangs from this part by means of a glutinous thread, similar to some small slugs.

The internal structure of the organs of the tadpole is very different from that of the future animal. In no respect is this difference greater than in the disposition of the intestines, which are coiled in the form of a flat spiral, like a cable. The first change which appears on the tadpole is at the end of five or six weeks after it is hatched. It is about this time that the hind legs first appear; and gradually increasing in length and size, they are succeeded about two weeks afterwards by the fore legs. These latter, indeed, are formed at an earlier period beneath the skin, and are sometimes protruded and again drawn back by the animal, through a small hole on each side of the breast, before their complete evolution. The tail now gradually decreases, and afterwards more rapidly, so that in the space of a day or two it is quite obliterated. After this change, the animal leaves the water, and covers the banks in myriads. The sudden appearance of such multitudes of young frogs, has probably induced the groundless but popular belief, of their having fallen from the clouds in showers. The frog having now arrived at its perfect form, it changes entirely the nature of its food. It lived formerly on vegetables, now it depends solely for its existence on animal food. It lives chiefly on small snails, worms, and insects. To seize its prey, the structure and position of the tongue are remarkably well fitted. It is of considerable length, and it is attached to the fore part of the mouth, and when at rest it lies backwards. The extremity is bifid, and secretes a glutinous matter, so that in this way it can secure its prey, by darting out its tongue with great celerity, and to some distance from the mouth. This it does with so instantaneous a motion, that it is scarcely perceptible to the eye.

2. Rana Esculenta, Green Frog, or Edible Frog of Pennant.

Specif. Char.—Olive colour, spotted with black, with three yellowish lines on the back; abdomen whitish.

This is the largest species of the European frogs. The general appearance resembles that of the preceding; but it is larger in size, and of an olive-green colour, strongly marked on the upper part of the body with roundish black spots. The limbs are elegantly marked with transverse bands of the same colour. Three distinct pale yellow stripes run from the tip of the nose down the whole length of the back, the middle one being slightly depressed; but the two lateral ones are considerably elevated. The head is proportionally larger than that of the common frog.

The green frog is rare in England, but is very common in France, Italy, and Germany, where it is employed as an article of food.

This species, it is observed by naturalists, does not leave its winter retirement till a much later period than the common frog; and in those countries where it is used as food, it is worth while to attend to this fact, for if they are pretended to be brought to market at an earlier period, the common frog, and sometimes even toads, must be substituted. During the breeding season, the croaking of the male is so loud, that it may be heard at a great distance; and in those places where they are numerous, it becomes intolerable to those who are unaccustomed to hear them, that they are often deprived of sleep. At this time, too, a large inflated globular vesicle is protruded from each side of the head of the male. The globules of spawn in the green frog are proportionally smaller than in the former species. They have somewhat of a yellowish cast. The progress of the tadpole, towards the evolution of the perfect animal, is considerably slower in this species. The fore legs do not appear before October, and the animal does not assume its perfect shape till the beginning of November. The tail at this time begins to decrease, and in the space of four days entirely disappears.

This species is extremely voracious, seizing, it is said, on young birds of different kinds, mice, and even ducklings, and, as it does with the rest of its prey, swallowing them whole. At the age of four years it has reached its full growth. It begins to breed the year following, and the period of its life is sometimes extended to fifteen years.

3. Rana Picta, Piping Frog.

Specif. Char.—Olive-coloured, with ovate black spots, edged with yellow.

This species is smaller than the green frog, but in its general habit bears a considerable resemblance to that animal. From the nose to the tips of the hind feet, it measures only five or six inches. The body and limbs are of a dusky green, spotted with black. Two yellow lines run from the eyes to the rump, and two white lines from each eye to the nose. In the living animal the ears have a bright golden colour.

It is a native of North America. It frequents rivulets and ditches of water, and is so strong and vigorous, that it is said it can leap to the distance of five or six yards. In the spring and beginning of summer, it is supposed to indicate the approach of rain, by a peculiar sound which it emits.

4. Rana Catesbeiana, Bull Frog.

Specif. Char.—Olive brown, spotted with black; large ocellated spots near the ears; hind feet palmated.

This species grows to a very large size, measuring, it is said, more than 18 inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the hind feet. The upper part of the body is brownish, and somewhat irregularly marked with numerous spots of a deeper brown. The under parts are of a whitish cast, with a shade of yellowish green. They are also marked with numerous spots; but these are less bright than those of the upper part.

The bull frog is a native of many parts of North America. It derives its name from the sound of its voice, which resembles the distant lowing of cattle. It usually frequents springs; and in Virginia, where these abound in the sides of the hills, a pair of these frogs are usually seen fitting on the edge of the small pond formed by the running of the water from the spring; and when they happen to be surprised, they retreat to the mouth of the spring, and, entering it, find themselves in safety. In Virginia, too, a popular opinion prevails, that they are useful in purifying the water of the spring. This opinion is greatly in their favour, and saves them from that persecution with which the frog and other reptiles are wantonly and unnecessarily harried in other countries. But the bull frog being extremely voracious, and sometimes devouring young ducks and goslings, is occasionally devoted to destruction.

5. Rana Ocellata, Argus Frog.

Specif. Char.—Feet having each five toes, and unwebbed; toes tuberculated beneath; back fasciated, and sides ocellated.

This is one of the largest of the genus, exceeding, perhaps, the bull frog in the size of its body, but having limbs proportionally thicker and stronger. It has sometimes been confounded with the bull frog; but it is distinguished from it in its general appearance, and particularly in the form of the feet.

This frog is a native of Pennsylvania, Carolina, and other parts of North America, frequenting moist places in the vicinity of springs and rivulets. In its manners and habits it is supposed to be nearly the same with the bull frog.

6. Rana Virginica, Lineated Frog.

Specif. Char.—Cinereous, spotted with red; beneath yellowish; back angular, and marked with five pale stripes.

This species, in shape, size, and structure of the feet, resembles the common frog. It is greenish above, and paler beneath. The back and limbs are variegated with dark-brown marks of different sizes.

It is a native of Virginia.

7. Rana Ovalis, Oval Frog.

Specif. Char.—Colour brownish, beneath yellowish; the head beaked, and scarcely distinct from the globose body.

The snout projecting beyond the lower jaw, constitutes the specific character. The hind legs are short, the feet unwebbed, and there is a callus at the base of the inner toe. Its native country is unknown.

8. Rana Cyanophlyetis, Studded Frog.

Specif. Char.—Brownish blue, having a tuberculated line on each side; beneath whitish, spotted with brown.

In this species the legs are banded with blackish blue and white. In the upper jaw there is a row of thickset conical teeth, resembling those of lizards. The hind feet are webbed, and furnished with a callus like a fifth toe.

It is a native of India.

9. Rana Spinipes, Spiny-footed Frog.

Specif. Char.—Brown, beneath bluish; sides speckled with with an ochreous colour; toes of the fore feet furnished with spines.

This species is larger than the common frog. The feet are unwebbed, and in its habit it approaches to the toad.

It is a native of New Holland.

10. Rana Cerulea, Blue Frog.

Specif. Char.—Blue, speckled, with grayish beneath; feet divided into four toes; hind feet webbed.

The blue frog is of the size of the common one. The toes are not orbiculated; but in its habit and slender limbs it approaches somewhat to the tree frogs.

It is a native of New South Wales.

11. Rana Vespertina, Vespertine Frog.

Specif. Char.—Cinereous, and tuberculated above; a transverse spot between the eyes, and forked behind; marked with longitudinal, subconfluent, brown dorsal spots, which vary into green.

In this species the head is short, and the body is covered with warts or papillae. It is about the size of a toad, having the habit of a frog. It can scarcely be said to leap.

It is a native of Siberia.

12. Rana Ridibunda, Laughing Frog.

Specif. Char.—Cinereous, the body spotted with brown, the thighs dusky, with milk-white spots.

This species is of a very large size, weighing half a pound. It has the habit of the common frog, but is broader.

It is very frequent about the rivers Wolga and Ural, and the Caspian sea. It never leaves the water. In the evening it emits a sound, somewhat resembling a hoarse laugh, whence it derives its specific name.

13. Rana Sitibunda, Thirsty Frog.

Specif. Char.—Glaucous gray, variegated with blackish green spots; beneath whitish; the hind feet femipalmed, and having the appearance of seven toes.

The body is warted, the head short, and has the general habit of a toad, but is larger. There are two curious toes on the hind feet.

It is a native of desert places about the river Ural. It conceals itself during the day.

14. Rana Leveriana, Leverian Frog.

Specif. Char.—Dusky blue, whitish beneath; hind feet palmated, body marked above, with two long and two short white stripes.

Excepting that the body is plumper, and the limbs proportionally shorter, this species has the habit of the common frog. On the back of the head there is a small trifurcated spot, two upper divisions of which point forwards. The lower surface of the body is yellowish white and granulated. The fore feet have four toes, which are slightly orbiculated at the tips.

Its native country is unknown.

15. Rana Ignea, Fire Frog. Rana Bombina, Lin.

Specif. Char.—Olive brown, orange colour beneath, spotted with blue.

This is the smallest of the European frogs, and is not equal even to the tree frog in size. It derives its name of fire frog from the peculiar colour of the under surface of the body; but this is subject to considerable variation.

It is a native of Germany, Italy, and other parts of Europe, but has not been found in England. It frequents turbid stagnant waters, and scarcely ever appears on land. It breeds at the age of three years, and may therefore be supposed to live about ten. It deposits its spawn in the month of June, and the ova are proportionally larger than those of others. The tadpoles, which are of a pale yellowish brown colour, are hatched towards the end of June. When young, they have been frequently observed to hang from the surface of leaves by means of a glutinous thread, issuing from the small tube near the lower lip. About the end of September they are at their full size. At that time the tail appears more fleshy and muscular, and therefore proportionally stronger than in other tadpoles. In the beginning of October they assume their perfect form.

This is one of the most active and lively of the whole genus. It leaps and swims even with greater celerity than the common frog. When it is surprised on the land, and finds that it cannot escape, it squats down close to the ground, turning back its head and limbs in a fingering manner. If it be farther disturbed, it emits from the hinder part of the thighs a frothy kind of fluid which has no disagreeable smell, but some degree of acrimony when it comes in contact with the eyes and nostrils. The sound emitted by the male of this species is sharper than that of other frogs, and somewhat resembles a kind of laugh, or according to some, the note of a cuckoo or the tone of a bell. Hence the Linnaean specific name, rana bombina.

16. Rana Salsa, Saline Frog.

Specif. Char.—Colour olive brown, whitish beneath, with dusky variegations; all the toes are unwebbed.

When this species is first taken out of the water, the brown colour has a shade of blue; the back is befit with tubercles; the legs are fasciated with brown, and the insides of the feet are yellow.

It is a native of the salt marshes of some parts of Germany.

17. Rana Paradoxa, Paradoxical Frog.

Specif. Char.—Yellowish and olive-coloured; variegated with rufous bands; hind legs obliquely striated.

This species resembles in its general form the common frog. The oblique longitudinal stripes on the hind legs constitute the principal mark of distinction. There are four toes on the fore feet, and they are unwebbed. The hind feet have five toes, and are deeply palmated to the very ends of the toes. Near the shortest toe there is an oblong callus, forming a spurious one. The upper jaw is befit with a row of small denticulations. This species is a native of South America, and is more common in Surinam than in other places.

Naturalists have been extremely puzzled with regard to the real nature of what has been taken for the tadpole of this frog. At one time it was considered by Linnaeus as a species of lizard, and therefore arranged by him under the genus *Laceria*. At another time he has placed it under the present genus, with the specific name *picta*. It was described by Edwards under the denomination of the *frog fish of Surinam*. The structure of the animal, which has been the subject of so much discussion, shows clearly that it is the larva or tadpole of a frog; and it is supposed, with no small degree of probability, that the differences in the accounts given of this animal by naturalists have arisen from the different stages of its progress in which it has been found. But as this tadpole is so much larger in size, in proportion to the perfect animal, than any other species yet known, it may be the larva or tadpole of some of the larger species, and not that of the *rana paradoxa*, which is but a small frog.

**Scit. II. Tree Frogs.**

Tree frogs have slender bodies, long limbs, and the tip of the toes are flat, orbicular, and dilated. The species included under this section have been formed according to the arrangement of some naturalists, into a separate genus, under the name of *Hyla*; and no doubt the peculiar structure of the toes, which enables them to adhere to smooth bodies, affords a very striking character, and in some measure warrants the arrangement.

18. **Rana Zebra**, Zebra Frog. *Rana Maxima*, Linn.

*Specif. Char.*—Yellowish and rufous, spotted and fasci- ated with brown. There are double bands on the legs, and the feet are palmed.

This species is the largest of the whole of this section, measuring about five inches from the nose to the end of the body. The colour is an elegant, pale, rufous brown, beautifully marked on the back and limbs, and even to the very ends of the toes, with transverse chestnut-coloured bands. The head is large, the eyes protuberant, and the mouth wide. The fore feet have four toes, and the hind ones five.

It is a native of Carolina and Virginia.

Two other species have been described by naturalists, which more accurate observation has shown to be nearly allied to the preceding. The first is the *rana boans*, Linn. in which the difference is so slight, that as Dr Shaw observes, it may depend on a sexual distinction. The other is the *rana venulosa*, which is supposed to be the same animal as the zebra frog, before it has arrived at its full size.

19. **Rana Bicolor**, Blue-and-Yellow Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour blue, ochreous beneath; feet unwebbed; toes flattened and orbicular.

This elegant species is of moderate size; it measures more than four inches in length. The whole of the upper surface is of a beautiful blue, while the under parts are of a pale orange or ochre colour. The head is large, the mouth wide, and the tip of the nose truncated. All the toes are furnished with a large orbicular tip; and beneath each of the joints there is a process or tubercle. The upper parts of the female have a deeper shade of violet than those of the male.

It is supposed to be a native of Surinam.

20. **Rana Leucophyllata**, White-Leaf Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour rufous, variegated above, with snow-white spots of different shapes.

The variegated spots on the body and limbs are milk-white, and are observed to vary greatly in different individuals, in number, form, and disposition. The toes of the fore feet are slightly webbed at the base.

It is a native of America.

21. **Rana Quadrilineata**, Four-Lined Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour blue, having a double, longitudinal, yellow line on each side of the body.

This species bears a near resemblance to the preceding, but the blue colour above, and the double yellow line, which runs along each side of the body, from the eyes to the vent, sufficiently distinguish it.

Its native country is unknown.

22. **Rana Castanea**, Chestnut Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Chestnut-coloured and granulated; whitish beneath, with a white line on each side of the body.

In this species, the whole of the upper surface, both of body and limbs, is scattered over with minute warts or tubercles. On each shoulder there is a large, long, white spot; the fore arms, hind legs and thighs are barred transversely with white; the feet are unwebbed, the toes rounded, and all the joints tuberculated beneath.

It is supposed to be a native of Surinam.

23. **Rana Fasciata**, Fasciated Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour rufescent, with whitish transverse bands.

In this species the colour is pale rufous; the head, body, and upper parts of the limbs, are marked with pale, transverse bands; the eyes are blue, with a silvery lustre; the outside of the arms and legs are of a blackish brown colour.

Its native place is unknown.

24. **Rana Arborea**, Tree Frog.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour green, whitish beneath, with a blackish lateral line and granulated abdomen; feet unwebbed.

This species is of a smaller size than any other of the European frogs. The colour of the upper part of the body is green; the abdomen is whitish, and marked with numerous granules. The under surface of the limbs is reddish, and on each side of the body there is a longitudinal blackish or violet-coloured stripe, which separates the green of the upper parts from the white of the lower. The lower edge of the dark lateral stripe is shaded with yellow. The hind legs are long and slender. There are four toes on the fore feet, and five on the the hind feet. All of the toes terminate in flat, round, and dilated tips. It is by means of this peculiar structure that the animal is enabled to hang from the leaves of trees, or from any smooth substance; for the undersurface of these tips or tubercles on the toes is soft and glutinous. There is a similar structure on the skin of the abdomen.

The tree-frog is a native of France, Germany, Italy, and other parts of Europe. It has never been found in the British islands. During the summer months, it chiefly frequents the upper parts of trees, and wandering among the leaves in search of insects, it seizes them with extreme celerity. It steals softly towards its prey, and when it has reached the proper distance, it makes a sudden spring of more than a foot in height. For this it is peculiarly fitted, from its nimble and active movements. It conceals itself beneath the shade of the leaves, by attaching itself to their under surface by means of the feet, or abdomen.

On the approach of winter, the tree frog leaves the woods, and retires to the waters, where it buries itself in the soft mud, or conceals itself beneath the banks, where it remains torpid till the spring, when it deposits its spawn in the water. At this time the throat of the male is greatly inflated, and the loud sharp croak which it then emits, is heard at a very considerable distance. The spawn is deposited in small cluttered masses, about the end of April, and the tadpoles assume the form of the perfect animal about the beginning of August, at which time they begin to ascend the neighbouring trees, where they reside while the warm season continues. It has been observed that they are more noisy on the approach of rain; and the males particularly, if kept in glases, and furnished with food, afford certain indications of the changes of the weather.

25. Rana Meriana, Merian Frog.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish green, variegated with brown, with conically shaped, auricular vesicles.

This species is three times the size of the common tree frog, and on each side of the neck there is a remarkable protuberance like an obtuse conical, inflated pouch.

This species is sometimes found on trees, and sometimes in the water, according to the different periods of its growth. According to Madame Merian's description, these frogs are found in stagnant waters. They have, the observers, ears in their heads, and knobs or balls on their feet, which have been given them by nature to enable them to pass easily over the marshy places which they inhabit.

26. Rana Aurantia, Orange Frog.

Specif. Char.—Orange-coloured; body and limbs very slender.

This species is entirely of a reddish orange colour, long-limbed and slender-bodied. It is smaller than the European tree frog.

It is a native of South America, inhabiting trees.

27. Rana Tinctoria, Tinging Frog.

Specif. Char.—Of a reddish colour; the body fasciated with white.

It is of a bright red or ferruginous colour above, marked longitudinally with a pair of white stripes. These at an early age are often crossed with a transverse stripe; and indeed the individuals of this species have been found to vary greatly in the disposition of the colours.

It is a native of South America, and inhabits trees.

The Indians employ this species of frog to change the colour of green parrots. For this purpose they pluck the feathers from that part of the parrot on which they wish the new colour to be introduced. They rub the skin with the blood of the animal, and the renovated feathers, instead of being green as formerly, are yellow or red.

28. Rana Alba, White Frog.

Specif. Char.—Entirely of a white colour.

On the upper part of the body there are some spots or patches, which are of a brighter white than the ground. It is, however, subject to some variations.

It is a native of the woods in the warmer parts of North America.

29. Rana Bilineata, Bilineated Frog.

Specif. Char.—Colour green, with a straight yellow line on each side of the body.

The only difference between this species and the common tree frog is, in the yellow line on each side of the body of the former being somewhat straighter, and without undulations.

It is a native of the warmer parts of North America, inhabiting the woods.

Sect. III. Toads.

30. Rana Bufo, Common Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown, with reddish brown tubercles, pale beneath.

The common toad is too well known to require any detailed description. The colour is generally of an obscure brown above, but much paler, and irregularly spotted beneath. It is, however, subject to considerable variations, being sometimes found of an olive cast; and in the earlier part of summer, the shoulders and limbs are marked with reddish spots, while the under parts of the body have a yellowish tinge. The body is always covered with pustules or tubercles of a darkish green, or bright red colour, and they are of different sizes in different individuals. The common toad is not only a native of Europe, but of other countries of the world.

The common toad usually frequents shady places, in History of gardens or fields; is found under stones, or makes its way into cellars or other obscure recesses, anxious, as it would seem, to conceal itself, or, that it may lie protected from excessive cold, and find a supply of food. The toad, like the common frog, becomes torpid in winter; and it would appear, that they sometimes collect together in numbers, and take up their habitation in the same hole or cavity, with the view of preserving and retaining their heat for a greater length of time. At the return of spring, the toad leaves its lurking place, and retires to the waters, where it deposits its spawn. The ova are included in a transparent gluten, which is in the form of chains or strings, somewhat resembling a necklace. The length of these strings is from three to four feet; and through the whole length the ova, which have the appearance of black globules or beads, are disposed in a double series. The tadpole is hatched at the end of 14 or 15 days, according to the temperature of the season; and having burst from the surrounding gluten, they swim about in the water, feeding on different animals, and leaves of water plants. Early in the autumn they assume the form of the perfect animal, when they retire from the water, and are sometimes found in such numbers on the ground in its vicinity, that it has probably given rise to the common opinion of their having fallen from the clouds in flowers.

The age of the toad is supposed to be about 15 or 20 years, but sometimes they exceed this period. One, of which Mr Pennant has given an account in his British Zoology, lived to the great age of 40 years. This individual had been known for that time in a domesticated state. It was kept by a Mr Aclot in Devonshire, and had become so tame, that it left its hole at the approach of its master, to receive food. It grew to a very large size, and had become an object of much curiosity, that in spite of the aversion and horror which this animal usually inspires, it was visited by all, and even by ladies, who came to the house. It was frequently brought to table, and fed with insects, and without any degree of embarrassment, or seeming desire to get away, it feasted them with great celerity. Its usual place of residence was under the steps of the door of the house which led to the garden. It was unfortunately seized by a raven, and severely wounded, before it could retreat to its hole; and although it was liberated from its enemy, and lived for more than a year afterwards, it never recovered its usual health and vigour, otherwise the period of its life might have been greatly extended.

It has been long supposed that the toad, when it is irritated, secretes a fluid from its skin which is of a poisonous quality. This fluid, however, has no effect whatever, except producing a little irritation, on larger animals. A dog, it has been observed, carrying a toad for a short time in its mouth is affected with a slight swelling of the lips, and an increased discharge of saliva. This fluid undoubtedly answers some purpose in the economy of the animal, and it is probably intended for its protection against the troublesome attacks of smaller animals. This seems to be in some measure proved from the experiments of Laurenti. In these experiments it appeared that small lizards which had bitten the common toad, became disordered, and paralytic, and even apparently dead. They were, however, completely recovered in the space of a few hours.

Many wonderful stories have been related of the toad having been found inclosed in the solid substance of wood and stone, or marble; and what is still more wonderful, that it has been in such circumstances without any visible outlet, or the smallest passage for the access of air, alive, and seemingly uninjured. It is not indeed a little surprising, that a supposed fact of this kind, to contrary to the nature of animal existence, should even for a moment have gained any degree of belief; yet many such stories have been currently reported, and readily, we might almost say universally, admitted to be true; for being established on what was said to be the most doubted testimony, they were received and acknowledged as fully authenticated. But on closer investigation, in all cases where inquiry could be made, it was found that some links in the chain of evidence were always wanting. In no instance whatever, it may be asserted, has the fact been ascertained from direct information, founded on any credible or respectable authority. It has always been first communicated by report, or from a distance; circumstances which always give room for mistake and error. Toads may have been found inclosed in wood, or even in stone, perhaps without having received any material external injury; but that they should have remained in such situations for any great length of time, as for years, nay, in some cases, for hundreds of years, totally deprived of food, and completely excluded from all access of air, is not only highly incredible, but impossible. But if farther evidence were necessary, this supposed fact is fully disproved by the experiments of Herissant, which he performed in presence of the French Academy. It had been asserted that a living toad was found in the year 1771, in a wall at a feet belonging to the duke of Orleans. The wall, which was then pulled down, had been built 40 years; and its hind feet were found imbedded in the mortar. In Herissant's experiments, three toads were inclosed in separate boxes, and these were immediately covered with a thick coat of mortar, and kept in the apartments of the academy. At the end of 18 months the boxes were opened, and two of the toads were found living. They were again inclosed; but being re-opened after some months had elapsed, they were found dead.

31. Rana Alliacea, Alliaceous Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour pale gray, marked with brown, and having a whitish dorsal line; pupils perpendicular.

This species, excepting in a greater proportional length of the head, has a considerable resemblance to the common toad. It differs from it also in being nearly smooth. The colour above is a brownish gray, with spots of deep brown, which on the sides are disposed in a reticular form. The eye has a very peculiar structure. The form of a pupil, when the eye is contracted, is perpendicular, as in the eyes of cats. On the hind feet there is a spurious claw, or horny callus, situated beneath the heel.

This animal gives out, when irritated, a peculiar odour, which resembles that of onions or garlic, and produces a similar acrid effect on the eyes. A smell like that of the smoke of gunpowder is also sometimes combined with the garlic smell.

This species is a native of Germany. It is found in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg.

It has been already mentioned, that the spawn of the common toad is deposited in the form of a double string; but in this species there is only one string, which is of considerable thickness, and the numerous ova are disposed, not in a double row, as in the former, but in a confluent manner through the length of the spawn, which is sometimes found nearly two feet long.

The tadpole of the alliaceous toad, like the supposed one of the rana paradoms, is considerably larger in size than the young frog when it has first assumed its perfect form. Indeed it is so large, that in the vicinity of the places where it is found, it is employed as food by the country people, who consider it as a kind of fish. It seems also to be one of the most voracious tadpoles.

The alliaceous toad, contrary to the habits of the common toad, remains almost constantly in water, and very rarely appears on land. It is also more lively and active in its nature, and its motions are performed by a kind of leaping, rather than by the crawling sluggish pace of the latter.

32. Rana Mephitica, Mephitic Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour olive, spotted with brown; warts on the skin reddish; dorsal line sulphur-coloured.

Excepting in the colour, and being of a smaller size, this species greatly resembles the common toad. The body and limbs are stout and thick; the fore feet are furnished beneath with a pair of bony processes, by means of which it is enabled to climb up the sides of walls. The hind feet have no webbed structure. In its motions it runs somewhat like a mouse. It comes out only in the night, from the cavities of walls and rocks, where it conceals itself by day.

This species is a native of Germany, in some parts of which it is known by the name of roerhling, or reed frog, because in the spring it frequents places which are overgrown with reeds. At this season, too, it is well known by the strong and peculiar note or croak which it utters.

In the month of June, when this species breeds, it resorts to the water, to deposit its ova. These are emitted, as is the case with the common toad, in double rows, in a pair of long glutinous strings; and so rapid is the progress of hatching, that the tadpoles appear in the space of five or six days, having separated themselves from the spawn. The hind legs appear about the end of August, are soon succeeded by the fore legs, and by September or October the animal has assumed its complete form.

The mephitic toad has derived its name from a most offensive smell which it diffuses when it is irritated. This odour proceeds from a white acid fluid which exudes from the pores of the skin. The animal has the power of emitting this fluid to the distance of three or four feet, and it is said that if it fall on any part of the room where the animal is kept, it will scarcely be entirely dissipated for two months afterwards. This odour resembles the smoke of gunpowder, but is considerably stronger; or that of the fumes of arsenic.

Var. The natterjack of Pennant is, according to some, a variety of the above species. It is not, however, said, that, like the mephitic toad, it emits any peculiarly offensive odour; but its running motions bear a near resemblance; for it does not leap, nor does it crawl with the sluggish pace of the common toad.

It is a native of England, and is found in Pulleyn common, and near Recvelley abbey in Lincolnshire, frequenting dry and sandy places.

33. Rana Viridis, Green Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour pale, varied with greenish spots; tubercles reddish. Rana variabilis, Linn.

In this species the green spots or patches are bounded with a blackish margin, and the whole has somewhat of the appearance of a map. The spots on the legs and thighs are transverse, forming a kind of bars; the eyes are remarkable for a beautiful golden colour, and when the animal is irritated, seem to emit a kind of phosphoric light.

This species is a native of Germany and other parts of Europe, and is not unfrequently found about Vienna, where it inhabits the cavities of walls.

This species, like the mephitic toad, emits a very strong odour, which resembles that of garden nightshade. It is so powerful, that it diffuses itself through a large room.

During the breeding season this species frequents the waters, and in winter it retires under ground. Its croaking is said to resemble the creaking of the hinge of a door. It would appear, that the fluid which exudes from the skin of this toad, and probably also from that of others, is poisonous to small animals; for it is said that the smaller kinds of the gray lizard, on biting this toad, became immediately strongly convulsed, and died in a few minutes.

34. Rana Marina, Marine Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown, with a large porous prominence over each shoulder; very large size.

This species even exceeds the bull frog in size. On each shoulder there is a protuberance of a light-brown colour, which is marked with many pores. These are the parotid glands, which are peculiarly conspicuous. The feet have no webs, and there are four toes on the fore feet, and five on the hind. The toes are furnished with claws, somewhat resembling the human hair. There are some tubercles at the extremity of the body, which are said to be owing to the folding of the skin, when the animal is placed in a particular attitude; for these disappear when the attitude is changed.

This species is said to be a native of America; and, according to some, is calculated to live both by land and sea.

35. Rana Dubia, Doubtful Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown, warty, having a large porous prominence over each shoulder; hind feet subpalmated and subhexadactyle.

In size this species comes near that of the common toad; but it is different in shape, as it tapers from the shoulders to the hind legs like the tree frogs. The upper surface of the body is covered with oval tubercles, and there are protuberances on the shoulders like the rana marina. The under parts of the body are also befit with smaller tubercles. The joints of the toes of the fore feet are tuberculated beneath, and there are two remarkable protuberances under the foot.

Of the native country of this species, or of its manners and habits, nothing is yet known.

36. Rana Typhonia, Mitred Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown, dorsal line whitish; head triangular.

This species is about the size of the common toad; Toads.

the thighs are barred with brown, and the skin of the whole body is covered with numerous small protuberances of a pearly colour. The sides of the head beyond each eye have somewhat of an angular appearance, and from this it has derived the name of mitred toad.

37. Rana Braziliana, Brazilian Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour rufous, with numerous brown spots on every part of the body.

In its general appearance this species resembles the common toad, but is much larger, and the head is proportionally shorter. The spots or stripes on the body are red brown, placed transversely, and are somewhat waved.

It is a native of South America; but, according to some, has been found in the island of Cuba.

38. Rana Ventricosa, Granulated Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour pale brown; abdomen dilated, and marked on the sides with blackish spots.

In this species the head and eyes are large, the mouth wide, the body somewhat depressed; the abdomen is very broad; the limbs are rather short. The upper surface of the body and limbs is covered with tubercles of different sizes, pretty distinctly arranged.

It is supposed to be a native of Brazil.

39. Rana Cornuta, Horned Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour cinereous, banded with brown; eyelids conical.

In this species a broad white band runs along the back, from the head to the extremity of the body, and becoming gradually narrower. It is covered with small specks like pearls. The rest of the body, excepting the head, is rough, with sharp points. The head is large and thick, and a broad thick tongue appears when the mouth is opened. It is covered with papillae, and fastened to the anterior part of the lower jaw. The gape of the mouth extends almost half the length of the body; the eyes are rather small, and are placed nearer than in other frogs. Each of the upper eyelids rises up into a large conical callus, or horn. From this extraordinary width of the mouth, and singular structure of the upper eyelids, this species exhibits the most deformed and hideous aspect of any of the whole tribe.

It is a native of South America.

40. Rana Pipa, Pipa, or Surinam Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown; toes of the fore feet quadrifid at the extremities.

This species is considerably larger than the common toad. The body is flattish; the head somewhat triangular; the mouth wide, and the corners are furnished with a kind of rugged appendage. There are four long thin toes on the fore feet, and each of the toes is divided into four distinct processes; and these, when minutely examined, are found to be still farther divided. The hind feet have five toes, and are webbed to the tips. The male is larger than the female, measuring sometimes seven inches from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the body. The nose in both sexes is truncated, and the eyes very small.

This singular species is a native of Surinam.

The economy and habits of the pipa greatly occupied the attention of naturalists for a long time after it was first known to Europeans, which was about the end of the 17th century. It was then supposed that the ova were produced in cells on the back of the animal, without being first excluded, as in the other species of this tribe, in the form of spawn. But future observers have added new facts, and greater accuracy, to the natural history of this species; and it is now found that the spawn being excluded in the usual manner, is received into a number of open cells on the back of the animal, and is there retained till the young have reached some degree of maturity. This discovery is owing to Dr Fermin, who made his observations on the spot, during a residence at Surinam. The female pipa, he observes, deposits her spawn near stagnant water. The male collects the ova, and places them carefully on the back of the female, where, after being impregnated, they are pressed into the cells, which are then open to receive them. The cells close over them, and retain them for near three months, when the young animals, having arrived at their perfect state, emerge from the back of the parent. During this period of concealment, it has been discovered by other naturalists, that the ova undergo the same change as in those which are hatched out of the body; first assuming the form of tadpole, and then acquiring the complete shape before they are excluded from the cells. In this mode of hatching its young, some naturalists have observed an analogy in this process of nature between the Surinam toad and the opofium.

This animal, from the uncuttness of its shape, and its general appearance, will, by many, be considered at first view as little less hideous and deformed than the horned toad.

41. Rana Breviceps, Short-headed Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown, pale beneath; body ovate, convex, and marked with a longitudinal, albo-coloured, dentated band. Rana gibbea, Linn.

This is a small species, and scarcely exceeds half the size of the common toad. The head is very small, obtuse, and sunk in the thorax. The toes of the fore feet are unwebbed, have no claws, and are furnished with tubercles beneath the joints. The hind feet are furnished with six toes.

It is a native of Senegal, and some other parts of Africa.

42. Rana Systema, Indistinct Toad.

Specif. Char.—Body somewhat globose; head indistinct, and mouth small.

In its general appearance this species greatly resembles the preceding. The body is thick and roundish, and the head is so little distinguished from the body, that the mouth is scarcely perceptible. The legs are very short, and the thighs seem enclosed in the wrinkled skin of the sides. The whole body is smooth.

It is a native of the East Indies. 33. Rana Acephala, Headless Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour brownish, marbled with white; head indistinct, and mouth very small, bending downwards.

Excepting in the colour, which is very different, and in the head being still less distinguished from the body, this species in appearance comes very near the two former. The mouth also is smaller, and is curved downwards at each corner. Its native country is unknown.

44. Rana Lentiginosa, Carolina Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour gray, freckled with brown; head somewhat pointed.

This species in its general appearance greatly resembles the common toad, excepting that the head is smaller, and the snout sharper. The colour is of a dusky brown, mottled with minute blackish or dark-brown spots. In its motions this species is different from the common toad, for it leaps rather than crawls.

It is a native of North America, and particularly of Carolina and Virginia. It is said to be most common in wet weather, and frequents the higher grounds, appearing not only in the evening, but even in the hottest part of the day.

This species, like others of the same tribe, feeds on insects, and seems to be extremely fond of luminous insects, as fire-flies, glow-worms, &c. It is said that it will seize a piece of live wood coal, mistaking it for a luminous insect, and swallow it, seemingly with impunity.

45. Rana Semilunata, Crescent Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour blackish, paler beneath; a white crescent-shaped spot at each ear.

This species is larger than the common toad, and is particularly distinguished by a large, round, white spot behind the parotids. The body is covered above with tubercles.

46. Rana Melanostica, Black-lipped Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown; warts black, speckled; upper lip and eyelids edged with black; hind feet subhexadactyloous and femipalmated.

This species is nearly the size of the common toad, and resembles it in its general appearance. The space between the eyes is depressed and smooth. The edges of the projecting orbits of the eyes are black; the upper jaw is surrounded with a similar border, and the tips of the toes and the two tubercles of both hind and fore feet are also black.

It is supposed to be a native of China.

47. Rana Arunco, Arunco.

Specif. Char.—Body warted; all the feet webbed.

This species is nearly of the same colour as the common frog, but it is larger in size. The body is warted, and all the feet are palmated.

It is a native of Chili.

48. Rana Lutea, Yellow Toad.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellow; feet subpalmated.

In its general habit this species resembles the common frog, but is smaller in size. The skin is covered with warts, and all the feet are subpalmated.

It is also a native of Chili, and frequents the waters.

III. DRACO, Dragon.

Gen. Char.—The body is four-footed, and is furnished with a tail: on each side there is an expanse, radiated, wing-like skin.

1. Draco Volans, Flying Dragon.

Specif. Char.—The fore legs are unconnected with the wings.

The flying dragon, in many respects, both in its structure and habits, resembles the tribe of lizards; but on account of the expanse cutaneous processes with which the sides are furnished, Linnaeus has arranged it under a distinct genus.

The body of this animal is about four inches in length; but from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail, it is commonly about nine or ten inches, and sometimes a foot. The form of the head is very singular; it is furnished beneath with a large triple pouch or process, one part of which hangs beneath the throat, while the other two project on each side. They are all sharp-pointed, and are more conspicuous, in proportion to the size of this animal, than the same processes in lizards. The mouth is wide; the tongue large and thick at the base; the teeth are small and numerous; the neck is also small; the body and limbs are slender, and entirely covered with small pointed scales. On the upper part of the body the colour is pale blue, or bluish gray; but the back and tail are marked with transverse dusky bars. The wings are elegantly spotted with patches of black, deep brown, and white, of different forms. The under surface is of a whitish-brown colour.

The flying dragon is a native of Asia and Africa, where it is found frequenting trees; and for this it is peculiarly adapted, from the cutaneous processes with which it is furnished on each side. For by means of these lateral membranes, it is enabled to spring with more facility from branch to branch, and even to support itself for some time in the air, like the bat or flying squirrel. Like the lizard, it feeds on insects.

2. Draco Præpos, American Flying Dragon.

Specif. Char.—Wings united with the arms.

This species is considered by some naturalists only as a variety of the former. The circumstances in which it differs are, that the body and neck are more slender, and the pouch at the throat is single.

It is said to be a native of America.

The real dragon of modern naturalists, it may be observed, is not that terrible and destructive monster, the mere creature of imagination, which existed only in the descriptions of romance, and the older poetry; nor is it the animal which we find described and figured in some of the writings of the older naturalists. For these, it is now well known, are either entirely fictitious beings, or have been prepared artificially, by joining together the limbs of different animals; and thus producing a monster, under the name of dragon, unknown in nature. This has been done by warping some species of the skate tribe, into what was supposed to be the shape of a dragon, and having raised the fins, and dried them in this position, by adding the legs of birds or other animals. Hence have originated the monstrous representations, which are found in some of the older naturalists, of many-headed dragons, having necks and tails like those of snakes, and feet like those of birds. Deceptions of this kind, it would appear, have been often successfully practised; by which means, not only the vulgar, but also men of science, have been misled and imposed upon. The following is an instance of this kind, which happened about the end of the 17th century. It is quoted by Dr Shaw, and he observes, is thus commemorated by Dr Grainger from a note of Dr Grey, in his edition of Hudibras, vol. i. page 125.

"Mr Smith of Bedford observes to me on the word dragon, as follows: Mr Jacob Bobart, botany professor (or rather superintendent of the garden) of Oxford, did about 40 years ago, find a dead rat in the physic garden, which he made to resemble the common picture of dragons, by altering its head and tail, and thrusting in taper sharp sticks, which defended the skin on each side, till it mimicked wings. He let it dry as hard as possible. The learned immediately pronounced it a dragon, and one of them sent an accurate description of it to Dr Magliabechi, librarian to the grand duke of Tuscany. Several fine copies of verses were wrote on so rare a subject; but at last Mr Bobart owned the cheat; however, it was looked upon as a masterpiece of art, and as such deposited in the museum or anatomy school, where I saw it some years after."

We shall relate another instance of an artificial dragon, with which a similar deception was practised, and which was detected by Linnaeus. This dragon was in the possession of a merchant at Hamburgh, and was valued by the proprietor at 10,000 florins. Linnaeus, while he was on a visit to that city, detected the cheat, and showed that it was entirely an artificial animal, composed of the skins of snakes, the teeth of weasels, the claws of birds, &c. It is even said, that Linnaeus having made this discovery, was obliged to make a precipitate retreat from Hamburgh, to avoid a prosecution which was threatened by the proprietor on the score of the reputation and value of his property being injured by this discovery.

IV. LACERTA, LIZARD.

Gen. Char.—The body is four-footed, elongated, and furnished with a tail; there is no secondary integument.

The numerous genus Lacerta includes a great variety of animals which, although they possess many characters in common, yet they exhibit considerable differences, not only in their economy and habits, but also in structure and external form. On this account this genus has been divided by some naturalists into a number of distinct genera. We have here, however, according to Linnaean arrangement, retained the whole under the same genus; but we shall divide the species comprehended under it, as other naturalists have done, into different sections, as follows: 1. Crocodiles; 2. Guanas; 3. Cordyls; 4. Lizards proper; 5. Chameleons; 6. Geckos; 7. Scinks; 8. Salamanders, Newts, or Efts; 9. Snake Lizards.

Sect. I. CROCODILES.

The character of the animals included under this section is, that they are furnished with very strong scales.

1. LACERTA CROCODILUS, Common Crocodile, or Crocodile of the Nile.

Specif. Char.—Head mailed; neck carinated; tail furnished on the upper part with two lateral crested processes.

The crocodile sometimes arrives at a very great size. Individuals of 20 feet long have frequently been seen, and instances are mentioned of some which have exceeded the length of 30, and even 40 feet. When it is full grown, the colour of the upper part of the body is blackish brown; beneath it is yellowish white. The upper parts of the legs and sides are varied with deep yellow, and in some parts tinged with green. The colour of the younger animal is different; for that of the upper parts is a mixture of brown and pale yellow, while the under parts are nearly white. The opening of the mouth is of great width, and exhibits somewhat of a flexuous outline. Both jaws are furnished with numerous sharp-pointed teeth; those in the middle part of the jaw being largest, and resembling the canine teeth of viviparous quadrupeds. Each jaw contains 30 teeth or more, for the number is found to vary in different individuals, perhaps from the difference of age. The disposition of the teeth is such, that when the mouth is shut, they alternate with each other. When the teeth have been taken out, and the alveoli examined, it has appeared that small teeth were forming beneath, to supply the loss of the others when shed. The external openings of the ears are placed on the top of the head, above the eyes; they are of moderate size, of an oval form, and covered with a membrane, in which there is a longitudinal slit, giving them the appearance of closed eyes. The eyes are furnished with a nictitating membrane, or transparent moveable pellicle, similar to that of birds. The legs of the crocodile are short, strong, and muscular. There are five toes on the fore feet, and they are unwebbed. On the hind feet there are only four toes, which, towards the base, are united by means of a strong membrane. The two anterior toes on each of the fore feet, and the interior one of the hind feet, have no claws; but the other toes are furnished with claws, which are strong, sharp and curved. The tail is long, comprised on the sides, and furnished above with an upright process, formed by the gradual approach of two elevated crests which proceed from the lower part of the back. The upper part of the body of the crocodile is covered with strong armour; which, in its structure exhibits the appearance of a regular and curious carved work, and is indeed a most elaborate piece of mechanism. It is so Lizards, strong and thick; when the animal has reached its full growth, that it easily resists the force of a musket-ball. On the lower parts of the body, it is more pliable, and much thinner, so that it is in these parts only that wounds can be inflicted.

The crocodile deposits its eggs in the sand or mud, in the banks of the rivers which it inhabits; and as soon as the young are hatched, they proceed to the water. When the young are first excluded, the head is proportionally much larger than that of the full grown animal. The egg of the common crocodile is about the size of that of a goose, and resembles greatly that of a bird. It is covered with a calcareous shell, which is lined with a membranous substance. Various birds, the ichneumon and other animals, make great havoc among the eggs of the crocodile during the period of hatching, thus diminishing the numbers which would otherwise be produced. The eggs of the crocodile, and indeed the flesh itself, are regarded as delicacies among some African nations, and compose a part of their favourite repasts.

The crocodile is a native of Asia and Africa, but it seems to be more common in the latter than in the former country. It inhabits the large rivers, as the Nile, the Niger, &c., frequenting the low land islands of these rivers; and preys chiefly on fish, although, being extremely voracious, it feasts any other animal that comes within its reach.

The crocodile has been long regarded as one of the most formidable animals of the countries which it inhabits; but from the accounts of later naturalists, it appears, that it is by no means so ferocious as has been pretended. Denon, who visited Egypt along with the French army, observes, that many stories are related of crocodiles, but that he had not any opportunity of verifying a single one. "Daring," (says he) even to imprudence, our soldiers felt them at defiance. Even myself bathed daily in the Nile; for the tranquil nights that I thus obtained, rendered me regardless of dangers, which we had not yet verified by a single fact. If the crocodiles had devoured a few of the carcases which the war left at their disposal, such a food, it might be imagined, would only excite their appetite, and engage them to pursue, when alive, their favourite prey. And yet we were never once attacked by them, nor did we ever meet with a single crocodile at a distance from the water. Hence it appears probable, that they find in the Nile itself a sufficient quantity of easily procurable food, which they digest slowly, being like the lizard and serpent, cold-blooded, and of an inactive stomach. Besides, having in the Egyptian part of the Nile no enemies but each other and man, they would be truly formidable; if, covered as they are, with an almost impenetrable defensive armour, they were alert and skilful in making use of those which nature has given them for attack."

The same author observes, that no crocodiles were seen at Syene on the river Nile, but that they are to be met with above the cataracts. "They seem (he says) to prefer certain reaches of the river, and particularly from Tentyra to Ombos; they abound most of all near Hermontes. We here saw three of them; one much larger than the rest, was nearly 25 feet long; they were all asleep, so that we could approach them within 20 paces, and we had time to distinguish all the peculiarities which gave them such a hideous aspect. They resembled dismounted cannon. I fired on one with a heavy musket; the ball struck him, and rebounded from his scales. He made a leap of 10 feet, and dived into the river."

In the large rivers of Africa, vast shoals of crocodiles are seen swimming together, when they exhibit the appearance of the trunks of large trees floating on the water. It is said that the negroes venture to attack, and often succeed in killing a single crocodile, by stabbing it with a sharp instrument under the belly, where the skin is soft and vulnerable. In some countries, we are told, the hunting of the crocodile with strong dogs, is practised for amusement. For this purpose the dogs are properly trained and instructed; and to protect them against the attack of the crocodile, they are armed with collars furnished with spikes.

It is even said, that crocodiles are occasionally tamed in some parts of Africa, and that they constitute an article of royal magnificence with some of the African monarchs, in which case they are kept in large ponds or lakes. It is well known that crocodiles were exhibited by the ancient Romans during their public spectacles. In the edileship of Scaurus, he presented the people with a fight of five crocodiles in a temporary lake; and one was introduced by Augustus in his triumph over Cleopatra, for their entertainment.

Var.—A variety of the common crocodile, it is said, has been found in the river Senegal; according to M. Adanson, it has a longer snout, and is almost entirely black. It is said that it is very rapacious, and has only been observed in the above river, where the common crocodiles are very numerous.

2. Lacerta Alligator, the Alligator or American Crocodile.

Specif. Char.—Head flat, imbricated; neck naked, or uncarnated; tail furnished above with two lateral lines.

The alligator is considered by some naturalists only as a variety of the crocodile; any differences which are observable, they suppose, may be ascribed to the effect of climate. They have the same number of teeth, and their manners and habits are nearly similar in the old and new world; but the difference, although not at first sight obvious, seems to be fully established from the more accurate observations of others. The head of the alligator is smooth, and is not furnished with the rugosities and hard carinated scales which appear on the head of the crocodile; and besides, the snout of the alligator is flatter, wider, and more rounded at the extremity. The size of the alligator is little inferior to that of the crocodile. Individuals have been often seen from 18 to 20 feet long.

Catesby, in his history of Carolina, has given a fuller account of the economy and habits of the alligator, than any other author. "Though the largest, says he, and greatest numbers of alligators, inhabit the torrid zone, the continent abounds with them 10° more north, particularly as far as the river Neus in North Carolina. In the latitude of about 33°, beyond which I have never heard of any, which latitude nearly answers to the northernmost parts of Africa, where they are likewise found, they frequent not only salt rivers near the sea, but streams of fresh water in the upper parts of the country, and in lakes of salt and fresh water; or on the banks of which they lie lurking among reeds, to surprise cattle and other animals. In Jamaica, and many parts of the continent, they are found about 20 feet in length. They cannot be more terrible in their aspect than they are formidable and mischievous in their natures, sparing neither man nor beast they can surprise, pulling them down under water; that being dead, they may with greater facility, and without struggle or resistance, devour them. As quadrupeds do not often come in their way, they almost subsist on fish; but as providence, for the preservation, or to prevent the extinction of defenceless creatures, hath in many instances restrained the devouring appetites of voracious animals by some impediment or other; so this destructive monster, by the close connection of his vertebrae, can neither swim nor run any way but straight forward, and is consequently disabled from turning with that agility requisite to catch his prey by pursuit; therefore, they do it by surprise in the water, as well as by land; for effecting which, nature seems in some measure to have recompensed their want of agility, by giving them a power of deceiving and catching their prey by a sagacity peculiar to them, as well as by the outer form and colour of their body, which on land resembles an old dirty log or tree, and in the water frequently lies floating on the surface, and there has the like appearance; by which, and his silent artifice, fish, fowl, turtle, and all other animals are deceived, suddenly caught, and devoured.

"Carnivorous animals get their food with more difficulty and less certainty than others; and are often necessitated to fast a long time, which a slow concoction enables them to endure: reptiles particularly, by swallowing what they eat whole, digest slowly, eat seldom, and live long without food. Wolves are said to gorge themselves with mud, to supply the want of better food. For the like cause, many alligators swallow stones and other substances to distend and prevent the contraction of their intestines when empty, and not to help digestion, which they seem in no need of. For in the greater number of many which I have opened, nothing has appeared but lumps of light wood and pieces of pine-tree coal, some of which weighed eight pounds, and were reduced and worn so smooth from their first angular roughness, that they seemed to have remained in them many months. They lay a great number of eggs at one time on the sandy banks of rivers and lakes, which are hatched by the heat of the sun without further care of the parents. The young, as soon as they are disengaged from their shells, betake themselves to the water, and shift for themselves; but while young, they serve as a prey not only to ravenous fish, but to their own species. It is to be admired, that so vast an animal should at first be contained in an egg no better than that of a turkey.

"In South Carolina they are very numerous; but the northern situation of that country occasions their being of a smaller size than those nearer the line; and they rarely attack men or cattle, yet are great devourers of hogs. In Carolina they lie torpid from about October to March in caverns and hollows in the banks of rivers, and at their coming out in the spring, make a hideous bellowing noise. The hind part of their belly and tail are eaten by the Indians. The flesh is delicately white, but has so perfumed a taste and smell, that I never could relish it with pleasure.

"The alligators of South America, like the turtles, deposit their eggs at two or three different periods, at the distance of several days, and from 20 to 24 eggs each time. They have been observed to raise a small hillock near the banks of the river; and, after hollowing it out in the middle, to collect a quantity of leaves and other vegetable matters, in which they deposit their eggs. These are covered with the leaves, and are hatched by means of the heat extricated during their putrefaction, along with that of the atmosphere. The alligators about Cayenne deposit their eggs in the month of April."

To the account of the alligator which we have now given, we add the following particulars concerning its natural history by Don Ulloa, in his voyage to South America. The observations were made on the river Guayaquil; and we shall detail them in his own words,

"The increase of fish, says he, in this river is greatly hindered by the prodigious numbers of alligators, an amphibious creature, living both in the rivers and the adjacent plains, though it is not often known to go far from the banks of the river. When tired with fishing, they leave the water to bask themselves in the sun, and then appear more like logs of half-rotten wood thrown ashore by the current, than living creatures; but upon perceiving any vessel near them, they immediately throw themselves into the water. Some are of monstrous a size as to exceed five yards in length. During the time they lie basking on the shore, they keep their huge mouths wide open, till filled with musquetoes, flies, and other insects, when they suddenly shut their jaws and swallow their prey. Whatever may have been written with regard to the fierceness and rapacity of this animal, I, and all our company know from experience, they avoid a man, and on the approach of any one, immediately plunge into the water. Its whole body is covered with scales impenetrable to a musket ball, unless it happens to hit them in the belly near the fore legs, the only part vulnerable.

"The alligator is an oviparous creature. The female makes a large hole in the sand near the brink of a river, and there deposits her eggs, which are nearly equal to those of an ostrich, and as white as those of a hen, but much more solid. She generally lays about a hundred, continuing in the same place till they are all deposited, which is about a day or two. She then covers them with the sand; and the better to conceal them, rolls herself not only over her precious deposition, but to a considerable distance. After this precaution she returns to the water, till natural instinct informs her, that it is time to deliver her young from their confinement, when she comes to the spot, followed by the male, and tearing up the sand, begins breaking the eggs, but so carefully, that scarce a single one is injured, and a whole swarm of little alligators are seen crawling about. The female then takes them on her neck and back in order to remove them into the water; but the watchful gallimazos make use of this opportunity to deprive her of some; and even the male alligator, which indeed comes for no other end, devours what he can, till the female has reached the water with the few remaining; for all those which either fall from her her back, or do not swim, she herself eats; so that of such a formidable brood, happily not more than four or five escape.

"The gallinazos mentioned in our account of Carthagena, are the most inveterate enemies of the alligators, or rather extremely fond of their eggs, in finding which they make use of uncommon addresses. These birds often make it their whole business to watch the females during the summer, the season when they lay their eggs, the lands on the sides of the river not being then covered with water. The gallinazo perches in some tree, where it conceals itself among the branches, and there patiently watches the female alligator till she has laid her eggs and retires, pleased that she has concealed them beyond discovery. But she is no sooner under the water, than the gallinazo darts down on the repository, and with its beak, claws and wings, tears up the land, and devours the eggs, leaving only the shells. This banquet would indeed richly reward its long patience, did not a multitude of gallinazos, from all parts join the fortunate discoverer and share in the spoil. I have often been entertained with this stratagem of the gallinazos, in passing from Guayaquil to the custom-house of Babahoyo; and my curiosity once led me to take some of the eggs, which those who frequent this river, particularly the mulattoes, make no difficulty of eating when fresh. Here we must remark the methods used by providence in diminishing the number of these destructive creatures, not only by the gallinazos, but even by the males themselves. Indeed neither the river nor the neighbouring fields would otherwise be sufficient to contain them; for notwithstanding the ravages of these two insatiable enemies, their numbers can hardly be imagined.

"These alligators are the greatest destroyers of the fish in this river, it being their most safe and general food: nor are they wanting in addresses to satisfy their desires, eight or ten, as it were by compact, draw up at the mouth of a river or creek, whilst others of the same corps go a considerable distance up the river, and chase the fish downwards, by which none of any size escape them. The alligators being unable to eat under water, on seizing a fish raise their heads above the surface, and by degrees draw the fish from their jaws, and chew it for deglutition. After satisfying their appetite, they retire to rest on the banks of the river.

"When they cannot find fish to appease their hunger, they betake themselves to the meadows bordering on the banks of the river, and devour calves and colts; and in order to be more secure in seizing their prey, take the opportunity of the night, that they may surprise them in their sleep; and it is observed that those alligators which have once tasted flesh, become so fond of it, as never to take up with fish but in cases of necessity. There are even too many melancholy instances of their devouring the human species, especially children, who, from the inattention natural to their age, have been without doors after it is dark; and though at no great distance, these voracious animals have dared to attack them, and having once seized them with their mouth, to make sure of their prey against that affluence which the cries of the victim never fail to bring, hasten into the water, where they immediately drown it, and then return to the surface and devour it at leisure.

"Their veracity has also been felt by the boatmen, who, by inconsiderately sleeping with one of their arms or legs hanging over the side of the boat, these animals have seized and drawn the whole body into the water. Alligators who have once feasted on human flesh are known to be the most dangerous, and become, as it were, inflamed with an insatiable desire of repeating the same delicious repast. The inhabitants of those places where they abound are very industrious in catching and destroying them. Their usual method is by a calotané, or piece of hard wood sharpened at both ends, and baited with the lungs of some animal. This calotané they fasten to a thong, the end of which is secured on the shore. The alligator, on feeding the lungs floating on the water, snaps at the bait, and thus both points of wood enter his jaws in such a manner, that he can neither shut nor open his mouth. He is then dragged ashore, where he violently endeavours to rescue himself, while the Indians bait him like a bull, knowing that the greatest damage he can do is to throw down such, as for want of care or agility do not keep out of his reach.

"The form of this animal so nearly resembles that of the lagarto or lizard, that here they are commonly known by that name; but there is some difference in the shape of the head, which in this creature is long, and towards the extremity slender, gradually forming a snout, like that of a hog, and, when in the river, is generally above the surface of the water; a sufficient demonstration that the respiration of a purer air is necessary to it. The mandibles of this creature have each a row of very strong and pointed teeth, to which some writers have attributed particular virtues; but all I can say to this is, that they are such as I and my companions, notwithstanding all our enquiries to attain a complete knowledge of every particular, could never hear any satisfactory account of."

3. Lacerta Gangetica, Gangetic or Indian Crocodile.

Specif. Char.—Jaw somewhat cylindrical, elongated; tail furnished above with two crests uniting in one towards the extremity.

In this species the jaws are long, narrow, and straight; and the upper mandible is terminated above by an elevated tubercle. This structure of the snout is more remarkable in the young animal. The teeth of this species are more numerous than in the common crocodile, being nearly double the number, and they are of equal size through the whole length of the jaws. Excepting that the third and fourth toes, both on the fore and hind feet are connected together by a web; the structure of the feet is the same as that of the common one. The eyes are extremely prominent; and it has been observed, are so constructed, that they may be raised above the water, when the rest of the body is under the surface; by which the animal is enabled to see its prey either on the surface of the water, or on the banks of rivers. In the general form and colour of the body and limbs, this species resembles the common crocodile, only the number of transverse bands formed by the rows of scales on the back, is greater. It is a native of India, and is chiefly found in the Ganges, where it is nearly equal in size to the common crocodile.

Sect. II. Guanas.

The animals belonging to this section have the back and tail ferrated or carinated.

4. Lacerta Iguana, Common or Great American Guana.

Specif. Char.—Tail long and round; back ferrated; gular crest denticulated.

The guana, which of all the lizard tribe is of the most peculiar form, grows to a considerable size. It is often seen, three, four, and sometimes five feet long. The general colour is green, shaded with brown. The back is strongly ferrated; which, as well as the denticulations of the pouch at the throat, gives it a formidable appearance.

The guana is a native of many parts of America, and the West Indies. It is said also that it has been found in some parts of the East Indies. It frequents rocky and woody places, and feeds chiefly on insects and vegetables.

The guana itself is reckoned very nourishing and delicate food. The usual method of taking it, is by casting a noose over its head, and then drawing it from its place; for without making any attempt to escape, it stands with its eyes fixed steadfastly at its discoverer, while at the same time it inflates its throat to a very large size.

Catesby has given a good account of the guana, which we shall detail in his own words. "They are," he says, "of various sizes, from two to five feet in length; their mouths are furnished with exceeding small teeth, but their jaw is armed with a long beak, with which they bite with great strength. They inhabit warm countries only, and are rarely to be met with anywhere north or south of the tropics. Many of the Bahama islands abound with them, where they nestle in hollow rocks and trees. Their eggs have not a hard shell like those of alligators, but a skin only like those of a turtle, and are esteemed a good food. They lay a great number of eggs at a time in the earth, which are there hatched by the sun's heat. These guanas are a great part of the subsistence of the inhabitants of the Bahama islands, for which purpose they visit many of the remote keys and islands in their sloops to catch them, which they do by dogs trained up for that purpose, which are so dexterous as not often to kill them; which, if they do, they serve only for present feeding; if otherwise, they sew up their mouths to prevent their biting, and put them into the hold of their sloop till they have caught a sufficient number; which they either carry alive for sale to Carolina, or salt and barrel up for the use of their families at home. These guanas feed wholly on vegetables and fruit, particularly on a kind of fungus growing at the roots of trees, and on the fruits of the different kinds of anonas. Their flesh is easy of digestion, delicate, and well tasted. They are sometimes roasted, but the more common way is to boil them, taking out the leaves of fat, which are melted and clarified, and put into a calabash or dish, into which they dip the flesh of the guana as they eat it. It is remarkable that this fat, which adheres to the inside of the abdomen, imbibes the colour of the fruit the animal eats last, which I have frequently seen tinged of a pale red, yellow, or sometimes of a purple colour; which last was from eating the prunus maritima, which fruit at the same time I took out of them. Though they are not amphibious, they are said to keep under water above an hour. When they swim, they use not their feet, but clap them close to their body, and guide themselves with their tails. They swallow all they eat whole; they cannot run fast, their holes being a greater security to them than their heels. They are impatient of cold, that they rarely appear out of their holes but when the sun shines."

Dr Browne, in his natural history of Jamaica, gives the following particulars of the guana. "Like most of the tribe, he observes, it lives a very considerable time without food, and changes its colour with the weather, or the native moisture of its place of residence. I have kept a grown guana about the house for more than two months: it was very fierce and ill-natured at the beginning; but after some days it grew more tame, and would, at length, pass the greatest part of the day upon the bed or couch, but it went out always at night. I have never observed it to eat anything, except what imperceptible particles it had lapped up in the air; for it frequently threw out its forked tongue, like the chameleon, as it walked along. The flesh of this creature is liked by many people, and frequently served up in fricasses at their tables; in which state they are often preferred to the best fowls. The guana may be easily tamed while young, and is both an innocent and beautiful creature in that state."

Var. Horned guana. This is considered as a variety of the former. It is nearly the same in size and general proportion; the back is also ferrated, and the form of the scales is the same. It wants, however, the gular pouch, and there are in front of the head, between the eyes and nostrils, four pretty large scaly tubercles, behind which there is a bony conical process, which is covered with a single scale.

It is a native of St Domingo, where it is said to be very common.

5. Lacerta Amboinensis, Amboina Guana.

Specif. Char.—Variegated, tail long, tail fin radiated, dorsal future dentated.

This species, which grows to the length of three feet, and sometimes more, is at once distinguished by the singularity of its appearance, and the beauty of its colours. The head and neck are green, and variegated with white transverse undulations. The back and tail are brown, with a shade of purple. The sides and belly are grayish, or pale brown; the head is tuberculated above, and covered with small roundish scales; the mouth is wide, and the teeth are sharp and numerous.

This species is a native of the East Indies, but is most frequent in the island of Amboina, frequenting the neighbourhood of rivers and other fresh waters. It is often seen on the banks of rising grounds, and on low shrubs which grow near the water. It does not ascend tall trees. Whenever it is disturbed by the approach Lizards, prehend of men or any animal, it plunges into the water, and conceals itself beneath the rocks or stones under the banks. It may be easily taken, as it does not attempt to bite or defend itself, but seems in some measure stupified.

This species, like others of the tribe, deposits its eggs in the sand, on the banks of the rivers which it frequents. The eggs in the body of the animal are disposed in two long groups or clusters, and are of a yellow colour; but when they are excluded, they are white, and of an oblong shape. The Amboina guana is reckoned a more delicate food than the common one; its flesh is said to be white, sweet, and of a penetrating odour.

6. LACERTA BASILISCUS, Basilisk.

Specif. Char.—Tail long; dorsal and caudal fins radiated; occipital crest pointed.

The basilisk is about one foot and a half in length, of a pale ash-brown colour, with some darker variegations about the upper part of the body. In the young animal, the dorsal or caudal process, and the pointed occipital crest mentioned in the specific description, are less distinct.

The basilisk is chiefly a native of South America. It resides principally among trees, and feeds on insects.

It is said to be a very active animal, and by means of its dorsal crest or fin, it is enabled to spring from tree to tree. It can also swim with great ease.

This animal has a very formidable appearance, but is quite harmless; but in the poetical descriptions of the ancients, we find that it was considered to be the most malignant of all poisonous animals; even its look was regarded as fatal. The terrific glance of the basilisk in the African deserts, according to the poetical representation of Lucan, obliged the rest of the poisonous tribe to keep at a distance.

7. LACERTA CALOTES, Galeot Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long and round; back dentated on the fore part, and the head on the hind part.

This species seldom exceeds a foot and a half in length, from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail; but otherwise in its general habit and appearance, it resembles the common guana. It wants, however, the gular pouch; in its place there is only a slight enlargement of the throat. The colour, which occasionally varies, is most commonly of an elegant bright blue, variegated with broad, irregular, white, transverse bands on each side of the body and tail. The limbs are slender, and this is particularly the case with the toes.

This species is a native of the warmer regions of Africa, Asia, and many of the Indian islands. It is very common in Ceylon. It is said also to be a native of Spain, where it wanders about the tops of houses, in search of spiders. According to some, it preys on rats, and, like some other lizards, attacks small serpents.

8. LACERTA AGAMA, American Galeot.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, round; neck above, and head behind, aculeated; scales of the hind head reversed.

This species in some respects resembles the calotes; but it wants the strong ferratures on the back, in place of which it has only a small denticulated carina. The head is proportionally larger, and on the back part is furnished with sharp-pointed scales, some of which are reversed at their extremities. The colour is brownish, and variously clouded. In the male, the crest on the back is composed of longer spines, and extends to the lower part.

It is a native of South America, and some of the islands of the West Indies.

Var. Lacerta Muricata, Muricated Lizard. Tail long, round; body grayish; scales carinated and sharp-pointed.

This lizard, which is considered as a variety of the preceding, measures more than a foot in length, and has even been sometimes found to exceed that size. The want of the reverse scales on the back part of the head, constitutes the principal difference between this and the former species.

It is a native of New South Wales.

9. LACERTA BICARINATA, Bicarinated Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail of moderate length; four rows of strong carinated scales on the back.

In its general habit, this species bears some resemblance to a small crocodile, on account of the hard tuberculated and carinated scales on the upper parts of the body, two rows of which are more prominent than the rest, and extend from the upper part of the back to the tail, where they coalesce and form a serrated crest to the extremity.

The head is small, the mouth wide, and the snout somewhat sharp. The colour is reddish-brown, tinged in some parts with various shades of green.

It is a native of South America, where it is sometimes used as food. The eggs, it is said, are also greatly esteemed for the same purpose. Woody and marshy regions are the usual places of its resort. One of this species which was kept alive for some time by M. de la Borde, was observed to remain for hours together in the water, and when it was disturbed or alarmed, it concealed itself, but delighted to come out occasionally and bask in the sun.

Var. A lizard known by the name of ignaruka, and said to be a native of Brazil, is considered as a variety of the preceding, differing only in the colour, which is darker, and the claws which are shorter; but, like it, it has some resemblance to the crocodile, and readily climbs trees.

10. LACERTA MONITOR, Monitor Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Colour black; tail very long, compressed; carinated; body marked with transverse rows of white, ocellated.

This is one of the largest of the whole tribe of lizards. From the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail, it sometimes measures no less than four or five feet. It is also one of the most beautiful. The head is small, the snout gradually tapers, the limbs are slender, and the tail which is laterally compressed, gradually decreases towards the extremity. Indeed the shape altogether is slender and elegant, and although the colours are simple, they they are so disposed as to produce an agreeable and pleasing effect. This species is a native of South America, inhabiting woody and marshy places.

It is said that the monitor lizard, from the gentleness of its disposition, is remarkable for its attachment to mankind, warning them of their danger from the alligator by emitting a peculiar and thrilling sound.

Var. Lacerta Varia, Variegated Lizard.—Although this lizard is somewhat different in colour, and in the disposition of its variegations, which are rather of a pale yellow than white, yet it is considered only as a variety of the preceding. It is a native of New Holland.

11. Lacerta Acanthura, Spine-tailed Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Throat plaited beneath; body covered with minute scales; tail long and verticillated with carinated triple-spined scales.

The length of this species is about a foot and a half. The head is covered with scales, which are small and nearly fixed; it is quite distinct from the body. The whole skin about the neck, throat, and beginning of the sides, is quite loose, which in the specimen described, may have had a pouched appearance. All the other parts of the body are covered with very small scales. The tail is very long, and strongly marked into numerous rings, which are composed of long and strongly carinated scales, each of which terminates in a lengthened point, and produces the spiny appearance. There are five long toes on each foot; the claws are strong and sharp. The colour on the upper parts of the body is glaucous, variegated with small whitish clouds and marblings.

It is described by Dr Shaw from a specimen in the British Museum.

12. Lacerta Lophura, Sharp-tailed Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Body covered with dissimilar scales; back serrated; tail long, and somewhat compressed.

This is a very large species; there are large, rounded, and oval scales scattered here and there among the smaller ones. The tail is long and sharp-pointed; the back and tail are serrated throughout their whole length.

This species is also described by Dr Shaw from a specimen in the British Museum.

13. Lacerta Dracena, Dracena Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Large tail; long and denticulated along the upper part.

This is one of the largest species belonging to the tribe. Not only in the size of the body, but in the proportion of the limbs and tail, it exceeds that of the guana. The colour is brown, with a slight shade of chestnut. On the outsides of the limbs there are numerous small pale yellowish spots. The head is small, and the snout tapering.

It is a native of South America, and some of the Indian islands; and it is said that in some countries it is preferred as an article of food to the guana.

14. Lacerta Superciliosa, Supercilious Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail carinated; back and eyebrows ciliated, with upright lanceolated scales.

The general appearance of this species bears some resemblance to the guana, and still more to the horned guana, in having the appearance of a pair of sharp pointed horn-like processes above and beyond each eye; between these are placed some aculeated scales. The size of one which has been described, measures from 12 to 16 inches, from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail.

It is a native of Asia, and of some of the Indian islands.

15. Lacerta Scutata, Scutated Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail of moderate length, compressed; dorsal future dentated; two pointed processes on the back of the head.

This species is distinguished from the former by having a proportionally larger head, and a row of scales more elevated than the rest, passing over each eye; and from these a ridge is continued towards the back of the head, where they unite and extend down the middle of the back, in form of a short denticulated crest, to the beginning of the tail. The body is covered with acuminate scales which are but small; the limbs and tail with larger ones.

It is a native of the island of Ceylon.

16. Lacerta Principalis, Smooth Crested Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail subcarinated; gular crest plain edge; back smooth.

This species is in general of a slender form, and small, rarely exceeding eight or nine inches in length, including both the body and tail. The colour is blue, the head small, and the snout taper.

It is a native of South America.

Var. Lacerta bimaculata, Linn.

This is considered as a variety of the former; the colour is blue, spotted here and there with black, with two larger black spots over the shoulders.

It is a native of St Euflatia, and is found also in Pennsylvania.

Var. Le Roquet, of Cepede, is considered by Dr Shaw also as a variety of the smooth-crested lizard, as it resembles it both in size and habit; it is however destitute of the gular crest.

It frequents gardens, moving nimbly among trees, and devours great multitudes of smaller insects.

17. Lacerta Strumosa, Strumous Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, round; breast gibbose, projecting.

This is of a small size, has no dorsal ferratures, but is furnished with a large flat gular crest, of a pale red colour; the rest of the animal is of a pale bluish gray, with some slight shades of a more dusky hue. The limbs are slender.

It is a native of South America.

18. Lacerta Marmorata, Marbled Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, round; throat subcrestated, back smooth.

This species is of a slender and elegant form, and measures, including the tail, about a foot in length. The head is small, the snout taper. The colour is pale blue, variegated with undulating transverse bands of a whitish shade. The belly is of a pale rose colour.

It is a native of America and the West Indies.

19. LACERTA UMBRA, Umber Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, round; neck subcrestated above; hind head callous; back striated.

This is a small species; the body is covered with scales, which are carinated and pointed; the head is obtuse, and marked on the hind part with a large callos bare spot.

It is a native of North America.

Sect. III. Cordylies.

Having denticulated or spiny scales, on the body or tail, or both.

20. LACERTA PELLUMA, Pelluma Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, and verticillated with rhomboidal scales.

This lizard is about two feet in its total length, and is distinguished on the upper parts of its body by a beautiful variety of green, yellow, blue, and black colours. The under parts of the body are of a glossy yellowish green.

It is a native of Chili.

21. LACERTA AZUREA, Azure Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail short, verticillated with mucronated scales.

This is of a fine blue colour, transversely banded with black or blue. It is sometimes only a few inches long, but others are found of a larger size.

The larger variety is a native of South America, the smaller of some parts of Africa.

22. LACERTA CORDYLUS, Cordyle Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Body smooth; tail short and verticillated with denticulated scales.

This species, at first sight, bears a considerable resemblance to the former; but the scales which cover the body, are of an oblong square form, and larger, and the tail is verticillated with rows of large scales of the same form. The colour is sometimes blue, sometimes a livid brown, and the total length is about ten inches.

23. LACERTA STELLIO, Rough Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail verticillated, with denticulated scales; body and head mucrated.

The whole upper surface of the body is remarkably rough, from being covered with projecting pointed scales. It is of a pale bluish brown colour, with some deeper and lighter transverse variegations. It is about eight inches long.

This species is a native of many parts of Africa.

24. LACERTA ANGULATA, Angulated Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, hexagonal, and furnished with carinated and mucronated scales.

This is a small species of a brown colour. Beneath the throat there are two large rounded scales. The tail is longer than the body, and strongly marked with six longitudinal ridges.

It is a native of America.

25. LACERTA ORBICULARIS, Orbicular Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Body brown, round; tail short, round; scales mucrated.

The colour of this species is dusky brown, variegated with different shades; the body is large and ventricose, and in this respect it resembles the toad.

This is a native of South America, but is a rare species.

Sect. IV. Lizards Proper.

The surface of the body is smooth, and they are generally furnished with broad square plates or scales on the abdomen.

26. LACERTA AGILIS, Green Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Of a green colour, with minute dusky variegations. There is a collar of large scales beneath the neck; tail long, verticillated.

The length of this species is from 10 to 15 inches; but it sometimes arrives at such a size as to measure more than two feet to the end of the tail. The colour consists of a mixture of different shades of green, with spots of yellow, brown, black, and sometimes red. The head is covered with angular scales, and the rest of the upper parts of the body with small ovate ones. The tail is longer than the body, and is marked with numerous rings of oblong square scales.

This species is a native of all the warmer parts of Europe. It is found in gardens about warm walls, buildings, &c. It is a very active animal, and pursues its prey, which consists of insects, with great celerity. When it is caught, it soon becomes familiar, and may even in some measure be tamed.

Var. The gray lizard, or little brown lizard, which is also a native of many parts of Europe, is considered as a variety of the former. It is about six or eight inches long, of a greenish brown, or pale grayish colour.

This variety is a native of Britain, and is found on the sides of dry banks or sand hills, where it is occasionally seen basking during the heat of summer. It is also found about the roots of trees, old walls, &c.

27. LACERTA TEGUIXIN, Variegated Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Tail long, round; sides somewhat wrinkled; plate under the throat triple.

This species is sometimes larger than the guana. The head is covered with large scales or plates, and the body with smaller and square scales. The colour is extremely beautiful; it consists of an elegant variegation. 28. **Lacerta Erythrocephala**, Red-headed Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour blackish green, undulations transverse and black; abdomen longitudinally banded with black, white, and blue; breast black; top of the head red.

This species is of moderate size; the scales on the head are large, and there is a row of tubercles beneath the thighs.

It is a native of the island of St Christopher.

29. **Lacerta Cerulea**, Ameiva Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour blue, with black and white variegations; tail long, verticillated; abdominal scuta 30.

The ameiva greatly resembles the green lizard, but it wants the scaly collar. The scales on the upper part of the body are not distinctly visible; those of the abdomen are composed of square plates, and there is a row of tubercles beneath each thigh.

It is a native of South America, and it is said that it is sometimes found in Africa and Asia.

30. **Lacerta Lemniscata**, Striped Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour dusky blue; eight white lines down the back; limbs spotted with white; tail long, round.

This is of a smaller size than the last species, but in its general appearance bears a considerable resemblance. The white stripes on the back vary in breadth, and sometimes in number.

It is a native of Guinea, but is also found in some parts of India and South America.

31. **Lacerta Quadrilineata**, Four-striped Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour blackish blue; four white or yellowish lines down the back; tail long, round; fore feet tetradactylous.

This is a smaller species than the last, but resembles it greatly. The claws are very small.

It is supposed to be a native of North America.

32. **Lacerta Teniolata**, Ribband Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Body marked above with black and white stripes; beneath white; tail long and round.

This is a small species; the colour above is chestnut brown, and the scales on every part of the body are smooth, round, and imbricated. From the head to the middle of the tail there are six white linear stripes. The limbs are striped longitudinally with black.

It is a native of New Holland.

33. **Lacerta Sexlineata**, Six-lined Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour gray brown; six white lines down the back; tail long, verticillated.

This is a small species. Beneath the throat there is a double plate, and a row of tubercles beneath the thighs. The legs are long and the feet slender; the tail is carried curved over the back, from which it has been called the lion lizard.

It is a native of the West Indies, where it frequents the rocks on the sea coast.

34. **Lacerta Fasciata**, Fasciated Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour of the body brown; tail blue and rather long. There are five yellowish lines down the back.

This is a small species, rarely exceeding eight inches in its whole length. The head is short.

It is a native of Carolina, inhabiting hollow trees.

35. **Lacerta Quinquelineata**, Five-lined Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour dusky; five whitish lines down the back; tail round, and of a moderate length.

This is a small species. The tail is twice the length of the body. There are six stripes on the head. The abdomen is imbricated with striae.

It is a native of Carolina.

36. **Lacerta Interpunctata**, Punctated Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Tail long, round; dorsal lines two, and yellow, having black specks interspersed.

This is a small species; the body is smooth and glossy, and the head is covered with large scales.

It is a native of Asia.

37. **Lacerta Bullaris**, Red-throated Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour green; gular pouch red; tail long, round.

This species is about six inches long, of a shining grass-green colour. When it is approached, the throat swells into a globular form, and the protruded skin becomes of a bright red colour. This is supposed to be a threatening aspect, but probably without foundation.

This species is a native of Jamaica, where it is common about hedges and trees.

Var. Green Carolina lizard.—This resembles the former in every respect, except in the appearance of the gular pouch. In dry hot weather it appears of a bright green colour; but in cold weather this changes to a brown.

It is a native of Carolina, where it is very common about houses.

38. **Lacerta Cruenta**, Red-tailed Lizard.

*Specif. Char.*—Colour brown; on the neck there are seven white stripes, and four on the back. Under the throat there is a plate; the tail is verticillated and red beneath.

This is a very small species, resembling the *lacerta velox*, but differs from it in having a sharper snout. The limbs are marked with white round spots; the tail is red beneath and white at the tip. There is a row of tubercles on the thighs.

It is a native of the southern parts of Siberia, and is found about the salt lakes. 39. **Lacerta Lobata**, Lobe-cheeked Lizard. *Lacerta Aurata*, Lin.

**Specif. Char.**—Colour brownish, with a roundish denticulated lobe on each side of the neck.

This species is of moderate size, and in appearance is somewhat thick or ventricose. Body rather depressed; the head rounded on each side. From the corner of the mouth extending to the shoulders, there is a flat semicircular lobe of a red colour, with serrated edges. The whole of the body is rough, with small pointed granules.

It is a native of the southern deserts of Siberia, and is found among the sand hills.

40. **Lacerta Helioscopa**, Sun-gazing Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Colour brownish; head rough, with calli; a transverse plate beneath the throat; tail imbricated, thick at the base, and sharp at the tip.

This is a small species, scarcely exceeding a finger's length. The colour of the upper parts of the body is gray, with brown and bluish spots and linear streaks. The neck is often marked above with a red spot. The tip of the tail is red beneath.

It is a native of the southern parts of Siberia, where it basks in sunny situations, with its head turned up towards the sun.

41. **Lacerta Turcica**, Turkish Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Colour brown; body roughish; tail of moderate length, and somewhat verticillated.

This is a small species; the head is rather large, and the body thickish; the tail short, thick at the base, and pointed at the tip.

It is a native of eastern countries.

42. **Lacerta Platura**, Broad-tailed Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Colour gray brown, paler beneath; body rough; tail depressed, lanceolate, and spiny on the margin.

This species is from four to six inches long, and is remarkably distinguished by the singular form of its tail. The feet are pentadactylous; the toes slender, and the claws curved.

It is a native of New Holland.

43. **Lacerta Plica**, Plica Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Hind head callous; eyebrows excoriated above; neck plated beneath, and warted at the sides; tail long and round.

This is a small species, not exceeding a finger's length. It is entirely covered with conical scales; there is a double plate beneath the throat.

It is a native of South America and India.

44. **Lacerta Japonica**, Japanese Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail long, round; feet ungualuated; fore feet tetradactylous; a single stripe on the back.

This is a small species; the colour above is livid brown, and the yellow stripe from the hind head to the beginning of the tail is broad and dentated. The claws are black.

45. **Lacerta Nilotica**, Nilotic Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail long and triquetrous; body smooth, with four lines of scales down the back.

This likewise is a small species.

It is a native of Egypt.

46. **Lacerta Tiliguerta**, Tiliguerta Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail verticillated, twice the length of the body, and having eighty abdominal scuta.

This, like the former, is a small species, measuring not more than seven or eight inches long. The female is of a brown, and the male of a green, colour, with black spots. It seems to bear some relation to the green lizard.

It is a native of Sardinia, where it is to be met with in fields, about walls, &c.

47. **Lacerta Deserti**, Desert Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail round, longish; feet pentadactylous; body black above, and marked with six longitudinal white lines.

This is a very small species; the body is white beneath, and the stripes on the back are composed of oblong spots.

It is a native of the Uralian desert.

48. **Lacerta Arguta**, Argute Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail short, verticillated; thick at the base and filiform at the tip; collar marked with obscure scales. There is a remarkable double plate under the neck.

This species is somewhat similar to the green lizard, but is shorter and more ventricose, and has a sharper snout.

It is a native of the south of Siberia.

49. **Lacerta Algira**, Algerine Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail long, verticillated; two yellow lines on each side of the body.

This species is about a finger's length, brown above, and yellowish beneath.

It is a native of Algiers.

50. **Lacerta Velox**, Swift Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—Tail longish, verticillated; scaly collar beneath the neck; body cinereous, with five longitudinal paler bands, variegated with black specks; the sides spotted with black, and speckled with blue.

This species is much smaller and more slender, but in other respects comes very near to the lacerta agilis. The hind feet are marked with orbicular spots.

It is a native of Siberia.

51. **Lacerta Uralensis**, Ural Lizard.

**Specif. Char.**—The tail is long and round; the neck plated. plated beneath; the feet are pentadactyloous, and the back is livid, rugose, and subverrucose.

The length of this animal is about four inches; the head is roundish; the colour of the upper parts is livid brown, and the skin is wrinkled and slightly tuberculated.

It is a native of the desert of Ural, and moves about with great swiftness.

52. Lacerta Setae, Seps Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Colour bluish brown; tail longish, vermiculated; lateral future reflected; scales square.

This is a small species, and is easily known from the thin lengthened form of its body, and long slender tail, as well as from the square scales with which it is entirely covered. The tail is marked with about 50 divisions.

It is a native of the southern parts of Europe.

Sect. V. Chameleons.

These are distinguished by having a granulated skin, a large head, a long muffle tongue and cylindrical tail.

53. Lacerta Chamæleon, Common Chameleon.

Specif. Char.—Crown flat; tail cylindrical and incurvated; toes united by two and three.

The length of the chameleon, from the tip of the nose to the beginning of the tail, is about ten inches. The tail is nearly of the same length. The skin on every part of the animal is granulated. A series of obscure denticulations runs down the back, and forms a ridge on that part. There are five toes on each foot, two and three of which are united by a common skin, as far as the claws; the two outward and the three inward toes of the fore feet are united, and the two inward and three outward of the hind feet. The structure of the tongue of the chameleon is very peculiar; it is very long, and furnished with a dilated somewhat tubular tip, by which means it is enabled easily to seize insects, which are its prey, by darting it out and securing them on the tip.

The chameleon, like others of the amphibia, has the power of inflating its lungs, and retaining the air for a long time. It is in this way that it sometimes appears plump and fleshy, while at other times, when the air is ejected, and the lungs in a collapsed state, it exhibits nothing but skin and bone. The natural colour of the skin of the chameleon is of a bluish ash, and the usual changes are from this to a green or yellowish colour, spotted unequally with red. When the animal is exposed to full sunlight, the darkened side appears in a few minutes of a pale yellow, with large roundish spots of red brown; but when the animal is turned round, the reverse takes place. The side formerly in the shade appears of a brown or ash colour, and the other side yellow and red. These changes, however, vary greatly, both with regard to the disposition of the spots and the intensity of the colours.

The chameleon is a native of Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is indeed chiefly found in tropical regions; but is also sometimes met with in the warmer parts of Spain and Portugal.

No animal has been more celebrated than the chameleon, and particularly on account of the power which it was supposed to possess of changing its colour. This account was greatly exaggerated, when it was asserted, that it could produce this change at pleasure, and assimilate it to that of any particular object. But the more accurate observations of modern naturalists have shown, that this change of colour varies greatly, and seems to depend on the state of the animal's health, the temperature of the weather, and probably some other unknown causes. Another erroneous assertion with regard to the chameleon was, that it could live entirely on air. This no doubt arose from the long abstinence which this animal, as well as many others belonging to the class amphibia, can endure.

54. Lacerta Africana, African Chameleon.

Specif. Char.—Colour blackish; crown carinate.

This is one of the largest yet discovered. Along the back to the end of the tail there runs a pure white stripe, bounded by a broad blackish band. The other parts of the animal are variegated with pale ash-coloured undulations.

It is supposed to be a native of Barbary.

55. Lacerta Pumila, Little Chameleon.

Specif. Char.—Body bluish on each side, and marked with two yellowish lines.

The head of this species is somewhat flatter than the former, but still elevated in the middle, and edged on each side with a denticulated margin.

By some the two latter seem to be considered only as varieties.

Sect. VI. Geckos.

In the animals of this division the skin is granulated or tuberculated; the feet are lobated, and the toes lamellated beneath.

56. Lacerta Gecko, Common Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Livid, with brown variegations; upper part of the body warted, and the lamellæ of the feet not divided.

This animal is said to have received the name of gecko from the peculiar sound of its voice, which bears some resemblance to that word when uttered in a shrill tone. Its length, in general, is about a foot or more, and therefore it ranks among the middle-sized animals of the lizard tribe. Its form is thicker and stronger than the greater part of lizards. Its head is flattened, somewhat triangular and large, with a covering of minute scales; its mouth is wide, eyes large, teeth small, and its tongue is broad and flat. The limbs of this animal are moderately long, with broader feet than the rest of the tribe; the toes are dilated on the margins, and beneath are divided into a number of transverse lamellæ parallel to each other, without any longitudinal furrow. The general colour of the gecko is a pale brown. Lizards, brown, with some irregular dusky or bluish variegations; but this colour becomes much more brilliant in warmer regions.

It is a native of Asia and Africa, and some of the warmer parts of Europe, inhabiting obscure recesses, caverns, old walls, &c. It has been supposed to be of a poisonous nature. A fluid exudes from the lamellae of the feet, which is said to be extremely acid; and when any of it has remained on fruit, when it is eaten, it is said that it produces troublesome symptoms. The peculiar structure of the feet enables the animal to attach itself to the smoothest surfaces.

Var. Tobai.—This, which is considered as a variety of the former, is about a foot long. The body is covered above with a granulated skin, varied with red and blue undulations; the belly is ash colour, and interposed with red spots; the head is large and triangular.

This is a native of Siam, where it occasionally enters the houses, and is considered as a poisonous animal.

The Indian salamander, described by Bontius, seems to be of the same kind; the length is about a foot; the colour sea-green, spotted with red; the head large, and like that of a toad; the body is broad and the tail long.

It is a native of Java. It is said that the inhabitants hold up the animal by the tail to make it discharge saliva from its mouth, which is collected for the purpose of poisoning their arrows.

57. Lacerta Dubia, Geckotte.

Specif. Char.—Livid colour; upper surface covered with pointed warts; no femoral papillae.

This species bears some resemblance to the gecko; but differs from it in being thicker and shorter, and in wanting the papillae under the thighs. The tail in the young animal is divided into strongly marked aculeated rings. These become gradually less conspicuous with the age of the animal, and are at last totally obliterated.

It is a native of the south of France, where it is known by the name of tarente, and is regarded as an innocent animal. It frequents ruins, walls, houses; delights greatly in sunshine, and avoids damp shady situations. It remains concealed in the hollows of walls during winter, not, however, in a torpid, but in an inert state.

58. Lacerta Perfoliata, Perfoliated Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour brownish, smooth above; lamellae of the feet divided by a furrow; tail frequently turbinate.

This species is of a thicker form, has shorter limbs, and the tubercles on the back are less distinct than the common gecko. It is also different in wanting the papillae under the thighs. The tail is remarkably swollen immediately beyond its origin, and then tapers to the extremity, somewhat resembling a young turnip root, from whence it has been denominated Lacerta rapi-cauda.

Its native country is not mentioned.

59. Lacerta Mauritanica, Mauritanic Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour brown, covered above with sharp warts; tail flat, and furnished with scuta beneath; lamellae of the feet lamellated and divided.

This species resembles the common one, but is different from being covered with spiny or sharp-pointed warts on the upper surface. The toes are lamellated beneath, but are not divided by a middle fulcus.

60. Lacerta Sinensis, Chinese Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Tail flat, all the toes unguiculated; face perforated with several pores.

The head is broad and flat; the teeth small; the tongue flat, and emarginated at the tip. About the sides of the nose and eyes there are several scattered pores.

It is a native of China, and is frequently seen in houses, running about the walls, and climbing readily on the smoothest surfaces. It preys chiefly on the smaller kind of cockroach. It is considered as an innocent animal.

61. Lacerta Vittata, White-striped Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown, with a white dorsal band, which is forked over the head.

This is a small species, not exceeding seven or eight inches in length; the head is large in proportion to the body; the toes are lamellated beneath, divided by a fulcus, and terminated by curved claws. The upper surface is covered with extremely small tubercles; they are so minute as to be scarcely perceptible.

This species is said to be a native of India.

62. Lacerta Fimbriata, Fimbriated Gecko.

Specif. Char.—A membranaceous fimbriated border on each side of the body; tail flat; lamellae of the feet divided by a furrow.

This is a very remarkable species, which, as the count de Cepede, who describes it, observes, seems in some degree to connect the chameleon, the gecko, and the water-newts. The largest individual which he examined measured about eight inches and a half in length. The head is large and flattened, and its outline seen from above is nearly triangular, as in the chameleon; but the triangle is of a longer form, and there is no rising crest. The most remarkable part of its structure is the fringed process which commences on each side of the head, and is continued along the sides of the body. The colour of this animal varies as in the chameleon, exhibiting different shades of red, yellow, green, and blue.

It is a native of Madagascar, where it is pretty common. It is a harmless animal, and yet is regarded with great abhorrence by the natives, who consider it as a poisonous nature, and run from it with great precipitation. This popular prejudice is supposed to have arisen from a peculiar habit of the animal, of running with open mouth towards the spectator, instead of making its escape when it is discovered. It appears chiefly in rainy weather, moving about with great agility, and springing. ing from one branch of a tree to another in search of insects, which are its proper food.

63. LACERTA TETRADACTYLA, Four-toed Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellow, varied with green; tail flat; feet tetradactylous.

This species is about 12 inches long, and is nearly allied to the preceding species, except that it wants the fimbriated margin, and the number of the toes on the fore feet being only four.

It is also a native of Madagascar, and is not held in less abhorrence by the inhabitants than the former. It lives in the woods, appearing in the rainy season during the night.

64. LACERTA CAUDIVERBERA, Scollop-tailed Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Tail flat, pinnatifid; feet palmated.

This species, which is a veryingular one, is about 16 inches long, and of this the tail measures above one-half. The head is large and flat, the body thick, and the limbs short. The fore feet are like the rest of the species, but the hind feet are strongly palmated. The tail tapers gradually to the tip, but through its whole length is edged with a broad deep scoloped fin: this gradually widens towards the tip, and is considerably broader than on the sides. The back is marked with numerous distant red tubercles, each of which is surrounded by a circle of small white scales. The webs of the hind feet, and the finny part of the tail, are of a bright red.

This species is said to be a native of Arabia; but being a very rare animal, its natural history is not well known.

65. LACERTA SCHNEIDERIANA, Schneiderian Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour gray; tail convex above and flat below; a black band on each side of the head; lamellae of the feet lunulated and divided.

The colour of this species is cinereous, with a brown band on each side of the head; on each side of the body there is a future or wrinkling of the skin; the tail is edged with a row of sharper and longer scales than on the other parts.

66. LACERTA SPARMANNIANA, Sparmannian Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Body papillated above; tail lanceolate; fore feet tetradactylous.

This is a small species, measuring not more than three inches in total length. The colour on the upper part of the body is variegated with darker and lighter shades; on the under part it is whitish.

It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where it is regarded as a poisonous animal. It is said that the fluid secreted from its pores, as well as the saliva, produces inflammatory tumors, and sometimes even gangrenes.

67. LACERTA SPUTATOR, Spitting Gecko.

Specif. Char.—Colour gray, marked above with brown transverse bands; tail round, furnished with scuta beneath.

The total length of this species does not exceed four inches, and sometimes it is smaller. The scales on the whole animal are smooth and glossy.

It is a native of the island of Eufatia, where it is found about houses, walls, &c. When it is alarmed, it is said to eject from its mouth a black acid fluid, which occasions slight inflammation of the skin, and is usually removed by rubbing the part with camphorated spirit of wine.

Sect. VII. Scinks.

The animals of this division are covered with rounded fish-like scales.

68. LACERTA SCINCUS, Officinal Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour a yellowish brown, with transverse brown bands on the upper part of the body; tail short, compressed at the tip; upper jaw longest.

The scink is from six to seven inches long, and sometimes more. The head is rather small, the body thick and round, and the tail in general shorter than the body. The surface of the body has a glossy appearance.

This species is a native of many of the eastern countries. It is very common in Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, frequenting dry and sandy soils. It was once in considerable estimation as a medicine, in leprous and similar diseases.

This animal is described under the name of el adda, by Mr Bruce, and is represented as very common in the province of Atbara in Abyssinia. "It burrows," says he, in the sand, and performs this operation so quickly, that it is out of sight in an instant, and appears rather to have found a hole than to have made one; yet it comes out often in the heat of the day and basks itself in the sun, and, if not very much frightened, will take refuge behind stones, or in the withered ragged roots of the absinthium, dried in the sun to nearly its own colour. Its length is rather more than five inches; though its legs are long it does not make use of them to stand upright, but creeps with its belly almost close to the ground. It runs, however, with very great celerity. It is very long from its shoulder to its nose, being nearly two inches: its body is round, having scarce any flatness in its belly; its tail, too, is perfectly round, having no flatness in its lower part; it is exceedingly sharp-pointed, and very easily broken. Yet I have seen several, where the part broken off has been renewed, so scarcely to be discernible. It is the same length between the point of the tail and the joint of the hinder leg, as was between the nose and the shoulder of the fore leg; its forehead from the occiput is flat; its shape conical, not pointed, but rounded at the end, in shape of some shovels or spades: the head is darker than the body, the occiput darker still. Its face is covered with fine black lines, which cross one another at right angles like a net; its eyes are small, defended with a number of strong black hairs, or eyelashes. Its upper jaw is longer, and projects considerably over the under. Both its jaws have a number of short, fine, but very feeble teeth; and when holding it in my hand, though it struggled violently to get loose, it never attempted to make use of its teeth: indeed it seems to turn its neck with great difficulty. Its ears are large, open, and nearly round. Its body is a light yellow, bordering on straw colour, crossed with eight bands of black, almost equally distant, except the two next the tail. All these decrease both in breadth and length, from the middle towards each extremity of the animal. The scales are largest along the back. They are very close, though the divisions are sufficiently apparent. Their surface is very polished, and seems as if varnished over. Its legs, from the shoulder to the middle toe, are nearly an inch and three quarters long. Its feet are composed of five toes, the extremity of which is armed with a brown claw of no great strength, whose end is tipped with black."

The same author, speaking of the immense multitudes of lizards which are found in eastern countries, adds, "I am positive that I can say, without exaggeration, that the number I saw one day in the great court of the temple of the sun at Balbec, amounted to many thousands. The ground, the walls, and the stones, were covered with them; and the various colours of which they consisted, made a very extraordinary appearance, glittering under the sun, in which they lay sleeping and basking."

69. LACERTA RUFESCENS, Greater Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish, rufous; feet short; tail of moderate length.

This species sometimes exceeds 15 inches in total length. The head is covered in front with large angular scales; the legs are short and thick; the feet pentadactylous, and furnished with small claws.

It is a native of Arabia and Egypt, living both on land and in water. It is frequent on the shores of the Nile. It is also met with in some European islands, and particularly in the island of Cyprus.

70. LACERTA LONGICAUDA, Long-tailed Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour olivaceous yellow; tail very long.

The great length of the tail in this animal forms the specific distinction; the colour, which is greenish yellow, varies in the shade in different individuals.

It is said to be a native of America, and frequents the sea coasts, where it feeds on small crabs and spiders.

71. LACERTA MABOUYA, Mabouya Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour golden yellow; sides brownish; jaws equal; tail of middling length.

The length of this species is about eight inches; it greatly resembles the common scink, but differs from it in the length of the legs, and the jaws being equal.

It is a native of America, of Jamaica, and some other West India islands. It is also found in the island of Sardinia.

72. LACERTA OCCIDUA, Galliwasps.

Specif. Char.—Colour brownish; transverse bands somewhat waved; legs short; tail of middling length.

Except being larger, somewhat thicker, and having a tail proportionally shorter, this species comes very near the greater scink. It is about two feet in total length. The teeth are small in front; but as they approach the back part of the jaws, they gradually increase in size, like the molars teeth of the mammalia.

The galliwasps is a native of the American islands. It is very common in woody and marshy places in Jamaica, and has been reckoned, but without foundation, a poisonous reptile.

Var. Lacerta sinicoides, australasian galliwasps.—This, although it is of a darker colour, has a longer tail, and larger scales, is considered only as a variety of the former. On each side of the neck there is commonly a longitudinal brown spot.

It is a native of New Holland.

73. LACERTA GUTTATA, Spotted Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour gray, spotted with white; tail long, marked with four transverse black bands, and black tip.

This species does not exceed three inches in length. It is a native of the Ural desert.

74. LACERTA OCELLATA, Ocellated Scink.

Specif. Char.—Colour greenish gray, white beneath, marked above with roundish ocellated brown spots, which have white rectangular disks.

This species is about a span long. The body is depressed; the feet are short and pentadactylous. It has no femoral warts.

It is a native of Egypt, and frequents houses.

Sect. VIII. SALAMANDERS, Newts or Efts.

The species included under this section have soft skins, and some of them are water lizards.

75. LACERTA SALAMANDRA, Salamander.

Specif. Char.—Colour black, spotted with golden yellow; tail round, and of moderate length.

The colours of the salamander afford sufficient marks of distinction. It is of a deep shining black, variegated with large oblong and irregular spots of bright orange yellow. The sides are marked with many large transverse wrinkles. The parotid glands form protuberances on each side of the head. On the back and sides of the body there are several large open pores, from which is exuded a peculiar fluid, which serves to lubricate the skin. This fluid is of an acrid nature; and when the animal is irritated, is copiously secreted, and even it is supposed, ejected to some distance for its defence. It is in general from seven to eight inches in length. Sometimes it is seen entirely black.

The salamander is a native of many parts of Germany, Italy, France, and other parts of Europe, delighting in moist shady places, woods, &c. During the winter it conceals itself in recesses under ground, in the cavities of old walls, or about the roots of old trees.

This species lives chiefly on insects, small snails, &c. It is capable of living in waters as well as on land, and sometimes resorts to stagnant pools. It is slow in its motions, and torpid in its manners. The salamander is viviparous. The young are produced perfectly formed in the same way as the viper. It is said that it retires to the water to deposit its young, the number of which at one birth amounts to 30 or 40, and when they are first excluded, they are furnished with branchial fins on each side of the neck, which are temporary organs, and are afterwards obliterated like those of the tadpole.

Many popular errors concerning the salamander have long prevailed. One of these was, that it was a venomous animal, and that its poison is of so malignant a nature, as scarcely to admit of any remedy. It is now, however, found from the observations of later naturalists to be perfectly innocent, and although the fluid secreted from the skin may be noxious to smaller animals, it is incapable of inflicting either wound or poison on any large animal. In an experiment made on purpose, a gray lizard, which had bitten a salamander, and swallowed some of the fluid secreted from the skin, was almost immediately seized with convulsions, and soon after died. It was another popular error that the salamander could exist uninjured in the fire, and that it could even extinguish it by means of the fluid secreted from its skin. This fluid, it is probable, is secreted in greater abundance when the animal is exposed to heat, and thus it is protected for a short time against the action of the fire, which can produce no effect till the moisture on the skin is evaporated; and from this circumstance, and hasty observation, has arisen the improbable story of its being able to resist the action of fire.

76. Lacerta Vulgaris, Common Newt.

Specif. Char.—Colour yellowish brown; dorsal line double; abdomen orange-coloured, spotted with brown.

This species is the smallest of the British lizards, the general length not exceeding three inches and a half.

It is a native of Europe, and is found in gardens in the neighbourhood of dunghills, &c. Like the slug and toad, it makes its way into cellars. It is altogether a land species, and it seems to be viviparous; for some of a very small size, yet perfectly formed, have been discovered at a very great distance from any water.

77. Lacerta Palustris, Great Water Newt.

Specif. Char.—Colour blackish; sides speckled with white; abdomen orange, with irregular black spots.

This species is small in size, and marked with a different distribution of colours, but in its general appearance it bears a considerable resemblance to the salamander. It is from five to six inches in length. The tail is flat, with thin sharp edges, and terminating in a point; on each side of it in the male there is a silvery white broad band, accompanied with a bluish tinge. This stripe and the dorsal crest are sometimes wanting in the female.

It is a native of Europe, but is rare in Britain. It frequents stagnant waters in cool shady places, and lives entirely on insects. It is to larger animals quite innocuous; but the fluid exuded from its skin seems to act as a poison on small animals.

78. Lacerta Aquatica, Common Water Newt.

Specif. Char.—Colour olive brown, spotted with black; abdomen orange-coloured; tail sharp-edged and sinuated.

The general length of this species is from three to four inches. The male is readily distinguished from the female by a conspicuous dorsal crest, which is more elevated, and more regularly situated than that of the former species. This broad crest is very transparent, and when examined with a magnifying glass, shows the ramifications of the blood vessels and the circulation of the blood. In the female the dorsal crest is nearly wanting. The colour of the male is olive brown, marked with numerous round black spots, which are largest on the sides and tail. The female is of a pale yellowish brown, and the spots are much less distinct. The fore feet are tetradactylous; the hind feet pentadactylous, and in all the claws are wanting; but with regard to the colour, the breadth of the tail, and that of the toes, it ought to be observed, that the water newt, at different times of the year, different states of the weather, and even in the course of the same day, is subject to considerable variation.

This species is a native of Europe, and is met with in Britain in all soft stagnant waters.

This animal breeds early in the spring, and deposits small oblong strings or clusters of spawn. The ova, according to Spallanzani, are of a kidney shape, and the larva are ready formed, because long before they leave the glutin, their motions are brisk and frequent. In about ten days they extricate themselves from the glutin. When they are first excluded, the branchial fins are distinctly seen, and soon after the fore legs appear. After a fortnight the hind legs are visible, and about the beginning of September the branchial fins become obliterated, and the animal attains its perfect form. While the animal remains in the larva state, it is furnished with a triple pair of ramified branchial fins on each side of the neck, which gives it the appearance of a small fish.

The water newt frequently casts its skin, which may be occasionally seen floating on the waters which they frequent, and is sometimes so perfect as to represent the whole form of the complete animal. The reproductive power of the water newt is a striking circumstance in its natural history. They have been known to have their legs, tails, and even the eyes, according to some, completely restored, after they were cut off or destroyed. This animal is also remarkable for its tenacity of life. Cases have occurred in which the water newt has been found completely inclosed in a mass of ice, in which it must have remained for weeks, or even months, and yet, when the ice is melted, the animal was restored to its former health and vigour. Yet it is very readily destroyed by the application of certain substances. The water newt immersed in salt water, soon dies; or even by having common salt rubbed on the back for a short time.

79. Leverian Water Newt.

This is a very large species of the water newt, described by Dr Shaw, and of which there is a specimen in the Leverian museum. The total length is 17½ inches, and Lizards, and of this the tail measures 6½ inches. The head is flattened, the mouth moderately wide, and the upper jaw is furnished in front with two concentric rows of numerous, small, bristly teeth. The under jaw has only a single row. The eyes are small, round, and situated on each side of the front of the head, so that they are very remote from each other. The colour is pale brown, marked in a confluent manner with darker variegations. The legs are about one inch in length, and they are all furnished, along their whole length behind, with a dilated skin or crest. The tail is like that of the common water newt, but is shorter, and less deeply finned.

Its native country, and farther particulars of its natural history, are unknown.

80. LACERTA MACULATA, Spotted Water Newt.

Specif. Char.—Colour blackish; a double row of white spots down the back.

The length of this species is about five inches. The head is large; there are four toes on the fore feet, and five on the hind. The colour is deep brown, and the double row of white spots, which begins at the top of the head and continues to the tail, becomes a single row to the end.

It is a native of Carolina, and inhabits ponds, ditches, and stagnant waters.

Sect. IX. Snake Lizards.

The species belonging to this section have very long bodies, and short legs.

81. LACERTA CHALCIDES, Chalcides Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Colour ferruginous; feet tetradactylous; body long, and marked with six brown dorsal lines.

The usual length of this animal is about eight or nine inches; but it is sometimes found only a few inches long, and sometimes exceeds a foot. The head is anteriorly covered with large scales; the snout is tapering; the eyes are small, and the openings of the ears are very distinct. The colour is ferruginous or chestnut brown above, and yellowish brown beneath.

This animal is a native of Africa and the warmer parts of Europe, frequenting moist shady places. It is quite inoffensive, and feeds on insects, small worms, &c. The motions of the chalcides are rather slow. It is viviparous, and is said to produce a great number of young.

82. Annulated Chalcides. Chalcide Cepede.

This is nearly allied to the former, but differs from it in having square scales, and in being marked through its whole length with a continued series of annuli or rings, to the number of 48. The length of the body is about 2½ inches, and is somewhat shorter than the tail. The feet are shorter than in the former species, and are all tetradactylous.

The native country of this species is unknown.

83. LACERTA SERPENS, Serpent Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Head, body, and tail cylindrical; feet small, remote, pentadactylous.

The length of this species is about 5½ inches. The colour is cinereous or pale ferruginous above, marked with from 15 to 20 dusky lines; beneath it is ash coloured, with a silvery gloss. It is entirely covered with imbricated scales.

This animal is a native of Java.

84. LACERTA ANGUINA, Snake Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Body long; tail very long; feet oval-shaped, and without toes.

The body of this species measures four, the whole length 15 inches. The colour is brown above, ash-coloured on the sides, yellowish beneath, and the upper surface is marked throughout its whole length with several dark stripes. The head is small; the legs very short, and placed near the head and vent, and seemingly terminated in one undivided process. The whole body is covered with ovate scales.

It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and is frequently found in the water, and about the rocks in Table bay.

85. LACERTA APUS, Apodal Lizard.

Specif. Char.—This snake-formed lizard is ferruginous, has no fore feet, and its hind feet are very short and monodactylous.

The chalcides itself does not approach so near to the snake tribe as this large and singular species of the lizard. It measures almost three feet in length, and its general appearance bears such a striking resemblance to a large snake, that it requires a very attentive examination to ascertain the difference; as it has only a pair of extremely short pointed processes by way of feet, at a great distance from the anterior parts of the body, almost on either side of the vent, and without toes. The head is rather large, and covered with large scales; the snout is tapering; the upper jaw projects a little over the lower; the mouth is of a moderate wideness, and the ears are very visible. There is no appearance of a neck, as the body gradually tapers from the head to the extremity of the tail, which is longer than the body, and terminates in a point. The whole animal is covered with rows of scales of a moderately large size, in a longitudinal direction, and emarginated at the tips. From the head to nearly half the length of the tail, a deep continued channel runs along each side of the body. Its colour is a pale chestnut, and beneath a pale yellow-brown.

Two specimens of this lizard were brought from Greece by Dr John Sibthorp, professor of botany in the university of Oxford. It is rather a singular circumstance that an animal of such magnitude should have remained so long unknown to the inquisitive naturalist.

It is a native of Greece, of the southern parts of Siberia, and unquestionably of many other parts both of Europe and Asia, although the knowledge of it has been but lately acquired, the first describer of it being Dr Pallas, by whom it was found in the south of Siberia. It frequents moist and shady places, and, as far as is yet known, is an innocent animal.

86. LACERTA BIPES, Biped Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Long bodied, cylindrical, pale yellow, speckled speckled with brown, having no fore feet; hind feet very small, and didactylous.

This species, which is not larger in diameter than that of a goose quill, measures about six inches in length; its colour is a pale yellow, spotted with brown; the head is small, body cylindrical, tail short and taper; on each side of the vent there is a small tubulated foot, which is furnished with two small unequal toes.

It is a native of India and South America.

87. LACERTA LUMBRICOIDES, Lumbriciform Lizard.

Specif. Char.—Body cylindrical, two-footed, and annulated with square scales, having a lateral furrow, and no hind feet.

This is about eight inches long, and half an inch in diameter. The whole body, including head and tail, is of the same diameter, and is covered with rings of square scales. Along each side there is a continued furrow, which separates the upper and lower surfaces. The legs are two, very short, and placed near the head. They are divided into five minute toes, which are furnished with claws. The colour of the living animal is supposed to have been green, and paler beneath.

It is a native of Mexico.

Number of species in each genus, included under the order Reptilia.

| Genus | Species | |---------|---------| | TESTUDO | 39 | | RANA | 48 | | DRACO | 2 | | LACERTA | 87 | | Total | 176 |

CHAP. II. OF THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF REPTILES.

HAVING in the former chapter taken a brief and comprehensive view of the classification, and such particulars of the natural history of reptiles, as were connected with the different species, we now proceed to give a slight sketch of the anatomy and physiology of this order of animals. These shall be the subjects of the two following sections. In the first we shall treat of the anatomy, in the second of the physiology of reptiles.

Sect. I. Of the Anatomy of Reptiles.

Between this order of animals, and the quadrupeds belonging to the class mammalia, there are many points of resemblance, making allowances for the difference of size; and hence they have been denominated oviparous quadrupeds. This resemblance, however, only extends to external appearance.

The body of reptiles is supported by four feet, and these form the principal external character. They are disposed like those of the mammalia, two before and two behind. With the exception of some animals which have been arranged under this order, and which have only two feet, all reptiles are furnished with four feet.

The body is furnished with a tail, which is different from that of quadrupeds, in having no hair. This is common to the tortoises and the whole of the lizard tribe. The genus rana is an exception to this. All the species included under it are unprovided with a tail.

The body is either lengthened, that is, when it is considerably longer than broad, as is the case with lizards; or rounded, that is, when the body, seen from above, exhibits an orbicular form, as in the tortoise and some toads.

With regard to the surface of the body, it is never covered with hairs, but sometimes with scales; such are reptiles without a tail, the salamanders and some lizards. It is sometimes covered with inequalities or asperities, the whole surface being rough with elevated points, which resemble warts or pustules. This is the case with some lizards, and several frogs and toads. The body is covered sometimes with a shell both above and below; this bony covering protects the animal from external injury. With such a covering the genus tortoise is furnished.

In the sketch which we propose to give of the anatomy of reptiles, the parts of the body may be divided into external and internal; the external parts comprehend the head, the trunk, the tail, and the feet. Under the internal parts are included the skeleton, the muscles, and the viscera.

External Parts of the Body.

1. The Head.—The head is that part of the body which is articulated with the first vertebra of the neck. It is rounded, that is, when its external surface is round in every direction, as is the case with tortoises; or flattened or depressed, when it is compressed above and below, which is the case with almost the whole order; or triangular, when the head, seen from above, represents a triangle, as in some toads and frogs.

The mouth is semicircular, when the outline forms a semicircle, as in the genus rana, and in almost all the lizard tribe; or inferior, when the upper jaw comes over the lower, so that the mouth necessarily occupies the lower part of the head. This is the case with the tadpole.

The beak or snout either forms an inclined plane from the top of the head to the end of the jaws, as in the chameleon, and many lizards; or conical, when the two jaws gradually diminish, as in the crocodile; or reflected upwards, when both jaws are flattened and turned upwards towards the extremity of the beak; or rounded, when they are thick and ventricose towards the extremity, as in several tortoises; or pointed, when the upper jaw terminates like the beak of a bird.

The jaws are either equal, as in most part of the genus rana, in many of the lizards, and salamanders; or unequal, as is the case with many of the tortoises and lizards, in which case, the upper jaw is always the longest. Among the whole order of reptiles, there is no influence of the contrary; that is, of the lower jaw being longest, and perhaps this structure would be inconvenient, or incompatible with the nature of the animal, or its habits and mode of life.

A common error long prevailed with regard to the motion of the jaws of the crocodile. It was asserted, that this animal only moved its upper jaw; but the more accurate observations of later anatomists have proved the contrary, and that the articulations of the head and jaws of this animal are precisely the same as in other quadrupeds. The head is articulated with the last vertebra of the neck, and the lower jaw is articulated with the upper, so that the former, namely the lower jaw, only has the power of motion.

All the animals belonging to the order of reptiles, are not furnished with teeth. The tortoises and some lizards, have none. All the species belonging to the genus *rana* may be considered also as having none, the jaws being only crenulated or notched; but in other tribes belonging to this order, the teeth are conical, as those of the crocodile, which are hollow, and filled with a soft substance; or recurved, when the extremity of the tooth turns backward towards the throat, as in the Indian crocodile; or straight, as in most of the lizard tribe; compressed at the sides, as in the guana; or notched, when the summit of the tooth is truncated and crenulated, as in the horned lizard.

Tongue.—In almost all the tribes of animals belonging to this order, the tongue is peculiarly fitted for seizing their prey. The form of it varies in all the families. Another error has prevailed with regard to the tongue of the crocodile. It was said that it had no tongue, but in place of it is furnished with a strong membrane, which adheres to the two edges of the lower jaw. Even the observations of later naturalists tend to confirm this error. Denon, who had numerous opportunities of seeing the crocodile both dead and alive, in its native haunts on the borders of the Nile, believes in this opinion, that the crocodile has no tongue; but it does not appear that any accurate anatomical inspection was made, to ascertain this point, or indeed that he was accompanied by any anatomist at all, by whom alone the truth or falsehood of the opinion could be investigated. This organ of the crocodile, however, is very large, and even proportionally larger than that of the ox, but it is strongly connected with the sides of the lower jaw, and being thus fixed or tied down, cannot be stretched forwards, as is the case with other animals.

In some of the animals belonging to this order, the tongue is nearly of equal length and breadth. This is the case with the tongue of frogs, tortoises, the salamander, and the guana.

In some it is very narrow at the base, and divided into two at the extremity, as in most of the lizard tribe, which are thus furnished with a bifid tongue.

But the structure of the tongue of the chameleon, is perhaps the most singular of any belonging to the order. It is composed of a white solid flesh, 10 inches long, and about three broad. It is round, and flattened towards the end; hollow and open, somewhat resembling the termination of the trunk of the elephant. The tongue is attached to the os hyoides by a kind of trunk, of the shape of an intestine, about six inches long, and a line in breadth. This trunk is furnished externally with a membrane, and internally with a soft, but solid and compact, nervous substance, which is with difficulty divided into fibres. It is by means of this trunk that the tongue, which is attached to it, is projected from the mouth. This is done by the extension of the trunk, and it is again drawn back by its contractile power. These motions are performed by a kind of cartilaginous filius, to which the investing membrane is attached, and over which it is plaited like a silk flocking on the leg. This filius is an inch long, and originates from the middle of the base of the os hyoides. In consequence of this extensible and retractile powers which the tongue of the chameleon possesses, it has obtained the epithet of vermiform, because in those motions it resembles those of an earth-worm.

There is no great peculiarity about the nostrils of Nostrils, any of this order of animals. In general, they are almost always of a round form. In some, however, they are lunulated, or shaped somewhat like a crescent, the horns of which are turned backwards. This is the case with the nostrils of the crocodile.

The eyes, as in most other animals, are placed on Eyes, the sides of the head; but in some they are vertical, or placed on the top of the head, as in several of the toads and the crocodiles; approximating, when the distance between the eyes is very small; or protuberant, when the globe of the eye on each side forms a considerable projection, as in those belonging to the genus *rana*, the crocodiles, and the salamanders.

The nictitating membrane, which is peculiar to some birds, belongs also to some of the animals of this order. By means of extending this membrane over the eye, the excessive brightness of sunlight, to which many of them, being natives of warm climates, are exposed, is greatly moderated, and perhaps this membrane may be useful to those animals of this order which frequent the water.

The iris of the eye is differently coloured in the animals of this order. In many it is red; in the chameleon it is of a golden yellow colour.

Externally, the ears of reptiles do not exhibit any Ears, remarkable peculiarity. The opening is more or less round, and it is usually covered with a membrane. There is no external ear, by which the vibrations of the air might be collected, and conveyed to the sense of hearing; from which it has been concluded, that this sense is more obtuse than in quadrupeds.

2. The Trunk.—The trunk of the body includes the neck, the breast, the back, the ribs, the abdomen, and the anus; and some of these parts in different reptiles, present considerable varieties.

The neck, which unites the head with the trunk, is Neck, very different in the different tribes belonging to this order. In all those included under the genus *Rana* the head is so closely attached to the trunk, that the neck is scarcely to be distinguished. In others, however, it is considerably elongated, and quite distinct, as in the crocodile and the salamander. The neck is also pretty long in some of the tortoises. Sometimes it is covered with wrinkles or folds, when the skin forms several transverse wrinkles, as in the neck of some of the tortoises.

The breast or thorax is situated on the anterior part Thorax. Anatomy. of the trunk; it forms a close cavity which is covered beneath by the sternum, on the sides by the ribs, and above by the vertebrae at the back bone.

The back is the upper part of the trunk, extending from the last vertebra of the neck to the first of the tail. In reptiles it is sometimes convex, sometimes more or less flattened. It is either furnished with scales, when there extends along the superior surface a row of scales from the neck to the extremity of the tail, as in the guana and horned lizard; or it is furnished with a toothed future, when the upper extremity of the trunk terminates in a notched ridge, as in the chameleon of the Cape; or is supplied with a kind of radiated fin, somewhat resembling the fin of a fish, as in the basilisk; or it is protected with a strong bony covering, known by the name of calipash. This is the name by which the bony covering of the turtle is distinguished. This covering is composed of different pieces closely united to each other, and they are sometimes smooth and convex, sometimes striated and flat, disposed in three rows; and there are about 24 pieces situated on the edges of this covering.

Ribs. The ribs include the lateral parts of the trunk, from the neck to the anus. In the tortoises, the ribs are defended by the edges of the calipash, which is here united with the inferior shell, or bony covering.

Abdomen. The abdomen or belly constitutes the inferior part of the body, and extends from the extremity of the breast or thorax to the anus. In the tortoises, this part is composed of a bony covering; and in some species belonging to this tribe, there are openings in those places which correspond to the head, the four feet, and the tail; but in some other species, as in the testudo clavata, there is no opening whatever, but the bony covering is transversely divided into two parts, which play on a kind of hinge, so that when the animal wishes to move, it opens the anterior division to put out the head and the fore feet; and in the same way for the opening behind. This inferior bony covering is united with the upper one by means of a cartilage placed near the middle of the body. This is usually known by the name of calipee. Sometimes the abdomen is covered with plates or scutes, which is the case with most of the lizards, which have on the inferior surface of the body, very large plates regularly arranged.

The anus is not only the passage for the evacuation of the excrement, but is besides the canal in which are contained the parts of generation of the male lizards and tortoises. The males of the animals belonging to the genus Rana, which are destitute of these parts, eject by this opening the fluid which impregnates the ova of the female.

3. The Tail.—This part terminates the trunk. Many reptiles, as those belonging to the genus Rana, have no tail whatever; but the animals belonging to the other genera of this order are furnished with a tail of different lengths. The tail is covered with scales, as in almost all the lizards; and these scales are sometimes disposed in rings or circular bands, as in several lizards; or they are somewhat elevated, forming a kind of notched appearance on the upper surface of the tail, as in the guana.

4. The Feet.—The feet of the animals belonging to this order greatly resemble those of quadrupeds; their position and articulations are nearly the same, but they are much shorter, and placed at a greater distance from each other. The feet terminate in a certain number of toes, and thence, according to the number of the toes, assume different names; as tridactylous, tetradactylous, &c. The structure of the toes is similar to that of other animals. They are separated from each other, as in lizards; palmated, when united by means of an intermediate membrane, as in the hind feet of the frog; furnished with nails or claws at the extremity, which are sometimes flat, as in the frogs; or hooked, as in the lizards; or destitute of nails or claws, as in the salamander.

Internal Parts.

Under the internal parts are included the skeleton, the muscles, and the viscera.

1. The Skeleton.—With regard to the skeleton of reptiles, it may be observed, that the structure of the bones is less complicated than that of quadrupeds, and the texture is less compact. They possess at the same time somewhat of the transparency of cartilages. The bones may be divided into those of the head, the neck, the thorax, the spine, the tail, and the feet.

The bones of the head are composed of those of the cranium, and those of the lower jaw. In the greatest the head, number of reptiles, the cranium consists of a single bone. The bone of the upper jaw, and that of the forehead, are completely united in the crocodile, the chameleon, and some others. They do not seem to be separated by any distinct future. The lower jaw of the chameleon terminates on each side in a separate bone, which unites on one hand with the region of the temples, and forms on the other an angular articulation with the jaw.

The bones of the neck are composed of a series of the vertebrae, the number of which varies in the different tribes of this order. The species belonging to the genus Rana have no cervical vertebrae; but in the other tribes the number varies, as has been mentioned, as will appear from the following table.

| Chameleon | 2 | |-----------|---| | Most of the Lizards | 4 | | Crocodile | 7 | | Tortoise | 8 |

The number of processes with which the vertebrae are furnished, also varies. In those of the chameleon there are seven; but in those of the crocodile, there are nine, viz. five above, and four below.

The bones of the thorax comprehend those of the vertebral column, corresponding to this cavity, the ribs, and the sternum. The vertebrae, which correspond to the cavity of the thorax, are not the same in all the individuals belonging to this order. In the crocodile there are only 12, but in the chameleon, the number amounts to 18. Each of these vertebrae is in general furnished with seven processes, which are sometimes simple, and sometimes spiny.

The ribs are wanting in the reptiles belonging to the genus Rana; the salamander also is destitute of ribs. In the other tribes they are always found, but unequal in number. In the tortoise there are eight on each side; in the crocodile 12; in the chameleon 18. The ribs Anatomy. Ribs are articulated with one vertebra only; but in the structure and articulations of these bones there is a peculiarity in the crocodile and chameleon. The two first and the two last ribs of the crocodile do not terminate in the sternum. The cartilages which attach the other eight are broken, so that each rib from the vertebra to the sternum is composed of three parts, one of which is bony, the other two cartilaginous. In the chameleon the two first anterior ribs are not supported by the sternum; the four following are attached to it by means of appendages which form at the point of junction an angle with the ribs, and which are not composed of a substance purely cartilaginous, but as hard as that of the ribs. The ten other following ribs do not reach the sternum. Each is joined to that which is opposed to it by a bony appendage, forming an arch on the middle of the thorax and abdomen. The three last are loose, separated, and as it were truncated in the middle.

The sternum or breast-bone is a flat bone, placed on the anterior part of the thorax, the figure and dimensions of which vary considerably. In the crocodile this bone reaches to the third rib; it is composed of a single piece, having at its upper part a kind of cartilage which forms a point towards the throat, and which enlarging at the sides covers the clavicles. The sternum of the chameleon and the frog is composed of four bones, the first of which is very large.

The back bone comprehends the vertebrae which occupy the upper part of the back, including those of the loins. In the chameleon there are 22; in the crocodile 19, and in the gray lizard 22.

The vertebrae of the tail form the posterior extremity of the spinal column. Their number is always proportional to its length. The tail of the chameleon is furnished with 50 vertebrae; that of the crocodile 33, and that of the gray lizard 60. All these vertebrae are furnished with transverse, oblique, and spinous processes, excepting those towards the end of the tail, which are usually destitute of the oblique processes.

The bones of the feet bear a considerable resemblance to those of other animals. The fore feet are composed of the scapula, the humerus, the cubitus and radius, the bones of the carpus and metacarpus, and the joints of the toes.

The scapula or shoulder-blade is sometimes single, and sometimes double, in the animals belonging to this order. The frog, the chameleon, and the salamander, have only one; but it is of such a length that it extends from the dorsal spine to the sternum, with which it is articulated, answering the purpose of a clavicle. In the tortoises and crocodile, there are two shoulder-blades, viz. one on the back, and one placed anteriorly, and articulated with the sternum. These also perform the functions of the clavicle. The humerus is articulated on the one hand with the scapula, and with the two bones, the cubitus and radius of the arm, on the other. The two latter bones, the cubitus and radius, are placed parallel to each other, between the humerus and the bones of the carpus and metacarpus. These latter are situated between the two bones of the forearm, and the phalanges or joints of the toes.

The hind feet are composed also of the femur or thigh-bone, the tibia, and the peronea of the leg; the bones of the tarus and metatarsus, and the phalanges or joints of the toes. These, excepting that they differ somewhat in structure, bear so near a resemblance to those of the fore feet, that it would be quite unnecessary to enumerate or describe them particularly.

2. The Muscles.—The muscles are the instruments of motion. The muscles of the back of the crocodile take their origin from the vertebrae and ribs, and they are attached by means of their tendons, to the bands or rings which are formed by the tubercles of the back. These tendons act in different directions; some of them pull these bands from above downwards, while others pull them from below upwards. The use of these muscles is apparently to lock together more strongly the rings of which the tubercles of the back are composed.

The muscles of the abdomen in the same animal, which are four in number, one external, and one internal on each side, are not only different from those of other quadrupeds in number, but also in their situation and structure. The external muscle is placed upon the ribs, and the internal under them, immediately above all the viscera, which it embraces in the manner of a peritoneum. The internal muscle is attached on one side to the bones of the pelvis, and to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae; and on the other it terminates in a broad tendon, which envelopes all the intestines in the form of a membrane. The fibres of these two muscles are disposed lengthwise.

3. The Viscera.—The parts contained in the three great cavities of the body are the viscera. These are the brain, the heart, the lungs, the stomach, the intestines, the liver, the spleen, and the kidneys.

The brain is situated within the cavity of the skull. This organ, in reptiles, is in general of small size. The brain of the chameleon, which is of a reddish or grayish red colour, is not more than a line in diameter. The same organ in the crocodile is very small, and similar to that of fishes. The cavity within which it is contained, does not exceed 14 lines in length, and about 12 in breadth and depth.

The heart is a strong muscular body, from which proceed the great arteries, and in which the great veins terminate. From the contractile force of this organ, the blood receives its first impulse. The heart in this order of animals is small. It has in general been considered as having only one ventricle and two auricles; differing from the heart of the more perfect animals, which is furnished with two ventricles and two auricles. But from the observations of later naturalists, it would appear that the structure of the heart of reptiles has not been accurately described; for, according to some anatomists and physiologists, the heart of this order of animals is really double; that is, consisting of two auricles which have a direct communication with each other, and two ventricles, as in other animals.

The lungs which constitute the principal organ of respiration, are spongy cellular bodies, in which the bronchia or air-vessels are ramified. The substance of which the lungs of reptiles are composed, is not fleshy and parenchymatous like those of quadrupeds, but they consist of a bundle of vessels divided into two lobes. The lungs of the turtle are remarkable for a vesicle which adheres to their surface on the left side, and which may be contracted and dilated at the pleasure of the animal. It is conjectured, that it is by means of this this organ, like the swimming bladder in fishes, that the turtle raises itself to the surface of the water.

The stomach which is destined to receive the food, is situated between the gullet and the intestinal canal. This organ in reptiles is very like that of birds. The stomach of a crocodile four feet long is not larger than four inches in length, and the same in breadth; and although the fibres of which it is composed are neither so strong, nor so numerous, as those of the stomach of birds, they form a body which is incapable of extension or enlargement. This renders it extremely difficult to believe what is said of the crocodile, of its prodigious voracity, swallowing animals of considerable size, since it is neither furnished with teeth fit for the mastication of its food, nor a stomach of sufficient capacity to receive so great a quantity.

The intestines form a canal composed of different convolutions, extending from the stomach to the anus. It is quite unnecessary to enter into a minute description, than merely to state, that they are divided, as in other animals, into great and small. In the crocodile and other reptiles, the intestines going out from the stomach, form two great convolutions similar to those of birds. They are afterwards convoluted in different ways, till they reach the bottom of the cavity and terminate in the anus.

The liver is the organ destined for the secretion of bile. In this order of animals it is large, and divided into two unequal lobes, between which the heart is situated. The right lobe is somewhat larger, and the gall bladder occupies the middle of this lobe.

The spleen is an organ placed on the left side. In this situation it is exposed to the pressure of the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles. The spleen of frogs is double, and of an oblong form. In the crocodile it is oval, somewhat oblong and equal at the two extremities. The substance of which this organ is composed, consists of a great number of large whitish points on a dark red ground.

The kidneys are bodies of an oval lengthened form, situated within the abdomen, and destined for the secretion of urine. In the frog, between the kidneys and the testicles, there are certain appendages which resemble some kind of leaves. The kidneys are attached to the back, having at their posterior extremity the seminal vesicles. The urinary bladder is situated near the orifice of the anus.

**Sect. II. Of the Physiology, Manners, and Habits of Reptiles.**

We shall now, according to the arrangement proposed, make a few observations on the physiology, manners and habits of reptiles.

From the small proportion of brain, and dull habits of reptiles, it seems to be justly concluded that their senses are not very acute.

**Sense of Sight.**—Of all the senses, that of sight is probably the most perfect among reptiles; but as their most common haunts are on the shores of the ocean, or the margin of lakes, and of stagnant waters, and on the banks of rivers, where the rays of the sun are strongly and incessantly reflected, it was necessary that the eyes of these animals should be protected from the too powerful impressions of light. For this purpose the moveable eye-lids, and the nictitating membrane, are peculiarly fitted; as by their means the animal is enabled to diminish the quantity of light received into the eye. The peculiar power which many of them possess also of contracting and dilating the pupil at pleasure, like the cat, and some other animals, which seek their prey in the dark, extends the utility of this organ, and renders it more sensible and delicate. From this peculiar structure of the eye, the animal is enabled to see objects at a considerable distance, and is thus fitted to pursue its prey in the dark, or at great depths under the surface of the water; circumstances which are highly necessary for the situation in which many of the tribes of reptiles are placed, and exactly accommodated to their habits and mode of life.

**Sense of Hearing.**—This sense in reptiles is probably not very acute. The structure of the internal ear is considerably different from that of the more perfect animals. Indeed some of the parts which seem to render perception more acute, are wanting in these animals. There is neither cochlea nor fenestra ovalis, and the semicircular canals are destitute of extremities. The membrane of the tympanum is very thick, and the bone immediately connected with it is of a very irregular figure. But, besides, these animals have no external ear whatever, by which means the vibrations of the air might be collected, and condensed in the seat of sensation. In place of these external parts, there are only very narrow openings, which can admit but a small number of vibratory undulations. As a farther proof of the dulness of this sense in these animals, few of them emit any sound, excepting a harsh croaking, whence it may be concluded, that their perception of sound is very indistinct, or they are destitute of the organs necessary to express it; otherwise, with these requisites, the habit of hearing distinctly would very soon improve the power of expression.

**Sense of Smelling.**—Almost all reptiles are furnished with the external organs of this sense. The nostrils of the crocodile are placed in a round space, filled with a black, soft, and spongy substance; those of the tortoise and lizard occupy the extremity of the snout, and consist of two very distinct openings. It appears, indeed, from anatomical inspection, that the nerves which terminate in these organs are of a very large size, which circumstance leads us to conclude, that the sense of smelling must be pretty acute. But when it is considered that a great proportion of reptiles have their abode in the midst of putrid marshes, it would incline us to suppose, that the sense of smelling is not very acute.

Dr Townson, in some experiments which he made with the water lizard, very justly concludes, that their sense of smell is extremely acute. "I kept, says he, a considerable number of water lizards, in a jar, which I fed from time to time with worms; if they were in the greatest ill-health, and I dropped in a worm ever so gently, they all immediately began to fight, each attacking its neighbour and seizing it by the foot or tail. This was not a contention for the worm, which often lay for a short time unnoticed, but it originated rather from the acuteness of their sense of smell, which immediately informed them of the presence of their food, and in the dullness of their discriminating powers. This is similar to what I have invariably observed in frogs and toads," Physiology: toads, which will suffer their natural food to remain before them untouched, yet seize it instantly on the smallest motion it makes. It was from a knowledge of this instinct that I was able in winter to feed my constant companion and favourite pet, Mufidora.

"Before the flies, which were her usual food, had disappeared in autumn, I collected a great quantity as provision for winter. When I laid them before her, she took no notice of them; but the moment I moved them with my breath she sprung and ate them. Once when flies were scarce, I cut some flesh of a tortoise into small pieces, and moved them by the same means, she seized them, but instantly rejected them from her tongue. After I had obtained her confidence, she ate from my fingers dead as well as living flies.

"Frogs will fly at the moving shadow of any small objects, and both frogs and toads will soon become tame as to fit on one's hand and be carried from one side of the room to the other, to catch the flies as they settle on the wall. At Gottingen, I made them my guards for keeping these troublesome creatures from my desert of fruit, and they acquitted themselves to my satisfaction. I have seen the small tree-frogs eat humble bees, not indeed without a battle; they are in general obliged to reject them, being incommodeed by their stings and hairy roughness; but at each attempt the bee is further covered with the viscid matter from their tongue, and is then easily swallowed.

"Nothing appears more awkward and ludicrous than a frog engaged with a large worm or little snake; for nature seems to have put a restraint upon their voracity, by forming them very inept to seize and hold their larger prey. One of my largest frogs, whether the rana temporaria, or eculenta, I forget, swallowed in my presence an anguis fragilis near a span long, which, in its struggles, frequently got half its body out again; when completely swallowed, its contortions were very visible in the flaccid sides of the conqueror."

Sense of Taste.—If the perception of taste is to be taken in proportion to the sensibility of the organ which is the seat of it, this sense in reptiles must be considered as the feeblest of the whole. The tongue of most reptiles is rather to be considered as an instrument for seizing its prey, than as an organ destined for the perception of taste; and for the former purpose it is remarkably fitted, both from its structure and mechanism, by which means the animal can project it instantaneously from its mouth, and also from the viscid fluid which is secreted on its surface. We have already described, in speaking of the anatomy of reptiles, this peculiarity of structure in the tongue of the chameleon.

Sense of Touch.—This sense cannot be supposed to be very acute in this order of animals. Most of them have the body covered with hard scales, with large tubercles, or with a strong bony substance. In a great number belonging to this order, the extremities of the feet even are furnished with scales; and the toes are so united together, that they can only be applied with difficulty to the surface of bodies. And if in some lizards it is found that the toes are long, and distinctly separated from each other, the inferior surface is covered, either with a hard skin or with very thick scales, which must undoubtedly deprive this part of all sensibility. The sense of touch, therefore, in reptiles, may, in general, be considered as dull and imperfect.

Circulation of the Blood.—In animals which have been usually dignified with the name of perfect, and which are furnished with a double heart, the blood which has been collected from all parts of the body, returns to the right side of the heart; is thence conveyed to the lungs; from the lungs it passes to the left side of the heart, and thence is again distributed through the body. But this course of the blood can only go on when the function of respiration continues without interruption; because on the cessation of the action of the lungs, the circulation through them is interrupted; and therefore, without some other structure of the heart, the circulation through the body must stop, and the death of the animal ensue.

Many of the animals included under the order of reptiles are distinguished by a peculiarity of structure, by which allows the circulation to go on during the necessary interruption of the function of respiration to which they are subjected. The blood therefore, instead of paling through the lungs, is conveyed through an oblong opening called foramen ovale, situated between the two auricles, and is discharged directly from the pulmonary artery into the aorta. Hence it is that these animals come under the denomination of cold-blooded. This diminished temperature of the blood is ascribed to the less complicated circulation which goes on in their system. For the blood in the course of the circulation being less exposed to the action of the air in the lungs, undergoes fewer of these changes, on which, according to the present chemical theory of respiration, the temperature of the body, or animal heat, depends.

Respiration.—The function of respiration exhibits one of the greatest peculiarities in the animals belonging different to the order of reptiles. For, as in these animals the structure of the thorax, and the other parts necessary to other animals, the process of respiration in other animals are quite different, the means also by which it is conducted in them must also be different. It is to Dr Townson that we are indebted for the elucidation of this part of the physiology of reptiles. This naturalist, as he himself observes, at least revived a doctrine which had been acknowledged by former physiologists, to whom it seems to have been distinctly known. Among these he mentions Laurenti, who, in his Synopsis Reptilium, has derived the character of his class from the peculiar mode of respiration of these animals, of which he says that they are furnished with lungs, but are destitute of diaphragm and ribs, but by means of the gular pouch the air is alternately drawn into this reservoir, and by its contractions propelled to the lungs.

In quadrupeds, Dr Townson observes, there are no perceptible motions in the throat, excepting those which accompany the process of deglutition; but in the frog tribe, whether they are awake or asleep, if they are not excluded from the air, there are some remarkable motions of the throat which are quick and constant; these are the motions which are subservient to inspiration. The bony and muscular parts, which in hot-blooded animals are the mechanical instruments of respiration, are entirely wanting in this order of amphibia. It must then be by means of some other contrivance, that they are enabled to fill the lungs with air. In the hot-blooded... Physiology. blooded animals the alternate contraction and dilatation of the thorax effects this, but in this tribe the same purpose is accomplished by the dilatations and contractions of the throat. When the cavity of the throat is enlarged the air rushes through the nostrils and fills it; the nostrils being closed by their proper muscles, the glottis is opened; the muscles designed for this office contract, diminish the cavity of the throat, and impel the air which is contained in it into the lungs; and in this way, he adds, is inspiration performed in these animals.

"When the lungs, says he, were laid bare, I have observed that they did not inflate, if the frog, exhausted with pain and loss of blood, or when the nostrils were covered with it, opened its mouth to take in a greater supply of air, till the throat contracted; this, then, was the immediate consequence. Likewise, if I put a tube down the throat, the glottis and mouth being by this kept open, the lungs collapsed, and in this state remained; but as soon as the tube was removed, respiration immediately recommenced: nothing similar to this is to be observed in hot-blooded animals.

"Expiration is very easily accomplished; for, the glottis and the nostrils being open, the lungs by their own contraction from a state of distention, and by their own weight, aided by that of superincumbent parts, will gradually expel the air; but the muscles which cover the sides act also on this occasion, and in their croakings, (which, in the time of their amours, are heard to a great distance), with great force. But in the ordinary respirations of these animals, no more than in quadrupeds, do the lungs wholly collapse; if not viewed with attention, no motion is ever perceived in their sides, though there is a regular contraction and distention. They likewise have the faculty of compressing one lobe of the lungs tightly, by the contraction of the muscles of that side; this is easily induced by touching them gently on the side with a pin or other sharp body.

"As these animals are known to be able to live a much longer time without air than those with hot blood, it has been said by many that they respire slower. But although probably they do not vitiate to much air, they respire very rapidly. Man respire about twenty times in a minute; and, according to Forgaro, birds, which breathe the quickest of all hot-blooded animals, from 25 to 50; but the esculent frog (Rana esculenta), respire about 70 times in a minute; the Rana variabilis (a species of toad), about 100, and the tree frog (Rana arborea), so rapidly that I could not reckon the number of the motions of its throat. The contractions of the throat I have considered as inspirations; yet, as the nostrils do not close with each contraction, I cannot venture to affirm that at each the whole contents of the throat are driven into the lungs. As there is frequently one contraction in four or five greater than the rest, it may be then that the greatest quantity of air is driven into them. When these animals sleep, and in cold weather, these motions are slower and more feeble.

"According then to the doctrine which I have advanced on the mechanism of respiration in the frog tribe, which may easily be subjected to experiment, and then thrown aside, if it bears not this test, but candidly received if it does, their lungs possess no secret power of dilatation, any more than those of hot-blooded animals. In both, this organ is inactive in respiration, which proceeds principally differs in this, that, whilst in the hot-blooded the air is sucked into the lungs by the expansion of the thorax; it is driven into them, in the frog tribe, by the motions of the throat.

"Let us now proceed to examine anatomically the mechanism subservient to respiration; and when, for the sake of brevity, in speaking of the throat, I make use of the terms of muscles of inspiration and expiration, I mean by the former those muscles which serve for forming a vacuum in the throat, and by the latter those which serve to diminish it.

"Instruments of Respiration.—When the skin is stripped off from the throat, a broad muscle comes into view, which is the mylo-hyoideus. It covers the whole throat, being extended from the end of the maxilla to the condyles; its fibres run transversely, and are inserted into the maxilla through its whole length. In the middle, from the point of this bone, it becomes thin and membranous, but at the condyles thicker; it is not united with the os hyoides, as in man, but slightly connected with the skin. When the cavity of the throat is diminished, its muscular fibres are seen evidently to contract, but chiefly at the condyles, where the muscle is thickest. Thus, this muscle seems well adapted to assist in driving the air from the throat into the lungs; nevertheless, if it be cut away, respiration continues.

"The mylo-hyoideus being cut away, the genio-hyoidei appear; and, under these, in the middle, is the muscle of the tongue; the muscle at the point of the maxilla, the sterno-hyoidei and the coraco-hyoidei are likewise seen. The genio-hyoidei, which are slit where the sterno-hyoidei are inserted in the os hyoides, from their direction and connection, ought, one would think, greatly to assist in drawing the os hyoides forwards, and, by this means diminish the cavity of the throat; yet these being cut away, respiration continues.

"The sterno-hyoidei are strong and powerful; they rise from the whole length of the last bone of the sternum, and are inserted all along the os hyoides. As the os hyoides is not in the same direction as the sternum, but higher, and its cornua, which are fastened by the stylo-hyoidei, likewise higher and oblique, these muscles in their contractions draw this bone downwards and backwards, and thus form a cavity in the throat. These are the principal muscles used in forming this cavity, and when they are cut respiration ceases.

"The coraco-hyoidei rise from the inferior side of the neck of the scapula, and are inserted into the os hyoides near the insertions of the sterno-hyoidei. They direct the movements of the os hyoides, and draw it downwards; one being cut, this bone loses its natural direction and inclines to the other side.

"If we search deeper, we find the stylo-hyoidei muscles, otherwise the constrictores medii pharyngis, (b) of which there are three pairs (c). One pair, which is stronger

(b) Either the stylo-hyoidei or these constrictors are wanting. (c) In the common toad (Rana Bufo), and in the Rana variabilis, I only found two pairs. stronger than the rest, rises from the posterior region of the ear, and is inserted into the points of the cornua of the os hyoides. The other two pairs have the same origin, and are likewise inserted into the cornua of the same bone, but more forward. These muscles are likewise of great moment in contracting the cavity of the throat, by elevating the os hyoides, and drawing it forward. I have observed some muscular fibres in the vicinity of the stylo-hyoides, upon the membrane which lies immediately under the muscles now described, and which forms the interior part of the throat; these may assist likewise as constrictors.

"If we take away the muscles and the membrane of the throat, leaving only the sternohyoidei muscles, although respiration is now totally destroyed, the motions used in respiration continue. The os hyoides is still drawn backwards and forwards, and the glottis opens and shuts, but the lungs remain collapsed; if even all the muscles which move the os hyoides, are cut away, the glottis, whose muscles remain untouched, continues to open and shut, just as in hot-blooded animals, whose respiration is destroyed by a large wound in the thorax, and efforts to respire continue, though ineffectual, to remove the painful sensation of incipient suffocation.

"On expiration little is to be said; I have always found the lungs of these animals, whether alive or dead, to collapse as soon as the glottis is open; yet, as I have already observed, the oblique muscles, which extend from the glottis to the os pubis, and thus envelop the lungs through their whole extent, have a great power to compress them, and thus produce expiration. Whether I have properly applied the name of obliques to these muscles I will not contend, as I have not examined them with particular care; they may probably be composed of several muscles, but thus much I have observed that their fibres run more or less transversely, and are therefore well adapted to produce this effect."

PROPAGATION OF REPTILES.—Although reptiles, from their senses being less acute than those of other animals, seem in general dull and stupid; on the return of spring, they exhibit a very different character. As the warm season advances, they become lively and active, and thus shew that they are actuated by a new set of desires. It is at this time that the frog tribe, which at no other season of the year emits the smallest sound, become remarkable for the croaking and disagreeable noise, by means of which they express these new or once dormant feelings. When these feelings acquire force, even some of the external parts of some of the frog tribe undergo a change. The fore feet of the male are then furnished with a kind of wart, which is supplied with papillae, that it may more firmly attach itself to the female. The male then places itself on the back of the female, and embraces her so strongly with the fore feet, that it can only be separated by a considerable force. In this situation the two remain together for about a month. About the end of this time, sooner or later, according to the temperature of the season, the female begins to exclude the ova. The eggs form a kind of string, and are united together by a viscid matter, and included in a thick glutinous substance. At the moment that the ova are excluded by the female, the male ejects a fluid with which they are impregnated, at the same time giving a peculiar cry during the course of this process. So strongly is the male attached to the female, that nothing can disturb or interrupt his operations. Nay, what will appear still more surprising, in an experiment by Spallanzani, in which the head of a male frog was cut off in this situation, the animal continued for some time to impregnate the ova as they were excluded, and died only at the end of four hours.

When the ovum of the frog is examined with the Ova of the microscope, a small point is distinguished, black on one side and white on the other, placed in the centre of a globule, whose glutinous and transparent substance is surrounded with two concentric membranes, which are analogous to the shell of the egg. At the end of a certain time, which is longer or shorter, according to the temperature of the season, the embryo begins to be developed, and is afterwards known by the name of tadpole. Spallanzani has observed, that the process of incubation or hatching in the ova of the toad goes on, although the temperature of the atmosphere does not exceed 6° above zero of Reaumur's thermometer, which is equal to about 39° of Fahrenheit.

It is unnecessary to mention, that the ova of the frog are deposited and hatched in water. It may be observed also that this process is interrupted in the ova of the toad, which happen to be dropped on the earth, unless they are supplied with moisture.

The tadpole, as the process of incubation proceeds, grows and the organs which are destined to perform the functions of life are developed, exhausts the glutinous matter with which it is surrounded; this gradually dilates; and the more it increases in volume, the less is the quantity of its maws. It becomes at length only a light and almost invisible substance, from which the tadpole makes a short occasional excursion in the water, in making its first efforts in swimming; but returns again, finding itself either unable to procure its food, or to support itself long in the water on account of the shortness of the fins, which have not yet attained their full size. But as the little animal advances in its growth, the glutinous matter, its former habitation, being entirely dissipated, it roams at large in the waters.

According to the observations of Swammerdam, a tadpole is about five lines in length at the end of fifteen days after it has been deposited by the female. The first traces of the hind feet may then be seen; and the place of the toes is marked with so many small protuberances. In this stage of its progress the little animal exhibits a very different appearance from that which it assumes after the change it is to undergo. The mouth is not placed at the anterior part of the head, but on the lower surface; and when it wishes to seize any object for its prey, or to expel the air from its lungs by expiration, its motion in turning its body is so rapid and instantaneous, that the eye can scarcely follow it.

In a tadpole of thirty-six days old the hind legs are protruded; but the fore legs are some days later, so that to see them at the same period the animal must be opened, at least the external covering which veils in some measure, or disguises its future form. At last, at the end of about two months of confinement, which is about the middle of June, the young frog having reached its perfect form, and acquired sufficient strength, bursts from its prison. It contrives at first to contract its covering. covering by elevating its back; by this the skin is torn near the head of the animal, which passes through the opening. That part of the membrane which formed the mouth of the tadpole is retracted over the body; the fore legs are successively unfolded; and the skin pushed to the posterior extremity of the body, leaves the whole of it as well as the hind legs and the tail, uncovered. The tail then gradually diminishes in volume, at last entirely disappears, so that the smallest trace of it no longer remains in the perfect animal.

According to the situation of the countries in which they are found, the temperature of the climate, and the period and duration of the rainy seasons in tropical regions, the time of the turtle depositing its eggs is regulated. At this season the female quits the ocean, and often, it is said, makes a voyage of 300 leagues to find a safe and convenient spot for the reception of the embryos of her future offspring. The male, according to the accounts of some naturalists, accompanies the female in this expedition, with the view of reconducting her to their former haunts. We are informed that they arrive in such multitudes on the banks of the Oronooko about the beginning of March, that there is not sufficient space on the shore to contain them, so that vast numbers are seen with their heads above water, waiting the departure of those on land, that they may occupy their place. When the turtle has reached the shore, she fixes on a spot covered with sand or gravel, digs with her fins, in a place beyond the reach of the tide, one or more holes of about a foot broad and two feet deep; and there deposits her eggs to the number of more than a hundred. She then covers them with a little sand, but so lightly, that the action of the rays of the sun may not be interrupted hatching them. The turtle deposits her eggs commonly at three different times, a period of fourteen days intervening between each time. The danger to which these animals are exposed, when the light of day favours the pursuit of their enemies, and perhaps also, it has been conjectured, the fear of suffering from the burning rays of the sun, make them almost always prefer the darkness and temperate coolness of night to come on shore for this purpose.

The period of hatching is longer or shorter according to the temperature of the climate. In more temperate regions, it continues about 20 or 25 days. At the island of St Vincent, (one of the Cape de Verd islands), this process is completed in 17 days; and Guimilla the historian of the river Oronooko affirms, that three days only are required for hatching on the banks of this river. He placed, he says, a stick near the place where the turtle deposited her eggs, and at the end of three days, so great is the influence of the sun upon the sand, the small turtles had made their appearance.

Travellers who have had opportunities of observing the small turtles soon after they are hatched, when they are only about an inch long, inform us, that in this state they do not quit their holes during the day, being instinctively warned to protect themselves in this manner from the heat of the sun, and the voracity of birds of prey, but they wait till night to make their way to the ocean. "I have been often astonished," (says Guimilla), "when I have observed that the place where they have been hatched, being sometimes half a league distant from the river, they direct their course towards it without any deviation by the shortest possible way. I have sometimes carried the young turtle to a great distance from the water. I have covered them up and made several holes for them that they might wander. But I no sooner left them at liberty, than they took the direct course to the river, without turning either to the right hand or to the left." The instinct with which these little animals are impressed, conducts them towards the nearest waters, where they find safety and proper food. They move on very slowly, and as yet too feeble to resist the force of the waves, great numbers are thrown back by the surge on the sea shore, where sea fowl, crocodiles, tigers, and other animals are in waiting to devour them, so that but a small number escape the numerous dangers to which they are constantly exposed.

It is also at the return of the spring season that the alligator deposits its eggs. It lays about 100 in the space of one or two days; and in the same way as the turtle, covers them with sand, and, it is said, rolls itself round the place, that it may be the better concealed from its enemies. Having thus secured its future offspring, it returns to the water, when the process of hatching goes on by the heat of the sun. About the time that the necessary period has elapsed for the evolution of the young animal, it is said that the female returns, accompanied by the male, scrapes up the sand, and uncovering the eggs, breaks the shell, to allow the young animal to escape. It is said that the young alligator, before it leaves the eggs, is at least six inches long, and that it is rolled up, having its head placed in the centre. When the shell is broken with a stick, they bite it furiously, and sink their teeth in this substance. This seems not improbable, since it is recorded by different naturalists, that the teeth of the young alligator are completely formed before it leaves the egg.

The mode of propagation, so far as it has been observed among the tribe of lizards, is similar to that of the frog. The male remains for some time on the back of the female, embracing her closely. This does not prevent them from running about, or leaping from branch to branch. When the female is about to deposit her eggs, she makes a hole in the earth of about two inches deep, at the foot of a tree or a wall; in that the egg is dropped and covered with earth, and, as in the other tribes, the process of incubation is accomplished by the heat of the sun.

But some species of lizards are viviparous. This is considered by naturalists as exactly the same mode of propagation as in the others which are produced from eggs, with this difference only, that the process of incubation goes on in the former within the body of the female, and the young are excluded completely formed.

The Eggs of Reptiles.—The size of the eggs of this order of animals is always proportioned to that of the female by whom they are produced. From the smallest species of lizard to the huge crocodile, they may be found of every size. The smallest are scarcely more than two lines in diameter, while the largest are three inches long.

The covering of these eggs is different in the different tribes. In the greatest number, but especially in the eggs of the turtle, it is flexible, soft, and similar to moistened parchment. The eggs of the crocodile, and of some large lizards, are covered with a shell of a hard, calcareous In India and America, these eggs are very much sought after, and are esteemed by the natives a very rich and delicate food. About the time that the turtle deposits its eggs on the banks of the Oroonoko, the neighbouring inhabitants repair to the banks of that river with their families, for the purpose of collecting them; and they not only live upon them at this time of the year, but dry them, that they may carry them home to be laid up in store for their future sustenance.

It is said that the Indians are extremely fond of the eggs of the alligator, which they search out with great industry, and rejoice when they discover the place where they have been deposited. They bake them when they prepare them for food, and although the young animal has begun to be evolved, or is nearly formed, they are not less scrupulous in eating them.

**Food of Reptiles.**—It is only in extraordinary cases that reptiles abstain from food for any length of time. When they are at perfect liberty, and find that kind of food which is suited to their nature, they in general indulge in it voraciously. Frogs and lizards feed on leeches, worms, snails, beetles, and different species of winged insects. Some of the toads live on aquatic plants; the turtles find in the water or on the land, vegetables and shell-fish; the crocodile is carnivorous, and devours, greedily, fishes, sea-fowl, and turtles; and when fed by hunger, attacks men, but especially, it is said, the negro race, whom he prefers to others. This latter fact has probably no foundation whatever. The very largest crocodiles, which are more easily seen and avoided, it is said, employ some artifice in seizing their prey. They watch about the margin of stagnant waters, and lie there covered with mud, like a fallen tree, remain immovable, and patiently wait the favourable moment to seize some unsuspecting animal. Sometimes when they swim down any large river, they stop at the most frequented places, and raise only the upper part of their head above the surface of the water. In this attitude, which leaves the eyes at liberty, they surprise the animals which come to cool themselves, or to drink in the river. As soon as they perceive any one, they plunge under the water, swim towards it, and seize it by the limbs, drag it along to drown it, and afterwards make it their prey.

**Abode of Reptiles.**—Reptiles, like plants, are profusely distributed over the whole surface of the globe; but from their nature and habits are more abundant and numerous in some places than in others. Some tribes live entirely on dry land, while others are confined to the bottom of the water. Others may be considered as intermediate tribes, living on the confines of the two elements, exhibiting in them the degrees and shades of different habits, which result from the diversity of forms. Among those which have their abode on dry land, as many of the tortoises, most of the lizards, the chameleons, some prefer dry and elevated situations, while others dwell in caverns or in the holes of rocks; and as these are different in their economy and habits, so we find that they are different in their motions; while the one is sluggish and inactive, moving slowly, the others spring or creep rapidly among the branches of trees. Almost all of them, however, take the water, and swim with great facility; but they are obliged, as well as the reptiles which remain constantly in the water, to come to the surface from time to time to respire the air of the atmosphere. The intermediate tribes, or such as have their usual haunts on the limits of the land and water, can only exist in climates which correspond to their temperament. And thus they are found in innumerable multitudes in the immense extent of marshes in the deluged savannahs of the new continent, where the moisture of the atmosphere and the temperature of the climate are favourable to their reproduction.

In Kamtchatka, where the cold of winter is so rigorous, no species of toad, of frog, or even of serpent, is ever seen. Lizards, however, are very numerous, which are regarded by the inhabitants with a superstitious horror. They suppose that they are sent by some evil deity, as spies on their actions, or to predict their death; and hence it is that they use every precaution to secure themselves against their mischievous effects. Wherever they find them they cut them to pieces, that they may not be able to return to the malignant being by whom they have been sent, to witness against them. Should the animal accidentally make its escape, they are seized with the most violent grief and despair. They expect every moment the approach of death, and sometimes bring on, by their fears and terror, what they so much dread. All this contributes still more to increase and strengthen this ridiculous and groundless superstition.

**Reproductive Power of Reptiles.**—Many of the animals belonging to the order of reptiles undergo very considerable changes, in the reproduction of different parts of the body, either in the ordinary processes of nature, or when they are deprived of them by accident. The casting of the skin, and its reproduction in different reptiles, as in the toad and newt, may be regarded as a natural operation, in some way necessary to the economy of these animals. It is observed, that the water-newts frequently cast their skins; and these are occasionally seen floating in the waters which they inhabit. The skin is sometimes so perfect, that it exhibits the whole form of the complete animal.

The following account of this process by Bonnet will, we doubt not, be interesting to the reader.

"When, says he, the period of change approaches, casting the fine skin is observed detaching from the body. The skin, head first loses it; then the rest of the anterior part; next the middle, and the posterior part. Sometimes the spoil, cast by the head, forms like a gauze collar or cravat around the neck; or it is adjusted on the head, like a capuchin or head-dress.

"The commencement of separation, from the back and belly, is discovered by viewing the newt obliquely from one side, in a strong light. The skin of the belly is further detached, because it falls down by its own weight.

"Approaching spoliation is recognised by conspicuous and unequivocal symptoms. The back, viewed obliquely, appears whitish, and as if covered with a spider's web. This is the effect of the spoil beginning to separate. If closely examined with the naked eye, or a magnifier of small power, it seems composed of minute scales covering the callosities or tubercles, which shagreen the body of the newt. But, when examined..." Physiology. with more attention, and in a favourable light, this epidermis is discovered to be a beautiful reticulation, the meshes of which are visible to the naked eye.

"Many observations could be made on the texture of this delicate membrane; and these might greatly tend to elucidate the nature and origin of the epidermis, which, notwithstanding all the researches of physiologists, are so little known; and newts would afford frequent opportunities for deeply investigating the point.

"From particular attention to the newts in my possession, I have observed, that there is not the smallest resemblance between this operation and what is exhibited by caterpillars, and many other insects. The skin is detached here and there, and often in different sized plates; and the change is slow, for it occupies one or two days, and I have even known it take three. During spoliation, the newt continues moving about in the water, with all the usual motions of newts that undergo none; therefore it is no disease, and it does not affect them as it does insects. While the change is going on, the animal darts on its prey, holds and devours it.

"Sometimes spoliation is difficult to be accomplished; but, in these cases, the newt knows to practice certain manoeuvres, to facilitate the operation, which I have often beheld with pleasure. It alternately raises and depresses the right arm and left leg at the same time, with gentle vibrations of the whole body. It frequently darts suddenly towards the surface of the water, and the next moment precipitates itself to the bottom; and these manoeuvres I have seen continued above half an hour. But the sudden exertion, in all its motions, indicated that the newt was impatient at the tediousness of the change.

"When most of the spoil is thrown off, and the animal, to disengage itself from the rest, rapidly rises to the surface, it seems carried along in a cloud; for the whitening, fineness, and semitransparency of the spoil, floating around it, is no imperfect representation of a cloud.

"I never observed the fingers employed in detaching the spoil. Both young newts and those full grown cast several successive skins: some of large size are in my possession, that have done so before me. Reproducing limbs throw off the epidermis as well as the original.

"I have seen the skin of the head, which formed like a collar or cravat round the neck, gradually come down the belly of a large newt that had lost the arms, and fasten like a tight girdle.

"Nothing can accurately be said of the number and interval of mutations. Between the 14th of July and the 7th of September, a newt has changed its skin 11 times.

| 1st change, 14th July. | 6th change, 9th August. | |-----------------------|------------------------| | 2d | 17th | | 3d | 20th | | 4th | 24th | | 5th | 30th | | | 10th | | | 26th | | | 11th | | | 6th Sept. |

The manner in which toads throw off the old cuticle is quoted by Dr Shaw, as related by Mr Schneider, from Grignon, who was an eye witness of it. "The skin splits or cracks in a longitudinal direction, both above and below, and the animal pulls off that of the left side with its left foot, and, delivering it into the right foot, applies it to its mouth and swallows it. It then performs the same process on the right side, and, delivering the cuticle into the left foot, it swallows it like the former."

But the most remarkable circumstance in the economy of these animals is the reproduction of mutilated limbs, such as the legs, the tail, and even the eyes. The complete set of experiments to ascertain these curious facts, were made by Spallanzani and Bonnet. The following is an account of some of these experiments in the words of the author.

"Experiment. The right arm and left leg of a newt amputated.—On the 6th of June, I cut the right arm and left leg off a large newt, very near the body. A stream of florid blood spouted a minute and a half from each wound; however, the vessels soon closed, and the newt was apparently as well as those unamputated. But it will easily occur that it did not swim with equal facility.

"When about a month had elapsed, I began to perceive a papilla, of a violet gray colour, near the edge of the trunk or section. This was the origin of a new arm and leg, which gradually increased; and, from the 14th of July, the two papillae continued growing on the subsequent days, but more in length than thickness. They became minute stumps; and, on the first of August, were about two lines long. A kind of cleft, hardly perceptible, announces the appearance of two toes, which nature labours to produce, or rather to expand, on the new foot. No cleft appears on the originating arm.

"The two toes were easily recognised on the 7th. They were real miniatures, and truly most minute. The stump of the arm continued nearly as it was on the first of the month, but is now somewhat larger; but as yet there is no indication of fingers.

"It is pleasing to observe the little hand fully unfolding, while only three fingers of unequal length are visible: the middle one is the longest. The arm has made no sensible progress. The new foot had four toes also of unequal length, the first and second of which are longest; other two only begin to appear; the fourth is scarcely perceptible. One can never tire contemplating these miniatures, and admiring the wonders of the organic kingdom.

"Evolution advanced every day. On the 22nd of August, the regenerated members began to deepen in colour, so that the line, discriminating the old parts from the new, was no longer so conspicuous; but the black specks on the toes of unamputated newts were still imperceptible.

"I continued my observations on the daily evolution of the members; and the following were their dimensions in length, on the 20th of September.

| Old Members. | New Members. | |--------------|--------------| | Arm, | Arm, | | Cubit, | Cubit, | | Thigh, | Thigh, | | Leg, | Leg, |

Spallanzani's Trait, ii. 368. Dal. "Spoliation sometimes makes a slight change in the tail's Trav. colour *." Even in the beginning of October, the fifth toe of the new foot was not visible.

"Experiment.—A newt deprived of the right arm and left hand. On the 12th of June, I cut the left hand and right arm off a newt; my chief object in this experiment was to verify Sig. Spallanzani's assertion, that nature reproduces exactly the portion amputated, which was a fact of the utmost importance in the theory of animal reproductions, and could not be too well established.

Towards one side of the section, a little conical nipple began to appear about the 7th or 8th of July, of a violet grey colour. An incipient cleft, indistinctly seen with the naked eye, was perceptible near the middle of July: the papilla seemed ready to divide in two; and the cleft was the origin of two fingers.

In two or three days, I remarked a new cleft at the upper extremity of the papilla, which was the beginning of a new finger: the third, in its turn, appeared on the 19th. The conical papilla had then disappeared; and in its place was seen a small open hand with four fingers, still very minute, but quite well shaped.

On the 3d of August, the cone began to divide, that is, two fingers became evident.

On the 9th, a hand extremely minute, but the most beautiful object imaginable, was observed at the extremity of the arm. The fingers, all of unequal length, were distinguished, the smallest being just perceptible. The trunk, or part of the original arm, connected to the body, may be recognized by the brown colour, and from being covered with white points. The new arm is of a lighter and uniform colour. Four fingers of the hand are visible: the largest not above half a line in length.

The hand of the left arm had made considerable progress on the 21st: it had expanded, and nearly acquired the figure peculiar to the newt's hand. The fingers also had extended, and become thicker in proportion. The whole hand began to colour, and brown specks were distinguishable on different parts; they were more evident on the back of the hand than on the fingers.

On the 21st, the hand has already assumed its natural shape, and the rapid progress of evolution is suspended. Colouring of the arm begins near the trunk: but all the rest is of a mixed gray and violet colour.

Though I have not hitherto expressly said so, it will obviously be presumed, that there is a kind of semi-transparency in the reproduced parts, which the original members have not. This continues long, and changes slowly as the reproductions colour. The transparency is evidently greater on the edges of the fingers than elsewhere; if examined with a magnifier, they seem inclosed in a fine diaphanous envelope: but nothing of this is evident in the old fingers. Parts beginning to unfold naturally have a degree of transparency wanting in those further advanced, or fully expanded, because, with the progress of evolution, the calibre of the vessels increases, which allows admission to more gross and colouring particles. Whiteness and transparency apparently constitute the primitive state of organic bodies, It is this primitive state which we design by the word Physiology-germ; and which we can comprehend, when the organic whole is expanded to a certain extent. But there is here a term beyond which we cannot ascend; for the organic whole either becomes so minute or so transparent, that it escapes all research and our most perfect instruments.

The dimensions of the old and new members, in length, were as follows, on the 2d of September.

| Old Members | New Members | |-------------|-------------| | Arm, 3½ lines | Arm, 2½ | | Cubit, 3½ | Cubit, 2½ | | Longest finger, 1½ | Longest finger, 1½ |

"Experiment.—The tail of a newt amputated transectionally. Something important would have been wanting, had I neglected amputation of the tail, which is a very intricate great organic substance. It is formed of a series of minute vertebrae, with arteries, veins, and nerves; and it is covered with muscles and flesh.

The tail of a large newt is more than two inches long, and about half an inch thick, formed like an ear, and terminated by a soft point. Much might be said of the figure, proportions, and position of this organ, and with respect to the functions it has to exercise; but these would be details foreign to any purpose: I only mean to confirm what Sig. Spallanzani has advanced concerning the admirable reproduction of the members.

When the tails of large newts were amputated near the origin, I never succeeded in obtaining reproduction; the whole died in a certain time; and for several weeks preceding death, a kind of whitish cotton mould grew on the wounds, the filaments of which were several lines in length. Nevertheless, I cannot think that this affected the animal's life, for I had seen similar mould, or cottony filaments, on wounds occasioned by amputating the arms and legs. These filaments gradually disappeared, and unequivocal signs of reproduction soon became visible. Thus a good observation was never obtained, unless the tail was divided about the middle, and by a section perpendicular to the axis. A stream of blood, as thick as a hog's bristle, always spouted from the wound. The large vessel, from which it flows, is situated near the vertebrae, and its orifice is visible by the naked eye; it immediately closes; and the orifice is distinguished by a reddish or brownish point.

The tail of newts is very sensible, which is particularly evident in the flaccidest part. A portion cut off will retain life, and move whole hours; and when life seems entirely extinct, we have only to prick the pointed extremity, that motion may be renewed; it rises and falls alternately, and with greater force, according to the period that has elapsed since the operation. The motion of this separated part bears great resemblance to that which is peculiar to certain apodous worms; it is undulatory, and evidently depends on irritability, which is extremely active in its muscular organs.

Immediately after the operation, the area of the cut exhibits a very long ellipse; the two extremities almost terminating in a point. The smallest diameter is about a line across, and the largest five or six. In the centre are the vertebrae, or blood-vessels; the rest of the area seems full of small oblong clear white substances. Physiology glances, which one would suppose pieces of fat, or glands. The surface slowly contracts; the opposite sides approach; the colour of the substances becomes fainter, and in a certain time, which is according to the season, new flesh appears, and it daily increases.

Then we observe one or two cross brown lines, occupying the middle of the new tail, which indicate the site of the vertebrae and the vessels. In a tail which had been divided on the 11th of July; on the 14th of August the reproduced part was about three lines and a half long, and four and a half in diameter, at the base.

"The new portion was ten lines in length, 20th September, and shaped exactly like the tail of a newt. I could observe no difference between the motions of this regenerated tail, and those of tails unamputated. Those of the regenerated part only had a peculiar transparency, wanting in the rest of the tail."

* EXPERIMENT.—Whether reproduced members possess the same sources of reproduction as those amputated. I cut the left arm and right thigh off a large newt, 2d June 1778. In the beginning of July, a new arm and thigh began to reproduce. They were still in miniature, but the fingers and toes sufficiently formed, and very distinct.

"On the 11th of July, I made an experiment, which was most important in the theory of animal reproductions. The object was to discover whether the members now reproducing, which in reality were miniatures, contained the same sources of reparation as the original; that is, whether they were, in new limbs, germs containing members in miniature, similar to those amputated. With this view, I cut off the regenerated hand and foot.

"At the extremity of the reproduced leg, on the 21st, appeared two new toes extremely minute, but easily recognizable by the naked eye: and, on the 24th, an originating hand, with three well-shaped fingers, appeared at the extremity of the new arm.

"The foot, now reproduced, exhibited four very distinct toes. Both these and the fingers were yet only one-fourth, or one-third, of a line long.

"Therefore it is proved, by this first experiment, that the reproduced limbs of a newt can make new productions, in the same manner as the old ones can, and give birth to members which, in their essential parts, resemble those amputated, and are different only in size, constitude, and colour: for, as was remarked in my former memoir, the new members are of more delicate texture, and of a much lighter colour than the old.

"It was undoubtedly most interesting to ascertain how far the resources of nature extended; and whether, after several successive mutilations of the reproduced member, a new one would still regenerate.

"On the 31st of July, for the second time, I cut off the reproduced hand and foot of my newt; the fingers and toes being then about a line long.

"Two new fingers and toes appeared at the extremity of the limbs, 13th August, therefore a hand and foot had begun to regenerate. On the 15th, there were three fingers and toes already well formed, though very small.

"Both the hand and foot seemed quite repaired on the 24th, though still of extreme minuteness. All the fingers had grown, but only four toes. And it may now be observed, that the appearance of the fifth toe is constantly later; often it does not unfold.

"On the same day, 24th August, I amputated the reproduced hand and arm the third time; and on the 15th October, performed the fourth operation: the limbs being then in the same state as those mutilated by the third amputation.

"It thus is fully established, that every member, successively reproduced, contains new sources of reparation; and that they are actually existing, though the member is extremely minute.

"From these successive mutilations of reproduced members, I have thought the extremity of the leg and arm became a little thicker than usual, as if from a reflux of the nutritive fluids into the extremity, by such repeated amputations.

"This season was particularly favourable to my experiments, being always dry and warm. A mercurial thermometer, in the shade, completely isolated, on a large terrace, stood at 90° and 93°, on the 14th and 15th of August. Most of summer it stood between 79° and 81°; and the temperature of the apartment, where the newt was kept, differed very little from that of the open air.

"EXPERIMENT.—When a large newt was treated as has just been related, I made another experiment on one of similar size, to obtain comparative results.

"The left arm and thigh were severed 2d June 1778. Reproduction of new members commenced in the beginning of July: two well-shaped toes were then on the foot. On the 11th, new limbs had replaced the old; they seemed completely repaired: still they were only miniatures of most delicate texture. This day I amputated the reproduced hand and foot.

"A new foot, with two distinct toes, was perceptible on the 22d; and three were visible on the 24th. But the new hand had not appeared; at least there was no evidence of originating fingers. The thermometer now stood about 82°. However, a new hand, with three perfect fingers, was seen on the 29th.

"The reproduced hand and foot being a full line long on the 31st, I then cut them off. Both appeared again, August 15th, with three well-shaped fingers and toes. On the 24th, the hand had acquired its four fingers, and the foot five toes, all visible, though excessively small.

"I then cut off the hand and foot for the third time. The fingers and toes were a full line long; 13th October; four of which appeared, but the fifth toe was yet imperceptible.

"Next I performed a fourth amputation: it also was followed by reproductions. Various occupations having interrupted me, a fifth amputation was not made before 26th August 1779.

"The longest finger was then about one line and a third, the longest toe one and a half in length, deep coloured, and very slender. The hand had four fingers; the first and fourth imperfect. The foot had only three toes, more distant from each other than usual. Both the fingers were as imperfect 30th October 1780: the fourth scarcely visible, and consisting only of a sharp point; and no more than three toes on the foot. The newt had then diminished greatly in size, and was very brown. It ate little, and seldom: it remained long at the surface, unable to get to the bottom of the water; and its belly was almost always very much inflated.

"These are two experiments, therefore, which concur in To these curious experiments we shall only add the account of another, concerning the reproduction of the eyes of newts.

"Experiment.—On the eyes of newts. This is a cruel experiment; and sensible minds will hardly pardon the observer's cruelty, though it arises from an evident desire to discover new facts and enlarge our knowledge of the animal economy. Therefore, I fear the compassionate reader will revolt further still at what is yet to be related. But I beg he will consider, that animals, which, after losing one, or even several limbs, continue greedily devouring the prey presented, undoubtedly cannot experience the sensation of pain to the excess which our own sensations lead us to imagine. We are very insufficient judges of what passes within an animal so remote from us in the scale of living beings. Let it not be thought, that by these reflections, I mean to lessen the natural repugnance of every humane mind to make animals suffer. The benignity of nature itself will inspire man with this precious sentiment to prevent the enormous abuse that his power might exert over the animals which he has subjected to his dominion. Yet let me ask, whether a rational person abuses his empire over animals, by making them suffer only for his own instruction, or that of his fellow creatures.

"With a scalpel, I extracted the right eye of a large newt, September 13, 1779; but I did not obtain the globe without much injury to the tunics. It was the first time of performing the operation, and before I had acquired the peculiar dexterity necessary for success, and afterwards learned by experience. Thus the utmost disorder ensued in the eye, and the crystalline lens started out on my nail. This is a beautiful object; no larger than a millet seed, and quite transparent. I thought that I beheld one of those spherical lenses with which Leeuwenhoek discovered so many wonders. But contact of the air soon tarnished the minute lens; it dried and became disfigured.

"A deep bloody wound in the socket of the eye was the consequence of this cruel operation. And the reader will not be surprized if I hardly expected anything from it, and that the newt would probably remain blind for ever. How great was my astonishment, therefore, when, on the 31st of May 1780, I saw a new eye formed by nature. The iris and cornea were already well shaped, but the latter wanted its peculiar transparency, which is very considerable in these animals. Impatience to arrive at the most important part of the prodigy has induced me to omit the progress of it; and observe that nature certainly began with closing the wound.

"The eye was completely repaired 1st September. The cornea was nearly as transparent as that of the other eye, with which it was frequently compared. The iris had also acquired the yellow gilded colour, which characterizes this species of newt. In short, the eye was so perfectly renewed, that no vestige existed of the uncommon operation that the animal had undergone. During the remainder of this and the following month, the cornea always became more transparent; and now, when I write these remarks, 8th November 1780, it is equally perfect as the other; but the reproduced eye seems a little smaller than the entire one; and the iris, or golden circle, goes only half round the ball.

"It would still be necessary to extract the reproduced eye, to ascertain, by dissection, whether it contains a crystalline lens similar to the original. But I confess, that, as yet, I have not had resolution to subject the newt to the most barbarous of all operations; and I shall probably await its death for satisfying my curiosity."

Hybernation or Torpidity of Reptiles.—The heat of the atmosphere is necessary to animals, that when the periodical return of the seasons reduces the heat of the countries in the neighbourhood of the equator to the cool temperatures of places situated in higher latitudes, reptiles lose their activity, the heat of their blood diminishes; their strength decreases; they retire into obscure retreats, in holes of rocks, in the mud at the bottom of lakes, or else they seek shelter among the roots of plants which grow on the banks of rivers; but the cold increasing, they fall into a state like that of profound sleep; and this torpor is so great, that no noise disturbs or awakens them. They seem alike insensible to violent blows or severe wounds. Reptiles are subject to this state of torpidity only in those countries where the variations of temperature at different seasons of the year is considerable; and indeed it seems to be a wise regulation of nature, that some of the animals' functions should be suspended during that period of the year when the supply of food is cut off. This is the case with reptiles which inhabit countries distant from the equator, whose food consisting of insects, worms, &c. can only be obtained in the warmer season of the year. Accordingly, about the end of autumn, the reptiles which have been vigorous and active in the summer, conceal themselves in the earth, or under the water, where they remain in the torpid state till the return of the genial warmth of spring. In Britain, frogs are found at the bottom of stagnant water, or in marshy places, where the water of springs issues from the earth, the temperature of which continues uniform through the whole year.

In this state of torpor and inaction, nothing of the animal remains but the form, and those functions only go on, which are essentially necessary to existence during this long period of torpidity, which sometimes continues more than six months. The total mass of the body of reptiles sustains only small loss of substance, but the external parts, such as are exposed to the action of the cold, and more distant from the centre of heat, undergo in the most animals a considerable change.

But even in countries where the change of seasons is so great, and the diminution of temperature such as to oblige the animals belonging to this order to retire during that season, there are in particular circumstances some remarkable exceptions. One of these is mentioned by Townson in his Travels in Hungary: "The town of Gran (he says) is favoured with a fine spring of tepid water, of more use, I believe, to the frogs than to its other inhabitants. My Ciceroni assured me that this animal is not torpid here during the winter, but is then seen in numbers in the pond in the town which receives its water from this spring. This is uncommon (continues the same author), but not surprising." For these three Physiology, three years, I have kept a favourite tree frog, which is as gay in winter as in summer, provided she has warmth and enough to eat. The German stoves, which keep the room warm all night, have been very favourable to her. In this, hibernation differs from sleep, that, whereas the latter admits of little variation, and can never be laid aside, or through art receive a substitute; the former greatly varies, and may be supplied by warmth and food. The Alpine marmot, in some high valleys in Savoy hibernates, I am told, eight or ten months in the year. In other parts of the Alps, it does not hibernate half that time; and when kept warm, and well fed, its annual sleep entirely forgoes it, but not its diurnal. The same warmth that keeps alive the frog, keeps alive the insects on which it feeds, which in their turn will find food from the vegetable world, the immediate support of every living being kept in vegetation by the same cause.*

Abstinence of the crocodile and the turtle.

Abstinence of Reptiles.—The singular instances of abstinence which have been recorded of many of the animals belonging to this order, are not the least of the peculiarities by which they are distinguished. It is conjectured by some physiologists, that the texture of the skin, which has few pores, and from which consequently the waste by perspiration is very small, enables them to endure long abstinence. The turtle and the crocodile can live two months without any kind of nourishment. It is no unusual circumstance to keep turtle on the decks of ships, during a passage of seven or eight weeks, from the West Indies, without any food whatever, only occasionally moistening the eyes with salt water.

The toad has lived eighteen months entirely deprived of food, and excluded from the air; so that the functions of digestion and respiration, so necessary and essential to animal existence in general, must have been totally suspended. We have already mentioned, in the natural history of the toad, Herissant's experiments on this subject before the French academy; and it would be superfluous to repeat the account of them here.

In the same place we have also given our opinion of the extreme improbability of toads, or indeed, it may be added, any animal whatever, having existed for any length of time inclosed in wood or stone, according to the vague stories which have been propagated of such having been discovered. The experiments of Herissant, above alluded to, afford a direct proof of the contrary.

Tenacity of Life.—Many of the tribes of reptiles are not least remarkable for being extremely tenacious of life. They not only live when deprived of their limbs and are otherwise mutilated, but absolutely seem to be little injured when some of the organs essential to life in other animals, and without which they could not exist for a moment, have been removed. The experiments of Redi on the land tortoise, which we have related in the natural history of that animal, in p. 271, are a proof of this fact.

Age of Reptiles.—Of the age of reptiles not much is known. But, from the few well-authenticated instances which are recorded, it may be fairly presumed, that the period of the life of many tribes is very long. This, indeed, might have been concluded to be the case with cold-blooded animals, which can sustain total abstinence for such a length of time, are fo

extremely tenacious of life, and repair so easily the loss of different parts of the body: but, on the other hand, when it is considered that they have no fixed haunts where they can remain always undisturbed, that from their amphibious nature they live alternately on the land and in the water, and that they are constantly exposed to the vicissitudes of the seasons, it is not possible to conceive but these changes from wet to dry, and from hot to cold, must greatly affect the animal frame, and limit the period of existence.

But without entering into any train of reasoning on the subject, the facts which have been recorded, and some of which we have related, clearly show, that individuals among reptiles arrive at a very great age. The age of the land tortoise which was kept in Lambeth gardens, and which we have mentioned in p. 271, was at least 120 years. The common toad, of which the history of one kept by Mr Aclot in Devonshire, that lived to the age of 40 years, is given in p. 286, is an instance of the remarkable length of life of so small an animal.

Some species of the turtle do not reach their full size till they are 20 years old; and it is said that they live more than a century.

The age of the crocodile can only be conjectured. It is supposed that this animal, which does not reach its full size of 25 feet long in less than 32 years, may live seven times this period, so that the age of the crocodile has been calculated at 200 years.

Manners, &c., of Reptiles.—There are probably few animals which discover so much tranquillity and composure in their manners and habits, in general, as reptiles. Less agitated within by violent passions, and less affected from external objects than other animals, they are calm, mild, and peaceable. And if the crocodile, which of all the animals belonging to this order is the most voracious and destructive, is to be regarded as an exception, the ferocious habits for which he is distinguished, are owing to the great size of body which he must support; and, besides, how many tribes may be opposed to this sanguinary family, whose character is quite the reverse. Let us only compare the character of the crocodile with the gentle habits of the small gray lizard, or with the manners of the frog.

But notwithstanding this favourable character of reptiles, which may be considered in some measure as negative, it is to be observed, that, in their manners and habits, they never discover that choice of means, that ferries of combinations, or that kind of foresight, which in many other animals we behold with wonder and admiration. If sometimes they assemble together in great numbers, this by no means exhibits the character of that social union which takes place among gregarious animals, for it discovers no foresight or order. This bond of union is founded on no connection with each other, on providing no means for their mutual safety or protection. They produce no common work; they do not join together in search of prey, nor are they united in making any general attack on their enemies. Like the beaver, birds, or bees, they construct no permanent asylum; but when they fix on any particular place of abode on the shores, in the clefts of rocks, or in the hollow of trees, it is not a commodious habitation which they prepare for a certain number of individuals, and which they endeavour to appropriate to different purposes. purposes, it is rather a retreat for concealment on which they make no change, and which they occupy equally, whether it be only sufficient for a single individual, or contain an extent of space to admit many. If they associate together, it has been observed, for the purpose of pursuing their prey either on the land or in the water, it is because they are equally attracted by the same object; if they make a joint attack, it is because they have the same prey in view. If they seem to unite for the common defense, it is because they are attacked at the same time; and if any individual among them has ever favored the whole party, by warning it by its cries, it is not as has been said of monkeys and some other quadrupeds, that they have been left to watch for the common safety, but only proceeds from the impressions of fear which every animal possesses, and which renders it constantly attentive to its own preservation.

It has been commonly supposed that reptiles have none of those tender affections, with which the care for the preservation of their offspring inspires other animals. Their whole concern about their progeny, it is thought, extends no farther than depositing their eggs in proper places, and covering them with sand and leaves. The offspring is not indebted to the parent for its food, for any of its habits, or for assistance or protection of any kind. It is true, that in general, the moral affections owe much of their force to the repeated impressions on the senses, and that these impressions, recurring distinctly to the memory, and modified by the imagination, cherish these feelings; whence it follows, that the females of reptiles, which do not hatch their young, and which never see them till after the process of incubation is completed, must have very feeble impressions of maternal tenderfeels, or perhaps none at all. The few observations, however, which have been made with regard to the attachment of the crocodile to its offspring, show that some of them are not entirely destitute of that feeling, which almost universally pervades the animated creation. "At Surinam (says M. de la Borde) the female of the crocodile remains always at a certain distance from her eggs, which she watches and protects with a kind of fury when any animal approaches them. On the banks of the Orinoco, when the alligators are hatched, the mother places them on her back and returns to the river. "But, adds Guimilla, the male eats as many as he can, and the female herself devours all those which separate from her, or which are unable to follow her; so that scarcely five or six, of the whole number, remain." This fact, which is by no means probable, even in so voracious an animal as the crocodile, is not incompatible with what is certainly known of many other animals devouring their own offspring. But it seems extremely doubtful, that what is mentioned above of the crocodile watching its eggs, as recorded by de la Borde, is an observation founded in truth.

ENEMIES OF REPTILES.—The earth would soon be covered with immense swarms of reptiles, if nature had not made some provision to retard their increase, and raised up a crowd of enemies which destroy their eggs and their offspring, and preserve the proper balance which is established among the different orders of animals. Fortunately, a great number of frogs, toads, lizards, and crocodiles, are destroyed before they are hatched. Many quadrupeds, as several species of monkeys, the ichneumon, and other animals, as well as several species of aquatic birds, search for their eggs on the shores, and feed on them with avidity. All the small reptiles, which live in the water, which crawl in the mud of marshes, or creep on the earth, become the prey of fishes, of serpents, of birds, and of quadrupeds.

The tiger attacks the crocodile, and is sometimes successful in seizing its prey. The hippopotamus is a terrible enemy to the same animal; and is the more to be dreaded, as from his habits, he is enabled to pursue it to the bottom of the water. The cougar, although a less ferocious animal than the tiger, destroys many alligators. He waits in ambush on the banks of the great rivers for the approach of the young ones, and at the moment they raise their head above the water, he seizes them and tears them to pieces. But when he attacks those that are large and vigorous, he often meets with a bold and effectual resistance. It is in vain that he fastens his talons in their eyes; these huge reptiles drag him to the bottom of the water and devour him.

But man is perhaps the most dangerous enemy of the crocodile; sometimes he attacks him by open force, and sometimes by means of stratagem. The Africans, as soon as they perceive one of these animals on the bank of a river, advance towards him, having only in their hand a stick of very hard wood, or an iron rod about eight or ten inches long, and well sharpened at the ends; they hold this feeble instrument by the middle, and when the reptile, which advances towards them, opens his wide mouth, they introduce the rod of iron, which they turn with dexterity, so that the monster finds that he is unable to close his jaws. The pain from the wound, and instinct to reach a place of safety, make him retreat into the water, where he soon perishes by suffocation and the loss of blood. It is said, that some negroes are so bold and dexterous, as to swim under the body of the crocodile, and to pierce him in the skin of the belly; which is almost the only place on which a wound can be inflicted.

In some countries the natives employ stratagem to take this dreaded animal. In Egypt, they dig a deep ditch in the path which he follows in proceeding from the river. This is covered with branches of trees, and with a small quantity of earth; they then set up loud shouts, at which the crocodile is terrified, and returning the same way to the water, he passes over the ditch, falls into it, and is either killed or taken in snares.

The Indians successfully employ another mode of destroying the crocodile. They introduce into the body of a small animal, newly killed, a quantity of arsenic or quicklime, so secured, that the moisture cannot reach it; and this animal is exposed to the view of the crocodile. This is undoubtedly the most certain, and the least dangerous expedient. EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Plate CCVII. Fig. 1. Testudo Graeca, Common land Tortoise, page 270. Fig. 2. Testudo Mydas, Green Turtle, page 278. Fig. 3. Rana Eculenta, Green or Edible Frog, page 281. Fig. 4. Rana Arborea, Tree Frog, page 284. Fig. 5. Rana Pipa, Surinam Toad, female, page 288. Fig. 6. Draco Volans, Flying Dragon, page 289.

Plate CCVIII. Fig. 7. Lacerta Crocodilus, Common Crocodile, page 290.

Fig. 8. Lacerta Alligator, Alligator or American Crocodile, page 291. Fig. 9. The Young Alligator proceeding from the egg. Fig. 10. Lacerta Chamæleon, Common Chameleon, page 300. Fig. 11. Lacerta Salamandra, Salamander, page 303.

Plate CCIX. Fig. 12. Skeleton of the Turtle. Fig. 13. Skeleton of the Frog. Fig. 14. Skeleton of the Crocodile. Fig. 15. Skeleton of the Gray Lizard. Fig. 16. Skeleton of the Chameleon.

INDEX.

A

Abdomen, p. 308 Abstinence of reptiles, 320 of the toad, ib. Age of reptiles, ib. toad and tortoise, ib. turtle, ib. crocodile, ib. Alligator, history of, by Catesby, 291 ib. by Ulloa, 292 Anatomy of reptiles, 306 Anus, includes the parts of generation, 308 Apodail lizard, 305 Arms of newt regenerated, 316 B Basilisk, species of lizard, error concerning, 295 Biped lizard, 305 Breeding time of frog, 313 turtle, alligator, 314 Bullfrog, singular for the sound of its voice, 282 popular notion of, ib.

C Caliphs of the turtle, 308 Calipee, ib. Chalcides lizards, annulated, 305 Chameleon, division of, history of, 300 tongue, structure of, peculiar, changes of colour, ib.

Chameleon, errors concerning this change, and its abstinence, p. 300 Characters, generic, 269 Circulation of the blood in reptiles, its peculiarity, 311 Classification of different naturalists, 269 Common frog, history of, 281 Cordyler, division of, lizard, 297 Crocodile, common, history of, less formidable than represented, 291 hunted with dogs, kept by the African monarchs, exhibited by the Romans, American, or alligator, history of, ib. and 293 Gangetic or Indian, 291

D Draco, volans, 289 prepos, ib. Dragon, flying, history of, 289 American, a fictitious monster, 290 history of an artificial one, at Oxford, one at Hamburgh, ib.

E Ears of reptiles, 307 Eatable frog, history of, 281

F Feet of reptiles resemble those of quadrupeds, are furnished with toes, bones of, 308 Frog, common, history and changes of, tadpole, the larva of, structure of, food of, green, or edible, employed as food, bull, remarkable for the sound it emits, popular notion of, in America, paradoxical, tadpole, singular appearance of, tree, peculiar structure and economy, changes on, and habits of, in breeding season, ova, description of,

G Galeot lizard, 295

Index. Index.

Galoot, American, p. 295 Gecko, division of 300 Green or eculent turtle, history of, 278, 279 frog, employed as food, ib. history of, 282 Guana, division of, 294 great American, ib. history of, ib.

H Hawkbill turtle, history of, 279 yields tortoise shell, 280 method of obtaining and preparing, ib. Head, form of, 306 Heart, structure of, not a discriminating character 268 Hybernation of reptiles, 319 different from sleep, 320

J Jew, lower, never longest, 307 Jews of reptiles equal, 306 Inspiration, process of, 311

K Kamtschatka, no reptiles but lizards in, 315 superstition of natives in, ib.

L Lacerta, crocodilus 290 alligator, ib. gangetica, 293 iguana, 294 amboumenis, ib. baflilicus, 295 calotes, ib. agama, ib. bicolorata, ib. monitor, ib. acanthura, 296 lophura, ib. dracena, ib. superciliosa, ib. scutata, ib. principalis, ib. strumola, ib. marmorata, 297 umbra, ib. pelluma, ib. azurea, ib. cordylus, ib. stellio, ib. angulata, ib. orbicularis, ib. agilis, ib. teguixin, ib. erythrocephala, ib. ceulca, ib. lemnifacata, ib. quadrilineata, ib. teniolata, ib.

Legs of newt regenerated, 316, 317 Life, tenacity of, in reptiles, 322 Lizards proper, division of, 297 green, monitor, 295 prodigious number of, at Balbec, 303 some viviparous, 314 superstition of the natives of Kamtschatka concerning, 315

Loggerhead turtle,

M Manners of reptiles, 320 calm and composed, ib. Monitor lizard, extremely beautiful, 295

N Natterjack, a species of the toad, 287 Newt, division of, 303 common, history of, 304 is viviparous, ib. great water, ib. common water, ib. history of, casts its skin, ib. spotted water, 305 history of casting its skin, 316 number of times, arm and leg, regenerated, ib. progress of, another experiment, 317 tail of, regenerated, ib. eyes of, regenerated, 319

O Oviparous quadrupeds, reptiles so denominated, 268

P Pipa, or Surinam toad, 288 history of, singular, ib. Physiology of reptiles, 306

R Rana, divided into three sections, 280 temporaria, 281 eculenta, ib. pipiens, 282 cathebiana, ib. ocellata, ib. virginica, ib. ovalis, ib. cyanophlyetis, ib. spinipes, ib. cerulea, 283 vespertina, ib. ridibunda, ib. sitibunda, ib. leveriana, ib. ignea, ib. falia, ib. paradoxa, ib. zebra, 284 bicolor, ib. leucophyllata, ib. quadrilineata, ib. caltanea, ib. falciata, ib. arborea, ib.

S f 2 Rana. Rana meriana, aurantia, tinctoria, alba, bilineata, bufo, alliacea, mephitica, viridis, marina, dubia, typhonia, braziliana, ventricosa, cornuta, pipa, breviceps, fytoma, acephala, lentiginosa, femilunata, melanoticta, arunco, lutea,

Reproduced members regenerated, 318 Reproductive power of reptiles, 315 Reptile properly applied to these animals, 268 Reptiles, anatomy of, have not all teeth, 307 classification, 269 generic characters, 306 abstinence of, 320 the toad, food of, 315 are extremely voracious, 315 habits in watching for prey, 315 character of, in different situations, 315 none but lizards in Kamtschatka, 315 superstition of the natives concerning, 315 abode, 315 reproductive power of, 315 enemies of, 321 Respiration, process of, 311 inspiration, 312 expiration, 312 mechanism, 308

Ribs, S

Salamander, division of, 303 history of, 303 is viviparous, 304 popular errors concerning, 304 Scapula, 309 Scinks, division of, 302 history of, 302 Serpent lizard, 305 Skin of reptiles renovated, 315 history and progress of, 315 Snake lizards, division of, 305 history of, 305 Species, number of, in the order, 306

Tadpole, history of, p. 281 structure and changes of, ib. singular one, 284 changes and evolution of, 313 Tail of reptiles, not in all, 308 of newt regenerated, 317 Testudo, classification of, from number of claws insufficient, 270 into land and sea tortoises, grecia, marginata, geometrica, radiata, indica, rugosa, europea, lutaria, carinata, carolina, fulcata, tabulata, concentrica, picta, guttata, elegans, areolata, ferrata, pufilla, tricarinata, fcabra, scripita, galeata, denticulata, pennsylvanica, longicollis, calpica, ferox, granulata, fimbriata, ferentina, squamata, coriacea, mydas, caretta, imbricata, Toad, common, history of, age, not poisonous, error concerning, alliaceous, emits a peculiar smell, tadpole of, voracious, used as food, Surinam, economy of, in hatching ova, casts its skin, Tongue, an instrument for seizing the prey,