,.
I \ fc * *V j|,
BUFFON*s
NATURAL HISTORY
OF
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS
AND
SERPENTS.
VOL. I.
THE
NATURAL HISTORY
OF
AND
SERPENTS.
ARRANGED AND PUBLISHED FROM THE PAPERS
AND COLLECTIONS OF THE
COUNT DE BUFFON,
BY THE
COUNT DE LA CEPEDE,
KEEPER OF THE ROYAL CABINET, AND MEMBER OF THE
ACADEMIES AND SOCIETIES OF DIJON, LYONS, BOUR-
DEALX, ROME, STOCKHOLM, &C. &C.
ix FOUR: VOLUMES,
ILLUSTRATED WITH COPPERPLATES.
TRANSLATED BY
ROBERT KERR, F. R. & A. S. S. Ed.
VOL.' I.
ED INBURGH:
PRINTED BY ALEX. SMELLIK,
FOR T. CADEL, JUN. AND W. DAVIES, LONDON;
AND W. CREECH, EDINBURGH.
PREFACE
r THE TRANSLATOR.
1 HOUGH The Natural Hiflory of Ovipa-
rous Quadrupeds and Serpents, a tranilatioa
of which into Englifn is offered to the pub-
lic in the following volumes, was originally
publifhed in French under the name of the
Count de la Cepede, it is yet certainly to
be considered as a part of the General and
Particular Natural Hlftory of the Count de
J$itffon j and the Count de la Cepede muft
only be viewed as the Editor of this portion
of that great work. The whole vaft plan
was conceived by Buffon ; and that great na-
turalift executed feveral exteniive portions
VOL. I. b of
of his fyftem, in conjundion with different
coadjutors; and, from the very beginning
of the undertaking, be had taken every pof-
r-i i i f 11 i
iible care to prepare materials for ail the
i r r J i
parts, by means or correipondence in al-
moft every quarter of the globe ; by collec-
ting notes from every author of merit ; by
fpccimens and drawings of all the fpecies, in
the various daffes, that could be procured ;
and by obfervations on the manners and
habits of the feveral living individuals that
occurred. Finding the execution of the
whole of his plan impoflible for the labour
of one man, he very early committed the
conduct of particular parts, and fubdivifions
of parrs, to other naturalifts in whom he
could confide for abilities and fimilarity of
views ; configning to them, for their affi.
tance, all the preparatory materials which
he
he hal called and ail the channels of in-
formation whijii he ln:i ijcure.l. He af-
terwards confined his own attention to the
fintfhiaz of fuch other parts as he conceived
might Hill be overtaken by hirafelf.
Is is well known, that he received very
J
confidence affi (lance from M. Daubenton,
in the conduct of the General and Particu-
lar-Natural Hiilory of (Quadrupeds, which
has already been fa ably given to the Eng-
lifh reader by MR SM ELLIS. The afllf-
tance which he received from M. Mont-
belliard in the General and Particular Na-
tural Hiftory of Birds, which has like wife
been excellently rendered into Englilh, is
equally known and a\pweri. 1 hat the
Cotmt de la Cenede only put together the
1 SI. ->
materials colleacd by his mailer, Buff 7,
' * * *
b 2 and
j T1XI
and raifecl tlic fuperftniaure in ft rid con*
forntance to the ptaliVffhat celebrated Na-
turalift,wll!di:ll i; alya r ,,n the fot-
lowing account prefixed by hiinielf to the
origin^ Trench of this work. Wherv k
jg. J ,
great architect has formed the plan of an
extenfive and elegant building, exquilitely
contrived in a!! its parts for anfwering the
r i ,- i n 1 i
purpoie of its delign,ev<:n though he fhould
firul it nece(Tary to confide the execution of
fome of its conflderahle parts to the care
r IT t r n. rr 11
of his difciples ; thele parts muit allureciiy
i u c i n. -
be connoered as the works of the mafter,
,. , r . ,
accorqmg to whole plans, and puriuant ta
\vhofe murudio'ns, they have been execut-
ed, and not as belonging to the genius of
.
the difciple, who had only to draw out the
-
.working plans at large, and to fee the pro-
per application of theie to the manual con-
ftru&ion.
INTRODUCTION
(fix j
INTRODUCTION
7 uns
-JsWfcs: BY T ' HE
-fel COUNT DELA CEPEDE.
S.ti'J-K\ )
the Count de BuTon WAS cngag-
ed in writing the Natural Hiilory of the
Cetaceous An.iimls, being nnxious -to fee
the General and .Particular Natural Hi'iory
completed, that va.ft work which his amaz-
1
ing genius had conceived and planned o#
oo r
fo iublime a fcale, and of which he had exer
!
cuted the chief parts with fo much elegance
and fuccefs, and finding that his health
$ u i\j
would not permit him to undertake every
1 J
part nf the immcm'e detail, he committed
*
the charge of this portion to rne *.
*
3lfj JUO W ^
* Tins paragraph is the advrr-'Tement prefixed by
the Count cirr la Opnlr> to ilie N iruiM H* ) y f O pi-
rou Quadrupeds Wivt -oilo^s :.s in Ukc nunncr are-
^.i to the Natural H^iory of S :;i; ,,: PQ
thrown together as tending b...ih to the jr., :o
ft>ew, tint herj. ^N*^^ r to be eorfi.VreJ a- one of
the coadjutors to BuiFun, and not as the author of mis
work. T.
( vx }
( -vv )
1
No one can more fmcerely lament the
J
de:iih of the Count de BufFon than I do :
'
being thereby deprived of his powerful af-
1
finance for carrying on the work which I
/
now publish, and which I fhould never
liave undertaken if he had not engaged to
afTift me in following that plan which he
pointed out when he entrufted me with the
charge of continuing his Natural Hiftory,
Some time before that event, fo fatal to
fcience, one o! the coadjutors of M. de Baf-
'
.fon. the eloquent auuior of a part cf the
i r
Natural I i ury of J(3irds, and of the Prc-
!
liin-.n ry biicourit to the CoiicSilon sicadc-
mique, was taken away from the fciences ;
and, by his^'eaiii, the great proipcdts which
the lovers ot Natural Hiitory had entertain-
ed were difappointed In particular, I was
thereby deprived of the afliftance which I
had counted on, from his great knowledge
in
iu Natural Hiftory, and from the excellence
of his difpofuions. Luckily for me, many
Naturalifts, both of France and other coun-
tries, and particularly thofe who have exe-
cuted exteniive voyages for the advance-
ment of natural kno.vbgs, have contrib it-
ed to leiTen the loflfes which I had fudained
in the death of thefe great men, by lending
or promising me a great number of very im-
portant obfervationsjj and I have moft grate-
fully to acknowledge the advantages which.
I have already received, and which 1 mud
ftill derive from thefe communications in the
progrefs of this work. I have already made
.
ufe of ibine of thefe in the volume now pub-
liihed, and (liall euiploy the reil in thofe
which are to follow.
The Marquis de la Billarderie, fucceffor
b 4 to
(fxvi ) )
to M. de BufTnn as intendant of the Royal
Garden, v.'ho has reiblvcd to ufe bin utmoft
ions for advancing the natural Liences,
both by mepns of extenfivc correfpondence,-
and by inuru.ing; different voyages and'
journies tc thofe countri, h are rnofl
intereftisig for natural hiftory, ha.> kindly
promiffd to communicate fuch obfervations
as may reach him and are connected with
my labours.
At the time of charging me with the ex-
ecution of this portion of natural hiftory,
M. de BuiTon put into my hands all the
notts, letters, and manufcriprs, which -he
had received at different times, relative to
the natural hiftory oi the animals of which
I had to treat. Two months .before his
death, he confignecl to me all the manu-
fcripts
\
)
fcripts and original drawings which that
cellent natural-id the late M. Commerforc
had compofed and procured, relative to the
various claffes of animals, during his refi-
dence in the ifle of Bourbon, to which place
he had heen fent by the government. M.
de BufFon has already pubKihed fuch of thefe
manufcripts as related to Viviparous Qua*
drupeds and Birds ; and I (hall be the more
incited to enrich my work with thcfe which
treat of the other animals, as thefe have
been long anxiouOy waited for by natiH
The younger Count de BufFon, fon to
that great man whofe death we deplore,
\vho } having embraced the military life, will
fupport in the field of honour, the glory of
that name which has become immortal in
the
( xviii )
the republic of letters, and bis uncle, the
Chevalier de BufFon, an officer of rank dif-
tinguifhed for his fervices, and long known
by his tafte for the fciences and the arts,
have joined to communicate to me all the
notes which were found among the papers
" i i
of the late Count de BufFon, and which
could in any degree he ufeful for the conti-
yuation of his Natural Hiftory.
Befides all thefe advantages, I have
been greatly encouraged by the information
which L am enabled to procure from M,
Daubenton, with whom 1 have the honour
of being united in friendfnip, and from
whofe fuperior knowledge 1 have derived
the greateft afiiftance. Were I not afraid
to offend his modefty, I could with pleafure
expand in his praiies ; though, in fo doing,
I
( xix }
I fhould only repeat what the public voice
has already fufficiently expreffed, in all
' countries where natural hiftory is cultivated.
The learned world regretted the interrup-
tion of his labours in natural hiftory con-
jundly with M. de Bufibn, and the fufpen-
fion of his defcription of the Royal Cabi-
net ; and I am now happy in announcing
to the public, that the continua r ion of that
bianch ot natural hiltory may loon be ex-
pccttd, as M. Daubcmon means to recmn-
,
mence at that part wuere he was iormcriy
cca oy circa mllances to deiili.
ELOGIUM
ELOGIUM
OF TUB
COUNT DE BUFFON,
TH*
COUNT. DE LA CEPEDE,
VV HILE preparing this divifion of Natu*
rul riiftory, to complete the extenfi/c work
which has been publifhed l)y one of
firR ornaments of France, that great philo-
fcpher has fiaifhed.hia glorious career, fhc
approbation of his admirable genius, which.
Was univerfal during his lite through ;il! the
eniighteaed countries of the earth, has iiace
been repeated in, higher .ft rains of praile and
admiration, though mixed with expreflions
of the deepea regret, for the irreparable in-
jury fnftained by the ictenee of Natural
jvi u rTjv.Ts.iJ3T
Hiftory, in confequence of his death ; and
pofterity may already be faid to crown hia
flatue with never-fading laurels, Amid
the numerous homages that have been ten-
dered to his memory, would that I were
able to raife the voice of eloquence in his
praife, that I might engrave his Elogium
in that fanctuary which was confecrated,
by his tranfcendent genius, to the fcience
which he cultivated with fo great affection
and fuccefs !
When Plato quitted this mortal flate to
receive the crown ot immortality, his weep-
kig diiciples aflembled on that famous pro-*
fnontory * near the celebrated City of A~
thens, on which they had fo often liftened
to
* The promontory of Stinium, which is defcribed *rt
the Travels of the younger AnacharQs.
.
to the perfuafive and impreffing eloqtienc
of their mafter ; that ancient rock, wafhe^
by the furges of the reftlefs ocean, where,
fitting among them, like the Father of he
G(-ds on the fumniit of Olympus, Plato
had fo of'en unveiled the facred rnyiieries
J 137177
of virtue and of fcience, they confecrated to
'
the memory of their beloved Father, con.fi-
dering it ever after as a holy place. Then,
to dimtnim the fenfe of their irreparable
lofs, to beguile their grief, and to refre(h
their recollection of the fublime truths which
he had taught, they compofed and fang a
funereal hymn, and depicted in their ior-
rowful verfes the traces of his tranfcemlent
genius, and the melancholy expreffions of
their own poignant grief.
We who are devoted to the ftudy of Na-
tural
( xxiii )
tural Hiftory, who have been taught by
that great man, and who have liftened to
the voice of this modern Plato, may not we
compofe a funereal hymn in his praife ! Af-
fembled from various corners of the earth,
where each of us hath cherimed that ardent
love for the Science of Nature with which
he knew fo happily to infpiie his difciples ;
may not we penetrate together even to the
center of thofe rnoft ancient monuments
which were conflruded by the powerful
arm of Nature ; or may not we direct our
fteps to thofe proud mountains whofe lofty
fummits, involved in eternal froft and fnow,
foar above the clouds, and feem to unite the
heavens with the earth ! On thefe enormous
blocks of granite, thefe huge mafles, which
time feems to have attacked in vain, and
which alone appear to have refilled the war
of
( xxiv )
<tf 'elements* and to have endured amid all
the "revolutions which the earth hath expe-
rienced : Oti thefc tablets, refpected even,
by the deftroying hand of time, we would
engrave the name of BU-FFON ; to thejfe
\vitneifes of the ancient overturning changes
of our planet, we would confide the memo-
ry of our deepeft regret and moft ardent
admiration ; all other monuments were of
much too perifnable materials to bear the
record of a renown ib ever-during.
l.-et us, at leaft in thought, raife our ima-
o-inations a-bove thefc inacceffibie, rocks ; let
o
us advance to the margin of thole terrible
chafms which iurround the-m ; and let us
reach the fummits of thole mountains
which are fucceffively heaped on the tops
of other mountains. Night flill ftretches
forth
( XXV )
forth 'her fable wings ; the clear firmament
is unobibured by even the flightcft cloud,
and the perfect tranfparency of the atmol-
phere admits a thorough view of all the
ftarry hoft j w fee around the numerous
fixed ftars, ihimng by their own appropri-
ate fpiendour, while the phvnets reflect to
us the milder rays of their borrowed light.
Abforbed in profound meditation, we ie^in
to behold I'ke Genius cf Nature contanpLit-
ing the Uiitvtrfe *. Every object r-eoals. to
our imagination the lively imagery with
which Buffon has every where fo magnifi-
cently adorned his writings, and that mov-
ing picture of the heavens, whicb, with fuc-
ceisful boldnefs, he hath io grandly traced f .
VOL. I. c Standing
* Alluding to the engraved frontifpiece to the origin-
al edition of Buffons Theory of the Earth.
f This Picture is contained in the Introduction to
Buffons Natural Hiftory of Minerals.
( xxvi )
Standing on the higheft pinnacles of
the earth, we thus chant our hymn of
praife.
" We bow to thee, BUFFON, thou fub-
" lime painter of the auguft fpe&acle that
" furrounds us ; thou, whofe adventurous
*' genius, ftill unfatisfied, after furveying
" the immenfe expanfe of heaven, and the
** limits of extended fpace, hath even pene-
" trated into the records of time *.
" Thou haft required of matter to inform.
<c thee by what power the fixed ftars, thofe
" refplendent central points of the univerfe,
<c have acquired the fires with which they
" are perpetually illuminated.
" Thou
* See the article on the formation of the Planets in
the firft and fecond fyftems of Nature, &c. by M, de
Buffon.
( xxvii )
*' Thou haft learnt of time by what mov-
" ing force thofe wandering ftars, which
" fhine only in borrowed luftre, and which
" circulate like flaves around their funs, di-
" reft their motions ; how they were placed
" in the ceieftial tracts which are allotted
' for them ; and by what means they were
c endowed with the movements which per-
". petually animate them.
" We bow to thee, O Immortal Poet of
" the Heavens ; may the firmament, all
" over-fpangled with ftars, may the Hght
" which is diffufed through univerfal fpace,
" and may the magnificent fcenery of night,
" for ever recal the memory of thy glory !"
In the mean time, the firft tints of
proaching day gild the margins of the eaft ;
.
b the
( xxviii )
the glorious fun appears, iri all his fnajeftic
fplendour, reddening thofe lofty fummits
which foar above the clouds, and feems
to fet on fire the vaft ice vallies which fur-
round the mountains. A murky vapour
ftill fills the lower grounds, and hides the
hills from our view. A vaft ocean feems
io envelope the earth, and a few folitary
pinnacles, fpleudidly covered with ice and
fnow, arc fcen above the furface of the im-
menfe fea of mift, whofe hardly gravitating
waves, agitated by the winds, and rolling in
vjiiormous billows, are raifed into whirlpools,
and threaten to overtop the higheft rocks.
We feem to behold, with Buffon, the earth
i\ill covered by the waters of the ocean,
and receiving, amid the waves, its form, its
inequalities, its mountains, and its vallies.
Our hymn proceeds.
" We
( xxix )
" We bow to thee, BUFFON fe fub-
T* lime genius, after having embraced the
' whole itnmenfity of time and fpace, hath
' hovered over our earth, and hath dif-
" covered the Records of its moft diftant
" Thou haft defcried the earth, as it firft
1 rofe from the bofom of the waters, while
' the fecondary mountains were heaved up
1 by the accumulated force of the currents
1 of the vaft deep. The nafcent vegetables
4< have unveiled to thee their verdant foli
*' age as they begarl to grow, on the firft
" inequalities of the earth abandoned by
ft the waters. In thy fight, the firft for- fts
* 4 refign their ruins to the mercy of the agi-
c 3 ta:ed
* See the Theory of the Earth, and the Epochs of
Nature, by M. de Buifon.
" tated waves, and the abyfles of the oceari
" treafure up the precious charge to be-
" come magazines of heat and fire for
" future ages. Thou haft carried thy re-
' fearcbes into the valleys of the ocean,
" peopled with various animals, the veftiges
" of which gave origin to new fhores, or
" raifed the level of thofe which were al-
" ready formed.
" Thou halt perceived the fire, as it burft
" violently from the bowels of the earth,
44 directly behind the retiring waves of the
" univerfal ocean, which contributed to
" raife the fecondary hills, while it fhook
" the more ancient primary mountains,
" and covered the plains with burning tor-
" rents of liquid lava ; while the force
" of thunder and lightening, joined with
" tempefts of wind, the fury of internal
fires>
( xxxi )
" fires, and the power of the ftormy
" ocean, all contributed to produce the
" fame common effect:, the deftruction of
" the old, and reproduction of the new,
" fur face of our globe.
" We bow to thee, whofe fublime elo-
" quence hath recorded all thefe grand ob-
" jects. May the fire of volcanos, the fury
" of jthe waves agitated by the ftorms of
*" heaven, and the irrefiftible impetuofity of
" the celeftial thunder, continually recal the
" memory of thy never ending fame !"
The thick vapours are now diffipated,
and Nature in all her beauty lies open to
our view ; her vaft extended plains, her
fertile flopes, her flowery fields, and peace-
able retreats, are all before us. The inha-
c 4 bitanta
)
bitants of the air, fporting among the thic-
kets, addrefs ihcir grateful fongs to the Sun,
the beneficent foarce of light and heat ;
the towering eagle foars above the higheft
tops of the mountains ; the warlike horfe,
creeling his flowing main, gambols acrofs
the graffy meadows ; and all the diverfified
forms of animals, which people and adorn
the earth, feem to pals. in review before
us*. Wrapt in ferious enthufiafm, and
carried along by delirium of imagination,
we feel ourfelves elevated above the earth,
and fee the globe revolving under our feet,
prefenting fucceffively every part of its fur-
face to our view.
The cruel Tyger and terrible Lion arer
leen
* Confult particularly, in the Natural Hiftory of
Quadrupeds and Birds, by M. de BufFon, the follow-"
ing articles ; the Hone, Tyger, Lion, Camel, Elephant,
Beaver, Ape, Eagle, Parrot, Humming-bird, Kaimichv
Sec.
( xxxiii )
exerting their bloody empire, in the
marfliy woods of Afta and the burning fo-
litudes of Africa ; the patient Camel, endu-
ring long continued thirft, amid the parch-
ed fandy deferts of Arabia ; the vaft Ele-<
phant of India, aftonifhing even to human
intelligence, by the extent of his inftinOive
faculties ; the Canadian Beaver, demonftrat-
ing, by perievering induftry, the wonder-
ful efTeds of numbers and of union ; the
Apes and Monkies of both worlds, thofe
petulant mimics of the actions of mankind ;
the Parrots of the equatorial countries^
cloathed in the gayeft colours ; the Hum-
ming-bird of the new world, with its fplen-
did golden plumage ; the wonderful Kai-
michi of the half inundated coafts of Guia-
,
na; all pafs in review before ouraftonifli-
*
ed eyes.
Every
^<jA (-j..
( xocxiv )
Every thing contributes to prefent to our
imagination all thofe objects which Buffon
hath adorned by the wonderful powers of
his eloquence. In the midft of all thefe fub-
jecl:s of his inimitable defcription, we ob-
ferve, in every quarter of the habitable
globe, MAN, the mafter-piece of creative
power ; who, by the aid of thought, hath
acquired pofleflion of the Scepter of Nature,
hath conquered even the elements, hath
fertilized the earth, hath embellifhed his re-
fidence, and hath given exiftence to happU
nefs, by means of Love and Virtue.
From the regions which lie beneath the
pole and the celeflial bear, from the utmoft
.
limits of the vaft empire of the fovereign of
the Neva *, and from that country, fertile
in
* It is chiefly from Ruffia, and from North and
Soyth America, that the fubjefts of Natural Hiftory
have
{ XXXV )
in a race of heroes, where Reinfberg * fees
the arts of peace cultivated by the hands of
victorious warriours, even to the fultry
plains of Mexico, and the fummits of the
Andes. There is not feen a corner of the
earth which does not remind us of the tri-
butes which have been offered to the ge-
nius of Buffon.
In the modern Athens, among all thofe fa-
mous
have been eagerly transmitted to M. de Buffon. Even
feveral fovereigns, particularly the Emprefs of Ruffia,
have contributed largely to fupply him with interefting
fpecimens.
* Reinfberg is a caftle in Brandenburg belonging to
Prince Henry of Pruffia. M. de Buffon ufed to fpeak
with rapture of his attachment for that Prince ; and was
delighted to recount the marks of efteem which he had
received from him, and to dwell on the frier dfhip
which the worthy companion of the great and celebrat-
ed minifter of the beft of kings had always teftified for
him.
r %
f ***V1 )
/aiifisilj bdyfiisft^LsUidnsd* v
flacks, confecra^d tofcjence or to the
arts of eloquence and poetry ; ia
thofe temples of fame, where the name of
Buffon, and the remembrance of his glory,
{hall ever endure j there, where he has left
many friends and afTociates of his honour-
able labours, one efpecially, who, born in
the fame country, and connected with him
from their earlieft days, hath fhared his la-
.
bours and his fucceflfes ; we feem to join
.
the united voices, the harmonious chorus,
of genius and of friendfhip, which pene-
trates our foulsj and we thus continue our
hymn :
" We bow to thee, O BUFFON ! who,
" to thy harmonious lyre, haft fung the
* works of Creation ; to thee, who, with a
* matters hand, on a monument more du-
' rable
( xxxvii )
" rable than brafs, haft graved the augufttra-
" ces of the KING of NATURE ; who haft
" followed HIS majeftic fteps through eve-
" ry clime, from the inftant of HIS birth till
"HE difappeared from the earth. At thy
" voice Nature hath collected her various
" productions to pafs them in review be-
" fore thee ; that thou mighteft defcribe
" their forms, their features, their habits,
" their countries, their characters, and their
c names. Sublime Poet ',>f Nature, may
" thy fongs be repeated throughout the
' whole earth, and may every thing and
*' every place re-echo with thy name ; for
" thou haft celebrated all the Exiftences and
?' all the Epochs of Nature !"
CONTENTS
^ifb no
CONTENTS
OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Preliminary Difcourfe on the Na-
ture of Oviparous Quadrupeds,
page i
OF TORTOISES IN GENERAL, 66
I. DIVISION. SEA TORTOISES, 79
Sp. I. Green Tortoife, il.
II. Green-Scale Tortoife, - 125
III. Logger-bead ' Torfoi/e^ 128
IV. Nafal Torfotfi, * 136
V. Hawks- bill Tortoi/e, 138
VI. Leathern Tortojfi, 146
II. DIVISION. FRESH WATER AND
LAND TORTOISES, 154
yiI..MtutTortot/e 9 * 156
SP. VIII.
page
SP. VIII. Round Tortoise, - : f X* 62
IX. Terrapin, - 165
X. Serpctttine Tortoife, 167
XI. Penfylvanian Tortoifc, 168
XII. Scorpion Tortoife^ - 169
Tar. Fimbriated Tortaife, 170
XIII. Spotted Tortotfe, 1 7 1
XIV. Soft Tortoife, - 173
XV. Cartilaginous Tortoife y 178
Tar. Membranous 'Tortotfe^ - 180
Var. 'fhree-cla.'wed T'ortoife^ ib.
.
XVI. Common Land Tortoife^ iSt
XVII. Geometrical Tortoife, 200
XVIII. * Rough Tortoife, 205
XIX. Serrated Tortoife, 207
XX. Hunched Tortoife, 208
XXI.
* By miftake, in the bcxiy of the work, XIX. isfnb-
ftituted for XVIII. The reader is requefted to alter
this erronerns numeration to the end of the Genus of
Tortoifes.-T.
page
SP. XXI. Box Tortotfe, - 209
XXII. Dwarf Tortoife, - 212
XXIII. Carolina Tortoife, 214
XXiV. Cbagreen Tortotfe, 216
XXV. Brown Tortoife, 218
XXVI. Blackijh fortoifc, 2 1 9
OF LIZARDS IN GENERAL, 221
I. DIVISION. HAVING FLAT TAILS,
AND FIVE TOES BEFORE, 228
OF TI?E CROCODILE IN GENERAL,
ib.
SP. I. Nilotic Crocodile, 234
Var. Alligator^ or American
Crocodile*
II. Black Crocodile \ 294
III. Gavial t or Gangetic Crocodile, 296
IV. Wbip-tail> - - 301
V. Dragon^ - 305
VI. 1'upinambis, 31^
YOL, I. 4 SP,
pagd
SP. VII. Supercilious Lizard, - 323-
VIII. Fork-beaded Lizard, .11'*.. 32$
IX. nick-toed Lizard, - 327
X. Two-fpot Lizard, 328
XL Two-ridged Lizard, - 330
II. DIVISION. - ROUND TAILS, FIVE
TOES BEFORE, BACK CRESTED, 332
Sp. XII. Guana, ib.
XIII. Horned Lizard, 352
XIV. Eafdijk, - - 354
XV. Ambolna Lizard, - 357
XVI. Kalof, - 363
XVII. Agama, - - - 366
III. DIVISION. ROUND TAILS, FIVE
TOES BEFORE, FILLETS ON THE BELLY,
37
SP. XVIII. Nimble- IJxanl, #.
XIX. Green Lizard, 385
XX, Red- beaded Lizard, - 404
XXI,
y
SP. XXI. Cordylus, - -
XXII. Angular Lizard, - 409
XXIIL Ameiva, - 410
XXIV. Lion Lizard, - 417
.
XXV. Laced Lizard, 419
ERRATA.
Page 1 1 8, 1. 7, for fifteen inches, read fifteen feet.
205, 1. 3, for XIX. read XVIII. and alrer the
fubfequent numbers to the end of the Genus
in this manner,
a 1 2, 1. i, for III* read XXIIL
235, 1. 10 and 1 1, for Kgxe-o/Aflf, read
369, fide note, for Guana, read Agama,
NATURAL HISTORY
O F
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE OF OVIPAROUS
QUADRUPEDS.
WHEN we throw our eyes around, Prelimi-
, . . . naryD.tf
and view the innumerable multi- courfs.
tudes of living organized beings, which in-
habit and animate the earth, our attention
is firft arrefted by the viviparous quadru-
peds and birds, of which the forms, qua-
lities, and manners have been already de-
fcribed, in an immortal work, by the hand
of Genius itfelf. Among thofe other ob-
jects, which attract our notice, the ovipa-
rous quadrupeds come next in order :
Thefe approach very near to the more no-
VOL. I, A ble
2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
I'rcl.nii- bie animals, of the two firft claffes, in theit'
nary Du-
courfc. ftriiclure, in the number of fenfes with
which they are endowed, in the warmth
'li which they are penetrated, and in
their manners and habitudes. The gene-
ral name, by which they are known, dif-
tinguiihes the mo ft remarkable property in
which they differ frbrn viviparous animals,
by indicating that their young are produc-
from eggs. They likewife differ from
'.parous quadrupeds, by the want ot
dug'^s, and by having no hair, inftead or
which they are cloathed with a horny
cruft, with hard or fharp pointed fcales,
with knobs or tubercles, of a greater or tef-
fer degree of prominence, or their {kins
are naked and fmeared with a vifcid li-
quor. Inftead of having their legs extend-
ed perpendicularly, like tnofe of viviparous
quadrupeds, theirs are bent and feparated,
in fuch a manner as to raife their bodies
very little from the ground, on which they
feem rather to crawl than to walk. From
this bill property, they have been com,
bended under the general name of rtp
which
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 3
which however we have not here adopted. Preli i-
nary Dif-
as that name ought more properly to be- courfe.
long to the ferpent tribe, and to thofe other
animals which, almoft or altogether de-
prived of legs, change their place by ap-
plying their bodies to the ground *.
In this clafs, the fpecies are by no means
fo numerous as in that of viviparous qua-
drupeds : In the latter, M. de Buffon and
M. Daubenton have given the hiftory and
defcription of more than three hundred
fpecies, while in the one now before us
we only know of one hundred and thir-
teen. It muft, however, be acknowledg-
ed, that there is great difficulty, botli in af-
certaining the number that really exift, and
in avoiding to enumerate more than are
actually known. Voyagers and travellers
have given lefs attention to this than to
A 2 arl y
* Confult, oh tliis fubject, the excellent vrork on
oviparous quadrupeds and ferpcnts, by Mr Daubenton,
in the Encyclopedic Methodique. We take this early
opportunity of acknowledging the- affiftance derived
from his valuable writings, ? nd from his friendly com-
munications, in the prefent publication.
4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
y othcr clal ' s of animals, and they have
courfc. very generally formed fuch accounts as we
have of them, either from the vague re-
ports of others, or from very fuperficial
obfervations, and have fatisfied themfelves
with giving them very ill-founded appel-
lations. Having very feldom been at pains
to collect accurate information on the fub-
r, they have frequently given the fame
narn 2 to various fpecies, or different names
to the fame individual. How many ab-
furd fables have been reported concerning
thefe animals ? becaufe they have mod
commonly been fought after, for the fake
of chymerical or exaggerated properties ; be-
caufe they really, at leaft for the moft part,
poflefs uncommon qualities ; and becaufe
the accounts of fuch objedls, as are rare or
brought from a diftance, readily acquire
embe<]' foment, or are disfigured, in paf-
fing through the medium of a warm ima-
gination : . Travellers have feldom fuffi-
ciently
* In the works of Conrad Gefner, de Quad. Ovip.
may be- found recorded, all the real or abfurd proper-
ties, which, belong, or have been attributed to, thefe
animals.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 5
eiently difcriminated the effential characters Prelir ~
nary Dii-
and principal properties of each fpecies ; courie.
and, even when they have given us exact
defcriptions of their external forms, have
too often omitted to add the hiftory of
their manners, qualities, and habitudes ; or,
when thefe lail have been properly attend-
ed to., have neglected to fubjoin a precife
defcription, by which they might after-
wards be certainly recognized from others.
Hence, when we had refolved to at-
tempt illuftrating the natural hiftory of o-
viparous quadrupeds, we found that it was
not fufficient merely to examine attentively,
and carefully to defcribe, the great num-
ber of thefe animals, which are contained
in the royal cabinet, together with fuch as
have been particularly procured for us elfe-
where, of which feveral are hitherto un-
known to naturalifts ; it was not only ne-
ceffary, in addition to thefe cares, to collecl:
almoft the whole obfervations, on this clafs
of animals, which have been hitherto pu-
fcMied, together with fuch particulars as
have been communicated to us, or have
A 3 been
6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
wryriif. been made h 7 ourfelves on living fpeci-
courfc. mcns; we have been forced to compare
all thefe, with the conformation of the fpe-
cies to which they relate, with thofe other
properties of the animals that are thorough-
ly eftablifhed, with the known circum-
ftances arifing from the influence of cli-
mate, and more efpecially with the laws of
nature, which never vary. It often requir-
ed the niceft application of all thefe rules
of judgment, to afcertain the truth or fal-
lacy of numbers of thefe reported facts, or
to difcrimmate, among fuch as were well
authenticated, which ought to be confider-
ed as conftant properties, relulting from
the ftruclure of a whole fpecies, and which
of them were only to be referred to fmgle
individuals, as modifications of particular
inftincts, improved or diminished by acci-
dental caufes.
Before proceeding to a detailed account
of facts, in the particular hiftory of the fe-
veral fpecies, we mall take a general view
of the clafs of oviparous quadrupeds, as a
whole ; and, for this purpofe, it will Uu
necfirary
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 7
necefTary to furvey the circumftanccs p
thcfe tropical regions, where, animated by courfe -
the greateft atmofpheric heat, which is ab-
folutely neceflary for them, the hrgeft of
thefe animals are to he found. From E-
gypt, periodically overflowed by the wa-
ters of an immenfe river, whofe banks,
widely covered by mud, prefent a habita-
tion every way fitted for the manners and
nature of oviparous quadrupeds, where the
trees, the forcfts, the ruins, and even the
lofty pyramids, furnifli us \vith numerous
fpecies ; from the torrid coafts of Africa,
particularly the banks of the rivers Senegal
and Gambia; from the half drowned coafls
of the new world, thofe deep folitudes, ib
admirably adapted, by their heat, moifture,
and tranquillity, for the animals of this
clafs ; from the rich countries of the ea^:,
where nature feems to have diflributed all
her productions with a laviih hand ; fro n
the numerous iflands of the torrid zone :
From all thefe regions we muft colled:, in
our imagination, all the oviparous qua-
drupeds which people their various parts,
A 4 and.
8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
^ re1ll !^: r and, ranginG- them around us, make them
nary Dif-
pafs in review, and compare them with
each other, that thus we may become ac-
quainted with their natures, forms, and pro-
perties.
We {hall firft confider the various fpe-
cies of the tortoife, as more nearly refem-
bling the viviparous quadrupeds in their
internal ftrucliure ; beginning with thofe
which inhabit the fea-coafts, proceeding
to thofe which prefer the frefh water, and
to thofe again which dwell on dry ground
in the middle of the woods. We mail
next confider the enormous crocodiles,
which, inhabiting the waters of the great ri-
vers, appear like giants at the head of the
various legions of lizards : In this part of
our furvey, we perceive that thefe animals
have a vaft variety in their fhades of co-
lour, great diverfity in the conformation of
their organs, and infinite difproportion in
their fize, from a length of twenty-five or
thirty feet, down to a few inches. In the
next place, we {hall obferve a fet of ftill
fmaller oviparous quadrupeds, which na-
ture
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 9
ture feems to have confined to the fleech Prell! 5f: r
nary Dif-
of marfhes, on purpofe that life and mo- courfe.
tion fhould every where abound. Not-
withftanding the aftonifhing diverfity which
fubfifts among thefe tribes, we (hall find
that they all poflefs certain points of re-
femblance among themfelves, which unite
them together, and that they clifFer from
all other animals, by regular characters and
remarkable qualities : We fliall inveftigate
thefe diftinctive characters, and mail, in
the firft place, confider what degree of life
and of activity has been allotted by nature
to the oviparous quadrupeds.
Animals differ from vegetables, and more
efpecially from inorganized matter, in pro- "
portion to the number and activity of the
fenfes with which they are endowed ;
which, by making them more or lefs fenfl-
ble to impreffions from external objects,
connect them with thefe in a more or lefs
intimate degree. Wherefore, to afcertain
the place which belongs to oviparous qua-
drupeds, in the fcale of being, we mull ob-
ferve the number and the power of their
fenfes.
io OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
narvT>if. ^ en ^ es - They are all provided with the
coude. fenfe of feeing, and moft of them have
their eyes confiderahly protuberant, and of
confiderable magnitude in proportion to
that of their bodies. Being, for the moft
part, inhabitants of the more of the fea,
and of rivers, in the torrid zone, where the
fun is feldom obfcured by clouds, aiul
where the rays of light are ilrongly re-
flected from the waves and from the land,
it is necefTary that their eyes mould be of
fufficient ftrength, not to be injured, and
even deftroyed, by the excefTive influence
of the light with which they are continu-
ally filled : Hence, the eye ought to be
extremely active in thefe animals, and ac-
cordingly we find that they perceive ob-
jects at a great diftance. We farther ob-
ferve a particular conftruction of the eyes
of feveral of thefe animals, which indicates
confiderable delicacy and feniibility in the
organ : Moft of them have a membr
nictitans, fimilar to that obferved in birds ;
and a great part of them have the facuky
of contracting and dilating the pupil, in a
very
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, n
very confiderable degree, as in cats *. on Pr , " r
J nary Da-
purpofe either to admit fuch a quantity of courfe.
- light as may be neceflary, or to prevent an
over proportion of the rays, that might be
hurtful, from entering their eyes. By this
means they are enabled to diftinguifh ob-
jects, both in the dark and in the moft
brilliant funfhine ; their fight is, at the
fame time, very much exercifed, and pre-
ferves its moft perfect delicacy of percep-
tion, as it is never overftrained by the in-
fluence of too great a degree of light.
Were we to find an equal perfection, in
all the fenfes of oviparous quadrupeds, as
in the organ of fight, we might certainly
confider them as poffeffing very great fen-
tient powers ; but the organ of hearing is
much lefs fenfible in them, than in vivipa-
rous quadrupeds and birds. Their internal
ear does not contain all the contrivances,
which affift the perception of found, in the
cars of thefe other two claiTes f ; and the
fnnplicity,
* See the hiftory and defcription of the Cat, by Buf-
fon and Daubenton.
j- See Vicq. d'^zyr, on the organ of hearing of ani-
mals,
*2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelimi- fimplicitv. with which this organ is con-
nary Dif- J
courfe. ftructed, is by no means compenfated for
by a greater degree of fenfibility, for in
general it is of fmall extent; befides which,
it wants the affiftance of the convoluted
external ear, which, collecting the undula-
tions of found, as the rays of light are u^
nited together by burning mirrors, thereby
increafes the number which reach the real
feat of hearing, and might fupply, in a
great meafure, the imperfection or want of
fenfibility of the internal ftruc~lure *. In
place of external .ears, oviparous quadru-
peds are provided with fmall holes, thrc
which only a fmall number of fpnorpus
rays or undulations can pafs. We may,
therefore, conclude that the organ of hear-
ing is considerably lefs fenfible in this,
than in the two former clafles : And, in
addition to thefe remarks, we may obferve,
that moft of thefe animals are altogether
dumb, or only emit hoarfe, difagreeable,
and
mals, in the Memoires of the Academy of Paris for
the year 1778.
* See Mufchenbroecks Phyfical Eflays.
OVIPAROUS. QUADRUPEDS. 13
and confufed founds ; from which we may
J nary Dii-
conclude, that they do not receive any ve- courfe.
ry diftinft impreffions from external founds,
fmce it is extremely probable that the habit
of diftmtt hearing mould readily produce
the power of an equally diftindt utterance.
It may, perhaps, be objected to this rea-
foning, that, in moft of thefe animals, the
organs of voice want thofe parts which
feem chiefly neceflary for the formation of
founds, and that it is confequently incapa-
ble of producing the diftinctnefs of tone or
cf pronunciation -, fo neceflary for the for-
mation of any kind of language : But this
is a farther proof of the imperfection of
their fenfe of hearing ; as, however deli-
cate it might be in itfelf, it muft partici-
pate in the imperfection of their organs of
found *.
There is reafon to prefume, that the
fenfe of fmelling in oviparous quadrupeds
is far from being delicate. In general, fuch
animals
* See, on this fubjeft, a Memoir by M. Vicq. d'Azyr,
on the voice of Animals, in the Memoires of the Aca*
tlemy of Paris for the year 1779.
i 4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Prelimi- animals as pofTefs this fenfe in an exquifite
nary Dil-
courfe. degree, are lead able to indure ftrong
fmells, and, when forced to remain too
long expofed to fuch, their organs become
blunted, and lofe their fenfibility. Mori
of the oviparous quadrupeds inhabit amid
the infected vapours of (limy mores, or of
marfhes filled with putrefying organized
bodies ; and fome of them exhale a dii-
agreeable odour from their own bodies^
which becomes extremely ftrong, when
they are collected together in confiderable
numbers. Befiden, the organ of fmelling
is not very apparent in the animals of this
clafs, except in the crocodile, and their nol-
trils have but fin all openings. However,
as thefe feem to be the moft fenfible of the
external organs, and as the nerves which
terminate on them are extraordinarily large
in feveral fpecies *, we may conclude that
fmelling is the fecond fenfe of thefe ani-
mals, in degree of activity.
The fenfe of tailing ought to be ftill
weaker
* See Memoires for forming a natural hiftory of ani-
mals j article, Land Tortoife of Coromandel.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 15
t
weaker in this clafs ; for. this fenfe muft Prell ':v.
nary Dtl-'
be in proportion to the feiliihility of its or- courfe.
giin,..and we fee that in general the tongue
is either fmall or covered with a flimy
fluid, and is thereby very ill calculated for
the ready tranfmilfi on of impreflions from
fapid bodies.
The fenfe of touch, 01" feeling, mud like-
\vife be confidered as very blunt or imper-
fe6t in oviparous quadrupeds. Mod of
them are cloathcd in hard fcales, bony co-*-
verings, or folid iheilds, which niuft greatly
obftruct the communication of impreflions,
arifing from the contact of other bodies*
iSeveral fpecies have the toes united toge-
ther, in fuch a manner as to prevent their
being readily applied to the furface of ob*
jects ; and though fome lizards have their
toes very long and much feparated, yet the-
undcr furfaces of thefe toes are often co-
vered with fcales, of fufficient thicknefs to
deftroy all nice fenfibility in thefe parts.
Thus, the clafs of oviparous quadrupeds
arc poffefled of an equal number of fenfes
with the more perfect animals ; but all
their
16 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelimi- their fenfes, except that of fight, are To
nary Dii-
eourfe. weak, in comparifon with thofe of vivipa-
rous quadrupeds, that they muft receive
much fewer impreilions through them,
muft communicate feldomer and lefs per-
fectly with external objects, and muft be
lefs ftrongly and lefs frequently excited to
internal action, in confequence of thefe.
Hence arifes that coldnefs of affection, that
apathy, that confufed inftinct, and thofe
indecifive movements, which are fo appa-
rent in many of thefe animals.
From this weaknefs of their fentient or-
gans, in all probability, their internal orga-
nization is modified, in fuch a manner as
to diminim the energy of their motions, to
retard the eourfe of their circulating fluids,
to leffen the force of friction, and thereby
to diminim the internal heat *, which ori-
ginating
* This hypothecs might formerly have appeared ve-
ry plaufible ; but it is now known that animal heat is
produced by a real, though flow, combuftion of char-
coal, and perhaps likewife of hydrogen, which takes
place in refpiration : Confequently the fmall heat of
thefe animals is diftinclly owing to their lefs frequent
refpiration, produced by the organization of their heart
and lungs. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 17
ginating from life and motion, reciprocally ''^
nourishes both; or s perhaps, this weaknefs courfe*
of their fenies, may be occafioned by the
(mail degree of animal heat, with which
oviparous quadrupeds are endowed: At any
rate it is certain that their blood is colder
than that of oviparous quadrupeds and birds*
Experiments, indeed, are ftill wanting, or
at leaft have not yet been made with fuffi-
cient accuracy, on the heat in crocodiles,
large tortoifes, and other oviparous quadru-
peds of diilant countries. The degrees of
this heat muft necelTarily vary in different
fpecies, imce they inhabit very different la-
titudes; but it is well afcertained that it is
in the whole clafs confiderably below that
of the viviparous quadrupeds, and ftill more
below that of birds; for, otherwife, they
Xvould not become torpid, in a degree of
cold lefs than is neceflary to induce hyber-
nation in birds and viviparous quadrupeds^
The blood is much lefs abundant in the
animals of this clafs than in the two for-
mer*. The blood is able to circulate for a
VOL. I. B great
* HaiTelquift, who directed a crocodile at Cairo in
i8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
el 'Trf S reat length of time, without being allowed
courfe. to pafs through the lungs ; of which cir-
cumftance the following fact is a ftriking
proof: A tortoife had the artery tied which
communicates from the heart to the lungs,
and, though, in addition, the lungs were
laid open and cut in feveral places, it con-
tinued to live for four days. The lungs
Teem to receive no more blood than is bare-
ly neceffary for their nourimm,ent *. Hence,
the blood of oviparous quadrupeds becomes
thickened, from being lefs frequently ani-
mated,
1751, informs us, That the blood, which was thin
and watery, did not run in any 'arge quantity when
' he cut the aorta ; the veflels of the lungs, and of the
' mufcies, and in general all the fmaller veflels of the
' body, were almoft empty of blood The blood there-
' fore, he adds, is by no means fo abundant in croco-
diles as in viviparous quadrupeds, and the fame thing
may be obfervecl of all the amphibious clafs.' Haf-
felquift, after Linnaeus, comprehends all the ovipar-
ous quadrupeds and t.^e ferpents under this name.
S.-e Travels into Paleitine, by Frederic HarT.-lquiA,
Member of the Stockholm Academy of Sciences.
* S.-e Mem. for a Nat. Hift. of An. article Land
Tortoife of Coromandel.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 19
mated, renewed, and revived, fo to fpeak*,
by the influence of the atmoipheric air, courfe.
which penetrates into the lungs in refpira-
tion. Befides it only receives and commu-
nicates tardy and almoft imperceptible mo-
tion ; for it has been long known that, in
moft of thefe animals, particularly in frogs,
the blood moves flower than in the two for-
mer clafles. Thus internal combine with
external caufes, to diminim the activity of
the internal organization in oviparous qua-
drupeds.
The bony fabric is more fimple in the
oviparous than in the viviparous quadru-
peds. Several divifions of thefe animals*
particularly moft of the falamanders, frogs,
and toads, have no ribs. The tortoifes have
eight vertebrae of the neck; but, except the
crocodile, which has feven, moft of the liz-
ard tribe have no more than four, and all
thofe animals of the clafs which have no
tail are entirely deprived of articulations in'
B 2 this
= The real ufe of refpiration, and of the large quan-
tity of blood which pafles through the lungs in fome
animals, is already hinted at in a former note T,
20
Preiirm- ^jg p art o f faelr bodies; while, on th con-
nary Dif.
trary, birds have never fewer than eleven,
and viviparous quadrupeds have always
feven*. The mteftinal canal of oviparous
quadrupeds is much (hotter, greatly more
uniform in its diameter, and much lefs con-
torted, than in the viviparous clafs, and all
their excrementious diicharges, both liquid
and folid, are voided through one common
cloaca f- It is fomewhat remarkable to find
this relemblance among them, both to the
beaver, which lives fo much in the water,
and to birds, which fly abcir; :n the air.
The heart, in this clafs, is very frnall, and
has only one ventricle ; whereas in man, in
all the viviparous quadrupeds, and in birds,
it contains two. The brain is likewife pro-
portionally fmaller than in viviparous qua-
drupeds. Their breathing, inftead of con-
fining of uninterrupted and regularly alter-
nate
% The obfervations I have made, on this fubjeft, on
the ikeletoiis of oviparous quadrupeds in the Royal Ca-
binet, agree intirdy with what has been communicated
to me by lettrr from the celebrated anatomiil Camper.
f Lizards, frogs, and toads, have no urinary bladder.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 21
sate expirations and infpirations, as in the
nary Uii-
two former claffes, is frequently fufpended
altogether for a considerable time, and is
exerted at very irregular intervals*. Thus,
when the different principles of the vital
functions in thefe animals are examined, and
compared with thofe of the two former claf-
fes, a much greater fimplicity is found to
exiil, both in the organs, and in the func-
tions they produce f ; there is lefs depend-
ance between the different organs, the com-
munication between them is leis perfect, the
motions are flower, and the frictions which
take place are weaker. All thefe circum-
fhinces contribute to render their vital ma-
chine more uniform in its operations, and
B 3 leis
* See Mem. for Nat. Hift. of An. art. Land Tortoife
of Coromandel.
f In feveral oviparous quadrupeds, according to the
anatomical obfervations of Gerard Blafius, iome of the
parts ufually belonging to the fecretory organs are want-
ing, f.om which circumftance thefeorgans muft necefiarily
perform their function^ in a more funple manner than
uiual. See farther on this fubjecl, the articles Land
Tortoife, Crocodile, Cameleon, Tokar, or Gecko, and
Salamander, in the Mem. for a Nat. Hift. of An.
22 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
-r fubjecT; to be put out of order; or, in
Dif-
other words, it is more difficult to arreft the
vital functions in oviparous quadrupeds, as
the vital principle is confiderably more dif-
fufed, and cannot be deftroycd but by be-
ing aflailed in feveral parts at once.
The above particular organization, of o~
viparous quadrupeds, may be confidered as
partly the caufe of their fmall degree of fen^
fibility ; and the coldnefs, which is obferv-
ed in their temperament, may perhaps be
increafed by the watery nature of their fo-
lids and fluids. They are fond of balking
in the full heat of the fun, to fupply their
want of internal warmth ; and, on the other
hand, they delight in miry places, and ef~
pecially in warm and moift fituations, on
account of the analogy between thefe and
the conftitution of their own bodies. This
humidity, far from being injurious, affifts,
efpecially when aided by heat, to their de-
velopment, and adds to their magnitude, by
entering into their competition, and becom-
ing part even of their immediate fubftance.
Jt is evident that this watery fluid, with
which
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 23
which they are penetrated, is not a mere
oedematous or morbid fwelling, a caufe of courfe.
decay rather than of growth ; trace, inftead
of lofmg any of their faculties, when thus
penetrated by the abundance of moifture in
which they are plunged, their powers of
reproduction feem increafed, in proportion
to the quantity of heat and moifture which
fills and animates their bodies.
This confonance of their natures with
moifture, mows how much their vital mo-
tions hinge on feveral organizations, that
are confiderably independent of each other:.
This fuperabundant quantity of moifture
feems advantageous, in fuch beings as are
fufceptible of having their internal function;;
fufpended, without being ftopt altogether ;
as the foftnefs of their compofition is capa-
ble of diminifhing the communication of
forces, without injury; and their various or-
gans have more need of grofs particles,
which remain ftationary, than of active
principles, and delicately conftructed organs.
In animals, on the contrary, which are ful-
ly endowed with the active principle of
B 4 life,
nary ir iL)i*f. life ' * n< ^ w ^ok exiftence requires great ra-
courfe. pidity in the internal motions, great elafti-
city of the different parts, and -a conftant
and ready communication of every kind of
impreffion, who have, in fome degree, lefs
need of being nourished than of having
their animation fupported ; in thefe, an over
abundant moifture uniformly produces in-
jury. On this account, the more noble
fpecies of animals quickly degenerate on the
fhores of the new world, where immenfe
forefts flop and condenie the vapours of the
atmofphere, and where infinite quantities
of a lower vegetation retain, in the marfhy
foil, that humidity which the winds are
unable to difperle, and of which the fun is
only capable to raife a part, merely to in-
creafe the moifture of the air, and to multi-
ply and fpread farther its baneful operation.
This humidity, fo noxious to the nobler
animals, is highly beneficial to infects ; fqr
it is on thofe marthy mores, fcarcely aban-
doned by the fea, and eternally iinmerfed in
Clouds of vapour and in thick fogs, that the
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 25
)nfect tribe acquires its greateft fize, and is r f "Jjj
ornamented with the gay eft colours. courfe.
Though the oviparous quadrupeds feem,
in feveral refpeds, little favoured by na-
ture, in companion with the two former
dalles ; they are yet greatly fuperior to
feveral other extenlive clafles ; and they
require to be confidered with fo much
the more attention, that their nature feems
to hold a kind of middle rank, between
the higheft and loweft clafles of living
and organized beings. We are thereby
enabled to difcover the relations which fub-
fift among a great number of impor-
tant facts, that do not appear otherwife
to have any analogy j but by thus, as it
were, caufmg them to approach nearer
each other, we are enabled to penetrate
into their caufes, and to fee clearly the
connection that nature has eftablifhed a-
mong them.
The whole race of oviparous quadrupeds
is not confined to inhabit the waters :
Several of them frequent dry and elevated
ground j
26 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelir ?'' ground ; others are found in the chinks of
nary Dif-
courfe. rocks ; and fome live in the middle of fo-
refts, and climb nimbly even to the extre-
mities of the higheft branches of trees :
But almoft the whole of them fwim in wa-
ter, and dive with agility ; from which
circumftance, in a great degree, leveral na-
turalifts have included them all under the
general name of amphibious animals. There
is not, however, a fmgle individual of the
whole clafs, but is obliged to rife occafion-
ally to the furface, if they happen to be in
water. Every animal that is provided with
blood, is under the neceflity of breathing
the air of the atmofphere ; and, though
fifties are able to remain a great while at
the bottom, it is becaufe they are provided
with a particular organ, which is capable
of feparating the air, that is contained in
the water, that it may reach their blood
veflels. The oviparous quadrupeds are
forced to breath from time to time : The
air, in that action, penetrates into their
lungs, and reaches to their blood, which it
revives and animates, though much fel-
domer
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 27
domer than in viviparous quadrupeds ; it el
diminifhes the too great thicknefs of the courfe
blood, and fupports the force of their cir-
culation. Thefe animals, however, may
be drowned, by caufmg them to remain
too long under water ; though, in their
hybernating ftate, they feem capable of ex-
ifting for a very long time without refpi-
ration, as, during that torpor, the blood
does not require any great degree of fluidi-
ty to preferve its languid motion.
Thefe animals, having a much fmaller
degree of fenfibility, being lefs fubje^t to
the animation of active paffions, experien-
cing lefs agitation from their internal mo-
tions, and adting outwardly in a lefler de-
gree, are on the whole much lefs fubjed
to dangers, than the more perfect animals
of the two former claries. They are both
lefs expofed to dangers, from having wea-
ker appetites, and accidents are not near fo
apt to do them material injury. They can
fuffer the amputation of very confiderable
members, fuch as their tail or legs, without
rife
28 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
r of dying *. Some of them even recover
nary Dif-
courfe. thefe parts f, efpecially when there is fuf-r
ficient atmofpheric heat to aflift the repro-
duction. What may feem ftill more afto-
nifhing, to thofe who only judge by fuch
circumftances as they are continually accuf-
tomed to fee, is that thefe animals will conti-
nue to live and move, for a long while af-
ter they have loft fuch parts, as are ufually
confidered to be the moft indifpenfably ne-
ceflary to life. Thus tortoifes are known
to live for feveral days after their head has
been
* See Pliny, 1. ii. ch. 3. See likewife, in this work,
the Water Lizard, or Alk.
In the Royal Cabinet, there is a fpecimen of the
Dragon which wants a leg, that feems to have been loll
by accident after the animal was nearly full grown, for
the cicatrix is of confiderable fize : This fpecimen was
fent by Mr de la Borde, King's Phylician at Cayenne,
And correfpondent of the Cabinet. The fame gentle-
man found a Lizard of a different fpecies having only-
three legs ; of this he has given a defcription in fome
very interefting obfervations on the natural hiftory of
South America, which he propofes to publifh.
f See two Memoirs by M. Bonnet, in the Journal
le Phyfique, for November I777> and January 1779.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, 29
been cut off* ; and frogs do not die im- Prelimi-
nary Dif-
mediately, even when the heart has been courfe.
cut out : Even in the time of Ariftotle, it
was known that the heart of a falamander
continued to beat for fome moments after
it had been laid bare by direction t. This
4
extraordinary phenomenon diftindly proves,
that the different parts of oviparous qua-
drupeds are but little dependent on each o-
ther. It is likewife evident, that their ner-
vous fyftem is by no means fo intimately
connected in its various parts, as that of
the more perfect animals ; for we can fe-
parate the brain and nerves of the head,
from the fpinal marrow and the nerves
which arife from it, not only without pro-
ducing inftant death, but the animal does
not at firft feem very considerably injured
in its functions. Befides, it would appear
that their blood veffels do not communi-
cate fo intimately and extenfively with
i
each
* See, in this work, the article Common Land Tor-
toife.
jrtnoS .M i[d .nfoflwM pv. -..
f Conrad Gefner, Hift. An. lib. ii. de Quad. Ovip..,
30 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
^"Sif- eac ^ otner > as * s t ^ ie ca k m viviparous qua-*
courfe. drupeds and birds ; for, in that cafe, the
whole blood would neceflarily efcape,
where the great arteries have been cut, and
f-he animal would die inftantly. This a-
grees remarkably with the coldnefs and
lentor of their blood, and explains why
they fhould not be expected to die imme-
diately after the head is cut off, and in
what manner they may continue to live fe-
veral days after having loft the means of
being fed. They are able to remain a ve-
ry Idng time without food ; fome inftances
have been known of tortoifes and croco-
diles living a whole year, though deprived
of all fuftenance *.
Many of the animals of this clafs are co-
vered with fcales, or with bony or horny
fhells, which permit perfpiration only in a
very fmall number of points ; added to
which, their blood being of a cold tempe-
rament, it is lefs apt to tranipire ; and, in
confequence of both circumftances, they
have
* See farther on this fubjeft, in the particular arti-
cles relating to thefe animals in this work,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 31
have lefs occafion for nourimment to re- Prelimi-
nary Dif-
pair the lofs. Being actuated by a much courfc.
fmaller degree of heat, they are not fub-
jected to that extreme deficcation, which,
in other animals, becomes a continual caufe
of thirft, or of neceffity for a large fupply of
moifture, to make up for that which has
been carried off. They have not, likewife,
any neceffity for frequent drinking, as a
means of cooling their internal veflels,
which, in confequence of the coldnefs of
their fluids and languor of their circula-
tion, are never overheated. It was obferv-
ed, by Pliny, and other ancient naturalifts,
that fuch animals as do not perfpire, and
have little internal heat, eat little. The
lofs, or expence, of force, in moving ma-
chines, is always proportional to the re-
fiftance which the force meets with ; the
refiftance is proportional to the friction,
the friction is in proportion to the rapidity
of motion, and the quicknefs of motion is
in proportion to the internal heat.
Though we have thus feen, that ovipa-
rous quadrupeds eafily refift the injuries
which
j-2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
saryDtf- wnic h onI 7 *&& particular parts of their
courfe. fyjftem, they readily yield to the operation
of external impreflions that are conitant,
powerful, and general, in their hurtful ten-
dency ; becaufe their weaker fyilem is un-
able to oppofe thefe by fufficiently active
counteracting powers. As the moft diame-
trically oppofite quality to their weak in-
ternal warmth, is evidently the action of
an external cooling caufe, proportional to
its degree ; we readily conceive that thefe
animals mould not be able to endure the
effects of a cold atmofphere : For this rea-
fon, we feldom find fea tortoifes, croco-
diles, and other larger fpecies of oviparous
quadrupeds, but in the torrid zone and o-
ther low latitudes in both continents, hav-
ing a warm, or at leaft a temperate atmof-
phere ; and, not only are thefe large fpe-
cies chiefly confined to the neighbourhood
of the tropical regions, but in proportion
to' the diftance which any of thefe i^ecies,
or varieties of the fame fpecies, inhabit
from the equator, in proportion as the
places which they inhabit are in higher la-
titudes.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 33
titudes, and in more humid fituations, and Prel ':_
nar. Dif-
confequently colder, their dimenfions are coarfe.
lure to be fo much the fmaller*. The
crocodiles of the wanner regions, exceed
thofe of colder and more temperate climes,
both in magnitude and number : If this
general facl: feems contradicted, by the cro-
codiles which inhabit near the line being
fometimes fmaller than thofe of higher la-
titudes, as in America, it muft be obferved
that thefe fmaller Individuals are found in
more thickly peopled dlftricls, where they
are fubjecled to a conftant and deftrudHve
perfecution, finding neither peace nor nou-
rimment fufficient to enable them to acquire
their full growth.
Confiderable heat is fo necellary to ovi-
parous quadrupeds, that when, in the neigh-
bourhood of the tropical regions, the chan-
ges of the feafons induce a degree of heat
refembling that of the more temperate cli-
VOL. I. C mates,
The largeft crocodiles inhabit the torrid zone, and
there too their numbers are greater than in colder re-
gions. See Cateiby, Nat. Hill, of Carolina. Vol. II.
p. 63.
34 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
mates > in higher latitudes, we always find
thefe animals lofe their adivity ; their fenfes
become blunted ; their ordinary force is di-
minifhed ; and the warmth of their blood is
leflened. They then always feek to fhelter
themfelves in various retreats ; either in the
holes of rocks, under the fand or mud of
the waters which they ufually frequent, or
among the reeds and other vegetables at' the
fides of the great rivers. They there feem
anxious to preferve the fmall remainder of
warmth, which is about to defert their bo-
dies, by feeking a lefs cold temperature than
that of the air or water. They generally
chufe thefe retreats in the middle of fequei-
tered forefts, or on the moft inacceffible
parts of the banks of rivers and lakes, on
purpofe to evade, as much as poffible, the
dangers they have to apprehend from their
enemies, during their approaching torpor,
\vhen they are intirely without means of
defence.
Even in thefe retreats, the cold, which is
.
continually increafmg, gains upon them, in
fpite of all their precautions : They fall
:.
:i3fj
into.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 35
into a kind of deep ileep, or fpecies of ap- :elin , J ':.
1 n;iry Dil,
parent death, which cannot be interrupted courfe.
by the moil violent 'noife, by any degree
of agitation, nor even by wounds. In this
abfolute infenfibility, they fpend the whole
winter, preferring only the appearance of
an animal, and retaining no greater degree
of internal motion, than is indifpeniably
neceffary to prevent the putrefaction or
decompofition, which inevitably takes place
in all organized bodies, when their functions
of organization are completely ftopt. In
this ftate, there only remains a few feeble
fymptoms of motion in the blood, which
is often fo very flow as not to excite or re^-
quire any continuance of refpiration. This
circumftance is afcertained by our generally
finding thefe animals, when in their torpid
or hybernating ftate, either funk in the
mud or concealed in holes of the banks of
rivers, in fuch fituations as to be complete-
ly covered over, by the additional water
which has collected during the winter, and
where, confequently, it is impoffibie for
liil
them to breath, during a very confiderable
G 3 period ^
36 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
period: Notwithftanding of which, they
uniformly recover life, whenever the retur-
ning warmth of fpring reaches the places
of their retreat, with fufficient power to re-
ftore the heat neceffary for their languid
functions.
Thefe are not the only animals which
become torpid, during the winter of coun-
tries under a moderate altitude of the pole :
Serpents and cruftaceous animals are fub-
jecl: to the fame ftate of hybernation. Some
of the more perfect animals, as the mar-
mot, the donnoufe, the bat, the hedgehog,
\kc. fuffer likewife an annual torpor; but
in thefe, the fleep, or fufpenfion of fenfe
and of the functions, is by no means fo
complete. Being endowed with much
greater fenfibility, than oviparous quadru-
peds, ferpents, and cruftaceous animals,
they retain a greater degree of internal life,
during hybernation ; their refpiration,though
much diminifhed in frequency and efficacy,
does not ceafe altogether, and, therefore,
ferves to keep up fome flight vigour in
their internal functions.
supayd 1 ! >b 'kriuol wt ai ,>mu: 1CP '
.-?8ri v
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 37
When, even in winter, the temperature Prelim?.
nary Di
of the atmofphere is a very little increafed, courfe.
the hybernating oviparous quadrupeds re-
cover, lefs or more, according to the degree
of augmented warmth, from their tor-
por* ; owing to which circumftance, fome
travellers, who had found crocodiles, and
other oviparous quadrupeds, poffeffing al-
moft their full ordinary vigour, during oc-
cafional mild weather in winter, have mif-
takenly aflerted that they did not hybernate.
They may, it is true, be fometimes prefer-
ved from falling into this annual hyber-
nation, by means of particular food : A
more than ordinarily fubftantial or heating
nourishment, may increafe the vigour of
their folids, and augment the quantity and
activity of their fluids, and may thereby
produce and fupport a fufficiency of inter-
nal warmth, to compenfate for the want of
heat in the atmofphere. This apparent
ft ate of death, often continues, in fome of
the oviparous quadrupeds, for almoft fix
C 3 months ;
* See Obfervations on the Crocodile of Louifiana, by
M. de la Coudrenierc, in the Journal de Phyfique for
the year 1782.
38 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelim?, months ; notwithftandine; of which, their
uary Dif-
courfe. fufpended faculties recover full activity,
when favourable circumftances occur. We
fhall fee hereafter, in the particular hiftory
of the afk, or water newt, that it has been
fometimes found inelofed in pieces of ice,
taken from the glaciers in the middle of
fummer; we are certain they muft have
been a good many months in that fituation,
and yet, when the ice has been melted, and
the animals have again been reftored to a
proper temperature, they recovered their
natural vigour.
As every circumftance in nature is fub--
jeft to certain bounds, thefe hybernating
animals muft neceiTarily perim, if the cold
to which they are fubjedted either continues
too long, or becomes too fevere - 7 for the
animal machine can only fupport, during a
certain limited time, the internal motions,
which have been fet agoing by means of
external ftimuli. It is neceflary, both that
frefh nourishment mould be furniihed to
fupply the wafte of fubftance, and that the
energy of the internal fundions mould be
.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 39
renewed by external impreflions : that, by Prel '*
' nary Dif.
means of new fenfations from without, all courfe.
the fprings of life and motion, may be
again, as it were, wound up, or reftored to
their activity.
The oviparous quadrupeds" lofe hardly
any fenfible portion of their fubftance, dur-
ing their long hybernation ; of which the
following relation of a courfe of obferva-
tions furnifhes a very ftriking illuftratiori.
4 On the feventh day of October 1651, the
' Chevalier George Ent weighed a land
* tortoife with great accuracy, juft before
*' its time of concealing itfelf below ground,
4 and found it to weigh four pounds, three
c ounces, and three drams. On the eight
4 of October 1652, having taken the fame
' tortoife from the hole, in which it had
' concealed itfelf only the evening before,
1 he found it to weigh four pounds, fi&
* ounces, and one dram: When it left its
4 winter retreat, on the fixteenth of March
1653, it weighed four pounds, four oun-
4 ces. On the fourth of October 1653,
c after having been feveral days without
C 4 ' eating,
40 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
M ' eati "S> h was taken from s hole '.
courfe. ' eyes, which had been fhut for fome time
1 before, were then open and confiderably
1 moift ; its weight was four pounds, five
' ounces : When it left its hole, on the
* eighteenth* of March 1654, ^ weighed
* four pounds, four ounces and two drams.
Being juft on the verge of hibernation,
' on the fixth of October 1 654, it weighed
* four pounds, nine ounces, and three
' drams ; and, on the laft day of February
* 1655, when it came out of the ground,
* it weighed four pounds, feven ounces,
* and fix drams, having loft one ounce and
* five drams during its torpid ftate. Be-
* fore retiring to its winter hole, it weigh-
* ed, on the fecond of October 1655, four
. * pounds, nine ounces, having already been
' feveral days without taking any food ;
c and, on the twenty fifth of March 1656,
* when it again came out, it weighed four
' pounds, feven ounces and a half. Im-
* mediately before concealing itfelf, on the
4 thirtieth of September 1656, its weight
* was four pounds, twelve ounces, and
* four
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 41
four drams; and at its returnto the light, on
* the fifth of March 1657, ' lt wei g ned four courf
4 pounds, eleven ounces, two drams, and
4 a half. From thefe obfervations we per-
c ceive that this fpecies, and all others which
4 conceal themfelves under ground to avoid
* the cold of winter, lofe very little of their
* fubftance by tranfpiration, even during a
4 complete abftinence from food of feveral
4 months endurance *.'
The external parts of their bodies, being
more expofed to the drying influence of the
cold, and farther removed from the languid
center of their internal motions, fuffef a
certain degree of injury, during hyberna-
tion, in moft of the oviparous quadrupeds.
When this external covering is not of bone,
or at leaft very folid, as is the cafe in the
crocodile and in tortoifes, it fhrivels, lofes
its organization, and can no longer remain
united with the organized part underneath,
as it no longer participates in the effects of
the internal functions, nor in the general
nourimment of the body. Wherefore, in
nuoq ifjoT e
* See the Collection Academique, torn. vii. p. 120.
42 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
wry L>i~f- the f P rin g> when th e animal functions re-
courfe. cover their energy, this exterior covering,
whether it be naked fkin, or covered with
fcales, no longer forms any part of the ani-
mated machine, but is become a real for-
eign fubftance, and is pufhed off, fo to
fpeak, by the efforts of the internal motions,
in which it no longer participates. In the
mean time,however, the nourifhment,which
ufed to be applied for its fupport, continues
to be propelled as ufual to the furface; but,
inftead of repairing this old {kin, which has
now hardly any connection with the inter-
nal parts, by means of the circulation, it is
expended in the formation of a new fkin,
which is produced immediately underneath
the old. In confequence of thefe opera^
tions, the old fkin is gradually detached from
all connection with the body, and all com-
munication between it and the internal parts
is completely cut off; thus, more and more
deprived of every means of reftoration, it
fubmits at laft to the operation of fuch ex-
ternal caufes as tend to its decompofition.
Attacked, in this manner, on all fides, it
gives
pVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 43
t
gives way intirely, tears open in many *
places, and falls off; and the animal com- courfe.
pletely covered by a new (kin, comes out
of this (heath, now only ferving as a trouble-
fome foreign body.
In this manner, it would appear, the an-
nual change of {kin in oviparous quadrupeds
is produced, but this procefs is not brought a-
bout only by means of hybernation; for, even
in countries where a more equable tempera-
ture does not fubject thefe animals to any
winter, and where confequently they do not
experience any ftate of torpor, they caft
their {kins as regularly as in the cafe already
defcribed. Some of them, even change
their fkin more than once during the fuin-
mer of temperate climates. In this cafe, a
fimilar effect is produced by the operation
of contrary caufes: The heat of the atmo-
fphere becomes equivalent, in its effects, to
the cold of winter ; it equally fhrivels up
the fkin, impairs its texture, and deftroys
its organization.
The following obfervations on this fub-
ject, which form part of a work on the a-
nimal
44 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
r economy in birds, not yet publifhed,
courfe. were communicated by the author, M. de
Touchy of the Royal Society of Montpel-
lier. ' On the fourth day of May 1785,
; he took a green lizard, marked with yel-
; low and bluifh fpots, about ten inches
' long, and put it living into a bottle, co-
' vered with a piece of open linen, which
c he placed on a marble table in a cool room
1 on the ground floor. The lizard lived
1 two months in this prifon, without taking
4 any nourifhment. For fome days at firft,
' it made feveral efforts to get out, but af-
4 terwards it remained very quiet. About
' the forty-fifth day it appeared as if about
* to change its {kin; the {kin gradually be-
* came dry, flirivelled, and torn, and came
4 off in withered arid difcoloured portions,
c while the new {kin appeared of a fine
' frefh green colour, with beautiful well
i defined fpots. The animal died on the
' fixty-third day of its confinement, with-
' out having compleated its moulting j the
.' old {kin continuing attached to the head,
' the legs, and the tail. During the whole
4 of
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 45
r, J O^I A.*J ;
4 of this period, it had not the fmalleft ap-
' pe; of torpor ; it walked round the courfe
* bott '.. ^times of its own accord, but
.
* efj ;:' :n the bottle was handled.
i | ^
1 Sometimes eyes were fhut for a while,
4 but were ibon opened again, and with
* every appearance of vivacity. It was
4 forced to remain in a half rounded form,
4 in confequence of the too fmall fize of
e the bottle ; and its pofture was rendered
* (till more inconvenient, by the bottom of
* the bottle projecting inwards. This liz-
4 ard had certainly moulted before it was
' caught, for, befides that all lizards and
; ferpents regularly change their fkin, im-
1 mediately after the warmth of fpring has
4 enabled them to quit their winter habita-
: lions, the frefhnefs of its colours, and the
' delicate fmoothnefs of its furface, fuffi-
c ciently indicated that this change had pre-
1 vioully taken place.'
Several animals, of very different clafles,
lofe their {kins, or fuffer an analogous
change, annually, or even more than once
every year. This is particularly obfervable
yiil gnnwQ .Ik? wfl boi i n
4.6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
prelll j!" in ferpents, in birds, and in feveral animals
aary Dif
courfe. that are cloathed with hair. Infects, and
even vegetables, are likewife liable to a fpe-
cies of moult. In whatever fpecies of be-
ing this great revolution takes place, we are
certainly intitled to refer the fimilanty of
effect to the operation of one general, or at
leaft limilar, caufe. It muft always be at'
tributed to a failure in the equilibrium,
which ought to fubfift, between the moving
force of the internal functions, and the coun-
ter operation of external caufes : When
thefe latter are fuperior in efficacy, they in-
jure the texture of the external coverings,
which muft therefore be thrown off; and,
when the vital principle recovers its em
it repairs and renews what had been inju
This equilibrium may be deftroyed in
almoft infinite variety of ways ; and the
effects which are produced in confequence
muft likewife be greatly diverfified, accord-
ing to the differences which' fubiift among-
the various organized beings on which they
la
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 47
In this property of moulting, as in all
other properties and forms, which are courfe
fb liberally diflributed to the various fpecies
of created beings, nature feems defirous of
exhaufting every poffible degree of modifi-
cation. And it often proceeds from the li-
mitation f our knowledge, that our im-
agination difcovers refemblances between
forms and qualities, which ought not to be
arranged together. Not only the greater
productions of nature, muft be carefully
confidered, but it is equally neceffary to pay
attention to the immenfe multitude of fmal-
ler beings, among which the obfervable di-
verfification of exterior figure and of inter-
nal ftructure, and confequently of habits,
was more eafily impofed, than on larger
bodies. When nature is ftudied on this
plan, we may often difcover natural beings,
that feem only copies from the fanciful pro-
ductions of a fertile imagination : Yet
there always remains a wide difference be-
tween thefe originals and the moft perfect
copies. The imagination, in combining
^ifcordant forms and oppofite qualities to-
gether,
48 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
nary^Jif. g et * ier > * s unable properly to prepare for
courfe. this fmgular union; from being incapable to
employ that gradation of fhades, by which
the moft diftant objects may be brought
together, which point out the real creative
powers, and are the marks with which na-
ture ftamps her durable works, to diftin-
guifli them from the tranfient productions
of vain fancy.
For fome time after the oviparous qua-
drupeds have changed their covering, the
new (kin is often fo foft and delicate as to
render them more fenfible than ufual to
the impreflions of external objects : Hence
they are more timid and referved in all
their actions, and keep themfelves conceal-
ed as much as poflible, until the new (kin,
become ftrengthened by the application of
nouriming fluids, and hardened by the in-
fluence of the air, is firm enough to refifl
the ordinary injuries it has to endure.
For the moft part, the manners of the
animals of this clafs are gentle, and their
characters are free from any degree of fe-
rocity. Some of them indeed, as the cro-
codiles,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 49
codiles, are confiderably deftruclive, but 1>rellini . \
J nat)- Uii-
thefe have large bodies to fupport, and
confequently require a proportional quan-
tity of food. We muft, however, refer the
reader to the particular articles of this work,
for explanations on the degrees in which
the general and common manners of the
whole clafs are more or lefs diverfified in
ach fpecies, in confequence of the particu-
lar organization of each, and of the particular
circumftances in their modes of life. We
mail there fee, that fome feed on iiih ; that
others prefer fuch animals as inhabit the
land, fuch as fmall viviparous quadrupeds,
and even birds, which they follow to the
extreme branches of trees ; ibme feed only
on infects, which buz about in the air ;
while others confine themfelves intirely to
vegetables, and even ibme feed intirely on
aromatic plants. Thus nature infinitely
varies the means of fubfiftence in all the
claiTes, and connects them all with each o-
ther by a vaft number of relations. The al-
moft endlefs chain of being, inftcad of being
protracted only in one ftraight direction,
Vox,. I. D returns
Prel:mi- returns perpetually on itfelf, and is extended
na:y Dii-
qpurie. equally on all tides; it is elevated, deprefled,
folded backwards and forwards, and, by its
infinite twiftings, contorfions, and connec-
tions, in which every part is interlaced and
ftri&ly tied together, it forms a ipecies of
continuous folid, from which no part can
be taken away, and in which no di-
vifion can be made, without deftroying
the unity of the whole fabric ; in this im-
menfe and wonderful contexture, we can
difcover neither the firft nor the laft links,
neither can we form any conjecture how
nature has proceeded in its formation.
Although oviparous quadrupeds are of-
ten found together in great numbers, they
cannot be coniidered as entering into any
real fociety ; for, the herd has no con-
cert, no common occupation, that employs
their united efforts ; They neither hunt,
nor go to war, nor conftrut any kind of
work, in common. In chufing a place of
retreat, on the banks of the fea or of lakes,
in the crannies of rocks, or the hollows of
irees, they life no art to render it a conve-
nient
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 5'i
nient refidence for a certain number of in- Prei;r '
nary Dif.
dividuals, neither do they at all endeavour courfe.
to fit it for their different neceffifiies : It is
merely an individual retreat, in which each
endeavours to conceal itfelf, and in which
no change or improvement is made ; arid
it is chofen by each feparately, without
confidering whether it be capable of con-
taining one or many.
If fome fpecies have been found follow-
ing their prey, either on land or in the wa-
ter, at the fame time, it mull have proceed-
ed merely from the accident of being at-
tracted by the fame object ; if they attack
together, it is only becaufe the fame prey ap-
pears to each within its reach; if they feem
to concur in a common defence, it proceeds
from feveral being attacked at the fame
time ; and if any individual feems at any
time to have faved the herd from danger,
by giving notice of fome arnbuih, we muft
not fuppofe that, as in apes and fome other
more perfeft animals, this individual had
been entrufted with the care of watching
for the common fafety, but merely that
E>2 the
5 2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
preIir T'\ the cry or noife which it made proceeded
nary Dif-
courfe. from the effect of fear, which is found al-
inoft in all animals, and is implanted in
them by nature, to render them attentive
to their own individual prefervation.
Though the oviparous feem endowed
xvith lefs fenfibility than the viviparous
quadrupeds, they neverthelefs annually ex-
perience at the return of fpring the pow-
erful influence of love; that paffion, which,
in the greater number of animals, gives
ftrength to the weak, activity to the indo-
lent, and courage to the timid. Notwith-
ftanding the cuftomary filence of many of
thefe animals, they almoft all have parti-
cular founds for expreffing their defires to
each other : The male calls for the fe-
male by means of a fignificant cry, tc
which me replies in a fimilar accent. With
them, probably, love is only a flight im-
preflion, a lambent flame, which is never
felt with any degree of vivacity : The
cold humours, which are fo abundant in
their conftitutions, preferve them, appa-
: tly, from that internal reproductive heat,
which
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 53
which has been compared, with more truth Preh :
* Heir y JL/HI
than is commonly conceived, to a real fire, courfe.
which is damped or tempered by every
thing that is analogous with the cold ele-
ment of water.
It would appear, however, that nature
has provided a means, in moft of thefe a-
mmals, to fupply their defect of internal
activity, by a convenient conformation of
their feveral organs. In the male thefe lie
always concealed within the body, until
the moment of concourfe * : In this fitua-
tion that internal heat, which continually
penetrates the organs that are deftined for
continuing the fpecies, muft neceflarily in-
creafe the force of their fenfations. Be-
fides, the communication and reception of
that flame, in moft of thefe animals, is not
momentary, as in moft other animals ; the
D 3 union
* In the lizards and tortoifes, the fexual organs are
excerted from and introduced by the anus ; and in the
frogs and toads the feminal liquor, which is fecreted by
the male to fecundate the eggs of the female, hTues
from the fame place. See thefe articles in the courfe
of this work.
54 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelim'- union of the fexes often continues for fe-
niry L)u-
courfe. vend days, during which they cannot be
feparated, by any degree of terror, nor even
by the moil dangerous wounds *.
The fecundity of thefe animals is pro-
portional to the length of their fexuul u-
nion. In viviparous quadrupeds, the final-
ler fpecies have generally the moft nume-
rous litters ; but this law does not extend
to the oviparous quadrupeds, in which it
is counteracted by the particular nature of
their organization. It would even appear
that, in them the larger fpecies are fome-
thnes greatly more fruitful than the fmal-
le.r, as may be feen in our account of the
turtles, or fea tortoilcs, and others.
Though the fexual paffion feems fuffi-
ciently powerful in this clafs, they have no
enjoyment of parental affection. .They all
abandon their eggs immediately after they
are laid. Moft of them, indeed, mow fome
choice of place for depofiting them, and
fome of them even prepare that place for
their reception, and arrange them there pro-
perly
* See the particular hiftory of the Green Turtle.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 55
perly : digging holes to conceal thenu and Prelimi-
nary Dil-
covering them over with fand or leaves : courfe.
But thefe trifling attentions are nothing,
when compared with the vigilance with
which many fpecies of birds watch over
the fafety of their eggs, and the conve-
nience of the young brood which is to pro-
ceed from them. It cannot be alledged,
that the conformation of moil of thefe ani-
mals unfits them to collect and arrange pro-
per materials, for conftructing a more com-
modious neft, than thofe holes which they
dig for their eggs : The five long and fe-
parated toes, which moil of them are pro-
vided with, their four feet, their mouth,
and their tail, are all certainly better cal-
culated for this purpofe than the bill and
feet of birds.
The fize of the eggs of oviparous qua-
drupeds varies confiderably more, accord-
ing to the fize of the fpecies, than in the
clafs of birds : Thofe of the fmalleft fpe-
cies are fcarcely the twenty-fourth part
of an inch in diameter, while the eggs of
the largeft fpecies are from two to three
D 4 inches
56 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelimi- i nc h es l on g. The embryos which thefe 1
nary Dif- J
coiufe. eggs contain, fometimes unite together to
form monfters, in the fame manner as in
birds. Seba gives a figure of a fmall tor-
toife having two heads ; and there is a fpe-
cimen, in the Royal Cabinet, of a very
fmall green lizard, with two very diftincl:
heads and two tails, which was prefented
by M. de la Rochefoucault, who joins in-^
defatigable zeal to great knowledge in the
fciences.
The outer covering of the eggs is not
the fame in all the fpecies of oviparous
quadrupeds : In moft of them, particular-
ly in many of the tortoifes, it is foft and
flexible, refembling wetted parchment; but
in the crocodile, and fome of the large li-
zards, it is compofed of a hard chalky fub-
ftance, exactly like the ihell of birds eggs,
but thinner, and confequently more brit-
> tie.
Their eggs are not hatched by the fe-
male, but merely by the heat of the fun
and of the atmofphere ; and it is fome-
what remarkable, that, while the animals
themfelves
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 57
themfelves have need of a greater external
heat than birds for their exiftence, their courfe.
eggs are hatched under a lower tempera-
ture than thofe of birds. It would appear
from this circumftance, that, while the
more complicated animal machine of birds
requires a very active external heat to fet
it in motion, the friction of the diffe-
rent parts produces fo great an internal
heat, as to render that of the atmofphere
lefs neceffary. for preferving the motion,
after it is begun.
Thus, the young of oviparous quadru-
peds never know their mothers ; they re-
ceive from their parents, neither nourifh-
ment, care, affiftance, nor education ; they
neither fee nor hear any action or found
to imitate ; fhould want, at firft, occaiion
them to cry for affiftance, their cries are in
vain, and are never anfwered by maternal
tendernefs. There never, therefore, takes
place in thefe animals, that commencement
of mutual language, fo well underftood a-
mong many other animals, which origi-
nates from the wants of helplefs infancy,
and
58 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Prelimi- an d the kind follicitude of parental affeo
nary Dif-
courfe. tion : Hence they are debarred from em-
ploying the greateft of all means, for giv-
ing indications of their various fenfations to
each other, and of exercifmg a kind of fenfi-
bility, which might otherwife have been in-
creafed, by a greater communication of
their mutual feelings and affections.
Though their fenfibility is thus prevent-
ed from augmenting, their tempers are of-
ten fufceptible of being confiderably modi-
fied by culture. Crocodiles, though the
largeft, ftrongcft, and moft dangerous, of
the clafs, have fometimes been tamed. A-
mong the fmaller fpecies, feveral feek their
haunts near the habitations of mankind ;
fome of them even enter houfes, where
they find a greater abundance of thofe in-
fects on which they feed than elfewhere :
While fome of them, as the fmall fpecies
qf tortoife, are fought after, are placed in
gardens, and carefully nourimed and pro-
tected ; others, as the grey lizard, enjoy a
more noble though lefs perfect degree of
domefticity with mankind, becaufe it is
free
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 59
free and from their own choice, and be-
nary Dif-
came they receive from man neither food
nor particular protection ; and it is at the fame
more ufeful to us, as they deftroy a great
many noxious infects.
Moft oviparous quadrupeds exhale a
particular ftrong odour, which a good deal
refernbles that of muik, but is lefs agree-
able : It is very much like that which,
proceeds from other animals, of different
claffes, fuch as ferpents, pole-cats, weafels,
&c. and from the lapwing, and other birds.
This odour, which is ftronger or weaker
in particular fpecies, proceeds from certain
fecretions, the organs of which are very
apparent in fome fpecies, particularly in
the crocodile, as mail be more diftindly
pointed out, in the article appropriated to
the natural hiftory of that animal.
Moil of the oviparous quadrupeds are
long lived. We are certain that the large
lea tortoifes, and the other fpecies, both
land and freih water, live to a very ad-
vanced age. This lengthened life, is not
furprifmg in thefe animals, whofe blood is
fo
60 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
e
:my DHL fo little heated > which Scarcely fuffcr any
court. lofs of fubftance by tranfpiration, which
are capable of exifting fo long without
food, which are liable to fo few accidents,
and which recover fo readily from any lofs
of fubftance they may fuftain. Thefe ani-
mals live much longer than the viviparous
quadrupeds, if we meafure their length of
life merely by the time it continues ; but,
if its length is calculated by the time in
which it is enjoyed, and in which they
employ their powers and faculties, we mall
find their life extremely fhort in reality,
though extended through a confiderable
time. This is peculiarly the cafe w r ith
thofe fpecies which inhabit at a confider-
able diftance from the equator : Com-
pletely torpid during almoft fix months of
every year, they really lofe half of their
exiftence, and we muft therefore fubftract
that half from the account, in the number
of their years of life. Even from the reft
of their time, which nature feems to have
allotted them with fo bountiful a hand, we
muft ftill abftrat a very confiderable por-
T
tion
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, dt ,
tion : During that lengthened ficknefs, Prelll !? 1 r.
nary Dii.
when, defpoiled of their old fkin, they are courfe.
obliged to remain concealed and almoft
motionlefs in their retreat, until their new
covering is fufficiently firm to refift the
fhocks of danger ; during thofe exceffively
long daily fleeps, which they are more fub-
jec~l to than moil other animals, becaufe
they are lefs fenfible of fuch impreffions as
might roufe them to action, and efpecially
becaufe they are much lefs excited by the
{harp cravings of hunger ; when all thefe
ufelefs minutes, in which they can hardly
be faid to live, are ftruck out of the ac-
count of their days, there will only remain
a very fhort period of years, in which they
are really fenfitive and active, wherein
they employ their powers of life, in which
their animal machine is moved with force,
and in which it tends with any degree
of quicknefs towards decay. During the
whole period of their torpid ftate, cold,
motionlefs, almoft inanimate, and intirely
unfufceptibie of every kind of impreflion,
}hey are in a manner reduced to the ftate
of
62 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Prelimi- o f dead unorganized matter, the endurance
nary Dif-
courfe. of which without decay is always long; be-
caufe, to fuch fubftance, the continuance
of time is only a iucceffion of paffivc ibitcs
of exiftence, and of inert iituations, void
of productive effects, and confequcntly,
without the operation of any internal c;>
of deftrudtion : Hence their endurance, in
thefe moments, cannot be meafured by the
continuance of thofe active enjoyments,
whofe fruitful effects, while they mature
all the principles of vital motion, tend :u
the fame time to wear them out, and to
precipitate their deftruction.
Several travellers report, that fome of
the lizards, and fome of the oviparous qua-
drupeds without tails, are furnifhed with
a poifonous quality, flrongcr in fo:ne and
weaker in others. \Ve fhall fee, however,
in the courfe of the particular articles of
this work, that only a very frnall
can in any degree be considered as ve
mous. It is thoroughly cft:il:!ilhcd,
not a fmgle individual in the tv/o for .
clafles, the viviparous quadruped.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. <%
have any venemous quality ; and it is only ^
among ferpents, fifties, worms, infers, and courfe
vegetables, that feveral fpecies are to be
found pofleffin^ a poifonous power. From
thence it would appear, that the abundance
of venemous juices, in living bodies, is fo
much the greater, as their humours are
colder, and their internal organization more
fimple.
Having thus taken a general view of the
clafs of oviparous quadrupeds, we fhall next
examine more particularly, the common
properties and general attributes of the large
divifions, in which nature feems to have
arranged them. Vy r e fhall firft confider the
tortoifes, of the fea, of the frefh waters, and
of the land; after them, the crocodiles, and
the various kinds of lizards, the fmaller fpe-
cies of which, particularly the falamanders,
have fo much refemblance to frogs and o-
ther oviparous quadrupeds without tails ;
and we fhall conclude our account of the
clafs, by the natural hiflory of thefe laft.
In this progrefs, we mail only extend our
inquiries to any length, on thefe fpecies
which
64 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
aa7y "Tf- wll * c h deferve confiderable attention, by the
courie. fingularity of their ftructure and form, by
the greatnefs of their lize or of their ftrength,
or by the iuperiority of their properties. In
our attempts to paint nature, we muft en-
deavour to imitate her ; and, as thefe difr
tinguifhed fpecies feem to have been in a
great meafurc the objects of her predilec-
tion, they ought like wife to attract more
of our notice, as furnifhing us with greater
inftruction, and as throwing more light on
the lefTer objects which furround them.
In this our progrefs, when it becomes
neceflary to alcertain the limits, which fe-
parate the various fpecies from each other,
fhould any ambiguity exift reflecting the
obvious characters, we fhall prefer confi-
dcring the difputed individuals as forming
only one fpecies, rather than uaao'vifedly
to eftablifh two; being thoroughly com
ed, that, though individuals are of eai'y
production, nature has never ufelefsly mul-
tiplied fpecies. Her effects are undo;
edly infinitely numerous, but the c:r
which (lie brings into action are few ; i ,!vj
limited
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 65
limited: We mould, therefore, mifreprefent Prelll r
Dif.
the auguft fimplicity of her plan, and the courfe.
unity of her powers, by recording unrea-
fonably a vain and falfe multiplicity of fpe-
cies. On the contrary, we confider it as
more confiftent with the wifdom and power
of nature to believe, that thofe multiplied
differences, which conftitute the magnifi-
cence of the univerfe, and thofe infinite va-
rieties, which form its embellifhments, are
moft frequently produced merely by the
modification, in a thoufand different man-
ners, of a few diftinct fpecies. Inftead of
enriching fcience, we rather fink and im-
poveriih it, by overcharging its records, with
an ufelefs load of arbitrary fpecies: For,
we ought never to forget, that, from the
fublime throne, where nature reigns over
the immenfity of time and fpace, me only
employs a very limited number of powers,
for giving animation to matter, for unfold-
ing the whole fyftem of beings, and for
giving motion to all the bodies in this vaft
and endlefs univerfe.
VOL. I. E OF
66 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
OF TORTOISES* IN GENERAL.
in general ^ almoft all the animals, nature
~B been more or lefs bountiful, in the
diftribution of her favours : Some are en-
dowed with beauty, others with ftrength;
iome with great fize, others with the pof-
ieffion of murderous weapons; and fome are
provided with faculties fitting them for in-
dependence, being either formed for fwim-
ming in water, or for flying through the
Being liable, when they firft come
into exiftence, to fuffer from the injurious
effects of the atmoiphere, in confequence
of their frailty, fome are obliged, for guard-
ing againit thefe, to dig with pain and dif-
ficulty deep fubterraneous retreats; others
hide themfelves in dark caves of the moun-
tains, or in the clofe recefles of thick for-
efts;
* The fpecies which inhabit the lea, are ufually, iii
Englifh, diltinguimed by the name of Turtles; but, a*
the whole genus ought to have an uniform denomina-
tion, the generic name Tortoife is here preferred. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 67
efts : fome of the fmaller fpecies, are ob- Tortoifes
m general,
liged to lie concealed in the hollows of trees
or of rocks, or even to feek for refuge
in the habitations of their moft cruel ene-
mies, where even their minute fize and all
7
their cunning are unable to guard them,
for any length of timej againft difcovery and
deftrucTion ; others, ftill more miferable, ei-
ther from weaknefs of ftrudture or of in-
ftind, are reduced to the neceffity of fpend-
ing their melancholy exiftence on the bare
ground, unprotected from the utmoft feve-
rity of cold, or from the moft violent tem-
pefts, except under the accidental fhelter
of fome fallen branch or projecting melf
of rock. Even thofe which enjoy the moft, .
comfortable and fecureft habitations, are
forced to pay dear for the peace and fecu-
rity thefe afford, by the labour and pains
which are neceffary in their conftrudtion.-
The tortoifes alone, have received, even
from their birth, the advantage of a kind
of durable houfe j an afylum, which is at
the fame time capable of refilling very
powerfully againft injuries, and is not fix-
E,
2 ed
68 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ec j to one {. ot> \vh en f oot i becomes fcarce
in one place, they are not forced, like fome
other animals, to defert a habitation, which
has been conftru&ed with great labour, and,
on going to fome diftant refidence, to re-
peat all their former fatigues, perhaps con-
fiderably increafed by more unfavourable
circumftances. They carry every where
along with them, the dwelling which nature
gave them ; and they may be truly faid to
drag their houfe about with them, under
which they dwell in perfect fecurity, as
its ftrength is fufficient to refift againft all
the efforts of their enemies.
Moft of the fpecies of tortoife, are able
to withdraw, at pleafure, their head, feet,
and tail, under the fhelter of that hard
and bony covering, which defends them
both above and r below, and the openings
of which are fo narrow, as hardly to admit
the tallons of rapacious birds, or the teeth
of beafts of prey. While they remain mo-
tionlefs in this defenfive pofture, they may,
in general, receive, without fear and with-
out danger, the attacks of fuch animals a&
endeavour
_
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 69
endeavour to prey upon them. In this fi- . r rtoli " es
r J r in genera,.
tuation, they are not to be confidered as
fentient beings, oppofmg force to force,
which always fuffer lefs or more by refif-
tance, and can only acquire vi&ory by
means of danger, and accompanied with
wounds ; they only oppofe an infenfible
covering to the attacks of their enemies,
whofe greateft efforts are fpent as if againft
a ftone, and they are equally fafe, under
cover of this natural armour, as if they
were placed in the deepeft and mofl inac-
ceifible caves of a hard rock.
This impenetrable armour, by which
they are guarded, is compofed of two plates
of bone, which are more or lefs rounded
in their form, and more or lefs convex, in
the different fpecies; one of thefe covers
the whole upper part of the body, and the
other equally conceals and protects the un-
der parts. The ribs and back bone are
comprehended in the upper covering, which
may be called the buckler * .; and the lower
EL 3 one.
tt-zUfl J '
* In the original, this part is called the carapace,
which might have been properly enough tranflated
7 o OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
ing r cn a S |. One > which is named the breajlplate^ con-
tains the breaft bones or the fternum. Thefe
two coverings are only attached together
at the fides of their circumference, and two
openings are left between them, one before
and the other behind ; the former allows
the head and the two fore legs to pafs
through; and the latter admits the paiTage
of the two hind legs, the tail, and the hin-
der part of the body, where the anus is fi-
tuated.
When the tortoifes incline either to walk,
or to fwim, they are obliged to extend the
head, neck, and feet, from under the ar-
mour : Thefe parts, with the tail, and the
fore and hinder parts of the body, are co-
vered by a fkin, which is fixed within to
the edges of the buckler and breaftplate ;
this (kin is flexible, to admit of all the ne-
ceffary motions, is gathered into folds and
wrinkles, when the head and feet are re-
tired, and is covered with fmall fcales, like
thole
;tj ; but as that term is appropriated in Eqglifli to
the language of co:ikcry, the v/orJ buckler is here pre-
ferred.- T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 71
thofe of lizards, ferpents, and nfh, giving a
; . in general.
certain degree of reiemblance to thefe ani-
mals.
In almoft all the fpecie?, the head is
fomewhat rounded towards the muzzle, at
the extremity of which the noftrils are fi-
tuated, and having at its under part the
mouth, which extends backwards beyond
the ears. When the mouth is fhut, the
upper jaw covers and overhangs the lower;
thefe are not, in general, furnimed. with
teeth, but the naked bone, of which they
are compofed, is indented, and of fufficient
hardnefs to break very compacl bodies with
cafe. The fituation and ftru&ure of the
mouth, allows them readily to bronze on
fea weed and other vegetables, on which
they feed. In moft of the fpecies, the fi-
tuation of the ears is only indicated, by
particular plates or fcales, under which
they are concealed. The eyes are moftly
large and prominent.
The breaftplate is almoft always ffiorter
than the buckler, which latter extends over
the former, both before and behind, but
E 4 particularly
72 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Torroif" particularly at the hinder part : The breaft-
iflgeneral.
plate is likewife not fo ftrong as the buck-
ler, and is often almoft entirely flat. Thefe
two pieces of the armour, are compofed of
feveral bones, the edges of which are in-
dented, and laced into each other, in a
greater or lefler degree, and, in fome fpecies,
the pieces which compofe the breaftplate
allow of fome motion. Both the buckler
and breaftplate are covered over with plates
or fcales, of a horny fubftance, called tor-
jtoife-fhell ; and thefe differ in fize, form,
and number, both in the feveral fpecies, and
even in different individuals of the fame
fpecies. Sometimes the figure and number
of thefe plates, correfpond to thofe of the
portions of bone over which they are fi-
tuated.
The plates which cover the rim or cir-
cumference of the buckler, are diftinguimed
from thofe which cover the middle or difk.
The middle is commonly provided with
thirteen or fifteen diftinfc plates, arranged
in three longitudinal rows, the middle row
having ufually five, and each of the fide
rows.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 73
rows four plates. The rim or border, is ufu- Tortoifes
in genera;.
ally furnifhed with twenty-two or twenty-
five plates. The number of plates which
cover the breaftplate, varies in fome fpecies
from twelve to fourteen, and in others from
twenty-two to twenty-four. Thefe plates
fometimes fall off, in confequence of being
too much dried, or from fome other caufe :
They are iemi-tranfparent, flexible, and e-
laftic; and, in fome fpecies, as the hawkf-
bill, &c; they are very beautifully colour-
ed, and are fought after as articles of luxu-
ry: They are fo much the more fitted for
being ufed in the arts, that they admit' of
being foftened, and even melted in fome de-
gree, by a gentle heat, fo as to be united
together, or moulded into a variety of forms.
Tortoifes are ftill farther diftinguifhed,
from other oviparous quadrupeds, by feveral
Remarkable internal characters, and particu-
larly by the confiderable fize of their urinary
bladder, which is intirely wanting in lizards,
jand in oviparous quadrupeds without tails.
They differ likewife from the other animals
of this clafsj in the number of vertebrae of
the.
74 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
T-ortoifes t h e neck: In the green tortoife, the com~
jq general. t _
mon land tortoile, and the fpottcd tor-
toife, we have obferved eight, while cro-,
codiles have only feven ; moft of the other
fpecies of the lizard tribe have never more
than four, and the animals of this clafs which
want tails have none at all.
Thefe are the principal circumftances in
the general flrudure of tortoifes. Of this
genus we know twenty-four fpecies, which
differ from each other, in fize, or by other
very diftinguifhable characleriftics. The
buckler of the largeft fpecies is fometimes
from four even to five feet long, by three
or four feet in width ; and the body is fome-
times more than four feet in perpendicular
thicknefs, meafuring from the moft elevated
point on the back. The head, in thefe fpe-
cies, is feven or eight inches long, by iix
or feven inches broad; the neck and the tail
are about the fame length. The whole
weight often exceeds eight hundred pounds,
and the two fhclls generally weigh nearly
half as much. In the fmalleft fpecies, on thr
other hand, the whole length, from tht;
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 75
muzzle to the tip of the tail, even when ful- ^
iy extended, only meafures a few inches,
and the weight fometimes hardly amounts
to one pound.
Betides this remarkable difference in fize^
the various fpecies differ very much from
each other in their habitudes. Some live
almoft conftantly in the fea, while the reft,
on the contrary, are confined to frefh wa-
ter, or to dry and elevated ground. We
have thought it necefFary to arrange the ge-
nus into two diviiions, according to t--efe
remarkable differences of habitation. In the
fir(l, fix of the largeft fpecies are placed,,
which prefer the fea water, to any other
refidence. Thefe are readily diftinguifhable
from all the reft, by having their feet much
lengthened, with toes of very unequal length,
which are joined together by a membrane,
fo as to refembie fins more than feet; thefe,
efpecially the fore legs, are often two feet
long, more than a third of the length of the
buckler. Intbefe fpecies, the tAvo parts of
the armour are in contact with each other
jn a larger portion of their circumference,
than
7 6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoifes t } ian \ n fa e re ft . fa^ two openings are there-
in general.
fore confiderably fmaller, and thereby leave
lefs room for the attacks of birds of prey,
aligators, tigers, cougars, and other rave-
nous animals ; but moft of the fea tortoifes,
only half conceal their head and feet under
the buckler, not being able to withdraw
them altogether, like the frefh water and
land fpecies. Theplatescoveringtheir breaft-
plate, inftead of being only difpofed in two
rows, like thofe of the other fpecies, are in
four rows, and are likewife confiderably
more numerous.
Thefe fea tortoifes, may be confidered as.
analogous with the numerous tribe of am-
phibious viviparous quadrupeds; fuch as
the morfe, the fea lion, the lamantm, and
the feals ; as thefe have likewife their toes
' r* "i
united, and are furnimed rather with fins
than with feet. Like thefe, likewife, they
belong more to the element of water than
to the land, and they conned:, like tliem>
1 I'll 11 I 1
the order to which they belong, with I
of fifties, to which they have fome refern-
blance, both in their habits and ilr;
Tl
I he*
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 77
The other divifion of the genus, is com- Tortolf s
in genera!*
pofed of fuch tortoifes as are found to inha-
bit, either the frelh water, or the woods
and the dry land. Hence we comprehend
in this divifion, both the common land tor-
toifej which is found in almoft all the warm-
er regions, and the mud tortoife, which is
tolerably numerous in the fouth of France,
and in the other temperate countries of Eu-
rope. All thefe fpecies, have thick and fhort
feet, and the toes are fhort, and almoft of
equal lengths, being furnifhed with ftrong
hooked claws, and have no refemblaiice
whatever to fins. The buckler and breaft-
plate are only united together, in a fmall
part of their circumference, and thereby
leave confiderable room for ready motion,
to the different limbs and members; which
facility of motion, is the more neceffary, iri
thefe fpecies, that they have more frequent
occafion for walking than fwimming. In
thefe fpecies, likewife, the buckler is con-
fiderably more convex and .prominent at
its middle, by which means, when they
happen to be turned over on the back, they
are
78 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Tortoifcs are generally able to recover their prone
m general.
pofture; while moft of the fea tortoifes,
whofe bucklers are greatly flatter, wear
themfelves out in fruitlefs efforts, to get back
again to their natural pofition, when they
are overturned.
I; DIVI-
-
Ttie Green Tortoise .
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
SEA TORTOISES.
ART. I. THE GREEN TORTOISE*.
r lP HIS large lea tortoiie, which is com- Green
M. monly called the green tortoife, is one
of the beft and moft ufeful of the produc-
tions of nature. The great art of navigation,
which carries mankind in fearch of profit
or
* Teftudo mydas; having r\vo claws on eacli foot be-
tore, and one on each behind; the buckler being egg-
ihaped. Syft. nat. ed. Gmel. I. 1037. G. 119. fp. 3.
Teftudo marina, Mus aquatilis, Teftudo atra, T. ma-
riha vulgaris, T. viridis. Muf. ad. fr. i. 50. Gefn.
. ovip. 105. Aldrov. quad. 712. t. 714. Olear.
muf. 27. t. 17. f. i. Bradl. nat. i. 4. f. 4. Ray,
fynop. 254. Schmid. hift. teflud.- Tortue franche,
Rochefort. Du Tertre. Labat. Tortue Mydas. Dauben-
ton, Encycl. method. Jurucua, or Jurucuja, of the Bra-
iilians, and Tartaruga, of the Pdrtugefe. Marcgr. braf.
241. Green Turtle. Brown, jam. 465. Sloane, jam,
ii 331. Catefb. carol, ii. 38.
Green or amufement. to diftant coafts. would be
Tortoife.
of greatly more difficult execution, were it
not that this fpecies furnimes navigators
with an abundant and agreeable article of
food, and at the fame time an approved re-
medy againft the difeafes, which proceed
from long continuance in a crowded mip,
amid the noxious effluvia of fubftances al-
moft in a date of putrefaction, through the
combined influence of heat and moifture *.
And this excellent nourifhment, is fo much
the more valuable to navigators, that the
fpecies is particularly numerous in thofe
warm latitudes, where the violence of the
heat accelerates corruption, and the difeafes
which it produces.
This fpecies is found- in great num-
bers, on the coafts of all the iflands and
continents of the torrid zone, both in the
old and new worlds. The fhoals which
furround
* The flefli of the green tortoife, contains a foften-
ing, Incifive, diaphoretic, and highly nourishing juice, the
good effects of which I have often experienced. It makes
an excellent foup, whicMs confidered as a fovereign reme-
dy in cachexies, fcurvy, and pulmonary diforders. This
note was communicated by Mr de la Borde, Kings phy-
iician at Cayenne.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 81
furrotmd thefe iflands, and horde- the r "" n
Toitoife,
whole coafts of thefe continents, produce
vaft quantities of algae and other marine
plants*, which, though covered by the wa-
ter, are near enough to the furface to be
readily feen by the naked eye, during calm
weather. Amid thefe fubmarine paftures,
called fdrgqffcs f by the Spaniards, which
appear in many places on the furface of the
fea, but of which the greateft part are un-
der water and near the coafts, a number of
marine animals are found, and among thefe
prodigious multitudes of tortoifes. In thefe
meadows, as they may be called, the green
tortoife is often feen, in vaft numbers, feed-
ing quietly on the plants which they pro-.
duce.
This fpecies fometirnes meafures fix or
feven feet in length, from the tip of the
nofe to the extremity of the tail, by three
or four feet broad, and almoft four feet in
VOL. I. F thicknefs
* Catefh, Carol, ii. 38.
| Defcrip. Hifpaniola, of in the Hift. gen. dcs .voy-
ages. Part iii. book 5.
82 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green thicknefs at the middle of the body. When
Tortoife.
or this lize, they iometnnes weigh eight
hundred pounds. They are found in fuch
multitudes, that one is ahnoft led to be-
lieve, they have been gathered here into
thefe immenfe flocks, exprefsly for 'he pur-
pofe of refrefhing and nourifhing fuch fea-
men as might navigate in the neighbourhood
of thefe fertile moals. And thefe fub-marine
herds, may fo far be confidered as not in-
ferior in ufefulnefs, to the cattle which feed
on the grafs of the dry land, that, while
they furniih a fucculent, fubftantial, and
exquifite food, they at the fame time pro-
vide a very falutary and active remedy a-
gainft many difeafes.
The green tortoife, is eafily diftinguifh-
ed from the other fpecies of this divifion,
by the form of its buckler. This upper
covering, whict} is fometimes four or five
feet long, by three or four feet in width,
is of an oval form. The rim or border is
compofed of feveral plates, of which the
largeft are far theft from the head ; at the
they terminate in a crooked line,
giving
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. $3
giving the fides of the animal a waved
form. The middle of the buckler is ufual-
ly covered by fifteen plates, in three rows,
of a reddifh brown, darker or lighter ac-
cording to circumftances. The plates, both
of the rim and on the middle, fometimes
fall off, either from the effect of drynefs,
or fome other accident. Their form and
number vary according to the age, and per-
haps likewife the fex, of the individual, as
we have repeatedly found by examining
individuals of different fizes *. When the
animal is under water, the buckler appears
of a bright brown colour, with yellow
blotches f , and the dark reddifh brown is
F 2 produced
* The Chevalier de Widerfpach, an officer in the
Regiment of Guiana, and correfpondent of the Royal
Cabinet, writes, that the number of thefe plates varies
in different individuals, but he fufpecls they follow a
rule of proportion to the age of the animal.
f This information is contained in fome M. S. Me-
moirs on Tortoifes, reduced into order by M. de Fou-
geroux de Bondaroy, of the Academy of Sciences,
which that learned naturalift has kindly communicated
$4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green" produced by drying. The breaftplate is
Tortoife. *
fofter and fhorter than the buckler, and is
commonly covered by twenty -three or
twenty-four plates, in four rows. On ac-
count of the two fhields with which the
tortoife is armed, this fpecies has been cal-
led thefo/dier* in fome countries.
In the Royal Cabinet, a young green
tortoife, which has by no means acquired
its full growth, is of the following dimen-
ftons f ;
Feet. Inches. Lines.
Total length, from the point
of the nofe to the hinder
extremity of the buckler 300
Length of the head - 078
Breadth of the head o 3
Length of the buckler I 1 1
Breadth of ditto i i o 7
Length of each fore leg and
foot l 2. 3
Length
* Conrad Gsiher, de Quad. Ovip. io.
-|- The meafures in this book are all French, and are
taken by following the curvature or convexity of the
buckler.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, 85
Feet. Inches. Lines. Green
Length of each hind leg and
foot on o
The feet of this fpecies are very long, and
the toes are united together by a mem-
brane, in fuch a way as to refemble fins,
rather than feet ; and, in reality, they are
both much better adapted, and much of-
tener ufed, for fwimming than walking*
From this conformation, the animal is a-
nalogous, in fome degree, with fifties, and
with the phocine tribe of viviparous qua-
drupeds. But for this peculiar ilruclure,
the fea tortoifes would be obliged to aban-
don the fea, as the common form of the
feet, of the frefh water and land fpecies,
would not oppofe fufficient refiftance to the
water ; they would then be forced to in-
habit the land, and would be able to walk
thereon with equal facility, as thofe fpecies
which are found in the middle of the woods.
On the hind feet, the firft or inner toe,
which is the fhorteft, is the only one that
is furnimed with a fharp and diftinctly ap-
parent claw. The fecond toe has a fmal-
F 3 ler
S6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ler claw, which is more rounded, and not
fo evident ; and the other three toes have
only membranous flat nails, that are fcarce-^
ly diftinguiftiable. On the fore feet, the
two inner toes have fharp claws, and the
three others are armed only with membra-
nous nails. It is very probable, however,
that the number' and fituation of thefe
claws are variable * ; but, at any rate,
there is never more than one on each hind
foot, and this circumftance may be confi-
dered as a diftinctive and characteriftic
mark of the fpecies.
The head, feet, and tail, are covered
with finall fcales, fimilar to thofe which
cover the bodies of lizards, ferpents, and
fifties ; and, as in thefe other animals, the
fcales arc fomewhat larger on the head,
than on the neck and tail. It is alledged
by fome writers, that, notwithstanding
the great fize of the green tortcife, the
brain is not larger than a bean * ; which
is a confirmation, of what has been alrea-
dy
* Linn. Syft. Nat. Teftudo Mydas.
f Mem. for Nat. Hift. of An. article Land Tortoife
of Coromandel.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. $7
dy advanced, in the preliminary difcourfe,
refpecting the very fmall fize in general of
the brain, in oviparous quadrupeds. The
mouth, which is placed on the underfide
of the fore part of the head, opens largely,
even to beyond the ears on both fides ; its
jaws are not armed with teeth, but the
bones, of which they are compofed, are
very hard and ftrong, and are furnifhed
with points or afperities, that fefve in fome
degree for the fame purpofe. With thefe
powerful jaws, they brouze on the grafs,
fea-weed, and other plants, which grow
on the fhoals and fand banks, and with
thefe they are likewife able to crufh the
fhell-fifh, on which they fometimes feed.
After having fatisfied their appetites, with
thefe marine plants, they often retire to
the frefh water, at the mouth of the great
rivers, where they float on the furface,
holding their heads above water, apparent-
ly for the purpofe of breathing the frelh
air. But, as they are furrounded with ma-
ny dangers, both from natural enemies,
and from mankind, they are forced to ufe
F 4 great
$6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Toroife g reat precaution, in thus indulging them*
ielves with cool air, and with the refrefh-
ing ilreams of river water. The inftant
they perceive even the madow of any ob-
ject, from which they fufpect danger, they
dive to the bottom, in fearch of fecurity.
As the land tortoife has, in all ages, been
confideued as the emblem of flownefs, the
fea tortoife may, with equal juftice, be a-
dopted as an emblem of prudence and cau-
tion. This quality, which is, in all ani-
mals, the confequence of dangers from
which they have efcaped, is not to be won-
dered at in thefe animals, as they are fo
much the more fought after, becaufe the
chafe is both extremely ufeful, and attend-
ed with hardly any danger. At the fame
time, though fome circumftances in their
natural hiftory appear to indicate a confi-
derable perfection of inftinct, the greater
number of facts only evince a let of paf-
five properties, inftead of qualities of any
activity. As they find a conftant abund-
ance of food, oh the coafts which they fre-
quent, and are contented with plants, and
even
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 89
even with little in proportion to their fize,
they have no occafion to quarrel, with ani-
jnals of their own kind, for that food which
is in fuch plenty to them all. Being able,
like all the other fpecies of the genus, and
all the animals of the clafs, to live for fe-
veral months, nay even for more than a
year, entirely without food, they flock peace-
ably together; ihey do not appear, like ma-
ny herding animals, to feek for each other,
on purpofe to affociate, but merely gather
together, as if by accident, and remain in
this ftate without difturbance : They do
not gather into a murtherous pack, by the
operation of a destructive inftmcl:, on pur-
pofe to fucceed more eaiily in conquering
a. (lubborn prey ; but, drawn together to the
fame fpots, by the fame neceffities and firm*
larity of habits, they live peaceably in the
fame place, without forming any kind of
fociety. Defended by armour of very flrong
bone, which is capable of fuftaining excef-
live loads without danger of breaking, fo
as to have nothing to fear, and at the fame
time having no means of offence, they nei-
ther
90 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoife t * ier dread tne neighbourhood of their kind,
nor can they do any injury to others.
Mildnefs of temper, and paffive force, to
refift againft injuries, feem thus the diftin-
guiming features in the character of the
green tortoife ; and it was, perhaps, in al-
luiion to thefe qualities, that the Greeks
adopted it as a companion to the goddefs of
Beauty ; for we are told *, that Phidias
placed one at the feet of his celebrated fta-
tue of Venus. In the manners of this ani-
mal, there is nothing ftriking, neither are
the colours brilliant, which adorn its cover-
ing : But its habits are conftant and regu-
lar, in a degree equal to the folidity and
ftrength of the armour which defends its
body. Poffefling infinitely more patience
than activity, it is never affected by violent
paffions ; having vaftly more prudence than
courage, it feldom attempts defence, when
attacked, but employs all its ftrength to fix
itfelf to the fpot, when, unable to break its
armour, any one endeavours to carry it a-
way along with that covering.
The
* See Pau&nias in eliacis.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 9!
The conftancy of its habits, is evident in
its conduct during the feafon of love. At
that time, 'he male, not only feeks the fe-
male with great eagernefs, but the intima-
cy of their union is faid to continue for
almoft nine days and nights *. This con-
nection takes place, breaftplate to breaftplate,
in the fea ; ftrongly embracing by means
of their fins, and united all the while in
the at of pleafure, they float on the water,
the waves being unable either to feparate
them by violence, or to cool the ardour of
the flame by which they are penetrated. It
is faid, that in this feafon they lofe then."
ufual timidity, and feern furious with love :
No danger is able to feparate them ; and
the male is reported to continue his em-
braces, after the female, purfued by the hun*
ters, has been mortally wounded, and even
after (he has loft all the blood of her body.
Dampier relates f , that he has taken the
males, during the time of their union with
the
* M. S. Mem. on Tortoifes, by M. de Fougeroux,
already quoted.
f Darnpiers voy. I. 118.
9 s OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
egife. ^ ie ^ emales > he ^ds, that th e male is then
eafily killed, as he is by no means wild ;
that the female, on feeing a boat, makes ef-
forts to efcape, but that (he is always held
faft in the embraces of the male, by means
of his fore fins, and that, when caught ad-
herent, the beft plan is to ftab the female,
and the male then falls a certain prey. Mr
de la Bordc, from whom this work is in-
riched by many very ufeful communications,
luipecls that the peculiar form of the fexual
organ of the male, is the caufe of this ob-
ftinate union, even after they are purfued,
caught, and wounded.
Notwithstanding this violence of mutual
attachment, it ceafes entirely with the na-
tural neceffity from which it originates.
They are entirely divefted of that intelli-
gence, which, in mankind, uniting a num-
ber of moral fentiments, prolongs the charms
, pf enjoyment, by the energy of active feel-
ings, and perpetuates the higheft emotions
of pleafure, by the delightful remembrance
pf mutual tendernefs. Immediately after
the feafon of union, the male abandons
his mate, whom he before fought for with
fuch
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 3
fuch eagernefs, and feemed to cherifh with
fo great ardour ; me is permitted to go on
more alone, expofed unaiTifted to every
kind of danrrer, to conceal in the fand the
O '
fruits of an union, that appeared, during
its continuance, to have been of a lefs tran-
fitory nature.
It is probable that the feafon for this uni-
on varies in different countries, according
to temperature, and according as they are
on this or the other fide of the equator.
In moft of the warm countries of North
America, it takes place about the end of
March or beginning of April ; and, very
foon after, the females begin to depofite, in
the fand on the mores, the eggs, which have
been thereby fecundated. She prefers fine
gFa.v.eij^and loofe fand, which is not mixed
with fleech^' or with marine productions,
where the heat of the fun may the more
eafily hatch them, and me abandons theni
altogether, immediately after they are laid.
This laft fa i is contrary to the opinion of
Ariftotle and Pliny, but is placed beyond
doubt, by the united authority of all the
modern
94 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS-.
Green modern voyagers and obfervers of credit;
Tortoife.
Indeed theie two ancient naturalifts, though
for the moft part tolerably accurate, give
fcarcely any exact accounts relative to ovi-
parous quadrupeds, very few of which feem
to have come under their immediate obfer-
vation.
It is not, however, in all probability ow-
ing to indifference for their young, that
the female tortoife thus leaves her eggs to-
tally unguarded in the fand. In this, out of
the reach of the higheft floods, me digs, by
means of her fins, or fore paws, one or
more holes, about a foot wide, and two
feet deep, in which me ufually depofites more
than a hundred eggs *. Thefe are round,
two or three inches in diameter, and are
covered by a membrane, which refembles
wet parchment j\ Thefe eggs are compof-
ed of a white, which is faid not to be co-
agulable by any degree of heat, and of a
yolk, which may be coagulated by heat
}ike that of other eggs J. The female tor-
toife
* M. S. Mem. by M. de Fougeroux.
j- Ray, Synopf. onim.
Nouv. voy. aux ifles de TAmer, I. 304.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 95
toife is fo completely occupied with the care
of properly difpofmg her eggs, that no-
thing can draw off her attention from that
objecl, and, at that time, fhe feems totally
infeniible to fear *. On purpofe to con-
ceal them, fhe covers them with a layer of
fand, fufficient to prevent them from being
feen by any perfon or animal, that might
endeavour to deftroy or carry them off, but
fo thin as to permit the full influence of
the funs heat, for warming and hatching
them. She lays generally three times every
year, at the diftance of about fourteen days,
jn fome countries ~f, and three weeks J in
others between each period. Labat informs
us, that they are very fruitful, laying as
far as two hundred and fifty eggs, and foine-
times more, each feafon . Either from
confcioufnefs of the dangers they might in-
cur, from the purfuits of their enemies, if
they were to come on more during the day,
or from inclination, to avoid the exceflive
heat
* Catefby, Carolin. ii. 38.
| Id. ibid.
| M. S. Mem. by M. de Fougerou?:,
$ Afrique Occident, ii.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Grn h^ o f t j ie f un they a l mo ft always chufe
i'ortoife,
the night time for laying their eggs ; and
it probably arofe from this circumftancc,
that the antients miilakenly imagined they
fat on their eggs, to hatch them, during
the night*.
As a loofe fand is neceffary for their
convenience, they choofe in an efpecial
degree certa'n coafts, which they find to
be more commodious, and lefs frequented,
confequently fafer, than others : and even
make very long voyages, from their feed-
ing places, on purpofe to come at thefe
preferred fpots. Thofe which lay their
eggs on the mores of the Cayrnanas, a fefc
of iflands off the fouthern coaft of Cuba,
have above a hundred leagues to come from
their ufual haunts. Thefe iflands afford
the particular kind of more which heft an-
fwers their purpofes, asd are fo much fre-
quented on that account * by tortoifes, as
to have received, at their lirft difcov
. "
the name of Las fwiugas, or the Tortcife
* Pliny, lib. ix. chap. 1 1.
f Voy. de Chrift. ,ct Barthol, CoUunb. in Ilifl. ; ., v
s voy. iii. lib. 5,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 97
Hlands, from the vaft multitudes of tortoifes f? reen .
with which their fliores were covered.
Thofe which pals a great part of the year
on the coafts of the Gallapagos iflands, in
the Pacific Ocean, come as far as from the
weftern coaft of South America, a diftance
of more than two hundred leagues, to lay
their eggs. Thofe again, which depofite
their eggs on the more of the ifland of Ai-
cenfion, muft come a much longer journey,
as the nearell land is above three hundred
leagues diilant *.
The heat of the fun hatches the eggs, in
twenty or twenty five days after they are
laid; and the young tortoifes are then feen,
coming from under the fand, being two or
thre? inches long, and rather lefs in breadth.
The time neceffary for hatching tile eggs,
muft, however, vary according to the dh-
ferent temperatures of the countries. Fro-'
ger fays, that in St Vincent, one of the
Cape Verd iflands, the eggs are hatched in
feventeen days, and that the young tortoi-
fes require eight days thereafter, before
VOL. I. G they
Dampiers vov. I.
98 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
recn _ they venture to the water *. Their natu-
i ortoife. J
ral inftind:, or, more properly, the confor-
mity of their organization with that of their
parents, leads them to the neighbouring
water, as a place of fecurity, and where they
may find proper food. To this they crawl
very flowly ; but, being flill too weak and
too light, to bear the force of the furge,
they are often driven back on the beach,
where numbers of fea- fowls, crocodiles, and
tigers, or cougars, wait on purpofe to devour
them f . Hence only a fmall number, in
proportion to the multitudes that are hat-
ched, efcape into their proper element.
Mankind likewife deftroys vaft numbers
before they are hatched, as the eggs are
fought after in the fand, with great avidity,
on account of their furniming an agreeable
and wholefome article of food.
On the coafts of the iflands about the
gulph of Mexico, the time of laying is
from the month of April to September :
Qn the coaft of Iflini, in Africa, it is from
the
f Relation of a voy. to the South Seas, 53.
Id. Ibid.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 99
the month of September to January*. In
that country, the natives not only fearch
for the eggs, during the whole t.me of
laying ; they likewife catch numbers of
the young tortoifes, immediately after they
are hatched. They fecure thefe in a kind
of inclofures, furrounded with ftakes, fo
fituated as to admit the fea ; and in thefe
they are allowed to feed and grow, to be
taken out when needed, as being a more
ready and lefs dangerous mode of fuppiy
than the common manner of catching the
grown tortoifes. This feafon is likewiie
chofen for catching the large female tortoi-
fes, which are more readily caught, when,
on more laying their eggs, than when at
fea ; and the fleih of thefe, efpecially when
full of eggs, is more efteemed than that of
the males f .
In fpite of the darknefs, which is chofea
by the female tortoifes, for concealment
when employed in laying their eggs, they
cannot effectually efcape from the purfuit
G 2 of
* Voyage of Loyer, to Mini on the Gold Coaft.
j Jamaica.
too OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green of their enemies: The fimers wait for them
lortoiie.
on the more, at the beginning of the night,
efpecially when it is moonlight, and, either
as they come from the fea, or as they re-
turn after laying their eggs, they either dif-
patch them with blows of a club *, or
turn them quickly over on their backs, not
giving them time either to defend themfel-
Ves, or to blind their affailants, by throw-
ing up the fand with their fins. When
very large, it requires the efforts of feveral
men to turn them over, and they muft of-
ten employ the affiftance of handfpikes or
levers for that purpofe f . The buckler of
this fpecies is fo flat, as to render it impof-
fible for the animal to recover the recum-
bent pofture, when it is once turned on
its back.
' Some authors, willing to render their
account of the capture of the tortoifes very
affecting, have reported, that, when they
are overturned, and no longer able to
efcapc
* M. S. Mem. by M. ile Fougetoux.
f Defc. of the Cape de Verd Ifles, in Hift. gen. dea.
Voy. V,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 101
efcape or defend themfelves, and find all
their efforts in vain, they fhed torrents of
tears, and cry piteoufly *. It is certain
that feveral fpecies, both of thofe which in-
habit the fea and the land, emit a kind of
whittle, or a very diftincl: figh, when ac-
tuated by the paffion of love, or by fear :
It is, therefore, poffible that the fpecies in
queftion may emit fome kind of. cry, when
ftruggling in vain to recover its natural
pofture, and when terrified by the aflaults
of its deftroyers ; but thefe have certainly
been much exaggerated, in the relations of
voyagers.
A fmall number of fifhers may turn over
forty or fifty tortoifes full of eggs, in lefs
than three hours. During the day, they
are employed in fecuring thofe which they
had caught in the preceding night. They
cut them up, and fait the flefh, the guts,
and the eggs f . Sometimes they may ex-
tract above thirty pints of a yellow or gree-
nifh oil J from one large individual ; this
G 3 is
* Ray, Synopf. an. 255.
f M. S. Mem. of M. de Fougeroux,
i Id.
io2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Torwife. is em P lo yed for burning, or, when frelh,
is ufed with different kinds of food. Some-
times they drag the tortoifes they have
caught, on their backs, to inclofures, which
have been already mentioned, in which
they are referved for occafional ufe.
The tortoife rimers, from the Weft In-
dies and the Bahamas, who catch thefe a-
nimals on the coafts of Cuba and its ad-
joining iflands, particularly the Caymanas,
ufually complete their cargoes in fix weeks
or two months : They afterwards return,
to their own iflands, with the falted turtle,
which is ufed for food, both by the whites
and the negro Haves *. This fait turtle is
in as great requeft in the American colo-
nies, as the falted cod of Newfoundland is
in many parts of Europe ; and the fifhing
is followed by all thefe colonifts, particu-
larly by the Britilh, in fmall veffels, on
various parts of the coaft of Spaniih Ame-
rica, and the neighbouring defert iflands.
The green tortoife is likewife often
caught
"* Hawkins, voy. to the South Seas, 29.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 103
Caught at fea *, in calm weather, and in
moon light nights. For this purpofe two
men go together in a fmall boat, which is
rowed by one of them, while the other is
provided with a harpoon, fimilar to that
ufed for killing whales. Whenever they
difcover a large tortoife, by the froth which
it occafions on the water, in rifmg to the
furface, they haften to the fpot, as quickly
as poffible, to prevent it from efcap'ng: The
Jiarpooner immediately throws his har-
poon, with fufficient force to penetrate
through the buckler to the fleih ; the tortoife
inftantly dives, and the rimer gives out a
line, which is fixed to the harpoon, and,
when the tortoife is fpent with lofs of blood,
it is hawled into the boat, or on more.
Another method is employed, in fome
parts of the fouth feas, for catching the
tortoife,: A bold diver throws himfelf
into the water, at fome diftance from
the place where the tortoifes are obferved
floating afleep on the furface, during the
great heats in the day time ; he dives under
G 4 water,
* Catefbv, Carolina, ii. 39.
io 4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green water, fwimmine; below the furface leaft
Torioife.
his noife fhould awaken them, until clofe
to the one he means to feize ; then, rifmg
juft behind, he takes hold of the buckler
near the tail, and, by holding down the
hinder part in the water, he obliges the fore
part of the animal, now awakened, to keep
upright, and thus prevents it from diving,
until his companions come with the boat
to take him and his prey on board. Anfon,
who gives this information, expreffes his
furprifc, that, on the weftern coafts of fouth
America, particularly about Panama, where
victuals are by no means always plentiful,
the Spaniih inhabitants fhould entertain a
prejudice againft the flefti of the tortoife,
which they- confider as unwholefome, and
even as a kind of poifon; he attributes the
origin of this miftaken notion, to the fm-
gular and ugly figure of the animal. The
Indian and Negro flaves, which were on
board the Ihips of his fquadron, having
been educated in all the prejudices of their
matters, were at firft aftonimed at the bold-
nefs of the Britifh failors, whom they faw
eating
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 105
eating freely of turtle, and expected to fee S reen . f
them fall victims to its fuppofed hurtful
effects ; but foon obferving, that inftead of
doing them harm, they evidently grew bet-
ter from their former fickly flate through
its ufe, they followed the example, and
congratulated themfelves on the difcovery,
by which they would ever after have it in
their power to fare better than their mafters,
at fo little expence and trouble.
Tortoifes are taken with a fpecies of net,
called by the natives a fole, on the coaft of
Guiana. This net is about fifteen or twen-
ty feet broad, .by forty or fifty feet in
length: The thread, of which it is made, is
a line and a half in diameter, and the me-
fhes are about a foot fquare : To every fe-
cond mem, at one edge ; inftead of corks,
two floats of fix inches long each are fixed,
which are made of a fpinous plant, called
moucou-moucQii by the Indians: To the
lower edge, four or five large ftones, of for-
ty or fifty pounds weight each, are hung,
to make it fink, and to keep it properly
extended : At the two upper corners, are
fixed
io6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Grefcn fixed two Liree pieces of the moucou-moucou.
Torto'.fe.
to ferve as boys, for difcovering the fitua-
tion of the net. Thefe nets are ufually
placed very near the little iflands, as the
tortoifes are known to feed on the fuci, or
fea weed, which grow on the rocks around
them. The nets are frequently vifited;
arid, whenever they appear to fmk more at
one part than another, they are inftantly
drawn. The tortoifes, when once intang-
led, find it extremely difficult to get difm-
gaged, on account of the agitation of the
waves, which is generally confiderable near
thefe little iflands, and keeps the ends of
the nets in continual motion, fo as to ftu-
pify and embarrafs the tortoife, in all its
attempts to efcape. If the nets are neglec-
ted for any time, the tortoifes that may be
intangled in them are fometimes drowned.
Or, when found caught by the marks or
fword-fifh, being incapable either of flight
or defence, they are fometimes devoured,
and the net is torn *. The feafon of this
fpecies
* Information of M. de la Borde,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 107
fpecies of riming, is from January to ( j* reen . f
May*.
They are fometimes caught fleeping on the
furfa.ce of the water, by approaching them
filently in a boatj and turning them fudden-
ly, before they have time to awake and e-
fcape by diving : After being overturned
they cannot dive, and are either taken into
the boat, or dragged a- more. Somewhat
in this manner, they ufed to be caught by
the ancients in the feas of India f . Pliny
likewife reports, that, when afleep floating
on the furface, they may be heard fnoring
from a confiderable diftance. This fnorting
noife may proceed from the narrowneis of
their throat ; the opening of the glottis e-
fpecially, both in the fea and land fpecies,
being very narrow J, which may probably
contribute to prevent them from fwallow-
ing too much water, when feeding at the
bottom of the fea.
When
* Hift. gen. des voy. LIV. 380.
f Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. IX. chap. 12.
$ See Mem for Nat. Hift. of An. article Land Tor-
toife of Coromandel.
ic8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.;
When tortoifes remain for any confi-
derable time at the furface of the water,
expofed to a very hot equatorial fun, while
tiie fea is fo calm as not to bathe the buckler
with its little waves, this covering becomes
dry, and confequently lighter, fo as to ren-
der it more difficult for them to dive under
water, at the appearance of danger; for
their natural fpecific gravity is fo near to
that of water, as to render it at all times
troublefome for them to overcome that im-
pediment*. They can, indeed, render them-
felves more or lefs fpecifically heavy, by
taking a larger or fmaller quantity of air in-
to their lungs, and thereby augmenting or
diminishing the volume of their bodies; in
the fame manner as fifties manage with their
founds, or air bladders, for the purpofe of
finking or rifing to the furface. But the
difference which tortoifes are able to make
in their weight, by driving the air from
their lungs, cannot be very confiderable ;
fmce it is unable to counterbalance the con-
trary effect, which is produced by the ex-
ficcation
* Plin. Hift. Nat. IX. 12.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 109
iiecation of their upper covering ; though Green '
Tortoiie,
even this laft is never equal to a fixteenth
part of the whole weight of the animal, as
is proved by the following experiment. Af-
ter allowing the buckler of a finall green
tortoife, which had been previoufly weigh-
ed when perfectly dry, to remain fix weeks
in a great veflel full of water, it was found'
to have acquired 5 4 -/b- parts of additional
weight, by imbibing the water : Hence,
the deficcation produced on the upper co-
vering, 'when the tortoife floats on the fur-
face of the fea, by the influence of the warm-
eft fun, cannot diminifh its weight above
that proportion. The buckler of the largeft
green tortoife does not^exceed t\vo hundred'
and feventy eight pounds; and, according
to the above experiment, the funs heat can
only render it lighter by forty-five pounds,
which is lefs than the fixteenth part of eight
hundred pounds, the greateft known total
weight of any of the fpecies.
This deficcation of the buckler, afiifts the
fifhers in catching the tortoifes, by Hinder-
ing them from diving readily. When they
are
no OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Oreen are vcry near tne mO re, to which it is cle-
Tonoife. '
figned to drag them, they fix themfelves with
fo much force, that the ftrength of four
men is fometimes hardly furficient to tear
them from the ground. As, from moll o/
thv-'ir toes having no claws, and from their
not being detached from each other, they
are unable to grafp any object, we muft ad-
mit, from the foregoing fact, that they have
vaft ilrength; and this is farther confirmed,
by the immenie power of their jaws, and
by the eafe with which they crawl under
the load of as many men as- are able to ftand
on their back*. It is even fetid, that foinc
tortoifes are found in India, ftrong enough
and fulliciently large to carry fourteen men *|':
Though this may be an exaggeration, yet
we are certain they poflels very g
flrength, which is fo much the more re-
markable, that their manners are notwith-
ftanding extremely peaceful.
When, inftead of faking the tortoifes, it
is intended to eat them frefh, in which Hale
their
* Linnaei, Syft. Nat. Teftudo Mychs.
| Ray, Synopf. animal. 255.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, in
their flefh is vaftly more wholefome ' and Green
Tortoife,
of much better tafte ; the breaftplate, head,
feet, and tail, are removed, and the meat
is dreiTed in the buckler, which ferves as a
dim. The moil efteemed parts, are thoie
which adhere either to the buckler, or to
the breaftplate. The flefh and eggs of tor-
toifes, are particularly ferviceable, as a re-
medy againft the diibrders of feamen : It is
even faid by fome, that, efpecially in the
warmefl countries, it is a powerful antidote,
in all difeafes which require purifiers of the
blood *'. It is probably this fpecies, which
fome of the native inhabitants of America
confider as facred, and a peculiar gift of
providence, giving it a name which ligni-
fies Gods-fjlo, becaufe they believe that its
flem produces marvellous effects, when they
happen to receive poifon.
The flefh of this fpecies is fometimes of
a green colour, on which account it has re-
ceived the name of green tortoife, or turtle,
from moft voyagers : This name is like wiie
very commonly given to the next fpecies,
which
* Barrere, Fr. Equin,
U2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green which is called green-Tcale toitoife in this
Tortoife.
work. This green colour of the flefh is not
conftant, but feems dependent on the par-
ticular haunts of the individuals, and pro-
bably proceeds from fome peculiarity in
food: It is not always the fame, even in all
the individuals that are caught in the fam-j
place. On the coafts of the fmall iflands
c
to the fouth of Cuba, and near the Spanim
main, fome individuals have green flefh,
others have it black, and fome have yel-
low *.
In the collection of Seba, there were fe-
veral concretions refembling bezoars, of a
grey colour, more or le-fs mixed with yel-
low, and having their furfaces covered over
with tubercles, part of which he had re-
ceived from India, and part from America.
They were fent to him as fubltances of
great value, and as having been taken out
of large fea tortoiies* He was informed,'
that
* On account of thefe circumfbnces, this fpecies is
named Tortue Franche, in the original French ; but a.
the name Green Turtle is univerfal in Enslifh, it has
jjeen retained in this tranflation. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 113
that the Indians efteemed them as more reen . r
Fortoifa;
precious even than the oriental bezoar, on
account of their rarity, and that they were
employed as a remedy in finall-pox ; pro-
bably on account of the fancied refern-
blance, between the tubercles on their fur-
face, and the puftules of that difeafe*. The
medicinal virtue of thefe concretions, is
certainly equally imaginary with that of
the bezoars, whether oriental or occiden-
tal ; but there is no reafon to difbelieve
their having been formed within the bodies
of large fea tortoifes, for we mail have oc-
cafion to notice, in the courfe of this work,
feveral fimilar concretions, which have
been inconteftably formed in oviparous qua-
drupeds.
Though thefe bezoars are mere ufelefs
productions, this is not the cafe with many
other fubftances which are procured from
the animal. Their fleih and eggs are not the
only ufeful parts of them to mankind. The
bucklers have been ufed, by fome Indian
nations, for roofing their cabins ; and it is
VOL. I. H faid,
* Seba, Muf. 2. 141.
ii 4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
, that fome inhabitants of Ethiopia, and of
the eoafts of the Red Sea, anciently employ-
ed them as fluffs, for navigating clofe to the
fhore *. In ancient times, and in the in-
fancy of fociety, before mankind had dif-
covered the art of tempering fteel to great
hardnefs, thefe upper coverings of the large
fea tortoifes, were ufed as fhields : and, e-
'
ven in our own days, they are ftill employ-
ed for the fame purpofe, by feveral of the
half favage nations, both in the old and
new worlds, near the equator.
The fize of this fpecies is extremely va-*
rious. from two or three inches in length,
to fix or feven feet ; and as this increafe
takes place in a hard, compact, covering of
bone, it muft neceflarily be very flow ;
and, accordingly, we find that the green
tortoife does not arrive at its full growth,
till near twenty years of age. This cir-
cumftance has been fully afcertained, by
obfervation on tortoifes that had been kept
1
and fed in the inclofures formerly men-
J
tioned. Were /we to eftimate their extent
' '
d oj Jon C t>*{pl3i3d
* ^Elian, Diodorus Siculus, and Pliny*
of life, by comparifon with that of vivipa- .
8 jfjsjg Tortoife,
rous quadrupeds, the probable duration,
after the twenty years of growth, could be
readily afeertained : But, for the following
reafons, that rule of computation cannot be
admitted in the prefent cafe. Tortoifes
live, for the moft part, in the middle of an
element having a much more equable tem-
perature than the air : In this circum-
ftance, they participate with the clafs of
>
limes, and ought therefore, like them, to
enjoy a very confiderable length of life. But,
as all animals become old and die, foon af-
ter their bones have turned entirely folid ;
and, as the bones of tortoifes are much har-
der than thofe of fim, and confequently are
much nearer to the extreme point of offifi-
cation, we muft not fuppofe that their lives
mould be equally long with thofe of fillies.
They have, however, a fufficient degree of
analogy with fifties, to expect that, like
them, they fhould continue a very great
number of years, after the twenty years of
growth, perhaps even more/than a century;
and we are, therefore, not to be furprifed
H 2 that
n6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoife. ^^ ^^ er v at i ns are wanting, on a length
of time fo much beyond that of the ob-
fervers.
Though we are not provided with facts
of fufficient precision, for afcertaining the
length of life in the green tortoife, there
are obfervations which eftablifh, with cer-
tainty, that the frefh water fpecies, named
the mud tortoife, lives at lead eighty years ;
and this confirms what has been already
faid regarding the age to which the fea
tortoife may be expected to attain. From
this great length of life, the Japanefe have
been induced to adopt the tortoife as an
emblem or hieroglyphic of happinefs ; for
which reafon, they adorn the temples of
their gods, and the palaces of their princes,
with reprefentations of this animal *.
One female green tortoife is capable of
giving exiftence, every fummer, to almoft
three hundred young ones ; of which, in a
very fhort time, every one may likewife
produce three hundred annually. The mul-
titude, therefore, which may proceed from
one
* Hift. Gen. des voy. XL. 38-1.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 117
one individual and its defendants, during
the courle of its life, fuppofmg it to be a
hundred years, is perfectly aftoniihing, and
may fully fuffice to flock a whole coaft,
where none exifted before. We fhould,
therefore, expect to find the whole coafts of
the torrid zone covered with thefe animals, in
immenfe multitudes, which, fo far from be-
ing hurtful or troublefome, ought certainly
to be of vaftly more benefit to mankind,
than a great many other fpecies of animals
that are found upon them. But, vaft num-
bers of their eggs are deftroyed, or carried
off, before they are hatched ; even of thofe
young tortoifes that get out of the eggs,
hardly a thirtieth part are allowed, by their
various enemies, to arrive at any fize ; and
of thole which come to a tolerable magni-
tude, a very large proportion are devoured
by mankind, and by many other enemies
that puriue them, both on land and in the
water. Yet, notwithftanding all thefe dan-
gers, they are found every where in con-
liderable numbers, on all the warm coafts
of Afia, Africa, and America, wherever the
fhores are low and fandy.
H 3
xi 8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoife. They are fo numerous about the Cape de
Verd iflands, that feveral veflels arc employ-
ed annually to catch and fait them, for the
American colonies *. They are very nu-
merous about Cape Blanco ; and fo large that
one is fufficient to fatisfy thirty hungry men,
$he buckler being often fifteen inches in
circumference f. They were found in a-
bundance on the coaft of Timor, by Dam-
pier, and by Cook on that of New Holland.
Mr de la Borde informs us, that about
three hundred are caught every year at
Cayenne, in the months of April, May, and
June, when they come on {hore to dcpo-
fite their eggs in the fund. They arc found
in North America, as far north as the Baha-
mas, and Cape Florida J. In all the coun-
tries of both worlds, and on both fides of
the equator, as far as twenty-five or thirty
degrees of latitude, the fame green fpecies
is found modified, indeed, by the differ-
ence
* Hift. Gen. des voy. V. On this coaft they are
; J
ia!J to feed fometimes on ambergris. Voy. de Gco,
Robert, in the year 1721.
f Voy. de Lemaire, aux Canaries.
i Catefby, Nat. Ilift. of Carolina,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 119
ence of temperature, and by the various r c * rce "
kinds of food, whether confifting of marine
vegetables or of fhell-fifh, which are met
with in the different haunts.
*
This large and valuable fpecles, which
is to be confidered as an inhabitant of the fea
rather than of the frefh water, is capable of
going with great facility from one place to
another. It can remain a very confider-
able time under water, and can more rea-
dily rife to the furface than fmk below it ;
during its migrations, as it iwims with great
readinefs at the furface, it enjoys all the
neceffary refreshment of the air, and a^
fhoals, abounding in fea weed and fhell-fim,
are every where to be met with, it is never
at a lofs for food ; befides, it can exift with-
out nourifhment for feveral months. This
facility of making long voyages through
the ocean, is fully proved already, by the
diftances which it is obliged to travel, of-
ten more than a hundred leagues, for the
purpofe of depofiting its eggs in convenient
places. Tortoifes, of a fpecies very little
different from the preferit, have been found
H 4 .at
120 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.-
Green at f ea more than feven hundred leagues
Tortoife.
diftance from any known land *. Catefby
informs us, that he faw a logger-head tor-
toife caught at fea with a harpoon, in the
thirtieth degree of north latitude, and near-
ly midway between the Azores and Baha-
mas *f . And Mr de la Borde has feen ma-
ny tortoifes floating on the furface of tlie
fea, at more than three hundred leagues
from land.
They have even been found afleep on
the furface of the ocean, in considerably
high latitudes ; and are not fo exclufively
confined to the torrid zones, but that a few
are occafionally difcovered in the European
feas. It is probable, even, that the green
fpecies may inhabit the Mediterranean,
where it will, of courfe, prefer the more
fouthern mores : At leaft, we know that
the logger-head fpecies, which does not dif-
fer very much from the green, is there
found in confiderable numbers J. Thefe
neceflarily
- Cook's third voyage.
j- Carolina, ii. 40.
^ See the article appropriated to the Logger-head,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 1 2 1
Tortoife,
neceffarily chufe the low, fandy, and almoft Green
defert, coaft which feparates Egypt from
Barbary, on purpofe to depolite their eggs ;
as they there find, the quiet, the warmth,
and the peculiar kind of more, which are
neceflary for their purpofe. Though fome
fea tortoifes are occafionally caught on the
coafts of Languedoc and Provence, they
have never been known to lay their eggs
in either of thefe places *. They may even
be thrown, by particular accidents, on ftill
more northern mores, without being de-
ftroyed by the inclemency of the climate:
Sibbald f reports to have learnt from one
worthy of credit, that fea tortoifes are fome-
times caught among the weflern ifles of
Scotland.
We may even conclude, that the green
tortoife can not only live for fome years,
but may even arrive at its full growth, in
thefe latitudes. M. Bomare has publifh-
ed, in his Dictionary of Natural Hiftory, a
letter
f On the information of M. de Touchy, of the Mont-
pellier Society.
. f Prodrom.HifcNat.Scot.
122 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoife ^ etter which he received in 1771, from M.
de Laborie, advocate in the fupreme coun-
cil of Cape Fran9ois in St Domingo ; by
which it appears, that a tortoife, which was
caught in 1 754 on the coaft of France, had
been fent, when very young, by his father,
from St Domingo in 1742, and efcaped
from the veffel which was loft in a ftorm,
Tempefts and other powerful caufes, fome-
times oblige the enormous cetaceous fifties,
which people the icy feas, to come into the
temperate regions ; fo that thefe and the
large green tortoifes may have occafionally
met together in the fame place : Large fea
tortoifes have been caught near the mouth
of the Loire, and great numbers of cacha-
lots have often been caft afhore on the coafts
of .Brittmy. This is a fmgular fpeclacle,
to fee, in a manner at one time, gathered
on the furface of our European ocean, the
fea tortoife, the natural inhabitant of feas,
where the tropical fun reigns perpetually
with fo much power, and the whale, which
ufually frequent the regions of ice and of
darknefs, where, the benign influence of the
orb
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 123
orb of day hardly ever fheds a feeble ray,
and where nature is alinoft perpetually in-
volved in tempefts and impenetrable gloom.
On this fubject we may particularize
the two following examples. In 1752, a
tortoife, fix feet long and four feet broad,
weighing between eight and nine hundred
pounds, was caught in the harbour of Di-
eppe, having been driven there by a ftorm.
Two years afterwards, a frill larger tortoife,
eight feet long, and above eight hundred
weight, was caught near Antioclie, and car-
ried to the abbey of Long-veau, near Van^-
nes in Brittany.
The green tortoife can only be expected
to acquire its full fize, on almoft defert
coafts, where it is not liable to be taken ;
accordingly the largeft hitherto known,
have been found on the coafts of America,
in the fouth feas, near the equator. Thus
the ferocious animals are not exclullvely
prevented from mulriplying, and acquiring
their fulleft fize and vigour, by the neigh-
bourhood of man. This king among the
works of nature, frequently becomes a ty-
rant ;
124 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green rant: not fatisfied with driyinc: the noxious
Tortoife.
animals to. the cleierts, his infatiable avarice
often turns againft its own intereft, and ba-
nifhes to diftant mores the gentleft and
moft ufeful fpecies; inftead of carefully in-
creafmg his advantages, he improvidently
diminifhes them, by ufelefsly deftroying, in
individuals too foon deprived of life, the
numerous pofterity which they would o-
therwife have produced.
It were certainly worth while, to endea-
vour to naturalize the green tortoife on all
the temperate coafts, where convenient fan-
dy mores, above the reach of the highefl
tides, could be found for depofiting and
hatching their eggs. The acquifition of fo
fruitful a fpecies would be moft valuable
to mankind ; and this real wealth, which
would preierve and multiply of itfelf,
would, at leaft, not call forth the indignant
regrets of humanity and phUofophy, like
thole other baneful fpecies of riches, which
are brought from the equatorial regions, at
the expence of fo much human miiery and
fo many enormous crimes.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
We now turn our attention to the other reen . r
Tortoife,
fpecies of tortoifes, which inhabit the ocean
along with the green tortoife, and which
referable it fo much, in form, qualities, and
habitudes, that we (hall only have to point
out the particular differences which diftin-
them from it, and from each other*
ART. II. THE GREEN-SCALE TORTOISE*.
HIS fpecies, as well as the former, Green-
C I
has been called the green tortoife, Tortoife.
by rncft Voyagers. In a great part of South
America^ it is called the Amazon tortoife, be-
caufe it frequents the mores of the great
river of that name ; which is fo abundant in
tortoifes of feveral kinds, that, by means of
them only and their eggs, the whole inhabi-
tants on its banks might be ftrfficiently fup-
plied
; This fpecies feems confounded with the former
By naturalifts, on account of moft, if not all, voyagers
giving the fame name to both.
126 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPED,
Green- p\[ ef [ w i ta f oo j * % \^ e } lave not however,
icale
Tortoifc. adopted that name, becaufe it has likewife
been given to a very different fpecies,
which never goes to Tea. The trivial name
adopted for the prefeiit fpecies, is derived
from the circumftance of its fcales being
confiderably more on the green colour,
that thofe of any other tortoifes. Thefe
fcales are very beautiful, tranfparent, and
thin, and ferve excellently for feveral ma-
riufadtures. The head, in this fpecies, is
finall and rounded. This green-fcale tor-
toife, in moft refpects, has a ftrong refem-
blance to the green fpecies in its form and
manners ; but it never acquires the fame
iize, being generally about a quarter fmal-
krf.
4 This fpecies is likewife found, in con-
4 fiderable numbers, near Cape Blanco, on
' the weftern coaft of Mexico, in the South
' Seas> where it is the only known kind of
' fea tortoife. Jt is the largeft fpecies in
c the South Sea, weighing ufually from
' two
* Hift. Gen. des voy. LIII. 438.
f On the information of the Chevalier cle Widerfpactr.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 127
* two hundred and eighty to three hun- p r f en "
J icale
* dred pounds. The fat is yellow, and the Tortoife.
* lean white, and its nefh is very excellent.
4 About Bocca-toro, in Verragua, it is not
' fo large as in the South Sea ; the fleih
' likewife, of thofe caught in the latter
* place, is not fo white, and the fat is lefs
' yellow. In the bays of Cainpeachy and
* Honduras, they are ftill finaller, having
* green fat, and the lean is blackifh ; one,
c however, caught by the captain of an
* Engiifh veflel, at Port-Royal, in the bay
4 of Campeachy, was fix feet wide, and
' four feet thick from back to belly, and
' produced eight gallons of oil*. AIUHU
It would likewife appear, that this fpe-
cies inhabits the coafts of the gulph of
Mexico, and of all the hot countries in the
New World, on both fides of the Line ;
but it has not been hitherto difcovered in
the Old World. The nefh is equally deli-
cate, and as wholefome as that of the green
tortoife, and is even preferred to that fpe-
cies
* Dampier's voyage, I. ii3'J ,-
128 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green- c j es ' m f ome places. The eggs faked, and
fcale
Tprtoife. dried in the heat of the fun, are excellent.
M. Bomare is the only naturalift who
has noticed this fpecies, which we never
faw, and which is here introduced entirely
on the authority of voyagers, and of the
Chevalier de Widerfpach, who correfponds
from Cayenne with the directors of the
Cabinet.
ART. III. THE LOGGER-HEAD TORTOISE'
L gg er - "\ /fOST naturalifts have defcribed this
Tortoife. -L * JL third fpecies of fea tortoife, under
the name of caret ; but, as that name is ap-
propriated, by voyagers, to another fpecies,
from
* Teftudo caretta ; having two fharp claws on each
foot, both before and behind ; the hinder plates of the
buckler being protuberant. Syft. nat. ed. Gmel. I,
io8. G. 119. fp. 4-
T. cephalo. Schneider, Schildkr. 303. n. 2. T. ma-
rina, caounna dicta. Ray, fyn. quad. 257. Sloan, jam.
ii. 331. Catefb. carol, ii. 39. T. corticata, vel cortico-
fa. Rondel. Fife. 337.
Le
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 129
from which the moft beautiful tortoife-fhell L gg er *
head
is procured, we have here rejected it, pre- Tortoife,
ferring one that is in more general ufe *.
This fpecies is larger than the green tor
toife ; from which it is moft remarkably
diftinguimed by the largenefs of its head
and mouth, and by the fuperior length and
force of its upper jaw f. The rieck i&
thick, and is covered with a loofe wrinkled
{kin, which is garnilhed with horny fcales,
at fome diftance from each other J. The
body is oval, and the buckler is wider in
the middle, and narrower behind, than in
the other fpecies ||; The plates which co~
vef
Le caret. Encycl. method. Tortue caouane. Rochef.
antil. 248. Labat. 308. Kaouane. Du Tertre. 228.
Canuaneros, and Juruca, in the Weft Indies, according
to Bomare. Logger-head turtle. Brown, Jam. 465.
* In the original, this fpecies is named the Caouane,
in imitation of the natives of Cayenne in South Ame-
rica ; the name of Logger-head is already familiar to the
Englifh reader, and is therefore adopted in this tranf-
lation. T.
f Catefby, Carol, ii. 40.
t Information from the Chevalier de Widerfpach.
II Brown, Jam. 465.
VOL. I. I
i ; )0 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
p-gcr- ver the border or rim of the buckler, are
head
Tortoiie. fo difpofed as to form indentations, like
the teeth of a law*. The middle of the
buckler has three rows of plates, of which
thofe in the middle row are very protube-
rant, and it ends in a point behind. The
buckler is of a yellow colour, with black
fpots or blotches, when the animal is in
the water f. The breaftplate is ufually
covered with twenty two or twenty four
plates, and terminates backwards in a kind
of rounded edge or border. The tail is
fhort. The legs are much lengthened, and
referable fins, like thofe of the green tor-
toife, already deicribed, being likewife co-
vered with thick {bales ; the fore legs are
confiderably longer, but narrower, than the
hind legs : The toes are united together by
membranes; and both the fore and hind
feet have each two fharp diilincl: claws,
which may be confidered as the characte-
riftic mark of the fpecies.
The logger-head, like the green tortoife,
inhabits the warm parts of the New World,
but
* Catefby, loc. fupra citat.
M. S. Mem. of M. Foucroux.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 131
but feems to prefer a fituation rather more
northerly than that fpecies, being lefs com- Tortoife,
mon on the coafts of Jamaica *. It is like-
wife found in the Old World, being very
common in the Mediterranean, where a
great number are caught, efpecially near
Cagliari and Caftel-fardo, on the coaft of
Sardinia, in the forty-firft degree of north
latitude. Thefe often weigh four hundred
Sardinian pounds *j\ Rondeletius, who was
a native of Languedoc, informs us that he
kept one of this fpecies for a confiderable
time, which had been caught on the coaft
of Provence: It emitted a confufed kind of
noife, and frequently fighed, as has former-
ly been mentioned of the green tortoife J.
The plates or tortoife-fhell of this fpecies
are hardly of any value, though much lar-
ger than thofe of the hawks-bill which are
moft efteemed, becaufe the logger-head is
almoft always covered by a kind of lepro-
I 2 fy,
* Brown, Jam. 465.
- f Cetti, Hift. Nat. Amph. et Fife. Sard. 13.
J Rondelet. Fife. 338.
1 32 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
the fhell ; it was, however*
Tonoife. much ufed formerly, for ornamenting mir-
rors, and other large pieces of furniture*
Sometimes the buckler is covered over with
fea-s;rafs and fhells, and the folds of the
loofe fkin are often found filled with fmall
cruftaceous infects **
The logger-head has a fiercer appearance
than the other fea fpecies; and, being both
larger and ftronger, it is likewife bolder
than them. Having need of a more fub-
ftantial diet, it is not contented with fea-
weed, but is even voracious, and attacks
young crocodiles, which it often mutilates
of their limbs or tail, with great eafe f.
We are informed, that it frequently lurks
in the bottom of creeks, along the more,
into which the crocodiles fometimes retire
backwards, becaufe the length of their bo-
dies prevents them from turning readily ;
and, taking advantage of this pofture, the
logger-head feizes them by the tail, having
then
* Brown, Jam. ubi fupra citat.
f Memoir, by M. de la Coudreniere, in the Journal
de Phyfique for Nov. 1782.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 133
then nothing to fear from their formidable Dogger.
hetid
teeth *. Tortoife.
As the food of this fpecies is in a confi-
derable proportion from the animal king-
dom, and confequently is more fubjed: to
putrefaction than that of the green tortoife,
coniifting very much of fea worms, molu-
fcae, &c. its flefh participates of the bad
flavour of thefe fubftances, and is oily, ran-
cid, fibrous, tough, and fifhy f. The niur
Iky flavour, which proceeds from rnoft tor-
toiies, is flill ftronger and more difagreeable
in uhis fpecies J, fo as even to be aLnolt in-
tolerably fetid ; on which account it is in
very little requeft, where better can be pro-i
ured. It is, however, often eaten by fea-
men, who find it very heating || ; and it is
faid likewife to be faked for the ufe of the
negro flaves, every means being anxiouily
I 3 employed,
* Communication from M. Moreau de Saint Mery,
Procureur General in the fupreme council of St Do-
lingo.
f Brown, Jam. where already cited.
Jl Brown, jam. 466.
|j Nouv. voy. aux Iflcs de l'An>er. i.
I 3 4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
fold"' em ply e d 5 to collecl food, both from the
Tortoife. land and fea, that thefe miferable wretches
may be enabled to work hard for their un-
feeling matters. This fpecies affords a
large quantity of oil, which fmells too of-
fenfively to be ufed as food ; but it ferves
very well for burning, for drefling leather,
and for the bottoms of mips, which laft it
is faid to preferve from the attacks of worms,
probably by its ofFenfive odour.
The logger-head is by no means fo ufe-
ful, as the green fpecies, and is not, there-
fore, fo much fought after: Hence, having
fewer enemies, it is more numerous, efpe-
cially in fome feas. Being much ftronger
than the other fpecies, it makes longer voy-
ages, and is often found at more than eight
hundred .leagues diftance from any land,
as has been already mentioned. Lefides,
as it feeds fometimes on filh, it has lefs ne-
ceffity for keeping on the coafts than the
other fpecies. It is able eafily to break the
largeft fhells, to devour the animals they
contain, and, according to the information
pf lifhers in North America, very large
fhells
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 135
Ihells of feveral kinds are often found. .J-gS er -
liead '
that have been broken by this fpecies*. TortoTe.
The chafe of this fpecies is fometimes
attended with danger, as it defends itfelf,
both by means of its mouth and paws,
when any one approaches, for the purpofe
of turning it over on its ba'ck ; and it is ex-
tremely difficult to make it quit any hold,
which it has taken with its jaws. This re-
fiftance, which it oppofes againft fuch as
endeavour to feize it, has been attributed
to a fpirit of mifchief ; it has been re-
proached for this juft defence, and has been
condemned for employing its natural arms,-
in protecting its own life. But it is ever
thus with tyrants, who confider every re-
iiftance they meet with from the weak, a-
gainft their gratifications, as fq many cri-
mes.
Catefby gives the name of trunk tor-
toife f to a very large fea fpecies, which is
rather fcarce J. That fpecies grows to a
1 4 vaft
* Catefby, Carol, ii. 40.
f La tortue coffre.
J Teftudo arcuata, or trunk tortoife, C.:tcfbv, Carol.
136 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Logger- va fl. f lze ^ j s narrow, and very thick, and
head
Tortoifc. the buckler is confiderably more convex:
than in the other fea fpecies. This is cer-
tainly the fame fpecies mentioned by Dam-
pier *, and which he calls the large trunk
tortoife, being the fecond fpecies which he
enumerates. Both that mentioned by Dam-
pier, and the one defcribed by Catefby, are
larger than the other fpecies of fea tortoifes,
and have their bucklers confiderably more
raifed. They are both extremely bad as
food, and exhale a difagreeable flavour ;
but they furnifh a great quantity of oil,
which is ufeful for burning. We have
placed them both here, at the end of the
4efcription of the logger-head, until more
accurate defcriptions enable them to be pro-
perly arranged.
Tortoife.
ART. IV. THE NASAL TORTOISE ~\
ATURALISTS have confounded this
former, though it is
N
* Hift. Gen. des Voy. XLVIII. 344-
La tortue naficorne.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 137
very readily diftinguifhed from the logger- .7* *
head, by an obvious character, which is
entirely wanting in that fpecies: This is a
foft tubercle or protuberance, on the top of
the muzzle, in which the noftrils are placed.
It is probably this fpecies, which is defcrib-
ed by Gronovius*, and quoted from him
by Linnaeus, as a fynonime of the teftudo
caretta, as Gronovius mentions the diftin-
guifhing tubercle on the nofe.
Obfervations are ftill wanting to enable
us to give any detailed account of this new
fpecies, which is found in the equatorial feas
of America: But we are certainly warrant-.
ed, in feparating it from the logger-head,
to which it has even lefs refeinblance than
to the green tortoife. It is confidered, like
that fpecies, as very good eating; while
the logger-head, on the contrary, is hard-,
ly ever ufed as food f. This maypoffibly
be what is called the baftard tortoife, by
the American fiihers. As it is of great im-
portance
* Gron. Muf. ii. 85. n. 69. Gronov. Zoophyl. i.
. 71.
-[- Information from the Chevalier de Widerfpach.
138 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
NafalTor- portance to examine the natural hiftory of
the various fpecies of tortoifes, both fuch
as are not thoroughly inveftigated, and fuch
as are hitherto entirely unknown, it is re-
commended to voyagers, and to men of in-
formation, who live in the countries where
they ahound, to pay every attention to the
fubjecl, which its importance, both to fcience
and economy, requires. Though thefe ani-
mals differ from each other, only by a fmall
number of external characters, it appears
that they do not mingle together, and they
muft, confequently, differ very eflentially
from each other.
ART. V. THE HAWKS-BILL TORTOIS:.
Hawks- T>HILOSOPHERS muft always place
toife. t ^ ie g reen tortoife, in the foremoft rank
of
* Le caret.
Teftudo imbricata: Having two claws on each foit,
both before and behind-, the plates of the buckler b .=-
ing loofe, and lapping over each other. Syft. nat. cd.
Gm. I. 1036. G. 119. fp. 2. Schneid. Schildkr. 309.
p.. 3. Leipz. magaz. 1786. iii. 258.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 139
of this genus of animals, on account of its
bill TLor-
fuperior ufefulnefs, as an agreeable and fa- toife.
lutary food to mankind; but thofe who
judge only by external appearances, will
prefer this fpecies, on account of its beauty.
The name of hawks-bill is fo generally a-
dopted by the Englifh fettlers in America
and the Weft Indies, that it is here adopted
jnftead of caret, which is faid to be univer-
fal among the other inhabitants of thefe
countries which it frequents.
It is principally from the plates that cover
the buckler of this fpecies, that the beauti-
ful fubftance called tortoife-mell is procur-
ed, with which, even from the mofl re-
mote antiquity, the fumptuous palaces of
the
T. fquamata. Bont. jav. 82. T. caretta. Catefby, ca-
jrol. ii. 39. Grqnov. zooph. 72. Sloan, jam, ii. Ray,
fynopf. 258. T. marina americana. Seba, muf. i.
130. t. 80. f. 9.
Caret. Rochefort. Du Tortue. ii. 229. n. 24. La-
bat. 315. Bomare. dit. hift. nat.
La Tuillee. Daubenton, Encycl. method,
>
Hawks-bill Turtle. Brown, jam. 465.'
* Catefby, ii. '39.
T, Brown, Jamaica.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
the great have been adorned. In more mo-
dern times, this ornament has given place
to the brilliancy of gold, md to that ani-
mation which is given by fculpture to hard
and tranfparrnf (tones. It i? now almoft
confined to thole firhple but elegant toys,
which are ufed by people of more limited
fortunes, but, perhaps, of more refined tafte.
Though ftill employed occafionally among
the ornaments of beauty, it is entirely con-
cealed by thofe other more brilliant jewels,
which are now fo much preferred, and to
which it ferves merely as a fupport. If, how-
ever, thefe beautiful fcales have loft much
of their eftimation, by comparifon with the
more brilliant fubftances, which the difco-
very of the New World has rendered fo com-
mon in the Old, they are likewife become
cheaper and more plentiful, and are there-
fore more generally ufed now than former-
ly. They are employed in the conftruction
of a vaft number of little ornamental works,
which are well known, and for which they
are excellently adapted; as they unite, to
the femitranfparency and beautiful polifh of
eertajq
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, 141
certain coloured ftones and criftals, a de-
bdl Lor
gree of toughnefs and flexibility, which toife;
has been in vain attempted to be given to
glafs.
The hawks-bill tortoife is very readily
diftinguifhed, from all the other fpecies,
by the brilliancy of the plates, which cover
its buckler; and ftill more, by the manner
in which thefe plates are difpofed, being ar-
ranged like dates or tiles on. a roof, lapping
over each other, or what is called imbricat-
ed. The middle of the buckler is generally
covered by thirteen of thefe plates, dif-
pofed in three rows. The rim or border,
which is considerably narrower than in moft
of the fea tortoifes, is, for the moft partj
furnifhed with twenty-five plates*
The buckler is rounded at its fore part^
and pointed behind, having fomewhat of
what is called the form of a heart. It is
farther diftinguifhed, from the other fea
tortoifes, by its head and neck being con-
iiderably longer. The upper jaw advances
fo much beyond the lower, as to give the
muzzle a diftant refemblance to the bill of
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Hawks. a bird of prey ; from which circumftance the
bill Tor-
toife. EngHfh name is derived. That name, how-
ever, has contributed to obfcure this part of
natural hiflory: For, when fome naturalifts
had given the name caret, which properly be-
longs to this fpecies, to the logger-head*,
they neglected to diftinguifh between it and
the hawks-bill, which name has likewife
been given by fome to the logger-head f ;
and, in natural hiftory, when the fame
name has been applied to different fpecies,
the fpecies themfelves are very apt to be
confounded, by haftily fuppofmg that the
obje&s agree as well as the names.
The hawks-bill, like moft of the fea tor-
toifes, is found in the warm countries of
America J; and it is likewife found in the
feas of Afia. From thefe laft the Romans
procured their beautiful tortoife-mell, fo
much in requeft even before the time of
Pliny. It feems to have been then efteem-
ed
* Catefby, Carol, ii. 39.
f Brown, Jamaica.
$ According to Dampier, the hawks-bill is not found
in the South Sea.
OVIPAROUS QITADRUPEDS. 143
ed in proportion to its fcarcity, and to the
diftance from which it was brought; for toife
that haughty people appear to have appre-
ciated the value of commodities, according
as the diftance of their origin indicated the
extent and magnitude of their dominion.
This fpecies is not nearly fo large as the
green tortoife. Its feet, like thofe of the
other Tea tortoifes, are formed like fins ; and
each is fometimes furnifhed with four claws.
In north America, the female lays her eggs
in May, June, and July : She does not de-
pofite them in the fand, but in fine gravel
mixed with fmall mells. The eggs are rec-
koned even more delicate than thofe of other
tortoifes; but the flefh is not at all agreeable^
and is faid to occafion fevere vomiting and
loofenefs*. Thofe who eat of it, are foon
after feized with a violent fever, and break
out with fmall puftules or tumors, all over
the body, which prove a favourable crifis,
in fuch as have fufficient ftrength to refift
the .violence of the fever. Dampier alledges,
that
"* Dnmpiers Voy. Vol. I.
144 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Hawks- that the good or bad quality of the flefh of
bill Tor- .
toife. this ipecies depends on the nature or the
food of the individuals, and confequently
on the particular places which they inhabit.
Though the hawks-bill is confiderably
fmaller than the green tortoife, it muft be
ftronger, as it is reported to be more mif-
chievous, and to defend itfelf better when at-
tacked, giving very fevere and painful bites.
The buckler is more convex, and the fore
paws are longer, in proportion, than in the
other fea fpecies : From thefe circumftances,
i
it is able, when turned on its back, by rolU
ing to one fide, and getting hold of the
ground with its feet, to recover its recum-
bent pofture. The beautiful plates, with
which its buckler is covered, weigh ufually
three or four pounds altogether*, and fome-
times even as far as feven or eight f. Thofe
are moft valued which are thick, clear, tranf-
parent, and of a golden yellow colour,
marbled with red and white, or with a very
dark
* Dampier, loc. citat.
| Ray, Synopf. 258,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 145
dark brown*. To form thefe into various ,
bill Tor-
iliapes, they are foftened in hot water, and toife.
then forced into moulds, by means of a
ftrong iron prefs. They are afterwards
polifhed, and either inlaid with gold or fil-
ver, or other fubftances are added to in-*
creale the ornament, or to heighten their
colours.
It is alledged, by the Chevalier de Wi-
-derfpach, that the hawks-bill, in forne coun-
tries, particularly on the marfhy Chores of
the eaftern coaft of South America, prefers
the drowned lands to the Tea, becaule it
there finds either a more abundant or a
more agreeable food. Catefby fays, that
it chiefly feeds on a kind of fungus, which
the Americans call Jews-ear*
VOL. I. K ART.
* M. S. Mem. of M. de Fougeroux.
3 4 6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
ART. VI. THE LEATHERS TORTOISE**
TP HOUGH mod of the fea tortoifes,
Jl whicli have been hitherto mentioned,
tlo not wander far from the equatorial and
tropical regions, the logger-head is not the
only fpecies that is found in the European
leas. Another fpecies, which fometimes e-
vej}. exceeds the largeft green tortoifes in
length, is frequently found in the Mediter-
ranean j which, particularly in the feafon for
laying its eggs, prefers the defert fandy
ihores of the Barbary ftates. This fpecies,
which is here named, from the peculiar ap-
*
pearaiice of its buckler, the leathern tortoile,
feldom
* Le Luth, in Latin Lyra.
Teftudo coriacea : Having a leathern buckler, ridg-
ed longitudinally. Syft. nat. cd. Gm. i. 1036. G. 119.
fp. i. Schncid. SchilJk. 312. ri. 4. Vandell. ad Lin.
Rondelet. pifc. 445'. Gefn. aquat. 946.
Tortue luth. Encycl. method. Rat de mer, Tortue
;i clin. liomare.
Coriaceous Turtle. Brit. zool. iii. p. 7. 8. Phil, tranfr
Ixi. 275. t. 10. f. 4. 5.
TTcie L eafhern Tot'toi s e
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 147
jfeldom goes far up the Adriatic Gulph, and
ftill more rarely into the Black Sea, on ac-
count of the coldnefs of thefe more north-
erly latitudes.
This fpecies is diftinguimed from all o-
ther tortoifes, both fuch as inhabit the fea
and the land, by having no breaftplate.
The buckler is placed, as in the others, on
its back, but is not long enough, either be-
fore of behind, to admit of concealing the
head, feet, and tail, under its defence. In
this circumftance-, it may be confidered as
holding a kind of middle place between
the large fea tortoifes and the crocodile.
The buckler is convex, and rounded at the
edges, but terminates backwards in a long
pointed procefs, having the appearance of
a feeond tail, immediately over the real one.
The buckler is marked with five elevated
longitudinal ridges, along its whole length,
that on the middle of the back being more
prominent than the reft. - Some naturalifts
have defcribed feven of thefe ridges, as they
have included the edges of the buckler.
There are no plates of tortoife-mell on this
K 2 buckler,
r 4 S OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Buckler, as * n ^ ie other fpecies ; but it, as
well as the whole unarmed parts of the bo-
dy, with the head, feet, and tail, are covered
by a thick tough black fkin, refembling lea-
tiler, from which the trivial names, in Eng-
liih and Latin, are derived. In this cir-
cumflance, it has more analogy than the
reft of the genus with the phocine tribe of
viviparous quadrupeds. The paws, or lins,
are entirely deftitute of claws, according to
moft naturalifts; but I have obferved a kind
of membranous claw on each hind foot, in
the fpecimen which is preferved in the
Royal Cabinet. The extremity of the up-
per jaw is divided, fo as to receive the point
of the lower, which has a curvature or
crook upwards.
Rondeletius fays, that he faw a tortoife
of this fpecies, which had been caught at
Frontignan, on the coaft Languedoc, which
meafured five cubits, or feven feet and a
half, long, by two cubits, or three feet,
broad ; and which produced a large quan-
tity of oil fit for burning*. M. Amoureux
of the Montpellier Society, has given a def-
cription
* Rondelet. Fife. 445.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 149
cription of a tortoife, likewife of this fpe- Leathera
lortoue,
cies, which was caught at Cette in Langue-
doc, meafuring feven feet five inches in
length *. The fpecimen from which our
prefent defcription was taken meafures as
follows.
Feet. Inches. Lines.
Total length 732
Circumference - 701
Thicknefs I 8 o
Length of the buckler 482
Breadth of ditto -440
Length of the neck and head 150
Length of the jaws 086.
Circumference of the neck 211 o .
Diameter of each eye -020
Length of each fore paw 310
Circumference of ditto I 1 1 6
Length of each hind paw I 6 o
Circumference of ditto i 7 10
Length of the tail i I o
The Leathern tortoife, befides the Me-
diterranean, is found on the coafts of Peru
and Mexico, and on almoft all the coaft of
K 3 Africa
* Journal de Phyfique, 1778,
I5o OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tonoiie" Afl ' Ica With ' m the T rrid Z ne * Tt
wife appears to Qomc into the higher lati-.
tudes of Europe, particulnrly during the
height of fummer. On the fourth of Au-
gtift 1729, a tortoife was caught thirteen
leagues off Nahte, to the north of the mouth
of the Loire, which meafurcd (even feet
and an inch in length, by three feet ffeven
inches broad, and two' feet in thicknefs.
M. de la Font, then chief engineer at Nantz,
fent the defcription of this individual to
M. de Mairan : It agrees in every parti-
i !,'. r ' r ' i ^
cular with the ipeeimen preierved in the
o i r* \ - . i ' *T t. TVT i i v
Royal Cabinet, only that M. de la Font
i . ,
mentions its having teeth, which are not
Mr i .r r
crto found m any other fpecles of
..- T ,.
tortoife. It is very eaiy, however, to
* *
explain this feeming contradiction ; as the
Great projeocing procefles, which are form-
, . , l '13
ed in both jaws, with deep interveenmg
notches, might very readily have been mil-
taken for teeth ; and the real fituation and
form of thefe procefTes, exactly agree with
thofe of the pretended teeth in the Nantz
tortoife.
M. S. Mem. of M. de Fougeroux,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 151
iortoife. M. de la Font relates, that when
the people were breaking its fkull, with
repeated blows of an iron crow, it fent
forth horrible cries, which might have been
heard at the diftance of a quarter of a league,
and at the fame time its mouth foamed
with rage, and emitted a very fetid o-
dour*.
In the year 1756, a tolerably large Leath-
ern tortoife was caught on the coaft- of
Cornwall, foine time after the middle of
fummer f . Mr Pennant, in the Philofo-
phical Tranfactions for 1771, gives the de-
icription and figure of a fea tortoife, three
inches and a quarter long by an inch and a
half broad, which that celebrated naturalift
law in pofleffion of a London merchant,
who could give no information of the place
from whence it had been brought. It is
evident, both from the figure and defcrip-
tion, that this was a very young individual
of the Leathern fpecies, and had been
K. 4 caught
1 Hift. de 1'Acad. des Sciences, 1729.
Brit. Zool. II.
ij2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
cau S ht immediately after it came out of
the egg.
This is one of the fpecies of tortolur,
with \vhich the ancient Greeks were belt
acquainted, as it frequented the ihores of
their own country. It is well known, that,
in ancient Greece and the other countries
bordering on the Mediterranean, the buck-
ler of a large tortoife was ufed, by the in-
ventors of mufic, as the body of an inftru-
ment, to which they fixed various firings,
either made of cat-gut or of metal. It is
faid that they employed for this purpofe
the buckler of the leathern tortoife, which
thus became the original lute or lyre, from
which thefe nations, even while hardly be-
ginning to be civilized, enjoyed the fir ft
rude flrains of an art they afterwards
brought to fo much perfection. Hence
this fpecies of tortoife acquired the name
of the inftrument, and was itfelf coafideret)
as facred to Mercury, the fuppofed inven-
tor of the lyre; The moderns have, in
fome countries, continued the ancient
names, of lute and lyre, to this tortoife ;
thereby
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 153
thereby very properly perpetuating the re-
membrance of the noble employment to
which its buckler was deftined, in the early
ages of the fine countries which furround
the Mediterranean.
II. DIVI-
1J4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
II. DIVISION.
FRESH WATER AND LAND
TORTOISES.
Frefh wa- HPHE different tortoifes which we have
ter and
Land JL already defcribed, in the foregoing
lCS * divifion, are not entirely confined to the
fait water, but fometimes frequent' the
mouths of the frefh water rivers, which
fall into the fea, and fometimes come on the
dry land, either on purpofe to depofite their
eggs, in proper fituations, or to brouze
on fuch plants as they find there, and are
fit for their nourimment. They are not
therefore exclufively inhabitants of the o-
cean ; neither are any of the fpecies, which
yet remain to be defcribed, abfolutely con-
fined either to the frefh water, or to the
dry land : All the fpecies of the genus
are capable of living on the land, and all
of
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 155
of them are able to fubfift for fome time, Frefh Y a *
ter and
longer or fhorter according to circumftances Land
in the feveral fpecies, both in the frefh wa-
ter and in the fea. We are, therefore, to
imderftand what has been already faid, con-
cerning the, habitation of the fea tortoifes,
and what ftill remains, refpe&ing the haunts
of the frefli water and land tortoifes, only
as pointing out the fituation which they
prefer, and by no means as fixing them
exclulively to one place or mode of refi-
dence. All that can be affirmed, with per-
fect certainty, refpecting thefe three fami-
lies or divifions of the genus, is, that the
firft is moft commonly found in the fea,
the fecond in frefh waters, and the third
on elevated dry land, or in the woods.
Their particular refidence, in the feveral
fpecies, is modified or determined by. their
peculiar conformation, both external and
internal, and by the nature of the food
which each requires, and which they can
only find in the kind of refidence to which
thefe circumftances impel them.
,
ART*
156 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. VII. MUD TORTOISE*.
Tortoife. T mUc tortoe ls one
JL which are moft commonly found in
the frefh waters. It is much fmaller than
any of the fea tortoifes; its extreme length,
from the point of the muzzle to the tip of
the tail, feldom exceeding feven or eight
inches, and its breadth is ufually from three
to four inches. The rim of the buckler is
generally covered by twenty-five {lightly
ftriated plates ; and the middle is covered
by thirteen plates, which are likewife ftria-
ted, and (lightly raifed in the center ; the
five middle plates on the back are raifed
into
* La Bourbeufe ; mus aquatilis, in Latin; jogame,
doogame, or doocame, in Japan.
Teftudo hit aria : Having the tail not half the length
of the body j the buckler being rather fmooth, and rid-
ged on the three backmoft middle plates. Syft. Nat.
ed. Gm. I. 1040. G. 119. fp. 7. Schneid. Schildkr. n.
9. Rondelet. pifc. ii. 170. T. aquarum dulcium. Ray,
Synopf. 254.
Tfortue bourbeufe. Encycl. Method.
i'f.4. Icl.l.p. l.'t
The ^Mi4 d To rtois e .
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 157
into a longitudinal ridge. The whole of j^^j^
this buckler is blackilh, deeper or lighter in
different individuals. The hinder part of
the breaftplate ends in a ftraight line. The
whole fkin of the head, neck, and paws is
blackifh.
The toes in this fpecies are very diftincl,
and are united together by webs or mem-
branes. The fore paws have each five toes,
and the hind feet four ; and the outer toe
on each of the fore feet has for the moft
part no claw. The tail is nearly half the
length of the buckler, and, inftead of being
drawn under the upper covering, as in moft
land tortoifes, it is carried ftretched out,
when the animal walks * : From this cir-
i
cumftance, the mud tortoife was called mus
aquatitis^ or water rat, by fome of the an-
cients "f~. When it is feen moving at fome
diftance, it appears like a lizard concealed
in the fhell of a tortoife. This fpecies, like
moft or all of the tortoifes, fometimes emits
an interrupted whiftle or figh.
The
* Cett. Hift. Nat. Amphib. et Fife. Sard. p. 12.
f Rondelet. Fife. ii. 170.
158 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tortoife. ^ e muc ^ t rt if e is found in all the
warm and temperate climates of Europe,
being very plentiful in all the rivers of Sar-
dinia * ; and is likewife found in Afia, Ja-
pan f, and India. It is met with in much
higher latitudes than the fea tortoifes, ha-
ving been fometimes caught in the rivers
of Silefia ; but it is by no means well fitted
to fupport the rigour of northern climates,
and is not able to reproduce in thefe. Even
in the temperate countries it becomes tor-
pid in winter, and remains on the land
during its ftate of hybernation. In Langue-
doc, it begins to prepare for its winter re-
treat towards the end of autumn, and ge-
nerally employs more than four weeks in-
digging its hole, which feldom exceeds fix
inches in depth. It even frequently pailes
the whole winter without being entirely
covered ; as the earth, which it has dug out,
does not always fall back again, after it has
taken its abode at the bottom of the hole.
In the early part of the fpring, it quits
this winter refidence, and immediately takes
to
* Cetti, loco fupra citat.
f Hift. Gen. des Voy. XL. 382,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
to the water, in which it fpends the great-
eft part of its time, until the fummer, when
it is moftly on the land. While in the wa-
ter, it is very often at the furface, efpecially
in fine weather, and in fun fhine, It mul-
tiplies remarkably, as I have been inform-
ed by M. de Touchy, in fome parts of
Languedoc and Provence, particularly near
the Rhone, and in the marines of Aries.
M. de la Tour d'Aygue, whofe tafte and
attainments in natural fcience are well
known, has informed us, that fuch an im-
menfe number of mud tortoifes were at one
time found, in a marm in the plain of Du-
rance, not more than half a league in ex-
tent, as to ferve the whole neighbouring
peafantry in food, for more than three
months.
The mud tortoife lays its eggs always on
dry land, digging a hole and covering
them with earth or fand. The outer cover-
ing of their eggs is harder than in thofe of
the green tortoife, and their colour is more
variable. The young tortoifes, immediate-
iy
.' .J.Z W ^b ,1
160 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Mud iy a ft er coming out of the ep-fr, are
Tortcwe
times lefs than half an inch in breadth.
This fpecies, like the fea tortoifes, con-
tinues to grow for a long time ; but, being
considerably fmaller, they acquire their full
fize in much lefs time than the large fea
tortoifes, and they do not live to fo great
an age. It is, however, well known that,
if they do not meet with accidents to fhor-
ten their lives, they will live more than
eighty years j and jhis circumftance is a
ftrong prefumption, in proof of the very
long life we have formerly attributed to the
large fea fpecies.
The mud tortoife, having the toes con-
fiderably more feparated, and having lefs
weight to carry than the other fpecies, i&
able to walk much quicker on land, efpe-
cially when the ground is fmooth.
This fpecies is very ufeful in gardens, in
confequence of its being remarkably fond 1
of feeding on fnails, worms, and fuch wing-
lefs infects as frequent the neighbourhood
of its haunts j it frees the gardens from thefe
Koxious vermin, and is itfelf incapable of
doing
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 161
doing harm. For this purpofe it is kept in *fe
ponds, taking care to place a plank from
the edge of the pond to the bottom of the
water, to -affift its progrefs, unlefs when the
banks of the pond are fufficiently doped to
allow it to crawl eafily up and down. It is
likewife often kept in thefe ponds, on ac-
count of its being confidered as an ufeful
remedy in fome difeales. When there is
reafon to fufpecT: that it may not find fiif-
ficient food in the garden, it is necerTary to
fupply the deficiency, by placing fome
meal or bran near the edge of the pond.
Like all the other fpecies of the genus, it is
capable of living a very long time without
food ; and will even live fome thne'after
the head is cut off*.
Though remarkably ufeful for clearing
gardens of noxious vermin, and on that ac-
count often bred in ponds with great care
it is necefiary to prevent it from getting in-
to fifh ponds, as it is extremely deftrucnve
to their inhabitants : It attacks thofe of a
certain fize, feifing them by the belly, and
VOL - ! L infiictinjr
o
- Ray, Synopf. Anim. 254.
1 62 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Tortoife. infliding fuch wounds as very foon prove
mortal ; it then drags them to the bottom
of the water, and devours them, leaving on-
ly the bones of the back and of the head,
and fometimes likewife it rejects the found
or air bladder; and it is faid that, by the
number of fifh founds, which are fcen floa-
ting en the furface, people are enabled to
judge of the abundance of mud tortoifes
that are to be found in particular lakes or
pools of water.
ART. VIII. THE ROUND TORTOISE
Round A CCORDING to Linnaeusjthis fpecies,
'lortoifc. /%
JLJL the trivial name of which, both HI
Latin, French, and Englim, is derived
from the round form of its buckler, is found
in the ibuth of Europe, and even extends
as far north as Pruffia. In two individuals
of
f La Ronde. Encycl. Method.
Teftudo orbicularis : Having a round, frnooth, flat-
tifh buckler. Syfb. Nat. Ed. Cm. i. 1039. G. 119. fp u
-T. Eurqpaea, Schneid. Schildkr. 323. n.
The Round Tortoise.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 163
of this fpecies, which are preferved in the R
T
Royal Cabinet, the rim or border of the
buckler is covered by twenty-three plates,
and the middle by thirteen : Thefe plates
are very fmooth, and of a clear brown co-
lour, with fpots of various reddifh macles.
The breaftplate, which is covered by twelve
plates, is notched at its poilerior edge. The
muzzle terminates in a hard {harp point,
like a little horn. The tail is very fhort.
The toes, which are united by a common
membrane, are gathered together into a
round compact paw, and are hardly dilV
linguifliable from each other, except by their
claws, which are tolerably long and very
ftrong. Of thefe claws, there arc five on
each fore paw, and four on each behind.
Tliis fpecieG, like the mud tortoifc, prel'
rivers and marihes for its refidence ; and
onlv differs in its habits from the foreromj*-,
o '
ib far as thefe are modified by the difference
of their powers.
In Pruflia, the peafants keep forne '
viduals of this ipecies in the vc: .Ich
L 2 contain
ortoe.
1 6* OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Round contain the food of their hoes * thinking
Tortoife.
that thefe latter animals are thereby kept in
better health, and are more eafily fattened j
and the tortoifes fometimes live above two
years in that ftrange habitation.
Though the two fpecimens, in the Royal
Cabinet, from which this defcription was
drawn up, meafure only three inches and
three quarters long, by two inches and a
half in breadth, it is probable that the fpe-
cies, fometimes at leaft, grows to a larger fize,
for both thefe individuals have every ap-
pearance of being young, and of not having
attained their full dimenfions. Should this
be really the cafe, there is reafoii to fufpect,
that the round tortoife may only be a vari-
ety of the terrapin ; but it will require ad-
ditional information to decide that point,
and, in the mean time, it is neceilary to
leave them as feparate fpec : es.
In thefe two fpecimens, the plates of the
breaftplate before the. hindmoft were fome-
what feparated, leaving part of the fkin of
the belly naked, whicfi formed a project-
ing
t Wulff, Ichtliyol. cum Amphib. regn. Borufs,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 165
ing bag or pouch, in which the mark of 5, oun< ?:
the naval firing was diftinctly perceptible :
This bag was larger in one of the fpecimens
than in the other. It is worthy the atten-
tion of naturalifts to afcertain whether this
fmgular circumftance be univerfal in all
the fpecies of the genus. A fimilar confor-
mation has been obferved in crocodiles and
fome fpecies of lizards ; and, perhaps, it
will be found, on examination, in a great
number of fpecies, in the clafs of oviparous
quadrupeds, if not in them all.
.
jrfo !
ART. IX. THE TERRAPIN*.
*
HT^ O this tortoife, which inhabits the Terrapin.
-*- marfhes and frefli waters, the name
given by Brown, in his Natural Hiftory of
L 3 Jamaica,
* La Terrapene. This being the cuflomary Englifh
name, in the Weft Indies and North America, is here
retained.
Teftudo paluftris : Having five claws on each fore
paw, and four on each behind ; the buckler being flat-
-tifh, or deprefled. Syft. nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1041. G.
119. fp. 23. Brown, jam. 466. n. 4.
i66 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Terrapin. Jamaica, is here preserved. It is very com-
mon in the Weft India iilands, particularly
in Jamaica, frequenting lakes and marfhes,
among the aquatic plants. The buckler,
according to Brown, is oval and deprefled or
flattened, and fometimes exceeds eight or
nine inches in length. The flefh is con-
ii dered as hoth delicate and wholefome.
This is probably the fame fpecies to which
Dampier gives the name of Hecate. Ac-
cording to that writer, it inhabits pools and
lakes of frefh water, going very feldom on
the dry ground. It weighs twelve or fifteen
pounds. The legs are moit, and the feet
flat ; the neck is long and thin. The flefh
is excellent food. All thefe circumftances
related by Dampier, agree extremely well
with the terrapin ; but farther obfervations
are neceflfary to afcertain the exact identity
r difference.
ART
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 167
:
ART. X. THE SERPENTINE TORTOISE*.
'
"^HIS fpecies derives its trivial name Serpen-
from a refemblance between its head
and that of a ferpent. It is remarkably dif-
tinguifhed from all other tortoifes by the
length of its tail, which is nearly as long
as the buckler. The buckler has a flight
longitudinal ridge on the middle ; and its
.
hinder part, which is broad, is notched in
fuch a manner as to prefent five {harp tooth-
like proceffes. The toes are diftin6t, but
are very little feparated from each other.
The ferpentine tortoife inhabits the frefh
waters of China, and feems to refemble the
mud tortoife in its manners, as it is faid to
live on various infects, and to deftroy fim.
L 4 ART.
* La Serpentine. Encyclop. Method.
Teftudo ferpentina: Having the buckler flightly ridg-
ed along its middle, the hinder part being obtufe, and
having five fharp pointed proceffes ; the tail being as
long as the body. Syft. nat. ed Gm. i. 1042. G. 119.
fp. 15. Muf. ad. fricl ii. 36. *. Schneid. Schildkr. n. 8.
1 68 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
AR T . XL THE PEXS TLFAXIAN TOR T01SE '" .
Penfyiva. r 9 ''HIS fpccies, of which we here only
A prefent a very imperfect account, was
fent from Penfylvania to England, under
the name of marfti tortoife, and was engrav*-
ed and deicribed by Mr Edwards, in his
Gleanings of Natural Hiftory. The tip of
its tail is armed with a fharp horny point,
as in the fcorpion tortoife, and feveral indi-
viduals of the common land tortoife. The
toes are united by a web. The general co-
lour is brown, but the plates on the fides of
the body, on the jaws, and round the eyes,
are rcddifh yellow, which colour is like-
wife found on the breaftplate.
ART.
* La Rougeatre.
Teftuao Penfylvanlca: Having five claws on cadi
fore foot, and four on each behind ; .the tip of the tail
being armed with a {harp horny point. Syft. nat. ed.
Gm. i. 1042. G. 119. fp. 26. Seli^man, av. viii. t. 77.
Eu\v. av. t. 28-7.
s
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 169
ART. XII. THE SCORPION TORTOISE
O
F this fpecies, which was firft de- Scorpion
fcribed by the celebrated Linnaeus,
feveral bucklers and breaftplates are pre-
ferved in the Royal Cabinet. Thefe were
fent as having belonged to a frnall marfli
tortoife, which inhabits the drowned Sa-
vannas of Guiana, which never exceeds
fix or feven inches in length, by four or
five in breadth. This is another inftance of
a marfh or frefh water tortoife having its
tail armed with a {harp callofity ; and we
{hall hereafter find a very fimilar character
in feveral of the land fpecies, particularly
fuch as are full grown.
The buckler of this fpecies is of an oval
figure, with three longitudinal ridges on
the
* La Tortue Scorpion. Encyclop. Method.
Teftudo Scorpioides : Having a three-lobed callous
knob on the forehead ; the tail being armed with a
claw j with five claws on each fore foot, and four on
each hind foot. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1041. G. up.
fp. 8. T. fimbriata. Schneid. Schildkr. n. 12.
1 70 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Scorpion the middle of the back : The rim has u-
Tortoife.
fually twenty-three plates, and the middle
is covered by thirteen, the five of the mid-
dle row being much lengthened : The co-
lour of the buckler is black, or very dark
brown. The fore part of the head is co-
vered by a hard callous fkin, w r hich is ele-
vated into three lobes or knobs on the
front. The breaftplate, which is fcarcely
at all notched at its edges, is covered by
twelve plates. Each foot has five toes, all
of which, except the outermofl toe of each
hind foot, are armed with claws. Its moft
remarkable character is a hard pointed
horn or claw on the tip of the tail, foine-
what refembling the weapon of a fcorpion,
from which the trivial name is derived.
}.-,;.,, .3 The T. fimbriata, of Schneider, which
lie ' is quoted as a fynonime to this fpecies, by
M. de la Cepecle, is reckoned diftind by
Gmelin, in his late edition of the Syftema
Naturae, though he acknowledges that it
has
PI. 6. Vol.LTj.77/.
The Spotted Tortoise.
Arcfar.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 171
has great refemblance to the fcorpion Fringed
tortoife. As defcribed by Gmelin from
Schneider, the T. fimbriata, or, as it might
be called in Englifh, the fringed tortoife,
has the buckler ftriated, and rough or
prickly; the front having a callofity, confift-
ing of three knobs. The head is flat and
three cornered, having a very long and
much wrinkled neck *.
ART. XIII. THE SPOTTED TORTOISE f .
F this new fpecies, which has not Spotted
been hitherto defcribed by an}- na- Tortolfe *
turalift, we have feen feveral living indivi-
duals, which had been fent from America fj
in tubs of water, to be employed in medi-
cine.
* Syft- Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1043. G - "9- fy- 28.
Schneid. Schildkr. 349. n. 12. Barrere, fr. equin. 60.
165. Ferm. furin. ii. 226.
j- La Jaime.
Though it is not faid what part of America they
came from, it was moft probably from the French colo-
ny of Cayenne. T.
L 7 2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Tortoife. cine - If is Iikewii " e fcmnd in the ifland of
Afcenfion, from whence one fpecimen was
brought to the Royal Cabinet ; and it in-
habits the frem waters in fome parts of
Europe, the European fpecimens only dif-
fering in having their colours lefs brilliant.
This beautiful tortoife commonly grows
to alinoft double the fize of the mud tor-
toife ; the buckler of one fpecimen, in the
Royal Collection, being feven inches and
three quarters in length. It is beautifully
variegated with darkifh grafs green, and
golden yellow ; the ground colour of its
whole body, buckler, head, neck, paws,
and tail, being green, elegantly variegated
with a vaft number of fmall yellow fpots,
placed veiy near each other, fometimes
touching, and in many parts difpofed in a
radiated order. The middle of the buck-
ler has ufually thirteen plates, and the bor-
der twenty-five. The breaftplate is cover-
ed by twelve plates, and its pofterior part
terminates in a ftraight tranfverfe line, as
in the mud fpecies, with which this has
confiderable refemblance. The tail is flen-
der,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 173
der, and almoft half the length of the buck- Spotted
Tortoife,
ler, and is carried extended ftraight out,
when the animal walks, which it does with
more agility than the. land tortoifes, and is
agreeable to look at, both on account of its
elegant motions, and from the uncommon
beauty of its colours. When about to u-
nite in the ad; of love, it emits a flight figh
o o
or whiftling noife. One of the fpecimens
of this fpecies, received by the Royal Ca-
binet, was tranfmitted under the name of
land tortoife ; the miftake probably arifmg
from this circumftance, that all the frefh
water tortoifes pafs a very confiderable part
of the year on land, as has been already
mentioned, when defcribing the mud tor-
toife.
ART. XIV. THE SOFT TORTOISE*.
HIS, which is the largeft of the frein
water tortoifes, was firft defcribed by
Mr
* La Molle.
Tefludo ferox : Having an oval cartilaginous buck-
ler,
174 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Soft Tor- ' ]yj r Pennant ; Dr Garden, who had re-
toiic.
ceived two fpecimens from South Carolina,
having fent one to that celebrated Englifh
naturalift, and the other to Mr Ellis. It
is found in the fouthern rivers of Carolina,
and is called in that country, the foft-fcaled
tortoife ; but, as it has in reality no fcales,
it is here only called the foft tortoife. In
the rivers Savanna and Alatainaha, it is ve-
ry numerous, and Dr Garden was inform-
ed that it is likewife very common in the-
rivers of Eaft Florida. It grows to a very
confiderable fize, fometimes weighing as far
as feventy pounds : One of the fpecimens
received by Dr Garden weighed between
twenty-five and thirty pounds ; he kept it
near three months in his houfe, du
which period he could never perceive that
it took any nourifhment, though a great
number of different articles was prefefited
to it as food.
The
Icr, and prominent cylindrical nuizxk ; cacli foot hav-
ing three claws. Syil. Nat. ccl. Cmcl. i. 1030. G.
119. fp. 20. Schnekl. Schildkr. 330. n. 6. Pennant,
Phil. Tranf. LXI. 266. t. ic. f. i. 2. 3.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 1 75
The buckler, of that individual, was
twenty inches long, by fourteen in breadth;
its general colour being deep brown, with
a greeniih tinge. The middle part of the
buckler was hard, ftrong, and bony ; but
the border, and particularly its hinder part,
was foft, pliable, and cartilaginous, refem-
bling tanned leather, giving way in all di-
rections to preflure, yet firm enough to de-
fend the animal againil injuries. The
buckler was garnilhed with finooth oblong
elevations, near the hinder part, and to-r
wards the head with fimilar but larger ele-
vations.
The breaftplate was of a beautiful whitilh
colour, and extended two or three inches
farther forwards than the buckler, fo that
when the head was withdrawn it could reft
on this part, which was foft and flexible,
The hinder part was hard, bony, and raifed
in fuch a manner as to referable a faddle.
The head is fmall, and fomewhat of a
triangular form, enlarging towards the neck,
which is very thick, and meafured thirteen
inches and a half long, yet was eafiiy with-
drawn
176 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Soft Tor- drawn within the buckler. The eyes are
toifc. J
fituated in the upper and anterior par*: of
the head, rather near each other ; having
large moveable eyelids, fmall round pupils,
and the irides of a lively yellow colour ;
and they are provided with the membrana
nictitans, which are (hut either on account
of fear, or when the animal fleeps. The
mouth is placed in the lower part of the
face, as in other tortoifes, each jaw confid-
ing of one bone. One of the moil remark-
able characters of this fpecies is the form
of the muzzle and pofition of the noftrils :
The upper part of the upper jaw termi-
nates in a fomewhat cylindrical cartilagi-
nous production, at leaft three quarters of
an inch long, like the fnout of a mole, but
flender, weak, and almoft tranfparent ; and
at the extremity of this muzzle the noftrils
are fituated, having likewife an opening
into the palate.
The paws are thick and ftrong ; the
fore feet having each five true toes, three
of which are ftronger and fhorter than the
reft, and having crooked claws, while the
other
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 177
ether two have no nails, and beyond them, So fc Tor '
toiie.
are two falfe or fupernumerary toes, which
affift with the other five to keep extended
a confiderable web, which unites all the
feven. The hind feet are exactly fimilar,
having only one fupernumerary toe on
each. All the four feet, and the legs, arc
covered by a w r rinkled Ikin, of a dufky
greenim colour. The tail is large, thick,
and fiiort.
The foft tortoife is excellent eating, and
is even faid to be preferable to the green
tortoiie. It is very flrong, and more active
than moft of the genus ; and, being very
wild, it is Very apt, when attacked^ to raiio.
itfelf upon its feet from the ground, anil
fpring furioiifly on its enem^," which ^
bites with great violence. The individi .
kept by Dr Garden was female ; flic laid
fifteen eggs while in , his poffefiion, and
about an equal number were found within
her body after death. The eggs were
perfectly fpherical, and near an inch in di-
ameter.
VOL. I. M . \v e
178 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Soft Tor- \y e are fatisficd, that, when the animals
toiie.
of the New World become better known,
this fpecies, which has hitherto only been
found in the rivers of Carolina and Florida,
will be dilcovered in many other parts both
of North and South America. When the
Chevalier de Widerfpach, an officer in the
battalion of Guiana, and correfpondent of
the Royal Cabinet, was on the banks of the
Oyapock in North America, his negroes
brought him the head and feveral other
parts of a frefh water tortoife, which they
had torn to pieces, and which he fince
thinks to have been the fame with this loft
tortoife of Mr Pennant.
ART. XV. THE CARTILAGINOUS TORTOISE*.
cartilaginous tortoife of Boddaert
DO us Tor-
toife. *' is quoted by M. de la Cepede as a
fynonime of the former fpecies, but, on the
authority
* Teftudo cartilaginea : Having a round membra-
nous buckler, which is ftriated on the back ; the muz-
zle-
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 179
authority of Schneider and Gmelin, is here Carll '*S'-
J nous lor-
enumerated feparately. Its place of refi- toiie.
dence is not mentioned, but it is faid to be
very rare. It agrees with the foft fpecies
in the confiftency of its buckler, and in the
form of its fnout. The buckler is rough,
with elevated little knobs ; part of its edge
is notched, and feems rolled back ; its an-
terior part is elevated in the middle, and
the hinder part is depreffed or flattened.
The breaftplate is as long at its fore part
as the buckler ; and neither the buckler nor
breaftplate have any fcales or plates. The
head is depreffed or flattened on its upper
part; the lips being wide, and of a yellow
colour, have the upper lip curled out
forewards and upwards, and the lower lip
downwards and backwards. The nofe or
muzzle is cylindrical and elongated, having
the noftrils at the extremity. The opening
M 2 of
fele being long and cylindrical ; each foot having three
claws. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1039. G. up. fp. 19.
Boddaert, Berl. Nat. fr. Schr. iii. 265. T. Boddaerti.
Schneider, in Leipz, Magaz. zur< naturk. u. Oekon.
1786, iii. 263. t. 2,
i So OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
I' Tor". ^ ^ ie e y es are horizontal, the upper eye-
torfe. Hd being thicker than the lower. The feet
have each five toes, of which three on each
foot are armed with claws.
If this be not a different fpecies from the
foft tortoife, it is at leaft a variety, as may
be obferved by comparing the two defcrip-
tions. It efpecially differs, in wanting the
falfe or fupernumerary toes. Befides this
fpecies, Gmelin enumerates two others,
which he fufpects to be either the fame
with this, or varieties. One of thefe, which
he calls the Membranous tortoife *, has an
oval ftriated buckler of a grey colour ; is
very final!, and is found in the fea near
Guiana. The other, which he names the
Three-clawed tortoife f , is found in the
Nile ;
* Teftudo membranacea i Having an oval, membra-
nous, ftriated, grey, buckler , with three claws on each
foot. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1039. G. 119. fp. 17.
J31umenb. Nat. 257. n. i. Schncid. Schildkr. t. i.
f Teftudo triunguis : Having a round buckler, eleva-
ted and wrinkled in the middle, the border being fmooth
and more dcpreired ; with three claws on each foot,
Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1039. G. 119. fp. 18. Forlk.
Faun. arab. p. 9.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 181
Nile ; the middle of its buckler is rounded C.rt;ij.<i-
nous lor-
and wrinkly, the border being fmooth and toiie.
flattened ; and the noftrils are elevated, cy-
lindrical, and projecting from the head. In
both, the feet have three claws on each.
ART. XVI. COMMON LAND TORTOISE*.
'HIS is the moil common fpecies of
Land
tortoife in the temperate regions of Tortoife.
Europe, particularly in Greece : From
this latter circumftance, M. Daubenton
and M. de la Cepede have been induced
to give it the name of La Grecque, or the
Grecian tortoife ; but, as it is equally com-
mon in many other countries, the more
M 3 ufual
* La Grecque, Encycl. Meth. Tortuga de Garriga,
in Languedoc. XsA* y) j, Xig$<, in Greek. Ifikame,
Sanki, in Japanefe.
Teftudo graeca : Having the toes fcarcely diftinel ;
the buckler being very protuberant on the hinder part
of the back, and its border very thick, with flattiili
fmooth plates. Syft. Nat. ed. Grn. i. 1043. G. irp.
fp. TO. Schneid. Schildkr. n. 16. T. terreftris vulga*
yis, Ray, fynopf. anim. 243.
1 82 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ufual Englifh appellation is here retained,
Tortoi-fc This fpecies is found in the woods and on
dry land, and is fo well known as to have
become notorious for flownefs, both in an-
cient and modern times ; being, as fuch>
employed in illuilration, in the arguments
of philofophy, in the iimilies of poetry, and
even in the proverbial fay ings of the vulgar.
It is one of the flowed known quadrupeds,
taking a very longtime to walk even a very
iniall diftance ; yet the motions of foine of
its members, as the head, the tail, and even
the feet, except in walking, are tolerably
lively. The ilownefs of its motions, in
walking, feems occafioned principally by
the pofition of the legs, which are thrown
very much to the fides of the body, and are
greatly fpread out from each other ; it may
likewife be, in fome degree, caufed by the
great weight of the buckler, and other large
unwieldy parts of its body, in proportion
to the weaknefs and unfavourable pofture
of the legs. Its blood is equally warm with
that of feveral other oviparous quadrupeds,
Vt'hich are able to run up the higheft trees
with
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 183
with great agility ; and, though its toes are
not feparated, like thofe of fwift lizards, Tortoife.
they are by no means fo conftru&ed, to
appearance, as to render walking uneafy or
difficult.
The common land tortoife refembles the
frefh water tortoifes in many refpe&s.
Their fize varies confiderably, according to
age, and to the different coimtries which
they inhabit. In general, it appears that
thofe which are found in mountainous dif-
trids, are larger than fuch as inhabit the
plains. The living fpecimen, from which
the following defcription was taken, mea-
furing along the curvature of the buckler,
was nearly fourteen inches long, by almoft
ten inches broad, and four inches and a
quarter in perpendicular thickneis. The
head was one inch ten lines long, by one
inch two lines broad, and an inch thick, its
upper part being flattened, and fomewhat
triangular. The eyes are furnifhed with
the membrana nictitans, the lower eye-lid
only being moveable. Pliny has taken no-
tice of this laft circumftance, and has mif-
M 4 takenly
1 84 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Common takenly attributed it likewife to crocodiles.
Land
Touoifc. and to all oviparous quadrupeds. The jaws
are very ftrong, and indented at their edges,
their inner furfaces being fluted or ridged ;
which circumftance has occafioned fome
writers to affcrt that they were furnifhed
with teeth. The auditory paflages are co-
vered over by the fkin of the head. The
tail is very fhort, hardly meafuring two
inches in our fpecimen. The fore legs
meafured three inches and a half long, to
the extremity of the claws, and the hind
legs two inches and a half. The head, legs,
feet, and tail, are covered by a rough-grain-
ed brown fkin, garnifhed with hard unequal
fcales ; fome of thefe, towards the extremi-
ties of the paws, being of fuch fize, fo much
detached at their outer ends, and fo fharp,
as to be readily miftakcn, at firft fight, for
claws. The feet are fcarcely diftinguim-
able from the legs ; and the toes are fo
much united and covered by the common
fcaly membrane, as only to be apparent
from the claws at their extremities. Lin-
naeus has defcribed thefe feet improperly,
a*
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 185
as fubdigitated, when in reality they have
no apparent toes *. Tortoife f
The claws in this fpecies are ufually more
blunted than thofe of frefli water tortoifes,
in confequence of being more worn by more
conftant ufe, and by more fevere preflure,
in walking on the dry ground. In walk-
ing, the claws of the fore feet are rubbed
feparately, and one after the other, againft
the ground ; when one of the feet is placed
on the ground, the inner claw is firft refted
on, and fo on fucceffively to the outermoft.
The foot in this manner acts fomewhat like
a wheel, as if the tortoife wifhed fcarcely
to raife its feet from the earth, and endea-
voured to advance by means of a fucceffion
of partial fteps of its toes or claws, on pur-
pofe
* The term ufed by Linnaeus is intended to diftin^
guifh the feet of this and fome other fpecies, under
the name of fubdigitated, from thofe in which the toes
are perfectly diftinct without webs, which he calls digi-
tated ; from thofe again which have diftincl toes united
by a web, called pa/mated; and from the fea tortoifes,
which have fins rather than toes, the feet of which ar^
called pinniform. T\
i 86 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
the more fi rml 7 to ^ipport the great
Tortoife. weight of its body and fhell.
Thirteen plates, which are flightly ftria-
ted round their edges, cover the middle of
the buckler ; and its border is covered by
twenty-four plates, all of which, particu-
larly the hinder ones, are confiderably larger
in proportion than in moft of the other
fpecies of the genus. By the manner in
which thefe plates on the border are fitua-
ted, refpecting each other, they give an in-
dented appearance to the edge of the buck-
ler. The breaftplate is ufually covered by
twelve or thirteen plates : In the fpecimen,
from which this account was formed, there
were thirteen. The plates of the buckler
are brown, of various degrees of darknefs in
different individuals, marbled with whitim.
The buckler is very much protuberant
on the back, by which form this fpecies is
enabled to recover its procumbent pofture
when turned over on its back, and does not
remain, like the green tortoife, a prey to its
enemies. In the action of turning over,
from lying on its back, it does not depend
altogether
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 187
Altogether on the affiftance of the feet, Commoqj
Land
which 'it cannot extend fufficiently to get Tortoife,
hold of the ground ; it employs, at the
fame time, the head and neck, ftretching
them out fo as to lift it from the ground,
and balancing itfelf from fide to fide, until
it dilcovers on which fide the ground is
loweft, and moft favourable for its purpofe;
it then makes all its efforts on that fide on-
ly, till it gets far enough over to take hold
of the earth with its feet. It is faid *, that
the male and female of this fpecies may be
diftinguilhed from each other by the form
of the breaftplate, which is almofl entirely
flat in the female, and fomewhat concave
in the male.
The weight of the bodies of the fea and
frefh water tortoifes, in proportion to the
ftrength of their legs and feet, is greatly
dhninifhed by means of the fluid which
they inhabit ; as it is well known, that eve-
ry body immerfed in a fluid, lofes fo much
of its weight as is exactly equal to the
quantity of water it difplaces. The land
tortoifeSj
* Cetti, Hift. Nat. Amphib. et Fife. Sard. p. 10.
1 88 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Common tortoifes, however, enjoy no fuch advan*
Land
Tortoife. tage, but are obliged to fupport the whole
undiminimed weight of their cumbrous
bodies. There is an other proof of their
ftrength, in the facility with which they
crufh very hard bodies between their jaws.
The jaws are moved by means of mufcles
of fuch force and activity, that more than
half an hour after the head is cut off, they
will fometimes gnafh them together with
confiderable noife. Even in the time of
Ariftotle, the tortoife was confidered as hav-
ing more force in its jaws, in proportion,
than any other animal.
The following is an account of the prin-
cipal refults of a fet of experiments, made
in Tufcany by F. Redi, on the remarkable
difficulty that occurs in our attempts to de-
prive oviparous quadrupeds of life *. At
the beginning of the month of November,
he made a large opening in the fkull of a
common land tortoife, and removed the
whole fubftance of the brain, cleaning out
the cavity with great care. The eyes of
the
* Obfervaz. di Fran. Redi, int. anim. viv. p. 1 2&,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, 189
the tortoife were inftantly ihut. and never Commoit
9 Land
afterwards opened ; but, being fet at liber- Tortoife-
ty, the animal continued to walk about, as.
well as before the brain was taken away :
It advanced indeed in a boggling manner,
as if groping its way, which it could now
no longer fee. In three days the wound
was covered with new fkin, and the tortoife
lived, and continued all its ordinary mo-
tions, till the middle of May, nearly fix
months after it had been deprived of its
brain. After death only a fmall black clot
of dry blood was found in the cavity, from
which the brain had been taken out. He
repeated this experiment on feveral tortoifes,
both land, frefh water, and even fea fpe-
cies, and they all continued to live, for long-
er or fhorter times, after lofmg their brain.
He cut of the head of a land tortoife, and,
even after all the blood, which could ef-
'
cape from the veflels of the neck, was dif-
charged, it continued alive for feveral days,
as could be diftindly obferved by the mo-
tions of the feet. He afterwards decapitat-
ed four tortoifes, and, having opened them
twelve
I 9 o OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Common twelve days after that operation, he found
Land
Tortoifc. all their hearts continue to palpitate, receiv-
ing and difcharging the remaining blood a9
tifual, which proved their continuance in
life. Thefe experiments, which have been
fmce fuccefsfully repeated by feveral natu-
ralifts, are a ftrong corroboration of what
has been before advanced, in the prelimi-
nary difcourfe on the general nature of o-
viparous quadrupeds,
i
The common land tortoife feeds on vari->
ous herbs, fruits, worms, fnails, and infects;
but it never attacks warm blooded animals,
nor deftroys fifh, like the mud tortoife of the
rivers and marines, into which the land tor-
toife never goes. Its manners are extreme-
ly gentle, and are as peaceable as its mo-
tions are flow ; hence it is eafily domefti-
cated, and is an agreeable object in gar-
dens, where it deftroys noxious vermin.
In defect of proper food, it may be fuppli-
ed with bran or meal.
Like all other tortoifes and oviparous
quadrupeds, it can fubfifl a very long time
without
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 19*
without food. Gerard Blafius * kept one Common
Land
by him for ten months, during which time Tortoife*
it neither eat nor drank. It died at the end
of that period, but folely on account of the
exceffive cold of the feafon ; for, on open-
ing, the interlines were found' filled with
excrementitious matter, partly black, part
green, and part yellow.
In common with the other fpecies of
the genus, this lives very long. M. Cetti
has feen one in Sardinia, which had lived
fixty years in one houfe, where it was con-
fidered as an old domeflic f. In moderate-
ly high latitudes, it pafTes the winter in fub-
terraneous holes, fometimes of its own dig-
ging ; being lefs or more in the flate of hi-
bernation or torpor, according to the feve-
rity of the feafon. Even in Sardinia, it
takes to an under ground habitation about
the end of November J. It leaves its re-
treat in fpring, and copulates fooner or la-
ter after that period according to the tem-
perature
* Obf. Anatom. p. 64.
f Hift. Nat. Amph. & Fife. Sard. p. 64,
Id. ibid.
J 9 2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
(Common perature of the country or fcalbn. Many
fabled are reported* concerning the vaft
eagernefs of the males, and the timidity of
the females, &c. The only truth on this
fubject is, that the male of this fpecies has
a very lar^ fexual organ, and has probably
a proportional ardour for propagation. It
has even been reported, that, in Africa,
where this fpecies is very numerous, the
males often fight for the exclufive pofleflion
of the females j and that in thefe combats,
animated by the moft forcible of all paflions,
they advance boldly, though flowly, a-
gainft each other, and fight by butting vi-
olently with their heads f, fo as even to be
heard at fome diftance.
The time of laying their eggs varies accor-
ding to the heat of the countries they inha-
bit : In Sardinia, it is towards the end of
June. Thefe eggs are ufually four or five in
number, being white, and much like the eggs
of pigeons : They are depofited by the fe-
male in a hole, which me digs with her
fore
* Vid. Gonrad Gefner.
j- Syft. Nat. Lin. in loco.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 193
fore paws, in fome dry fpot expofed to the Common
Land
fun, and (he covers them over with earth. Torioife.
The ru:at of the fun hatches them about the
beginning of September, when the young
ones come out of the eggs about the fize of
walnuts f .
Though this fpecies hardly ever goes in-
to the watery' its internal ftructure is exact-
ly comfdrmable to that of the fea tortoifes ;
fo "that, even though it is not amphibious
in its habits, it is fo in organization to a
certain degree. Gerard Blafms, on diflec-
ting a land tortoife, found its pericardium
filled with limfcidfyv'ater f : And we lhall
' . , -fij* *"*;
have occafi origin the article on the croco-
dile, to remark that Sloan obferved the fame
circumftance on differing an aligator.
The common land tortoife is found in
almoft all the warm and temperate regions
of the Old World : In Southern Europe,
Macedonia, Greece, Amboina, Ceylon, In-
dia, Japan J, the iile of Bourbon , the if-
VOL. I. N land
* Cetti, Hift. Nat. Amphib. &c. Sard. p. 10.
f Obf. Anat. p. 63.
$ Hift. Gen. des Voy. xl. 382.
| Land tortoifes were formerly very numerous in the
iflc
Common
Land
Tortoife.
land of Afcenfion, and in the deferts of Af-
rica. Thofe which are found in Libia and
India, are reckoned more delicious and
more wholefome as food than any other
tortoifes ; and we cannot conceive why the
Turks and modern Greeks mould be for-
\
bidden this excellent food.
Farther obfervations are yet neceffary to
afcertain, whether the land tortoifes of South
America are the fame, or different from
this common fpecies; and whether they are
indigenous to the country, or have been
carried there from fome part of the ancient
world. ' One kind of land tortoife, called
* Sabutis in the Brafilian language, is pre-
* ferred, by the inhabitants of Para, to all
* the reft. They all live out of the water
' for feveral months every year, during
* which time they take no food*'. In South
America, where land tortoifes of fome kinds
are
ifle of Bourbon; but have of late been fo much deftroy-
ed by mariners that they are hardly now to be found,
except in the weft part of the ifland, and even there
the inhabitants are not allowed to kill them, except dur-
ing lent. Voy. de Barbinais le Gentil, round the world,
* Hift. Gen. des Voy. liii. 438.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 195
are very common, they are hunted in a
particular manner, by means of dogs that Tortoife.
are properly trained to the fport. They are
followed by the trad of their feet ; and
when the dogs come up with them, they
continue barking till their matters come to
the fpot. The tortoifes are then taken a-
live, being generally five or fix pounds
weight or more, and are kept till wanted,
either in gardens or proper inclofures, where
they are fed with vegetables or fruits, and
they often multiply exceedingly in this ftate
of confinement. The flefh of thefe South
American tortoifes, though rather tough, is
tolerably good eating.
Thefe young tortoifes grow for feven or
eight years : The females produce by the
time they have reached half their ordinary
full fize ; but the males never engender till
they are almoft at their perfect growth.
From this circumftance M. de la Borde
concludes, that the females are more ardent
than the males, which is contradictory to
the opinion of the antients, refpecting the
great ardor of male tortoifes, and the ex^
N 2 ceffive
196 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Common ceffive relu&ancy of the females. It ap-
Tortoife. pears that the common land tortoife, at
leaft with fome flight variety, perhaps oc-
cafioned by caufes dependent on the diffe-
rence of climate, is found in North Ame-
rica, and the neighbouring iflands.
The fize of this fpecies, in the temperate
countries of Europe, is confiderably lefs
than that which it often reaches in the
warm regions of India. One, which had
been brought from. Coromandel, meafured
four feet and a half, from the muzzle to
the tip of the tail, and was fourteen inches
thick. The head was feven inches long,
by five in width, and the brain and cere-
bellum were only fixteen lines long and
nine lines broad. The tongue was one
inch long, by four lines broad, and one
line in thicknefs. The buckler was three
feet long, by two feet broad. This tor-
toife was male : The breaftplate was con-
cave, which has been already mentioned as
a diftlnction of the fex ; the fexual organ
was nine inches long, by an inch and a
half in diameter, and was contained in the
retum ;
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 197
re&um ; the urinary bladder was of afto- Common
niftiing fize, and contained twelve pounds Tonoue.
of clear limpid urine.
The tail of this individual was fourteen
inches long, and fix inches in diameter at
the root, and, after the death of the animal,
it became fo extremely ftiff that it couid
not be bent ; from which circumftance we
may conclude, that it might have been em-
ployed as an offenfive weapon, with which
the tortoife could give fevere blows. At
the tip it was armed with a hard pointed
fubftance like horn, confiderably refembling
that which has been already defcribed, on.
the tail of the fcorpion tortoife. Thus, we
find that the large land tortoifes are pro-
vided with offenfive weapons of confider-
able power, befides their almofl impene^
trable defenfive armour : They have hard
cutting jaws, and may ufe their feet and
tail as arms of offence ; but, as they never
abufe thefe inftruments, and feem only to
employ them as additional means of de-
fence, thefe do not at all contradict, or ra-
ther they are additional confirmations of
N 3 our
our former account, of the gentlenefs of
Tortoife. difpofition, and tranquil manners, of the
common land tortoife.
In the Royal Cabinet, there are fpeci-
mens of two common land tortoifes of con-
fiderable fize, the buckler of the one being
nearly two feet five inches in length, and
that of the other two feet four : On the
tip of the tail, in the former of thefe, there
is a callofity fimilar to that on the Coro-
mandel tortoife. We muft not, however,
conclude that this callofity, or horny tip^
exclusively belongs to large individuals -of
the fpecies ; for we have feen a fimilar
fubftance on the tail of a living individual,
which was very nearly of the fame fize
with the one from which the defcription
at the beginning of this article was drawn
up. As, however, this laft individual dif-
fered from the common land tortoife, in
the plates being of a tolerably bright green-
ifh colour, and as no particular account of
its hiftory could be procured, it might pro-
bably have belonged to a diftinft perma-
nent variety, in which the tail becomes
armed
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 199
armed with its callofity at an earlier age d mon
than in the ordinary land tortoife *. In Tortoife.
the Royal Cabinet, there is the head of a
land tortoife, brought from the ifland of
t)iego Rodriguez, which meafures almoft
five inches long.
I have received from M. Arthaud, per-
petual fecretary of the Philadelphes, a large
land tortoife from St. Domingo, which is
entirely fimilar to the common land tor-
toife already defcribed, except that mod of
the fcales on the head, legs, and tail, are
bright red.
N 4 ART.
* On this fubject M. de la Cepede refers to Schnei-
ders work on tortoifes, p. 348. Dr Gmelin, however,
places the individual there referred to as a diftincl: fpe-
cies, and, in the frefh water divifion of the genus, under
the name of T. Hermanni : Having four claws on each
foot, and a claw at the tip of the tail. He defcribes it
as fix inches long ; the buckler being convex, and va-
riegated with black and yellow ; having twdnty-four
plates round the border, the two hindmoft of which
are protuberant ; and the feet are clumfy, with no dif-
fcm&ion of toes, like thofe of an elephant. T.
200 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. XVII. GEOMETRICAL TORTOISE*.
Geome- r THHIS elegant land tortoife has many
Tortoifc. circumftances of agreement with the
common land fpecies : Its toes are united
together, in a fimilar manner, by a fkin,
which is covered with fmall fcales, fo as
not to be diftinguifhable from each other,
forming a thick clumfy paw ; and the tips
of the toes are only indicated by means of
the claws. Each fore foot has five claws,
and each hind foot four. The under fide
of the paws are covered with fcales of con-
iiderable fize, as well as the upper rule ;
and
* La Geometrique. Encycl. Method.
Teftudo Geometrica : Having an oval protuberant
buckler ; all the plates of which are elevated, and or-
namented with yellow radiating ftreaks, meeting to-
wards the apex, which is fmooth. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm.
i. 1044. G. 119. fp. 13. Schneid. Schildkr. 352. n.
13. Muf. ad. frid. i. 50.
T. pitta, f. ftellata. Worm. Muf. 317. T. teffellata
major. Grew, Muf. 36. t. 30. f. i.'2. T. minor am-
boinenfis. Seba, Muf. i. t. 80. f. 83. T. teflellata mi-
nor. Ray. Synopf. 259.
Tlie (reoirietoralTortoise .
A- re Juf. Sculps
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 201
and as thefe fcales are only attached to the <*<>*
trical
{kin at their roots, and are thick and fome- Tortoife.
what rounded at the tips, they are readily
miftaken at firft fight for additional claws,
fixed in various parts of the fkin.
The individual, from which the prefent
defcription was formed, meafured ten inches
long by eight inches broad, and almoft four
inches in perpendicular thicknefs. The buck-
ler of this fpecies is remarkably convex and
protuberant ; and is elegantly variegated
with very beautiful colours. The plates
which cover the middle of the buckler, u-
fually thirteen in number, are very protu-
berant in the middle, and are feparated from,
each other by furrows of fome depth :
The five which form the middle row are
hexagonal, and thofe of the two lateral
rows have five fides : The middle pro-
jecting part of each is fmooth, of a yellow
colour, and has fomewhat of the regular
form of the plate : The fides of each plate
(lope downwards from this projection, to
the furrows which feparate it from the ad-
joining plates, thefe fides are deeply ftriat-
ed parallel to the feparating furrows, and
are
202 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
are elegantly marked with yellow ftripesj
Tonoife. which radiate from the center of each plate ;
thus forming a net-work of diftinft yellow
lines on a general hlack ground, having a
kind of regular geometrical appearance,
from which the name of the fpecies is de-
rived. The border of the buckler is cover-
ed by twenty-three plates, fo difpofed as to
make the edges indented, like the teeth of
a faw ; thefe plates are black and ftriated,
and are elegantly marked with yellow
ftripes, in regular angular forms. The
breaftplate is covered by twelve plates,
which are likewife fomewhat embofled in
the middle.
There are feveral varieties of this fpecies^
which differ from the one now defcribed,
in the number and difpofition of the yel-
low rays on the plates ; in the greater or
lefler elevation of the bofTes on the middle
of thefe ; in the greater or leffer uniformi-
ty of the yellownefs of the breaftplate ; and
in the degrees of elevation of the plates
which cover the breaftplate. It is uncer-
tain whether thefe differences form conftant
varieties^
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 203
varieties, or whether they only depend on
difference in age, fex, climate, &c. Tortoife*
This fpecies is found in Afia, at Mada-
gafcar, in the ifland of Afcenfion, and at
the Cape of Good Hope. M. Bruyere, of*
the Montpellier Society, informs us, that
the female lays from twelve to fifteen eggs
every year. The land tortoife, named He-
cate by Brown *, is probably a variety of
this fpecies. According to that author, it
is a native of the continent of South Ame-
rica, but is very common in Jamaica, to
which it is frequently brought from the
Continent. Its buckler is very thick, and
is often eighteen inches in length ; its fur-
face being divided into oblong hexagons,
yellow at the center, from which flight lines
radiate to the circumference. The terra-
pin of Dampier feems the fame with this
hecate of Brown, and with our geometrical
tortoife ; and the hecate of Dampier is pro*
bably the fame with what Brown calls the
terrapin. The tortoife which Dampier
calls the terrapin, is confiderably fmaller
than
* Nat, Hift. of Jamaica, 466. n. 5,
304 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
than his hecate, and has the back more pro-
Tortoife. tuberant ; though, in other refpeils, the
two kinds are a good deal fnnilar. He de-
fcribes the buckler as being naturally carved.
It frequents wet marfhy places in the fo-
refts, and is very common in the ifle of
Pines, between the coaft of America and
the ifland of Cuba. The tortoife hunters,
after having caught them in the woods,
carry them to their huts, where each hunter
marks his own, and permits them to go at
liberty ; and they are fo flow in their mo-
tions, that, after a whole month employed
in hunting, each man is fure to find his
own tortoifes near at hand ; they are then
gathered, and carried over to Cuba *.
The natural hiftory of tortoifes is ftill
very imperfect, and needs a great number
of obfervations to render it complete : All
that we have been able to attempt in this
work is to indicate the circumftances that
are neceflary to complete it, and the man-
ner in which thefe require to be afcertain-
ed,
* Dcfcrip. of New Spain, in Hift. Gen. des Voy*
part iii. liv. 5;
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 205
ed, giving fome fixed points, around which
thefe may be arranged when difcovered. Tortoife.
ART. XIX. THE ROUGH TORTOISE*.
A CCORDING to Seba f, this fpecies
i\ f Rough
JLjL only frequents the dry land. The Tortoife.
muzzle is pointed. The buckler is nearly
as broad as it is long ; its edges, both be-
fore and at the fides, being fmooth, but they
are flightly notched or indented behind.
The whole plates of the buckler are fmooth,
except thofe on the back, which are rough
and warty, and are raifed into a longitudi-
nal ridge. The colour of thefe plates is
whitim, crofled in feveral directions by
narrow
* La Raboteufe. Encyclop. Method.
Teftudo fcabra : Having an oval convex buckler,
highly ridged along the middle, which is rough ; the
head being fmooth and variegated. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel.
i. 1040. G. 119- fp- 6. Gronov. Zooph. 74.
T. verrucofa. Walbaum, Chelenogr. 1 1 6.
f M. de la Cepede quotes the T. minor amboinenfis
of Seba, as fynonimous with this fpecies. By Gmelin,
it is confidered as a fynonime of the geometrical fpecies.
T
7~ JL
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
narrow blackifh ftreaks, giving a marbled
Tortoiie.
appearance. The breaftplate is waved at
the fore part, and is (lightly concave in the
middle. The individual from which the
defcription was drawn, meafured nearly three
inches long, from the tip of the tail to the
point of the muzzle, by fcarcely two inches
broad ; and Seba fays the fpecies is never
larger.
In this fpecies each fore foot has five
claws, and each of the hind feet four, the
fifth toe on the hind feet having no claw.
The tail is fhort. The head, feet, and tail,
are nearly of the fame yellowifh white with
the buckler, variegated with brown ftreaks
and fpots, which are larger in fome places,
efpecially on the head, than on the buckler.
This fpecies is found in India, particularly
Amboina, and is likewife met with in Ca-
rolina,
ART*
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 307
ART. XX. THE SERRATED TORTOISE *.
T
HIS fpecies is only known by the de- Serrated
fcription of Linnaeus. The toes, of
which there are five on each fore foot, and
four behind, are not feparated, but are unU
ted by the {kin into a rounded paw, as in
feveral other tortoifes. The buckler is
fomewhat heart fhaped, being from one to
two inches in diameter ; and its edges are
ferrated, or as if torn. The plates which
cover the buckler are hexagonal, rough, and
of a dirty whitifli colour. The tail is fhort-
er than the feet. It is found in Virginia,
and was defcribed by Linnaeus from a fpe-
cimen in the colle&ion of M. de Geer.
ART,
* La Dentelee. Encycl. Method.
Teftudo denticulata : Having a round heart-fhaped,
buckler, ferrated at the edges ; the feet being fcarcely
digitated. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1043. *-*. up. fp. p.
Schneid. Schildkr. n. 17.
Ginelin likewife quotes, though with a mark of
dqubt, the T. fignata of Walbaum, Chelenogr. p. 120,
as a variety of this fpecies. T.
2oS OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. XXI. THE HUNCHED TORTOISE*.
A CCORDING to Linnaeus, this fpe-
JTjL cies inhabits the hotter regions of
the earth, and is confined to the dry land.
Its toes are diftinct, and not united by any
web or membrane. The buckler is hunch-
ed or protuberant, and the four foremoft
plates on the back are elevated into a ridge.
The breaftplate has no indentations at the
edges. We have feen the buckler and
breaftplate of an individual of this fpecies,
in the collection of the Chevalier de la
Marck, which meafured fix inches long, by
fix inches and a half wide, and two inches
feven lines in depth or thicknefs. The mid-
dle of the buckler was covered by thirteen
(lightly ftriated plates, the borders by twen-
ty-five,
* La Bombee. Encycl. Method.
Teftudo carinata : Having a hunched buckler, the
four foremoft plates of the back being ridged, and the
breaftplate whole at the edges; with diftinct toes.
Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1043. G. 119. fp. 12. Schneid,
Schildkr. n. 18,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 209
tv-five, and the breaftplate by twelve. The Hunched
* 1 ortoiie*.
buckler was of a greenilh brown colour,
ftreaked in every direction with yellow*
ART. XXII. THE BOX TORTOISE*.
1HIS fpecies inhabits North America. Box Tor -
toife.
and was firft defcribed by Bloch, in
the Natural Hiftory Memoirs of Berlin
for the year 1786 ; and the information in
this article was communicated by a letter to
M. de la Cepede, from M. Camper, mem-
ber of the States General of the United Pro-
vinces. It meafures four inches and a
quarter long, by three inches wide. The
middle
* La Tortue a Boite.
Teftudo claufa : Having the buckler protuberant and
ridged; the breaftplate being hardly notched at its
edges, and having two moveable pieces, which {hut
againft the ends of the buckler. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i.
1042. G. 119. fp. 25.
Dofenfchildkroete. Bloch, Schrift. der Berl. Naturfi,
viii. 131. t. i.
VOL. I. O
2io OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Box 1 or middle of the buckler is covered by thirteen
tovie. '
plates, in three longitudinal rows, of which
fix are in the middle row, and four in each
of the fide rows. The border of the buck-
ler is covered by twenty-five plates. The
buckler is much hunched or protuberant, as
is the cafe in mod of the land tortoifes, and
is notched in the middle of its fore part, to
allow fufficient motion to the head, and has
two notches in its hinder part, to facilitate
the motion of the legs.
The breaftplate has no notches ; but it
has a kind of moveable lid before, and an-
other behind, which play on a cartilaginous
hinge, covered by a very elaftic fkin. Thefe
are fo placed as to admit of being opened
and ihut at the pleafure of the animal, fo as
entirely to fhut in the head, feet, and tail,
when thefe are retired, by applying accu-
rately to the edges of the buckler. The
tprtoife is then as if Ihut up in a box, from
which circumftance the trivial name is gi-
ven by M. Bloch. The fore lid is fmaller
than the hinder one. The buckler is varie-
gated with brown and yellow ; and the
breaftplate
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 211
breaftplate is pale yellow, fpotted with B ?* Tor *
black. Both in colours and form, this fpe-
cies has confiderable refemblance to the
hunched tortoife.
Gmelin, in his edition of the Linnaean
Syftema Naturae, fubjoins another fpecies,
under the name of the Penfylvanian Tor-
toife *, which he fufpedts may be the fame
with the box tortoife. It has five claws on
each fore foot, and four on each behind,
and is placed in the divifion of frelh water
tortoifes, having webbed feet. The tail is
fhort, and is armed with a fharp horny
point, and is employed to flop the motion
of the animal on the declivity of hills, or of
clay banks. It inhabits the ftagnant waters
of Penfylvania.
O 2 ART.
* Teftudo Penfylvanica : Having five toes before,
and four behind ; the tail being tipped with a fharp horn.
Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1042. G. 119. fp. 26. Seligman,
av, viii. t. 77,
212 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. III. THE DWARF TORTOISE*.
Dwarf npHIS fpecies is found at the Cape of
Tortoife.
Good Hope. A living fpecimen was
ibid to Wormius, who kept it for fome
time in his garden, as having been brought
from India, where perhaps it may likewife
be found. The buckler of this beautiful
little fpecies is fcarcely four fingers breadth
in length. The plates are elegantly varie-
gated with black, white, purple, greenifh,
and
* La Vermilion. La Bande-blanclie. Encycl. Meth^
Tefludo pufilla : Having a hemifpherical buckler,
\?ith convex trapeziform plates ; the middle being dot-
ted, and the rim ftriated ; the toes being fcarcely dif-
tinct. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1044. G. 119. fp. 14.
Hagftroem. Nov. Act. Stock. 1784. i. n. 6. p. 46.
Worm. Muf. 313. Schneid. Schildkr. n. 15. T. Vir-
ginea. Grew, Muf. 38. t. 3. p. 2.
African land tortoife. Ed. Av. t. 204. Ray, Synopf.
259.
The trivial name of Vermilion, taken from the colour
of a protuberance on the top of the head, is changed in
the tranflation, to accommodate with the Syftema Na-
turae. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 213
and yellow ; and, when thefe fall off, the Dwarf
} Tortoife.
furface of the buckler underneath is black-
ifh yellow. The breaftplate is whitiili. On
the top of the head, which is compared to
the head of a parroquet, there is a protube-
rance, of a vermillion colour, mixed with
yellow ; from which the trivial name, in
the original French of this work, is derived.
The feet have each four claws, and are co-
vered with very hard fcales ; the thighs be-
ing covered by a thick {kin, refembling
leather. The tail is very fhort and flender.
Though this fpecies is cloathed in gay
and beautiful* colouring, it is fo fmall as
hardly to derive any advantage from the
defence afforded by its armour, as we may
probably apply to it what has been related
by Kolben *, refpe&ing the land tortoife
of the Cape. According to that author,
the large lea eagles, called Ofpreys, being
very fond of the flem of this tortoife, yet
unable to break through its hard covering
with all the power of their bills and talons,
carry it aloft into the air, and allow it to
O 3 fall
* Voy. to the Cape of Good Hope, ii. 198.
214 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Dwarf a ]j re peatedly on the rocks, on purpofe to
1 orioife.
dafh its fhell in pieces. The fame contrivance
has been, in all ages of the world, attributed
to the eagles of Europe, on purpofe to enable
them to devour the common land tortoife :
And the death of the famous poet Efchylus,
by means of a tortoife let fall from a great
height on his bald head *, by an eagle, is
well known.
The dwarf tortoife is not confined to the
neighbourhood of the Cape, but appears
likewife to be found in the northern parts
of Africa. Mr Edwards has defcribed an
individual of the fpecies, which was fent
from Sandta Cruz, in Weftern Barbary.
ART. XXIV. THE CAROLINA TORTOISE f .
Carolina "^HIS tortoife is found in Carolina, and
* is confidered by Linnaeus as holding
a kind of middle rank between the frefh
water
* Conrad. Gefner, de Quad. Ovip. lib. ii.
f La Courte-queue. Encycl. Method.
Teftudo Carolina : Having a protuberant buckler, dif-
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 215
water and land tortoifes, the feet rather re- Carolina
lortoife.
fembling the former. The head and feet
are covered by hard fcales, which refemble
callous knobs. The toes are united, each
fore foot having five, and each hind foot
four claws. One of its diftinguiming marks
is the extreme ihortnefs of \he tail ; but it
is not altogether wanting, as is faid by Lin-
naeus. The buckler is hollowed out on
the edge forwards, in form of a crefcent,
the reft of its edges being without indenta-
tions. The plates, with which the buckler
is covered, are large, pointed in the middle,
and ftriated round their edges. This fpe-
cies fometimes grows to a confiderable llze.
The buckler, of a fpecimen in the Royal
Cabinet, meafures ten inches and a half
long, by eight inches ten lines in breadth.
O 4 ART.
tinft toes, and no tail. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1041.
G. 119. fp. ii. Schneid. Schildkr. n. 7. Gronov.
Zooph. 17. n. 77. Ed. Av. 205. Seb. Mu i. t. go.
p.i.
ART. XXV. THE CHAGREEN TORTOISE*.
r T ! HIS new fpecies of tortoife was
brought from India to the Royal Ca-
binet by M. Sonnerat. The ftrudure of
its buckler is very fmgular, and does not
referable that of any other tortoife hitherto
known. It feems compofed of two diftincT:
bucklers, placed one over the other, the
uppermoft being confiderably narrower and
fhorter than the other. The under buck-
ler, which may be confidered as the rim or
border, is three inches and three quarters
long, by three inches and a half broad : It
Is cartilaginous, and almoft tranfparent,
leaving the ribs of the animal very diftincl:-
ly projecting along its furface, to the num-
ber of eight on each fide. The upper
buckler is two inches eight lines long, by
two inches wide ; it is of a bony fubftance,
without any plates of tortoife-lhell, the mid-
dle being fomewhat elevated into a kind of
ridge 5
f La Chagrinee.
1 . CTmgreen Tojtoiser?.( krolina Toi*tea. .
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS, 217
ridge ; and its furface is entirely covered
Toitoife.
with fmall pointed projections, from whence
the trivial name is derived. This upper
buckler is compofed of twenty-three diftincl:
diviiions or pieces. One large piece forms
the fore part, neareft the head ; fix fmaller
pieces form the middle row, along the ridge
of the back ; and the two fide rows are
each formed by eight pieces, which are
larger than thofe of the middle row.
The breaftplate extends farther, both be-
hind and before, than the under buckler,
being {lightly notched on the fore part. It
is cartilaginous, tranfparent, and partly co-
vered by feven plates of bone, which are of
various fhapes and fizes. Three of thefe
are placed on the fore part, two towards
the middle, and two towards the hinder
part of the breaftplate ; and thefe are all
chagreened, like the plates on the upper
buckler.
The head of this fpecies refembles, in
general, thofe of the frefh water tortoifes ;
and the numerous folds of Ikin round the
jieck, {hows that it can be projected at
pleafure
*i8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Chagreen pleafure to a confiderable length. As nothing*
Tortoife.
is known of the manners of this tortoife,
and as the legs and tail were wanting in
the fpecimen from which this defcription
is made, it remains for after obfervation to
determine whether it frequents the land or
the frefh water : But, as its buckler is very
little protuberant, there is reafon to prefume
that it fhould rather be confidered as a frefh
water fpecies.
ART. XXVI. THE BROWN TORTOISE*.
Brown r I ^HIS is likewife a new fpecies of tor-
Tortoife. toife, which was brought from India
by M. Sonnerat to the Royal Cabinet, along
with the chagreen tortoife. The buckler,
which is flattened, meafures five inches and
a half long, and nearly as much in breadth;
its middle having thirteen plates, and the
rim twelve. Thefe plates are thin, fmooth
at their middles, and ilightly ftriated at the
edges, being of a reddifh or chefnut brown
colour,
* La RoulFatre.
Tortoise*- 2.35Lacld_s]x Tortoi.se.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 219
colour, from which the trivial name here ,
Tortoiis.
adopted is derived. The breaftplate, which
is notched behind, is covered by thirteen
plates. The head is flatter than in moll
tortoifes. All the feet have five toes each,
which are furniihed with long fharp claws.
In the fpecimen brought over by M. Son-
nerat, there was no tail. Though we had
no opportunity of judging, from the form
of that particular part ; yet, from the flat-
nefs of the buckler, and the claws not beins;
' O
worn, there is reafon to prefume, that it
ought rather to be confidered as a frem
water than a land fpecies. The individual
which we faw was female, and accordingly
her breaftplate was flat. Several eggs were
found in her infide, which were foft, of an
oval form, and about an inch long.
ART. XXVII. THE BLACKISH TORTOISE*.
O
F this fpecies, which has not been Blackiih
hitherto defcribed by any naturalift,
\ve can give but a very imperfed' defcrip-
tion,
* L;i Noiratre.
220 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Blacklfli t j on as only its buckler and breaftplate arc
Tortoiie.
prelerved in the Royal Cabinet. We are,
at the lame time, ignorant both of its ha-
bits, whether it frequents the land * or the
frefh water, and of its country, as no no-
tices on either of thefe fubjects are to be
found in the regifters of the Cabinet.
The buckler is five inches four lines in
length, and nearly of an equal breadth, be-
ing fomewhat protuberant, and of a very
deep blackifh brown colour. The middle
is covered by thirteen thick plates, which
are ftriated at their edges, and fo fmooth
on all the reft of their furface, as even to
feel oiled or greafy to the touch. The
five plates of the middle row are raifed into
a longitudinal ridge. The rim of the buck-
ler is covered by twenty-four plates. The
breaftplate is notched, or hollowed out, at
its hinder part, and is covered by thirteen
plates.
OF
* From the convexity of the buckler, as reprefented
in the figure, it is probably a land tortoife. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
OF LIZARDS IN GENERAL.
THIS is the moft numerous genus in Lizards
in general,
the order of oviparous quadrupeds-
After the moft attentive confideration, both
of our own obfervations, and thofe of natu-
ralifts and voyagers, and the ftricteft com-
parifon of the various fpecimens we could
procure, we have thought it requifite to
enumerate fifty-fix known fpecies, which
are diftinguifhed from each other, by natu-
ral habits, and external characters. The
animals of this genus are eafily diftinguim-
ed from all other ovipafous quadrupeds, asr
they have no bucklers, like the former ge-
nus, and are all furnimed with tails, which
are entirely wanting in frogs and toads.
Their bodies are either covered with
fcales, of more or lefs ftrength, or with
tubercles, of greater or lefler projection.
Their length varies, in the different fpecies,
from two or three inches, to twenty-fix or
even thirty feet. Their tails differ from
each
222 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Lizards each other, both in general form, and in
in general.
proportion to the fize of the body ; being
flat in fome fpccies, and rounded in others;
in fome fpecies it is three times as long as
the body, while in others it is very fhort ;
in all the fpecies it is extended horizontally
backwards, and is almoft as thick at the bale
as the hinder part of the body from which
it arifes.
In general the hind legs are longer than
the fore. Some fpecies have five toes on
all the feet, while others have only four or
three on the fore feet, or only on the
hind feet. In mod of the fpecies, the five
toes of the hind feet are of unequal lengths;
the third and fourth being longer than the
reft, and the outer toe is fcparated from the
others, fo as to form a kind of thumb, while,
in all the viviparous quadrupeds, the toe
which ferves this purpofe is the inmoft. The
phalanges, or moveable pieces, of the toes,
in this genus, are not confined to three for
the fingers and two for the thumbs, as in
viviparous quadrupeds, but fometimes ex-
tend to four, as in fome fpecies of birds,
which
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 223
which eives greater facility for grafping; the LJzards
c . ,. . . in general,
branches or trees in climbing.
The different fpecies of this genus differ
from each other in habits, as much as in
external form. Some live almoft entirely
in the water, or on the fequeftered banks
of great rivers and marfhes. Some, iaftead
of avoiding the habitations of mankind,
feem to prefer thefe to all other places*
Some live in the woods, and run with
great fwiftnefs along even the higheft and
moil (lender branches of trees. Some even
have a kind of membranous expanfions, in
form of wings, by means of which they
can leap to very confiderable diftances, fup-
ported in the air by the refiftance of thefe
membranes; thus uniting a fpecies of flight,
to the faculties of fwimming in water, and
of climbing on the branches of trees.
As this genus. includes fo great a number
of fpecies, it was thought neceffary to re-
duce them into fome methodic arrangement,
uniting together fuch as refemble each o-
ther in fize, external form, and general ha-
bits.
22 4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS;
;* bits. For this purpofe, the genus is here
arranged into eight diviilons.
In the firft divifion, which contains ele-
ven fpecies, we comprehend the crocodile,
and other lizards, which have their tails
fomewhat flattened, all of them growing
to the length of feveral feet.
The fecond, containing five fpecies, con-
lifts of the Guana, and other fmaller liz-<
ards, though fome of them are fometimes
four or five feet long ; thefe are diftinguifh-<
ed from the reft, by having the fcales on-
the middle of the back raifed into a ferrat-
cd ridge.
The third divifion includes the grey liz-
ard, a very common European fpecies, the
green lizard, which is found very abundant-
ly in the fouth of Europe, and five other
fpecies : Thefe are diftinguifhed from all
the other fpecies, by having no ferrated
ridge on the back, by having round tails,
and by the under part of their bodies be-
ing covered with fcales of a confiderable
fize, difpofed in tranfverfe bands.
The
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 225
The fourth divifion, which contains twen- . Llzards
in general.
ty-one fpecies, has no ferrated ridge on the
back, and wants the tranfverfe bands of the
preceding divifion, while the tail is fimilar-
ly rounded. The cameleon and the fcink,
improperly called the land crocodile, are
two principal fpecies in this divifion.
In the fifth divifion, the under furfaces
of the toes of which are covered by large
imbricated fcales, the gecko and two other
fpecies are placed.
The fixth contains the feps and one o-
ther fpecies, which have only three toes
on each foot, both before and behind.
The feventh divifion, or of lizards hav-
ing membranes refembling wings, contains
only one fpecies, under which we have
comprehended all that has been related by
voyagers refpecting winged lizards.
The eight divifion, which contains fix
fpecies of lizards, is diftinguifhed from the
reft, by having three or four toes on each
fore foot, and four or five toes on each
hind foot. To thefe lizards the name of
falamander ought exclufively to belong,
which has been often given to other fpecies
VOL. I. P botk
226 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Lizards both very different from thofe of this divi-
in general.
fion, and even from each other. Thefe
fpecies have very great analogy with frogs,
and other oviparous quadrupeds without
tails : They referable thefe in wanting ap-
parent fcales on their bodies, in their habits,
in the metamorphofes which they all under-
go before acquiring their full growth, and
in living lefs or more in the water. They
likewife refemble thefe taillefs oviparous
quadrupeds in their internal ftrudture, and
in the form and number of their bones.
Though, like other lizards, they have ver-
tebrae of the neck, they have hardly any
ribs, as in frogs. They thus form the link
of connection, between the oviparous qua-
drupeds having tails, and thofe which have
none.
Moft of the lizard tribe have only two
or four vertebrae of the neck ; but the cro-
codile, which, from its power and fize,
Hands at the head of all thefe animals, has
feven, like all viviparous quadrupeds. Thus
that fpecies may be confidered as connect-
ing lizards with the fuperior orders of vi-
viparous
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 227
viparous quadrupeds, while, by its habits
and ftruclure, it connects them with the
tortoifes ; the falamander, on the contrary,
placed at the oppofite extremity of this part
of the fcale of being, unites the genus with
a lower order of oviparous quadrupeds, and
affifts to form and fupport the wonderous
chain of animated nature.
P2 I. DIVI-
228 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
I. DIVISION.
OF LIZARDS,
Having the tall fomeivhat flattened^ with
Jive toes on each fore foot.
OF THE CROCODILE IN GENERAL.
Crocodile "I N comparing the various relations of Tra-
in general. X ve llers, the obfervations of Naturalifts,
and the defcriptions of Syftematifts, on
purpofe to determine whether we mould
admit of feveral fpecies of crocodiles, or
whether the differences, that have been ob-
ferved in various individuals, ought merely
to be attributed to age, fex, or climate, we
t
find many contradictions with refpecl: to
the figure, colour, fize, manners, and ha-
bitation, of this gigantic oviparous quadru-
ped.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 229
ped. Some voyagers have attributed to Crocodile
J in general.
the crocodile circumftances which belong
entirely to other large lizards, of very dif-
ferent fpecies, and have given the fame
names to both, though differing effentially
both in habits and form. Some * have
aifured us, that the crocodile is called, in
fome parts of the world, the Ligan, or
Guan, which are in reality only contrac-
tions of the Iguane, or Guana. From thefe
differences in name, figure, and manners,
they have been inclined to confider the
crocodile as forming feveral diftinct fpecies.
The real crocodiles have five toes on
each fore foot, and four webbed toes on
each hind foot, and have claws only on the
three inner toes of all the feet, both behind
and before. After examining all the great
fpecies of lizards, by this particular charac-
ter, and attentively obferving the differences
of the feveral individuals, both fuch as we
have feen perfonally, and fuch as have been
accurately defcribed by authors and travel-
lers worthy of credit, we find it neceffary
?3 to
* Hifl. Gen. des. Voyages, liv. vii.
230 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile to .^ m [ t t j iree diftincT: fpecies. The firft,
in general.
which is the common and proper cro-
codile of the Nile, which is likewife called
the alligator on the coaft of Africa, may be
named the green crocodile. The fecond is
the black crocodile, feen by M. Adanfon
on the banks of the river Senegal. The
third inhabits the Ganges, and is there
called the Gavial, which name may very
properly be retained. Thefe three fpecies
referable each other, in the characters,
which have been previoufly ftated as dif-
tinclive of crocodile ; but they differ ei-
fentially in other refpedts, which fhaK be
mentioned in their particular articles.
The crocodile of America has been cal-
led Cayman *, a name borrowed from the
Indians. After examining very carefully
feveral individuals of different ages, and.
comparing them with ethers from the
Nile, we are convinced that they are abfo-
lutely of -the fame fpecics, and that any
flight
* The Englifh fettlers in America, generally c^ll
them Alligators ; which name is adopted in the Syfte-?
ma Natime. T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 231
flight differences, there may exift between
in general. '
them, are entirely owing to the influence
of climate. Though the jaws of thefe
American fpecimens are fometimes rather
fhorter than in thofe of the Nile, this cir-
cumftance is certainly not fufficient to con-
ftitute a diftinct fpecies, particularly as it
is fubject to confiderable variation ; and
the American and Nilotic crocodiles refem-
ble each other in the number and arrange-
ment of their teeth, as much as the croco-
diles of the Nile referable each other. It
has been alledged, that the American cro-
codiles emitted a fainter cry, were lefs cou-
rageous, and of fmaller fize, than thofe of
Egypt : But this is only true of the indi-
viduals in certain parts of America ; for
the voice in thofe of Louifiana is a kind of
bellow, at leaf! as loud as in the crocodiles
of the Old World ; and the former fome-
times exceed the latter, both in fize and
courage. While, on the other hand, we
find that, in fome parts of the Old World,
{he crocodiles are almoft altogether filent,
P 4 and
232 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile an j are o f as timid and gentle manners, at
in general.
leafl, as thofe of Guiana.
Hence we may conclude, that the croco-
diles of the Nile and of America, form on-
ly one fpecies ; which is fubjecT: to varia-
tion, as to fize and habits, in both conti-
nents, according to the influence of cli-
mate, food, greater or lefs humidity of the
foil, &c. This iirft and largeft fpecies of
lizard, is then common to both continents;
while . the black crocodile has only been
feen hitherto on the weftern coaft of Afri-
ca, and the Gavial only on the banks of
the Ganges.
Some of the voyagers, who have been
on the eaftern coaft of South America,
mention a large lizard, which they confi-
der as a fmall alligator, or cayman, though
very diftind; from the ordinary fpecies of
that animal. This pretended cayman, or
alligator, is in reality a large lizard of the
fpecies here named dragon*, which is fome-
times
* Lacerta Dracaena, of Liimxus. In the original
French, the only diflindlion made between this fpecies
and
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 233
times five or fix feet long. This opinion Crocodile
in general.
has been confirmed by the information of
a very acute obferver from Guiana, who,
on being fhown the dragon, immediately
recognifed it for the lizard, called in that
country the fmall alligator or fmall cay-
man.
Dampier, likewife, is inclined to confi-
der certain large lizards of New Spain and
other countries of America, as forming a
new fpecies of crocodile *, to which the
Spaniards in thefe countries have given the
name of cayman, as well as to the real
crocodiles. But it is more probable that
thefe large lizards, to which that celebrated
navigator gives the name of crocodile or
cayman, are of the fpecies which is called
whip-tail in this work. In reality, accord-
ing to Dampier's account, they have the
diftincUve character of that fpecies ; for,
in running, they carry the tail turned up
in an arched form at the tip, while the
real
and the Lacerta Volans, is in fpelling ; the former be-
ing called Dragonne, and the latter Dragon.
* Dampier, Voy. iii. 287.
234 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocod.le T ^\ crocodiles always rather trail their tails
ingeneral. J
on the ground, ftraight out behind. Be-
fides, the true crocodiles are all provided
with four glandular bodies, from which a
mufky adour is fecreted ; while, according
to Dampiers own account, thefe large li-
zards, which he wifhes to confider as cro-
codiles, have no fuch organ, and are, there-
fore, to be excluded from forming a fourth
fpecies of crocodile.
We now proceed to examine more par-
ticularly, the three fpecies which feem ex-
clufively intitled to be confidered as be-
longing to the gigantic fpecies of lizards,
beginning with that which inhabits the
banks of the Nile, and has been longeft
known.
ART. I. THE NILOTIC CROCODILE*.
Nilotic TVJATURE, in appointing the eagle to
Crocodile. J^j ^g dominion of the air, and the
lion
* Le Crocodile proprement dit. Called Alligator,
on
."N il otic Cro c o d ile -? .Gma al ' yf?. 20 6.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 235
lion as the fovereign of the immenfe de- ,.,
Crocodile.
ferts of the Torrid Zone, has committed
the government of the fhores of the feas
and of the large rivers between the tropics to
the
on the coaft of Africa , Cayman, in America ; Diaiik,
by the negroes of Senegal ; Takaie, in Siam ; Lagar-
tor, by the Portuguefe in India j Jacane, in Braill ;
Kimbuta, in Ceylon ; Champfan, in Egypt ; Kimfak,
in forne parts of Turkey ; Crocodilus, in Latin ; Kg<-
xoruiAos, or N(?u*ox^s;Aas, in Greek ; the Leviathan,
of the Scriptures, according to Scheuchzer, in his Na-
tural Hiftory of the book of Job.
Lacerta Crocodilus j having the head armed, the
neck ridgad, and the tail furnifhed with two rows of
fcrong ferrated fcales on its upper fide. Syft. Nat. ed.
Grn. i. 1057. G. 122. fp. i. Gronov. Muf. n. 47.
Bellon. aquat. 41. Gcfn. quad. 9. aquat. 304. Aldrov.
aq. 677. Jonflr. quad. t. 79. f. 3. Olear. Muf. t. 7. f. 3.
Ssb. Muf. t. 105. f. 3. 4. Vallifn. Nat. i. t. 43. HafTelqu.
it. 292.
Crocodilus Niloticus. Befl. Muf. 47. t. 13. Jacob.
Muf. i. t. 7. f. 55. Lacertus Maximus. Ray. quad.
261. Crocodilus Cayman *'. Bont. Jav. t. 55. Cro-
codilus,
* Gmelin confklerS this American Crocodile as a
different fpecies, under the name of L, Alligator ; fay-
ing that its head is covered with imbricated fcales, and
its neck naked or without a ferrated ridge. T.
236 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic the crocodile. Living, as it were, on the
Crocodile.
confines, between the land and the water,
this enormous animal extends his domi-
nion equally over the inhabitants of the
feas and rivers, and of the dry land. Be-
ing vaftly fuperior, in fize and ftrength, to
all the animals of this order, it is not oblig-
ed to admit any participation, either in
power or in fubfiftance, as the eagle with
the vulture, or the lion with the tiger. It,
therefore, enjoys more abfolute rule, than
either the king of the foreft or the fove-
reign of the fkies ; and its dominion is fo
much the more durable, that, belonging e-
qually to both elements, it can more readi-
iy
codilus Niloticus, Americanus, Africanus, Terreftris *.
Laurent amphib. 53. 54. Crocodilus. Brown. Jam.
461. Barrere, fr. equin. 152. JobLudolph, commentar.
Profp. alpin. i. ch. 5.
* M. de la Cepede fuppofes that Laurenti has been
deceived in making four fpecies of Crocodiles, by truft-
ing to Seba. Gmelin refers the C. Niloticus, and C.
Africanus, to this fpecies, as diftincl: varieties ; the C.
Americanus to his L. Alligator ; and the C. Terreftris,
to the Gavial or Gangetic Crocodile, his L. Gangetica,
T.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 237
Crocodile.
ly efcape from fnares and dangers ; having
much lefs warmth of blood, it has the leis
need for recruiting its powers by food, as
thefe are more flowly exhaufted ; and, be-
ing able much longer to fuffer the want of
nourifhment, it is much feldomer expofed
to the danger of combating for food.
The crocodile greatly exceeds both the
eagle and the lion, thefe fierce fovereigns
of the air and of the land, in length of bo-
dy ; and, if we except a few very large
viviparous quadrupeds, as the elephant,
hippopotamus, &c. and fome enormous
ferpents, on which nature feems to have
been prodigal in her diftribution of matter,
the crocodile would remain the largeft of
animals, were it not for the enormous ce-
taceous rimes, which are concealed in the
bofom of the ocean. It is worthy of re-
mark, that, in proportion as they are de-
ftined for flying through the air, for rapid
motion on the furface of the earth, or for
cutting their courfe through the waters,
animals feem endowed with greater fize.
The eagle and the vulture are far from e-
qualing
238 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Graodile. ( l uaIin S the flze of the lion th e tiger, of
the camel. In proportion as the land ani-
mals approach the hanks of the fea and of
the great rivers, their dimenfions feem to
be increafed, as in the elephant and hippo-
potamus ; yet moft of the large viviparous
quadrupeds are exceeded in bulk by cro-
codiles that have attained their fulleft fize.
From thefe confiderations, we are led to
fufpect, that it might have been difficult
for nature to have given fufficiently pow-
erful organs to the larger animals, for
tranfporting them through fo rare a me-
dium as the air, or even for fupporting
them in walking on the earth ; and that
me has, therefore, been conftrained, in fome
degree, only to grant a gigantic fize to fuch
animals as were deftined to live in water,
which, while it is fufficiently fluid to yield
to all their motions, has fo much gravity
as greatly to affift in fupporting their enor-
mous weight. Thus, the art of mankind,
which is only exerted in applying natural
powers, is forced to follow a fimilar courfe ;
we can only caufe very limited mafles of
matter
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 239
matter to move on the furface of the earth, Nilotic
Crocodile.
and can only raife bodies of much fmaller
fize into the atmofphere, while we are able
to direcl: the motion of moft enormous ma-
chines on the ocean.
As, however, the crocodile is only found
in very warm climates, while, on the con-
trary, whales, and other very large animals
of that clafs, prefer a polar refidence, the
crocodile yields in fize only to a final!
number of thofe animals which inhabit the
fame regions with itfelf. Hence, the ex-
ercife of its dominion, over the other ovi-
parous quadrupeds, is for the moft part
attended with very little exertion ; as, in-
capable of violent appetites, it is never ac-
tuated by ferocity *. Though it lives by
prey, and devours other animals, even
fometimes attacking mankind, this inftinct
is never exerted, as has been alledged of
the tiger, for fatisfying an appetite for
cruelty, or for miniftering to an unquench-
able thirft of blood, but folely to fatisfy the
moft neceffitous wants, which are indif-
penfable
* This obfervation occurred even to Ariftotle.
240 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic penfable for fupportino; a very confiderable
Crocodile.
body. The crocodile, like the lion and
the eagle, fupports the dignity of its rule,
with clemency ; and like them its power
is not combined with cruelty and rapine,
but is exerted merely for fupplying its moft
urgent neceffities. The whale, the chief
of the cetaceous tribe, with which we have
compared the crocodile, in the fame man-
ner only deftroys on purpofe to preferve
its own exiftence, and to enable it to re-
produce its kind : Thus we find, the four
governing animals, of the waters, of the
mores, of the delarts, and of the air, all
unite, w r ith a vail fuperiority of power o-
ver their inferior animals, a confiderable
gentlenefs of difpofition, leaving unnecef-
fary cruelty to inferior and fubaltern ty-
rants.
The crocodile, in its general form, is ex-
tremely fnnilar to the other lizards, but has
a number of diftinctive characters pecu-
liar to itfelf. The head is long, flattened,
and much wrinkled ; the muzzle being thick,
and fomewhat rounded: On the upper part
of
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 241
Crocodile.
of the muzzle, there is a round, blackifh,
foft, and fpungy Jubilance, in which the
noftrils are placed ; which are .of a crefcent
figure, having the points turned backwards.
The mouth is enonnoufly large, opening
even behind the ears, the jaws being fome-
times feveral feet in length : The lower
jaw is perfectly ftraight on both fides ; but
the upper jaw is waved in its direction, and
is much enlarged at its pofterior extremity,
fo as to overlap the under jaw on each
fide; it becomes narrower at the fides, and
is in its turn overlapped by the under jaw,
almoft to the muzzle, where it again en-
larges, and overlaps the under jaw. From
this circumftance, the teeth that are fituat-
ed at thefe overlapping places, have the ap-
pearance of tufks or canine teeth ; fuch as
the ten teeth in the front part of the upper
jaw. On the other hand, the two foreinoft
teeth of the lower jaw, when the mouth is
ihut, not only penetrate into the upper jaw,
but even proceed quite through it, and ap-
pear on the outfide like two fmall horns.
This circumftance is very evident, in all
VOL. I. ( the
242 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile tJie i nc *i v iduals f anv confiderablc fize, that
we have examined ; and is even percepti-
ble in a young fpecimen from Senegal, on-
ly four feet four inches long, that is pre-
ferved in the Royal Cabinet. Notwithftand-
ing the diftin&nefs of this remarkable cha-
racter, it has not been hitherto noticed by
any naturalift, except by the Jefuit mathe-
maticians, who were fent into the eaft by
Louis XIV. and who fent home the def-
cription of a crocodile from Siam *.
There are fometimes as far as thirty-fix
teeth in the upper, and thirty in the lower
jaw ; but the number is fubjedt to variety.
The teeth are of different lengths f, very
ilrong, fomewhat hollowed, ftriated on their
lateral furfaces, of a conical form, and fharp
pointed; they are firmly fixed in the jaws,
by means of ftrong roots, forming a fmgle
row on each fide of each jaw, and are fome-
what bent or hooked backwards, efpecially
thofe that are neareft the muzzle. They
are
* Mem. for Nat. Hift. of Anim. iii.
f The longeft are called canine teeth by Pliny. Hift.
Nat. lib. xi. ch. 61.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 243
are To fituated in the two jaws, relatively to
each other, that they pafs between each o-
ther, when the mouth is fhut ; and, in this
fituation, the points of feveral of the low-
er teeth are received into hollows in the
upper gums, and of feveral of the upper
teeth into fnnilar hollows in the gums of the
lower jaw. The gentlemen of the acade-
my, who difle&ed a very young crocodile
in 1 68 1, having drawn out feveral of its
teeth, found others of a very fmall fize in
the bottoms of the fockets * ; hence it ap-
pears, that the firftYet of teeth muft fall out,
and be replaced by a new fet, in the fame
manner with the incifive teeth of mankind,
and of many viviparous quadrupeds.
Notwithstanding that feveral authors have
infifted, that the upper jaw f in crocodiles
is moveable, it only needs a fingle glance
at the fkeleton to be convinced that, as in
all quadrupeds, the upper jaw is entirely fix-
ed, and the motion is confined to the un-
der jaw. In moft viviparous quadrupeds,
Qj2 befid^s
* Mem. for Nat. Hift. of Anim. iii.
y Labat, ii. 344. Ray, Synopf. 262.
befides the direct vertical motion of open-
Crocodile.
ing and fhutting the mouth, the lower jaw
has a lateral motion from fide to fide, for
the purpofe of grinding or chewing the
food. This motion is denied to the croco-
dile ; which is only very imperfectly able
to mafticate its food, beeaufe the teeth are
fo placed as not to meet, or oppofe each
other : But they are excellently calculated
for keeping a faft hold of their prey, and
for tearing it to pieces ; after which it is
moftly fwallowed without chewing, and
without being mixed with faliva : It is,
however, very readily digefted, in confe-
quence of the crocodile having a larger pro-
portion of bile and gaftric juice than any
other animal *. In thefe refpe&s, the cro-
codile has confiderable refemblance to the
clafs of fifties ; and the teeth in feveral fpe-
cies of (harks, refemble thofe of the croco-
dile, both in figure and arrangement.
The ancients f, and even fome modern
authors J, have fuppofed that the crocodile
had
* Haflelquift, Voy. to Paleftine. 346.
f Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. xi. ch. 65.
$ Nat. Hift. of Jamaica. 461,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 245
had no tongue : But its tongue is in reality
very large, even larger in proportion than
that of an ox ; it is, however, fo firmly at-
tached to the two fides of the lower jaw,
by means of a membrane, that it cannot be
thruft out of the mouth. Through this
membrane feveral duds of feeretory glands
open into the mouth *.
The crocodile has no lips ; fo that, even
when walking or fwimming with the ut-
moft tranquillity, the teeth are bare, and the
afpecl: feems animated with rage. Ano-
ther circumftance, that contributes to in-
creafe the terrific nature of its countenance,
is the fiery appearance of the eyes ; which,
being placed obliquely and very near each
other, have a malignant afpet : Thefe are
furniihed with two hard moveable f, and
very much wrinkled, eyelids ; over which
is an indented rim, refembling an eyebrow
drawn together into a menacing frown. This
general afpet of malignity and hideoufnefs,
0.3 has
* Mem. for Nat. Hift. of Anim. iii.
f Pliny has miftakenly afTerted, that the lower eye-
Ud only was nipveable in the crocodile.
246 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
'OtlC
[;|c has certainly contributed greatly to pro-
duce a reputation for infatiable cruelty,
which fome voyagers have attributed to this
animal. The eyes, as in thofe of birds, arc
defended by a membrana nictitans, which
adds confiderably to their power *.
The ears are placed very near to, and
fomewhat higher than, the eyes, and are
covered by a fkin, which is cracked and
elevated in fuch a manner as to refembls
ihut eyelids : From which circumftance,
fome naturalifts have been induced to be-
lieve that the crocodile had no external
ears, efpecially as thefe palTages are very
obvious in many other fpecies of lizards.
The upper portion of this fkin, which co-
vers the paffage, is moveable, and, when
lifted up, the tympanum, or drum of the
ear, can be diftind:ly feen. Some voyagers
feem to have been deceived, by this refem-
blance of the fkin covering the ears to
eyelids, and have reported that crocodiles
had been killed which had four eyes f.
Notwithftanding
* Brown, Jamaica. 461.
f Hift. des Moluques. ii. 116*
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 247
Notwithftanding the flight projection of
thefe ears, we are informed by Herodotus,
that the ancient inhabitants of Memphis
hung pendants to the ears of the facred cro-
codiles which were kept at that city.
The brain is extremely fmall *. The
tail is very long, and is as thick at the root
as the body, of which it feems only to be
a prolongation : In its figure, it is flatten-
ed laterally, having fome refemblance to
an oar, and, by its means, the crocodile
manages itfelf when fwimming in the wa-
ter with great eafe, and is enabled to fwim
with great fwiftnefs. Befides this inftru-
ment, the toes of the hind feet are united
by webs, fo that they can be employed as
fins to aflift in fwimming. Of thefe toes,
which are four in number on each hind
foot, and five on each fore foot, only the
three innermoft on each foot are provided
with claws, which are ufually an inch or
two in length.
Crocodiles are naturally defended by al-
moft impenetrable armour : Their whole
Qj- body
* Mem. for Nat. Hift. of Anira. Hi.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile kdy i covered by ftrong hard fcales, ex-
cept the top of the head, where the (kin is
fixed directly over the bones of the fkull.
The fcales on the flanks, on the legs and
feet, and on the greater part of the neck,
are round, of various fizes, and very irre-
gularly placed : Thofe on the back, and
on the upper fide of the tail, are fquare,
and are diftributed in regular tranfverfe rows
or belts. Hence, in our attempts to kill
or wound this animal, we muft not direct
the ftroke from behind forewards, as in
thofe animals in which the fcales are imbri-
cated over each other : It is neceflary to
inflict the wounds between the rows of
fcales, where nothing but fkin occurs. Ac-
cording to feveral naturalifts, thefe rows or
belts of fcales vary in number, in the dif-
ferent individuals : But we have examin-
ed with the utmoft care, feven different in-
dividuals of various fizes, both from Afri-
ca and America, and have found that thefe
rows were perfectly uniform in their num-
bers, except in one individual. One of
thefe was thirteen feet nine inches and a
half
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 249
half long, from the tip of the muzzle to
the tip of the tail ; another meafured nine
feet ; the third and fourth eight ; the fifth
four feet ; the fixth two feet ; and the fe-
venth had juft come out of the egg ; and
in all, except the individual of two feet
long, which had one band or row of fcales
more than the reft, the number of thefe
rows was uniformly the fame.
The fquare fcales are exceedingly firm
and hard, and are at the fame time fuffici-
ently flexible to prevent them from being
brittle. Labat * fays, that they are proof
againft a mufket ball, unlefs it is difcharg-
ed very near, or the piece be very ftrong-
ly charged ; and that the negroes make
caps or rather helmets of the {kin, which
are fufficiently ftrong to defend them a-
gainft the ftroke of a hatchet. The hard-
nefs of thefe fcales is probably in propor-
tion to the age of each individual, and per- 4
haps varies in the different fexes. M. die
la Borde fays, that they are impenetrable
to
* Vol. ii. p. 347. and Atkins, in Hift. Gen. des Voy.
lib, vih
250 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile. to m ufket balls, except under the moulders:
And, according to M. de la Coudreniere * f
they imy likewife be wounded in the bel-
ly and near the eyes. Each of thefe fcales
has a kind of creft, or ferrated ridge, on
its middle, which adds to its ftrength, and
in general enables them to refill the force
of a mufket ball. Though it has been al-
ledged, that the fcales about the flanks have
more projection and ftronger ridges, than
thofe in the other parts of the body, we do
not find that to be the cafe, on the molt
attentive obfervation of many fpecimens.
On the middle of the neck, there are two
tranfverfe rows of thefe tuberculated fcales,
in the form of cocks-combs, one of which
confifts of lour and the other of two pieces.
Each fide of the upper furface of the tail
is furnimed with a longitudinal row of thefe
crefted tubercles, which extends the whole
length in a ferrated ridge of fharp points,
that unite together into a fmgle row near
the tip of the tail. The fcales, which co-
ver
* Obfervations on the crocodile of Louifiana, in the
Journal de Phyfique for the year 1682.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 251
ver the belly, the under fide of the head,
neck, tail, and feet, and the inner fide of
the legs, are placed in tranfverfe rows :
Thefe fcales are fquared and fomewhat
flexible, like thofe on the back, but are
much weaker, and have no protuberances.
The cetaceous and other voracious fifties
attack the crocodile in thefe weaker parts
of the body: In this manner, as we are told
by Pliny, the dolphin often kills the croco-
dile : And, in the furious combats that of-
ten take place between the crocodile and
the faw-fim, the latter, finding it impoffi-
ble to penetrate through the ftrong tuber-
culated armour on the upper part of the
body, dives below his enemy and wounds
him on the belly *.
The colour of the nilotic crocodile is a
greenifh yellow, lefs or more variegated
with pale green in blotches and tranfverfe
bars, having a general refemblance to brafs
(lightly rufted. The under parts of the
body, tail, and feet, and the inner fides of
the legs, are yellowifh white.
It
* Hifl. Gen. des Voy. xxxix. 35.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic It has been alledged, that the name of this
Crocodile. .
animal, in Greek and Latin, from which the
French and Englifh names are directly copied,
is derived from xgoxog or crocus ', fafFron, ow-
ing to the refemblance of its colour to that
fubftance. Some authors, on the other
hand, derive it from zeoxog, faffron, and
^/Xo<r, affraid, pretending that it was af-
fraid of that drug*. Ariftotle feems to
have confidered the crocodile as being
black : Thofe indeed of the river Senegal
are often very dark brown, verging towards
black, but that ancient naturalift could not
know any thing of the productions of that
part of Africa.
In the fkeleton of the crocodile we fome-
times find fifty-nine vertebrae, or pieces,
of the fpine; feven of thefe are in the neck,
twelve in the back, five in the loins, two
in the place of the os facrum, or rump, and
thirty-three in the tail: The number, how-
ever, is fubjed: to variety. The efophagus,
Or gullet, is very large, and is capable of
great diftention. The ureters lead directly
from
* Gefner, de Quad. ovip. p. 1 8.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 253
Crocodile.
from the kidneys to the rectum, without
the intervention of any urinary bladder.
The anus opens at the pofterior and lower
part of the body. The male organ is con-
cealed within the body, except during the
fexual union, which takes place by the a-
nus, as in all the other fpecies of lizards,
and in tortoifes. Two glandular bags are
fituated below the jaws, and two others
near the anus, into which a volatile odo-
rous fubftance is fecreted, finelling ftrongly
of mulk.
Sloan, in his voyage to Madeira, Barba-
does, and Jamaica *, gives an account of
the anatomy of a crocodile, or alligator, fix-.
teen feet long, which we fhall here abridge.
* The windpipe is bent, and divides before
* joining the lungs ; thefe are compofed of
4 air veficles and blood vefTels mixed to-
* gether, and form two large lobes, one
4 on each fide of the back bone. The
c heart is fmall, and the pericardium, or
c heart-purfe, ufually contains a large quan-
* tity of water. The diaphragm, or mid-.
f Vol. ii. p.
254 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
c r jfr j s membranous, or rather it is tendi-
Crocodile.
' nous and nervous. The liver is large,
1 and of a triangular figure ; having a very
; large gall bladder, which, in the indivi-
4 dual under difTe&ion, was filled with
4 clear yellow bile. It has no fpleen. The
* kidneys are large, and are fituated near
' the anus, one on each fide of the back-
4 bone. There is no tongue.' This is to
be confidered only as proving that the
tongue is not free, as in other animals, for
in reality it is proportionally large, but is
tied down in the bottom of the mouth by
a ftrong membrane, and was therefore o-
verlooked by bloan. ' The ftomach is large,
' and its inner coat is very ftrong and
' tough ; it contained feveral round poliih-
' ed ftones, fimilar to the gravel on the
' fea more, and fome fifh bones. The
* eyes are fpherical, with oblong pupils,
* like thofe of cats, having a membrana
6 nictitans to each.' This account of the
anatomy may be compared with that gi-
ven by Haflelquift, in his voyage to Pa-
Jeftine.
The
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 255
The length of the crocodile varies ac- 5 JJJij
cording to its different ages, and according
to the temperatures of the countries which
it inhabits. It feldoin exceeds twenty-five,
or twenty-fix feet, even in the moil favour-
able climates ; and, in other countries, as
on the coaft of Guiana, which feem lefs
favourable to its growth, it hardly ever
grows beyond thirteen or fourteen feet
long. Brown * fays, that the crocodile of
Jamaica frequently reaches from fourteen to
twenty-four feet in length. Sloan f in-
forms us, that crocodiles or alligators are
very common on the coaft and in the deep
rivers of Jamaica, where the fkin of one that
had been taken, and prefented to him as a
curiofity, was ninteen feet long. Brue, in
the account "of his voyage to Senegal t, re-
lates, that about Ghiam the crocodiles are
very numerous, and are more dangerous
and considerably larger, than thofe which
frequent the mouth of the river. At this
place
* Nat. Hift. of Jamaica. 461.
) Voyage to Madeira, &c. ii. 332.
| In the Hift. Gen. des Voyages.
256 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
? tlotlC j.i place the attendants of the general killed
Crocodile. r
one that meafured twenty-five feet long,
to the great joy of the natives, who con-
ceived it to be the father of all the reft, and
that its death would frighten all the others
in the neighbourhood.
Some travellers afcribe to the crocodile
a confidcrably greater fize than has been
mentioned. Barbot fays, that fbme are
found, in the rivers Senegal and Gambia,
at lead thirty feet long, and according to
Smith, thofe at Sierra-leone are fometimes
of that length ; but, as this latter author
only meafured the print of one of thefe a-
nimals in the fand, his teftimony is of lit-
tle moment *. According to Catefby, in
his Natural Hiftory of Carolina, the croco-
diles of Jamaica, and of feveral parts in
North America, are fometimes about twen-
ty feet long. Gefner, who has collected
all that has been written by the ancients
concerning this animal, fays, that fome of
thefe authors mention individuals of twen-
ty-fix
* Smith, Voy. to. Guinea ; and Jobfon, Voy. to
the Cape, in Hift. Gen. cles Voy. lib. vii.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 257
ty-fix cubits in length. Haffelquift, in his
voyage to Paleftine, defcribes a female of
thirty feet long.
Keeling, in his voyage to Bantam, fays,
' that fome of his people killed a croco-
* dile, which they met walking flowly on
* the banks of a river, that falls into
* the bay of St Auguftin, in Madagaf-
* car ; and though it was wounded in
' many places with a number of muiket
* balls, its convulfions when dying were ex-
' tremely terrifying. It meafured fixteen.
* feet long, and the mouth feemed large
' enough to have fwallowed a man at a ,
* model. He caufed it to be brought to
' the veflfel, that the whole crew might
' enjoy the extraordinary fight ; andj when
4 it was cut up, though the flavour and
* appearance of its flefh feemed both ex-
' cellent, yet none of his people had the
* courage to taile it'.
The fpecimen in the Royal Cabinet, from
which our account is drawn up, meafured
almoft fourteen feet long, and more than
four feet in circumference at the thickeft
VOL. I. R part
258 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodil P art ^ ^ e body > fr m which we may
conclude, that the largeft individuals are
between eight and nine feet round. The
principal dimenfions of this individual were
as follow :
Feet. Inches. Lines.
Total length 13 9 6
Length of the head 230
Ditto, from between the eyes
to the tip of the nofe I 6 6
Ditto of the upper jaw I 10 o
Ditto of that part containing
the teeth 170
Diflance between the eyes 020
Diameter of each eye 013
Circumference of the body
at the thickeft part 44 6
Breadth of the head behind
the eyes - - i i 6
Ditto of the muzzle at the
narroweft part - 080
Length of each fore leg and
foot to the tip of the toes 190
Length of each hind leg and
foot to ditto 2
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 259
Feet. Inches. Lines. Nilotic
T r i -i /- Crocodile.
Length or the tail - 603
Circumference of the tail at
.
the root - - -2100
The fexual union takes place in the be-
ginning of fpring, the female lying on her
back, as in all the lizard tribe. The dura-
tion of the union, when they appear very
clofely embraced, is not known ; but, from
obfervations on the lizards of Europe,
though confiderably morter than in tor-
toifes, it muft be either longer or more fre-
quent than in many of the viviparous qua-
drupeds ; and, when finifhed, the attention
of the male ftill continues for his mate, as
he affifts her to rife.
It was long thought, that the female cro-
codile layed all her eggs at one time ; but
M. de la Borde informs us, that me lays
twice and fometimes three times, with an
interval of a few days, producing from
twenty to twenty-four eggs each time :
Hence each female may lay feventy-two
eggs in one feafon ; which agrees fo far
with the aflertion of Linnaeus, that the
R 2 number
260 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic number of eggs from one female in a year
Crocodile. '
fometimes amounts to a hundred. Thefe
eggs are layed on the banks of the rivers,
in a hole in the fand. In Cayenne and
Surinam, according to the information of
M. de la Borde, the female prepares a fmall
hillock of land, with a hollow in the mid-
dle, which me lines with leaves and other
vegetable matter ; then depofites her eggs,
and covers them over with leaves : The
vegetable fubftances ferment, which pro-
duces fome heat, that, in addition to that
of the atmofphere, hatches the eggs.
In Cayenne the crocodiles and torto'ifes 1
lay their eggs at the fame feafon, in the
month of April ; but the laying feafon of
the former continues rather longer than the
latter. It is very remarkable, that the egg
of fo large an animal, and from which an
animal is produced that is to become of
fuch enormous magnitude, mould fcarcely
exceed the egg of a Pintado or Guinea
fowl in fize *. An egg of a crocodile of
fourteen feet long, killed in upper Egypt
in
* Catefby, Nat. Hift. of Carolina, ii. 63 .
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 261
in the a& of laying, is preferved in the Nilot ' c
. ; Crocodile,
Royal Cabinet : It is whitiih, and of an
oval figure, and is covered by a chalky
fhell, fmiilar to that of a hens egg, but not
fo hard, but the fkin or film, immediately
within the (hell, is thicker and ftronger.
The long diameter is two inches five lines,
and the fhort diameter one inch eleven
lines. I have feen fome crocodiles eggs
from America, that meafured three inches
feven lines one way, and two inches the
other.
The fetus crocodiles are rolled up, with-
in the egg, and leldom exceed fix or feven
inches long when they break the fhell, which
they fometimes do with the head, and at
other times with the ferrate* tubercles on
the back. When they firfl come forth,
they drag about with them the remains of
the yolk, attached to the umbilical chord,
and furrounded by its proper membrane,
together with a kind of after-burthen, in
which they had been enveloped whe/n
within the fhell. All thefe circumftanccs
are very diftinctly obfervable, in the fpeci-
R 3 men
262 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
N' Iot ' c men preferred in the Royal Cabinet, which
Crocodile. t J
was caught immediately on breaking through
the fhell. The infertion of the umbilical
chord remains very perceptible for fome
time *, but difappears as the animal grows
older ; the rows of fcales, which were fe-
parated to allow its pafiage, growing toge-
ther gradually, and concealing it. A fimi-
lar circumftance has been formerly noticed,
in the defcription of the round tortoife, in
a young individual of which the breaft-
plate was found divided, allowing a fmall
part of the {kin of the belly, with the um-
bilical cicatrix, to appear.
From the information of travellers, we
are certain that the crocodiles do not fit
upon their eggs ; indeed, independent of
that teftimony, we mould have fo conclud-
ed from an attentive review of the confor-
mation and natural habits of the animal,
notwithftanding that Pliny f has reported
that the male fits on the eggs alternately
with the female. If we examine the hif-
tory
* Seba, Muf. i. 162.
\ Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. X. chap. 62.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 263
tory of fuch oviparous animals as are fuf- Nilotic
J m Crocodile.
ceptible of affectionate connections, fuch
as birds, we (hall find, that, in thofe which
are leaft ardent in the fexual paffion, the
male quits all fociety with the female im-
mediately after me is fecundated : In others,
that have ftronger paffions and attachments,
the male aflifts the female in gathering ma-
terials, or in conftru&ing the neft, or he
watches her while fitting on the eggs, and
feems to chear her with his fong : In fome
fpecies, which feem to feel the paffion of
love ftill more forcibly, the male partakes
equally with the female in all the cares, of
building, hatching, and tending the brood.
The crocodile ought, therefore, to be con-
iidered as very ardent, were the male to
fit on the eggs as will as the female. But
how mould this lively, intimate, and con-
riant tendernefs be attributed to an animal,
which, from the coldnefs of its blood, can
never be fuppofed fufceptible either of im-
petuous paffions or fixed attachments? The
eggs of crocodiles are hatched folely by
the heat of the atmofphere, affifted by a
R 4 kind
264 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic kind of fermentation, proceedinc; from the
Crocodile.
vegetable matters that line the neft in which
they are depofited. Hence the young cro-
codiles are totally unacquainted with their
parents; but nature has endowed them with
fufficient ftrength, both of body and in-
ftincl:, even from their firft appearance, to
fubiift without any afliftance from others.
M. de la Borde, however, writs, that, in
Surinam, the female always keeps within
a fmall diftance of the place where me has
depofited her eggs, and even defends them
with fury againft any perfon or animal that
attempts to approach them. Immediately
on getting out of the eggs, they run for
the water, where they are both in greater
fecurity from danger, and better fituated to
procure proper food *. Even there, how-
ever, they are by no means exempted from
dangers, even of the moil unnatural kind ;
they are not only preyed on by voracious
rimes, but the old crocodiles, when prefTed
by famine, often do, from urgent neceffi-
ty, what other animals, of a more fangui-
nary
* Cate(by, Nat. Hift. Carolina, ii. 63.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 265
nary difpofition, feem to perpetrate merely Nilotic t
to fatisfy the cruelty of their difpofitions,
they devour tne helplefs young of their own
kind.
The length of life in crocodiles has not
yet been afcertained by obfervation ; but
we have reafon to conclude that it ought
to be very considerable. M. de Fontange,
commandant of St Domingo, having caught
fome young crocodiles juft after they were
hatched, had them properly fed, and en-
deavoured to bring them alive to France,
but they died during the paflage, when a-
bout twenty-fix months old, and about
twenty inches in length. If the growth
proceeded always in the fame proportion,
we might calculate twenty-fix months for
every twenty inches of length in the largeft
individuals : But, as in almoft every ani-
mal, the growth is much more rapid at firft,
than in the more advanced periods of life,
we ought, perhaps, to allow confiderably
more than that period for each twenty
inches. As, however, it may be alledged,
that the growth of animals is retarded by
confinement,
266 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
*? l!ot ' c ,., confinement, we (hall, in the prefent cafe.
Crocodile.
only calculate on twenty-fix months for
each twenty inches in length, and on thefe
data, a crocodile of twenty-five feet long
muft have required thirty-two years and a
half to acquire its full fize. This flownefs
of growth is confirmed by an obfervation
of the mathematical miflionaries, whom we
have formerly mentioned as fent into the
eaft by Louis XIV. Having kept a young
crocodile alive for two months, they could
not perceive that its fize was fenfibly in-
creafed during that period *. The mif-
taken opinion of Ariflotle and Pliny, that
the crocodile continues to increafe in fize
as long as it lives, probably arofe from this
very flow growth. This flownefs of growth
is a proof that the animal muft live to a
very advanced age. As it lives in the wa-
ter almoft as much as the fea tortoifes ; as
the covering of its body is by no means
harder than their buckler and breaftplate ;
and as it continues to grow even for a long-
er time than the green tortoife, which ap-
pears
* Mem. for a Nat. Hift. of Animals, iii.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 267
pears to attain its full fize in twenty years : Nilotic
Crocodile,
we have reafon to prefume that the life of
the crocodile mould extend beyond that
of the green tortoife, or more than a hun-
dred years.
The crocodile prefers the banks of fuch
large rivers as, in confequence of frequent
or periodical overflowing, are covered with
mud, in which they find abundance of tef-
taceous fifh, worms, and frogs, for food.
In South America, according to M. de la
Borde, it efpecially frequents marfhy lakes
and drowned Savannas. Catefby fays, that,
in North America, it frequents both the
fait parts of the rivers near the fea, the frefh
currents above the reach of the tide, and
the lakes both of fait and frefh water*. He
defcribes the flimy banks of thefe rivers,
within the tide, as covered by thick forefts
of the mangrove tree, amid which the cro-
codiles conceal themfelves. Thefe aquatic
forefts are filled with crocodiles, voracious
fifh, and other animals which prey on each
other. The fmaller crocodiles, retire into
the
'' * Nat. Hift. of Carolina, ii. 63.
268 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic t h e thickeft covert, where the larger
Crocodile.
are unable to purfue them. Large tortoifes
are often found in thefe places, which are
frequently preyed on by the {harks and o-
ther fifh ; and thefe, in their turn, become
the prey of the large crocodiles. The re-
mains of this promifcuous flaughter is not
unfrequently feen floating on the water in
thefe lakes and rivers. On the flimy banks
of thefe marfhy and wooded waters, the
large crocodile, covered over with mud,
and appearing like the trunk of a fallen tree,
often remains motionlefs for a long while,
watching with aftoniming patience for an
opportunity to feize his prey. His ftillnefs,
colour, and form, impofes on fifties, fea-
fowl, tortoifes, and other animals, fo that
they approach without fufpicion. He like-
wife feizes on fheep, goats, hogs, and even on
cattle and horfes. While fwimming along
the great rivers, he feldom raifes more than
juft the top of the head above water, fo as
to fee around, feeking to furprife any of
the larger animals that may come clofe to
either more : When he fees any one ap-
proach
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 269
proach to drink, he dives and fwims un-
der water, till he gets near enough to catch
it by the legs, then drags it into the water
till it is drowned, and devours it at his
leifure. When prefled with hunger, the
crocodile even devours mankind. Haflel-
quift relates, that, in Upper Egypt, it very
often devours the women, who come to
draw water from the Nile, and the children
who play about on the banks *. Some
authors pretend that it attacks negroes in
preference to white men f ; but this pro-
bably proceeds from the much greater num-
ber of negroes than whites, in the coun-
tries where the obfervation has been made,
and from the occupation of the negroes
expofing them more to the danger of being
attacked.
As the largeft crocodiles have both occa-
fion for a greater quantity of food, and are
more eafily feen and avoided by fmall ani-
mals, they muft be expected to fuffer the
effects
* Voyage to Palcftine, 347.
f Obfervations on the crocodile of Louifiana, by M.
de la Coudreniere, in the Journal de Phyfiquefor 1782.
270 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic effects of hunger more frequently, and with
Crocodile. "
greater violence, than fmaller individuals,
and are confequently much more danger-
ous, efpecially in the water. In this element
he enjoys the whole of his ftrength with
much greater advantage than on the land.
In fpite of his great fize, and apparent un-
wieldinefs, he moves about in the water
with great fwiftnefs and agility, often emit-
ting a kind of filent half fupprefled mur-
muring noife. Though the great length of
his body prevents him from turning fud-
denly, he fwims forwards with aftonifhing
velocity, when about to feize his prey :
This he generally throws down with a-
ftroke of his rugged tail, then feizes it in
his talons, and pulls it to pieces, or cuts it
in two with his ftrong fharp teeth, and fwal-
lows it down his 'enormous throat. When
on the land, his motions are vaftly more
embarrafled, and he is confequently then
lefs dangerous ; but, though he advances
much flower than in the water, he runs to-
lerably faft when the ground is fmooth, and
his road is ftraight forewards. Wherefore,
on
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 271
on thefe occafions, the beft method of efcape Nilotic
Crocodile,
is by continually turning in a fmall circle.
In the defcription of New Spain, in the
General Hiftory of Voyages, we are told
of an Englifhman, who was purfued fo
iwiftly by a large crocodile, which came out
of Lake Nicaragua, that unlefs the Spaniards
who were in his company had cried out for
him to quit the ftraight road, and run in a
circle, he muft have been caught. In South
America, according to M. de la Borde, the
large crocodiles come much feldomer on the
dry land than the fmall ones. Thofe which
inhabit the lakes, are fometimes left dry, in
confequence of the water evaporating ; and,
not being able to reach any other water,
they are forced to fubfift by catching birds
or land animals, or even to live a long while
without food, and are then extremely dan-
gerous.
In thofe places where large crocodiles are
frequent, it is very dangerous for any per-
fon to fall into the water, as they are conti-
nually on the watch. They even frequent-
ly attempt to leap or fcramble into boats or
canoes.
272 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
tic ,.. canoes, during the night, and, when they
fucceed, deftroy the fleeping paflengers. In
the defcription of Celebes, or Macaflar*, we
are told, that ' the crocodiles are more dan-
4 gerous in the great river of Macaflar,
c than in any other part of the Eaft : They
4 do not confine their depredations to fim,
4 but fometimes lie in wait in great multi-
4 tudes at the bottom of the river, and at-
4 tack fmall boats, ufing their tails to over-
c turn them, and then feize upon the men
4 and animals, and devour them.' M. de
la Borde writes from Cayenne, that he has
feen them attempt to raife themfelves up
againfl: the fides of fmall boats in the river.
Hence it is requifite to be very much on the
watch, when either in boats or on the more,
near the haunts of crocodiles.
On comparing the various relations of
voyagers and travellers, it appears that the
voracity and boldnefs of this animal aug-
ments, diminifhes, or is even altogether ex-
tinguifhed, according to climate, fize, age,
and fituation, and efpecially in proportion
to
* Hift. Gen. des Voyages, xxxix, 248.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 273
to the fcarcity or abundance of accuftomed Nilotic ^
Crocodile.
food. Hunger may fometimes compel them
even to feed on each other, and then the
weaker muft neceffarily be deftroyed by the
ftronger. But we cannot fuppofe, with fome
authors, either that the female conducts her
young to the water when they are hatched,
or that me and the male devour all thofe that
cannot run fwiftly. We have feen, that the
heat of the fun and the atmofphere fuffice for
hatching the eggs ; that the young, when
they come forth, find the way directly to
the water by themfelves j and, as the cro-
codiles are never cruel, except to fatisfy the
cravings of hunger, they certainly do not
merit the accufation of fo barbarous a re-
paft.
Notwithstanding the great variety of food
which is fought for by crocodiles, the flow-
nefs of their pace, efpecially on the land,
gives great advantage to moft animals in
efcaping from them : Hence they are often
'obliged to faft for a long while, even at
times for fome months, without any food.
When in this fituation, they often fwallow
VOL. I. S fmall
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
MiUmc f ma ll ftones and bits of wood, as if to pre-
Crocodile.
vent their bowels from {hutting altogether.
Brown relates, that he has frequently ieen
crocodiles live leveral months without any
food ; which had been put into ponds,
after having their jaws tied together with
wire, and were feen coming frequently to
the furface to breathe *.
According to the authority of voyagers,
the crocodiles that inhabit near the line ne-
ver become torpid ; but thofe which inha-
bit near the tropics, or in higher latitudes,
. retire into deep caverns near the more at
the approach of the cold feafon, and remain
torpid during winter. Pliny fayvS, that
the crocodile fpends four months of winter
in caves, and without food f ; and, as the
crocodiles of the Nile were beft known to
the ancients, we may thence conclude, that
they fuffer an annual torpor during the
cold feafon. In Carolina, which is in
nearly the fame latitude with Egypt, but
which has a much colder winter, they
) ; .
remain
* Nat. Hift. of Jamaica, 461.
f Hift. Nat. Hbi viii. ch. 38. and lib. xi. ch, rji.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 275
remain torpid during; the cold feafon ; and ? ilotic ,.,
Crocodile.
Cateflby relates, that they bellow horribly
when they wake from their annual torpor *.
The loudnefs of the noife, which Catefby
fays may be heard to a great diftance, may
be occafioned by echoes, which may aug-
ment the natural fupprefled murmuring
voice of this animal. M. de la Coudre-
niere fays, that in Louifiana, the voice of
the crocodile is as loud as that of a bull, and
is never repeated more than once at a time f .
Jobfon informs us, that the crocodiles of
Gambia, called bumbos by the negroes, cry
fo loud as to be heard at a great diftance,
and that their voice founds as if it came
from the bottom of a pit J. This latter
account gives reafon to prefume, that the
found is low, hollow, and fuppreffed. The
authority of M. de la Borde confirms the
accounts of thefe naturalifts and voyagers.
S 2 Though
;
* Nat. Hift. of Carolina, ii. 63.
f Obfervations on the Crocodile, journal de Phy-
fique for 1782.
$ Voyage to Gambia, in Hift. Gen. des Voyages,
liv,, vii.
276 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Niiotic Though the crocodile, like all other ovi-
Ciotodile.
parous quadrupeds, hybernates in the high-
er latitudes, where any degree of winter
cold is experienced, its icaly covering is not
injured either by the cold or abftinence, as
in moft of the other animals of the clafs :
Hence it does not change its ikin, like moft
of the lizards.
In all thofe countries where mankind is
not fufficiently numerous to force them to
live dilperfed, crocodiles are found in nu-
merous aflemblages. In the great river Se-
negal, M. Adanfon has feen more than two
hundred fwimming together, with their
heads juft above water, refembling a great
number of trunks of trees floating down
the river. This aflbciation, however, does
not take place in confequence of any ufeful
inftincT:. They do not gather together, like
beavers, to perform a common labour, to
which the exertion of individuals is un-
equal. Their talents are not perfected by
imitation, nor is their ftrength increafed by
any concerted operation. They do not af-
fociate, like feals and other phocine animals,
in
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 277
in confequence of mutual affection, But Nilotic
* Crocodile.
they accidentally gather together, merely
becaufe firnilarity of appetite leads them,
for its gratification, to the fame place.
This habit of living together is an addi-
tional proof, to what has been already al-
ledged, that the character of cruelty and
ferocity has been falfely attributed to this
animal. That they are not naturally either
fierce or cruel, is evident from their being
tamed in fome countries. In Bouton, one
of the Molucca iilands, they are fometimes
kept and fattened, in a certain degree of
domefticity. In fome countries, they are
kept for the fake of orientation. Thus the
King of Saba, on the flave coaft of Africa,
has always two ponds filled with crocodiles.
* In the Rio San-Domingo, likewife on the
* weftern coaft of Africa, M. Brue was
* aftonimed to find the crocodiles, ufually
c confidered as fuch terrible animals, per-
' fedtly harmlefs, infomuch that the chil-
* dren played with them, mounted on their
4 backs, and even beat them, without dan-
* ger, or any appearance pf refentment.
S 3 * This
278 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile ' ^ h * 1S S entlene ^ s f difpofition proceeds
* probably from the care which is taken by
4 the natives to feed them, and to treatHi
* them well ; for, in all other parts of Afri-
* ca, they attack mankind and animals in-
* difcriminately. In fpite of their general
' ferocity, there are many negroes bold
4 enough to fight them, only armed with
* a dagger. One of the garrifon of Fort
* St Louis iifed very frequently to do this
* by way of amufement, and was long fuc-
c cefsful ; but at laft he was fo feverely
' wounded in one of thefe combats, that,
* unlefs he had been aflifted by his com-
* panions, he muft have perifhed by the
* terrible teeth of one of thefe monfters *.'
M. de la Borde has feen crocodiles in Cay-
enne kept in ponds, where they lived for a
long time without doing any harm even to
the tortoifes which were kept in the fame
ponds, and fed along with them on the re-
fufe of the kitchens. The ancients were
well acquainted with the means of taming
j-i
crocodiles ;
* Voy. to the Eiflao Iflands, in the Hift. Gen. des
Voyages.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 279
crocodiles ; for Ariftotle informs us, that Nilotic
Crocodile^
nothing more is neceflary for this purpofe
than to fupply them abundantly with food,
the want of which is the only cauie of their
being dangerous.
The crocodile has not the fame cruelty
of difpofition with the (hark, and many
other animals of prey, that live in the fame
element, and with which it has feveral
points of refemblance ; neither has it by
any means the fame activity of courage
with thefe animals, probably owing to the
colder nature of its blood. Pliny relates,
that it flies from purfuit, even allowing it-
felf to be managed by thole that are hardy
enough to get on its back, and is only dan-
gerous to thofe who run from it *. Pro-
fper Alpinus, in his Natural Hiftory of
Egypt, fays that the Egyptian peafants of-
ten catch crocodiles, and, having tied their
legs and mouth, carry them for fale to the
towns ; they will even untie their feet,
make them walk about, and tie them again
before they kill them f . This gentlenefs
84 of
* Hift. Nat. lib. viii. chap;- 38.
<j- Vol. i. chap. 5.
2 8o OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic O f difpofition may be true, with refpeft to
Crocodile.
the crocodiles of certain parts of America,
which, like all the other large animals of
thefe new countries, where the fuperabun-
dant moifture overbalances the effects of
heat, have much lefs ftrength and courage
than the fame or fimilar animals in the drier
countries of the Old World. M. de la
Borde informs % us, that, in the neighbour-
hood of Cayenne, in South America, the
negroes fometimes catch fmall crocodiles or
caymans, of five or fix feet long, and hav-
ing tied their feet, they allow themfelves
to be carried about or handled without e-
ven offering to bite. Some of the more
prudent of thefe negroes, take the precau-
tion of fixing the jaws of the crocodile to-
gether, or gag the mouth with a piece of
wood. In fome rivers of St Domingo, where
the crocodiles are very gentle, when pur-
fued by the negroes, they conceal their
head and part of the body in fome hole ;
the negroes then pafs a running noofe on
a ftrong rope round one of their hind feet,
and haul them out by main force, after
which
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 281
which they allow themfelves to be led a- Nilotic
, r . , , Crocodile.
bout, even into the homes, without mak-
ing the fmalleft attempt to defend them-
felves.
Heat is fo necefiary to crocodiles, that
they not o: ' y feem to live with great diffi-
culty in " --crate countries, but are even *
fmaller in proportion as the climates they in-
habit are farther removed from the equator.
They are met with, however, both in the
Old and New Worlds feveral degrees to the
north or fouth of the Tropics. The riv s
of Corea are much infefted with croco^.- -s,
which are faid to be fometimes eighteen or
twenty ells long*. They are likewife
plentiful on the coaft of New Guinea f .
Dampier found feveral on the coaft of the
ifland of Timor. According to Catefby f ,
there are great numbers in North America,
ten degrees north from the Tropic ; parti-
cularly in one of the rivers of North Ca-
rolina,
* Hift. Gen. des Voy. xxiv. 244. The word ell
inuft certainly be a miftake for feet. T.
f Voy. de Fernand Mendez Pinto.
\ Nat. Hift. of Carolina, ii. 63
282 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic rolina, about the thirty-fixth degree of
Crocodile.
north latitude, which correfponds pretty
nearly to the moft northerly parts of Afri-
ca, where this animal is to be found ; but
he never heard of any being feen farther
to the north. M. de la Condamine fays,
9 that they are very common in the whole
courfe of the Amazons, and the various ri-
vers that fall into it ; and that he has feen
fome of twenty feet long and even more.
He had formerly feen many in the river
Guyaquil of twelve or fifteen feet in length;
but thofe of the Amazons, being lefs dif-
turbed, grow larger, and are lefs affraid of
mankind, infomuch that they are known
fometimes to enter the cabins of the In-
dians, during the feafon of the inunda-
tion *.
Petrified bones of the crocodile have fre-
quently been found buried in the earth,
in different parts of Europe; particularly
in the mines of Thuringia, where they
have been difcovered more than fifty feet
below the furface ; and the whole fkeleton
of
* Jlift. Gen. des. Voyages, I'm. 439.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 283
of a crocodile was found underground in Nilotic
Crocodile,
the county of Nottingham, in England *.
We muft refer to the theory of the earthen
and the epochs of nature, of M. Buffon, for
an examination of the connection between
thefe foffile bones, and the various revolu-
tions which have taken place in different
parts of the earth.
Notwithftanding the formidable appear-
ance of the crocodile, the negroes, in the
neighbourhood of the river Senegal, ven-
ture to attack it particularly when afleep,
endeavouring to furprife it in places where
the water is not deep enough to allow it to
fwim. They approach it boldly, having
the left arm defended by a covering of
thick leather, and attack it with fpears, or
a kind of dart, called Zagaye^ aiming their
thrufts chiefly at the throat and the eyes.
They even fometimes force open its mouth,
and, preventing it from fhutting, by means
of the zagaye placed firmly between the
jaws, hold down its head in the water till
l
* Bibliotheque Anglaife, vi. 406.
384 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
J? ilot "L it is drowned or fuffocated *. M. Adan-
Crocodile.
fon f gives the following account of an
engagement between a negro and a croco-
dile feven feet long, which the negro (ftf-
covered fleeping among fome bufhes at the
foot of a tree, near the banks of a river.
He ftole gently up to the animal, and gave
it a deep wound with a knife, in the fide
of the neck. The crocodile, though mor-
tally wounded, ftruck the negro fo violent-
ly on the legs with its tail, as to knock
him down ; but, without quitting his hold,
he rofe inftantly, and, wrapping a rope
round the muzzle of the crocodile, while
one of his companions held it fall by the
fail, and Mr Adanfon mounted on its back
to hold it down, he drew out the knife
from the wound and cut off its head.
In Egypt, the peafants often dig a deep
trench, in the ufual trad: by which the
crocodile goes from the water into the
country, which they cover lightly with
branches of trees and earth ; then fetting
lip
* Labats Voy. ii. 337.
f Voyage to Senegal, 148.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 285
up a great noife to frighten the crocodile, Nilotic
Crocodile.
it haftens to the water, and falling into
the pit, is there either killed or fecured with
ropes or nets. Sometimes they fix one
end of a ftrong rope to the trunk of a large
tree, having a large hook at the other end,
to which a living lamb is tied : This is
left on the bank of the river, and by its
cries to get loofe, attracts a crocodile to the
fpot ; which, willing to avail itfelf of the
fuppoled repaft, at the fame time gets the
hook fixed in its jaws. The more the cro-
codile ftruggles to get free, the more firm-
ly the hook penetrates j the people on the
fhore, give line in proportion as the croco-
dile dives, and following all its motions in
the water, wait till it is completely exhauft-
ed, and then drag it to the ihore.
In Florida, the favages often advance in
companies of ten or twelve together againft
a crocodile, carrying a thick bough of a
tree, and, when the crocodile comes to at-
tack them with its mouth wide open, they
force the bough down its throat, and then
foon put it to death. Some people are e-
ven
286 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic ven venturous enough to attack the croco-
Crocodiie.
dile in the water, its own proper element ;
they dive below its belly, which they
pierce with a large knife or dagger, that
being almoft the only place in which it is
vulnerable.
Mankind is not the only enemy of the
crocodile, though perhaps the moft deftruc-
tive, for fewer crocodiles are always found
in proportion to the population of their re-
fidence. They are likewife preyed on by
tigers and by the hippopotamus ; which
latter animal is fo much the more dange-
rous, that it is able to purfue the crocodile
to the very bottom of the fea or of the ri-
vers. The cougars of America, though
vaftly weaker than the tigers, likewife de-
ftroy great numbers of crocodiles : Thefe
animals lie in wait for the young croco-
diles, at the edge of the great rivers, and,
ieize them immediately as they come out
of the water. Sometimes, however, the
cougar perifhes in the attempt, when he
meets with a large crocodile ; the cougar
fixes his claws in the eyes of the crocodile,
but,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 287
but, not being ftrong enough to prevent it
from returning to the water, is dragged in
and drowned, ufually both falling a facri-
fice to the combat *.
But for thefe numerous enemies, an a-
nimal of fuch aftoniming fecundity would
become too numerous : The mores of all
the great rivers in the Torrid Zone, would
become covered and infefted, to a dange-
rous degree, by thefe monftrous lizards ;
which, by the impoflibility they would then
experience. of procuring their food readily,
would become fierce, cruel, and deftrudtive,
in their natures. Being already very pow-
erful, by the ftrength of their body, and
the nature both of their offenfive weapons
and defenfive armour, they would then be-
come altogether irrefiftible by their num-
bers ; and mankind, which has already, in
fome places, confiderable difficulty to pre-
ferve the empire over the earth, which he
has received from nature, againft the pow-
er of thefe monfters, would be forced to
retreat from many of thofe fruitful new
* o *
formed
* Hift. Gen. des Voy. liii. 440.
288 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
formed regions along the banks of the great
Crocodile.
rivers, becaufe unable torefift againft thefize,
arms, ftrength, and multitude, of the cro-
codiles. Profper Alpinus fays *, that the
largeft crocodiles in Egypt, which are fome-
times thirty cubits long, avoid the neigh-
bourhood of mankind, and keep entirely to
that part of the Nile which is above Mem-
phis. In countries that are thinly peopled,
this is not to be expected ; they are fo nu-
merous in the great rivers Amazons and
Oyapoc, and in the bay of Vincent Pin9on,
and the lakes which communicate with it,
as to obftrud, by their numbers, the pira-
guas and canoes that navigate thefe waters.
They follow thefe light veflels, without,
however, attempting to overturn or attack
them, in hopes, perhaps, of fome perfon
falling overboard ; and it is fometimes eafy
to drive them out of the way, by means of
the oars or paddles f. M. de la Borde
writes, that, when he was navigating along
the
* Hift. Nat. JSgypt, Vol. i. ch. 5.
f On the information of the Chevalier de Wider-
fpach.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 289
the eaftern fhore of South America in a
Crocodile.
canoe, and wifhing to enter a fmall river,
he found its mouth occupied by about a
dozen large crocodiles ; he at firft tried to
drive them away by a few mufket mots,
but ineffectually ; being airraid to force
his way through in the canoe, leaft they
might overfet it, and devour him or his peo-
ple in the water, he was obliged to wait
nearly two hours, before they would quit
their place and leave the paffage free.
Befides the powerful enemies which have
been already mentioned, it luckily happens
that great numbers of crocodiles are de-
ftroyed before they get out of the eggs, by
animals that are too weak to look them in
the face after they have acquired any fize.
The ichneumon, monkeys, fagoins, fapa-
jous, and feveral fpecies of water fowls,
feek for and devour crocodiles eggs with
great avidity, and even break vail numbers,
as if merely in fport.
VOL. I. T The
* Dclcription of Hifpaniola, in Hift. Gen. des Voyv
Part Hi. book c;.
290 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nilotic Th e e2 -p. s anc } t | ie fl^ O f croco diles.
Crocodile.
particularly that of the tail and the belly,
are ufed as food hy the negroes of Africa,
and by feveral nations in India and Ame-
rica *. This flefh is juicy and very white,
and is confidered by thefe people as very
delicious ; but fuch Europeans as have
ventered to eat of it, have been moftly dif-
gufted by the ftrong mufky flavour with
which it is impregnated. M. Adanfon,
however, fays, that he eat part of a young
crocodile which he faw killed in Senegal,
and thought it tolerably good. It is very
probable that the tafte of crocodiles fiefh
will differ, according to the age and nou-
rimment of the individual from which it
is taken.
A kind of bezoars is fometimes found in
the alimentary canal of the crocodile, and
in feveral other fpecies of lizards. Several
of thefe were in the collection of Seba, who
had received them from Amboina and
Ceylon : The largeft were about the fize
of ducks eggs, but longer, and their fur-
faces were covered over with projections,
* Catefby, Nat. Hift. of Carolina, ii. 63.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 291
about the fize of frnall pepper-corns. Like Nilotic
r l Crocodile.
all other bezoars, thefe were compofed of
various layers, one over the other : Their
colour was dufky cinereous, more or lefs
mixed or marbled with white *.
The ancient Romans, though they might
have learnt fomewhat of the hiftory and
appearance of the crocodile, from the re-
ports of travellers, or from the writings of
the Greek naturalifts, never faw any till
iifty-eight years before the Chriftian era,
when Scaurus the Edile prefented five to
the people in the public mews f . Auguf-
tus afterwards produced great numbers of
living crocodiles in his ihews, caufmg men
to fight with them in the arena ; and He-
liogabalus fed numbers for that purpofe.
Thefe tyrants of the Roman World, pro- ,
cured at vaft expence from Africa, croco-
diles, tigers, lions, and other wild animals;
and feemed to pride themfelves in collect-
ing around them all the inofl ferocious
productions of nature.
T 2 As
* Seba, Muf. ii. 139.
f Plin. Hift- Nat, lib. viii. chap. 40.
292 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Nilotic AS t h e crocodiles were brought from a
Crocodile.
diftance, and muft have been confidered
by the Romans as a very formidable ani-
mal, we are not to wonder that very ex-
traordinary medicinal virtues were attribut-
ed to them by the ancients : Scarcely any
part of their bodies but was fuppofed a re-
medy againft difeafe : The teeth, the fcales,
the flefh, and the inteftines, were all prized
as fo many infallible drugs *. The gall,
the fat, and the eyes, of the crocodile, are
ftill held in much efteem, by the modern
Egyptians and Arabs f . They were held
in ftill higher veneration, by the ancient
natives of Egypt : From infpiring terror
by their ravages^ the depraved reafon of a
mifguided people converted them into gods ;
building altars and appointing priefts for
the fuperintendence of this ftrangely per-
verted wormip. The city of Arilnoe \vas
peculiarly confecreted to thefe monftrous
gods ; and, when they died, their bo-
dies were facfedly depofited in the great
pyramids,
* Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. xxviii. chap. 28.
f Haffelquift, Voy. to Paleftine, 347.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 293
pyramids, among the tombs of the Egyp- Nilotic
tian monarchs *. But, fuch has been the
change of fentiments, and the progrefs of
reafon, that in the fame country, where
thefe animals were worfhipped two and three
thoufand years ago, a reward is now given
for their definition;
Though M. de la Cepede has chofen to
confider the Crocodiles of the Nile and o
America as the fame fpecies, (lightly varied
perhaps by difference in climate and food ;
Linnseus and his late editor Gmelin, with
feveral older naturalifts make them feparate
fpecies. In the Syftema Nature, the alli-
gator, or American crocodile, is defcribed
as fmaller than the Nilotic, but having fi-
milar manners. The head is faid to be
flat, and covered with imbricated fcales,
and the neck fmooth ; while the head of
the Nilotic fpecies is defcribed as refembling
T 3 a
* Encycl. Method. Dift. d'Antiquites, by M. 1'Abbc
Mongez 1'aine.
294 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Crocodile a C at ma a!K nCC aS
ged : In both the upper furface of the tail
is fimilarly befet with two rows of ferratecl
projecting fcales.
ART. II. ?HE BLACK CROCODILE.
Black r I ^HIS fecond fpecies differs from the
JL former in being almoft black, while
the other is of a greenim or brown colour.
M. Adanfon is the firft author who has
defcribed this black fpecies, which he has
feen in the great river Senegal in Africa*.
The jaws of this fpecies are longer than in
the Nilotic crocodile. The black crocodile
is likewife more deftructive than that of the
Nile ; and, perhaps, this may be owing to
fome difference in their internal ftruclure,
which is often known to modify the man-
ners and difpofitions of animals.
The difference of colour in this croco-
dile cannot certainly be referred merely to 1
the influence of climate ; for M. Adan-
fon
" Voyage to Senegal, p. 73.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 295
fon has feen vaft numbers of the green cro- BIack ,.
Crocodile.
codile in the fame rivers, which are pre-
cifely fimilar to thofe of Egypt. Thefe
black crocodiles have not been feen in any
other part of the world, except in the ri-
ver Senegal, and M. Adanfon is the only
naturalift who has hitherto defcribed them.
In the Syftema Naturae, a crocodile, un-
der the name of Crocodilus Africanus, or
African crocodile, is defcribed as a variety
of the Nilotic, which M. de la Cepede con-
fiders only as a fynonime of that fpecies :
From the defcription given by Gmelin,
it feems to refemble his alligator or Ameri-
can fpecies. The fnout is much morter
than the head, and the neck is fmooth, or
free from the ridged unequal fcales on the
neck of the Nilotic.
T4 ART.
-96 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. III. THE CAVIAL *.
Gavial. 'THHIS third fpecies of crocodile is found
-"- on the banks of the Ganges, in In-
dia, where it is known by the name of
Gavial, which is here adopted. It is fi-
milar in colour to the Nilotic fpecies, and
has all the general characters, which have
been already mentioned as diftincYive of
crocodiles. Like the two former fpecies,
it has five toes on each fore foot, and four
on each behind ; the three inner toes only
of all the feet being furnimed with claws.
It differs, however, very remarkably from
both
* Le Gavial, ou Crocodile a machoires alongees.
Lacerta gangetica : Having the muzzle very long,
rounded, and almoft cylindrical ; the tail being armed
\vith two ferrated ridges, which unite backwards into
one. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1057. G. 122. fp. 50.
Gronov. gazoph. ii. n. n. 40. Merck, HefT. beytr. ii.
i. p. 73. Crocodilus terreftris. Laur. amph. 54. n. 86.
Adanf. Seneg. 73. Seba, Muf. i. t. 103. 104. f. i.
Long-nofed crocodile : Having a pouch on the bel-
ly; the muzzle refembling the bill of a gooiandcr.
lid wards, in Phil. Tranf. xlix. 639. t. 19.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 297
both die former fpecies, in very diftinct
and appropriate charters. The jaws are
very much elongated and narrow, fo as to
refemble the^long beak of a bird, forming
a very ftriking contraft with the thicknefs
and breadth of the head. The teeth are
not unequal in length and fize, as in the
two other fpecies ; but they are more nu-
merous : In a fpecimen nearly eleven feet
long in the Royal Cabinet, the upper jaw
contains fifty-eight teeth, and the lower
jaw fifty.
The tranfverfe tuberculated rows of fcales
on the upper part of the body, are about
a fourth part more in number than in the
crocodile of the Nile : Thefe rows are all
clofe to each other ; and the fquare fcales,
of which they are cOmpcfed, are more pro-
tuberant at the edges, and lefs fo in the
middle, than in the Nilotic fpecies. All
thefe differences are certainly more than
fufiicient for conftituting a diftint fpecies".
This Gangetic crocodile, like that of the
Nile, grows to a very eonfiderable fize.
By comparing the dimenfions of a part of
the
298 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Gavial. the jaws of one of thefe crocodiles, with
the fame part of a complete fpecimen near
twelve feet long, both of which are preferv-
ed in the Royal Cabinet, there is reafon to
conclude, that the individual, to which the
fragment belonged, had meafured thirty
feet ten inches in length. The following
are the principal dimenfions of the com-
plete fpecimen in the Cabinet:
Feet. Inches. Lines.
Total length n 10 6
Length of the head 211
Ditto, from between the eyes
to the tip of the muzzle I 7 9
Ditto of the upper jaw 206
Ditto of ditto fo far as the
teeth reach I 6 o
Diftance between the eyes 3 3
Diameter of each eye - 020
Circumference of the body
where thickeft 360
Ditto of the head behind the
eyes - - 200
Ditto of the narroweft part
of the muzzle - 062
Length
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 299
Feet. Inches. Lines. Gavial.
Length of each fore leg, to
the tips of the claws I 3 7
Ditto of each hind leg, to
ditto I 8 o
Ditto of the tail 510
Circumference of ditto at the
root - - -280
It is probably this fpecies which Taver-
nier mentions having feen on the banks
of the Ganges, from Toutipour to Acerat.
In defcending the river, the firft day he
faw a great number of thefe animals lying
on the fand. He fired among them, and
wounded one in the jaw, but it efcaped
into the river. Next day, he faw a great
number in a fimilar fituation, and fired at
two of them, with three balls each time,
and killed them both *.
It would appear that the gavial WAS not
altogether unknown to the ancients ; for
./Elian mentions, that in his time crocodiles
were found on the banks of the Ganges,
which
* Taverniers Travels, in the Hilt. Gen. des Voy,
Part ii. book 2-
Gayial. which had a kind of horn at the extremity
of the muzzle. Mr Edwards, however, is
the firft modern naturalift who has men-
tioned this fpecies. In the Philofophical
Tfanfadions for 1756, he publifhed a def-
cription and figure of an individual of this
fpecies, which he names the long-beaked
crocodile, comparing its long and narrow
muzzle to the bill of a merganfer, or goof-
ander. In the fpecimen defcribed by Mr
Edwards, which appears to have been very
young, there is a pouch or open purfe on
the belly ; but we can find no trace of any
iimilar ftru&ure, either in the twelve feet
long fpecimen, nor in one of two feet three
inches long, both of which are preferved
in the Royal Cabinet : Perhaps this pouch
may only be the remains of the opening
in the {kin, through which the umbilical
chord was formerly inferted, and in this
cafe it may become obliterated with age ;
or, perhaps, the individual defcribed by Mr
Edwards, may have been of a different fex
from either of thofe which we have feen.
There
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 301
There is preferved in the Royal Cabinet Gavial.
part of a jaw filled with teeth, partially
petrified and inclofed in a calcarious ftone,
which was found near Dax in Gafcony,
and fent by M. de Borda to the Cabinet,
which, after a very attentive examination,
feems to have formerly belonged to an in-
dividual of this fpecies.
ART. IV. THE WHIP-TAIL *.
THIS name has been applied, by dif- whip-taiL
ferent naturalifts, to feveral different
fpecies of lizards, that are able to move
about their tails fomewhat in the manner
of a whip, when it is ufed to give a ftroke
or lafh : It has been particularly appropri-
ated to the fpecies we are about to de-
fcribe
* Le Fouette-queue. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta Caudiverbera : Having the tail flatly de-
preffed, and indented at the edges ; the feet being web-
bed. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1058. G. 122. fp. 2.
Caudiverbera peruviana. Laurent. Amphib. 54. n. 55.
Feuill. Per. ii. 319. Molin. Hift. Nat. Chil. 191. Seba,
Muf i. io(5. t. i.
jo2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Whip-tail. f c ribe i n this article, and to the next, which
is called the dragon in this work, and the
name of cordylus has been given by feve-
ral writers to the dragon j by which cir-
cumftances the name of caudiverbera or
whip-tail have been applied, not only to
the dragon, which really has the whip-
like motion of the tail, but to feveral other
lizards, that have no fuch property, and
-re named cordylus by other authors. In
order if poffible to avoid this confuiion in
nomenclature, which is always hurtful to
icience, we have thought it belt to appro-
priate the name of whip-tail to that fpecies
only which forms the fubject of the prefent
article.
The whip-tail inhabits the warmer re-
gions of South America, being found par-
ticularly in Peru and Chili. It fometimes
grows to the length of feveral feet. The
back and fides are covered by fquare plates
and oval fcales. The tail is indented or
notched at the edges, and the animal has
the power of making it like a whip, and
ftriking with it in a fimilar manner. In
the
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 303
the flattened form of the tail it has fome Whip-tail,
refemblance with the crocodile; from which,
however, it is eafily diftinguimed, particular-
ly by having five toes on each foot, while the
crocodiles have only four on the hind feet.
From this latter circumftance, we are in-
duced to confider the animal reprefented
by Seba, in the hundred and fixth plate of
his firft volume, as a whip-tail ; though it
has been quoted by Linnseus as fynonimous
with the crocodile, and by Gmelin as a fy-
noniine of the alligator : On the other
hand, this animal reprefented by Seba, muft
not be confounded with the dragon, as the
former has webbed feet, while thofe of the
latter have no membranes interpofed be-
tween the toes. Befides thefe confidera-
tions, Seba informs us, that the large liz-
ard, which he has reprefented, came from
America, in which it agrees with what
Linnasus fays of the whip-tail. It may be
proper to remark, in this place, that the a-
nimal reprefented by Seba, vol. ii. t. 103.
f. 2. which is quoted as a variety of the
whip-tail, in the Syftema Naturae, is in re-
ality
304 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Whip-tail, ality a dragon ; for, though the engraver
has given it webs between the toes of the
hind feet, the text exprefsly lays that it has
none. It has been already mentioned, in
the account of the crocodile, that the large
lizard, mentioned by Dampier as a fecond
fpecies of American cayman, or crocodile,
is in all probability the whip-tail.
There is a large lizard, called Kobbera-
guton^ in the ifle of Ceylon, which has con-
fiderahle refemblance to the crocodile ; but
differs from it in having a luny. rorked
blue tongue, which it extends in a frightful
manner, when it hifTes, or even in breath-
ing. This animal is ufually lix feet long :
It frequently goes into the water, and dives
with great agility ; but its common refi-
dence is on the land, where it feeds on birds
and fuch other animals as it is able to feize.
It flies from mankind ; but it eafily drives
away dogs, and other animals that attack-
it, by laming them with its long tail, which
it brandifhes exactly like a whip. It is
not mentioned, whether its toes be unit-
ed together by webs : If fo, it will fall to
be
. V Tu|duaiiib.is
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 305
be confidered as belonging to this fpecies Wh 'P- tai! *
of whip-tail ; if they are feparated, it muft
belong to the following fpecies of dragon ;
in either cafe perhaps altered by the in-
fluence of climate. The flefh of this ani-
mal is reckoned very bad.
T
ART. V. THE DR4GON *.
HIS fpecies refembles the crocodile
Dragon.
very much in its general form, ha-
ving a large mouth, tubercles on the back,
and a flattened tail : Its fize is fometimes
equal to that of young alligators ; and its
colour, of a deep reddifh brown, lefs or
more
* La Dragonne. Encyclop. Method.
Lacerta Dracaena : Having a fmooth body ; the tail
being long, and denticulated on its upper furface ; and
the toes 1 being long, diftinct, and almoft of equal
lengths. Syft. Nat. ed. Gm. i. 1059. G. 122. fp. 3.
Lacertus indicus. Ray, Synopf. 270. Muf. Worm. 313,
Stellio Salvaguardia. Laur. Amphib. 57. n. 92.
Lacerta maxima Caudiverbera, f. Cordylus. Seba, Muf.
i. t. 101. f. i.
VOL. I. U
306 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
mO re dafhed with green, refembles that of
thefe animals. From all thefe circumftances
of refemblance, it has been generally confi-
dercd as a fmaller fpecies of crocodile, or
cayman, on the eaftern coaft of South
America. But it differs very eflentially
from the crocodile in many particulars.
Inftead of having webbed feet, its toes, of
which there are five on each foot, both be-
fore and behind, are completely feparated
from each other, as in almoft all the fpecies
of lizards ; and every one of thefe toes are
armed with fharp hooked claws. The head
is flattened on the top, and comprefled at
the fides, having, in fotne meafure, the ap-
pearance of a four llded pyramid, of which
the muzzle is the fummit or apex. In this
circumftance, it refembles-feveral of the fer-
pent tribe, and in the tongue being forked,
which, inftead of being concealed and im-
moveablei as in crocodiles, -is capable of be-
ing darted out to a great length with great
readinefs. The eyes are large and brilliant.
The openings of the ears are large, being
furrounded by a rim or border of fcales.
The
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 307
The body is thick and rounded, being co- Dra S n -
vered by hard bony fcales, fomething like
thofe of the crocodile, almoft all of them
having a projecting ridge in the middle.
Several of the fcales on the back are larger
than the reft, and have projecting tubercles,
forming a kind of ferrated ridge, which is
higheft near the tail, and is even continued
along the greater part of that member ; on
which thefe tubercles are very fharp, form-
ing two rows like the teeth of faws ; and
thefe rows unite into one towards the end
of the tail.
This fpecies, like the whip-tail immedi-
ately preceding, has the power of agitating
its long tail, and brandiming it like a whip;
from which the name of Whip-tail, or
Caudiverbera, has been applied to it as well
as to the other. But, as this would induce
confufion, we have appropriated that name
entirely to the former, from which this is
accurately diftinguifhable by the toes not
being webbed. This fpecies has likewife
been named the Cordylus ; but that term
U 2 belongs
3 o8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Dragon, belongs to a very different lizard, to be af-
terwards defcribed.
The dragon is principally, if not exclu-
fively, found in South America. The fpe-
cimen in the Royal Cabinet, from which
this article was drawn up, was fent from
Cayenne by M. de la Borde. It is very
fimilar to the defcription given by Wormi-
us, of a fpecimen in his collection, which
meafured four Roman feet in length. It
was known to Clufius *, and likewife to
Seba, who had one in his mufeum. The
following are the principal dimenfions of
our fpecimen in the Royal Cabinet.
Feet. Inches. Lines*
Total length - 254
Circumference of the mouth 044
Diftance between the eyes - o I o
Circumference of the thick-
eft part of the body 076
Length of the fore legs to the
tips of the toes o 3 10
Ditto of the hind legs to ditto 056
Length of the tail - 146
Circumference
* Cluf. Exot. lib. v. chap. 20.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 309
Feet. Inches. Lines. Dragon.
Circumference of ditto at its
root 058
Wormius mentions the number and form,
of the teeth of this fpecies, faying that it
has feventeen on each fide in the lower jaw,
the back teeth being large and blunt, while
the fore teeth are fmall, and very fharp ;
and we find that his account agrees with
the fpecimen in the Royal Collection.
Pliny has been much blamed for diftin-
guiming the teeth of the crocodile into in-
cifors, tufks, and grinders. We have al-
ready feen how that great naturalift is to be
underftood, in his account of the tufks or
canine teeth of the crocodile ; and perhaps
his miftake refpe&ing the grinders proceed-
ed from mifinformation. It is poffible,
however, that the dragon may inhabit thofe
countries of the Eaft with which the an-
cients were acquainted, as we have already
mentioned that the kobbera-guion of Cey-
lon may not unlikely be a variety of dra-
gon ; and, as the animal itfelf may have
been miftaken for a crocodile, its large blunt
U 3 back
310 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Dragon. [ )ac j c teet j l mav | iave b ecn i, n p O f e( J on
as having belonged to the crocodile. Even
in more modern times, travellers have in-
troduced very great confufion into their
accounts of the crocodile, and other large
lizards which approach to it in fize and
form, which have occafioned feveral errors
in the opinions of very refpectable natural-
ifts, refpe&ing the form, habits, and man-
ners of thefe animals.
The great refemblance between the dra-
gon and the crocodile, might induce a be-
lief that their manners were fimilar : But
thefe two lizards differ from each other in
one of thefe efTential characters which in-
fluence exceedingly the habits of all ani-
mals. The feet of the dragon are not pal-
mated or webbed, like thofe of the croco-
dile, but all its toes are perfectly feparated
from each other. Hence its manners muft
be extremely different from thofe of that
other animal. Owing to that conforma-
tion of its feet, it fwims much more diffi-
cultly than the crocodile, and walks or runs
with greater eafe, and much more fwiftly ;
it
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 311
it is likewife able to climb trees, and feeds
on animals that frequent the woods. M.
de la Borde has chofen to give this fpecies
the compound name of lizard-cayman , as
forming a kind of connecting link be-
tween the crocodile and the fmaller liz-
ards : He adds, ' That it frequents the in-
4 undated favannas and marihy plains ; but
4 that it is much more on the land than in
4 the water, and bafks much in the fun.
* It is extremely difficult to take one of this
* fpecies, as it hides itfelf in holes, and
' bites violently when attacked. It gene-
4 rally darts out its cloven tongue, after
4 the manner of ferpents. That gentleman
4 kept one for fome time alive : It often
4 concealed itfelf under water, efpecially
' when frightened, and fometimes remain-
4 cd for hours under the furface ; but it
4 frequently came out, on the dry ground,
4 to bafk in the fun.'
M. de Buffon, in his Natural Hiftory of
Birds, has mown how ftrongly animals are
influenced in their habits by the conforma-
tion of particular organs ; particularly, that,
U 4 by
312 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Dragon. by the form and ft ru ure of their bills,
birds are remarkably determined in the
choice of their food, being thereby con-
ftrained to inhabit certain fituations where
that is moft readily procured ; and that
their other principal habits are modified
and produced by this fmgle circumftance.
Though, in that clafs, the faculty of flying
allows them more readily to change their
place, and confequently renders them lefs
dependent on the peculiar ftructure of their
feet, yet certain orders of birds are very
ftrikingly modified in their manners by that
circumftance of their form. Some birds
have webbed -feet, which enable them to
fwim with great readinefs ; others again
have ftrong and fharp talons, which give
them the power of attack and defence, &c.
In the various clafTes of quadrupeds, both
viviparous and oviparous, being more con-
fined in their faculties, their habits are ren-
dered more ftationary, in dependence on
the ftru&ure of particular parts. Thus the
nature of their food is not only modified by
the form of their mouth or of their teeth,
but
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 313
but even by the conformation of their Dra S n -
feet ; which provide them with ftronger
or weaker means of feizing their prey, of
changing place with greater or lefler agi-
lity, and of inhabiting the waters, the
fhores, the open plains, the forefts, &c.
The mouth being more or lefs extenfive ;
a few teeth more or lefs ; divided toes or
webbed feet ; fharp talons or blunt claws ;
and many other circumftances, are fuflicient
fmgly to occafion very great differences in
their habits. Examples of this doctrine may
be found throughout the clafs of oviparous
quadrupeds ; among which, moil of thofe
animals that have fimilar manners, that in-
habit fimilar fituations, or that feed on the
fame kind of ncurimment, have their teeth,
their mouths, or their feet, conftru&ed in
a fimilar manner ; however different they
.may be, in the general form, ftrength, and
fize, of their bodies.
The mod finking difference between
the manners of the dragon, from thofe of
the crocodile, is by no means produced by
poffeffion or want of any particular
fenfe,
314 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Dragon. f e nfe, but merely by the want of a parti-
cular membrane between the toes, and by
having a few more claws on each foot.
Similar effects, proceeding from fimilar or
analogous circumftances, may be readily
perceived by an attentive examination of
moft animals : The fame thing would cer-
tainly take place in mankind ; among whom
very trivial differences in external confor-
mation, would produce confiderable diver-
ilty of manners and habits, were it not that
intelligence, cultivated in fociety, has in-
vented artificial compenfations for the de-
fects of nature.
The fame animals may be expected to
prey on the dragon, which have been for-
merly mentioned as attacking the croco-
dile: The former animal, however, has lefs
ftrength for refiftance, and is even preyed
on by the larger alligators. Owing to its
1 different mode of life, the flem of the dra-
gon may be fuppofed very different in tafte
and flavour from that of the crocodile :
Accordingly it is confidered as very fuc-
culent and delicious by the Weft Indians,
who
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 315
who compare it to that of a fowl. M. de Dra S n -
la Borde informs us, that the eggs of the
dragon are much fought after in Cayenne,
and that the female lays feveral dozens of
eggs each feafon.
A fpecies of lizard, named Ignarucu, is
found in Brafil, particularly about the ri-
ver St Francis, which has confiderable re-
femblance to the crocodile, but is faid to
climb trees with great readinefs. This liz-
ard is probably only a variety of the dra-
gon, from which it differs, by being of a
deeper colour, and in its claws being weak-
er.
-
.
ART. VI. THE TUPINAMBIS*.
THIS fpecies, which is here diftinguim- T .
ed by the name it receives from the bis.
inhabitants of America, is found in the
warmer
* Tupinambis, in America; Galtabe, in Senegal ;
Tilcuetz-pallin, in Mexico ; Lezard aiouchete, Encycl.
Method.
Called
316 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tupmam- warmer regions of both worlds. It has
been alledged that, on the borders of the
river Amazons and in Guiana, the tupi-
nambis fometimes grows to the length of
twelve feet ; but this error muft certainly
have arifen from miftaking a crocodile for
a tupinambis. When it meets with abun-
dance of food, and all other circumftances
are moft favourable to its growth, it never
exceeds fix or at moft feven feet in length.
The fpecimen preferved in the Royal Ca-
binet, from which the fpecies has been here
defcribed, and which came from the Cape
of Good Hope, meafures three feet eight
inches long. Another fpecimen, which was
brought from Senegal, meafures four feet
ten
Called Cayman, Guano, Ligan, Ligans, by fome voy-
agers ; which names confound it with the Guana and
-the Crocodile.
Lacerta Monitor : Having a fmooth body, with eye-
like fpots ; the tail being long and ridged on the upper
furface. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1059. G. 122. fp. 6.
Muf< ad. frid. i 41. Seba, Muf. ii. t. 86. f. 2. ii. t. 30.
f. 2. ii. t. 49. f. 2. ii. t. 99. i. ii. t. 100. f. 3. i. t. 97. f.
2. i. t. 94. f. 1.2. 3. Stellio Salvator. Laurent. Amph.
56. n. 90. Stellio Saurus. D. 56. n. 89.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 317
ten inches. The following are the princi-
pal dimenfions of that in the Royal Cabinet.
Feet. Inches. Lines.
Total length -380
Circumference of the mouth 048
Ditto of the body where
thickeft - i i 3
Length of the fore leg, to
the tip of the toes 059
Ditto of the hind leg, to ditto 069
Ditto of the tail i i o 6
Circumference of ditto at the
root o 7 10
The tail of the tupinambis is flattened
laterally, and almoft equals the length of
the body : It has no ferrated ridge, like
that of the dragon, having only a plain
flight projection on its upper furface. All
the feet have five tolerably long toes on
each, all armed with ftrong hooked claws.
The whole body, head, tail, and feet, are
covered by fmall oval hard fcales a little
elevated, difpofed in numerous tranfverfe
circular rows ; which form a very eflential
character, for diftinguifhing this fpecies,
from
3i8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tupmam- f rom a jj ot h er li zar( l s . I n the individual
bis.
that was fent from the Cape, thefe fcales
meafured about half a line in their longeft
diameter. The colouring of the tupinam-
bis is fomewhat elegant, being in general
a darkim ground, with a number of large
irregular blotches and bars of almoft pure
white, giving a marbled appearance, and
fometimes refembling a kind of lace patern
on the fides : This is fubjecl:, however,
to confiderable variety, as feven diftindt va-
rieties of the fpecies, differing chiefly in
colours, are enumerated in the Syftema Na-
turae, on the authority of Seba and Lau-
renti. From the brilliancy given by this
difpofition of its colours, the tupinambis is
fo much the more expofed to danger ; for,
living in the fame places with the crocodile,
its moft bitter enemy, it is thereby the more
readily difcovered^at a diftance.
The tupinambis has not fufficient ftrength
to defend itfelf againft the larger animals
of prey, and never attacks mankind. It
feeds on the eggs of birds *, on fmallcr
lizards,
* Mad. Merian, in Hift. Gen. des Voy. liv. 430.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 319
lizards, and on fifli, which laft it follows
in the water. Being much fmaller than
the crocodile, and having much lefs ftrength,
and lefs powerful arms of offence, it necef-
farily is more often in want of proper food
than that animal, and confequently is ob-
liged to be lefs particular in its choice : It
is likewife obliged to be very cautious, in
purfuing its prey, as the crocodile, againft
which it is incapable of defence, is very
numerous in all thofe places which it in*
habits. It is reported, that the approach of
a crocodile infpires it with great terror; and
that, on fuch occafions, it emits a very au-
dible whiftle or hiffing noife, which often
ferves as a fignal of danger to mankind,
when bathing in thofe waters which are
frequented by both animals : From this
circumftance, feveral voyagers have honour-
ed the tupinambis with the name of Safe-
guard, Sal-vat or, or, Salvaguardia ; which
name has likewife been given to the dra-
gon, by fome writers, probably on a fnni-
lar account.
The
320 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Tupmam- The fexual organs, and manner of uni-
on, in this fpecies, refemble thofe already
mentioned as common to the other lizards.
In a fpecimen of a male, two feet eight
inches long preferred in the Royal Cabi-
net, which was killed during the congrefs,
the double penis, the two parts of which
are confiderably feparate, and meafure each
one inch and three lines in length, are
without the anus. The female lays her
eggs in holes, which me digs on the banks
of fome river ; the eggs are tolerably large,
and of an oval fhape, and are eaten by the
natives * : We have been aflured, by fe-
veral Europeans, who had eaten of theie
eggs both in Africa and America, that
they are extremely good. The fun hatches
the eggs of this animal, as has been already
related of the crocodile. Bezoars, fimilar
to thofe procured from crocodiles and other
lizards, are found in the tupinambis ; and
the fame chimerical virtues are attributed
to them, as remedies in certain diftempers.
One belonging to Seba, was of a clear grey
or
* Hift. Gen. des Voyages, liv. 430.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 321
or afh colour, fpotted with black, and about Tupinam.
the fize of a pigeons egg *.
From the difficulty which is often expe-
rienced by the tupinambis in procuring
food, its choice muft confequently become
t
vitiated, in a great meafure, famine being
a very powerful caufe, for modifying and
changing the habits of all animals. In cafe
of extreme want, it is frequently forced to
feed on half putrid carcafes j and, even
when thefe are not to be found, it hunts
after ants and flies : Thefe laft it feeks for
in the woods, which it frequents equally
with the waters and the banks of rivers.
From the length and feparation of its toes,
it can very readily climb up trees, where it
fearches for birds nefts on purpofe to de-
vour the eggs, and even attempts to catch
the birds themfelves ; but, in this latter em-
ployment, it cannot be expected to meet V
with great fuccefs, againft animals fo much
more nimble than itfelf. Thus an animal, to
which mankind has affixed the title of fafe-
guard, is condemned to feek its food through
VOL. I. X exceffive
* Seba, Muf. ii. 140.
322 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
rupmam. exccl Tive difficulties, often obliged to put
up with the moft difguftirtg nouriihment,
is even frequently reduced to extreme want,
and generally ends its courfc by falling a
victim to the appetites of fomc ftronger
animal.
The animal named Tejucuacu, and Tc-
mapara, in Brafil, is the fame with the tu-
pinambis ; but, as thefc names have like-
wife been given to feveral other very dif-
ferent lizards, confiderable confufion and
uncertainty have been thereby induced in
this part of natural hiftory. Marcgravc
lays, that he has feen a tupinambis live
feven months without food ; and that fome
perfon having bruifed a part of its tail, by
treading on it, the wound not only healed,
but two inches of the extremity of the tail
was replaced by a new growth.
ART.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 323
ART. VII. THE SUPERCILIOUS LIZARD *.
HIS lizard, which has received the
trivial name of fupercilious, from a ous , Ijlz '
aid.
projecting ridge, covered with fmall fcales,
over each eye, refembling eyebrows, is found
in Geylon, Amboina, and probably in o-
ther fimilar parts of India. It is likewife
diftinguifhed by a ridge of upright fcales,
which reaches from the back of the head to
the extremity of the tail, refembling a kind
of indented creft. The eyes are very large,
and the openings of the ears are very wide.
The mouth is large, and the muzzle is
pointed. The tail is flattened laterally, and
is much longer than the body. The toes
are very long, and much feparated from
each other, efpecially thofe of the hind
X 2 feet,
* La Sourcilleux. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta fuperciliofa : Having the tail ridged pn its
upper furface ; the back and eyebrows being fringed
with projecting fcales. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1063.
G. 122. fp. 4. Muf. ad. frid. i. 40. Seba, Muf. i. t. 94.
f. 4. & i. t. 109. t. 2.
324 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
jperc.h- f cet Qn eac | 1 Q - ^^ t ] le f ourt h toe i s as
1 1 S JLj I i *
ard. long as the head. The claws are ftrong
and hooked. The fcalcs are of unequal
iizes, but all of them very fmall, having a
longitudinal ridge or elevation on each ;
and they are imbricated, or placed lapping
over each other, like the fcales of* moll
limes. The general colour is bright brown,
fpotted with deeper and brighter red. The
total length of the fpecimen from which
this description was formed, and which is
preserved in the Roval Cabinet, is twelve
'
inches.
As the toes of this fpecies are very long
and much divided, its habits mould be ex-
pected to referable thofe of the dragon, at
Jeaft in many refpe&s. It is faid by Seba,
to cry very loud, as a fignal for the Scat-
tered individuals to gather.
The diftindt elevated fcales, forming a
kind of armour, which we here meet again,
have not been exclufively allotted to this
fpecies and the dragon : This remarkable
character, like all others belonging to ani-
mals, is found in various fpecies, with lefs
or
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 325
or more diftinctnefs. The elevated ridee
ous Li/
of ferfated fcales, is Hkewife by no means aid.
confined to this fpecies'; but is found on
the Fork-headed lizard, the Guana, the Ba-
filifk, and fome others: But this character,
like the former, is fubject to great variation
in the different fpecies ; fometim'es it is
compofed of long rays, fbmetimes thefe are
Uiarp, broad, and very fliort ; it varies like-
wife in pofition, being fometimes ektended
over the whole body, from the top of the
head to the extremity of the tail ; fome-
times it is not found on the head, but ex-
tends over the neck, back, and tail ; and is
fometimes even found on the under fide Q
the neck and body.
ART. VIII. THE FORK-II^DED LIZARD*.
IN the ifland of Amboina, and confe- Fork
quently in the fame climate with the
iupercilious lizard, another fpecies is found,
X 3 which
" La Tete-fourchue. L'occiput-fourchu. Encycl. Mq-
'thod.
,
Cacerta
326 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
headed which has confiderable refemblance with
Lizard. fa^ oviparous quadruped. Like the for-
mer, this fpecies has on the whole ridge of
the body, from the head to the extremity of
the tail, a ferrated row of fhort pointed
fcales, which are more feparated from each
other on the back than in the fupercilious
lizard. The tail is comprefled at the fides,
and is equal in length to the body and
* head. The upper part of the head, which
is fhort and convex, is marked by two pro-
tuberant and pointed knobs, like a kind of
forked horn, from which the trivial names,
in French and Englifh, are derived. Ac-
cording to Seba, the muzzle is ornamented
by a large projecting tubercle, furrounded
by other fmaller tubercles, of a vrhitim co-
lour. The neck is tumid and puffed out.
The
Lacerta fcutata: Having the tail fome\vhat com-
prefled, and qf a middle length ; the ridge of the back
bein? ferrated, and the hind head marked with two
pointed knobs. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1063. G. 12?.
fp. 5. Salamandra prodigiofa fcutata. Seba, Muf. i. t.
109. f. 3.4. Iguana clamofa. Laur. Amphib. p. 49. n,
74!
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 327
The whole body is covered with round e-
J headed
levated white knobs, which are likewife
found below the eyes and the lower jaw.
The thighs, legs, t and toes, are long and
ilender.
The external characters of this and the
preceding fpecies, reiembic each other in
fo many circtimftances, that their habits
ihould naturally be expected to be confi-
derably fimilar : Accordingly Seba fays,
that the fame cry is ufed by both, as a fig^
iial of danger.
ART. IX. THE THICK-TOED LIZARD**
HIS fpecies inhabits South America,
The tail is comprefled at the fides, toed Liz "
cii'C*.
and flightly ridged on its upper furface, be-
ing twice as long as the body : It is ttriat-
X 4 ed
* Le Large-doigt. Encycl. Method.
jLacerta principals : Having the tail flightly ridged,
the back plain, and the throat crefted but not icrrated.
Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1062. G. 122. fp. 7. Muf. ad
frkl. 5. 43- Amoen. acad. i. i<5. t. 14. f. 2.
3*8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
toed Liz- ec * im d er neath, and is divided into feveral
ard. portions, or apparent joints, each of which
is compofed of five rings or annular rows
of very fmall fcales. The under fide of
the neck is furnifhed with a dependant creft
or membrane, a good deal like that of the
Guana, but not indented or ferrated on its
edge. All the toes, both behind and be-
fore, have the lower part of the foremoft
joint but one confiderably larger and thick-
er than the reft ; from which circumftance
the name here given to the fpecies, both in
French and Englifh, is derived. The head
is flat on its upper part, and comprefled at
the fides ; having the openings both of the
ears and noftrils very fmall.
ART. X. THE TWO-SPOT LIZARD *.
THIS fpecies was firft defcribed by Dr
Sparrman, in the Memoirs of the
Stockholm Academy for 1784, from feve-
ral
* Le Bimacule.
Lacerta bimaculata : Having the tail, which is
twice
QVIPAPvOUS QUADRUPEDS. 329
ral fpecimens fent to the mufeum of Baron
de Geer, from North America, by Dr A-
crelius. In fome of thefe fpecimens, die
upper parts of the body were fpotted with
black ; but in every one there were two
large black fpots on the flioulders, from
which circumftance the trivial name, here
retained, was adopted by Sparrman. The
head is comprefled, or flattened at the fides.
The tail is flattened laterally, and is twice
the length of the body. All the toes are
edged with membranes, or lobed at their
fides, except the outer toe of each foot.
The ground colour of this fpecie.s is varia-
ble, but is mod commonly blackifh or
greenifh blue. All the feet have five toes.
This fpecies is found in Penfylvania and
St Euftachiu^, and frequents the woods,
living much in the hollows of trees : It
is likewife found in drains, and other fab*
terraneous
twice the length of the body, ridged and ferrated on
its upper edge ; all the toes being edged with mem-
branes. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1059. *-* * 22 - ^P* S 2 '
Sparrm. nov. aft. Stockholm, v. 3. n. i. t. 4.
330 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Two-fpct terraneous places. Its voice is a kind of
.Lizard.
whittle, which it emits frequently. It is
eafily taken by means of a bunch of llraw,
which is brought towards it, the perfou
who carries the flraw imitating its Svhiftle,
\fhen the animal leaps in, and is fecured.
The female depolits her eggs in a hole in
the ground.
ART. XL THE TWO-RIDGLD LIZARD *,
Two-rids;. r TpHIS fpecies, which is thus named on
cd Lizard.
* account of a double projc6ling ridge
on the upper fide of its tail, is found in
India, and in South America. It is placed
in this divifion, becaufe its flanks are co-
vered by convex tuberculated fcales, and
becaufe its tail is flattened or comprefled at
the fides. The body ha$ no denticulations,
or
* Le Sillone. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta bicarinata : Having a compreiTed tail, cf ;i
moderate length, \vith a double ridge on its upper fur-
face ; the body having four ridges. Syfh Nat. ed.
pmel i. ic6o. G. 122. fp. 8.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 331
or {harp projecting fcales ; but the back is
diftinCtly marked, like the tail, by two
rows of flight projections, and a fimilar
longitudinal ridge, or plait of the {kin, is
feen on each fide. The under fide of the
neck has no projection. The belly is co-
vered by twenty-four tranfverfe rows of
fcales, each compofed of fix pieces. The
tail is fcarcely once and a half the length
of the body, being ftraited underneath,
fmooth at the fides, and having a double
projecting ridge on its upper furface.
II. DIVI-
332 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
II. DIVISION,
OF LIZARDS,
Having their Tails round, Jive Toes on alt
the Feet, and a crejt or projecting ridge
of /c ales along the middle of the Back.
ART. XII. THE GUANA *.
Guana. -|- j^j f evera j p arts o f South America, where
JL Nature feems to have exerted her whole
creative power, vaft rivers, defcending from
* L'Iguane. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta Iguana : Having a long rounded tail ; the
back being crefted ; and the throat having a ferrated
creft. Syft. Nat. ed. Gra. i. 1062. G. 122. ip. 26.
Amoen. Acad. i. 123. 287. Muf. ad. frid. i. 43.
Iguana. Gronov. Muf. ii. 82. n. 60. Iguana delicatifH-
ma. Laur. amphib. 48. n. 71. Iguana, Senembi.
Marcgr.
1 .( -imua .P. ;Kalo, 5,3(^3.
Archer. Sculps
JtfOA
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 333
the enormous ridge of the Andes, fpread Guana<
their waters at certain feafons of the year
over the immenfe plains of that new form<-
ed country, in which man has not hitherto
raifed any obftacles againft the inundations.
The (limy flats, along the borders of thefe
vaft and rapid rivers, are covered by ex-
tenfive forefts of ancient trees, which, affift-
ed by the heat of the climate, and by the
moifture and fertility of the foil, are cloth-
ed with the moft luxuriant vegetation, and
flourifh in perpetual verdure, giving a live-
ly picture of that unbounded fertility, which
nature, ftill in the vigour of youth, has been
pleafed to lavifli on thefe vaft folitudes.
Vegetables of infinite variety are not the
only productions of thefe fertile regions:
As
Marcgr. braf. 236. Iguana tubcrculata. Laur. amph.
n. 72. Leguana. Bomare, Didt. in voc. Lacertus, dio-
tus Senembr, Tamacolin, et Iguana. Seba, Muf. i. t.
95. f. i. 2. t. 96. f. 4. t. 97. f. 3. t. 98. f. i. Yvana.
Clear. Muf. t. 6. f. i. Cluf. exot. 116. Lacerta Le*-
guan. Eont. jav. t. 56. Guana. Brown, jam. Sloan,
jam. 333. Czrtefo' carol, ii. 64. Grand Lezard, Gros
Lezard, on Igunne, Dutertre. 308. Rochef. 1^44. La-
kat. 1-314.
334 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Guana. AS jf preparatory to their being taken pof-
feflion of by man, nature has here cfta-
blifhed anendlefs number and variety of ani-
mals, of every kind, and of all fizes : Some
of thefe are admirable for the beauty of
their fcales, the brilliancy of their colours,
and the agility and fwiftnefs of their mo-
tions ; others by the elegance and fplen-
dour of their plumage ; and all of them,
by the diverfity of their forms, and in a
thoufand other ways, contribute to fill up
the -vvondcrfully magnificent picture of life
and animation.
In one place the vaft rivers roll on their
majeftic waves in regular order, while in
another their foaming torrents are precipi-
tated from the tops of iinmenfe and lofty
recks, raifmg continual clouds of vapour to
the ikies, and reflecting in a thoufand fan-
ciful forms, the fplendidly fubdivided tints
of the folar beams. Here an infinite va-
riety of beautiful flowers enamel the ver-
dant turf, and are in their turn cclipfed, by
the more brilliant plumage of numberlefs
birds. There ftill more brilliant colours,
becaufe
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 335
becaufe reflected from more dcnfe and Guana '
polifhed furfaces, adorn the fcales of the
large and beautiful lizards, which are feen
with aftonifhment on the tops of the trees,
ufurping part of the dwellings of the
birds. Amid all thefe wonderful living
ornaments, whofe charming forms and de-
licate motions are contemplated with afto-
nifhment ; among the branches, and flow-
ers, and animals, of thefe thick forcPcs, the
dragon and tubinambis are not the leaft ,
remarkable : But the lizard, which forms
the fubjecl: of this article, is ftill more bril-
liant, from the beauty of its colours, the
fplendour of its fcales, and the fmgularity
of its form.
The guana is eafily diftinguimed from
all other lizards, by the large pouch which
hangs from the under fide of its neck, and
by the ferrated or indented creft, which
reaches from the head to the extremity of
the tail, and which likewife adorns the
fore part of the throat. The extreme
length of this lizard, from the tip of the
muzzle to the end of the tail, fometimes
extends
336 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Guana - extends to five or fix feet. While M. Bruc
refided at Kay or, on the river Senegal, he
was ihown a guana that meafured three
feet from the muzzle to the origin of the
tail, which was about two feet long ; but,
as in this fpecies the tail is longer than the
body and head together, that individual
mud have loft part of its tail by accident.
Its {kin was covered with fmall fcales, of
various colours, yellow, green, and black,
and feemed highly varnifhed. The eyes
were red, and very large, opening almoft
to the top of the head ; and, when irritated,
it fwelled out the pouch on its throat, like 1
rfiat of a pigeon, and the eyes feemed on
fire *. The fpecimen in the Royal Cabi-
net, which \vas fent by M. Sonini from
Cayenne, and from which the defcription
in this work was formed, was four feet
long, and its principal dimenfions were as
follow :
Fctt. Inches. Lines.
Total length 400
Circumference, where thickeft 104
Cir-
\
* Hift. Gen. des Voyages, lib. vii. chap. 18.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 337
Feet. Inches. Lines. Gum:.
Circumference at the origin
of the tail 5 9
Ditto of the upper jaw o 3 3
Length of the largeft fcale
on the fide of the head o i o
Ditto of the pouch under the
throat 034
Breadth of ditto o i . i o
Length of the longeft fcale
on the creft o i 10
Length of the tail - 274
Length of each fore leg, to
the extremity of the toes o 7 i
Ditto of each hind leg, to ?
ditto o 9 9
Ditto of the largeft claw o o 8
The head of the guana is compreffed at
the fides, and flattened at the top. The
teeth are fharp, and referable much in form
thofe of the green lizards, that are found in
the fouth of France. The muzzle, between
the eyes, and the circuit of both jaws, are
covered with fmooth, mining, and highly
coloured fcales ; three of thefe, larger than
VOL. I. Y the
338 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Guana.
head, beneath the external ear, and one of
thefe three, larger than either of the others,
is of an oval figure, and of remarkable poliih
and brilliancy, like that of a metal. The
eyes and the openings of the ears are verv
large. Above the noftrils, the top of
the head, and each fide of the neck, are
ftudded with tubercles, like the figure of
cut diamonds. A kind of creft, compofed
of large projecting fcales, fomewhat like
fpear-points in their form, extends from
the extremity of the lower jaw, under the
throat, and ornaments the fore part of the
dilatable pouch on the neck. The body,
the tail, and the legs, are covered by fmall
fcales, which form a projecting ridge on
the back. This ridge or creft on the back,
which extends from the top of the head
to the extremity of the tail, is compofed
of very long fharp fcales, ftanding perpen-
dicularly upwards ; the higheft of thefe
are on the middle of the back, and they
diminim gradually in length towards the
end of the tail, where they are hardly per-
ceptible.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 339
ceptible. The tail is round, ihftead 'of Guana -
being compreffed at the fides, as in the
crocodiles, and the preceding fpecies of
lizards, and it tapers very much towards
the tip. Each foot, both behind and be-
fore, has five divided toes, armed with'
ftrong hooked claws. On each fore foot,
the iirft or innennoft toe has only one
joint, or phalanx, the fecond has two, the
third three, the fourth four, and the fifth
or outennoil two. On each hind foot, the
innermoft toe has one phalanx, the fecond
two, the third three, the fourth four, and
the iifth, which is feparated from the reft
like a thumb, lias three.
On each fide, under the thighs, there is a
row of fifteen hollow tubercles, which are
all perforated at their fummits, as if intend-
ed as outlets or excretory duels to ibme
fecretion. We mail hereafter have occa-
fion to notice a fimilar ftructure in feveral
other fpecies of lizards : Its life has not
been hitherto afcertained, but it is an in-
terefting object of inquiry. In general,
the ground colour of this fpecies is green,
Y 2 mixed
340 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
mixed with yellow, or with different fhades
of blue : On the belly, the legs, and the
tail, thefe colours are often variegated in
Percales. In the individual, from which our
defcription was formed, the tail was fur-
rounded with rings of different colours :
But the colours of this fpecics vary from
various circumftances of age, fex, and cli-
mate; as we have afcertained by inipection
of various fpecimens of both fexes, of dif-
ferent ages, and from different countries ;
which explains the apparent contradictions
that are found in the defcriptions ot the
guana, as given by various voyagers and
naturalifts.
The difpofitions of this fpecies, which
feeds entirely on vegetables and infects, are
extremely gentle and harmlefs. We muft
not, however, be furpriied at the terrify-
ing appearance which has been attributed
to it, by fome travellers ; efpecially when,
agitated by fear or wrath, its eyes feem on
lire, it hiffes like a ferpent, it fwells out
Us pouch under the throat, lames about its
long tail, erects the fcales on its back, and
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 341
holds its head, briftled all over with tuber- Gaana
cles, in a menacing pofture.
The female is ufually fmaller than the
male ; her colours and proportions are more
elegant and agreeable; her appearance is
more gentle and pleafmg; and her fcales have
frequently a very fine and brilliant green
colour. All thefe beauties have not, ap-
parently, been beftowed in vain, but feem
to have produced the moft violent attach-
ment on the part of the male. On the be-
ginning of the fine weather, at the end of
winter, the male feeks for the female with
great ardour ; and, forgetting his ufual gen-*
tlenefs or ftupidity, he defends his mate
even with fury, attacking every object that
feems inclined to hurt her, with great bold-
nefs ; and, at this time, though his bite is
by no means poifonous, he faftens fo firm-
ly, that it is neceflary either to kill him,
or to beat him violently on the nofe to
make him quit his hold *.
The female ufually quits the woods or
mountains about two months after the end
Y 3 of
Catefby, Nat. Hilt, of Carolina, ii. 64.
342 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
of winter, on purpofe to depofit her eggs
in the land of the fea fhore. Thefe eggs
are always unequal in number, from thir-
teen to twenty-rive. They are longer, but
not thicker, than pigeons eggs. The outer
covering is white and flexible, more like
thofe of the fea tortoifc, than the eggs of
crocodiles. The inlide is whitim, and has
no glairy matter, like the white in birds
eggs. Mod travellers fay, that thefe eggs
give an excellent relifh to fauces, and that
their tafte is preferable to that of poultry
eggs.
The guana, according to moft authors,
fwims with difficulty, though it is moftly
found on the fhores of the fea, and the
banks of rivers. Catefby fays, that, when
in the water, it ufes its tail almoft alone for
fwimming, keeping all its feet drawn cldfe
up to its belly '*. This difficulty of direct-
ing its courfe through the water, muft pro-
ceed from its toes being divided ; and a-
grees with our general ideas of the influ-
ence
* Cixtefby, loco iupra citato.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 343
ence produced on the habits of animals by
their external conformation.
In fpring, the guanas feed much on the
flowers and leaves of a tree named mahot^
which grows along the banks of rivers ;
they feed like wife on a plant called anonc^
and on feveral other vegetables ; and Ca-
tefby remarks, that their fat takes the co-
lour of the laft kind of fruit on which they
happen to feed *". This circumftance con- '
firms what has been formerly mentioned,
of the influence of various kinds of food,
in colouring the flefh and fat of the fea
tortoifes. M. de la Borde informs us, that
they frequency come down from the trees,
in fearch of earth-worms, flies, and other
infects. Though furnimed with powerful
jaws, they fwallow all their food without
hardly chewing it f.
The guana runs with aftoniming nim-
blenefs along even the higheft branches
of trees, around which it twifts its body
and tail, concealing the head in the vari-
Y 4 ous
* Catefby, loco fupra citato,
f Id. ibid.
344 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Guana. ous f o ij mgs o f tne j^jy #. i n Surinam
the guana, with various others lizards and
feveral kinds of ferpents, frequent the bran-
ches of a iweet fmelling fpecies of jaf-
mine f. When they have regaled them-
fclves with food, they retire to reft on the
branches which overhang the water; and at
this time, notwithstanding their ufual agili-*
ty, they become quite ftupid, and are eafi-
ly caught. The natural gentlenefs of their
difpofitions, increafed perhaps by that lan-
gour, to which moft lizards and ferpents
are fubje&, after fwallowing a confiderable
quantity of food, occafions the tranquillity
and inattention, remarked by moft voy-
agers, with which thefe animals, though
naturally timid and active, permit the ap-
proach of danger. The guana is difficult-
ly killed, by blows, or even by wounds
from fire arms; but it dies very fpeedily,
after pufhing any (harp inftrument, even a
ftraw, up its noftrils ; this occafions the
flo'w
* Catefby, loc. citat.
f Hift. Gen. des Voyages, liv. 41-1.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 345
flow of a few drops of blood, after which uan
the animal expires *.
The ftupidity or apathy, with refpet to
danger^ which has been attributed to the
guana, and which is almoft always the com-
panion of innocence, is fo great, that the
animal is very eafily caught alive. In fe-
veral countries of America, it is hunted
with dogs, that are trained to the chafe;
but it is likewife eafily taken in traps f , or
by the following artifice. The perfon who
means to catch a guana, takes a long ftick,
having a fmall ftrong chord at its extremi-
ty, forme-d into a running noofe. When
he difcovers a guana extended on the branch
of a tree, balking in the beams of the fun,
he advances flowly, whittling in a partial^-
lar manner ; the animal feems pleafed with
the found, and extends its head as if to
liften ; coming gradually nearer, and con-
tinuing to whittle, he begins by tickling
the fides and throat of the guana> which
not only admits this liberty, but turns itfelf
up
* Hift. Gen. des Voyages, lib. vii. chap. 1 7.
f On the information of M. de la Borde.
346 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
up gently to receive it, feeming delighted
with the treacherous carefies : Thus, feduc-
ing it, as it were, by tickling and by the
found of his whittle, to its ruin, he indu-
ces it gradually to lift its head from among
the branches, and dexteroufly flips the nooie
over its neck; then giving it a fudden jerk,
caufes it to fall on the ground, and, feizing
it by the root of the tail, places one of his
feet on its body to hold it faft *. Notwith-
ftanding the apparent natural ftupidity and
gentlenefs of the guana, it no fooner finds
its confidence thus grofsly abufed, but it
endeavours to aflume a violence that does
not feem congenial to its nature : It be-
comes extremely agitated ; its throat fwells-
out with rage, its eyes feem all on fire, and
it opens its large mouth : But all its efforts
are now in vain; the hunter, preffing it
to the ground with his whole ftretlgth,
holds it faft, till he has tied its mouth and
legs, fo that it is no longer capable either
of flight or defence.
The
* Voyages of Labat, in Africa and America ; nncl
Catefby, Nat. Hi ft. of Carolina.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 347
The guana may be kept alive without Guana
food for feveral days. When firft taken, it
feems exceffively averfe from the reftraint ;
it is at firft apparently defirous of biting,
but foon becomes tame and even familiar,
and may be kept in gardens, or even in
houfes, with great fafety. In this ftate of
domefticity, it keeps generally at reft dur-
ing the day, and goes about at night ; at
which feafon, owing to its eyes being con-
ftructed like thofe of cats, it is more readily
able to feize infects, on which it chief-
ly feeds. When walking about, it is fre-
quently feen to dart out its tongue, pro-
bably to catch fmall flies.
It is very eafily tamed, efpecially when
caught young, and is then both a beauti-
ful and innocent animal. Brown relates *,
that he kept a full grown guana in his houfe
for more than two months : At firft, it
appeared fierce and mifchievous, but be*
came gentle in a few days. It lay quiet on
a bed for the moft part during the day, but
run about at night, and was never obferved
to
* Natural Hiflory of Jamaica, p. 463.
348 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
to eat any thing, but fecmed to lap up
imall particles floating in the air with its
tongue, which were certainly minute in-
fets, darting out its tongue to catch thefe,
while walking about, exactly like the cha-
meleon.
The flefh of the guana, according to
Brown, is much efteemed, and is even pre-
ferable, when fricarfeed or otherwife pro-
perly dreiTed, to that of poultry ; though
it is faid to be hurtful to thofe whole blood
is in bad order, and M. de la Borde al-
ledges that it is of difficult digeftion. The
flefh of the females is reckoned more deli-
cate and fatter than that of the males. They
are even made an article of trade in the
Bahama iflands, being carried alive to Ca-
rolina, and other parts of America, where
the flefh is faked up for ufe *. M. de la
Borde informs us, that in fome illands,
where the guana is fcarce, it is referved for
the tables of the rich. Hence we ought
not to be furprifed at the avidity with
which this gentle and harmlefs animal
is
* Catefbv, Nat. Hift. of Carolina.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 349
is fought after, which never deftroys any
thing but ufelefs leaves and flowers, or v
noxious infecls, which requires only the
hole of a rock or fonie dry branches for
its habitation, and which has been placed
by nature as one of the greateft ornaments
of the forelh. Mankind is more eager
to deftroy thofe animals which are objects
of luxury, and which may minifter to his
appetites, than to extirpate fuch as are hurt-
ful.
Concretions are fometimes found with-
in the body of the guana, limilar to thofe
already mentioned in the bodies of the tor-
toife, the crocodile, and the tupinambis, and
i-efembling the fubftances called bezoars,
that are found in the bodies of viviparous
quadrupeds, particularly fuch as have been
called occidental bezoars. M. Dombey
brought one of thefe, from South America,
to the Royal Cabinet. Its fhape refembles
the half of an egg, fomewhat hollowed
at one end. It is formed of feveral polifh-
ed layers, compofedof fmall needle-like crif-
tallizations. One end is convex, and the
other
350 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
other concave ; but it muft not be fuppoi-
ed a portion of a bezoar, which had for-
merly been larger, for its layers are regu-
larly continued round the edges of the con-
cave part, as well as on that which is con-
vex. In all probability, the nucleus, around
which it has criftallized, has been nearly of
the fame form. The furface of the con-
cave part is not poliihed, like the reft of
its body, probably owing to being kept
away from friction, by its figure. The
larger diameter of this bezoar is fifteen lines,
or twelfth parts of an inch, and the lefler
diameter fourteen.
In the collection of Seba, there were le-
veral of thefe bezoars from the guana, a-
bout the fize of pigeons eggs, and of a ci-
nereous yellow colour, with darker fpots.
They are called beguan by the Indians, who
confider them as more valuable than molt
other bezoars *. Thefe fubftances were
probably known to the ancients, as the gu-
ana is found in India as well as in Ameri-
ca : Though the particular fpecies has not
been
* Seba, Muf. ii. 140.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 351
been particularly marked either by Ariftotle
or Pliny, we may readily admit that it is
fpoken of under the general name of La-
ccrtus viridis or green lizard, and that the
lubftance mentioned by Pliny *, under the
name of Sauritin, from Saurus a lizard,
and clefcribed as a (tone or concretion found
in the body of a green lizard, was the
bezoar of the guana, which, he fays, was
confidered as very valuable, from having
the properties of other bezoars fa ] fcly attri-
buted to it. ' What ieems to corroborate
this opinion, is that the word Sauritin has
never been applied, either by the ancients
or moderns, to any other fubflance what-
ever.
The guana is very common in Surinam,
in the woods of Guiana, in Cayenne, and
in Mexico; but is fcarce in the Weft India
iflands, in confequence of being much
fought after:, on account of the excellence
of its ilefh. It is likewife found in many
parts of the Old World, both in Africa and
Afia. Dampier fays that feveral guanas
or
* Hiftoria Naturalis, lib. xxxvii. chap. 67.
352 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
uana. Qr jg uanas were f een near Seal Bay in New
Holland, which flopped and hided when
any one came near them, but did not at-
tempt to run away. It is every where con-
fined to the torrid zone, being never found
in any of the cold or even temperate re-
gions. Its colours vary, according to its
age and fex, and in the feveral countries
which it inhabits ; but it is always very
remarkable, and readily diftinguifhable from
the other fpecies of lizards, by its habits,
by the peculiarity of its form, and by the
beautiful enamel which adorns its fcales.
ART. XIII. THE HOZNED LIZARD .
T
Lizard.
Horned ^HIS lizard, which is found in St Do-
mingo, refembles the guana in many
refpe&s. It is nearly of the fame frze, and
has the fame proportions in the form and
dimenfions of its body, legs, and tail. The
head is flattened and fomewhat hollowed
at the top, like that of the guana, and has.
fimilar
* Le Lezard cornu.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 353
fimilar large pointed prqje<Ving tubercles at
the fides *. The fcales of the back and of
the root of the tail, fohn a projecting
creft or rfdge, iimilar to that of the guana.
The teeth are divided into feveral fmali
points, at their edges, fimilar to thofe of
large individuals of the gimia fpecies. This
lizard differs from the guana in wanting
the large crefted pouch under the throat.
The diltinguifhing characleriftic of the
fpecies is formed by a kind of conical horn,
covered by a fingle large fcale, placed al-
moft between the eyes, and having before
it, between and the muzzle, four large pro-
jecting tubercles. This lizard, which was
communicated to the Cabinet by M. FAbbe
Bonnaterre, is found in grea: numbers in
St Domingo. It is here called the horned
lizard, until farther observations have af-
certained, whether it ought to be conlider-
cd as a diftinct fpecies, or only as a variety
of the guana. At any rate, it will fall to
be arranged in our fecond dlvifion, imme-
diately after the guana.
VOL. I. Z ART.
* In one fpecimen thcfe large tubercles wer? wanting.
354 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
ART. XIV. THE BASILISK *.
Bafilifk. r I ''HIS name has been fabuloufly em-
JL ployed to indicate a terrible animal,
fometimes defcribed as refembling a fer-
pent, and at other times like a fmall dra-
gon, or flying lizard, and which was faid
to kill, even by the influence of its eyes.
Nothing can poffibly be more ridiculous
than the ftorics which have been invented,
with regard to this fabulous animal, to
which iuch marvellous properties have
been attributed. The ikin of a fmall fpe-
cies of Rav, which is found in the Medi-
* *
terranean, dried and twifted into the ftrange
figure which has been erroneouily attribut-
ed to the bafililk, is ftiil employed by iti-
nerant
* Le Eafllic. Encyclop. Method.
Laccrta Bafilifcus : Having a long round tail, with
a rayed fin on the back j the hind head being crefted..
Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1062. G. 122. fp. 25. Draco
auierlcana. Seba, Muf. i. t. ico. f. i. Bafillfcus ;\
mcricanus. Laurent, amphib. 50. n. 75.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 355
nerant importers and charlatans, to impofe
on the ignorance and credulity of the peo-
ple *. We Ihould not have retained the
name, that has been fo much abufed, to
the real animal of which we now treat,
leaft the exiftence of a lizard under the ap-
pellation of bafilifk, Ihould be confidered
as abfurd, from the fables which have been
fo long attached to the name, if thefe fto-
ries had not been as abfurd as they are ri-
diculous, and if we had not been perfectly
fatisfied, that thefe ftories are noxv totally
devoid of credit : Befides, the name of
bafilifk has been adopted, for the lizard we
are about to defcribe, by all the naturalifts
who have mentioned the fpecies.
The bafilifk inhabits South America, and
is one of the moft eafily diftinguifhed fpe-
cies of lizards, in confequence of a very
high crefted ridge of fcales, in form of rays
at.fome diftance from each other, which
extends from the top of the head to the
tip of the tail. The head is likewife fur-
Z 2 mounted
* See the article Bafilic, in Bomares Dictionary of
Natural Hiftory.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
BafOHk, mounted by a kind of hood, from which
the name, whicli fignines a little khig, is
derived. This fpecies fometimes grows to
the length of more than three feet, includ-
ing the tail. The feet have all five diftinft
toes, unconnected by membranes. Like
jnnft lizards that have divided toes, it lives
much in trees, being very active in climb-
ing the branches, and graiping them with
its long flexible toes. Befides this proper-
ty, which is common to many lizards, it is
capable of extending the hood on its head,
and the creft along its back, fo as to render
its body proportionally lighter, and is there-
by enabled to leap with great agility from
one branch to another, fo as even to feem
capable in fome degree of flying. Thefe
membranes are likewife ufeful to it in
frrimming, and it fometimes takes to the
water.
The creft, by which this fpecies is diftin-
guiflied, feems to ferve as a kind of defen-
five weapon, as well as a remarkable orna-
ment. So far from killing, merely by its
looks, .as is reported of the fabulous animal
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 357
of this name, it muft be contemplated with B
plealure, as adorning and animating the
folitudes of the American forefts ; either
when it moots from branch to branch with
aftonifhing rapidity and adroitnefs, or when,
in its itate of reft, tempering its natural vi-
vacity, it evinces a kind of fotisfadian in
being obferved, and, creeling its crown,
it agitates its beautiful creft, alternately
raifes'and depreiles its head, and 3 by its
various elegant movements, reflects various
coloured lights from its polifhed fcales.
ART. XV. THE AMEOINA LIZARD >: \
WE have here uled the trivial name Amboina
C A i r j ^ n Li/ard.
or Amboma Lizard, tollowin^ the
' O
Syftema Nature, for a fpecies which rmVht
Z 3 have
* Le Porte-crete. Encycl. MetUocl.
Laccrta ambolncr.ils : Having a long tail flattened
laterally, \vlth a racliaLeJ ridge on its upper furface;
the back being provided with a doutatcJ.' creft. Svft.
Nat. eel. Gmel. i. 1064. G. 122. fp. 54. Schloil jr, Epift.
<Js Lacert. nmboinenf. A:nfl?rJ. 1768. t. i.
Bin
358 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Ambojna } iave been called the crefted lizard, after
.Lizard.
Daubenton, in confequence of a remark-
able crefted ridge of fcales, which extends
from the head to the extremity of the tail.
This creft is ufually compofed of feventy
long and pointed fcales on the back : At
the root of the tail it is raifed into a very
long and broad fin, compofed of fourteen
or fifteen cartilaginous rays, armed at its
upper edge with fmall iharp fcales, which
moftly point backwards.
This fpecies, which may be confidered
as the Afiatic reprefentative of the Ameri-
can baiiliik, is found in Amboina and Java,
according to Hornftedt and Schlofler,
who have firft defcribed it : It has like-
wife confiderable affinjty witli the dragon,
and the other lizards having comprefled
tails, and indented crefts on the back ; its
head being almoft quadrangular, flattened
on the top, and covered by tubercles and
large fcales. The eyes are large, and the
orifices of the noftrils project. The open-
ings
Bin jawacok jangur eckor. Hornftedt, in Nov.
$tockh. vi. 2. p. 130. n. 5. t. 5. f. I. 2.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 359
ings of the ears are fo large, as to difcover
the tympanum or drum of the ear. The
underfide of the head refembles a flattened
pouch, much wrinkled, which has been
called a collar by fome writers. The
tongue is thick, flefhy, and very fiightly
divided. The teeth are clofe fet and point-
ed, and grow larger the farther they are
placed backwards in the mouth ; eight of
the upper and fix of the lower teeth, in
front, being rounded, fharp pointed, turn-
ed obliquely outwards, and feparated by a
,finall interval on each fide from the larger
back teeth, which are compared to grin-
ders *.. In this circumftance of form, and
arrangement of the teeth, this fpecies re-
fembles the dragon already defcribed.
All the five toes of the feet, both before
,and behind, have claws ; and they are all
edged on each fide by a thin fharp ferrated
membrane. The tail is almoft three times
as long as th,e body. The head and the
pouch or collar on its under fide are green-
Z 4 ifh,
* Hornftedt, in Mem. Acad. S'cockh. 1785. trim.
360 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ilh, with white lines or ftreaks. The creft
and back are tawny of different lhades.
The belly is whitifh grey, and the fides
are marked with white blotches or large
(breaks, which extend down the legs to the
feet. In fome individuals, according to
Hornftedt, the general colour is greenifh
with black ftrcaks, the belly being whitifh.
The male differs from the female, in hav-
ing the creft confiderably higher, and by
the colours being more lively.
This fpecies is of confiderable fize, being
fometimes three or even four feet long.
Befides its teeth and claws, which are for-
midable weapons, its creftcd back and the
tail are both ufeful in defending it againft
enemies. Its feet are formed for climb-
ing trees with great readinefs, and are ad-
mirably adapted for taking faft hold of its
prey. The tubercles and large fcales, with
which its head is covered, defend it very
powerfully againft injuries. From all thefe
means of defence and of attack, one might
very readily prefume that this fpecies was
voracious, and destructive to many of the
frgalier
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 361
fmaller animals : But its oppofite difpofr- Ambojna
rr Lizard.
tions furnifh a ftrong proof of the caution
which ought to be preferred, in forming
a judgment on the general manners and
habits of any animal, from particular fea-
tures in its external form ; for we are cer-
tain, that thefe difpofitions are very ftrong-
ly modified by the interior organization,
and even by a combination of feveral local
circumftances of greater or lefler perma-
nency.
This fpecies inhabits the unfrequented
banks of large rivers, living on fmall worms,
and climbs the trees in fearch of fruits and
feeds. It depofits its eggs on fand-banks
and fmall iilands, as if anxious to place
them out from the reach of danger. It is
extremely timid, and flies at the fmallefh
...
noife, without attempting any defence,
throwing itfelf into the water to efcape
from danger, and making hafte to conceal
itfelf under rocks and (tones. It fwims
-with great readinefs, being greatly affifted
by the elevated membrane on its tail.
Befides giving it gentle and inoffenfive
manners.
362 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Lizard!" man ners, the nature of the food of this fpe-
cies, which is chiefly fruits, renders its
flefh fuperior in flavour, to that of other
fpecies which feed on groffer nouriihment.
It is even confidered as preferable in this
refpecl: to the guana ; and this unfortunate
excellence occafions it to be much fought
after in the countries which it inhabits. It
even allows itfelf to be taken by the
hand, without the fmalleft refiftance, and
without even any cry or fign of diftrefs.
This tranquil derilection of life has been
attributed by many to ftupidity, when per-
haps it is entirely owing to its mode of
feeding, which, never giving occafion for
any exercife of its ftrength or weapons, per-
vents it from knowing their power as a means
of defence : But mankind has often fallen
into a fimilar error, contemning the lefs
brilliant though infinitely more valuable
qualities of peacefulnefs and innocence,
while they applaud the oppofite talents for
war and deftrudion, which ought to be
confidered with horror and deteftation.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 363
ART. XVI. THE KALOT*.
r | "'HIS fpecies is diftinguimed by hav-
JL ing a ferrated creft, from the back
of the head to the middle of its back,
confiding of large, thin, pointed icales, at
fome little diftance from each other ; and
ibme fnnilar fcales appear on the lower
and back part of the head, below the o-
penings of the ears. But this toothed creft
does not reach to the extremity of the tail,
nor is it found on the throat, as in the
guana. All the other fcales, by which the
body
* La Galeote. Encyclop. Method. Galiote. Bo-
mare, in VOC. Called A;*>a/3*/j-s, 2*.tA/3#T-, IC>.a-
fiarts, KA#TJJ?, and O4nov.a%-j$ t by the ancients.
Lacerta Calotes : Having a very long round tail ;
the forepart of the back and hinder part of the head
being ferrated. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1063. G. 122.
fp. 27. Amoen, Acad. i. 289. Muf. ad. frid. i. 289. Ed-
wards, glean, t. 245. f. i. Seba, Muf. i. t, 86. f. 6. t.
89. f. 2. t. 93. f. 2. t. 95. f. 3. 4.
Iguana Calotes. Laur. Amphib. 49, n. 73. Iguana
chajcidica. ditto 48,. n. 69. Seb. Muf. ii. t. 76. f. 5.
364 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
body and limbs of the kalot are covered,
have a Iharply protuberant ridge, giving it
the appearance of a vail number of longi-
tudinal railed flreaks.
The head is flattened, and is very broad
at its back part, having a good deal of re-
femblance to that of a chameleon. The
eyes and the openings of the ears are very
large. The throat is fomewhat fwelled
out, giving a flight resemblance, in this
particular to the guana. The legs and toes
are moderately long, the toes being com-
pletely ieparated from each other, all of
them having claws, the convex part of
which are black. The tail is very flendef,
and exceeds three times the length of the
body. In the individual which is preferved
in the Royal Cabinet, and from which this
defcription is taken, the body meafures
three inches and ten lines in length, from
the tip of the muzzle to the anus, and the
tail is fourteen inches long. For the moil:
part the back is light azure blue, and
the belly whitifh.
This fpecies is found in the warm coun-
tries
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 365
tries of Afia, particularly in Ceylon, and Kalot *
Arabia *. It runs about in the houies,
and on the roofs, in fearch of fpiders. It
has even been alledged, that it makes war
on a fmall kind of rats, which it is ftrong
enough to overcome : The {harp ridged
fcales with which its head and body are
covered, and the ferrated ridge of points-.d
fcales on its back, may both affift in de-
fending it againft the teeth of fuch ani-
mals. The length and perfeft divtfion of
its toes, gives it great facility for climbing
among the beams on the roofs of houfes in
fearch either of rats or fpiders. It is like-
wife laid to fight fmall ferpents, from which
circumftance one of its Greek names is de-
rived, and it attacks the green lizard and
feveral other fpecies of this genus.
ART.
* In the original Spain is added, but as that can-
not be confidered as a hot country, neither is it in A-
fia i it has been fuppofed a miftake of the printing, and
is therefore here omitted in the tejit. T.
;66 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
ART. XVII. 'THE AGAMA *.
Agama. nHRIS fpecies, which has confiderable
A refemblance in many refpedts to the
kalot, is found in America. The hind
part of the head, and the upper part of the
neck arc garnifhed with pointed reverfed
fcales. The fcales on the upper part of
the body, and efpecially thofe on the tail,
are railed into a ridge, and terminate in a
kind of fpine, which gives the tail an an-
gular appearance, it being in other refpects
very long and (lender. On the fore part
of the back, there is a creft of ftraight fiat
and fharp fcales. The under part of the
mouth,
* L'Agame. Encyclop. Method.
Lacerta Agama : Having a long round tail ; the
back of the head and top of the neck being crefted, the
fcales on the hind head being reverfed. Syft. Nat. ed.
Gmel. i. 1064. C. 122. fp. 28. Amoen. AcaJ. i. 288.
Muf- ad. frid. i. 44. Coronov. Zooph. 13. n. 54.
Iguana Cordylina. Laur. Amph. 47. n. 67. Seb.
Muf. i. t. 107. f. i. 2. Iguana Salamandrina. Laur.
Amph. 48. n. 68. Seb. Muf. i. t. 107. f. 3.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 367
mouth, below the under jaw, is covered
by a loofe fkin, in form of a dewlap. It
is diftinguifhable from the kalot, by its co-
lours being paler, and the belly having
fewer ftreaks; and particularly by the fcales
on the hind part of the head being reverf-
ed, with their points {landing forwards.
The chief difference between the male and
the female confifts in the fcales, which form
the creft of the former, being larger, and
thofe on the back being longer. There arc
no fpinous ridges on the fides of the neck
in the female, but very fmall fpines are
found all along the fides of the body, and
thofe which defend the tail and the fore
parts of the back are fharper than in the
male. According to Seba, this fpecies is
fond of the water.
The cinereous green lizard reprefented
by Sloane, vol. ii. plate 273. fig. 2. the
fifth fpecies of lizard, which Brown fays
is very common in Jamaica *, and the
blue lizard of Edwards f , are all proba-
bly
* Natural Hiftory of Jamaica, p. 463.
f Gleanings of Natural Hiftory, p. 75. plate 245.
368 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
bly to be confidered as varieties of this fpe-
cies.
That defcribed by Sloane is of a cine-
reous green colour, having a fhort creft on
the back. It is found in great numbers in
the woods of Jamaica, and differs little from
the guana, but is fmaller, of a fuller green
colour, and the creft on its back is fhorter.
Its eggs are fmaller than thofe of pigeons.
The lizard, which Brown enumerates as
his fifth fpecies, is green, and its tail has a
creft or ridge of erect fcales. It is very
common in Jamaica ; and is ufually of a
beautiful green, but the colour changes ac-
cording to the fituation of the animal, like
feveral other fpecies of this genus ; this
changeablenefs is even more remarkable than
in moft other lizards, and it more readily
acquires the hues of fuch fubftances as it is
affected by. The body is covered by flight
fcales ; thofe which are on the upper fur-
face of the tail being erected, and forming-
a final! creft, fomewhat like that of the
guana. Its difpofitions are very gentle, and
it feldom exceeds nine or ten inches long.
The
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 369
The blue lizard of Edwards is very fin- Guan a.
gular in the ftructure of its toes : Thefe
are edged on each fide by a kind of mem-
branes, that are very unlike thofe on the
feet of certain aquatic birds, having more
refemblance to the feet of fome kinds of
flies, that act in fome degree by fucking ;
they feem intended to enable the animal to
walk on the fmooth furfaces of the large
leaves of trees and other plants. There is
a fmall elevated ridge along the whole
back, as far as the tail, where it becomes
ferrated. The whole upper part of the
body is bluifh, tranfverfely variegated with
lighter and darker {hades. The under partb
of the body are of a very pale flem colour.
The individual defcribed by Edwards,
was fent from the ifland of Nevis in the
Weft Indies, preferved in fpirit of wine ;
and had probably changed its natural green
colour to blue, in confequence of the action
of the fpirits, as fuch a change is very of-
ten produced in green lizards by the fame
means.
i
VOL. I. A a III. DIVI-
370 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
III. DIVISION.
OF LIZARDS,
Having round 'Tails, Jive 'Toes on each of
the fore Feet, and bands orjillets of fc ales
071 the Belly.
ART. XVIII, THE NIMBLE LIZARD*.
Nimble r | ^HIS elegant fmall fpecies, which is
Lizard. J_ known, as the plaything of youth, to
almoft every perfon in the temperate re-
gions
* Le Lezard gris. Encycl. Method. Lezard gris,
ordinaire, ou commune. Lacerta terreftris. Bomare, in
voc. Langrola, in Provence. Lagartija, or Sarganta-
na, in Spain.
Lacerta Agilis : Having a longifh round tail, fur-
rounded by rings of fharp fcales ; and having a kind of
collar underneath the neck, compofed of fcales. Syft.
Nat.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 371
gions of Europe, feems to be the moft gen- Nimble
LiiXdTQv
tie and inofFenfive, and, at the fame time,
the moft ufeful of all the lizard tribe.
Though its colours are not fo brilliant as
thofe of feveral other oviparous quadru-
peds, its covering is, however, very ele-
gant, and its fmall fize is very engaging.
Its motions are fo nimble, and it runs with
fuch fwiftnefs, as to difappear ars quickly as
a bird in the moft rapid flight. It is fond
of balking in the fun ; yet, unable to bear
exceffive heat, it feeks fhelter in the hotteft
weather. In fpring, during fine weather,
it is often feen luxurioufly extended on a
Hoping green bank, or on a wall expofed
A a 2 to
Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1070. G. 122. fp. 15. Faun. fuec.
284. & i. n. 1352. Syft. Nat. ed. x. i. 36. n. 6. Mu/V
ad. frid. i. 43. Gronov. Muf. ii. 80. n. 57. Seb. Muf.
ii. t. 79. f. 5. Ichthyol. cum amphib. boruf.
Lacertus vulgaris. Raj. quad. 264.
Seps fericeus, n 104. Seps argus, n. 105. Seps mu-
ralis, n. 106. Seps terreftris, n. 107. Seps caerulef-
cens, n. 109. Laurent, amphib. p. 61. & iequ.
As this fpecies is fubjeft to great variety in colour,
the trivial name given by Linnaeus has been here pre-
ferred to that in the original French of this work. T.
372 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Lizard 6 . to t ^ ie ^ un which, by reflecting its rays y
augments the natural warmth of the fea-
fon. In this fituation, it enjoys the full
effects of the reviving heat ; expreffing its
delight by gently agitating its {lender tail ;
and its lively eyes are animated with plea-
fure. Should any of the minute animals
appear on which it feeds, it fprings upon
them with the quicknefs of thought ; and
if any danger occur, it feeks a more fecure
retreat with equal rapidity. Far from fly-
ing the approach of man, it feems to eye
him with fatisfaction ; but on the fmalleft
noife, even the falling of a fmgle leaf, it
turns fuddenly round, falls down, and feems
for fome inftants perfectly ftupified by its
fall ; or, it fuddenly fhoots away and dif-
appears, returns again, feems agitated, con-
ceals itfelf again, returns, defcribes feveral
circuitous contortions fo rapidly as hardly
to be followed by the cleareft eye, and fi-
nally retires into its concealment until its
terror is removed. This wonderful agility
and rapidity of motion is chiefly to be feen
in.the warm countries, for in more tempe-
rate
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 373
rate regions its evolutions are greatly more Nimble
Lizard.
languid.
The head of this fpecies is triangular,
and flattened on the top ; its upper part be-
ing covered by large fcales, of which two
are placed in fuch a manner over the eyes
as to refemble fhut eyelids. Its muzzle is
fmall, elegant, and of a rounded form. The
openings of the ears are tolerably large.
The two jaws are of equal fize and length,
and are covered on the outfide by large
fcales, being armed with very fmall hooked
teeth, having their points turned inwards.
All the feet have five (lender toes on each, .
furnifhed with hooked claws, which affift
it in climbing trees, and in running nimbly
along the furface of walls : And, having the
hind legs fomewhat longer than the fore,
as in moft lizards, it is thereby greatly af-
fifted in the agility of its motions, even in
running up walls and trees. There is a
fmall firing or row of tubercles along the
infide of each thigh, fimilar to what has
been already remarked in the guana ; the
A a 3 number
374 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nimble number of thefe is variable, being fome-
Lizard. .
times as far as twenty on each thigh.
The whole figure and appearance of this
fmall lizard is delicate and agreeable. The
grey colour, which for the moft part adorns
its upper parts, is variegated by a great
number of whitifh blotches, and by three
longitudinal ftripes along the back, almoft
completely black, that in the middle being
narrower than the reft. The belly is green,
changing with blue. There is no part of
its external fcaly covering but exhibits an
ao-reeable appearance of mild but changing
reflections of coloured light ; and, to give
additional beauty to this elegant fimplicity
of its natural drefs, the under part of the
neck is adorned with a double collar, ufu-
ally compofed of feven fcales, fomewhat
larger than thole on the reft of the body,
particularly than thofe immediately conti-
guous ; and thefe have the colour and bril-
liancy of burnifhed gold. In other refpefts,
as in'almoft all lizards, the diftribution and
{hades of colours in this fpecies are fubjed
to confiderable variation, according to dif-
ferences
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 375
ferences in age, fex, and climate ; but, fo Nimble
JL^iz&rcl*
far as can be judged of, by the infpection
of many living fpecimens, the general co-
lour is always fuch as has been above de~
fcribed. The belly is covered by fcales of
confiderably larger fize than thofe on the
upper parts of the body ; which fcales are
of a quadrangular figure, and are ranged in
tranfverfe bands or fillets ; and this circum-
ftance forms a peculiar character in the fub-
divifion of the genus in which this fpecies
is placed.
This fpecies is ufually five or fix inches
long, by about half an inch broad, forming
a ftriking contraft with the enormous fize
of the crocodile. That immenfe oviparous
quadruped is hardly ever feen without ter-
rour, but the nimble lizard we are now
defcribing, while fporting innocently among
the flowers, gives pleafure by the beauty and
harmlefs nature of its appearance, and, by the
agility of all its motions, feems fully entit-
led to the trivial name that is here borrow-
ed from the Syftem of Nature of the im-
mortal Linnxus. This gentle and peaceful
A a 4 little
376 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nimble little animal excites no fenfations of fear ;
Lizard.
it eicapes indeed, for the moft part, when
any one endeavours to take hold of it ; but,
when taken, it makes not the Irnalleft at-
tempt to bite or offend. Children ufe it as
a plaything ; and, in confequence of its na-
tural gendenefs of diipoiitions, it even be-
comes familiar. It feems anxious to return
the carefles which are beftowed on it; inno-
cently approaching its mouth to the mouths
of thofe who fondle it, and eagerly fucks
their fpittle. The ancients have given it a
name, which fignifies the friend of man,
but it merits more juftly the title of friend
of youth : Yet young people, often un-
grateful, or at leaft inconftant, do not al-
ways repay with friendfhip the attachment
this gentle creature feems to beftow. They
often mutilate its extremities by their rude-
nefs, particularly its tail, which is extreme-
ly brittle, owing to the weaknefs of its ver-
tebrae.
The tail is nearly twice the length of its
body, and tapers from its root to the extre-
mity, where it ends in a point. It is blotch-
ed
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 377
ed or fpotted with white and a moderately Nimble
Lizard,
deep black, being furrounded by numerous
diftincl: rings of fcales, often as far as eighty
circles, that lap over each other downwards.
When this tail has been broken off by any
accident, it is fometimes reproduced : And
even when it has been fplit, or divided
lengthways, it is occafionally replaced by
two or eveft three tails ; of which one only
contains vertebrae, and the reft have only a
kind of tendon in the center *.
' M. Marchand f has obferved, that this *
* fpecies has fometimes two tails ; and this
' obfervation has been made by Pliny and
' feveral other writers long ago. Such in-
' ftances are fometimes met with in Portu-
* gal ; but, as it is very common to fee this
' animal tormented in a variety of manners
' by children, it is extremely probable, that,
' having fplit the tail lengthways, each of
' the portions rounded itfelf in healing, and
thus
* Continuation of the Mater. Medic, by Geoffrey,
xii. 78.
f Memoir, by,M. Marchand, in the Mem. de 1'Aead.
des Sciences, for 171 8.
378 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nimble t bus eacn became an apparently complete
Lizard.
4 tail. This apparent reproduction of a part
4 of the circumference of the divided por-
* tions is not to be wondered at ; for it is
4 very common, when a part, or even the
4 whole of the tail, has been loft by any
4 accident, to fee it reproduced by a new
4 growth. Numerous examples of this fadt
4 are continually occurring, as they are ex-
' tremely liable to fuch a lofs, even when
4 fporting together ; becaufe the fmall ver-
4 tebrae or joints, of which their tails are
4 compofed, are exceflively brittle, and ea-
4 fily feparate from each other by the flight-
4 eft degree of violence. Hence it is very
4 common to find lizards having tails of
4 various lengths, while naturally their tails
4 have always a certain fixed proportion.
4 According to M. Marchand, the new or
' reproduced tail is only fupported by a
4 kind of central tendon, inftead of the car-
' tilaginous vertebrse which naturally be-
* long to this member. The fame natura-
4 lift fays, that he had endeavoured to try
' this fat experimentally, but that it had
* never
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 379
' never fucceeded in any of his trials, and Nimbl f
Lizard.
* that he could not difcover the caufe of
* his failure *.'
SnufF, or the powder of tobacco, is an
almoft certain poifon for this fpecies. When
that fubftance is put into its mouth, it falls
almoft inftantly into convulfions, and gene-
rally dies very foon after. As ufeful as it
is agreeable in its appearance, this Ipecies
would become infinitely more faiutary to
mankind, if it were more numerous. It
feeds on flies, crickets, grafshoppers, earth-
worms, and almoft all thofe infects and
worms that deftroy our fruits and grains.
Hence the more it multiplies, the more the
enemies of our fields and gardens muft be
diminimed. Were this the cafe, we mould
then have fome reafon to look on it, as is
done by certain favage nations, as a fortu-
nate omen, and the harbinger of profperous
events.
On purpofe to feize the infects on which
it feeds, it darts out, with aftonifhing velo-*
city,
* New Obfervations with the Microfcope, by Need-
ham, p. 14 L,
380 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Nimble c i tV) a l ar g e forked tongue, of a reddifh co-
Lizard.
lour, which is befet with afperities, that are
fcarcely fenfible to the fight, but which af-
fift greatly in catching its winged prey.
Like moft other oviparous quadrupeds, it
is capable of exifting a long time without
food ; fome having been kept for fix months
in bottles, without the fmalleft nourishment,
and at the fame time without voiding any
excrement *.
In the fouthern countries of Europe, the
nimble lizard revives very early in fpring
from the torpid ftate in which it had paf-
ied the cold weather of winter ; and, reco-
vering its activity, begins its fportive evo-
lutions, which increafe in agility in propor-
tion to the heat of the atmofphere. About
the end of April, the two fexes unite in
fuch clofe embraces, that it is difficult to
diftinguifh them from each other ; and, if
love is to be appretiated by the vivacity of
its expreffion, this fpecies muft be confider-
ed as one of the moft ardent of the ovipa-
rous race. The eggs, which are almoft
round,
* Seba, Muf. ii. 84.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 381
round, and feldom above five lines in dia- Nimble
Lizard.
meter, are carefully placed by the female in
very warm fituations, fuch, for inftance, as
the foot of a wall fronting the fouth ; and,
being layed in the warm feafon, are hatch-
ed entirely by the heat of the fun and at-
mofphere.
Before the commencement of the fexual
intercourfe, this fpecies, like almoft all other
lizards, changes its fkin ; and then, in its
new drefs, joins in fatisfying the reproduc-
tive appetite. It changes its ikm a fecond
time, about the beginning of winter, and
pafles that feafon in a ftate of torpor, more
or lefs complete, according to the rigour of
the feafon, either in holes of trees or of
walls, or in fubterraneous places, and again
quits thefe melancholy retreats, at the firft
appearance of the genial warmth of fpring.
This little animal feems occasionally to
lay afide the gentlenefs and innocence of
difpofition which is generally attributed to
it. Mr Edwards * mentions his having
once furprifed one of them in the act of
attacking
* Gleanings of Natural Hiftory, chap, xv.
382 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
attacking a fmall bird, while fitting on its
newly-hatched young, in a neft that was
built againft a wall. The approach of that
naturalift put a ftop to the combat, which
the bird fuftained in defence of its little
ones : The bird flew away, and the lizard
allowed itfelf to fall down ; while, perhaps,
but for the intervention of Mr Edwards, it
would have devoured the young birds, if it
had fucceeded in dragging them from the
neft. We ought not, however, rafhly to
conclude, from this inftance, either of in-
dividual defect, or perhaps of neceffity from
accidental circumftances, that the fpecies,
otherwife fo weak, fo gentle, and fo inof-
fenfive, is poflefled of mifchievous propen-
fities.
This fpecies has been much praifed as a
remedy in feveral diforders, particularly
thofe which affect the fkin, in cancers, and
other difeafes that require to have the blood
purified. The practice is faid to have been
fuccefs.ful in the environs of Madrid ; and
the Parifian fociety of medicine, having
received fpecimens from the Spanim phy-
ficians,
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 383
ficians, had them examined by MM. Dau- Nimble
J lYizard.
benton and Maduit, who report that they
differ in nothing from the common nimble
lizards of France, except in thofe flight
fhades of colour, that are almoft a necef-
fary confequence of the diverfity of cli-
mate between Spain and France *.
The fmall lizard defcribed by Pallas in
the Latin fupplement to his Ruffian tra-
vels, under the name of lacerta velox, or
fwift lizard, feems only a variety of this
fpecies. It has the fame general figure of
its body and tail ; having fimilar fcales un-
der the throat, arranged in form of a col-
lar, and fimilar rows of tubercles on the
infide of its thighs. It is of a cinereous
colour, longitudinally ftreaked with paler ;
the back is marked with fmall reddifh
brown dots, the fides being marked with
bluim dots and fome black fpots. This
animal was found among rocks and ftones,
in very warm d&fert places, in the neigh-
bourhood
* Hift. de la Societe Royale de Medecme, for the
years 1780 and 1781.
384 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
i
Nimble bourhood of lake Inderfkoi : and its mo-
Li/ard.
tions were as quick as an arrow *.
The following obfervation, on the vivi-
parous nature of this fpecies, was commu-
nicated by M. de Sept-fontaines, a very af-
fiduous cultivator of natural hiftory. On
the i yth of July 1783, he opened a female,
and twelve completelyformed young lizards,
from eleven to thirteen lines long, were
found within her body : Five of thefe were
wounded by the knife, and hardly fhowed
any figns of life ; but the other feven in-
ftantly ran about as nimbly as the moft ad-
vanced lizards of the fpecies. This gentle-
man tranfmitted a fpecimen of the fame
kind with that on which his experiment
was made ; and, on the moft attentive ob-
fervation, it was not found to differ in the
fmalleft
* Lacerta Velox : Having a longifh round tail, fur-
rounded by rings of fcales ; with a collar of fcales on
the under fide of the neck ; the body having five lon-
gitudinal pale ftreaks, with brown dots on the back,
and black fpots and bluifh dots on the fides. Syft. Nat.
ed. Gmel. i. 1072. G. 122. fp. 63. Pall. it. i. 457. n.
12.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 385
fmalleft degree from the ordinary lizard of Nimble
J Lizard,
this article. Thus we find, that the nimble
lizard, which commonly depofits its eggs
in meltered places, to be hatched by the
warmth of the atmofphere, becomes fome-
times viviparous*, the eggs being, in certain
circumftances, hatched within the belly of
the mother. We mail hereafter have oc-
cafion to notice a fimilar iLict, in the natu-
ral hiftory of the land newt.
ART. XIX. THE GREEN L1Z4RD *.
IN the formation of the green lizard, Na- Green
ture feems to have employed the fame !/ ' ar "
proportions as in the foregoing fpecies, but
upon
* Lezard vert. Encycl. Method. Lazer, near Mont-
pellier. Lagarto and Fafdacho, in Spain. Krauthun,
at Vienna. z*vgs and x^oj, in Greek.
Lacertus viridis. Aldrov. quadr. 634. Gefner, quad,
ovip. 35. Ray, fynopf. 264. Lacerta viridis. Seb. Muf.
ii. t. 4. f. 4. 5. Ichthyol. borufs. Edwards, glean, t. 247.
f. 2. Roefel, hift. ran. noflr. in frontifp. Seps varius,
n. no. Seps viridis. n. 111. Laurent, amphib. p. 62.
& fequ.
VOL. I. B b Thoudi
.386 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
upon a larger fcale. The green fpecies re-
fcmbles the nimble lizard in every thing,
except in being confiderably larger, and in
having much more lively colours. The co-
louring of this fpecies is feen, in its greateil
brilliancy, about the beginning of fpring ;
when, after having thrown off its old co-
vering, it expofes its new {kin, with all its
lively enamelled fcales, to the genial warmth
of the funs rays, which, playing on the
fcales, gild them with undulating reflec-
tions. Their natural colour has all the
luftre of the emerald ; and, though with-
out the fame tranfparency, that want is com-
penfated by the added beauty of the azure
fky, which is painted by reflection on thelr
fhining and polifhed furfaces. The eye
is never wearied by the delightful green
with which its fkin is adorned ; it fills the
eye
Though Linnaeus has arranged the green lizard only
as a variety of the nimble Ipecies, the gi*eat difference
between thefe two animals in fize, and feveral obferva-^
tions which we have made on both of them while alive,
convince us that they ought to be feparated. Note, by
M. de la Cepede.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 387
eye with its luftre, but without dazzling ;
and is equally agreeable by its foftnefs, as
it is beautiful by the elegance of its reflec-
ted lights. It feems to mix with the fur-
rounding air, foftening away by gentle
fhades, fo as never to offend by over bril-
liancy, but always pleafes by an agreeable
variety : Being equally delightful, whether
it reflects the full glare of fun-fhine, or e-
mits the more feeble ray of the evening, it
continually prefents to us the moft delicate
fweetnefs in its tints.
The upper parts of the body are of a
beautiful green, more or lefs variegated
with yellow, grey, brown, and even fome-
times with red ; the under parts being al-
ways more of a whitifh colour. The co-
lours of this fpecies are fubjecl to variety,
becoming pale at certain feafons of the
year, and more particularly after the death
of the animal ; and it is chiefly in the
warm countries that it mines in all its fu-
perb ornaments, like gold and precious
ftones. In thefe regions it grows to a lar-
ger fize than in more temperate countries,
B b 2 being
388 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
being fometimes found thirty inches in
length. The fpecimen from which the pre-
fent description was formed, was fent from
Provence to the Royal Cabinet, and mea-
fures twenty inches, including the tail,
which almoft equals the length of the head
and body. The diameter of its body is two
inches at the thicken: part. The upper part
ci the head, as in the nimble lizard, is co-
vered by large fcales, regularly arranged at
each others fides. The edges of the ]aw
are adorned by a double row of large fci>!c v .
The openings of the ears are oval, the long
diameter being four lines, and the tympa-
num is diftinctly perceived. The kind of
half collar under the throat refembles that
of the nimble lizard, being formed of large
fcales, which were eleven in number in our
fpecimen. The fcales on the back are the
finalleft, being of a hexagonal figure ; but
the angles are fo little diftincl: as to make
them iecm round. The fcales on the belly
are large, and in form of lengthened hexa-
gons, forming thirty half rings or tranfverfe
bands. A row of thirteen tubercles extend
along
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 389
alone the infide of each thigh : Thefe arc p reen
.Lizard
hollow ; and a fmall perforated nipple ap-
pears diftinctly on the middle of each, ri-
fmg a little above the edge of the little ca-
vity of the tubercle from which it pro-
jects *. The tranfverfe furrow at the ex-
tremity of the under part of the body,
which forms the anus, reaches almoft com-
pletely acrofs. The tail, which begins im-
mediately below this furrow, diminimes
gradually in iize from its origin to its ex-
tremity, where it ends in a point. It is
covered by fcales, which are longer than
they are broad, and which are larger than
thofe on the back, being arranged in circu-
lar rings, ufually to the number of ninety.
The beauty of the green lizard draws the
attention of every beholder; and the animal
feems to repay the compliment, by a fimi-
lar attention on its part. Whenever it fees
a man, it feems to obferve him with re-
fpecl:, and to feel pleafure in difplaying the
brilliance of its eyes and of its golden fcales;
B b 3 M ,
* See the Works of M. Duveruav on this fubiccr.
390 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Lia !?d aS} * n our S arc ^ ens > tne peacock proudly ex-
pands the whole finery of his enamelled
plumage. The green lizards play with chil-
dren, in the fame manner with the nimble
fpecies ; hut, when in confinement, they
may be excited to fight, and then bite each
other with great fury *.
Being ftronger than the nimble lizard,
this fpecies fometimes rights with ferpents ;
but is very rarely fuccelsful, generally fall-
ing a victim to the unequal combat. When
it fees a ferpent approaching, it is extremely
agitated with fear, and makes a great noife
and buftle. Some people, inclined to inter-
pret every thing favourably in the character
of fo beautiful an animal, have confidered
thefe indications of fear as marks of atten-
tion and attachment to mankind, as if it
meant thereby to give notice of the dan-
gerous neighbourhood of the ferpent. It
feeds on earth-worms and infects, and fwal-
lows fpittle with great avidity. Gefner re-
lates, that he has feen a green lizard drink
the urine of a child. It likewife eats the
eggs
*. Gefner, de Quadrup. Ovip. 36.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 391
eggs of fmall birds ; for which purpofe it ^. r en
climbs the higheft branches of trees with
great agility.
Though lower on its legs in proportion
than the minbie lizard, it runs very fwift-
ly ; and its fird motions, when it fprings
from among bufhes or dry leaves, are often
fo rapid as to excite fenfadons of furpriic,
or even of fear. It leaps very high, and
with great force. Being ftronger, it is liker-
wife braver than the nimble lizard ; and
even defends itfelf, when attacked, againfr.
dogs. Being accunomcd to fix upon the
noftrils of ferpents, with different kinds of
which it is often forced to engage, it flies
inftantly at the muzzle of dogs, and fixes
itfelf fo obftinately, that it allows itfelf to
be carried off, and even killed, rather than
quit its Hold. It is not, however, to be con-
fidered as dangerous, at leaft in the tempe-
rate regions, though fome people have falie-
ly attributed to it the property of giving
mortal or at leaft dangerous bites.
M. Laurenti relates the following facls
on this fubject, having employed what he
B b 4
392 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Lizard names tne $ e p s Variifs^ which is only a va-
riety of the green lizard, in his experiments.
' A lizard, having feized a fmall bird by the
c throat, not only wounded it, but had al-
' moft flifled it by the violence of its gripe;
' the wound foon healed, and the bird was
' ib well next day as to fmg as ufual. The
' lame lizard bit a pigeon with great v'o-
' lence, fo that the blood flowed from all
' the wounds given by its {harp teeth ; the
4 pigeon did not die, but it feemed a good
' deal difordered for fome hours. Next
' it bit the fame pigeon on the thigh, and
* even carried away part of the fkin, ma-
* king a wound of confiderable fize ; tiie
* wound foon healed, and dunned over in
4 a few days. Having removed part of the
' fkin from the thigh of a dog and a cat,
' M. Laurenti caufed the fame lizard to
* bite them both in the wounded part, fo
' as to make its foam or faliva enter the
* wound ; both of thcfe animals gave in-
' dications of pain, and tried to efcape, but
' they (hewed no other marks of injury ;
* and their wounds being fewed up, were
' foon
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 393
e foon healed. An ordinary green lizard Green
Lizard*
' bit a pigeon on the thigh, with fo much
4 violence as to "remove the fkin, and then
' faftened on the naked mufcles fo forcibly as
& to be removed with difficulty; the wound
4 was fewed up, and the pigeon got foon
* well, after limping for a day or two. The
4 fame lizard bit a young dog on the belly;
4 the wound did not bleed, but the dog
4 cried violently ; it did not, however, ap-
4 pear to furFer any other inconvenience *.'
The manners of this green lizard are in
inoft refpects extremely fimilar to thofe of
the nimble lizard : Its eggs are for the inoft
part fomewhat larger than thofe of that for-
mer fpecies, and they are hatched in the
fame manner, by expofure to the heat of
the fun and air.
The inhabitants of Africa eat the flefh.
of this fpecies f . The green lizard is by
no means confined to the warmeft coun-r
tries of both continents ; it is found like-
wife
* Laurenti, fpecimen Medicum. Vindobonae, 1 768.
f Gefner, de Quadruped. Ovip. 37.
394 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
en wife in the temperate regions, though it is
there fmaller and lefs numerous *. It is
not even unknown in Sweden f, and in
Kamtfchatka ; and in both countries, in
fpite of its beautiful appearance, it is look-
ed on by the inhabitants with horror, from
fome ftrange fuperflitious prejudice. The
Kamtmadales confider them as fent by the
infernal deities, and are anxious to cut them
to pieces wherever they meet with them J ;
and fhould one of thefe animals efcape, they
are fo terrified for the malevolent power of
thefe divinities, that they ever after expert
death, ahnoft every moment, and are fome-
times faid to die by the flrength of their
terror.
A variety of the green lizard is found in
the neighbourhood of Paris, which is dif-
tinguifhed by a particular ftripe from the
fummit of the head to the tip of the tail,
extending to a little above the infertion of
the legs, efpecially the hinder ones. This
ftripe is of a brownilh grey colour, fpotted
with
* Ray, Synopf. 264.
f Linnaei, Fauna fuecica.
t Cooks third voyage.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 395
with deep brown, dotted all over with yel- ? reen .
low, and edged on each fide by a narrow
whitim line. We have examined two liv-
ing individuals of this variety, which ap-
peared both very young, and they were al-
moft as large as a full grown nimble lizard.
The green lizard gets the name of Stcl-
lion in Italy, which name is likewife given
in that country to the land-newt : In both,
the appellation arifes from a number of co-
Joured fpots, more or lefs bright, that are
fcattered over the upper part of the body
in both animals, which are fuppofed to re-
femble ftars. But in this work we have re-
ferved that name, following Linnaeus, and
moil other naturalifts,for a very differ entfpe-
cies of lizard that is found in Africa. In Klr-
chers mufeum of natural hiftory, publilhed
at Rome in 1773, there is a defcription and
figure of a lizard caught in a wood on the
Alps, and called the Italian ftellion, which
feems only a variety of this green lizard.
We may take notice in this place of an
American lizard, mentioned by Catefby *,
which
* Lacertus viridis Carolinenils. Catefby, Natural
Hiftory
396 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
which has fome refemhlance to the green
fpecies : It is called, by that writer, the Ca-
rolina green lizard ; but Rochefort, and Ray
after his example, give it the name of Gobe-
inouche, or fly-catcher. This beautiful fpe-
cies or variety fcarcely exceeds live inches
long, and fome individuals, efpecially the
females, are only about the length and fize
of a finger. Though fo much inferior to
the green lizard in fize, it equals that animal
in beauty. Moft of thefe lizards are of a
very bright green colour ; fome appear as
if adorned with gold and filver ; and others
are of a golden green, or are ornamented
with various brilliant and agreeable colours,
Thefe animals are extremely ufeful in the
houfes, by deftroying flies, and other trou-
blefome or noxious infects. It is hardly
credible with what induftry, agility, and
dexterity they follow and feize their prey.
They will fometimes remain motionlefs for
half a day, waiting for the infects on which
they
Hiftory of Carolina, ii. 65. This feems the fame with
the gobe-mouche, called Oulla-ouna by the Caribs. Ro-
chefort, Hift. des Atilles. Ray, SynopJ'. 269. Bomarc,
. in voc.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 397
they feed ; and, when one appears, they ? reen ,
fpring at it with the fwiftnefs of an arrow,
even from the tops of high trees, on which
they climb with great agility. Their eggs
are about the fize of peas, which the female
covers (lightly with earth, and leaves them
to be hatched by the heat of the fun. They
are fo familiar as to enter the rooms of the
houfes without fear, and will mount on the
tables, while people are employed at their
meals, in fearch of infects, and leap after
them even on peoples clothes; yet are theyfo
cleanly and fo pretty, that they are allowed to
rim over the plates and on the meat, with-
out producing the fmalleft difguft. This
little animal has every quality that can de-
light the eye, or intereft the beholder in its
favour : It is beautiful, active, ufeful, pa-
tient, and induftrious ; it is however ex-
tremely delicate, and never appears except
during fummer, at leaft in latitudes even
but little diftant from the tropic. In thefe
countries it remains all winter in holes of
rocks or of trees. Sometimes a hot day in
winter awakens it from the ftate of torpor,
398 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
fo much as to make it venture out of its re-
treat ; but as, on thefe occafions, the cold
returns fuddenly, it is often unable to regain
its hole, and dies with cold. Though very
nimble, it finds great difficulty in evading
the purfuit of cats and birds of prey. Its
fkin is fo delicate as hardly to conceal the
internal changes to which it is fubjecT: ; for
it changes colour, like the chameleon, ac-
cording to its ftate of health or activity, or,
more properly fpeaking, according to the
temperature of the air. In a hot day it is
of a bright green colour ; and, if the next
day be cold, its colour is then of a brown
hue. The frefhnefs of its colour difappears
after death, when its fkin becomes pale and
livid.
The colours of feveral other lizards are
apt to change and become pale, from fimi-
lar caufes, which circumftance has occafion-
ed a good deal of contradiction in the de-
fcriptions of naturalifts, who have laid too
much ftrefs on the colours of oviparous
quadrupeds, and have thereby occalioned
confiderable confufion in the nomenclature
of
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 399
of this clafs. There are feveral coinci-
dences between the habits of this fly-catcher >
or Carolina lizard, and another fmall Ame-
rican fpecies, which has been called the
Anolis, which name has likewife been ap^
plied to feveral other lizards. The circum^
ftances related concerning this anolis, ihall
be mentioned in the article appropriated to
the ftrumous lizard ; and, as we have never
feen the fly-catcher, it is not imporlible but
it ought likewife to be referred to the ftru-
mous fpecies, inftead of confidering it as a
variety of the green lizard.
M. Cetti, in his Natural Hiftory of the
Fifties and Amphibious Animals of Sardinia,
mentions a green lizard as very common in
that ifland, where it is called Tiliguerta and
Califcertula. It neither exactly refembles
the green lizard of this article, nor the amei-
va, which will be defcribed in one of the
following articles. M. Cetti is difpofed to
confider it as a new fpecies, fqmewhat in-
termediate between the ameiva and the
green lizard. From the account, however,
that is given of it by that naturalift, we
would
400 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
? rcen , would be inclined to confider it as a variety
Lizard.
of the green lizard, if it has the half collar
on the under part of its neck, or as a va-
riety of Ameiva, if that circumftance be
wanting. The account given by M. Cetti
is as follows.
The inhabitants of Sardinia give the
* name of Tiliguerta * and Califcertula, to
1 a fpecies of lizard which appears allied to
f the green lizard, as it is of a bright green
' colour, ornamented, however, with black
4 fpots, and longitudinal black ftreaks on
* the back. The infides of the thighs have
' each a row of tubercles, fimilar to thofe
' on the green lizard. All the feet have
1 five toes, all of which are armed with
' claws. What diftinguifhes it remark-
8 ably from the green lizard is, that all
* naturalifts have defcribed the tail of that
' fpecies only as equalling the length bf
' its
* Lacerta Tiliguerta Having the tail furrounded by
rings of fcales, and twice the length of the body ; the
belly being covered by eighty four-cornered fcales. Syft.
Nat. ed. Gmel. I. 1070. G. 122. fp. 62. Cett. Anfib.
Sard. 15.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 401
c of its body, while the tail of the tiliguer-
* -*! /. *i.rcl
' ta is always twice the length of its body
* and head. But it is certain that lizards
* have a very remarkable property of repro-
' ducing their tails ; for if one of their tails be
* loft by accident or defign, it grows again;
' and if it be divided, each part foon be-
' comes a new tail. Hence it is not iiri-
* poffible, but the great length of tail in
* the tiliguerta, above that in the ordinary
: green lizard, may not be a fufEcient indi-
c cation of a diftinfc fpecies, but may pro-
' ceed entirely from the influence of the
' climate of Sardinia. But, on the other
1 hand, as naturalises have adopted the
* length of the tails of lizards, in propor-
* tion to that of their bodies, as one of the
"-* diflinguiming fpecific differences, we can
* hardly attribute the great length of tail in
* the tiliguerta to accident. For infcance,
' thofe who have defcribed the European
1 green lizard, fay that its tail equals the
1 length of itsbody ; while the ameiva of Ame-
' rica is characterifed as having its tail three
* times as long as the body. We muft not,
VOL. I. C c there-
402 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Green < therefore, confider the tiliguerta as bc-
Lizaro.
* longing to the fpecies of green lizard ;
4 and we may give it the following charac-
* tcr; * Having a (lender tail twice the
" length of its body.' The ameiva has
' been defcribed in nearly the fame terms
* in the Afnocnttates Academicae : We
' might, therefore, be difpofed to confider
' the tiliguerta as of the fame fpecies ; and
' it would not be at all wonderful to find
* in Europe an animal hitherto confidcred
' as peculiar to America. But, befides that
1 the exactnefsof thcdcfcription given in the
c Amoen. Acad. may be doubted, after that
1 given by Gronovius, who fays its tail is
' thrice the length of its body, the ameiva
* is diftingTiimable from our tiliguerta, by
' the number of fcaly bands on the belly,
4 which are very different in theie two a-
' nimals. We may therefore determine,
' that the tiliguerta refembles both the a-
' meiva and the green lizar^ ; but is an in-
' termediate fpecies, which mull be added
fc to that divifion of the genus which Lin-
* naeus has diftinguiilied as having their
* tails.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 403
* tails furrounded by numerous rino;s of ^' '
La*'
' fcales, cauda verticillatae. This animal
1 is more common in Sardinia than is the
* ordinary green lizard in Italy. It is like-
* wile extremely innocent in its manners,
* and is found in the grafs, and upon walls
* in the country *.*
It may be proper to obferve, that the
length of the tails, the verdcillated or fta-
ged form of thcfe tails, and the number of
icaly bands on the belly, are all fubjecl: to
variation, and cannot be confidered as per-
manent characters. After carefully exa-
mining a great number of individuals of
various fpecies, we have been fo thoroughly
convinced of this variability, that we have
never uied thefe characters for diftinguim-
ing the fubdivifions of the genus ; nor even
for marking the feveral fpecies, except
where theie differences were very conli-
derable. We have never, therefore, men-
tioned any precife length or proportion of
the tail, or any abfolutely fixed number of
C c 2 bands,
* Cetfi, Hift. Nat. Amph. Sa/d. 15.
404 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Lizard bands, as diftinctive fpecific characters ; but
have rather endeavoured to afcertain the
exacl: form and arrangement of the fcales
on the tail.
ART. XX. THE RED-HEADED LIZARD *.
Red-head, r H ^HE lizard to which this name is given
cd Lizard.
A is found in the ifland of St. Chrifto-
phers in the Weft Indies, and its defcrip-
tion was tranfmitted hy M. Badier. It has
five toes on all the feet, and the belly is co-
vered by half-rings or bands of fcales, fa
that it falls to be arranged under the third
clivifion of the genus f. It is of a very
deep green colour, ^mixed with brown ;
the fides of the head and neck, and part of
the upper furface of the head being red.
There are feveral tranfverfe waved black
ftreaks
* Piloris, Tcte-rouge, Anolis de terrc. The name
of Anolis has been given, in America, to feveral diffe-
rent fpecies of lizards, as may be feen in the various ar-
ticles of this genus.
f See the fyftematic table of oviparous quadrupeds,
at the beginning of this volume.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 405
ftreaks on the back. The throat is white, Red-head-
ed Lizard.
and the breaft black. A longitudinal ftripe
extends on each fide, ccmpcfed of tranf-
verfe black ftreaks. The belly is variega-
ted with black, blue, and whitifh longitu-
dinal ftripes. The fcales on the upper part
of the head are longer than thofe on the
back. The infides of the thighs are pro-
vided with a row of fmall tubercles, fimi-
lar to thofe on the nimble lizard and ieveral
other fpecies.
In the individual defcribed by M. Ba-
dier, the body meafured one inch in dia-
meter, at the thickeft part, and one inch
eleven lines in length ; the tail being feven
inches eight lines long, and was furround-
ed by rings of fcales. The hinder legs
meafured two inches and one line to the
firft joint of the toes. It lives on infects,
and grows to three times the fize of the in-
dividual here defcribed.
C 3 ART.
406 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
ART. XXI. THE CORDYLUS*.
Cordylus. r j.^HE fpecies of lizard which forms the
-*- fubjedt of this article is found in Afia
and Africa, and appears likewife to inhabit
the fouth of Europe, as Ray mentions ha-
ving met with it near Montpellier. The
name of cordylus, which has been given to
this fpecies, and which is exclufively ap-
propriated to it by Linnasus, has likewife
been applied .by fome writers to feveral o~
ther fpecies, and particularly to the dragon,
already deferibed. The following defcrip-.
tion is formed from feveral individuals, pre~
ferved in the Royal Cabinet.
The head is fomewhat triangular, enlar-
ged at the back part, and very much flat-
tened ;
* Le Corel y!e. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta Cordybs : Having a fhort tail, furrounded
by rings of fharp pointed and denticulated fcales ; the
body being fmooth. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1060. G.
122. fp. 9. Amoen. ac;id. i. 132. 292. Gronov. Muf. ii.
79. n. 55. Ray, fynopf. 263. Seba, muf. i. t. 84. f. 3..
4. & ii. t. 62- f. 5. Laurent, amphib. 52. n. 81-.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 407
tened ; being covered on the top and fides Cordylus.
by large fcales. The two jaws are covered
by two other rows of large fades, and are
armed with fmall ftrong iharp teeth of an
equal lize. The noftrils are fmall ; and the
openings of the ears are narrow, being fitu-
ated at the two extremities of the bale of
the triangle, of which the muzzle forms the
apex. The body is much flattened ; the
belly being covered with tolerably large
and almoft fquare fcales, arranged in half
rings or tranfverfe bands. The fcales on
the back are larger than thofe on the belly,
and are likeWiie almoft fquare ; thofe on.
the fides are all ridged, giving the flanks a
prickly or fpinous appearance. The tail is
almoft equal in length to the body ; and
the fcales, which cover it, in overlapping
circles, have each a prominent ridge, ter-
minating in a kind of lengthened prickle,
which is provided with a very fmall fpine
at each fide. Thefe fcales, being of confi-
derable length, and rifing up at their ends,
form very diftincl: waved rings, fomewhat
diftaiit from each other, giving the tail the
C 4 appearance
4 c8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Cordylus. appearance of being compofed of feveral
ftages of portions. In one female indivi-
dual, the tail of which was entire, we count-
ed nineteen of thefe circles. The fcales
which cover the legs refemble thole on the
tail, being ridged longitudinally, and end-
ing in fharp points. All the feet have five
toes on each, all of which are armed with
claws. The colour of the fcales is blue,
more or lefs mixed with chefnut in blotches
or flripes.
Linnxus defcribes the body of this fpe-
cies as imooth, which muft be understood
as applying to the back and beljy, when
compared with the legs and fides,' and efpe-
cially with the taiL On the infides of the
thighs, there are fimilar rows of tubercles
with thofe already defcribed on the guana,
nimble lizard, green lizard, &c. In one indi-
vidual of this fpecieSj which may be confi-
dered as a variety, the fcales on the back
were considerably fmaller than in the other
fpecimens.
ART.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 409
ART. XXII. THE ANGULAR LIZARD *.
L
INN^EUS, quoting Rounder, firft Angular
publifhed a oefcription of this fpe-
cies, which inhabits America, One of the
principal characters which di^iingu'.ili this
lizard is, that the tail, which is one half long-
er than the body, prefents fix diftindl fiat
fides, bounded by an equal number of lon-
gitudinal ridges at .the angles. The head
is likewife remarkable, having the appear-
ance of being cut abruptly at its hinder
part, where the fkin forms feveral tranf-
verfe ridges. All the fcales covering the
body are pointed, -and have elevated ridges,
except thofe on the belly. The animal can
eret thefe fcales at its pleafure, and is then
all over briftled with fmall {harp fpines.
The under part of the throat is covered by
two large round fcales. The general co-
lour
* L'Hexagone, ou 1'Exagonal. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta Angulata : Having a long fix -angled tail,
covered by ridged and {harp pointed fcales. Syft. Nat.
ed. Gmel. i. 1061. G 122. fp. 19.
410 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS,
Angular J our o f this fpecies is reddilh brown, and its
Lizard.
lize is Imall.
Not having feen a fpecimen of this fpe-
cies, we can only prefume that its belly is
covered by tranfverfe half rings or bands
of fcales * : Should this not be the cafe, it
ought to be placed in the iubfequent divi-*
fion of the genus inflead of this.
ART. XXIII. THE
Ameiva. * | "HE natural hiftory of this fpecies la-
JL bours under more ambiguities than
that of any other oviparous quadruped.
The
* It is probable that thefe half rings are wanting in
this fpecies ; both becaufe the circumftance is omitted
in the Syftema Naturae, and becaufe it is there placed
in a fubdivifion of the genus, named Stelliones t which is
charafterifed by the back and tail, fometimes the whole
body, being covered by pointed or denticulated fcales ;
while a very different fubdivifion, called Ameivac, or
Sepes, is diftinguiflied by the fquared fcales forming
half circles on the belly, and with a double collar of
fcales on the under part of the neck. T.
f L' Ameiva. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta Ameiva : Having a long tail, furrounded by
rings-
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 4-1-1
The name Ameiva, or Ameira, has been
applied to other lizards belonging to very
different fpecies. The real ameiva has re-
ceived a number of names in different
countries ; fuch as Temapara, Taletec, and
Tamacolin ; which names have likewife
been applied to other fpecies, particularly
to the guana : Befides thefe, the animal it-
felf is liable to confiderable variation in its
colours, according to its age and fex, and
to the climate in which it lives, or to the
feafon of the year ; fo that different in.di-
viduals of the fame fpecies have been con-
fidered as forming as many diftincT: fpecies.
On
rings of fcales ; a double wrinkled collar on the under
fide of the neck ; and thirty ranges or half rings of
fquared fcales on the belly. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. 5.
1070. G. 122. fp. 34. Amoen. acad. i. 127. 293. Muf.
ad. frid. i. 45. Gronov. muf. ii. 80. t. 56. Lacertus
indicus. Cluf. exot. 115. Ray, quadr. 270. Lacertus
major viridis. Eclw. av. t. 202. 203. Worm. muf. 313.
Lacertus major cinereus maculatus. Sloan, jam. ii.
333. t. 273. f. 3. Seba, muf. i. t. 85. f. 2. 3. t. 86. f. 4.
5. t. 88. f. i. 2. t. 96". f. 2. 3. ii. t. 03. f. 4. t. 103. f.
4. Seps furinamenfis. Laurent, amphib. 59. n. 98.
Large fpotted ground-lizard. Brown, jam. 462.
4 i2 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Ameiva. Q n p ur p O fe to reftore precifion to this part
of natural hiftory, the name Ameiva is here
exclufively appropriated to a lizard that is
found in both Americas, and which has
confiderable connection, in feveral refpects,
with the nimble lizard and the green fpe-
cies of our more temperate regions. At
firft fight, it may be confounded with one
or other of thefe ; but a very flight exa-
mination is fufficient to point out the diffe*-
rence. It wants the double collar, compo-
fed of large fcales, which is always found
in thefe two other fpecies ; inftead of which,
the {kin on that place, covered only by fmall
fcales, forms one or two tranfverfe wrinkles
or folds. This differential character has
been very happily applied byLinnseus; but,
in the following defcription, we mail add
feveral others, from an infpedtion of feve-
ral individuals that are preferved in the
Royal Cabinet.
The head is more lengthened and more
flattened at the fides; its upper part is nar-
rower; and the muzzle more pointed, than
in
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 413
jn thefe two other fpecies. The tail is ge-
nerally longer in proportion to the body.
The arneiva grows in general to a fize
nearly equal to that of our green lizard.
The individual from which we defcribe i:h^
fpecies, and which was fent froin Cayenne
by M. Lechevin, is twenty-one inches long*
from the tip of the muzzle to the tip of the
tail ; and of this the tail meafures twelve
inches and a half: The circumference of
the body, where thickeft, is four inches
and three quarters, The mouth opens as
far as behind the eyes; and the' jaws, which
-are covered by a double row of large fcales,
are armed with a great number of very
-fmall teeth, which refemble fomewhat thofe
of the guana, the fmallefl being towards the
muzzle. The top of the head is covered
with large fcales, as in the green and nim-
ble lizards. The upper part of the body
and of the legs is covered with fcales of fo
fmall a fize, as to be hardly fenfible ; but
thofe which cover the under part of the
body are large, fquare, and ranged in trank
-verfe rows or bands., The tail is furround^
sd
4 i4 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Amciva. e( j w ith rings of fcales, of a long four-fidecl
figure. The infides of the thighs have each
a row of tubercles. The toes are long, fe-
parated from each other, and armed with
tolerably ftrong claws.
It has been already mentioned, that the
colour of this fpecies varies confiderably,
according to age and fex, to peculiarities
in the climates of the different countries in
which it is found, and to the temperature
of the atmofphere and feafon of the year
in the fame countries : In general, however,
it feems that the ground or prevailing co-
lour is green or greyifh, lefs or more diver-
fified with fpots, blotches, or ftreaks of
more lively colours ; and thefe are fome-
times fo difpofed as to form round fpots,
or eyes ; from which circumftance both this
and the green fpecies have fometimes been
called the Argus lizard. Perhaps, like the
lizards of our country, the ameiva may
form a family, in which the grey and the
green individuals ought to be confidered as
permanent varieties : But it would require
more accurate and more extended obferva-
tions
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 415
lions than have yet been communicated, to Ameiva,
enable naturalifts to decide precifely on this
queftion.
Ray * and Rochefort fpeak of lizards,
under the name c&Anolis, or Anoles, which
.are in continual motion during the day,
and retire in the night-time into holes and
chinks, from which they emit a cricking
rioife, that is louder and more intolerable
than that of the flying cricket. The ac-
count given by Rochefort f is as follows :
' The anolis is very common in all the
* houfes, and is much of the fame ftze and
* length with the ordinary lizards of France;
' but the head is more lengthened, the fkin
* is yellowifh, and the back is variegated,
' from the top of the head to the tip of the
' tail, with ftreaks of blue, green, and grey.
* They conceal themfelves all night in holes
' under ground, making a more penetrat-
4 ing noife than that of crickets ; and in the
' day-time they are in perpetual motion,
f roaming about in queft of food.* As
thefe
* Synopfis animalium. p. 269.
} Hiftqire des AntillesX;. 300.
41 6 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
Ameiva. t h e fe names have been applied to feveral
different fpecies, and as neither Ray nor
Rochefort have defcribed the lizards they
mention, with fufficient precifion to afcer-
tain their exad: fpecies, it is recommended
to travellers and others in thefe countries,
the Weft Indies, to make more accurate
obfervations on thefe animals, to enable
future naturalifts to allot them their proper
place in fyftem.
The ameiva is not confined to America,
but is likewife found in the Old World ;
for we have feen a fpecimen, brought from
India by M. le Cor, the colour of which
was a very beautiful green, mixed in diffe-
rent places with yellow. Gronovius has
defcribed, under the name of Anolis, a li-
zard of Surinam, evidently of the fame fpe-
cies with the ameiva of Cayenne.
ART.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 417
ART. XXIV. THE LION LIZARD *.
IN the trivial name of this fpecies, the LIon
Lizard,
emblem of ftrength and power is ap-
plied to weaknefs, the name of the king of
animals being given to a very fmall lizard :
It may, however, be preferved, as this name
has as frequently been ufed to indicate the
pofleflion of pride as of power. The lion
lizard almoft always carries its tail in a
round reflected form, which gives it a
haughty appearance, and has induced the
Britim inhabitants of Carolina to affix to it
the name of lion ; and in this they have
been imitated by feveral naturalifts.
This fpecies, which is found in Carolina,
does not differ very much from our nimble
lizard. Three white lines, and an equal
number of black, run along each fide of
VOL. I. D d the
* Le Lion. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta fexlineata : Having a long tail, furrounded
with rings of fcales ; the back being marked with fix
white lines. Syft. Nat. ed. Gmel. i. 1074. G. 122. fp,
1 8. Catefby, Nat. Hift. of Carol, ii. t. 68.
4 i 8 OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
^i on , the back, the middle of which is whitifli.
.Lizard.
It has two tranfverfe wrinkles on the under
part of the neck. The infides of the thighs
have each a fimilar row of tubercles with
thofe already mentioned on the guana,
nimble lizard, green lizard, ameiva, &c.
The tail is long, and tapers gradually to a
point.
The lion lizard is not at oil noxious or
dangerous. Having the legs of confidera-
ble length, it is very nimble, and runs about
with grear agility. It frequents very much
the holes of rocks near the fea, and becomes
very frequently the prey of large fea fowl,
notwithftanding the nirnbienefs of its mo-
tions. It is not confined to Carolina, but is
found in Cuba, Hifpaniola, and the neigh-
bouring iflands.
Linnseus, to whom an account of this
fpecies was communicated by Dr Garden,
confiders it as forming a kind of interme-
diate link between the ameiva and the li-
zard, which is the fubjet of the enfiiing
article.
ART.
OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS. 419
ART. XXV. THE LACED LIZARD *,
HIS lizard is found in India and GUI- L * ced
Lizard,
nea, and likewife inhabits America,
two individuals having been fent to ,the
Roval Cabinet from Martinico. Linnasus
J
has very properly defcribed it as being
nearly allied to the ameiva ; the under part
of its body be-.ug covered in a fimilar man-
ner, by tranfvcrfe bands of fcales. It is,
however, confiderably fmaller than that
fpecies. The infides of the thighs have
rows of tubercles, fimilar to thofe already
mentioned in the guana and feveral other
fpecies. The tail is flender, and is longer
than the body. The ground colour of the
body is green, of various degrees of dark-
nefs ; and, according to Linnaeus, the back
D d 2 is
* Le Galonne. Encycl. Method.
Lacerta lemnifcata : Having a long round tail ; the
back being marked with eight whitifh lines. Syft, Nat.
ed. Gmel. i. 1075. G. 122. fp. 39. Muf. ad. frid. i. 47.
Seba, muf. i. t. 53. f. 9. t. 92. f. 4, ii. t. 9. f. 5. rS
iemnijcatus. Laurent, ampbib. 60. n. 103.
4 2o OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS.
is marked by eight longitudinal whitifh
ftripes. On two individuals in the Royal
Cabinet, there are nine of thefe lines ; but
this circumftance feems liable to variety.
The legs are fpotted with white.
In the collection of M. d' Antic, there is
a fmall lizard, a variety of this fpecies,
which was fent to him from St Domingo.
The general colour is a very deep green,
having eleven ftripes of whitifh yellow on
the back, which unite into feven near the
head, and into ten near the tail ; on which
laft thefe lines gradually and infenfibly dif-
appear. The whole length of this variety
is fix inches, of which the tail meafures
four inches and one line.
END OF VOLUME FIRST.
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