,. 

 
 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. 
 
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