CROCODILE, Crocodiles, a genus of saurian reptiles, the type of the family crocodil idce; which some naturalists have erected into a distinct order of reptiles (loricata), on account of the square bony plates with which their bodies are covered, instead of the scales of the other saurians—the greater solidity of the skull—the lungs not descending idto the abdomen—and the approach which they make to manimalia and birds in the structure of the heart. The heart has two auricles and two ventricles; but a mixture of arterial and venous blood takes place at some distance from the heart, so that the hinder part of the body receives an imperfectly aerated blend, which, however, is supposed to be further aerated in the surface of the peritoneum, two curious openings admitting the water, in which these animals ordinarily live, into the internal cavity of the abdomen. The croc.odilidm may be described as lizard-like in form, with a great gape, indicative of their characteristic voracity, and with the tail flattened at the sides, so as to become a powerful organ of propulsion in water. The fore-feet have five toes, the hind-feet four, the three inner ones only being armed with claws: the feet are more or less webbed. Each jaw has a single row of numerous large teeth, which are conical and directed backwards; planted in distinct sockets, and becoming hollowed at the base, to admit the crowns of the new and larger teeth which are to succeed them as the animal increases in size. Small ribs are attached to the vertebrae of the neck, which give it a peculiar stiffness, and make it difficult for the animal to turn; and persons pursued by crocodiles new therefore make their escape by rapid turning. The eggs of the croco dilida are hard, and small in comparison with the size ultimately attained by the animal itself. The females of some, if not of all the species, guard their eggs, and take care of their young; although the eggs, buried in the sand or mud, are hatched by the heat of the sun alone. The crocodilida swallow stones, apparently to assist digestion They prey on fishes and warm-blooded animals; most of them seem to prefer food in a state of incipient putrefaction, and they are even said to hide their prey, and to• return to it when it has reached this state. Some of the larger kinds do not scruple to attack
man.—All the crocodilida are large reptiles; they are round in fresh waters and estuaries in the warm parts of the world; none are found in Europe, nor, as far as is yet known, in Australia. They are divided into gavials, crocodiles, and alligators (the latter includ ing caymans).—The true crocodiles are found both in the old world and the new. The muzzle is not slender and elongated, as in the gavials, but oblong and flattened; the teeth are very unequal in size, the long fourth teeth of the lower jaw fitting into notches of the upper, not into pits, as in alligators. To this genus belongs the C. of the Nile (C. vulgaris), which abounds also in many other rivers of Africa. It is of a bronzed green color, speckled with brown, lighter beneath, and is sometimes 30 ft. long. It often seizes human beings for its prey. In Park's Travels, an instance is recorded of a negro, one of his guides, who was thus seized in the Gambia, and escaped by thrusting his fingers into the crocodile's eyes. The ancient Egyptians held it sacred, and being exempted from all danger on the part of man, it became more bold and troublesome. The individuals particularly selected as the objects of idolatrous worship were tamed, and took part in religious processions. Souchis was the name of the deified individual, the C. god.—The DOUBLE-CRESTED or INDIAN C. (a biporcatus), is very abundant in many parts of Asia, in rivers and estuaries, and is also dangerous to man. The smaller marsh C. (a palustris), abundant in stagnant waters in the same regions, flees from man. and often seeks to hide itself in the mud, into which it thrusts at least its snout, then remaining contented, as if in perfect safety. Crocodiles often bury themselves in the mud in droughts, and so abide till rain falls.—The names C. and alligator are often indiscriminately used in popular language.