ORDER II. LORICATA.
(Crocodiles.)
The appellation by which this Order is distinguished, derived from the word lorica, signifying a coat of mail, expresses the most obvious peculiarity by which its members may be known, the ridged and bony armour in which they are invested. "The Crocodiles and Alligators of both worlds, and the Gavials of India, which constitute this order, are distinguished," observes Mr. Bell, "from the true Saurians or Lizard tribe, by several important characters. Of these the most tangible and obvious is that upon which the name of the Order is founded; the covering of the whole of the back part of the neck, body, and tail, with distinct series of bones, of modederate size, imbedded, as it were, in the substance of the skin, and covered externally with a thick cuticle. These dermal bones are usually furnished with a crest, which renders them exceedingly strong, and they altogether form a panoply of defence which can resist the attacks of the most powerful enemies of whatever kind."[1]
The general form of the Loricata agrees with that of the Lizards; but besides the important difference already mentioned, the bony plates run down the body in longitudinal lines, the structure of the skull is much more solid, and the posterior orifice of the body is longitudinal. The tail is
- ↑ British Reptiles, xix.
