Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/286

278 and are too feeble to be of use in grasping or supporting the weight of the animal; the hinder feet have only two claws or fingers, and in the larger specimens are found so imperfect as to be almost obliterated. It has small points in the place of eyes, as if to preserve the analogy of nature. It is of a fleshy whiteness and transparency in its natural state, but when exposed to light its skin gradually becomes darker, and at last gains an olive tint. Its nasal organs appear large; and it is abundantly furnished with teeth, from which it may be concluded that it is an animal of prey; yet in its confined state it has never been known to eat, and it has been kept alive for many years by occasionally changing the water in which it was placed.’

“Eubathes.—‘Is this the only place in Carniola where these animals are found?’

“The Unknown.—‘They were first discovered here by the late Baron Zoïs; but they have since been found, though rarely, at Sittich, about thirty miles distant, thrown up by water from a subterraneous cavity; and I have lately heard it reported that some individuals of the same species have been recognised in the calcareous strata in Sicily.’

“Eubathes.—‘This lake in which we have seen these animals is a very small one; do you suppose they are bred there?’

“The Unknown.—‘Certainly not; in dry seasons they are seldom found here, but after great rains they are often abundant. I think it cannot be doubted that their natural residence is in an extensive subterranean lake, from which in great floods they sometimes are forced through