Dear friends
I found two interesting stories, co-incidentally both from
1884, one of them refers to the existence, up until the late 19th Century at
least, of the crocodile in the Sahara, the other is of a mystery (at least
to me) sea creature in Nagasaki Bay (presumably) .
Texas Siftings. March
15th 1884 " But Professor Zittel considers that the climate must have been
damper (in the Sahara - R) ,the rain-fall heavier, and fresh water denudation more active in pleistocene days than now, to account for the
erosion that has taken place, the abundance of fulgurites, and the present
distribution of flora and fauna, especially in such cases as the occurrence
of Central African crocodiles in the marshes and streams of the completely
isolated Ahaggar mountains (of S.Algeria - Rich)
San Francisco
Bulletin August 18th 1884.
" The Nagasaki Sun and Express says : " A
strange reptile was caught in the bay on July 24th. it measures about 3 ft in
length, is rather broad across the the head and shoulders and gradually
tapers down to a fine tail. it has four legs with five long sharp claws on
each.Its head is slightly tapered to the tip of the mouth, out of which
darts a long narrow tongue.In color it is dark, with bright yellow spots, and
the back and tail are covered in hard scales. it was apparently out of its
element in
the sea, as it is still alive and promises to flourish on live
frogs, for which it seems to have a natural weakness.
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