Tongue thick, narrow, and flatter on the lower part, and divided by a
small carina into two sections ; on the upper part are prominent succulent,
glandulous protuberances, a blue stripe (a blood-vein) running in the middle.
Neck rotund, or circular, about 5 inches in diameter behind the head.
Legs turned outward, 6 inches in length, with three very strong pale
yellowish, or gray-coloured claws, entirely covered when retracted with
broad-webbed skin.
Tail of an extraordinary strength, 7 inches long from the beginning, and
ending by degrees in a point of no more than two lines in breadth ; at the
beginning it is more than 3 inches broad. I t lives in the Euphrates; and,
on warm days, it comes on land, particularly on the sandbanks in the middle
of the river, where it remains, if undisturbed, for several hours—two to five
hours, or more, lying in the sun covered with mud, so that it would be sometimes
difficult to distinguish it from the ground, if its tardy movements
and a peculiar whistling noise did not discover it. The specimen here
described seems to have been a full-grown one, many of a smaller size having
been seen, but none larger.
I t was very active, strong, violent (and, against the general rule of the
reptile class), extremely passionate. When turned on its back, it could
easily turn again, with the help of its fore-legs, and its protracted head and
neck. I f a piece of wood, rope, or cloth, were placed near its mouth,
it would snap after it, and, if it reached it, retract its head entirely with the
object, and, with the help of its strong claws, even try to tear it to pieces.
I t would, if provoked, by pressing air through its nostrils, utter a sound
similar to that made by some species of serpents.
No. VI.
NAMES OF F ISH IN TH E R IV ER TIGRIS.
Tdtiyat.—Sm a ll brown fish, with very tender bones.
Ith ri.—10 inches long, full of bones.
Bwnni}—White-fleshed fish, small and large bones, small head, the
largest about 2 feet long.
Shabbut?—Red-fleshed fish, large and uncrowded bones, small head, the
largest about 3 feet.
Unmayga is the female of Shabbut, much larger than the male, sometimes
5-fc feet long, and 10 oakes weight.
Jeriyah has a flat head, skin without scales, and has no bone but that of the
back. '
Ejzan.—Black-spotted fish; like the Unmaygd, it lives at the bottom.
Bashshash.—A pretty fish, with a stripe of reddish colour the whole
length of its body on each side. In form, male and female, like the
Shabbut.
B iz z .—White-fleshed, large bones, 8 or 9 feet long, the largest about
100 oakes weight.
Yahudiyali.—Like the cat-fish, long fiair on the nose, and full of bones.
Marmarij.—Like a snake or serpent, the longest about 5 feet.
’A k ’ak.—Magpie-fish.
Silure ( Silurus).
Common loach ( Cobitis barbatuld).
Barbel (Barbus vulgaris).
Round-tailed chub ( Cyprinus cephalus).
Common eel (Murcena anguilla).
Carp, two species ( Semmak-el-Aswad).8
Trout ( Salmo), common in the Tigris.
1 The bunni of the Nile is a kind of carp ( Cyprinus Niloticus').—Arabic Dictionary.
2 Shad-fish in Arabic Dictionary.
8 Macropteromtus.—Ainsworth’s Assyria and Babylonia, p. 45.