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CUVIER’S
"'.''•:v-%'-.*.4>jT,
ANIMAL KINGDOM,
^vvaiigetJ according to it5 Organisation;
FORMING THE BASIS FOR
A NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS,
AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.
MAMMALIA, BIRDS, AND REPTILES,
BY EDWARD BLYTH,
THE FISHES AND RADIATA,
BY ROBERT MUDIE.
THE MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS,
BY GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D.
THE ARTICULATED ANIMALS,
BY J. O. WESTWOOD, F.L.S.
ILLUSTRATED BY THREE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
LONDON:
WM. S. ORR AND CO., AMEN CORNER, PATERNOSTER ROW.
London :
Printed by Baker & Darby,
Holborn Hill.
J
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PREFACE.
Perhaps no book was ever so soon, so generally, and with so little envy,
admitted to take its place at the head of that department of knowledge to
which it belongs, as the Regne Animal of the illustrious Baron Cuvier.
This is a high, but a just tribute, both to the work and the author ; for it at
once showed that the former is what had long been required, and that the
latter was as much beloved for the kindness and urbanity of his manners, as
he was admired for the comprehensive range and unprecedented aecuracy of
his views.
It must, indeed, be admitted, that, until Cuvier’s great work made its ap-
pearance, we had no modern systematic arrangement of animals which applied
equally to all the Classes, Orders, and Families ; — which brought the extinct
species into their proper situations in the living catalogue, and enabled every
discoverer of a new animal, or part of an animal, instantly to connect it with
its proper tribe or family. Important, however, as are the labours of this
great naturalist, they could not possibly extend beyond the limits of what was
known ; and as Cuvier was no speculative theorist, but a rigid adherent to
nature and fact, he kept his system considerably within the limits of those
who were more speculative, and consequently less accurate.
For students, no work is equal to that of Cuvier, for it is at once compre-
hensive and concise 5 and though the student may choose a particular de-
partment, and require books more in detail with reference to that department,
he must still have the Regne Animal to point out to him the general analogies
of the living creation. The present work is a complete Cuvier, as regards the
essential part of the arrangement ; and it is not a mere translation, but in some
respects a new book, embodying the original one. Throughout the whole of
it, there will be found original remarks ; but these are always distinguished
from that which belongs to Cuvier, by being inclosed within brackets.
This mode of arrangement was thought to be much better than the appending
IV
PREFACE.
of notes, Avhich always divide the attention of the reader, and weaken the
interest of the subject. Many of the classes and orders have been reinves-
tigated, and new species added. This is most extensively done in the
departments which were intrusted to Mr. Blyth and Mr. Westwood ; hut
it runs more or less throughout the whole ; and the publishers flatter them-
selves that this will he of great service to all students of this highly in-
teresting branch of knowledge. The style in which the book is brought
out will speak for itself. The different sizes of type, which bear some pro-
portion to the comparative importance of the subject, will enable the reader to
glean an outline of the system; — to obtain something more than a bare
outline, he must read the entire work, which in the present edition embodies
all the discoveries of more recent naturalists,
London, June, 1840,
I
)■
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
Page
1
RUMINANTIA
Page
134
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND
Without horns
135
EDITION ....
10
With horns
136
INTRODUCTION ....
13
Cetacea
144
Of Natural History, and of Systems gene-
i
Herbivora
145
rally .....
13
Ordinaria
145
Of living Beings, and of Organization in
general .....
16
Analogies of the Teeth of
MALIA
Mam-
150
Division of Organized Beings into Animal
and Vegetable ....
19
OVIPAROUS VERTEBRATES IN
RAL
GENE-
153
Of the Forms peculiar to the Organic Ele-
AVES
154
ments of the Animal Body, and of the
Division into Orders
162
principal Combinations of its. Chemical
Accipitres
163
Elements . . . •
21
Diurnal Birds of Prey
163
Of the Forces which act in the Animal Body
22
Nocturnal Birds of Prey
172
Summary idea of the Functions and Organs
Passerine
177
of the Bodies of Animals, and of their
Dentirostres
178
various degrees of complication
25
Fissirostres
194
Of the Intellectual Functions of Animals .
28
Conirostres
196
Of Method, as applied to the Animal King-
Tenuirostres
206
dom . .
31
Syndactyli
209
General Distribution of the Animal King-
SCANSORES
211
dom into four great Divisions — Vertebrate
Affinities of the three preceding
Animals, Molluscous Animals, Articulate
Orders
220
Animals, Radiate Animals
32
Gallinas
223
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS
35
Grall^
231
Subdivision into four Classes
37
Brevipennes
232
MAMMALIA ....
38
Pressirostres
234
Division into Orders
41
Cultrirostres
237
Bimana, or Man
44
Longirostres
242
Peculiar Conformation of Man
45
Macrodactyli
247
Physical and Moral Developement of
Palmipedes
251
Man ....
47
Brachypteres
251
Varieties of the Human Species
49
Longipennes
255
Quadrumana ....
54
Totipalmati
259
Monkey-like Animals
54
Lamellirostres
261
Monkeys of America
60
REPTILIA
267
Carnaria ....
68
Chelonia
269
Cheiroptera ....
67
Sauria
272
Insectivora ....
77
The Crocodiles
272
Carnivora ....
82
The Lizards
274
Marsupiata ....
100
The Iguanas
275
Rodentia ....
107
The Geckotians
277
Edentata ....
122
The Chameleons
278
Ordinary Edentata
124
The Scindoidiens
278
Monotremata ....
126
Ophidia
280
Pachydermata
128
The Orvets
280
Proboscidea ....
128
The True Serpents
280
Ordinary Pachydermata
130
The Naked Serpents
285
Solidungula ....
133
Batr.vchia
285
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
Page
PISCES
289
Dorsibranchiata
393
Acanthopterygii
292
Abranchia
397
Percidae
293
Setigera
397
Fishes with hard cheeks
294
Asetigera
398
Scienidae
295
ARTICULATED ANIMALS WITH
ARTICU-
Sparidae
296
LATED FEET
401
Menidae
296
Introduction, by Latreille
401
Squamipenues
296
Divided into Classes .
405
Scomberidae
298
CRUSTACEA MALACOSTRACA
410
Taenidae
302
A. Eyes placed on a footstalk
410
Tlieutyes
303
Decapoda
410
Labyrinthiform Pharyngeals
303
Brachyura
412
Mug'ilidae
304
Macrura
416
Gobiodae
305
Stomapoda
423
Pectorales pedunculati
308
Unipeltata
424
Labridae
.
309
Bipeltata
425
Fistularidae
311
B. Eyes sessile and immoveable
425
Malacopterygii Abdominales
312
Amphipoda
426
Cyprinidas
.
313
L^modipoda
429
Esocidae
314
ISOPODA .
430
Siluridae
.
316
CRUSTACEA ENTOMOSTRACA
434
Salmonidae
.
318
Branchiopoda
436
Clupeidae
.
320
Lophyropa
436
Malacopterygii Subbrachiati
321
Phyllopa .
441
Gadidae
.
322
Pfficilopoda
444
Pleuronectidae
323
Xyphosura
444
Discoboli .
324
Siphonostoma
445
Malacopterygii Apoda
325
TRILOBITES
449
Lophobranchii .
326
ARACHNIDA
450
Plectognathi
327
PULMONARIA
453
Gymnodootes
327
The Spiders
454
Sclerodermi
328
The Pedipalpi
465
Chondropterygii Branchiis Liberis
330
Tracheari^
466
Chondropterygii Branchiis Fixis
331
The Pseudo-Scorpiones
467
Selachii
331
The Pycnogonides
467
Cyclostomata
333
The Holetra
468
MOLLUSCA
335
INSECTA
471
Division into Classes .
337
Myriapoda ,
482
CEPHALOPODES .
337
Chilognatha
483
PTEROPODES
343
Chilopoda
485
GASTEROPODES .
344
Thysanoura
486
PULMONEA
347
Lepismenae
487
Nudibranchiata
351
Podurellae
487
Inferobranchiata
353
Parasita
488
Tectibranchiata
353
SUCTORIA
489
Heteropoda
356
Coleoptera
491
Pectinibranchiata
357
Pentamera
492
Trochoides
358
Carnivora
492
Capuloides
361
Brachelytra
506
Buccinoides
362 ;
Serricornes
508
Tubulibranchiata
367
Ciavicornes
515
Scutibranchiata
368
Palpicornes
520
Cyclobranch lATA
369
Lamellicornes
521
ACEPHALES
369
Heteromera
530
Acephala Testacea
370
Melasoma
530
The Oysters
371
Taxicornes
533
Mytilaceae
375
Sten elytra
533
Camacea .
376
Trachelides
536
Cardiacea
377
Tetramera
538
Inclusa
379
The Weevils
539
Acephala Nuda
382
Xylophagi
542
Segreg^ata
382
Platysoma
544
Aggregata
383
Longicornes
544
BRACHIOPODES .
384
Eupoda
549
CIRRHOPODES
385
Cyclica
550
ARTICULATED ANIMALS
387
Clavipalpi
554
Division into Classes
388
Trimera
554
ANNELIDES
389
Fungicolse
554
Division into Orders
389
Aphidiphagi
555
Tubicolaj
391
Pselaphi
555
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
vii
Page
Orthopteua .... 556
Cursoria .... 557
Saltatoria .... 560
He.wiptera . . . . , 562
Heteroptera . . . 563
Geocorisae .... 563
Hydrocorisae . . . 566
Homoptera .... 567
Cicadariae .... 567
Aphidii .... 570
Gallinsecta .... 572
Neuroptera .... 573
Subulicornes .... 574
Planipennes .... 577
Plicipennes .... 580
Hymenoptera .... 581
Terebrantia . . . 582
Securifera .... 582
Pupivora .... 585
Aculeata .... 591
Heterogyna .... 591
Fossores .... 593
Diploptera .... 596
Mellifera .... 598
Lepidopthra .... 603
Diurna ..... 605
Crepuscularia .... 608
Nocturna .... 609
Rhipiptera .... 614
Diptera .... 615
Nemocera .... 617
Tanystoraa .... 621
Page
Tabanides .... 625
Notacantha .... 626
Athericera .... 628
Pupipara .... 636
RADIATA ..... 638
ECHINODERMATA ... 639
Pedicellata .... 639
Asterias .... 639
Echinus .... 640
Holothuria .... 641
Apoda ..... 642
ENTOZOA .... 643
Nematoidea .... 644
Parenchymata . . . 646
Acanthocephala . . . 646
Tremadotea .... 647
Taenioidea .... 648
Cestoidea . . . 649
ACALEPHA .... 650
Simplicia .... 650
Hydrostatica .... 652
POLYPI . ... 653
Carnosi .... 653
Gelatinosi .... 654
CORALLIFERI .... 655
Tubularia ... .655
Cellularia .... 656
Corticati .... 657
INFUSORIA .... 659
Rotifera .... 660
Homogenea .... 660
THE
ANIMAL KINGDOM.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
Having been devoted, from my earliest youth, to the study of comparative anatomy,
that is to say of the laws of the organization of animals, and of the modifications
which this organization undergoes in the various species, and having, for nearly thirty
years past, consecrated to that science every moment of which my duties allowed me
to dispose, the constant aim of my labours has been to reduce it to general rules, and
to propositions that should contain their most simple expression. My first essays soon led
me to perceive that I could only attain this object in proportion as the animals, whose
structure I should have to elucidate, were arranged in conformity with that structure,
so that under one single name, of class, order, genus, &c., might be embraced all those
species which, in their internal as well as exterior conformation, present accordancies
either more general or more particular. Now this is what the greater number of
naturalists of that epoch had never sought to effect, and what but few of them could
have achieved, even had they been willing to try ; since a parallel arrangement presup-
poses a very extensive knowledge of the structures, of which it ought, in some measure,
to be the representation.
It is true that Daubenton and Camper had supplied facts, — that Pallas had indicated
views ; but the ideas of these well-informed men had not yet exercised upon their
contemporaries the influence which they merited. The only general catalogue of
animals then in existence, and the only one we possess even now, — the system of
Linnaeus, — had just been disfigured by an unfortunate editor, who did not so much as
! take the trouble to comprehend the principles of that ingenious classifier, and who,
wherever he found any disorder, seems to have tried to render it more inextricable.
It is also true that there were very extensive works upon particular classes, which
had made known a vast number of new species ; but their authors barely con-
sidered the external relations of those species, and no one had employed himself
in co-arranging the classes and orders according to their entire structure : the cha-
racters of several classes remained false or incomplete, even in justly celebrated
anatomical works ; some of the orders were arbitrary ; and in scarcely any of these
divisions were the genera approximated conformably to nature.
B
J__ ^ ^ _ — —
2 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
I was necessitated then, — and the task occupied considerable time, — I was com-
pelled to make anatomy and zoology, dissection and classification, proceed beforehand ; '*j
to seek, in my first remarks on organization, for better principles of distribution ; ' ;
to employ these, in order to arrive at new remarks ; and in their turn the latter, to i
carry the principles of distribution to perfection : in fine, to elicit from the mutual
reaction of the two sciences upon each other, a system of zoology adapted to serve as
an introduction and a guide in anatomical researches, and a body of anatomical doctrine
fitted to develope and explain the zoological system.
The first results of this double labour appeared in 1795, in a special memoir upon a '
new division of the white-blooded animals. A sketch of their application to genera,
and to the division of these into sub-genera, formed the object of my Tableau
Elementaire des Animaux, printed in 1798, and I improved this work, with the assistance
of M. Dumeril, in the tables annexed to the first volume of my Lecons d’ Anatomie
Comparee, in 1800.
I should, perhaps, have contented myself with perfecting these tables, and proceeded
immediately to the publication of my great work on anatomy, if, in the course of my ^
researches, I had not been frequently struck with another defect of the greater number
of the general or partial systems of zoology ; I mean, the confusion in which the want
of critical precision had left a vast number of species, and even many genera.
Not only were the classes and orders not sufficiently conformed to the intrinsical
nature of animals, to serve conveniently as the basis to a treatise on comparative
anatomy, but the genera themselves, though ordinarily better constituted, offered but
inadequate resources in their nomenclature, on account of the species not having
been arranged under each of them, conformably to their characters. Thus, in placing
the Manati in the genus Morse, the Siren in that of the Eels, Gmelin had rendered any
general proposition relative to the organization of these genera impossible ; just as by
approximating in the same class and in the same order, and placing side by side, the
Cuttle and the fresh-water Polypus, he had made it impossible to predicate anything
generally of the class and order which comprised such incongruous beings.
I select the above examples from among the most prominent ; but there existed
an infinitude of such mistakes, less obvious at the first glance, which occasioned incon-
veniences not less real.
It was not sufficient, then, to have imagined a new distribution of the classes and
orders, and to have properly placed the genera ; it was also necessary to examine all
the species, in order to be assured that they really belonged to the genera in which ;
they had been placed. i
Having come to this, I found not only species grouped or dispersed contrary to all rea- |
son, but I remarked that many had not been established in a positive manner, either |
by the characters which had been assigned to them, or by their figures and descriptions.
Here one of them, by means of synonymes, represents several under a single name,
and often so different that they should not rank in the same genus : there a single
one is doubled, tripled, and successively reappears in several sub-genera, genera, and
sometimes different orders.
What can be said, for example, of the TrichecJius manatus of Gmelin, which, under
a single specific name, comprehends three species and two genera, — two genera differing
in almost everything ? By what name shall we speak of the Velella, which figures
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 3
twice among the Medusa and once among the Holothuria ? How are we to reassemble
the Bijjhora, of which some are there called Dagysa, the greater number Salpa, while
several are ranged among the Holothurice ?
It did not therefore suffice, in order completely to attain the object aimed at, to
review the species : it was necessary to examine their synonymes ; or, in other words,
to re- model the system of animals.
Such an enterprize, from the prodigious developement of the science of late years,
could not have been executed completely by any one individual, even granting him
the longest life, and no other occupation. Had I been constrained to depend upon
myself alone, I should not have been able to prepare even the simple sketch which
I now give ; but the resources of my position seemed to me to supply what I
wanted both of time and talent. Living in the midst of so many able naturalists,
drawing from their works as fast as they appeared, freely enjoying the use of the
collections they had made, and having myself formed a very considerable one, ex-
pressly appropriated to my object, a great part of my labour consisted merely in the
employment of so many rich materials. It was not possible, for instance, that much
remained for me to do on shells, studied by M. de Lamarck, nor on quadrupeds, described
by M. GeofFroy. The numerous and new affinities described by M. de Lacepede, were
so many data for my system of fishes. M. Levaillant, among so many beautiful birds
collected from all parts, perceived details of organization which I immediately adapted
to my plan. My own researches, employed and fructified by other naturalists, yielded
results to me which, in my hands alone, they would not all have produced. So, also,
M. de Blainville and M. Oppel, in examining the cabinet which I had formed of
anatomical preparations on which I designed to found my divisions of reptiles, anti-
cipated— and perhaps better than I should have done — results of which as yet I had
but a glimpse, &c., &c.
Encouraged by these reflections, I determined to precede my Treatise on Com-
parative Anatomy by a kind of abridged system of animals, in which I should present
their divisions and subdivisions of all degrees, established in a parallel manner upon
their structure, both internal and external ; where I would give the indication of well-
authenticated species that belonged, with certainty, to each of the subdivisions ; and
where, to create more interest, I would enter into some details upon such of the
species as, from their abundance in our country, the services which they render
us, the damage which they occasion to us, the singularity of their manners and economy,
their extraordinary forms, their beauty, or their magnitude, are the most remarkable.
I hoped by so doing to prove useful to young naturalists, who, for the most part,
have but little idea of the confusion and errors of criticism in which the most accredited
works abound, and who, particularly in foreign countries, do not sufficiently attend to
the study of the true relations of the conformation of beings : I considered myself as
rendering a more direct service to those anatomists, who require to know beforehand
to which orders they should direct their researches, when they wish to solve by com-
parative anatomy some problem of human anatomy or physiology, but whose ordinary
occupations do not sufficiently prepare them for fulfilling this condition, which is essen-
tial to their success.
Nevertheless, I have not professed to extend this twofold view equally to all classes
of the animal kingdom ; and the vertebrated animals, as in every sense the most in-
B 2
4 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
teresting, claimed to have the preference. Among the Invertehrata, I have had more
particularly to study the naked mollusks and the great zoophytes ; but the innumerable
variations of the external forms of shells and corals, the microscopic animals, and the
other families which perform a less obvious office in the economy of nature, or whose
organization affords but little room for the exercise of the scalpel, did not require to
be treated with the same detail. Independently of which, so far as the shells and
corals are concerned, I could depend on a work just published by M. de Lamarck, in
which will be found all that the most ardent desire for information can require.
With respect to insects, so interesting by their external forms, their organization,
habits, and by their influence on all living nature, I have had the good fortune to find as-
sistance which, in rendering my work infinitely more perfect than it could have been had
it emanated solely from my pen, has, at the same time, greatly accelerated its publica-
tion. My colleague and friend, M. Latreille, who has studied these animals more
profoundly than any other man in Europe, has kindly consented to give, in a single
volume, and nearly in the order adopted for the other parts, a summary of his immense
researches, and an abridged description of those innumerable genera which entomolo-
gists are continually establishing.
As for the rest, if in some instances I have given less extent to the exposition of
sub-genera and species, this inequality has not occurred in aught that concerns the
superior divisions and the indications of affinities, which I have every where founded on
equally solid bases, established by equally assiduous researches.
I have examined, one by one, all the species of which I could procure specimens ; I
have approximated those which merely differed from each other in size, colour, or in
the number of some less important parts, and have formed them into what I designate
a sub-genus.
Whenever it was possible, I have dissected at least one species of each sub-genus ;
and if those be excepted to which the scalpel cannot be applied, there exists in my
work but very few groups of this degree, of which I cannot produce some considerable
portion of the organs.
After having determined the names of the species which I had examined, and which
had previously been either well figured or well described, I placed in the same sub-
genera those which I had not seen, but whose exact figures, or descriptions, sufficiently
precise to leave no doubt of their natural relations, I found in authors ; but I have
passed over in silence that great number of vague indications, on which, in my opinion,
naturalists have been too eager to establish species, the adoption of which has mainly
contributed to introduce into the catalogue of beings, that confusion which deprives it
of so much of its utility.
I could have added, almost every where, a vast number of new species ; but as I
could not refer to figures, it would have been incumbent on me to extend their descrip-
tions beyond what space permitted : I have, therefore, preferred depriving my work of
this ornament, and have only indicated those, the peculiar conformation of which gives
rise to new sub-genera.
My sub -genera once established on positive relations, and composed of well-authen-
ticated species, it remained only to construct this great scaffolding of genera, tribes,
families, orders, classes, and primary divisions, which constitute the entire animal
kingdom.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 5
111 this I have proceeded, partly by ascending from the inferior to the superior divi-
sions, by means of approximation and comparison ; and partly also by descending from
the superior to the inferior groups, on the principle of the subordination of characters ;
comparing carefully the results of the two methods, verifying one by the other, and
always sedulously establishing the correspondence of external and internal structure,
which, the one as well as the other, are integral parts of the essence of each animal.
Such has been my procedure whenever it was necessary and possible to introduce
new arrangements ; but I need not observe that, in very many places, the results to
which it would have conducted me had already been so satisfactorily obtained, that I
had only to follow the track of my predecessors. Notwithstanding which, even in
those cases where no alteration was required, I have verified and confirmed, by new
observations, what was previously acknowledged, and what I did not adopt until it had
been subjected to a rigorous scrutiny.
The public may form some idea of this mode of examination, from the memoirs on the
anatomy of mollusks, which have appeared in the Annales du Museum, and of which I
am now preparing a separate and augmented collection. I venture to assure the reader
that I have bestowed quite as extensive labour upon the vertebrated animals, the anne-
lides, the zoophytes, and on many of the insects and crustaceans. I have not deemed it
necessary to publish it with the same detail ; but all my preparations are exposed in
the Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy in the Jardin du Roi, and will serve hereafter
for my treatise on anatomy.
Another very considerable labour, but the details of which cannot be so readily
authenticated, is the critical examination of species. I have verified all the figures
alleged by different authors, and as often as possible referred each to its true species,
previously to selecting those which I have indicated : it is entirely from this verifica-
tion, and never from the classification of preceding systematists, that I have referred to
my sub-genera the species that belong to them. Such is the reason why no astonish-
ment should be experienced on finding that such and such a genus of Gmelin is now
divided, and distributed even in different classes and still higher divisions ; that nume-
rous nominal species are reduced to a single one, and that popular names are very
differently applied. There is not one of these changes which I am not prepared to
justify, and of which the reader himself may not obtain the proof, by recurring to the
sources which I have indicated.
In order to lessen his trouble, I have been careful to select for each class a principal
author, generally the richest in good original figures ; and I quoted secondary works
only where the former are deficient, or where it was useful to establish some com-
parison, for the sake of confirming synonymes.
My subject could have been made to fill many volumes ; but I considered it my
duty to condense it, by imagining abridged means of expression. These I have
obtained by graduated generalities. By never repeating for a species that which might
be said of an entire sub-genus, nor for a genus what might be applied to a whole
order, and so on, we arrive at the greatest economy of words. To this my endeavours
have been, above all, particularly directed, inasmuch as it was the principal end of
my w^ork. It may be remarked, however, that I have not employed many technical
terms, and that I have endeavoured to communicate my ideas without that barbarous
array of fictitious words, which, in the w'orks of so many modern naturalists, prove
6 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
so very repulsive. I cannot perceive, however, that I have thereby lost any thing in
precision or clearness.
I have been compelled, unfortunately, to introduce many new names, although I
have endeavoured, as far as possible, to preserve those of my predecessors ; but the
numerous sub-genera I have established required these denominations ; for in things
so various, the memory is not satisfied with numerical indications. I have selected
them, so as either to convey some character, or among the common names which I
have latinized, or lastly, after the example of Linnaeus, from among those of mytho-
logy, which are generally agreeable to the ear, and which we are far from having
exhausted.
In naming species, however, I would nevertheless recommend employing the sub-
stantive of the genus, and the trivial name only. The names of the sub-genera are
designed merely as a relief to the memory, when we would indicate these sub-
divisions in particular. Otherwise, as the sub-genera, already very numerous, will in
the end become greatly multiplied, in consequence of having substantives continually
to retain, we shall be in danger of losing the advantages of that binary nomenclature
so happily imagined by Linnaeus.
It is the better to preserve it that I have dismembered as little as possible the great
genera of that illustrious reformer of science. Whenever the sub-genera into which
I divide them were not to be translated into different families, I have left them together
under their former generic appellation. This was not only due to the memory of
Linnaeus, but was necessary in order to preserve the mutual intelligence of the
naturalists of different countries.
To facilitate still more the study of this work, — for it is to be studied more than to be
glanced over, — I have employed different- sized types in the printing of it, to correspond
to the different grades of generalization of the statements contained in it. * * *
Thus the eye will distinguish beforehand the relative importance of each group, and the
order of each successive idea ; and the printer will second the author with every con-
trivance which his art supplies, that may conduce to assist the memory.
The habit, necessarily acquired in the study of natural history, of mentally classify-
ing a great number of ideas, is one of the advantages of this science, which is seldom
spoken of, and which, when it shall have been generally introduced into the system of
common education, will perhaps become the principal one : it exercises, the student in
that part of logic which is termed method, as the study of geometry does in that
which is called syllogism^ because natural history is the science which requires the
most precise methods, as geometry is that which demands the most rigorous reason-
ing. Now this art of method, when once well acquired, may be applied with infinite
advantage to studies the most foreign to natural history. Every discussion which sup-
poses a classification of facts, every research which requires a distribution of matters, i
is performed after the same manner ; and he who had cultivated this science merely
for amusement, is surprised at the facilities it affords for disentanghng all kinds of i
affairs. i
It is not less useful in solitude. Sufficiently extensive to satisfy the most powerful |
mind, sufficiently various and interesting to calm the most agitated soul, it consoles |
the unhappy, and tends to allay enmity and hatred. Once elevated to the contem-
plation of that harmony of Nature irresistibly regulated by Providence, how weak and
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 7
trivial appear those causes which it has been pleased to leave dependent on the will of
man ! How astonishing to behold so many line minds, consuming themselves, so
uselessly for their own happiness and that of others, in the pursuit of vain combina-
tions, the very traces of which a few years suffice to obliterate !
I avow it proudly, these ideas have been always present to my mind, — the companions
of my labours ; and if I have endeavoured by every means in my power to advance
this peaceful study, it is because, in my opinion, it is more capable than any other of
supplying that want of occupation, which has so largely contributed to the troubles of
our age ; — but I must return to my subject.
There yet remains the task of accounting for the principal changes I have effected
in the latest received methods, and to acknowledge the amiount of obligation to those
naturalists, whose works have furnished or suggested a part of them.
To anticipate a remark which will naturally occur to many, I must observe that I
have neither pretended nor desired to class animals so as to form a single line, or
as to mark their relative superiority. I even consider every attempt of this kind im-
practicable. Thus, I do not mean that the mammalia or birds which come last, are
the most imperfect of their class ; still less do I intend that the last of mammalia
are more perfect than the first of birds, or the last of mollusks more perfect than the
first of the annelides, or zoophytes ; even restricting the meaning of this vague word
perfect to that of “ most completely organized.” I regard my divisions and subdivisions
as the merely graduated expression of the resemblance of the beings which enter into
each of them ; and although in some we observe a sort of passage or gradation from
one species into another, which cannot be denied, this disposition is far from being
general. The pretended chain of beings, as applied to the whole creation, is but an
erroneous application of those partial observations, which are only true when confined
to the limits within which they were made; and, in my opinion, it has proved more
detrimental to the progress of natural history in modern times, than is easy to
imagine.
It is in conformity with these views, that I have established my four principal
divisions, which have already been made known in a separate memoir. I still think
that it expresses the real relations of animals more exactly than the old arrangement of I
Vertehrata and Invertehrata, for the simple reason, that the former animals have a much
greater mutual resemblance than the latter, and that it was necessary to mark this
difference in the extent of their relations.
M. Virey, in an article of the Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle, had
already discerned in part the basis of the division, and principally that which reposes
on the nervous system.
The particular approximation of oviparous Vertebrata, inter se, originated from the
curious observations of M. Geoffroy on the composition of bony heads, and from those
which I have added to them relative to the rest of the skeleton, and to the muscles.
In the class of Mammalia, I have brought back the Solipedes to the Pachjdermata,
and have divided the latter into families on a new plan ; the Ruminantia I have placed
at the end of the quadrupeds ; and the Manati near the Cetacea. The distribution of
the Carnaria I have somewhat altered ; the Oustitis have been wholly separated from
the Monkeys, and a sort of parallelism indicated between the Marsupiata and other
digitated quadrupeds, the whole from my own anatomical researches. All that I have
8
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION,
given on the Quadrumana and the Bats is based on the recent and profound labours of
my friend and colleague M. GeolFroy de St. Hilaire. The researches of my brother,
M. Frederic Cuvier, on the teeth of the Carnaria and Rodentia, have proved highly
useful to me in forming the sub-genera of these two orders. Notwithstanding the
genera of the late M. Illiger are but the results of these same studies, and of those of
some foreign naturalists, I have adopted his names whenever his genera corresponded
with my sub-genera. M. de Lacepede has also discerned and indicated many excellent
divisions of this degree, which I have been equally compelled to adopt ; but the cha-
racters of all the degrees and all the indications of species have been taken from nature,
either in the Cabinet of Anatomy or in the galleries of the Museum.
The same plan was pursued with respect to the Birds. I have examined with the
closest attention more than four thousand individuals in the Museum ; I arranged them
according to my views in the public gallery more than five years ago, and all that is
said of this class has been drawn from that source. Thus, any resemblance which my
sub-divisions may bear to some recent descriptions, is on my part purely accidental.*
Naturalists, I hope, will approve of the numerous sub-genera which I have deemed
it necessary to make among the birds of prey, the PasserincB, and the Shore-birds ;
they appear to me to have completely elucidated genera hitherto involved in much
confusion. I have marked, as exactly as I could, the accordance of these subdivisions
with the genera of MM. de Lacepede, Meyer, Wolf, Temminck, and Savigny, and
have referred to each of them all the species of which I could obtain a very positive
knowledge. This laborious work will prove of value to those who may hereafter
attempt a true history of birds. The splendid works on Ornithology published within
a few years, and those chiefly of M. le Vaillant, which are filled with so many
interesting observations, together with M. Vieillot’s, have been of much assistance to
me in designating the species which they represent.
The general division of this class remains as 1 published it in 1798, in my Tableau
EUmentaire
I have thought proper to preserve for the Reptiles, the general division of my friend
M. Brongniart ; but I have prosecuted very extensive anatomical investigations to arrive
at the ulterior subdivisions. M. Oppel, as I have already stated, has partly taken
advantage of these preparatory labours ; and whenever my genera finally agreed with
his, I have noticed the fact. The work of Daudin, indifferent as it is, has been useful
to me for indications of details ; but the particular divisions which I have given in the
genera of Monitors and Geckos, are the product of my own observations on a great
number of Reptiles recently brought to the Museum by MM. Peron and Geoffroy.
My labours on the Fishes will probably be found to exceed those which I have
bestowed on the other vertebrated animals. Our Museum having received a vast
number of Fishes since the celebrated work of M. de Lacepede was published, I have been
enabled to add many subdivisions to those of that learned naturalist, also to combine
several species differently, and to multiply anatomical observations. I have also had
* This observation not having been sufficiently understood abroad,
I am obliged to repeat it here, and openly to declare a fact witnessed
by thousands in Paris ; it is this, that all the birds in the gallery of
the Museum were named and arranged according to my system, in
1811. Those even of my subdivisions to which I had not yet given
names, were marked by particular signs. This is my date. Inde-
pendently of this, my first volume was printed in the beginning of
1816. Four volumes are not printed so quickly as a pamphlet of a few
pages. I say no more. (Note to Edit. 1829).
t I only mention this because an estimable naturalist, M. Vieillot,
has, in a recent work, attributed to himself the union of the Pica and
Passeres. I had printed it in 1798, together with my other arrange-
ments, so as to render them public in the Museum since 1811 and 1813.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 9
better means of verifying the species of Commerson, and of some of other travellers ;
and, upon this point, I am much indebted to a review of the drawings of Commerson, and
of the dried fishes which he brought with him, by M. Dumeril, but which have only
been very lately recovered ; — resources to which I have added those presented to
me in the fishes brought by Peron from the Indian Ocean and Archipelago, those
which I obtained in the Mediterranean, and the collections made on the coast of
Coromandel by the late M. Sonnerat, at the Mauritius by M. Matthieu, in the Nile
and Red Sea, by M. Geoffroy, &c. I was thus enabled to verify most of the species
of Bloch, Russell, and others, and to prepare the skeletons and viscera of nearly all
the sub-genera ; so that this part of the work will, I presume, offer much that is new
to Icthyologists.
As to my division of this class, I confess its inconvenience, but I believe it, never-
theless, to be more natural than any preceding one. In publishing it some time ago,
I only offered it for what it is worth ; and if any one should discover a better principle
of division, and as conformable to the organization, I shall hasten to adopt it.
It is admitted that all the works on the general division of the invertebrated
animals, are mere modifications of what I proposed in 1795, in the first of my memoirs ;
and the time and care which I have devoted to the anatomy of mollusks in general, and
principally to the naked mollusks, are well known. The determining of this class, as
well as of its divisions and subdivisions, rests upon my own observations ; the magni-
ficent work of M. Poli had alone anticipated me by descriptions and anatomical
researches useful for my design, but confined to bivalves and multivalves only. I have
verified all the facts furnished by that able anatomist, and I believe that I have more
justly marked the functions of some organs. I have also endeavoured to determine the
animals to which belong the principal forms of shells, and to arrange the latter from
that consideration ; but with regard to the ulterior divisions of those shells of which the
animals resemble each other, I have examined them only so far as to enable me to describe
briefly those admitted by MM. de Lamarck and de Montfort ; even the small number
of genera and sub-genera which are properly mine, are principally derived from observa-
tions on the animals. In citing examples, I have confined myself to a certain number of
the species of Martini, Chemnitz, Lister, and Soldani ; and that only because, the volume
in which M. Lamarck treats of this portion not having yet appeared, I was compelled
to fix the attention of my readers on specific objects. But in the choice and determin-
ing of these species, I lay no claim to the same critical accuracy which I have employed
for the vertebrated animals and naked mollusks.
The excellent observations of MM. Savigny, Lesueur, and Desmarest, on the com-
pound Ascidians, approximate this latter family of mollusks to certain orders of
zoophytes : this is a curious relation, and a further proof of the impracticability of
arranging animals in a single line.
I believe that I have extricated the Annelides, — the establishing of which, although
not their name, belongs virtually to me, — from the confusion in which they had hitherto
been involved, among the Mollusks, the Testacea, and the Zoophytes, and have placed
them in their natural order ; even their genera have received some elucidation only
by my observations, published in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, and else-
where.
Of the three classes contained in the third volume, I have nothing to remark.
10
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.
■|
M. Latreille, who, with the exception of some anatomical details, founded on my own
observations and those of M. Ramdohr, which I have inserted in his text, is its sole ;
author, will take upon himself to explain all that is necessary.
As to the Zoophytes, which terminate the Animal Kingdom, I have availed myself,
for the Echinoderms, of the recent work of M. de Lamarck ; and for the Intestinal
Worms, of that of M. Rudolphi, inti tied Entozoa ; but I have anatomized all the
genera, some of which have been determined by me only. There is an excellent
work by M. Tiedemann, on the anatomy of the Echinoderms, which received the
prize of the Institute some years ago, and will shortly appear ; it will leave nothing to i
be desired respecting these curious animals. The Corals and the Infusoria, offering i
no field for anatomical investigations*, will be briefly disposed of. The new work of
M. de Lamarck will supply my deficiencies.t *
With respect to authors, I can only here mention those who have furnished me .
with general viewsy or who were the origin of such in my own mind.f There are :
many otherfe to whom I am indebted for particular facts, and whose names I have ii|
carefully quoted wherever I have made use of them. They will be found on every ;■
page of my book. Should I have omitted to do justice to any, it must be attributed y
to involuntary foi*getfulness, and I ask pardon beforehand : there is no property, in
my opinion, more sacred than the conceptions of the mind ; and the custom, too pre- j
valent among naturalists, of masking plagiarisms by a change of names,, has always
appeared to me a crime.
The publication of my Comparative Anatomy will now occupy me every moment : j
the materials are ready ; a vast quantity of preparations and drawings are arranged ;
and I shall be careful in dividing the work into parts, each of which will form a
whole, so that, should my physical powers prove insufficient for the completion of my '
design, what I have produced will still form entire suites, and the materials I have
collected be in immediate readiness for those who may undertake the continuation
of my labours.
Jardin du Roi, October, 1816.
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The preceding preface explains faithfully the condition in which I found the
history of animals when the first edition of this work was published. During the
twelve years that have since elapsed, this science has made immense progress,
not only from the acquisitions of numerous travellers, as well-instructed as courageous,
who have explored every region of the globe, but by the rich collections which
various governments have formed and rendered public, and by the learned and
* The surprising researches of M. Ehrenberg, now publishing from
time to time, triumphantly refute this allegation. — Ed.
1 1 have just received L’Histoire des Polypiers correlligenes flexibles
of M. Lamouroux, which furnishes an excellent supplement to
M. de Lamarck.
t M. de Blainville has recently published general zoological tables,
which I regret came too late for me to profit by, having appeared
when my book was nearly printed.
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. 11
splendid works, wherein new species are described and figured, and of which the
authors have striven to detect their mutual relations, and to consider them in every
point of view.*
I have endeavoured to avail myself of these discoveries, as far as my plan permitted,
by first studying the innumerable specimens received at the Cabinet du Roi, and com-
paring them with those which served as the basis of my first edition, in order
thence to deduce new approximations or subdivisions ; and then, by searching in all
I the books I could procure for the genera or sub -genera established by naturalists,
and the descriptions of species by which they have supported these numerous com-
binations.
The determination of synonymes has become much easier now than at the period
of my first edition. Both French and foreign naturalists appear to have recognized
the necessity of establishing divisions in the vast genera in which such incongruous
species were formerly heaped together ; their groups are now precise and well-defined ;
their descriptions sufficiently detailed ; their figures scrupulously exact to the most
minute characters, and often of the greatest beauty as works of art. Scarcely any
difficulty remains, therefore, in identifying their species, and nothing hinders
' them from coming to an understanding with respect to the nomenclature. This,
ji unfortunately, has been the most neglected ; the names of the same genera, and the
' same species, are multiplied as often as they are mentioned ; and should this discord
: continue, the same chaos will be produced that previously existed, though arising
from another cause.
I I have used every effort to compare and approximate these redundancies, and, forget-
, ting even my own trifling interest as an author, have often indicated names which
I seemed to have been imagined only to escape the avowal of having borrowed my divisions,
j But thoroughly to execute this undertaking, — this pinax or rectified epitome of the
■ animal kingdom, which becomes every day more necessary, — to discuss the proofs and fix
the definitive nomenclature which should be adopted, by basing it on sufficient figures
and descriptions, requires more space than I could dispose of, and a time imperatively
j claimed by other works. In the History of Fishes, which I have commenced pub-
lishing, with the assistance of M. Valenciennes, I purpose to give an idea of what
' appears to me might be effected in all parts of the science. Here, I only profess to
offer an abridged summary — a simple sketch ; — well satisfied if I succeed in rendering
this accurate in all its details.
Various essays of a similar kind have been published on some of the classes,
and I have carefully studied them with a view to perfect my own. The Mammalogie
of M. Desmarest, that of M. Lesson, the Treatise on the Teeth of Quadrupeds, by
j M. Frederic Cuvier, the English translation of my first edition, by Mr. Griffith,
enriched by numerous additions, particularly by Hamilton Smith ; the new edition
I of the Manuel d' OrnitJiologie of M. Temminck, the Ornithological Fragments of
I M. Wagler, the History of Reptiles of the late Merrem, and the Dissertation on the
same subject by M. Fitsinger, have principally been useful to me for the vertebrated
animals. The Histone des Animaux sans Vertebres of M. de Lamarck, the Malacologie
of M. de Blainville, have also been of great service to me for the moUusks. To
* See my discourse before the Institute on the Progres de Vhistoire naturelle depuis la paix maritime, published at the dose of the first
volume of my Eloges.
12
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.
these I have added the new views and facts contained in the numerous and learned
writings of MM. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, father and son, Savigny, Temminck,
Lichtenstein, Kuhl, Wilson, Horsfield, Vigors, Swainson, Gray, Ord, Say, Harlan,
Charles Bonaparte, Lamouroux, Mitchell, Lesueur, and many other able and studious
men, whose names will be carefully mentioned when I speak of the subjects on which
they have treated.
The fine collections of engravings which have appeared within the last twelve
years, have enabled me to indicate a greater number of species ; and I have amply
profited by this facility. I must particularly acknowledge what I owe on this
score to the Histoire des Mammiferes of MM. Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Frederic
Cuvier, the Planches coloriees of MM. Temminck and Laugier, the Galerie des Oiseaux
of M. Vieillot, the new edition of the Birds of Germany, by MM. Nauman, the Birds of
the United States of Messrs. Wilson, Ord, and Charles Bonaparte*, the great works
of M. Spix, and of his Highness the Prince Maximilian de Wied, on the Animals of
Brazil, and to those of M. de Ferussac on the Mollusks. The plates and zoological
descriptions of the travels of MM. Freycinet and Duperrey, supplied in the first by
MM. Quoy and Gaymard, in the second by MM. Lesson and Garnot, also present
many new objects. The same must be said of the Animals of Java, by Dr. Hors-
field. Though on a smaller scale, new figures of rare species are to be found in the
Memoires du Museum, the Annates des Sciences Naturelles, and other French peri-
odicals, in the Zoological Illustrations of Mr. Swainson, and in the Zoological Journal,
published by able naturalists in London. The Journal of the Lyceum of New York,
and of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, are not less valuable ; but in
proportion as the taste for natural history becomes extended, and the more numerous
the countries in which it is cultivated, the number of its acquisitions increases in
geometrical progression, and it becomes more and more difficult to collect all the
writings of naturalists, and to complete the table of their results. I rely, therefore, on
the indulgence of those whose observations may have escaped me, or whose works I
have not sufficiently consulted.
My celebrated friend and colleague M. Latreille, having consented, as in the first
edition, to take upon himself the important and difficult part of the Crustaceans,
Arachnides, and Insects, will himself explain in an advertisement the plan he has
followed, so that I need say nothing more on this subject.
i
il
n
Hi * * He *
Jardin du Roi, October, 1828.
* The work of M. Audubon upon the Birds of North America, I me till after the whole of that part which treats of Birds was
which surpasses all others in magnificence, was unknown to | printed.
13
INTRODUCTION.
1
OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND OF SYSTEMS GENERALLY.
As few persons have a just idea of Natural History, it appears necessary to com-
mence our work by carefully defining the proposed object of this science, and establish-
ing rigorous limits between it and the contiguous sciences.
The word Nature, in our language, and in most others, signifies sometimes, the
qualities which a being derives from birth, in opposition to those which it may
owe to art ; at other times, the aggregate of beings which compose the^ universe ;
and sometimes, again, the laws which govern these beings. It is particularly in
this latter sense that it has become customary to personify Nature, and to employ
the name, respectfully, for that of its Author.
Physics, or Natural Philosophy, treats of the nature of these three relations, and is
either ereneral or particular. General Physics examines, abstractedly, each of the
properties of those moveable and extended beings which we call bodies. That depart-
ment of them styled Dynamics, considers bodies in mass ; and, proceeding from a very
small number of experiments, determines mathematically the laws of equilibrium, and
those of motion and of its communication. It comprehends in its different divisions
the names of Statics, Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Hydrodynamics, Pneumatics, &c., ac-
cording to the nature of the bodies of which it examines the motions. Optics considers
the particular motions of light ; the phenomena of which, requiring experiments for
their determination, are becoming more numerous.
Chemistry, another branch of General Physics, expounds the laws by which the
elementary molecules of bodies act on each other when in close proximity, the com-
binations or separations which result from the general tendency of these molecules to
unite, and the modifications which different circumstances, capable of separating or
approximating them, produce on that tendency. It is a science almost wholly ex-
perimental, and which cannot be reduced to calculation.
The theory of Heat, and that of Electricity, belong almost equally to Dynamics or
Chemistry, according to the point of view in which they are considered.
The method which prevails in all the branches of General Physics consists in
isolating bodies, reducing them to their utmost simplicity, in bringing each of their
properties separately into action, either mentally or by experiment, in observing or
calculating the results, in short, in generalizing and correcting the laws of these pro-
14
INTRODUCTION.
!i
parties for the purpose of establishing a body of doctrine, and, if possible, of referring the |
whole to one single law, under the universal expression of which all might be resolved. ^
Particular Physics, or Natural History, — for these terms are synonymous — has for '
its object to apply specially the laws recognized by the various branches of General j
Physics, to the numerous and varied beings which exist in nature, in order to explain
the phenomena which they severally present.
In this extended sense, it would also include Astronomy ; but that science, suffi- :
ciently elucidated by Mechanics, and completely subjected to its laws, employs methods
too different from those required by ordinary Natural History, to permit of its cultiva-
tion by the students of the latter.
Natural History, then, is confined to objects which do not allow of rigorous
calculation, or of precise measurement in all their parts. Meteorology, also, is
subtracted from it, to be ranged under General Physics ; so that, properly speaking,
it considers only inanimate bodies, called minerals, and the various kinds of living
beings, in ail which we may observe the effects, more or less various, of the laws of
motion and chemical attraction, and of all the other causes analyzed by General Physics.
Natural History should, in strictness, employ the same modes of procedure as the
general sciences ; and it does so, in fact, whenever the objects of its study are so
little complex as to permit of it. But this is very seldom the case.
An essential difference, in effect, between the general sciences and Natural History
is, that, in the former, phenomena are examined, the conditions of which are all
regulated by the examiner, in order, by their analysis, to arrive at general laws ; while
in the latter, they occur under circumstances beyond the control of him v^ho studies
them for the purpose of discovering, amid the complication, the effects of general
laws already known. It is not permitted for him, as in the case of the experimenter,
to subtract successively from each condition, and so reduce the problem to its
elements ; but he must take it entire, with all its conditions at once, and can analyze
only in thought. Suppose, for example, we attempt to isolate the numerous pheno-
mena which compose the life of an animal a little elevated in the scale ; a single one
being suppressed, the life is wholly annihilated.
Dynamics have thus become a science almost purely of calculation ; Chemistry is
still a science wholly [chiefly*] of experiment ; and Natural History will long remain,
in a great number of its branches, one of pure observation.
These three terms sufficiently designate the modes of procedure employed in the
three branches of the Natural Sciences ; but in establishing between them very different
degrees of certitude, they at the same time indicate the point to which the two latter
should tend, in order to approach perfection.
Calculation, so to speak, commands Nature ; it determines phenomena more exactly !
than observation can make them known : experiment forces her to unveil ; while obser-
vation watches her when deviating from her normal course, and seeks to surprise her.
Natural History has, moreover, a principle on which to reason, which is peculiar to
it, and which it employs advantageously on many occasions ; it is that of the conditions
of existence, commonly termed final causes. As nothing can exist without the concur-
rence of those conditions which render its existence possible, the component parts of each
* The discovery of the atomic theory has reduced many of its phenomena to calculation. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION,
15
must be so arranged as to render possible the whole living being, not only with regard
to itself, but to its surrounding relations ; and the analysis of these conditions fre-
quently conducts to general laws, as demonstrable as those which are derived from
calculation or experiment.
It is only w'hen all the laws of general physics, and those which result from the condi-
tions of existence, are exhausted, that we ^re reduced to the simple laws of observation.
The most effectual mode of observing is by comparison. This consists in suc-
cessively studying the same bodies in the different positions in which Nature
places them, or in a comparison of different bodies together, until constant relations
are recognized between their structures and the phenomena which they manifest.
These various bodies are kinds of experiments ready prepared by Nature, who adds
to or subtracts from each of them different parts, just as we might wish to do in our
laboratories, and shows us herself the results of such additions or retrenchments.
It is thus that we succeed in establishing certain laws, which govern these relations,
and which are employed like those that have been determined by the general sciences.
The incorporation of these laws of observation with the general laws, either directly
or by the principle of the conditions of existence, would complete the system of the
natural sciences, in rendering sensible in all its parts the mutual influence of every
being. This it is to which the efforts of those who cultivate these sciences should tend.
All researches of this kind, however, presuppose means of distinguishing with certainty,
and causing others to distinguish, the objects investigated ; otherwise we should be
incessantly liable to confound the innumerable beings which Nature presents. Natural
History, then, should be based on what is called a System of Nature, or a great catalogue,
in which aU beings bear acknowledged names, may be recognized by distinctive cha-
racters, and distributed in divisions and subdivisions themselves named and characterized,
in which they may be found.
In order that each being may always be recognized in this catalogue, it should carry
its character along with it: for which reason the characters should not be taken
from properties, or from habits the exercise of which is transient, but should he
drawn from the conformation.
There is scarcely any being which has a simple character, or can be recognized by
an isolated feature of its conformation : the combination of many such traits is almost
always necessary to distinguish a being from the neighbouring ones, which have
some but not all of them, or have them combined with others of which the first is
destitute ; and the more numerous the beings to be discriminated, the more must
these traits accumulate : insomuch that, to distinguish from all others an individual
being, a complete description of it must enter into its character.
It is to avoid this inconvenience that divisions and subdivisions have been invented.
A certain number of neighbouring beings only are compared together, and their par-
ticular characters need only to express their differences, which, by the supposition itself,
are the less important parts of their conformation. Such a reunion is termed a genus.
The same inconvenience would recur in distinguishing genera from each other, were
it not that the operation is repeated in collecting the neighbouring genera, so as to form
an order ; the neighbouring orders to form a class, &c. Intermediate subdivisions may
also be established.
This scaffolding of divisions, the superior of which contain the inferior, is what is
INTRODUCTION.
16
called a method. It is, in some respects, a sort of dictionary, in which we proceed ^
from the properties of things to discover their names ; being the reverse of ordinary die- |
tionaries, in which we proceed from the names to obtain a knowledge of the properties.
When the method, however, is good, it does more than teach us names. If the sub-
divisions have not been established arbitrarily, but are based on the true fundamental ^
relations, — on the essential resemblances of beings, the method is the surest means of 1 1
reducing the properties of these beings to general rules, of expressing them in the | j
fewest words, and of stamping them on the memory. 1m
To render it such, an assiduous comparison of beings is employed, directed by the IJ
principle of the subordination of characters, which is itself derived from that of the Ijl
conditions of existence. All the parts of a being having a mutual correlativeness, some Ijj
traits of conformation exclude others ; while some, on the contrary, necessitate others : j -
when, therefore, we perceive such or such traits in a being, we can calculate before- ;!
hand those which co-exist in it, or those that are incompatible with them. The parts, i
properties, or the traits of conformation, which have the greatest number of these | |
relations of incompatibility or of co-existence with others, or, in other words, that ' |
exercise the most marked influence upon the whole of the being, are what are called s j
important characters, dominant characters ; the others are the subordinate characters, '
all varying, however, in degree.
This influence of characters is sometimes determined rationally, by considering
the nature of the organ : when this is impracticable, recourse must be had to simple
observation ; and a sure means of recognizing the important characters, which is
derived from their own nature, is, that they are more constant ; and that in a long
series of dilFerent beings, approximated according to their degrees of similitude, these
characters are the last to vary.
From their influence and from their constancy result equally the rule, which should
be preferred for distinguishing grand divisions, and in proportion as we descend to the
inferior subdivisions, we can also descend to subordinate and variable characters.
There can only be one perfect method, which is the natural method. An arrangement
is thus named in which beings of the same genus are placed nearer to each other than
to those of all other genera ; the genera of the same order nearer than to those of
other orders, and so in succession. This method is the ideal to which Natural History
should tend ; for it is evident that, if we can attain it, we shall have the exact and
complete expression of all nature. In fact, each being is determined by its resem-
blance to others, and its differences from them ; and all these relations would be fuUy
given by the arrangement which we have indicated. In a word, the natural method would
be the whole science, and each step towards it tends to advance the science to perfection.
Life being the most important of all the properties of beings, and the highest of all
characters, it is not surprising that it has been made in all ages the most general prin-
ciple of distinction ; and that natural beings have always been separated into two
immense divisions, the living and the inanimate.
OF LIVING BEINGS, AND OF ORGANIZATION IN GENERAL.
If, in order to obtain a just idea of the essence of life, we consider it in those beings
in which its effects are the most simple, we readily perceive that it consists in the
— i
INTRODUCTION.
17
faculty which certain corporeal combinations have, of enduring for a time, and under
a determinate form, by incessantly attracting into their composition a part of sur-
rounding substances, and rendering to the elements portions of their own proper
substance.
Life, then, is a vortex {tourhillon) , more or less rapid, more or less complicated,
the direction of which is constant, and which always carries along molecules of
the same kind, but into which individual molecules are continually entering, and
from which they are constantly departing ; so that the form of a living body is more
essential to it than its matter.
As long as this movement subsists, the body in which it takes place is living —
it lives. When it is permanently arrested, the body dies. After death, the elements
which compose it, abandoned to the ordinary chemical affinities, are not slow to
separate, from which, more or less quickly, results the dissolution of the body that
had been living. It was then by the vital motion that its dissolution was arrested, and
that the elements of the body were temporarily combined.
All living bodies die after a time, the extreme limit of which is determined for each
species ; and death appears to be a necessary consequence of life, which, by its own
action, insensibly alters the structure of the body wherein its functions are exercised,
so as to render its continuance impossible.
In fact, the living body undergoes gradual but constant changes during the whole
term of its existence. It increases first in dimensions, according to the proportions
and within the limits fixed for each species, and for each of its several parts ; then
it augments in density, in most of its parts : — it is this second kind of change that
appears to be the cause of natural death.
On examining the various living bodies more closely, a common structure is
discerned, which a little reflection soon causes us to adjudge as essential to a vortex,
such as the vital motion.
Solids, it is evident, are necessary to these bodies for the maintenance of their
forms, and fluids for the conservation of motion in them. Their tissue, then, is com-
posed of interlacement and network, or of fibres and solid laminae, which inclose the
liquids in their interstices : it is in these liquids that the motion is most continual and
most extended ; the extraneous substances penetrate the intimate tissue of bodies in
incorporating with them ; they nourish the solids by interposing their molecules, and
also detach from them their superfluous molecules : it is in a liquid or gaseous form
that the matters to be exhaled traverse the pores of the living body ; but, in return, it
is the solids which contain these fluids, and by their contraction communicate to them
a part of their motion.
I’his mutual action of the solids and fluids, this passage of molecules from one to
the other, necessitated considerable affinity in their chemical composition ; and, accord-
ingly, the solids of organized bodies are in great part composed of elements easily
convertible into liquids or gases.
The motion of the fluids, requiring also a continually repeated action on the
part of the solids, and communicating one to them, demanded of the latter both
flexibility and dilatability ; and hence we find this character nearly general in all
organized solids.
This fundamental structure, common to all living bodies — this areolar tissue, the more
c
INTRODUCTION
18
or less flexible fibres or laminae of which intercept fluids more or less abundant —
constitutes what is termed the organization ; and, as a consequence of what we have
said, it follows that only organized bodies can enjoy life.
Organization, then, results from a great number of dispositions or arrangements,
which are all conditions of life ; and it is easy to conceive that the general move-
ment of the life would be arrested, if its effect be to alter either of these conditions,
so as to arrest even one of the partial motions of which it is composed.
Every organized body, besides the qualities common to its tissue, has one proper
form, not only in general and externally, but also in the detail of the structure
of each of its parts ; and it is upon this form, which determines the particular direction
of each of the partial movements that take place in it, that depends the complication of
the general movement of its life, which constitutes its species, and renders it what it
is. Each part concurs in this general movement by a peculiar action, and experiences
from it particular effects ; so that, in every being, the life is a whole, resulting from
the mutual action and reaction of all its parts.
Life, then, in general, presupposes organization in general, and the life proper
to each being presupposes the organization peculiar to that being, just as the ^
movement of a clock presupposes the clock ; and, accordingly, we behold life only
in beings that are organized and formed to enjoy it ; and all the efforts of philo-
sophers have not yet been able to discover matter in the act of organization,
either of itself or by any extrinsic cause. In fact, life exercising upon the elements
which at every instant form part of the living body, and upon those which it attracts
to it, an action contrary to that which would be produced without it by the usual i
chemical affinities, it is inconsistent to suppose that it can itself be produced by these ^
affinities, and yet we know of no other power in nature capable of reuniting previously ,i!
separated molecules.
The birth of . organized beings is, therefore, the greatest mystery of the organic
economy and of all nature : we see them developed, but never being formed ; nay,
more, all those of which we can trace the origin, have at first been attached to a
body of the same form as their own, but which was developed before them ; — in
one word, to di, parent. So long as the offspring has no independent life, but par-
ticipates in that of its parent, it is called a germ.
The place to which the germ is attached, and the occasional cause which detaches
it, and gives it an independent life, vary ; but the primitive adherence to a similar
being is a rule without exception. The separation of the germ is what is designated
generation.
All organized beings produce similar ones ; otherwise, death being a necessary con-
sequence of life, their species would not endure.
Organized beings have even the faculty of reproducing, in degrees varying with the
species, certain of their parts of which they may have been deprived. This has been
named the power of reproduction.
The developement of organized beings is more or less rapid, and more or less ex-
tended, according as circumstances are differently favourable. Heat, the supply and
quality of nourishment, with other causes, exert great influence ; and this influence
may extend to the whole body in general, or to certain organs in particular : — hence
the similitude of offspring to their parents can never be complete.
INTRODUCTION.
19
Differences of this kind, between organized beings, are w^hat are termed varieties.
There is no proof that all the differences which now distinguish organized beings are
such as may have been produced by circumstances. All that has been advanced uj3on
this subject is hypothetical : experience seems to show, on the contrary, that, in
the actual state of things, varieties are confined within rather narrow limits ; and,
so far as we can retrace antiquity, we perceive that these limits were the same as at
present.
We are then obliged to admit of certain forms, which, since the origin of things,
have been perpetuated without exceeding these limits ; and all the beings appertaining
to one of these forms constitute what is termed a species. Varieties are accidental
subdivisions of species.
Generation being the only means of ascertaining the limits to which varieties may
extend, species should be defined the reunion of individuals descended one from the
other, or from common parents, or from such as resemble them as closely as they
resemble each other ; but, although this definition is rigorous, it will be seen that its
application to particular individuals may be very difficult when the necessary experi-
ments have not been made.*
To recapitulate, — absorption, assimilation, exhalation, developement, and generation,
are the functions common to all living beings ; birth and death, the universal limits of
their existence ; a porous, contractile tissue, containing within its laminae liquids or
gases in motion, the general essence of their structure ; substances almost all
susceptible of being converted into liquids or gases, and combinations capable of easy
transformation into one another, the basis of their chemical composition. Fixed
forms, and which are perpetuated by generation, distinguish their species, determine
the complication of the secondary functions proper to each of them, and assign to them
the office they have to fulfil in the grand scheme of the universe. These forms
neither produce nor change themselves ; the life supposes their existence ; it can exist
only in organizations already prepared ; and the most profound meditations, assisted
by the most delicate observations, can penetrate no further than the mystery of the
pre-existence of germs.
DIVISION OF ORGANIZED BEINGS INTO ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES.
Living or organized beings have been subdivided, from the earliest times, into ani-
mate beings, or those possessing sense and motion, and inanimate beings, which enjoy
* That insurmountable difficulties oppose the rigid determination of
species, and, consequently, render even the definition of the term
impossible, except in a very vague and loose manner, will readily
appear on consideration of some of the phenomena presented.
The prevalent idea is, that a species consists of the aggregate of
individuals descended from one original parentage, which alone are
supposed to be capable of producing offspring that are prolific inter
se ; and that when individuals, not of the same pristine derivation,
interbreed, the hybrids are necessarily mules, which are either quite
sterile, or at most can only propagate with individuals of unmixed
descent. But it so happens, that every possible grade of approxi-
mation is manifested, from the most diverse races, to those which are
utterly undistinguishable ; while, even in the latter case, urgent ana-
logies, notwithstanding, sometimes forcibly indicate a separateness of
origin ; as when a series of analogous races inhabiting distant regions
are compared together, some of which are obviously different, others
doubtfully so, and some apparently identical. And it remains to be
shown whether such intimately allied races as some of these, even if
not descended from a common stock, (which of course cannot be
ascertained), would not produce hybrids capable of transmitting and
perpetuating the mingled breed. It is true that Cuvier guards
against this contingency, in the wording of his definition ; and that
most naturalists would concur in regarding such miscible races, how-
ever dissimilar, as varieties merely of the same ; but a question
arises, whether there be not different degrees of fertility in hybrids,
corresponding to the amount of affinity, or physiological accordancy^
subsisting betwixt the parent races ; it being only within a certain
sphere of that affinity that they can be produced at all : besides which,
as hybrids are seldom exactly intermediate, and in some instances
(particularly among multiparous races) have been known to resemble
entirely one or the other parent, it may be presumed that this circum.
stance would also materially affect their capability of propagation*
Experiments are needed to solve tliis important problem, though tliere
is every reason to suspect that the following proposition will eventu-
ally gain the general assent of naturalists, viz., that while considerable
dissimilarity does not of necessity unply specrftcal diversity, the con-
verse equally holds, that absolute resemblance fails of itself to con-
stitute specijical identity. — Ed.
c 2
20
INTRODUCTION.
neither the one nor the other of these faculties, but are reduced to the simple function
of vegetating. Although many plants retract their leaves when touched, and the roots
direct themselves constantly towards moisture, the leaves towards air and light,
and though some parts of vegetables appear even to exhibit oscillations without
any perceptible external cause, still these various movements bear too little resem-
blance to those of animals to enable us to recognize in them any proofs of perception
or of will.
The spontaneity of the movements of animals required essential modifications, even
in their simply vegetative organs. Their roots not penetrating the ground, it was
necessary that they should be able to place within themselves provisions of food, and
to carry its reservoir along with them. Hence is derived the first character of animals,
or their alimentary cavity, from which their nutritive fluid penetrates all other parts
through pores or vessels, which are a sort of internal roots.
The organization of this cavity and of its appurtenances required varying, according
to the nature of the aliment, and the operations which it had to undergo before it
could furnish juices proper for absorption : whilst the atmosphere and the earth supply
to vegetables only juices ready prepared, and which can be absorbed immediately.
The animal body, which abounds with functions more numerous and more varied
than in the plant, required in consequence to have an organization much more com-
plicated ; besides which, its parts not being capable of preserving a fixed relative posi-
tion, there were no means by which the motion of their fluids could be produced by
external causes, as it required to be independent: of heat and of the atmosphere : from
this originates the second character of animals, or their circulatory system, which is
less essential than the digestive, since it was unnecessary in the more simple animals.
The animal functions required organic systems, not needed by vegetables, as that
of the muscles for voluntary motion, and that of the nerves for sensibility ; and these
two systems, like the rest, acting only through the motions and transformations of the
fluids, it was necessary that these should be more numerous in animals, and that
the chemical composition of the animal body should be more complicated than that of
the plant : and so it is, for an additional substance (azote) enters into it as an essential
element, while in plants it is a mere accidental junction with the three other general
elements of organization, — oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. This then is the third
character of animals.
The soil and the atmosphere supply to vegetables water for their nutrition, which is
composed of oxygen and hydrogen, air, which contains oxygen and azote, and car-
bonic acid, which is a combination of oxygen and carbon. To extract from these
aliments their proper composition, it was necesary that they should retain the hydrogen
and carbon, exhale the superfluous oxygen, and absorb little or no azote. Such, then,
is the process of vegetable life, of which the essential function is the exhalation of
oxygen, which is effected through the agency of light.
Animals in addition derive nourishment, more or less immediately, from the vegetable
itself, of which hydrogen and carbon form the principal constituents. To assimilate
them to their own composition, they must get rid of the superfluous hydrogen, and
especially of the superabundant carbon, and accumulate more azote ; this it is which
is performed in respiration, by means of the oxygen of the atmosphere combining with
the hydrogen and carbon of the blood, and being exhaled with them under the form of
INTRODUCTION.
21
water and carbonic acid. The azote, whatever part of their body it may penetrate,
appears to remain there.
The relations of vegetables and animals with the atmosphere are then inverse ; the
former retain {ddfont) water and [decompose] carbonic acid, while the latter reproduce
them. Respiration is the function essential to the constitution of an animal body ; it
is that which in a manner animalizes it ; and we shall see that animals exercise their
peculiar functions more completely, according as they enjoy greater powers of respira-
tion. It is in this difference of relations that the fourth character of animals consists.
OF THE FORMS PECULIAR TO THE ORGANIC ELEMENTS OF THE ANIMAL BODY, AND OF
THE PRINCIPAL COMBINATIONS OF ITS CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
An areolar tissue and three chemical elements are essential to every living body, a
fourth element being peculiar to that of animals ; but this tissue is composed of vari-
ously formed meshes, and these elements are united in different combinations.
There are three kinds of organic materials, or forms of tissue, — the cellular membrane y
the muscular fibre, and the medullary matter; and to each form belongs a peculiar
combination of chemical elements, together with a particular function.
The cellular membrane is composed of an infinity of small laminae, fortuitously dis-
posed, so as to form little cells that communicate with each other. It is a sort of
sponge, which has the same form as the entire body, all other parts of -which fill or
traverse it. Its property is to contract indefinitely when the causes which sustain
its extension cease to operate. It is this force that retains the body in a given form,
and within determined limits.
When condensed, this substance forms those more or less extended laminae which
are called membranes ; the membranes, rolled into cylinders, compose those tubes, more
or less ramified, which are termed vessels ; the filaments, named fibres, resolve them-
selves into it ; and the bones are nothing but the same, indurated by the accumulation
of earthy particles.
The cellular substance consists of that combination [isinglass] which bears the
name of gelatine, and the character of which is to dissolve in boiling water, and to
assume the form, when cold, of a trembling jelly.
The medullary matter has not yet been reduced to its organic molecules : it ap-
I pears to the naked eye as a sort of soft bouillie [pultaceous mass] , consisting of exces-
I sively small globules ; it is not susceptible of any apparent motion, but in it resides
j the admirable power of transmitting to the me the impressions of the external senses,
I and of conveying to the muscles the mandates of the will. The brain and the spinal
I chord are chiefly composed of it; and the nerves, which are distributed to aU the
i sentient organs, are, essentially, but ramifications of the same.
The fiesliy or muscular fibre is a peculiar sort of filament, the distinctive property
of which, during life, is that of contracting when touched or struck, or when it experi-
ences, through the medium of the nerves, the action of the will.
The muscles, immediate organs of voluntary motion, are merely bundles of fleshy
fibres. All the membranes, all the vessels which need to exercise any compression, are
furnished with these fibres. They are always intimately connected with nervous
threads ; but those which subserve the purely vegetative functions contract without
22
INTRODUCTION.
the knowledge of the me, so that the will is indeed one means of causing the fibres
to act, but which is neither general nor exclusive.
The fleshy fibre has for its base a particular substance termed fibrine, which is
insoluble in boiling water, and of which the nature appears to be to take of itself this
filamentous form.
The nutritive fluid, or the blood, such as we find in the vessels of the circulation, not
only resolves itself principally into the general elements of the animal body, — carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and azote, but it also contains fibrine and gelatine, all but disposed
to contract, and to assume the forms of membranes or of filaments peculiar to them ;
nought being ever acquired for their manifestation but a little repose. The blood pre-
sents also another combination, which occurs in many animal solids and fluids, namely,
albumen [or white of egg], the characteristic property of which is to coagulate in
boiling water. Besides these, the blood contains almost all the elements which may
enter into the composition of the body of each animal, such as the lime and phosphorus,
which hardens the bones of vertebrated animals, the iron, which colours the blood itself
as well as various other parts, the fat or animal oil, which is deposited in the cellular
substance to maintain it, &c. All the fluids and solids of the animal body are composed
of chemical elements contained in the blood ; and it is only by possessing some ele-
ments more or less, or in different proportions, that each is severally distinguished ;
whence it becomes apparent that their formation entirely depends on the subtraction
of the whole or part of one or more elements of the blood, and, in some few cases, on
the addition of some element from elsewhere.
The various operations, by which the blood supplies nourishment to the solid or liquid
matter of all parts of the body, may take the general name of secretion. This term,
however, is often exclusively appropriated to the production of liquids, while that of
nutrition is applied more especially to the production and deposition of the matter
necessary to the growth and conservation of the solids.
Every solid organ, as well as fluid, has the composition most appropriate for the office
which it has to perform, and it preserves it so long as health continues, because the
blood renews it as fast as it becomes changed. The blood itself, by this continual
contribution, is altered every moment ; but is restored by digestion, which renews its
matter ; by respiration, which sets free the superfluous carbon and hydrogen ; and by
perspiration and various other excretions, that relieve it from other superabundant
principles.
These perpetual changes of chemical composition constitute part of the vital vortex,
not less essential than the visible movements and those of translation : the object, in- ,i
deed, of these latter is simply to produce the former. |
OF THE FORCES WHICH ACT IN THE ANIMAL BODY.
The muscular flbre is not only the organ of voluntary motion ; we have seen that it
is also the most powerful of the means employed by nature to effect the move-
ments of translation necessary to vegetative life. Thus the fibres of the intestines pro-
duce the peristaltic motion, which causes the aliment to pass onward along this canal;
the fibres of the heart and arteries are the agents of the circulation, and, through it, of ;
all the secretions, &c.
INTRODUCTION.
23
The will causes the fibre to contract through the medium of the nerve ; and the
involuntary fibres, such as those we have mentioned, are equally animated by the
nerves which pervade them ; it is, therefore, probable, that these nerves are the cause
of their contraction.
All contraction, and, generally speaking, all change of dimension in nature, is produced
by a change of chemical composition, though it consists merely in the flowing or ebbing
of an imponderable *, such as caloric ; it is thus also that the most violent of known
movements are occasioned, as combustions, detonations, &c.
There is, then, great reason for supposing that it is by an imponderable fluid that
the nerve acts upon the fibre ; and the more especially, as it is demonstrated that this
action is not mechanical.
The medullary matter of the whole nervous system is homogeneous, and m.ust
exercise, wherever it is found, the functions appertaining to its nature ; all its ramifi-
cations receive a great abundance of blood-vessels.
All the animal fluids being derived from the blood by secretion, it cannot be doubted
that the same holds with the nervous fluid, nor that the medullary matter secretes
[or evolves] it.
On the other hand, it is certain that the medullary matter is the sole conductor
of the nervous fluid ; and that all the other organic elements serve as non-conductors,
and arrest it, as glass arrests electricity.
The external causes which are capable of producing sensations, or of occasioning
contractions in the fibre, are all chemical agents, capable of effecting decompositions,
such as light, caloric, the salts, odorous vapours, percussion, compression, &c.
It would seem, then, that these causes act upon the nervous fluid chemically, and
by changing its composition : which appears the more likely, as their action becomes
weakened by continuance, as if the nervous fluid needed to resume its primitive com-
position in order to be altered anew.
The external organs of sense may be compared to sieves, which allow nothing to
pass through to the nerve except the species of agent which should affect it in that
particular place, but which often accumulates so as to increase the effect. The
tongue has its spongy papillae, which imbibe saline solutions : the ear a gelatinous
pulp, which is intensely agitated by sonorous vibrations ; the eye transparent lenses,
which concentrate the rays of light, &c.
It is probable that what are styled irritants, or the agents which occasion the con-
tractions of the fibre, exert this action by producing on the fibre, by the nerve, the
same effect which is produced by the will ; that is to say, by altering the nervous fluid
in the manner necessary to change the dimensions of the fibre on which it has influence ;
but the will has nothing to do in this action ; the me is often even without any
knowledge of it. The muscles separated from the body are still susceptible of irrita-
tion, so long as the portion of the nerve distributed within them preserves its power of
acting on them ; the will being evidently unconnected with this phenomenon.
The nervous fluid is altered by muscular irritation, as well as by sensation and
voluntary motion ; and the same necessity occurs for the re-establishment of its primi-
tive composition.
The movements of translation necessary to vegetative life are determined by irritants :
* “ Imponderable fluid’' is the expression in the original. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION.
24
the aliment irritates [or excites] the intestine, the blood irritates the heart, &c. These
movements are all independent of the will, and in general (while health endures) take
place without the cognizance of the me ; the nerves which produce them have even,
in several parts, a different distribution from that of the nerves affected by sensations
or subject to the will, and the object of the difference appears to be the securing of
this independence.*
The nervous functions, that is to say, sensitiveness and muscular irritability, are so
much the stronger at every point, in proportion as the exciting cause is more abundant ;
and as this agent, or the nervous fluid, is produced by secretion [or evolution], its
abundance must be in proportion to the quantity of medullary or secretory matter,
and the amount of blood received by the latter.
In animals that have a circulation, the blood is propelled through the arteries which
convey it to its destined parts, by means of their irritability and that of the heart. If
these arteries be irritated, they act more vigorously, and propel a greater quantity of
blood ; the nervous fluid becomes more abundant, and augments the local sensibility ;
this, in its turn, increases the irritability of the arteries, so that this mutual action may
be carried to a great extent. It is termed orgasm, and when it becomes painful and
permanent, inflammation. The irritation may also originate in the nerve, when it
experiences acute sensations.
This mutual influence of the nerves and fibres, either in the intestinal system, or in
the arterial system, is the real spring of vegetative life in animals.
As each external sense is permeable only by particular kinds of sensation, so
each internal organ may be accessible only to such or such agent of irritation. Thus,
mercury irritates the salivary glands, cantharides excite the bladder, &c. These
agents are what are termed speciflcs.
The nervous system being homogeneous and continuous, local sensations and'irrita-
tion debilitate the whole ; and each function, carried too far, may enfeeble the others.
Excess of aliment thus weakens the faculty of thought ; while prolonged meditation
impairs the energy of digestion, &c.
Excessive local irritation will enfeeble the whole body, as if all the powers of life
were concentrated on a single point.
A second irritation produced at another point may diminish, or divert as it is termed,
the first; such is the effect of purgatives, blisters, &c. [denominated counter-irritation].
All rapid as the foregoing enunciation is, it is sufficient to establish the possibility of
accounting for all the phenomena of physical life, by the simple admission of a fluid
such as we have defined, from the properties which it manifests. f
* In the above sentence, there are ®stinctly mentioned the three
sorts of nerves, the separate functions of which have been con-
clusively demonstrated by Sir Charles Bell : viz., nerves of volition,
which transmit the mandates of the will ; of sensation, which convey
to the sensorium the impressions of the senses ; and of sympathy,
or involuntary movement, the reunion of the ramifications of which
in a plexus of knots, or ganglions, is intimated in the text, those of
the second class being distinguished by a swelling or ganglion near
their base. — Ed.
t The unceasing chemical changes consequent upon vitality must
necessarily develope electricity ; and that the nervous fluid is no other
than the electric, may be considered as proved by the identity of their
phenomena. Indeed, it has long been known that the transmission
of voltaic electricity along the nerves of a recently dead animal,
suffices to produce the most violent muscular action ; but the regula-
tion of that action, its exclusive direction to particular suites of
muscles, requires the vital impulse. “If the brain,” remarks Sir
John Herschel, “ (for which wonderfully constituted organ no other
mode of action possessing the least probability has ever been devised) ,
be an electric pile, constantly in action, it may be conceived to dis-
charge itself at regular intervals, when the tension of the electricity
developed reaches a certain point, along the nerves which communi-
cate w'ith the heart, and thus to excite the pulsations of that organ.
This idea is forcibly suggested by a view of that elegant apparatus,
the dry pile of Deluc, in which the successive accumulations of
electricity are carried off by a suspended ball, which is kept, by the
discharges, in a state of regular pulsation for any length of time. AVe
have witnessed the action of such a pile, maintained in this way for
whole years, in the study of the above-named eminent philosopher.
The same idea of the cause of the pulsation of the heart appears to
have occurred to Dr. Arnott, and is mentioned in his useful and ex-
cellent work on Physics, to which, however, we are not indebted for
the suggestion, it having occurred to us independently many years
ago.” — Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, p. 343. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION.
25
SUMMARY IDEA OF THE FUNCTIONS AND ORGANS OF THE BODIES OF ANIMALS, AND OF
THEIR VARIOUS DEGREES OF COMPLICATION.
After what we have stated respecting the organic elements of the body, its
chemical principles, and the forces which act within it, it remains only to give a sum-
mary idea in detail of the functions of which life is composed, and of their respective
organs.
The functions of the animal body are divided into two classes : —
The animal functions, or those proper to animals, — that is to say, sensibility and
voluntary motion.
The vital, vegetative functions, or those common to animals and vegetables ; that is
to say, nutrition and generation.
Sensibility resides in the nervous system.
The most general external sense is that of touch ; its seat is in the skin, a mem-
brane enveloping the whole body, and traversed all over by nerves, of which the
extreme filaments expand on the surface into papillae, and are protected by the epider-
mis, and by other insensible teguments, such as hairs, scales, &c. Taste and smell
are merely delicate states of the sense of touch, for which the skin of the tongue and
nostrils is particularly organized ; the former by means of papillae more convex and
spongy ; the latter, by its extreme delicacy and the multiplication of its ever humid
surface. We have already spoken of the eye and ear in general. The organ of gene-
ration is endowed with a sixth sense, which is seated in its internal skin ; that of the
stomach and intestines declares the state of those viscera by peculiar sensations. In
fine, sensations more or less painful may originate in all parts of the body through
accidents or diseases.
Many animals have neither ears nor nostrils ; several are without eyes, and some are
reduced to the single sense of touch, which is never absent.
The action received by the external organs is continued through the nerves to the
central masses of the nervous system, which, in the higher animals, consists of the
brain and spinal chord. The more elevated the nature of the animal, the more volumi-
nous is the brain, and the more the sensitive power is concentrated there ; in propor-
tion as the animal is placed lower in the scale, the medullary masses are dispersed, and
in the lowest genera of all, the nervous substance appears to merge altogether, and
blend in the general matter of the body.
That part of the body which contains the brain and the principal organs of sense, is
called the head.
When the animal has received a sensation, and which has induced in it an act of
volition, it is by [particular] nerves also that this volition is transmitted to the muscles.
The muscles are bundles of fleshy fibres, the contractions of which produce all the
movements of the animal body. The extensions of the limbs, and all the lengthenings
of parts, are the effect of muscular contractions, equally with flexions and abbreviations.
The muscles of each animal are disposed in number and direction according to the
movements which it has to execute ; and when these movements require to be effected
with some vigour, the muscles are inserted into hard parts, articulated one over
another, and may be considered as so many levers. These parts are called bones in
INTRODUCTION.
26
the vertebrated animals, where they are internal, and formed of a gelatinous mass, '
penetrated with molecules of phosphate of lime. In mollusks, crustaceans, and insects,
where they are external, and composed of a calcareous or corneous substance that
exudes between the skin and epidermis, they are termed shells, crusts, and scales.
The fleshy fibres are attached to the hard parts by means of other fibres of a gela- '
tinous nature, which seem to be a continuation of the former, constituting what are
called tendons.
The configuration of the articulating surfaces of the hard parts limits their move-
ments, which are further restrained by cords or envelopes attached to the sides of the
articulations, and which are termed ligaments.
It is from the various dispositions of this bony and muscular apparatus, and from ||j
the form and proportions of the members which result therefrom, that animals are |lj
capable of executing those innumerable movements which enter into walking, leaping, p
flight, and swimming. ||5
The muscular fibres appropriated to digestion and circulation are independent of the K
will ; they receive nerves, however, but, as we have said, the chief of them exhibit Ij*^
subdivisions and enlargements which appear to have for their object the estrangement j
of the empire of the me. It is only in paroxysms of the passions and other powerful
mental emotions, which break down these barriers, that the empire of the me becomes
perceptible; and even then its effect is almost always to disorder these vegetative ]
functions. It is also in a state of sickness only that these functions are accompanied
by sensations. Digestion is ordinarily performed unconsciously.
The aliment, divided by the jaws and teeth, or sucked up when liquids con-
j stitute the food, is swallowed by the muscular movements of the back part of the
mouth and throat, and deposited in the first portion of the alimentary canal, usually
expanded into one or more stomachs ; it there is penetrated with juices proper to dis-
solve it. Conducted thence along the rest of the canal, it receives other juices destined I
to complete its preparation. The parietes of the canal have pores which extract from
this alimentary mass its nutritious portion, and the useless residue is rejected as ^
excrement. !!:
The canal in which this first act of nutrition is performed, is a continuation of the :
skin, and is composed of similar layers ; even the fibres which encircle it are analogous
to those which adhere to the internal surface of the skin, called the fleshy pannicle.
Throughout the w^hole interior of this canal there is a transudation, which has some i !
connexion with the cutaneous perspiration, and which becomes more abundant when
the latter is suppressed ; the skin even exercises an absorption very analogous to that U
of the intestines. i''
It is only in the lowest animals that the excrements are rejected by the mouth, and m
in which the intestine has the form of a sac without issue. |i
Among those even in which the intestinal canal has two orifices, there are many in |
which the nutritive juices, absorbed by the coats of the intestine, are immediately il
diffused over the whole spongy substance of the body: this appears to be the case I
with the whole class of insects.
But, ascending from the arachnides and worms, the nutritive fluids circulate in a
system of confined vessels, the ultimate ramifications of which alone dispense its molecules
to the parts that are nourished by it ; those particular vessels which convey it are named
INTRODUCTION.
27
arteries, and those which bring it back to the centre of the circulation are termed veins.
The circulating vortex is sometimes simple, sometimes double, and even triple (includ-
ing that of the vena porta) ; the rapidity of its movements is often aided by the contrac-
tions of a certain fleshy apparatus denominated hearts, and which are placed at one or
the other centres of circulation, and sometimes at both of them.
In the red-blooded vertebrated animals, the nutritive fluid exudes white or transpa-
rent from the intestines, and is then termed chyle ; it is poured by particular vessels,
named lacteals, into the venous system, where it mingles with the blood. Vessels
resembling these lacteals, and forming with them what is known as the lymphatic
system, also convey to the venous blood the residue of the nutrition of the parts and
the products of cutaneous absorption.
Before the blood is proper to nourish the several parts, it must experience from the
ambient element, by respiration, the modification of which we have already spoken. In
animals which have a circulation, a portion of the vessels is destined to carry the blood
into organs, where they spread over an extensive surface, that the action of the ambient
element might be increased. When this element [or medium] is the air, the surface is
hollow, and is called lungs ; when water, it is salient, and termed gillsJ^ There are
always motive organs disposed for propelling the ambient element into, or upon, the
respiratory organ.
In animals which have no circulation, the air is diffused through every part of the
body by elastic vessels, named trachea ; or water acts upon them, either by pene-
trating through vessels, or by simply bathing the surface of the skin.
The blood which is respired is qualified for restoring the composition of all the parts,
and to effect what is properly called nutrition. It is a great marvel that, with this
facility which it has of becoming decomposed at each point, it should leave precisely
the species of molecule which is there necessary ; but it is this wonder which consti-
tutes the whole vegetative life. For the nourishment of the solids, we see no other
arrangement than a great subdivision of the extreme arterial ramifications ; but for
the production of liquids, the apparatus is more complex and various. Sometimes
the extremities of the vessels simply spread over large surfaces, whence the produced
fluid exudes ; sometimes it oozes from the bottom of little cavities. Very often, before
these arterial extremities change into veins, they give rise to particular vessels that
convey this fluid, which appears to proceed from the exact point of union between the
two kinds of vessels ; in this case, the blood-vessels and these latter termed especial,
form, by their interlacement, the bodies called conglomerate or secretory glands.
In animals that have no circulation, and particularly insects, the nutritive fluid
bathes all the parts ; each of them draws from it the molecules necessary for its suste-
nance : if it be necessary that some liquid be produced, the appropriate vessels float in
the nutritive fluid, and imbibe from it, by means of their pores, the constituent elements
of that liquid.
It is thus that the blood incessantly supports all the parts, and repairs the altera-
tions which are the continual and necessary consequence of their functions. The
* It may be remarked here, that, in strictness of language, no
animals respire water, but the air which is suspended in water, and
which has been ascertained to contain more oxygen than that of the
free atmosphere. The elements of water, it should he remembered, are
chemically combined, while those of air are only mechanically mixed.
To obtain oxygen from the one, therefore, decomposition is required ;
from the other, no disunion. Tlie only distinction, then, in the
respiration of animals is, that some breathe the free air, and are sup-
plied w’ith lungs, and others that diffused in water, and have there-
fore gills : but even this difference, however, is more apparent than
real, as in all cases the respiratory surface requires to be moist or wet,
in order to perform its function. Deprive water of its air by boiling it,
and it cannot support life. — Ed.
28
INTRODUCTION.
general ideas which we form respecting this process are tolerably clear, although we
have no distinct or detailed notion of what passes at each point ; and for want of
knowing the chemical composition of each part with sufficient precision, we cannot
render an exact account of the transformations necessary to produce it.
Besides the glands w'hich separate from the blood those fluids which perform some
office in the internal economy, there are some which detach others from it that are to
be totally rejected, either simply as superfluities, such as the urine, which is produced
by the kidneys, or for some use to the animal, as the ink of the cuttle, and the purple
matter of various other mollusks, &c.
With respect to generation, there is one process or phenomenon infinitely more
difficult to conceive than that of the secretions ; it is the production of the germ. We
have seen even that it may be regarded as little less than incomprehensible ; but, the
existence of the germ once admitted, generation presents no particular difficulty : so
long as it adheres to the parent, it is nourished as if it were one of its organs* ; and
when it detaches itself, it has its own proper life, which is essentially similar to that
of the adult.
The germ, the embryo, the foetus, and the new-born animal, have in no instance,
however, precisely the same form as the adult, and the difference is sometimes so great,
that their assimilation merits the name of metamorphosis. Thus, no one not previously
aware of the fact, would suppose that the caterpillar is to become a butterfly.
All living beings are more or less metamorphosed in the course of their growth,
that is to say, they lose certain parts, and develope others. The antennae, wings, and
all the parts of the butterfly were inclosed within the skin of the caterpillar ; this
skin disappears along with the jaws, feet, and other organs that do not remain in the
butterfly. The feet of the frog are inclosed by the skin of the tadpole : and the tad-
pole, to become a frog, loses its tail, mouth, and gills. The infant likewise, at birth,
loses its placenta and envelope ; at a certain age its thymous gland almost disappears ;
and it acquires by degrees its hair, teeth, and beard. The relative size of its organs
alters, and its body increases proportionally more than its head, its head more than its
internal ear, &c.
The place where these germs are found, the assemblage of them, is named the ovary ;
the canal through which, when detached, they are carried forward, the oviduct ; the
cavity in which, in many species, they are obliged to remain for a longer or shorter
period before birth, the matrix or uterus ; the exterior orifice through which they pass
into the world, the vulva. When there are sexes, the male sex fecundates ; the germs
appearing in the female. The fecundating liquor is named semen ; the glands which
separate it from the blood, testicles ; and, when it is necessary that it should be intro-
duced into the body of the female, the intromittent organ is called penis.
li
•V ^
;ii
till
RAPID EXPOSITION OF THE INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS OF ANIMALS.
The impression of external objects on the me, the production of a sensation, of an
image, is a mystery impenetrable to our intellect ; and materialism an hypothesis, so
much the more conjectural, as philosophy can furnish no direct proof of the actual
Germs have been detected in the ovaria of a human foetus. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION.
29
existence of matter. But the naturalist should examine what appear to be the mate-
rial conditions of sensation ; he should trace the ulterior operations of the mind, ascer-
tain to what point they reach in each being, and assure himself whether they are not
subject to conditions of perfection, dependent on the organization of each species, or
on the momentary state of each individual body.
For the me to perceive, there must be an uninterrupted nervous communication
between the external sense and the central masses of the medullary system. Hence it
is only when a modification is experienced by these masses that the me perceives : there
may also be real sensations, without the external organ being affected, and which
originate either in the nervous passage, or in the central mass itself ; such are dreams
and visions, or certain accidental sensations.
By central masses, we mean a part of the nervous system, which is more circum-
scribed as the animal is more perfect. In man, it consists exclusively of a limited
portion of the brain ; but in reptiles, it includes the brain and the whole of the medulla,
and each of their parts taken separately ; so that the absence of the entire brain does
not prevent sensation. In the inferior classes this extension is still greater.
The perception acquired by the me, produces the image of the sensation ex-
perienced, We trace to without the cause of that sensation, and thus acquire the idea
of the object which produces it. By a necessary law of our intelligence, all the ideas
of material objects are in time and space.
The modifications experienced by the medullary masses leave impressions there,
which are reproduced, and recall to mind images and ideas ; this is memory, a cor-
poreal faculty that varies considerably, according to age and health.
Ideas that are similar, or which have been acquired at the same time, recall each
other ; this is the association of ideas. The order, extent, and promptitude of this asso-
ciation constitute the perfection of memory.
Each object presents itself to the memory with all its qualities, or wdth all its
accessory ideas.
Intellect has the power of separating these accessory ideas of objects, and of com-
bining those that are alike in several different objects under one general idea, the
prototype of which nowhere really exists, nor presents itself in an isolated form ; this
is abstraction.
Every sensation being more or less agreeable or disagreeable, experience and re-
peated essays show promptly what movements are required to procure the one and
avoid the other ; and with respect to this, the intellect abstracts itself from general
rules to direct the will.
An agreeable sensation being liable to consequences that are not so, and vice versd,
the subsequent sensations become associated with the idea of the primitive one, and
modify the general rules abstracted by the intellect ; this is prudence.
From the application of rules to general ideas, result certain formulae, which are
afterwards adapted easily to particular cases ; this is called reasoning — ratiocination.
A lively remembrance of primitive and associated sensations, and of the impressions
of pleasure and pain that attach to them, constitutes imagination.
One privileged being, Man, has the faculty of associating his general ideas with
particular images more or less arbitrary, easily impressed upon the memory, and which
serve to recall the general ideas which they represent. These associated images are
30
INTRODUCTION.
what are called signs ; their assemblage is a language. When the language is com-
posed of images that relate to the sense of hearing or sound, it is termed speech. \
When its images relate to that of sight, they are called hieroglyphics. Writing |;
is a suite of images that relate to the sense of sight, by which we represent |
elementary sounds ; and, in combining them, all the images relative to the sense of
hearing of which speech is composed : it is, therefore, only a mediate representation
of ideas.
This faculty of representing general ideas by particular signs or images associated
with them, enables us to retain distinctly in the memory, and to recall without con-
fusion, an immense number, and furnishes to the reasoning faculty and the imagina-
tion innumerable materials, and to individuals the means of communication, which
cause the whole species to participate in the experience of each individual ; so that no
bounds seem to be placed to the acquisition of knowledge : this is the distinctive
character of human intelligence.*
The most perfect animals are infinitely below man in their intellectual faculties ; but j.
it is, nevertheless, certain that their intelligence performs operations of the same kind.llj
nnViiriTr in r\^ c?£i-n c?o C! cn cr*/av^4-iT\lo r\f /I ni-oT-vl *lP
theyl!
They move in consequence of sensations received, are susceptible of durable affections,
and acquire by experience a certain knowledge of things, by which they are governed in-
dependently of actual pain and pleasure, and by the simple foresight of consequences. f
When domesticated, they feel their subordination, know that the being who punishes
them may refrain from doing so if he will, and when sensible of having done wrong, or
behold him angry, they assume a suppliant air. In the society of man they become
either corrupted or improved, and are susceptible of emulation and jealousy
have among themselves a natural language, which, it is true, expresses onlyj
their momentary sensations ; but man teaches them to understand another, muchf
more complicated, by which he makes known to them his will, and causes them to||!'
execute it.
In short, we perceive in the higher animals a certain degree of reason, with all its : ’
consequences, good and bad, and which appears to be about the same as that of chil-
dren before they have learned to speak. In proportion as we descend to the animalsj
more removed from man, these faculties become enfeebled ; and, in the lowest classes
we find them reduced to signs, at times equivocal only, of sensibility, that is to say,
to a few slight movements to escape from pain. Between these two extremes, the
degrees are endless.
In a great number of animals, however, there exists a different faculty of intelli
gence, which is named instinct. This prompts them to certain actions necessary to theTjjj
preservation of the species, but often altogether foreign to the apparent wants of|
individuals ; frequently, also, very complicated, and which, to be ascribed to intelligence, '
would suppose a foresight and knowledge in the species that execute them infinitely
superior to what can be admitted. These actions, the result of instinct, are not the
effect of imitation, for the individuals that perform them have often never seen them
performed by others : they are not proportioned to the ordinary intelligence, but
become more singular, more wise, more disinterested, in proportion as the animals
belong to less elevated classes, and are, in all the rest of their actions, more dull and
* Linnaeus defined the human being to he a “ self-knowing animal
which is a bold assumption, taken either way. — Ed.
i- That is to say, they obviously remark coincidences and sequences ;
but it is doubtful whether any of them can mentally trace remote
causes, amid the complication of phenomena. It is with man in his
least civilized state that they should be compared. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION.
31
stupid. They are so truly the property of the species, that all its individuals perform
them in the same way, without any improvement.
Thus the working bees have always constructed very ingenious edifices, agreeably to
the rules of the highest geometry, and destined to lodge and nourish a posterity not
even their own. The wasps and the solitary bees also form very complicated nests, in
which to deposit their eggs. From this egg issues a grub, which has never seen its
parent, which is ignorant of the structure of the prison in which it is confined, but
which, once metamorphosed, constructs another precisely similar.
In order to have a clear idea of instinct, it is necessary to admit that these animals
have innate and perpetual images or sensations in the sensorium, which induce them to
act as ordinary and accidental sensations commonly do. It is a sort of dream or vision
that ever haunts them, and may be considered, in all that relates to instinct, as a
kind of somnambulism.
Instinct has been granted to animals as a supplement for intelligence, to concur with
it, and with force and fecundity, to the preservation, in a proper degree, of each species.
There is no visible mark of instinct in the conformation of the animal ; but intelli-
gence, so far as has been observed, is in constant proportion to the relative size of the
brain, and particularly of its hemispheres.*
OF METHOD, AS APPLIED TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
After what we have said respecting methods in general, there remains to ascertain
which are the most influential characters of animals, that should serve as the basis of
their primary divisions. It is evident they should be those which are drawn from the
animal functions ; that is to say, from tl^e sensations and movements ; for not only do
both these make the being an animal, but they establish, in a manner, its degree of
animality.
Observation confirms this position, by showing that their degrees of developement
and complication accord with those of the organs of the vegetative functions.
The heart and the organs of the circulation form a kind of centre for the vege-
tative functions, as the brain and trunli of the nervous system do for the animal
* One of the most curious phenomena of instinct is the transmission
of instilled habits by generation, as in the instance of high-bred
pointer and setter dogs, often requiring no training to fit them for
their particular modes of indicating game. Propensities are similarly
hereditary in the human species ; but innate knowledge, as a substi-
tute for individually acquired experience, is peculiar to brutes, which,
for the most part, are thrown upon their own resources, before they
have had time or opportunities to gain the necessary information to
serve as a guide for the regulation of their conduct. Alt the higher ani-
mals, except the human species, appear to recognize their natural foes
intuitively, to know even where tlieir hidden weapons lie, also where
they (and likewise themselves) are most vulnerable, and they endea-
vour to use their own peculiar weapons before these are developed. If
incapable of resistance, they commonly have recourse to stratagem ;
thus a brood of newly-hatched partridges will instantly cower motion-
less at sight of an object of distrust, the intent of which must be, that
the close similarity of their colour to that of the surface should cause
them to be overlooked. Predatory animals, again, which immolate
victims capable of dangerous resistance, instinctively endeavour always
to attack a vital part, so as to effect their purpose speedily, and with
least hazard to themselves ; but those which prey on feeble and de-
fenceless animals attack indiscriminately. Many astonishing mani-
festations of the instinctive faculty occur respecting the manner in
which the food is obtained ; and in the ant and some rodent quadrupeds,
which store up grain, the embryo of every seed is destroyed, to pre-
vent germination.
The seasonal migrative impulse which recurs in some animals is
among the most incomprehensible of instinctive phenomena, as it is
shown to be, in various cases, independent of food or temperature ;
though the latter, in particular, exercises some influence on its de-
velopement, as does also the state of the sexual organs in spring. The
guiding principle of migration is equally mysterious, — that which
enables a bird of passage to return periodically to its former haunts,
to the sarae locality (both in winter and summer), which it had pre-
viously occupied ; and the young also to the place of their nativity.
This principle is farther evinced in the return of pigeons, &c. to their
accustomed place of abode from indefinite distances, and by a straightcr
and more direct route than that by which they had been removed. It
appears, likewise, to be manifested in somnambulism, and, perhaps, in
some other affections of the human body; but the sexual and parental
instincts are those which are chiefly cognizable in civilized man-
kind.
One curious fact connected with the migrative propensity is, that
the same species is sometimes permanently resident in one locality,
and migratory in another. Thus the robin, which is stationary in
Britain, leaves Germany in the autumn ; which would seem to indi-
cate that the erratic habit may have originated (in this instance) from
necessity, and in course of time have become regular and transmis-
sible, independently of external causes. Migratory animals, how-
ever, may commonly be distinguished from others of the same genus,
by their superior structural powers of locomotion. — Ed.
INTRODUCTION.
, 32
functions. Now, we see these two systems degrade and disappear together. In®
the lowest of animals, where the nerves cease to be visible, there are no longer®!
distinct fibres, and the organs of digestion are simply excavated in the homogeneous 1 1
mass of the body. In insects, the vascular system disappears even before the nervous! 1
one ; but, in general, the dispersion of the medullary masses accompanies that of the .
muscular agents: a spinal chord, on which the knots or ganglions represent so;
many brains, corresponds to a body divided into numerous rings, and supported byj
pairs of members distributed along its length, &c. ■ p
This correspondence of general forms, which results from the arrangement of the? i
organs of motion, the distribution of the nervous masses, and the energy of the circu- ■ i
lating system, should serve then for the basis of the primary sections to be made in^
the animal kingdom. We will afterwards ascertain, in each of these sections, what
characters should succeed immediately to these, and form the basis of the primary ;
subdivisions.
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM INTO FOUR GREAT DIVISIONS.
If the animal kingdom be considered with reference to the principles which we have
laid down, and, divesting ourselves of the prejudices founded on the divisions
formerly admitted, we regard only the organization and nature of animals, and not ;
their size, utility, the more or less knowledge which we have of them, nor any ’ ’
other accessory circumstances, it will be found that there exist four principal forms, I
four general plans, if it may be thus expressed, on which all animals appear to have |
been modelled, and the ulterior divisions of which, under whatever title naturalists |
may have designated them, are merely slight modifications, founded on the develope- I
ment or addition of certain parts, which produce no essential change in the plan itself. I
In the first of these forms, which is that of man, and of the animals which most
resemble him, the brain and the principal trunk of the nervous system are inclosed in : ;
a bony envelope, which is formed by the cranium and the vertebrse : to the sides of this •,
medial column are attached the ribs, and the bones of the limbs, which compose the
framework of the body : the muscles generally cover the bones, the motions of which M
they produce, and the viscera are contained within the head and trunk. Animals ofM
this form we shall denominate .
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS (Animalia vertehrata).
They have all red blood, a muscular heart, a mouth furnished with two jaws,'
placed one either before or above the other, distinct organs of sight, hearing, smell, ^
and taste, situated in the cavities of the face ; never more than four limbs ; the
sexes always separated ; and a very similar distribution of the medullary masses, and '
of the principal branches of the nervous system.
On examining each of the parts of this great series of animals more closely, there 1
may always be detected some analogy, even in those species which are most remote i
from one another ; and the gradations of one single plan may be traced from man to
the last of fishes. !i
In the second form there is no skeleton ; the muscles are attached only to the skin, i
INTRODUCTION. 33
which constitutes a soft, contractile envelope, in which, in many species, are formed
stony plates, called shells, the production and position of which are analogous to that
of the mucous body ; the nervous system is contained within this general envelope,
together with the viscera, and is composed of several scattered masses, connected by
nervous filaments, and of which the principal, placed over the oesophagus, bears the
name of brain. Of the four senses, the organs of those of taste and vision only can be
distinguished ; the latter of which are even frequently wanting. A single family
alone presents organs of hearing. There is always, however, a complete system of
circulation, and particular organs for respiration. Those of digestion and of the secre-
tions are little less complicated than in the vertebrated animals. We will distinguish
the animals of this second form by the appellation of
Molluscous Animals {Animalia mollusca).
Although the general plan of their organization is not so uniform, as regards the
external configuration of the parts, as that of the vertebrates, there is always an equal
degree of resemblance between them in the essential structure and the functions.
The third form is that observed in insects, worms, &c. Their nervous system con-
sists of two long chords running longitudinally through the abdomen, dilated at inter-
vals into knots or ganglions. The first of these knots, placed over the oesophagus,
and called brain, is scarcely any larger than those which are along the abdomen, with
which it communicates by filaments that encircle the msophagus like a collar. The
envelope of their trunk is divided by transverse folds into a certain number of rings, of
which the teguments are sometimes hard, sometimes soft, but to the interior of which
the muscles are always attached. The trunk often bears on its sides articulated
limbs, but is frequently unfurnished with them. We will bestow on these animals
the term
Articulate Animals {Animalia articulata).
It is among these that the passage is observed from the circulation in closed vessels,
to nutrition by imbibition, and the corresponding transition from respiration in cir-
cumscribed organs, to that effected by tracheae or air-vessels distributed through the
body. The organs of taste and vision are the most distinct in them, a single family
alone presenting that of hearing. Their jaws, when they have any, are always lateral.
Lastly, the fourth form, which embraces all those animals known under the name of
Zoophytes, may be designated
Radiate Animals {Animalia radiata).
In all the preceding, the organs of sense and motion are arranged symmetrically on
the two sides of an axis. There is a posterior and an anterior dissimilar face. In this
last division, they are disposed as rays round a centre ; and this is the case, even when
they consist of but two series, for then the two faces are alike.* They approximate to
the homogeneity of plants, having no very distinct nervous system, nor organs of
particular senses : there can scarcely be perceived, in some of them, the vestiges of a
* M. Agassiz has expressed a different opinion. See Radiata. — Ex>.
34
INTRODUCTION.
circulation ; their respiratory organs are almost always on the surface of the body ;
the greater number have only a sac without issue, for the whole intestine ; and
the lowest families present only a sort of homogeneous pulp, endowed with motion and ‘
sensibility.* ,
1“ The necessity,” writes Mr. Owen, for a dismemberment of the Radiata of Cuvier, which
Rudolphi justly calls a chaotic groupfj has been felt, and directly or indirectly expressed, by
most naturalists and comparative anatomists. J It is impossible, indeed, to predicate a com-
munity of structure in either the locomotive, excretive, digestive, sensitive, or generative
systems, with respect to this division, as it now stands in the Regne Animal. * * * ;
“ Taking the nervous system as a guide, the Radiata of Cuvier will be found to resolve them-
selves into two natural groups, of which the second differs in the absence or obscure traces of
nervous filaments from the higher division, in whieh these are always distinctly traceable,
either radiating from an oral ring, or distributed in a parallel longitudinal direction, according
to the form of the body.
‘‘These different conditions of the nervous system are accompanied by corresponding
modifications of the muscular, digestive, and vascular systems ; and a negative character, appli-||
cable to the higher division of Cuvier’s Radiata, may be derived from the generative!^
system.Ӥ '
It is only in the lower- organized of these divisions, to which the term
Acrite Animals {Animalia acrita)
has been applied by Macleay, also that of Protozoa and Oozoa by Cams (from the
circumstance of its members being analogous to the ova or germs of the higher classes),
that the alimentary cavity and sanguiferous canals are destitute of proper parietes,
being simple excavations or passages in the granular pulp of the body : for in the
Nematoneura (a name applied to the higher division of Cuvier’s Radiata by Owen), the 1
digestive organ is provided with a proper muscular tunic, and floats in an abdominal i
cavity : and those classes which manifest a circulating system distinct from the diges-
tive tube possess vessels with proper parietes, distinguishable into arteries and veins. ;
No nematoneurous class presents an example of generation by spontaneous fision or 1
gemmation, but these modes of reproduction are common in the acrite division. Some
of the latter, however, are oviparous ; and in a few the sexes are separate.] i
* Before my time, modern naturalists divided all invertebrated ani-
mals into two classes, the Insects and Worms. I was the first to attack
this method, and presented another division,in a Memoir read before the
Natural History Society of Paris, on the 10th of May, 1795, and printed
in the Decade Philosophique, in which I marked the characters and
limits of the Mollusks, Crustaceans, Insects, Worms, Echinoderms,
and Zoophytes. I distinguished the red-blooded worms, or Annelides,
in a memoir read before the Institute on the 3Ist of December, 1801.
And finally, in a Memoir read before the Institute in July, 1812, and
printed in the Annales du Mus, d’Hist. Nat., tom. xix., 1 distributed
these various classes under three grand divisions, each of which is
comparable to that of the vertebrate animals.
t Synopsis Entozoorum, p. 572.
t Lamarck observes : — “ The Apathetic Animals,” (as he terms the
Acrita,) “ have been very improperly called Zoophytes ; as their nature
is completely animal, and in no respect vegetable. The denomina-
tion of Rayed Animals is also objectionable, as it applies only to a
portion of them. — Anim. sans Fertibres, i. p. 890.
§ Cycloptedia of Anatomy and Physiology, Art. Acrita ; from which
the succeeding passages are also abridged.— Ed.
li
FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
The bodies and limbs of these being supported by a
frame-work composed of connected pieces moveable
upon each other, they have the more precision and
vigour in their movements : the solidity of this support
permits of their attaining considerable size, and it is
among them that the largest animals are found.
Their more concentrated nervous system, and the
greater volume of its central portions, impart more
energy and more stability to their sentiments, whence
result superior intelhgence and perfectibility.
Their body always consists of a head, trunk, and
members.
The head is formed by the cranium, which incloses
the brain, and by the face, which is composed of the
two jaws and the receptacles of the organs of sense.
Their trunk is supported by the spine of the back
and the ribs.
The spine is composed of vertebrae moveable upon
each other, of which the first supports the head, and
which have an annular perforation, forming together a
canal, wherein is lodged that medullary production
from which the nerves arise, and which is called the
spinal marrow.
The spine, most commonly, is continued into a tail,
extending beyond the hinder limbs.
The ribs are semicircles, which protect the sides of the cavity of the trunk : they
are articulated at one extremity to the vertebrae, and are ordinarily attached in front to
the breast-bone ; but sometimes they only partly encircle the trunk, and there are
genera in which they are hardly visible.
There are never more than two pairs of limbs ; but sometimes one or the other is
wanting, or even both : their forms vary according to the movements which they have to
execute. The anterior limbs may be organized as hands, feet, wings, or fins ; the
posterior as feet, or instruments for swimming.
D 2
36
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
I
The blood is always red, and appears to have a composition proper for sustaining that
energy of sentiment and vigour of muscles, but in different degrees, which correspond
to the amount of respiration, from which originates the subdivision of the vertebrate
animals into four classes.
The external senses are always five in number, and reside in two eyes, two ears, two
nostrils, the teguments of the tongue, and those of the body generally. Certain species,
however, have the eyes obliterated.
The nerves reach the medulla through perforations of the vertebree, or of the cra-
nium : they all seem to unite with this medulla, which, after crossing its filaments,
expands to form the various lobes of which the brain is composed, and terminates in
the two medullary arches {voutes) termed hemispheres, the volume of which corre-
sponds to the amount of intelligence.
There are always two jaws, the principal motion of which is in the lower one,
which rises and falls ; the upper is oftentimes entirely fixed : both of them are almost
always armed with teeth, excrescences of a peculiar nature, the chemical composition of
which is very similar to that of bone, but which grows by layers and transudations ;
one entire class, however, (that of birds,) has the jaws invested with horn*, and the
group of tortoises, in the class of reptiles, is in the same predicament.
The intestinal canal is continued from the mouth to the anus, undergoing various
inflexions, and several enlargements and contractions ; having also appendages, and
receiving solvent fluids, one of which, the saliva, is discharged into the mouth ; the
others, which flow into the intestine only, have various names ; the two principal are
the juices of the gland called the pancreas [or sweet -hr ead~\, and the bile [or galf],
which is the product of another very large gland, named the liver.
While the digested aliment is traversing its canal, that portion of it which is proper
for nutrition, and is termed the chyle, is absorbed by particular vessels, named lacteals,
and carried into the veins ; the residue of the nutriment of the parts is also carried into
the veins by vessels analogous to the lacteals, and forming with them one same system,
designated the lymphatic system.\
The veins return to the heart the blood which has served to nourish the parts, to-^
gether with the chyle and lymph with which it has been renewed ; but this blood is
obliged to pass, either wholly or in part, into the organ of respiration, to regain its
arterial nature, previous to being again dispersed over the system by the arteries. In
the three first classes, this organ of respiration consists of lungs, that is, an assemblage ,
of ceils into which air penetrates. In fishes only, and in some reptiles while young, it
consists of gills, or a series of laminae between which water passes.
In all the vertebrate animals, the blood which furnishes the liver with the materials
of the bile is venous blood, which has circulated partly in the parietes of the intestines,
and partly in a peculiar body named the spleen, and which, after being united in a
trunk called the vena porta, is again subdivided at the liver.
* M. Geoffrey St. Hilaire has described a structure in the bill of
birds which presents some approach to a dentary system. In a foetus of
a Parroquet nearly ready for hatching, he found that the margins of the
bill were beset with tubercles arranged in a regular order, and having
all the exterior appearance of teeth ; these tubercles u^ere not, indeed,
implanted in the jaw-bones, but formed part of the exterior sheath of
the bill. Under each tubercle, however, there was a gelatinous pulp,
analogous to the pulps which secrete teeth, but resting on the edge of
the maxillary bones, and every pulp was supplied by vessels and nerves
traversing a eanal in the substance of the bone. These tubercles form
the first margins of the mandibles, and their remains are indicated by
canals in the horny sheath, subsequently formed, which contain a
softer material, and which commence from small foramina in the mar-
gin of the bone. In certain other birds (as the Mergansers) also, the
lateral edges of the bill are provided with horny processes or lamina;
secreted by distinct pulps, and analogous in this respect to the whale-
bone lamina; of the Whales, which are toothless Mammalia, as are also
the ant eaters a.\\A Monotremata : it is further remarkable that the
rudiments of dentition occur in the feetus of the toothless Whales.
— Ki).
t The lymphatic vessels are also the media of cutaneous transuda-
tion.— Ed.
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
cj h;
3/
All these animals have a particular secretion, which is that of urine, and which is
elaborated in two large glands attached to the sides of the spine of the back, and called
kidneys : the liquid which these glands secrete, accumulates most commonly in a
reservoir named the bladder.
The sexes are separate, and the female has always one or two ovaries, from which
the eggs are detached at the instant of conception. The male fecundates them with
the seminal fluid ; but the mode varies greatly. In most of the genera of the three
first classes, it requires an intromission of the fluid ; in some reptiles, and in most of
the fishes, it takes place after the exit of the eggs.
SUBDIVISION OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS INTO FOUR CLASSES.
We have seen to what extent vertebrate animals resemble each other : they present,
however, four great subdivisions or classes, characterized by the kind or power of their
movements, which depend themselves on the quantity of respiration, inasmuch as it is
from this respiration that the muscular fibres derive the energy of their irritability.
The quantity of respiration depends upon two agents : the first is the relative
quantity of blood which presents itself in the respiratory organ in a given instant of
time ; the second, the relative amount of [free] oxygen which enters into the com-
position of [or is dispersed through] the ambient fluid. The quantity of the former
depends upon the disposition of the organs of respiration and of circulation.
The organs of the circulation may be double, so that all the blood wdiich is brought
back from the various parts of the body by the veins, is forced to circulate through
the respiratory organ before returning by the arteries ; or they may be simple, so that
a portion only of the blood is obliged to pass through the respiratory organ, the re -
mainder returning to the body without having been subjected to respiration.
The latter is the case with reptiles. The amount of their respiration, and all the
qualities which depend on it, vary according to the quantity of blood which is thrown
into the lungs at each pulsation.
Fishes have a double circulation, but their organ of respiration is formed to execute
its function through the medium of water ; and their blood is only acted upon by that
small portion of oxygen which is dissolved or mingled in water ; so that the quantity of
their respiration is, perhaps, less than that of reptiles.
In mammalians, the circulation is double, and the aerial respiration simple, that is,
it is performed in the lungs only : their quantity of respiration is, therefore, superior
to that of reptiles, on account of the form of their respiratory organ, and to that of
fishes, from the nature of their surrounding medium.
But the quantity of respiration in birds is even superior to that of quadrupeds,
since they have not only a double circulation and an aerial respiration, but also
respire by many other cavities besides the lungs, the air penetrating throughout
their bodies, and bathing the branches of the aorta, or main artery of the body, as
well as those of the pulmonary artery.*
Hence result the four kinds of progression to which the four classes of the vertebrate
animals are more particularly destined. The quadrupeds, in which the quantity of
* In Batrachian reptiles (frogs, newts, &c.), respiration is to a
certain extent performed over the whole outer skin ; which, on this
account, requires to be always moist. Hence, as there can be no
muscular action without previous respiration, the chemical change
effected by which is needed to develope the requisite nervous or vital
energy, those animals of this group which in the adult state have
lungs and not gills, but which pass the winter in a torpid state under
water, are enabled to resuscitate in spring. — Ed.
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
38
respiration is moderate, are generally formed to walk and run with precision and ^ j
vigour ; the birds, in which it is greater, have the muscular energy and lightness ■ %
necessary for flight ; the reptiles, where it is diminished, are condemned to creep, and , |
many of them pass a portion of their life in a state of torpor ; the fishes, in fine, i
to execute their movements, require to be supported in a fluid specifically almost as |
heavy as themselves.* |
All the circumstances of organization proper to each of these four classes, and
especially those which refer to motion and the external senses, have a necessary
relation with these essential characters.
The class of mammahans, however, has peculiar characters in its viviparous mode of , j
generation, in the manner in which the foetus is nourished in the womb by means of . ]
the placenta, and in the mammse by which they suckle their young. ^ :
The other classes are, on the contrary, oviparous ; and if we place them together, in t
opposition to the first, there will be perceived numerous resemblances which announce, ,
on their part, a special plan of organization, subordinate to the great general plan of
all the vertebrates. i!
THE FIRST CLASS OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
MAMMALIA.
Mammalians require to be placed at the head of the animal kingdom, not only
because this is the class to which we ourselves belong, but also because it is that which
enjoys the most numerous faculties, the most delicate sensations, the most varied
powers of motion, and in which all the different qualities seem together combined to
produce a more perfect degree of intelligence, — the one most fertile in resources, most
susceptible of perfection, and least the slave of instinct.
As their quantity of respiration is moderate, they are in general designed for walking
on the ground, but with vigorous and continued steps. Consequently, all the articula-
tions of their skeleton have very precise forms, which rigorously determine their motions.
Some of them, however, by means of lengthened limbs and extended membranes,
raise themselves in the air ; others have the limbs so shortened, that they can employ
them with effect only in water ; but they do not the more on this account lose the
general characters of the class.
* To descend to particular cases, however, it would appear that
species may be framed on almost every type, even very subordinate
types, for any particular mode of life. Thus, to illustrate briefly, the
bats, whicli are true mammalians, are modified for aerial progression
like birds ; and the whales, other mammalians, have a fish-like exterior,
being designed to live exclusively in water : so there are birds which
are utterly incapable of flight ; some, as the ostrich, adapted to scour
the plains, like a quadruped ; others, as the penguins, whose only
sphere of activity is in the water : the pterodactyle affords an ex-
ample of a genus of flying reptiles, the fossil remains of which only
have been discovered. Descending to lower groups, we find among
birds, a genus of thrushes (Ciwclus), which seeks its subsistence under
water; and another of totipalmate w'ater-fowl {Tachypetes), which ]
neither swims nor dives. Such deviations, however, from the general j
character of their allied genera, have no intrinsical relation to the |
groups which they approximate in habit, — nought that can be regarded
as an intentional or designed representation of them, as has some-
times been imagined : for it is evident, that if species based on two
different plans of organization are respectively modified to perform
the same office in the economy of nature, they must necessarily re-
semble, to a certain extent, superficially, as a consequence of that
adaptation ; while there are many cases also in each class which can-
not well be represented in some others, as that of the mole among
quadrupeds, which has no counterpart or correspondent group in the
class of birds. Habit, or mode of life, has indeed nothing whatever
to do with the physiological relations of organisms, which afford the
only legitimate basis of classification ; and those special modifications
to particular habits, which, occurring alike in any class, superinduce
a resemblance in superficial characters only, constitute what has been
well distinguished by the terra analogy, as opposed to affinity
i
I
5
MAMMALIANS. 39
They have all the upper jaw fixed to the skull, and the lower composed of two
pieces only, articulated by a projecting condyle to a fixed temporal bone ; the neck
consists of seven vertebrae, one single species excepted,
which has nine*; the anterior ribs are attached in
front, by cartilage, to a sternum formed of a certain
number of pieces placed in a row ; their fore-limb
commences in a blade-bone, which is not articulated,
but merely suspended in the flesh, often resting on
the sternum by means of an intermediate bone, called
a clavicle. Tkis extremity is continued by an arm, a
fore-arm, and a hand, the last composed of two ranges
of small bones, called a wrist or carpus, of another
range of bones termed metacarpus, and of digits or
fingers, each of which consists of two or three bones,
named phalanges.
Excepting the Cetacea, they have all the first part of
the hinder extremity fixed to the spine, and forming a
girdle or pelvis, which, in youth, consists of three pairs
of bones, — the ilium, which is attached to the spine,
the pubis, which forms the fore part of the girdle, and the ischium, which constitutes
the hind part. At the point of union of these three bones is situate the cavity with which
the thigh is articulated, to which, in its turn, is attached the leg, formed of two bones,
the tibia and fibula : this extremity is terminated by the foot, which is composed of
parts analogous to those of the hand, namely, a tarsus, metatarsus, and digits or toes.
The head of mammalians is always articulated by two condyles upon the atlas, or
first vertebra.
Their brain is composed of two hemispheres, united by a medullary layer termed
the corpus callosum, containing two ventricles, and enveloping the four pairs of tuber-
cles named the corpora striata, the thalami nervorum opticorum, or beds of the optic
I nerves, and the nates and testes. Between the optic beds is a third ventricle, which
I communicates with a fourth situated under the cerebellum, the crura of which always
I form a transverse prominence under the medulla oblongata, called pons Varolii.
I Their eye, invariably lodged in its orbit, is protected by two lids and a vestige of a
j third, and has its crystalline fixed by the ciliary process and its simply cellular sclero-
tica [or white] .
In their ear, there is always found a cavity named the drum, or tympanum, which
communicates with the back part of the mouth, by a canal termed the trumpet, or
Eustachian tube : the cavity itself is closed externally by a membrane called the
membrana tympani, and contains a chain of four little bones, named the hammer, anvil,
orbicular, and stirrup bones ; a vestibule, on the entrance of which rests the stirrup-
bone, and which communicates with three semicircular canals ; and, finally, a cochlea,
which terminates by one passage in the drum, and by another in the vestibule.
Their cranium subdivides into three portions : the anterior is formed by the two
frontal and the ethmoidal bones ; the middle, by the parietal bones and the sphenoidal ;
* The sloth is alluded to, in which, however, distinct rudiments of ribs are attached to the eighth and ninth, as shown in the above figure
(«, V) ; so that, in reality, this constitutes no exception to the universal rule. — Kd.
Fiff. 2.
40
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
and the posterior, by the occipital. Between the occipital, the parietal, and the sphe-
noidal, are interposed the temporal bones, part of which belong properly to the face.
In the foetus, the occipital bone divides into four parts ; the sphenoidal into halves,
which subdivide into three pairs of lateral wings ; the temporal into three, of which
one serves to complete the cranium, another to close the labyrinth of the ear, and the
third to form the parietes of its drum, &c. These bony portions [centres of ossifica-
tion], which are still more numerous in the earliest period of fcetal existence, are
united more or less promptly, according to the species, and the bones themselves be- ’
come finally consolidated in the adult.*
Their face is essentially formed by the two maxillary bones, between which pass the
nostrils, and which have the two intermaxillaries in front, and the two palate bones
behind ; between them descends a single lamina of the ethmoidal bone, named the
vomer-, at the entrance of the nasal canal are the bones proper to the nose ; to its external
parietes adhere the inferior turbinated bones, which occupy its upper and posterior
portion, belonging to the ethmoidal. The jugal or cheek bone unites on each side the
maxillary to the temporal bone, and often to the frontal ; lastly, the lachrymal bone
occupies the inner angle of the orbit, and sometimes a part of the cheek. These bones
also present more numerous subdivisions in the embryo.
Their tongue is always fleshy, and attached to a bone termed the hyoidal, which is
composed of several pieces, and suspended from the cranium by ligaments.
Their lungs, two in number, divided into lobes, and composed of an infinitude of
cells, are always inclosed without adhesion in a cavity formed by the ribs and
diaphragm, and lined by the pleura ; their organ of voice is always at the upper end
of the windpipe ; a fleshy elongation, called the velum palati, establishes a direct com-
munication between their larynx and nostrils.
Their residence on the surface of the earth exposing them less to the alternations of
heat and cold, their body has only a moderate kind of tegument, the hair or fur, and
even this is commonly scanty in those of hot climates. f
The cetaceans, which live entirely in water, are the only ones that are altogether
deprived of it.
The abdominal cavity is lined with a membrane called the peritoneum ; and their
intestinal canal is suspended to a fold of it, termed the mesentery, which contains
numerous conglomate glands, in which the lacteal vessels ramify ; another production
of the peritoneum, named the epiploon, hangs in front of and under the intestines.
The urine, retained for some time in the bladder, is discharged, in the two sexes,
with very few exceptions, by orifices in the organs of generation.
In all mammalians, generation is essentially viviparous ; that is to say, the fetus,
immediately after conception, descends [gradually] into the matrix, inclosed in its
envelopes, the exterior of which is named chorion, and the interior amnios ; it fixes
itself to the parietes of this cavity by one or more plexus of vessels, termed the
placenta, which establishes a communication between it and the mother, by which it
receives its nourishment, and probably also its oxygenation ; notwithstanding which,
* Here it may be remarked that, descending in the series of verte-
brates, the same is observable as in ascending to foetal life in the
higher groups ; the progress of developement, in this and other re-
spects, being arrested at different stages of advaneement, according
to the class, order, and species : the brain for instance, in man, suc-
cessively assuming the conditions of this organ in fishes, reptiles,
birds, the lower and then higher groups of mammalians. — Ed.
t In some monkeys from Sierra Leone, the most torrid region in the
world, the hair is much elongated, but thin and coarse, as if designed
to protect them from the solar rays. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
41
the foetus of mammalians, at an early period, has a vessel analogous to that which
contains the yolk in the oviparous classes, receiving, in like manner, vessels from the
mesentery. It has also another external bladder named the allantoid, which communi-
cates with the urinary one by a canal termed the urachus.
Conception always requires an effectual coitus, in which the fecundating fluid of the
male is thrown into the uterus of the female.
The young are nourished for some time after birth by a fluid peculiar to this class
(the milk), which is produced by the mammae, at the time of parturition, and for as
long a period as the young require it. It is from the mammae that this class derives
its name, and, being a character peculiar to it, they distinguish it better than any
other that is external.*
DIVISION OF THE CLASS OF MAMMALIA INTO OEDERS.
The variable characters which establish essential differences among the mammalia
are taken from the organs of touch, on which depends their degree of ability or
address, and from the organs of manducation, which determine the nature of their
food, and are connected together, not only with all that relates to the digestive func-
tion, but also with a multitude of other differences extending even to their intelligence.
The degree of perfection of the organs of touch is estimated by the number and the
mobility of the fingers, and from the greater or less extent to which their extremities
are enveloped by the nail or the hoof.
A hoof which envelopes all that portion of the toe which touches the ground, blunts
its sensibility, and renders the foot incapable of seizing.
The opposite extreme is where a nail, formed of a single lamina, covers only one
of the faces of the extremity of the finger, and leaves the other possessed of all its
delicacy.
j The nature of the food is known by the grinders, to the form of which the articula-
I tion of the jaws universally corresponds.
I For cutting flesh, grinders are required as trenchant as a saw, and jaws fitted like
[ scissors, which have no other motion than a vertical one.
For bruising grain or roots, flat-crowned grinders are necessary, and jaws that
have a lateral motion : in order that the crowns of these teeth should always be
irregular, as in a mill, it is further requisite that their substance should be formed of
parts of unequal hardness, so that some may wear away faster than others.
Hoofed animals are all necessarily herbivorous, and have flat- crowned grinders, in-
asmuch as their feet preclude the possibility of their seizing a living prey.
Animals with unguiculated fingers are susceptible of more variety ; their food is of
all kinds : and, independently of the form of their grinders, they differ greatly from
each other in the mobility and delicacy of their fingers. There is one character with
respect to this, which has immense influence on their dexterity, and greatly multiplies
its powers ; it is the faculty of opposing the thumb to the other fingers for the purpose
of seizing small objects, constituting what is properly termed a hand; a faculty which
* We shall find, however, in the sequel some doubts on this sub- i to be no nipples, simple pressure alone causing the fluid to exude,
ject, as regards the family of Monotremata. [These doubts have In the class of birds, a lacteal fluid is secreted by the crops of the
since been removed, inasmuch as the lacteal glands have been de parrots and pigeons, which is disgorged into the throats of the young
tected, with their secretion ; though, as in the cetaceans, there appear I w'heu newly hatched. — En.]
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
42
is carried to its highest perfection in Man, in whom the whole anterior extremity is
free, and capable of prehension.
These various combinations, which rigidly determine the nature of the dilferent
mammalians, have given rise to the following orders : — :
Among the unguiculates the first is Man, who, besides being privileged in all other
respects, has hands to the anterior extremities only ; his hinder limbs support him in
an erect position.
In the order next to Man, — that of the Quadrumana, there are hands to the four
extremities.
Another order, that of the Carnaria, has not the thumb free and opposable to the
other fingers.
These three orders have each the three sorts of teeth, namely, grinders, canines, and
incisors.
A fourth, that of the Rodentia, in which the toes differ little from those of the
Carnaria, is without the canines, and the incisors are placed in front of the mouth, and “
adapted to a very peculiar sort of manducation. H
Then come those animals whose toes are much cramped, and deeply sunk in large
nails, which are generally curved ; and which have further the imperfection of want- "
ing the incisors. Some of them are also without canines, and there are others which II
have no teeth at all. We comprehend them all under the name Edentata.
This distribution of the unguiculated animals would be perfect, and form a very
regular series, were it not that New Holland has lately furnished us with a small ||
collateral series, composed of pouclied animals [Marsupiata], the different genera
of which are connected together by the aggregate of their organization, although in
their teeth, and in the nature of their regimen, some correspond to the Carnaria, others
to the Rodentia, and others, again, to the Edentata.
The hoofed animals are less numerous, and have likewise fewer irregularities.
The Ruminantia compose an order very distinct, which is characterized by its cloven
feet, by the absence of the incisors to the upper jaw, and by having four stomachs.
All the other hoofed animals may be left together in a single order, which I shall
call Pachydermata or Jumenta, the Elephant excepted, which might constitute a
separate one, having some distant relation to that of Rodentia.
Lastly, those mammalians remain which have no posterior extremities, and whose
fish-like form and aquatic mode of life would induce us to form them into a particular
class, if it were not that all the rest of their economy is precisely the same as in that i
wherein we leave them. These are the warm-blooded fishes of the ancients, or the
Cetacea, which, uniting to the vigour of the other mammalians the advantage of being
sustained in the watery element, include among them the most gigantic of all animals. -
[Linnjeus reduced all mammalians to three great groups, Unguiculata, Ungulata,
and Mutica ; terms which are at least convenient for their expressiveness, although
the groups they represent intergrade, and in some instances invade each other, if too
rigorously accepted.
His order Primates, as extended to the Bimana, Quadrumana, and Cheiroptera of
Cuvier, receives the approbation of most naturalists ; few regard the last as subordinate
to the Carnaria, which is equivalent to Primates.
Viewing Man zoologically, opinion is divided respecting the propriety of assigning
MAMMALIA.
43
j him a separate ordinal station ; his rudimental structure according so nearly with that
I of the Quadrumana, of which type he presents the modification for ground habits and
an upright attitude ; his more highly developed brain is merely a dilference in degree.
Conceding this much, he would require to be admitted into the same particular
I group as all other mammalians based on the same next general plan of structure
j to that of the entire class ; which special type is externally distinguished by pecu-
j liarities in the sexual organs, a system of organs of all others the least subject to be
Ij influenced by the general modification in reference to habit.
It is thus that, after being necessarily included among the Mammalia, Man must
next range with the other handed animals and the Bats, in a particular subdivision,
i which Linnaeus has named Primates.
ji, There would appear to be four distinct major groups of Primates : — the Catarrhini,
I composed of the Apes, Monkej^^s, and Baboons of the eastern hemisphere ; the
Platyrrhini, consisting of the anthropoid animals of America ; the StrepsirrJiini, or
i Lemurs (including GaleBopithecus, and, perhaps, Cheiromys) ; and the Cheiroptera, or
i Bats, which last, varying most essentially in their dentition, according as they are
frugivorous, sanguivorous, or insectivorous, afford a decisive proof that the dentary
I system alone, like any other single character considered apart from the rest, fails to
I supply an invariable indication of the affinities of an animal (as has sometimes been
stated). We perceive no sufficient reason why the genus Homo should not range at
the head of the Catarrhini, though as a distinct family — Homlnidce, as opposed to
Simiadce ; in accordance wherewith, the Primates present a tolerable series, from the
summit of the animal kingdom to forms that are rather low in the class of mammalians.
An analogous gradation is exhibited by the second grand division, which De Blain-
ville has designated Secundates ; it is the Carnaria of Cuvier divested of the Bats. We
prefer the latter appellation, as more in unison with the names of the succeeding
orders ; and for the same reason would substitute Primaria for Primates.
Our illustrious author, with a view to present some approximation to a linear suc-
cession, has arranged the present series inversely, commencing with those least elevated
in the scale, or the Insectivora. To this we cannot accede, as virtually implying an
exploded principle. Considered as a carnivorous group, the Feline animals must be
selected as the standard — most characteristic example* — of the order ; but in its
totality, without reference to especial modifications, the Dog has better claim to be
placed at the head. Some curious analogies accordingly present themselves between
the respectively highest animals of the two first orders.
As a general, perhaps universal rule obtaining in consecutive groups when sufficiently
extensive, the summit of the inferior displays a higher organization than the terminal
members of the superior f ; and this sometimes in a very remarkable degree, as shown
in the present instance. A sort of parallelism may also frequently be observed between
such members of two different ordinal types as are of a corresponding degree of eleva-
tion in the scale of being : thus, the Shrews present certain characters of the Rodentia,
without linking with them. It is on this principle, we suspect, that transitions appear
to occur in some instances, from one great type of structure to another ; and a key is
hereby supplied to the proper understanding of much that seems otherwise inexplicable.
* The word type is often employed in this sense : we use it in a I t A proposition which is sanctioned by the acquiescence of Cuvier,
somewhat different one. 1 as shown by his remarks on linear arrangement. Vide preface, p. 7.
44
MAMMALIA.
We have seen, in the Primaria, that particular plan of conformation so modified as
to enable certain species to fly : in the Carnaria, the Seals afford an example of exclusive
adaptation to aquatic habits.
It could only have been the desire to maintain a sort of continuous succession, as in the
former instance, which induced our author to range the Marsupiata next to the Carnaria ;
for they are unquestionably the lowest-organized of mammalians, whence their intrusion
so high in the system of the class furnishes another proof of the impropriety of allowing
undue importance to particular characters. An order which has a better claim to
succeed the Carnaria, is that of the fish-like mammalians, or Cetacea ; but, divested of
the herbivorous genera ranged in it by Cuvier, which are strict Pachydermata. (It is
scarcely necessary to repeat, that modifications which have reference to habit do not
necessarily affect the essential relations of organisms).
The Pachydermata follow, which, in their turn, must not be regarded as more nearly
related to the last, because certain genera of them are analogously adapted for aquatic
habits only. We feel compelled to reiterate this general principle, in order to preclude
misconception ; the sound inference seems to be, that a tendency to general modification
for aquatic habits prevails in this part of the system ; which certainly helps to indicate
what orders should be placed in contiguity, though still not of necessity, even admitting
that many analogous cases may be cited in corroboration of a vague index being thus
afforded.*
We prefer to arrange the Ruminantia next to the Pachydermata ; then the Edentata,
and the Rodentia ; and last of all the Marsupiata, including the Monotremata of Cuvier,
the formerly doubtful points concerning which are now, with slight reservation, finally
set at rest.
It will be perceived that this arrangement is tolerably in accordance with the ordinary
cerebral developement, and consequent amount of intelligence, of the eight successive
orders. Passing on to the Birds, we commence with a higher intellect (in the Parrots)
than is manifested in either of the last three, or, perhaps, four orders ; which agrees
with the general proposition stated at p. 43.]
THE FIRST ORDER OF MAMMALIANS.
BIMANA, OR MAN.
Man forms but one genus, and that genus the only one of its order. As his history
is more directly interesting to ourselves, and forms the standard of comparison to
which we refer that of other animals, we will treat of it more in detail.
We will rapidly sketch whatever Man offers, that is peculiar in each of his organic
systems, amidst all that he has in common with other mammalians ; we will describe
his principal races and their distinctive characters ; and finally point out the natural
order of the developement of his faculties, both individual and social.
* For an instance in point, see our remarks on certain conformities of structure observable in the two ^oups of Parrots and Hawks.
BIMANA, OR MAN. 45
PECULIAR CONFORMATION OF MAN.
The foot of Man is very different from that of Apes : it is large ; the leg bears vertically upon
it ; the heel is expanded beneath ; his toes are short, and but slightly flexible ; the great toe,
longer and larger than the rest, is placed on the same line with and cannot bef opposed to
them. This foot, then, is proper for supporting the body, but cannot be used for seizing or
climbing*, and as the hands are unfitted for walking, Man is the only animal truly himanous
and hiped.
The whole body of Man is modified for the vertical position. His feet, as we have already
seen, furnish him with a larger base than those of other mammalians ; the muscles which re-
tain the foot and thigh in the state of extension are more vigorous, whence results the swelling
of the calf and buttock ; the flexors of the leg are attached higher up, which permits of com-
plete extension of the knee, and renders the calf more apparent. The pelvis is larger, which
separates the thighs and feet, and gives to the trunk that pyramidal form favourable to equi-
librium : the necks of the thigh-bones form an angle with the body of the bone, which increases
still more the separation of the feet, and augments the basis of the body. Finally, the head,
in this vertical position, is in eauilibrium with the trunk, because its ai’ticulation is exactly
under the middle of its mass.
Were he to desire it, Man could not, with convenience, walk on all fours : his short and
nearly inflexible foot, and his long thigh, would bring the knee to the ground ; his widely sepa-
rated shoulders and his arms, too far extended from the median line, would ill support the
fore-part of his body ; the great indented muscle which, in quadrupeds, suspends the trunk
between the blade-bones as a girth, is smaller in Man than in any one among them ; the head
is heavier, on account of the magnitude of the brain, and the smallness of the sinuses or cavi-
ties of the bones ; and yet the means of supporting it are weaker, for he has neither cervical
ligament, nor are the vertebrae so modified as to prevent their flexure forward j he could
therefore only maintain his head in the same line with the spine, and then, his eyes and mouth
being directed towards the ground, he could not see before him ; the position of these organs
is, on the contrary, quite perfect, supposing that he walks erectly.
Tlie arteries which supply his brain, not being subdivided as in many quadrupeds, and the
blood requisite for so voluminous an organ being carried to it with too much violence, fre-
quent apoplexies would be the consequence of a horizontal position. i
Man, then, is designed to be supported by the feet only. Fie thus preserves the entire use [
of his hands for the arts, while his organs of sense are most favorably situated for observa-
tion.
I These hands, which derive such advantages from their liberty, receive as many more from
' their structure. Their thumb, longer in proportion than in the apes, increases the facility of
seizing small objects ; all the fingers, except the annularis [and this to a certain extent], have
separate movements, which is not the case in any other animal, not even in the apes. The
nails, covering only one side of the extremities of the fingers, form a support to the touch,
I without in the least depriving it of its delicacy. The arms which support these hands have a
solid attachment by their large blade-bone, their strong collar bone, &c.
Man, so highly favoured as to dexterity, is not so with regard to strength. His swiftness
in running is much inferior to that of other animals of his size ; having neither projecting
jaws, nor salient canine teeth, nor crooked nails, he is destitute of offensive armature ; and
the sides and upper part of his body being naked, unprovided even with hair, he is absolutely
* It is certain, however, that by much practice from early youth, | with the anterior extremities imperfect, have illustrated this practi-
the foot has been known to acquire an amount of dexterity in manual I cability the most remarkably. The influence of habit in training- even
operations, which it would not have been supposed capable of by those the hand to perform its functions, will be appreciated by those who
whose feet have been enveloped from the time they first walked in cannot use their left hand with the same freedom as the right. — Ed.
close investments. Individuals, in particular, who have been born I
MAMMALIA.
46
without defensive weapons : lastly, he is of all animals that which is latest to acquire the power
necessary to provide for himself.
But this weakness even has been for him another advantage, in obliging him to have re- |
course to those internal means — to that intelligence which has been awarded to him in so '
high a degree.
No quadruped approaches him in the magnitude and convolutions of the hemispheres of the
brain, that is to say, of that part of this organ which is the principal instrument of the intel-
lectual operations ; the posterior portion of the same organ extends backwards, so as to form
a second covering to the cerebellum ; even the form of the cranium announces this great
size of the brain, as the smallness of the face shows how slightly that portion of the nervous
system which influences the external senses predominates in him. ^
These external senses, however, moderate as they all are in Man, are yet extremely delicate
and well balanced.
His two eyes are directed forwards ; he does not see on two sides at once, like many quadru-
peds, which produces more unity in the result of his vision, and concentrates his attention
more closely on objects of this kind. The ball and iris of his eye vary but little, which re- j|
strains the activity of his sight to limited distances, and to a determined degree of light. The |
conch of his ear, possessing but little mobility or extent, does not increase the intensity of "
sounds, notwithstanding which, of all animals, he best distinguishes their intonation. His ™
nostrils, more complicated than those of apes, are less so than those of all other genera ; and i
yet he appears to be the only animal whose sense of smell is sufficiently delicate to be affected
by unpleasant odours. Delicacy of smell must influence that of taste ; and Man must have a
further advantage, in this respect, at least over those animals whose tongues are covered with
scales. Lastly, the nicety of his touch results, both from the delicacy of his teguments and ^ |
the absence of all insensible parts, as well as from the the form of his hand, which is j I
better adapted than that of any other animal for suiting itself to all the small inequalities of ■ 1
surfaces. |
Man has a particular pre-eminence in his organ of voice : of all mammalians, he can alone * ]
articulate sounds; the form of his mouth and the great mobility of his lips being probably jj|
the cause of this. Hence results his most invaluable mode of communication ; for of all the tw
signs which can be conveniently employed for the transmission of ideas, variations of sound ^
are those which can be perceived at the greatest distance, and in the most various directions < ;
simultaneously. '
It seems that even the position of the heart and of the great vessels bears reference to the
vertical carriage. The heart is placed obliquely on the diaphragm, and its point inclines to ■; j
the left, thereby occasioning a distribution of the aorta differing from that of most quadrupeds.
The natural food of Man, judging from his structure, appears to consist principally of *!
the fruits, roots, and other succulent parts of vegetables. His hands afford every facility for
gathering them ; his short and but moderately strong jaws on the one hand, and his canines 9
being equal only in length to the other teeth, together with his tuberculated molars on the 9
other, would scarcely permit him either to masticate herbage, or to devom^ flesh, were these '
condiments not previously prepared by cooking. Once, however, possessed of fire, and those ^
arts by which he is aided in seizing animals or killing them at a distance, every living being
was rendered subservient to his nourishment, thereby giving him the means of an indefinite I
multiplication of his species. j
His organs of digestion are in conformity with those of manducation ; his stomach is simple,
his intestinal canal of mean length, his great intestines well marked, his coecum short and thick,
and augmented by a small appendage, and his liver divided only into two lobes and one small
one ; his epiploon hangs in front of the intestines, and extends into the pelvis.
To complete this abridged statement of the anatomical structure of Man, necessary for this
BIMANA, OR MAN.
47
Introduction, we will add, that he has thirty-two vertebrae, of which seven belong to the neck,
twelve to the back, five to the loins, five to the sacrum, and three to the coccyx. Of his ribs,
seven pairs are united to the sternum by elongated cartilages, and are called true ribs ; the
five following pairs are denominated false ones. His adult cranium consists of eight bones ;
an occipital {occipito-hasilaire) ; two temporal ; two parietal ; a frontal ; an ethmoidal, and a
sphenoidal. The hones of his face are fourteen in number namely, two maxillaries ; two
jugals, each of which joins the temporal to the maxillary bone of its own side by a sort of
handle named the zygomatic arch ; two nasal bones ; two palatines, behind the palate ; a vomer,
between the nostrils ; two turbinated bones of the nose in the nostrils ; two lachrymals in the
inner angles of the orbits, and the single bone of the lower jaw. Each jaw has sixteen teeth :
four cutting incisors in the middle, two pointed canines at the corners, and ten molars with
tuberculated crowns, five on each side, in all thirty-two teeth. His blade-bone has at the
extremity of its spine or projecting ridge a tuberosity, named the acromion, to which the
clavicle or collar-bone is connected, and over its articulation is a point termed the coracoid
process, to which certain muscles are attached. The radius turns completely on the cubitus
or ulna, owing to the mode of its articulation with the humerus. The wrist has eight bones,
four in each range j the tarsus has seven ; those of the remaining parts of the hand and foot
may be easily counted by the number of digits.
Enjoying, by means of his industry, uniform supplies of nourishment, Man is at all times
inclined to sexual intercourse, without being ever furiously incited. His generative organ is
not supported by a bony axis ; the prepuce does not retain it attached to the abdomen ; but
it hangs in front of the pubis : numerous and large veins, which effect a rapid transfer of
the blood of his testes to the general circulation^ appear to contribute to the moderation of his
desires.
The uterus of woman is a simple oval cavity ; her mammae, only two in number, are situated
on the breast, and correspond with the facility she possesses of supporting her child upon her
arm.
PHYSICAL AND MORAL DEVELOPEMENT OF MAN.
The ordinary produce of the human species is but one child at a birth j for in five hundred
cases of parturition, there is only one of twins, and more than that number is extremely rare.
! The period of gestation is nine months. A foetus of one month is ordinarily an inch in
I height; at two months, it is two inches and a quarter; at three months, five inches ; at five
months, six or seven inches ; at seven months, eleven inches ; and at nine months, eighteen
inches. Those which are born prior to the seventh month usually die. The first or milk
I teeth begin to appear a few months after birth, commencing with the incisors. The number
increases in two years to twenty, which are shed successively from about the seventh year,
! to be replaced by others. Of the twelve posterior molars, which are permanent, there are
I four which make their appearance at four years and a half, four at nine years ; the last four
being frequently not cut until the twentieth year.
The foetus grows more rapidly in proportion as it approaches the time of birth. The infant,
on the contrary, increases always more and more slowly. It has upwards of a fourth of its
height when born, attains the half of it at two years and a half, and the three fourths at nine or
ten years. By the eighteenth year the growth almost entirely ceases. Man rarely exceeds
six feet, and seldom remains under five. Woman is ordinarily some inches shorter.
Puberty manifests itself by external signs, from the tenth to the twelfth year in girls, and
from the twelfth to the sixteenth in boys. It arrives sooner in warm climates. Either sex
very rarely produces before the epoch of this manifestation.
Scarcely has the body attained its full growth in height, before it commences to
increase in bulk ; fat accumulates in the cellular tissue. The different vessels become
MAMMALIA.
48
gradually obstructed ; the solids become rigid ; and after a life more or less prolonged, more or
less agitated, more or less painful, old age arrives, with decrepitude, decay, and death. Man
rarely lives beyond a hundred years ; and most of the species, either from disease, accidents,
or merely old age, perish long before that term.
The child needs the assistance of its mother much longer than her milk, whence results an
education intellectual as well as physical, and a durable mutual attachment. The nearly equal
number of individuals of the two sexes, the difficulty of supporting more than one wife, when
wealth does not supply the want of power, intimate that monogamy is the natural condition
of our species ; and as, wherever this kind of union exists, the sire participates in the education
of his offspring, the length of time required for that education allows the birth of others,
whence the natural perpetuity of the conjugal state. From the long period of infantile weak-
ness results domestic subordination, and, consequently, the order of society at large, as the
young persons which compose the new families continue to preserve with their parents those
tender relations to which they have so long been accustomed. This disposition to mutual
assistance multiplies to an almost unlimited extent those advantages previously derived by
isolated Man from his intelligence ; it has assisted him to tame or repulse other animals, to
defend himself from the effects of climate, and thus enabled him to cover the earth with his
species.
In other respects, Man appears to possess nothing resembling instinct, no regular habit of
industry produced by innate ideas ; all his knowledge is the result of his sensations, his
observations, or of those of his predecessors. Transmitted by speech, increased by meditation,
applied to his necessities and his enjoyments, they have given rise to all the arts. Language
and letters, by preserving acquired kuowledge, are a source of indefinite perfection to his
species. It is thus that he has acquired ideas, and made all nature contribute to his wants.*
There are very different degrees of developement, however, in Man.
The first hordes, compelled to live by hunting and fishing, or on wild fruits, and being
obliged to devote all their time to search for the means of subsistence, and not being able to
multiply greatly, because that would have destroyed the game, advanced but slowly; their
arts were limited to the construction of huts and canoes, to covering themselves with skins,
and fabricating arrows and nets ; they observed such stars only as served to direct them in
their journeys, and some natm’al objects whose properties were of use to them ; they gained the
dog for a companion, because he had a natural inclination for the same kind of life. When
they had succeeded in taming the herbivorous animals, they found in the possession of
numerous flocks a never-failing source of subsistence, and some leisure, which they employed
in extending the sphere of their acquirements. Some industry was then employed in the
construction of dwellings and the making of clothes ; the idea of property was admitted, and,
consequently, that of barter, together with wealth and difference of conditions, those fruitful
sources of the noblest emulation and the vilest passions ; but the necessity of searching for
fresh pastures, and of obeying the changes of the seasons, still doomed them to a wandering
life, and limited their improvement to a very narrow sphere.
The multiplication of the human species, and its improvement in the arts and sciences, has
* The numerous structural concurrences, all of which are required |
to promote the intellectual developement of mankind, are worthy of ;
serious consideration with reference to the unaided faculties of other
animals.
For example, if the superior intelligence of Man were not seconded
by his admirable hands ( so vastly excelling those of the monkey
tribe), by his efficient vocal organ, &c., which are obvious to all as
mere physical conformations, indeed, but slight modifications of what
occur in other animals, — if, in short, he were reduced in these re-
spects to the condition of the Dog, how effectually would the privation
operate to prevent that progressive advancement which, under exist-
ing circumstances, is achieved by the human race only.
But, even grant to Man the use of all his organs, yet deprive him of
the accumulated experience of his predecessors, and all mental culture
beyond the result of his incidental experience (which in brutes is a i
I necessary consequence of their imperfect means of communication),
I and we perceive how immensely he is indebted also to these ac-
cessories.
On the other hand, however, a duly developed brain and commensu-
rate intelligence are required to enable Man to avail himself of the
advantages of his structure, for otherwise he appears doomed to re-
main stationary like a brute (as in the instance of the New Hol-
landers), even in the midst of civilization. There are also casualties,
as the general insecurity of life or property arising from situation or
misgovernment, which ordinarily suffice to repel the efforts of ad-
vancement, even of the most intelligent races.
It would accordingly, then, appear, that the characteristic traits
of human intellect are mainly due to the co-operation of extrinsic
causes, and to the accessory aids afforded by physical conformation.
-En.
li
;j!!
j -i!!
BIMANA, OR MAN.
49
only been carried to a high degree since the invention of agriculture and the division of the
soil into hereditary possessions. By means of agriculture, the manual labour of a portion
of society is adequate to the maintenance of the whole, and allows the remainder time
for less necessary occupations, at the same time that the hope of acquiring, by industry, a
comfortable subsistence for self and posterity, has given a new spring to emulation. The
discovery of a representative of property, or a circulating medium, has carried this emulation
to the highest degree, by facilitating exchanges, and rendering fortunes more independent and
susceptible of being increased ; but by a necessary consequence, it has also equally increased
the vices of effeminacy and the furies of ambition.
In every stage of the developement of society, the natural propensity to reduce all knowledge
i to general principles, and to search for the causes of each phenomenon, has produced reflecting
men, who have added new ideas to those already accumulated ; nearly all of whom, while know-
1 ledge was confined to the few, endeavom-ed to convert their intellectual superiority into the
j means of domination, exaggerating their merit in the eyes of others, and disguising the j
' poverty of their knowledge by the propagation of superstitious ideas.
An evil more irremediable, is the abuse of physical power ; now that Man only can injure
Man, he affords the only instance of a species continually at war with itself. Savages dispute
their forests, and herdsmen their pastures ; and make irruptions, as often as they can, upon
the cultivators of the soil, to deprive them of the fruits of their long and painful labours.
Even civilized nations, far from being satisfied with their enjoyments, carry on war for the
[ prerogative of pride, or the monopoly of commerce. Hence the necessity of governments
! to direct the national wars, and to repress or reduce to regular forms the quarrels of
I individuals.
i| Circumstances, more or less favourable, have restrained the social condition within limited
Ij degrees, or have promoted its developement.
I The glacial climates of the north of both continents, and the impenetrable forests of
I America, are still inhabited by the savage hunter or fisherman. The immense sandy or salt
plains of Central Asia and Africa are covered with a pastoral people, and innumerable herds :
ii these half-civilized hordes assemble at the call of every enthusiastic chief, and overrun the
ij cultivated countries that surround them, in which they estabhsh themselves but to become
I enervated, and to be subjected in their turn to the next invaders. This is the true cause of
|| that despotism, which, in every age, has crushed the industry called forth under the fine
ij climates of Persia, India, and China.
Mild climates, soils naturally irrigated and rich in vegetables, are the natmal cradle of
i agriculture and civilization ; and when their position is such as to afford shelter from the
Ij incursions of barbarians, talents of every kind are mutually excited ; such were formerly (the
! first in Europe,) Italy and Greece ; and such is, at present, nearly all that happy portion of
j the earth’s surface.
1 There are, however, certain intrinsic causes which appear to arrest the progress of particular
I races, even though situated amidst the most favourable circumstances.
i
I VAUIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES.
I Although the human species would appear to be single, since the union of any of its members pro-
li duces individuals capable of propagation*, there are, nevertheless, certain hereditary peculiarities of
ii conformation observable, which constitute what are termed races.
j Three of these in particular appear eminently distinct : the Caucasian, or white, the Mongolian, or
I yellow, and the Ethiopian, or negro.
I The Caucasian, to which we belong, is distinguished by the beauty of the oval which forms the
* It is now certain that this circumstance afifords no proof of spe- i which I have just witnessed, in the class of birds, of a brood of ducks,
cifical identity, inasmuch as many nearly allied but obviously dis- both parents of which were half mallard and half pintail {Anas boschas
tinct species produce hybrids that are prolific inter se ; an instance of | and A. acuta). See note to p. 19. — Ed.
50
MAMMALIA.
head ; and it is this one which has given rise to the most civilized nations, to those which have gene-
rally held the rest in subjection : it varies in complexion and in the colour of the hair.
The Mongolian is known by his projecting cheek-bones, flat visage, narrow and oblique eyebrows,
scanty beard, and olive complexion. Great empires have been established by this race in China and
Japan, and its conquests have sometimes extended to this side of the Great Desert ; but its civilization
has always remained stationary.
The Negro race is confined to the southward of the Atlas chain of mountains : its colour is black,
its hair crisped, the cranium compressed, and nose flattened. The projecting muzzle and thick bps
evidently approximate it to the Apes : the hordes of which it is composed have always continued
barbarous.
The name Caucasian has been affixed to the race from which we descend, because tradition and the
filiation of nations seem to refer its origin to that group of mountains situate between the Caspian and
Black Seas, whence it has apparently extended by radiating all around. The nations of the Caueasus,
or the Circassians and Georgians, are even now considered as the handsomest on earth. The principal
ramifications of this race may be distinguished by the analogies of language. The Armenian or
Syrian branch, spreading southward, produced the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the hitherto untameable
Arabs, who, after Mahomet, expected to become masters of the world; the Phoenicians, the Jews, the
Abyssinians, which were Arabian colonies, and most probably the Egyptians. It is from this branch,
always inclined to mysticism, that have sprung the most widely extended forms of religion. Science
and Hterature have sometimes flourished among its nations, but always in a strange disguise and
figurative style. j- -j j
The Indian, German, and Pelasgic branch is much more extended, and was much earher divided :
notwithstanding which, the most numerous affinities have been recognized between its four principal
languages— the Sanscrit, the present sacred language of the Hindoos, and the parent of the greater
number of the dialects of Hindostan ; the ancient language of the Pelasgi, common parent of the
Greek, Latin, many tongues that are extinct, and of all those of the south of Europe ; the Gothic or
Teutonic, from which are derived the languages of the north and north-west of Europe, such as the
German, Dutch, English, Danish, Swedish, and their dialects ; and finally, the Sclavonian, from which
are descended those of the north-east, the Russian, Polish, Bohemian, and that of the Vandals.
It is by this great and venerable branch of the Caucasian stock, that philosophy, the arts and
sciences, have been carried to their present state of advancement; and it has continued to be the
depository of them for thirty centuries.
It was preceded in Europe by the Celts, whose tribes, once very numerous, came by the north, and
are now confined to its most western extremities ; and by the Cantabrians, who passed from Africa
into Spain, and have become confounded with the many nations whose posterity have intermingled in
that peninsula. . j * x-n
The ancient Persians originate from the same source as the Indians, and their descendants still
present a very close resemblance to the nations of Europe.
The Scythian and Tartar branch, extending first towards the north and north-east, and always
wandering over the immense plains of those countries, returned but to devastate the happier abodes of
their more civiUzed brethren. The Scythians, who, at so remote a period, made irruptions into Upper
Asia- the Parthians, who there destroyed the Greek and Roman domination ; the Turks, who there
subverted that of the Arabs, and subjugated in Europe the unfortunate remnant of the Grecian people,
were all offsets from this branch. The Finlanders and Hungarians are tribes of the same division,
which have strayed among the Sclavonic and Teutonic nations. Their original country, to the north
and eastward of the Caspian Sea, still contains inhabitants who have the same ongin, and speak j
similar languages ; but these are mingled with many other petty nations, variously descended, and of |
different languages. The Tartars remained unmixed longer than the others throughout that extent of t;
country included between the mouth of the Danube to beyond the Irtisch, from which they so long f
menaced Russia, and where they have finally been subjugated by her. The Mongoles, however, have
mingled their blood with that of the nations they conquered, many traces of which may still be
among the inhabitants of Lesser Tartary. ^ »
It is to the east of this Tartar branch of the Caucasian race that the Mongolian race begins, whence |
it extends to the eastern ocean. Its branches, the Calmucks and Kalkas, still wandering shepherds.
_J:
BIMANA, OR MAN.
51
traverse the great desert. Thrice did their ancestors, under Attila, Genghis, and Tamerlane, spread
far the terror of their name. The Chinese are the most anciently civilized branch, not only of this
race, but of all known nations. A third branch, the Mantchures, have recently conquered and still
govern China. The Japanese, Coreans, and nearly all the hordes which extend to the north-east of
Siberia, subject to Russia, are also to he considered, in a great measure, as originating from this race ;
and such also is deemed to be the fact with regard to the original inhabitants of various islands bordering
on that archipelago. With the exception of some Chinese literati, the nations of the Mongolian race
pertain generally to different sects of Buddism, or the religion of Fo.
The origin of this great race appears to have been in the Altai mountains, as that of ours in the
Caucasus ; but it is impossible to trace with the same certainty the filiation of its different branches.
The history of these wandering nations is as fugitive as their establishments ; and that of the Chinese,
confined exclusively to their own empire, furnishes little that is satisfactory with respect to their
neighbours. The affinities of their languages are also too little known to direct us in this labyrinth.
The languages of the north of the peninsula beyond the Ganges, as well as that of Thibet, bear some
relation to the Chinese, at least in their monosyllabic structure ; and the people who speak them are
not without resemblance to the other Mongoles : but the south of this peninsula is inhabited by
Malays, whose forms approach them much nearer to the Indians, and whose race and language are
distributed over the coasts of all the islands of the Indian archipelago. The innumerable small islands
of the southern ocean are also peopled by a handsome race, who appear to hold a near relation to the
Indians, and whose language has much affinity with the Malay : but in the interior of the larger islands,
particularly in the milder portions of them, there exists another race of men with black complexions,
and negro faces, all extremely barbarous, which are named Alfourous ; and on the coasts of New
Guinea and the neighbouring islands, are other Negroes nearly similar to those of the eastern coast of
Africa, which are termed Papous ; to the latter are generally referred the natives of Van Diemen’s
Land [now rapidly approaching to extermination], and those of New Holland to the Alfourous.*
Neither the Malays nor the Papous are easily referable to either of the three great races ; but
can the former he clearly distinguished from their neighbours on both sides, the Caucasian Indians and
the Mongolian Chinese ? We avow that we cannot discern in them sufficient traits for that purpose.
Are the Papous Negroes, which may formerly have strayed into the Indian Ocean ? We possess neither
figures nor descriptions precise enough to enable us to reply to this question.
The inhabitants of the north of both continents, the Samoyedes, the Laplanders, and the Esquimaux,
are derived, according to some, from the Mongolian race : but others regard them as mere degenerate
offsets from the Scythian and Tartar branches of the Caucasian race.
The Americans have not yet been referred clearly to either of the races of the eastern continent ;
nevertheless, they have no precise or constant character, which can entitle them to be considered as
a particular one. Their copper-colomred complexion is not sufficient : their general black hair and
scanty beard would induce us to approximate them to the Mongoles, if their defined features, their nose
as projecting as ours, their large and open eyes, did not oppose such a theory, and correspond with
the features of the European. Their languages are as numberless as their tribes, and no demonstrative
analogies have as yet been obtained, either with each other, or with those of the ancient world.f
[With all deference, I would suggest that naturalists are much too prone to confound resemblance
with identity; as if any reason existed of necessity, for analogous races to differ in the least
degree. How many geographical mutual representatives are there, which the analogy of allied
races forcibly indicates to be distinct, though undistinguishable on minute comparison ! How nearly
also do many acknowledged species resemble ! Bearing these facts in mind, does it not appear tliat
the Americans have as good a claim to be regarded as a primary race, as the Mongolians have to be
separated as such from the Caucasians ? The arrangement of Blumenbach, who adds the Malayan
and American races to the three admitted by Cuvier, has been more generally adopted : but there
would seem to be quite as good reason for admitting others. Fischer, in his Synopsis Mammalium,
indicates what he conceives to be seven species of Homo (reducing the number that had previously
* Refer, for the different races which people the islands of the Indian t See, on the subject of the Americans, the travels of M. de Hum-
and Pacific Oceans, to the dissertation of MM. Lesson and Garnot, in | boldt, so rich in important information, and the dissertations of Vater
the Zoologie du Voyage de la Coquille, p. 1 — 113. For the Ianj);uay;es of 1 and of Mitchell,
the Asiatic nations, and their affinities, consult the Asia Polyglotta of '
M. Klaproth.
E 2
52
MAMMALIA.
been assigned by Bory St. Vineent) : and the numerous divisions and subdivisions of that naturalist
being tolerably in accordanee Avith the apparent value of the characters presented, whether or not they
truly represent the real distinctions, or, in some instances, similarity be confounded with identity (a
problem to which philology seems to offer the only key), the outline of his arrangement may be
transferred to the present work, where it may chance to prove useful to some observers. His supposed
species are as follow : —
1. H. Japeticus,V>oxY \ corresponding to the Caueasian race of Cuvier. — This is distributed under
three principal varieties, termed Caucasicus, Arabicus, and Indians : of these the first is arranged into
five subvarieties, named Caucasicus (^Orientalis), Pelagius {Meridionalis'), Celticus (^Occident alis), Ger-
manicus {Borealis'), and Sclavonicus {Intermedms), which severally eomprehend the Caucasic, Pelasgic,
Celtic, Teutonic, and Sclavonic (including the Sarmatic) nations ; the second into two subvarieties,
Atlanticus {Occidentalis), and Adamicus {Orientalis), respectively containing the Phoenicians, ancient
Numidians, and Guanches, or the Punic nations, and the Abyssinians, primitive Egyptians (modern
Copts), Jews, Armenians, Arabians, &c., or the Coptic and Semitic nations.
2. H. Neptumanus, Bory.— Ranged under three subdivisions : the first unnamed (Qu. Malayanus?)
allied to — probably much mingled with — the Indian variety of H. Japeticus, consisting of the
well-known Malays, which people the coasts only of the peninsula of Malacca, the islands of the
Indian ocean, Madagascar, &c., never penetrating inland; the second, Oce^^?e»^^aZ^s, comprising the
New Zealanders, and natives of the Society, Friendly, Sandwich, and other islands scattered over the
Pacific ocean, — it is suggested, also, (but with due and much required hesitation,) the ancient Mexi-
cans and Peruvians : the third, Papuensis, composed of certain inhabitants of part of the north coast
of New Guinea, the shores of the islands Waigou, Salwaty, Gammeu, and a few others, is obviously a
hybrid race, derived from the intermixture of the Malay and true Papou. Cuvier has remarked the
affinity of language subsisting between the Malays and South Sea Islanders.
3. H. Scythicus, Bory.— The first division of this, unnamed (Qu. Mongolensis ?) consists of the
Calmucks "and other Tartars; the second, Sinicus (Homo sinicus of Bory), of the Chinese, Japanese,
&c. ; and the third and last, Hyperboreus {Homo hyperboreus, Bory), of the Esquimaux. It corre-
sponds to the Mongolian race of Cuvier.
4. H. Americanus,'Qoxy.—^^Sp)ecies,''t\\Q author writes, “ c(Z/mc male cognita, forsan tola vel ex
parte ad Scythicam reducenda,” of which the latter only is in the least probable. “ Autochthones Ame-
ricce meridionalis, in stirpes innumeras distributi ; e. g. Omagucs, Guarani, Coroadi, Atures, Otomaqui,
Botucudi, Guiacce, Cherrucce, &c.” * A second division is designated Patagonus, (being the Homo
Patagonus of Bory,) composed of the large-statured Patagonians.
5. H. Columbicus, Bory. — The ordinary red Indian of America.
6. H. Mthiopicus, Bory.— Divided into the true Negro, not otherwise named; Gaffer, {Homo Caffer,
Bory,) inhabiting Catfraria, and part of the coast of Madagascar ; Melanoides, {Homo melaninus, Bory),
the Papous or indigenous inhabitants of Madagascar, the shores of New Guinea, the islands of
Britain, New Ireland, and many others, also of Van Diemen's Land ; and Hottentotus {Homo Hotten^
totus, Bory), the Bush and other Hottentots, which, it may be remarked, have not a few analogies witW
the nomadic Mongoles. The last appear to have been much reduced and encroached on, till a remnanH
only is left near the south coast of Africa, just as the Celts are now confined to the exteme west of Europe^
7. Lastly, H. Polynesius, Fischer {H. australaricus, Bory). — The Alfourous, the lowest in the scal0
of human beings : comprising the inland inhabitants of the Malay peninsula, the islands of the India^
Ocean, Madagascar, New Guinea, New Holland, &c.
Such is the ai-rangement of an able and accomplished naturalist, published in 1829, or the sam^
year in which our author gave to the world his second and last edition of the present work. Th^
most recent authority, which is the third edition of Dr. Prichard's elaborate “ Researches into th^
Physical History of Mankind," contends strenuously for unity of species in the genus Homo : but iti
may be remarked that much stress is laid on the productiveness of mingled races of mankind, without]
any new or satisfactory evidence being adduced in proof of the comparative sterility of the hybri^
offspring of the more intimately approximate races which have claim to be ranked as species ; such a^
» “ A species imperfectly known, probably or in part referable to I species, want of space compels me to refer the reader to the original
the preceding one. It comprehends numerous tribes of South Arne | work. A cranium of the savage tribe of Botucudi is figured by Spix j
rica,” some of which are above named. For the characters of these I in his work on American Quadrumann,
BIMANA, OR MAN.
53
the wild bovine and striped equine animals, &c. &c. The following are the leading varieties of Man,
according to the opinion and arguments of Dr. Prichard.
“ On comparing the principal varieties of form and structure which distinguish the inhabitants of
different countries, we find that there are seven classes of nations which may be separated from each
other by strongly marked lines. Among their principal characteristics are peculiar forms of the
skuU, but these are by no means the only difference which require notice and particular description.
These seven principal classes are, first, those nations which in the form of their skulls and other physi-
cal characters resemble Europeans, including many nations in Asia and some in Africa; secondly, races
nearly similar in figm-e, and in the shape of the head, to the Kalmucks, Mongoles, and Chinese. These
two first classes of nations will be designated, for reasons to be explained, Iranian and Turanian
nations, in preference to Caucasian and Mongolian. * * * The third class are the native Arne-
rican nations, excluding the Esquimaux and some tribes which resemble them more than the majority
of inhabitants of the New World. The fourth class comprises only the Hottentot and Bushman race.
A fifth class are the Negroes ; the sixth, the Papuas, or woolly-haired nations of Polynesia ; the
seventh, the Alfourou and Australian races. The nations comprised under these departments of man-
kind differ so strikingly from each other, that it would be improper to include any two of them in one
section, and there is no other division of the human family that is by physical traits so strongly cha-
racterized. There are, indeed, some nations that cannot be considered as falling entirely within either
of these divisions, but they may be looked upon as approximating to one or another of them.” *
The same writer affirms, of the Caucasian race of Cuvier, that ‘‘ there is no truth in the assertion
that the traditions of all these nations deduce their origin from Caucasus f," and states, of his Indo-
Atlantic, or Iranian nations, that “ complexion does not enter among the characters of this type, since
it is of aU shades, from the white and florid colour of the northern Europeans, to the jet-black of
many tribes in Lybia, and southward of Mount Atlas. In many races, as we shall hereafter prove,
the type has degenerated. The ancient Celts appear, for example, to have had by no means the same
developement of the head as the Greeks, and the Indians display some differences in the configuration
of the skull,” <fec.$
It appears to be conclusively proved that barbarism and insufficient nourishment tend, in a few
generations, to deteriorate the physical characters of even the highest races of mankind, by increasing
the facial angle, &c.§ ; while the reverse induces proportional improvement. Still there is reason to
suspect that the diversities which are thus occasioned are restrained within moderate limits ; and this
remarkable fact must be borne in mind (which I believe has not been hitherto stated), that while an
artificial mode of life would seem to have produced those acknowledged varieties of species which are
noticeable among such of the lower animals as have been domesticated, we observe very dissimilar races
of human beings among those whose mannner of living is least artificial of any, and which, further-
more, m numerous instances, inhabit the same countries, besides being widely diffused ; thus proving
that climate and locality exert less influence than has been imagined. This most difficult subject of
inquiry, in fine, is endlessly perplexed, and in several instances rendered quite inextricable, by the
occasional blending of two or more diverse races, in every degree of proportion. There are also
decisive proofs (afforded by architectural reliques scattered over Siberia and both Americas) of great
nations having been utterly exterminated, whose very names have perished : and if civilized, or com-
paratively civilized, populous nations have thus become so completely sunk in oblivion, that we infer
their former existence only as that of some lost tribes of animals can be recalled, how very many
hordes of savages, who erect no memorials, may have been extirpated, and are forgotten irretrievably.
Hence the extreme and apparently insuperable difficulties which, it is probable, will continue to oppose the
definitive solution of the intricate and peculiarly interesting problem which we have been considering.]
Vol. i. 246-7.
t Id. 259.
Vide id. vol. ii. 349.
MAMMALIA.
54
THE SECOND ORDER OF MAMMALIANS.
QUADRUMANA.
•i
i
Independently of the anatomical details which distinguish it from Man, and which ,
we have indicated, this family differs from our species in a very obvious character, j
having the thumbs of the hind feet free and opposable to the other digits, which are
as long and flexible as those of the hand : in consequence of this, all the species climb
trees with facility, while it is only with pain and difficulty that they can stand and
walk upright, their foot then resting on its outer edge only, and their narrow pelvis f
being unfavourable to an equilibrium. They all have intestines very similar to those J
of Man*, the eyes directed forward, the mammae on the breast, the penis pendent, the
brain with three lobes on each side, the posterior of which covers the cerebellum, and ,
the temporal fossae separated from the orbit by a bony partition. In every thing else,
however, they gradually recede from him, in presenting a muzzle more and more '
elongated, a tail and a gait more like that of quadrupeds ; nevertheless, the freedom •
of their arms, and the complication of their hands, admit of their performing many of ;
the actions of Man, as well as to imitate his gestures.
They have long been divided into two genera, the Monkeys and the Lemurs, which,
by the multiplication of secondary forms, have now become two small families, between
which must be placed a third genus, that of the Ouistitis [or Marmosets], which cannot
be referred to either of the others.
The Monkey-like Animals {Simia, Linnaeus).
• Hi
These are all Quadrumana, which have four straight incisors to each jaw, and flat nails to
all the extremities, — two characters which approximate them more nearly to Man than the sub-
sequent genera. Their molars have also blunt tubercles like ours, and they subsist mainly upon
fruits I but their canines, being longer than the other teeth, supply them with a weapon which ;
we do not possess, and require a vacant space in the opposite jaw to receive them when the ^
mouth is closed.
They may be divided, according to the number of their molars, into two principal sub-generii, 1
which again subdivide into numerous others. »
The Monkeys {Singes), properly so called, or those of the ancient continent, s
[Catarrhini, Geof.}, —
Have the same number of grinders as Man, but otherwise differ among themselves in the ]
characters which give rise to the following subdivisions. ]
The Ourangs {Simia, Erxl., Pithecm, Geof.), —
Are the only Apes of the ancient continent which have no callosities on the buttocks ; their hyoid
bone, liver, and coecum resemble those of Man. Their nose does not project ; they have no cheek
pouches, nor any vestige of a tail.
Some of them have arms long enough to reach the ground when standing ; their legs, on the con-
trary, are very short. Such are the Ourangs, strictly so called.
* Here we must except the genus Semnopithecus, and probably also Colobus. — Ed. i
QUADKUMANA.
55
I
The Ourang-outang* {Simla satyrits, Lin.)
Of all animals, this is reputed to bear the nearest resemblance to Man in the form of its head, the magnitude of
its forehead, and volume of brain ; but the exaggerated descriptions of some authors respecting this similarity
arise partly from the circumstance of only young individuals having been observed, as there is every reason to
believe that, with age, the muzzle becomes much more prominent [a fact now ascertained]. The body is covered
with coai-se red hair, the face is bluish, and the hinder thumbs very short compared with the toes. The lips are
capable of a singular elongationf, and possess great mobility. Its history has been much confounded with that
of the other large Apes, and especially of the Chimpanzee ; but, after subjecting it to a rigorous analysis, I have j
ascertained that it inhabits only the most eastern countries, such as Malacca, Cochin China, and particularly the |
great island of Borneo, whence it has been sometimes brought by the route of Java, though very rarely. When
young, and such as it has been seen in Europe, it is a very mild animal, that is easily rendered tame and attached,
and which, by its conformation, is enabled to imitate many of our actions ; but its intelligence appears to be
lower than has been asserted, not very much surpassing that of the Dog. Camper discovered, and has well dis-
cribed, two membranous sacs which communicate with the glottis of this animal, and obstruct its voice ; but
he is mistaken in supposing that the nails are always absent from the hinder thumbs.
There is an ape in Borneo, at present only known by its skeleton, called the Pongo, which so closely resembles
the Ourang-outang in all its parts, and by the arrangement of the cavities and sutures of its head, that notwith-
standing the great prominence of its muzzle, the smallness of the cranium, and the height of the branches of the
lower jaw, we are inclined to consider as an adult, if not of this species of Ourang, at least of another very nearly
allied to it. The length of its arms, and of the apophyses of its cervical vertebrae, together with the tuberosity of
its calcaneum, may enable it to assume the vertical position. It is the largest of known Apes, approaching to the
size of Man.
pThe Pongo has proved to be a second species of Ourang, covered with black, relieved with dark red hair, and which
at present is known only to occur in Borneo, where the Red Ourang has not been ascertained to exist. Both attain
the same large dimensions, and are distinguished as the Pithecus Wormhii andP. Abelii. They differ somewhat
in the configuration of the cranium, and considerably in the profile of the face, as seen in the skull. A third
species, also from Borneo, has more recently been determined by Prof. Ov/en, of which only a single adult skull has
been received ; it announces a smaller animal, which has been named P. mono. The adult males of this genus
have an immense projecting tuberosity on each cheek.]:
These Ourangs do not ordinarily assume the upright attitude, to maintain which they are obliged to raise, and
throw their long arms backward, in order to preserve a balance ; the outer edges only of their feet are applied to the
ground, where they commonly progress by resting on the knuckles, and swinging the body forward between the
arms. Their structure is more designed for traversing the forest boughs ; and they are said to inhabit the upland
forests of the interior of their native countries. The old males are reported to be savage and solitary, and much
dreaded by the Alfourou inhabitants of their native region ; each appropriating a particular district, into which
it resents intrusion. There is reason to suspect that they are not exclusively vegetable feeders, but subsist
in part on the eggs and callow young of birds. They are sedentary and inactive animals, possessed of great
strength.
So excessive is the degradation of the adult from the characters which it exhibits in youth, that our author,
in his first edition, arranged the Pongo next to the Baboons, allowing them the precedence. According
to M. Geolfroy, “ the brain of the young Ourang bears a very close resemblance to that of a child ; and the
skull, also, might be taken, at an early age, for that of the latter, were it not for the developement of the bones
of the face. But it happens, in consequence of its advance in age, that the brain ceases to enlarge, while its case
continually increases. The latter becomes thickened, but in an unequal degree ; enormous bony ridges appear,
and the animal assumes a frightful aspect. When we compare the efiects of age in Man and the Ourang, the difference
is seen to be, that in the latter there is a super-developement of the osseous, muscular, and tegumentary systems,
more towards the upper part than the lower, while the developement of the brain is entirely arrested.” It is only
in the male sex, however, that the cranial ridges appear, the canines, also, of the females being much smaller.
M. Geolfroy thus describes the skull of the Pongo, before its identity as an Ourang had been ascertained
“ What is most remarkable,” he observes, “ is the excessive elongation of the muzzle ; and as this con-
siderable volume of the muzzle cannot be gained but at the expence of the other adjoining parts, we accord-
ingly find that there is scarcely any apparent forehead, that the bony box which contains the brain is
uncommonly small, and that the occipital foramen is situated as far as the posterior part of the head. Tlie
immense muzzle, moreover, is remarkable, not only for the enormous thickness of the gums, but also for the
extraordinary size of the canine and incisor teeth with which they are provided; the incisors exceed in
magnitude those of a Lion, and the canines do not differ much in dimensions from those of the same
animal: the occiput also is elevated at its point, and forms a quadrilateral protuberance, very large and
thick, where three bony crests are produced, not less apparent nor less solid than those of the Lion. Two of
* Ourang is a Malay word, signifying rational being, which is
applied to Man, the Ourang-outang, and the Elephant. Outang
signifies wild, or of the woods : hence Ourang-outang.
t Noticeable, to a certain extent, in the Hottentot race of man-
kind.— Ed.
t There is at present (1838) a young male and female of the Black
Ourang (P. PTormbii), in the menagerie of the Zoological Society,
which have continued now for several months in a very thriving con-
dition, and afford reasonable grounds for expectation that they will
live to attain maturity. Most of those previously imported have been
weak and sickly. — Ed.
56
MAMMALIA.
these crests are considerably elevated, and extend laterally to the auricular foramina. Another extends across pi
the vertex, and then assumes a bifurcal form, as in the Lion, above the forehead in two lateral branches, |,S!,
which proceed as far as the external side of the upper edge of the orbits. These little crests are decisivelv ] 'jjl
ma^•ked, and form an equilateral triangle with the upper edge of the orbital foramina. The head is formed 1 ■ .
like the half of a pyramid, and the auricular foramina are placed so considerably above the palatine bones, ,
that a line let down from the former to the internal edge of the ossa palatina, would form, with a horizontal |
line, an angle of twenty-five degrees.” It varies to about thirty degrees. {
All the above modifications have immediate reference to the immense size of the canines, which necessitates a
proportional developement of the jaws, and the high cranial ridges to furnish attachment to muscles of sufficient
power to work them. The Ourangs do not cut their huge permanent teeth until nearly full grown.*] ^ I
In the other Ourangs, the arms descend only to the knees. They have no forehead, and their ijj
cranium retreats immediately from the crest of the eyebrow. The name of Chimpanzee might be
exclusively applied to them.
I Sim. troglodytes, Lin. [Troglodytes niger of others].— Covered with black or brown hair, scanty in front ; [a
! white marking on the rump]. If the reports of travellers can be relied on, this animal must equal or be superior
in size to Man. [The skeleton of an adult female in London is considerably smaller.] It inhabits Guinea :|||
and Congo, lives in troops, constructs huts of branches, arms itself with clubs and stones, and thus repulses ;
Man and Elephants ; pursues and abducts, it is said, negro womenf, &c. Naturalists have generally confounded it | '
with the Ourang-outang. In domestication it is very docile, and readily learns to walk, sit, and eat like a man. > -
[It is much more a ground animal than the Ourangs, and runs on its lower extremities without difficulty, holding _ '
up the arms. Is of a lively and active disposition. The facial angle of the adult about thirty-five degrees. ^ '
By the general consent of living naturalists, the Chimpanzee is placed next to Man in the system, preceding -
the Ourangs, which it exceeds in general approximation to the human form.] J
From the foregoing groups are now separated i...
The Gibbons {Hylolates, Illiger), — ir
Which, together with the long arms of the Ourangs, and the receding forehead of the Chimpanzee, |
possess [all of them] callosities on the buttocks like the true Monkeys ; differing, however, from the |
latter in having no tail or cheek -pouches. All of them inhabit the most eastern part of India, and |
its archipelago.
The Onko Gibbon {Sim. lar, Lin.)— [This name is now by general consent applied to the next species, the
present one being distinguished as/f. Rafflesii, Geof.] Black, with white hairs round the face.
[The Lar Gibbon of Linnaeus {H. lar, Geof.)— Black, with white hands and feet, and a white circle round the
face. Is identical with H. albimaniis, Vig. and Horsf., and probably with H. variegatus, Kuhl, which seems to
differ only in colour, being brown where the other is black.
The Hoolock Gibbon {H. hoolocU, Harlan).— Black, marked with white across the forehead.
The Coromandel Gibbon {H. choromandus, Ogilby).— Of a dingy pale brown, with black hair and whiskers.]
The Wou-wou Gibbon {S. agilis, Lin.)— Brown, the circle round the face and lower part of the back, pale
fulvous [with also some white around the visage]. The young are of a uniform yellowish white. Its agility is
extreme ; it lives in pairs, and its name Wou-wou is derived from its cry.
The Gray Gibbon {S. leucisca, Schreb.)— Gray, with dark crown, and white beard and whiskers ; the visage
black. It lives among the reeds, and climbs up the highest stems of the bamboos, where it balances itself by its
long arms.
We might separate from the other Gibbons
The Siamang {S. syndactyla. Raffles), which has the second and third toes of the hind foot united by a naiTOW
membrane, the whole length of the first phalanx [a character which now and then occurs in some of the others,
but in the present species is constant]. It is wholly black, with the chin and eyebrows rufous [and the throat
bare] ; lives in numerous troops, which are conducted by vigilant and courageous chiefs, which, at sunrise and
sunset, make the forest resound with frightful cries. Its larynx has a membranous sac connected with it.
[All the above are mild and gentle animals in domestication, of extremely delicate constitutions when brought
to our climate].
The remaining Monkey-like animals of the ancient continent have the liver divided into several
the growth of the other parts— that is, the developement of the other
* It may be remarked generally, that, with the possession of for-
midable canines, Quadrumana acqviire a consciousness of their efficacy
as weapons, which renders them impatient of that controul, more par-
ticularly if based on fear, to which they had previously been sub-
missive. Chastisement then excites their ire rather than affrights
them ; and if they cannot gratify their rage, they will pine and die.
They require, in short, different treatment. An adult male Mandrill,
which was long exhibited in London, would perform various feats
indicative of intelligence, if bribed to do so by the offer of its favourite
beverage. The notion that the species with prominent muzzles are
therefore loss intelligent, requires modification. The developement
of brain, in all the Simia, as compared with that of Man, is arrested
at a particular stage of advancement ; but it does not follow that
ystems— should cease simultaneously : on the contrary, this proceeds
to a variable extent in different species, and the projection of the
muzzle, with its accompaniments, appears to increase in proportion
to the stature ultimately attained ; so that the adults of the smaller
species are, in this respect, analogous to partially developed speci-
mens of the larger, -which correspond in disposition until they acquire
the strength and armature of which an instinctive knowledge prompts .
them to resent affronts, and renders them so highly dangerous to j
tamper with. The Baboons are even remarkable for penetration and ,
quickness of apprehension, however short their temper.— Ed.
f Very highly improbable. — Ed.
QUADRUMANA.
57
lobes ; the coecum thick, short, [except in Semnopithecus, and perhaps Colobus], and without any
appendage : the hyoid bone has the form of a shield.
The Monkeys* {Cercopithecus, Erxl. in part), \Guenons of the French], —
Have a moderately prominent muzzle (of sixty degrees) ; cheek pouches ; tail ; callosities on the but-
tocks ; the last of the inferior molars with four tubercles like the rest. Very numerous species of them,
of various size and colouring, abound in Africa, living in troops, which do much damage to the gardens
and cultivated fields. They are easily tamed, [and are lively and active animals. Their hair, unlike
that of the preceding groups, is of two kinds, the outer commonly annulated above with two colours,
producing a grizzled appearance, which in several imparts a tinge of green.
More than twenty species have been ascertained, and doubtless many others remain to be discovered. They
vary in the proportional length of the fingers. The larger of them acquire, with their growth, a more projecting
muzzle, and are the Cercocebi of some naturalists (a term now falling into disuse) : these, in a few instances,
manifest an additional relationship to the Baboons, in exhibiting bright colours on the genitals ; as exemplified
by the Malbrouck Monkey (C'. cynosurus), in which the scrotum is vivid ultramarine, and the Vervet (C. pygery-
thriis), which has the same part green. Many are prettily variegated, as the Diana Monkey {C. Diana), which
has a crescent-shaped white mark on the forehead, and a slender, pointed, white beard ; the Mona Monkey
(C. rnona), &c. One only is of a red colour, the Patas (C. rubra). A few of the more recently discovered of them
may be briefly indicated.
Campbell’s Monkey (C. Campbellii, Waterhouse.)— Hair long, and parted on the back, of a grizzled black and
yellow colour, nearly uniform blackish grey on the hind parts ; beneath, dingy white ; a black line encircling the
fore part and sides of the crown of the head. From Sierra Leone.
The Bearded Monkey {C. pogonias, Ben.) — Hair very long ; greyish, i.e., grizzled black and yellowish white ; a j
spot on each side of the head, another on the crown, and tip of the tail, black ; cheeks furnished with an
immense tuft of pale hair.
Red-eared Monkey (C. erytlirotis, Waterh.)— Grey ; the tail red, with a dark line along its upper surface ;
ears with very long red hairs internally ; throat white ; under parts of the body greyish. From Fernando Po.
Next follows a group of smaller species, of mild and confiding disposition ; consisting of the Talapoin M.
(C. talapoin, Geof., Sim. melarrhina, F. Cuv.), the Moustache M. {S. cephus, Lin.), the Vaulting M. {S. petaurista,
Gm.), the Hocheur (S. nictitans, Gm.), &c. A new Monkey appertaining to it is the
C. Martini, Waterh.— Of a dark grey, the hairs annulated with yellowish white ; lower portions of limbs, crown
of the head, and tail, blackish ; hairs near the root of the tail beneath, brown. Inhabits Fernando Po. Several
of these smaller kinds are very common in Guinea. Allied to them are the larger green IMonkeys ; and the series
terminates with the Mangabeys, or dusky-coloured white-eyelid Monkeys (C. cethiops, and C. fuliginosus), which
display some peculiarities of gait and gesture, and have the most prominent muzzles of any.
The following occurs as a note in the original work. “ Pennant has described certain Guenons^’ —
Doucs rather — “ without thumbst, Sim. polycomos and S. ferruginea, of which Illiger has formed his
genus Colobus, but I have not been able to see them, and for this reason have not introduced them.
M. Temminck assures us that the head and teeth resemble those of a Semnopithecus^ This group is
now well established, and several species have been added to it ; all of them, however, peculiar to
Africa, as the members of the last-named genus are to Asia : they differ chiefly from the Doucs
in possessing cheek-pouches, having the limbs similarly elongated, and only one sort of hair, as in the !
Apes. A small rudiment of a thumb exists in some of them.
Nine clearly distinct species have been ascertained; and there are probably many others. They resolve
into two minor groups ; the species composing the first are rather large animals, of a black ground-colour, with
very long hair ; those of the second division are smaller, with shorter hair, and rufous ground-colour. Their
markings readily distinguish them.
The Black Colobin (C. satanas, Waterh.)— Quite black, with very long shaggy hair, obviously designed to pro-
tect it from the scorching rays of a vertical sun. This animal is common in Fernando Po, and when captured
refuses to take sustenance, pining and moaning constantly and very piteously.
Ursine Colobin (C. ursinus, Ogilby.)— Black, with grey head and white tail. From Sierra Leone.
White-thighed Colobin? {C.? leucomeros, Ogilby.)— Established on some imperfect skins. The thighs white ;
head, legs, and tail undetermined. From the Gambia.
Sim. polycomos. Pennant ; termed by him the “ Full-bottomed Monkey.”— Has a long yellowish-w'hite sort of
mane, compared to a full-bottomed wig, and a white tail. Brought from Sierra Leone.
C. guereza, Ruppel.— The throat and around the face white ; and long flowing white hair on the shoulders
and along each side of the body, as if a garment were thrown over it ; end of the tail also white, and largely tufted.
From Abyssinia.
C. rufoniger, Ogilby. — Black above, deep red beneath ; locality unknown.
* The word Monkey is a diminutive of Man. — Ed. t Tlie thumb is very small in the Doucs. — Ed.
58
MAMMALIA.
Sim. ferruginea, Pennant ; called by him the “ Bay Monkey.”— Of a deep bay colour above ; cheeks and under-
parts very bright bay. From Sierra Leone.
C. Pennantii, Waterh.— Above blackish ; beneath dingy yellow ; the sides yellowish red, and cheeks white.
From Fernando Po.
C. TemmincMi, Kuhl. — Blackish above ; I'usty-red beneath and on the cheeks ; the sides yellow. From the
Gambia. Is identical with C. obscurus, Ogilby.
The skins of these animals are an article of traffic in Western Africa, but are commonly deprived of the head,
limbs, and tail. Many Cercopitheci are prepared in the same manner.*]
The Doucs {Semnopithecus, F. Cuv.) —
Differ from the true Monkeys by having an additional small tubercle on the last of the inferior molars.
They are the ordinary Monkeys of the East ; and their lengthened limbs and extremely elongated tail
[as in Colohus'] give them a peculiar air. Their muzzle projects very little more than that of the
Gibbons, and, like them, they have callosities on the buttocks ; they appear, likewise, to have no
cheek-pouches : them larynx is furnished with
a sac. [The stomach (fig. 3) is singularly
complicated, consisting of three divisions;
first, a cardiac pouch, with smooth and simple
parietes, slightly bifid at the extremity;
secondly, a middle, very wide and sacculated
portion; thirdly, a narrow, elongated canal,
sacculated at its commencement, and of simple
structure towards its termination : their food,
accordingly, is supposed to be more herba-
ceous than that of other Catarrhini, which
is further intimated by the blunter tubercles
of their molars, and the elongation of then-
intestines and ccECum. Their hair is of one
kind only, approaching in character to that of
Fig. 3. the Gibbons. Their movements are staid and
deliberate, though capable of much agility ; and the gravity of their deportment is expressed by
their systematic name.
Fourteen or fifteen species have been determined, of which the most extraordinary is]
The Long-nosed or Proboscis Douc {Sim. nasica, Schr. ; Nasalis larvatus, Geof.t) [The S. recurvus, Vig. and
Horsf., is apparently the young.]— It is of large size, and yellowish colour tinted with red ; the nose extremely
long and projecting, in form of a sloping spatula. This species inhabits Borneo, and lives in great troops, which
assemble morning and evening on the branches of the great trees on the banks of the rivers ; its cry is Kahau.
Is stated also to occur in Cochin China.
The Variegated Douc {S. nemceus, Geof.)— Remarkable for its lively and varied colouring ; the body and arms
are grey ; the hands, thighs, and feet black ; legs of a lively red ; the tail, [fore-arm,] and a large triangular spot
upon the loins, white ; face orange ; and there is also a black and red collar, and tufts of yellow hairs on the sides
of the head. It inhabits Cochin China. (The genus Lasiopyga of Illiger was founded on a mutilated skin of this
animal.)
S. entellns, Dufres. [The species most frequently brought alive to Europe.]— Of a light yellowish grey colour,
with black hair on the eyebrows and sides of the head, directed forwards. From Upper Bengal, where it is held
in superstitious reverence. [Some frequent the Pagodas.
Several are black, dusky, or ash-coloured. S. auratus, Geof., is uniform bright golden yellow, with a black
patch on each knee. The Simpai {S. melalopJms, Cuv.) is of a very lively red ; beneath white : its face is blue ;
and a crest of black hairs reaches from one ear to the other. Some have the hair of the head turned up, forming
a sort of crest. All are from the islands of the Indian Ocean, and neighbouring regions of Asia.]
The Macaciues (Macacus, Desm.) —
Possess, like the Doucs, a fifth tubercle on their last molars, and callosities and cheek-pouches like
the true Monkeys. Their limbs are shorter and stouter than in the former ; their muzzle is more
elongated, and the superciliary ridge more prominent than in either the one or the other. Though docile
when young, they become unmanageable with age. They have all a sac which communicates with
I,
}
I
i
* I have availed myself of this opportunity to give a more complete I t The anatomy of this animal is now known to accord with that of
list of the Colobi than has hitherto been published. — Ed. I the other Doucs. En.
QUADRUMANA.
59 i
the larynx under the thyroid cartilage, and which fills with air when they cry out. Their tail is
pendent, and takes no part in their movements ; [it varies in length from a tubercle to longer than the
body.] They produce early, but are not completely adult for four or five years. The period of gesta-
tion is seven months ; during the rutting season the external generative organs of the female become
excessively distended [as in the Baboons]. Most of them [all] inhabit India [and its Archipelago.
At least seven species have been ascertained, the most remarkable of which is]
The Maned Macaque or Wanderoo {Sim. Silenus and leonina, Lin.)— Black, with an ash-coloured mane and
whitish beard surrounding the head. [Tail moderately long, and slightly tufted.] Inhabits Ceylon.
[The Bonneted Macaque {M. sbiicus), and the Toque {M. radiatus), have the hairs on the top of the head dis-
posed as radii ; these, with the Hare-lipped M. {M. cynomolgus), have long tails. In the Pig-tailed Macaque
{M. rhesus), this appendage reaches little below the hamsti’ings : it is shorter, thin, and wrinkled in the Brown
Macaque {M. nemestrinus) •, and in the Black M. {M. niger, Ben. ; Cynocephalus niger, Desm., and of Cuvier’s
last edition), it is reduced to a mere tubercle. The Black Macaque is wholly of that colour, with an erect tuft of
hair on the top of its head j its native country Celebes.]
The Magots {Inuus, Cuv.)
Mere Macaques, which have a small tubercle in place of a tail. [According to this definition, the
last-named species should be introduced here : the only known Magot, however, does not well range
with the others ; its cranium is intermediate to those of the Macaci and Cynocephali].
The Barbary Magot {Sim. sylvanus, pithecus, and inuus, Lin.)— Completely covered with greenish-brown hair.
Of all the tribe, this suffers least in our climates. Originally from Barbary, it is said to have become naturalized
on the Rock of Gibraltar.* [This well-known species, in its wild state, is both lively and remarkably intelligent
at all ages ; but, subjected to the restraint of captivity, becomes sullen and unmanageable as it grows up ; forcibly
illustrating what has been stated in a note to the Ourangs.]
The Baboons {Cynocephalus, Cuv.), —
Together with the teeth, cheek-pouehes, and callosities of the preceding, have an elongated muzzle
abruptly truneate at the end, where the nostrils are pierced, which gives it a greater resemblance to that
of a Dog than of other Monkeys ; their tail varies in length. They are generally large, ferocious, and
dangerous animals, of which the majority [all of them] inhabit Africa.
[Some have the tail long and tufted, as the Gelada Baboon {Macacus gelada of Ruppell). — ^This has the upper
parts covered with very long hair, of a pale brown on the head, shoulders, and rump, blackish on the back ; a
dark medial line extends backwards from the forehead ; the extremities are black. A native of Abyssinia.
The others have the hair grizzled or annulated. Such are the Tartarin Baboon {Sim. hamadryas, Lin.), of a
slightly bluish ash-colour (grizzled black and white) ; face flesh-coloured : inhabits Arabia and Ethiopia. The
Chacma B. {Sim. porcaria, Bodd. ; S. ursina, Penn ; ^S. sphyngiola, Herm.), which is black, with a yellowish or
greenish glaze, particularly on the forehead; the face and hands black, and the adult has a large mane. From the
Cape of Good Hope. The Anubis B. {C. anubis, F. Cuv.), is another huge Cape species, uniformly grizzled black
and yellow ; the face black, and snout much elongated. The Sphynx B. {Sim. sphynx, Lin., and it would appear
from descriptions, also, C. papio, Desm.), is likewise yellowish, more or less tinged with brown ; face black ; the
cheek-tufts fulvous : inhabits Guinea. Lastly, the Babouin {Sim. cynocephalus, F. Cuv.), has a shorter tail,
and coat more inclining to greenish ; also whitish cheek-tufts, and flesh-coloured visage.]
The Mandrills —
Are, of all the Monkey tribe, those which have the longest muzzle (thirty degrees t) > their tail is very short ; they
are also extremely brutal and ferocious ; nose as in the others.
The Mandrill Baboon {Sim. maimon and mormon, Lin.) — Greyish brown, inclining to olive above ; a small
citron-yellow beard on the chin ; cheeks blue and furrowed. The adult males have the nose red, particularly at
the end, where it is scarlet ; the genital parts and those about the anus, are of the same colour ; the buttocks are
of a fine violet. It is difficult to imagine a more hideous and extraordinary animal. It nearly attains the size of
a Man, and is a terror to the negroes of Guinea. Many details of its history have been mixed up with that of the
Chimpanzee, and consequently with that of the Ourang-outang.
The Drill {Sim. leucophoea, F. Cuv.)— Yellowish grey, the visage black ; in old ones the coat becomes darker ;
[the white hairs on the belly are much elongated], and the chin is bright red.
[Hideous as the animals of this genus appear, and disgustingly deformed to those who have only seen them in
captivity, their adaptation to a peculiar mode of life is of course as exquisite as that of any other animal, and
requires only to be understood to command an amount of admiration, which must lessen to a considerable
* Pithecus is the Greek name for Monkeys in general ; and the one . species, all that Galen has stated respecting the anatomy of his
of which the anatomy is given by Galen was a Magot, although I Pithecus.
Camper thought it was an Ourang-outang. M. de Blaiiiville perceived j f The Ourangs will bear comparison. — Ed.
this mistake, and I have proved it by comparing with these two [
MAMMALIA.
60
extent the abhorrence with which we are apt to regard them. It has lately been discovered that they chiefly
inhabit barren stony places, where they subsist, for the most part, upon scorpions ; to procure which they employ
their hands to lift up the numerous loose stones, under most of which one or more of these creatures commonly
lie concealed ; their stings they extract with dexterity. Accordingly, we find that the Baboons are expressly
modified for traversing the ground on all-fours, and are furnished with efficient hands ; their eyes are peculiarly
placed, directed downwards along the visage. Want of space necessarily prevents us, generally, from noticing
these highly interesting relations, afforded by the special modifications of structure in reference to habit : but
we avail ourselves of the present instance (which is little known*) to call attention to them.
With the Baboons, the series of Catarrhini (Geof.) terminates ; and we may observe that the
Simiadce fall under three principal divisions. First, that of the Apes, (comprising the Chimpanzee,
Ourangs, and Gibbons), tail -less genera, which have the liver divided as in Man, an appendage
to the coecum, &c. Second, the slender-limbed Monkeys, with sacculated stomachs and longer
intestines (or the Doucs, and most probably the Colobins), all of which have exceedingly long tails.
Third, those with shorter and stouter limbs, a simple stomach, and tail varying in length from a
tubercle to longer than the body. These last (or the true Monkeys, Macaques, Magots, and
Baboons), are all partly insectivorous ; and the habit mentioned of the Baboons, of turning over stones
in quest of prey, applies perhaps more or less to all of them, but particularly to the Magot and some
Monkeys. In the two first divisions, the coat consists of only one sort of hair ; in the last of two
sorts, the longer and coarser of which is mostly annulated with two colours. It is remarkable that
none of the genera are common to Asia and Africa (one Baboon only extending to Ai-abia), and, until
very recently, no remains of any had occurred in a fossil state ; but the jaw of one said to be
allied to the Gibbons has lately been detected in a tertiary deposit, at Sanson, France ; and some bones,
adjudged to be those of Macaques, in the tertiary ranges of northern India.]
The Monkey-like Animals of the New World,
[Platyrrhini, Geof.\ —
Have four grinders more than the others, thirty-six in all ; the tail [with very few excep-
tions] long ; no cheek -pouches ; the buttocks hairy and without callosities ; nostrils opening
on the sides of the nose, and not underneath ; [the thumbs of the anterior hands no longer
opposablef.] All the great Quadrumana of America pertain to this division. J Their large in-
testines are less inflated, and their coecum longer and more slender than in the preceding
divisions.
The tails of some of them are prehensile, that is to say, their extremity can twist round a
body with sufficient force to seize it as with a hand.§ Such have been designated Sapajous
{Cebus, Erxl.)
At their head may be placed the
Stentors {Mycetes, Illiger), —
Or Howling Monkeys [^Ahuattes of the French], which are distinguished by a pyramidal head, the
upper jaw of which descends much below the cranium, while the branches of the lower one ascend
very high, for the purpose of lodging a bony drum, formed by a vesicular inflation of the hyoid bone,
which communicates with their larynx, and imparts to their voice prodigious volume and a most
frightful sound. Hence the appellations which have been bestowed on them. The prehensile portion
of their tail is naked beneath.
[The Rufous Stentor {Sim. seniculus, Buff., Supp. vii. 25), the Ursine Stentor {Stentor ursinus, Geoff".), and
at least five other species, are now tolerably established. They are shaggy animals, averaging the size of a Fox,
of different shades of brown or blackish, the females of some being differently coloured from the males ; such is
M. barbatus, Spix, pi. 32, of which the male is black and bearded, the female and young pale yellowish-gi’ey.H
They are of an indolent and social disposition, and grave deportment ; utter their hideous yells and howling by
night ; subsist on fruits and foliage, and are deemed good eating.]
* For the information communicated, we are indebted to Dr. A.
Smith, the conductor of the South African expedition from the Cape
colony. — Ed.
t They are but slig-htly so in many of the Simiadie.—Kr).
t By this is meant, that the Marmosets and Tamarins (fiuUtUis of
our author) are excluded from the generalization. — Ed.
§ This organ possessing in an eminent degree the sense of touch,
where the character is most developed. — Ed.
11 Cuvier accordingly suggests, inadvertently, that the M. stramineus
Spix, pi. 31, which is entirely of a straw-yellow colour, may be the
female of some other ; Spix, however, figures a male. — Ed.
QUADRUMANA.
61
The Ordinary Sapajous have the head flat, the muzzle but sliglitly prominent (sixty degrees).
In some the anterior thumbs are nearly or quite hidden in the skin, and the prehensile portion of
the tail naked beneath. They constitute the genus
CoAiTA {Ateles, Geof.), —
[Or the Spider Morikeys, as they are commonly termed, in allusion to their long slender limbs, and sprawling
movements.]
The first species, the Chamek (A. subpentadactylus, Geof.), has a slight projection of the thumb, though only
for one phalanx, which has no nail. Another, the Mikiri {At. hypoxanthus, Pr. Max. ; Brachyteles macrotarsus,
Spix), has also a very small thumb, and sometimes even a nail. These two species are separated by Spix under
the name Brachyteles. They connect Ateles with Lagothrix.*
The others, to which alone Spix applies the name Ateles, have no apparent thumb whatever. [Six have been
ascertained ; one of them the Sim. paniscus, Lin.]
All the above are natives of Guiana and Brazil. Their limbs are very long and slender, and their gait slow
and deliberate. They exhibit some remarkable resemblances to Man in their muscles, and, of all animals, alone
have the biceps of the thigh made like his. [Accordingly, they make little use of their fore-hands in progression.
Their colours are chiefly or wholly black, or fulvous-grey ; face black, or flesh-coloured. They are gentle and
confiding, and capable of much attachment. Some attain to as large a stature as the preceding.]
The Gastromargues {LagotJirix, Geof. ; Gastromargas, Spix).
Head round, as in the Coaitas ; the thumb developed, as in the Stentors ; and tail partly naked, hke
the one and the other. Such are —
The Caparo, Humb. {L. Humboldtii, Geof. ; G. olivaceus, Spix), and the Grison {L. canus, Geof. ; G. infumatus,
Spix.)— Inhabitants of the interior of South America, said to be remarkable gluttons. Their limbs are shorter
and stouter than in the Coaitas, and they often raise themselves on their hinder extremities : occur in numerous
bands.
The other Sapajous, or
The Capuchins {Cebus, Geof.) —
Have a round head, the thumbs distinct, and the tail entirely hairy, though prehensile. The species
are still more numerous than those of the Stentors, and almost as difficult to characterize.
Some have the hair upon the forehead of a uniform length ; as the Sajou {Sim. apella, Lin.), and the Capuchin,
[Auct.1 {S. capucina, Lin.) : others have the hair of the forehead so disposed as to form aigrettes ; as the Horned
Capuchin {Sim. faluellus, Gm., which has a tuft of black hairs on each side of the forehead), the C. cirrhifer,
Geof., and the Cebus of the same name of Pr. Max., but which is different — C. cristatus, F. Cuv. There are nu-
merous others ; but we require many observations, made in the places where these animals inhabit, before we can
hope to establish their species otherwise than in an arbitrary manner. [About sixteen ai’e commonly admitted,
most of which are of different shades of brown, some very variable. They are of smaller size than the preceding,
and of mild and gentle disposition ; their motions are quick and light, and they are easily tamed. Several exhale
a strong odour of musk.]
In the SAiMiRif, the tail is depressed, and almost ceases to be prehensile ; the head is very much
flattened ; in the interorbital pai tition of the cranium there is a membranous space. Only one species
is known, —
The Saimiri {Sim. sciurea. Buff. xv. 10.)— Size of a Squirrel ; of a yellowish grey ; the fore-arms, legs, and the
four extremities, of a fulvous-yellow; end of the nose black. [A pretty, vivacious little animal, which subsists
much on insects, and is also carnivorous. Its tail is sub-prehensile, or capable of coiling slightly throughout its
length, and so holding in a moderate degree ; but its extremity cannot seize a small object : it is often wound
round the body.]
The remaining Monkey-like animals of America have the tail not at all prehensile.J; Several have
that appendage very long and tufted, whence they have been termed Fox-tailed Monkeys : their teeth
project forwards more than in the others. They are
The {Pithecia, Desm. and Iliig.), —
[Wliich are again divisible into three minor groups. Of these, the first is represented by the Yarke Saki {Sim.
Pithecia, Lin., P. leucocephala), and three or four others : singular-looking animals, with extremely long hair, except
on the head, where, in most of the genus, it is parted. In the Yai’ke, the head is whitish, and all the other parts
brown-black, which adds to the strangeness of its appearance. The Jacket Saki {Sim. sagulata, Traill), illustrates
* The latter may do so, but certainly not the former, which is in
all other respects a characteristic Ateles. — Ed.
+ Sagoinus (or, what would be preferable, Sagunus,) of some.
This name, however, originally proposed by Lacepedkfor the Sagouins,
(Callithria ), among which the Saimiri was included, can only lead to
confusion if applied to the latter exclusively. We would suggest,
therefore, the appellation Samiris, formed out of the vernacular. — Ed.
t It has a propensity to curTin the Marmosets, if not in the Sa
gouins. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
62
the next group, which chiefly differs from the third {Brachyurus, Spix), in possessing a long tail : the hair is
comparatively short, and in the Jacket Saki of a rich dark brown, except on the head, where it is longer, crisped,
and deep black, as is also its fine bushy beard. Others would appear intermediate, as the P. satanas, Humb. :
seemingly allied to which is the Brachyurus israelitus of Spix, and the diminutive P. melanoeephala of Humboldt.*
These last are represented as mainly frugivorous, and the first to be great destroyers both of wild bees and their
honey. They are said to inhabit the very depth of the forest, and to repose during mid-day ; are moderately
social, and crepuscular if not nocturnal in their time of action.]
There are also some,
The Sagouins {Callithrix, Geof.), —
The tail of which is slender, and the teeth do not project. They were a long time associated with the
Saimiri, hut the head of the Sagouins is much higher, and their canines considerably shorter. Such
are
The Masked ^2igomn(C. personata, Geof.), the Widow Sagouin (C. lugens, Humb.), [and several others ; some of
which have been ascertained to live in pairs, while others, (as the C. melanochir, Pr. Max.), assemble in numerous
bands, and make a loud and unpleasant yelping about sunrise. They are very carnivorous, though small, and
spring to a considerable distance on birds and other prey, for which they lie in wait ; are also dexterous in seizing
flying insects with the hand. They have none of the sprightliness of the Saimiri.]
The Douroucouli {Nocthorus, F. Cuv. ; Nyct^ithecus, Spix : improperly named Aotus by Illiger), —
Only differ from the Sagouins by their great nocturnal eyes, and in their ears being partly hidden
under the hair.
[Three species are now known, of somewhat Lemur-like appearance, but still having no particular relation-
ship with the Lemurs. They are almost lethargic by day, which they pass in the darkest recesses of the hollows
of trees ; but at night are all energy and activity, and subsist on small birds and insects, as well as fruit : they
drink little, and appear to live in pairs.]
All the foregoing animals are from Guiana or Brazil.
The Ouistitis {Hapale, Illiger), —
Constitute a small genus, similar to the Sakis, and which was long confounded in the great
genus Simla. They have, in fact, like the American Monkey-like animals in general, the
head round, visage flat, nostrils lateral, the buttocks hairy, no cheek-pouches j and, like the
latter divisions of them in particular, the tail not prehensile : but they have only twenty
grinders, like those of the old continent. All their nails are compressed and pointed, except
those of the hinder thumbs [a character to which the immediately preceding divisions approx-
imate], and their anterior thumbs are so httle separated from the other digits, that we hesi-
tate to apply the name Quadrumana to them. All are diminutive animals of pleasing forms,
and are easily tamed. [Their brain is surprisingly low, almost without convolutions.]
M. Geoffrey distinguishes the Ouistitis, properly so called, by the name Jacchus. They are the
Marmosets {Hapale, as restricted), —
Which, for characters, have the inferior incisors pointed, and placed in a curved Mne, equalling the
canines. Their tail is annulated, and well covered with hair ; and their ears are generally tufted.
[Seven or eight species are tolerably established, some of which are subject to vary. These pretty little creatures
are gregarious, and very indiscriminate feeders ; are indeed rapacious, and in confinement will eagerly seize and
prey on gold fishes, &c. They produce two or three young at a birth.]
M. Geoffroy designates as
Tamarins {Midas), —
Those species which have inferior trenchant incisors placed in an almost straight line, and shorter
than the canines. Their tail is also more slender, and not annulated.
[These differ more than the others, and are also somewhat variable in colour. At least seven or eight have been
ascertained, of which the Pinche {Sim. cedipus, Lin.), is the longest known. Those curious little beings, the
Silky Tamarin(M. rosalia), and the Leoncito, or Lion Monkey of Humboldt {M. leoninus), fall under this division.
* It is probable that all but the members of the first should range in the division Brachyurus, Spix, (provided this be separable,) which
name is consequently ill-chosen.— Ed.
QUADRUMANA.
63
All are restlessly active, and extremely rapid in their movements ; also remarkably short-tempered, bristling
with fury when enraged, and putting on a most formidable appearance, considering their size. They are so
cleanly, that any appearance of dirt about their habitations causes them to fret ; and are exceedingly sensitive of
damp : but, if duly attended to, are easily kept in captivity.
The Platyrrhini were very properly ranged by Buffon in two great natural divisions, named by
him Sapajous and Sagouins ; to the, latter of which the Ouistitis are strictly referable, to judge from
the aggregate of their conformation. We cannot but think that Cuvier has, in this rare instance,
attached undue importance to the number of molar teeth, in so decidedly separating the Ouistitis from
the other small American Quadrumana.'\
The Lemurs, {Lemur, Linn.),
[Strepsirrhini, Geof.'], —
Comprehend, aceording to Linnaeus, all the Quadrumana which have [supposed] incisors in either
jaw differing in number from four, or at least otherwise directed than in the Monkeys. This
negative character could not fail to em-
brace very different beings, while it did
not unite those w^hich should range to-
gether. M. Geoffroy has established
several better characterized divisions in
this genus. The four thumbs of these
animals are well developed and oppos-
able, and the first hind finger is armed
with a raised and pointed claw (fig. 4),
all the other nails being flat. Their cover-
ing is woolly; and their teeth begin to
exhibit sharp tubercles, catching in each
other, as in the Insectivora. [These
animals have been described to differ
from all other Mammalia in the circum-
stance of their upper canines locking
outside or before the lower : but we have
just discovered that their true inferior canines have always hitherto been mistaken for ad-
ditional incisors, w^hich they resemble in general aspect and direction ; while the succeeding
tooth, which from its size and appearance has been supposed to be the lower canine, is in
reality the first false molar ; (as will readily appear on opposing the successive teeth of both
jaws). In the genus Tarsius, however, the true canine assumes more of its ordinary form;
and the same is observable of the first false molar in Microcehus."^ The grinding motion of
the lower jaw is exceedingly reduced.]
The Lemurs, properly so called {Lemur, as restricted [Prosimia, Briss.]), —
Have six [four] lower incisors, compressed, and slanting forwards [as are also the canines] ; four in
the upper jaw, which are straight, those intermediate being separated from each other ; trenchant
[upper] canines ; six molars on each side above, and six belowf; the ears small. They are very
nimble animals, and have been designated Fox-nosed Monkeys, from their pointed heads. They
subsist on fruits. Their species are very numerous, and inhabit only the island of Madagascar, where
they appear to replace the Monkey-tribe, which, it is said, do not exist there. They differ but slightly
among themselves, except in colour.
[Thirteen, at least, have been ascertained definitively ; one of the longest known of which is the Macaco of
Butfon, or the Ring-tailed Lemur (L. eatta, Lin.), which is ash-grey, the tail annulated black and white. Others
are black, or rufous, with sometimes white ; and one beautiful species, the Ruffed Lemur (L. macaco, Lin.), is
* An approach to this deviation on the part of the inferior canine is I t The latter statement chances to be correct, but, as intended
Fig. 4. — Hand and Foot of Lemur
noticeable in the adult Mandrill. — Ed.
would have been erroneous, — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
64
varied with larg’e patches of black on a pure white ground. They average the size of a large Cat, but have longer
limbs ; and have all long tails, which are elevated in a sigmoid form, when in motion, and not trailed after them.
They are nocturnal or twilight animals, which sleep by day in a ball-like figure, perched on a bough ; are gentle
in disposition, and easily tamed ; but have much less intelligence than the Monkeys, and are without the prying,
mischievous propensities of those animals : their ordinary voice is a low grunt, but they often break forth into a [
hoarse abrupt roar, producing a startling efffect ; in their native forests they frequently thus roar in concert.]
The Indris {Lichanotus, Illiger) —
Have teeth as in the preceding, except that there are only four [two] lower incisors [the central pro-
bably soon falling. Their hinder limbs are extremely long ; the head broad, muzzle short, and hands |i|
long.] 'll
But one species is known, without tail [this appendage being reduced to a tubercle], three feet in height, black , ■:!:
with the face grey, and white behind {Lemur indri, Lin., Indris brevicaudatus, Geof.), which the inhabitants I
of Madagascar tame, and train to the chace like a Dog. The Long-tailed Indri {Lemur laniger, Gm.) needs
further examination.
[The latter appears to be very intimately allied to a species, with a naked face, named Propithecus diadema
by Bennett, {Macromerus typicus, Smith,) the systematic characters of which seem hardly to warrant its separa-
tion from the Indris. Both are natives of Madagascar, and it is doubtful whether the present genus should not
precede the last. The Short-tailed Indri is the most human -like of its tribe.
The Macaucos {Microcebus, Gepf., Galagoides, Smith) —
Have the head round ; muzzle short and pointed ; ears moderate and erect ; the fore-hmbs small : four
incisors above, the central larger ; also four below^, with similar projecting canines, as in Lemur ; the
upper canines are small and pointed ; and the first inferior false molar is scarcely larger than the
next ; the cheek-teeth indicate a partly insectivorous regimen. Their scrotum is disproportionately
large.
Two small species are known : the Murine Macauco {Lemur murinus, Pen .), which is Buffon’s Rat of Madagascar ;
and the Brown Macauco {M. pusillus, Geof. ; also Galago madagascariensiSf Geof., G. demidaffii^ Fischer, and
Otolienus madagascariensis, Schinz). The Lemur cinereus, Geof. and Desm. {Petit Maki, Buff.), may perhaps con-
stitute a third. These little animals have much the aspect, and also the manners, of a large Dormouse, which they
further resemble in nestling in the holes of trees, which serve them for a dormitory : during day they sleep rolled
up in a ball, and only rouse from their torpor on the approach of twilight, but are then extremely agile and lively.
Of their habits in a state of nature we know little, except that they are arboreal.]
The Loris {Stenops, Illiger) —
Have the teeth of the Lemurs, except that the points of their grinders are more acute ; the short muzzle
of a mastiff; body slender ; no tail ; large approximating eyes; the tongue rough. They subsist on
insects, occasionally on small birds or quadrupeds, and have an excessively slow gait : their mode of
life is nocturnal. Sir A. Carlisle has found that the base of the arteries of the limbs is divided into
small branches, [anastomosing freely with each other,] as in the true Sloths, [the object of which
appears to be to enable them to sustain a long continuance of muscular contraction. The same cha- [
racter occurs, however, in the Cetacea].
Only two species are known, both from the East Indies ; the Short-limbed Loris {Lemur tardigradus, Lin.),
and the Slender Loris {L. gracilis) : the former has been made a separate genus of by Geoffrey, who styles it
Nycticebus; but he is wrong in asserting that it has only two incisors in the upper jaw : the latter is remarkable
for the disproportionate elongation of its limbs, and especially of its fore-arms. [These most singular animals
are eminently nocturnal and arboreal, being incommoded by dayUght ; they are also very susceptible of cold, i
which makes them dull and inanimate. During the day, they sleep clinging to a branch, with the body drawn
together, and head sunk upon the chest ; at night they prowl among the forest boughs in quest of food.
Nothing can escape the scrutiny of their large glaring orbs : they mark their victim, insect or bird, and cautiously
and noiselessly make their advances towards it, until it is within the reach of their grasp ; they then devour it on ^
the spot, previously divesting it, if a bird, of its feathers. When rousing from their diurnal slumbers, they ''
delight to clean and lick their full soft fur ; and in captivity will then allow themselves to be caressed by those
accustomed to feed them : they are remarkable for extreme tenacity of grasp.
The Pottos {Perodicticus, Bennett) —
Have comparatively small eyes ; the ears moderate and open : dentition approaching that of the Lemurs ; j
tail moderate ; limbs equal ; the index finger of the anterior hands (fig. 5) little more than rudimentary.
QUADRUMANA.
65
Geoffrey’s Potto ( Lemur potto, Lin. ; Galago Gruniensis, Desm. ;
P. Geoff royi, Ben.) — From Sierra Leone; a slow-moving and retiring
animal, which seldom makes its appearance but in the night-time,
and feeds on vegetables, chiefly the Cassada.]
The Galagos {Otolicnus, Illig.) —
Have the teeth and insectivorous regimen of tlie Loris ; the
tarsi elongated, which gives to their hinder limbs a dispro-
portionate extent ; tail long and tufted ; large membranous ears
[which double down when at rest, as in some Bats] ; and
great eyes, which indicate a nocturnal life. [The index, as well
as the thumb of the anterior hand, inclines in some to be op-
posable to the other fingers.]
Several species are known, all from Africa ; as the Great Galago {Galago
crassieaudatus, Geof.), as large as a Rabbit ; and the Senegal Galago (G.
Senegalensis, Geof.), the size of a Rat. The latter is known as the Gum
animal of Senegal, from its feeding much on that production. [These pretty animals have at night all the activity of
birds, hopping from bough to bough, on their hind limbs only. They watch the insects flitting among the leaves,
listen to the fluttering of the moth as it darts through the air, lie in wait for it, and spring with the rapidity of an
arrow, seldom missing their prize, which is caught by the hands. They make nests in the branches of trees, and
cover a bed with grass and leaves for their little ones : are a favourite article of food in Senegal. A species larger
than the others has lately been received alive, 0. Garnottii of Ogilby.]
The Malmags {Tarsius) —
Have the tarsi elongated (fig. 6), and all the other details of form as in the preceding ; hut the interval
between their molars and incisors is occupied by several shorter teeth [that is, their upper canines are
very small ; and] the middle upper incisors are elongated, and re-
semble canines. [There are but two permanent lower incisors, and the
inferior canines present more of the ordinary form and direction.] Their
muzzle is very short, and their eyes still larger than in any of the fore-
going. [Tail very long, and almost naked.] Are also nocturnal ani-
mals, and insectivorous ; inhabiting the Molluccas.
[Two species are known, T. speetrum, Geof., {Lemur tarsius, Shaw ; T. fusco-
manus, Fischer,) and the T. baneanus of Horsfleld. It is observed by Geoffroy
that although the Malmags have the external ears much less developed than in
the Galagos, this inferiority is counterbalanced by the far greater volume of the
auditory bullae of the temporal bones, which are so developed as to touch
each other; and thus the sense of hearing is, by another mode, rendered
as acute in the former as in the latter. The Malmag has an aversion to light,
and retires by day under the roots of trees ; feeds chiefly on lizards, and leaps
about two feet at a spring ; is easily tamed, and capable of some attachment ;
holds its prey in its fore-hands, while it rests on its haunches ; produces one
young at a birth, and lives in pairs.]
Travellers should search for certain animals figured by Commerson,
Fi^. 6.-Foot of the Malmag. and which Geoffroy has engraved {Ann. Mm. xix. 10), under the name of
Cheirogales {Cheirogaleus).
These figures seem to announce a new genus or subgenus of Quadrumana. [Three species are re-
presented in Commerson’s drawing, all of whieh appear to be now authenticated by specimens. Their
proportions are those of the Galagos ; dentition as in the Malmags, except that they retain all their
inferior incisors ; the head is round, the nose and muzzle short, lips furnished with whiskers, the eyes
large and approximate, and the ears short and oval ; the nails of the four extremities are compressed
and somewhat claw-like, and the tail is long, bushy, and regularly cylindrical.
Three or more species are known, all from the great island of Madagascar. They constitute the division
Lichanos of Gray.
The singular genus Cheiromgs, also, from the same peculiar locality, which is arranged by the
author among the Rodentia, would appear to have much better claim to he introduced here, and near
F
66
MAMMALIA.
to the Galagos. Likewise, Galceopithecus, whieh Cuvier has placed after the Bats, hut which is
Lemurine in all the essential details of its conformation.*]
THE THIRD ORDER OF MAMMALIANS,—
CARNARIAf,—
Consists of an immense and varied assemblage of unguiculated quadrupeds, which pos-
sess, in common with Man and the Quadrumana, the three sorts of teeth, but have no
opposable thumb to the fore -feet. f They all subsist on animal food, [some Bats ex-
cepted,] and the more exclusively so, as their grinders are more cutting. Such as
have them wholly or in part tuberculous, take more or less vegetable nourishment, and
those in which they are studded with conical points live principally upon insects. The »
articulation of their lower jaw, directed crosswise, and clasping like a hinge, allows of ! ■
no lateral motion, but can only open and shut : [the latter, however, had already been |
nearly lost in the Lemurs.] jj
Their brain, though still tolerably convoluted, has no third lobe, and does not cover ,
the cerebellum, any more than in the following families ; the orbit is not separated !
from the temporal fossa in the skeleton § ; the skull is narrowed, and the zygomatic i
arches widened and raised, in order to give more strength and volume to the muscles
of the jaws. Their predominant sense is that of smell, and the pituitary membrane
is generally spread over numerous bony laminae. The fore- arm is still capable of re-
volving in nearly all of them, though with less facility than in the Quadrumana. The
intestines [save in the frugivorous Bats] are less voluminous, on account of the sub-
stantial nature of the aliment, and to avoid the putrefaction which flesh would undergo
in a more extended canal : [besides which, the requisite nutriment is more readily ex-
tracted from it.]
As regards the rest, their forms and the details of their organization vary consider-
ably, and occasion analogous differences in their habits I|, insomuch that it is impossible
to arrange their genera in a single line ; and we are obliged to form them into several
families, which are variously connected by multiplied relations.
* Here, at the end of the Quadrumana, may be appended some in- j
formation, which unfortunately arrived too late for insertion under
the generic heads Cercopithecus and Colobus.
It has just been ascertained, by Mr. Martin, that the Mangabevs
(^Cercopithecus athiops and fuliginosus, Auct.) possess the additional
tubercle on the last molar, found in the Macaques, Doucs, &c. ;
whence the name Cercocebus may now be continued to them ex-
clusively, as a definite subordinate group, more nearly related to the
true Monkeys than to the Macaques, notwithstanding the structural
character adverted to. Their hair, it may be remarked, is not grizzled
or annulated, as in both the Macaques and Monkeys.
Of the genus Colobus, a perfect skin of C. leucomeros, Ogilby, has
been received in Paris, which securely establishes that species. The
face is encircled with white hair, very long on the sides ; and the tail
also is white, as in C. ursinus.
Finally, a notice and figure have been just published of a species
designated Colobus verus, but which appears to me, both from its con-
tour and the description (whieh states its hair to be annulated), to be
a thumbless Cercopithecus, allied to C. Campbellii. The negative
character of wanting a thumb, only, will not constitute a CofoJius. !
-E--
t Written Carnassiers by Cuvier. — Ed.
t In one genus of Cheiroptera {Dysopes), the hinder thumbs of some ;
of the species incline to be opposable ; while the last trace of this ;
character in the anterior limbs, would seem to be the freedom of th^
thumb in the Bats generally, their fingers being all connected byj
membrane. — Ed.
§ At least not generally : but it is commonly so in the Mangoustes|l
(Herpestes), smA allied genus Cynictis ; also in Hic Felis planiceps ;
it is nearly so in the frugivorous Cheiroptera, and, it would seem, inj
Taphozous among the insectivorous Bats. — Ed.
11 This is a favourite mode of expression of our author; but wel
have reason rather to transpose the sequency, or, in other words, to S
regard the habit as neeessitating the particular modifications of struc-
ture. Thus, on consideration, it will appear, that the productive!
powers of nature ever exceeding the actual demand for such!
multiplication, species upon species have been endowed with"
the necessary organization to aid as successive checks upon
CARNARIA.
67
THE FIRST FAMILY OF CARNARIA,—
CHEIROPTERA,—
Preserves some affinities with the Quadrumana by the pendulous penis*, and mammae which
are placed on the breast. Their distinctive character consists in a fold of the skin, which,
commencing at the sides of the neck, extends between their four feet and their fingers, sustains
them in the air, and even enables such of them to fly as have the hands sufficiently developed
for that purpose.t This disposition required strong clavicles, and large scapulars, to impart
the requisite solidity to the shoulder ; but it was incompatible with the rotation of the fore-
arm, which would have diminished the force of the stroke necessary for flight. These animals
have all four large canines, but the number of their incisors varies. They have long been
distributed into two genera, according to the extent of their organs of flight X [sustaining
membrane] ; but the first requires numerous subdivisions.
The Bats {Vespertilio, Lin.) —
Have the arms, fore-arms, and fingers excessively elongated, so as to form, with the
membrane that occupies their intervals, real wings, the surface of which is equally or
more extended than in those of Birds. Hence they fly very high, and with great rapidity.
Fig. 7.— Skeleton of Bat.
our climates, pass the winter in a torpid
Their pectoral muscles have a thickness pro-
portioned to the movements which they have
to execute, and the sternum possesses a
medial ridge to afford attachment to them,
as in Birds. The thumb is short, and fur-
nished with a crooked nail, by which these
animals creep and suspend themselves. Their
hinder parts are [generally] weak, and divided
into five toes, nearly always of equal length,
and armed with trenchant and sharp nails.
They have no coecum to the intestine. Their
eyes [except in the frugivorous species] are
extremely small, but their ears are often very
large, arH constitute with the wings an enor-
mous extent of membrane, almost naked, and
so sensible that the Bats guide themselves
through all the intricacies of their labyrinths,
even after their eyes have been removed, pro-
bably by the sole diversity of aerial impres-
sions. § They are nocturnal animals, which, in
Dm'ing the day they suspend themselves in
superfluity, it being clear, speaking generally, that the consumed
must have pre-existed to the consumer ; or, to embody the proposi-
tion in still more general terms, the conditions must have been first
i present, in especial reference to which any species has been or-
ganized : in conformity with which theorem, it may be remarked, that,
, however reciprocal, on a superficial view, may appear the relations of
the preyer and the prey, a little reflection on the observed facts
I suffices to intimate that the relative adaptations of the former only
are special, those of the latter being comparatively vague and general ;
I indicating that there having been a superabundance which might
serve as nutriment, in the first instance, and which, in many cases,
J was unattainable by ordinary means, particular species have therefore j
j been so organized (that is to say, modified upon some more or less
i|j general type or plan of structure,) to avail themselves of the supply ;
i; which special adaptation, however, does not necessarily prevent them
j (in a vast proportion of cases) from also deriving nourishment from
other sources. Hence, therefore, the organization should be con-
sidered as having reference to, rather than as occasioning the par-
ticular habit. — Ed.
* This organ, however, as in the Carnivora, contains a bone (though
only within the glans,) with its accompanying pair of muscles. — Ed.
_■)• This character applies to all, with the exception of the Colugo
{Galdsopithecus), a genus which has little claim to range in this divi-
sion.— P)d.
t This term is inapplicable to the parachute membrane of the
Colugo.— Ed.
§ I have reason to suspect that the delicate tact alluded to resides
\ principally in the facial membrane, present in only some genera. A
specimen of Vesp. Nattereri, which I have just been observing, (in
which restricted genus there is no developement of membrane on the
face,) has several times, in flying about the room, flapped against a
glass case. — Ed.
F 2
I
I
1
68
MAMMALIA.
obscure places. Their ordinary produce is two young at a birth, [one only in the frugivorous
species, and many others,] whieh cling to the mammae of their parent, [have their eyes closed
for a while,*] and are of large proportional size. They form a very numerous genus, present-
ing many subdivisions. First there require to be separated —
The Roussettes {Pteropus, Briss.), —
Which have cutting incisors to each jaw, and grinders with flat crowns, or rather the latter have
originally two longitudinal and parallel projections, separated by a groove, and which wear away by
attrition : aecordingly they subsist in great part upon fruits, of which they consume a vast quantity ;
they also ably pursue small birds and quadrupeds : [a statement which much requires confirmation.]
They are the largest of the tribe, and tbeir flesh is eaten. The membrane is deeply emarginated between
their legs, and they have httle or no tail ; their index finger, shorter by half than the middle one, pos-
sesses a third phalanx, bearing a short nail (see fig. 9), which are wanting in other Bats ; but the following
fingers have each only two phalanges ; [their thumb is proportionally very large] ; they have the muzzle
simple, the nostrils widely separated, the ears middle-sized and without a tragus, and their tongue studded
with points that curve backwards ; their stomach is a very elongated sac, unequally dilated, [and their
intestines are much longer than in other Bats.] They have only been discovered in the south of Asia and
the Indian Archipelago ; [now, however, also in Japan, Australia, Madagascar, and the south and west
of Africa.
The species are very numerous, and have been greatly elucidated by the investigations of Temminck and
others, who have established most of them on a considerable number of specimens of all ages, and many
anatomically. They produce early, and the sexes are separately gregarious, the young also associating apart
from their parents as soon as they can provide for themselves.f] They divide into
1. Tailless Roussettes, with four incisors to each jaw; all of which were comprehended by Linnaeus under
his Vespertilio vampyrus. [More than twenty species are known, some of which exceed five feet across.^
One of the commonest in collections is]
The Black-bellied Roussette ( Pt. edulis, Geof.)— Of a blackish brown, deeper beneath [the fur crisp and?
coarse] ; nearly four feet in extent [sometimes, according to Temminck, upwards of five feet French, corre-*^
spending to five feet and a half English]. It inhabits^
the Moluccas and Isles of Sunda, where they ai’e found
during the day suspended in great numbers to the trees.
To preserve fruit from their attacks, it is necessary to ^
cover it with nets. Their cry is loud, and resembles that
of a Goose. They are taken by means of a bag held to ||
them at the end of a pole; and the natives esteem their :j|
fiesh a delicacy ; but Europeans dislike it on account of ill
its musky odour. The flesh of the Common Roussette / ^
(Pt. vulgaris, Geof.), an inhabitant of the Mauritius,^[Jf
has been compared to that of the Hare and Partridge. I i
2. Roussettes with a short tail, and four incisors to each
jaw ; [also generally less than the smaller species of n
the preceding. At least six are known, one of which ''
only (Pt. amplexicaudatus), has the tail moderately con?^!|
spicuous : the muzzle is comparatively somewhat shorter?!^
These two divisions comprehend all that are now^i
ranged in Pteropus ; and one species only (Pt. macro-
cephalus, Ogilby), from the Gambia, presents any marked
departure from the general character, in the great size of
its head, the superior magnitude and solidity of its
canines, and separation of the molars : allied to it is Pt. gamUanus, Ogilby, from the same locality, and Pt.
Whitei, Ben., which has a singular tuft on each side of the neck. The name Epomophorus, Ben., is applied to
these three species by Gray.]
Fig. 8.— Head of Pteropus edulis.
3. According to the indicia of M. Geoffroy, we now separate from the Roussettes
The Cephalots {Cephalotes, Geof.),
Which have [nearly] similar grinders, but in which the index finger, short, and consisting of three ' f
» Perhaps the frugivorous species form an exception to this. The I t The same appears to be the case with some of the insectivorous
others are nahed at birth, but have tlie limbs strong, and adapted for Bats of Europe. — Ed. |]
clinging to tlieir parent. I
I
CARNARIA.
69
phalanges, like that of the preceding, has no nail. The membranes of their wings, instead of meeting
at the flank, are joined to each other at the middle of the back, to which they adhere by a vertical and
longitudinal partition [a character which occurs, however, more or less completely, that is, the volar
membrane is attached more or less near to the middle of the hack, in some of the Roussettes].
They have often only two incisors [when adult, which are inserted in small curved interma^yllaries,
that are moveable backwards and forwards].
M. Isidore Geoflroy, in a monograph of this genus \_Pteropus], ioxms the Pt. personatuSy'Yem..,
and some allied species, into the subgenus Pachysoma,' has four molars less than the others, and
the zygomatic arches more projecting : the Pt. minimus or rostratus composes his subgenus Macro-
glossus, the muzzle of which is longer and more slender, and there are spaces between the grinders ;
it is believed that the tongue is extensile [now known to be slightly so, and of a rather longer and
more acuminate form than in the others]. Lastly, he separates the Cephalot of Peron from that of Pallas, 1
and applies to the former the name Hypodermis, on account of the complete dorsal insertion of the
membranes of its wings.”* ^
[M. Temminck, in his excellent monograph of the Pteropidce, or frugivorous Bats (published in 1835), adopts, as
generic, the divisions Pteropus, Pachysoma {Cynopterus, F. Cuv.), Cephalotes, Geof. {Hypodermis, Is. Geof.),
Harpyia, Illiger {Cephalotes, Is. Geof.), and Macroglossus.-\ Six species are known of Pachysoma, which present
some other peculiar characters,
and vary in size from ten to twenty
inches across : the remaining three
respectively consist of one known
species only, viz., C. Peronii,
sometimes two and a half feet
in extent,—!?. Pallasii (fig. 9), a
singular looking animal, from Ti-
mour, fourteen inches across, with
a claw on its fore-finger (like the
Cephalot), and projecting tubular
nostrils, — and M. rostratus, the
Kiodote, the smallest of the tribe,
rarely measuring a foot in spread
of wing, and which is known to
subsist chiefly on the fruit of the
Clove {Eugenia) ; its grinders are
remarkably diminutive. Between
these frugivorous Cheiroptera and
the following genera, the lapse is
very considerable.]
The Roussettes having been detached, the genuine Bats remain, all of which [excepting Desmodusl are
insectivorous, and possess three grinders on each side of both jaws, beset with conical points, and
preceded by a variable number of false molars. Their index never has a nail, and, a single sub-
genus excepted, the membrane always extends between their hind-legs. [The greater number have
cheek-pouches, and most, if not all, emit a peculiar low clicking note.]
They should be divided into two principal tribes : the first having three bony phalanges to the
middle finger of the wing, while the other finger and the index even have only two. To this tribe,
which is almost exclusively foreign, belong the following subgenera : —
The Molossines {Molossus, Geof. Dysopus%, Illig.)
These have the muzzle simple ; the ears broad and short, arising near the angle of the lips, and
uniting with each other upon the muzzle ; the tragus short, and not enveloped by the conch. Their
tail occupies the whole length of the interfemoral membrane, and very often extends beyond it.
[Their wings are narrow, and body large and heavy.] It is seldom that they have more than two in-
cisors to each jaw : but, according to M. Temminck, several of them have at first six below, four of
which they successively lose.
* This, passage occurs in the Appendix to the original work. — Ed. I is likewise used in Ornithology, where another appellation must be
+ The term Macroglossus, however, has unfortunately been pre- | substituted. — Ed.
occupied in Entomology: for which reason Kiodotus (the common 1 J This term is more generally accepted.— Ed.
name of the species, latinized) may be proposed in Its stead. Harpyia |
Fig. 9.— Harpyia Pallasii.
70
MAMMALIA.
The Dinops of M. Savi refers to
these Molossines with six inferior
incisors. There is one of them in
Italy (Dinops cestonii, Savi).
M. Geoffroyhas applied the name
NyctonowMS to those which have
four inferior incisors.
The Molossines were at first dis-
covered only in America ; but we
now know several from both con-
tinents. Some of them have the
hinder thumb placed farther from
the other digits than these are
from each other, and capable of
Fig. 10. — Head of Dysopus tenuis.
separate motion ; a character on which, in one species where it is very strongly marked. Dr. Horsfield has
established his genus Cheiromeles [the ears of which, also, ditfer in being widely separated].
It is probable that we should also place here the Thyroptera of Spix, which appears to have several cha-
racters of the Molossines, and the thumb of which has a little concave palette peculiar to them (fig. 10, a), by
which they are enabled to cling more closely. [Several species of this genus agree in possessing this appendage,
which is proportionally larger in the;
young.
As a whole, the group of Molossines is ;i
extremely distinct and insulated, thoughj
consisting of a vast number of species,'|
of which about twenty may be considered t
established; six or seven of these ap-|
pertain to the eastern hemisphere. The|
largest and most curious of them isj
D. cheiropiis, Tern. {Cheiromeles, Horsf.';|
fig. 11), from Siam, which measuresl
nearly two feet across : it is quite naked,
with the exception of an abrupt collar
of hairs round the neck.
Several have the upper lip laterally
pendent (fig. 10), whence the name
Molossus or Mastiff; and the term
Dysopus refers to the toes being more
or less tufted with hair. The greater
number of species are from Brazil and,
Paraguay.] < m
Fig. 11.— Dysopus cheiropus.
The Noctules (Noctilio*, Lin. Ed. xii.)
Muzzle short, inflated, and split into a double hare-lip, marked with odd-looking warts and grooves ;
ears separate ; four incisors above and two below ; tail short, and [possibly in some] free above the inter-
femoral membrane ; [limbs much elongated, the hinder very large and stout, and furnished with strong
claws ; the volar membranes are attached high upon the back, in some almost meeting dorsally, as in the
Cephalot and some Roussettes.]
The most generally known species is from America. {Vesp. leporinus, Gm.), of a uniform fulvous. [Others
have been found on the same continent : and Celceno, Leach, was founded on an imperfect specimen, which is
still extant. The Noctules are allied to the true Bats {Vespertilio) ; and a group which appears to be somewhat
intermediate, but with a more elongated muzzle, is the Emballonura, Kuhl (Proboscidea, Spix), of which four
species have been described from South America, and a fifth from Java. Pteronotus, Gray, is probably a Noctule,
with a longer tail than usual ; and Myopteris, Geoff., and also Aello, Leach, do not seem to differ essentially.]
The Phyllostomes {Phyllostoma, Cuv. and Geoff.)
The regular number of incisors is four to each jaw, but some of the lower ones frequently fall,
being forced out by the growth of the canines ; [the second false molar is generally elongated] . They are,
moreover, distinguished by the membrane, in the form of an upturned leaf, which is placed across the
end of the nose. The tragus of their ear (fig. 12) resembles a leaflet, more or less indented. Their
tongue, which is very extensile, is terminated by papillae, which appear to be arranged so as to form
The division Noctilio was unaccountably ranged by Linnaeus among his Glires, or the Rodentia of our author.— Ed.
CARNARIA.
71
an organ of suction ; and their lips also have tuhereles symmetrically arranged. They are American
animals, which run along the ground with more facility than the other Bats, and have a habit of
sucking the blood of animals.
1. Tailless Phyllostomes {Vampyrus, Spix).
The Vampyre [of authors] {Vesp. spectrum, Lin.)— (fig.
12.) This animal is reddish-brown, and as large as a
Magpie. It has been accused of causing the death of
men and animals by sucking their blood ; but the truth
appears to be, that it inflicts only very small wounds,
which may sometimes prove dangerous from the effects of
the climate. [There are several others, certain of which
compose the divisions Madatceus and Arctibeus, Leach,
Lophostoma, Orb., (which is very like a Desmodus ex-
ternally,) Diphylla, Spix, and Carollia, Gray, — founded on
trivial modifications of the form of the nose-leaf, tragus,
and interfemoral membrane.]
2. Phyllostomes with the tail enveloped in the interfe
moral membrane.
The Javelin Ph. {Vesp. hastatus, Lin.)— The leaf shaped
like the head of a javelin, with its edges entire. [Also
various others, some of which constitute Macrophyllum and
Brachyphylla, Gray.]
3. Phyllostomes with the tail free above the membrane.
Ph. crenulatum, Geof. — The leaf indented on the side.
M. Geotfroy distinguishes from the Phyllostomes
those species which have a narrow extensile tongue,
furnished with papillae resembling hairs. He de-
signates them Glossophagues (Glossophaga). All
the species are likewise from America. [These also
have been subdivided, according to the presence or
absence of a short tail, and other frivolous characters
into Phj/llophora and Anoura, Gray, Monophyllus,
Leach, and Glossophaga, as restricted. Spix applies to
one of them {Gl. amplexicaudata, Phyllophora of
Gray) the term Sanguisuga crudelissima, — “ a very
cruel blood-sucker." According to Mr. Bell, the tongue of Phyllostoma, has “ a number of wart-like
elevations, so arranged as to form a complete circular suctorial disc, when they are brought into con-
tact at their sides, which is done by means of a set of muscular fibres, having a tendon attached to
each of the warts." The teeth of these animals, however, are decidedly ill-adapted for blood-letting.
Fig. 12. — Vacipyrus spectrum.
The True Vampyres {Desmodus, Pr. Max., Edostoma, Orb., Stenoderma ?, Geof.)
This extraordinary genus has two immense, projecting, approximate upper incisors, and similar
lancet-shaped superior canines, all of which are excessively sharp-pointed, and arranged to inflict a
triple puncture, like that of a Leech ; four bilobate inferior
incisors, the innermost separated by a wide interval ; the
lower canines small and not compressed : there are no true
molars, but two false ones on the upper jaw, and three on
the lower, of a peculiar form, apparently unfitted for mas-
tication (fig. 13). The intestine is shorter than in any
other known animal ; as blood, which probably constitutes
their sole food, is so readily assimilated.* They have the
general characters of the Phyllostomes externally, a small
bifid membrane on the nose, no tail or calcaneum, and the
interfemoral membrane but little developed. Are also in-
habitants of South America.
Fig. 13. — Teeth of Desmodus.
♦ In Vespertilo noctula, the intestine is only twice the length of I proceeds almost straight to the anus. It would be interesting to know
the body, while in P^erupus it is full seven times. In Desmodus, it ' the first or milk teeth of
72
MAMMALIA.
Two or three species are known, of moderate but not large size.* One was taken in the act of sucking blood
from the neck of a Horse, by Mr. Darwin. It is probable that their external similitude to the Phyllostomes has
occasioned the latter to be accused of a sanguivorous propensity, for which their structure seems to be at
most but partially adapted, while that of the present genus is obviously expressly designed for this mode of life.
Compare the figm-es given of the dentition of the two genera.]
In the second grand tribe of Bats, the index has only one bony phalanx, while all the other fingers
have two. This tribe also requires to be divided into several subgenera.
The Megaderms {Megaderma, Geof.) —
Have the nasal membrane more complicated than in the Phyllostomes ; the tragus large and most
commonly bifurcated ; the conch of the ears very ample, and joined together on the top of the head ;
the tongue and the lips smooth ; interfemoral membrane
entire, and there is no tail. They have four incisors below,
but none above, and their intermaxillaries remain carti-
laginous. [Their wings are remarkably ample, the whole
cutaneous system of these animals being excessively de-
veloped.
Four species are known ; two from Africa, the others from
the Indian archipelago. One of the former (M. frons, fig. 14)
has the body covered with long hair, of most delicately fine
texture ; it constitutes the division Lavia of Gray.] They are
distinguished by the figure of the leaf, like the Phyllostomes.
Fig. 14. — Megaderma Irons.
The Khinolphines {RMnolophus, Geof. and Cuv. \_Noctilio
Bechst.]), vulgarly termed Horse-shoe Bats.
These have the nose furnished with very complicated
membranes and crests resting on the forehead, and al-
together presenting [more or less] the figure of a horse-
shoe ; their tail is long, and placed in the interfemoral
membrane. They have four incisors below, and two small
ones above, fixed in a cartilaginous intermaxillary.
Two species are very common in France [and found sparingly
and locally in England!],— ferrum-equinum, Lin., or Rh.
bifer, Geof., and Vesp. Mpposideros, Bechstein. They both
inhabit quarries [cathedrals, &c.], where they hang solitarily [?] suspended by the feet, and enveloping them-
selves with their wings, so that no part of their body is visible. [They differ chiefly in size, but in this con-
siderably ; the larger measuring 13 inches across, the other 8^ inches.
More than twenty species are known, all from
the eastern hemisphere. They fall under two
divisions, of which the extremes are shown in
the accompanying representation (fig. 15) ; but
the majority are of intermediate character, like
the two which inhabit Europe. Those with
membranous crests have the ti’agus distinct,
and sometimes considerably developed ; the
others have no separated tragus, and compose
the divisions Hipposidoros, Gray, (identical with
Phillorhina, Bonap.) and Asellia, Gray : Ariteus
of the same systematist referring to a member of
the former sub-group, which is destitute of tail,
and almost of interfemoral membrane ; charac-
ters, however, to which other species approxi-
mate. They inhabit the darkest caverns, in vast multitudes, the sexes and young in separate assemblages.
Penetrating to more deeply obscure recesses than any of the others, it is probable that their facial appendages are
endowed with exquisite sensibility, for the still further extension of that delicacy of the sense of touch, by which
others of this family are enabled to guide themselves when deprived of vision : the dryness of those membranes
intimates that they are not olfactory. Certain inguinal glands, more or less distinctly developed in these
animals, have been erroneously described as mammaiy teats.
* There is reason to suspect that tlic genus jDes?no(/«s is mucli more | t A British locality, where both occur rather numerously, is the
I W(
Fig. 15. — Khinolophus nobilis.
R. insignis
extensively representetl. — En.
vcll-known cave near Torquay, in Devonshire, called Kent's Hole,
CARNARIA.
73
The Nyctophilets {Nyctophilus, Leach) —
Are, according to Temminck, somewhat intermediate to the Rhinolphines and the next genus of
Nycterins ; approaching the former in the character of their incisors and canines, and the latter in
that of their molars : the ears are large and pointed ; the tragus lanceolate ; nasal follicles distinct ;
the tail moderately long, and enveloped in the membrane.
Nyct. Geoffroyi, Leach, is the only known species, from some part of Oceanica. It appears to be allied to the
true Bats {Vespertilio), and was included in Barbastellus, Gray, as originally constituted.]
The Nycterins (Nycferis, Cuv. and Geof.) —
Have the forehead furrowed by a longitudinal groove, w^hicli is even marked upon the cranium,
bordered by a fold of the skin, which partially covers it ; nostrils simple ; four incisors without inter-
vals above, and six below ; ears large and
Fig. 16. — Head of Nycteris javanicus.
separated ; the tail involved in the inter-
femoral membrane [and terminated by a
bifid cartilage (fig. 16, 2).] They are
African species [for the most part, but one
inhabits Java.
These animals are remarkable for a power of
inflating the skin, which is only attached to
the body in some few places, by an open cel-
lular connexion. There is a small aperture at
the bottom of each cheek-pouch, by which this
is eflected ; and the nostrils are so formed as
to close when at rest, and to open only at will.
By respiring with the mouth closed, the air
passes through these apertures along the
frontal groove to the upper part of the neck, and thence under the skin of the back, chest, and abdomen,
which, by a repetition of the process, can be puiFed out like a balloon : the intent remains to be explained.]
The Rhinopomes {Rhinopoma, Geof.) —
Have the frontal depression less marked ; the nostrils at the end of the muzzle, with a little lamina
above, forming a kind of snout ; the ears are joined ; and the tail [which is very slender] extends
far beyond the interfemoral membrane.
[A few species occur on both continents, one of which is figured in the great French work on Egypt, under the
name Taphien filets
The Taphiens {Taphozous, Geof.) —
Have also a small rounded indenture on the forehead ; but their nostrils have no raised lamina : the
head is pyramidal, and there are only two incisors above, very often none, and four trilobate incisors
below ; their ears are
widely separated, and [the
tip of] their tail free above
the membrane. The males
have a transverse cavity
under the throat. A little
prolongation of the mem-
brane of their wings forms
a sort of pouch near the
carpus.*
One species was discover-
ed in the catacombs of
Egypt by M. GeolFroy [and
it is probable that the others
are peculiar to the old con-
tinent, though one {Vesp. Fig. 17.— Mormoops Blainviim.
marsupialU, Muller) is said to be American. T. rufus, Harlan (Wils. Am. Orn., vol. vi. pi. 50) is most likely a
* Hence the name Saccopteryx, applied to this genus by Illigcr.
74
MAMMALIA.
Vespertilio. The Egyptian species is represented to have small eyes ; but that figured by Gen. Hardwicke (Lin.
Trans., vol. xiv. p. 525) possesses eyes proportionally as large as in a Squirrel, and we have examined skins of
another species (chinchilla-grey above, pure white beneath), in which the same character must have been con-
spicuous.]
The Mormopes {Mormoops, Leach) —
Have four incisors to each jaw, the superior rather large ; the inferior trilobate ; their skull (fig. 17) is
singularly raised like a pyramid above the muzzle ; and on each side of the nose is a triangular
membrane, which extends to the ear.
The species M. Blainvillii^ Leach, is from Java. [It has since been received, together with two others of the
same form (but considered by Gray as separable), from Jamaica; so that the former locality may be presumed to
be wrongly assigned.]
The ordinary Bats [to which this term may be restricted] {Vespertilio, Cuv. and Geof.) —
Have no leaf or other distinctive mark on the muzzle, and the ears separated ; four incisors above, of
which the two middle ones are apart, and six below, sharp-edged, and somewhat notched * : their tail
is comprehended in the membrane.
This subgenus is the most numerous of all, and universally distributed. There are six or seven species
m France [more than double that number. Thirteen have now been met with in England, including the Barbastelle
and Oreillard. The sexes and young of several congregate separately .f]
• M. Rousseau, in a memoir on the anatomy of Fesp. murinus,
states, of the two dentitions of this animal, that the first is developed
before birth, the second not till some time afterwards. The foetal teeth,
he remarks, are twenty-two in number ; namely, four incisors, two
canines, and four molars to the upper jaw, and six incisors, two
canines, and four molars to the lower one. The permanent teeth, in
the adult, are thirty-eight in number ; of which twenty-two should
replace the foetal or temporary teeth ; the sixteen others successively
show themselves, later as their position is further backward. The
permanent teeth do not wait to appear until their predecessors
are shed, whence at a certain epoch forty or fifty teeth, or even more,
may be counted in the same individual : this last fact we have ob-
served in the instance of the common Fitchet Weasel. — En.
t To facilitate the researches of the British naturalist, our known
indigenous species may be briefly indicated : it is not unlikely that
more remain to be discovered, as but few persons have hitherto be-
stowed much attention on these lucifugal animals.
The British species fall under two natural divisions.
In the first, the tragus is more or less rounded at the tip, short, and
a little thickened in its substance ; there are four pairs of false molars
to each jaw. Such are
The Noctule Bat (F. noctula) .—Oi a bright reddish-brown; the
membrane dusky. Length of the head and body nearly 3 inches : ex-
tent 13 or 14 inches. Ears oval-triangular, shorter than the head ;
the tragus not one-third the length of the ear, arcuated, and termi-
nated in a broad rounded head ; muzzle short, broad, and blunt.
This species is not uncommon, and is even numerous in some
districts : its flight is lofty, whence designated ultivolans by White.
Hairy-armed Bat {F.Leisleri), — ^The furlong, bright chestnut above,
brownish grey beneath ; under surface of the flying membrane with a
broad band of hair along the fore-arm. Length of the head and body
2Y2 inches ; extent inches. Tlie ears oval-triangular, shorter than
the head ; tragus barely one-third the length of the ear, terminating
in a rounded head. But one specimen is known to have been killed in
England.
Particoloured Bat {F. discolor) .—Fnr reddish-brown above, with
the tips of the hairs white ; beneath, sullied white. Length of the
head and body 2^4 inches ; extent 10V§ inches. Ears about two-
thirds the length of the head, oval, with a projecting lobe on the
inner margin ; the tragus of nearly equal breadth throughout, rather
more than one-third the length of the ear. It inhabits towns, and
comes abroad early in the evening. The only native specimen was
taken-at Plymouth.
Pipistrelle Bat [F. pipistrellus, erroneously termed F. murinus by
British writers till very lately) .—This small species is the commonest
of any ; it is dark reddish brown, paler beneath. Length to the tail
lyo inch ; extent 81^ inches. Ears two-thirds the length of the head,
oval-triangular, notched on the outer margin ; tragus nearly half as
long as the ear, almost straight, thickened, obtuse, and rounded at
the apex. It runs with celerity, carrying its head near the ground,
from which it rises with ease ; and is active during the greater part
of the year. The Pygmy Bat {F. pygmtBus, Leach,) is evidently a
young animal, and probably of this species.
The next has only two pairs of superior false molars.
The Serotine Bat (F. sero<iwMs).— Fur chestnut-brown above, yel-
lowish-grey beneath. Length of the head and body 2% inches ; ex-
tent 12^; inches. The ears oval triangular; shorter than the head ;
tragus semicordate, little more than one-third the length of the ear.
The Serotine frequents uninhabited houses, the roofs of churches, &c.
and sometimes hollow trees ; flies steadily and rather slow, and is
occasionally taken near London.
In the second group, the tragus is relatively longer, thin, narrow,
and more or less pointed ; and there are six pairs of false molars to
each jaw.
Mouse-coloured Bat (F. murinus). — The fur reddish-brown above,
dull white beneath. Length of the head and body 3^2 inches ; spread
of wing 15 inches. Ears oval, broad at the base, becoming narrower
towards the apex, as long as the head ; tragus falciform, the inner
margin straight, not quite half the length of the ear. This Bat is very
common in France and Germany, but only one instance has been re-
corded of its occurrence in Britain.
Bechstein’s Bat (V. Bechsteinii) . — Fur reddish-grey above, greyish-
white beneath. Dimensions, to the insertion of the tail, 2^4 inches ;
11 inches aeross. Ears oval, rather longer than the head ; tragus
narrow, falciform, not half the length of the ear. The thumb longer
than in the others. A woodland species, found occasionally in the
New Forest, Hants.
Fringe-tailed Bat ( Nattereri). — Fur brown above, whitish
beneath. Length, to the tail, nearly 2 inches ; extent 11 inches.
Ears oblong-oval, about as long as the head ; tragus narrow-lanceo- ^
late, nearly two-thirds the length of the ear; interfemoral membran^
with the margin crenate and stiffly ciliated, from the end of the spur
or calcaneum to the tail. Has been met with in several parts of tli^
country. J
Notch-eared Bat {F. emarginatus, Geol., not of Jenyns). — The fur |
reddish-grey above, ash-coloured beneath. Length of the head and ^
body two inches ; extent 9 inches. The ears oblong, as long as the '
head, with a notch and a small lobe on the outer margin ; tragus awl-
shaped, a little curved outward, more than half the length of the ear.
One was killed near Dover.
Daubenton’s Bat (F. Datibentonii, — emarginatus ol Jenyns). — Fur
soft, plentiful, brownish-black at the base ; the surface greyish-red
above, ash-grey beneath. Length of the head and body 2 inches ;
extent 9 inches. The ears oval, three-fourths the length of the head,
very slightly notched on the outer margin, with a fold on the inner i
margin at the base ; tragus narrow-lanceolate, rather obtuse, bending
a little inward, half the length of the ear ; tail longer than the body.
Has been taken in several localities, and flies rapidly near the ground,
or over stagnant water.
Whiskered Bat (F. mystacinus). — Fur blackish-chestnut above,
dusky beneath ; the upper lip furnished with a moustache of long fine
hair. Length of the head and body 1% inch ; extent inches. Ears |
oblong, bending outward, shorter than the head, notched on the outer
margin ; the tragus half the length of the ear, laneeolate, a little ex- |
panded at the outer margin near the base. Has also occurred in
different parts of the country.
The above characters are chiefly compiled from Bell’s British Quad-
rupeds, where figures and minute descriptions are gi'-en of each of
them, together w'ith full-sized representations of their heads. It may
be remarked that only the last five are retained in Fesj ertilio by Mr.
Gray, the others being included in his Scotophilus. — Ej .
i
CARNARIA,
M. GeofFroy also separates from the Bats
The Oreillards (Plecotus), —
Whieh have the ears longer than the head, and joined above the cranium, as in the Megaderms,
Rhinopomes, &c. Their tragus is large and lanceolate, and there is an opercidum to their auditory
orifiee.
Fig, 18. — Ears or Plecotus auntus.
The common species {Vesp. auritus, Lin.) is still more
abundant in France than any of the Bats [and is equally
plentiful in England], inhabiting houses, kitchens, &c. Its
ears (fig. 18) are nearly as long as its body [more than double
the length of the head; yet, when reposing (as shown in
fig. 19), they are folded so as to be out of sight. Its peculiar
shuffling gait, with the head raised, is different from that of
the Bats with short ears ; and it may be tamed to hover around
with familiarity, and alight upon the hand for insect food.
Tlie PI. brevimanus, Jenyns, is merely the young ; but there
are several exotic species.] We have also another, discovered by Daubenton, with much shorter ears, [now
forming the equivalent division
Fig. 19. — Plecotus auritus.
Barbastelle {Barhastelhis, Gray)—
The ears of which are moderate, united at base ; and there is a hollowed naked space on the upper
surface of the muzzle, in
which the nostrils are situ-
ated ; but one pair of false
molars to each jaw.
B. Daubentonii, Bell, (fig.
20,) is the only ascertained
species. It is of rare occur-
rence in Britain, and measures
lOJ inches in extent of wing.]
Finally, Nyeticeus^, Ra
fin., [ ScotopMlus, Leach,
PipistreUuSf Bonap.] , with Fig. 20.— Barbastellus Daubentoai.
ears of medium size, and the simple muzzle of the Bats, has only two incisors to the upper jaw
[which are widely separated, and close to the canines.] It does not otherwise differ from Vespertilio.
The known species are from North America, [but others have since been discovered in the ancient continent,
as N. Heathii, Horsf., from India, and another from Java. Mr. Gray, indeed, includes most of the European Bats
in his Scotophilus ; but Temminck, who rejects Plecotus even, suggests, and I think with reason, that the present
also is a superfluous division, based on insufficient characters. The Oreillards and Barbastelles are subordinate
to Vespertilio, also Puria, F. Cuv., {Furipterus, Bonap.) which has the tail partly cartilaginous, Natalus, Gray,
wherein the heel-bone extends the whole length of the interfemoral membrane ; Romicius, Gray, and Miniopterus,
Bonap. Atalapha, Rafin., is said to have no incisors, Hypexodon, Rafin., to have incisors (of the usual number,
six) in the lower jaw only ; Lasiurus has been applied to a small group with the interfemoral membrane hairy ;
and, lastly, Pachyotus and Nyctalus, Bowditch, are divisions of no value whatever. It is to be regretted that
naturalists cannot occupy their time more profitably than in coining supernumerary names.
* Sometimes written Nycticejus. — Ed.
76
MAMMALIA.
Many of the foregoing animals fly with their young involved in the interfemoral membrane,
extremity of the tail in some is slightly prehensile.
The
We would remark, here, that the order Primaria, indicated at p. 43, resolves into two
primary sections, of which the second is constituted by the Cheiroptera, as opposed to the
remainder, or the Bimana and Quadrumana of Cuvier. We regard the Cheiroptera as
divisible into two groups only of the value of families, namely, Pteropidce, comprising the
frugivorous genera, and Vespertilionidce, comprehending all the remainder, which may pro-
bably be reduced to seven or eight primary divisions. The remains of insectivorous Cheiroptera
have been detected in the European tertiary deposits.]*
The Colugos {Galeeopithecus, Pallas) —
Differ generically from the Bats in having their fingers, which are armed with trenchant nails, no
longer than the toes, so that the membrane which occupies their intervals, and extends to the sides of
the tail, can only officiate as a parachute. Their canines are dentelated, and as short as the molars.
They have two [four] dentelated incisors above, very widely apart; six below t, split into narrow
strips hke a comb, a structm*e altogether pe-
culiar. These animals live on the trees in the
Indian archipelago, and pursue insects, and per-
haps birds ; to judge from the detrition which
their teeth experience with age, they would ap-
pear to subsist also upon fruits. They have d.,
large ccecum.
[This remarkable genus accords chiefly with the
Bats in the adaptive structure of its hind extremities,
and in the tail being completely attached to interfe-
moral membrane : the molars, also, are sharply tuber-
culated, implying an insectivorous regimen, at least
in part ; but this character is common to several Strep-
sirrhini: there is also a tendency to an opposable
power in both the fore and hind thumbs. The
general anatomy agrees very closely with that of the
Lemurs ; one marked feature in which it diifers from
the Bats is, the presence of a large coecum, as intimated
by Cuvier. The orbits of the skull, though raised,
are much less approximated than in the Lemurs, and
incomplete ; in which respect this genus chiefly devi-
ates from the type of the Quadrumana. A parachute
membrane occurs, likewise, among the Squirrels and
Phalangers, only not extending to the tail, as in the
present instance ; this, therefore,is merely an adaptive
character of minor importance. Linnaeus designated
the only species he knew Lemur volans.
“ Two species,” remarks Temminck, “ are strongly
characterized by their osteology which may be pre-
sumed to be those provisionally named by Waterhouse
G. TemmincUi, and G. philippinensis, both of which are extremely variable in colour. The former is more exten-
sively diffused, and superior in its linear dimensions, but with smaller hands and ears ; its teeth are separated by
intervals, and the parietal ridges of the cranium are widely apart : in the latter there are no interspaces between
the teeth, which are much stouter and broader ; the jaw is accordingly much stronger, and to impart ad-
ditional vigour to the muscles which operate upon it, the parietal ridges, to which they are attached, almost meet
on the occiput. They inhabit lofty trees in dark woods ; to which they cling with all four extremities, and traverse
easily by means of their strong and extremely compressed, very hitching claws ; they also leap and float a dis-
tance of a hundred yards in an inclined plane, supported by the membrane. They are very inoffensive animals,
subsisting in part on the leaves of the nanka, or jack-fruit ; and when captured, do not attempt to bite, as has often
Fig. 21.— GalaBopitheous Temminckii.
* Our plan only permitting us to class those animals the characters
of which we have personally ascertained, or from very complete
descriptions and figures, we have been obliged to omit several genera
of MM. Kafinesque, Leach, &c. ; and may here observe that there is
no group of animals which stands more in need of revision than
that of the Bats— a revision from Nature, and not from compilation.
[Their mutual affinities particularly require elucidation.]
t Analogy with the Lemurs intimates that the exterior of these
represent the canines. — Ed.
CARNARIA.
77
been remarked on cutting down the tree to which one was clinging, and seizing it before it could extricate itself
from the branches. They produce generally two young at a birth ; and their cry resembles the low cackle of a
Goose.]
All the other Carnaria have the mammae situated on the belly.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF CARNARIA,—
INSECTIVORA,—
Possess, like the Cheiroptera, grinders beset with conical points, and generally lead a nocturnal
or subterraneous life : they subsist principally on insects, and in cold countries most of them
pass the winter in a torpid state. They have no lateral membranes, as in the Cheiroptera j
but the clavicles are never absent ; their feet are short, and their movements feeble*; the
mammae are placed under the abdomen, and the penis in a sheath. None of them have a
coecum, and in running they all place the entire sole of the foot upon the ground.
They differ in the relative proportions and position of their incisors and canines.
Some have long incisors in front, followed by other incisors [along the sides of their narrow
jaws], and canines, all shorter even than the molars; a kind of dentition, of which the Mal-
mags, among the Quadrumana, have already afforded an example, and which somewhat
approximates these animals to the Rodents : others have large separated canines, between
which are placed small incisors, being the ordinary disposition of these teeth both in the Quad-
rumana and Carnaria ; and these two systems of dental arrangement occur in genera other-
wise very similar in the character of their teguments, in the form of their limbs, and mode
of life.
[It is in this group that we are led to identify the canine tooth as simply the first of the
false molars, which in some has two fangs ; and, as in the Lemurs, to perceive that the second
in the lower jaw is in some more analogous in size and character to an ordinary canine, than
that which follows the incisors. The incisor teeth are never more than six in number, which
is the maximum throughout placental Mammalia (as opposed to marsupial) ; and, in several
instances, one or two pairs are deficientf: the canines, with the succeeding false molars, are
extremely variable J ; but there are ordinarily three tuberculated molars posterior to the repre-
sentative of the carnivorous or cutting grinder of the true Carnivora. The snout in the
Insectivora is generally elongated.]
The Urchins, or Hedgehogs {Erinaceus, Lin.) —
Have the body covered with prickles instead of hairs. The skin of the back is furnished with such
muscles that the animal, by inclining its head and feet towards the belly, is enabled to inclose itself as
in a purse, presenting only its spines towards an enemy. Their tail is very short, and their feet have
each five toes. They possess on each jaw six incisors, of which the middle are the longest ; and on
either side three false molars, three bristled true molars, and a small tuberculous tooth.
I The European Urchin {E. Europ<eus, Lin). — A well known species, common in the woods and hedges. It sub-
j sists chiefly on insects, but also feeds partly upon fruit, by which at a certain age its teeth become worn : passes
the winter in its burrow, whence it issues in the spring with an amplitude and complication of its vesicul<e senii-
nales that is almost incredible. [It produces a variable number of young, sometimes six or seven, which are
( born with their eyes closed, and, what is remarkable, their ears also : their prickles are then thin, and few in
number, white, and at first flexile and disposed backward ; but they soon harden on exposure. The adults remain
concealed till the evening, when they run about in search of prey, with an omnivorous appetite ; they devour
I' Toads, and have been known to destroy leverets.] Pallas has noticed as an interesting fact, that the Urchin eats
hundreds of Cantharides without experiencing any ill effect, whereas a single one produces horrible agony in a
Dog or Cat.
[Ten other species are now known, distributed over Asia and Africa, but not Madagascar. Some are of small
size, and others have the ears considerably enlarged.
• In Macroschelides, the hind feet are lengthened, and announce
agility ; while the Banxrings are said to be as lively as a Squirrel. — Ed.
t The forked incisors of the Shrews appear each to represent two
teeth ; and the analogues of the inferior central incisors, wanting in
this genus, appear, in Solenodon and Uyogalea, of small size, between
the representatives of the long dentelated incisors of Sorex,
t It should be remarked that a single tooth with two fangs is often
represented by two separate teeth, each with one fang.
78
MAMMALIA.
The SoKiNAH {EcMnopSy Martin) —
Is a Madagascar animal, which differs chiefly from the Urchins in its dentition, having but four upper
incisors, of which the medial are large, and placed before the others ; the superior canines (or what
may be designated as such) are tuberculated behind ; there are five molars in all to each side of the
upper jaw, longitudinally very short, but broad, a groove passing continuously along their crowns ; two
small lower canines, three inferior false molars inclining forward, and four true molars obtusely
tuberculated.
E. Telfairi, Mart., is the only ascertained species ; and the form may be regarded as subordinate to Erinaceus.']
The Tenkecs {Centenes, Illiger) —
Have the body covered with spines, like the Urehins [but more slender and bristle-like] ; they do not,
however, possess the faculty of rolling themselves so completely into a ball : they have no tail ; their
muzzle is very pointed, and their teeth are very different. On each jaw are from four to six incisors,
and two large canines : next follow one or two small teeth, and four triangular molars with sharply
tuberculated crowns. They are natives of Madagascar, one speeies having been naturalized in the
Mauritius : are also nocturnal animals, which pass three months of the year in a state of lethargy,
although inhabiting the torrid zone. Brugiere even asserts that it is during the greatest heats that
they become torpid.
[Three if not four species have been ascertained ; one of which, the Tendrac of Biiffon {Erinaceus setosus, Lin.),
with six incisors to each jaw, composes the Ericuhcs of Is. Geoffroy.
The foregoing genera have little or no tail, whereas the following have very long tails.]
The Gymnures {Gymnura, Vig. and Horsf. \EcMnosorex, Blain.] ) —
“ Appear to approach the Banxring in dentition, and the Shrews by the pointed muzzle and scaly tail.
There are five unguiculated toes to each foot, and tolerably stiff [almost spinous] bristles growing
among woolly hair, [resembling the close fur of the Shrews.] It can only he properly classed when its
anatomy is known.”* [The general aspeet is that of a Tenrec, with a long, naked, and scaly tail. There
are six incisors to each jaw, the medial above widely separated, large, and resembling canines ; the
others lateral, and successively smaller : those below are separated into two pairs, the middle ones
being somewhat apart, and one smaller on each side. The canines are moderately large, and somewhat
curved, those of the upper jaw having two fangs : next follow, on each jaw, two pairs of smaU false
molars, succeeded by one larger above, and two below ; and the tme molars are four in number above
and three below, square, and tuberculated as in the Urchin.
The only known species (G. Rafflesii) inhabits Sumatra, and is larger than the Urchin of Europe.
The various preceding genera have small but not minute eyes.
The Macroscelles {Macroscelides , Smith ; Erinomys, Blain. ; Rhynomys, Lichst.) —
Compose a well-marked genus, somewhat resembling the Shrews, but with large eyes and more elong-
ated hind-feet : their fur is long and soft, and of very fine texture. They have six (lateral) incisors to
each jaw, minute canines, and on either side five sharply tuberculated molars. Their habits are
diurnal, and they retreat into burrows or beneath stones on apprehension of danger.
Eight species are known, all from South Africa except one, which inhabits Algiers. They are called Elephant
Mice in the Cape Colony.]
The Banxrings {Tupaia, Kaff. ; Cladohates., Fr. Cuv. \_Glisorex, Diard. ; Hylogale, Tern.] ), —
A genus lately characterized, from the Indian Archipelago, the teeth of which bear some resemblance
to those of the Urchins, only that their middle superior incisors are proportionally shorter, and there
are four to the lower jaw, more elongated, [and projecting forwards as in the Lemurs] ; they also [do
not] w'ant the tuberculous tooth behind. These animals are covered with hair [soft and glistening, but
not fine in texture], and have a long bushy tail ; and, contrary to the habits of other Insectivora,
they ascend trees with the agility of a Squirrel, but their pointed muzzle renders them easily distin-
• From the Appendix to the author’s edition.— Ed.
CARNARIA.
79
guishable, even at a distance. [The general form is not unlike that of the Marsupial genus Myrme-
coMus : and the bony orbits of the cranium are sometimes complete.
Three species are known, the T. tana, sumatrana, and ferruginea, all of which are well characterized by differ-
ences in the conformation of the cranium, in addition to external distinctions ; they inhabit trees, and are lively
and active animals.*
All the remaining genera have minute eyes.]
The Shrews {Sorex, Lin.) —
Are generally small, and covered with [soft] hair. Under this, on each flank, there is a band of stiff,
closely-set bristles, from between which, during the rutting season, exudes an odorous fluid, the product
of a pecuhar gland. Their two middle superior incisors are hooked, and dentated at the base ; the
lower ones slanting and elongated : five small teeth follow on each side the first, and only two the
second. There are besides, on each jaw, three bristled molars, and finally on the upper one a small
tuberculous tooth. These animals retire to holes they burrow in the ground, which they scarcely
leave till towards the evening, and subsist on worms and insects.
[We have observed them to be much about during the day, under shelter of close herbage, where their sibilant
and insect-like cry notifies their presence, and have occasionally seen them venture forth from cover when all was
quiet.t M. Duvernoy discovered that their incisors occupy, from the first, the position they maintain in after-life,
but are enveloped for a while by the periost<eum or investing membrane of the bone to which they are attached,
through which the larger protrude some time before the others : he accordingly infers that these animals have no
milk-teeth. The same naturalist divides this genus into
1. Sorex, Duv. (Crocidwra, Wagl. ; including Myosorex, Gray) •, wherein the edge of the long inferior incisors is
unserrated ; that of the upper notched, or with the spur appearing as a point behind ; the small lateral teeth which
follow are three or four in number, and diminish rapidly in size from the first to the last ; none of the teeth being
coloured. The ears are conspicuously developed, and the tail has always longer and coarser hairs mingled with
the ordinary short ones. This group, which is very distinct, comprises all the numerous extra-European species,
together with three {S. araneus, Geoff., S. Etruscus, Savi, and S. leticodon, Herm.) which are met with on this con-
tinent. None occur in the British islands. One of the most remarkable is S. giganteus. Is. Geof., from India,
which approaches in size to the Black Rat, and has a follicle on each side, producing a pungent musky secretion.
The remainder have the ears buried in the fur, and consequently inconspicuous.
2. AmpMsorex, Duv. (Corsira, Gray.) — Incisors of the lower jaw with the edge dentelated ; those of the upper
forked, the spur behind prolonged to a level with the point in front : the lateral small teeth which follow five in
number, and diminishing gradually in size : all the teeth more or less coloured at the tips. The British species
have till very recently been confounded together under the name araneus, which pertains to a continental mem-
ber of the preceding division.^:
3. Hydrosorex, Duv. {AmpMsorex and Crossopus, Gray.)— The inferior incisors with an entire edge ; the upper
notched, or with a spur appearing as a point behind : the lateral teeth which follow in the upper jaw four
in number ; the first two equal, the third somewhat smaller, and the fourth rudimentary : tips of all the teeth a
little coloured. This division, which comprises the aquatic species, is less distinct from the second than both are
from the first. Crossopus of Gray is indeed stated to have the lower incisors dentelated. The British species
require further elucidation. §
The Shrews compose an exceedingly numerous genus, the first section of which appears to be almost generally
diffused. They renew their covering both in spring and autumn, acquiring a longer and less glossy winter coat ;
and the mode of effecting this is rather peculiar, the change commencing at the head and proceeding backward,
preserving a distinct cross line of demarcation throughout its progress. These animals are often found dead on
foot-paths, and dry ditches, on spots devoid of herbage, the cause of which remains to be explained.
• It is remarltable that tne Squirreis of the same region have very-
similar fur, both in colour and texture.
t The common Shrike {Lanius collurid) preys much upon our native
species. — Ed.
t Mr. Jenyns distinguishes them as follo-vvs : all are of a reddish-
brown colour.
The Common Shrew {A. rusticus, Jenyns) . — Snout and feet slender :
tail moderately stout, nearly cylindrical, not attenuated at the tip,
well clothed with hairs, which are very divergent in the young state,
and never closely appressed. It appears principally to frequent dry
situations — gardens, hedge-banks, &c.
Irish Shrew {A. Mhernicus, Jenyns). — Admitted as a species doubt-
fully, until more specimens have been examined. It is allied to but
apparently smaller than the last, with the colours more uniform, and
tail shorter and more slender.
Square-tailed Shrew {A. tetrngorLurus,'&.^'ra\.') — The snout broad,
compared with that of the common Shrew; feet, the fore especially,
much larger ; the tail slender, more quadrangular at all ages, and
slightly attenuated at the tip ; clothed with closely appressed hairs in
the young state, in age nearly naked : upper parts very deep reddish
brown ; below, dirty yellowish-grey. This species is more attached to
marshy districts, though not confined to them.
Chestnut Shrew {A. caUaneus,iQX\yn&). — Snout and feet much as
in the last species, but the former rather more attenuated ; tail mo-
derately short, nearly round, well clothed with hairs, which form at
the extremity a long pencil : upper parts, as well as the snout, feet,
and tail, bright chestnut ; under parts ash-grey. The cranium is
broader posteriorly and rather more elevated in the crown than in
A. tetragonurus. It inhabits the same marshy districts.
§ Mr. Jenyns distinguishes the
H. fodiens, Gm.— Of a deep brownish-black above, nearly white
beneath ; the two colours distinctly separated on the sides : feet and
tail ciliated with white hairs. It inhabits marshes and banks in
ditches, but is occasionally met with at a distance from water. It
often seeks its prey at the bottom of pools under water, thus approxi-
mating in habit to the Desmans.
S.ciliatus,SowoThy{remifer of Varrell, and doubtfully of Geoffroy).—
Black above ; greyish-black beneath ; throat yellowish-ash colour
feet and tail strongly ciliated with greyish hairs. Is found in the
same situations as the preceding.
There is reason to suspect others, one or more marked with rufous
on the under parts having been indicated by observers. — Ed.
I"
80
MAMMALIA.
The Solenodon {Solenodon, Brandt) —
Resembles a gigantic Shrew, but with coarse fur, and proportionally much longer whiskers : the tail is
long, naked, and scaly, and the claws considerably more developed. There are six incisors to each
jaw, the first pair above, and the second pair below, very large, and resembh'ng canines ; two superior
false molars, and three inferior, on each side ; then five true molars above, and four below, subquad-
rate, and broad or transverse.
The species, S. paradoxus, Brandt, inhabits Hayti, and is larger than the Brown Rat.]
The Desmans {Mygale^, Cuv.) —
Differ from the Shrews by having [like the Solenodon] two very small teeth placed between the two
large inferior jncisors, and in their upper incisors, which are flattened and triangular. Behind these
incisors are six or seven small teeth, and four bristled molars. Their muzzle is elongated into a small,
very flexible proboscis, which is constantly in motion. Their long tail, scaly and flattened at the sides,
and their feet with five toes all connected by membrane, proclaim them to be aquatic animals. Their
eyes are very small, [the fur long, straight, and divergent,] and they have no external ears.
The Russian Desman (Sorex moschatus, Lin).— Nearly equal in size to the common Urchin ; blackish above,*
inclining to white beneath ; the tail one fourth shorter than the body. It is very common along the rivers and lakes '
of Southern Russia, where it feeds on worms, the larvae of insects, and particularly on Leeches, which it easily with-
draws from the mud by means of its flexible proboscis. Its burrow, excavated in a bank, commences under water,
and ascends to above the level of the highest floods. This animal never comes voluntarily on shore, but is taken '
very often in the nets of the flshermen. Its musky odour arises from a kind of pomatum secreted in small follicles
under the tail, and is even communicated to the flesh of Pike which devour the Desman.
There is found in the streamlets of the Pyrenees a smaller species of this genus, which has the tail longer than
its body {Myg. pyrenaica, H.) [This constitutes the division Mygalina of Isidore Geoffroy.
The rest of the Insectivora have amazingly powerful fore-feet, designed for tearing open the ground,
rathei* than for burrowing by merely scratching away the mould, as in the preceding genera.]
The Chrysochlores {Chrysocloris, Lacepede), —
Like the preceding genus, possess two incisors above and four below ; but their grinders are elevated,
distinct, and nearly all in the form of triangular prisms : the muzzle is short, broad, and recurved ; and]
their fore-feet have only three nails, of which the exterior is very large, much arcuated, and pointed, |
forming a powerful instrument for digging and burrowing into the soil ; the others successively decrease]
in size. Their hind limbs have five toes of the ordinary dimensions. They are subterraneous animals,!
whose mode of life is similar to that of the Moles. To enable them to dig the better, their fore-arm |
is supported by a third bone placed under the cubitus.
The Cape Chrysochlore (Talpa asiatica, Lin. [now better known as C. capensis, Desm.)]. — Rather smaller than !
our Moles, without apparent tail. It is the only known quadruped which presents any appearance of those splendid !
metallic reflections which adorn so many birds. Ashes, and insects. Its fur is of a green, changing to copper or|
bronze : the ears have no conch, and the eyes are not perceptible.f It inhabits Africa, and not Siberia, as falsely '
reported. [There are three others, C. Hottentota, Damarensis, and villosa, all from the same general locality.]
The Moles {Talpa, Lin.) —
Are well known for their subterraneous life, and for their structure eminently qualified in adaptation to
it. A very short arm, attached to a large shoulder-blade, supported by a stout clavicle, and provided
with enormous muscles, sustains an extremely large hand, the palm of which is always directed either
outwards or backwards : tbe lower edge of this hand is trenchant, and the fingers scarcely perceptible,^
but the nails which terminate them are long, fiat, strong, and sharp. Such is the instrument which J
the Mole employs to tear open the ground, and throw back the mould behind it. Its sternum possesses,
in common with that of Birds and Bats, a ridge which allows the pectoral muscles to attain the mag- - I
nitude requisite for the performance of their functions. To pierce and raise up the ground, it makesS
• This name being preoccupied by a genns of Spiders, Fischer has
altered it to Myogalea. — Ed.
t The Red Mole of America, SebaT. pi. xxxii. fig. 1, {Talpa ruhra,
Lin.), is most probably a Cape Chrysochlore, figured from a dried spe-
cimen, for then the fur appears purple. [It is more likely the Scalops
canadensis.'] But the Tucan of Fernandez, regarded as one of
synonymes, appears rather, to judge from its two long teeth to each
jaw, and vegetable regimen, to be some subterraneous rodent, perhaps
a Diplostoma.
If
CARNARIA.
81
use of its long, pointed head, the extremity of its muzzle being provided with a peculiar little hone, and
the cervical muscles being extremely powerful. There is even an additional bone in the cervical liga-
ment. The hinder part of the body is feeble, and the animal above ground advances as awkwardly as
it does rapidly below the surface. Its sense of hearing is extremely acute, and the tympanum very
large, although there is no external ear ; hut the eyes are so small, and so hidden beneath the hair,
that their existence even was denied for a long while. [They have been ascertained, however, to be
tolerably sharp-sighted.] The genital organs have this peculiarity, that the bones of the pubis do not
become joined ; by reason of which, notwithstanding the narrowness of the pelvis, they are enabled to
produce tolerably large young ones : the urethra of the female passes through the clitoris : she has
six teats. The jaws are feeble, and the food consists of insects, worms, and some tender roots, [chiefly,
however, worms, though even small birds are sometimes sacrificed to their voracity, when they can
dart upon them from the entrance of their runs]. There are six incisors above and eight below.* The
canines have two roots, in which respect they partake of the nature of false molars f : behind them are
four false molars above, and three below ; and finally, three bristled molars. [The fur is set vertically
in the skin, whence it has no grain or particular direction.]
Our common European Mole {T. Europcea, Lin.)— Entirely black, but often varying to white, fulvous, or pied.
[A most remarkable animal, not only for the ardour of its passions, appetites, and emotions, but for the curious
instincts with which it is endowed, more particularly with regard to the complicated regularity of its subterraneous
dwelling and galleries.] According to M. Harlan, this species likewise exists in North America [or, at any rate,
there is a species stated to be from that continent most closely allied to it, of which the Zoological Society of
London possess specimens.]
M. Savi has found a Mole in the Apennines said to be quite blind, although otherwise similar to the common one
(the T. caeca, Sav.) : it is not, however, perfectly blind, for the eyelids have an opening, though smaller than in the
common Mole. The existence of the optic nerve in this last species has been denied : I think I can demonstrate
it throughout its course. [Two other species are known, T.japonica and T. moogura.]
The Condylures {Condylura, Illig.), —
Seem to combine the two kinds of dentition of the Insectivora : their upper jaw has two large trian-
gular incisors, two others which are extremely small and slender, and upon each side a strong canine ;
the lower jaw has four incisors slanting forward, and a pointed canine of small size. Their superior
false molars are triangular, and separated ; the lower dentelated and trenchant. In their feet and whole
exterior, the animals of this genus resemble the Moles, but have a longer tail, and, what very readily
distinguishes them, their nostrils are encircled with small moveable cartilaginous points, which, when
they separate, radiate hke a star.
[Three or four species are now known, all from North America. Among them is] Sorex cristatus, Lin.
The Shrew-moles (Scalqps, Cuv.) —
Have teeth rather similar to those of the Desmans, except that their small or false molars are less
numerous ; the muzzle is simply pointed, as in the Shrews ; and their hands are widened, armed with
strong nails, and in short adapted for digging into the ground precisely as in the Moles, which they
entirely resemble in their mode of life. Their eyes are equally small, and their ears concealed in the
same manner.
Sorex aquaticus, Lin.— Appears to inhabit a very great part of North America, along the rivers : externally, it
so nearly resembles the European Mole as to be readily mistaken for it. [Three other species, from the same
general locality, have been recently discovered.
The Insectivora, according to the views of De Blainville, should constitute an entirely
distinct order, intermediate to the Cheiroptera and Edentata.
They present an almost unbroken series of successively distinct divisions, more or less allied
together. The most definite super-generic section is that composed of the four genera last in
order, or the various animals analogous to the European Mole. At the other end of the series,
the spinous genera, at first sight, appear equally separated ; but they certainly grade through
Centenes and then Gymnura to the Shrews, which are again related to the Talpidce; if, indeed,
the line of separation should not be drawn between Centenes, and Erinaceus and Echinops : the
* Were this truly the case, it would be an anomaly throughout pla- I incisors as the real canines. — Ed.
cental Mammalia : but as the lower canines, as thus assigned, close t There is no essential difference between canines and false molars,
within the upper, we are led to identify the exterior pair of seeming | See p. 77. — Ed.
G
82
MAMMALIA.
different generic groups, however, maintain their integrity. Macroscelides and Tupaia are the
least conformable with the others ; but neither are these much removed in their more essential
characters. As a whole, they compose a very natural and appreciable division, and our author
assigns them a rank equivalent to the Cheiroptera on the one hand, and to the Carni-
vora, comprising his Plantigrada, Digitigrada, and Amphibia, on the other.
Remains of three species of Sorex, one of Talpa, and one of Erinaceus, have been found in
the European Tertiary deposits, apparently referable to species still in existence. The present
range of the division does not extend to South America* nor Australia, where, however, it
appears to be adequately represented by the numerous small Marsupiata, peculiar to those
regions; a curious fact, first noticed by Waterhouse, and since by De Blainville.]
THE THIRD FAMILY OF CARNARIA.
CARNIVORA.
Although the designation carnivorous is applicable to all unguiculated Manvinalia, except
the Quadrumana, which have three sorts of teeth, inasmuch as they all subsist more or less on
animal matter, there are nevertheless many, more especially of the two preceding families,
which are reduced by the feebleness and the conical tubercles of their grinders to prey almost
entirely on insects. In the present family, the sanguinary appetite is combined with the force
necessary for its gratification. There are always four stout and long separated canines,
between which are six incisors to each jaw, of which the second inferior are inserted a little
more inward than the rest. The molars are either wholly cutting, or have some blunted
tuberculous parts, but they are never studded with sharp conical projections.
These animals are the more exclusively carnivorous, in proportion as their teeth are more
completely trenchant or cutting, so that the degree of admixture of their regimen may be
almost calculated from the extent of the tuberculous surface of their teeth, as compared with
the cutting portion. The Bears, which can hve altogether on vegetables, have nearly all their
teeth tuberculated.
The anterior molars are the most trenchant ; next follows a molar, larger than the others,
which has usually a tuberculous projection, differing in size; and then follow one or two
smaller teeth, that are entirely flat. It is with these small hindward teeth that the Dog chews
the herbage that he sometimes swallows. We will call, with M. F. Cuvier, this large upper
molar, and its corresponding one below, carnivorous teeth j the anterior pointed ones, false
molars, and the posterior blunt ones, tuberculous molars.
It is easy to conceive that the genera which have fewer false molars, and of which the jaws
are shorter, are consequently better adapted for biting.
Upon these diflTerences the genera can be most surely established.
The consideration of the hind-foot, however, must also be attended to.
Several genera, like those of the two preceding families, in walking, place the whole sole of the
foot on the ground, a circumstance [generally] indicated by the absence of hair on all that part.f ;
Others, and by far the greater number, rest on only the ends of the toes, elevating the tarse.
Their gait is more rapid, and to this primary difference are added many others of habit, and
even of internal conformation. In both, the clavicle is a mere bony rudiment suspended im
the muscles.
The Plantigrada
Constitute this first tribe, which walk on the whole sole of the foot, a circumstance which gives
them greater facility of standing upright upon their hind-feet. They partake of the slowness
* Sorex tristriatusol some of the old authors is a tine Didelpkis.
~t ”'n the Polar Bear, and Panda, the sole is completely covered
with hair : the same is observable in some Martens ; while others of J
this genus have the sole altogether naked.— Ed.
CARNARIA.
83
and nocturnal life of the Insectivora, and^, like them, have no coecum : most of those which
inhabit cold countries pass the winter in a state of lethargy. All have five toes to each foot.
The Bears (JJrsus, Lin.) —
Possess three large molars on each side of both jaws*, altogether tuberculous, and of which the poste-
rior above are the most extended. These are preceded by a tooth a little more trenchant, which is the
carnivorous tooth of this genus f, and by a variable number of very small false molars, which sometimes
fall at an early age. This system of dentition, almost frugivorous, explains why, notwithstanding their
great strength, the animals of this genus devour flesh only from necessity.
They are large stout-bodied animals, with thick limbs, and tail extremely short ; the cartilage of their
nose is elongated and moveable. They excavate dens and construct huts [?], where they pass the
winter in a state of somnolency more or less profound, and without taking food. It is in these retreats
that the female brings forth.
The species are not easily distinguished by obvious characters.
The Brown Bear(C/^. arctos, Lin.) of Europe, has the forehead convex : fur, brown, more or less woolly when
young, becoming smoother with age. It varies, however, considerably in colour, and also in the relative propor-
tion of parts : the young have generally a pale collar, which in some is permanent. This animal inhabits the
high mountains and extensive forests of Europe, together with a great part of Asia. [The Barren-ground Bear of
North America appears to be undistinguishable.]
It couples in June, and brings forth in January;
nestles sometimes very high up in trees ; its flesh
is good eating when young, and the paws are much
esteemed at all ages. [Tlie Black Bear of Europe
is now generally regarded as a mere variety.]
The Black Bear (U. americanus, Gm.) of North
America, is a species well distinguished, with a
flat forehead, smooth and black fur, and fulvous
muzzle. We have always found the small teeth
behind its canines to be more numerous than in
the Bear of Europe. It lives chiefly on wild fruits,
and where fish is abundant sometimes frequents
the shores for the purpose of catching it ; resorts
to flesh only in default of other food, [and is then
destructive to Pigs ; is a great devourer of honey,
in common with most others of the genus] : its
flesh is highly esteemed. There is another Black
Bear found in the Cordilleras, with white throat
and muzzle, and large fulvous eye-brows {U. or-
naius, a . vm.), [consmered by many to be a variety of U. americanus. The Jardin des Plantes^ however, has lately
received a Bear from the Peruvian Andes, which appears very distinct : colour of U. arctos, with larger ears.
The gigantic Grisly Bear {U. ferox), now a well-known species, from the Rocky Mountains of North America, is
the most formidable of all the land Bears, and by much the largest. It can only ascend trees, as the others do,
when young. It constitutes the ill-characterized subgenus Danis of Gray.
The Syrian Bear (JJ. syriacus) is of a fulvous white colour, with a stiff mane of close erected hairs be-
tween the shoulders. The species which inhabits the Atlas chain of mountains remains to be ascertained.]
The East Indies produce several Bears of a black colour ; such as
The Malayan Bear {JJ. malay anus') ; from the peninsula beyond the Ganges to the islands of the Straits of Sunda.
—Sleek [with comparatively short fur], a fulvous muzzle, and heart-shaped mark of the same colour upon the chest.
[This, and another species, or perhaps variety, {U. euryspilus,) with the whole chest fulvous, from Borneo, consti-
tute the division Helarctos of Horsfield, or the Sun Bears. They are small, and of very gentle and playful dispo-
( sition, easily rendered quite tame.] It is very injurious to the cocoa-nut trees, which it climbs in order to devour
, the tops, and drink the milk of the fruit.
! The Thibet Bear (U. thibetieus, F. Cuv.) — Black ; the under lip, and a large mark in the form of a Y on the
^ breast, white ; profile straight and claws weak. [Is intermediate to the preceding and next species.] From the
I mountains in the north of India.
i , The most remarkable, however, of all these Indian Bears is the following, of which Illiger forms his genus
I Prochilus.
* We shall no longer repeat the words on each side, &c. ; it being
understood that where the molars of one side are spoken of, those
of the other correspond.
t Although it may seem presumptuous to attempt to set Cuvier
right in matters of this kind, it is nevertheless sufficiently obvious, on
analogical comparison of the Bear’s dentition with that of proximate
genera, that the third tooth in succession from behind represents the
cutting or carnivorous tooth in each jaw, there being two tuberculous
grinders in this and the five succeeding genera (which together com-
pose a distinct natural group), and one only in the remainder. — Ed.
G 2
84
MAMMALIA.
The Jungle Bear {J7. laUatus, Blainv. : U. longirostris, Tied : Bradypus ursinus, Shaw), which has the nasal
cartilage dilated, and the tip of the under lip elongated, both lips being moveable : when old, very long shaggy
hairs surround the head. The muzzle and tips of the paws are fulvous or whitish, and there is a half-collar
or Y-like marking on the fore-neck and cheek. [The incisors of this species generally drop at an early
age.] It is a favourite with the Indian jugglers
on account of its uncouth appearance.
M. Horstield describes another Bear from Nipal
of a light bay colour, the nails of which are less
trenchant than those of the other Bears of India,
and which appears to him a distinct species. We
have also recovered many fossil bones of lost spe-
cies of Bears ; the most remarkable of which are
U. spelceus, Blumenb., with a rounded forehead,
and of very large size; and U. cultridensXxxv., for
which see the fourth vol. of my Ossemens Fos-
siles: [another extinct species {U. sivalensis,
Cant, and Falc.), has been detected in the Sh’alik
deposits of the sub-Himmalayas.] Lastly,
The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus, Lin.), is yet
another species, very distinctly characterized by
its lengthened and flat head, and by its smooth
and white fur. It pursues Seals and other marine
animals [on the polar ice, but in captivity will
thrive, like the rest, on vegetable food only. It is the largest of the genus,] and exaggerated reports of its voracity
have rendered it very celebrated. [It constitutes the Thalaretos of Gray.]
■The Jungle Bear.
The Raccoons {Procyon, Storr.) —
Have three tuberculous back molars [the first representing the carnivorous tooth], of which the superior
are nearly square, and three pointed false molars before them, forming a continuous series to the
canines, which are straight and compressed. Their tail is [moderately] long ; hut the rest of theiH
exterior is that of a Bear in miniature. They rest the whole sole of their foot on the ground onl^
when they are still, raising the heel when they advance. [Are peculiar to the western continent.]
The Common Raccoon (Ursus lotor, lAn. Mapach of the Mexicans.) — Greyish brown; the muzzle white
brown streak across the eyes : tail annulated with brown and white rings. An animal the size of a Badger, whicM
is easily tamed, and remarkable for a singular instinct of eating nothing that it has not previously dipped in water?
It is a native of North America, and subsists on eggs, birds, &c.
The Crab-eating Raccoon (P. cancrivorus, Buff. Supp. vi. xxxii.)— Uniform ash-brown ; the caudal rings les^^
distinct. From South America. [Three others have been described by Prof. Wiegmann, (see Ann. Nat. Hist^
i. 133), of which P. Lfemandm, Wagler, would appear to be dubiously separable from P. ?ofor.]
The Panda {Ailurus, F. Cuv.) —
Appears to approximate the Raccoons by its canines and what is known of its other teeth ; except
- - ' false molar. Gen. Hardwicke has since described it to have four square tuberculous J
that it has only one
molars, and one trenchant false molar in front, at a short distance from the canine.'’ The head is
short ; tail [rather] long ; gait plantigrade, the toes five in number, with half-retractile nails. J
Only one is known, the Bright Panda (A. refulgens, F. Cuv.) -Size of a large Cat ; the fur soft and thickly set :
above of the richest cinnamon-red ; behind more fulvous, and deep black beneath. The head is whitish, and the tail
annulated with brown. This beautiful species, one of
the handsomest of known quadrupeds, from the moun-
tains of the north of India, was sent to Europe by my
late son-in-law, M. Alfred du Vaucel. [It frequents
the vicinity of rivers and mountain torrents, passes
much of its time upon trees, and feeds on birds and
the smaller quadrupeds. Is generally discovered by
means of its loud cry or call, which resembles the sound
wha, often repeated. The soles of its feet are hairy,]
THEBiNTURONGs(/e#zt?e^,Valenc.;Afre^ic^es,Tem.)
Are also related to the Raccoons by their denti-
tion ; hut the three superior back molars are
considerably smaller, and less tuberculous, the
last one of each jaw more particularly, which is very small and almost simple. These animals are
Fig. 22. — Ailurus fulgeus.
-J
CARNARIA.
85
covered with long hair, and have a tuft at each ear. The tail is long, hairy, and has a propensity to
curl, as if prehensile ; [which it really is : their whiskers are long and conspicuous].
They are also natives of India, for the first knowledge of which we are indebted to M. du Vaucel. One species
{let. albifrons, F. Cuv.) is grey, with the tail and sides of the muzzle black ; of the size of a large Cat ; from
Boutan. Another {let. ater, F. Cuv.) is black, with a whitish muzzle, and as large as a stout Dog ; from Malacca.
[The latter is merely the male, and the other the female of the same species, which is rather a slow-moving
animal, allied to the last in habit, of a timid disposition, and easily tamed. The Ictide doree, F. Cuv., is a
species of Musang {Paradoxurus). ]
The Coatimondis {Nasm, Storr), —
To the dentition, tail [which however is longer], nocturnal life, and slow dragging gait of the
Raccoons, add a singularly elongated and moveable snout. Their feet are semi-palmate, notwith-
standing which they climb trees [with great facility, and descend them head foremost, clinging by
their hind feet, which they almost reverse]. Their long claws serve them to dig with ; [and they feed
voraciously on earth-worms, slugs and snails, also on small mammalians (which they catch adroitly),
birds and their eggs, together with fruits and vegetables]. They inhabit the warm parts of America,
and subsist on nearly the same food as our Martens.
The Red Coatimondi {Viverra nasua, Lin. ; N. rufa, Desm.)— Rufo-fulvous, the muzzle and caudal annulations
brown. And the Brown Coatimondi (F. narica, Lin. ; N.fusca, Desm.) — Brown, with white spots over the eye
and snout. [These animals employ their claws to divide flesh, which they thus tear and separate before devour-
ing it.]
The Kinkajou {Cercoleptes, Illiger) —
Can scarcely he introduced elsewhere than in this place [which is unquestionably its true position].
To the plantigrade gait, it joins a very long tail, prehensile, as in the Sapajous*, a short muzzle, slender
and extensile tongue, with two pointed grinders before, and three tuberculous ones backward, [the
first of which latter represents the carnivorous tooth].
But one species is known {Viverra caudivolvula, Gm.), from the warm parts of America and some of the Great
Antilles, where it is named Potto-\ : size of a Fitchet, [and larger] ; the fur woolly, and of a yellowish [or golden]
brown : nocturnal, and of a mild and gentle disposition ; subsisting on fruits, honey, milk, blood, &c. [It is emi-
nently an arboreal quadruped, which moves with a cautious gait, recalling to mind some of the Qpadrumana.
There is a Mexican animal to which Lichtenstein has assigned the generic name Bassaris, and which
Blainville and others have associated with the Viverrine genera, but which I greatly suspect must
rather be placed near the Kinkajou, though I have not at present the means of ascertaining its cha-
racters. In form it is not unlike a Musang {Paradoxurus.) J
The remaining genera are only semi-plantigrade (that is, they do not bring the heel quite
to the ground), and possess but one tuberculous grinder, which varies greatly in extent of
surface : none of them become torpid in winter ; and they all emit, when alarmed, a defensive
odour, which in many is horribly fetid.]
The Badgers {Meles, Storr), § —
Which Linnaeus placed, together with the Raccoons, in his genus of Bears, have one very small tooth
behind the canine, then two pointed molars, followed in the upper jaw by one whieh we begin to
recognize as carnivorous, from the trace of a cutting character which it exhibits on its outer side ;
behind this is a square tuberculous tooth, the largest of the series ; and, on the lower jaw, the last but
one likewise commences to bear some resemblance to the inferior carnivorous tooth ; but as there
are two tubercles on its inward border as elevated as its cutting point, it performs the office of a
tubereulous one ; the last below is very small. [The Badger, in faet, has precisely the same den-
tition as the Weasels and Otters, presenting a modification of that type for less carnivorous regimen.]
These animals have the tardy gait and nocturnal habit of all the preceding ; their tail is short, [and
* One which I had an opportunity of studying, as it ran about loose
in a room, possessed the prehensile power of the tail in an extremely
moderate degree, merely resting slightly on this organ, which it
stiffened throughout its length, and never coiled in the manner of the
Sapajous. — Ed.
t This term, applied by the negroes in Africa to a Lemurine animal
(Perodicticus) , has been introduced by them, and misapplied in other
countries. — Ed.
t Strong presumptive evidence that the Basset {Bassaris) does not
appertain to the Viverrine group, is afforded by the restriction of the
geographic range of tlie latter to the eastern hemisphere, in every
other instance. The presence or absence of a coecum would decide
the question.
§ Taxus of some systematists : but this name is employed in Botany
for the Yew genus. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
86
commonly held erect]. Their toes are much enveloped in the skin ; and, what eminently distinguishes
them, is a pouch situate beneath the tad,
from which exudes a fatty, fetid humour, [as
in the Skunks, Weasels, &c., to which the
Badgers are very closely allied]. The long
claws of their fore-feet enable them to burrow
with much facility.
The European Badger {Ursus meles, Lin. ; M.
taxus, Auct.)— Greyish above, beneath black, with
a dusky band on each side of the head. That of
America {Mel. hudsonius [ (?) M. labradoriuS) Sa-
bine; Ursus taxus, Schreb.] does not appear to
dilfer essentially. [It is even generically very dis-
tinct, pertaining to the next division. A second
species of Badger, however, appears to me to ex-
ist in the Balysaur of India {Arctonyx collaris,
F. Cuv. ; Mydaus collaris, Gray,) which M. F.
Cuvier has represented much too Hog-like in
his figure ; the snout being scarcely longer than
that of the European Badger, the fur somewhat
coarser, and the tail (which almost reaches the ground) not so scantily covered with hair as stated.* A
cranium figured as that of the Balysaur by Mr. Gray, in his published series of Gen. Hardwicke’s drawinp,
appears to me to indicate another species, distinguished by the long vacant interspace between the inferior canine |
and first existing molar. This genus would seem to be peculiar to the eastern continent.
The Taxels {Taxidea, Waterh.) —
Are the reputed Badgers of America, but which present a very different cranium, and more carnivorous
dentition : their cutting molar is increased, and the tubercular reduced, to an equal size ; the latter
having a triangular crown ; skull widest at
the occiput, where it is abruptly truncated ;
the auditory bullae much developed; and
articulating surface of the lower jaw ex-
tended, but not locking as in the Badgers.
Their claws are longer and stouter, enabling
them to burrow with great rapidity.
One only is clearly ascertained, the T. lahra-
doria {Ursus taxus, Schreb.) Remarkable for
the fine quality of its fur. Dr. Richardson
has taken a Marmot from the stomach of this
animal.
The Bharsiah (Ursotaxus, Hodgson).
Four cheek-teeth above and below, com-
prising two superior and three inferior false
molars ; the tubercular of the upper jaw transverse, and smaller than the carnivorous tooth. General
conformation similar to that of the Badger, but without external ears.
But one species is known {N. inauritus, Hodg., Asiat. Res. xix. 60, and Journ. As. Soc. v. 621), from the
vicinity of Nipal, scantily covered with coarse hair. It is completely plantigrade and fossorial, dwelling in bur-
rows on the southern slopes of the hills, which it seldom leaves during the day.]
The Wolverines {Gulo, Storr) —
Have also been placed in the Bear genus by Linnaeus ; but they rather approximate the Martens in
their dentition and general character, according only with the Bears in their plantigrade gait. They
have three false molars above, and four below, anterior to the carnivorous tooth, which is well cha-
racterized ; and behind this a small tubercular, which is wider than long. Their upper carnivorous
tooth has but one small internal tubercle, so that they have nearly the same dental system as the 1
» There is a figure, in Bewick’s Quadrupeds, apparently of this j Tower Menagerie. The description intimates its near resemblance
species, taken from a seemingly unhealthy individual confined in the | to the common Badger. j
Fig. 26.— Taxel.
Fig. 25. — Common Badger.
CARNARIA.
87
Martens. These animals have the tail of middle length, with a fold beneath it in place of a pouch ; and
their foot is very similar to that of a Badger.
The most celebrated species is the Glutton of the north, RossomaTt of the Russians {Ursus gulo, Lin.) ; size of a
Badger, and commonly of a fine deep maroon colour, with a browner disk on the back ; but sometimes it is paler.
I It inhabits the glacial regions of the north, is reputed to be very sanguinary and ferocious, hunts by night, does
! not become torpid during the winter, and subdues the largest animals by leaping upon them from a tree. Its
I voracity has been absurdly exaggerated by some authors. The Wolverine of North America (Ursus luscus, Lin.)
j does not appear to differ by any constant characters, but is generally of a paler tint. [Excepting in size and
I massiveness, I cannot perceive that this animal differs from the Martens : assuredly it does not in the structure
of its feet.]
Warm climates produce some species which can only be placed near the Wolverines, from which they differ merely
in having one false molar less to each jaw, and by a longer tail. Such are the animals termed by the Spanish
inhabitants of North America Ferrets (Hurons), and which in point in fact have the dentition of our Ferrets and
Weasels, and lead the same kind of life ; but they are distinguished by their semi-plantigrade carriage, [or rather
by having their soles uncovered with hair]. Such are
The Grison (Viverra vittata, Lin.)— Black, the top of the head and neck grey, a white band reaching from the
forehead to the shoulders. [This constitutes the Grisonia, Gray, and with an allied species, le petit furet of
Azzara (Galictis Allamandi, Bell), the Galictis* of the last-named naturalist, who places them contiguous to the
Weasels. They are small animals, easily rendered very tame, and extremely playful in domestication ; of very
carnivorous disposition, and particularly fond of eggs.]
The Taira (Mustela barhara, Lin.) [Subdivision Taira of Gray.] — Brown [or brownish-black] ; the head grey ;
[and sometimes] a large white spot under the throat. [The fur remarkably short.]
These two animals are distributed throughout the warm parts of America, and exhale an odour of musk. Their
feet are a little palmated, and it appears that they have been sometimes taken for Otters.f [We conceive that the
Wolverine might be advantageously removed to the genus of Martens ; and would restrict the term Gulo to the
others. The Orisons diffuse when irritated a disgusting stench.]
The Ratels {Mellivora, F. Cuv.) —
Have a false molar to each jaw still less than the Orisons, and their upper tuberculous tooth but
little developed, so that they approximate the Cats in dentition ; but their whole exterior is that of the
Grison, or [rather] of a Badger. The legs are short ; feet [semi-] plantigrade, and five toes to each ;
the claws very strong, &c.
But one species is known (Viverra mellivora, Sparm., and Viv. capensis, Schreb. pi. 125), of the size of the
European Badger ; grey above, black below, with a wliite line that separates the two colours ; sometimes it is
almost wholly white above. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and burrows , into the ground with its long
claws, in search of the honey-combs of the wild Bees.
The Digitigrada —
Form the second tribe of Carnivora, the members of which walk on the ends of their toes.
In the first subdivision of them [all the members of which ai’e semi-plantigrade], there
is only one tuberculous grinder behind the upper carnivorous tooth : these animals, on account
of the length of their body, and shortness of the limbs, which permit them to pass through
very small openings, are styled vermiform [?;emm]. They are destitute of coecum, like the
preceding, but do not pass the winter in a state of lethargy. Although small and feeble, they
are very sanguinary and ferocious. Linnaeus comprehended them all under one genus, that of
The Weasels {Mustela, Lin.), —
Which we will divide into four subgenera.
The True Weasels {Putorius, Cuv. \_Mustela, Ray.] ) —
Are the most sanguinary of any : their lower carnivorous tooth has no internal tubercle, and the upper
tuberculous one is broader than long ; there are only two false molars above and three below. These
animals may be recognized by having the extremity of the muzzle somewhat shorter and blunter than
in the Martens. They all diffuse [when alarmed] a fetid stench ; [take the water, and dive with
facility, having the toes semipalmated ; trace their prey by scent, and kill it by inflicting a wound in the
neck : the female is commonly much smaller than the male.
» This must not be confounded with the Galictis of Is. Geoffrey t U is supposed from the description given by Maregreave of his
(C’omjofe rendM, Oct. 1837), which refers to the Mustela ox Putorius | Cariy?/e!icia, which name Buffon has applied to his Sar^■coD^en?^e, vol.
striatus of Cuvier.— Ed. i xiii. p. 319, that he meant to speak of the Taira.
88
MAMMALIA.
Fig. 27.— The Marten.
There are very many species, three of which inhabit Britain : — The Fitchet Weasel, or Polecat, of which the f
Ferret appears to be a domesticated variety* ; the Stoat, or Ermine, which in cold countries (and occasionally even
in South Britain) becomes pure white in winter, except the end of its tail, which always continues black; and the
Common Weasel, of diminutive size, which preys chiefly on Mice and other small animals injurious to the agricul-
turist. It is a curious fact that in several instances the female Polecat has been known to stow away many Frogs
and Toads in an apartment of its burrow, disabling each without killing it, by puncturing the skull. The Common
Weasel traverses the boughs of trees, tops of palings, &c., with facility, and will spring from the ground upon a
Partridge flying near the surface. Put. striatus, Cuv., a small Madagascar species, reddish-brown, with five longi-
tudinal white stripes, composes the division Galictis of Isidore Geofiroy (not of Bell) ; and Put. Zorilla, Cuv,, a
species marked with broken stripes of white, and possessing a more snout -like muzzle, the tail of which also is
longer and more bushy, is the Zorilla capensis of some recent authors : there would appear, indeed, to be several
species of these Zorilles.]
The Martens {Mustela, Cuv. IMartes, Ray] ) —
Differ from the true Weasels by having [commonly] an additional false molar above and below, and a
small tubercle on the inner side of their car-
nivorous tooth ; two characters which some-
what diminish the ferocity of their nature.
[They are handsome, and remarkably lithe
active animals, with larger ears than the
Weasels, and fine bushy tails ; are also
more arboreal in their habits. The scent
they diffuse when irritated is not disagree-
able, f]
There are two species in Europe, very closely
allied together. The Yellow-breasted or Pine
Marten (Mustela martes, Lin.), inhabiting wild
districts, and the White-breasted or Beech
Marten (M. foina, Lin.), which frequents woods ,
near human habitations. [Many consider these to '
be varieties merely of the same; but on examining several ci’ania, I have noticed that the former are constantly^
smaller, with the zygomatic arch fully twice as strong as in the other. The American species usually deemed !
idesitical with M. foina, is intermediate. There are numerous others, as the Pekan or Fishing Marten of Canada,
&c. ; and the Sable of commerce (M. zihellina, Auct.), celebrated for its beautiful fur, is a member of this
division. In the Sable and several others, the soles are completely covered with close fur ; but in M. flavigula of
the Himmalayas, the under surface of the foot is naked, and the toes joined to their extremities, as in the
Badgers, &c.]
The Skunks {Mephitis, Cuv.) —
Possess, like the Weasels, two false molars above and three below; but their superior tuberculous-
grinder is very large, and as long as broad, and their inferior carnivorous tooth has two tubercles on
its inner side, thus approximating these animals to the Badgers, in the same way as the Weasels are
related to the Orisons and Wolverine. In addition to this, the Skunks accord with the Badgers in
having their anterior claws long, and adapted for burrowing, and they are even semiplantigrade, [and
equally slow in their movements]. This resemblance extends even to the distribution of their colours.
[The truth is, they scarcely differ from the Badgers, except in having a remarkably fine and large
bushy tail, which is borne elevated, hke the small short tail of the Badgers.] In the present family,
notorious for diffusing a fetid stench, the Skunks are pre-eminently distinguished by emitting a most
intolerable odour.
These animals are mostly striped longitudinally with white on a black ground, but the number of stripes appears to
vary even in the same species ; [not, however, I think, to the extent that has been supposed ; for there are several
species, distinguishable by their osteology, which agree sufficiently in their general style of colouring, allowing for
some variation on the part of each, to induce the supposition, judging only from external characters, that they
might all be referred to one. The intensity of their most nauseous suffocating stench, which has been described
to resemble that of the Fitchet mingled with assafoetida, is scarcely credible : it appears, however, to be emitted
only in self-defence. The geographic range of this genus is confined to America].
We may make an additional subgenus of
The Teledu {Mydaus, F. Cuv.), —
Which, together with the dentition, [the teeth, however, being smaller (from which results a more
* I have sought in vain for any osteological distinction between
these animals. — Ed.
t Hence onr native species are designated Sweet-mart, in opposi-
on to Fou-rnart, or foul mart, a common name for the Polecat. — Ed.
CARNARTA.
89
elongated muzzle), the canines placed further backward, and the molars more sharply tuherculated,
recalling to mind those of the Insectivora], feet, and colouring even of the Skunks, have the muzzle
truncated, so as to assume the form of a snout, and the tail reduced to a small pencil, [which, however,
is also held erect, as in the Badgers, &c.] Only one species is known, —
The Javanese Teledu (Mid. melaceps, F. Cuv.)— [Brownish] black, the nape of the neck, a stripe along the back,
and tail, white ; the dorsal stripe sometimes interrupted about the middle. [Fur soft and rather fine.] Its stench
is equally horrible with that of the Skunks, [and precisely similar, as I am informed by Dr. Horsfield, who has had
experience of both : it subsists principally on earth-worms, for which it turns up the light soil with its snout, in the
manner of a Hog ; is easily tamed, and by no means oftensive in captivity ; and it is especially remarkable for its
restriction to a particular elevation on the mountains of Java, below which it is never found.
We may here also introduce
The Nyentek {Helictis, Gray ; Melogale, Is. Geof.), —
The body of which appears to be more lengthened and vermiform, and the tuberculous molar small
and transverse : it is described to have three false molars above, and four below ; the upper carnivorous
tooth three-lobed, with a broad two-pointed internal process : soles of the feet bare, and toes united.
The Nyentek of the Javanese (Gulo orientalis, Horsf. ; H. moschatus, Gray.)— Size of a Polecat : brown, with a
white stripe along the back, crossed by another less distinct over the shoulders, and a white spot on the head ; tail
of mean length. This animal inhabits eastern Asia, and smells strongly of musk : it is one of the few Mammalia
known in Europe to inhabit China, where the larger indigenous species are supposed to have been exterminated. ]
The Otters {Lutra, Storr)— -
Have three false molars above and below, a strong process to the upper carnivorous tooth, an internal
tubercle to the lower one, and a large tuberculous grinder that is nearly as long as broad ; their head
is flattened, and the tongue rather rough. They are distinguished from all the preceding genera
by their [more completely] webbed toes, and horizontally flattened tail, — two characters which pro-
claim them to be aquatic animals : they subsist on fish.
The European Otter (Mms#. Lin.) — Brown above, whitish round the lips, on the cheeks, and the whole
under parts. The rivers of Europe [and sometimes the sea-coast. Is occasionally spotted above with white. The
species of this extensive genus, which is almost generally diffused, are mostly very similar externally, and are best
distinguished by the configuration of the cranium, &c.] That of India (L. nair, F. Cuv.) is employed for fishing,
as the Dog is for hunting. The Cape Otter (L. capensis, F. Cuv.) is remarkable (at least at a particular age) for
having no nails ; a character on which M. Lesson has founded his genus Aonyx : young individuals, however, have
been received from the Cape, which possess nails ; and it remains to ascertain whether they are of the same species.
Tlae American Otter (M. braziliensis), from the rivers of both Americas, has the extremity of the muzzle, which in
most other animals is naked, covered with close fur: [it is also very gregarious in its habits. But the most remark-
able species is the great Sea Otter (Mustela lutris, Lin., composing the division Enhydra of Fleming. It is
twice the size of the European species, from which it differs in the form of its hind feet, which have the
outermost toe longest. The adults have but four lower incisors, the exterior pair being doubtless forced
out by the canines.] Its blackish velvet-looking fur is extremely valuable, to obtain which the English and
Russians hunt the animal throughout the northern shores of the Pacific Ocean, for the purpose of disposing of it
to the Chinese and Japanese. [A species intermediate to the Sea Otter and the others constitutes the P^ero-
nura, Gray. M. Temminck has received a new genus allied to the Otters, which he names PotamopMlus.
We here arrive at the termination of an extensive and very distinct natural group, which
falls under two principal subdivisions, the limits of which, however, are not easy to define.
The first consists of exclusively ground animals, with a thick and heavy body, stout limbs,
and strong claws adapted for burrowing with rapidity. It comprises the Badgers, Teledu,
Skunks, Taxels, Bharsiah, and Ratel ; nearly all of which ordinarily erect the tail, and are
more or less striped longitudinally.
The remainder are vermiform and agile, and most of them ascend trees with facility : they
are also more predatory, though some of the former (as the Ratel) possess an equally carni-
vorous dentition : many are marked similarly to the preceding.
The Zorilles might almost be referred to either section ; but we prefer retaining them near
the Weasels.]
The second subdivision of the Digttigrada [being the first, strictly so named,] possesses
[like the Ursidce] two flat tuherculated molars posterior to the upper carnivorous tooth*,
* There are three tuberculous molars to each jaw in the Canis {Megalotis) Lalandi, and De Blainville figures the cranium of a common Dog
in which the same was observable. — Ed.
90
MAMMALIA.
which has itself a large internal process. They are carnivorous animals, hut not preda-
tory in proportion to their strength, and often feed on carrion. They have all a small
coecum.
The Dogs {Canis, Lin.) —
Have three false molars above, four below, and two tuberculous grinders behind each carnivorous tooth.
The first of these upper tuberculous molars is very large. Their superior carnivorous tooth has only a
small internal tubercle ; but the inferior one has its hinder portion altogether tuberculous. The
tongue is soft ; the fore-feet have five toes, and the hind-feet [in general] only four. [The coecum is
of a peculiar spiral form.]
The Domestic Dog Lin.)— -Distinguished by its recurved tail, but otherwise varying infinitely |
with respect to size*, form, colour, and quality of the hair. It is the most complete, the most singular, and useful ^
conquest ever made by Man ; the whole species having become his property: each individual is devoted to its |
particular master, assumes his manners, knows and defends his property, and remains attached to him I
until death ; and all this, neither from constraint nor want, but solely from gratitude and pure friendship. The |
swiftness, strength, and scent of the Dog have rendered him a powerful ally to Man against other animals, and I
were even, perhaps, necessary to the establishment of society. It is the only animal which has followed Man all |
over the world.
Some naturalists think the Dog is a Wolf, and others that he is a domesticated Jackal ; but those which have .
become wild on desert islands resemble neither one nor the other, t ■
The wild Dogs, and those which belong to;
savages, such as the inhabitants of Australia,?
have straight ears, whence has arisen a belief that]
the European races, nearest to the original type,'
are our Shepherd’s Dog and Wolf Dog ; but com-'
parison of the crania indicates a closer approach
on the part of the French Matin and Danish Dog^
after which follow the Hound, the Pointer, and
the Terrier, which chiefly differ in size and the
relative proportions of parts. The Greyhound is
more attenuated, and has the the frontal sinus
smaller, and scent weaker. The Shepherd's Dog
and Wolf Dog resume the straight ears of the
wild ones, but with greater developement of brain,
which continues to increase, together with the!
intelligence, in the Barbel and Spaniel. The;
Bull-dog, on the other hand, is remarkable for the]
shortness and strength of its jaws. The small j
pet Dogs, the Pugs, lesser Spaniels, Shocks, &c.
are the most degenerate productions, and exhibit j
the most striking marks ofihat influence to which Man subjects all nature.
The Dog is born with its eyes closed ; it opens them on the tenth or twelfth day ; its teeth commence changing
in the fourth month, and its full growth is attained at the expiration of the second year. The female remains with'
young sixty-three days, and produces from six to ten young at a birth. The Dog is old at fifteen years, and seldom
Fig. 28.— The Dingo, o,r Australian Dog.
* A specimen, which attained two years of age, and is preserved
in the Museum of Dresden, measured only five inches and a
half in length ; this being exactly the same length, from the corner of
tlie eye to the tip of the nose, of a Saxon boar-hound examined by
Col. Hamilton Smith. — Ed.
t If the idea, which I conceive there is every reason to entertain,
respecting the origin of the Domestic Dog be well founded, it is clear
that a recurrence to a single wild type would be impossible. The Dog
is apparently a blended race, derived principally from the Wolf, and
partly from various other allied species. In the Museum of the Zoologi-
cal Society of London, there is a specimen of an Esquimaux Dog, which
resembles the large American Wolf (C. nubilus) so closely, that there
can scarcely be any doubt of the connexion which subsists between
them ; and it is well known, of the American Wolves in particular,
that if a young animal be surprised by a hunter, and suddenly menaced
by his voice and manner, it will crouch to him and implore his mercy
in precisely the manner of a spaniel ; so that only a little encourage-
ment and kindness are required to gain its permanent attachment ;
indeed, many of them are killed to obtain the proffered reward, by
taking this (assuredly unworthy) advantage of their natural submis-
siveness. That the Wolf possesses the mental qualities, and is
capable of the same strong attachment to Man as the most faithful
Dog, has been abundantly proved by the observations of M. F. Cuvier
and others ; and the unremitting persecution to which it has been
necessarily subjected in Europe for so many ages, will sufficiently
account for the savage and distrustful character which it exhibits!
when unreclaimed ; though even then the germs of a better dispositions
are traceable in the permanent attachment of the male and female,
and sociality of the young till urgent necessity, or the annual period]
of dominant sexual excitement, subdues every milder propensity and]
acquired sentiment of friendship or disinterested affection.
In the late edition of Dr. Prichard’s work on Man, an old error is
revived, which originated with Buffon, but which that naturalist
afterwards corrected ; namely, that the period of gestation in the ,
Wolf is much shorter than in the Dog. It is precisely the same in j
both animals.
Instances occasionally happen of theDog returning by choice to a state *
of wildness, and assuming then, of necessity, the character ascribed •
to the Wolf. I have known this to occur in a male pointer, and in a j
female greyhound: the latter was so fine a specimen of the breed, that
on being entrapped, it was thought desirable to obtain a litter from
her, which was accordingly effected ; but, while her puppies were very!
young, she managed to escape to the woods, and never returned : J
three of her progeny grew to be excellent hounds ; but two others]
proved quite irreclaimable ; and escaping from servitude, like their ;
dam, were finally shot, for their destructive poaching propensities.
It is not unusual to trace the peculiar markings, and grizzled colour- <
ing of the back, common to most of the wild species of Canis, inj
domestic Dogs, of various size and character. — Ep.
i
CARNARIA.
91
lives beyond twenty. Every one is acquainted with its vigilance, bark, singular mode of copulation, and suscepti-
bility of various kinds of education.
The Wolf (C. lupus, Lin.)— A large species, with a straight tail ; the most noxious of all the Carnivora of Europe.
It is found from Egypt to Lapland, and appears to have passed over to America. Towards the north, its coat
becomes white in winter. It attacks all our animals, but does not evince a courage proportioned to its strength ; it
often feeds on carrion. Its habits and physical developement are closely related to those of the Dog. Another
species, the Black Wolf (C. lycaon) is sometimes, though rarely, found in France. The Mexican Wolf (C. mexicanus,
Lin.) has the under part of the body and the feet white.
The Red Wolf {C. jubata, Az.)— A fine cinnamon red, with a short black mane along the spine. From the
marshes of South America. [The beautiful fur of this animal renders it one of the handsomest of the genus.]
The Jackal (C. aureus, Lin.) [division Vulpicanis, Blainv. and Jacalus, Hodg,] — A voracious species, which
hunts like the Dog [in packs], and in its conformation and the facility with which it is tamed, resembles the latter
more nearly than any other wild species. Jackals are found from the Indies and the environs of the Caspian Sea,
as far as Guinea inclusive ; but it is doubtful whether they all belong to the same species. [There are now several
well-known species of these animals. The Cams primcevus, Hodg., C. DuMunensis, Sykes, is a large red Jackal,
or Jackal-like Dog, inhabiting India, and very like the Dingo of Australia.]
Foxes [Vulpes of some naturalists] may be distinguished from Wolves and Dogs by having the tail
longer and more bushy [though in this respect there is no drawing the line of separation] , by a more
pointed muzzle, and pupils which, during the day, form a vertical fissure ; also by their upper incisors
being less sloping; they emit a foetid odour [scarcely less oflfensive in the Jackals], dig burrows, and
attack only the weaker animals ; [are also more frugivorous than the preceding.*] This subgenus is
more numerous than the foregoing.
The Common Fox {C. vulpes, Lin.)— More or less rufous, with the extremity of the tail [generally] white. Is
found from Sweden to Egypt, [though many of
those of the south of Europe appertain to a diffe-
rent species, C. melanogaster, Savi, which is
smaller and less carnivorous than the Common
Fox, and differs somewhat in habit.f There are
very many others, almost generally diffused over
the globe. We can only mention]
The Arctic or Blue Fox, or I satis (C. lag opus,
Lin.) — Deep ash-colour, often white in winter;
the under surface of the toes hairy, (though several
of the Foxes, and even the common one, have hair
under the feet in the north). From the glacial
regions of both continents, particularly the north
of Scandinavia ; is much esteemed for its fur.
The interior of Africa produces Foxes remarkable for the size of their ears, and the strength of their
whiskers : they compose the Megalotis, Ilhger. Two are known, the
C. megalotis, Lalande [Megalotis Lalandi of some authors], a Cape species, somewhat smaller than the Common
Fox, but higher on its legs ; [especially remarkable for possessing three tuberculous molars posterior to the cutting
grinder of each jaw : its teeth become much worn with use, whence it would appear to be mainly frugivorous.] And
The Zerda, or Fennec of Bruce (C. zerda, Gm.),
which has ears still larger; it is a very small
species, almost of a whitish fulvous, with woolly
hair extending beneath the toes ; burrows in the
sands of Nubia, [and ascends the trunks of trees
with facility : dentition that of an ordinary Fox.]
Finally, we may place after the Dogs, as a
fourth subgenus, distinguished by the num-
ber of toes, which are four to each foot,
The Wild Dog of the Cape {Hycena venatica,
Burch ; H. picta, Tern. [Lycaon picta, Brookes] ),
which has the dental system of the Dogs [Ci-
vets, &c.], and not of the Hyaenas ; a tall gaunt
form ; fur marbled with white, fulvous, grey,
and blackish; the size of a Wolf, with large
ears tipped with black, &c. It lives in numerous
packs, which often approach Cape-town, and de- Fi^. 30.— The Marbled Lycaon.
vastate the environs. [This remarkable species
• The common Dog is an eager devonrerof gooseberries, of which | Fox, in the old Greek fables, apply better to C. melanogaster thin to
it will soon strip the bushes to which it has access. — Ed. 1 C. vulpes. — Ed.
+ It is remarkable that many of the habits attributed to the ]
Fig. 2d.— The Black Fox.
MAMMALIA.
92
is Dog- like, but certainly not a Canis: its form and colouring (and there is reason to suspect its internal
conformation), are rather those of a Hyccna ; and it is known to copulate in the manner of those animals, and
not in the peculiar manner of the Dogs and Foxes. Even its dentition is the same as that elsewhere found,
(with one other exception, — Proteles,) throughout the group to which we conceive the Hyaenas to belong, the
dental system of which latter appears to be modified in accoi dance with their much increased and prodigious
strength of jaw.]
The Civets {Viverra), —
Have three false molars above and four below, the anterior of which sometimes fall out ; two tolerably
large tuberculous teeth above, one only below, and two tubercles projecting forwards on the inner side
of the lower carnivorous tooth, the rest of that tooth being tuberculous. The tongue is covered with
sharp and rough papillae. Their claws are more or less raised as they walk ; and near the anus is a
pouch more or less deep, where an unctuous and often odorous matter is secreted by peculiar
glands.
They divide into four subgenera.
The True Civets {Viverra, Cuv.), —
In which the poueh, large, and situate between the anus and the genitals, divided also into two sacs,
is abundantly supplied with a pommade having a strong musky odour, seereted by glands which
surround the pouch. This substance is an article of commerce, mueh used in perfumery. It was
more employed when musk and ambergris were little known. The pupil of the eye remains round
during the day*, and their claws are only semi-retraetile.
[Four species are known, from Africa and India : beautiful spotted animals, larger than a domestic Cat : they ,
The species are numerous, and inhabit the same general locaUty as the preceding. One (Viv, genetta^ Lin.) j is
found from the south of France to the Cape of Good Hope. It frequents the edges of brooks, near springs, &c.,
and its skin forms an important article of traffic.
Would appear, from its dentition, to be the most carnivorous of the Viverrine quadrupeds : its jaws
are much abbreviated, and there are only two false molars to each : claws wholly retractile.
The species (C. ferox, Ben.) is little larger than a Stoat, and uniformly brown, with large ears : an inhabitant of
Madagascar. Eupleres (Jourdan ?) would seem to be allied.
Is also allied to the Genets, but with the false molars three-lobed or serrated.
Fells and subsequently Pr. gracilis, Horsf., is the only species ; a rare Javanese animal, of slender form, very
handsomely streaked and spotted.]
Have the pouch reduced to a slight depres-
sion formed by the projection of the glands,
with scarcely any discernible secretion, al-
though diffusing a very perceptible odour.
In the light, their pupil forms a vertical
fissure ; and their claws are completely re-
tractile, as in the Cats. [They are smaller and
more slender animals than the Civets, from
which they scarcely differ in style of colour-
ing : are also partly, but less, frugivorous,
and in general easily tamed.
have an erectible mane along the back (as in the
Hysenas), more or less conspicuous : are of an
indolent disposition, and easily tamed ; feed partly
on fruits ; and when irritated raise the dorsal
mane, and Ifiss like Cats.]
The Genets {Genetta, Cuv.),—
more
Fig. 31. — Tbe African Civet.
[The Galet {Cryptoprocta, Ben.) —
The Delundung {Prionodon, Horsf.) —
* Indicating that they inhabit the open country. See the Cats {Felit). — Ed.
CARNARIA.
93
i The Musangs {Paradoxurm, F. Cuv.) —
Possess the teeth and most of the characters of the Genets, with whieh they were long confounded :
hut their general form is stouter, and their gait plantigrade : what more particularly distinguishes
I them, however, is the spiral inclination of the tail*, which is not prehensile.
! Only one species is known, the Pougonn^ of India (P. typus, F. Cuv.), termed Palm Marten by the French in
India. [No less than ten or twelve have since been discovered, chiefly from India and the great Asiatic islands, though
i some inhabit Africa. They feed much on fruit, but are also tolerably carnivorous, springing upon their prey from
i a place of ambush : gait slow and plantigrade, with the head and tail lowered, and the back arched ; but they
! also advance by rapid digital bounds, and are excellent climbers, constructing a nest on the forked branches of
j trees. They are easily tamed, and, when angry, growl and spit like Cats : sleep rolled up in a ball, &c.
I As the Dogs may be considered the highest of the Carnivora, and the Cats the most eminently predaceous, so
I the Musangs may be regarded as presenting the fairest average of a member of this division. Their dentition is
j scarcely distinguishable from that of the Dogs ; but, on reverting the cranium, their cerebral cavity is seen to be
I proportionally smaller.
j Various species of Musang have been named as separate subgenera by different systematists. Ambliodon, Jourd.,
I is the Ictide doree of M. F. Cuvier ; and Paguma, Gray, refers to the young of P. larvatus. P. Derbianus, Gray,
a species approximating the Genets, of a fulvous-grey colour, with broad cross bands of dark brown, is the
Hemigalea zebra of Jourdan, Most of them present the streaks and spots of the Genets, but on a darker
ji ground-tint.
I Several affect the vicinity of human habitations, and are very destructive to poultry, their eggs, &c.
I The Cynogale {Cynogale, Gray; Limictis, Blainv.) —
j Is an aquatic representative of the preceding, to which it hears a similar relation to that which the
I Otters hold with the Weasels. Its false molars are large, compressed, sharp, and slightly notched or
serrated ; and entire dental system, together with its external characters, generally modified for a pis-
civorous regimen.
One species only is known (C. Bennettii, Gr. ; Viv. and Lim. carcJiarias, Bl.)— A native of Sumatra, uniform dark
brown ; the ears small : head, and also colouring, very similar to that of a common Otter : its tail, however, is
cylindrical.]
The Mangoustes {Mangusta, Cuv. ; Herpestes, Ill.f)
The pouch voluminous and simple, and the anus situate within its cavity ; [bony orbits of the skull
most usually perfect.] Their hairs are annulated with pale and dark tints, which determine the
general colour of the eye. [Tail long as in the preceding subdivisions, and bushy towards its
insertion. j
The species are very numerous ; and] that of Egypt {Viv. ichneumon, Lin.), so celebrated among the ancients by
the name of Ichneumon, is grey, with a long tail terminated by a black tuft ; it is larger than our Cat, and as
slender as a Marten. It chiefly hunts for the eggs of the Crocodile, but also feeds on all sorts of small animals ;
brought up in houses [where, in common with its congeners, it is readily domesticated, and exhibits much intelli-
gence and attachment], it pursues Mice, reptiles, &c. By the Europeans at Cairo it is designated Pharaoh's Rat,
and Nems by the natives. The ancient allegation of its entering the throat of the Crocodile, to destroy it, is quite
fabulous. The common Indian species {Viv. mungos, Lin.) is celebrated for its combats with the most dangerous
serpents ; and for having led us to a knowledge of the Ophiorhiza mungos as an antidote to their venom. [Some
are less vermiform in their make, and higher on the legs : one, termed the Vansire by Buflbn, forms the division
Athylax of M. F. Cuvier ; others compose the Galidea and Ichneumonia of M. Is. Geofiroy : Cynictis, Og., includes
several species with only four toes to each foot ; and Lasiopus and Mongo, Auct., are additional dismember-
ments of this genus. The Urva of Mr. Hodgson appears also to be a Mangouste, with incomplete orbits.]
The Surikate {Ryzcena, 111.) —
Resembles the Mangoustes, even to the tints and annulations of its fur ; but is distinguished from
them, and from all the Carnivora hitherto mentioned [save the Lycaon picta and Cynictis, just indi-
cated], by having only four toes to each foot. It is also higher upon the legs, and does not possess
the small molar immediately behind the canine. The pouch extends even into the anus.
Only one is known {Viv. tetradactyla, Gm.), a native of Africa, and rather smaller than the Mangouste of India.
The Mangue {Crossarchus, F. Cuv.), —
Has the muzzle, teeth, pouch, and gait of the Surikate ; the toes and genital organs of the Man-
goustes.
* In those which I have seen alive, including: P- typus, this charac-
ter was not perceptible : the individual figured by M. F. Cuvier pre-
senting n morbid deformity, an analogous instance of which occurred
in a Leopard formerly exhibited in London. — Ed.
t This term is more generally adopted. The name Ichneumon,
formerly applied to the animals of this genus, has been transferred
to a very extensive group of Hymenopterous Insects. — Ed.
94
MAMMALIA.
We know but of one (Cr. obscurus, F. Cuv.), from Sierra Leone : size of a Surikate. [Other Mangoustes are
included by recent systematists ; and it may be remarked that both this and the preceding subdivision are merely
slight modifications of Herpestes, and have similar perfect orbits.]
We shall here mention a singular animal from South Africa, which is known only when young, and
which has five toes before, four behind, and the head a little elongated as in the Civets, the legs raised,
those behind rather shorter, and a mane as in the Hyaena ; and which also resembles the Striped Hyaena
very remarkably in its colouring. Its anterior thumb is short, and placed high up. The Proteles
Lalandi, Is. Geof. ; an inhabitant of caverns.
The individuals examined, which were all
young, possessed but three small false molars,
and one small tuberculous back molar. It
seems as though their teeth had never come to
perfection, as often happens in the Genets.
(See my Ossemens fossiles, iv. 388.) [The per-
manent canines are of tolerable size, but the
simple form of the molars, all very small, and
separated by intervals, presents an anomaly
among the Carnivora, which is even more re-
markable on account of the affinity of this spe-
cies to the Hyaenas. It is destructive to very
young lambs, and is stated to attack the mas-
sive fatty protuberance on the tails of the
African Sheep.]
Fig. 32. — Proteles Lalandi.
0
in
The last subdivision of the Digitigrades has no small teeth whatever behind the large molar
of the lower jaw. It contains the most sanguinary and carnivorous of the class. There are
two genera.
The Hyjbnas {Hy(ma, Storr) —
Have three false molars above and four below, all conical, blunt, and singularly large : their upper car-
nivorous tooth has a small tubercle within and in front ; but the lower one has none, presenting only
two stout cutting points. This powerful armature enables them to crush the bones of the largest prey.
Their tongue is rough [exhibiting a circular collection of retroflected spines] ; all their feet have each but
four toes, as in the Surikate ; and under the anus is a deep and glandular pouch, which led the ancients
to believe that these animals were hermaphrodite. The muscles of their neck, and of the jaws, are so
robust, that it is almost impossible to take from them anything they may have seized ; whence, among
the Arabs, their name is the symbol of obstinacy. It sometimes happens that their cervical vertebrae
become anchylosed in consequence of these violent efforts ; and thus has arisen the opinion that the
animals of this genus have only one bone in their neck. They are nocturnal animals, and inhabit
caverns ; voracious, subsisting chiefly on dead bodies, which they will even disinter from the grave, a
habit that has given rise to a multitude of superstitious traditions.
Three species are known. The striped Hysena (H. vulgaris, Canis Tiycena, Lin.), found from India to Abyssinia *
and Senegal. The spotted H. {H. crocuta, Schreb., C. crocuta, Lin.,) from South Africa ; and the Woolly Hyaena, | i
{H. bruanea, Thunb., H. villosa. Smith), also from South Africa. Remains of a fossil species {H. speloea) are i
found in many cavern deposits of France, Germany, and England. [Hyaenas are easily tamed, if allowed their j
liberty, and are susceptible of strong attachment to those who use them kindly : many are employed in the capacity ! |
of watch-dogs both in Asia and Africa. They are physiologically nearly related to the Civets, and not to the , |
Dogs* ; and the loss of the posterior tuberculous molar appears to be a consequence of the great increase in size j
of the carnivorous grinders : notwithstanding which these animals feed much on bulbs.]
The Cats {Felis, Lin.) —
Are, of all the Carnaria, the most completely and powerfully armed. Their short and rounded muzzle,
short jaws, and especially their retractile talons, which, being raised upward when at rest, and closing
within the toes, by the action of elastic ligaments, lose neither point nor edge, render them most for-
midable animals, more partieularly the larger species. They have two false molars above, and two
* Their rough tongue, small and not spiral coscum, the structure [ their anal pouch, style of colouring, &c., combine to indicate their
of their reproductive organs, and consequent mode of copulation ; I true position to be as above assigned.
CARNARIA.
95
I below ; the upper carnivorous tooth three-lobed, with a broad heel on its inner side ; the inferior with
two pointed and cutting lobes, and without any heel : finally, they have only one very small upper
I tubercular, and no corresponding one in the lower jaw. [These animals creep unawares upon their prey,
!| and seize it with a sudden spring, in which they expend their energy.] The species are exceedingly
I numerous, and vary much in size and colour, but they are all nearly similar in structure. We can
only subdivide them by characters of trivial import, as size, and the length of fur.
At the head of this genus ranks
The Lion {Felis leo, Lin.), the most powerful of the beasts of prey ; distinguished by its uniform tawny colour,
[I the tuft of black hair at the end of the tail, and the flowing mane which clothes the head, neck, and shoulders of
I the male. Formerly inhabiting the three divisions of the ancient world, it appears to be now confined to Africa,
I and the neighbouring parts of Asia. Its head is squarer than in the following species. [The Lion is subject to
considerable variation, chiefly as regards the quantity of mane, and lengthened hair on other parts : those of
* Guizerat are almost destitute of any ; the Lions of Africa present the greatest quantity, in many of which there is
I a median line of long hair extending along the belly ; but even these differ one from another : there is also con-
I siderable difference of physiognomy between the African and Asiatic Lions, and the latter are always paler, and
i reputed to be less courageous ; but there is no difference of size and apparent strength. Those who distinguish
I the Lions of Asia and Africa as different species, might change their opinion on seeing the various adults now
I living in London.]
j Tigers are large species with short hair, and commonly exhibiting vivid markings. [We may here observe that
! it is quite impossible to subdivide the genus Felis into definite sections, and that every attempt of this kind
I hitherto made has consequently proved a complete failure : the transition into the Lynxes is most gradual ; and
^ the spotless species (as the Lion, Puma, &c.) are marked like the rest when young. Those species, however,
I which affect the open country, as the Lion and Leopard, have the pupil of the eye contracting to a point ; whereas
I in those which inhabit forests, as the Tiger and domestic Cat, the pupil closes to a vertical line, permitting thus,
I when least dilated, of a full range of vision, in the direction in which these animals chiefly watch for prey. A few
of the more conspicuous may be briefly indicated.]
The Tiger (F. tigris, Lin.)— As large as the Lion, but with the body longer and head rounder ; of a bright red-
dish-buff above, with irregular black transverse stripes, and pure white underneath ; [the hair surrounding the
j head elongated] : the most cruel of quadrupeds, and the scourge of the East Indies. Such are the strength and
the velocity of its movements, that during the march of an army it has been knovra to seize a soldier while on
horse-back, and bear him off to the jungle, without affording a chance of rescue. [This species also occurs,
I sparingly, in northern Asia. Its markings vary much in different individuals.]
The Jaguar (F. onca, Lin.) of America.— Nearly as large as the preceding, and scarcely less dangerous : it is
beautifully spotted with rings more or less complete, and containing smaller spots [on a deeper ground-tint : the
space included within the annulations of all the spotted Cats being deeper coloured than the rest of the body.]
Black individuals sometimes occur, which have the spots more intense, and visible only at particular angles,
[the fur of the spots differing in texture : the same has been observed of the Tiger and Leopard, and albino
j individuals of the former have likewise been noticed. Jaguars also differ much one from another].
The Panther (F. pardus, Lin. : Pardalis of the ancients.)— [Covered with annular series of irregular small spots.]
It is widely spread over Africa, the hottest region of Asia, and also the Indian archipelago.
The Leopard (F. leopardus, Lin.) — [Very like the
Panther, but with the markings less broken into
small spots : it varies, however, considerably, and
the two sides of the same animal do not always
resemble : from Asia and Africa.] These two spe-
cies are smaller than the American Jaguar [and
are very doubtfully separable from each other.
The Ounce of Buffon (F. uncia, Gm.) is a long-
haired mountain Cat, as large as a Leopard, with
tail longer than the body : also similarly spotted,
but more obscurely, and on a paler ground-tint.
It inhabits the Asiatic mountains, and a fine spe-
cimen of it has lately been deposited in the British
Museum.
Of the other spotted Cats, may be mentioned
the F. chalybeata, Herm., from the north of India ;
and F. viverrina, Ben., from Sumatra * ; also the
Rymau-dyan (Fig. 33), or gigantic Tiger-cat of
Sumatra (F. macroscelis), and the nearly allied but
smaller Marbled Cat (F. marmorata), from the
same locality, which are remarkable for length of
tail. The Ocelot of South America (F. pardalis,
* Notwithstanding' its name, this species presents no real approach to Fiverra : its cranium, for instance, being strictly that of a Felis.
Fig. 33. — Tiger-cat of Sumatra.
96
MAMMALIA.
Fig. 34. — Felis Lynx.
Lin.), twice the size of a large domestic Cat, and comparatively lower on the legs, is marked somewhat like the
Jaguar, but with a tendency to a linking of the spots into longitudinal bands, more or less observable in different
individuals.* F. Sumatranus and Bengalensis are not larger than a House-cat, but coloured like the foregoing ;
though individuals commonly occur of the same greyish ground-tint as the majority of the smaller species. A
beautiful European Cat, with the markings of the Leopard group, is the F. pardina, Oken, which inhabits the
mountains of Spain ; its tail, however, is short, as in the following. There are many others].
Lynxes are short-tailed Cats, with mostly pencil-tufts to their ears, and fur generally spotted more or less dis-
tinctly : those of cold countries have the fur long.
A species little less than a Leopard (F. lynx, Lin.)
still inhabits the mountainous parts of Europe,
from Scandinavia to Spain and Naples, and, it is
said, the north of Africa also. [Prof. Nilsson dis-
tinguishes three large European species in Scan-
dinavia, and figures different varieties of each.]
The Canada Lynx is smaller, with very long fur,
which extends even under the toes ; [it is allied
to the Wild Cat of Britain. There are many
others, some, as the Pampas Cat (F.pajeros) grad-
ing into the next group. We can only notice
a handsome short-haired species, the Caracal of
Turkey and Persia, almost uniform bright vinous
red; it is the true Lynx of the ancients. The
Chati {F. Serval, F. Cuv.), an elegant spotted
species, of slender form, and very high upon the
legs, may be approximated to this group, and
indeed has a moderately short and singularly
mobile tail : it inhabits Africa. Allied to it is the Chati (F. mitis), a native of South America.
Approaching the domestic Cat in size, colour, and markings, are also numerous species, among which the
native Cat of Britain (fig. 35) may be particularized, distinguished by its tail not tapering as in the tame Cat;
it is also larger, but with much shorter intestinal canal, though it is probable that the length of intestine in the
common Cat may have been gradually induced by long-continued habituation to a less carnivorous regimen,
operating through many successive generations. The domestic Cat is referred by Temminek to his F. maniculata, a
species wild in Egypt ; but is probably a mingled race, derived from several distinct wild stocks : our author, in
his last edition, referred it to the European Wild Cat, but subsequently retracted his opinion: the Angora variety
of it is perhaps the most remarkable, being
covered with long silky hair. Of the spotless
species, may be mentioned]
The Cougar, Puma, or pretended Lion of
America {F. concolor, Lin.) (Fig. 36.)— Red [sil-
very or greyish-red], with small spots of a
slightly deeper colour, which are not easily per-
ceived [nor always present in the adults, and a
small black tuft at the end of the tail. Size
nearly that of a Leopard], from both Americas,
where it preys on Sheep, Deer, &c. [and has
been known, though very rarely, to attack
mankind. An allied species, redder, and with
shorter tail, exclusively from South America, is
known as F. unicolor; and there is a small
species also very similar, the Eira of Azzara,
the tail of which is not tufted. The Jaguarondi :■
is another from the same locality, of medium j
size, altogether of a blackish-brown, more or*
less dark, and rather low on the legs: and there is a deep reddish-brown Cat in India, scarcely larger than the
Fig 35 — WiloCat.
* As a warning against relying too much upon the proverbially
uncertain temper of these eminently carnivorous animals, may be
mentioned a fact which occurred not long ago in France. A gentleman
had succeeded in taming an Ocelot, which for three years enjoyed
the range of his house and garden as freely as a domestic Cat,
appearing thoroughly reclaimed. One evening, however, at the fire-
side, when a child of three years old was playing with it, as it had
often done before, the animal, being irritated, seized the infant by
the throat, and killed it before assistance could be rendered. An
instance has occurred in this country of a babe being attacked by a
tame Ferret. The Domestic Cat is undoubtedly more susceptible of
attachment than it has been generally described ; and it is surprising
to perceive how patiently it bears the rough handling of children. We
have seen it hail the return of persons it knew with as lively joy as
any animal could well testify, and this in the case of individuals who
had never fed it : but it is understood, with what general truth may
perhaps be questioned, that while the Dog will mourn and even pine
to death over the body of its master, the Cat feels no compunction in
making it its prey : it is needless to observe, however, that the intel-
lect of the Cat is very much inferior to that of the Dog, on which
account some allowance may be granted.
With respect to the Domestic Cat, also, another consideration may
be borne in mind, which is, that there can be little doubt that its
nature has been considerably modified by domestication, which has
gradually rendered it less exclusively carnivorous than its wild con
geners. It is even remarkable that instances of the rapacity of this
animal towards young children are not of frequent occurrence.— Ed,
CARNARIA.
97
domestic, named i?'. TemmincJdi: F. approximates the last, but is smaller, with some markings on the
head, and is remarkable for its complete bony
orbits.]
We might place as a separate subgenus [Cy-
nailurus, Blainv. ? ] a species which has the head
rounder and shorter, and the talons of which are
not retractile [a statement which is unwar-
ranted by fact], the Chetah, or Hunting Leo-
pard {F.jubata, Schreb.) : size of a Leopard, but
longer-bodied, and stands higher ; of a pale
fulvous, with tolerably uniform small black spots,
a black streak reaching from the eye to the angle
of the mouth, and tail annulated at the end.
The disposition of this animal is mild and docile.
[From Asia and Africa, but apparently not
specifically the same on the two continents.
The Digitigrada of Cuvier, exclu-
sive of the semi-plantigrade genera which
have no coecum, divide primarily into,
first, the Canine group, or the Dogs and
Foxes, which is the most distinctly se-
parated by anatomical characters ; the
remainder are all much more nearly al-
lied, but we may venture to detach the
Feline animals or Cats : the rest may all
be included in the Viverrine section, to
which the Hyaenas strictly appertain ; a
varied, but quite natural assemblage, ex-
clusively confined in its distribution to the eastern continent, and scarcely extending beyond
the tropics ; whereas the former groups are generally diffused, with the exception of Aus-
tralia and the remote oceanic islands. Of the Viverrine animals, the most definitely cha-
racterized subdivision is that of the Mangoustes and subordinate sections : the Genets scarcely
differ from the Cats except in the prolongation of the muzzle ; and the Hyaena group is so
nearly related to the Civets that it does not appear to be separable on physiological characters.]
The Amphibia [Pinnigrada, Blain.] —
Compose the third and last of the minor tribes into which we divide the Carnivora. Their
feet are so short and so enveloped in the skin, that, upon land, they only serve to crawl
with* ; but, as the intervals between their toes are occupied by membranes, they form excel-
lent oars : hence these animals pass the greater portion of their lives in the water, which they
only quit to bask in the sunshine, and to suckle their young. Their lengthened body ; their
very moveable spine, provided with muscles which strongly flex it ; their narrow pelvis ; their
} short close fur, setting fiat upon the skin ; all combine to render them able swimmers, and
I the details of their anatomy confirm these first indications. [As in the Dugong, the Cetacea, and
j other large aquatic Mammalia, their bones are light and spongy, more particularly in the
I larger species.] Only two genera have as yet been distinguished, the Seals and the Morses.
I The Seals {Phoca, Lin.) —
Have six or four incisors above, four or only two below, pointed canines, and grinders to the
number of twenty, twenty-two, or twenty-four [that is to say, two, in the complete series, posterior
to the representative of the carnivorous tooth], all of them trenchant or conical, without any tuber-
culous portion : five toes to each foot, the anterior successively shortening from the thumb ; whereas,
* It is only when clambering that the Seal employs its feet on land : it -wriggles along, upon the ground, by the action of the abdo-
minal muscles.— Ed.
Fig. 36.— The Puma
H
MAMMALIA.
98
in the hind feet, the outer and inner toes are the longest, and the intermediate comparatively short.
Their foreTeet are enveloped in the integuments of the body as far as the wrist, the hinder almost to
the heel ; between the latter is a short tail. The head of a Seal resembles that of a Dog ; and they
have the same intelligence and mild and expressive physiognomy. They are easily tamed, and become
much attached to their feeder. The tongue is smooth, and notched at the end, their stomach simple,
coecum short, intestinal canal long, and tolerably regular. These animals subsist on fish, which they
always devour in the water, and are enabled to close their nostrils when diving, by means of a sort of
valve. As they remain long below the surface, it was supposed that the foramen ovale continued open
as in a foetus, which is not the case : they have a large venous cavity, however, in their liver, which
assists them in diving, by rendering respiration less necessary to the motion of the blood. The
latter is very abundant and very dark.
Analogous to Calocephala, The Seals, (properly so called, or without external ears), —
Have the incisors pointed ; all their toes enjoy a certain degree of motion, and are terminated by
pointed nails placed on the edge of the connecting membrane.
They may be divided according to the number of their incisors. In
CalocepJiala, F. Cuv. \_Phoca, as restricted], —
There are six above and four below. [The cheek-teeth have more than one root ; and besides the “
main cutting point, there is on each an anterior smaller one, and two posterior. The brain is in this ^
division amply developed, and the intelligence proportionate.]
The common
Seal (Ph. vitulina, Lin. ; Ph. littorea, Thiem.)— Common on the coast of Europe in vast herds, and
extending- far to the north. The European seas,
however, contain several Phoccs, which have;;,j|
been long confounded, some of which are per-^|-
haps varieties of the others ; as Ph. Mspida,
Schreb. ; Ph. annellata, Nills. ; Ph.fcetida, Fabr.,)L"
&c. [Those of the British islands much require il
elucidation.] A species more easily recog-
nized is
The Harp Seal (Ph. groenlandica and oceanica, ^l [
Auct.), from the whole north of the globe. [Re- f, i
markable for the difference in marking between" ; ;
the adult male (fig. 37) and the female and
young; length five feet. It pertains to the British s
fauna, as does also the next species, according to -
report, for which the Halichoerus griseus, how-^
ever, has been generally mistaken.]
Bearded Seal {Ph. barbata, Fabr.), a northernj
species, surpassing all the preceding ones in.^..
size, which is from seven to eight feet. Its''
moustaches are thicker and stronger than in thef
others. [Several more are known from the north- 1||
ern hemisphere.]
Fig. 37. — Greenland Seal.
The Sterrincks {StenorhyncJms, F. Cuv.) —
Possess four incisors to each jaw, and cheek-
teeth deeply notched into three points (fig. 38),
[but with single roots : the muzzle slender and
much elongated ; and very small claws].
One only is known {Ph. leptonyx, Bl.), from the
Austral seas : size of the Bearded Seal. [An allied
species constitutes
The Leptonyx (Leptonyx, Gray) —
The grinders of which are bluntly three-lobed,
the muzzle broad and rounded, and hind feet
clawless.
Otaria Weddellii, Lesson. — Also from the South Seas],
CARNARIA.
99
The Monk {Pelagius, P. Cuv.) —
Also possesses four incisors to each jaw ; but the grinders form obtuse cones, with a slightly marked
process before and behind. There is one in the Mediterranean,
Ph. monachus, Gm., from ten to twelve feet in length. It is particularly found among the Grecian and Adriatic
Isles, and was probably the species best known to the ancients.
[The Halkets {Halich(Brus, Nilsson).
Grinding teeth of the upper jaw simple ; those of the lower with an inconspicuous tubercle before and
behind. Muzzle deep and obliquely truncated : the head flat, and brain comparatively very small.
H. gryphus. Nils., a species nearly as large as the Bearded Seal, inhabits the Baltic and British seas, where it
would seem to be not uncommon. Its intelligence has been observed to be very inferior to that of the
tnio
The Hoodcap {Stemmatopus, F. Cuv.).
Four superior, and two inferior incisors ; the grinders compressed and slightly three-lobed, supported
by thick roots.
Ph. cristata, Gm. ; Ph. leonina, Fabr.~A species attaining a length of seven or eight feet, with loose skin upon
the head, which can be inflated into a sort of cowl, and is drawn over the eyes when the animal is menaced, at
which time the nostrils also are puffed out like bladders. From the Arctic Ocean.
Finally,
The Myroungas {MacrorJdnus, F. Cuv. ; \Cystophora^ Nilsson,] ) —
Possess, with the incisors of the preceding, obtuse conical molars (fig. 39) [but massive canines], and
muzzle lengthened into a short moveable proboscis. The
largest known Seal is of this subgenus ; the
Ph. leonina, Lin. — Twenty to twenty-four feet in length [sometimes
thirty, according to English measure, and of great proportionate
bulk]. Brown, the muzzle of the male terminated by a Wrinkled
snout, which becomes inflated when the animal is angry. It is common
in the southern latitudes of the Pacific Ocean, and of great request for
the quantity of very superior oil with which it abounds.
Those with external ears.
The Otaries {Otaria, Peron), —
Are worthy of being formed into a separate genus, inasmuch
as, besides the projecting auditory conch, the four middle upper incisors have a double cutting edge (a
i structure not hitherto remarked in any other animal) ; the exterior are simple and very small, and the
I four inferior forked : the molars are all simply conical. The toes of their anterior swimming-paws
[which are placed far backward] are almost immoveable ; and the membrane of their hind feet is
prolonged into a flap beyond each toe ; all the nails are thin and flat.
; Ph.jubata, Gm. {Sea Lion of Steller, Pernatty,
i &c., but not of Anson, which refers to the My-
i rounga ; the latter being also the Sea Wolf of Per-
! natty). From fifteen to twenty feet [French], and
I more, in length : the neck of the male covered
I with more frizzled and thickly-set hairs than
those on the other parts of the body. From the
South Pacific.
[The Falkland Otary, or Fur Seal of com-
merce (C. FalMandia, Desm.)— Remarkable for
the great disproportionate size of the sexes (if,
indeed, the same does not apply to all its con-
geners) ; the full-grown male, according to
Weddell, measuring 6 ft. 9 inch.; the female
only 34 feet. It is polygamous, in the proportion of
one male to about twenty females. The fur is
an esteemed article of commerce ; and so abun-
dant was the species formerly in various locali-
ties, that for a period of fifty years, not less than
1,200,000 skins were annually obtained from a
single island].
MAMMALIA.
100
The Ursal (Ph. ursina, Gm. \Arctocep1ialus ursinus, F. Cuv. fig. 40,]— Eight feet long, no mane, varying from
brown to whitish. From the north of the Pacific Ocean.
The Morse (Trichecus, Lin.) —
Kesembles the Seals in the general form of its body and limbs, but differs considerably from them in '
the head and teeth. The lower jaw has neither incisors nor canines, and is compressed anteriorly to
pass between two enormous canines or tusks which issue from the upper one, and which are directed
downwards, attaining sometimes a length of twm feet, with proportionate thickness. The magnitude
of the sockets requisite for holding such enormous canines raises up the whole front of the upper jaw,
so as to form a thick bulging muzzle, the nostrils opening upwards, instead of being terminal. The
molars are all short cylinders, obliquely truncated. There are four [or five] on each side above and
below ; but at a certain age, two of the upper ones fall out. Between the canines are two incisors
similar to the molars, which the majority of observers have overlooked, as they are not fixed in the ®
intermaxillary bones ; and between these again, in young individuals, are two pointed and
small ones.
The stomach and intestines of the Morse are nearly similar to those of the Seals : and it appears ^
that they subsist on fuci as well as on animal substances.
One species only has been ascertained, the Morse or Walrus {Tr. rosmarus, L.) ; an inhabitant of all parts of the
Arctic seas, exceeding the largest Bull in bulk ; it attains a length of twenty feet, and is covered with short yel-
lowish hair. This animal is much sought for on account of its oil and tusks ; the ivory of which, though coarse-
grained, is employed in the arts. The skin makes excellent coach-braces. [A strai)ge assertion originated with I
Sir E. Home, that the feet of the Morse possess suckers, by which it is enabled to ascend perpendicular ice-bergs. J
There is no foundation for this statement. l|
It is difficult to intercalate the Amphibia in the series of Carnivora, and to determine to
what extent their peculiarities should be regarded as adaptive modifications, based on the
rudimental structure of the whole order.
At the head of the Carnivora we prefer to place the Dogs or Canidcv, follow^ed by the
ViverridcB and Felidce : the Seals or Phocidce might, we conceive, next range with less impro-
priety than elsewhere : and after them the Mustelidce, and Ur sides j then, finally, the Insectivora, ^
which the author ranks as equivalent to all the foregoing. The Cheiroptera, or Bats, we
deem to he subordinate rather to the preceding order.
Remains of nearly all the principal genera and some additional ones have been found, more
or less abundantly, in the tertiary strata, or deposits overlying the chalk, hut not in beds of
anterior formation.]
THE FOURTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS,—
MARSUPIATA,—
{Or that of the Pouched Animals,) —
With which we formerly terminated the Carnaria, as a fourth family of that great ordinal
division, presents so many singularities in the economy of its members, that we are induced to
separate and elevate it to its present position ; the more particularly, as we observe in it a
sort of representation of three very different orders.
The first of all their peculiarities is the premature production of their young, which are
born in a state of developement scarcely comparable to that of an ordinary foetus a few days
after conception. Incapable of motion, and barely exhibiting the rudiments of limbs and
MARSUPIATA.
101
other external organs, these minute offspring attach themselves to the teats of their mother,
and remain fixed there until they have acquired a degree of developement analogous to that
in which other animals are born. The skin of the abdomen is almost always so disposed
around the mammae as to form a pouch, in which these imperfect young are preserved as in a
second uterus ; and into which, long after they can walk, they retire for shelter on the appre-
hension of danger. Two peculiar bones attached to the pubis, and interposed between the
muscles of the abdomen, support the pouch, [and prevent inconvenient pressure of the young,
when grown, upon the bowels.] These bones are also found in the male, and even in those
species in which the fold that forms the pouch is scarcely visible.
The matrix of the animals of this order does not open by a single orifice into the extremity
of the vagina, but communicates with this canal by two bent lateral tubes. The premature
birth of the young appears to depend on this singular organization. The scrotum of the male,
contrary to what obtains in other quadrupeds, hangs before the penis, which at rest is directed
backwards.
Another peculiarity of the Marsupiata is, that, notwithstanding a general resemblance of
the species to each other, so striking that they were all long included in one genus, they
differ so much in the teeth, the digestive organs, and the feet, that if we rigidly adhered to
these characters, it would be necessary to separate them into distinct orders. They carry us
by insensible gradations from the Carnaria to the Rodentia*y and there are even some animals
which have the pelvis furnished with similar bones ; but which, being destitute of ineisors and
even of any sort of teeth, have been approximated to the Edentata, where, in fact, we shall
leave them, under the name of Monotremata. [The latter are now more properly included
as a second order of the same superior division of Mammalia which contains the Marsupiata,
by the general consent of physiologists.]
In brief, it may be stated that the Marsupiata form a distinct class, parallel to that of
ordinary quadrupeds, and divisible into similar orders ; so that, if we were to arrange
these two classes into even columns, the Opossums, Dasyures, and Bandicoots, would be
opposed to the insectivorous Carnaria, such as the Tenrecs and Moles ; the Phalangers
and Potoroos to the Urchins and Shrews ; while the Kangaroos, properly so called, could not
well be compared with any other genus; but the Wombat should be placed opposite the
Rodentia. Lastly, if we were to consider the bones of the pouch only [commonly desig-
nated marsupial bones], and regard as marsupial all animals which possess them, the
Platypuses and Echidnas might compose a group parallel to the Edentata.
Linnaeus ranged all the species which he knew under his genus Didelphis, signifying double
matrix. The pouch is indeed in some respects a second one.
[The Marsupiata, together with the Monotremata, is now generally regarded as a distinct
subclass, Ovovivipara, equivalent to the rest of the Mammalia. Its members are lower in
their organization than any other mammiferous animals, approximating the oviparous type
(and particularly Reptiles), in sundry details of their organization. The hemispheres of the
brain, for instance, (which is much reduced in size,) are not united by a corpus callosum j
and they are observed to be very defective in intelligence, as is indicated by their phy-
siognomy t : the blood also is returned to the heart by two principal veins, as in Birds
and Reptiles; and the sutures of the skull never become united. In short, they hold an
analogous relation towards other Mammalia, to that which the Batrachia present to all
other Reptiles. Their incisor teeth frequently exceed six in number, which is the maxi-
mum throughout the rest of the class, — another indication of their inferiority.
The geographic range of the Marsupiata, with the exception of the Opossum group
peculiar to America, is at present almost confined to Australia and the neighbouring coun-
* Only upon the supposition that the gnawing- teeth of the Rodentia I supiata, is afforded by their turning to bite the stick with which they
are modified incisors, which is more than doubtful. — Ed. I are smitten, rather than the hand that guides it.
t A curious illustration of this inferiority on the part of the Mar- I
MAMMALIA,
102
tries, where they constitute, very nearly indeed, the only mammiferous animals ; but fossil
remains of them occur, sparingly, in the ancient secondary deposits of Europe, where
hitherto no higher Mammalia have been detected. Consequently, the Marsupiata would
appear to have been much earlier introduced upon our planet ; a further indication, if not
of their inferiority, at least of their intrinsical separateness as a group ; there is reason
also to suspect that at former epochs they were much more numerous, as well as generally
diffused, than at present.*]
The first subdivision of them is distinguished by long canines, and small incisors to
each jaw ; the back molars are beset with pointed tubercles, and the general character of
the teeth is the same as in the Insectivora, which these animals entirely resemble in their
regimen.
The Opossums {Didelphis, Lin.), —
Which of all the Marsupiata have been the longest known, compose a genus peculiar to America.
They have ten incisors above, and eight below ; three anterior compressed molars, and four sharply
tuberculated back molars, the superior of which are triangular, the inferior oblong : so that, with the
four canines, they have in all fifty teeth, a number greater than has as yet been observed in any other
quadruped.f Their tongue is bristled, and the tail prehensile and in part naked ; the hinder thumb is
long and effectively opposable to the four other digits, whence the name Pedimana has been applied
to these animals ; it is not furnished with a nail. Their extremely wide mouth, and large naked ears,
give them a peculiar physiognomy. The glans penis is bifurcated. They are fetid and nocturnal
animals, whose gait is slow ; nestle upon trees, and there pursue birds, insects, &c., without rejecting
fruit : their stomach is small and simple, and the coecum moderate and without enlargements.
The females of certain species have a deep pouch, wherein are placed their teats, and in which the
young are inclosed.
The Common Opossum {D.virginiana, Pen. (fig. 41.)
— Nearly the size of a Cat; fur, a mixture of black
and white : it inhabits the whole of America, enters
the villages at night, and attacks poultry, devour-
ing their eggs, &c. The young at birth, sometimes
sixteen in number, weigh only a grain each. Al-
though blind and nearly shapeless, they find the
nipple by instinct, and adhere until they have at-
tained the size of a Mouse, which happens about the
fiftieth day, at which epoch they open their eyes.
They continue to return to the pouch until they are i
as large as Rats. The term of uterine gestation i
is only twenty-six days. [Several others are known ;
one of which] the Crab-eating Opossum (D. cancri- i
vorus), frequents the marshes of the sea-coast, where i
it feeds chiefly upon crabs.
Other species possess no pouch, but merely a i
vestige of it, or fold of skin on each side of the jj
belly. They habitually carry their young on j
their backs, the tails of the latter being entwined
round that of the mother. &
[A considerable number are known, from South
America.]
The Yapach (Cheironectes, Illig.) —
[Is merely an aquatic Opossum, with semi-pal-
Fig. 41. — Common Opossum. l. * x / x
mate toes.]
• Since writing the above, Prof. Blainville has published an elabo-
rate Essay on the reputed Marsvpiata of the secondary deposits,
wherein he advances the opinion that these celebrated fossil remains
appertain rather to reptiles of a higher organization than any now
existing. M. Valenciennes and Prof. Owen have subse(iuently ad-
vocated the currently received opinion ; while the first-named natu-
ralist has been supported by Dr. Grant, who long previously had
entertained the same idea. The question still remains sub judice; and
It even appears that the objections to either solution of the difficulty
are more weighty than the arguments in its favour.
t There arc fifty- two teeth in the newly-discovered Myrmecohius.
The multiplication of the teeth in the Cetacea is on a different
principle. — Ed.
1
MARSUPIATA. 103
The Yapach (Did. palmata, Geof. ; Lutra memina, Bodcl, fig. 42) frequents the rivers of Guiana.
All the other Marsupials inhabit eastern
countries, and especially New Holland ; a
land of which the mammiferous population
seems even to consist principally of ani-
mals of this group.
[The three next genera, and probably
the fourth, possess no coecum.]
The Thylacines {Thylacinus, Tern.) —
Are the largest of this first division : they
are distinguished from the Opossums by
the hind-feet having no thumb, by a hairy
and not prehensile tail, and two incisors
less to each jaw ; their molars are of the
same number. They have accordingly
forty-six teeth ; hut the external edge of
Fig:. 42.— The Yapach. three large ones is projecting and
trenchant, almost like the carnivorous tooth of a Dog : their ears are hairy, and of middle size.
But one [living] species is known,- a native of Van Diemen’s Land.— Size that of a [small] Wolf, but lower on the
legs ; of a greyish colour, barred with black across the crupper (Did. cynocepMla, Harris). It is very carnivorous,
and pursues all small quadrupeds. [This animal does not fish, as has been stated ; nor is its tail compressed : it
is principally nocturnal, and is called Tiger and Hyana in its native island.] A. fossil species of Thylacine has
been found in the gypsum quarries of Paris.
The Phascogales {Phascogale, Tern.) —
Have the same number of teeth as the Thylacines ; but their middle incisors are longer than the
others, and their back molars more sharply tuherculated, in which respect they rather approximate the
Opossums. They are also allied to them by their small size ; the tail, however, is not prehensile :
their posterior thumbs, though very short, are still distinctly apparent.
[Four species are now known, varying from the size of a Rat to that of a Mouse : they inhabit New Holland and
Van Diemen’s Land, where they live on trees, and pursue insects.]
The Dasyures (Dasgurus, Geof.) —
Have two incisors and four grinders in each jaw less than the Opossums, so that they have only forty-
two teeth ; and their tail, everywhere covered with long hairs, is not prehensile. The hinder thumb
is reduced to a mere tubercle, or even quite disappears, [as in the Thylacine]. They inhabit New
Holland, and subsist on insects and dead carcases ; they even penetrate into houses, where their
voracity is very inconvenient. Their mouth is not so wide*, and the muzzle [much] less pointed, than
in the Opossums ; their ears also are shorter, and hairy. They do not ascend trees.
The Ursine Dasyure (Did. ursina, Harris). — Long coarse black hairs, with some white markings ; the tail
half as long as the body, almost naked underneath. Inhabits the north of Van Diemen’s Land, and is
nearly the size of a Badger. [This species, which is of common occurrence, is designated in Van Diemen’s Land
the Devil; it is nocturnal, and very destructive to Sheep, of a fierce disposition, bites severely, and is a match for
an ordinary Dog: in common with the rest of its tribe, including the Thylacyar, it often sits on its haunches, and
cleans its head with its fore-paws.]
The long-tailed Dasyure (Das. macrourus, Geof.)— Size of a Cat, with the tail as long as the body ; fur brown,
spotted with white both on the body and tail. The tubercle of the thumb is still well marked in this species, but
in the following it can no more be seen.
Mange’s Dasyure (Das. Maugii, Geof.)— Rather smaller than the preceding, of an olive colour, spotted with
white both on the body and tail : and lastly. Did. viverrina, Shaw ; which is black, spotted with white, and no spots
on the tail ; a third less than the first. [These are still the only ascertained species, though it is probable that others
remain confounded. The last is termed Wild Cat in Van Diemen’s Land, and is very destructive to poultry, of
which it only sucks the blood. These animals apply the entire sole of the hind-foot to the ground when standing.
The Myrmecobe {Myrmecobius, Waterh.) —
Has the greatest number of teeth of any known marsupial, fifty-two in all ; namely, eight upper and
* I have been much astonished on witnessing tlie amazingly wide gape of the Ursine Dasyure. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
104
six inferior incisors, and behind the canines four compressed molai’s in each jaw, and finally four small
molars above, and five below, the latter pectinated internally in consequence of the irregularity of
attrition ; the canine of the lower jaw is much incurved. The form of this animal is similar to that of
a Squirrel, but with a long and pointed muzzle, as in the Banxring : it has no thumb to the hind-foot.
The Banded Myrmecobe {M. fasciola, Waterh.) — Size of a Rat, and barred on the crupper similarly to the Thy-
lacine, but with white bands on a reddish ground tint. The only specimens at present known were procured at
Swan River settlement, Australia. This animal has been supposed to present the nearest living approach to the
fossil Thylacotherium of the secondary lias.]
The Bandicoots {Peramdes, Geof. ; Thylacis, Illig.) —
Have the hinder thumb short, as in the first Dasyures, and the two following toes joined by the skin as
far as the claws ; the thumb and little toe of their fore-feet are reduced to simple tubercles, so that
there seem to be only three toes : the superior incisive teeth are ten in number, the most hindward
pointed, and widely separated from the rest ; below there are only six, [the posterior bilobate] ; but
their molars are the same as in the Opossums, [though less angular internally]. Their tail is hairy,
and not prehensile. They inhabit Australia. The great claws of their fore-feet, almost straight,
announce the habit of digging into the ground, and their rather long hind-feet that their gait is rapid.
[Their coecum is of middle size, as in the Opossums, to which they are approximated by Prof. Owen.]
The Long-nosed Bandicoot (P. nasuius, Geof.)— Muzzle very much elongated ; the ears pointed ; fur a greyish
brown. It resembles, at the first glance, a Tenrec. The P. obesula, Geof., is not so authentic. [The latter is
now well established, as also another, P. Gunnii, from Van Diemen’s Land, which is very generally diffused '
throughout that island ; it lives principally on bulbs, but also on insects. Two or three more have been indi-
dicated, one of which, P. lagotis, Reid, is ranged by Prof. Owen as
The Philander {Thalacomys,Oviexi), —
The superior hindward incisor of v^?hich is close to the others, and the muzzle very long, and abruptly
attenuated : auditory bullae remarkably large, and divided posteriorly. The ears long, and the tail also
long and bushy.
The only knowm species {Per. lagotis, Reid)— is a nimble-looking and handsome animal ; greyish, and as large
as the common Opossum. From New South Wales.]
In the second subdivision of Marsupials, there are two large and long incisors in the lower
jaw, with pointed and trenchant edges sloping forwards, and six corresponding teeth in the
upper one. The superior canines are still long and pointed; but those of the lower jaw are so
small that they are often hidden in the gum : in the last subgenus there are even none below.
Their regimen is in great part frugivorous ; hence their intestines, and particularly the
civcum, are much longer than in the Opossums. They have all a large thumb, so separated
from the other digits that it seems directed backward as in Birds : it has no nail, and the two
following fingers are joined by the skin as far as the last phalanx. It is from this circum-
stance that they have derived their name of
Phalangers {Phalangista, Cuv.)
The Kestricted Phalangers {Balantia, Illig.) —
Have not the skin of the flank extended : they have on each jaw four back molars, all of which present
individually four points, ranged in twm rows ; and before these a large one, conically compressed ; also,
between this and the upper canine, two small and pointed teeth, to which correspond the very small
teeth below, of which we have spoken : their tail is always prehensile.
In some it is in great part scaly. They inhabit trees in the Molucca islands, where they feed on
insects and fruit. At the sight of a man they suspend themselves by the tail ; and if he gazes at them
steadily for some time, they fall through lassitude. They diffuse an offensive odour, notvrithstanding
which their flesh is eaten.
Several species are known, of various size and colours, all of which are comprehended under the DidelpMs
orientalis of Linnaeus. [Those in which the tail is partly scaly are peculiar to the Molucca islands, aud constitute
the division Cuscus of some systematists. Five are enumerated by the author, who follows Temminck.]
In others, which have hitherto been found in New Holland only, the tail is hairy to the tip.
MARSUPIATA. 105
[The author enumerates three, to which four have since been added by Mr. Ogilby, and an eighth by M. Geoffroy.
These animals keep in holes of trees till twilight, and for an hour or two after sunset are observed eating the
leaves of the different Eucalypti ; also, in retired places, those with the young shoots of fruit-trees. The Ph. vul-
pina is known as the Brush-tailed Opossum in Van Diemen’s Land, and the Ph. CooMi, as the Ring-tailed
Opossum.l
The Petaurists {Petaurus, Shaw ; Phalangista, Illig.) —
Have the skin of the flanks more or less extended between the legs, as in the Colugos, and Taguans
among the Rodents, by which they are enabled to sustain themselves in the air for some seconds, and
to make greater leaps. They have been found only in New Holland.
Some of the species still possess inferior canines, but extremely small. Their upper canines and
the three first molars, both above and below, are very pointed ; the back molars have each four points
[the last excepted, in which there are but three]. M. Desmarest has named this division Acrobates.
[It possesses thirty-six teeth in all.]
The Pygmy Petaurist {Bid. pigmcea, Shaw). — Of the colour and nearly the size of a Mouse ; the hairs of the tail
disposed very regularly on its two sides like the barbs of a feather.
Other species have no inferior canines, and the superior are very small. Their four back molars
each present four points, but a little curved into a crescent, somewhat as observed in the Ruminants.
Anteriorly, there are two above and one below, less complicated : this structure renders them still
more frugivorous than any of the preceding. [Their teeth amount in all to thirty-four.]
The Great Petaurist {Bid. petaurus, Shaw ; P. taguanoides, Desm.)— Resembles the Tagaun and the Colugo in
i| size : its fur is soft and thick, and the tail long and [not in those which I have seen] flattened : brown-black
! above, white underneath.
I The Sciurine Petaurist (Did. rnwrea, Shaw). — Ash-coloured above, white beneath, and smaller than the pre-
I ceding; a brown line commencing on the muzzle and continued along the back : the tail tufted, and as long as the
i body, its posterior portion black. From the islands near New Guinea. [It is abundant along the south coast of
' New Holland. The teeth are forty in number, and exhibit considerable modification ; hence this animal has been
I made a separate division of the Belidea, Waterh. There are but four true molars to each jaw, with comparatively
blunt tubercles originally ; three false molars and a middle-sized canine above, and four small flattened teeth
! below : the palate also is in this group perfect, whereas it is not so in the two others. Four or five species are
i known to possess these characters.
The remainder appertain to the same minimum group as P. taguanoides.']
Our third subdivision possesses the incisors and superior canines of the preceding. The
ii two toes of the hind-foot are also similarly united ; but the posterior thumbs and inferior
i| canines are wanting. It contains but a single genus,
i
I The Potoroos {Hypsiprymnus, lUig.), —
i! Which are the last animals of this family that retain any trace of the general character of the Car-
jl naria. Their teeth are nearly the same as in the Phalangers, and they still have pointed canines above
i, [which all but disappear in one species]. Their two middle upper incisors are longer than the rest,
il and pointed; the two inferior ones project forwards. They have anteriorly a long trenchant and
i| dentelated molar, followed by four others, each with four blunt tubercles. 'What particularly distinguishes
ji these animals, however, is their hind legs, which are very much longer in proportion than their fore
''j ones, that have no thumbs, and the two first toes of which are joined as far as the nail ; so that, at a
!j first glance, it seems as though there were but three toes, the middle one having two nails. They
often hop on their hind-feet, at which time they make use of their long and strong tail to support
themselves. They have accordingly the form and habits of the Kangaroos, from which they only diflfer in
possessing the superior canine. Their regimen is frugivorous, and the stomach large, divided into two
sacs, and possessing several inflations ; but their coecum is moderate and rounded.
Only one species is known, the size of a small Rabbit, and of a mouse-grey colour, which is termed the Kanga-
roo-rat {Macropus minor, Shaw.) [Five or six others have since been discovered, two of which, inhabiting New
Guinea, are remarkable for their arboreal habits, in reference to which their structure is slightly modified, the
hmbs being less unequal, and the great nails of their hind-feet curved : they do not, however, essentially differ
from the others. One species is common in the interior of Van Diemen’s Land].
The fourth subdivision differs only from the third in having no canines whatever.
The Kangaroos, {Macropus, Shaw ; Halmaturus, Illig.), —
In which all the characters occur that we have assigned to the preceding genus, except that the upper
106
MAMMALIA.
canines are wanting, and the middle incisors do not project beyond the others. The unequal size of
the limbs is even more remarkable, so that they advance on all fours with difficulty and slowly, hut
make immense leaps on their hind-feet, the great nail of which (almost in the shape of a hoof) serves
them likevdse for defence, as, by supporting themselves on one foot and their enormous tail, they can
inflict a severe blow with that which is at liberty.* They are very gentle, herbivorous animals, their
grinders presenting only transverse ridges : they possess five in all, of which the anterior are
more or less trenchant, and fall with age, so that older individuals have often only three. Their
stomach is formed of two elongated sacs, that are inflated at several places like a colon : the coecum
also is large and inflated. The radius allows a complete rotation of the fore-arm.
The penis in these two genera is not bifurcated ; but the female organs are similar to those of other
Marsupiata.
The Great Kangaroo {M. major, Shaw).— Sometimes
six feet in height, being the largest animal of New Hol-
land. It was discovered by Cook in 1779, and is now
bred in Europe. The flesh is said to resemble venison.
The young ones, which are only an inch long at birth,
remain in the maternal pouch even when they are old
enough to graze, which they efiect by stretching out the
neck from their domicile, when the mother herself is
feeding. These animals live in troops, conducted by the
old males.f They make enormous leaps. [Numerous
other species are now known, which have even been ar-
ranged into subgenera : these, however, are not gene-
rally adopted. They degrade in size to smaller than a
Hare.]
The fifth subdivision has two long incisors
in the lower jaw, but no canines ; in the upper
two long middle incisors, with some small ones
Fig. 43. Great Kangaroo. [four iu numbcr] placed laterally, and two
small canines. It comprehends but one genus.
The Koala {Koala, Cuv. ; Lipurus, Goldf. ; Phascolarctos%, Blainv.), —
Which presents a short, stout body, and short legs, without any [or rather with a short] tail : their ante-
rior toes, five in number, separate into two groups
for prehension, the thumb and index antagonizing
with the other three. On the hind-feet there is
no thumb ; and the first two toes are united as in
the Phalangers and Kangaroos. [There are five
molars in each jaw, square, with four tubercles each,
excepting the first. This animal is essentially a
Phalanger with a short tail.]
One only is known {Lip. drier eus, Goldfuss.) — Of a
greyish colour, which passes its life partly upon trees,
and partly in burrows which it excavates at their foot
(fig. 44.)
The female carries her young for a long time
on her back
Finally, our sixth division of the Marsupial
animals, consisting of
Fig. 44.— Koala.
The Wombat {Phascalomys, Geof. ; \_Amhlotis, Bass] ), —
Comprehends a true Rodent according to the teeth and intestines, which preserves its relationship with
the Carnaria only in the mode of articulation of its lower jaw ; and which, in a rigorous system, it
• A Kangaroo will hug a Dog with its fore-paws, while it kicks and
rips up the belly with its hind-foot. — Ed.
+ It appears rather that the animals of this genus are not strictly
gregarious, but collect accidentally at the scattered feeding- places.
They lodge during the day among high ferns, and feed chiefly by
night, or in the evening and morning ; but are very sharp-sighted
during tlie day. — Ed,
t This term is generally adopted. — Ed,
RODENTIA.
107
would therefore be necessary to rank among the Rodentia. We should even have placed it there,
had we not been gradually led to it by an uninterrupted series from the Opossums to the Phalan-
gers, thence to the Kangaroos, and from the Kangaroos to the Wombat.* Their reproductive organs
are entirely similar to those of other Marsupiata.
They are sluggish animals, with large flat heads, and bodies that appear as if crushed. They are
without a tail; have five nails on each of the fore-feet, and four, with a small tubercle in place of a j
thumb, on each of the hind ones, all very long and adapted for burrowing. Their gait is remarkably
slow. They have two long incisors to each jaw, almost similar to those of the Rodentia, [but which
oppose flat surfaces to each other, and not chisel-like edges, as in the latter] ; and their grinders have
each two transverse ridges.
They subsist on herbage, and have a large and pear-formed stomach, and short and wide coecum,
furnished (like that of Man and the Ourang-outang) with a vermiform appendage. The penis is forked,
as in the Opossums.
One species only is known {Bid. ursina, Shaw) ; of the size of a Badger ; the fur abundant, and of a more or less
yellowish-brown. It is found in Van Diemen’s Land, where it lives in its burrow; and breeds readily in confine-
ment. The flesh is said to be excellent. [The skin of this animal is remarkably thick, and curiously attached to
the hip-bones : its eyes are unusually small. When attacked, it grunts like a Pig ; and is found at various eleva-
tions, burrowing in the forests and low grounds, and retiring to crevices in the upper. To the colonists, it is
generally known as the Badger.
The Marsupiata are distributed by Prof, Owen, in conformity with the structure of their
digestive organs, as follows *. — -
1. The coecum altogether 2h^tni.—Thylacynus, Dasyurus, PTiascogale, and probably
Myrmecobius.
2. With a small codCum.—DidelpMs and Cheironectes j Perameles, and probably Thy-
lacomys.
3. Coecum of large ^izQ.—Phascolarctos, Phalangista, Petaurus.
4. The stomach complicated.— ikfacro^M5 and Hypsiprymnus.
5. Coecum with a vermiform appendage. — Phascalomys.
This arrangement appears to be perfectly in accordance with the affinities of these animals :
though, at the same time, it may be added that the Wombat {Phascalomys) might properly
form a distinct order of Ovovivipera.']
THE FIFTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS.
ROBENTIA.
We have just seen, in the Phalangers, canines so small, that we can hardly consider them
as such. The nutriment of these animals, accordingly, is chiefly derived from the vegetable
kingdom. Their intestines are long, and the coecum simple ; and the Kangaroos, which have
no canines at all, subsist on vegetables only. The Wombat might commence that series of
animals of which we are now about to speak, and which have a system of manducation even
less complete.
Two large incisors in each jaw, separated from the molars by a wide interval, cannot well
seize a living prey, or devour flesh. They are unable even to cut the aliment; but they
serve to flle, and by continued labour, to reduce it into small particles ; in a word, to gnaw
it : hence the name Rodentia applied to the animals of this order : it is thus that they suc-
* This gradation is, however, more apparent than real, as regards I never cease growing at the base, as their crowns wear away by
the Wombat, which differs from all other Marsupiata in the persist- 1 attrition.— Kn.
ency of the formative pulps of its teeth, which, in consequence, I
MAMMALIA.
108
cessfully attack the hardest substances, frequently feeding on wood and the bark of trees.
The better to accomplish this object, these incisors have enamel only in front, so that '
their posterior edges wearing away faster than the anterior, they are always naturally sloped
[or chisel-like] . Their prismatic form causes them to grow from the root as fast as they wear
away at the tip [their formative pulps being persistent] ; and this tendency to increase in
length is so powerful, that if either of them be lost or broken, its antagonist in the other jaw,
having nothing to oppose or comminute, becomes developed to a monstrous extent.* The
inferior jaw is articulated by a longitudinal condyle, in such a way as to allow of no horizontal
motion, except from back to front, and vice versa, as is requisite for the action of gnawing.
The molars also have flat crowns, the enamelled eminences of which are always transversal, so ■ |
as to be in opposition to the horizontal movement of the jaw, and better to assist in ^
trituration.
The genera in which these eminences are simple lines, and the crown is very flat, are more ^
exclusively frugivorous ; those in which the eminences of the teeth are divided into blunt
tubercles are omnivorous ; while the small number of such as have no points more readily ■
attack other animals, and approximate somewhat to the Carnaria.
The form of the body in the Rodentia is generally such, that the hinder parts of it exceed
those of the front ; so that [with the exception of a large South American group, including
the Guinea-pig and its allies,] they rather leap than run. In some of them, this disproportion
is even as excessive as in the Kangaroos.
The intestines of the Rodentia are very long; their stomach simple, or but little divided
and their coecum often very voluminous, even more so than the stomach. In the subgenus
Myoxus, however, this intestine is wanting. . J ;
Throughout the present group, the brain is almost smooth and without furrows : the orbits ^
are never separated from the temporal fossae t> which have but little depth : the eyes are ;
directed sideways : the zygomatic arches, thin and curved below, announce the feebleness of ■
the jaws ; and the fore-arms have almost lost the power of rotation, their two bones being •
often united : in a word, the inferiority of these animals is perceptible in most of the details
of their organization. Those genera, however, which have stronger clavicles, display a certain
degree of address, and employ their fore-feet together to hold up food to the mouth : some of
them even climb trees with facility. ;
[We have seen that in the true Lemurs the middle superior incisors are separated by a wide i
interval, which in the Colugos {Galeopithecus) is still more extended: in Propithecus of !
Mr. Bennett, on the contrary, the front pair are brought nearly contiguous, having more of |
the Monkey character than in other Strepsirrhini. The lower canines also, which are directed ;
horizontally forward throughout that group, and approximated so as to leave little room for
the intervening incisors, which are accordingly extremely narrow or compressed, are even ;
more approximated in the Propithecus, so that one pair of the incisors is necessarily sacri- i
ficed; and hence the diminution of the interspace between the upper incisors. Now in !
this we may discern a slight approach to the rodent character of Cheiromys, in the loss of one ‘
pair of incisors. In the latter genus, the whole of the incisors disappear, the canines of both ||
[ jaws occupying their site : precisely as in the true Rodentia, wherein also the incisors and not j||
the canines or tusks are almost without exception obliterated, as is beautifully shown in the ||
instance of the Hare, where true incisors exist posterior to the upper gnawing teeth : it will m
be observed that in all Rodentia the currently reputed incisors pass through the inter- ^
maxiliaries ; while the constant limitation of their number to two in each jaw, and the inva-
riable absence of any trace of other teeth in the ordinary position of canines, assist in con- '
firming the opinion here decidedly entertained respecting the nature of what have been desig-
nated incisive teeth in these animals. It may be added that the Marsupiata do not, therefore, as
« We have seen one of these upper teeth thus prolonged, and I t They are so in Cheiromys, ranged by the author in this order. —
gradually curling round, so as to destroy the eye of a Rat, — Ed. | Ed.
RODENTIA.
109
arranged by Cuvier, effect a transition in the rudimental character of their dentition from the
Carnivora to the Rodentia; inasmuch as the canines, and not the incisors, ^disappear in them
(as observable in Hypsiprymnus) : the Wombat {Phascalomys) might indeed be thought to
present a solitary exception to this remark ; but there is reason to believe that the gnawing
teeth of this animal are modified incisors. Perhaps the nearest affinity of the Rodentia is
with the Elephant, among the Pachydermata.']
Some of the Rodentia even ascend trees with facility. Such are
The Squirrels {Sciurus, Lin.), —
Which may be recognized by their very compressed lower incisors, and by their long bushy tail. Their
fore-feet have only four toes, the hinder five : the site of the anterior thumb is however marked by a
tubercle [and it is between these tubercles of the two fore-paws that the Squirrels and allied genera
hold up their food to the mouth]. They have in all four grinders to each jaw, variously tuhercu-
lated, and a very small additional one above in front, which soon falls. Their head is large, the eyes
prominent and hvely. They are light and agile animals, which nestle on trees, and subsist upon their
produce.
The Squirrels, properly so called {Sciurus, Cuv ), —
Have the hairs on the tail directed laterally, so as to resemble a feather. There are numerous species
on both continents.
The Common Squirrel {Sc. vulgaris, L.)— [Bright red in summer, with a dash of grey on the upper parts in
winter, at which latter season the fur is much finer, and the ears are terminated with long hairs ; the belly white.]
One of the most beautiful is the
Sc. maocimus and macrourus, a native of India.— Nearly the size of a Cat ; above, black, the flanks and top of the
head a beautiful bright maroon, the head, and all the under parts of the body, with the inside of the limbs, pale
yellow ; a maroon-coloured band behind the cheek. It inhabits the palms, and is extremely fond of the milk of
the cocoa-nut.
There are several species in warm climates, remarkable for the longitudinal bands which adorn their fur. Such
are the Palmist [which has been known to vary entirely black, or white, &c. Certain African species, inhabiting
rocky situations, the tail of which is not bushy, but thinly covered with stiff appressed hairs, and somewhat tufted at
the extremity, constitute the Petromys of Smith ; and others, also from Africa, which are entirely covered with
coarse rigid fur, the claws of which also are long and straight, adapted for burrowing only, compose the Xerus,
Emp., and Ehr. ; Geosciurus, Smith : many of the latter animals live together, in holes of the ground; subsisting
mainly on roots, for which they scratch up the soil. Sc. capensis, Thunberg, is an example of this form.]
It is probable that we shall have to separate from the Squirrels certain species that have cheek-
pouches, like the Hamsters, and which retreat into subterraneous holes. They are
Such are
The Ground-squirrels
{Tamia, Ilfig.).
The Sc. striatus, Lin., which is found throughout northern Asia and America, particularly in the pine forests.
The tail is less bushy than in the Common Squirrel of Europe, the ears smooth, and fur brown, with five black
stripes and two white ones. [Those from America are specifically different, and indeed constitute two or three
separate species.]
We ought also, most probably, to distinguish
The Guerlinguets \_{Macroxus, Bodd.)],—
Wherein the tail is long, and almost round, and the scrotum pendent and enormous. In both the
Ground-squirrels and Guerlinguets, the teeth are similar to those of the true Squirrels.
Species of them occur on both continents.
The Taguans, Assapans, or Flying Squirrels, {Pteromys, Cuv.) —
Have already been separated. In these the skin of the flank, extending between the fore and hind
legs, imparts the faculty of sustaining themselves for some instants in the air, and of making immense
leaps. Their feet have long osseous appendages, which support a portion of this lateral membrane.
There is a species in Poland, Russia, and Siberia {Sciurus volans, Lin.)— Greyish ash-colour above, white below ;
the tail only half the length of the body : size of a Rat ; and which lives solitarily in the forests. Another in
North America, smaller, with the tail only a fourth shorter than the body {Sc. volucella, Lin.) : it lives in troops in
the prairies of the more temperate districts.
110
MAMMALIA.
In the Indian Archipelago there is one nearly the size of a Cat {Sc. petaurista, Lin.) : but the same Archipelago
produces smaller ones, as the Sc. sagitta, distinguished from the rest, the small ones especially, by its membrane,
which, as in Ft. petaurista, forms an acute projecting angle behind the tarsus.
[M. F. Cuvier has subdivided this group into the Taguans {Pteromys), and Assapans {Sciuropterus), which
latter term he applies to the smaller species, the hairs on the tail of which are arranged distachously : there are
several eastern species, however, which appear to connect the two together.]
The Aye-Aye {CJieiromys, Cuv.), —
The inferior incisors of which are still more compressed, and above all, more extended from front to
back, resembling plough-shares. Their feet have each five toes, of which four of the anterior are
excessively elongated ; the medius being much more slender than the others ; in the hind-feet, the
thumb is opposable to the other digits ; so that in this respect these animals are to the other rodents,
what the Opossums are among the Carnaria.^ The structure of their head is otherwise very different
from that of the other Rodentia, presenting a closer relationship with the Quadrumana [among which
this remarkable genus is now ranged by almost general consent. It is, in fact, in the aggregate of its
conformation, a Lemurine animal : in which group we have already seen that the lower canines are
singularly modified, projecting forwards, and being approximated to each other ; insomuch that the
intervening incisors (except in Galceopithecus) are consequently extremely compressed and narrow,
one pair of them being even sacrificed in the Indris. In the present genus, the wdiole of the incisors
disappear, as in the ordinary Rodentia ; the canines of both jaws occupying their site : but it is very
doubtful whether, as in the true Rodents, these teeth have persistent formative pulps, as there does
not exist another known instance of continuously growing teeth in any animal pertaining to the great!
divisions of Primaria and Carnaria.-^ What little is known of the osteology of CJieiromys is strictly!
Lemurine ; and no rodent possesses the rotation of the bones of the i
fore-arm, and free separate movement of the limbs as prehensile in- ;
struments, which are observed in this genus. Its habitat even is |
Madagascar, the metropolis of the Lemurine group of animals.]
One species only is known, discovered by Sonnerat {Sciurus madagascar-
iensis, Gm.) ; as large as a Hare, of a brown colour, tinged with yellow ; tail
long and thick, with some black bristles ; and large naked ears. It is a
nocturnal animal, the movements of which seem painful to it; lives in
burrows, and employs its long slender digit to convey food to its mouth.
Linnaeus and Pallas have brought together in one single group, m
under the general name of
Rats (Mm, Lin.), —
All the rodents possessed of clavicles which they could not distin-
guish by some obvious external character, such as the tail of the
Squirrels or that of the Beaver ; from which resulted the utter impos-
sibility of assigning to them any common character : the greater \
number had merely pointed lower incisors, but even this character
was subject to exceptions.
Fig 45.-The Aye aye. Gmelin has already separated the Marmots, Dormice, and Jerboas;
but we carry their subdivision much further, from considerations founded on the form of their
grinders.
The Marmots (Aretomys, Gm.) —
Have, it is true, the inferior incisors pointed, as in the greater number of animals comprised in the
great genus of Rats ; but, as in the Squirrels [to which superior group they indubitably appertain],
they have five molars on each side above, and four below, all of them sharply tuberculated ; accord- ]
ingly, some of the species are inclined to eat flesh, and feed upon insects as well as vegetables. They
have four toes, and a tubercle in place of a thumb, to their fore-feet ; and flve toes to their hind feet.
In other respects, these animals are nearly the direct reverse of the Squirrels ; being heavy, with short
limbs, a hairy tail of middle length or short, a large flat head, and they pass the winter in a state of
• The Opossiams were arranged among the Carnaria in the author’3 | f The Wombat presents the only instance amongst the Mar-
first edition.— Ed. I supiata.
RODENTIA.
Ill
lethargy in deep holes, the entrance of which they close with a quantity of grass.* They live in society,
and are easily rendered tame.
Two species are known in the Eastern continent. The Alpine Marmot {Mus. alpinus, Lin.), as large as a Rabbit,
with a short tail, and yellowish-grey fur, more ash-coloured towards the head, which inhabits lofty mountains
immediately below the perpetual snow line : and the Polish Marmot, or Bobac {M. bobac, Lin.), the same size as
the other, and yellowish-grey, with a russet tint about the head ; it inhabits the lesser mountains and hills from
Poland to Kamtschatka, and often burrows in the hardest ground. Russian travellers in Bucharia mention some
others, as Arct. fulvus, leptodactylus, and musogaricus, which are perhaps not sufficiently determined. America
likewise produces several Marmots.
Under the name of
SousLiKS {Spermophihis, F. Cuv.), —
May be distinguished several Marmots which have cheek-pouches. Their superior lightness has
caused them to be designated Ground-squirrels, [and they connect the true Squirrels with the
foregoing]. Eastern Europe produces one, —
M. citillus, Lin. — A pretty little animal, of a greyish-brown, waved or mottled with white, the spots small, which
is found from Bohemia to Siberia. It has a particular fondness for flesh, and does not spare even its own species.
[There is another in Russia, Sp. guttatus. Tern., and more, further eastward, as Sp. xanthoprymnus, a native of
Trebizond ; but North America produces by far the greater number, some of which are beautifully marked with
white lines along the back, between each of which is a series of white spots in the elegant Sp. Hoodii.']
It appears that we should approximate to the Marmots, a rodent remarkable for the habit of living
in great troops, in immense burrows, which have even been styled villages. It is called the Prairie
Dog or Barking Squirrel, on account of its voice, which resembles the bark of a small Dog : the
Arctomys ludovicianus of Say. M. Rafinesque, who [erroneously] ascribes to it five toes to each foot,
has formed of it his genus Cynomys. [It is in every respect a true Marmot.
All the foregoing genera, with the prominent exception of Cheiromys, are simply modifications of a
single peculiar type, and together compose the first principal section of the Sciuridoe or Squirrel family.]
The Dormice {Myoxus, Gm.) — ■
Have the lower incisors pointed, and four grinders, the crown of each of which is divided by closely-
folded lines of enamel.
They are pretty little animals, with soft fur, a hairy and even tufted tail, and lively expression : they
inhabit trees like the Squirrels, and subsist on their produce. In the very numerous order of rodents,
this is the only subgenus which is destitute of a coecum. They become torpid in winter, like the
Marmots, passing that season in a very profound lethargy : and so natural is it for them to fall into
this state, that a species from Senegal {M. Coupeii), which had probably never experienced it in its
native country, became torpid in Europe as soon as it was exposed to cold.
The Fat Dormouse {M. glis, Lin.) — Size of a Rat ; greyish ash-browm above, whitish underneath ; of a deeper
brown around the eyes ; tail very hairy throughout its length, and disposed somewhat like that of a Squirrel, fre-
quently also a little forked at its extremity. It inhabits the south of Europe, and nestles in the holes of trees and
fissures of rocks. It sometimes attacks small birds. This is probably the Rat fattened by the ancients, among
whom it was considered a great delicacy. [It is still eaten by the modern Italians.]
The Garden Dormouse {M. mYe^a).— Somewhat less than the preceding ; greyish-brown above, white beneath ;
black round the eye, which extends spreading to the shoulder ; the tail tufted only at the end, and black, with its
extremity white. This species is common in gardens, where it shelters itself in holes about the walls, and does
much injury to the fruit-trees nailed to them. [It does not occur in Britain.]
The Red Dormouse {M. avellanarius, Lin.)— Size of a Mouse; cinnamon-red above, white beneath; the
hairs of the tail disposed somewhat like a feather. From the forests of all Europe. It constructs its nest of grass
on low branches, in which it rears its young : the rest of its time, and particularly during winter, it remains in
the hollows of trees.
[It has been said that this species cannot pierce a ripe nut-shell, and that its specific name does not correctly
apply ; but in confinement we have frequently seen it penetrate to the kernel of the hardest hazel-nuts.
The Graphyures {Graphyurus, F. Cuv.) —
Scarcely differ from the Dormice externally, but have weaker jaws, and a longer and more slender
intestinal canal : their molars are of small size, and simple structure ; and they have also no coecum to
the intestine.
♦ The Ground-Squirrels {Tamias), and even the member* of the restricted group Schirus, are more or less subject to become torpid in
winter. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
112
Two species have been ascertained, both from South Africa. '
The Dormice and Graphyures compose the second and last division of the Sciurida or Squirrel family].
We approximate to the Dormice, [but with questionable propriety],— !
The Echymyds {Echymys, Geof. ; Loncheres, Illig.), — '
Which also have four grinders, but differently formed ; the superior consisting of two laminae bent like i
a V, the inferior of one bent and one simple lamina. The fur of several species is rough, with inter-
mixed flattened spines or prickles. They inhabit America. One of them.
The Golden-tailed Echyinyd {Hystrix chrysuros, Schreb.), is more than double the size of the Brown Rat ; it is
a handsome animal, of a brown maroon-colour, the belly white, with a crest of elongated hairs and a longitudinal
white band on the head ; the tail long, and black, with its posterior half yellow. From Guiana. Another,
The Red Echymyd {Ech. rufus ; the Spinous Rat of Azzara), of the size of a Rat, reddish-grey, with tail shorter
than the body, is found in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. It excavates long subterraneous burrows. [These
species with hairy tails pertain to the Nelomys of M. Jourdan, who restricts the term Echymys to the following.]
Others have merely the ordinary kind of hair, more or less rough.
The most remarkable is Ech. dactyliacus, Geoff., the Long-toed Echymyd, which is still larger than the Golden-
tailed species, and has the two middle toes of the fore-feet double the length of the lateral ones : its scaly tail is
longer than the body ; fur yellowish grey ; the hairs on the nose forming a crest directed in front.
The Mus paradoxus, Thomas {Lin. Trans, xi., Heteromys, Lesson), apparently differs only from the Echymyds
in possessing cheek-pouches. However, not having seen its teeth, I cannot arrange it.
[The Cercomyds {Cercomys, F. Cuv.) — ®
Are closely related to the preceding, and have also four molars surrounded with enamel, which are
deeply indented internally, and inclose three insulated circlets of enamel near their external border:
their form is still more Rat-hke, but with the profile of the visage arched ; there are no spines in the
fur, and the tail is long and scaly.
One species (C. hraziliensis) is figured by M. F. Cuvier in his great work on Mammalia].
The Hydromyds {Hydromys, Geof.) — I
Are in many respects related to the Echymyds externally ; but they are distinguished from all other
Rats by their hind-feet, two-thirds of which are palmated : their molars, also, two in number above
and below, have a peculiar character in the crown, which is divided into obliquely quadrangular lobes, |
the summits of which are hollowed out like the bowl of a spoon. They are aquatic.
Several have been sent to Europe from Van Diemen’s Land, some with the belly white, others with a fulvous
belly, but all deep brown above, with a long tail which is black at the base, the distal half white. They are some-
times double the size of the Brown Rat. H. hydrogaster and H. leucogaster, Geof. [The former is variable, but
the latter notwithstanding appears to be another species.] I
The Houtias {Capromys, Desm.) —
Have four molars above and below, with flat crowns, the enamel of which is folded inward, so as to |
form three re-entering angles on the external border, and only one on the internal side of those above, “
and the inverse in the lower ones. Their tail is round, and slightly hairy. Like the Rats, they have
five toes to their hind feet, and four with the rudiment of a thumb to the anterior ; their form is that
of Rats as large as a Rabbit or Hare. |
Two [three] species are known [all from the West Indies], which, together with the Agoutis, formerly consti- |
tuted the chief game of the indigenous inhabitants. Isodon pilorides, Say, refers to one of them. [They are
net distantly allied to the Porcupines. It is remarkable that these animals hold up their food (a fusiform root for
instance) with one foot only to the mouth, resting on the other three. They ascend bushes with facility.]
The Rats, properly so called, {Mus, Cuv.), —
Have three molars to each jaw, the anterior of which is the largest [and the posterior smallest], and the
crowns of which are divided into blunt tubercles, which, by attrition, acquire the form of a disc vari-
ously indented ; their tail is long and scaly. These animals are very annoying from their fecundity, i
and the voracity with which they gnaw and devour substances of every kind. There are three species
very common in houses, namely.
The Common Mouse {M. musculus, Lin). — Known in all times and all places.
RODENTIA.
113
Tlie Black Rat (M. rattus, Lin.), which the ancients have not alluded to, and which appears to have entered
Europe during the middle ages. It is more than double the size of the Mouse in all its dimensions. The fur is
blackish [with the ears much larger, and the tail longer, than in the following. There is a brown variety of this
species, which is common in Paris, and appears to have been figured by M. F. Cuvier as the Surmulot.]
The Brown Rat, or Surmulot {M. decumanus, Lin.), which did not pass into Europe till the eighteenth century,
and is now more common in large cities [and elsewhere, except in remote isolated localities,] than the Black Rat
itself ; it is a fourth larger than that species, and is also distinguished by its brown colour. This animal appears to
belong to Persia, where it lives in burrows : it was not till 1727, that, after an earthquake, it arrived at Astracan,
by swimming across the Volga.
I It would seem that the Black Rat, also, originated in the East ; and these two large species, together with the
1 Mouse, have been transported in ships to all parts of the globe.
j [Of the very numerous others, it must suffice to name the huge Bandicoot Rat of India {M. giganteus,
! Hardw.), which is much larger than the Surmulot. Those indigenous to South America have more complicated
folds of enamel to their molars.*] Some have spines mingled with their fur, as
The Cairo Mouse (M. cahirinus, Geoflf.), which has spines on the back in place of hairs, and was noticed by
! Aristotle.
I [Only two strictly indigenous British Mice have hitherto been described : the first, extremely diminutive, is the
Harvest Mouse {M. messorius, Shaw), with short ears, and red fur similar to that of the Common Dormouse : it
j constructs a beautiful round or pear-shaped nest, attached to corn-stems, or placed in low bushes ; and is remark-
. able for its tail being slightly prehensile at the extremity. The second is commonly termed the Long-tailed Field
i Mouse {M. sylvaticus), and might almost form a separate subgeniis ; it rather exceeds the common Mouse
! in size, with proportionately larger ears, and much larger and very brilliant eyes ; a brown mark in the centre
! of the chest : it is a pretty and very active species, more generally diffused than the Harvest Mouse, and never
enters buildings, where the other is often carried with the sheaves.]
Waxm climates produce Rats, similar in every detail to those of which we have just spoken, except
I that their tails are more hairy. Such are
Hypudceus variegatus, Licht., var. flava; Meriones syenensis, Id. To which must be added the Arvicola
messor, Le Conte ; Arv. hortensis. Hark, or Sygmodon, Say, distinguished however by its hairy ears, like
I the Otomys. ^
I Another group, also with a hairy tail, biit the teeth of which wear away faster, comprises the Hypudceus ohesiis,
! Licht., the Mm ruficaudiis, Id., and also the Meriones sericeus of the same naturalist, characterized by the
! projecting ridges of the molars, which alternately catch in each other.
We have then to group the Neotoma floridanum of Say, or the Arvicola floridana of Harlan, and the Arvicola
\ gossypina, Le Conte, two species which, size excepted, are very similar even in their colours, and the molars of
which, provided with roots [after a while], when worn a little, have crowns similar to those of the Arvicolce. [The
: tail in one of them is covered with hair of tolerable length. Both inhabit North America.
Reithrodon, Waterh., requires also to be introduced here, distinguished by its grooved upper incisors, its arched
and Rabbit-like head, great eyes, and large and round ears. Three or four species are known, from South
I America, where they were discovered by Mr. Darwin.
j The Pseudomys of Gray is another Rat-like animal, remarkable for inhabiting New Holland : the anterior molar
of its lower jaw is however more compressed and elongated, and there is a claw on its rudimentary thumb. The
l| species, Ps. australis, inhabits holes in swampy places, at Liverpool plains.
It is necessary also to introduce here the Hapalotis albipes, Licht.; Conilurus constrictus, Ogilby; another
ij rodent from New Holland, the size of a Rat, with delicate ample ears, and a long, hairy, and somewhat tufted tail,
l! It is remarkable for constructing an above-ground habitation, so firmly interlaced with thorny twigs externally,
!' as to repel the Dingo or semi-wild Dog of that country.]
■j
j The Gerbils {Gerbillus, Desm. ; Meriones, Illig.)—
I Have molars scarcely differing from those of the Rats, merely becoming sooner worn, so as to form
I transverse ridges. Their upper incisors are furrowed with a groove ; their hind feet are somewhat
II longer in proportion than those of Rats in general, with the thumb and little toe but slightly sepa-
I rated: their tail is [very] long and hairy, [and generally tufted].
ij The sandy and warm parts of the eastern continent produce several species, [mostly of a light buff colour, white
I underneath].
j; The Merions {Meriones, F. Cuv.), — ■
i Which we separate from the Gerbils, have the hind feet still longer, the tail nearly naked, and a very
small tooth before the superior molars; characters wdiich approximate them to the Jerboas: their
superior incisors are grooved, as in the Gerbils, and their toes also are similar,
j There is a small species in North America, 3Ius canadensis. Pen. ; Dipus canadensis, Shaw ; D. americanus,
* Certain of these, the upper lip of which is scarcely fissured, com- | South Africa, which constitute the Herarfromys of Smith ; tliey scarcely
' pose the HofocAt'/us, Brandt. There are also some arboreal Mice in I differ in structure from the British Harvest Mouse. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
114
Barton. Its agility is extreme, and it closes itself up within its burrow, and passes the winter in a state of lethargy.
The Gerbillus labradorius, Harl., or Mus labrad,, Sabine, constitutes another.
The Hamsters {Cricetus, Cuv.) —
Have teeth nearly similar to those of the Rats, but their tail is short and hairy, and the two sides
of their mouth are hollowed (as in certain Monkeys) into sacs or cheek-pouches, in which they trans-
port the grain they collect to their subterraneous abodes.
The Common Hamster ( Mus cricetus, Lin.). — Larger than the Rat, of a reddish-gray above, black on the flanks
and underneath, with three white spots on each side ; its four feet are white, and there is also a white spot under
the throat, and another under the breast ; some individuals are all black. This animal, so agreeably variegated in
colour, is one of the most hurtful in existence, on account of the quantity of grain which it hoards up, filling its
hole, which is sometimes seven feet in depth. It is common in all the sandy districts, that extend from the north
of Germany to Siberia. The latter country produces several smaller species.
The Voles {Arvicola, Lacep.) —
Have three grinders above and below, like the Rats, but without roots, and which are each formed of
triangular prisms, placed alternately in two lines. [Their incisors (or tusks), unlike those of the pre-
ceding genera, are rounded, having an oval section.] They require to be subdivided into several
groups, viz. : —
The Muskhuash {Fiber, Cuv.; \Ondatra, Laceped.]), —
Which is a Vole with semi-palmated hind-feet, a long, scaly, and compressed tail, of which one species
only is well known, — i I
The Ondatra, or Mtish Rat of CdinSidia. {Castor zibeticus, Lin.; Mus Gm.)— As large as a
Rabbit, and reddish grey [the fur resembling that of the Beaver]. In winter they construct, on the ice, a hut of earth, ,
in which several reside together, passing through a hole in the bottom, for the roots of the Acorns on which they ;|, l|
feed. When the ice closes their holes, they are necessitated to devour one another. This habit of building has
induced some authors to refer the Muskquash to the genus Castor. " "
The second subdivision is that of
The Ordinary Voles {Arvicola, Cuv. ; Hypudmis, Illig.), —
The tail of which is hairy, and about the length of the body [or shorter], without webs to the toes.
Tlie Water Vole {Mus amphibius, Lin.)— A little larger than the Black Rat, and deep greyish-brown ; the tail as n
long as the body. Inhabits the banks of ditches, and burrows in marshy plains in search of roots ; but it swims |
and dives badly. [This species has been known to occasion much damage, by burrowing into the raised banks of
canals : in other respects it is quite harmless, except that it lays up a store of potatoes, &c., in its winter retreat,^|||
which is placed far from the water. Its ordinary food is green aquatic herbage. A black variety is not of||jj
uncommon occurrence, in many parts of Britain.]
The Alsacian Vole {Mus terrestris, Lin.)— Rather smaller than the last, with a shorter tail. It lives under ,
ground like the Mole, preferring elevated fields, where it excavates galleries, and removes the earth to some dis- " S
tance from the opening. Its magazines, which are principally filled with the roots of the wild carrot cut into two- . j||
inch pieces, are frequently two feet in diameter. [It is not found in Britain.]
Meadow Vole {Mus arvalis, Lin.).— Size of a Mouse, reddish ash-colour, the tail a little shorter than the body. It
inhabits buiTows in the fields, in which it hoards up grain for the winter. By multiplying excessively, it sometimes^f
occasions great damage. [There are several nearly allied small European species, two of which inhabit Britain
that known as A. arvalis in this country has the tail vei'y short, and the ears inconspicuous ; A. pratensis
ripicola is redder, with a longer tail, and more apparent ears ; it is less common than the other. Many more exist |
in Asia and North America, of which it will be sufficient to notice] 4*5
The Economic Vole {Miis ccconomicus, Pallas.) — A little darker coloured than the foregoing, with the tail stili«^^|
shorter. It inhabits a sort of oven-shaped chamber, placed under the turf, from which issue several narrow and sj^
ramifying canals running in various directions; other canals communicate with a second cavity, wherein it
amasses its provisions. From all Siberia. It is thought to have been also found in Switzerland and the south of
France, particularly in the potato fields.
The Lemmings {Georychus, 111.; \Lemmus, Link] ), —
Have exceedingly short ears and tail, and fore-feet better adapted for digging. [In other respects, i
they only differ from the Voles in being rather more heavily formed.]
The two first species have five very distinct nails to their fore-feet, as in the Mole-rats and Helamyds. ,|
The Scandinavian Lemming {3Ius lemmus, Lin.) — A northern species, the size of a Rat, with fur variegated black
and yellow : it is very celebrated for its occasional migrations in immense bodies. At these periods they are said
to march in a straight line, regardless of rivers or mountains ; and while no insurmountable obstacle impedes their '
RODENTIA.
115
progress, they devastate the country through which they pass. Their ordinary residence appears to be the shores
of the Arctic Ocean.
The Siberian Lemming, or Zocor {Mus aspalax, Gm.)— Reddish-grey ; the three middle nails of the fore-feet
long, arcuated, compressed and trenchant, for cutting earth and roots. The limbs are short ; there is scarcely
any tail ; and the eyes are exceedingly small. From Siberia, where it lives under-ground, like the Moles and
Mole-rats, and subsists chiefly on the bulbs of different LiUacece.
The third species, like the other animals comprehended under the great genus of Rats, has only the rudiment
of a thumb to its fore-feet. It is the Hudson’s Bay Lemming (Mus Hudsonicus, Gm.) ; of a pearl-grey colour,
without any tail or external ears: the two middle toes of the fore-feet of the male seem to have double
claws, the skin at the end of the toe being callous, and projecting from under the nail ; a variety of con-
formation unknown except in this animal.* It is as large as a Rat, and lives under ground in North
America.
The Otomyds {Otomys, F. Cuv. ; [_Euryotis, Brandt] ) —
Are nearly allied to the Voles, and have also three grinders, but composed of slightly arcuated laminae,
which are arranged successively in file, so as to present an exact miniature resemblance to the grinders
of the Elephant. Their incisors are grooved longitudinally, and the tail and ears are hairy, the latter
being also large.
Tlie only known species, the Cape Otomyd (0. capensis, F. Cuv.), inhabits Africa, and is of the size of a Rat,
with fur annulated black and fulvous. Tail a third shorter than the body.
The Jerboas {Bipus, Gm.) —
Have nearly the same teeth as the Eats properly so called, differing only in the occasional presence of
a very small tooth, placed before the superior molars. Their tail is long and tufted at the end, the
head large, and eyes large and prominent ; but their principal character consists in the immoderate
length of the hinder limbs, as compared with the anterior, and above all, in the metatarsus of the three
middle toes, which is formed of a single hone, as in what is termed the tarsus of birds. This dispro-
portion of the limbs caused them to be designated two-footed Rats by the ancients : and in fact their
ordinary gait is by great leaps on the hind-feet. Their fore-feet have each five toes ; and in certain
species, besides the three great ones to the hind-feet, there are [one or two] small lateral toes. These
rodents hve in burrows, and become profoundly torpid in winter.
[There are numerous species, inhabiting Asia and Africa. Those with five toes have been brought together by
some under the name Alectaga.']
The Helamyds {Helamys, F. Cuv. ; Pedetes, 111.), —
Which are commonly termed Jumping Hares, have, like the Jerboas, the head large, as are also the eyes, a
long tail, and very short fore-legs in comparison with the hinder ; the disproportion, however, being much
less than in the true Jerboas. Their peculiar characters consist in having four grinders, each com-
posed of two laminae ; five toes to the fore-feet, armed with long and pointed nails, and four only to
the hind-feet, all separate, even to the bones of the metatarsus, and terminated by large claws almost
resembling hoofs. The number of theii’ toes is accordingly inverse to that of the ordinary Rats. Their
inferior incisors are truncated, and not pointed as in the Jerboas, and as in the majority of other
animals which have been comprised in the great genus of Rats.
One species only is known, as large as a Rabbit,
and pale fulvous, with a long tufted tail black at the
tip {Mus caffer, Pallas ; Bipus coffer, Gm.) — It inha-
bits deep burrows near the Cape of Good Hope.
[The affinities of this curious animal are by no
means obvious.]
The Mole-rats {Spdlax, Guldenstedt) —
Have also been very properly separated from
the genus of Rats, although their grinders are
three in number, and tuberculated as in the
Rats properly so called, and also the Hamsters,
and are merely a little less unequal ; their in-
cisors being too large to be covered by the
* The Plovers, and several other birds belonging to the same group, present a somewhat analogous conformation. — Ed.
I 2
Fig. 46.— Mole-rat.
lips, and the extremities of those of the low^er jaw
MAMMALIA.
116
trenchant, rectilinear, and not pointed : their limbs are very short ; all their feet have five short toes,
with flat and slender nails ; their tail is short or wanting, and there is no external ear. They live
under ground like the Moles, throw up the earth in the same manner, although provided with very
inferior instruments for the purpose, and subsist entirely on roots.
The Blind Mole-rat, Zemny, or Stepitz {Mus typhlus, Pallas.) — A singular animal, which, from its large head,
angular at the sides, its short legs, the total absence of a tail or of any apparent eye, has a most shapeless appear-
ance. The eye is not visible externally, and we merely find beneath the skin a small black globule, which appears
to be organized like an eye, but which cannot serve for the purpose of vision, since the skin passes over it without
opening, or even becoming thinner, and being as much covered with hair as on any other part. It exceeds our Rat i
in size, and has smooth ash-coloured fur, verging on red. Olivier supposed that this animal was alluded to by the j
ancients, when they spoke of the Mole as being totally blind. |
The islands in the Straits of Sunda produce a Mole-rat as large as a Rabbit, of a deep grey colour, with a white |
longitudinal stripe upon the head {Spalax javanicus, Auct.) |
[The Canets (^/^^2romys, Gray ; Nyctocleptes,Tem.) —
Have been approximated to the Mole -rats ; but have small open eyes, and conspicuous naked ears :
their head is large, the body round and massive ; limbs short, with five toes to each foot, and thick
and naked tail of mean length. There are three rooted molars on each side of both jaws, more com- {>
plicated than in Spalax.
Two species are described, Mus sumatrensis, Raffles, which feeds chiefly on the roots of the bamboo, and |
i?. sinicus, Gray.] . :
From the Mole-rats themselves should have been separated — : j
/ fl
The Bathyergues {Bathyergus'^ , 111. ; Orycteropus, F. Cuv.), — .
Which, vrith the general form, the feet, and truncated incisors of the preceding, combine four molars iC';
to each jaw : their eyes, though small, are distinctly perceptible ; and they have a short tail.
The Shoi’e Bathyergue {Mus maritimus, Gm.). — Nearly the size of a Rabbit, with grooved upper incisors, and* A
whitish-grey fur. Also the Cape Bathyergue {M. capensis, Gm.), scarcely as large as a Guinea-pig, brown, with Ij
a spot around the eye, another round the ear, and a third on the vertex, together with the end of the muzzle,
white. The incisors of this species are smooth. There is a third, also, with smooth incisors like the last, grey, *
and hardly equal in size to a Rat {B. hottentotus).
We should place near the Mole-rat and Bathyergues
The Pseudostomes {Geomys, Bafinesque ; Pseudostoma, Say; Ascomys, Licht.; \SaccopTiorus, Kuhl]),
Which have likewise four molars above and below, prismatically compressed : the first double, the]
three others simple ; and the upper incisors of which are furrowed with a double groove in front.
Their three anterior middle nails, the medial more especially, are very long, crooked, and trenchant.
They are low on the legs, and have very deep cheek-pouches, which open externally, enlarging the
sides of the head and neck in a singular manner. ^
1
Only one species is known {Mus hursarius, Shaw), of the size of a Rat, with reddish-grey fur ; the tail naked,''
and shorter by half than the body. It inhabits deep burrows, in the interior of North America. The figure of •
this animal in the Linncsan Transactions resembles nothing in nature, having the cheek-pouches turned f
inside out.
The Gauffres {Biplostoma, Rafin.) —
Scarcely differ from the preceding, except in the total absence of a tail.
They are from North America. The species before us is reddish, and ten inches in length. [Eight or ten]
species pertaining to this and the preceding subdivision are now known, one or more inhabiting Europe.
The Saccomyds {Saccomys, F. Cuv.) —
Have similar cheek-pouches, and four rooted molars on each side of both jaw*s, successively lessening.!;
They have five toes on each foot, the anterior thumbs very small ; tail long and naked.
The only species described {S. xanthopMlus) inhabits North America, and is of the size and has much the aspect! jj
of a Mouse. Its cheek-pouches were distended with the flowers of Securidaca voluMlis, with some entire seeds;
apparently of Convolvulace<e.
* This name is now confined to certain species which liave only three molars.
-Ei>.
Orycteropus, however, is also applied to a genus of EdentataA
RODENTIA.
117
We now pass to larger rodents than those of which we have hitherto spoken, but of which
several have still well-developed clavicles.
Of this number are
The Beavers {Castor, Lin.), — ■
Wliieh are distinguished from all other rodents by their horizontally-flattened tail, of a nearly oval
form, and covered with scales. They have five toes on each foot, the hinder being webbed, and a
double and oblique nail on the digit next the thumb. Their grinders, four in number above and
below, with flat crowns, appear as if formed of a doubled bony fillet, exhibiting one deep indentation
on their internal border, and three on the outer edge above, and the reverse below.
They are rather large animals, and are aquatic in their mode of life ; their feet and tail assisting
them in swimming. As they subsist chiefly on bark and other hard substances, their incisive teeth
are very robust, and grow as rapidly from the root as they wear at the tip. By means of them they
are enabled to cut down trees of various kinds.
Large glandular pouches, which terminate on the prepuce, secrete a pommade of very pungent
odour, which is employed in medicine under the name of Castoreum. In both sexes, the organs of
generation terminate within the extremity of the rectum, so that they have only one external orifice.
The Beaver of Canada {C. fiber, Auct.). — Surpasses the Badger in size, and is, of all quadrupeds, the most indus-
trious in fabricating its dwelling ; to erect which many work in concert, in the most retired districts of North
America.
Beavers choose water of such a depth as is not likely to be frozen to the bottom, and, whenever possible, run-
ning streams, that the wood which they cut above, may be carried downwards by the current to where they
require it. They maintain the water at an equal height, by dams constructed of branches of trees, mixed with
clay and stones, and repair them year after year, till a hedge is at length formed by the germination of part of the
materials. Each hut serves for two or three families, and is divided into two apartments ; the upper dry, for the
habitation of the animals ; the low'er under water, for the provision of bark. The latter only is open, having its
entrance under water, without any communication with the land. The huts are formed of interlaced twigs and
branches,.having their interstices closed up with mud. There are always several burrows along the bank, in which
these animals seek for refuge when their huts are attacked. They only inhabit them during the winter ; dis-
persing in summer, at which season they live solitarily.
The Beaver is easily tamed, and accustomed to feed on animal substances. Those of Canada are of a uniform
reddish brown ; and their fur, as every one knows, is in much request for hatting. It is sometimes flaxen-
coloured; at others black, or white. We have been unable to ascertain, on the most scrupulous comparison,
whether the Beavers which inhabit burrows along the Rhone, the Danube, the Weser, and other rivers of Europe,
are specifically different from those of America ; and whether the vicinity of man prevents those of the eastern
continent from building.
The Coypu {Myopotamus, Commerson) —
Resembles the Beaver in size, in having four molars almost similarly compressed, in the robustness of
its yellow-eoloured incisors, and in having five toes to each foot, those of the hinder palmated ; but its
tail is long and rounded, [and its skull dissimilar].
We only know one (Mus coypus, Molina), which lives in burrows beside the rivers of South America. Its
yellowish-grey fur, mixed with down at the root, is employed by hatters like that of the Beaver, and is conse-
quently an important article of commerce. Thousands of their skins are sent to Europe. [This species, like the
Beaver, is easily tamed, and appears to withstand the climate of this country.]
The Porcupines {Hystrix, Lin.) —
Are recognized at the first glance by the stiff and pointed quills with which they are armed, somewhat
as in the Urchins or Hedgehogs, among the Carnaria. Their grinders are four in number above and
below, with flat crowns differently modified by lines of enamel, between which are depressed intervals.
Their tongue is roughened by spiny scales. The clavicles are too small to rest on the sternum and
scapular, being merely suspended by the ligaments. They live in burrows, and have very much the
habits of Rabbits. From their grunting voice, and thick truncated muzzle, they have been compared
to Pigs, whence them French name of Porc-epm or Porcupine.
The Porcupines, properly so called {Hystrix, Cuv.), —
Have the head more or less convex, on account of the developement of the nasal bones. They have
four toes before and five behind, furnished with stout claws.
That of Europe (//. cristata, Lin.) inhabits the South of Italy, Sicily, and Spain. Its quills are very long, and
118
MAMMALIA.
annulated black and white ; there is a crest of long bristles on its head and neck. Its tail is short, and furnished
with hollow truncated tubes suspended by slender pedicles, which make a rattling sound when the animal shakes
them. Its cranium and muzzle are singularly convex. There are other species not very different, but with the
head less convex, inhabiting India and Africa. [These constitute the Acanthion of M. F. Cuvier : the H. hirsuti-
rostris, Brandt, is however intermediate.]
We separate from the true Porcupines
The Atherures {Atherura, Cuv.), —
The head and muzzle of which are not inflated, and the tail long, but not prehensile ; their feet are
similar to those of the preceding.
The Pencil-tailed Atherure {Hyst. fasciculata, Lin.)— The quills on the body furrowed with a groove in front,
and the tail terminated by a bundle of flattened horny slips, constricted at intervals. [Inhabits India and Malacca.]
The Ursons {EretMzon, F. Cuv.), —
Have a flat cranium, and short muzzle which is not convex : their tail is of middle length, and the
spines short and half-hidden in the hair.
One species only is known, from [the Atlantic side of] North America {Hyst. dorsata, Lin.). [The E. epixan- ,
Brandt, from the western side of the same continent, appears to be another. These animals produce but » 's
one young at a birth.]
The Coendous {Synetheres, F. Cuv. \_CercolabeSj Brandt] ). |
Muzzle short and thick ; the head convex above ; quills short ; and the tail, in particular, long, i;
naked at the tip, and prehensile, as in a Sapajou or Opossum. They chmb trees, and have only four |
toes on each foot.
In the warm parts of North America, there is a species with black and white spines, and brown-black fur j
{Hyst. prehensilis, Lin.) ; and a smaller kind in South America {H. insidiosa, Licht.), the prickles of which are]
partly red or yellow, and hidden during part of the year by its long greyish-brown fur. [M. d’Orbigny is of]
opinion that these constitute but one species. In Brandt’s memoir on the Porcupines, however, they are referred!
to different subgenera, after M. F. Cuvier ; the first, with the addition of another {S. platycentrotus), to SynetJieres\
as restricted, the other, with two more species {S. nigricans and S. affinis), to a subdivision Sphiggurus. |
The Aulacodon {Aulacodus, Tern.)
Incisors very broad, the upper furrowed with two grooves, and a third at their inner margin : fourlfll
molars as in the preceding, those of the upper jaw with a single deep fold of enamel within, and two\|;;
without, excepting the anterior, which has three ; in the lower jaw, the outer margin has only one!]'
fold, and the inner two. There are five toes before and four behind, and some flattened spines®*^
mingled with the fur. The form is that of a Rat, with the molars of a Porcupine.
A. swinderianus, Tern., is the only known species, from the Eastern Archipelago].
The Hares {Lepus, Lin.) —
Have a very distinctive character, in their superior incisors being double ; that is to say, there is|' ^
another of small size behind each of them* [or, in other words, two genuine incisive teeth are present
in these animals, posterior to the ordinary representatives of the tusks or canines]. Their molars, five
in number above and below, are each of them formed of two vertical laminae soldered together, and in
the upper jaw there is a sixth, simple and very small. They have five toes before, and four behind
an enormous ccecum, five or six times the size of the stomach, and lined internally with a spiral layer
throughout its whole length. The interior of their mouth and the under part of their feet are covered
with hair like the rest of the body.
The Hares, properly so called {Lepus, Cuv.),
Are distinguished by their long ears, short tail, hind-feet much longer than the fore, imperfect clavi-*
cles, and antorbital space in the cranium widely pierced and reticulated. There are numerous species
in both hemispheres, which from their resemblance are difficult to characterize.
[Four occur in the British islands. The Common Hare {L. timidus, Lin.), with yellowish-brown fur, which has
a tendency to curl ; the Irish Hare {L. hibernicus), with shorter limbs and ears, and smooth reddish fur, of very
* There is even a period when they are shedding their teeth, during which they appear to have three pair of upper incisors, one behind
the other.
"'iTTiMTTiil't'if
RODENTIA.
119
inferior value to that of the preceding', and which occasionally turns white in winter * ; the Variable Hare {L. varia-
bilis), a mountain species, larger than either of the foregoing, with still shorter ears and limbs than the Irish Hare,
and brown fur in summer, which always changes to white at the approach of winter ; and the Rabbit (L. cuniculus),
remarkable for its burrowing habits, and for bringing forth its young blind and naked, while the Leverets of the
three others see and run from birth. Not less than sixteen species of Lepus are already known in North
America ; and many others exist in Asia and Africa.]
The Pikas {Lagomys, Cuv.) —
Have ears of moderate length, the limbs nearly equal, the antorbital foramen simple, almost perfect
clavicles, and no tail whatever. They often utter a very sharp cry. They have hitherto been found
only in Siberia [since, however, at a considerable altitude on the Himmalayas, and in North America],
and Pallas was the first to make them known.
[The largest of them] Lepus alpinus, Pallas, is the size of a Guinea-pig, and yellowish-red. It inhabits the most
elevated mountain summits, where it passes the summer in selecting and drying the herbage for its winter pro-
vision. Its hay-stacks, which are sometimes six or seven feet high, are a valuable resource for the Horses of the
Sable-hunters.
Some fossil remains have been discovered of an unknown species of Pika, in the accumulations of osseous
breccia in the island of Corsica.
After the two genera of Porcupines and Hares, come the rodents which Linnaeus and Pallas
brought together under the name of CaviUy but for which it is impossible to assign any other
constant and positive character than the imperfection of their clavicles, though the various
species are not without analogy in the aspect of their body and manners. They are all from
the New Continent.
The Capybara {Hydrochcerus, Erxleben) —
Has four toes before, and only three behind, all of them armed with stout claws, and connected
together by membranes ; four grinding teeth above and below, the last of which [especially in the
lower jaw] are the longest, all composed of numerous simple and parallel laminse ; the anterior of
these laminae forked towards the outer edge in the upper, and towards the inner one in the lower
teeth. Only one species is known.
The Capybara {Cavia capybara, Lin.), as large
as a Siamese Pig, with very thick muzzle, short
legs, coarse yellowish-brown hair, and no tail.
Inhabits the rivers of Guiana and the Amazons,
where it lives in troops : is a good swimmer, and
the largest [existing] species of the Rodentia.
The Beaver alone approaches it in size.
The Cavies, popularly termed Guinea-pigs,
{Anoema, F. Cuv. ; Cavia, Illig.), —
Are miniatures of the Capybara, except that
their toes are separated, and their molars
have each only a simple lamina, together
with a forked one externally in those above.
Fig. 4/.— The Capybara. ^nd on the inside in the lower.
The species best known is the common domestic Cavy, or Guinea-pig {Cavia cobaia, Pallas ; Mus porcellus,
Lin.), extremely common now in Europe, where it is bred in houses, under the [mistaken] supposition that its
odour drives away Rats. It varies in colour like other domestic animals. [Six or seven species are now known,
one of which, the Patagonian Cavy (C. patachonica, Pen.), is much larger than the rest, with remarkably long
limbs : the author suspected it to be an Agouti. Some separate it by the appellation Dolichotis.']
The Mocos {Kerodon, F. Cuv.) —
Have grinders rather more simple than those of the Cavies, each being formed of two triangular
prisms.
The only known species is also from Brazil, somewhat surpassing the Guinea-pig in size, and of an olive-grey
colour.
* The Irish Hare has only recently been distinguished, and has j Common Hare was unknown. Great numbers of the latter, however,
hitherto been met with only in that island, where, until lately, the | have been turned loose there during the last twelvemonth.
120
MAMMALIA.
The Agoutis {Chloromys, F. Cuv. ; Dasyprocta, 111.) —
Have four toes before and three behind, and four grinders above and below, of nearly equal size, with
flat crowns irregularly furrowed, and a rounded contour, notched on the inner edge of those above,
and the outer of those below. In disposition and the nature of their flesh, they resemble Hares and
Rabbits, which they in some degree represent in the Antilles and hot parts of America.
[Several species have been ascertained, one with only two toes to the hind-feet. They employ their fore-feet
to hold up food to the mouth.]
The Pacas {CcBlogenys, F. Cuv. ; Osteopera^ Harl.) —
With teeth pretty much resembling those of the Agoutis [and Porcupines] , combine a very small
additional toe on the inner side of the fore-foot, and two, equally small, on the sides of the hind-foot,
which have consequently five in all. Besides this [and in addition to ordinary cheek-pouches], there
is a cavity hollowed in each cheek, which dips under the projection of a very large and salient zygo-
matic arch, which imparts an extraordinary aspect to the skull. Their flesh is understood to be
fine eating.
There is one species or variety of a fulvous coloui*, and another brown, both of which are spotted with white
{Cavia paca, Lin.).
Finally, there remains an animal perhaps allied to Cavia, perhaps more approximating to Lagomys,
or to the Rats, which we are unable to arrange for want of knowing its dentition, — the Chinchilla of
the furriers, the skins of which are imported in immense numbers, but the body we have
never been able to obtain. * * *
The Viscacha, described by Azzara, and such as we have seen it figured, can hardly be other than
a large species of Chinchilla, with shorter and coarser fur.
[The progress of discovery has realized this expectation of the author, and we are now acquainted
with three subdivisions of these animals, aU of which have four rootless molars above and below, com-
posed of alternating transverse layers of enamel and ivory : the form of the cranium and lower jaw
indicates considerable affinity with the Cavies ; but the clavicles are developed, and the aspect altogether
more Rabbit-like, or rather approximating that of the Pikas ; the eyes are placed far backward, the
whiskers remarkably long and conspicuous, and the tail is always held recurved. These animals live
socially in extensive burrows. The first subdivision is that of
The Viscacha {Lagostomus, Brookes), —
In which the fore-feet are furnished with four toes, the hinder with three only, as in the Cavies, all of
them armed with stout claws adapted for digging. The ears are of moderate size, and the tail com-
paratively short. Their three anterior molars of the upper jaw consist each of two double layers, and
the last of three ; the lower of two each throughout.
The only known species (L. trichodactylus, Brookes,) is about the size of a Hare, and inhabits Chili and Brazil :
, its general colour is greyish, the fur of two sorts, one entirely white, and the other, which is coarser, black,
except at the base ; the under parts white. Its motions are quick, and resemble those of a Rabbit ; and it seeks
its food by night, subsisting wholly on vegetables : inhabits the level country, and is not esteemed as food. This '|
animal is figured in Griffith’s edition of the present work under the name of Diana Marmot.
The others are mountain animals, which frequent rocky places near the snow-line.
The Chinchas {Lagotis, Ben. ; Legidium, Meyer) —
Scarcely differ from the Viscacha except in having four toes to each foot, and a long bristly tail, as in
the Chinchilla.
Two species are known; the first with long Rabbit-like ears, and greyish fur, from the Peruvian Andes
(L. Cuvieri, Ben. ; Legid. peruvianum, Mey.) ; the other from the Chilian Andes, with shorter ears, and fur inclining
to reddish-brown {L. pallipes, Ben.).
Lastly,
The Chinchilla {Chinchilla, Ben.; Eriomys, Vander Hoeven; Callomys, Gray), —
Has a fourth very small internal toe on the hind-foot: ears ample; the internal auditory bullae |
remarkably capacious, appearing on the upper part of the skull. Each of the upper molars has
three alternate layers of enamel and ivory, the inferior only two.
RODENTIA.
121
One species only is well detei'mined, the Chin-
chilla of the furriers {Ch. lanigcra, Ben.)? cele-
brated for the delicate fineness of its fur. It
inhabits the Chilian and Peruvian Andes.
Somewhat allied to the foregoing, is an-
other small group of South American rodents,
with also four rootless molars of equal size
above and below, except in one instance
{Abrocoma), where the inferior resemble those
of an Arvicola; they are surrounded with
enamel, and doubled, or indented deeply, on
both sides. The antorbital foramen is very
large. There are five toes to each foot, ex-
cept in Abrocoma, which has only four anteriorly; and the general aspect is intermediate to that of the
Chinchillas and Rats or Voles : the head, however, is arched. Four subdivisions have been distin-
I guished. In
The Abrocomes {Abrocoma, Waterh.), — ■
!' The ears are large, the claws very small, and the tail rather long and not tufted. The excessive
j fineness of their fur probably exceeds that of any other animal.
Two species were taken near Valparaiso by Mr. Darwin, A. Cuvieri and A. Bennettii, Waterh.
I The Octodons {Octodon, Bennett; Dendrobius, Meyer), —
li Have also large ears, and a long and tufted tail : their inferior molars resemble those of the following.
The only known species (O. Cummingii, Ben.), is the Sciurus degus of Molina, D. degus, Meyer. It inhabits
Chili, and is often seen traversing the branches of low underwood.
I The Pcephagomes {PoepTiagomys, F. Cuv.), —
;! Have narrow incisors, the auditory conch small, but distinct : claws adapted for burrowing.
The only ascertained species (P. ater) inhabits Chili.
Finally,
The Ctenomyds {Ctenomys, Ben.)—
Are distinguished by the great breadth of their incisors, by the smallness of their ears, their rather
short tail, and stout claws, well qualified for burrowing.
There is a species in Brazil {Ct. braziliensis, Blainv.), and another near the Straits of Magellan (Ct. Magellani-
cus, Ben.)
A remarkable African rodent, which is in several respects allied to the last, is known as
The Ctenodactyle {Ctenodactylus, Gray), —
I The incisors of which are rounded ; there are but three molars, however, on each side of both jaws,
suiTounded with enamel, the upper with one deep indentation externally, the lower indented on both
sides. The feet have each four toes, with the rudiment of a thumb on the anterior ; and the hinder
' especially are furnished with stiff brush-like bristles, which curve over the toes (a structure which is
I also seen in the last preceding subdivisions). The general aspect resembles that of the Chinchilla
group, to which the structure of the lower jaw bears also some resemblance ; and there are similar
ij great whiskers on the upper lip.
|i But one species is known (C. Massonii, Gray), from North Africa; size of a Rat, with a short tail, and pale
;i yellowish-brown fur, of very fine texture.
I The foregoing arrangement of the extensive series of Rodentia is by no means reduced to
j that simplicity which we conceive will ultimately be attained. Mr. Waterhouse, who has
[ recently studied these animals very attentively, has succeeded in detecting several unexpected
I affinities which tend to this result : and he finds that the most useful or least variable charac-
ters, indicative of the mutual relations of the several genera, are derivable from the configura-
' tion of the cranium, and especially that of the lower jaw. The space allotted in this work
forbids our entering into details ; so that it must suffice to state that, in general, the members
i-
MAMMALIA.
122
of the first grand division are distinguished by having the inferior projecting angle of the
longer jaw suhquadrate, and not tapering to an acute point. In this group, or series, range
first the Sciuridce, or Squirrels and Marmots, followed by the Dormice, and next by the
Jerboas, which latter require to be interpolated between the Sciuridce, and the Muridce or '
Rats ; the Jerboas evincing several peculiar points of relationship with the Dormice ; the
Arvicolid(B, or Muskquash, Voles, and Lemmings, together with the GuafFres (Geomys),
follow the MuridcB, and then succeed two isolated genera, — Castor and Helamys, which seem
to constitute particular families : all these successive groups being readily distinguishable by
the structure of the cranium and inferior jaw, combined with other characters. The members
of the next great group have the inferior angle of the lower jaw acute, and usually four equal
molars on each side above and below, having their folds of enamel gradually more complex.
Abrocoma, Octodon, Poephagomys, Ctenomys, Capromys, Echymys, Myopotamus, Aulacodon,
then Hystrix and its allies, and near to the last Ccelogenys and Dasyprocta, form a very intel-
ligible series, after which the bony palate contracts anteriorly, and we arrive at the Cavidce,
or Capybara, Moco, and Cavies, succeeded by the ChinchiUidcB, and lastly by the Hares and |M
Pikas, near which it may be that the Ctenodactyle holds its station. In the terminal genera, ^ -■
or the Leporidas, the angle of the jaw suddenly ascends. It is probable that multitudes of |
existing rodents still remain to be discovered, a knowledge of some of which may assist in |r|
improving the general arrangement. But few have hitherto been met with in the ancient » ?
tertiary deposits, and those of genera still extant, as that of the Dormice in particular.] | ■■
THE SIXTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS,— |
i
EDENTATA,— |
Or quadrupeds without teeth in the fore-part of their jaws, constitute our last principal divi- |
sion of unguiculated animals. Although brought together by a purely negative character,
they have, nevertheless, some positive mutual relations, particularly in the great claws which ;
encompass the ends of their toes, and which more or less approximate to the nature of hoofs ;
also by a certain slowness, or want of agility, obviously arising from the peculiar organization
of their limbs. There are certain tolerably well-marked intervals, however, in these relations,
which subdivide the order into three tribes.
The Tardigrada
Compose the first of these divisions. They have a short face. The name refers to their
excessive slowness, consequent upon a construction truly heteroclite, in which nature seems
to have amused herself by producing something imperfect and grotesque. [A most strange
assertion on the part of Cuvier, originating from a want of knowledge of the peculiar habits
of these singular animals.] The only existing genus is that of
The Sloths [as they are badly named] {Bradypus, Lin.), —
Which have cylindrical molars, and sharp canines longer than these molars ; two pectoral mammae ;
and the toes completely joined by the skin, and only marked externally by enormous compressed and
crooked claws, which, when at rest, are always bent towards the palms, or soles, of the fore and hind
feet. The latter are obliquely articulated on the leg, and apply only their outer edge ; the phalanges
of the toes are articulated by serrated ginglymi, and the first, at a certain age, becomes soldered to
the metacarpal or metatarsal bones, which also, for want of use, become similarly anchylosed. To this
inconvenience [ ? ] in the organization of the extremities is added another, not less great, in their
proportions. Their arms and fore-arms are very much longer than their thighs and legs, insomuch
EDENTATA.
123
that, when these animals advance [on the ground], they are obliged to drag themselves forward on their
elbows. The pelvis is so large, and the thighs so much directed outwards, that they cannot approxi-
mate their knees. Their gait is the necessary consequence of so disproportioned [unusual] a struc-
ture.* These animals inhabit trees, and never remove from that on which they are located until they have
stripped it of every leaf, so painful to them is the requisite exertion to reach another ; it is even
asserted that they let themselves fall from a branch to avoid the labour of descending. [The truth is,
that these animals are modified for hanging by their limbs to the branches of trees, instead of sup-
porting themselves upon the limbs like others : in this, their only natural posture, they are by no
means slow in their movements ; and they inhabit the densely intertangled forests of South America,
where hundreds of miles may be traversed by passing from one tree to another : clinging by the hinder
claws, the posterior limbs securely embracing the bough, and generally by one of their fore-limbs also,
they employ the other to hook towards them the foliage on which they browze, whence the great
length of their arms : and it is observed that in more open places, where the trees are less contiguous,
the Sloths take advantage of windy weather to effect their transits, when the boughs are blown
together and commingled. Their long and coarse shaggy hair protects them from insects : and in
short, as is well remarked by Professor Buckland, the peculiar conformation of these animals ought no
more to excite our pity and compassion, than the circumstance of fishes being deprived of legs. They
are just as admirably adapted and fitly organized for their appointed singular mode of life as any other
animal whatever.] The female produces but one young one at a birth, which she carries on her back.
The viscera of these animals are not less singular than the rest of their conformation. Their stomach
[of enormous size] is divided into four compartments, somewhat analogous to the four stomachs of
the ruminants, but without leaflets or other internal projecting parts ; while the intestinal canal is
short, and without a coecum.
M. F. Cuvier applies the name Acheus to such of them as have three claws on their fore-feet ; they
have a very short tail.
The Ai {Br. tridacfylus, Lin.) is the species in which all the
peculiarities of its genus are developed to the greatest extent.
Its thumb and little toe, reduced to small rudiments, arc
concealed by the skin, and soldered to the metatarsus and
metacarpus ; the clavicle, also, reduced to a rudiment, is sol-
dered to the acromion. Its arms are twice as long as its legs ;
the hair of its head, back, and limbs is long, coarse and un-
elastic, bearing some resemblance to dried grass, which gives
it a forbidding aspect. The colour is greyish, often spotted
with brown and white, [particularly when young]. Size that
of a Cat. It is the only known mammalian which has nine
cervical vertebrae [the fact being, that the eighth and ninth
support rudimental ribs (as shown at Fig. 2, p, 39), and are
therefore dorsal vertebrae, as in all the rest of the class : the
more complete rotation of the neck, however, thus acquired
Fig-. 49.— The Ai, or Common Sloth
by this extraordinary animal, having an obvious reference to its peculiar habits]. Some varieties of the Ai have
been described as separate species, ditfering however in colour only : but the Bradypus torquatus, Geof., is very
distinct, even in the bony structure of its head.
M. F. Cuvier reserves the name Bradypm for those species which have two claws only on their
fore-feet (the Cholapus, Ilhg.). Their canines are longer and more pointed, and they are quite desti-
tute of tail. We know hut of one.
The Unau {Br. didactylus, L.), which is rather less unfortunately {malheureusemenf) organized than the Ai. Its
arms are shorter, its clavicles complete ; there are fewer bones of its fore and hind feet which become soldered
together. Its muzzle is more elongated, &c. It is larger by one half than the Ai, and of an uniform greyish-
brown, which inclines sometimes to reddish.
These two animals are indigenous to the hot parts of America. Were it not for their stout claws, they would
probably have been long since exterminated by the Carnivora of that country. [The lofty canopy from which
they hang is beyond the reach of such enemies. In their affinities, the Sloths are closely related to the
Myrmecophagce.']
* Sir A. Carlisle has observed that the arteries of the limbs com-
mence by subdividing into numerous ramifications, which afterwards
re-unite into a single trunk, from which the usual branches proceed.
This structure being also met with in the Loris, the gait of which is
almost equally sluggish, it is possible that it may exert some influence
on this slowness of motion, [It occurs also in the Whale, and the
generality of birds, being connected rather with the power of pro-
tracting muscular exertion.] Independently of this, the Loris, the
Ourang-outang, and the Coiata, all very slow animals, are remarkable
for the length of their arms. [Still more so are the Gibbons, which
are distinguished for the agility of their movements.]
124
MAMMALIA.
There have been discovered in America the fossil skeletons of two animals belonging to the order
Edentata [and lately another not yet named] , of enormous dimensions : the first of them, the Mega-
therium^ has a head very similar to that of a Sloth, hut without canines, and approximating in the rest
of its skeleton partly to the Sloths, and partly to the Ant-eaters, [most of all, however, to the minute
Chlamyphorus, having even been covered by a similar massive buckler]. It is twelve feet long, and
six or seven high. The other, the Megalonyx, is rather less : its toes are the only parts that are well
known, and they strongly resemble those of the other.
Tlie second tribe, comprehending
The Ordinary Edentata, —
Have the muzzle pointed. They have still molar teeth, and are divisible into two genera.
The Armadillos {Dasypus, Lin.) —
Are very remarkable among the Mammalia, for the scaly and hard [bony] shell, composed of pave-
ment-like compartments, which covers their head and body, and often the tail. This substance forms
a shield upon their forehead, another larger and more convex on the shoulders, a third on the crupper
similar to the preceding, and between the two
latter several parallel and moveable bands,
which allow the body to bend. The tail is
sometimes furnished with successive rings ; and
at others, with varied tubercles, like the legs.
These animals have [generally] large ears, and
also great claws, either five or four anteriorly,
and always five to their hind-feet ; a some-
what pointed muzzle ; cylindrical grinding
teeth separated from each other, to the num-
ber of seven or eight on each side of both
jaws, and without enamel on the inside ; a
soft tongue, but little extensible; and there
are a few scattered hairs between their scales,
or on those parts of the body not covered by the shell. They excavate burrows, and subsist partly on
vegetables, and partly on insects and carcases : their stomach is simple, and there is no coecum. All
of them are indigenous to the warm or at least temperate regions of South America.
They may be arranged into subgenera, according to the structure of their fore-feet and the number
of their teeth. The majority have only four toes anteriorly, of which the medial are the longest. Of
this number are
The Cachicames, F. Cuv., —
Which have only seven teeth on each side of both jaws ; a pointed muzzle ; and long tail encircled
with bony rings. Such are
The Black Armadillo of Azzara (D. novemcinctus, Lin.), with nine intermediate bands, and sometimes but
eight ; also the Mule Armadillo of the same naturalist {D. septemcinctus), with a shorter tail than the preceding.
The Aparas, F. Cuv.,~
Have toes the same as in the Cachicames, but nine or ten teeth above and below.
The Apara Armadillo of Azzara {B. tricinctus, Lin.), with three intermediate bands, and a very short tail plated
with regular tuberculated compartments. By enclosing its head and feet within its armour, this species is enabled
to roll itself completely into a ball, like certain Onisci. It inhabits Brazil and Paraguay, and is one of those found
farthest to the south.
Other Armadillos,
The Encouberts, F. Cuv., —
Have five toes to their fore-feet, of which the three medial are the longest : their tail is in great part
covered with quincunx scales, and their teeth are nine or ten in number, above and below. In this
subdivision ranges
f
I
!
1
i
I
1
1
EDENTATA.
1
125
The Encoiibert Armadillo, Payoti of Azzara, (D. sexcinctus and ociodecemcinctus, Lin.), which is distinguished
from the rest of the genus by having a tooth on each side fixed in the intermaxillary bone : its coat of mail has six
or seven bands, with smooth, large, and angular compartments ; tail middle-sized, and annulated only at its base.
The richly of Azzara, and an allied species, the Hairy ArmadiUo {Tatou vein, Az.), resemble the Encoubert
except in wanting the intermaxillary teeth, in having the posterior shell denticulated, and the parts that are not
plated clad with longer and more close-set hairs.
A third principal division of these animals exhibits five toes to the fore-feet, but disposed obliquely,
so that the thumb and index are slender, the latter being longest, the middle one bearing an enormous
trenchant claw, the next having a shorter claw, and the fifth being shortest of any. This structure
enables them to cut up the ground, and burrow very rapidly, or at any rate to hold on so firmly to the
sides of their excavation as to be very difficult to detach. In this subdivision, or
The Cabassous, —
There are eight or nine teeth on eaeh side of both jaws.
Tlie Cabassou propre, Buff. ; Tatouay, d’Azz. ; (Z>. unicinctus, Lin.) — Twelve intermediate bands ; the tail long
and tuberculated ; the compartments of the bands and skin are square, and broader than long; five toes before,
of which four are furnished with enormous claws, trenchant on their outer border. It attains a great size.
The Priodontes, P. Cuv., —
With five anterior toes still more unequal, and claws even exceeding those of the Cabassous, possess
twenty-two or twenty-four small teeth on each side above and below, making eighty-eight or ninety-six
in all. Such is
The Giant Armadillo {D. gigas, Cuv.) — With twelve or thirteen intermediate bands, a long tail covered with
imbricated scales, the compartments of which are square, and broader than long. It is the largest species of
Armadillo, being sometimes three feet in length without the tail.
At the termination of the Armadillos, as a very distinct subgenus, [genus, or even family, to which
the colossal Megatherium also appertains], may be placed
The Chlamyphores {Chlamyphorus, Har.), —
Wliich have ten teeth on each side of both jaws, five toes on each foot, the anterior claws very large,
crooked, compressed, and furnishing (as in the Cabassous) a very powerful cutting instrument [adapted
for digging]. The back is covered with a series of scaly pieces, arranged transversely, without any
solid buckler either before or behind, but forming a sort of cuirass, which is only connected with the
body along the spine. The hind part of the body is abruptly truncated, and the tail incurved and
partially attached to the under part of the body : [it is covered with small scales, and expanded at the
tip. The osteology of this animal, as given by Mr. Yarrell {Zool. Journ., No. xii.), is considerably allied
to that of the Cabassous. There is a singular tuberosity on the skull over each eyebrow.
We know but of one {Chlamyphorus truncatus, Harlan), only five or six inches in length ; it is a native of the
interior of Chili, where it passes most of its time under ground, [and is either very rare (perhaps verging towards
extinction), or difficult to obtain on account of its subterraneous habits].
N.B. There have been found, in America, some fossil bones of a gigantic Armadillo, which appears to have been
about ten feet long exclusive of the tail. (See my Ossemens Fossiles, vol. v. part 1, p. 191, note.)
The Orycteropes {Orycteropus, Geof.) —
Have been long confounded with the Ant-eaters, inasmuch as they subsist on the same food, have a
similar-formed head, and a tongue which is somewhat extensible ; but they are distinguished by having
grinding teeth, and flat claws, adapted for burrowing rather than for cutting open ant-hills. The
structure of their teeth is different from that of all other quadrupeds ; they are solid cylinders, traversed,
like reeds, in a longitudinal direction, by an infinitude of little canals. The stomach is simple, and
muscular towards its outlet, and the coecum small and obtuse.
Only one species is known of this genus, the Cape Orycterope {Myrmecophaga capensis, Pallas), which the
Dutch colonists style the Ground Hog. It is an animal about the size of a Badger or larger, low upon the legs,
with scanty greyish-brown hair, and tail shorter than the body and as little clad. It inhabits burrows, which it
forms with extreme rapidity ; and its flesh is eaten.
The remaining Edentata possess no grinders whatever, and consequently have no teeth
at all. There are two genera.
MAMMALIA.
126
The Ant-eaters {Myrmecophaga, Lin.) —
Are well covered with hair, have a long muzzle which terminates by a small toothless mouth, from
which is protruded a filiform tongue, susceptible of considerable elongation, and which they insinuate I
into ant-hills and the nests of the Termites, whence these insects are withdrawn hy being entangled in i
the viscid saliva that covers it. Their fore-nails, strong and trenchant, which vary in number according
to the species, enable them to tear open the nests of the Termites, and also furnish them with effective
means of defence. When at rest, these nails are always half-bent inwards, resembling a callosity of the
tarsus ; hence these animals can only bring the side of the foot to the ground. Their stomach is
simple, and muscular towards its outlet, their intestinal canal moderate, and without a ccecum.*
The members of this genus are peculiar to the warm and temperate regions of South America, and
produce but one young at a birth, which is carried on the back.
The Maned or Great Ant-eater {M. jubata,
Auct.), upwards of four feet in length, with
four anterior claws and five hind ones, and a
tail furnished with long hairs vertically directed,
both above and beneath. Its colour is greyish-
brown, with an oblique black band bordered with
white on each shoulder. It is the largest species
of Ant-eater ; and stated [but erroneously] to de-
fend itself from the Jaguar. It inhabits low places,
never ascends trees, and moves slowly.
The Tamandua {M. tamandua, Cuv. ; Myrm.
tetradactyla and M. tridactyla, Lin.).— Figure
and feet of the preceding, but not half the -
size ; the tail scantily furnished with hair, and
naked and prehensile at the tip, enabling the animal to suspend itself to the branches of trees. Some of them are
of a yellowish-grey, with an oblique band on the shoulder, that is only visible at a certain light ; others are fulvous
with a black band ; some fulvous, with the band, crupper, and belly black ; and others again black altogether. It
is not yet known whether these differences indicate species. i
The Two-toed Ant-eater {Myrm. didactyla, Lin.).— Size of a Rat, with fulvous woolly hair, and a russet line along
the back, the tail prehensile and naked at the tip, and only two claws anteriorly, one of them very large, and four
to the hind-foot. [Were it not for the interposition of the preceding species, it is doubtful whether the author
would have arranged this curious little animal in the same minimum group as M. jubata : it has been sepa-
rated by some naturalists ; and its close affinity with the Sloths is very obvious.]
The Pangolins {Manis, Lin.), —
Are also without teeth, have an extensile tongue, and subsist on Ants and Termites in the manner of I
the Taman duas ; but their body, limbs, and tail, are covered with large trenchant imbricated scales, ;]j
which they elevate in rolling themselves into a ball, when they wish to defend themselves against an
enemy. All their feet have five toes. Their stomach is slightly divided in the middle part of it, and
they have no coecum. They occur only in the ancient Continent.
[Four or five species are now ascertained, inhabiting Asia and Africa, and varying from three to five feet in |
length]. The Short-tailed Pangolin {M. pentadactyla, Lin.), is the Phattagen of ^lian. An unguinal phalanx has
been found, in the Palatinate, of a Pangolin that must have been twenty feet long, or more. (See Cuv., Oss. foss.
vol. V. part 1, p. 193.) jli
The third tribe of Edentata comprehends animals which M. GeofFroy designates |j
Monotremata, il
On account of their having but one external opening for all their excretions. Their genera-
tive organs present extraordinary anomalies : though without a ventral pouch, they have
nevertheless the same supernumerary bones to the pubis as the Marsupiata j the vasa defe- d
rentia terminate in the urethra, which opens into the cloaca ; the penis, when retracted, is
drawn into a sheath, which opens by an orifice near the termination of the cloaca. The only
matrix consists of two canals or trunks, each of which opens separately and by a double m
orifice into the urethra, which is very large, and terminates in the cloaca. As yet naturalists »
are not agreed as to the existence of their mammsefi noi* whether these animals are viviparous
* Daubenton has described two small appendages in the M. di- j t M. Meckel considers as such two glandular masses which he^^’
ductyla, which, in strictness, may be considered as cceca. I have | found greatly developed in a female Ornithorynchus. These M. Geof-^g^i
satisfied myself, however, that they do not exist in M. tamandua. 1 froy deems to be rather glands, analogous to those on the flanks of the’-^^
EDENTATA.
127
or oviparous.* The singularities of their skeleton are not less remarkable ; there being a sort
of clavicle common to both shoulders, placed before the ordinary clavicle, and analogous to
thefurcula of birds. Lastly, in addition to five claws on each foot, the males have a peculiar
spur on the hind ones, perforated by a canal which transmits a liquid secreted by a gland
situated on the inner surface of the thigh : it is asserted that the wounds it inflicts are
venomous.f These animals have no external conch to the ear, and their eyes are very small.
The Monotremes are found only in New Holland, where they have been discovered since
the settlement of the English. There are two genera known.
The Echidnas {Echidna, Cuv. ; Tachyglossus, Ilhg. : sometimes called Spiny Ant-eaters).
The elongated slender muzzle of these animals, terminated by a small mouth, and containing an exten-
sile tongue, resembles that of the Ant-eaters and Pangolins, and like them, they feed on Ants. They
have no teeth, hut their palate is provided with several ranges of small spines, directed backwards.
Their short feet have each five long and very stout claws, fitted for burrowing ; and all the upper part
of their body is covered with spines, as in a Hedgehog, [but much larger and more powerful] . It
appears that in the moment of danger, they have also the faculty of rolling themselves into a hall.
The tail is verv short ; stomach ample and nearlv globular, and the ccecum of middle size.
Two species have been discovered, — the Spiny Echidna
(E. hystrix), completely covered with large spines, — and
the Bristly Echidna {E. setosa), covered with hair,
among which the spines are half-hidden. Some con-
sider the difference as only arising from age.
The Duckbills {Ornithorynchus, Blumenbgch ;
Platypus, Shaw).
Muzzle elongated, and at the same time singularly
enlarged and flattened, presenting the greatest ex-
ternal resemblance to the bill of a Duck, and the
more so as its edges are similarly furnished with
small transverse laminae. They have no teeth ex-
cept at the bottom of the mouth, where there are two on each side of both jaws, without roots, with
flat crowns, and composed, as in the Orycterope, of small vertical tubes. Their fore-feet have a
membrane which not only connects the toes, but extends beyond the claws : in the hinder, the mem-
brane reaches only to the base of the claws ; two characters which, in addition to their flattened tail,
indicate aquatic habits. Their tongue is to
a certain extent double ; one in the bill beset
with villosities ; and another at the base of
the first, thicker, and furnished anteriorly
with two little fleshy points. The stomach
is small, oblong, and has its outlet near
the entrance ; coecum small ; and there are
numerous salient and parallel laminae in the
course of the intestines. The penis has only
two tubercles. These animals inhabit the
rivers and marshes of New Holland, and
particularly the neighbourhood of Port
Jackson.
Two species only are known, one with smooth
blackish-brown fur, flat, and somewhat frizzled. T
Fig. 53.— The Ornitliorynchus.
and thin reddish fur {0. paradoxus, Blum.); the other with
liese are perhaps only varieties of age.
rig:. 52 —Echidna
Shrews. [Prof. Owen has since demonstrated them to be mammary,
although these animals (like the true Cetacea) have no teats or nip-
ples, the lacteal secretion transuding by a number of minute pores.]
• Travellers have lately asserted, that they have been ascertained
to produce eggs. Should this prove to be the case, the Monotremes
must, in some sort, be considered as a particular class of animals ; but
it is much to be wished, that some competent anatomist would minutely
describe these eggs, their internal origin, and their developement
after .exclusion. [Prof. Owen has since conclusively shown that the
Monotremata are not ovipaous, but must resemble in their repro-
duction the Marsiipiata. The young have never yet been met with
attached to the mammm of their dam, but from the structure of the
beak in very young Ornithorhynci, which have been found in the
burrows, there can be little doubt that the mouth forms, at first, a
suctorial disk, adapted to hold on an even flat surface.]
t There is reason to suspect that this statement is without founda-
tion, as the animals never attempt to employ the spur as a weapon of
defence. — Ed.
MAMMALIA.
128
THE SEVENTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS.
PACHYDERM AT A.
The Edentata terminate the series of unguiculated Mammalia, and we have just seen that
there are some of them with claws so large, and so enveloping the ends of the toes, as to
approximate to the nature of hoofs. Nevertheless, they have still the faculty of bending|5
these toes round various objects, and of seizing with more or less force. The entire absence**
of this faculty characterizes the hoofed animals. Using their feet only as supports, they in no
instance possess clavicles. Their fore-arms remain constantly in the state of pronation, /
whence they are reduced to feed on vegetables. Their forms and mode of life present there- .
fore much less variety than in the unguiculated animals, and they can hardly be divided into,,
more than two orders, — those which ruminate, and those Mdiich do not ; but the latter, which;
we bring together under the general term Pachydermata, admits of some subdivision into|
families.
The first is that of the Pachyderms, which have a proboscis and tusks, or the
Proboscidea,* —
Which are distinguished by having five toes to each foot, very complete in the skeleton, but
so enveloped by the callous skin which surrounds the foot, that their only external appearance
consists in the nails attached to the extremity of this species of hoof. They have no canines,
nor incisors properly speaking; but in the incisive [or intermaxillary] bones are implanted! ;
two defensive tusks, which project from the mouth, and frequently attain enormous dimen- f (
sions. The magnitude of the sockets necessary to hold these tusks renders the upper jaw so
high, and so shortens the bones of the nose, that the nostrils in the skeleton are placed near^
the top of the face : but in the living animal they are prolonged into a cylindrical trunk
composed of several thousands of small muscles variously interlaced, flexible in all directions, |
endowed with exquisite sensibility, and terminated by an appendage like a finger. This trunk^
imparts to the Elephant as much address as the perfection of the hand does to the Monkey.®
It enables him to seize whatever he wishes to convey to his mouth, and sucks up the water 1
he is to drink, which, by the flexure of this admirable organ, is then poured into the throat, *
thus supplying the want of a long neck, which could not have supported so large a head with
its heavy tusks. Within the parietes of the cranium, however, are several great cavities
which render the head lighter : the lower jaw [except in a fossil genus when immature,] has
no incisors whatever ; the intestines are very voluminous ; the stomach simple ; coecum
enormous ; the mammse, two in number, placed under the chest. The young suek with the
mouth and not with the trunk. Only one living genus exists, that of
The Elephants {Elephas, Lin.), — ^
Which comprehends the largest of terrestrial Mammalia. The astonishing services performed by their''
trunk, an instrument at once supple and vigorous, an organ both of touch and smell, contrast forcibly ?
with the clumsy aspect and massive proportions of these animals ; and being conjoined to a very '
imposing physiognomy, have contributed to exaggerate their intellect. After studying them for a long
time, we have not found it to surpass that of the Dog, or of several other Carnaria. Naturally of a
mild disposition. Elephants live in troops conducted by the old males. They subsist wholly on
vegetables.
Their distinctive character consists in the grinders, the bodies of which are composed of a certain!
number of vertical laminte, each formed of a bony substance, enveloped with enamel, and cemented 3
* The Proboscideans have various affinities with certain Rodents ;
Istly, in the magnitude of their incisors [tusks] ; 2ndly, in tlieir
grinders being often formed of parallel laminae ; 3rdly, in the form of j
several of their bones, &c.
If"^
PACHYDERMATA. 129
together by a third substance, termed the cortical; in a word, similar to those we have already seen
in the Cavies, and some other Rodents. These grinders succeed each other not vertically, as our
permanent teeth replace the milk teeth, but from behind forwards, so that as fast as one tooth becomes
worn, it is pushed forward by that which comes after it ; hence it happens that the Elephant has
sometimes one, sometimes two grinders on each side, or four or eight in all, according to its age. The
first of these teeth is always composed of fewer laminae than those which succeed them. It is stated that
certain Elephants thus change their molars eight times : their tusks, however, are changed but once.
The Elephants of the present day, covered with a rough skin nearly destitute of hair, inhabit only
the torrid zone of the ancient Continent, where hitherto but two species have been discovered.
The Asiatic Elephant {E. indiciis, Cuv.).— Head oblong, with a concave forehead ; crown of the grinders
presenting transverse undulating ridges (rubans), which are sections of the laminae which compose them, worn
down by trituration. This species has smaller ears than the next one, and has four nails to the hind foot. It is
found from the Indus to the Eastern Ocean, and in the large islands to the south of India. From time immemo-
rial this species has been employed as a beast of draught and burden ; but has never yet propagated in captivity,
though the assertion respecting its modesty and repugnance to copulate before witnesses is utterly devoid of
foundation. The females have very short tusks, and in this respect many of the males resemble them.
The African Elephant (E. africanus, Cuv.).— Head round, with a convex forehead; very large ears; and grinders
presenting lozenge-shaped eminences on their crowns. It appears to have often only three toes on the hind-foot.
This species inhabits from Senegal to the Cape of Good Hope. Whether they ascend the eastern coast of Africa,
or are replaced there by the Asiatic species, is not yet
ascertained. The tusks of the female are as large as
those of the male, and the weapon itself is generally
larger than in the preceding. This animal is not
now tamed in Africa, though it appears that the Car-
thaginians employed it in the same way that the
inhabitants of India do theirs.
In nearly every part of the two Continents, are
found, under ground, the bones of a species of Ele-
phant allied to that of India, but the grinders of
which bear straighter and narrower eminences, the
sockets for the reception of the tusks are much longer,
and the lower jaw is more obtuse. A specimen re-
cently taken from the ice on the coast of Siberia, by
Mr. Adams, appears to have been densely covered
with hair of two kinds, so that it is possible that this j
species may have lived in cold climates. It [is termed
the Mammoth Elephant (E. primogenius, Cuv.), and]
has long been quite extinct.
! The second genus of Proboscideans, or that of I
I The Mastodons {Mastodon, Cuv.), —
j Has been quite destroyed, no species of it being now alive. They had the feet, tusks, trunk, and many
other details of conformation the same as the Elephants ; but their grinding teeth differed in having
large conical tubercles above the gum, which, by detrition, were reduced to disks of various size, that
II represent sections of the tubercles, (a conformation common to the Mastodon, Hippopotamus, Pig,
&c., which has induced the erroneous idea that the first were carnivorous). These grinders, which
j succeeded each other from behind as in the Elephants, present also so many pairs of points, as the
animal was advanced in age. [There are small tusks in the lower jaw of the immature Mastodon, in
which state it is the Tetracaulodon of Godman.]
The Great Mastodon (M. giganteum, Cuv.), in which the tubercles were lozenge-shaped, is the species most cele-
brated. It equalled the Elephant in size, but with still heavier proportions. Its remains are found in a wonderful
state of preservation, and in great abundance through all parts of North America * : in the Eastern Continent
they are of much rarer occurrence.
Narrow-toothed Mastodon (M. angustidens). — Mxich narrower grinders than the preceding, the tubercles of
which, when worn down, present trefoil-shaped discs, whence they have been mistaken by some authors for the
grinders of the Hippopotamus. This species was one-third less than the Great Mastodon, and much lower on the
legs. [Two or three have been confounded under its name.] Its teeth, in certain places, tinged with iron, become
of a fine blue when heated, forming what is called the “ oriental turquoise.”
• An almost perfect skeleton, made up however of the bones of different individuals, found in the celebrated deposit of “ Big-boiie lick,” is
mounted in the Museum of Philadelphia.— Ed.
K
130
MAMMALIA.
Our second family is that of the
Pachydermata Ordinaria, —
Which have four, three, or two toes to their feet. Those in which the toes make even num-
bers have feet somewhat cleft, and approximate the Ruminants in various parts of the
skeleton, and even in the comphcation of the stomach. They are usually divided into two
genera.
The Hippopotami {Hippopotamus, Lin.) —
Have four nearly equal toes to each foot, terminated by little hoofs ; six grinders on each side of both
jaws, the three anterior of which are conical, the posterior presenting two pairs of points, which, by
detrition, assume a trefoil shape ; four incisors above and below, those of the upper jaw short, conical,
and recurved, the inferior prolonged, cylindrical, pointed, and horizontally projecting ; a canine tooth
on each side above and below, the upper straight, the lower very large and recurved, those of the two
jaws rubbing against each other.
These animals have a very massive body, naked of hair ; very short legs, their belly almost
touching the ground ; an enormous head, terminated by a swoln muzzle, which encloses the apparatus
of their large front teeth ; a short tail, and small eyes and ears. Their stomaeh is divided into several
sacs. They live in rivers, upon roots and other vegetable substances, and display much ferocity and
stupidity.
One living species only is known, the H. ampMbius, Lin., now confined to the rivers of medial and south
Africa. It formerly found its way to Egypt by the Nile, but has long disappeared from that country.
The European freshwater deposits contain the bones of a species of Hippopotamus very similar to that of
Africa, and also of two or three others successively smaller. (See my Researches on Fossil Bones, vol. i.)
The Pigs {Sus, Lin.) —
Have two large middle toes to each foot, armed with strong hoofs, and two much shorter lateral ones
that hardly touch the ground. Their incisors vary in number, but the inferior always slant forward ;
the canines project from the mouth and curve upward: muzzle terminated by a truncated snout
adapted to turn up the soil, and stomach but slightly divided.
The Pigs, properly so called, —
Have from twenty-four to twenty-eight grinders, the posterior of which are oblong, with tuberculated
crowns, the anterior more or less compressed, and six incisors to each jaw.
The Wild Boar {Sus scropha, Lin.), which is the parent stock of our Domestic Hog and its varieties, has pris-
matic tusks that curve outward and slightly upward ; the body stout and thick ; straight ears; the hair bristly
and black : the young ones are variegated black and white. It does great injury to fields in the neighbourhood
of forests, by teai'ing up the ground in search of roots.
The Domestic Pig varies in size and length of limbs, in the direction of its ears, and also in colour ; being white
or black, sometimes red, and often varied. Every one is acquainted with the usefulness of this animal, on account
of the flavour of its flesh, and the length of time it can be preserved by means of salt ; the facility with which it is ''
fed ; and its great fecundity, which surpasses that of all other animals of its size, the female often producing
fourteen young at a litter. The period of gestation is four months, and they produce twice a year. The Hog
continues to increase in size for five or six years, is prolific at one, and sometimes lives to twenty. Although
naturally savage, they are social, both wild and tame, and know how to defend themselves against Wolves, by
forming a circle, and presenting a front in every direciion. Voracious and savage, they do not even spare their
own young, [at least, if the parent be disturbed soon after their birth]. This species is spread throughout the j
globe, and none but Jews and Mahometans refuse to eat its flesh. [It appears to be indigenous only, however, to |
Europe and Asia, extending to the Peninsula of Hindostan : the Chinese breed is probably a distinct species,
though it commingles freely with the other.]
The Masked Boar {S. larvatus, F. Cuv. ; S. africanus, Schreber ; Sanglier de Madagascar, Daub.)— Tusks like
the Common Hog ; but on each side of the muzzle, near the tusks, is a large tubercle, somewhat like the nipple of
a woman, supported by a bony prominence, which imparts a singular physiognomy to the animal. It inhabits
Madagascar and the south of Africa.
The Babyroussa {Sus babyrussa, Butf. Supp.) — Longer and more slender legs than the others, with slender tusks i
turned vertically upwards, those of the upper jaw inclining spirally backward. It inhabits several islands of the
Indian Archipelago. [The Papuan Hog {S. papuensis) is another distinct species from New Guinea.]
From the Pigs require to be separated
PACHYDERMATA.
131
The Wart-hogs (Phascochoeres, F. Cuv.), —
The grinders of which are composed of cylinders, cemented together by a cortical substance, almost
like the transverse laminae of the Elephant, and like them succeeding each other from behind. Their
skull is singularly large, the tusks rounded, directed laterally upward, and of a frightful magnitude ;
and on each of their cheeks hangs a thick fleshy lobe, which completes the hideousness of their
aspect. They have but two incisors above and six below.
Tlie individuals received from Cape Verd (S. africanns, Gm.) have generally the incisive teeth complete ; those
which arrive from the Cape of Good Hope {S. <ethiopicus, Gm.) scarcely show any trace of them, although vestiges
are sometimes found within the gum. This difference may perhaps arise from age, which has worn down the teeth
of the latter, or it may indicate a specific diversity, the more especially as the heads of those from the Cape are
rather larger and shorter.
There is still better reason to separate from the genus of Pigs—
The Peccaries {Dycoteles, Cuv.), —
Which have certainly grinders and incisors very like those of the Pigs properly so called, but their
canines, directed as in the generality of the class, do not project from the mouth, besides which they
want the external toe to their hind-feet. They have no tail, and upon the loins is a glandular opening
from which a fetid humour exudes. The metacarpal and metatarsal bones of their two great toes are
soldered into a kind of cannon-bone, as in the Ruminants ; with which their stomach, also, divided into
several sacs, presents a marked analogy. It is a singular fact, that the aorta of these animals is often
found very much enlarged, but not always in the same part, as if they were subject to a kind of
aneurism.
There are two species known, both inhabitants of South America, which were first distinguished by Azzara.
Linnaeus confounded them together under the name of Sus tajassu.
The Collared Peccary (D. torquatus, Cuv.).— Hair annulated grey and brown; a whitish collar, stretching
obliquely from the angle of the lower jaw over the shoulder. Size half that of the Wild Boar.
The White-lipped Peccary (Z). labiatus, Cuv.).— Larger ; and brown, with white lips.
Here may be placed a genus now unknown among existing animals, which we have discovered, and
named
Anoplotherium, Cuv., —
And which presents the most singular relations with the different tribes of Pachydermata, ap-
proximating, in some respects, to the order Ruminantia. Six incisors to each jaw, four canines
almost similar to the incisors and of even length with them, and seven molars on each side above and
below, form a continuous series without any intervening spaee, a disposition of the teeth seen elsewhere
in Man only. The four posterior molars on each side resemble those of the Rhinoceroses, the Damans,
and Palasotheriums ; that is to say, they are square above, and form double or triple crescents below.
The feet, terminated by two great toes, as in the Ruminants, are yet different in the circumstance of
the metacarpal and metatarsal bones remaining always separated, or being never united into a cannon-
bone. The construction of their tarsus is the same as in the Camel.
The bones of this genus have hitherto only been found in the gypsum quarries near Paris. We have already
recognized five species : one the size of a small Ass, with the low form and long tail of an Otter (^. commune, Cuv.),
the fore-feet of which have a small internal accessory toe ; another of the size and slender form of the Gazelle
{A. medium)', a third no bigger and with nearly the same proportions as a Hare, with two accessory toes to the
sides of its hind-feet, &c. (See my Ossemens fossiles, tom. iii.)
The ordinary Pachydermata which have not cloven feet comprehend, in the first place,
three genera, the molar teeth of which are very similar, there being seven on each side with
square crowns, and various prominent lines, and seven in the lower jaw, the crowns of which
form double crescents, and the last of all a triple one : their incisors, however, vary.
The Rhinoceroses {Rhinoceros, Lin.) —
In this respect differ from one another. They are large animals, with each foot divided into three toes,
and the nasal bones of which, very thick and united into a kind of arch, support a solid horn, which
adheres to the skin, and is composed of a fibrous and horny substance, resembling agglutinated hairs.
132
MAMMALIA.
They are naturally stupid and feroeious ; frequent marshy plaees ; subsist on herbage and the branches
of trees ; have a simple stomach, very long intestines, and great coecum.
The Indian Rhinoceros {Rh. indicus, Cuv.).— Tn addition to its twenty-eight grinders, this species has two stout
incisive teeth in each jaw, together with two other intermediate smaller ones below, and two still more diminutive
outside of its upper incisors. It has only one horn, and its skin is remarkable for the deep folds into which it is
thi-own behind and across the shoulders, and before and across the thighs. It inhabits the East Indies, and
chiefly beyond the Ganges.
The Javanese Rhinoceros {RTi.javanus, Cuv.), — with the great incisors and single horn of the preceding, has
fewer folds in the skin, though one of them on the neck is larger ; and, what is remarkable, the entire skin is
covered with square angular tubercles, [as is also the case, to a partial extent, in the preceding ; from which it
further dilfers in having a comparatively slender head].
The Sumatran Rhinoceros {Rh. sumatrensis, Cuv.),— with the same four great incisors as the foregoing, has no
folds to the skin, which is besides hairy, and there is a second horn behind the first.
The African Rhinoceros {Rh. africanus, Cuv.) [or rather Rhinoceroses, three species of them being now ascer-
tained].— Two horns as in the preceding ; and no folds of the skin, nor any incisor teeth, the molars occupying
nearly the whole length of the jaw. This deficiency of incisors might warrant a separation from the others. [The
Great Rhinoceros {RJi. simus, Burchell), which considerably exceeds in size any of the others, is further distin-
guished by its pale colour, its very long and straight anterior horn, and remarkably short hind one, and particu-
larly by the form of its upper lip, which is not capable of elongation, and a certain degree of prehension, as in all
the others : it is the most gregarious of any, and also the most inoffensive, frequenting the open karoos. The
common Cape Rhinoceros {Rh. africanus or capensis) is darker, with also unequal horns, the posterior being
shorter ; and the Ketloa Rhinoceros {Rh. hetloa), recently discovered by Dr. Smith, is an animal of solitary habits,
with horns of equal length, reputed to exceed the rest in ferocity.*]
There have been found, under ground, in Siberia and different parts of Germany, the bones of a double-horned
Rhinoceros, the skull of which, besides being much more elongated than in any known existing species, is further
distinguished by a bony vertical partition that supported the bones of the nose. It is an extinct animal ; but of
which a carcase, almost entire, exposed by the thawing of the ice on the banks of the Vilhoui in Siberia, showed ’
to have been covered with tolerably thick hair. It is possible, therefore, that it inhabited northern climates, like
the fossil Elephant.
More recently there have been disinterred, in Tuscany and Lombardy, other Rhinoceros bones, which appear
to have belonged to a species allied to the African. Some have been found, in Germany, with incisors like the
Asiatic species ; and lastly, there have been discovered, in France, the bones of one which announce a size scarcely
larger than a Pig. [It appears that several of the fossil species were destitute of the nasal horn.]
The Damans {Hyrax, Hermann) — ■
Were long placed among the Rodentia, on account of their very small size ; hut, on examining
them carefully, it wiU he found that, excepting the horn, they are little else than Rhinoceroses in
miniature ; at least they have quite similar molars ; hut the upper jaw has two stout incisors curved
downwards, and, during youth, two very small canines ; the inferior four incisors, without any
canines. They have four toes to each of their fore-feet, and three to the hind-feet, all, excepting the
innermost posterior, which is armed with a crooked and oblique nail, terminated by a kind of very small,
thin, and rounded hoof. The muzzle and ears are short : they are covered with hair, and have only
a tubercle in place of a tail. The stomach is divided into two sacs ; their coecum is very large, and the
colon has several dilatations, and is also furnished with two appendages about the middle, analogous to
the two coeca of birds.
Only one species is known, the size of a Rabbit, and greyish : it is not uncommon in rocky places throughout
Africa, where it is much preyed on by rapacious birds, and it also appears to inhabit some parts of Asia ; at
least we cannot perceive any certain difference between the Hyrax capensis and H. syriacus, [Five, if not six, are
now conclusively established ; one of which, indigenous to South Africa, even ascends trees.]
The Pal^otherium, Cuv. —
Is another lost genus : with the same grinders as the two preceding, six incisors and two canines to
each jaw as in the Tapirs, and three visible toes to each foot, it combined a short fleshy trunk, for the
muscles of which the bones of the nose were shortened, leaving a deep notch underneath. We have
discovered the hones of this genus, mingled with those of the Anoplotherium, in the gypsum quarries
in the environs of Paris, and they occur in several other parts of France ; [also, with those of the
Choeropotanms, Dichobune, &c., other lost genera of Pachydermata, in the Binstead quarries of the
Isle of Wight, England].
* Previous to discovering' this species, a fine specimen of which is
deposited in the Britisli Museum, Dr.Smith received information, from
the natives, of the existence of five sorts of these animals in South
Africa, which are distinguished there by separate names : one of them
is stated to have only a single horn. — Ed. ; , ;
n
PACHYDERMATA.
133
Eleven or twelve species are already known. At Paris alone, we have found one the size of a Horse, another
that of a Tapir, and a third of a small Sheep : the bones of a species nearly equalling the Rhinoceros in size
have been met with in the neighbourhood of Orleans. These animals appear to have frequented the borders
of lakes and marshes, for the deposits wliich enclose their remains contain also those of freshwater shells. (See
my Ossemens fossiles, tom. iii.)
The Lophiodons —
Form another extinct genus, vs^hich appears to have been closely allied to the preceding one ; but the
inferior incisors of which exhibit transverse ridges. Ten or twelve species have been exhumed from
the same ancient freshwater deposits that have yielded the Palseotheriums.
To these last genera succeeds that of
The Tapirs {Tapir, Lin.), —
Wherein the twenty-seven molars, before they are w^orn, present transverse and rectilinear ridges ;
there are six incisors and two canines in each jaw, separated from the molars by a wide interval. The
nose assumes the form of a short fleshy trunk ; and the fore-feet have each four toes, the hinder
but three.
For a long while only one species was known, that of America (T. americanus, Lin.), which is the size of a small
Ass, with a brown and almost naked skin, a short tail, and fleshy neck, that forms a crest at the nape. It is
common in humid places and along the rivers of the warm parts of America, where its flesh is eaten. The young
are spotted with white like the fawns of a Stag. Within a few years, a second species has been discovered in the
Eastern Continent (T. of larger size than the other, and brown-black, with the back greyish white. It
inhabits the forests of the Malay peninsula, the island of Sumatra, &c. Still more recently, Dr. Roulin has dis-
covered in the Cordilleras a third species, of a black colour, and covered with thick hair ; the bones of its nose
are more elongated, a particular in which it somewhat approximates the Palseotheriums.
There have also been found in Europe some fossil bones of Tapirs, and, among the rest, those of a gigantic
species approaching the Elephant in size (T. giganteus, Cuv., Oss. foss.) “ The lower jaw of this huge animal
has been obtained by M. Schleyermacher, and proves to possess enormous canines, which must have projected
from the mouth, [and are directed downwards] : it should therefore form a separate genus. Its size may have
been greater than that of the Elephant by one half. [A more perfect head of this extraordinary species, the largest
of the Pachydermata hitherto discovered, has been lately disentombed in Germany, and described by Prof. Kaup.
With two other species, successively smaller, it now composes the genus Deinotherium, the members of which are
suspected by Blainville and other anatomists to have been aquatic animals, destitute of posterior extremities, like
the Dugongs and Manati.]
The third family of Pachydermata, or of hoofed animals that do not ruminate, consists
of the
SoLIDUNGULA,
Or quadrupeds with only one apparent toe and a single hoof to each foot, although beneath
the skin, on each side of their metacarpus and metatarsus, there are appendices {stylets)
which represent two lateral toes. But one genus of them is known, that of
The Horses {Equus, Lin.).
There are six incisors to each jaw, which, during youth, have their crowns furrowed with a groove,
and six molars on each side above and below, with square crowns, marked by laminae of enamel which
penetrate them, with four crescents, besides which there is a small disk on the inner border of those
above. The males have in addition two small canines in their upper jaw, and sometimes in both,
which are always wanting in the females. Between these canines and the first molar, there is a wide
space which corresponds with the angle of the lips, where the bit is placed, by which alone Man has
been enabled to subdue these powerful quadrupeds. Their stomach is simple and middle-sized ; but
their intestines are very long, and coecum enormous. The teats are situate between the thighs.
The Horse {E. caballus, Lin.). — This noble associate of Man in the chase, in war, and in the labours of agricul-
ture, arts and commerce, is the most important and carefully tended of domestic animals. It does not appear to
exist in the wild state, excepting in those countries where the offspring of tame individuals have been suffered to
run wild, as in Tartary and America, where they live in troops, each conducted and defended by an old male.
The young males, expelled as soon as they have attained the age of puberty, follow the troop at a distance, until
they have attracted some of the younger mares.
In a state of servitude, the colt continues sucking for six or seven months, and the sexes are separated at two
years ; at three they are first handled and accustomed to some management, and at four saddled and mounted,
at which age they can propagate without injuring themselves. The period of gestation is eleven months.
134
MAMMALIA.
A Horse’s age is known by his incisors. The middle teeth begin to appear about fifteen days after birth ; and
at two years and a half the middle ones are replaced ; at three and a half the two next follow ; and at four and a i
half, the outermost or corner teeth. All these teeth, with originally-indented crowns, lose by degrees this character \
by detrition. At seven and a half or eight years, the depressions are completely eflaced, and the Horse is no ; j
longer marked. ; [
The inferior canines appear at three years and a half, the superior at four years ; they remain pointed until the f
sixth, and at ten begin to peel away. j
The life of a Horse seldom extends beyond thirty years. Every one knows how much this animal varies in size iV
and colour. The principal races even exhibit sensible differences in the form of the head, and in their proportions, j
each being specially adapted for some particular mode of employment.
The most beautiful and swift are the Arabs, which have contributed to perfect the Spanish breed, and with the !
latter to form the English : the stoutest and strongest are from the coasts of the North Sea ; and the most dimi- i
nutive from the north of Sweden and Corsica. Wild Horses have a large head, frizzled hair, and ungraceful pro-
portions. [If the figure of Pallas be correct, of the Wild Horse of northern Asia, it is doubtful, from the length of
the ears and some other characters, whether a distinct species intermediate to the true Horse and the fol- ^
lowing be not represented. M. Serres suspects that a species of Equus now extinct is represented on the celebrated ' ;|
mosaic of Palestrina. Bones of this genus are not uncommon in the older tertiary strata, and have even been found ■
in those of South America. .
The Dzegguetai {Equus hemionus, Pallas).— A distinct species, intermediate in its proportions to the Horse and . 1
Ass, which lives in troops in the sandy deserts of Central Asia. Colour isabelle, with black mane and [broad] ■ '
dorsal line ; a terminal black tuft to the tail. This was probably the Wild Mule of the ancients. '
The Ass {E. asinus, Lin.). — Known by its long ears, the tuft at the end of its tail, and the black line crossing the |
dorsal one over its shoulders, which is the first indication of the transverse stripes that occur in the following I '
species. [Some of the young have obscure cross-bands on the legs.] Originally from the vast deserts of the | I
interior of Asia, the Ass is still found there free and unreclaimed, in numerous troops, which migrate north and | i
south according to the season ; hence it does not thrive in countries too much to the north. Its patience, sobriety, | ; !
hardy constitution, and the services which it renders to the poor, are well known to every one. The harshness of - ^ M
its voice, or hmy, is occasioned by two small peculiar cavities situate at the bottom of the larynx. | • |
The Zebra {E. zebra, Lin.). — Nearly the form of the Ass, and everywhere transversely striped with black and | ^ \
white in a regular manner. It is indigenous to the whole south of Africa. We have known a female Zebra f !
produce successively with the Horse and the Ass. I !
The Couagga {E. quaccha, Gm.), resembles the Horse more than the Zebra, but inhabits the same country as the
latter. Its coat is brown on the neck and shoulders, transversely striped with whitish ; the crupper reddish-grey,
and tail and legs whitish. Its name expresses the sound of its voice, which is not unlike the bark of a Dog.
The Onagga or Dauw {E. montanus, Burchell). — Another African species, inferior [?] in size to the Ass, but
with the handsome form of the Couagga, and of an isabelle colour, striped with alternately broader and more
narrow black markings on the head, neck, and body. The hinder stripes are disposed obliquely forward, and the
legs and tail are white.
THE EIGHTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS,—
-in
RUMINANTIA,-
Is, perhaps, the most natural and the best determined of the whole class, for all the species
which compose it appear to have been constructed on the same model, and the Camels alone
present some inconsiderable exceptions to the general characters of the group.
The first of these characters is that of having no incisors in the upper jaw, while the
inferior has always eight, [the two outermost of which represent canines, as can be easily
shown]. They are replaced above by a callous pad. Between the incisors and the molars
is a wide space, where, in some genera, there are one or two canines.* The molars, almost
always six in number above and below, have their crowns marked with two double crescents,
the convexity of which is turned inwards in the upper, and outwards in the lower jaw.
The four feet are each terminated by two toes, and by two hoofs, which present a flat sur-
face to each other, appearing as though a single hoof had been cleft ; hence the names that
have been applied to these animals, of cloven-footed, bifurcated, &c.
Behind the hoof there are always two small spurs, which are vestiges of lateral toes. The
* Though acquainted with all the subdivisions of Ruminantia, we
have never seen more than one canine in any animal whatever ; and
in the Camels, wherein the inferior canine has been recognized as
such, there are never more than six lower incisors — Ed.
RUMINANTIA.
«l|
I ij
i :j
*
M
i
ii
135
two bones of the metacarpus and metatarsus are united into a single one, designated the
cannon bone ; but in certain species there are also vestiges of lateral metacarpal and metatarsal
bones.
The name Buminantia intimates the singular faculty possessed by these animals, of masti-
cating their food a second time, it being returned to the mouth after the first deglutition.
This faculty depends on the structure of their stomachs, which are always four in number,
the first three of which are so disposed that the food may enter into either of them, the
oesophagus terminating at the point of communication.
The first and laj-gest stomach is named the paunch j it receives a large quantity of vegetable
matters coarsely bruised by the first mastication. From this it passes into the second, termed
the honey-comb bag, the parietes of which are laminated like the cells of Bees. This second
stomach, very small and globular, seizes the food, and moistens and compresses it into little
pellets (or cuds), which afterwards successively return to the mouth to be rechewed. The
animal remains at rest during this operation, which lasts until all the herbage first taken into
the paunch has been subjected to it. The aliment thus remasticated descends directly into
the third stomach, termed the feuillet, on account of its parietes being longitudinally lami-
nated somewhat like the leaves of a book, from which it descends into the fourth or caillette,
the coats of which are wrinkled, and which is the true organ of digestion, analogous to the
simple stomach of animals in general. In the young of the ruminants, while they continue to
subsist on the milk of the mother, the caillette is the largest of the four. The paunch is only
developed by receiving great quantities of herbage, which finally give it its enormous volume.
Tliese animals have the intestinal canal very long j but there are few enlargements in the
great intestines. The coecum is likewise long and tolerably smooth. Their fat hardens more
by cooling than that of other quadrupeds, and even becomes brittle. It is commonly termed
tallow. The udder is placed between the thighs.
The Ruminants, of all animals, are those which are most useful to Man. They furnish him
with food, and nearly all the flesh that he consumes. Some serve him as beasts of burden,
others with their milk, their tallow, leather, horns, and other products.
The two first genera are without horns.
The Camels {Camelus, Lin.),-—
Approximate the preceding order rather more than the others. They have not only always canines in
both jaws, but have also two pointed teeth implanted in the intermaxillary bones, six inferior incisors,
and from eighteen to twenty molars only ; peculiarities which, of all the Ruminantia, they alone
possess, besides which the scaphoid and cuboid bones of the tarsus are separated. Instead of the
great hoof, fiat at its inner side, which envelopes the whole inferior portion of each toe, and which
determines the figure of the ordinary cloven foot, they have but one small one, which only adheres to
the last phalanx, and is symmetrically formed like the hoofs of the Pachydermata. Their tumid and
cleft lip, their long neck, projecting orbits, weakness of the crupper, and the disagreeable proportions
of their legs and feet, render them in some sort deformed ; but their extreme sobriety, and the faculty
they possess of passing several days without drinking, cause them to be of the highest utility.
It is probable that this last faculty results from the great masses of cells which cover the sides of
their paunch, in which water is constantly retained or produced. The other Ruminants have nothing
of the kind.
Camels urinate backward, but the direction of the penis changes during copulation, which is effected
with considerable difficulty, and while the female hes down. In the rutting season a fetid humour
issues from the head.
The Camels, properly so called, —
Have the two toes united below, almost to the point, by a common sole, and humps of fat upon the
back. They are large animals of the Eastern Continent, of which two species are known, both of them
completely domesticated.*
• Pallas states, on the authority of the Bucharians and Tartars, ] may remark that the Calmucks are in the habit of liberating all sorts
that there are wild Camels in the deserts of Central Asia ; but we I of animals from a religious principle.
MAMMALIA.
136
The Bactrian or Two-humped Camel (C. bactrianus, Lin.), — originally from Central Asia, and which descends
much less to the south than
The Arabian or One-humped Camel (C. dromedarius, Lin.), which is spread from Arabia into all the noii;h of .
Africa, and great part of Syria, Persia, &c. i
The first is the only one employed in Turkostan, Thibet, &c. ; and is sometimes led as far as Lake Baikal. The |
second is well known, in consequence of the necessity of employing it in crossing the great Desert, being the only
means of communication between the countries on its borders.
The Two-humped Camel walks less painfully than the other on humid ground ; and is also larger and stronger. ‘
Previous to renewing its coat it sheds the whole of its hair. It is the One-humped Camel that is the most abste-
mious. The Dromedary is merely a lighter variety of it, better fitted for expedition.
The flesh and milk of the Camel serve for food, and its hair for garments, to the people who possess it. In rocky
or stony countries both species are useless. [Buflfon considered the humps and callous pads on the legs of these
animals as marks of servitude : on the contrary, they are admirable instances of direct adaptation to their indi-
genous locality. The enlargement and convex soles of their feet are expressly fitted for treading on loose yielding
sand ; and their humps are provisions of superabundant nutriment, which are gradually absorbed and disappear
on the occasion of a scarcity of other food, as is particularly observed at the end of a long journey. By resting on
their callosities, they are enabled to lie down and repose on a scorching surface ; and finally, the abundant supply
of fluid in their stomach is too obvious a provision, in reference to their peculiar requirements, to need even this
passing allusion.]
The Lamas {Auchenia, Illiger), —
Have their two toes separate, and are without humps. Only two clearly distinct species are known,
both from the New World, and much smaller than the preceding.
The Lama, which, in its wild state, is termed Guanaco {Camelus llacma, Lin.).-— As large as a Stag, with dense
hair of a chestnut-colour, but varying when the animal is domesticated^ It was the only beast of burden which the
Peruvians possessed at the time of the conquest. It can carry a hundred and fifty pounds, but can only make
short journeys. The Alpaca is a variety with long woolly hair.
The Vicugna {Cam. vicunna, Lin.).— Size of a Sheep, and covered with fulvous wool, of admirably fine texture,
and of which valuable stuffs are manufactured. [The Lamas are mountain animals, peculiar to the Andes.
M. Ale. d’Orbigny, who has long resided in their native country, distinguishes four species of them, viz., the
Lama and Alpaca, which have been completely reduced to servitude, and the Guanaco and Vicugna, which con-
stantly refuse to copulate with the others.
The bones of an animal related to the Lamas, but which must have equalled the Camels of the eastern hemi-
sphere in stature, and which had three toes to the fore-feet, have lately been recovered by Mr.Danvin in Paraguay:
the Macrauchenia, Owen],
The Musks {MoseJms, Lin.), —
Are very much less anomalous than the Camels, differing only from ordinary Ruminants in the absence
of horns, by a long canine on each side of the upper jaw, which projects beyond the mouth in the
males, and lastly, by having a slender peronseum, which is not present even in the Camel. They are
remarkable for their elegance and lightness.
The Pouched Musk {M. moschiferus, Lin.), is the most celebrated species. Size that of a Roe, and almost
without tail ; it is completely covered with hairs, so coarse and brittle that they might almost be termed spines :
what particularly distinguishes it, however, is the pouch situate before the prepuce of the male, which contains
an odorous substance, well known in medicine and perfumei'y by the appellation mush. This species appears con-
fined to that rugged and rocky region from which most of the Asiatic rivers descend, and which extends between
Siberia, China, and Thibet. Its habits are nocturnal and solitary, and timidity extreme. It is in Thibet and
Tonquin that it yields the best musk ; that of the north being almost inodorous. [The difference more probably
arises from the amount of adulteration, which is practised to a vast extent.]
The other Musks have no musk-pouch, [and constitute the Tragulus of Bennett]. They inhabit the warm parts
of the eastern hemisphere, and are the smallest and most elegant of the Ruminantia. Such are M. pygmeeus.
Buff. ; M. memina, Schreb. ; and M.javanicus, Buff.
All the other Ruminants, at least of the male sex, have two horns ; that is to say, two pro-
minences of the frontal bones, more or less long, which occur in no other group of animals.
In some, these prominences are covered with an elastic sheath, formed as it were of agglu-
tinated hair, which continues to increase by layers during life. The name of horn is applied
to the substance of this sheath, and the sheath itself is termed the core. The pro-
minence which it envelopes grows with it during life, and never falls. Such are the horns of
cattle, as Oxen, Sheep, Goats, and Antelopes.
In others, the prominences are only covered with a hairy skin, continuous with that of the g
head : these prominences do not fall ; and the Giraffes afford the only example.
RUMINANTIA.
137
Finally, in the genus of Stags, the prominences, covered for a while with a hairy skin like
the other parts of the head, have at their base a ring of bony tubercles, which, as they enlarge,
compress and obliterate the nutritive vessels of that skin, [commonly termed the velvet] . It
becomes dry, and is thrown off : the bony prominences, being laid bare, at the expiration of
a certain period separate from the skull to which they were attached ; they fall, and the
animal remains defenceless. Others, however, are reproduced, generally larger than before,
which are destined to undergo the same fate. These horns, purely osseous, and subject to
periodical changes, are styled antlers.
The Stags {Cervus, Lin.) —
Are consequently ruminants which have heads armed with antlers ; but, if we except the Rein Deer,
the females in no instance possess them, [save in rare individual cases *]. The substance of these
antlers, when completely developed, is that of a dense bone without pores or internal cavity : their
figure varies greatly according to the species, and even in each species at different ages. These animals
are extremely fleet ; live mostly in forests ; and feed on grass, the leaves and buds of trees, &c.
Those species which have antlers either wholly or partially flattened may be first distinguished ; such as —
The Elk, or Moose Deer (C. alces, Lin.). — As large as a Horse, and sometimes larger; very high upon the legs ; with
a swoln cartilaginous muzzle, and a sort of goitre, or variously shaped pendulous swelling, under the throat ; hair
always very stiff, and of an ash-colour, more or less dark. The antlers of the male, at first dagger-shaped, and
then divided into narrow slips, assume, at the age of five years, the form of a triangular blade, dentelated on its
outer edge, and borne on a pedicle. They increase with age, so as to weigh fifty or sixty pounds, and to have
fourteen branches on each horn. The Elk lives in troops in the marshy forests of the north of both continents,
and its skin forms valuable leather.
The Rein Deer (C. tarandus, Lin.).— Size of a Stag, but with shorter and stouter limbs ; both sexes have antlers,
divided into several branches, at first slender and pointed, and finally terminating with age in broad dentelated
palms : the hair, brown in summer, becomes almost white in winter. It is peculiar to the glacial regions of both
continents, and is the animal so celebrated for the services which it renders to the Laplanders, who have numerous
herds of them, which in summer they lead to the
mountains, and in winter bring back to the plains :
it is their only beast of burden and draught, its
milk and flesh serve them for food, its hide for
clothes, &c.
The Fallow Deer (C. dama). — Less than the Stag,
and blackish-brown in winter, fulvous spotted with
white, in summer ; the buttocks always white, bor-
dered on each side with black : tail longer than that
of the Stag, black above and white below. The horn
of the male is round at base, with a pointed antler,
and throughout the rest of its length flattened, with
its outer edge dentelated. After a certain age it
shrinks, and splits irregularly into several slips.
This species, the Platyceros of the ancients, has be-
come common throughout Europe, but appears to
have been originally from Barbary. A blackish variety
without spots [even in the fawns] is not uncommon.
The species with round antlers are more nume-
rous. Those of temperate climates change colour,
more or less, with the seasons.
The Common Stag, or Red Deer (C. elephasy
Lin.).— Fulvous-brown, with a black dorsal line,
and on each side of it a series of small pale fulvous
spots, in summer ; uniform greyish-brown in win-
ter : the crupper and tail pale fulvous at all seasons.
It is indigenous to the forests of all Europe, and
of the temperate parts of Asia. The antlers of
the male are round, and appear in the second year,
at first dagger-shaped, and then with branches on
their inner side, which increase in number with age ; they are crowned finally with a sort of palmation, having
• There is the head of a female Roe, with antlers, in the Museum of
the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The connexion of these
defences, however, with the sexual organs is remarkable. They do
not grow in emasculated individuals ; and the rutting season imme-
diately follows their developement. In Lin. Trans, vol. ii. p. 356, an
instance is recorded of a Doe with only a single horn, resembling that
of a three-year-old Buck ; and on dissection, the ovary of the same
side was found to be schirrous. After attaining their maximum of
developement, the antlers of these animals decrease, in old age, at
each successive renewal. — Ed.
138
MAMMALIA.
many points. When very old, the Stag becomes blackish, and the hairs on the neck lengthen and become erect. The
antlers are shed in spring, the old ones losing them first ; and are reproduced in summer, during the whole of
which period the males associate separately. When they are grown again, the rutting season commences, which
lasts three weeks, at which time the males become furious. Both sexes unite in vast herds to pass the winter.
The hind carries eight months, and brings forth in May ; the fawn is fulvous, spotted with white.
The Canadian Stag, or Wapiti; Elk of the Anglo-Americans (C. canadensis, Gm. ; C. strongyloceros, Schreb.)
— A fourth larger than our Stag, and nearly of the same colour, but with the disk of the crupper larger and paler,
the horns equally round, but more developed, and without a palm. Inhabits all the temperate parts of North
America.
The Virginian Stag, or Deer of the Anglo-Americans (C. virginianus, Gm.). — Less than ours, and more elegantly
formed ; the muzzle more pointed ; of a pale fulvous in summer, reddish-grey in winter ; the under part of the
throat and tail white at all seasons. Antlers shorter than in the European species, and very difierently formed.
The species inhabiting warm climates do not change
colour. There are several in South America, at pre-
sent but imperfectly determined ; as C. paludosus,
Desm. ; C. campestris, F. Cuv. ; C. nemoralis,
H. Smith, &c. There are also several in the East In-
dies ; as the Axis (C. axis, Lin.), permanently spotted
with pure white, and which is indigenous to Bengal,
but propagates easily in Europe : also C. Aristotelis,
Cuv., which, with long hairs on the neck and throat,
and inhabiting the north of India, must correspond
with the Hippelaplms of Aristotle, &c., &c. Several of
these have canine teeth.
The Roe (C. capreolus, Lin.), — with but two tines to
its antlers ; of a greyish-fulvous ; the buttocks white ;
no infra-orbital sinuses, and scarcely any tail. Some j
individuals are very bright russet, and others black- I
ish. This species lives in pairs in the elevated forests
of temperate Europe, sheds its antlers at the close of
autumn, renews them in winter, undergoes the rut in ■
November, and remains with young five months and i |
a half. Its fiesh is much more esteemed than that of
the Stag. There are none in Russia. The Tartarian 1 1
Roe (C. pygargus, Pallas) is larger, with longer hair, |
and horns more spinous at their base. It inhabits :
the high grounds beyond the Volga. There are also 1 1
some Roes in America, the antlers of which always ; i
remain simple, or without tines ; as C. rufus, F. Cuv., :
with canines in both jaws, C. nemorivagus, F. Cuv., 1
and C. simplicicornis, H. Smith.
In India there are some small species which might
Fig. 66.— Cervus macronrus. Ije Separated from the other Roes, having sharp ca-
nines, and short antlers borne upon pedicles, covered with hair on the forehead ; such are the Muntjac, or Kijang,
(C. muntjac, Gm.), which is found in smaU herds at Ceylon and Java, the C. philippinus, H. Smith, C. moschatus.
Id., &c. i
The Giraffe {Cameleopardalis, Lin.) —
Is characterized by conical horns in both sexes, that are always covered with a hairy skin, and never j
fall. The bony nucleus of them is articulated during youth to the frontal bone by a suture. In the middle 3
of the forehead, there is an eminence or third horn, broader and much shorter, but equally articulated i
by suture. This animal is in other respects one of the most remarkable that exist, on account of the I ,
great length of its neck and the disproportionate extension of its fore-legs.*
Only one species is known (C. giraffa, Lin.), confined to the deserts of Africa, which has short hair, marked il,
with angular fulvous spots on a greyish ground, and a slight mane on the hind-neck. It is the tallest of all 1 1
animals, its head being frequently raised eighteen feet from the ground. Its disposition is gentle, and it feeds on . ;
leaves. I!
The Ruminants with hollow horns — (
Are more numerous than the others, and we have been necessitated to divide them into 9i
genera upon characters of trivial import, derived from the form of the horns, and the proper- 9
tions of the various parts. To these M. Geoffrey has advantageously added those afforded by |
the substance of the frontal prominence, or the bony nucleus of the horn. j
* The Giraffe is essentially a modified Deer, with persistent horns. | large gall bladder, like the Antelopes ; whereas no trace of this
Of three dissected, however, by Prof. Owen, one proved to possess a ! receptacle existed in either of the others, as in the Deer tribe.— Ed i
r,
RUMINANTIA.
139
The Antelopes {Antilope, Lin.) —
Have the substance of the bony nucleus of the horn solid, with neither pores nor cavity, like the
antlers of the Stags. They also further resemble the Stags in possessing infra-orbital sinuses, in the
slenderness of their form, and speed of foot. They compose a very numerous genus [consisting now
of more than seventy well-ascertained species], which we have been compelled to subdivide principally
after the shape of the horns.
a. Horns annulated, with a double curvature ; the points forward, or inward and upward, [in other words, annu-
lated and lyrated ; also placed forward on the head, above the eye : the muzzle and around the nostrils hairy.
This is the most characteristic section of the genus, and the species composing it may be distinguished by the
term Gazelles.']
The Numidian Gazelle (A. dorcas, Lin.). — Round, thick, and black horns, with the size and graceful shape
of the Roe: pale fulvous above, white below; a brown band along each flank, a tuft of hair on each knee,
and a deep pouch on each groin. Inhabits the north of Africa in innumerable herds, which form a circle when
attacked, presenting horns on every side. Is the ordinary prey of the Lion and the Panther. The soft expression
of its eye supplies the Arabic poets with many images.
[To this division belong also the A. euchore, Kevella,* Bennettii, arabica, corinna, Soemmeringii, mhorr, dama,
ruficollis, melampus, and pygargus, which last seems to tend through A. caama, bubalus, &c., to the Gnus. The
author likewise includes A. gutturosa, Pallas, the Hoang-yang or Yellow Goat of the Chinese, herds of which
inhabit the arid plains of Central Asia, and the A. saiga, Pal., or Coins of Strabo, a European animal, indigenous
to the south of Poland and Russia] ; it is as large as a Fallow Deer, and fulvous in summer, whitish-grey in
winter. Its cartilaginous, thick, and vaulted muzzle, with very expanded nostrils, obliges it to retrograde in
feeding. The herd sometimes consists of more than ten thousand individuals. [We are inclined to approximate
to the Saiga a remarkable species from Northern India, the Chiru (A. Hodgsoni, Abel) ; it is somewhat less than
the Fallow Deer, of a whitish colour, with the face and front of the limbs black ; horns nearly straight, or but slightly
lyrated, and remarkably long and slender, rising abruptly from the forehead. Among the true Gazelles, may be
particularly noticed the Springer, or Spring-bole {A. euchore) of the Cape colonists, so celebrated for occasionally
visiting, during seasons of drought, the cultivated lands
of South Africa in innumerable herds, which devastate
wherever they pass.] It is larger than the Numidian
Gazelle (A. dorcas), and nearly of the same form and co-
lour ; is distinguished by a fold of skin on the crupper,
clothed with long white hairs, which opens and enlarges at
every bound the animal takes. [The A. So'emmeringii is
still larger, and of a delicate pale buff-yellow or nankeen
colour, the hairs singularly disposed in zig-zag patches,
imparting a peculiar waved appearance.]
b. Horns annulated, and with a triple [spiral] curve.
The Indian Antelope (A . cervicapra, Lin .) .—Still very like
the Gazelles, but the horns have a triple flexure. [Colour
variable, black or different shades of brown, relieved with
white around theeyes, and below: this animal is remarkable
for the great developement of its infra-orbital cavities].
Tlie Addax, or Nubian Antelope (A. addax, Licht.). — Also three curves to the horns, which are larger and more
slender than those of the preceding : it is whitish, tinged with grey on the back, and has a large brown spot on
the forehead. [There are horns in both sexes, as in
most of the foregoing: this animal seems to be allied
rather to A. strepsiceros, pertaining to a subsequent
section.]
e. Homs annulated, with a double curve, but winding
in an opposite direction to those of the preceding,
the points directed backward ; the Damalis of H. Smith,
in part.
The Bubalus of the ancients (A. bubalus, Lin.). — More
heavily formed than the others ; the head [very] long
[and the eyes situate remarkably backward] : size of
a Stag, and yellowish-brown, except the end of the
tail, which is terminated by a black tuft. A common
species in Barbary. The .4. caama, or Harte-beeste of the
Cape colonists, [and A. lunata,] range in this division.
[These animals have much the aspect of a small Cow, and inhabit the more sterile regions of Africa in small
herds, headed by an old male. They are easily domesticated.]
* The A. subgutturota, Gm., remarks the author, has not been pretended to dififer from A. Kevella, further than in having a slight swelling
under the throat.
Fig. 57.— Spring.bok.
.
140
MAMMALIA.
Fig. 59. — Great Bush Antelope.
Fig. 60. — fcteen-bok tragulua).
d. Small, straight, or but slightly curved horns, shorter than the head ; peculiar, in most of the species, to the
male sex, [and placed far backward, behind the eyes : these
animals have a distinct maxillary gland, and naked muzzle :
there is generally a tuft of long hair between the horns. The
crupper is broad and elevated, the body heavy, and general
form approximating that of the small Musks {Tragulus),
the Hog Deer, and, we may add, the Agoutis : they are de-
nominated Bush Antelopes (JPhilantomha^ Ogilby), from their
natural haunts.
At their head may be placed the Great Bush Antelope
(A. silvicuUrix), much larger than the rest, and dark-coloured,
with a white stripe along the back, becoming very broad on
the crupper. In its train follow, — A. mergens, pygnuiea, Max-
wellii, perspieilla, Natalensis, philantomba, Burchellii,
grimmea, and one or two others ; some of them very dimi-
nutive : the delicate little A. saltiana appears to rank on the
extreme confines. The author likewise admits a very peculiar
species, X\lq Klip-springer (A. oreotragus), distinguished by its stitf brittle hair, of a greenish-yellow colour, and espe-
cially by the singular structure of its hoofs, which do not expand
or project forwards, their outline being perpendicular with the
leg : its name signifies rock-springer. He also places here the
Woolly Antelope (A. lanata, Desm.).]
e. Anmdated horns with a simple curve, the point directed
forward {ReduncUf Smith). [The muzzle still naked.
To this group belong the A. redunca, scoparia, quadriscopa,
montana, tragulus, capreolus, eleotragus, isabellina, Lalandiiy
pedeoiragusy rufescens, madagua, melanotis, &c.]
/. Horns annulated, straight, or a little curved, and longer
than the head (Oryxy Smith, in part).
Tlie Oryx {A. oryxy Pallas).— As large as a Stag, with slender
horns two or three feet long, straight, pointed, round, the basal
third obliquely annulated, and smaller in the females. It is found
northward of the Cape, and in the interior of Africa. The length
of its hoof, which is greater than in the other species, enables it to climb rocks, and it prefers mountain
districts.
The Algazel (A. gazellay Lin. ; [A. bezoasticay H. Smith]. — Inhabits North Africa, from Nubia to Senegal. It is
often sculptured on the monumei^ts of Egypt and Nubia;
and M. Lichtenstein thinks that it is the true Oryx of the
ancients. [The A. leucoryxy which is distinct, and A. beisa,
require to be here added. Perhaps also the Anoa depressi-
rostris, Auct.]
g. Horns annulated, with a simple curve, the points di-
rected backward.
The Blue Antelope (A. leucophcea, Gm.). — A little larger
than the Stag, of a bluish ash-colour ; large horns in both
sexes, uniformly curved, with more than twenty rings.
The Equine Antelope {A. equinuy Geof.).— As large as a
Horse, and reddish-grey, with the head brown, a white spot
before each eye ; a mane on the neck, large horns, &c. [A
nearly allied species, of equal size {A. nigra), has lately been ,
discovered in South Africa, the males of which are almost ^
wholly black. We may here mention also the A. ellip- %
siprymnus, which is larger than a Stag, with a conspicuous ;
white ring on the buttocks, and rather long coarse hair ; which ;
latter character is enhanced in A. koba and A. sing-sing^
Tlie Cambing-outan, or Antelope of Sumatra (A. swma-
ttensisy Shaw).— Size of a large Goat ; black, with white hair on the neck and throat ; the horns small and pointed, i
[The ailinity of this species with the preceding is not obvious ; it is more nearly allied to A. thar and A. ghorral.l
h. Horns encircled with a spiral ring.
The Impoof (A. areas, Pall.). — Klk of the Cape colonists. As large as the largest Horse, with stout, conical, and *
straight horns, surrounded by a spiral ridge ; greyish hair, with a small mane along the spine ; a kind of dewlap s
under the neck ; and tail terminated by a tuft. It lives in herds on the mountains, to the north of the Cape of :
Good Hope. [Allied to it is the A. canna, from the same locality, which is smaller and more slender.] ,
The Coudou {A. strepsiceros. Pal.)— Size of a Stag, with large horns in the male only, that are smooth with a
triple curve, and a single longitudinal and slightly spiral ridge : a small beard on the chin, and a mane along the ;
spine. Tliis animal lives solitarily, to the north of the Cape of Good Hope.
Fig. 61. — Oryx Antelope.
RUMINANTIA.
141
Fig. 62. — Prong-horned Antelope.
Near it, we conceive, should be placed the Addax, together with the A. sylvaiica, decula, scripta, and one
or two others. The A. scripta, or Harnessed Antelope, is an
elegant small species, the Guih of Buffon, of a lively fulvous
colour, marked with harness-lWe. white stripes and spots.
The A. zebra has dark regular stripes across the crupper.]
i. Horns bifurcated, (AntUocapra, Ord ; Dicranoceros,
Smith).
Of all the forms of hollow horns, this is the most singular :
a compressed branch is given off from their base or trunk,
almost like the antler of a Stag ; the pointed tips curve back-
ward. The best known species is
The Cabril of the Canadians (A. furcifera, H. Smith), which
inhabits the extensive plains of the centre and west of North
America in vast herds : its size is nearly that of the Roe : hair
thick, waved, and reddish ; the antler of its horns situate
near the middle of their height. [Nearly allied is the A. pal-
mata, Smith, decidedly a distinct species, which has palmated
forked horns, that it employs in scooping away the snow : it is
a mountain animal, the range of which appears to be more southward than that of the other.]
h. Four horns (Tetraceros, Leach).
This subdivision, recently discovered in India, was not unknown to the ancients. ./Elian speaks of it, xv. c. 14,
by the name of the Four-horned Oryx * : the anterior pair are before the eyes, the posterior completely behind the
frontal. [As the position of the horns varies in some groups of two-horned Antelopes, it may be that the anterior
pair of the four-horned species are represented in the greater number, and the posterior pair in the Bush Ante-
lopes {Philantomba).']
The Tchicarra (A. chicarra, Hardw.).— Size of a Roe, and nearly uniform fulvous : no horns in the female sex.
It is found in the forests of Hindostan. The A. quadricornis, Blainv., is only known to me by a cranium, the
anterior horns of which are proportionally larger ; perhaps it may only differ in age.
1. Two smooth horns.
The Nylghau {A. picta, and trago-camelus, Gm.). — As large as a Stag, and larger : horns short, and recurved for-
ward, peculiar to the male sex ; a beard under the middle of the neck. Inhabits India.
The Chamois {A. rupricapra, Lin.).— The only ruminant of western Europe that can be compared with the
Antelopes, but presenting peculiar characters. Its smooth horns are curved abruptly backward like a hook : behind
each ear, is a sac beneath the skin, which opens externally by a small orifice.f Its size is that of a large Goat.
Hair deep brown, with a black band descending from the eye towards the middle. Tliis species traverses rocks and
precipices with extreme agility, inhabiting in small troops the middle region of the highest mountains. [The
A. thar, sumatrensis, ghorral, and other goat-like species, seem to be allied to this group and to that of
A. strepsiceros.']
Col. Smith separates from the Antelopes, under the generic title of
The Gnus (Catoblepas),—
The Antilope gnu, Gm. ; a very extraordinary species, which, at first sight, seems to be a monstrous being,
compounded of parts of different animals. It has the body and crupper of a small Horse, covered with brown
hair ; the tail furnished with long white hairs, like that of a Horse ; and on the neck a beautiful flowing mane,
white at base, and black at the tip of the hairs. Its horns, approximated and enlarged at the base, like those of
the Cape Buffalo, descend outwardly, and turn up at the point ; the muzzle is large, flat, and surrounded by a
circle of projecting hairs : under the throat and dewlap is another black mane ; and the legs are as slender
and light as those of a Stag. Both sexes have horns.
This animal inhabits the mountains northward of the Cape ; where it does not appear common, although the
ancients seem to have had some knowledge of it. [There are two other very distinct species, the Brindled Gnu
(C. gorgon), and the Taurine Gnu (C. taurina), both also from the interior of South Africa.]
Tlie three remaining genera have the bony core of the horns occupied, to a considerable
extent, with cells, that communicate with the frontal sinuses. The direction of their horns
characterizes the several divisions.
The Goats {Capra, Lin.) —
Have the horns directed upwards and backwards : their chin is generally furnished with a long beard,
and the chanfrin almost always concave.
♦ The fossil cranium and some other bones of a gigantic four-horned
ruminant, have lately been discovered in the productive Sivolik
deposits of Northern India, the Sivatherium, Caut, and Falc ; twice
the size of a large Ox. — Ed.
t It was perhaps a miscomprehension of the nature of this aperture,
which led the ancients to say, after Empedocles, that Goats breathed
through their ears.
142
MAMMALIA.
The Wild Goat, or ^gagrus (C. <egagrus, Gm.) — Appears to be the stock of all our domestic breeds, and is dis-
tinguished by its anteriorly sharp horns, very large in the male, short and sometimes wanting in the female ;
are very small, with horns inclining backwards. All of them are robust, capricious, wandering animals, that
betray their mountain origin by aiFecting dry and wild situations, where they feed on coarse herbage and the
shoots of bushes. They do much injury in forests. The kid only is eaten, but their milk is useful in several
diseases. The female can produce at seven months, and goes with young five months ; she generally yeans two
kids. The male engenders at a year old, and one suffices for more than a hundred females : in five or six years
he becomes aged.
The Ibex (C. ibex, Lin.).— Immense horns, square in front, and marked with prominent transverse knots. It
inhabits the most elevated summits of lofty mountain chains, throughout the whole ancient Continent. The
Caucasian Ibex (C. caucasica), has great triangular horns, obtuse but not square in front, and notched as in the
preceding. Both species propagate with the Domestic Goat. The African Maned Ibex (C. <ethiopica) is another.
[These various animals with enormous horns are said to precipitate themselves fearlessly down precipices, always
falling on the horns, the elasticity of which secures them from injury. Those who have observed the force with ;
which domestic Rams butt at each other, mutually striking the forehead, will feel less surprise at the Ibexes i
withstanding the shock of a fall,] '
Have horns directed backward, and then inclining spirally more or less forward ; their chanfrin is
generally convex, and they have no beard. They so little merit to be generically separated from the
wild races or species, closely allied together. '
The Argali, or Wild Sheep of Siberia {Ov, ammon, Lin.), — the male of which has very large horns, triangular at
base, the angles rounded, flattened in front, and transversely striated ; those of the female are falchion-shaped and i
compressed. Its hair, in summer, is short and greyish-fulvous ; in winter close, stiff, and reddish-grey, with some s|
white or whitish upon the muzzle, throat, and under-parts. There is always, as in the Stag, a yellowish space
around the tail, which latter is very short. This animal inhabits the mountains of all Asia, and attains the stature
of a Fallow Deer. [A smaller and distinct species inhabits the Himmalaya mountains, which is termed the
Burrhal: there are specimens in the Museums of the Linnaean and Zoological Societies, London.]
The Corsican Moufflon {Ov. musimon. Pal.)— appears to differ only in its inferior size, and in the deficiency or
smallness of the horns in the female sex. It is said to be also found in Crete. There are some varieties wholly
or partially black, and others more or less white.
It is probable that the American Moufflon {Ov. montana) is a species of Argali, which may have crossed the sea
on the ice. Its horns are very stout, and more perfectly spiral than those of the Asiatic Argali.
The African Moufflon {Ov. tragelephus, Cuv.) has soft reddish hair, with a long mane hanging under the neck,
and another at each ankle ; the tail short : it appears to be a distinct species, and inhabits the rocky regions of
Barbary ; M. Geoffroy observed it in Egypt.
From the Moufflon or Argali, it is believed that the innumerable breeds of our woolly domestic Sheep have been
derived ; animals which, the Dog alone excepted, have split into a greater number of varieties than any other.
[One remarkable fact, however, at variance with this supposition, and which we have never yet found to be
noticed, is, that all the wild races have exceedingly short tails, whereas the domestic breeds have generally, if
not always when unmutilated, tails that reach nearly to the ground. It is easier to conceive the loss of this
appendage in certain domestic breeds, than its acquirement or extension, and the latter theory is borne out
by no analogy].
We have some in Europe with fine or common wool ; large and small ; with big or little horns, wanting in the
female, or in both sexes, &c. The most interesting varieties are the Spanish or Merino, which has a fine curly
fleece, with large spiral horns in the male, now beginning to be diffused through Europe, and the English, which
has long and fine wool. The most common variety in southern Russia has a very long tail. Those of India and
which is also sometimes the case with the different
Ibexes. It inhabits the mountains of Persia in
troops, where it is known by the appellation pasing,
and perhaps those of several other countries, even
the Alps. The oriental bezoar is a concretion found
in its intestines.
Domestic Goats (G. hircus, Lin.), vary exceed-
ingly in size, colour, and the length and texture of
their coat ; also in the magnitude, and even the
number of their horns. Those of Angora and
Cappadocia have the longest and most silky hair.
The Thibet Goats are celebrated for the admirably
fine wool which grows among their hair, of which
the Cashmere stuffs are fabricated. There is a race
in Upper Egypt with short hair, convex chanfrin.
Fig. 63. — Angora Goat.
'me vjruais ui uruiiiea, teriueu mamurines d,inxjuiaa,
The Sheep {Ovis, Lin.) —
Goats, that the two produce by intermixture a fertile offspring. As in the Goats, there are several
RUMINANTIA.
143
of Guinea, which have also long tails, are distinguished by their long legs, very convex forehead, pendent ears,
want of horns, and short coarse hair instead of wool. The Sheep of Northern Europe and Asia are mostly of small
size, with a very short tail, [the truth being, that this appendage is merely cut short by the shepherds soon after
birth]. Those of Persia, Tartary, and China, have the tail completely transformed into a double globe of fat.
The Syrian and Barbary Sheep retain long tails, which are loaded with a vast mass of fat, In both the latter
varieties, the ears are pendent, the horns large in the Rams and middle-sized in the Ewes and Wethers, and the
j| wool is intermixed with hair.
Sheep are valuable for their flesh, suet, milk, skin, wool, and manure ; the flocks, well managed, proving every-
I where a source of fertility. The Lamb is weaned at two months, and sheds its milk teeth from the first to the
I third year. The Ewe propagates at one year, and is prolific for ten or twelve ; its period of gestation is five
I months, and it often yeans two Lambs. The Ram, adult at eighteen months, suffices for thirty Ewes, and is
enfeebled at eight years old.
The Oxen {Bos, Linn.) —
Have horns directed laterally, inclining upwards or forwards in a crescent form; they are large
animals, with a broad muzzle, heavy and massive body, and stout limbs.
The Common Ox ( B. taurm, Lin.).— Specifically distinguished by its flat forehead, longer than broad, and round
horns, placed at the two extremities of a projecting ridge which separates the forehead from the occiput. In
p fossil skulls, which appear to have belonged to this species in its original condition (the TJrus of the ancients),
these horns curve forwards and downwards ; but in the numberless domestic varieties they vary exceedingly in
I size and direction, and are sometimes altogether wanting. The ordinary races of the torrid zone have all a lump
of fat upon the shoulders, and there are some of these races not larger than a Hog. Every one is acquainted with
, the utility of these animals for labour, and with the value of their flesh, fat, milk, hide, and even horns. The
I Cow goes with young nine months, and produces at eighteen. The Bull couples at eighteen months or two years,
and is useless at ten.
The European Bison, or Aurochs, (Bos urus,
Gm.)— This species, which has been erroneously
deemed the original stock of our domestic cattle,
is distinguished by its convex forehead, broader
than high, by the attachment of its horns below
the occipital ridge, by the length of its legs, by an
additional pair of ribs, by a sort of curly wool
which covers the neck of the male, forming a
shoi*t beard xinder the throat, and by its grunting
voice. It is a savage animal, which at present
finds refuge in the great marshy forests of Lithu-
ania, of the Krapacs, and of Caucasus, but which
was formerly spread all over temperate Europe.
It is the largest of the European quadrupeds.
[There is some reason for suspecting that the
Caucasian or Mountain Bisons are not identical
with those of Lithuania.]
The American Bison, termed Buffalo by the
Anglo-Americans, (B. bison, Lin.). — The bony
head very like that of the preceding, and similarly
covered, together with the neck and shoulders,
with frizzled wool, which becomes very long in
winter ; but its limbs and tail are shorter, [and it
has yet another pair of ribs]. It inhabits all the
temperate parts of North America, and repro-
duces with the domestic Cow.
!j The Indian Buffalo (B. bubalus, Lin.). — Originally from India, and brought into Egypt, Greece and Italy, during
: the middle ages. It has a convex forehead, longer than broad ; the horns are directed backward, and marked in
front by a longitudinal projection. This animal is diflicult to tame, but very powerful, and prefers marshy places
and coarse plants on which the Ox could not live. Its milk is good, and the hide very strong, but its flesh is not
j esteemed. There is a race of them in India, the horns of which include a space of ten feet from tip to tip ; it is
'l named Arni in Hindostan, and is the Bos ami of Shaw. [There would appear to be several different wild races,
I and many tame ones, varying much in size.]
j The Gyall, or Jungle Ox (B. frontalis, Lambert), — resembles the Domestic Ox in most of its characters, but
j| has horns flattened from before backwards, and no angular ridges. They are directed laterally and more or less
I upward, but not backward. It is a domestic race in the mountain districts of the north-east of India, and
is perhaps derived from the intermixture of the Buffalo with the common species. [We suspect it rather to be
I allied to the original stock, if it be not really the latter, of the various humped breeds of India.]
The Yak, or Grunting Ox, (B. grunniens. Pal.) — A small species, with the tail completely covered with long
j hairs like that of a Horse, and a long mane on the back : its head appears to resemble that of a Buffalo, but the
I' jg. 64. — European Bison.
144
MAMMALIA.
horns have not been sufficiently described. This animal, mentioned by ^Elian, was originally from the
mountains of Thibet. Its tail constitutes the standard, still used by the Turks to distinguish their superior
officers.
The Cape Buffalo (Bos caffer, Sparm.).— Very
large horns, directed outward and downward and
then turned upward, flattened, and so large at
base that they nearly cover the forehead, leaving
only a triangular space, the point of which is ’
above. It is a very large and extremely ferocious
animal, which inhabits the woods of Caffraria. i
[There are other African Buffaloes of inferior size,
a female of one of which (B. brachyceros, Gray),
or the Short-horned Buffalo, with very large
ears and well-proportioned limbs, is now living in
London.] Lastly,
The Musk Ox (Bos moschatus, Gm. [Ovibos mos-
chatuSf Blainv.]). — Horns approximated and di-
rected as in the Cape Buffalo, but meeting on the
forehead by a straight line : those of the female !
smaller and separated. The forehead convex, and
extremity of the muzzle hairy. It stands low, and
is covered with long hair, that reaches the ground.
Tail extremely shork It diffuses more strongly
the musky odour common to the whole genus,
[and which is also particularly noticeable in the
European Bison]. Inhabits the coldest regions ^
of North America, where alone it has been seen, i
though its skull and bones are sometimes carried
by the ice to Siberia.
THE NINTH ORDER OF MAMMALIANS,—
CETACEA,—
Consists of animals without hind-limbs : the trunk being continued by a thick tail, which i <
terminates in a horizontal cartilaginous fin, while the head is connected to the body by so i
short and thick a neck, that no diminution of
its circumference is perceptible : tliis neck
consists of very slender cervical vertebrae, that
are partly anchylosed or soldered together.
Tlie first bones of their anterior extremities
are shortened, and the succeeding ones flattened
and enveloped in a tendinous membrane, which
reduces them to the condition of true fins.
Hence the external form is absolutely that of
fishes, except that the latter have the tail-fin
vertical. They always therefore remain in the
water ; but as they breathe by lungs, they are
compelled to return frequently to the surface
to take in fresh supplies of air.* Their warm blood ; ears that open externally, though bylj'
very small orifices ; their viviparous generation, mammae by which they suckle their young,M«.
and all the details of their anatomy, sufficiently distinguish them from fishes. 1
‘ The larger species, however, will remain more than an hour I blood required to store these cavities, they continue breathing for a
beneath the surface : in reference to which faculty, these animals I certain regular period, at each time of coming to the surface for that! j !l i
have capacious reservoirs for arterial blood along the dorsal region, I purpose. — Ed. i'
and even within the head; hence, to oxygenate the great volume of | i ,
Fig. 66. — Swimming Paw of Whale.
J
I
j
CETACEA.
145
j The brain is large, and its hemispheres well developed ; that portion of the cranium which
' contains the internal ear is separated from the rest of the head, to which it only adheres by
I ligaments. There are never any external ears, nor hairs upon the body,
i The form of the tail compels them to flex it from above downwards, to produce a progressive
motion ; and it greatly assists them in rising in the water.
I To the genera hitherto included, we add others formerly confounded with the Morses,
[and which have since, with still greater propriety, been placed subordinately to the great
series of Pachyderm ata]. They form our first family, or that of the
Cetacea Herbivora, —
The teeth of which have flat crowns, which determines their mode of life ; and the latter
induces them to leave the water frequently, to seek for pasture on shore. They have two
teats on the breast, and hairy moustaches ; two circumstances which, when observed from
a distance as they raise the anterior portion of the body above water, may give them some
resemblance to human beings, and have probably occasioned those fabulous accounts of
Tritons and Sirens which some mariners pretend to have seen. Although, in the cranium, the
bony nostrils open towards the summit, the orifices of the skin are pierced at the end of the
muzzle. Their stomach is divided into four sacs, of which two are lateral, and they have a
large coecum.
The Manati {Manatus, Cuv.) —
Have an oblong body, terminated by a lengthened oval fin : their grinders, eight in number throughout,
have square crowns, marked by two transverse ridges ; there are no incisors or canines in the adult,
but, when very young, there are two very small pointed teeth in the intermaxillary bones, which soon
disappear. Vestiges of nails are visible on the edges of their swimming-paws, which they employ
with some address in carrying their young ; hence the comparison of these organs with hands, and
the name of Manatus applied to the animals. From their manner of living, they are also called
Sea-cows, &c. ; and from their mammae. Mermaids, &c.
The Manati (Tricheclms manatus, Lin.),— Is chiefly found near the mouths of rivers, in the hottest parts of the
Atlantic Ocean ; and it does not appear that those of the American rivers differ specifically from those of Africa.
They grow to the length of fifteen feet, and their flesh is eaten. [M. F. Cuvier, from examination of the crania,
arrived at the conclusion that the African species (ilf. senegalensis, Adanson) was satisfactorily distinct ; and a
third, from the rivers of Florida, has since been distinguished by Dr. Harlan as M. laiirostris.'\
The Dugongs {Halicore, Illig.) —
Have grinders composed of two cones laterally united : the teeth implanted in the incisive bones
continue to increase in length, till they become true pointed tusks, but are in great part covered by
thick fleshy lips, that are bristled with moustaches. The body is elongated, and the tail terminated by
a crescent-shaped flapper.
We know but of one species {H. dugong), which inhabits the Indian Ocean, and has been confounded by several
travellers with the Manati. Like that animal, it has been named Siren, Sea-cow, &c. [There is reason to suspect
the existence of several species of this genus ; that of the Red Sea is described by M. Ruppell by the appellation
H. tabernaculus.l
The Stellerines {Rytina, Illig.) —
Appear to have only a single composite grinder on each side, with a flat crown, and elevated ridges of
enamel. Their swimming-paws have not even the little nails observable in the Manati. According to
Steller, the first, and hitherto the only one who has described them, their stomach also is much more
simple.
But one species is known, which inhabits the southern parts of the Pacific Ocean. [It is entirely covered with
a thick rugged cuirass, formed of agglutinated hairs, like the hoofs of ungulated quadrupeds.
The second family, or the animals which constitute the
Cetacea Ordinaria, —
Are distinguished from the preceding by the singular apparatus from which they have
' received the appellation of Blowers. As with their prey they necessarily engulf, in their
■ 1 L
146
MAMMALIA.
capacious mouths, a great volume of water, there required to be some method of getting rid
of it ; and accordingly it passes through the nostrils by means of a peculiar disposition of the
velum palati, and is accumulated in a sac situated at the external orifice of the cavity of the
nose, whence, by the compression of powerful muscles, it is violently expelled through a
narrow aperture pierced on the summit of the head. It is thus that these animals produce
those jets of water observed by mariners at so great a distance. Their nostrils, continually
bathed in salt water, could not be lined with a membrane suificiently delicate to enable them to
perceive odours ; hence they have none of those projecting laminai observed in other animals :
the olfactory nerve is in some wanting, and if there be any endowed with the sense of smell,
it must be in a very slight degree. Their larynx, of a pyramidal form, penetrates into the
posterior portion of the nostrils, to receive air and conduct it to the lungs, without the animal
being obliged to raise its head and throat above water for that purpose ; there are no pro-
jecting laminas in the glottis, and the voice is reduced to simple bellowing. They have no
vestige of hair*, but the whole body is covered with a smooth skin, under which [or more |
strictly, forming part of it,] is that thick layer of blubber abounding in oil, the principal
object for which they are pursued.
The mammae are placed near the anus, and their SAvimming-paws are incapable of
grasping.
Their stomach has five and sometimes as many as seven distinct sacs ; instead of one single
spleen, they have several, that are small and globular. Those species which have teeth have 1
them all conical and similar to one another i for they do not chew their food, but swallow it |
rapidly.
Two little bones suspended in the flesh, near the anus, are the sole remaining vestiges of J
posterior limbs. P
Several have a vertical fin on the back, composed of a tendinous substance, but unsup- |||
ported by bone. Their eyes, flattened in front, have a thick and solid schlerotica j and the
teguments of the tongue are soft and smooth.
They may be subdivided into two small tribes : those in which the head bears the usual
proportion to the body, and those in which it is immoderately large ; the first comprehending
the Dolphins and the Narwhals. ,
The Dolphins {Delphinus, Lin.) — l|
Have teeth in both jaws, all simple, and nearly always conical. They are the most carnivorous, and,j
in proportion to their size, the most cruel of their order. There is no coecum. ^
The Dolphins, properly so called, {Delphinus, Cuv.) —
Have a convex forehead, and the muzzle, which forms a kind of beak in front of the head, more
slender than the rest.
The Common Dolphin (X). delpMs, Lin.).— Tlie beak-like snout depressed, and armed on each side of both jaws
with from forty-two to forty-seven slender, curved, and pointed teeth : it is black above, white below, and eight or
ten feet in length. This animal, found in vast herds in every sea [?], and celebrated for the velocity of its move- j
ments, which sometimes precipitate it on the decks of vessels, appears really to have been the Dolphin of the j
ancients. The entire organization of its brain would seem to indicate the docility which they attributed to it.f
The Great Dolphin (D. tursio, Bonaterre.) — The beak short, broad, and depressed ; twenty-one to twenty-four ||
teeth on each side above and below, which are conical, and often worn down : some individuals are more than |
fifteen feet in length. It appears that they are found in the Mediterranean as well as in the Ocean [and, though |
seldom taken, on account of the extreme rapidity of their movements, they are not rare in the British seas. There
are numerous others].
M. de Blainville separates from these first Dolphins, under the term
Delphinorynchus, —
Those species in which the snout, though elongated and slender, is not separated from the forehead M ft
by a distinct groove.
* Except in tlie g-enus Inia, d’Orbigny, wherein there are true
moustaches — Ed.
t This animal must not be confounded with a fish {Coryphasna
Hippuris), celebrated for its beautiful iridescent colours, which bears
the same popular name,-
CETACEA.
147 j
One has been thrown upon our coasts {D. mieropteriis, Cuv.), remarkable for the small size and backward posi- |
tion of its dorsal fin ; it attains a length of fifteen feet, and loses all its teeth at an early age. [Only a single
I specimen of this remarkable species has ever been obtained, which was cast upon the shore near Havre : its form
I is slender and elongated, and the head is externally attached to the body by a distinct neck. No teeth were
I discovered in either jaw in the recent state ; but after the gums were removed, a few rudimentary teeth were
found in the lower jaw, as often happens in the upper jaw of the Cachalots. This animal constitutes the Aodon,
I we believe, of Lesson.]
I Another, which also sometimes occurs in our seas (H, rostratus, Cuv.), has a slender muzzle, externally all even
;j with the head, and twenty-one teeth on each side of both jaws. Its dorsal is of the ordinary size,
i The Soosoo of the Ganges (D. gangeticm^ Roxburgh) should be separated from the foregoing, having the
i spiracle in a longitudinal line, and slender jaws swoln at the end. [Its teeth are thirty on each side above and
! below, and according to M. F. Cuvier, the long symphysis and the intermaxillary crests approximate it to the
i Cachalots.] It ascends very high up the Ganges, and is probably the Platanista of Pliny, [which might be
Ij adopted as its generic designation].
[ The Porpoises {Phoccena, Cuv.) —
I Have no beak [the largeness of the front-head compensating for its non-extension], but a short
] muzzle, uniformly convex.
|i The Common Porpoise {Delph. phoecena, Lin.), compressed and trenchant teeth, of a rounded form, to the
|! number of twenty-two or twenty-four on each side of both jaws; blackish above, the under-parts white. It is
'I [one of] the smallest of the Cetacea, not exceeding four or five feet in length, and is very common in all our
seas, where it associates in vast herds.
jj The Grampus (Z). orca and B. gladiator, Auct.). — Large conical teeth, a little crooked, eleven on each side above
I and below, the posterior transversely flattened : body black above and white beneath ; a whitish crescent-shaped
|i mark over the eye ; and the dorsal fin elevated and pointed. It is the largest of the Dolphin group, becoming
;■ from twenty to twenty-five feet in length ; and is a cruel enemy to the Whale, which it attacks in troops, tor-
menting it till it opens its mouth, when they devour the tongue,
i^! A smaller species is occasionally met with on our coasts (B. aries, Risso ; [Ph. griseus, F. Cuv.] ), which loses
I its upper teeth at an early age, and retains but few of the lower : its dorsal fin is less elevated and placed further
I backward than in the Grampus, which latter is the true Aries of the ancients. The Epaulard ventru of Bonaterre
I presents a similar form ; but Hunter’s specimen was eighteen feet in length, whereas the present species does not
j exceed ten.
j! [The species with globular heads compose the
I Globicephalus, Lesson.]
ji The Deductor, or Ca’ing Whale {Belph. globiceps, Cuv. [GZ deductor, Scoresby] ).— Head globular, with long and |
i| pointed swimming paws : attains a length of more than twenty feet ; and is black, with a white streak from the j
throat to the anus. This species lives in troops of several hundreds, conducted by old males ; and is sometimes j
I thrown upon our coasts. It has from nine to thirteen teeth on each side above and below, but loses all of them j
l! with age. [A beautiful second species {Gl. Rissii) exists in the Mediterranean, and two others have been deli- j
neated and described.] \
The Delphinapterus, Lacepede, —
i!
i Merely differs from the Porpoises in having no dorsal fin. [This name has more recently been con-
i fined to such as have a beak like the Dolphins, the others constituting the
Beluga, Lesson.
j To the latter subdivision appertains]
I The White Beluga {Belph. leucos, Gm. ; B. albicans, Fabr.), with nine teeth on each side above and below,
I thick and blunt throughout ; a yellowish-white skin ; head externally convex like that of a Porpoise, [but more
|i approaching to globular], and size that of a Grampus. It inhabits all the glacial seas, and sometimes ascends
I rivers to some distance. [Is occasionally met with on the British coasts.
i! To the restricted
I belongs]
Delphinapterus —
1| The White-beaked Dolphin of Peron (D. leucoramphus. Per. ; [Belphinapterus Peronii, Less.], an inhabitant of
I the Austral seas, the head of which is but slightly convex and rather pointed, and the muzzle, part of the swim-
I ming-paws, and all the under parts of the body, lustrous-white ; the superior portion black. It has from thirty-
I eight to forty-two teeth on each side above and below.*
* M. Rafinesque speaks of a Dolphin with two dorsal fins [on which I bnt as they only saw it at a distance, and half-immersed in the waves,
he bestows the appellation O^vffpterusl ; and M. M. Quoy and Gaymard there may have been some optical delusion,
j saw one they have named D. rhinoceros, Voy. de Freycinet, ii. f. 21 ; I
MAMMALIA.
148
The Bottle-heaps {Hyperoodon, Lacep.) —
Have the body and muzzle nearly similar externally to those of the Dolphins properly so called, hut i
the cranium is laterally elevated hy vertical bony partitions : most usually there are found only two
small teeth in the fore-part of the lower jaw, which do not always appear externally ; the palate is
studded with small tubercles, [and there is a small dorsal fin].
But one species is known, which attains a length of five-and-twenty feet, and perhaps more, {DelpJi. edentulus, ;
Schreb. ; D. bulshopf, Lacepede; D. bidentatus, Hunter; D. Hunteri, Desm, ; t\ie Bottle-nosed Whale of Hunter].
—It is taken in the British Channel and the North Sea, and is often designated Baleine d bee.
[The Diodons {Diodon, Lesson)—
Principally differ from the preceding in having a flattened forehead : their lower jaw is much larger
than the upper, and convex.
There is a species in the Mediterranean {Delph. Besmarestii, Risso), fifteen feet in length ; a specimen of which,
or of another closely allied, was cast on shore on the coast of Scotland (D. Sowerbii, Desm. and Blainv.) Several
others are said to belong to this subdivision.]
The Narwhal {Monodon, Lin.) —
Has no teeth, properly so called ; hut very long and slender-pointed tusks implanted in the inter-
maxillary hones, and directed in the line of the axis of the body. The form of their body and head
greatly resembles that of the Porpoises, [and still more the Beluga, as noticed by Prof. Beil ; the
swimming paws being also remarkably small, and the dorsal fin w'anting, as in the latter animal].
Only one species is known {Mon. monoceros, Lin. ; [Narwlmlus microcephalus, Bonat., Lacep., Desm.] ), the tusk
of which, grooved spirally, and sometimes ten feet long, was formerly termed the horn of the Unicorn. This
animal possesses the germs of two tusks, but it is seldom that both become equally developed. That on the left i
side usually attains its full growth, while the other remains permanently concealed within its socket, its develope-
ment having been prevented by its interior cavity becoming too rapidly filled with the deposition of ivory, which
thus obliterates its gelatinous core. According to the description of the Narwhal, it is scarcely more than twice
or three times the length of its tusk ; the skin is marbled with brown and whitish ; it has a convex muzzle, small
mouth, spiracle placed on the top of the head, and no dorsal fin, but merely a projecting crest the whole length of
its spine. The teeth are sometimes found perfectly smooth.
[We may here mention, at the conclusion of the Cetacea with moderate-sized heads, an extremely
remarkable genus,—
The Inia, d’Orbigny, —
Which has the external form of the Dolphins, properly so called, with some coarse bristly hairs on the I
snout : the spiracle is placed far backward, above the swimming-paws ; the lips are deeply cleft to
beneath the eye ; and there is a small dorsal fin, and proportionally large auditory aperture.
The only species known (J. Boliviensis, d’Orb.) is remarkable for occurring thousands of miles from the sea,
appearing to inhabit only the remote tributaries of the Amazons, and the elevated lakes of Peru : the singular ,
character of possessing bristly hairs on the snout has also been observed in them when very young. This species (
has large swimming-paws, and thirty-four teeth on each side above and below, all of them rough, marked with
deep and interrupted furrows, and of an irregular mammalory shape behind, which is very peculiar. A female
specimen measured seven feet long, and the males are stated to be double that size : colour variable, commonly i
pale blue above, passing into a roseate hue beneath. It comes more frequently to the surface than the marine | a
species, and is generally met with in troops of three or four individuals.]
The remaining Cetacea have the head so very large, as to constitute one-third or even half ^ \
the entire length ; hut neither the cranium nor the brain participates in this disproportion, ^ ^
wdiich is wholly due to an enormous developement of the bones of the face. |
The Cachalots {Physeter, Lin.), — |i
Are Cetacea with a most voluminous head, excessively enlarged, particularly in front ; in the upper jaw 1 1
of which there are neither teeth nor baleen {whalebone), or, if any of the former, they are small, and |
not projecting beyond the gum ; but the lower jaw, straight, elongated, and corresponding to a groove I
in the upper one, is armed on its two sides with a row of cylindrical or conical teeth, which enter into
corresponding cavities of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. The superior portion of their
enormous head consists almost entirely of large cavities, separated and covered by cartilages, and filled
with an oil that becomes concrete on cooling, well known in commerce by the name spermaceti^ a
CETACEA.
149
substance for which they are principally hunted, as the body does not yield a large proportion of
blubber ; these cavities, however, are very distinct from the true cranium, which is rather small, is
placed under their posterior portion, and contains the brain as usual. It appears that cavities filled
with this spermaceti, or adipocire as it is called, are distributed to several parts of the body, communi-
cating with those which fill the mass of the head ; they even ramify through the external fat or
blubber. The odorous substance known by the appellation ambergris appears to be a concretion
formed in the intestines of the Cachalots, particularly during certain states of disease, and, it is said,
chiefiy in the coecum.
The species of this genus are by no means well determined. That which appears most common, the Vh. macro-
cephalus of Shaw and Bonaterre, but not of Linnaeus, has a mere callous prominence instead of a dorsal fin ; there
are from twenty to twenty-three teeth on each side of the lower jaw, and small conical ones hidden beneath the
gum in the upper : its blow-hole is single, and not double as in the greater number of Cetacea ; neither is it
symmetrical, but is directed towards the left, and terminates on that side on the front of the muzzle, which latter
is truncate.* In addition to this, it is stated that the left eye is often smaller than the other, for which reason the
whalers endeavour to attack it on that side. This species must be very extensively distributed, if, as is asserted,
it alone furnishes the whole of the spermaceti and ambergris of commerce, for these substances are brought from
both the north and south. Cachalots without a dorsal fin have even been taken in the Adriatic.
The Physeters, Lacepede, —
Are Cachalots with a dorsal fin.
Two species only have been distinguished {microps, and fursio or mular), and those merely by the equivocal
character of having the teeth curved or straight, blunt or pointed. These animals are found both in the Mediter-
ranean and glacial seas, in the latter of which they are reputed to be cruel enemies to the Seals.
The Whales {Balcena, Lin.) —
Equal the Cachalots in size, and in the proportional dimensions of the head, although the latter is not
so much enlarged in front ; but they have no teeth whatever [beyond the rudiments of them in the
foetal state]. The two sides of their upper jaw, which is keel-shaped, are furnished with thin, trans-
verse, serrated laminae, termed baleen or whalebone, composed of a sort of fibrous horn fringed at the
edges, which serve to retain [and strain from the water] the minute animals on which these enormous
cetaceans feed. Their inferior jaw, supported by two osseous branches arched outwardly and upward,
without any armature, affords lodgment to a very thick and fleshy tongue, and, when the mouth is
closed, envelopes all the internal part of the upper jaw and the baleen with which it is invested. These
organs do not allow Whales to feed on such large animals as their vast size would lead to imagine.
They subsist on fish, but principally on worms, mollusks, and zoophytes, and it is said that they
chiefly take the very smallest, which become entangled in the filaments of the baleen. Their nostrils,
better organized for smell than those of the Dolphins, have some ethmoidal laminae, and appear to
receive some small olfactory nervous filaments. They have a short coecum.
The Great Northern Whale {B. mysticetus, Lin.) was long considered to be the largest of known animals, but it
appears from the recent observations of Capt. Scoresby, that it scarcely ever exceeds seventy feet in length, which
the Rorquals or Whales with wrinkled bellies frequently surpass. It has no dorsal fin. To procure its blubber,
often several feet in thickness, and yielding an immense quantity of oil, whole fleets are annually equipped in
pursuit of it. Formerly bold enough to venture into our seas, it has gradually retired to the far north, where the
number is daily diminishing. Besides its oil, it furnishes the black and flexible whalebone of commerce, the pieces
of which are eight or ten feet long, and to the number of eight or nine hundred on each side of the palate. A
hundred and twenty tons of oil are obtained from a single individual. Shelled Mollusks attach themselves to its
skin, and multiply there as upon a rock ; the Balanus family even penetrate into it. The excrement is of a fine
red colour, and affords a tolerable dye. There is a very similar species in the Antarctic seas.
Other species.
The HoRauALs {Balcenoptera, Lacepede), —
Have a dorsal fin, and are subdivided according as the belly is smooth or wrinkled. [As the former
section is unquestionably founded in error, as suspected by Cuvierf, w'e pass to those] which have the
throat and under-parts wrinkled with deep longitudinal folds, and consequently susceptible of great
dilatation, the intent of which, in their economy, is yet unknown.
* We have verified on two crania tliis want of symmetry in the i induces us to credit the inequality of the eyes mentioned by Egfede.
spiracle, announced by Dudley, Anderson, and Swediauer, which 1 t The wrinkled belly being simply filled out with water.
150
MAMMALIA.
There are two in the European seas, viz.,— the Great Rorqual {Bal. hoops, Lin.),— superior in length to the com-
mon Whale, and shunned on account of its extreme ferocity, and the small quantity of its oil ; and the Small Ror-
qual (Bal. musculm, Lin.), which differs from the other [in its very inferior size, in its proportions, and number
of vertebrae. There is a third in the southern seas, and also a distinct fossil species.
On proceeding to determine the fixed analogies of the teeth throughout the different groups of Mammalia, we -
have arrived (since most of the foregoing pages were stereotyped) at the conclusion, that no placental mammalian ,
has more than three pairs of incisors, or three pairs of true or persistent molars, (normally,) in either jaw; all
seeming exceptions being reducible to this general proposition : whereas the Marsupials have normally four of
each, and some even five. By persistent molars, are intended those which are not preceded by milk-teeth.
Following, then, the indications afforded by the structure of the molars, (which we conceive to furnish the most
available guide to sound classification,) we are next led to recognize two principal varieties of dentition among the
Placentalia, to one or the other of which every observed modification may be definitively referred. These two
varieties are characteristic of a great zoophagous type and a great phytophagous type.
Where exceptions occur in the former instance, the amylaceous parts of vegetables, as fruits, seeds, and fari-
naceous bulbs or roots, are almost exclusively resorted to; and animal products are preferred to the composition
of the recent carcass in those few exceptive cases which, in a trivial degree, affect the latter generalization.
The zoophagous type of dentition is obviously of a higher grade than the other, and the animals in which it
occurs require more nutritious aliment.
Throughout the zoophagous division, the molars are compact in texture, and the enamel never dips into their
substance ; the basal growth of the teeth (except the pseudo-incisive canines only, in the very singular genus_
Cheiromys,) ceases upon the latter attaining their required size; in consequence of which they gradually wearj|
down by attrition, till in aged animals they are not unfrequently reduced to stumps. M
In the phytophagous division, the molars are much less compact, and the enamel generally dips into 11
their substance in various ways; the teeth are commonly furnished with persistent formative pulps, which ]|j:
deposit fresh substance at their base as their crowns wear away, so that they continue permanently growing. The
exceptions that occur to this general definition do not intrinsically affect the distinctness of the present group
from the other, and are easily understood, so that a transverse section of a molar (known to be that of a placental HI
animal) will suffice in every instance for the determination to which it belongs.
These two great divisions somewhat analogously subdivide each into two sections, which differ considerably in
the general details of their organization, and most commonly in the structure of the teeth. They may be regarded
as normal and abnormal sections.
In the normal sections of the zoophagous and phytophagous grand divisions of Placentalia, the four sorts of fl
teeth— incisors, canines, renewed and persistent molars— are generally present, or at least three sorts of them,
each characterized by a particular form and structure different from the rest. In the abnormal sections, the teeth
are commonly much more numerous, and alike in structure, and consist principally or even wholly of false
molars ; all of them are without exception single-rooted.
We might consider these four sections as Orders, and denominate them as follow.
A. Zoophagous type. jr
1. Typodontia. Normal : comprehending the Bmawa, and of Cuvier.
2. Isodontia. Abnormal : consisting of the Cetacea of Cuvier, divested of the herbivorous subdivision.
B. Phytophagous type. . J
3. Diplodontia. Normal: comprising the Pachydermata, Cetacea herUvora, Rodentia, and Rtminantia of J if
the same naturalist. ^ fl
4. Aplodontia. Abnormal : corresponding to the Edentata of Cuvier, divested of the Monotremata.
These together constitute the normal or placental subclass of Mammalia; and the abnormal or ovo- viviparous 0
subclass might range in two orders only, viz. :
5. Heterodontia. Normal : or the Marsupiata : and ii
6. Pseudodontia. Abnormal : or the Monotremata. II
The Typodontia primarily subdivide into the Primates and Fera of Linnaeus, or Secundates, as the latter has«
recently been termed by De Blainville.
The Primates are characterized by the external distinctions popularly known, and also, it may be added, by their
hair being of one sort only, having never any softer felt beneath it.* They separate into Cheiropodaexrd Cheiroptera.
The Cheiropoda comprise the Bimana and Quadrumana of Cuvier, but not the marsupial handed animals, in-
cluded under this name by Mr. Ogilby. They have never more than four incisors in either jaw, invariably pos-
sess a coecum, have no os penis, and are born with the eyes open. They subdivide into Anthropida and Lemuria.
The Anthropida are characterized by the general form of the head, the complete separation of the orbits from
the temporal fossa by a bony partition, by having the incisors broad and contiguous, and vertical, or nearly so,
in both jaws, by their anthropoid molars, &c. Their teeth form an even series, the continuity of which is only
broken by the interspace required for the reception of the opposite canine ; and in Man only, where the canines
are not lengthened beyond the other teeth, even this vacuity does not occur. They fall into the Catarrhini and
Platyrrhini of Geoffroy, according to the number of false molars; and the circumstance of their being respectively
peculiar to the Old and New Worlds, affords a presumptive argument that the human genus, which pertains
strictly to the former, is not indigenous to America.
* We were deceived by certain appearances in stating that exceptions to this rule existed, at pp. o7, 60.
I
MAMMALIA.
151
The Lemuria are mostly distinguished by a vulpine muzzle, with separated incisors in the upper jaw, those of
the lower directed horizontally forward, as are also the inferior canines, which the author reckoned as a third pair
of incisors. Their cheek-teeth are often sharply tuberculated ; and the doubling down of the ears in some, the
character of the fur, the particular structure of the female reproductive organs, noctui'nal habits, and a variety of
other characters, forcibly recall to mind the insectivorous Bats. Among them, the genus Cheirogaleus is remark-
able for the total absence of superior canines ; and that of Cheiromys for having rodent canines, which pass
through the intermaxillary bones, and supply the place of incisors, which are altogether wanting.
The Cheiroptera have never more than four incisors to the upper jaw, but commonly six below, which is the
normal complement. Amongst their less obvious distinctive characters from the other Primates, may be mentioned
the constant absence of any coecum, and the presence of a small os penis within the plans, but different from that
of ordinary occurrence among the Secundates. They are born with their eyes closed. Following the fancy of
Linnaeus in applying the name Lemur to the preceding group, we propose to designate the two principal divisions
of Cheiroptera,— Harpydia and Spectra, which, in various respects, are analogous to the Anthropida and Lemuria.
The Harpydia have blunt molars, an extremely elongated stomach, and long intestines ; also a sonorous voice,
and most usually a claw to the fore-finger. Though stated to feed, in some instances, partly on insects, we have
reason to believe (from recent observation of a living animal, which invariably rejects all insect-food that is offered
to it,) that they are exclusively frugivorous. All are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere.
The Spectra have a globular stomach, short intestines, and sharp tubercles to the molars, except in the very
extraordinary genus Desmodus, which, for reasons connected with its habits, has no true molars whatever. They
have a clicking voice, and no claw to the fore-finger, &c.
The second sub-order of Typodontia, or the Fer<e, or Secundates, subdivides into the obvious groups Carnivora
and Insectivora of Cuvier; but as these names are equally applicable to Marsupial genera, and therefore particu-
larly liable to mislead, by inducing the erroneous supposition that they apply to all carnivorous and insecti-
vorous Mammalia respectively, in which significant general sense they might still be employed with con-
venience, just as the analogous terms Herhivora and Frugivora are at present, we believe that they might
advantageously be disused in their restricted and forced meaning, to be superseded by names of more special
application. We therefore venture to designate them Cynodia and Ecanina. It is in this division that the four
different sorts of teeth assume their most distinctive characters, as it is unnecessary to dwell upon. The incisors
are rarely less than six in number, in either jaw.
In the Cynodia, the canines are always present, both above and below, and are invariably strongly characterized
as such ; and the incisors form a transverse range, the outer pair, more particularly those above, being always
largest, and the medial smallest. They fall into four subtribes, viz., Digitigrada, Subplantigrada, Plantigrada, and
Pinnigrada; the first and last of which are constantly furnished with a coecum, which does not occur in the others.
The Digitigrada are not always digitigrade, but the term need not on this account be altered. We adopt the
group as instituted by Cuvier, detaching only the first leading subdivision, or that of the Weasels and allied genera.
The Subplantigrada have never more than one true molar above, and another below, which vary exceedingly in
developement, in an inverse ratio to the carnassier, or scissor-tooth, — the Weasels and Badgers exhibiting the
extremes. The great and small intestines scarcely differ in calibre ; and all, unless the Otters constitute an excep-
tion, can diffuse at will a disgusting stench. None of them fall into a torpid state during the winter, like the northern
Plantigrada. Their hind feet are always semi-plantigrade, but none of them bring the heel quite to the ground.
The Plantigrada have constantly two pairs of true molars in each jaw, which likewise vary exceedingly in de-
velopement, and in an inverse ratio to the scissor-teeth, which in the Bears are reduced to their minimum
throughout the Cynodia. In their plantigrade gait, and generally naked sole (not naked by friction merely, as in
the Badgers), their tendency to torpor during severe weather, and a variety of other particulars, a direct affi-
nity to the Insectivora, Cuv., is very apparent ; and the Raccoons among them are further remarkable for the
entire separation, and a certain amount of prehensibility of the toes, which last enables them to clasp small objects
in a manner observed in no other Secundates, — the rest of the Cynodia having a membrane more or less developed
between the toes. The skull of the Bears exhibits various tokens of affinity with the next group.
The Pinnigrada, or Seals, correspond to the Amphibia of Cuvier, and are remarkable for the similarity of their
true and false molars ; the former of which, however, in no instance, exceed the typical number.
The Ecanina, or second and abnormal subtribe of Secundates (being the Insectivora, Cuv.), have an attenuated
muzzle, and mostly separated incisors that face laterally, the medial or foremost being always largest, as in the Pri-
mates; no true upper canines, but very commonly an enlarged false molar with two fangs, that presents the appear-
ance and performs the office of a canine, the lower canines being always present (unless in the Shrews), but commonly
very small, and hence ranked as a fourth pair of incisors. They have generally three true molars, both above and be-
low, and always perfect clavicles, which is the case in no species of Cynodia. The genera Macroschelides and Tupaia
alone possess a coecum ; and the Shrews, which have no incisors, nor even intermaxillary bones that should contain the
upper ones, are remarkable for possessing two very curious front teeth, which we suspect are modified false molars.
We shall offer no further remarks on the Isodontia, or Cetacea ordinaria of Cuvier, than to observe, that
the Narwhal alone among them possesses other than false molars.
The Diplodontia, or normal order of the great phytophagous type, divides first into Brochata and Ungulata,
the names of which require to be admitted with some reservation, though certainly not with more than — nor indeed
so much as — Edentata of Cuvier. They have always a voluminous coecum, with the single, and consequently
very remarkable, exception of the small Dormouse group.
The Brochata have ordinarily (at least the three first principal divisions of them) permanently growing canines,
which either pass through the intermaxillaries, as in the Elephants and Rodents— their nutriment, how-
MAMMALIA.
i
152
ever, from within the true maxillaries— or they are directed outwards, as in the Pigs and Hippopotami. The
composite structure of the molars, from which this order takes its name, attains its most remarkable develope-
ment in the present division, as observed in the Elephant, the Capybara, and the Phascochcere. They have rarely i
fewer than four, and often five distinct toes on each foot ; and generally a cleft upper lip, less observable when the
nose is prolonged into a snout, or proboscis. They separate into Proboscidia, Rodentia, Chcerodia, and Syrenia.
The close affinity of the Prohoscidia and Rodentia was distinctly pointed out and descanted upon by Cuvier in
his Ossements Fossiles, to which valuable work the reader is necessarily referred, from want of space to enlarge j
upon the subject here. The tusks of the Prohoscidia are mostly peculiar to the upper jaw, where they attain i
enormous dimensions, being small when present in the lower one. Their form is cylindrical, with conically- ’
pointed tips, and they are surrounded with enamel.*
The Rodentia have approximated tusks in both jaws, with enamel only in front ; and the Hares alone among
them possess true incisors in the upper jaw only, in front of which the tusks pass, protruding in their usual site
throughout the group. They have neither an elongated snout nor a proboscis ; and their extremities are unguicu-
lated. In the Hare, which has six rootless molars, the three first alone are preceded by rooted milk teeth ; and
the anterior molar, in numerous other genera, the adults of which have four, is in like manner preceded by a
deciduous rooted tooth, which is shed about the time the last posterior molar protrudes through the gum.
The Chcerodia have always incisors, their tusks, of similar kind to those of the two preceding groups, being
directed outwards, and those of the upper and lower jaws generally rubbing against each other. The Swine and
Hippopotami are characteristic examples ; and we are disposed to refer to this division (as a distinct minor group),
the very singular genus Hyrax, the adults of which do not possess canines.
Lastly, the Syrenia, or Cetacea herbivora, Cuv., which have no posterior extremities, like the Isodontia, are
likewise deprived of canines, at least the existing genera ; for the Deinotherum (assuming that this lost genus is
correctly placed here) had enormous tusks in the lower jaw only, anomalously turned downward. Their general
anatomy leaves no doubt of the propriety of separating them altogether from the Isodontia, or zoophagous
Cetacea, and allies them (we consider) most nearly to the Chcerodia.
The Ungulata, or grazing animals, divide, according to the simple or complex stomach, mXoBellua & Ruminantia. ’■ .
The Bellua consist of the Horses, Tapirs, Rhinoceroses, and proximate fossil genera ; all of which now existing t
have a prehensile upper lip more or less developed, the nostrils being prolonged with it into a short flexible pro- "
boscis in the Tapirs, and there is reason to conclude in many of the extinct forms. The true and false molars \\
present no sensible diffterence in the adult animal ; but the dentition of the young proves that the normal comple- '
ment of true molars is not exceeded.
The Ruminantia fall into Ancerata and Pecora ; the former consisting of the Camels and Llamas, which have a
cleft and prehensile upper lip, and claw-like hoofs upon which they do not rest ; and the latter of the remainder,
which have the upper lip entire and non-prehen sile, (the tongue becoming so in its stead,) and the ends of their
toes encased in hoofs, upon the soles of which the weight of the body is supported. The former alone possess any
superior incisors, though only one pair ; but all have six incisors in the lower jaw, together with inferior canines,
which in the Pecora assume the form and direction of incisors, but the true analogy of which appears on com-
parison of them with the lower canines of either the Bellua or Ancerata, and of the Bactrian or Two-humped
Camel in particular, which has no interspace (as in the others) between its lower canines and incisors.
The Aplodontia, or abnormal division of the phytophagous type, corresponding to the Edentata of Cuvier, is
now in course of becoming unexpectedly elucidated by the extraordinarily rapid discovery of fossil genera in South
America, which present a more complicated form of molar tooth than was previously known in this division, as
exemplified by the newly established genera Mylodon, Glyptodon, and we venture to suggest — Toxodon,
wherein the indentations of the enamelled sides of the teeth resemble those of many rodents. However numerous
may be the false molars in certain genera of this division, the number of their true molars appears in no instance
to exceed three, (at least in those which we have been able to examine, comprehending all with the unfortunate
exception of Priodon) ; and the structural distinction between their true and false molars is sufficiently evident.
Of the two Ovo-viviparous orders, there is only space left to remark, that whereas the Placental Carnivora and
Herbivora are (as we have seen) modified upon two distinct types, which do not pass into each other, the Marsu-
pial Carnivora and Herbivora pertain to the same equivalent type, and grade into each other so that an analogous
line of rigid demarcation cannot be traced. This perhaps may be added to the various indications of their
abnormity as a group, as compared with the preceding or Placental subclass of Mammalia.
In conclusion, it may here be noticed, that without intending any thing of the kind while gradually ascending
to the foregoing classification, it has so happened that species with superior intelligence in conformity with their
cerebral developement are placed at the head of each principal group, which may or may not be fortuitous coinci-
dence. Thus, Man ranks at the head of the most highly organized order — Typodontia, the Dolphin at the head of
the Isodontia, and the Elephant at that of the great phytophagous division, and, consequently, of the Diplodontia; ,
while the Dog ranges first among the Secundates, and the Horse first of the Ungulata. The leading genus of the
Aplodontia may yet remain to be discovered. The animals here mentioned (at least the terrene kinds, for of the
Dolphin we do not possess the requisite data for forming an opinion), certainly appear to possess more eminently
culturable intellects than any others, such as may be applied to purposes having no relation to their natural
habits ; and Man has accordingly been enabled to gain them as assistants in his various labours and occupations.]
* It may be that the Proboscldia supply an exception to the other-
wise universal rule of placental Mammalia having never more than
three pairs of true molars in either jaw ; but we suspect that such
seeming exception would upon analysis prove to be more apparent than
real, the last of them being probably analogous to the teeth which
human beings sometimes develope when in vigorous senility ; theoreti-
cally, a renewal of their predecessors.
153
j
i THE OVIPAROUS VERTEBRATES IN GENERAL.
jl Although the three classes of Oviparous Vertebrates differ very much from each other
in their quantum of respiration, and in all that relates to it, viz., the power of move-
I ment and the energy of the senses, they present several characters in common when
! opposed to the Mammalia, or Viviparous Vertebrates, [certain of which are partici-
i pated in by the Ovoviviparous Mammalia, or the subclass of Marsupiata and
I Monotremata'] .
I' The hemispheres of the brain are much reduced, and [as in the Ovoviviparous
j Mammalia] are not united by a corpus callosum ; the crura of the cerebellum do not
|! form that protuberance called the pons Varolii; the nates (at least in two of these
I classes) attain a great development, are hollowed so as to enclose a ventricle, and [as
j in the Ovoviviparous Mammalia] are not covered by the hemispheres, but are visible
below or on the sides of the cerebrum, [which last statement does not apply to the
|| Ovoviviparous Mammalia] ; their nostrils are less complex ; the ear [as in the Mono-
|i trematd\ has not so many small bones, which in several are totally wanting; the
j cochlea, where it exists, which is only the case in Birds, is much more simple, &c.
I Their lower jaw, always composed of many pieces, is attached by a concave facet to a
I salient process, which belongs to the temporal bone, but is separated from its petrous
! portion ; the bones of the cranium are more subdivided, though they occupy the same
I relative places, and fulfil similar functions ; thus, the frontal is composed of five or six
jl pieces, &c. The orbits are merely separated by an osseous lamina of the sphoenoidal
i bone, or by a membrane. When these animals possess anterior extremities, in addition
I to the clavicle, which is often united to its fellow on the opposite side, and is then
j termed fourchette, the scapular also rests upon the sternum, by means of a very large
and prolonged coracoid apophysis. The larynx is more simple, and has no epiglottis ;
I the lungs are not separated from the abdomen by a perfect diaphragm, [except in the
|| single instance of that extraordinary bird, the Apteryx'], ^c. But in order that these
I various relations should be adequately appreciated, it would be necessary to enter into
i anatomical details, which do not belong to this first part of our work. It is sufficient
! to have here pointed out the mutual analogy of the Ovipara, which, in reference to the
I plan on which they are constructed, is greater than that of any of them with the
j Mammalia.
j Oviparous generation consists, essentially, in this ; that the young animal is not
attached by a placenta to the parietes of the uterus, or of the oviduct, but remains
|| separate from it by its most external envelope, [all which applies to the Ovoviviparous
j Mammalia] . Its aliment is prepared beforehand, and enclosed in a sac attached to its
intestinal canal ; being what is termed the vitellus, or yolk of egg, of which the young
I animal is a sort of appendage, at first imperceptible, which is nourished and augmented
by absorbing the fluid of the yolk. Such of the Ovipara as breathe by lungs, have the
egg furnished with a highly vascular membrane, which appears to serve for respiration ;
it is connected with the bladder, and represents the allantoid of Mammalia. This
membrane is neither found in Fishes, nor the Batrachians ; which latter, when young,
respire in the manner of Fishes, by gills ox branchics.
1
154
AVES.
Many of the cold-blooded Ovipara do not bring forth their young until they are
developed and extricated from their shell, or other membranes which separated them
from their parent. These are called Ovipara.
THE SECOND CLASS OF VERTEBRATED ANIMALS.
THE BIRDS {JVES),~ ^
Are oviparous vertebrates with double circulation and respiration, [mostly] organized
for flight.
Their lungs, undivided and attached to the ribs, are enveloped by a membrane
pierced with large holes, and which allows the air to pass into many cavities of the
chest, the abdominal region, arm-pits, and even of the interior of the bones* ; so that
the ambient fluid not only bathes the surface of the pulmonary vessels, but also tbati
of an infinitude of vessels traversing the rest of the body. Thus Birds respire, in§
certain respects, by the ramifications of their aorta, as well as by those of their*
pulmonary artery, and the energy of their irritability is in proportion to their amount |
of respiration.]' Their total conformation is arranged to participate in this energy.
Their anterior extremities, destined to sustain them in flight, could neither serve
them for standing, nor for clutching : they are bipeds, then,
and pick up objects from the earth with their mouth ; their
body, consequently, is balanced upon the legs ; the thighsl
are directed forward, and the toes are lengthened to form
a sufficient base for standing. The pelvis is longitudi-
nally much extended, to furnish attachment to the muscles
which support the trunk upon the thighs : there is even
a suite of muscles proceeding from the pelvis to the toes ;
and passing over the knee and heel, so that the simple
weight of the bird flexes the toes : it is thus that they
are enabled to sleep perched on one foot. The iscJiia,
especially the ossa pubis, are lengthened out behind, and*
widened in their span, to allow the necessary space forj
the developement of the eggs.
The neck and the beak are elongated to reach the
ground ; but the former has also the requisite flexibility for.
doubling backward when at rest. It has therefore numerous
vertebrae, [varying from twelve to twenty-three, which latter
number is attained only in the genus Cygnus'\ . The trunk, |V
on the contrary, which serves as a fulcrum to the wings,'
has but little mobility ; the sternum especially, to which
are attached the muscles which effect the propulsive stroke |
in flying, is of great extent, its surface [except in the Ostrich and allied genera, which do J
not fly,] being further augmented by a projecting ridge along its middle. It is [mostly]
* In the Honibills, even the phalanges of the toes are hollow, and t f Two Sparrows consume as much air as a Guinea-pig..—
eominunicate with the lungs. The opposite extreme occurs in the I sikk, Memuires de Chimie, i. 110.
Apteryx, which has no accessory air-cavities. — Ed. I
Fig. 6". — Skeleton of Jer Falcon.
AVES.
155
composed originally of five pieces : one medial (fig. 68, a), of which this salient lamina
[known as the sternal crest, ridge, or keel] constitutes a part ; two triangular anterior la-
teral [termed costal processes] (6), for the attachment of the ribs ;
and two forked posterior lateral (c), for the extension of its sur-
face ; and the greater or less degree of the ossification [that is to
say, obliteration] of the notches of these last, and the extent of
the interval which is left between them and their principal bone,
denote the relative amount of vigour of flight in Birds. The
[Eagles, Harriers, (the Falcons much more slowly, if indeed at
all), and some other] diurnal Birds of prey, the Swifts and the
Humming-birds, [the Parrots, and also the Storm-petrels,] lose,
as they grow old, all traces of these unossified spaces. [In the
Ostrich and its allies, the sternum is composed originally of only two pieces ; and the
number likewise varies in those Birds which possess a sternal crest.]
The fourchette \_furcula, or “ merry-thought” bone], (fig. 68, d), produced by the
junction of the two clavicles, and the two stout abutments formed by the [huge]
coracoid aphophyses (e), keep the shoulders apart, notwithstanding the opposing force
exerted by the action of flying ; the fourchette, in particular, is commonly more stout
and open, according as the flight of a Bird is vigorous.* (See fig. 67.) The
wing, supported by the humerus (fig. 69 «,) fore-arm
Fij?. 68.— Sternal apparatus of a
newly-hatched Chick.
(i), and hand, which is elongated, and exhibits one
digit and the rudiments of two [or (including the
winglet 0,) three] others (1,2,4) is furnished through-
out its length with a range of elastic quills, which greatly
extend the surface that resists the air. The quills ad-
hering to the hand are named primaries, and these are
[almost] always ten in number f ; those attached to
the fore- arm are called secondaries, but their number
varies ; weaker feathers attached to the humerus are
styled scapularies [tertiaries ; the true scapularies
constituting that separate range which grows over
the scapulars, or “ shoulder-blades”] ; and the bone
which represents the thumb | (o), is also furnished
with what are designated bastard quills, [this member
being generally termed alula spuria, or winglet] . Along
the base of the quills is a range [and successive
ranges] of feathers named coverts [both on the outer
and inner surfaces of the wing, which receive corre-
sponding appellations to those of the quill-feathers they
impend, as primary coverts, &c., and are further distinguished
I
Fig. 69. — Jer Falcon’s Wing.
-s greater, lesser, and least] .
* In the instance of the Parrots, some of which are birds of very
strong flight, although the coracoids are always very stout (much
resembling those of the Hawks), the furcula is never strong, and is
peculiarly flattened, so that its resisting force is thus considerably
diminished. Some Parroquets, indeed, as those small ones popularly
termed Love-birds {Agrapornis) , have no urcula whatever; and it
is worthy of being noticed that the restricted Toucans (Rhamphastos)
have the clavicles separate and very short, forming small dagger-
shaped appendaures, the use of which is not obvious. — Ed.
+ In the Grebe genus, eleven : many of the singing birds have the
first extremely minute ; and, in the Starling and some others, it is,
analogically speaking, wanting ; so that the number is in these
reduced to nine. — Ed.
t As on the removal of digits, that of the thumb is found to be
invariably the first, the rudimentary finger above referred to is now
considered as analogous to the index finger of the human hand : the
thumb, however, being sometimes represented by a bony spine ;
as the spur of a common fowl represents the first digit of the
foot. — Ed.
I
156
AVES.
The bony tail is very short, [and consists in most instances of nine vertebrae, the
three last of which are commonly anchylosed into a plough- share form, and are gene-
rally collectively styled the coccyx] , but has a range of strong feathers, which, when
spread out, assist in supporting the bird : their number is ordinarily twelve ; sometimes
fourteen, and in many of the GallmacecR eighteen ; [in some few genera, as the
Grebes, Nandou, &c., these are wanting altogether ; a single Humming-bird (Trochilus
enicurus) possesses only six ; the Ani eight ; the rest of the Humming-birds, and
various others, ten ; while the Swans present from eighteen to twenty-two. The two
central of these feathers are implanted above the even line formed by the insertion of
the rest, and essentially correspond to the wing-tertiaries, as the others do to the
wing- secondaries ; the latter being in no instance moulted more than once in the year,
the former in many instances twice : we might accordingly designate the two central
tail feathers, which differ conspicuously from the rest in structure, uropygials. Above
and below the tail are lengthened feathers, commonly of weak texture, known as the
upper and under tail-coverts.
The rest of the feathers of Birds are named from their position, as frontal, coronal,
occipital, nuchal, dorsal or interscapulary , which together form a continuous series, apart
from the scapalaries ; those in front of the eye are termed and the auditory aperture
is covered by a range styled auriculars or ear-coverts : the sides of the neck and medial ,
portion of the sternal and abdominal region are at most covered with down; the>^:
former being concealed by the lateral feathers of the fore and hind neck meeting ;
latter by a similar junction of two distinct lateral ranges. As it is necessary that the
warm body of a bird should be in actual contact with the eggs during incubation
whatever down may cover the medial inferior region disappears in the females towards
the season of propagation, even in those confined in cages, so that this bareness is not
produced mechanically. Finally, besides various accessory tufts in different genera,l|
some long slender feathers are situate at the base of the wing internally, which are®
named axillaries].
The legs have a femur, a tibia, and a peronseum attached to the femur with a spring,'
thlf^
which maintains their extension without effort on the part of the muscles. The tarsus j
and metatarsus are represented by a single bone, terminating below in three pullies.
Most commonly there are three toes before, and a thumb behind* ; the latter being
sometimes deficient. In the Swifts it is directed forwards, [though half-reversible ; in
the Moth-hunters and some others, inward, at a right angle with the axis of the body].% i
In the yoke-footed Birds, on the contrary, the external toe and the thumb are dis-l|
posed backwards [most usually, but sometimes (as in the Touracos and Puff-birds)U|f
laterally : in the Trogons, the first and second toes are opposed to the third and|
fourth ; and accordingly the longest toe, or that which corresponds to the middle one|
in the generality of the class, is inward, instead of being outward, as in all the other
yoke-footed groups] . The number of articulations increases in each toe, commencing
with the thumb, which has two, and ending with the external toe, which has five.
[The Swifts present a remarkable exception ; and it may be remarked that, in the
Ostrich alone, only two toes are present.]
In general, [invariably]. Birds are covered with feathers.
sort of tegument best
* The word iAumJ is here and subsequently used merely in a popular | thumbs of the Quadrnmana arc represented, in the class of Birds,
sense, to signify its antagonism to the other digits : as the hinder 1 only by the tarsal spurs of many Gallinacea.—^’a.
AVES.
157
adapted to protect them from the rapid variations of temperature to which their move-
ments expose them. The air- cavities w^hich occupy the interior of their body, and
[usually] even supersede the marrow in their bones, increase their specific lightness.
The sternal portion of the ribs is ossified, as well as the vertebral, to impart more force
to the dilatation of the chest. To each rib is attached a small bone, which soon becomes
soldered to it, and is directed obliquely backward towards the next rib, all concurring
to give additional solidity to the thorax.
The eye of Birds is so conformed as to enable them to distinguish objects both far
and near with equal clearness ; a vascular and plaited membrane, which extends from
i the profundity of the globe to the edge of the crystalline, probably assists in displacing
I that lens. The anterior surface of the globe is also strengthened by a circle of bony
pieces ; and, besides the two ordinary eyelids, there is always a third, situate at the
I inner angle, and which, by means of a remarkable muscular apparatus, can be drawn
j| over the front of the eye like a curtain. The cornea is very convex, but the crystalline
I is flat, and the vitreous humour small.
j| The ear of Birds has but a single small bone, formed of a branch adherent to the
I tympanum, and of another terminating in a plate that rests upon the fenestra ovalis :
li their cochlea is a cone slightly curved ; but their semicircular canals are large, and
ij lodged in a portion of the skull, where they are surrounded on all sides by air-cavities
i that communicate with the area. [Some] nocturnal Birds alone have a large
external conch, which however does not project like that of quadrupeds, [though in the
restricted genus Strix an overlapping cartilaginous flap is developed anteriorly, by
which the auditory aperture is closed at will] . The orifice of the ear is generally
I' covered with feathers [the ear- covert s'], the barbs of which are more fringed than those
j of other feathers.
i| The organ of smell, concealed within the base of the beak, has ordinarily three car-
i tilaginous ossa turhinata, which vary in complication ; it is very sensible, although it
! has no cavity excavated within the parietes of the cranium. The size of the bony
I openings of the nostrils determines the strength of the beak; and the cartilages,
j membranes, feathers, and other teguments which contract these apertures, exert an
I influence on the perceptibility of odours, and on the sort of nourishment.
' The tongue has little muscular substance, and is supported by a bone articulated on
I I the hyoid ; in most Birds this organ is not very delicate. [The Parrots probably enjoy
!! most perfectly the sense of taste.]
j! The feathers, as well as the quills, which difleronly in size, are composed of a stem,
I hollow at its base, and of barbs, which are themselves furnished with smaller ones ;
I their tissue, lustre, strength, and general form, vary infinitely. [They may be con-
veniently divided into clothing feathers, and those which are subservient to locomo-
tion ; the vibrissae even, which are disposed in some instances as eyelashes, and more
I frequently impend the nostrils or arm the rictus of Birds, are merely barbless feathers,
' which are developed and periodically renewed like other feathers. In many groups,
j the clothing feathers are furnished with a supplementary shaft, or accessory plume,
which, in the quills or sustaining feathers, is at most represented by only a few downy
filaments. This supplementary plume, in the Emeus, is developed equally with the
primary shaft, so that two similar feathers grow from the same quiU : and in the
Cassowary, there is even a third shaft in addition. In the Poultry and some others.
158
AVES.
the accessory plume is large, but of soft and downy texture ; others have it reduced to ;
a small tuft of down ; while in many it is absent altogether. In some Birds, the^
vanes of the feathers are to a variable extent united, or soldered into an uniform mass ,
and there are various additional modifications, too numerous to admit of detail]. The A
touch must be feeble in all parts that are covered with them ; and, as the beak is
almost always corneous and but little sensitive, and the toes are invested with scales -
above and a callous skin underneath, this sense can be of little efficacy in the class of I
Birds. [In the Snipes and Lamellirostres , however, the sense of touch in the bill must |
be delicate, as testified by their manner of feeding, as weU as by the many nervous
papillae distributed over its surface. The enarmous bill of the Toucans, also, is r.
very sensitive ; and even the hardest biUs are traversed by ramifications of the fifth
pair of nerves, which terminate in scattered papillae.] %
The feathers are cast twice in the year [in some instances, but by far the greater '
number of Birds renew their plumage in autumn only ; and in no instance are the '
wing-primaries shed excepting in autumn, or at that moult which corresponds to the ;
autumnal moult. Many, as the Hawks, larger Gulls, &c., retain their entire nestling!
garb till the second autumn; while others, as the Crows, Starlings, &c., renew every !
feather previous to the first winter; and there are some groups, as that of the |
Thrushes, together with various double-moulting Birds, as the Pipits and Wagtails, |
which change their first clothing plumage soon after quitting the nest, but retain their '
nestling primaries until the second autumn — (that is, until the third renovation of the
body feathers). In the Cormorants, Grebes, &c., some additional ornamental plumes are ^
developed towards the commencement of the breeding season ; at which time various i
other Birds undergo a change of colour, unaccompanied by any moult * ; while others, f
again, cast the terminal portion (commonly of a dingy hue) of the greater number of |
their feathers, which during winter had concealed the brighter tints of summer ; two |
or more of these various modes, by which a seasonal alteration of appearance is effected, |
being frequently simultaneously observable in the same individual.] In certain species, |
the winter plumage differs in its colours from that of summer ; and in the greater |
number, the female differs from the male by colours less vivid, and the young of both ?
sexes then resemble the female. When the adult male and female are of the same
colour, the young have a peculiar livery. [As thus expressed, however, these rules f
require to be qualified by numerous exceptions : the true enunciation of them being,
that, when the plumage of the young differs from that of the adult male, or of the |
female in those few cases where (as in the common Gallinule) this sex is the brighter, f
that of the other sex may be similar to either of those extremes, or is in various
decrees intermediate : the male and female of the common British Redstart, for
O /
instance, are dissimilar, and the young do not resemble the adult female ; but the'1
garb of the latter is intermediate to those of the adult male and young.f]
* When this takes place, as in certain Gambets {Totanus), the
colouring matter is often entirely absorbed previously to the autumnal
change of feather ; and in some double-moulting species, as the Golden
Plover, it commonly happens in spring that the colouring secretion
tinges the old feathers that are loose, and ready to drop off thus
proving that a circulation obtains in the pores of feathers, even up to
the period of their being naturally cast.— Ed.
t There is a typical state of plumage in most groups of Birds,which,
in certain species, as the Tree Sparrow, is common to old and young
of both sexes ; but which is very usually obtained only by the adult
male, as is observable in the common House Sparrow : in the Robin,
Goldfinch, &c., to select other familiar examples, it is acquired by the
adults of both sexes; and, in the Common Gallinule, only by the
mature female. There are also many Birds in which neither sex
assumes this comparatively advanced livery; the larger Bitterns, for
example, both sexes of which permanently retain the markings and
style of colouring characteristic of only the first or immature dress of
the Dwarf-bitterns (subgenus Ardeola); the adult male common
Bunting {Emberiza miliaria), also, thus exhibits correspond-
ing livery to that proper to the females and young of the rest of its*
group, never advancing, like the males of the other species of Bunting,
beyond its primitive nestling colours and markings. We are led to
recognize, therefore, two extreme conditions of plumage as regards
the colouring, — one generally, but not always, characteristic of matu-
AVES.
159
The brain, in Birds, offers the same general characters as in the rest of the Ovipara ;
but is distinguished by its very considerable proportionate size, which often even sur-
passes that of this organ in the Mammalia. It is principally on the tubercles analo-
gous to the corpora striata that this volume is dependent, and not upon the
hemispheres, which are very small and without convolutions. The cerehellum is
tolerably large, and almost without lateral lobes, being principally formed by the
vermiform process. |
The trachea of Birds has its rings entire ; at its bifurcation is a glottis, most usually
furnished with peculiar muscles, and named the lower larynx ; it is there that the voice
rity, — the other of immaturity ; the first having usually more decided
and contrasted colours ; the second being comparatively sombre, with
fainter or more blended colours, which however are commonly broken
into various streaks or spots, and other different mottlings : where the
latter condition, however, becomes permanent, the variegations of the
adult bird are in general more distinctly defined ; thus a beautiful
Himmalayan Thrush {Turdus fVhitei) , occasionally strays into
Europe, retains the mottling of the dorsal plumage peculiar to the
unmoulted young of other Thrushes, but the colours of those mottled
feathers are much more finely brought out ; in like manner the distinct
transverse bars on the adult plumage of the Bush-shrikes {Thamno-
philus) and those on certain Woodpeckers {Colaptes), respectively
represent the more indistinct markings of the nestling dress of the
ordinary Shrikes (Lanius) and certain other Woodpeckers {Chryso-
pfi/as), which barred plumage is succeeded in the latter by an adult
garb devoid of those markings : this increased distinctness is however
less apparent in some cases, as in that of the Bittern of North Ame-
rica, the adult markings of which correspond, feather by feather, (their
intensity being but inconsiderably enhanced,) with those of the im-
mature Dwarf-bitterns already referred to.
Accordingly, then, it is in the first plumage of Birds that the affinity
of allied groups is ordinarily most apparent, as is analogously the case
with the young of animals in general (the distinctions of all essen-
tially allied groups of which continue to decrease till they disappear
successively, as we ascend to the embryo) ; and the same remark
applies, as might be anticipated, to the shape and structure of the
feathers, equally with their colouring. Thus, the nestling garb is
always much less firm than that subsequently attained ; and those
feathers which are acuminate in the adult are rounded, or but slightly
narrowed, in the young, and in general become gradually more
elongated and pointed at each successive moult, till they have ac-
quired their final shape and developement : the dorsal feathers of the
common Heron, and clothing plumage of the Starling, may be cited
in exemplification. In this respect, also, as with their colouring, the
feathers of some species, compared with those of others proximately
allied, are specifically arrested at various stages of developement : the
adult plumage of the Bitterns represents in this particular the imma-
ture garb of the Herons generally ; and in the weakness of texture of
the dorsal feathers, equally with their mottled markings, the mature
livery of the lantKocinclm corresponds with the nestling dress of the
majority of other Birds of the Thrush tribe.
It should be remarked that in some cases where the typical plumage
is finally attained, this is only after a series of moultings more or less
numerous, each successive stage of which may or may not present a
nearer approximation to it in different species ; it being thus assumed
gradually, or abruptly ; and, in such cases, it is generally acquired by
the male sex sooner than by the female, where both ultimately arrive
at it. In the European Oriole, the male alone attains the typical garb,
but not before its third or fourth change of plumage, when it is
assumed abruptly, or nearly so; in the Dwarf-bitterns, the male
acquires its final livery at the first moult, the female not before the
third or fourth moult, presenting an intermediate garb in the mean
while, which is ultimately exchanged for the same livery as that of its
mate. The amount of constitutional vigour tends to determine the
period at which the more advanced condition of plumage is obtained,
in the ratio of the average period required for its assumption : thus,
we perceive little or no irregularity in those instances where the
typical dress is gained at the first renewal, but considerable irregu-
larity where the period of its assumption is ordinarily protracted ; and
it would seem that in the latter case the females are more apt to
acquire ultimately the most advanced livery, than in those instances
where the male alone regularly obtains it at the first moult ; though,
as there is always a tendency on the part of vigorous females to throw
out the masculine attire, it may be that this apparent difference arises
simply from the fact of such females being liable to escape notice,
from their consequent similarity to the other sex inducing a belief
that they belong to it, and so precluding further examination. Of
species thus usually presenting a marked sexual diversity of plu-
mage, we have seen females of the common Redstart, Linnet, Redpole,
Red-backed Shrike, and Scaup Pochard, w'hich could not be distin- |
guished externally from males ; and all of them contained eggs in the
ovarium.
As the assumption of the typical plumage, then, in species wherein
it is tardily acquired, is especially dependent on the amount of con-
stitutional vigour, it follows that captive Birds should generally arrive
more slowly at their final livery, than those individuals which are
unconfined ; and it might be predicated, also, that instances of captive
females assuming the male plumage, in those species wherein the
females ordinarily differ from the males, would be of comparatively
uufrequent occurrence. Such are accordingly the facts : but itre()uires
to be noticed, that any effectual injury to the ovarium, or other cause
of sterility, also occasions female Birds to throw out the masculine
livery (just as the Doe, mentioned at p. 137, with one schirrous ovary,
developed an antler on the same side), this fact being very commonly
noticed in Pheasants and domestic Poultry. On the other hand, how-
ever, it is still more remarkable that a male bird, analogously injured,
will sometimes even moult back from the typical plumage to that pro-
per to the female and young ; though caponized fowls retain their
male costume.
We have thus far treated on the subject only under its most simple
phase, as observed in those species which renew their plumage in
autumn only ; and have entered somewhat into detail, from experience
of the great assistance rendered by a knowledge of the characters thus
afforded in tracing the affinities of groups, by simple inspection of the
plumage: being enabled thus to perceive the systematic relationship
of various genera at a glance, which is not obvious in the rest of their
external characters, nor even in this one to persons unacquainted
with the normal progressive changes characteristic of the particular
group. In illustration, let it be supposed that a species of Sparrow
existed (which is quite probable), the males of which, like the
females of the House Sparrow, retained permanently the colouring of
the nestling garb of the latter, (or, in other words, that its plumage
presented the same analogy avith that of the House Sparrow which
the common Bunting’s plumage does to that of its congeners): the
affinity of such a species to the Tree Sparrow, both sexes of which
exhibit at all ages a style of colouring corresponding to that peculiar
to the adult male of the House Sparrow, would be rendered intelli-
gible by the mutation incidental to the latter, even though no actual
similitude were traceable between the plumage of the Tree Sparrow
and that of the imagined species. There are numerous groups, then,
the relationship of which may be at once recognized on the principle
here indicated.
Among those species which retain their first plumage till the second
autumn, its aspect undergoes considerable variation in some, from
different causes. Thus, in the Osprey, Gannet, and some others, the
upper parts are fora while conspicuously speckled with terminal white
spots, on a dark ground-colour ; which spots gradually disappearing,
as the terminal edges of the feathers are naturally shed, leave the
back uniformly dark-coloured and plain. In certain other groups, as
in some Harriers (Circt/s), an actual change of colour takes place in
the feathers, to a variable extent.
In those species of Birds which undergo a double moult, the sexes
are generally similar, or nearly so, in both states of plumage, and
always in the winter dress ; and even the summer and winter liveries
do not in all cases differ, as may be observed in the Tree Pipit
{Anthus arboreus) . Where the contrary prevails in both sexes, the
young, in their first down, are subject to possess the colouring of the
adult summer garb, as noticeable in the common Guillemot and
Razorbill ; and, in the plumage which succeeds the down, to resemble
the mature winter dress, or to present a combination of the two,
which is not uncommon — particularly among the small waders, which
subsequently attain their proper winter clothing plumage by a moult
towards the close of autumn. When the breeding livery of the male
and female differs, the same law prevails as in single-moulting Birds.
We have not space to enter more minutely into detail.— Ed.
AVES.
160
of Birds is formed ; the enormous volume of air contained in the air-cavities contri-
butes to the strength of this voice, and the trachea, by its various forms and move-
ments, to its intonations. The upper larynx, which is extremely simple, has little to
do with it.
The face, or upper mandible of Birds, formed principally by the intermaxillaries, is
prolonged backwards into two arcades, the internal of which is composed by the pala-
tine and pterygoid bones, the external by the maxillaries and jugals, and which are
both supported on a moveable tympanic bone, commonly termed the square bone i
{os carrd), that represents the drum of the ear : above, this same face is articulated or
united to the skull by elastic laminse ; a mode of union which always leaves some i
mobility.
The horny substance which invests the two mandibles supplies the place of teeth, ^
and is occasionally serrated, so as to represent them.* Its form, as also that of the
mandibles which support it, varies excessively, according to the sort of food i
resorted to. :
The digestion of Birds is in proportion to the energy of their vitality, and the :
amount of respiration. The stomach is composed of three parts : the craw, which is ;
an expansion of the gullet ; the proventriculus, a membranous stomach, furnished in i
the thickness of its coats with a multitude of glands [variously disposed and shaped in i
different groups] , the secretion of which humects the aliment ; and lastly, the ' i
gizzard, armed with two powerful muscles united by two radiating tendons, and inter- ^
nally lined by a coating of cartilage. The food is more readily ground there, as Birds |
are in the habit of swallowing small stones to augment its triturating power. ' ^
In the greater number of species which subsist only on flesh or fish, the muscles
and the internal lining of the gizzard are reduced to extreme tenuity, so that it appears,]* ;
to make but one sac with the proventriculus. [The same is noticeable in the Bustards, '
which subsist mainly upon herbage : a series of inter-
mediate gradations, however, occurring from these to | ,
the most powerfully muscular gizzards.] | i
The dilatation of the craw is also sometimes [even | ^
generally] wanting. [This is is commonly situate i i i
above the furcula, but in the genus Palamedea ^
beyond it: in the Grebes, there is a contraction and| i
intervening space between the proventriculus and j)'
gizzardf, which in the very peculiar genus Opistho- | i
comus is developed into a considerable cavity (this bird j
subsisting mainly on green foliage) : the Totipalmati “i
have generally an accessory pouch to the stomach, f
analogous to that of the Loricated Reptiles. It may
also be mentioned here, that in the Parrots and |
Pigeons, both exclusively vegetable feeders, the craw ;
is furnished with numerous glands, which become
developed in both sexes during the period that they alternately perform the daty(S
• See note to p. 36. — Ed. I rented from entering the gizzard till they have been sufficiently *:||
t The same contraction is noticeable, to a less extent, in the Mer- reduced, by the action of the gastric juice elaborated in the proven- S
gansers, and other piscivorous Birds with strong and muscular triculus, to pass its aperture. Q
gizzards : hence the fishes that they swallow are mechanically pre- ' J
AVES.
161
of incubation, and the function of which is to secrete a lacteal substance, with
which the young are at first nourished. The craw of Birds generally is situate on
the right side only; but in the Pigeons it is double, and fig. 70 represents the ordi-
nary aspect of that on one side when inflated (a), and the thickened glandular appear-
ance of that on the other (b), as noticeable in Pigeons that have newly-hatched young.
In other Birds, the craw merely serves as a reservoir for such food as cannot be imme-
diately taken into the stomach; though grain is generally moistened there and
softened, by macerating in fluid sipped for the purpose] .
The liver voids its bile into the intestine by two ducts, which alternate with the two
or three by which the pancreatic fluid passes. The pancreas of Birds is large, but their
spleen is small ; they have no epiploon, the functions of which are in part fulfilled by
the partitions of the air-cavities. The coecal appendages [when present] are placed near
the origin of the rectum, and at a short distance from its outlet ; these are more or less
long, according to the regimen of the bird. * The Herons [as also the Smew Mer-
ganser] have only one, which is minute ; in other genera, as that of the Woodpeckers,
|i they are wanting altogether.
The cloaca is a pouch in which the rectum, the ureters, and the spermatic ducts —
or, in the female, the oviduct — terminate ; it opens externally by the anus. As a
general rule, Birds do not urinate ; the secretion of the kidneys being mingled with
their solid excrement. The Ostriches alone have the cloaca sufficiently dilated to
allow of an accumulation of the urine. [In the majority of Water-fowl, there is a
small accessory pouch to the cloaca, termed the bursa Fabricii: its use has not been
clearly ascertained.]
In most of the genera, coition is effected by the simple juxta-position of the anus ;
the Ostriches and many aquatic Birds [those which copulate in water] , however, have
a penis furrowed with a groove, along which the seminal fluid is conducted. The
testicles are situate internally above the kidneys, and near the lungs ; [they attain an
enormous developement towards the season of propagation;] only one oviduct is
developed, the other [with its ovary] being reduced to minute size.
The egg, detached from the ovary, where only the yolk is perceptible, imbibes in the
upper part of the oviduct that exterior fluid termed the white, and becomes invested
with its shell in the lower part of the same canal. The chick is developed by incuba-
tion, unless where the heat of the climate suffices, as in the case of the Ostrich [in
some localities] . The young bird has on the tip of its beak a horny point, which
serves to rupture the shell, and falls off a few days after exclusion.
Every one knows the varied industry which Birds exhibit in the construction of their
nests, and the tender care which they take of their eggs and young ; it is the
principal part of their instinct. With regard to the rest, their rapid passage through
different regions of the air, and the intense and continued action of that element upon
them, renders them presensible of the variations of the atmosphere, to an extent of
* Some difficulties occur in the way of this explanation, unless
duly qualified in reference to the normal characters of particular
g:roups, or subtypes of form. Thus, the Hawks and the Owls subsist
pretty nearly on the same regimen ; the coeea being in the former in-
stance constantly minute, and in the latter as invariably of consider-
able size, but with the same proportional dimensions in every species :
nor can this diversity be explained on another principle that has been
advanced, equally correct in its application to groups ; viz., that the
somnolent inactive Owls require to have more complex digestive
organs (which should retain the chyme longer in its passage), than
the more energetic tribe of Falcons ; inasmuch as the rapidly-flying,
active Harfang, or Snowy Owl, which on the wing can scarcely be
distinguished from the Jer Falcon, possesses ceeca — as before gene-
rally intimated — proportionally quite as large as those of the light-
flapping Barn Owl ; while the lazy, smooth-sailing Buzzard, the
floating Kite, and the buoyantly-skimming Harrier, present no further
developement of these appendages than the darting Hawks, or the
impetuous, far-rushing Falcons. A variety of analogous instances
might be enumerated.-— Ed.
M
AVES.
162
which we can have no idea, and from the most ancient times has caused to he attri-
buted to them, by superstitious persons, a power of announcing future events. It is ,
doubtless upon this faculty that the instinct depends which [periodically] agitates
migratory Birds, and impels them to direct their course towards the equator when
winter approaches, and pole-ward at the return of spring.* They are not devoid of
memory, and even imagination — for they dream ; and every body knows with what f
facility they may be tamed, taught [in numerous instances] to perform various services,
and to retain airs and words.
DIVISION OF THE CLASS OF BIRDS INTO ORDERS.
Of all classes of animals, that of Birds is the most strongly characterized, that in
which the species bear the greatest mutual resemblance, and which is separated from g
ail others by the widest interval.
Their systematic arrangement is based, as in the Mammalia, on the organs of man-
ducation or the beak, and on those of prehension, which are again the beak, and more
particularly the feet. [The configuration of the sternal apparatus, also, (which we
have illustrated by numerous figures,) and the modifications of the digestive and some-
times vocal organs, supply highly important characters on which to ground the
subdivisions.]
One is first struck by the character of wehhed feet, or those wherein the toes are |
connected by membranes, that distinguish all swimming Birds. f The backward position'
of their feet, the elongation of the sternum, the neck, often longer than the legs, tojJ
enable them to reach below them, the close, shining plumage, impervious to water,-S^
altogether concur with the feet to make good navigators of the Palmipedes. S'
In other Birds, which have also most frequently some small web to their feet, a^i
least between the two external toes, we observe elevated tarsi ; legs denuded of featherS!
above the heel-joint; a slender shape; in fine, all the requisites for fording alongj
shallow water, in search of nourishment. Such, in fact, is the regimen of the greate^
number ; and, although some of them resort exclusively to dry places, they are never'^|
theless termed Shore-birds or Waders. !
Amongst the true land-birds, the Gallinacew have — like our domestic Cock — a heavy!-
carriage, a short flight, the beak moderate, its upper mandible vaulted, the nostrils
partly covered by a soft and tumid scale, and almost always the edges of the toes v
indented, with short membranes between the bases of those in front. They subsist „
chiefly on grain.
Birds of prey have a crooked beak, with its point sharp and curving downward ; |
and the nostrils pierced in a membrane that invests its base : their feet [save in the-;
Vulture group] are armed with stout talons. They live on flesh, and [the Vultures ;
more the extraordinary fact (familiar to all practical observers) of
Birds of passage, unless when driven by stress of weather, returning, :',
both in summer and winter, to their former place of abode, and this u
even when reared in confinement, and released immediately previous :
to their first journey. — Ed. (See note to p. 31.) Vf
t It is most difficult thus to generalize in the class of Birds. Eord ^
instance, the Gallinules, or Moorhens^ — habitual swimmers, — have no ; '
connecting membrane to the toes ; while the Terns, which are never 'j j;
seen to swim, have their toes completely webbed, &c. Even the Herons; 'I |i (
„ . , „ . . . „ . , llie Curlews, and numerous other waders, will sometimes take the ' ' |
animals to travel in the right direction; and the marvel increases water of their own accord, and swim across pools, though their struc- ij
wlien we consider the length of route ordinarily traversed, and still ! ture does not indicate such a habit. — Ed. !
♦ It IS certain, however, that the rapid enlargement of the sexual
organs is the immediate stimulant to migration in the spring ; while
decline of temperature, most generally, is the directly predisposing
agent in the autumn : this is manifest in the case of migratory Birds
kept in confinement. The instances of the Swift, and adult Cuckoo,
retiring southward at the hottest season of the year, are more difficult
of explanation, and indicate some ulterior agency not hitherto divined ;
though they do not affect the multitudinous observations, which con-
clusively prove the influence of decline of temperature. It is less easy
to imaeine nhvsical acenev that should constantlv imnel miirratorv
ACCIPITRES. 163
again excepted] pursue other Birds ; their flight accordingly is mostly powerful. The
greater number still retain a slight web betwixt their external toes.
The Passerine Birds comprise many more species than all the other families ; but
their organization presents so many analogies that they cannot be separated, although
they vary very much in size and strength. Their two external toes are joined at the
base, and sometimes higher.
Finally, the name of Climbers is applied to those Birds in which the external toe is
directed backwards like the thumb, because the greater number of them [some of them]
avail themselves of a conformation so favourable for a vertical position, to climb along
the trunks of trees.* [As constituted upon this single character, the present group is
a most unnatural one, excluding genera that in every other respect belong to it, and
including the Parrots, which differ widely from the rest in every other detail of their
conformation. Besides the Parrots, also, which are the only true climbers among
Birds, (if we except perhaps the Colies,) the Woodpecker and Barbet groups comprise
all the yoke-footed species which ascend the trunks of trees, the latter only being
enabled to descend them ; and corresponding genera to these occur among the Passerine
Birds, as the Creepers and their allies — to the Woodpeckers, and the Nuthatches — to
the Barbets. The Trogons moreover, as stated at p. 156, are yoke-footed on a different
principle from the rest. We have no hesitation in placing the Parrots at the head of
the whole series of the class of Birds.]
Each of these orders subdivides into families and genera, principally after the con-
formation of the beak. But these different groups pass into each other by almost
imperceptible gradations, insomuch that there is no other class in which the genera
and subgenera are so difficult of limitation.
THE FIRST ORDER OF BIRDS,—
THE BIRDS OF PREY {ACCIPITRES, Lin.)—
Are recognized by their hooked beak and talons, — powerful weapons, with which they immo-
late other Birds, and even the weaker Quadrupeds and Reptiles. They are among Birds what
the Carnivora are among Quadrupeds.f The muscles of their thighs and legs indicate the
force of their claws ; their tarsi are rarely elongated : they having all four toes ; and the claw
of the thumb and that of the innermost toe are the strongest.
They constitute two families, the Diurnal and the Nocturnal.
The Diurnal Birds of Prey have the eyes directed sideways; a membrane, termed the
cere [as in the Parrots], covering the base of the beak, in which the nostrils are pierced ; three
toes before [the outer in the Osprey genus reversible], and one behind, unfeathered, the two
exterior almost always connected at base by a short membrane ; the plumage close, the quills
strong, and flight powerful. [They have constantly a large craw (fig. 71) or dilatation of the
gullet] ; their stomach is almost wholly membranous ; their intestines [save in the Osprey
genus] but little extended, and furnished with minute coeca. The sternum (fig. 72) is large
and completely ossified, [or with only a posterior foramen left, in most of the genera], in
order to give more extended attachment to the muscles of the wing ; and their fourchette
* In my first Elementary Sketch, in 1798, I was oblig-ed to suppress I of recent Ornithologists, have assented to this suppression,
the order Piets of Linnseus, which has no one determinate character, f As the frugivorous Parrots may be compared to the Quadrutnana.
[at least as constituted by that naturalist]. M. Illiger, and the majority I — Ed.
M 2
164
AVES.
(fig. 72, a) is semicircular and very wide, the better to resist the violent pressure of the humerus
incidental to a rapid flight. [The young undergo no change of feather until their second
autumn ; and they renew their plumage slowly, and in no
instance more than once in the year ; its seasonal change
being confined to a slight wearing otF, rather than a natural
shedding, of the margins of the feathers : in several species,
however, the colour indicative of maturity is partially ac-
quired, previously to moulting, by a change of hue in the first
or nestling plumage. The eggs of Accipitrine Birds are
nearly spherical ; and those of the present division are gene-
rally more or less spotted or blotched with rusty-brown.
The young are at first densely clad in short soft down.]
Linnaeus made only two genera, which are two natural
divisions, — the Vultures and the Falcons.
The Vultures (Vuliur, Lin.) —
Have the eyes even with the head ; the tarsi reticulated, or, in
other words, covered with small scales ; the beak lengthened,
curved only at the end ; and a greater or less portion of the head,
and generally of the neck, [in the adult,] devoid of feathers. The
force of their talons does not correspond with their stature, and
they make more use of their beak than of their claws. Their
wings are so long, that in walking they hold them half-extended.
They are of a cowardly disposition, and feed on carrion oftener
than on living prey : when they have gorged themselves, their
craw forms a large protuberance above the fourchette, a fetid
humour issues from their nostrils, and they are almost reduced
Fig./l.^AlimentaryCanal of the Common Buzzard :
exhibiting the first expansion, or craw ; and (be- to a statc of apatliv. [They difier, moreover, from all the suc-
low the divarication of the trachea) the proven- jt u
tricuius, stomach, and intestines. The second ceedinff groups, till wc arrivc at the Poultry, — with the sole ex-
figure represents the termination of the small £3 o r ' ’
ioJm .^e cio'lSa'i!^" tw^ndn^irilL"^ L°t ^eption of the Secretary genus {Gypogeranm), which indeed might
the junction of the great and small intestines.* ranged with them,— in posscssing more than twelve cervical ver-
tebrae f; their fourchette, though extremely stout and wide,
is flattened as in the Owls ; the sternal crest low, and reduced
anteriorly ; and the posterior edge of the sternum (fig. 73), in
some of those of America, is doubly emarginated for some
time : they even further accord with the Owls in having a rib
less than the Falconine genera.
The Vultures, properly so called, {Vultur, Cuv.) —
Have a large and strong beak, the nostrils opening cross-wise
its base, the head and neck without feathers or caruncles, and
collar of long feathers, or of down, at the base of the neck.
They have hitherto been found only on the old continent [but
none of the tribe are met with in Australia, where the absence
of larger indigenous quadrupeds than the Kangaroos, and of
predatory animals that should leave the surplus of their
meals to putrefy, indicate that they could not be sup-
ported.] t
of the Common Harrier.
ig. 7^.— Sternal apparatus
N.B. The keel (h) i.s rather more developed in the ■
Falcons ; less so in the Eagles.
* Copied from M'GillivTay’s Rapacio7ts Birds oj Britain.— 'R-a.
t In the long series of groups adverted to, the thirteenth vertebra
generally, but not always, bears a pair of minute ribs, which diminish
till they disappear in some species j if, therefore, the thirteenth
vertebra is to be considered as cervical in such cases, as not bearing
a rib, the difference is essentially trifling, and does not intrinsically
affect the above generalization — Ed.
t The Alectura, Gray, which has been ignorantly classified with the i)
Vultures, is in every respect a true Poultry bird.
ACCIPITRES.
165
The Fulvous Vulture (F. fulvus,
Gm.) is the most widely-diffused spe-
cies, inhabiting the mountainous parts
of the whole ancient continent. Its
body surpasses in size that of a Swan
[possibly in the instance of some fe-
males. This bird has been errone-
ously stated to have fourteen tail-
feathers.* The greater number of the
genus possess similar characters.]
The Dusky Vulture (F. cinereus,
Gm.)— As widely distributed as the
preceding [but less numerously], and
still larger ; it frequently attacks liv-
ing animals. [This species exemplifies
the subgenus Gyps of Savigny : hav-
ing the beak more sharply pointed,
the nostrils almost round, and the
head partially clothed with feathers.
The Vultures generally, indeed, have
the head and neck feathered when
young, like the Turkey and other
birds which have bald heads in a state
of maturity ; the immature F. Ango-
lensis, Gm., is doubtfully figured by
Bennett as a species of Caracara (Po-
lyborus? hypoleucos) •, but the adults
Fi>r. 73.— 1, hind margin of the sternum of a true Vulture— 2, ditto, of Neophron— 3, ditto, of of that SpecieS Continue tO haVe thOSe
Cathartet aura— A, ditto, of C. Californianus, the foramina of which have become obliterated . ^ j n
—5, ditto, of another presumed Cathartes — 6, ditto, of Secretary. parts invested.]
The Oricou Vulture (F. auricularis. Baud.), an African species, [probably the largest of the true Vultures,] has
a longitudinal fleshy crest on each side of the neck, above the ear, [a character which likewise occurs, less promi-
nently, in one or two others].
America produces Vultures remarkable for the caruncles which surmount the membrane at the base
of the beak ; the latter is as large as in the preceding, but the nostrils are oval and longitudinal.
They are
The Condors (Sarcoramphus, Dumeril), —
[A very distinct genus, remarkable for having no muscles attached to the trachea, in consequence of
which they are necessarily deprived of voice, emitting no sound beyond a weak snorting. Their hind
toe is shorter than in other Accipitres.'}
The King Condor (F. papa, Lin).— Size of a Goose. The naked parts of the head and neck vividly coloured, and
the caruncle denticulated like the comb of a cock. It inhabits the Pampas and other hot parts of South America.
This species is termed the King of the Vultures, from the Gallinazos giving place to it, through fear, whenever it
settles upon a carcase which they had begun to devour.
The Great Condor (F. Lin.); the male of which, in addition to his superior caruncle t, has another
under the beak, like the cock. The female differs in colour, and is without the caruncles. This bird has been
rendered famous by exaggerated reports of its size : it is little larger than the Bearded Griffin, which its manners
resemble. It inhabits the most elevated regions of the Andes, and flies higher than any other bird.
The Gallinazos {Cathartes, Cuv.) —
Have the beak of the Condors, that is to say, large, with longitudinal oval nostrils, but no fleshy crest :
their head and neck are without feathers ; [plumage nearly or wholly black : the sternum emarginated
inward of the ordinary foramen. All the species are from America.]
The Great Gallinazo (F, californianus, Shaw), — approaches the large Condor in size, with proportionally longer
wings. [From the western coast of North America.]
The Turkey Buzzard of Anglo-Americans (F. Lin.)— Little larger than a fowl. [There appear to be
others, hitherto imperfectly determined.]
The Neophrons {Neophron, Cuv.) —
Have a long and slender beak, rather tumid above its curvature ; the nostrils oval and longitudinal.
• No species of bird has more than twelve tail-feathers (Including
the uropygiah) till we arrive at the Poultry. Hence, the Alectura,
mentioned in the preceding note, — which possesses eighteen, might
in this character alone have been referred to its proper station.
t It is proper to remark that the rigid cartilaginous crest of the
male of this Condor offers no analogy, anatomically, with the flaccid
caruncle of the other. — Ed.
166
AVES.
j and the head, but not the neck, devoid of feathers. They are birds of moderate size, and in strength
do not approach the Vultures properly so called ; hence they are even more addicted to carrion and
aU sorts of filth, which attract them from afar. They do not even disdain to feed on excrement.
The Wliite Neophron Lin.)— Little larger than a Raven; the adult male [and probably also
the old female] white, with black quill-feathers ; the female and young brown. [It is common in Africa, and the
countries bordering the Mediterranean ; rare in the north of Europe : has been once killed in England.] It fol-
lows the caravans in the desert, to devour all that dies. !
The Urubu (F. jota, Ch. Bonap.), or Carrion Crow of the Anglo-Americans.— The same size and form as the
preceding, but with a stouter bill, and the head entirely naked ; plumage wholly deep black. It abounds in the
temperate and hot parts of America, [and is generally ranged in Cathartes. One or more additional true Neo-
phrons, however, exist in Africa.]
The Griffins {Gypdetos, Storr),—
Placed by Gmelin in his genus Falco^ approximate the Vultures rather in their habits and conformation :
they have the eyes even with the head ; the claws proportionally feeble ; wings half-extended when at
rest ; the craw, when full, projecting at the bottom of the neck : hut their head is completely covered
with feathers ; [and they have only thirteen cervical vertebrae, which is one more than in any of the
Falcons ; the Neophrons and Gallinazos possessing fourteen, and the Condors and true Vultures fifteen.
The sternum is proportionally short, and very broad.] Their distinctive characters consist in a very
strong, straight beak, hooked at the point, and inflated on the curve ; nostrils covered [owl-hke] with
stiflf hairs directed forward ; and a pencil of similar hairs under the beak ; their tarsi are short, and
feathered to the toes ; and their wings long, having the third quill longest.
The Bearded Gritfin, or Lammer-geyer, (F barbatus, and Falco barbatus, Gm.).— This is the largest bird of prey
belonging to the Eastern Continent : it inhabits the high chains of mountains, but is not very common. It
nestles in inaccessible acclivities ; attacks Lambs, Goats, the Chamois, and even, it is said, sleeping Man [or
persons standing on the edge of a precipice] ; it is pretended that children have been sometimes carried away by
it, [a statement recently confirmed by facts, in more than one instance]. Its method is to force animals over steep
precipices, and to devour them when disabled by the fall. It does not, however, refuse dead bodies. Its length
is nearly five feet (French), and extent of wing from nine to ten feet. This bird is the Phene of the Greeks, and
the Ossifraga of the Latins. [The species of the Himmalayas is considered to be different.]
The Falcons {Falco, Lin.) — *
Constitute the second, and by much the most numerous division of the diurnal birds of prey. They
have the head and neck covered with feathers ; their eye-brows [except in the Ospreys] form a pro-
jection which occasions the eye to appear sunk, and imparts a very different character to their phyi*
siognomy from that of the Vultures : the majority of them subsist on living prey ; but they differ much ^ 1 1
in the amount of courage displayed in the pursuit of it. Their first plumage is often differently Mi
coloured from the adult, and they do not [in most instances] assume the latter for three or four!.^,il(
years, — a circumstance which has occasioned the species to have been greatly multiplied by nomencla-*' j
tors. The female is generally one-third larger than the male, which, on this account, has been namedj| u|
a tercel. j '
^ i
It is necessary to subdivide this genus first into two sections. ||j i
The Falcons, properly so called, {Falco, Bechstein), commonly termed the Noble Birds of Prey, — ®{] \
Compose the first. They are the most courageous i^Pi
proportion to their size, a quality which is derived from^’?
the power of their armature and wings. Their heakpii
(fig. 74), curved from its base, has a sharp tooth on each^ ;*'
side near the point ; and the second quill of their wings | :
is the longest, the first nearly equalling it, which renders^
the entire wing longer and more pointed. From this, 5^
also, result particular habits : the length of the quills of^ •
their wings weakens their efforts to ascend vertically, and j
renders their forward flight, in a calm state of the at- ig
mosphere, very oblique, necessitating them, when they ;
Fig. 74.-Beak of Jer Falcon. j.jgg (jjjectly, to fly against the wind. They are |
ACCIPITRES.
167
i exceedingly docile Birds, and are those which are most generally employed in falconry, being taught
I to pursue game, and to return when called.
I The Peregrine Falcon (F. communis, Gm. ; {F. peregrinus, Lin.).— Apparently a cluster of indefinitely distin-
guishable species, generally diffused in temperate climates, both northward and southward of the equator]. The
species mostly trained for purposes of falconry.
I [There are numerous others, of which the Jer Falcon, the Lanner,— which is intermediate to the Jer and
I Peregrine Falcons,— the Hobby, the Red-legged, and the Merlin Falcons, inhabit northern Europe. The Red-
legged Falcon is remarkable for sometimes breeding in society. F. concolor and some others have the
j tarsi elongated: and in F. cesalon (the Merlin), and some allied species, the third quill-feather equals and
! sometimes exceeds the second ; these last are also somewhat Hawk-like in the structure of their feet, and in
I their manners. The division of Kestrel-falcons (termed Cerchneis by Boie) comprehends Birds of weaker
^ structure, which have the sternum proportionally smaller ; in some the front of the tarsi is scutellated, as in
the short-winged Hawks : the Kestrel-Falcons prey chiefly on field-mice, wliich they discern as they hover
I stationary at a moderate altitude, with the head invariably turned towards the wind ; it is thus that they have
obtained the names of Wind-hover and of Stand-gall or “stand-gale:” there are several species, two only of
; which inhabit Europe — the common Kestrel {F. tinnunculus, Lin.), and the White-clawed Kestrel {F. cenchris,
Frisch, and Naum ; F. tinnunculoides, Tern.).
1 The division Hierofalco, Cuv., was instituted by mistake, for the reception of the Jer Falcon, under the suppo-
jj sition that its beak had only a festoon, as in the short-winged Hawks ; the tooth of these Birds being sometimes
j| cut away by the falconers. Gampsonyx, Vigors, however, fulfils nearly the conditions which were assigned to
I Hierofalco ; the upper mandible being devoid even of emargination, and considerably resembling that of the
ij Buzzards : the head is small, feet and tarsi robust, the latter feathered half-way from the joint ; wings the same
I as in Falco : one species only is known, a bird of small size from Brazil (G. Swainsonii, Vig.).
Other species (the lerax. Vigors), of very small size, have the second and third quill-feathers nearly equal ; the
I upper mandible strongly and sharply bidentated, by the further developement of a sinuation visible in the rest.
Two species are known, from Java and Manilla respectively, {F. ccerulescens, Edwards, and J. erythrogenys,
,| Vig.) — They are scarcely larger than a Swallow, but yield to none in energy and spirit : their wings, however, are
ij less firm than in other Falcons.
I There are some bideutate species, which in other respects accord more nearly with the Goshawks ;
I they are
' The Harpagons {Harpagus, Vig. ; Bidens, Spix), — •
Which present an acute bidentation of both mandibles, and have hitherto been found only in South
j America.
The best known species (F. bidentatus, Latham) is figured in the adult state by Spix as Bidens ritfiventer, and
j in immature plumage as B. albiventer.
j Others more nearly approximate the Perns, as
The Falcoperns {Lepidogenys, Gould), —
I The wings of which are remarkably long, having the third quill longest ; feet very short, and the talons
j small and but slightly curved : the bidentation is less strongly marked than in the preceding.
I F. lophotes, Tern., an elegantly-crested bird from India, and another from Australia — L. subcristatus, Gould,
I pertain to this division. Nearly allied would seem to be the Aviceda, Swains., from Western Africa ; except that
its armature is considerably more powerful.] The Baza of Hodgson is probably identical with Lepidogenys.
\ The second section of the great genus Falco is that of the Birds of prey termed Ignoble, because they
i cannot be so well employed in falconry ; a tribe much more numerous than that of the Nobles, and
il which it is necessary to subdivide considerably. Their longest quill-feather is almost always the fourth,
I the first being very short, which has the same effect as if the tip of the wing had been obliquely cut
I off ; hence, cceteris paribus, result diminished powers of flight. Their beak, also, is not so well armed,
I as there is no lateral tooth near its point, but only a slight festoon about the middle of its length.
The Eagles {Aquila, Brisson),— -
I Which form the first tribe, have a very strong beak, straight at its base, and curved only towards the
' point. Among them we find the largest species of the genus, and the most powerful of all the
I Birds of prey.
The Eagles, properly so called {Aquila, Cuv.) —
Have the tarsi feathered down to the base of the toes : they inhabit mountains, and pursue Birds and
Quadrupeds ; their wings are as long as the tail, their flight both elevated and rapid, and their courage
superior to that of most other Birds.
AVES.
168
[The Golden Eagle {F. chrysdetos, Lin.), the Grecian Eagle {A. Heliaca, Savigny ; F. imperialis, Tern.), the
Spotted Eagle {F. ncevius and maculatus, Gm.), the Social Eagle (A. Bonelli, Bonap.), and the Little Eagle
Fig-. 75. — White-headed Erne.
{F. pennatus, Gm.), are the European species, which sue- ,
cessively decrease in size in the order announced ; the
last-named being smaller than a Common Buzzard.]
New Holland produces Eagles of similar form to those
of Europe, the tail excepted, which is cuneiform. Such i
is the Wedge-tailed Eagle (A.fucosa, Cuv.). ,
[There are many others.] We should remark that the
transition from the Eagles to the Buzzards is effected by
insensible gradations, [the typical Buzzards being merely
small-sized Eagles, with weaker armature] .
The Ernes {Halmetus, Cuv.)
Have wings resembling those of the preceding,
hut the tarsi clothed only on its upper half with
feathers, the remainder being semi-scutellated.
[Their beak also is longer and larger.] They
frequent the shores of rivers and of the sea, and
subsist in great part upon fish [without disdaining
carrion, like the true Eagles.
The Cinereous Erne (F. albicilla, Lin.) of Europe, and
the American White-headed Erne (F. leucocephalus, Lin.
fig. 75) are characteristic examples. There are also some
of small size, as the bird commonly termed the Pondi-
cherry Kite (F. ponticerianus, Gm.), which the Hindoos I
consider sacred to Vishnu. The Cunduma of Hodgson
is merely a large Haliaeetus].
The Ospreys (Pandion, Savigny) —
Have [somewhat] the beak and feet of the Ernes ; but their talons are round underneath,
other Birds of prey [save in the true Elant] they are grooved
or channelled ; their tarsi are reticulated, and the second
[third] quill of their wings is longest. Their sternum (fig. 76)
differs from that of other Falcons (see fig. 72) in becoming
narrower towards its posterior margin, where a notch exists
analogous to the inner emargination of the Gallinazos, but not
to the foramen observable in the Falcons generally : the intes-
tine is very slender and of great length (whereas in the Ernes
it does not differ from that of other Falcons) : the super-
orbital bone does not project : the feathers even are com-
pletely destitute of the supplementary plume, (which in the
Ernes and most other Falcons is considerably developed), and
are not lengthened over the tibia : the outer toe is reversible,
and the foot astonishingly rough underneath, to enable them
to hold their slippery fishy prey, on which they subsist ex-
clusively. This is by far the most strongly characterized division
of the Linnsean genus Falco.*}
The Common Osprey (F. haliceetus, Lin.)— [Evidently a cluster of a
allied species, very generally distributed. That of New Holland (F. lev^
cocephalus, Gould) has the crown white. In some places this bird
nidificates in large societies.
As a group, externally intermediate to the Ernes and Ospreys,
might be separated the F. ichthyaetus, Horsf., and several allied
species from Australasia. They are essentially Osprey-like Ernes,
which most probably retain the anatomy of the latter, and ex-
hibit greater developement of the mandibular tooth than either.]
• The genus Herpethotheres alone is nearly allied.
while in
ACCIPITRES.
169
The Marsh-eagles {Circdetus, Vieillot) —
Hold a sort of mediate station between the Ernes, the Ospreys, and the Buzzards. They have the
wings of the Eagles and Buzzards, and the reticulated tarsi of the Ospreys. Such are
The European Marsh-eagle, or Jean-le-blanc, (F, gallicus, Gm.),— the beak of which curves more rapidly than
in other Eagles, and the toes are proportionally shorter. It exceeds the Osprey in size, and inhabits Europe,
preying chiefly on reptiles.
Le Bateleur of Le Vaillant, {F. ecaudatus, Shaw).— An African species, remarkable for the extreme shortness
of its tail, and its beautifully variegated plumage. [It constitutes the division Helotarsus of Smith, synonymous
with Terathopias of Lesson, differing in several particulars from the others, and particularly in the baldness of
its cheeks. The Bateleur preys on young Gazelles, young Ostriches, &c., and also on putrid carrion, disgorging
the latter into the throats of its young, as observed of the Vultures.]
America produces Eagles with long wings like the foregoing, and naked scutellated tarsi, in which
a more or less considerable proportion of the sides of the head, and sometimes of the throat, is
denuded of feathers. The general name of
Caracaras —
Has been applied to them. From this group M. Vieillot has made his genera Daptrius^ Ihycter,
and Polyborus, [partly] according to the greater or less extent of the bare part of the head.
[Phalcobanus, d'Orbigny, Gymnops and Milvago, Spix, have also been applied to divisions of the
Caracaras. These Birds are carrion-feeders, and pass their time chiefly on the ground, amongst the
herbage, where their gait is ambulatory. All are from the warm regions of America.]
The Coronards, or short-winged Fisher-eagles, {Harpyia^, Cuv, ; \Thrasdetos, G, Gray] ) —
Are also American Eagles, which have the tarsi very thick and strong, reticulated, and half-covered
with feathers, as in the Ernes, from which they differ chiefly in the shortness of their wings ; their
beak and talons are stronger than in any other tribe.
The Harpy Coronard or Eagle {F. harpyia, and F. cristatus, Lin.). — Of all Birds, this possesses the most terrific
beak and talons ; it is superior in size to the common Eagle. On the back of its head are elongated, feathers,
forming a sort of fan-like crest upon the nape, which, when erected, impart to its physiognomy a resemblance to
the tufted Owls : like them, also, its external toe is frequently directed backward. It is said to be so strong, as to
have sometimes cleft a Man’s skull with a blow of its beak. The Sloths are its ordinary food, and it not unfre-
quently carries off Fawns.
The Eagle-hawks {Morphnus, Cuv.) —
Have, like the preceding, wings shorter than the tail ; but their elevated and slender tarsi, and their
feeble toes, oblige us to distinguish them. Some have the tarsi naked and scutellated.
The Crested Eagle-hawk of Guiana {F. guianensis, Baud.), resembles singularly, in its colours and markings,
the Harpy Coronard of the same country ; but is not so large, and its naked and scutellated tarsi sufficiently
distinguish it.
F. urubitinga, Lin., is crestless. Tins handsome species hunts in inundated grounds. [Certain other uncrested
species, with very long tarsi, constitute the Limndetos, Vigors.
Others have elevated tarsi, feathered throughout their length [the Spizdetus of Vieillot],
The Tufted Black Eagle-hawk of Africa (F. occipitalis, Baud.),— inhabits the whole of that continent.
The Variegated Eagle-hawk {F. ornatus, Baud.; F. superbus and coronatus, Shaw: Harpyia braccata,
refers to the young).— A handsome species from South America, which varies from black and white to deep brown.
[Certain Indian species compose the Nisaetos of Hodgson.]
Finally, there are in Ameriea some Birds with beaks as in all the preceding ; very short, reticulated
tarsi, half-feathered in front ; wings shorter than the tail ; but the most distinctive character
of which consists in their nostrils, which are almost closed, and resemble a fissure. A small tribe may
be made of them, designated
The Cymindues {Cymindis, Cuv.).
Such is
The small Cayenne Hawk of Buffon (F. cayennensis, Gm.) ; which has another peculiar character, by possessing
a small tooth at the bend of its beak.
[F. hamatus, Illiger, ranged by the author in Cymindis, composes the Rostrhamus of Lesson ; its beak is very
narrow, the upper mandible resembling a long and slender claw : tail slightly furcate.
• This term was previously applied to a subgenus of Cheiroptera. — Ed.
170
AVES.
The Asturines {Asturina, Vieillot) —
Have been generally placed next. They have the nostrils lunulated ; the bill straight at its base ;
wings short, and the tarsi also short and somewhat slender.
A. cinerea, Vieillot, a species from Guiana, may be cited in exemplification.]
The Hawks {Astur, Bechstein ; Doedalion, Savigny), —
Which form the second division of the IgnoUes, have wings shorter than the tail, as in the last three
tribes of Eagles ; but their beak curves from its base, as in all that follow.
The Goshawks {Astur, as restricted)—
Have the tarsi [more distinctly] scutellated, and comparatively short.
The European Goshawk {F, palumbarius, Lin.), equals the Jer Falcon in size, but always stoops obliquely on its
quarry. Falconers, however, sometimes use it for the weaker kinds of game. It is common in the hilly andf
secondary mountain ranges of Europe. *
Among foreign Goshawks, we may notice that of New Holland (F. Novee Hollandice, White), which is ofteiif |
entirely snow-white ; but it appears that these white individuals constitute a variety only of a bird of the samel : t
country, pale ash-coloured above, white below, with vestiges of pale undulations. . If i
We may approximate to the Goshawk certain American Birds, with short wings and tarsi, the latter! 1
reticulated. [These are | '
The Nicaguas {Herpethotheres, Vieillot; Dcsdalion, Vigors), — ’
A strongly characterized division, interesting, as presenting evidently a modification of the peculiar ^
Osprey type, to which genus they alone appear to be allied. It is particularly desirable, therefore, that ^ j|
their anatomy should be ascertained.] |
The Nicagua of Azara, or Laughing Falcon, (F. cachinnans, Lin.) ; so named from its cry. From the marshes of
South America, where it preys on reptiles and fish. [Its colouring, and the texture of its plumage, are the same ^
as in the Osprey ; and it has similar short feathers on the tibia. F. ntelanops, Lath, and F. sufflator, Lin., apper-
tain to this division ; the latter, however, constituting the restricted Physeta of Vieillot.] |
The Sparrow-hawks {Nims, Cuv. ; \Accipiter, Ray] ) —
Have longer and more slender tarsi than the Goshawks, [still shorter wings, and the middle toe muchj|;
lengthened] ; but the passage from one to the other of these divisions is almost insensible.
Our common Sparrow-hawk {F. nisus, Lin.) has the same colouring as the Goshawk, but is much less in size ; !"
notwithstanding which it is employed in falconry. There are foreign species still smaller ; but also some that are jj
much larger, as j
The Chaunting Hawk {F-. musicus, Daud.), — a native of Africa, where it pursues Partridges and Hares, and L
builds in trees. It is the only bird of prey known that sings agreeably, [by which, however, cannot be meant that I
it infiects the voice, as in those Passerine Birds which have additional laryngeal muscles. This bird,— and there is
more than one species here confounded,— has a much weaker bill, and longer wings, than the true Sparrow-hawks ;
it has probably been made the type of a separate division.
The Gymnogenys of Vieillot may also be introduced here. It is a Hawk with very long wings, lengthened and
distinctly scutellated tarsi, and short toes, but the most distinctive character of which consists in its being naked
above the bill and on the cheeks. The only species, G. madagascariensis, is grey, with round black spots on the
wings, and the lower parts below the breast transversely rayed : it bears some resemblance to the Secretary.
The species of Hawks displays the maximum sexual disparity of size, in favour of the female.]
The Kites {Milvus, Bechst.) —
Have short tarsi, and feeble toes and claws, which, added to a beak equally disproportioned to their
size, render them the most cowardly of the whole group : they are further distinguished by their
excessively long wings, and by their forked tail, in consequence of which their flight is very swift
and easy.
Some have th-e tarsi very short, reticulated, and half-feathered above, like the last small tribe of j
Eagles : [their claws, save that on the middle toe, are rounded underneath]. Such are
The Elanets {Elanus, Savigny).
The Black-winged Elanet {F. melanopterus, Daud.) ; a common species from Egypt to the Cape, and which | !}
appears to be found in India, and even in America. [The American and New Holland species are distinct.] jj|
Insects are almost its sole prey. v i|
The Swallow-tailed Glede {F.furcatus, Lin.).— Larger than the preceding, [with wings excessively long, and tail 4, if '
ACCIPITRES.
171
deeply furcate]. It attacks reptiles [and the larger insects, and has been known to scrape out Wasps’-nests like
the Pern. Its talons are not rounded underneath, on account of which, together with other distinctive characters,
it is now generally recognized as constituting the Nauclerus, Vigors. This bird is indigenous to America, but
has been known to stray into Britain. It is social in its habits, and almost gregarious. A nearly allied African
species constitutes the Elanoides of Vieillot.]
The Kites, properly so called {Milvus, Cuv.)—
Have the tarsi scutellated and stronger, [and are very nearly related to the Ernes].
The Common or Red Kite {F. milvus, Lin.).— Of all European Birds, this remains longest and most tranquilly
on the wing. It scarcely attacks any thing but reptiles. [Another European species, not hitherto found in Britain,
where the first is fast disappearing, is
The Black Kite {M. ater, Gm.). — The author has likewise ranged here
The American Puttock (E. plumbeus, Lath.), or the Mississipi Kite of Wilson, which is referrible to Vieillot’s
genus Ictinia, now generally accepted. This forms an obviously distinct group, the members of which are much
more powerfully armed than the Kites, having a short and stout beak, the upper mandible of which is somewhat
angularly festooned, and talons comparatively developed. They prey, however, principally on the larger insects,
and occasionally on Snakes and Lizards : are most nearly related to the Elanets.]
The Perns {Pernis, Cuv.), —
Or Honey Buzzards, combine, with the weak bill of the Kites, a very peculiar character, in having the
space between the eye and beak, which in the rest of the genus Falco is naked, and only furnished
with some [radiating] bristly feathers, covered with close feathers disposed like scales ; their tarsi are
half-feathered above, and reticulated ; their tail even ; wings long, [the third quill being longest] ; and
their beak curved from its base, as in all that follow.
The Common Pern {F. apivorus, Lin.) pursues insects, and principally Bees and Wasps, [the combs of which it
scratches out of banks to feed on the maggots : in default of these, however, it will attack small warm-blooded
animals and reptiles. It runs with celerity on the ground ; is migratory ; and generally builds on the tops of
lofty beeches. Two or three additional species have been ascertained, all from the Eastern Continent].
The Buzzards {Buteo, Bechstein) —
Have long vangs, the tail even, the beak curved from its base, the interval between it and the eyes
without feathers, [at least such as the Perns exhibit], and the feet strong.
Some of them have the tarsi feathered to the toes [the Butdetes, Lesson]. They are distinguished
from the Eagles by having the heak curved from its base, and from the Hawks and Eagle-hawks by
their feathered tarsi and long wings. Europe possesses one.
The Rough-legged Buzzard {F. lagopus, Lin.), [of which F. Sancti JoJiannis, Auct., appears to be merely the
old individuals.*]— One of the most widely diffused of Birds, being found almost everywhere. [It frequents !
marshy tracts, and particularly rabbit-warrens, which it beats till very late in the evening.]
But the greater number of Buzzards have the tarsi naked [except on the upper half in front] and
scutellated. In Europe there is but one.
The Common Buzzard {F. buteo, Lin.).— The commonest and most noxious bird of prey throughout Europe. It
remains all the year in the forests, descends upon its prey from the top of a tree, and destroys much game.
Some species are crested, [have also naked cheeks, and reticulated tarsi. They are barely separable
from the CircdetL
The H^matokns {Hamatornis, Gould)].
F. bacha, Auct.— A very savage bird of Africa, which preys chiefly on the Uyraces. [Other naked-cheeked
Buzzards compose the Buteogallus, Lesson.]
The Harriers {Circus, Bechst.) —
Differ from the Buzzards in their more elevated [and very slender] tarsi, and by a sort of collar, which
the tips of the feathers which cover the ear form on each side of the neck. [These Birds frequent
open moorlands, over which they skim in search of prey very close to the ground, and nestle and
always roost on its surface.f]
* We have seen a British-killed specimen as dark as any from
America. — Ed.
+ Some systematists consider the Harriers to form a link from the
Falcons generally to the Owls ; but neither in the skeleton, as shown
by the sternal apparatus (fig. 72), nor in their digestive organs, do
they approximate the latter in the least degree. The structure of the
ear, resembling that of other Falcons, is shown at fig. 77. They are
most nearly related to the Hawks.
AVES.
i 172
There are only three species in France, which have been multiplied by the nomenclators on account of the varia-
tions of their plumage. [The Common, Montagu, and Marsh
Harriers are alluded to j besides which the C.pallidus, an abun-
dant Asiatic species, has recently been met with in the east of
Europe. There are numerous others.]
Finally,
The Sbceetary {Gypogeranus, Illig.), — »
Is an African bird of prey, the tarsi of -which are at least
double the length of those of the preceding, which has
induced some naturahsts to range it among the Waders;
but its thighs, entirely covered with feathers, its hooked
beak, projecting eyehds, and all the details of its ana-
Fig:. 77 —Ear of Harrier. tomy, concuT to placc it in the present order. Its tarsi
are scutellated, the toes proportionally short, and the circumference of the eyes naked; it has
a long rigid crest on the occiput, and the two middle feathers
of its tail extend far beyond the others. An inhabitant of the
arid and covertless plains in the neighhourhood of the Cape, it
pursues reptiles on foot, whence its claws become much worn.
Its principal strength is in the foot. It is the
Falco serpentqrius, Gm. — An attempt has been made to multiply the
breed in Martinique, where it might render the most important service
by destroying the lance-headed Vipers which infest that island. [This
bird, two if not three species of which are recognized, resembles the
Vultures in having fifteen cervical vertebrae. It offers no molestation to
poultry or other warm-blooded animals.]
Although a vast number of generic and subgeneric names have
been applied, the Diurnal Birds of Prey may be reduced to
comparatively few natural divisions. After detaching the Vul-
tures and the Secretary, the genera Pandion and Herpethotheres
may be signalized as forming a particular subdivision apart from
all the rest. The whole of the remainder then form an equiva-
lent natural group, the members of which scarcely differ anato-
mically. The most distinct subdivision is that of the Coronards,
whieh alone differ in the number of pelvic vertebrte, and in
having the outer toe reversible, as in the Ospreys and Owls. The
rest are little else than adaptive modifications of one another,
aceording in all their rudimental eharacters. We may commence
with the Falcon group, followed by that of the Hawks (or the
subdmsions Dcedalion, Asturina, Astur, Accipitevy and Gymnogenys) ; the Harriers naturally succeed,^ ^,
which lead by C. (Bruginosus to the Ernes, and then to the Kites {Milvus, as restricted); probably the* ' I
Buzzards and Eagles, which are hut arbitrarily separable, should next range, merging into the Eagle- ^
hawks ; or perhaps the Perns, followed by the Elanet group (including Ictinia). We are less satisfied of 1
the affinities of the Caracaras, of the Cymindues, and of the Marsh-eagles and Hsematoms, which last
group seems to approximate that of the Hawks.]
The Nocturnal Birds OF Prey Iff
Have the head large j very great eyes, directed forwards, and surrounded by a circle of 3li
fringed feathers, the anterior of which cover the cere of the beak, and the posterior the orifice of 1
the ear. Their enormous pupils permit so much light to enter, that they are dazzled in full day. jj '
Their skull, inflated, but of a slight substance, contains large cavities that communicate with the fl ;
ears, and probably assist the sense of hearing ; but their apparatus for flight is feeble, the furcula flii
offering but slight resistance : their feathers, with soft barbs, and delicately downy, make no (
noise in flying. The external toe can be voluntarily directed forward or behind. These Birds fly ( !
1
ACCIPITRES.
173
chiefly during twilight, or by the light of the moon. When attacked by day, or struck by the
appearance of some new object, they [the majority of them] do not fly off", but stand more
erect, assume grotesque attitudes, and make the most ludicrous gestures.
Their stomach is tolerably muscular, [as compared with the Falcons,] although their prey
is wholly animal, consisting of Mice, small birds, [even fish in some instances,] and insects ;
but IS preceded by a large craw, [an inadvertent statement
of the author, as the absence of any expansion of the
gullet, which is wide, but always of uniform diameter (see
fig. 79 o), invariably distinguishes the nocturnal from all the
diurnal birds of prey] ; the coeca {h) are long, and enlarged
towards the extremity, &c. Small Birds have a natural
antipathy to them, and assemble from all parts to assail
them; hence they are employed to attract Birds to the
snare. [It may be added, that their tarsi are in no in-
stance scaled, even when denuded of feathers, as in the
subdivision Ketupaj all of them lay round white eggs.]
They form one genus, that of
The Owls {Strix, Linn,), —
Which may be divided according to their head-tufts, the size of
their ears, the extent of the circle of feathers which surrounds
their eyes, and some other characters.
Those species which around the eyes have a large complete
disk of fringed feathers, itself surrounded by a circle or collar of
scaly feathers, and between the two a large opening for the ear
(see fig. 80), are more removed in their form and manners from
the diurnal Birds of Prey, than those in which the ear is small,
oval, and covered by fringed feathers which come from below
the eye. Traces of these differences are perceptible even in the
skeleton, [though only as regards the degree of stoutness of the
Fig.7fl.-AiimentarycanaiofanOwi:a,therinet>ones (sce figs. 81 and 84), there being no gradation ortransi-
devoid of any craw; b, the caeca.* Falcons, either in the skclcton or digestive organs.
The following arrangement of the Owls, based on the comparative size of the aperture of the ear, is
liable to the objection of dispersing some nearly allied groups, and approximating others that are less
so, which is almost necessarily the result of too exclusive attachment to any single character.]
Among the first species, we will distinguish
The Hiboux (Otus, Cuv.), —
Which have two tufts of feathers (vulg. horns) which they
can erect at will, and the ear-conch of which (fig. 80),
extends in a semicircle from the beak almost to the top of
the head, and is furnished anteriorly with a membranous
operculum. Their feet are feathered to the toes. Such, in
Europe, are
The Long-tufted Hibou {Str. otus, Lin.).— Very widely distri-
buted ; it inhabits woods, especially those of fir and other ever-
greens, and breeds generally in deserted Crows’ nests : and
The Short-tufted Hibou {Str. brachyotus, Lin.). — Found almost
every where, [if indeed the same species, which there is reason to
doubt : it inhabits open moors, breeds on the ground, and exhibits
trifling sexual disparity of size. This bird is scarcely, if at all,
dazzled by sun-light : it is the Brachyotus palustris of Gould].
We apply the designation of
Fig-. SO.— Ear of Hibou, as ol)served by raising its ante
riui- Hap.
Copied from M. M'Gillivray’s Rapacious Birds of Britain.
AVES.
174
Howlets {Ulula, Cuv.) —
To the species which have the beak and ear of the Hiboux, [the latter, however, less developed 1
(see fig. 83)] , but not the tufts. They are to be found in the north of both continents : for example.
The Cinereous Howlet {Str. lapponica,Gim.). — ^Almost as large as our Bubow. It inhabits the mountains of the ■
north of Sweden, [and Arctic America],
The Barred Howlet {Str. nebulosa, Gm.). — [A common bird of North America, very rare in Europe.]
The Restricted Owls {Striae^ Savigny) —
Have ears as large as in the Hiboux [but of a very different form], and furnished with a still larger
operculum ; but their elongated beak is only bent towards the end, while in all the other subgenera it
curves from the point. They have no head-tufts ; their tarsi are
feathered [and rather long] , but they have hairs only upon the toes :
[their middle claw is obtusely serrated : their sternum (fig. 81),
shorter than in the others, has its inner notch very slight, and often
obliterated.] The mask, formed by the fringed feathers that surround
the eyes, is greatly extended, which renders their physiognomy more
extraordinary than that of any other night-bird. The species common
in France,
The Barn Owl {Strix flammea, Lin., fig. 82), appears to be diffused over the
whole globe, [or rather, there are numerous species more or less distinguish-
able]. It builds in steeples, towers, &c. [and in places distant from the abode
of Man, where no hollow trees occur, in the burrows of quadrupeds. When
nestling in pigeon-houses, it offers no molestation to the other inhabitants,
Its manner of propagation is remarkable ; as it produces three or four sue- ;
cessive broods, two or more of which, of diiferent ages, commonly occur in ^
the same nest ; the young remaining much longer in the nest than those be-
longing to the other divisions, from which they differ in developing a firmer j
nestling plumage, similar to the adult garb, and which (as in the Hawks) is
not shed before the second autumn. This curious and
handsome bird is naturally familiar, and eminently worthy
of protection ; as it preys solely on small quadrupeds and
insects.]
Syrnium, Savigny.
The disk and collar of the preceding ; but the conch
(fig. 83) reduced to an oval cavity, that does not ex-
tend to half the height of the skull ; they have no
head-tufts, but their feet are feathered to the talons.
[Notwithstanding the authority of Cuvier, it is proper
to remark, that there is no appreciable difference be-
tween this and Ulula, — certainly none of generical
importance. The Bulaca of Hodgson appears also
to be synonymous.]
The Tawny Howlet (Strix aluco and stridula, Lin.). — A
common European bird, which nestles in the woods, or
frequently lays its eggs in the [deserted] nests of other
Birds, [though more commonly (if not always) in the hol-
lows of trees, where it abides by day. It is the species so
wtII known for its sonorous hootings. The young are clad
at an early age with downy feathers, which are succeeded
by the adult plumage previous to their first winter. Their
parents often feed them with fish.]
The Bubows (Bubo, Cuv.)—
Are species whieh, with as small a conch, and the
disk of feathers less marked than in the preceding, possess head-tufts. The known species have great ;
feet, feathered to the talons. [They differ from the Hiboux only in their superior size, and the smaU^I;;
ness of the auditory aperture.] Such is |
The European Bubow (Str. bubo, Lin.), or the Great-horned or Eagle-owl. — The largest of nocturnal Birds [01* t
Fig-. 81. — Sternum of Barn Owl.
ACCIPITRES.
175
which is exceeded in size only by others of this genus. It is little less than the Golden Eagle, and very destruc-
tive to Grouse, Hares, and even Fawns : inhabits the mountainous parts of Europe, and is seldom seen in
Britain.] Add
The American Bubow (Str. virginiana, Baud,)— [Smaller than the preceding, with the grey colour predominating
over the fulvous : the Arctic Eagle-owl of the Fauna Americana-borealis appears to be only a semi-albino variety.
Another species is
The Small-tufted Bubow {Str. ascalaphus, Savigny), inadvertently placed by the author in his division Otus, It
is proper to Asia and Africa, and is occasionally met with in the south-east of Europe. There are several more,
certain of which appear to compose the Huhua and TJrrhua of Hodgson.]
Other species occur, in which the aigrettes, wider apart and placed further backward, are elevated
with less facility above the horizontal line. Species occur in both continents ; as
Str. griseata, Shaw, from Guiana ; and Str. strepitanSf
Tern., from Batavia.
Noctua*, Savigny.
Neither tufts, nor an open and deeply set conch to
the ear ; the aperture of which is oval, and scarcely
longer than in other Birds : the disk of fringed fea-
thers is smaller and even less complete than in the
Bubows. Their relations to the diurnal Birds of
prey are evident, even in their habits, [but not in
their internal conformation].
Some are remarkable for a long cuneiform tail,
and have their toes densely feathered. They are
The Surns (Surnia, Dumeril) —
The Rayed Sum {Str.nisoria, Wolf; Str. funerea, Lin.).
— This, the best-known species, from the north of the
whole globe, is about the size of the Sparrow-hawk. It
Fig^. 83.— Howiet’s Ear. huuts more during the day than the night.
The species of the Uralian mountains {Str. uralensis,
j Pallas), is nearly as large as the Harfang. It also hunts during the day, and is sometimes seen in Germany. It
is probably the Hybris or Ptynx of Aristotle.f
j There is a species termed Arcadian {Str. acadica, Naum), but which belongs to the whole north of the Globe [? ]
I It is the smallest of its tribe, being hardly larger than a Sparrow. It does not avoid the light of day; but Le Vail-
lant has made known another, from Africa {le Choucou, No. xxxviii.), which, according to his account, is very
' nocturnal. [The former is the Str. passerina of Linnaeus, but not 0;
II Temminck, but not of Gmelin ; it is referrible to the Glaucidium of Boi^,
j and is not found in America: the Str. acadica, Gm., is peculiar to
j[ America, and pertains to a very dilferent subdivision, Nyctale of Brehm,
I the members of which are considerably more nocturnal in their habits
and adaptments. To the latter group the Choucou of Le Vaillant
i' should also probably be referred. Ninox of Hodgson seems to be iden-
■1 tical with Glaucidium.]
|i Others have the tail short, and the toes densely feathered :
i the largest of which, and also the largest night-bird without
head-tufts, is
|i The Harfang {Str. nyctea, Lin.), or Great Snowy Owl, which almost
:| equals the European Bubow in its dimensions. It inhabits the north
I of both continents, nestles on elevated rocks, and preys on Hares, Ca-
j! percalzies, and Ptarmigan. [This bird forms another very distinct
j! division, and is most nearly allied to the Bubows : like them, it does
possess head-tufts, which however are small and inconspicuous, though
1! we have seen the bird erect them ; its plumage is remarkably firm.
I The term Nyctea, Swainson, has been generically applied to it, with the
I specific appellation Candida.]
* This term is falling into disuse, from its having been previously
bestorved on a group of insects: it is moreover far from being feli-
citous, as applied to the most diurnal of the Owls. — Ed.
+ The Prince of Musignano places this remarkable bird in Syrnium.
I have never seen a speciTiien, but— to judge from Mr. Gould’s figure
of it, in the Birds of Europe, — should be disposed to elevate it to the
rank of a separate division (Ptyna); its large and complete ruff distin-
guishes it from Surnia, as its accipitrine form and lengthened tail do
from Syrnium or Ulula. — Ed.
176
AVES.
There are others very much smaller, — such as
Str. Tengtnalmi, Gm.— [These have an extended auditory conch, as in the Howlets, like which they are very ;
nocturnal, and unable to endure the light of day. The Nyctale of Brehm. The species indicated is peculiar to j
the Eastern Continent, that confounded with it in the fur-countries of North America, Str. Tengmalmi,
Richardson, being now dedicated to its enterprising discoverer.]
But the greater number of these small species have only
a few scattered hairs on the toes, [and are nearly allied to the
true Sums. They are the Athene, Boie]. Such is
Str. passerina, Gm. [and of British authors; Str. noctua, Lin.;
Athene noctua, Bonap.] — It nestles in old walls, [and frequently in
chimneys, and has been seen to pursue Swallows on the wing. A
remarkable exotic species, with very long tarsi, is the
Str. cunicularia, Molina, or the Burrowing Owl, as it has been
called ; but which, it is most probable, only appropriates the dwell-
ings of burrowing quadrupeds, as the Barn Owl is known to do
under similar circumstances ; the present species inhabiting the open
prairies of America, where there are no trees, and abounding in the
villages of the Prairie Marmots, as also in the burrows of the Vis-
cachas].
There are yet other Noetuce with unfeathered toes, which
approximate the Howlets in size. Cayenne supplies several fine
species, and particularly the three following : —
Str. cayennensis, Gm. ; Str. lineata, Shaw, or Str. albomarginata,
Spix; and Str. torquata, Baud.— The two first of these equal in size the Tawny Howlet, and the last is
still larger.
Finally, there are some in America, which have the tarsi, in addition to their toes, denuded of
feathers ; of which the
Str. nudipes. Baud., may be cited in illustration.
The Scops {Scops, Savigny), —
With ears proportioned to the size of the head, the incomplete disk and naked toes of the preceding,
combine aigrettes analogous to those of the Bubows and Hiboux.
One inhabits Europe {Str. scops, Lin.)— Scarcely larger than a Blackbird, [and there are many others].
Some foreign species occur of rather large size, with the legs, as well as the toes, naked. [They
constitute the subdivision Ketupa.~\ Such are
Str. Ketupa, Tern., and Str. Leschenaulti, Id., which may possibly prove to be identical. [These Birds are
essentially Bubows, with long and naked tarsi, the skin of which corrugates in dry specimens, so as to present
somewhat the appearance of being covered with reticulated scales, which is not the case. Their toes are very
rough underneath, as in the Ospreys ; and like them they prey chiefly on fish, and sometimes crustaceans. The
Cultrunguis of Hodgson appears to be a synonyme of this subdivision.
The great group of Owls falls naturally into three distinct sections, distinguishable at the
first glance ; and two of these sections comprehend species which differ exceedingly in the
magnitude of the external ear.
The first comprises all that are decorated with aigrettes, or what are popularly termed
Horned Owls j as the divisions Nyctea, Bubo, Ketupa, Scops, and Otus.
In the second section, the whole of the tuftless species should be brought together,
excepting those constituting the subdivision Strix of Savigny. They mainly differ in their
degrees of adaptation for nocturnal or semi-diurnal habits.
The third is composed of the restricted genus Strix, or the Barn Owls, and is much more
distinct from both the others, than the latter are inter se. The aspect of the living bird is
! very different in these ihree primary sections.]
PASSERINE.
177
THE SECOND ORDER OF BIRDS.
THE PASSERINE.
This is the most numerous order of the whole class. Its character seems, at first sight,
purely negative, for it embraces all those Birds which are neither swimmers, waders, climbers,
rapacious, nor gallinaceous. Nevertheless, by comparing them, a very great mutual resem-
blance of structure becomes perceptible, and particularly such insensible gradations from one
genus to another, that it is extremely difficult to establish the subdivisions.
They have neither the violence of the Birds of Prey, nor the fixed regimen of the Poultry
and Water-fowl ; insects, fruit, and grain, constitute their food, which consists more exclu-
sively of grain as the beak is stouter and stronger, and of insects as it is more slender. Those
in which it is strong even pursue other Birds.
Their stomach is a muscular gizzard. They have, generally, two small coeca : and it is
among them thstt we find the singing Birds, and the most complicated inferior larynx.
The proportional length of their wings and the power of their flight are as various as their
habits.
The adult sternum has ordinarily but one emargination on each side of its posterior border.
There are, however, two in the Rollers, Kingfishers, and Bee-eaters, [also in the Colies,
Motmots, and Todies, which the author includes in this group,] and none whatever in the
Swifts and Humming-birds.
We institute our first partition according to the feet, and have then recourse to the beak.
The first and most numerous division comprehends those genera in which the external toe
is connected to the middle one as far as the first or second joint only.
[This ordinal subdivision, properly restricted, is one of the most rigorously defined through-
out nature, quite as much so as that of the Parrots.
The entire skeleton, digestive and vocal organs, are peculiar ; and those genera included
by the author which differ in one particular differ also in the rest, and accord in all their
essential characters with another great group that follows.
The lower larynx is always complicated, and operated upon by four distinct pairs of
muscles ; besides which, the long sterno-tracheal pair — found in most other Birds — is gene-
rally present, but reduced to extreme tenuity. This character excludes the Cuvieran genera
Cypselus, Caprimulgus, Podargus, Colius, Coracias, Colaris, Upupa, Merops, Prionites, Alcedo,
Ceyx, Todus, and Buceros, — ten of which have also no intestinal coeca, and the three others
very large coeca, exactly resembling those of the Owls (fig. 79)* All the remaining genera,
except the Humming-birds, w'hich also require to be excluded, have two minute coeca.
With the sole exception again of the Humming-birds, which have the lower larynx diffe-
rently complicated, all singing Birds belong to this great order : the conformation alluded to
enables them to inflect and modulate the voice ; though there are many species, possessing
the same structure, which nevertheless utter only monotonous cries, and others of which the
notes are harsh and little varied ; even these, however, are very generally capable of being
taught to speak, to whistle airs, and to imitate almost any sound ; and in such individuals as
cannot be brought to do so, it by no means follows that there is any physical deficiency, as
indicated by the diversity noticeable in this respect in individuals of the same species : there
are indeed very few of them, if any, that do not sing, or utter some peculiar note or chatter
analogous to song, during the season of courtship.
The sternal apparatus, whether of a Swallow or Tree-creeper, a Promerops, Finch, Crow,
Thrush, or Manakin, presents invariably the same peculiar characters, with scarcely any modi-
fication. The long manubrial process in front between the coracoids, with slantingly truncate
bifurcate tip ; the costal process, expanding anteriorly much beyond the articulations of the
N
178
AVES.
Fig. 86. — Sternum of Haw Grosbealc.
ribs ; the single deep and angular posterior emargination, reduced to a foramen in some ; the"
long, slender, and curving furcula, with invariably a compressed vertical appendage; — all are
characters that at once indicate the '
present order, and exclude every,,
one of the genera that have been
enumerated.
They have constantly a large brain
and characteristic form of skull, ex-j.;,
cepting in one genus*; twelve tail-|^
feathers, another character which ,
excludes the genera Cypselus, Capri- -
mulgus, Podargus, Colins, Upupa,A
Trochilus, and Buceros j and their,,,
clothing feathers have rarely any';
trace of the supplementary plume, |
which is never developed beyond a |
few downy filaments. All of them |
hatched naked, and in nearly every instance from coloured or speckled eggs, larger at one end, .|
and in a nest constructed and generally interwoven by the parents, — extremely few other |
Birds doing more than heaping together a quantity of materials. ,
The toes are formed for perching ; and are always three before and one hindward, the |
outward and middle toes being in every instance connected to the first joint, and sometimes |
further.] (
The first family of this division is that of ' ■
'I,
The Dentirostres, — f'
Wherein the upper mandible is notched on each side toward the point.f It is in this family-;
that the greatest number of insectivorous Birds occur ; though many of them feed likewise
on berries and other soft fruits.
The genera are determined by the general form of the beak, which is stout and compressed
in the Shrikes and Thrushes, flattened in the Flycatchers, round and thick in the Tanagers, |
and slender and pointed in the Pettychaps group ; but the transitions from one to another of,
these forms are so gradual that it is very difficult to limit the genera.
[The study of the changes of plumage, and even colours and markings, affords considerable
assistance in determining the afiinities of the various genera, — more so, perhaps, than any,
other character.]
The Shrikes {Lanius, Lin.) —
Have a conical or compressed beak, more or less hooked at the point.
The Shrikes, properly so called, {Lanius, Vieillot) —
Have it triangular at the base, with compressed sides. They live in families [for a few weeks after the'
breeding season], fly irregularly and precipitately, uttering shrill cries ; nestle on trees [or in bushes] ;
lay five or six eggs, and take great care of their young. They have the habit of imitating, in the wild'
state, part of the songs of such Birds as live in their vicinity. The females [.’] and young are gene-
rally marked with fine transverse lines on the upper parts. :
Some have the upper mandible arched ; those in which its point is strong and much hooked, and in j
which the notch forms a small tooth on each side, manifest a degi'ee of courage and cruelty which has
led to their association with the Birds of Prey by many naturalists. In fact, they pursue other Birds,
and successfully defend themselves against the larger ones, even attacking the latter whenever they
intrude in the vicinity of their nest.
* Malurus; the different species of which are singularly variable I t No trace of this notch is ever visible in the bone, from which the
in this respect. I “ tooth” of certain Accipitres is a true process — Ed.
PASSERINiE. 179
There are four or five species of this subdivision in Europe, as
The Sentinel Shrike {L. excubitor, Lin.) — As larg-e as a Thrush, and ash-coloured above, white underneath : the
wings, tail, and a band crossing the eyes, black ; some white on the scapulars and tail. It resides ail the year in
France, [and is chiefly known as an uncommon winter visitant in Britain].
The Red-backed Shrike (L. collurio, Gm.) — Smaller, with the head and rump ash-coloured, the back and wings
reddish-brown, a black streak through the eyes, lower parts whitish, tinged with pinkish lilach, wings and tail dull
black, the side feathers of the latter white at the base externally. [Female, brown above, without transverse stria;, and
sometimes attaining the masculine livery with age.] It destroys other Birds, young Frogs, and a vast number of
insects, which it impales on the thorns of bushes, to devour at leisure, [a habit common to the whole genus, whence
they have derived the name of Butcher-birds. We may here remark that the Shrikes have great power of clutching
with their toes, and always hold their prey in one foot, resting on the tarsal joint of that foot, unless when they
have fastened it upon a thorn, when they pull it to pieces in a contrary direction. The present species feeds much
on small mammalia, as Shrews and the smaller Voles, captures insects on the wing in the manner of a Flycatcher,
and is a common summer visitant in the southern counties of England].
The Wood Shrike {L. rufus, Gm.)— Wings and tail nearly as in the preceding, the band across the eyes meeting
over the forehead, the head and neck bright rufous, back black, the scapulars, rump, and lower parts, white.
[Sexes almost similar. A summer visitant, of very rare occurrence in Britain. There are two others in Europe,
allied to the first, L. minor, Gm., and L. meridionalis, Tern. ; and many more in Asia, Africa, and America, some
of the former having shorter wings, and a longer and more cuneated tail.]
There are numerous exotic species with arcuated beaks, the points of which diminish by degrees, till it becomes
impossible to define the limits between them and the Thrushes.
The genus La7iio of Vieillot is founded on one of them, the edges of the upper mandible of which are slightly
angular. It is the Tan gar a mordore of Buffbn, {Tan. atricapilla, Gm.)
Various species with feeble bills constitute the Laniarius of Vieillot. (Gal. Ois. 143.)
The Vireoles (Vh'eo) of the same naturalist chiefly differ in the shortness and slenderness of the bill. [They con-
stitute a very distinct genus, consisting of the warblmg Flycatchers of North America, as Muscicapa olivacea,
Wils., and many proximate species, which are allied to the Pettychaps group (the restricted Sylvia, or Phillo-
pneuste) of Europe : they are to a considerable extent baccivorous.]
Other Shrikes have the superior mandible straight, and abruptly hooked at the tip. They are all
foreign, and grade towards the Fauvettes and other slender-billed Dentirostres.
[They constitute the Thamnophilus of Vieillot, as now generally accepted, wherein the plumage is soft and puffy,
and conspicuously barred across at all ages, these markings being in some instances broken into spots, as in the
nestling dress of the Thrushes, to which and the true Shrikes they are intermediate, passing to the Thrushes
through lanthocmcla. They are also related to the Antcatchers, and are indigenous to South America],
Some of them have a straight and very strong beak, the lower mandible of which is much inflated ;
As L. lineatus, Leach, {Zool. Misc. pi. vi.), Thamnophilus guttatus, Spix.
Others, again, with a straight and slender hill, are remarkable for their crests of vertical feathers ;
As L. plumatus, Shaw ; of which Vieillot makes his genus Prionops, and le Manicup of Buffon {Pipra albifrons,
Gm.), which has nothing in common with the ti’ue Piprce, beyond a more than usually prolonged junction of the
two outer toes. M. Vieillot makes of it his genus Pithy s. {Gal. 129.)
Among these Shrikes, more particularly so called, some other exotic subgenera, that differ more or
less, require to be specified. Such are
The Vangas {Vangd), Buffon, —
Distinguished by a large beak, very much compressed throughout, its tip strongly hooked, and that of
the lower mandible bent downward.
The Vanga {L. curvirostris, Gm.), and also some newly-discovered species, as V. destructor, Cuv., &c.
The Langareys {Ocypterus, Cuv. ; Artamus, Vieillot) —
Have the beak conical and rounded, without any ridge, somewhat arched towards the tip, with a very
fine point, slightly emarginated on each side. Their feet are very short, and the wings in particular
reach beyond the tail, which renders their flight similar to that of a Swallow ; hut they have the
courage of the Shrikes, and do not fear to attack even the Crow%
Numerous species inhabit the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean, where they are continually seen on the
wing, flying swiftly in pmsuit of insects,* [They are unquestionably allied to the following.]
The Baritahs {Barita, Cuv. ; Cracticus, Vieillot) —
tiave a large and straight conical beak, round at its base, — where it extends circularly backward upon
* Consult a monograph of this genus, by M. Valenciennes, published in Mem. du Mus., tom. vi. p. 20.
N 2
180
AVES.
the forehead, occupying the site of the frontal feathers, — laterally compressed, and emarginated. The
nostrils, small and linear, are not surrounded by a membranous space. i
They are large birds of Australia and the neighbouring islands, which naturalists have arbitrarily dispersed in i
several genera. They are said to be very noisy and ciamorous, and pursue small Birds : [are also docile, and i
readily learn to whistle airs with remarkable power and execution]. ,
The Chalybeans {Chalyhcsus, Cuv.) — I
Have the beak similar to that of the Baritahs, except that it is rather less thick at the base, and the
nostrils are pierced in a large membranous space. The known species are indigenous to New Guinea, i
and are remarkable for their fine tints, resembling burnished steel. '
The Paradisian Chalybean (C. paradisteus, Cuv. ; Paradiscea viridis, Gm.). — The feathers on the head and neck
like curled velvet, which, together with the lustre of its hues, has caused it to be ranked among the Birds of
Paradise.
The Tufted Chalybean (C. cornutus, 111. ; Barita Keraudrenii, Lesson). — Two pointed tufts of feathers on the i
occiput ; and the trachea forms three circles before it reaches the lungs.*
The Psaras (Psaris, Cuv. ; Tetyra, Vieillot,) —
Have a conical beak, very thick, and round at its base, but not extending backward upon the forehead; j
the point is slightly compressed and hooked. i
The species inhabit South America, and that best known is j
The Cayenne Vsara (Lanius cayanus, Gm.), which is ash-coloured, with the head, wings, and tail, black. Its ]
manners resemble those of the Shrikes. There are many others. !
The Choucaris {Graucalus, Cuv.) — \
Have the bill less compressed than in the Shrikes, the ridges of its upper mandible sharp, and regu- i
larly arcuated throughout its length ; the commissure of the beak is slightly arched. The feathers
which sometimes cover the nostrils have occasioned them to have been approximated to the Crows,
but the emargination of the beak removes them from that genus [ ? ]
They inhabit, like the Baritahs, the remotest parts of the Indian Ocean. Some have very brilliant plumage, and
compose the Pirola of Temminck, or Ptilonorhynchus, Kuhl, founded on the head-feathers being more like velvet.
Sphecotheres, Vieillot, only diifers from the others in being rather more naked round the eyes.
To the Choucaris may be approximated one of the most beautiful of the birds lately discovered in those regions,
the Coracias puella, Lath. ; Irena puella, Horsf. ; Drongo azure, Tern. ; a Javanese species, of a velvet black, the
back of which is of the most splendid ultramarine blue that can possibly be imagined.
The Bethules {Bethylus, Cuv. ; Cissopus, Vieillot).
The beak thick, short, uniformly bulging, and slightly compressed towards its tip.
We know but of one, which has the form and colours of our common Magpie— leverianus, Shaw ;
L. picatus, Latham).
The Falconets (Falcunculus, Vieillot) —
Have a compressed beak, almost as high as long, with the ridge of the upper mandible arcuated. [They
are merely Tits, with a somewhat shrike-like hill, and resemble our common Pari in their manners,
notes, nidification, eggs, and plumage].
The Crested Falconet {Lanius frontatus, Latham).— Size of a Sparrow, and nearly the same colours as our com-
mon Great Tit : the coronal feathers of the male form a crest. It inhabits New Holland. [Some of the Malaconoti
are nearly allied.]
The Pardalotes {Pardalotus, Vieillot) —
Have a short beak, slightly compressed, the upper mandible with a sharp arcuated ridge, and its tip
emarginated. They are very small birds, with a short tail.
The best-known species {Pipra punctata, Shaw), is partly sprinkled with white, like an Amaduvat. From
New Holland, [where there are many others].
The Flycatchers {Muscicapa, Lin.) — -
Have the beak horizontally depressed, and armed with bristles at its base, with the point more or less
decurved and emarginated. Their general habits are those of the Shrikes ; and, according to their size,
they prey on small Birds or Insects. The most feeble of them pass by insensible gradations into the
slender-billed warblers. We divide them as follow.
* This is tlie only modification of the trachea we have heard of among the Passerince. — Ed. |
PASSERINiE.
181
The Tyrants {Tyrannus, Cuv.) —
Have a long, straight, and very stout bill ; the ridge of the upper mandible straight and blunt ; its
point abruptly hooked. They are American birds, of the size of our Shrikes and equally spirited,
which defend their young even against Eagles, and drive all Birds of prey from the vicinity of their
nest. The largest species prey on smaller birds, and do not always disdain those they find dead.
[They have even been observed to plunge after fish in the manner of a Kingfisher; and have been
sometimes noticed to throw up their food and catch it in the throat, as in the Toucans, Hornhills, &c.
The species are extremely numerous, and have been further subdivided by different systematists. Thus, several
with extremely furcate tails compose the Milvulus, Swains,, and the smaller and weaker species the Tyrannula of
the same nomenclator : the latter grade into the Kinglets. Others constitute the Platyrynchus, Vieillot, &c. The
majority have yellow or red coronal feathers, somewhat as in the Kinglets.]
The Moucherolles {Muscipeta, Cuv.) —
Have a long beak, very much depressed, and twice as broad as high, even at the base ; the ridge of the
upper mandible very obtuse, but sometimes however the reverse ; the edges slightly curved, the points
and emargination feeble, and long vibrissse at the gape.
Their weakness disables them from preying on aught but insects. All of them are foreign ; and
many are ornamented with long tail-feathers or with fine crests, or at least have vivid colours on the
plumage.
[Se\'eral different natural groups are here brought together: the term is now generally restricted to some beau-
tiful birds of the eastern hemisphere, the males of which have crimson and black plumage, and long even tails, the
females being yellow where the male is red ; their colours are distributed as in the Redstarts, and there are other
birds of similar form and colouring, but stouter and larger, which compose the PJuenicornis, Gould.]
Some species approximating the Moucherolles [or rather the Tyrants], —
The Flatbills {Platyrynchus, Vieillot), —
Are remarkable for having the bill still broader and more depressed.
[They have been confused by many writers with the Todies, a wddely separated genus, that does not even possess
the distinctive characters of the Passerince. They have also been ranged under many named minor subdivisions.]
Others, which have also the beak broad and depressed, are distinguished by their longer legs and
short tail. They compose the genus
Conopophaga, Vieillot, —
Of which but two or three species are known, all from America, that subsist on Ants, which has cfmsed
them to be ranged with the small tribe of Thrushes termed Antcatchers.
The Restricted Flycatchers {Muscicapa, Cuv.) —
Have shorter bristles at the gape, and the bill more slender than in the Moucherolles. It is still,
however, depressed, with an acute ridge above, a straight edge, and the point a little curved downward.
[They are closely related by affinity to the Chats and Redstarts, as are also the Moucherolles, and have
similar mottled nestling plumage, a character that does not occur in the great Tyrant group.
Four species inhabit Europe, migrating southward in winter.]
The Grey Flycatcher (if/, grisola, Gm.)— Grey above, whitish underneath, with some greyish streaks on the
breast. [It is very common throughout Britain, seldom arriving before May : one of the least musical of our
native Birds. Its legs are shorter than in the following, and general character different : hence, with some others
from Africa, it composes the But alls of Boie.]
The Collared Flycatcher {M. albicolUs, Tern.), is very remarkable for the changes of plumage [or rather of
colouring only] which the male undergoes seasonally. Resembling the other sex in winter, that is to say, grey [on
the upper parts] with a white patch on the wing, it attains towards the nuptial season an agreeable distribution of
pure black and white, the head, back, wings and tail, being of the former colour, and the forehead, a collar round
the neck, a great patch on each wing, a smaller one in front of it, and the outer edge of the tail, white. It nestles
in the trunks of trees.
Another species subject to the same changes has more recently been discovered, in which the neck of the male
is black like the back in the nuptial season, and which wants the small white spot on the edge of the wing. It is
the Pied Flycatcher (M. luctuosa, Tern.), which is found further northward than the other. [This species is
remarkable for its local distribution in the British islands, being very common near the lakes of the north of
England, and of rare occurrence elsewhere. It is doubtful whether the other ever occurs here. They are said to
differ in their notes, and both lay blue eggs, whereas the Grey Flycatcher lays whitish eggs spotted with brown.
The two pied species are also comparatively musical.]
AVES.
182
The fourth was discovered in Germany, [in some parts of which it is common It is smaller than the others, with
plumage resembling that of a Robin ; constitutes the division Erythrosterna of Bonaparte],
The beak of the Flycatchers becomes more and more slender, till it finally approaches that of some
Kinglets.
Some species, wherein the ridge of the upper mandible is more raised, and arched towards the tip,
lead to the Chats and Wheatears. Certain of these appear to compose the Drimophilus of Temminck. ^
There are also several genera or subgenera closely allied to different links of the great series of
Flycatchers, although they much surpass them in size. Such are
The Bald Tyrants {Gymnocephalus, Geof.), —
Which have nearly the same beak as the Tyrants, only that its ridge is rather more arcuated,
and a great part of the face is destitute of feathers.
We know but of one species, from Cayenne, as large as a Crow, and the colour of Spanish snuff.
The Dragoon-birds {Cephalopterus, Geof.) —
Have, on the contrary, the base of the bill adorned with feathers, which, radiating at top, form a large
crest resembling a parasol.
Only one species is known, from the banks of the Amazon ; of the size of a Jay, and black: the feathers on the
lower part of its breast form a sort of pendent dewlap— (C. ornata, Geoff. ; Coracina cephaloptera, Vieillot ;
Cor. ornata, Spix.)
The Cotingas {Ampelis, Lin.) —
Have the beak compressed, as in the generality of Flycatchers, but proportionally rather shorter, tole-
rably wide at base, and slightly arcuated.
Those in which it is strongest and most pointed, retain a very insectivorous regimen. They are
named
PiAUHAUS {Querula, Vieillot) —
From their cry, and inhabit America, where they live in flocks in the woods, and pursue insects. j
I
Such are the Common Piauhau {Muscic. rubricollis, Gm.), black with a purple throat ; and the Great Piauhau, ,
entirely purple, {Cotinga rouge, Vaillant ; Coracias militaris, Shaw). The Grey Cotinga (Amp cinerea) resembles =
the Piauhaus rather than the genuine Cotingas. The Golden-throated Piauhau (Coracias scutata, Lath., or Co-
racina scutata, Tern.), has a smaller beak, and approximates the Bald Tyrant.
The Restricted Cotingas {Ampelis, Vieillot), — ;;
In which the beak is rather weaker, feed on berries and soft fruits, in addition to insects. They inhabit !
humid places in South America ; and the greater number are remarkable, at the breeding season, for .i
the splendour of the azure and purple which adorn the males. During the rest of the year both sexes 1
are grey or brown.
The Scarlet Cotinga (A. carnifex, Lin.)— Crown, rump, and belly scarlet ; the rest brownish-red : fourth quill of ’
the wing narrowed, shortened, and tough or horn-like. The Pompadour Cotinga (A. pompadora, Lin.).— Of a j
lovely reddish purple, with white quill-feathers. The Blue Cotinga (A. cotinga, Lin.). — Splendid ultramarine, with I
a violet breast, frequently traversed by a large blue band, and spotted with dark yellow. There are others equally \
handsome. |
The Tersines ( Tersim, Vieillot) —
Are Cotingas with the beak wider at its base. As !
The Tersine of Buffon (Amp. tersa, Gm. ; Procnias tersina. Tern., or Pr. hirundinacea, Swainson). |
The Caterpillar-hunters {Ceblepyris, Cuv. ; Campephaga, Vieillot), — i
With the beak of the Cotingas, have a singular character, whieh consists in the somewhat prolonged, ^
stiff, and spiny shafts of their rump-feathers. They inhabit Africa and India, and feed upon Caterpil- ]
lars, which they find on the highest trees ; but they have none of the brilliancy of the Cotingas. Their '
tail, somewhat forked in the middle, is rounded at the sides. ^
Such are the Grey and Black Caterpillar-hunters of Vaillant (the former of which is the Muscic. cana, Gm.). The ,
Yellow C. of the same naturalist is the young of Turdus phenicopterus,Tem. Add C. fimbriatus. Tern. Col. 249, 250.
r
We may also distinguish j;
The Waxwings {Bombycilla, Brisson), — '
The head of which is adorned with [ereetible] feathers, longer than the rest, and they have besides )
PASSERlNiE.
183
a singular character in the secondary quills of the wing, the ends of which [at least in two of the three
species, are converted into] smooth, oval, red disks, [much resembling red sealing-wax].
There is one in Europe, the Common Waxwing {Amp. garrulus, Lin.), [and which also occurs in Ameidca west-
ward of the Rocky Mountains, and in Asia to China and Japan.] It is less than a Thrush, with soft vinous-grey
plumage, the throat black ; tail black, tipped with yellow, [with minute scarlet lobes resembling those on the wing-
secondaries in old specimens*, wherein the primary quills also are each terminated with white, forming a series of
transverse markings] ; wings black, variegated with white [and yellow]. This bird appears in flocks, at long inter-
vals, and without regularity, from which circumstance its presence was long considered an evil omen. It is not
timorous, is easily captured and kept in captivity, eats of every thing, and a great quantity, [but in the wild state
is principally baccivorous, and in times of necessity has been seen to eat the buds and sprouts of various trees :
it flies rapidly, and has a low warbling song]. This bird is supposed to breed very far to the north. Its flesh is
esteemed good eating.
There is a very similar but smaller species in America {Amp. garrulus, B., Lin. ; A. americana, Wils. ; B. caro-
Brisson ; B. cedrorum,Niei\\oi), [the Cedar-bird of the Anglo-Americans: it inhabits eastward only of
the Rocky Mountains.]
A third, in Japan {B. phoenicoptera, Tern.), has no wax-like appendages to the wings, and the tail and lesser
wing-coverts are tipped with red. [Its size equals that of the first.]
M. M. Hofmansegg and lUiger have separated, with equal propriety, —
The Campanero and some others {Procnias, Hof.), —
Wherein the beak, weaker and more depressed, opens nearly as far as the eye. They are indigenous
to South America, and subsist on insects.
They require to be subdivided into
The Campaneros {Procnias, as restricted), —
Which have feathered throats.
One species {Amp. carunculata, Gm.), distinguished by a long soft caruncle at the base of its beak, is white when
adult, greenish when young. [This is the celebrated Campanero or Bell-bird of Guiana, the loud sonorous voice
of which, heard from time in the depths of the forest, during the stillness of mid-day, exactly resembles the tolling
of a bell.]
Others,
The Averanos {Casmarhynchus, Tem.), —
Have naked throats.
There is one in which the naked part of the throat of the male is covered with fleshy caruncles : the Averano of
Buffon {Amp. variegata, Lin.). Another {Procn. araponga, Pr. Max ; Casm. ecarunculatus, Spix) has some small
thinly-scattered feathers on the same place. These birds also are white in the adult state, and have the females
and young greenish.
Finally, we place at the end of the Cotinga group,
The Gymnodes {Gymnoderes, GeolF.), —
The beak of which is only a little stouter, but the neck is partly naked, and the head covered with
velvety feathers.
The species known is from South America, and in great part frugivorous. It is the size of a Pigeon, and black,
with bluish wings. (The Gracula nudicollis, Sh. ; Corvus nudus and Gracula fetida, Gm.). — N.B. M. Vieillot
brings the Choucaris, Gymnode, and Dragoon-bird together, to form his genus Coracina.
The Drongos {Edolius, Guv. ; Dicrurus, Vieillot) —
Also pertain to the great series of Flycatchers. Their beak is equally emarginated and depressed, its
upper ridge acute ; but they are distinguished by having both mandibles slightly arcuated throughout
their length : the nostrils are covered with feathers, besides which there are long hairs forming mous-
taches. [These interesting birds exhibit a flycatching modification of the great corvine type].
The species are numerous in the countries bordering the Indian Ocean, and are generally glossy black, with a
forked tail, [the outermost feathers of which are often extremely long, with a naked shaft except at the base and
tip : they are gregarious, assembling towards the evening, and subsist on insects, particularly Bees and Wasps, for
which they hawk in the vicinity of the hive ; are popularly termed Devil-birds']. It is said that some of them sing
as finely as a Nightingale.
The genus Sparactes of Illiger was founded on a disguised specimen of one of these birds, decorated with feathers
not its own by a dealer, and the legs of a Hoopoe.
* This tends to corroborate a remark in p. 156, wherein the tail-feathers are stated to correspond to the wing-secondaries, excepting the
middle pair, or uropygials, which represent the wiug-tertiaries.— Ed.
184
AVES.
The Phibalures {Phibalura, Vieillot)—
Have an arcuated ridge to the bill, as in the Drongos, but the beak is shorter than the head. | \
The only known species {Ph. flavirostris, Vieillot) inhabits Brazil, and has a deeply-forked tail ; its plumage is |
spotted with black and yellow, and there are some red feathers on the head, which recal to mind the j
Tyrant Flycatchers. [This is a very curious species, which is closely related to the Swallows, as well as the Cotinga ■>
group, and to the Tyrants.] I !
The Tanagers (Tanagra, Lin.) — ji
Have a conical beak, triangular at its base ; the upper mandible emarginated towards the tip, with its
ridge arcuated ; wings and flight short. They resemble the Sparrow tribe in their habits, and feed on i
grain as well as on insects and berries. The greater number are conspicuous in our collections for i
their brilliant colours. [All are peculiar to America.] We subdivide them as follow : —
The Lindos {Euphonia, Vieillot 1) —
Or Bullfinch Tanagers, which have a short beak when viewed vertically, bulging on each side of its
base : their tail is proportionally shorter than in the others.
Such are the Tanagra violacea, cayennensis, diademata, viridis, chrysogaster [and several others. The Spanish
name Lindo, applied by Azara, intimates their brilliancy].
The Finch-tanagers {Habia, Vieillot) —
Have a thick, bulging, conical bill, as broad as high, the upper mandible of which is rounded above. j
Such are Tan. flammiceps, Pr. Max., T. superciliosa, psittacina, and atricollis, Spix, &c.
II
The Tanagers, properly so called, —
Have a conical beak, shorter than the head, as broad as high, the upper mandible arcuated and slightly !l
pointed.
T. episcopus, multicolor, and numerous others [many of them remarkable for the variety of contrasting, brilliant
hues, which variegate and adorn their plumage].
T. talas and some others have been separated by Mr. Swainson under the name Aglaia. i
The Ortole-tanagers {Tachyphonus, Vieillot), —
Have the beak conical, arcuated, pointed, and notched towards the tip.
T. cristata, Tern., of which T. brunnea, Spix, is the young, and various others.
The T. gularis andpileata, Tern., and T. speculifera, Spix, approximate the Bec-fms in the slenderness of their
bills. “ Mr. Swainson makes of them his genus Spermagra.’^
The Pyranga of Vieillot is founded on an individual deformity. We will designate his species T. cyanictera.
In the Palmiste, Buff., the emargination of the upper mandible is very slight, and it almost entirely disappears ^
in a proximate species, of which M. Vieillot has formed his genus Icteria. This bird is the Pipra polyglotta,
Wilson, [a very curious species, the affinities of which are by no means obvious]. It conducts to the Weavers.
The Cardinal-tanagers \_ {Pyranga, as now generally accepted)], —
Have a conical and slightly bulging beak, with an obtuse salient dentation on each side.
T. mississipiensis, Tern., or T. testiva, Wils. Also T. rubra and T. ludoviciana, Wils., &c.
Lastly,
The Rhamphocele-tanagers {Jacapa, Vieillot), —
Have a conical beak, the rami of the lower mandible of which are enlarged behind.
Such are T. jacapa and brazilia, Tern., and T. nigrogularis, Spix.
[We may remark that the great group of Tanagers is simply a ramification of the Cotinga family,
peculiar to the same restricted locality.]
The Thrushes {Tkirdus, Lin.) —
Have the beak arcuated and compressed ; but its point is not hooked, and the lateral emargination
does not produce so marked a dentation as in the Shrikes. Nevertheless, as already stated, there are
gradual transitions from one to the other of these genera.
The regimen of the Thrushes is more frugivorous : they feed much on berries, and their habits are
solitary. [The majority are however gregarious during the winter ; and some (as our common Field-
fare) even throughout the year.]
Tlie name of Merle is applied to those species, the colours of which are uniform or distributed in large masses.
[They are generally also more bulky ; but pass, by insensible gradations, into the spotted-breasted Tlirushes.]
PASSERINiE.
185
\|
The Black Merle, or Blaclibird (T. merula, Lin.)— Male entirely black, with the bill and eyelids yellow; female
blackish brown, reddish and more or less spotted on the breast, [beak seldom wholly yellow. The plumage is soft,
and wings short and rounded]. A mistrustful species, which however is easily tamed, and sings finely, having
even been taught to speak. [It is generally seen in pairs, and is at no season gregarious : appears to be peculiar
to Europe, being replaced by an allied species ( T. p<ecilopterus) eastward.]
The Ring Thrush {T. torquatus, Lin.).— Black, with the feathers bordered with whitish, and a conspicuous white
gorget on the breast. [All the proportions of this bird exactly correspond, even to minutiae, with those of the
Fieldfare, which is placed by many systematists in a dilFerent named division. The Ring Thrush inhabits bleak
and upland moors, chiefiy in the north of Europe, and migrates far southward at the close of autumn. It is a loud
but inferior songster, and common only in a few districts of Britain.]
The lofty mountains of the south of Europe sustain two species (T. saxatilis, Lin., and T. cyaneuSylAn.). The
first, which is more frequently seen northward, is better known. It sings finely, and nestles in steep rocks, or
ruined buildings. [These Birds, which with various others constitute the Petrocincla, Vigors, and have since
even been separated into minor groups, form a natural division apart from the other Thrushes, and are allied to
the Chats and Wheatears, which they much resemble in habit. They are not found in Britain.]
The term Thrush is applied more particularly to the species with spotted plumage, that is to say, marked with
black or brown spots on the breast. There are several in Europe, which assemble in large flocks in winter, and
migrate southward.
The Missel Thrush (T. viscivorus, Lin.)— Is the largest [with one exception] of the whole genus. [It is uniform
yellowish-brown above, and tinged with sulphur-yellow on the under parts, which are speckled with transverse
spots; beneath the wings white. Is common throughout Britain, and resident at all seasons; feeding princi-
pally on berries : the young alone associate in large flocks about October, which soon separate and disperse. This
bird is very wild and distrustful, except at the season of propagation, when it affects the vicinity of human habi-
tations, and is remarkable for the spirit with which it attacks and drives away Magpies, &c. from near its nest,
uttering a loud rattling screech : it always builds on trees ; and is a powerful but monotonous songster, heard
nearly throughout the year.]
The Fieldfare Thrush (T. lin.).— Distinguished by the ash-colour of the neck and rump, [dark reddish
colour of the back, &c. Is remarkable for generally nestling in society, being gregarious throughout the year;
visits Britain in large flocks about November, and departs late in spring; is the least musical probably of
the whole genus].
The Song or Mavis Thrush {T. mmicus, Lin.). — [Brown above, yellowish on the breast, which is spotted with
Ij! black ; fulvous beneath the wings. It is the finest songster of the European species, and is seldom observed in
flocks in Britain, where it is resident at all seasons. This bird is a great destroyer of snails.]
ii| The Redwing Thrush (T. iliacus, Lin.)— Smaller than the preceding, the flanks and beneath the wings, deep
I rufous ; [back brown, inclining to olive green ; a conspicuous pale streak over the eye ; and longitudinal markings
on the under parts. This bird is a common winter visitant in Britain, arriving always some weeks before the
I Fieldfare, and keeping in more straggling flocks, the individuals of which depart gradually in spring, and not
i| simultaneously, as in that species. It is an inferior songster.
:j Allied to the Fieldfare, Redwing, and Ring Thrushes, are numerous foreign species, two of which— of interme-
j diate character to those mentioned— occur in Eastern Europe, T. Naumanni and T. atrogularis ; others, related to
ij the Redwing and Mavis, all of which are proper to the eastern parts of Asia, including Japan, have slaty-black
1 plumage, more or less relieved, to which group the T. sibiricus, which has also been met with in the east of
,j Europe, appertains. There are foreign species of this extensive genus intermediate, in every possible way, to all
!| those of Europe : some are found almost everywhere.
■j In a group inhabiting Australia, the Indian Archipelago, and slopes of the Asiatic mountains, the dorsal
ji plumage is mottled at all ages ; a character peculiar to the nestling dress of the others. One species belonging
I to it (T. Whitii, Eyton), the largest of all the Thrushes, resembles the Missel Thrush in its form and proportions,
j[ and occasionally strays to the west of Europe, having been met with even in Britain : it is common on the southern
1 slopes of the Himmalayas. Another (T. varius, Horsf.) indigenous to Java, conducts to the lanthocinclee, not only
|l by this style of marking, but by its soft pufiy plumage, short and rounded wings, and large bill and feet.
; Other Thrushes, peculiar to America, and breeding in the northern division of that continent, are solitary in
fi habit, and pass insensibly into the Nightingales ; successively diminishing in size ; having the bill gradually
weaker and tarsi more elongated ; assuming even the russet tint and rufous tail of those birds, gradually losing
the breast-spots, &c. Such are T. mustelinus, Gm., which differs little from the true Thrushes, T. solitarius,
Wilsonii, and minor, which last is but arbitrarily separable from the European Nightingales.
A group now generally distinguished is that of
The Mockers {Mimus, Boie ; Orpheus, Swains.) —
Wherein the form is much more elongated, the wings shorter, and tail in particular longer, and the'
upper mandible more curved.
The Mocking-bird of North America Lin.).— One of the finest of song-birds, and remark-
able for its great facility of imitating almost any sound.
There are several others, all of them peculiar to America.
Tlie Thrushes form a great centre of radiation, which ramifies in every direction, and graduates till the normal
AVES.
I 186
generic features disappear. We have already seen them pass through Petrocincla, into the Chats and Wheatears,
to which should be added the Robins, Redstarts, Phaenicorns, &o. ; through T. varius, into the lanthocindcsy
Gould, an eastern group, with large bill and feet, very soft plumage, and short wings, the species of which inhabit i
shrubberies, and find their food chiefly on the ground, never flying to any distance ; through certain North Ame-
rican species into the Nightingales ; and the passage into various other received genera is equally gradual : in a
word, these latter are merely ramiflcations of Turdus, different as some of them appear in extreme cases. Thus ‘
Cinclosoma, Vigors, conducts from the Fieldfare to the subdivision Accentor ; the Dippers and Ant-catchers to the j|
Wrens and Tree-creepers, &c. &c.] I
Some of these birds appear to approximate the Shrikes in their habits, although there is nothing in P
the form of the beak to distinguish them from other Thrushes. I
There are even no available characters by which to distinguish certain African species, which live in iq
numerous bustling troops, like Starlings, pursue insects, and commit great havoc in gardens. ’
Several of them are remarkable for the glossy tints of their plumage, which are of a browned steel-colour, (as
T, auratus and T. nitens, Tern.) ; and one of the former for its cuneated tail, which is a third longer than the
body (T. oeneus, Tern.) [The straightness of the wing indicates these birds to belong rather to the Starling group, 1“
as does also their brown and spotless nestling plumage, the wing primaries of which are shed at the first moult,
which is not the case in any of the Thrush tribe. Their habits, as already mentioned, are strictly those of the
Starlings.]
We conceive it proper to approximate also the New Guinea Thrush, with a tail three times longer than the
body, and a double crest on the head, which has been considered a Bird of Paradise {Paradistea gularis, Latham,
and P. nigra, Gm.), but only on account of the incomparable magnificence of its plumage. M. Vieillot applies to
it the generic name Astrapia.
Other Thrushes with brilliantly shining plumage, the occipital feathers of which are pointed as in the Starlings,
compose the Lamprotornis of Temminck. [These also strictly pertain to the natural family of Starlings.] We |
should distinguish the L. erythrophrys, on account of its bright red eyebrows, formed of cartilaginous feathers. i
Some Thrushes have the bill so slender, that it approximates that of the Wlieatears (the Ixos of Temminck).
[These birds are mostly crested, and have bright red feathers under the tail, which generally intimates that that j-
appendage is carried erect. They rank among the very finest of singing birds, and the celebrated Buhl-buhl
of the Oriental poets is one of them : all are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere, and they are closely related to the i ^
Philedons, into which they pass by insensible gradations.]
Others have a slender bill, but straight and strong, and in the greater number of them the tail is excessively ;
forked. They are the .^Enicures {Mnicura, Tern.), [a group having much the appearance, at first sight, of the Pied i
Wagtails, and resembling them in habit, but which are essentially modified Thrushes, and not distantly removed
from the Wheatears].
Others, again, [closely allied to the last,] are distinguished by having legs so long, that they have-the general i
appearance of Waders. They constitute the Grallina of Vieillot, or T any pus of Oppel.
The Crinons {Criniger, Tern.) — j
Are Thrushes with strong setae at the gape, and which have sometimes bristly feathers on the neck. |
Such is Cr. barbatus, Tern. (Col. 88).
The Antcatchers {Myothera, Illig.) — ■
Are known by their lengthened hmbs and short tail. They subsist on insects, and principally Ants :
inhabit both continents.
Those of the eastern hemisphere, however, are remarkable for their brilliant colours. They are
The Breves of BufFon {Pitta, Vieillot), —
[The plumage of which recals to mind that of the Halcyons and Kingfishers, the latter of which they
further resemble in their flight, as do also the Dippers and Wrens, and they similarly frequent streams
and brooks, like the Dipper of Europe.]
Such are Corvus brachyurus, Gm., and several other beautiful species, to which we add the Turdus cyanurus,
Latham, or Cornus cyanurus, Shaw, which only diflers in the tail, which is rather more pointed. [There are indeed
two natural subdivisions, distinguished apart by the form and structure of the tail].
The Pitta thoracina. Tern., of which MM. Vigors and Horsfield make their genus Thimalia, is but little removed
from P. cyanura, Vieillot, if we except its sombre hues and its beak, which latter diminishes more regularly in
front, and thereby approaches the Tanagers.
Those of the New Continent, which are much more numerous, have brown tints, and vary in the :
length and stoutness of the bill. They obtain their living from the enormous Ant-hills which abound ;
in the woods and deserts of South America ; and the females of them are larger than the males. These ■
birds fly but little, and have sonorous voices, even extraordinarily so in some instances. [They are ;
essentially gigantic Wrens.]
PASSERINtE.
187
Among’ those which have a thick and arched bill, may be particularized
The King of the Antcatchers {Tiirdus rex, Gm. ; Corvus grallarius, Shaw), which is larger than the others, also
the highest upon its legs, and that which has the shortest tail : at the first glance it might be taken for a wader ;
its size is that of a Quail, and its grey plumage is elegantly barred across. This species lives more isolated than
the others. M. Vieillot has formed of it his genus Grallaria.
The species with a straighter, but still tolerably strong beak, approximate the Bush-Shrikes with similar bills.
Such are ThamnopMlus stellaris and Th. myotherinus, Spix, with various others. The M. leucophrys, Tern.,
although from Java, seems to approach this group ; as does also the Brachypteryx montana, Horsf., from the same
country, in the length of its limbs ; but its tail is longer in proportion, and beak more like that of a Wheatear.
Others have a sharp and slender bill, which, together with their barred tail, allies them to the Wrens.
Such are Tiirdus bambla, Tern., and T. cantans, Tern. Here should come M. Vieillot’s genus Rhamphocenes.
We should replace among the Thrushes, however, numerous species that have been ranged with the Ant-
catchers. No group has been more overloaded with species that do not belong to it. At the same time, we must
confess that the present is not more rigorously defined than other divisions of the Dentirostres.
We may approximate to the Antcatchers
The Orthonets {Ortlionyx, Tem.), —
Which have the beak of the Thrushes, but shorter and more slender ; their legs are long, the claws
almost straight, and the tail-feathers terminate in a stiff point, as in the Tree-creepers.
[The fact is, that the Antcatchers, Dippers, Wrens, Tree-creepers, and various other named subdivisions, are
merely modifications of the same ramus of the great Thrush group, which grade insensibly into each other in every
possible way.]
W'e should also separate from the Thrushes
The Dippers {Cinclus, Bechstein; Hydrobata, Vieillot), —
Wherein the beak is compressed and straight, with both mandibles of an equal height, nearly linear,
and tapering towards the point, the upper but slightly arcuated.
One inhabits Europe, the White-breasted Dipper {ISturnus cinclus, Lin. : Turdus cinclus, Lath.), which stands
rather high, and has a moderately short tail, therein approximating the Antcatchers. It is [blackish] brown, with
white throat and breast, and remarkable for its singular habit of immersing its whole body without swimming,
but walking about [in a jerking, fluttering manner] at the bottom of streams, in search of the small animals which
constitute its food. [At least two others have been ascertained, C. Pallasii, from Asia generally, and C. americana:
all of them frequent mountain torrents, and our native species generally builds its domed nest in the precipice
behind a water-fall, through which it plunges to and fro ; its actions are very similar to those of a Wren.]
Africa, and the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean, supply a genus of Birds related to the
Thrushes, which I have named
Philedons (Philedon, Cuv., comprising Meliphaga, Lewin), —
The beak of which is compressed, slightly arcuated throughout its length, and emarginated towards
the tip ; their nostrils are larger, and covered by a cartilaginous scale, and their tongue terminated
with a pencil of hairs.
The species, generally remarkable for some peculiarity of conformation, have been distributed by authors in the
most various genera. [Their manners and actions, as observed in captivity, bear an exceedingly close resemblance
to those of the Starlings.] Some of them have fleshy caruncles at the base of the beak : as Certhia carunculaia,
Lath., which inhabits the Friendly Isles, and is stated to be a superb songster, with various others. These con-
stitute the Creadion of Vieillot, “and certain of them the AnthocJicera, Swainson.”
Others have portions of skin about the cheeks, divested of feathers, as the Merops phrygius of Shaw, &c.
In those even, which are every where completely feathered, some peculiar disposition of the plumage may be
observed : as in the Merops Novce Hollandice of Brown, wherein the ear-feathers become frizzled, and descend
almost to the fore-part of the breast.
Others again are destitute of any singularity. “ Those species in which the bill is long and slender, as Certhia
cucullata, Vieillot, compose the Myzomela, Swainson.”
The Minas {Eulabes, Cuv.) —
Approximate the Philedons. Their beak is nearly that of a Thrush ; their nostrils round and smooth ;
and they are particularly distinguished by the broad strips of naked skin on each side of the occiput
and below the cheek.
Linnaeus confounded two species under the name of Gracula religiosa. That of India {E. indicus), is the size
of a Blackbird, and glossy black, with a white spot near the base of the wing-primaries. Its feet, bill, and the
naked parts of its face are yellow. The Javanese species {E.javanus) has a broader bill, more deeply cleft, also
more hooked at the end, and without emargination : consequently, it should come after Colaris, Cuv. [a genus
188 AVES.
the entire anatomy of which is widely different] ; but it resembles the other in all the rest of its conformation,
and particularly by its naked spaces on the sides of the head. Of all birds, this one is said to imitate most com-
pletely the language of Man. '
Nothing can be more perplexing to systematists than the diversity in the form of bill observable in birds other- «
wise so nearly allied. [It intimates, with a variety of other circumstances, that naturalists have attached undue
importance to the character thence derivable, in tracing the affinities of these animals. The fact is, that the Pas-
serince contain two principal centres of radiation,— the genera Turdus and Corvus, — together with several of
subordinate importance, each of which may exhibit modifications suited for any mode of life, as fly-catching^ f
nectar -sucking, &c. : those species analogously modified upon different of these types, however, having no imme-
diate physiological relationship for each other, such as is evinced by genera really connected by affinity, how-
ever differently modified, in their changes of plumage, system of coloration, eggs, &c., all of which require to be
taken much more into consideration than has hitherto been the practice, if these birds are to be classified in
accordance with their true natural affinities. One great help to a sound arrangement is afforded by the geogra-
phical distribution of forms ; another by the nestling plumage, as stated on a former occasion ; and a third,
judiciously and not inconsiderately followed, by the style and character of the colouring and structure of the fea-
thers, which are worthy of particular attention. Habit is the most deceptive guide of any, but should nevertheless
be duly kept in view].
The Grackles {Graculus, Cuv. ; Cridotheres, Vieillot) —
Constitute another genus allied to the Thrushes [or rather to the Starlings], the species of which
inhabit Africa and the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean. Their beak is compressed, very
slightly arcuated and notched, its commissure forming an angle as in the Starlings. The feathers on
the head are nearly always narrow, and there is a naked space round the eye. Their habits are those j
of the Starlings, like which they fly in large flocks, and pursue insects.
One species appears occasionally in Europe, the Rose Ouzel {Pastor roseus, Meyer), [which is sufficiently dis-
tinct from the true Grackles]. It is of a shining black, with the back, rump, scapulars, and under-parts, rose-
coloured ; the coronal feathers narrow, and lengthened into a pendent crest. This bird is of great service in warm
countries, by destroying Grasshoppers.
Another species, Paradisceus tristis, Gm., has become celebrated for similar services rendered to the Isle of
France. It is however a very general feeder, nestles in palm-trees, and is extremely docile. Its size is that- of a
Blackbird, and colour brown, blackish on the head ; a spot near the tip of the wing, lower part of the abdomen,
and tips of the lateral tail-feathers, white. There are numerous others. Linnaeus and his followers brought i
together most discordant species under the appellation Gracula.
The Manorrhines (Manorrhinus, Vieillot) —
Have the beak very much compressed, only slightly arcuated, and feebly notched ; the nostrils large,
but in great part closed by a membrane, which leaves only a narrow slit; neck short. The frontal i
feathers, which are soft like those of young birds, are partly reflected over the nostrils.
M. viridis, Vieillot, Gal. 149.
The Chocards {Pyrrhocorax, Cuv.) — i :
Have the compressed, arched, and emarginated bill of the Thrushes, but their nostrils are covered by ’
incumbent feathers, as in the Crows, from which they were long undistinguished.
We have one the size of a Daw, the Alpine C^ocard {Corvus pyrrhocorax, Lin.), entirely black, with a yeUow
bill, the feet brown at first, then yellow, and finally red, which nestles in the clefts of rocks in the highest moun-
tains, whence, in winter, it descends in great flocks into the valleys. It feeds on insects, snails, and likewise on
fruit and grain, and does not reject carrion : [is simply a modifiod Crow, nearly allied to the Choughs].
Another, in India {Pyr. hexanemus, Cuv.), is distinguished by three barbless shafts, as long as the body, which
grow on each side among the feathers which cover the ear.
I can find no sufficient character by which to separate from the Thrush group
The Orioles {Oriolus, Lin.), —
Wherein the beak, otherwise resembling that of the Thrushes, is merely a httle stouter, the legs also
being rather shorter, and the wings proportionally longer. Linnaeus and several of his successors
confounded them with the Cassicans, which they merely resemble in colour.
The European Oriole (0. galhula, Lin.), is somewhat larger than a Blackbird. The male is of a bright yellow,
with the wings, tail, and a spot behind each eye, black, the tip of the tail yellow ; but during the two first years
he retains the permanent colouring of the female, wherein the yellow is replaced by olive-green, and the black by
brown. This bird suspends its skilfully-constructed nest to the branches of trees, feeds on cherries and other
fruit, and during spring on insects. It is timorous, remains in France only for a short time in summer, and |
travels in pairs, or three together. [In accordance with its migratory habits, it has longer wings than any of its
numerous congeners.]
PASSERINiE.
189
We should distinguish from among the others the Regent Oriole of authors {Sericulus regens, Lesson), the plu-
mage of which is line silky black, with velvety feathers of a bright orange-yellow on the head and neck, and a great
spot of the same colour on each wing. [The female is brown, spotted with dull white. Paradiscjus aureus, Shaw,
» should range along with it.]
The Goulins {Gymnops, Cuv.) —
Have the same strong beak as the Orioles, the nostrils rounded and scaleless, and not surrounded hy
any membrane, and a great part of the head naked of feathers.
The Grey Goulin (Gracula calva, Gm.), &c.— Some of them have prominences on the beak, as the Corhicalao of
Vaillant {Merops corniculatus, Shaw) : in these, “ which constitute the Tropidorynchus of Swainson,” the tongue is
pencillated as in the Philedons.
The Lyre-tail {Mcenura, Shaw), —
The size of which has occasioned some authors to range it among the Poultry, pertains obviously to
the order of Passerince, having the toes separated (excepting the outer and middle ones along the first
phalanx), and approximating the Thrushes by the form of its beak, which is triangular at base,
elongated, a little compressed, and notched towards the tip ; the nostrils being large and membranous,
and in part covered by reflected feathers, as in the Jays. The great tail of the male is remarkable for
the three sorts of feathers which compose it ; namely, the twelve ordinary, with very fine and widely
separated barbs, two medial, each garnished on one side only with a vane, and two exterior, curved
like the letter S, or like the frame of a lyre, the internal barbs of which, large and serrated, resemble
a broad riband, whereas the external are very short, lengthening only towards the tip. The female
has only twelve tail-feathers of the ordinary structure.
This singular species {M. lyra, Auct.) inhabits the rocky districts of New Holland ; its size is somewhat less
than that of a Pheasant. [It frequents the most retired parts of the country, and runs very fast upon the ground,
but its cumbrous tail is said to disable it from flying in a direct line. The order of Birds to which it strictly
belongs is sufficiently indicated by its being a songster. They are said to sing for a couple of hours in the morning,
beginning when they quit the valleys, till they attain the summit of a hill, where they scrape together a small
hillock, as they exhume the grubs on which they feed : on this they afterwards stand,* with the tail spread over
them ; and in this situation imitate the notes of every bird within hearing, till after a while they return to the
low grounds.]
The Slender-billed Passerin.® {Motacilla, Lin.) —
Compose an excessively numerous family, characterized by the beak, which is straight, slender, and
awl-shaped. When slightly depressed at the base, it approaches that of the Flycatchers ; and when
compressed and a little curved at the point, that of the straight-billed Shrikes. Some endeavour has
been made to divide them as follows.
The Chats {Saxicola, Bechst.) —
Have the beak a little depressed and rather wide at base, which allies them to the last small tribe of
Flyeatchers. They are lively birds, rather high upon the legs. The European species build on or
near the ground, and subsist on insects. [They grade from the Rock-thrushes {Petrodncla), and like
them are remarkable for always perching on the summits of objects.
Three inhabit the British isles.]
The Stone Chat {Mot. rubicola, Lin.). — A small bird, [with a short tail ; black on the upper parts and throat in
summer, with a dark reddish breast, some white on the sides of the neck, wings, and tail ; the female browner : in
winter the black is more or less concealed by brown margins to the feathers ; and the young are at first speckled
with whitish. This species is resident throughout the year in Britain, and is common in furze-brakes and covert-
less situations. It has little song, which, as in the following, is often delivered on the wing.
The others are summer- visitants, of rare occurrence in the winter months.
The Whin Chat {Mot. rubetra, Lin.), resembles the last in form, and is more delicately coloured, with a conspi-
cuous white streak over the eye, and black patch on the cheek. It also inhabits furze -brakes, and is more gene-
rally diffused in grassy places than the Stone Chat : is a monotonous songster.
The Wheatear Chat {Mot. oenanthe, Lin.). — Larger than the preceding, with the crupper and basal half of the
tail-feathers conspicuously white, the rest of the tail, wings chiefly, and a band through the eyes, black, and the
body fulvous : the female is browner, and the young spotted with whitish. This species inhabits still more open
situations, as chalk-downs and ploughed fields, and particularly the sea-shore. Its flesh is often eaten.
There are numerous others].
The Robins {Sylvia, Wolf and Meyer ; Ficedula, Bechstein ; {Bandalm, Boie ; Rubecula, Brehm ;
Erythacus, Swains.] ) —
Have the beak merely a little narrower at the base than the preceding. They are solitary birds, which
generally nestle in holes, and live on worms, insects, and berries.
190 AVES.
The European Robin (Mot. rubecula, Lin.). — Olive-brown above, throat and breast orange-red, slightly bordered (
with ash-colour, the belly white : young mottled brown. [We have seen a very similar species, but with diiferently ;
formed bill, from Trebizond ; and there is another closely allied, from Japan.]
The Blue-throated Fantail (Mot. suecica, lAn.', [Cyanecula suecica, Brehm].) — Brown above, with a brilliant J.
blue throat, in the middle of which is a rufous spot, [which disappears with age. This bird has been separated (
with propriety, and differs remarkably from the others in its gait, always running by alternate motion of the feet, ;
like a Wagtail, instead of hopping ; when running thus, it spreads out its tail from time to time like a fan. It is (
only an accidental visitant in Britain.
The following are referrible to the Ruticilla, Brehm ; PJuenicurus, Swains.]
The White-fronted Redstart (Mot. ph<enicunis, Lin.). — Grey above, with a black throat and white forehead, the (
under parts, rump, and all but the middle pair of tail-feathers, bright ferrugineous. [Female browner, with tail :
and rump similar to the male ; young spotted. This is a common summer visitant in many parts of Britain, inha- .
biting the vicinity of large hollow trees, ivied ruins, dilapidated garden-walls, &c. Like most of the present I
group, it generally sings perched on some high pinnacle. Its note is plaintive and little vai’ied].
The Black Redstart (Mot. erythacus, tithys, gibralteriensis, and atrata, Gm.) — [Rather larger than the preceding, ,
with longer wings : no red underneath, and rarely any trace of white on the forehead. It is more confined to
rocky places and great buildings than the other, and is very rare in the British islands, where, however, it does ‘
not appear to be migratory. The young of this species are not mottled. It is an inferior songster.
There are several others, all from the eastern hemisphere.
The Petroica, Swains., comprehends some nearly allied species from Australia. Others, with shorter legs, and]
rather stouter bills, conspicuous for the bright azure of their upper parts, compose the Sialia of the same system- ^ ;
atist, and are found only in America. These and many other named subdivisions, including the Phoenicorns and j jl
Moucherolles, pass, however, in every possible way, into each other. They grade, as already noticed, from the]
Petrocinclce ; the true Robins form a closely-allied subdivision, Geocincla of Gould.] '
The Fauvettes {Curruca, Beclist.) —
Have the bill straight, slender, and slightly compressed in front ; the ridge of the upper mandible
curving a little towards the tip.
The most celebrated bird of this subgenus [but which assuredly does not belong to it] is
The Nightingale (Mot. luscinia, Lin.), of
a russet-brown above, whitish brown on the
lower parts, with a rufous tint on the tail.
Every one is acquainted with this songster
of the night, the varied and melodious notes
of which resound through the woods. It
nestles upon trees, [always on or near the
ground, among decayed leaves], and sings
only till its young are excluded.
There is a rather larger species in the east
of Europe, with obscure spots on the breast
(Mot. Philomela, Bechst.).— [These birds
have no particular affinity with the follow-
ing, but are essentially small slender
Thrushes, almost inseparably allied to Tur~
dus minor and some others from North
America. They have much longer limbs
than the Fauvettes, seek their food princi-
pally on the ground, among decaying leaves,
and the young are in their first plumage
mottled, as in the true Thrushes, which is
not the case with the following. The
Common or Plain-breasted Nightingale has
very much the same manners as a Robin, and
is equally pugnacious: we have known it
The Nightingale-^ constitute the Philomela, Swains., Luscinia,
Fig. 87. — The Nightingale.*
to breed in captivity with a female of that species,
Brehm.]
Other species, more particularly known as Fauvettes, have almost always an agreeable song, and sprightly
habits. They are continually flitting about in pursuit of insects, nidificate in bushes, and the greater number of
them frequent watery situations, among the reeds, &c. [Such as do so fall, for the most part, under the natural
division Salicaria, and are very distinct from the others : they have a peculiar babbling song, and are exclusively
insectivorous.
Some of them have proportionally large bills, and streakless plumage, dark above, paler underneath. Such are]
The Great Babbler (Turdus arundinaceus, Lin. ; Sylvia turdoides, Tern.). — Rather less than a Redwing, and
Sketched from life.
PASSERINyE.
191
reddish-brown above, yellowish beneath, the throat white. [This species, which passes for a good songster^
though extremely comraon on the opposite coast of Holland, has not yet been detected in the British islands. A
nearly allied species (-S^. oUvetomni, Strickland), which is rather smaller, is common in Syria. The rest are con-
siderably less, and there is one of these, a miniature of S. turdoides, which is very common, though local, in South
Britain, migrating in winter, as do all the rest : the S. arundinacea, Auct. They are the Calamoherpe, Meyer.
Other species have smaller bills, and are generally striated on the back, with longitudinal whitish streaks on the
head, the Calamodyta, Bonap. Among them we find]
The Sedge Babbler {Mot. salicaria, Lin.; ^S. phragmitis, Kuct.']) distinguished by a conspicuous whitish streak
over each eye. [This bird is also a common summer visitant in Britain, more generally distributed than the
Reed Babbler {S. arundinacea) ; and is remarkable for the sparrow-like tone of many of its chirpings, which has
induced an erroneous opinion that it is an imitator or mimic. There are several others.
Some species, not far removed from the Babblers, are remarkable for the absence of bristles at the gape (which
in the latter are rather conspicuous), for their graduated tail, composed of broad, soft feathers, their deli-
cately-formed feet, with straight claws, and particularly for the singularity of their note, which consists of a pro-
longed sibilant trill, somewhat resembling that of the Mole-cricket. They compose the Locustella of Gould, of
which three species inhabit Europe. Such, in Britain, is
Ray’s Locustelle {L. Raii, Auct.), or the Grasshopper Warbler of many writers, (fig. 88), the dorsal plumage of
which is coloured like that of the Water Rail. It is common in many districts of this
country, as a summer visitant, frequenting furze-brakes and other dense cover,
where its singular voice is heard at all hours, but principally at dusk : while utter-
ing this sound, it gapes very widely, and sometimes continues to emit it when
flitting from bush to bush, or even hovering in the air. A larger species {L. flu-
viatilis), common on the reedy margins of the Danube, utters precisely the same
sound. The Sylvia certhiola, Tern., of eastern Europe, constitutes the third.
Those which inhabit sylvan districts have, in general, stouter bills, and all feed
more or less upon fruit, of which some are great devourers. They are very distinct
from the foregoing, and several are delicate songsters. Such, in the British
Fig. SS. — Kay's Locustelle. . ,
^ isles, are
Tlie Blackcap Eauvet {Curruca atricapilla, Auct.)— Olive-brown above, ash-colour on the neck and lower parts,
becoming whitish on the throat and belly ; a black, or, in the female and young, reddish-brown cap on the head.
One of the finest of our native vocalists, remarkable for the melody of the loud clear whistle with which it termi-
nates its lays. It inhabits gardens and the outskirts of woods, arrives early in spring, and is very frugivorous.
The Garden Fauvet (C. hortensis) resembles the Blackcap in form, except that it is rather shorter ; its head is
of the same colour with the back, and there is a little grey on the sides of the neck. This species is remarkable
for the deep mellow tones of its voice, arrives late in spring, and is similar in all its habits to the preceding.
Tlie other British species have white on the exterior tail-feathers, and pertain to a group the members of which
are mostly less arboreal, frequenting low bushes.
The White-breasted Fauvet (C. garrula) is, however, often heard from the summits of high trees, having nearly
the same habits as the Blackcap. It is smaller than the preceding, with a proportionally more slender bill ; and
ashy-brown above, pure grey on the head and neck, silvery white below, the feet lead-coloured. Is common in
gardens, and has a low warbling song, with a loud inharmonious finish.
The Whitethroat Fauvet (C. cinerea), is larger and browner than the last, with some mahogany-colour on the
wings ; feet yellowish. This species, exceedingly common about hedges and low brake, is seldom seen upon trees,
and is an inferior chattering songster, that often ascends singing to a small height in the air, with peculiar ges-
ticulations. Lastly,
The Long-tailed Fauvette (C. provincialis), made into a genus Melizophilus by Leach, on account of its shorter
wings and more graduated tail, wherein it only differs in a slight degree from some others, as C. Sarda, &c., is
remarkable for being resident throughout the year in furze-brakes in some parts of the south of England. Its
manners exactly resemble those of the Whitethroat. Colour dark ashy-brown, vinaceous-red below.
There are several continental species allied to all the above.]
Bechstein has separated from the Fauvettes
The Dunnocks {Accentor, B.), —
The heak of which, still slender, hut more exactly conical than that of other Bec-fins [and also rather
sharply pointed] , is slightly retracted at the edges. Their gizzard also is more fleshy.
The Alpine Dunnock {Mot. alpina, also Sturnus alpinus and St. collaris, Gm.). — An ashy-coloured bird [mixed
with brown], with a white throat sprinkled with black, two ranges of white spots on the wing, and some bright
rufous on the flanks. It inhabits the pastures of the high Alps, where it feeds on insects, descending however in
winter into the plains to pick up grain. [A species of rare occurrence in the British islands.]
The Hedge Dunnock {Mot. modularis, Lin.), [currently termed the Hedge Sparrow. — This well-known species is
resident in this country at all seasons, but the majority quit France in summer; emits a pleasing shrill
song, particularly in early spring, which is accompanied by a peculiar shiver of the wings : it feeds very much
on small seeds. There are a few others, of which one, A. montinellus, belongs to eastern Europe. The Dunnocks
grade from the Thrushes through Cinclosoma.
192
AVES.
The immense group of Sylvicoles {Sylvicola), peculiar to America, certainly appear to have some relationship
with the Dunnocks, but are probably slender-billed modifications of the same great type as the Tanagers.
The Kinglets {Regulus, Cuv.) —
Have a slender bill, forming a perfect and very sharp cone, the sides of which even appear a little
concave when viewed from above. They are small birds, which live among trees, and pursue Gnats.
Among European species, we have
The Golden-crowned Kinglet {Mot. regulus, Lin.),— which is the smallest of European birds, greenish-olive
above, yellowish-white below, the head of the male marked with a brilliant golden-yellow crest, bordered with
black, [which latter can open or close nearly over it : in the female the coronal feathers are pale yellow]. It con-
structs a globular nest on trees, with a lateral opening, suspends itself on their boughs in all positions, like a Tit,
and approaches human habitations in the winter ; [is very animated, and utters a shrill weak song in the breeding
Fig 89.— Song Pettjdiaps.
A still smaller [or rather a somewhat larger] species has recently been distinguished, the crest of which inclines
more to reddish, and which has a black streak before and behind the eye [with a white line on each side of the
crest] {Reg. ignapillus, Naum). [This bird is of rare occurrence in the British isles, where the first is very
common.
A third has still more recently been detected in Dalmatia, and since in England, with only a pale central yellow
line in place of the crest, but a bright yellow streak over each eye {R. modestus, Gould). This species wants a
remarkable character of the others. Which is, that the nostrils are covered by a single feather, that grows
over them.
There are several more, allied to the two first, in Asia and America.
The following, however, ranged by the author in this genus, have little to do with them. They constitute the
restricted Sylvia of some nomenclators, Phillopneuste, Meyer, and are all summer visitants only in these parts].
The Song Pettychaps {Mot. trocMlus, lAn.) (fig.89.)— Rather larger than the Kinglets, and nearly of the same colour,
but without any crest, [and also longer in its make. It is distinguished from one
of the other British species by its duller tints, and a yellow tinge on the under
tail-coverts, and from the other by its yellowish-brown legs. From both it differs
in the pleasing melody of its song, which is extremely musical, though consisting
only of a simple run of notes. This bird is extremely common throughout Europe,
and we have seen a very similar species, if not actually identical, from Japan.
The Dark-legged Pettychaps {S. rufa, Naum) (fig. 90), is rather smaller, half a
shade darker, with shorter wings, and blackish-brown legs. Has only a mono-
tonous cry of two notes, repeated many times successively, and occasionally
alternated with a croaking sound, which is extremely peculiar. The young, after
the first moult, of both this and the preceding species, are much brighter yellow
than the old birds, but their colour gradually fades during the winter.
The Grove Pettychaps {Mot. sihilatrix, Lin.) (fig. 91.) has longer wings than
either of the preceding, more vividly green plumage on the upper parts, with a
much broader and clearer yellow streak over the eye, yellow cheeks and breast,
and pure white belly and under tail-coverts. It arrives later than the others, and
frequents trees much more exclusively, where it may be recognized by its peculiar
shivering voice, during the utterance of which it shakes its wings in a remarkable
manner ; it also emits a very plaintive cry, which is common to both sexes.
These birds generally nestle on the ground, among the herbage. There are two
other European species, Sylvia icterina and S. Nattereri.1
Le Grand Pouillot {Motac. hippolais, Lin.).— Larger than the preceding, [of the
w/ ^ same size and shape as the Reed Babbler : it belongs, however, to a distinct group
' ’ from {i\vQ Hippolais of Brehm), and is a fine songster: it has never yet
been detected in Britain, though common along the opposite coast].
The Wrens {Troglodytes, Cuv.) —
Merely differ in having the beak still more slender, and a little arcuated.
[They are properly an American group, of which one species only occurs in
Fi^. 9i.-Grove Pettichaps the eastcm hemisphere.]
The European Wren {Mot. troglodytes, Lin.)— Brown and transversely striated, with rather a short tail, gene-
rally held erect. It builds a domed nest, and sings agreeably, even in the depth of winter.
[America produces numerous others, and there are even many well-marked divisions of them.] Some of the
foreign species inosculate with the Antcatchers, and others with the Tree-creepers.
The Wagtails {Motacilla, Bechst.) —
Combine a bill even more slender than that of the Fauvettes, with a long tail, wdiich they are con-
stantly shaking up and down, lengthened legs, and particularly elongated tertiary feathers, which
extend as far as the tip of the closed wing, imparting a resemblance to the generality of waders.
Fig. 90f— 'Dark-legged Pettychaps.
!
PASSERINiE.
193
1 The Water-wagtails {Motacilla, Cuv.) —
I Have a comparatively short and curved hind claw, and frequent the borders of water.
That of France {Mot. alba and cinerea, Lin.), is grey above, white below, with the occiput, throat, and breast,
j black. [The throat white in winter. It has not yet been registered as an inhabitant of Britain.
I The common British Wagtail {M. Yarrellii, Gould), appears to be of rare occurrence on the Continent of Europe.
I It is somewhat larger, and has a black back in summer.
Another species, common in the north of Britain, visits the southern counties in winter — the Yellow-rumped
i Wagtail {M. boarula, Lin.) — It is grey above, with a very long tail, the outer feathers of which are white ; under
I parts and rump bright citron-yellow, with a black throat in summer].
i Another in the south of Europe resembles the common French Wagtail when young, but acquires a black back
I with age, the M. lugubris, Roux. [It is larger than any of the others.]
The Field-Wagtails (Budgies, Cuv.) — ,
With the general characters of the preceding, possess a long and almost straight hind-claw, which
I approximates them to the Pipits. [The tail is shorter, and style of colouring different.] They fre-
i quent pastures, and pursue insects among the cattle, [as do also the others].
The most common is the Grey-headed Field-Wagtail (Mot. flava, Lin.).— Bluish ash-colour on the head, olive on
the back, bright yellow below, with an eye-streak and two-thirds of the lateral tail-feathers white. [It is very rare
in Britain, where it is replaced by another species.
The M. neglecta, Gould, the head of which is yellow-olive, very bright in old males after the vernal moult, and
the eye-streak intense yellow. It is much more seldom seen in watery situations than the preceding, and is rare
on the Continent. The females of both are pale, or even dull white underneath, and the males in winter plumage
have a reddish tinge on the lower parts, the young males not acquiring the yellow colour before the spring.
Neither of them has any song, in which they differ from the Water-wagtails.
The Pipits (Anthus, Becbstein) —
Were long classed with the Larks on account of their long hind-claw, [and the resemblance of the
colours, although not the texture, of their plumage], but their more slender and notched bill approxi-
mates them to the other Bee-fins."^ [They have absolutely the same form as the Field-wagtails, from
Avhich they differ only in their eolours, and their habit of singing on the vvdng.]
Such as have a moderately curved hind-claw retain the faculty of perching. [The others do so,
only rather less habitually.]
Tlie Tree Pipit (A. arboreus, Bechst.) — Streaked olive-brown above, paler underneath, with longitudinal dark
spots on the breast ; two pale transversal bands on each wing. [A migratory species, and very sweet songster, of
common occurrence in Britain. It generally rises singing from the ground, and after attaining a certain height, sails
descending to the summit of a tree ; then rises from the tree, and descends singing to the ground. Its carriage,
and general character, as seen alive, are very different from those of the others.]
Others have the long hind-claw of the Larks, and keep more on the ground. As
The Common Pipit (Alauda pratensis, Gm.)— [More slender than the preceding, and nearly of the same colour
in winter, but less fulvous or olivaceous in summer. It is extremely common throughout Europe, inhabiting
mountain moors, and lowland heaths and marshes, even to the sea-side. Frequently ascends singing into the
air, but less musically than the preceding.
The Shore Pipit (Anth. aquaticus, Naum) is larger and darker-coloured, with a proportionally greater bill. This
species abounds on the sea-coast, and is very rarely met with inland. Is a superior songster to the last.
, Tlie Great Pipit (A. Richardi, Vieillot).— An accidental straggler only in this country, but seldom met with. Is
much larger than the others, and coloured like A. pratensis. There are several more, of which three inhabit
Europe.
The Wagtails and Pipits compose a very insulated and distinct group, all the members of which are ambulatory
in their mode of progression, and moult twice in the year. The young resemble or differ little from the adults,
having a very dissimilar nestling dress from that of the Larks, to which they have been very generally, but erro-
neously, approxin)ated].
We termmate this family of the Dentirostres with some birds which differ from all the
foregoing, by having their two external toes connected as far as the second joint, a character
wherein they resemble the family of Syndactyli.
The Manakins (Pipra, Lin.) —
Have a compressed bill, higher than broad, emarginated, with great nasal fossaj. Their tail and limbs
* The author enoueously states, in the oriiriual, that tlie form of the wiii^ distliiguislics them from tlie Wagtails. — En.
o
AVES.
194
are short ; and their general proportions occasioned them to be long regarded as allied to the I’its
At their head, but as a separate subdivision, should be placed
Which are large birds, and have a double vertical crest on the head, composed of featliers disposed
longitudinally like a fan.
The adult males of the two species, both from America {Pip. rupicola, Gm., and P. peruviana, Lath.),— are of a
delicate rich orange colour, while the young are dull brown. They live on fruits, and scratch the ground like a
common Fowl, construct their nests with wood in the depths of caverns, the female laying two eggs.
Merely differ from the preceding in the head-feathers not being disposed like a fan.
There is a species, not larger than a Thrush, in the Indian Archipelago, the colour of which is intensely brilliant
emerald-green.
large troops.
[All are American, and they obviously pertain to the great Cotinga family, as do also the Rock-manakins.]
Tyrants, is exceedingly wide and depressed, its base being w^ider even than the forehead.
These birds inhabit the Indian Archipelago, and have a black ground-colour, relieved by vivid colours ; they
have much the air of the Barbets, a genus of a very different order. Frequent watery situations, and feed on
insects [and also berries].
Compose a family numerically small, but very distinct from all others in the beak, which is
short, broad, horizontally depressed, slightly hooked, unemarginated, and very deeply cleft,
so that the opening of the mouth is extremely wide, and suited for swallowing insects, which
are sought for on the wing.
The tribe of Flycatchers is that to which they are most nearly allied, and especially the
genus Procnias, the beak of which only differs in its emargination.
of flight. We distinguish among them i
The Swifts {Cypselus, Illiger), — -
Which, of all birds, have proportionally the longest wings, and fly with the greatest rapidity. [The ,
Humming-birds will bear comparison, if not the ;
pelagic Tachypete.] Their tail is forked, [and con-
sists of ten feathers only] ; their extremely short i
feet have a very peculiar character, the thumb
the length of their wings, disables them from rising from a plane surface. Hence they pass their time
The Rock-manakins {Rupicola, Brisson), —
The Emerald-manakins {Calyptomena, Horsf.) —
The True Manakins {Pipra, Cuv.) —
Are diminutive birds, generally remarkable for their vivid colours. They inhabit humid forests in
The Eurylaimes {Eurylaimus, Horsf.) —
Have feet similar to those of the Manakins and Rock-manakins ; but their beak, as strong as in the
The Fissirostres, —
Their regimen, exclusively insectivorous [in the generality of instances], renders them
eminently birds of passage, which quit Europe in winter. They separate into diurnal and
nocturnal, like the Birds of Prey.
The Swallows {Hirundo, Lin.) —
Are diurnal species remarkable for their close plumage, the extreme length of their wings, and rapidity
The shortness of the humerus, the breadth of
its apophyses, the oval fourchette [devoid of any
medial appendage], the sternum (fig. 92), destitute
of posterior emarginations, — indicate, even in the y ||
being directed forward almost as much as the
other toes, and the middle and outer toes having
each but three phalanges, like the inner one.
Fig. 92.— Sternum of Swift.
I
PASSERINiE. 195
chiefly in the air, [even copulating on the wing], and pursue insects in flocks, sometimes at a great {
altitude, uttering discordant screams. Thev nestle in the holes of walls and rocks, and climb perpen- |
dicular surfaces with facility.
[With this genus, we enter upon a very different type of form from any of the foregoing. The
entire anatomy, if we except the trachea and toes, and the latter more than any other genus, very
closely resembles that of the Humming-birds. It is only in superficial or adaptive modifications that
they accord with the Swallows. The lower larynx is furnished with only one pair of muscles, the ordinary
sterno-tracheales ; there are immense salivary glands, as in the Humming-birds, which secrete a viscid
mucus, and no intestinal coeca ; the clothing feathers have a considerable supplementary plume.
It is necessary to subdivide them into
The True Swifts {Cypselus, as restricted) —
Which have a forked tail, and feet as already described.
Of several species, two only inhabit Europe.]
The Common Swift {Hirundo apus, Lin. ; C. murarius, Tern.)— Black, with a white throat, [and common
throughout Europe in summer, making but a short stay. The young do not moult before the second autumn.]
The White-bellied Swift (//. nielba, Lin). — Larger, and brown, with white collar and medial inferior region. [Of
rare occurrence in Britain. Unlike the Swallows, these birds rear but one brood in a season. There are several
more.]
Others have stiff, pointed tail-feathers, as in the Woodpeckers, and the thumb directed backward ;
but they pass insensibly into the preceding. They constitute the
Ch.f.tura, Swainson.
There is one common in North America, the Chimney Swallow of Wilson ; also others in the eastern hemisphere,
one or more of which inhabit Australia.
The True Swallows {Hirundo, Cuv.) —
Have the feet and sternum similar to those of ordinary Passerince ; [also the complex inferior larynx
as usual, small coeca to the intestine, twelve tail-feathers, &c. Their rapid flight depends entirely on
external modifications, for which reason it is much less capable of protraction than in the Swifts, as is
particularly shown by their weariness after performing migration, on which occasions they have been
seen to alight flat upon the sea.]
Some have the feet feathered to the claws, have a slight tendency to revert the posterior toe, and a moderately
forked tail ; as
The Martin Swallow (H. urhica, Lin.).— Glossy black above, white below and on the rump. Every one is
acquainted with the solid mud-built nest of this species, fixed under window-eaves, the jutting roofs of houses, &c.
Others have naked feet, and a more sharply forked tail, the exterior feathers of which are often much
prolonged. As
The Chimney Swallow {H. rustica, Lin.).— Above [and across the breast] glossy black, the forehead and throat
nifous, beneath [and a spot on each except the middle tail-feathers], white : it builds generally in chimneys.
The Bank Swallow {H. riparia, Lin.). — Brown above and across the breast, the throat and under-parts white.
[A small tuft of down on each foot.] It burrows and forms its nest in steep banks. [There are two others in
southern Europe, H. rufida, Tern., or H. daurica, Sav., and H. rupestris, Lin.]
Among the [very numerous] species foreign to Europe, may be noticed a very small one from the Indian Archi-
pelago, the H. esculenta, Lin., which is brown above, whitish below and at the tip of its forked tail. It is cele-
brated for its nest, formed of a whitish gelatinous substance arranged in layers, and obtained by macerating [in
the stomach] a peculiar species of fucus. The nutritious qualities attributed to these nests in China have ren-
dered them an important article of traflfic in that country.
[It is interesting to note that the Purple Swallow {H. purpurea) of America, which has a stouter beak than the
others, feeds much on berries, at least while in its winter quarters, as observed by M. Audubon. The relation of
this genus to the Phibalures has been already remarked].
The Moth-hunters {Caprimulgus, Lin.) —
Have the same light, soft plumage, minutely mottled with grey and hrown, that characterizes other
night-birds. Their eyes are large ; the beak, still more deeply cleft than in the Swallows, and
[generally] armed with strong vibrissas, is capable of engulphing the largest insects, which are retained
by means of a glutinous saliva, [as in the SAvifts] ; the nostrils, placed at its base, are like small
tubes ; their wings are lengthened ; the feet short, with plumed tarsi, and a membrane connecting the
basal portion of the toes ; the thumb itself is thus connected with the internal toe, and is directed
o 2
AVES.
19G
inward. The claw of the middle toe is commonly pectinated on its inner edge ; and the outer toe has
only four phalanges, a conformation extremely rare among Birds. They live solitarily [or rather per-
manently In pairs] and are crepuscular in their time of action, pursuing Moths and other nocturnal
insects : deposit few eggs [we believe always two in number] on the bare ground, and have gene-
rally singular voices.
[The Moth-hunters bear the same relationship to the Swifts (not to the Swallows) that the Owls do
io the Hawks, and have similar great cceca ; also a simple vocal organ, and general anatomy very
much resembling that of the Cuckoos, as will be partly seen by
comparison of the figures we have given of the sternal apparatus
of both. They have only ten tail-feathers ; and the young are
covered with down w^hen first excluded.]
The common European species (C. Europceiis, Lin.) [is remarkable for
the loud sound it emits, like the burr of a spinning-wheel. Another,
C. ruficollis. Tern., visits south-western Europe. The former is the
latest to arrive in spring of all our summer visitants, rarely appearing
before the end of May.
Among the foreign species, a great number have longer tarsi, adapted
for running on the ground. The tail varies much in shape, and there
is one, from Africa, remarkable for a feather twice the length of the
body, which arises from the carpus of each wing, and is barbed only at
the end ; another has prodigiously developed secondaries ; and there
are some with an appearance of aigrettes on the head, which constitute gg _stemum of Moth-hunter 1
the Lyncornis of Gould. ^
The Guacharos {Steatornis, Humboldt) — !
Have a stronger beak, and toes separate to their articulation, the thumb still directed inward. \
These curious birds inhabit deep caverns in South America, subsist on berries, and the fat of the young is pro-'
cured upon a large scale to be employed in cookery.
The Nyctibunes {Nyctibius, Vieillot) — ]
Are also from South America, and are remarkable for having the shortest tarsi of any bird whatever :]|i
their wings are immensely long, and sides of the gape not bristled. The toes are formed for clinging, |l
to the bark of trees, as their proportions completely disqualify them from rising from a level surface. i|j
There are several large species, w'hich ordinarily float at a great altitude above the forests.
The ^Egotheles {Mgotkeles, Vig.) — ||
Have long tarsi, and toes apparently fitted for hopping from bough to bough ; the wings compara-l|
tively short. A
The only known species inhabits Australia, and is the Caprimulgus Novee Hollandice of Phillips].
The Podargues {Podargus, Cuv ) —
Have the form, colour, and habits of the Moth-hunters, but the bill is considerably more robust, and|f
there are no membranes to the toes, nor pectination of the middle claw, [a character which is wanting
in several even of the true Moth-hunters].
The species inhabit Australia and Australasia, and have some appearance of aigrettes on the head : are remark-
able for the singularity of their general aspect.
The foregoing genera, commencing with the Moth-hunters, form an entirely distinct natural group, |
intermediate to the Swifts and Cuckoos, but passing into neither.] 4
The third family of the Passerines, or
The Conirostres,
Is composed of genera that have a stout beak, more or less conical, and [generally] devoid of |
emargination. They subsist more exclusively on grain as the beak is stronger and thicker.
We first distinguish among them
The Larks {Alauda, Lin.) —
Which have a long and straight hind-claw, a character which however is also more or less marked in
the Pipits, and in the Snowflecks, yet to be denoted. They are granivorous birds, and pulverators [or
PASSERlNiE.
197
which shake dust into their feathers instead of bathing], that run and nestle on the ground, [and
ascend singing to a vast height in the air].
The greater number have a straight bill, moderately stout and pointed : as
The Sky Lark (A. arvensis, Lin.).— This species is known to every one for its fine and varied song-, and on account
of the quantities that are brought to table.
The Crested Lark {A. cristata, Lin.).— Similar in size and plumage, with longer coronal feathers, and of less
common occurrence than the preceding. It approaches villages, [and habitually seeks its food on the high road ;
is remarkable for never visiting this country, though not rare on the opposite coast, even in the vicinity of Calais.]
The Wood Lark {A. arborea, Lin.). — Less, with a shorter tail, and the crest rather less elongated ; a pale streak
is continued round the occiput. [This delightful vocalist, which particularly frequents woodland hilly districts,
is remarkable for the delicacy of its tones, which are peculiarly soft and plaintive.
Nine others are found in Europe, either occasionally or habitually, of which one only — the Shore Lark (A. alpes-
tris), a northern species, occurs as a very rare straggler in Britain. Several have much stouter bills than the
foregoing; and three or four, including A. alpestris, a pair of aigrettes, or pointed tufts of feathers, on the head.
The Larks, which have been much subdivided by systematists, compose a very isolated family, well character-
ized by their peculiar nestling plumage, which is entirely shed (including all the primaries) before the first winter.
V/ith the exception of one species, they are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. Several have the beak compara-
tively .stout and thick.]
The Tits {Parus, Lin.) —
Have the beak slender, [rather] short, straight and conical, with little hairs at its base, and nostrils
coneealed by the plumage. They are very active little birds, continually flitting from spray to spray,
and suspending themselves in all kinds of attitudes, rending apart the seeds on which they feed, [which
they hold firm with the foot while piercing a small hole in the husk, through which they extract the
kernel], devouring insects wiienever they see them, and not even sparing small birds when they
happen to find them sick and are able to destroy them. They store up provisions of grain ; nidificate
in the holes of trees, and produee more eggs than the generality of Passerines.
[These little birds are miniatures of the Jays, and equally omnivorous, subsisting on fruit in addition to the
varied regimen above mentioned. As previously stated, they pertain to the same natural group as the Falcuncu-
lus, placed by the author among the Shrikes, and have nothing whatever to do with the present series.
Of the European species, two have shorter and thicker bills, and differ in some other minutiae. Their plumage
is prettily marked with light blue. They are the Common Blue Tit (P. cterulem), so abundant in Britain, and
the P. cyaneus of Pallas. The rest have the bill longer and more pointed. The Great Tit (P. major), of pleasing
colours, with a black median list down the belly ; the Marsh Tit (P. palustris), with merely a black cap and throat ;
the Cole Tit (P. ater), with a conspicuous white spot on the hind-neck, and very slender bill ; and the Crested Tit
(P. cristatus), with a pointed crest, not very dissimilar from that of a Lapwing, and which is rare in this country ;
inhabit the British islands, the first four being every where common.
There are a vast number of others.
The Bottletit {Mecistura, Leach), —
Included by the author in Parus, should unquestionably be separated. The beak is very short, its
upper mandible curving slightly over the low er : diet exclusively insectivorous.
The Common Bottletit {M. vulgaris ; Parus caudatus, Lin.).— A very small species, with a long graduated tail,
the medial feathers of which are shorter than the next pair : the young are very differently coloured from the
adults, and have the tail still longer. This curious little bird builds a most elegantly domed nest with a small
side opening, upon a forked branch, and rears a numerous progeny, which follow their parents till the return of
spring. The form of its feet, character of plumage, habits, all are different from those of the true Pari : its eye-
lids are naked, and of an orange-yellow colour.
Very nearly allied to the Bottletits, there is a group of small Australian birds.
The Azurines {Malurus, Vieillot), —
Which have a longer beak, resembling that of many Bec-fins, and the old males of which are distin-
guished by their intensely vivid tints of verditer and azure : they vary singularly in the number of
tail-feathers, which, in one species, are reduced to four, that are extremely long and gauze-like, being
the lowest number found throughout the class, where any exist at all.
The species are numerous ; resemble the Bottletit in their mode of life, and manner of nidification ; some of them,
even in the peculiar form of the tail ; the medial or uropygial feathers of which are shorter than the next pair,
and the exterior successively graduated. The African species sometimes referred to this genus have but little
affinity to it.]
The Reedlings [ {CalamopMlus, Leach) ] —
Differ from the Tits in the form of their upper mandible, the tip of which curves over the lower.
198
AVES.
[Their anatomy is strictly that of a Finch, and they are much more nearly related to the Waxbill
Finches than to the Tits, with which latter they have little in common. The gullet has an extremely
large dilatation or craw *, and the gizzard is remarkably muscular.
There is only one known species, the Bearded Reedling (C. biarmicus), an inhabitant of reedy districts, exten-
sively diffused over Europe and Asia, and not rare in some parts of Britain. It is one of the most exquisitely
beautiful of birds, although its colours are not vivid. The plumage is remarkably long and dense, the wings short, l
and tail long and graduated : general colour rich orange-brown, marked with black, white, and yellowish on the wings ; I
the male distinguished by a pure ash-coloured head and neck, a long pointed tuft of intensely black feathers pro-
ceeding downward, like a moustache, on each side of the face, under tail-coverts of the same hue, the throat
white, and a delicate mixture of lilac and other tints on the breast ; beak and iris bright yellow, and feet (which >
are long and robust) black. The female has no black on the moustaches and under tail-coverts, and is every where
less bright ; and the young have a broad black stria along the back. Stripped of the feathers, this species appears
singularly small, with disproportionally large legs : its apparent size is that of a Whitethroat.
The Bearded Reedling subsists on reed seeds during the season, and feeds very much on small shelled mollusks,
which it finds among the aquatic herbage ; its nest and eggs, placed in a tussock of grass, or among the sedges, a
good deal resemble those of a Bunting, and the brood appears to follow the parents till the return of spring.]
The Pendulines [ {Mgithalus, Vigors) ] —
Have the beak more slender and pointed than in the Tits, and are celebrated for their artificially-
constructed nests.
There is one in Europe {Par. pendulinus, Lin.). — Ash-coloured, with brown wings and tail ; a black band across i
the forehead, which, in the male, is continued to behind the eyes. This small species, an inhabitant of the east
and south of Europe, is noted for its admirable purse-like nest, composed of willow or poplar down, and lined with I
feathers, which it suspends to the flexile branches of aquatic trees. i
The Buntings {Emberiza, Lin.) —
Possess an exceedingly distinct character in their short, straight, and conical beak, the upper man-
dible of w’hich, narrower and more retracted at its edges than the inferior, has a hard projecting^ |
palatal tubercle. They are granivorous birds, easily ensnared.
[Of fourteen European species, three are common in Britain, a fourth along the southern coast, not far from the^ |
sea, and a fifth sometimes occurs as a very rare straggler. The form is peculiar to the eastern hemisphere,*'!
though there are some nearly allied species in North America. All are unmusical birds, that feed their young on
insects, and consume much unripe corn. |
Of the British species, the Corn Bunting {E. miliaria, Lin.) is the largest, and coloured like a Lark ; beakE||
stouter than in the others, and yellow in summer, horn-colour in winter ; plumage of both sexes alike : frequents Mii
inclosures. The male Yellow Bunting (E. is distinguished by its clear yellow crown and breast, and*
abounds everywhere upon hedges and furze-brakes. The Cirl Bunting {E. cirlus) is allied to the yellow species, W
but smaller and shorter, with a black throat; particularly frequents the summits of elms, but breeds in theiSi
hedges, and is rarely seen far inland. The Reed Bunting {E. sch<eniculus)\vdi^ a black head and gorget, and M jj
white ring round the neck ; the black concealed in winter (at least in the young, less so in the old birds,) by deci-
duous edgings to the feathers : it inhabits w'atery localities. Lastly, the Ortolan Bunting {E. Jiortulana) has a V]|
greenish head, with a pale yellow streak proceeding from the angle of the bill. It is very rare in this country, but * !
abundant in many parts of the Continent, where, with some other species, it is fattened and eaten as a great *jj|
delicacy.] ,3 i
M. Meyer has distinguished from the Buntings
The Snowflecks {Plectrophanes),—
Which have a long hind-claw as in the Larks, [and lengthened wfings]. Such is *
The Common Snowfleck {Emb. nivalis, Lin.). — [Beak and upper parts deep black in summer, the rest, and the
wings and tail partly, white, the feet black : in winter the black and white are more or less concealed by brown W'
margins to the feathers, and the beak is yellow. In its nest, eggs, notes, and various other characters, this species ^ ■
has little relationship with the Buntings. It abounds in the most northern countries, and migrates southward in
large flocks during the inclement season, when it is common in North Britain. Another species {PL lapponica)
is of very rare occurrence in this island. Two others have been distinguished.] J|
The Finches {Fringilla, Lin.) — «
Have a conical beak, more or less stout at its base, but the commissure of which is not angular. They p
subsist generally on grain. 1 1
We are aware of no instance of this dilatation existing in any of the preceding genera of Paiserina;.
PASSERINE.
199
We subdivide them first into
' The Weavers (Ploceus, Cuv.), —
' The beak of which is so large that some of them have been classed with the Cassicans ; but the
I straightness of its commissure distinguishes that of the latter, and the upper mandible is moreover slightly
bulging. These birds are found in both continents, and the greater number of those of the eastern
hemisphere are remarkably skilful nest-builders, which interweave blades of grass, a circumstance
from which they derive their name.
Such is the Philippine Weaver-bird {Loxia Philippina, Lin.). — Yellow, spotted with brown ; throat black. Its
i spherical pensile nest is entered by a vertical canal, which communicates with a lateral opening of the cavity
wherein the eggs are deposited.
Some of them build a vast number of contiguous nests, which form a single mass divided into numerous com-
I partments ; as
I The Social Weaver-bird {Loxia soda, Lath.)
Among those of America, [which have been very properly separated, first into
The Bobalinks {Dolychonyx, Swainson) —
Which have stiff pointed tail-feathers], we may distinguish
The Rice-bird of the United States (Odolus niger and orizivorus, and Corvus surinamensis, Gm.), innumerable
flocks of which devastate the cultivated fields of several of the warmer parts of that continent.
I Nomenclators have not yet succeeded in reducing to order the various black birds of America, more or less allied
ij to the Cassicans, [near which the Bobalinks should be also placed].
1|
I The Sparrows {Pyrgita, Cuv. \_Passer, Ray] )
Have the beak rather shorter than in the preceding, conical, and merely a little bulged towards the
! point.
[There are five species in Europe, of which two inhabit Britain ; the House Sparrow (Fring. domestica, Lin.),
and the Tree Sparrow (F. montana, Lin.), — which latter has a maronne-coloured head, with the chin, and a spot
on each side of the neck, black, its plumage being precisely alike in both sexes, and even the nestling young, and
corresponding in its general character with that of the adult male only of the others There are several more, all
peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. The beak is always black in summer, horn-colour in winter.
We have observed that the common House Sparrow, like most other birds that nestle upon buildings, (as the
Starling, Jackdaw, Rook, Pigeon, Swallow, &c.), breeds in considerable numbers in the cliffs along the sea-coast,
which is doubtless its aboriginal nesting-place.]
The Chaffinches {Fringilla, Cuv.) —
Have the beak less arcuated than in the Sparrows, stouter and more elongated than in the Linnets.
There are three in Europe. The Common or White-winged Chaffinch {Fring. caelebs, Lin.) ; the Mountain
Chaffinch, ox Br ambling (F. montifringilla, Lin.), [which visits Britain in winter] ; and the Snow-finch {F. nivalis,
Lin.), which nestles in the high Alps, and descends only in the depth of winter to the secondary ranges. [This
I bird, now generally ranking as the Montifringilla nivalis of Brehm, absolutely resembles the Common Snowfleck
! in all but the shape of its beak, which latter even becomes quite black in summer, as in that species : it affords,
accordingly, one of the very numerous proofs that the value of the form of the bill, as a zoological character indi-
cative of affinity, has been much over-estimated by systematists. In the true Chaffinches, the bill turns dark
bluish in summer].
The Goldfinches {Carduelis, Cuv.) —
Have an exactly conical beak, without any bulging ; the tip prolonged to a sharp point.
[There are two groups of them, characterized by plumage, and a slight difference of habit : in the first, the
colouring is gay, the beak pale flesh-coloured in summer, and its point further attenuated. These are more parti-
cularly designated Goldfinches.
But two are known, the common European species (C. elegans), and another in the Himmalaya mountains of
Asia (C. caniceps, Gould). The first is well known as a pleasing songster.
The rest have a shorter bill, and less elongated form ; the plumage variegated black and yellow, with always a
black crown. They are commonly termed Siskins. Of numerous species, two only inhabit Europe, and one the
British islands {F. spinus, Lin.).]
The Linnets {Linaria, Bechst. {Linota, Bonap.] )
Have also an exactly conical bill, but which is less elongated.
In some, however, its tip is comparatively drawn out. [These are generally known as Redpoles ; of which there
are several species, not easy to discriminate : two occur in Britain — the Common or Small Redpole {F. minor, Lin.),
and the Mealy or Stone Redpole (i. canescens, Gould), which latter is larger and stouter, with a whitish rump,
that is scarcely tinged with the pink so conspicuous in the other.
200
AVES.
I'he Common or Song Linnet (Fr. cannabina, Lin.), is remarkable for the crown and breast plumage of the male,
which, in winter, is dingy reddish-brown, concealed by terminal edgings, that disappear in spring, at which season
the colour changes to bright crimson : the same enhancement of tint obtains, though to a less extent, in the preceding ;
species, the coronal and breast feathers of which are pink in winter, brightening considerably towards the breeding
season. It is remarkable that none of these birds ever acquire their gay tints in captivity, although they breed i
freely when encaged. The same applies to several allied groups, as the Crossbills and Erythrospizoe, or purple i
Finches of the North, which latter are intermediate to the Linnets and Corythi.
There is a fourth British species, of inferior size to the last, with a smaller bill of a wax-yellow colour, and no j
pink except on the rump ; the Twite, or Mountain Linnet (F. montiicm, Gm.), which abounds in the most northern
districts of the island, and upon upland heaths, migrating southward in winter.
Various species more or less yellow are known as Serins or Canary-birds [the latter having the bill
comparatively bulging.
We can only notice] the Canary, so abundantly bred in captivity (F. canaria, Lin.), the domesticated varieties
of which are so numerous that it is difficult to assign the original colour. It hybridizes with various other Finches,
producing mules that are more or less capable of propagation. [The original stock is still wild in the islands from ;
which this species takes its name ; individuals occasionally learn to pronounce words with remarkable precision
and articulation.
The Whidahs {Vidua, Cuv.) —
Are African and Indian birds, with the beak of a Linnet, sometimes a little bulged at its base, [the
males of] which are distinguished by the extraordinary elongated covert feathers above the tail, [at |
least during the breeding season]. :
They grade without assignable interval into the Linnets.
The Grosbeaks {Coccothraustes, Cuv.) —
Possess an exactly conical beak, which is distinguished only by its extreme thickness.
The Haw Grosbeak {Loxia coccothraustes, Lin.), is one of those particularly worthy of the name, [though its beak
is slight in comparison with that of some others].— Crown and back chestnut-brown, neck and rump ash-coloured,
[beak dark bluish in summer, flesh-coloured in winter ; the secondary feathers of the wing abruptly truncated.
Its sternal apparatus is figured at p. 178, as characteristic of the whole enonnous group of Passerinw]. This bird |
inhabits wooded districts, nestles upon beech or fruit-trees, and feeds on all sorts of kernels. [Is not rare in some
parts of South Britain, but in general extremely wild and shy of approach.]
The Green Grosbeak, Green Linnet, or Green-jinch., {Lox. clitoris, Lin.)— [One of the commonest of British j
birds : its bill turns pale flesh-colour in summer, as in the Goldfinch. !i
Among the very numerous groups of foreign Finches and Grosbeaks, a strongly marked subdivision is i
that of
The Amaduvats {Amadina, Swainson),
The beak of which is short and slightly bulging. ;
Such is the Java Sparrow, so abundantly brought alive from the Indian Archipelago, and numerous diminutive
species of pleasing colours, several of which inhabit Australia.
The Waxbills {Estrilda, Sw^ainson) —
Are nearly allied, and also approximate the Reedlings : they have a smaller and somewhat arched !
bill, and long graduated tail. ,
Of several species, one is very commonly brought alive to this country, with delicate grey plumage transversely
rayed, and a crimson streak through the eye ; beneath the tail black, as in the Bearded Reedling.
They inhabit the same countries as the Amaduvats].
The Pitylus, Cuv.
The beak as thick as in the Grosbeaks, a little compressed, arched above, and sometimes a salient ' r
angle at the middle of the upper jaw.
[Among the various groups to which the above definition is more or less applicable, we may parti- (
cularly notice one lately discovered at the Gallipago Isles,
The Geospiza, Gould, —
Wherein the beak varies singularly in shape and stoutness, notwithstanding which there is an exceed- Sj|
ingly strong resemblance in every other character, which forbids their separation. They are chiefly ml I
ground-birds, with sombre plumage and short tails.
PASSER1N.E.
201
Mr. Gould subdivides them into Geospiza as restricted, with the bill of a Cardinal-finch (Guarica), — Camaryn-
chus, with that of a Corythus, — Cactornis, wherein the beak resembles that of an Icterus,— sindL Struthidea,
wherein it even approaches the slender bill of an Accentor^.
The Cardinal-finches Swainson) —
Have nearly the beak of the Grosbeaks, but slightly bulging, and are peculiar to America.
The Virginian Nightingale, as it is termed (Lox. cardinalis, Lin.), is a well-known example.
Some have the beak remarkably compressed ; and a species in which this compression attains its
ultimatum, constitutes
Paradoxornis, Gould, —
Wherein the curved ridge of the upper mandible forms an acute angle, its sides do not bulge, and the
cutting edge is deeply sinuated.
The only known species {P. Jiavirostris, Gould,) inhabits the Himmalayas.
Naturalists have long separated
The Bullfinches {Pyrrhula), —
Which have a rounded and every where bulging bill, [the tip of the upper mandible overhanging the
lower one. Plumage soft and very dense] .
The Common Bullfinch {Loxia pyrrhula, Lin.]. — Ash-colour above, vivid tile-red below, with black cap, [tail, and
wings partly, the rump white]. Female dull reddish-brown where the male is red. [Young destitute of the black
cap. There is a race, considerably larger in all its proportions, but otherwise exactly resembling, in eastern Eu-
rope ; another in Japan, differing inconsiderably in colour, but undoubtedly distinct ; and a fourth on the Himma-
layas (P. erythrocephala), more strongly characterized].
The Crossbills {Loxia, Brisson) —
Have a compressed beak, the mandibles of which are so strongly curved, that their tips cross each
other, and not always on the same side. This extraordinary bill enables them to extract the seeds
from pine-cones with astonishing facility.
[These birds present a singular modification of the same particular type to which the Siskins and Redpole Lin-
nets appertain ; than which they are merely stouter built, with the tips of the beak still more prolonged, and
anomalously modified, in adaptation to peculiar habits. The species are very indeterminate, but there appear to
be several of them, successively increasing in stoutness and strength of bill, but differing in no other particular ;
and as one of them only is distinguished by white bars on the wing, like a common Chaffinch, which character is
found in individuals only of a particular size, this circumstance militates against the rest being considered varie-
ties of one another.
That common in western Europe {Lox. curvirostra, Lin.), is of medium strength, and of late years has become
considerably more abundant than formerly in the British Isles, where it was previously chiefly known as an occa-
sional and very irregular visitant. The Parrot Crossbill (L. pytiopsittacus, Bechst.), is larger and stouter, with a
much stronger beak, the points of which rarely pass the ridge of the opposite mandible. It is of very rare occur-
rence in Britain, where the white-winged species (L. leucoptera), which is chiefly found in America, has also
occurred as a straggler. The nestling plumage of these birds corresponds with that of a Redpole, and the males
afterwards assume,* most irregularly, a red or buff-yellow garb, brightest on the crown, breast, and rump. Their
call-note, and all their actions, strikingly recall to mind those of a Goldfinch or Redpole.]
The Pine-finches {Corythus, Cuv.) —
[Are simply Crossbills, devoid of the peculiar character from which those birds derive their name,
with rather softer and less firm plumage, and a beak scarcely differing from that of the Bullfinches.
They have also the same irregularity of colour, and their habits are nearly similar. One species (C. enucleator)
is common in the northern pine-forests of both continents ; there is a second in northern Asia, and the Pyrrhula
longicaudata. Tern., constitutes a third.]
The Colies {Colius, Gmelin) —
Are still very near the preceding, [a remark of the author perfectly unaccountable]. Their beak is
short, thick, conical, a little compressed, the two mandibles being arcuated without either passing
beyond the other* ; tail-feathers [ten in number, much] graduated, and exceedingly long [and rigid] ;
the thumb, as in the Swifts, capable of being directed forwards like the other toes ; their plumage,
fine and silky, [short, dense, and smooth,] is generally of an ash-colour, [and the coronal feathers are
elongated, forming an erectile pointed crest ; the body feathers possess an accessory plume, and are
The upper mandible docs considerably overhang the other. — Ed.
202
AVES.
very short over the rump]. They are birds of Africa and India, which climb somewhat in the manner of
Parrots, live in troops, and even breed in society, constructing numerous nests in the same bushes ;
lastly, they sleep suspended to a branch, with the head downward, many of them together, and subsist
on fruits [the buds of trees, and tender sprouts of vegetables.
These very curious birds are closely allied by affinity to the Plantain-eaters and Touracos, and have no especial
character of the Passerirue. They sail from bush to bush in a long row one after another, alighting always near
the ground, and clambering to the topmost twig with the assistance of the beak and long stiff tail, picking off the ,
buds or berries ; and do not pass to the next until the whole flock are ready, when they again sail in the same
regular succession. They are very mischievous in gardens in the Cape colony, devouring the young plants of
vegetables as fast as they spring up; and are there known by the term Muys-vogel, or “ Mouse-bird their cry
is monotonous, (having but one pair of vocal muscles,) and in the largest species closely resembles the bleating of
a lamb. They constitute the ordinary food of several species of Birds of Prey, and have remarkably heavy, massive
bodies, for their apparent size, the plumage lying flat and close].
Here also should be placed
The Oxpeckers {Buphaga, Brisson), —
A small genus, wherein the beak, of medium length, is first cylindrical, both mandibles bulging
towards the end, which terminates obtusely. They employ it to compress the skin of cattle, in order
to force out the larvae of (Estridm lodged wfithin it, upon w'hich they feed. [The claws are accordingly! ,|-
extraordinarily sharp, to enable them to cling while so occupied. 1 r
Two species are now known, both from South Africa : they strictly pertain to the Starling family, and have no'f> if
sort of relationship with the Honeyguides (near which some systematists place them), being true Passerin<^J] |
The Cassicans {Cassicus, Cuv.) — ' f
Have a large beak, exactly conical, thick at the base, and singularly sharp at the point ; small round^.^
nostrils pierced at its sides ; the commissure of the mandibles forming a broken line, or an angle as intii
the Starlings. They are American birds, with manners approaching those of our Starlings, [at least “l!
some instances,] frequently construct their nests close together, and sometimes with much art. Theyi p
subsist on insects and grain, and the numerous flocks of them commit great ravages in the cultivated!
districts. I
We subdivide them into S
The Cassicans, properly so called, (Cassicus, as restricted), 4 '
Wherein the beak mounts upon the forehead, encroaching circularly on the plumage. The largestl'l
species are included in this group.
[Some are very superior songsters, and rival the Mocking-bird m mimicry.] ^ ,
The Baltimores {Icterus, Cuv.) — ■ «
Have the beak arcuated throughout its length, and forming only a pointed notch on the forehead. ;[
[This name is now generally applied to the Baltimore-birds of North America, with some proximate species from j ii
the southern continent. They do not congregate, and build an elegant pensile nest, as do also the preceding.^
The males are several years attaining their mature colouring.] w|
The Troopials {Xanthornus, Cuv.) «||
Only differ from the last in having the beak straight. ,1 '
"I- |l
[Certain of these, the true Troopials (Aglaius, Swainson), have a comparatively short beak, thick at the base.j|r
Their habits are those of the Starlings, and they are exceedingly destructive in the maize plantations : they breed^ ||
in small societies, sometimes on or near the ground, and where opportunities occur, in the interstices of the^ fl
massive nests of the Osprey ; it is said that the proportions of the sexes in these little communities are very irre- :^ I
gular, which would intimate that they do not pair*; a circumstance the less unlikely, from their close affinity to^^ ^
the next, or ^ :
The Molothrahs {MolotJirus, Swainson) ; of which two species are now known, both parasitic in their mode of 1 1
propagation, depositing their eggs in the nests of other birds, like the Cuckoo of Europe : these certainly do not I
mate. They are distinguished by a still shorter bill, and differ little in their habits from the Troopials. )
Several other natural subdivisions have been instituted, of which the Bobalinks, or Rice-birds, have been already |
noticed (p. 199). The Chewinks (P«joz7o, Vieillot,) with a bulging sparrow-like bill, pertain to the same group ;
and there are others which approximate the Crows, as the divisions Quiscalus, Scolephagus, &lc., and even the ^ ii
Larks, as Sturnella, Swainson, the members of which have the beak obtusely pointed, like the true Starlings, andw|
are nearly related to the Bobalinks]. | ^
PASSERINiE.
203
The Oxyrynchus, Tern.,
Has a conical and very sharp bill, [not thick, and] shorter than the head.
The only known species (Ox. Tern.), has a partly red crest, like many Tyrants. [The affinities of
this bii’d are most puzzling. It obviously belongs to the distinct division Passerin<e, and therefore has no parti-
cular relationship with the Woodpeckers, contiguous to which it is arranged by some. Colour, green above,
whitish and spotted like a Thrush on the breast. Inhabits Brazil.]
The Fitpits, Buff. (Dacnis, Cuv.) —
Represent the Baltimores on a diminutive scale, having the beak conical and sharp-pointed.
[They consist of some of the Sylvicoles, p. 191.]
The Starlings {Sturnus, Lin.) —
Differ from the Troopials only by a compressed beak, particularly tovrards the point, [which is obtuse
and nail-like.
[There are two in Europe, one generally diffused, and extending eastward to China, —
The Common Starling (St. vulgaris, Lin.). — At first dull brown, then finely glossed black, with a pale tip to each
feather, imparting a pretty speckled appearance ; the clothing feathers are successively more elongated and
pointed for sevei’al moults, and most of their pale terminal specks finally disappear altogether, the bill also
becoming rich yellow. It is easily tamed and taught to speak*, and very social in its habits, flying in large
flocks : flesh bad-tasted. The other species (St. unicolor) has still longer pointed clothing feathers, and never
any whitish spots : inhabits the south of Europe, and particularly Sardinia.]
We can perceive no characters of sufficient importance to sanction the separation, from the
Conirostres, of the genera belonging to the family of Crows, which have precisely the same
internal structure, as w'ell as the same external organs, being distinguished only by a much
greater size, which allows some of them to pursue other birds; their strong beak is often
laterally compressed.
The genera are three in number, viz., the Crows, Birds of Paradise, and the Rollers [which
last alone do not possess the distinctive characters of the Passerince].
The Crows {Corvus, Lin.) —
Have a strong beak, more or less compressed, and the nostrils covered with stiff incumbent bristles
directed forwards. They are sagacious birds, and their sense of smelling is very acute ; they have
generally the habit of purloining articles that are quite useless to them, as pieces of money, &c.
We apply the name of Crow, or Raven, more particularly to certain large species, which have the
stoutest beaks of any, and the ridge of the upper mandible most arcuated. Then tail is round or
square.
The Raven (C. corax, Lin.), is the largest Passerine bird found in Europe, equalling a fowl in size. Its plumage
is wholly black, the tail rounded ; ridge of the upper mandible arched anteriorly. Its habits are more retiring
than those of its congeners, [except w'here it is quite unmolested] ; flight, vigorous and lofty ; scents carrion at the
distance of a league ; and also feeds on fruit and upon small animals, even carrying off poultry ; it nestles on lofty
trees or in steep precipices, is easily tamed, and readily learns to speak. This bird appears to be found in all 1
parts of the world, [a fallacious opinion, very generally received : few travellers that have seen a large black spe-
cies of Corvus have troubled themselves to ascertain that it was the Raven ; and collectors have generally neglected
to procure a bird, which they supposed was not uncommon at home ; the truth being, that there are as many as
six or seven species confounded under the name, several of which are readily distinguishable upon actual com-
parison. The similitude of the common Crow and Rook of Europe should have rendered naturalists cautious in
identifying the species of this genus].
The Corby Crow (C. corone, Lin.). — fourth less than the Raven, with a square tail, and beak less arcuated.
The Rook (C. frugilegus, Lin.). — Smaller still, with a [comparatively] straight beak, more pointed than that of
the last. Excepting when young, the head is bare of feathers as far back as the eyes, which the bird probably
wears off in digging up the grubs on which it feeds.
These two species live in great flocks, nestling even in society ; [certainly, however, not the first of them]. They
devour grain as well as insects. Are found throughout Europe ; remaining in the winter, however, only in the
milder districts. [The Corby Crow is much more carnivorous than the Rook, and very destructive to eggs and
young game : we have known it attempt to fly off with a young Turkey nearly as big as itself : it is very seldom
that the Rook attacks other birds, but we have known a party of this species to destroy a brood of Missel Thrushes
that had recently left the nest.]
We have known a Starling: to learn the song of the Nightingale, and warble it to perfection.
204
AVES.
The Hooded Crow (C. cornix, Lin.)-— Ash-coloured, with black head, tail, and wings. Is less frugivorous, and
frequents the sea-shore, preying on shelled mollusks, &c. ; [feeds much on carrion and garbage]. Naumann
assures us that it often breeds with the black Crow, and produces fertile offspring [the truth being, we believe,
that black varieties of the Hooded Crow now and then occur, as is indeed said to be the case by several authors.]
The Jackdaw (C. monedula, Lin.). — A fourth shorter than the three last, or about the size of a Pigeon, and black,
with a pale gray nape ; builds in steeples, old towers, &c., [and the holes of trees,] lives in flocks, and subsists on
the same regimen as the others, frequently flying with them. Predatory birds have no enemy more vigilant,
[These are the British species, and there are many more : one (C. spermologus, Vieillot) inhabits central Europe].
The Magpies {Pica, Cuv.) —
Are less than the Crows, [and slighter built] ; have also the upper mandible more arcuated than the
lower, and the tail long and much graduated.
The European Magpie {Corv. pica, Lin.) — A very handsome bird, of a silky black, with purple, blue, and bronzed
reflections : the belly white, and a great white patch over each wing. Its continual chattering has rendered it
celebrated. It prefers the neighbourhood of human habitations, and subsists on all sorts of food, even carrying
off young poultry. [Specimens from North America are undistinguishable ; but there is another species in that
continent, with a yellow bill, and differently bronzed tail {P. Nuttalli, Kud..)’, and we have seen a species from
Norway, hitherto undescribed, much smaller in all its proportions than the common Magpie, with tail resembling
that of the Yellow-billed species. We will term it P. ^andiaca.
There are several birds nearly allied, with magnificent a^re plumage ; and some with shorter bills, and more
strictly arboreal conformation, as the Indian P. vagabunda, which compose the Bendrocitta of Gould],
The Jays {Garrulm, Cuv,) —
Have both mandibles sligbtlj^ elongated, and terminated by a sudden curve ; when the tail is gradu-
ated, the bill is more lengthened ; and the frontal feathers, lax and disunited, are more or less erected
when the bird is excited.
The European Jay {Corv. glandarius, Lin.) is a handsome bird, of a vinaceous-grey colour, with black quills
and moustaches, and a beautiful mottled patch on each wing, rayed with bright blue. It subsists principally on
acorns during the season. Is very imitative, and nestles in our woods, living in pairs or families. [There are two
closely allied species — the Syrian Jay, distinguished by a black crown, and that of Japan, which has black cheeks;
the proportions of the ornamental patch on the w ing are also different. Other proximate .species occur on the
Himmalaya mountains.
The Jays with longer and more slender bills, and graduated tails, are all smaller, and constitute the Cyanocorax%
of Boie, in part. There are four species in North America, of which the well-known Blue Jay (G. cristatus) affords I
a familiar example. A species of this group occurs on the Himmalaya mountains of Asia, and we are disposed also!
to refer to it the Pica cyanea, Wagler, common in Spain. The \\liiskev-jacks {Perisoreus, Bonap.) compose another!
small natural group, scarcely differing from the Pari in structure, and but little in habit : the European Corv.%
infaustus, Lin., and C. canadensis, Lin., of North America, belong to it.]
f
The Nutcrackers {Caryocatactes, Cuv.; Nucijraga, Vieillot) — 1
Have both mandibles equally pointed, straight, and without curvature. ^
The European Nutcracker {Corv. caryocatactes, Lin.). — Brown, speckled with whitish all over the body. It nes-r,
ties in the holes of trees, in dense mountain forests ; climbs trees and perforates their bark, like the Woodpeckers;
devours all sorts of fruit, insects, and small birds ; and sometimes comes in flocks into the plains, but without -f
regularity. Is celebrated for its confidence. [There is a larger species, closely allied, on the Himmalayas ; and a ^
third in America, without any spots, the Corvus columbianus, Wilson].
The Temia, Vaillant {Crypsirina, Vieillot ; Phrenotrix, Horsfield), — "K
With the front and tail of the Magpies, combines an elevated bill, and bulged upper mandible, the |
base of which is adorned with velvety feathers, nearly as in the Birds of Paradise. ||
The first-known species {Corv. varians, Latham), is of a bronzed green colour. These birds are found in Africa if
and India. ^
The Guaucopis, Forster, —
A similar heak and front, but two fleshy caruncles at the base of the bill.
The known species {Gl. cinerea. Lath.), inhabits New Holland, and is the size of a Magpie, blackish, with a
graduated tail ; it lives on insects and berries, seldom perches, and is esteemed good eating.
The Rollers {Coracias, Lin.) — jn
Have a strong beak, compressed towards the tip, with the point of the upper mandible a little hooked ; j
oblong nostrils, placed at a slight distance from the plumage, and not covered by incumbent feathers ;■
the feet short and stout [with their outer and middle toes free to the articulation]. They are peculiar^
to the eastern hemisphere, and bear some resemblance to the Jays in their manners, and in their laxr|i
frontal feathers ; are vividly coloured, but in general not harmoniously.
PASSERINiE.
205
Their anatomy offers some peculiarities which connect them with the Kingfishers and Wood-
peckers ; the sternum (fig. 94) is doubly emarginated, they have but one pair of laryngeal muscles,
and the stotnach is membranous ; [they have also no coeca to the intestine. In every essential par-
ticular they thus accord with the Kingfishers and Bee-eaters, with which they form a special natural
group, all the members of which take their food commonly on the wing, lay numerous polished
white eggs, of an almost spherical shape, in holes of some description, collecting no nest, the young
retaining their first plumage, which is little less bright than that
of the adult, until the second autumn : the whole of them subsist
exclusively on animal diet] .
The Rollers, properly so called, —
Have a straight beak, higher than broad, [and comparatively
elongated] .
There is one in Europe (C. garrula, Lin.).— Vivid sea-green, with red-
dish-fulvous back and scapularies ; some pure blue at the bend of the
wing; and size about equal to that of a Jay. It is a very wild bird,
though social with its own kind ; noisy ; which nestles in the holes of
trees in the forests, and leaves at the approach of winter. It feeds on
worms, insects, and small Frogs. Some have the exterior tail-feathers
elongated, [as in the common Swallow ; and there is one species, inhabit-
ing South Africa, which is stated to perch and watch for prey on the
horn of the Rhinoceros, giving notice to that animal of the approach of
Ij Fig. 94.-Sternum of Roller. the hunter].
J The Rolles (Colaris, Cuv., Eurystomus, Vieillot),
i| Differ from the preceding by having a shorter and more arcuated bill, and particularly by its being
j widened at the base, which is broader than high.
! [Tlie species are less numerous ; and there is one inhabiting Australia.]
! The Birds-of-Paradise {Paradiscea, Lin.),
j Have a straight, compressed, stout, and unemarginated beak, with covered nostrils, as in the Crows ;
I but the influence of the climate they inhabit, which extends to birds of several other genera [so far
j as the beak is concerned], imparts a velvety texture, and frequently also a metallic gloss, to those fea-
! thers which overlie the nostrils, while the plumage of various other parts acquires a singular develope-
i ment. These birds are indigenous to New Guinea and the neighbouring islands. From the mode in
j which the specimens brought to Europe are prepared by the savages of those countries, it was for-
'I merly thought that they were quite destitute of limbs, and supported themselves entirely by their airy
ij plumes. It is said that they live on fruits, and are particularly fond of aromatics. [They also subsist
I
I largely upon insects.]
!j Some of them have thinly-barbed feathers on the flanks, [or rather shoulder-tufts, which cover the closed
Ij wing,] inordinately prolonged, so as to form immense tufts, that extend far backward beyond the body ; there
i are also two [generally] barbless filaments [the uropygials] attached to the rump, w'hich are even more elongated
j than the airy lateral plumes. Such are
I The Emerald Bird-of- Paradise (P. apoda, Lin.), which is the most anciently known species ; and the Red (P. rubra,
! Vaillant). These compose the Samalia of Vieillot. [They are large birds, much more so than the contracted
skins brought to Europe, which ar^evidently shrunk by the application of great heat, would lead to suppose : it
is only in such specimens that the wings and legs appear disproportionately large.]
Others have the same long filaments, but their lateral tufts, though still elongated, do not extend past the tail. As
The King Bird-of-Paradise (P. regia, Cincinnurus regius, Vieillot), and the Magnificent B. (P. magnifica, Sonne-
rat), [which are very distinct, generically, from the preceding].
Some have the thinly-webbed feathers on the flanks, but they are short, and the filaments on the rump are
wanting, as
The Six-stemmed B. (P. aurea, Gm. ; P. sexsetacea, Shaw), with a golden-green spot on the throat, and three
long filaments proceeding from each ear, which are terminated by a small disk of barbs of the same colour. It
i constitutes the Parotia of Vieillot.
I Lastly, there are some with neither elongated filaments nor lateral tufts (the Lophorina, Vieillot), as
The Superb B. (P. superba, Sonnerat), and the Golden B. (P. aurea, Shaw ; Oriolus aureus, Gmelin), [which
last is congenerous with the Australian Regent-bird, and therefore a Sericulus.']
[ The fourth family of the Passerince, or that of
1 ‘
i
AVES.
206
The Tenuirostees, —
Comprehends the remainder of this first division ; the Birds eomposing it being distinguished
by a slender, elongated, sometimes straight and sometimes curved bill, devoid of emargina-
tion. They bear the same relation to the Conirostres which the Bec-jins do to the other
Dentirostres.
The Nuthatches (Sitta, Lin.), — :
Have a straight, prismatic, pointed beak, compressed towards the tip, w'hich they employ like the
Woodpeckers to perforate the bark of trees, [and particularly to scale it off], to get at their insect-
food ; and although they climb in every direction, they have only one toe directed backward, which is.,
certainly very strong. Their tail is of no use in supporting them, as in the Woodpeckers and Tree^ i
creepers. [These birds also feed largely on various seeds, and are celebrated for the instinct of fixing* ■
a nut in a chink, while they pierce it with the bill, swinging the whole body as upon a pivot, to give
effect to each stroke. They lay up stores of food, like the Tits.
Of several species, three inhabit Europe, and one the British Isles, which is not uncommon {S. europcea, Lin.).—
Ash-grey above, yellowish beneath, with dark rufous flanks and under tail-coverts, the latter spotted with white ;
a black streak through the eye, and round white spots on the tail-feathers ; size, that of a Robin. Its note is
remarkably loud, and disposition fearless.]
The Xenops, Illiger, —
Have merely the beak rather more compressed, and its inferior ridge more convex. |
The Anabates, Temminck, —
Have, on the contrary, the superior ridge a little convex, almost like the beak of a Thrush, without
emargination. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, and occasionally W'orn, which intimates that it is !
employed for sustension. In
The Synallaxis, Vieillot, — i
The beak is straight, not much elongated, slender, and pointed ; the tail-feathers are generally long !f
and sharp. There are even some of them in which the shafts of those feathers are stout, and pro- I
longed beyond the barbs. |
The Creepers {Certhia, Lin.) — ||
Have an arcuated bill, but little else in common. We subdivide them first into I
The Tree-creepers {Certhia, Cuv.), — f|
So named from their habit of traversing the boles of trees, in the manner of the Woodpeckers, [that i|
is, in an ascending direction only], their tail, which terminates in similar stiff points, serving to sup- f
port them. I
There is one in Europe, the European Tree-creeper (C. familiaris, Lin.), a diminutive species, reddish-brown If
above, speckled with whitish, inclining to ferruginous on the rump, and pure glistening white underneath. It Jf
nestles in the holes of trees, and ascends their trunks with rapidity, searching for the insects and larvae concealed if
in their chinks, and among the mosses and lichens. [Is very common throughout Britain]. 11
America produces some true Creepers of comparatively large size, which have been termed |
Dendrocolaptes, Hermann. |
Their tail is the same, but the beak is much stronger and wider. I
There is even one of them which approaches the Nuthatches in its straight and compressed beak : it might be W
taken for a Nuthatch with a worn tail {Oriolus picus, Gm. and Lath.; Gracula picoides, Shaw ; or Dendr. |
guttatus, Spix). j
The beak of another, twice as long as the head, is arched only towards the tip (J,e Nasican of Vaillant). That of * i
a third is long, slender, and as much arcuated as in Melithreptus.
The Tichodromes {Tichodroma, Illiger),
Or Wall-creepers, do not lean upon the tail, although they creep up w^alls and rocks as the preceding
do the trunks of trees, but they cling to them with their strong claws. Their beak is triangular and I
depressed at its base, very long and slender. [They moult twice in the year.]
One only is known, an inhabitant of the south of Europe (Certhia muraria, Lin.). It is a handsome bird of a
light ash-colour, with some bright red on the wings. Throat of the male black [in summer. The affinities of '■
this curious little bird are not obvious].
The Honey-suckers {Nectarinea, Illiger) —
Neither use the tail, nor indeed climb, although their beak, of medium length, arched, pointed, and
compressed, resembles that of the Tree-creepers. All of them are foreign. ^ |
PASSERINiE.
207
The name Guit-guit is applied to certain small species, the males of which have vivid colours. Their tongue is
bifid and filamentous. CertMa cyanea, Tern., and O. axrulea, Edwards, are American examples, to which we add
some eastern species, most of which are red,— the Ccereha, Vieillot.
We may separate, however, the largest and least handsome of them, wherein the tongue is short and cartila-
ginous ; as the Merops rufus of Spix, which constructs a nest upon shrubs, arched over like an oven, and of which
M. Temminck forms his genus Opetioi'hynchus, and M. Vieillot his Furnarius. The Figulus of Spix does
not differ.
Dictum, Cuv.
The members of this group also do not climb, nor employ the tail : their arched and pointed beak,
longer than the head, is depressed and widened at its base.
They inhabit the East Indies, are very small, and have generally some scarlet on their plumage.
In
Melithreptus, Vieillot, —
The tail is also not used, and the beak is extremely elongated, and curved almost to a semicircle. They
inhabit the South-sea Islands.
One species {CertMa vestiaria, Shaw) is covered with scarlet feathers, of whicn the natives of the Sandwich
Isles manufacture the beautiful mantles of that colour, which are so highly prized.
The Sun-birds {Cinnyris, Cuv.) —
Do not lean on the tail ; the edges of their long and very slender beak are finely serrated ; the tongue,
which is capable of protrusion, terminates in a little fork. They are small birds, the males of which
have most brilliant metallic colours during the season of propagation, approaching the Humming-
birds in beauty ; of which, in this respect, they are the representatives in the Eastern Continent,
being found principally in Africa and the Indian Archipelago. They subsist on the nectar of flowers,
which they suck up ; are of a lively disposition, and sing agreeably. Their beauty renders them a great
ornament in oim cabinets ; but the garb of the female sex, and of the male in winter, is so different
that the species are not easy to characterize.
In some, the tail is even ; in others, its two middle feathers are elongated in the males ; and some are distin-
guished by a straight beak, or nearly so. [In most of the true Cinnyrides, the lateral tuft of feathers, so enoi*-
mously developed in the Birds of Paradise, exists, of small size].
The Spider-catchers {Arachnotheres, Tern.) —
Have the same long, arcuated beak, as the Sun -birds, but stronger and not dentelated ; their tongue is
short and cartilaginous, and the known species inhabit the Indian Archipelago, where they live on
Spiders.
After all these distinctions, there are still other birds that should be separated from the great genus
CertMa, some of which are merely Philedons, with the characters of that genus more developed.
The Humming-birds {TrocMlus, Lin.).
These diminutive birds, so celebrated for the metallic lustre of their plumage, and particularly
for the scale-like feathers, brilliant as gems, which offer a peculiar structure, have a long slender beak,
inclosing a tongue capable of protrusion upon the same principle as that of the Woodpeckers, and which
is split, almost to its base, into two filaments, employed, as is asserted, in sucking up the nectar of
flowers. They also, however, feed on small insects, for we have found their stomach filled with them.
Their very small feet, great tail, excessively elongated and narrow w'ings, and their very large sternum
(fig. 95) without posterior emargination, combine to produce a
mode of flight similar to that of the Swifts, besides which the Hum-
ming-birds balance themselves in the air by a rapid motion of the
wings, like many Flies. It is thus they hrm about flowering
shrubs and plants, and fly more rapidly than any other bird. Their
gizzard is very small, and they have no coeca, in which they ap-
proximate the Woodpeckers. They live singly, defend their nests
with courage [attacking, with their needle-like bills, the eyes of
an intruder, which renders these minute creatures truly formida-
ble], and fight with one another desperately.
Fig. 95.— Sternnm of Humming-bird.
AVES.
208
[The whole anatomy of a Humming'-bird, internal as well as external, intimates a very close affinity with the
Swifts : the beak and tongue even of which, though so different at first sight, will be found on examination to
differ only in not being drawn out. The Humming-birds, however, have a complicated inferior larynx, and toes
with the usual number of joints : their tail-feathers, as in the Swifts, are ten in number, save in one remarkable
species (thence named T. cenicurus), wherein they are reduced to six; the body-feathers have an accessory
plume, &c. The beak varies exceedingly, in being more or less prolonged, straight, arched downward, or even
recurved, like that of an Avocet,two species exhibiting which structure are now known : those which have straight
beaks feed chiefly on minute insects, and have often the tip of the tongue furnished with retroflected lateral spines,;
precisely as in the Woodpeckers ; while in the majority with curved bills, the upper mandible shuts over and
incloses the lower, forming a tube and admirable sucking instrument, adapted for drawing up the nectar of flowers
betw'een the tongue and palate : the tail assumes every form in different species, and some have the shafts of the
alar quills extraordinarily thickened ; many have ornamental tufts of feathers, most variously disposed ; and in
short, the greatest variety of modifications are observable of the one general type, (which is not passerine,) though
it is difficult or even impossible to institute satisfactory subdivisions.
Not less than a hundred and seventy species are now known, and others are constantly being discovered. All
are from America, and, with few exceptions, from the southern division of that continent. The smallest of them,
when plucked, are less than a large Bumble Bee ; and one only, that is much larger than any others as yet known,
(T. gigas, Auct.), nearly equals the common Swift in size ; this bird is also one of the dullest- coloured, and its
general resemblance to the Swifts is very manifest. Many, like the Swifts, employ a secreted mucus* in the con-
struction of their nest, which is mostly placed on a horizontal, lichened bough ; and they lay two similar white
eggs, of an elongated form, that produce generally male and female.]
Among
The Hoopoes {Upupa, Lin.),
We first arrange
The Choughs {Fregilus, Cuv.), —
Wherein the nostrils are covered by feathers directed forwards, a character which has induced some
authors to place them with the Crows [most unquestionably their true station], to which their habits
approximate. The beak is rather longer than the head, [slender, a little arcuated, singularly brittle,
and much resembles red coral].
The European or Red-legged Chough {Corvus graculus, Lin.). — Nearly the size of a Rook, and glossy black, with
red bill and legs. Inhabits the loftiest Alps and Pyrenees, and nestles in the crevices of rocks, like the Chocard,
than which it is less common, and also less gregarious. Fruit and insects are equally its food, and when it descends
into the valleys, its presence is a sure forerunner of snow and bad weather. [This bird is not rare on many parts
of the sea-coast of Britain, breeding in the highest cliffs, but upon none of our mountains, though occasionally on
lofty buildings near the sea : parties of them are not unfrequently observed on Salisbury Plain, which is consider-
ably inland ; and their appearance is there considered an indication of stormy weather. They have all the man-
ners, intelligence, thieving propensities, &c. of the Crows and Magpies, but invariably avoid walking upon turf;
their claws are hooked and very sharp, enabling them to cling to the face of perpendicular cliffs, while they insert
their lengthened slender bill into crevices, picking out minute insects, which constitute their chief food.
The bill and feet of the young are coloured while in the nest, but less brightly than those of the adults. Three or
four additional species are known, one from New Holland.]
The Hoopoes, properly so called, {Upupa), —
Have a double range of long erectible feathers on the head, forming a splendid crest.
[They possess none of the exclusive characters of the Passerince, and, upon
the whole, resemble most nearly the Hornbills, from which they differ, how-
ever, in several obvious particulars. They have a wide gape, and tongue very
short and heart-shaped ; the mandibles much prolonged, obtusely terminated,
flat, and not even gi’ooved within ; nostrils exposed, and a little removed from
the base : the feet resemble those of a Lark, but are adapted for ascending steep
surfaces, resting on the tarsal joint : ten tail-feathers only ; a membranaceous
stomach ; short intestines, probably devoid of coeca ; and a peculiar sternal
apparatus (fig. 96). Flight undulatory, like that of the Woodpeckers, which
they also resemble in their mode of tapping with the bill. It is altogether one
of the most isolated genera of Birds.]
The European Hoopoe (U. epops, Lin.). — Of a rufous-chestnut colour, varied
with black and white : it searches for insects in humid ground, nestles in the
holes of trees or walls, and migrates southward in winter ; [is singularly re-
markable for its intelligence and susceptibility of attachment. There are one
Fiif. 96.— sternum of Hoopoe. or two Others, all peculiar to the eastern hemisphere].
• That is to sny, not analogous to the macerated fucus with which the Esculent Swallow builds ; the Humming-birds, like the Woodpeckers,
having immense salivary glands, in which the Swifts resemble them.
PASSERINiE.
209
The Promeropses (Prnmerops, Brisson), —
Are not crested, but possess a very long tail ; their tongue, furcate and extensile, enables them to suck
the nectar of flowers, like the Humuiing-birds and Sun-birds.
[There are many species, found only in the warm regions of the eastern hemisphere,]
The Epimachus, Cuv., —
II Consists of Birds, which, with the beak of the Hoopoes and Promeropses, combine velvety or scale-
I like feathers, wdiich partly cover the nostrils, as in the Birds- of-Paradise ; they inhabit also the same
countries, and have equally gorgeous plumage. The males have even tufts of lengthened feathers,
' more or less produced, upon the flanks.
I The Superb Epimachus {Upupa magna, Lin.). — Black, with a graduated tail, three times longer than the body ;
Ij the feathers on the flanks elongated, turned up, and frizzled, with the edges of a burnished steel-blue ; and most
|| magnificent coloured glosses on the plumage generally.
I Naturalists have distinguished the square-tailed species, or
The Ptiloris, Swainson, —
I Such as the Twelve-wired Epimachus (Ep. albus ; Paradisa;a alba, Blum.), which was long ranged among the
f Birds-of-Paradise, on account of the long bunches of white plumes which decorate its flanks, the stems of them
^ being prolonged into six barbless filaments on eacli side. The body is usually violet-black, and the feathei-s on
the bottom of the breast have an edging or border of emerald green. Ep. magnificus, Cuv., and Ep. regius,
Lesson, are two other superb species of this subdivision.
The second and smaller principal division of the Passeritue consists of Birds wherein the
outer toe is nearly as long as the middle one, and connected to it as far as the second joint.
We make but one group of them, that of
The Syndactyli,
Long since divided into five genera, which we retain. [None of them are modified upon the
distinct type of the PasserincB.^
The Bee-eaters (Merops, Lin.) —
Have a lengthened beak, triangular at its base, slightly arcuated, and sharp-pointed. Their sternum
(fig. 97) is doubly emarginated behind : [they have a membranaceous stomach, and no cceca; a short
and heart-shaped tongue, and very thick skin.] Their long and pointed wings, and short feet, render
their flight similar to that of a Swallow. They pursue insects in
flocks, and particularly Bees and Wasps, by which it is remarkable
that they are never stung [seizing the insect and at once crushing it
by the snap of their powerfully compressive beak : are peculiar to the
eastern hemisphere, and nearly allied to the Kingfishers and Rollers.
These birds have brilliant plumage, and tail variously shaped, but gene-
rally with the uropygial feathers elongated: they excavate deep holes in
banks, like the Kingfishers, and lay similar spherical polished white eggs, six
or eight in number ; the young retaining their first plumage till the second
autumn.
Of numerous species, there is one common in the south of Europe during
summer, but rare in the latitude of Britain, which it seldom visits (M. apias-
ter, Lin.): another (M. persims, Pallas), visits the south-east of Europe.
These birds often watch their prey from the summit of trees, to which they
return after skimming about for a minute or two.
It is necessary to distinguish from them
The Nyctiornis, Gould, —
Which have shorter beaks, and softer and denser plumage, loose and puffy upon the throat. Their
habits are crepuscular or nocturnal, and their distribution is confined to Asia.
Three or four species are known, which are very noisy during their time of activity].
The Bee-eaters are represented in America hy
The Motmots {Prionites, Illiger), —
Which have the same feet and port [their tarsi being however longer], but differ by a stronger bill,
p
Fig. 97. — Sternum of Bee-eater.
r
ii
210
AVES.
both mandibles of which are serrated, and by having the tongue barbed like a feather, as in the
Toucans ; [also short and round wings]. They are handsome birds, approaching the size of a Magpie,
with lax feathers on the head, as in the Jays, [and similar loosely-webbed plumage generally,] a long
graduated tail, the two middle feathers of which are stripped of their barbs in the adults for a short
space near the end, which occasions a particular form of tail, [this singular mutilation being performed
by the birds themselves]. They fly badly, live solitarily, nestle in holes [burrowed in sand-hills],
subsist on [fruit and] insects, and even prey on small birds and other animals.
[They are intermediate to the Bee-eater and Roller group, and that of the Toucans, but perfectly distinct from
either : the stomach is stated by Le Vaillant to be tolerably fleshy. Six or seven species are known].
The Kingfishers {Alcedo^ Lin.) —
Have feet still shorter than in the Bee-eaters, the beak longer, straight, angular, and pointed ; the
tongue and [in some instances] the tail very short. Their sternum (fig. 98) has two posterior emargina-
tions, as in the Boilers and Bee-eaters. They live on small fish, which they take by precipitating
themselves into the water from some branch, [or ar-
resting themselves suddenly during rapid flight, poising
for an instant and then plunging], and return to their
perch to gulp their prey, [which they first kill by
repeatedly beating it against the bough]. Their sto-
mach is a membranous sac, [the intestines very long
and slender, and without coeca]. They nestle like the
Bee-eaters in holes of banks, and are found in both
continents.
That common throughout Europe {A. ispida, Lin.), is little
larger than a Sparrow, of a mottled verditer green above,
with a broad band of splendid ultramarine-blue along the
back; the under-parts rufous. [It exemplifies the group to I
which Alcedo is now more particularly restricted, with lie-f
ron-like beak, short and rounded wings, splendid colouring, and very short soft tail ; the members of which, all
of small size, are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere.
Others, with similar beak, have little or no vivid colouring, longer wings and tail, and some are of much larger
size, — the Ceryle of Boi^. Species are found in both continents, and one (A. rudis, Lin.) inhabits the east of Eu
rope. Of the natural group of Rollers, Bee-eaters, and Kingfishers, the present subdivision is the only one found
in the New World. 'M,
Numerous other species have lighter and inflated bills, resembling those of Storks ; the wings and tail as in
Ceryle, the latter in a few instances uneven : they prey on insects, and some of the larger species on crustaceans, gii
and are known as the Halcyons {Halcyon, Swainson).
Others, again, inhabit desert regions, which they traverse in search of Snakes and other reptiles : they have the :
general form of the Halcyons, with beak rather more approaching that of the true Kingfishers. They constitute
\\\eDacelo of Leach, which comprehends the largest species of any: are peculiar to Australasia and Australia,
in which latter country the most celebrated species (D. gigantea), is remarkable for its loud and grating
prolonged cry, is not uncommon.]
The Ceyx, Lacepede, —
Fig. 98. — Sternum of Kingfisher.
Merely differs from the ordinary Kingfisher in the absence of the inner toe. J|j
There are three species in India, [which less require to be separated than the preceding], ^
The Todies {Todus, Lin.) — .W
Are small American birds, nearly similar to the Kingfishers in their general form ; and which have the® j
same feet and elongated bill, except that the latter is horizontally flattened, and [generally] obtuse atj| I
its extremity, the tarsi being also more elevated, and the tail less shortened. [They have a small andj |
tolerably muscular gizzard, and shorter intestines than perhaps any other bird, with great pediciliate,T ij
dilated cceca, resembling those of the Owds : the sternum is doubly emarginated, and similar to that off I
the Kingfisher (fig. 98), except that it is much shorter, with the crest very low': the tongue is pro-| i
longed into a very thin lamina, like that of the Jacamars.] They live on insects, and nestle in the|i
ground, [burrowing like the Kingfishers, but laying fewer eggs, which are spotted wdth buff or;|;
rust-colour.
' 41
Three or four species are now known, all chiefly vivid-green, varied with other colours on the throat. They|=^l
SCANSORES.
211
I have no affinity with various small flat-billed members of the Tyrant-flycatcher group, which have often been
arranged with them by superficial writers].
I We terminate the notice of this order by the most extraordinary of its genera, which bears less
1 resemblance to the other Syndyctali than the latter do inter se, and which might very properly be
ranged as a separate family.
j The Hornbills {Buceros, Lin.) —
Great birds of Africa and India, the enormous [arched and] dentelated beak of which is surmounted
by a protuberance, sometimes as large as the beak itself, or which latter is at least very much inflated
above, as remarkably so as in the Toucans ; while their port and habits approximate them to the
Crow'S, and their feet are similar to those of the Kingfishers and Bee-eaters. The form of the rostral
excrescence varies much with age, and in very young individuals there is even no trace of it percep-
tible; its interior is generally cellular, [or permeated by a fragile network of osseous fibres]. The
j sternum has but one slight emargination on each side behind, [and is otherwise peculiar]. The
I tongue is short [and heart-shaped, as in the Hoopoes, and the Roller, Bee-eater and Kingfisher group],
j and deep in the throat. [The stomach moderately muscular, and intestines rather short and without
I cceca : they have only ten tail-feathers (as in the Hoopoes), and body-plumage short upon the rump,
i and everywhere destitute of the supplementary plume to the feathers : the eyelids are fringed with
stout lashes, as if to guard the eyes from falling particles of dust disengaged by the rostral protube-
rance, however that may be employed, which is unknown.* The bones are more completely permeated
I by air than in any other genus, the ambient fluid penetrating even the phalanges of the toes]. They
subsist on all sorts of food, devouring tender fruits, chasing Mice, small birds and reptiles, without
; disdaining carrion ; [and breed in the hollows of decayed trees, producing four rounded white eggs,
i The species are very numerous, and one alone is disting-uished fi'om the rest by having a solid bony protube-
' ranee to the bill, of medium size. The flight of these birds is sailing, and resembles that of a Crow ; and on the
ground they advance by a leaping mode of progression, assisted by the wings : the larger species are extremely
[ shy and difficult of approach, and they always perch on the decayed branches of lofty trees, where their vision can
t command a wide range. It requires to be confirmed that any of them feed on vegetable diet when in a state of
I nature.]
I
!
! THE THIRD ORDER OF BIRDS,—
I THE CLIMBERS, t [Zygodactyli, Tern.]—
i Consists of species wherein the outer toe is directed backw^ard like the thumb [except in the
! Trogons, where the first and second toes are opposed to the third and fourth], from which
results a more efficient grasp, which certain of the genera avail themselves of to cling to the
1 trunks of trees, and so climb up them. The name of Cumbers {Scansores) has, therefore,
■ been appropriated to this division, although it does not rigorously apply to all its component
I members, and there are also several birds that climb equally well, the toes of which are dis-
: posed in the ordinary manner, as the Tree-creepers and the Nuthatches.
I The Birds of this order nestle generally in the holes of decayed trees ; their flight is [ordi-
I narily] but moderate ; their nourishment, as in the Passerhue, consists of insects and fruits,
I according as the beak is more or less robust; and certain of them, as the Woodpeckers, are
I provided with special means of obtaining it.
I In the greater number of genera, the sternum is doubly emarginated at its posterior edge ;
j but in the Parrots [which have no sort of affinity with any of the rest] there is merely a hole
I or foramen, and often not even this.
; The Jacamars {Galbula, Brisson) —
Hold a near relationship with the Kingfishers by their lengthened beak, wbicb is pointed, with a sharp
j upper ridge, and by their short feet, the tw'o front toes of which are connected to the second joint ;
! * The Aiii {Crotuphaga) which have a very similar elevation of | t More properly speaking, yoke-footed birds, as the greater nuin-
the beak to that of several of the smaller Hornbills, have also the eyes j ber of them do not climb. — Ed.
I guarded by lashes.
AVES.
212
these, however, not being the corresponding toes to those which are joined together in the King-
fishers. [The sternal apparatus (fig. 99) is most nearly related to that of the Bee-eaters, but much
shorter, with a lower medial ridge ; the Jacamars thus holding the same analogy with those birds which
the Todies do to the Kingfishers ; and like the Todies, they have also a considerably lengthened, exceed-
ingly thin, lamina-like tongue, a small and rather muscular gizzard, short intestines,
and similar great coeca : both genera are very slightly made, have exceedingly thin
skins, and soft puffy plumage (the character of the feathers being however different) ;
the nostrils are a little removed from the base of the bill, and quite exposed ; the
gape is furnished with vibrissas ; and they subsist by taking insects in the manner
of a Flycatcher]. Their feathers have always a brilliant metallic shine. They live
solitarily in humid woods, and nestle on low branches, [or, more probably, as Le Vail-
lant was informed, in the holes of trees, laying blue eggs].
Fig. 99.— Sternum of The American species have a long beak, which is quite straight [the diagnosis of the restricted
Jacamar. Galbiila.''\ These are much more numerous than the following.
Others, from the Indian Archipelago, [a mistake of Le Vaillant, all the species inhabiting America, like the
Todies,] have a shorter and more inflated beak, which is a little arched, and thus approximates that of the Bee-
eaters. Their anterior toes are more separated. They constitute the Jacamerops of Le Vaillant, and that naturalist
even figures one species devoid of the ridge to the upper mandible.
Lastly, there is one in Brazil, which has only three toes.
The Woodpeckers {Picus, Lin.) —
Are well characterized by their long, straight, and angular bill, the end of which is compressed into a
wedge adapted for perforating the bark of trees; by their slender vermiform tongue, armed- to w'ards
the tip with lateral retroverted spines, and which, by the action of the elastic cornua of the hyoid bone,
can be thrust far out from the beak : and finally by their tail, composed of ten feathers with stiff and
elastic stems, which serve them as a support in climbing, besides which the twelfth pair of tail-feathers
invariably exist externally, of minute size. They are pre-eminently climbing birds, W'hich traverse the
bark of trees in every direction, [or rather, like the Tree-creepers, they are unable
downward direction, otherwise than obliquely backward ; whereas the Nuthatches and
Barbets climb perpendicularly upward or downward with equal facility] ; striking with
the beak, and insinuating their long tongue into chinks and crevices, to draw out the
larvae of insects on which they feed, [besides which, some of them subsist largely on
acorns and nuts, even upon soft fruits, and on eggs.*] The tongue, in addition to
its armature, is supplied with a viscid mucus secreted by large salivary glands,
[which mucus is conveyed by a double duct that opens at its tip]: it is retracted by two
muscles wound like ribands round the trachea, and when thus drawn in, the horns
of the m hyoides slide round the skull beneath the skin nearly to the base of the
upper mandible, the sheath of the tongue corrugating into folds at the bottom of the
throat. Their stomach is nearly membranous, [though considerably less lax than in
the Cuckoos] ; and they have no coeca. f Shy and wary, these birds pass the greater
portion of their time solitarily, and, at the nuptial season, may often be heard sum-
moning the female by rattling the beak against a dead branch. They nidificate once
a year in the holes of trees, and both sexes incubate by turns.
[llie species are extremely numerous, and generally distributed, with the exception of Australia. The great ma- i ti
jority have crimson feathers on the head, and the largest of them have the rest of the plumage mostly pied with v |
white. Such, in America, are the great Californian Woodpecker (P. imperialis, Gould,) and the Ivory-billed and ' i
Pileated Woodpeckers, wherein the actual texture of the beak closely resembles ivory; also, the Great Black ^
Woodpecker of Europe, which is stated to have been sometimes met with in Britain.
Others, forming an extremely numerous group, the Dendrocopus, Swainson, differ little but in being smaller, :'¥J|
and more mottled with white. They inhabit, like the former, northern or mountain districts, feed much on nuts*^
and acorns, and never descend to the ground. Of four in Europe, two inhabit Britain, the Picus major and
P. minor, Auctorum.
Some, the Apternus, Swainson, are destitute of the ordinary hind-toe. There are several species, and one in |
northern Europe (P. tridactylus, Lin.)
Many of those of tropical climates have full soft ci-ests, and generally bald necks : these constitute the Malacolo-
phus, Swainson.
• ADDT3BON, Fic. erythrocephahif. I Woodpecker, two cojca of moderate size. In many that we have ex
■f Prof. Owen found, in a single individual of the common Green I amined, these appendages were invariably wanting. — Ed.
to proceed in a
Fig. 100. — Sternum of
Pied Woodpecker.
SCANSORES.
213
others have cylindrical or much less ang;ular bills, and smooth firm plumage, — the Melanerpes, Swainson, to
which the well-known Red-headed Woodpecker of North America appertains. These are the most frugivorous of
any, and sometimes feed on the eggs of other birds, even entering Pigeon-houses for that pui*pose. Their colours
are disposed in large masses.
The Green Woodpeckers, or Poppinjays, (Gecinus, Boie ; Chrijsoptilus, Swainson,) constitute another subdi-
vision, remarkable for the inner emargination of the sternum being much smaller than the outer, and for barred
plumage in the young, which corresponds with the adult garb of certain species with slightly arcuated bills, that
compose the Colaptes, Swainson ; these two subdivisions are closely allied together, and the members of them
frequently descend to feed at ant-hills, being exclusively insectivorous : there are two in Europe of the first, of
which the common Green Woodpecker of Britain may be cited as an example, as the equally common Golden-
winged Woodpecker of North America may be of the other. The species of both are remarkable for contorting
the neck in the same manner as the Wrynecks.
Some additional subdivisions have been proposed, which are less admissible.]
The Wrynecks {Yunx, Lin.) —
Have the tongue extensible, as in the Woodpeckers, and by the same mechanism, but without spines ;
their straight and pointed bill is somewhat rounder and less angular, and the tail is similarly com-
posed, but broad, soft, and flexible [at the extremity, notwithstanding which the shafts are tolerably
firm, and the bird leans on them when clinging]. They live pretty much as the Woodpeckers, except
that they seldom climb, [and feed principally on Ants. Their flight is swift, and not undulating as in
the Woodpeckers.
Two species only are known, one common in Europe as a summer visitant, appearing in Britain rather plenti-
fully. Its size is that of a Lark, and colour elegantly pencilled brown and ash, resembling a lichened branch.
This bird arrives early in the spring, and is well known for its frequently reiterated cry, which resembles that of
the smaller Falcons ; it often repeats this note, holding on to a perpendicular twig. Instinctively trusting to the
close resemblance of its tints to the situations on which it alights, it will lie close, and sometimes even suffer itself
to be taken by the hand ; or on such occasions will twirl its neck in the most extraordinary manner, rolling the
eyes, and erecting the feathers on the crown and throat, occasionally raising the tail, and performing the most
ludicrous movements ; then, taking advantage of the surprise of the spectator, will suddenly dart off like an
arrow. It breeds in the holes of trees, and lays several polished white eggs, resembling those of a Woodpecker.]
The Piculets {Picumnus, Tern.) —
Scarcely differ from the Wrynecks, except by a very short tail, [which is soft, and held elevated, like
that of a Wren. Their beak and tongue are rather, however, those of a true Woodpecker, which they
exactly resemble in their whole anatomy]. They are very small birds, and there is even one of them
which is destitute of the small hind-toe.
The Cuckoos {Cuculm, Lin.) —
Have the beak of mean length, rather deeply cleft, compressed, and slightly arcuated ; the tail long,
[with ten feathers only]. They subsist on insects [and fruits], and are mostly migratory. [Have a
lax stomach, cceca like those of the Owls, and no gall-bladder]. We subdivide this numerous group as
follows.
The True Cuckoos (Cuculus, Cuv.) —
Have the beak of medium strength, and short [partly feathered] tarsi. They are celebrated for the
singular habit of depositing their eggs in the nests of insectivorous [as well as granivorous] birds;
and, what is not less extraordinary, the foster-parents, often of species much inferior in size, bestow as
much care on the young Cuckoo as upon their owm proper nestlings, even although the deposition of
the strange egg is preceded [or rather, (as we have ascertained,) succeeded, which is still more curious,]
by the destruction of whatever others may have been in the nest : [or, if other eggs are
subsequently laid, and hatched with the young Cuckoo, the latter is endowed with the astonishing
instinct, about the eighth day, of ejecting its helpless companions by insinuating itself under them, and
then by a jerk casting them successively over the rim of the nest]. The cause of this phenomenon,
unique [so far as is known, with the exception of the Molothrahs (p. 202),] in the history of Birds, is
yet unknown, [but appears, we conceive, to be immmediately connected with the structure of the
reproductive organs ; and to be necessitated by the fact of the female Cuckoo requiring several days to
intervene between the deposition of each successive egg, five or six in number, for which reason she
could not well incubate her own : certain it is, however, that although a great proportion of the young
Cuckoos are not hatched till after their parents have migrated southward, the female has been often
seen to loiter about in the vicinity of her offspring, which she has been known to entice away when it
214
AVES.
took flight]. Herissant attributed the phenomenon to the position of the gizzard, which in fact is
placed further backward in the abdomen, and is less protected by the sternum (fig. 101) than that of
other birds [in general, but not of the Moth-hunters, which the Cuckoos closely resemble in their
internal anatomy, and particularly in the singularly diminutive size of the brain : the young are
exceedingly slow in learning to take their own food, and ai-e fed by their foster parents till they have
nearly attained the full growth of their feathers. i
Of various species, all peculiar to the eastern hemisphere,] there is one
in Europe,
The Common Cuckoo (C. canorus, Lin.) — Of an ash-grey colour, the
belly whitish, rayed with dusky black across, and tail-feathers laterally
spotted w ith white : the young barred all over with rufous. [It feeds
principally on caterpillars, and is sometimes seen to hawk for insects on
the wing, also devours cherries and the smaller fruits. Is well known
for its cry, which is common to both sexes, and is sometimes uttered on
the wing; as is also another particularly melodious sound, which it
generally emits as it takes flight ; it often congregates many together on
the same tree, attracted by each others’ notes ; but never flies in society, II
except when migrating. It does not pair; is particularly shy and re- ‘ |
tiring in disposition, and is often buffeted by the small birds on whose “
domain it encroaches.]
Africa [and the islands of the Indian Ocean] produce several small spe- I
cies, the plumage of which is more or less gilded, [or brilliant emerald- "
green, bronzed, or purple]. Their beak is rather more depressed than
in the preceding, [and they compose the Chalcites, S-waiftson, which,
however, are scarcely separable either from structure or habit]. ~
A crested, spotted species is occasionally found in southern Europe, H
the cry of which is more sonorous (C. glandarius, EdM'ards). [This, with :
various others from Africa, pertains to the distinct group Oxylophus of Swainson, which, with the following, has g
longer and naked tarsi.] ■
Others inhabit America [all of which build nests and rear their offspring, constituting the Erythrophrys, Swain- '
son : these are well known to feed much on the eggs of other birds, which it is generally believed the true Cuckoos
do also : some of them descend much on the ground, and prey on snails like a Thrush, in addition to berries and
caterpillars. The young resemble the adults].
Others again, with generally spotted plumage, have the beak deep vertically.
The Couas {Coccyzus, Vieillot) —
Merely differ from the Cuckoos by their elevated tarsi. They nestle in the holes of trees, and do not
entrust their eggs to the charge of strangers : this is at least true, with respect to those species of |
which the propagation is known.
There is one in America that requires to be distinguished, — !
Fi)f. 101. — Sternum of Cuckoo.
The Lizard-seeker (Saurothera, Vieillot), —
Which has a long beak, curved at the tip only, [and feet adapted for running swiftly on the ground, as n
is the case with the American Cuckoo tribe generally].
It is the Cuculus vetula of Temminck. |
Le Vaillant has already separated, with good reason,
The Coucals (Centropus, Illiger), — J
Birds of Africa and India, the thumb-nail of which is long and pointed as in the Larks, [and the
plumage in general singularly rigid and spinous]. All the known species are natives of the eastern ;
hemisphere, and nestle in the holes of trees, [producing white eggs. They feed chiefly on Grasshop-
pers, and run about with celerity among reeds and other herbage, from which they are slow to take I
wing : their flesh is particularly rank ; and the eyelids are fringed with lashes, as in most of the
Cuckoo tribe which rear their own offspring. ^
The species are very numerous, and grade into the true Couas and Malkohasj.
The same naturalist has rightly separated ' ^ il
The CouROLS Vieillot), — ,
Madagascar birds, the beak of which is thick, pointed, straight, and compressed, with the tip of the , ]
SCANSORES.
215
upper mandible but slightly arcuated, and the nostrils pierced obliquely in the middle of each side of
it. Their tail consists of twelve feathers ; and they nestle in holes of trees like the preceding, and
inhabit forests. It is said that they are principally frugivorous.
[Tliey are closely related to the Puff-birds of America, and like them produce only two eggs, and have the first
and fourth toes directed laterally, enabling them to perch lengthwise.]
The Honey-guides {Indicator, Vaillant) —
Are birds of South Africa that feed on honey, and which are celebrated for guiding the natives to
the nests of wild Bees, enticing them to the spot by flitting before them, and reiterating a peculiar
cry ; [they also, however, lead them in like manner to where a beast of prey lies concealed]. Their
beak is short, high, and nearly conical, like that of a Sparrow. There are twelve tail-feathers ; and
the tail is at the same time wedge-shaped and a little forked. Their skin, singularly tough, protects
them from the stings of Bees ; which latter, however, continually tormenting them, sometimes kill
them by attacking the eyes.
[These curious birds are most nearly allied to the Woodpeckers, and climb trees in the same manner, having
similar feet and claws. Their colours are sombre, and, contrary to what occurs in all the Cuckoo tribe, there is a
distinct accessory plume to their feathers. They lay several pure white eggs in the holes of trees, precisely like
those of the Woodpeckers.]
The Barbacous {Monasa, Vieillot) —
Have the beak conical, a little compressed, lengthened, slightly arcuated towards the tip, and armed at
its base with stiff bristles or barbless plumes, which approximate them to the Barbets, [or rather to
the Puff-birds, which the author ranges with the Barbets, hke which they have also twelve tail-fea-
thers, and the first and fourth toes directed laterally. The sternum resembles that of a Cuckoo, but
with a small second emargination.
These birds have blackish plumage, and generally coi'al-red bills. Their habits are precisely the same as those
of the Puff-birds, which they further resemble in laying two eggs in holes, and in being peculiar to America.]
The Malkohas {PJioenicophceus, Vieillot) —
Have a very thick bill, round at its base, and arched towards the tip, [somewhat as in the Toucans],
with a great naked space round the eyes. Some have round nostrils, placed near the base of the bill,
while in others they are narrow, and situate near its edges. They are natives of Ceylon [and other
warm parts of the eastern hemisphere], and live, it is said, principally on fruits.
Certain species of them should probably be distinguished, that have the beak less thick, and no bare
space round the eyes.
The Rain-fowl {Seythrops, Latham) —
Have the beak still longer and thicker than in the Malkohas, and furrowed on each side with two
shallow longitudinal groves : their nostrils are round, and the space surrounding the eyes naked. The
beak approaches that of the Toucans [in its superficies only], but the tongue is not ciliated as in
those birds.
Only one is known, the Australian Rain-fowl (Scr. australasia, Shaw), a grey bird of the size of a Crow, whitish
and a little barred underneath. [Its sternal apparatus and digestive organs resemble those of the European
Cuckoo, as do also its system of coloration, and the structure of its feathers. Mode of propagation unknown].
The Barbets {Bucco, Lin.) —
Have a thick conical beak, bulged on the sides of its base, with five overlying bundles of stiff bristles
directed forwards ; one behind each nostril, another on each side of the base of the lower mandible,
and the fifth placed at its symphysis. Their wings are short, and their proportions and flight rather
heavy. They subsist on insects, and attack smaller birds ; occasionally feeding on fruit : nestle in the
holes of trees.
They require to be divided into three subgenera.
The Barbicans {Pogonias, Illiger) —
Have one or two strong denticulations on each side of the upper mandible, the ridge of which is
arcuated and obtuse, [and the sides marked with transverse grooves]. Their bristles are very stout.
They inhabit Africa and India, and feed more on fruit than the others.
[The species are not numerous, and are generally black variegated with crimson. The compressive force of their
beak is very considerable ; and they seldom climb.]
AVES.
216
The Restricted Barbets {Bucco, Cuv.) —
Have the beak simply conical, slightly compressed, with a blunt ridge, a little raised about the middle.
They are found in both continents, and are generally adorned with vivid colours. At the season of
propagation they are found in pairs, and in little troops [or families] during the remainder of the year.
[This and the preceding subdivision form a totally distinct group from the rest, and are most nearly related to
the Woodpeckers : the tongue, however, is of the ordinary structure, and they have but ten tail-feathers, which
are not rigid. Their feet also are adapted for descending the trunks of trees, like a Nuthatch, and not merely for j
ascending them, as in the Woodpeckers and Tree-creepers ; having the claw of the reversed toe particularly hooked
and sharp. The beak is especially fitted for cutting the stems of fruits, as with a pair of scissors ; and they lay
always four white eggs in the holes of trees, occasionally resorting to the composite nests of the social Grosbeaks.
Some other divisions have been instituted among them, with propriety ; and they altogether constitute a natural
family, some species of which are even entirely destitute of the tufts of bristles, which latter may be traced, in
various degrees of developement, in many other birds, as the Trogons, &c.]
The Puff-birds {Tamatia, Cuv.)~
Have the beak rather more elongated and compressed, with the extremity of the upper mandible
[generally] bent downward. Their disproportionately large head, great beak, and short tail, impart
an air of stupidity, [which is less observable in the ordinary aspect of the living bird, the dense plu-
mage of which is commonly puffed out into a round ball]. All the known species inhabit America, and
subsist on insects.
[They are generally subdivided into Tamatia proper, the beak of which somewhat approximates that of the
Bush-shrikes, and Lypornyx, in which it is smaller, little if at all hooked at the tip, and grading towards that of the
Barbacous. Together with the latter genus, and the Courols of Madagascar, they form a distinct group, most
nearly related to the Cuckoos, which they resemble anatomically ; all the members of which appear to possess the
habit of puffing out their feathers, and perch lengthwise, clasping the bough with their first and fourth toes, which
are directed sideways and not backwards, the same as in the Touracos : they have all twelve tail-feathers, and
invariably lay two eggs, in holes either of trees or banks, which probably produce male and female that associate
for life, as they are constantly observed in pairs. The American species appear to differ in being exclusively
insectivorous, M'atching for the larger insects, which they take in the manner of a Flycatcher : their manners are
familiar ; and the plumage of the forehead directed forwards and more or less terminating in stiff points, very
rigid to the feel, which admirably defend the eyes from the fluttering of their insect-prey. The colours of all are
sombre, and not gay, as in the Barbets].
The Trogons {Trogon^ Lin.) —
Together with the bundles of bristles round the bill of the Barbets, have a short beak, broader than
high, curved at its base, with a blunt arcuated ridge to the upper mandible. Their small feet, feathered
nearly to the toes, dieir long and broad tail, and fine, light and dense plumage, impart a peculiar air.
Some poition of their plumage has generally a brilliant metallic lustre ; the rest being vividly coloured.
They nestle in the holes of trees [producing two or four delicate rounded white eggs, the shell of which
is particularly slight and fragile], subsist on insects, and frequent low branches in the interior of thick
woods, flying only during the morning and evening.
Fig;. 102. — Sternum of Trogon.
[The Trogons constitute another distinct and insu-
lated group, intermediate in some respects to the
Cuckoos and Moth-hunters, both which they resemble
generally in their anatomy, but are hatched naked, in
which they differ from either. The sternum (fig. 102) is |
doubly einarginated. Their toes are remarkable for
being zygodactyle on a different principle from that of
any other genus ; the ordinary inner toe being reversed
instead of the outer one : their feathers closely resemble
in structure those of the true Poultry, and are similarly I
elongated over the rump, where in certain species they
attain an extraordinary developement in the male sex,
analogous to the train of a Peacock. Like the Poultry,
also, they are remarkable for the small proportional size
of the head. They capture insects in the manner of a
Fly-catcher, with a swift and deeply undulating flight ;
some of them feeding likewise upon berries. Are found
in the warm regions of both continents.]
The Ani {Crotophaga, Lin.) —
Are known by their thick, arcuated, and compressed beak, without denticulation, high, and surmounted
SCANSORES.
217
by a sharp vertical crest [like that of several of the smaller Hornbills]. They are birds of the hot and
humid climates of America, with stout and elevated tarsi, a long and rounded tail [composed of only
eight feathers], and black plumage. They subsist on insects and grain, fly in flocks, and several pairs
lav and incubate in the same nest, which is placed on the branches of trees, and is built of a
size proportionate to the number of couples which help to construct it. They are easily tamed, and
even taught to speak ; but their flesh is rank and disagreeable.
[The similarity of the colour and size of these birds to the Quiscali and Scolepkaffi, (p. 202), which inhabit the
same countries, has occasioned much confusion in their history. It is the latter, and not the Ani, which are
granivorous ; and which also are easily tamed and taught to speak, the Ani having no accessory vocal muscles,
and consequently only uttering a particular screech. The name Crotophaga implies that they feed on the insect
parasites of cattle, like the common Starling ; which is not true of the Ani, though it applies to the birds
with which they have been confounded. The Ani strictly appertain to the Cuckoo group, and are remarkable for
possessing eyelashes like the Coucals and Hornbills : though inhabitants of the hottest regions of America, they
are remarkably solicitous for w armth, and soon perish of the least chill ; hence their singular sociality even while
brooding on their eggs, which are of a dark green colour. Several species are now known, and they appear to
subsist exclusively on insects.]
The Toucans {Rhamphastos, Lin.) —
Are at once recognized by the enormous size of the bill, which is nearly as large and as long as the
body itself, but internally very light and cellular, [or rather permeated by a fragile network of osseous
fibres], having its edges dentated, and both mandibles arched towards the tip; the tongue is narrow
and elongated, and laterally barbed like a feather. They are peculiar to the warm regions of America,
where they live in small troops, [different species of them commonly associating in the same flock],
and subsist on fruit and insects, and during the nesting season on the eggs and young of other birds.
The structure of the bill necessitates them to throw each morsel of food into the air, and catch it in
the throat ; [a habit practised by many other birds in which the tongue is either unusually short, or
of a form unfit to assist in deglutition]. Their feet are short [not particularly so] ; their wdngs hut
moderate, and tail rather lengthened, [and commonly held erect ; it consists of ten feathers]. They
nestle in the trunks of trees [producing, in every known instance, two delicately white eggs, of a
rotund form : the young recurve their tails upon the back while in the nest.
These birds have a doubly emarginated ster-
num of peculiar form (fig. 103), a slightly muscu-
lar stomach, and short intestines without coeca ;
they have no gall-bladder. Their movements are
light and elegant in an extreme degree, leaping
from bough to bough with the most lightsome
agility, so that, in the living bird, the beak has
no appearance whatever of being disproportion-
ately large. They fly rapidly, but evidently with
much exertion, and with difficulty against the
wind, raising the bill above the axis of the body,
and propelling themselves at short intervals :
are exceedingly destructive to the eggs and young
of other birds, which they frequently obtain by
dipping their huge bill into the deep pensile nests
which abound in their indigenous abode, that
organ being remarkably sensitive, which enables
them to feel the contents. When roosting at
night, they contrive to bury their enormous beak
completely between the scapulary and intersca-
pulary feathers ; and they employ it with singular
dexterity, and are often observed to scratch it
gently with the foot, as if that produced an agreeable sensation : many nervous papillae are distributed over its
surface].
The Restricted Toucans —
Have the beak thicker than the head, and are generally black, with vivid colours on the throat, breast,
and croup. [Their size is comparatively large, both sexes are alike in plumage, the tail is less
cuneated, the clavicle bones are separate, short, and pointed, not joined to constitute a.furcula. as in
Birds in general.]
^ The Aricaris (Pteroglossus, Illiger) —
Have the beak not so thick as the head, and enveloped with a less attenuated corneous covering ; their
Fig. 103. — Sternum of Aricari.
218
AVES.
size is inferior, and the ground-tint of their plumage commonly green, with some red or yellow on the i
and the furcula (fig. 103) complete. '
Among the Aricaris are certain species more vividly green than the rest, the beak of which has a deep, lateral, ; d
longitudinal furrow ; they are the Groove-bills {Aulacorynchus, Gould). The Aricaris generally are more varie- |
gated than the true Toucans, to which they bear nearly the”same relationship which the Jays and Magpies hold { I
the nostrils are pierced ; together with a thick, fleshy, and rounded tongue : two circumstances which
impart the greatest facility in imitating the human voice. Their inferior larynx, which is complicated.
set in motion hy a greater number of muscles than are found in other birds, [whence especially results
the remarkable mobility of the upper mandible]. They have very long [and remarkably slender]
hemisphere], but are found in both continents, the species of course differing in each. Every
large island even has its own species, the short wings of [many of] these birds incapacitating
them from traversing great tracts of sea. The species are therefore extremely numerous, and are sub-
divided according to the form of the tail and some other characters.
[This extensive group is obviously an ordinal division of the class, and should doubtless rank first in the series
of Birds, preceding the Birds of Prey, as among Mammalia the Quadrumana do the Carnivora. If we except the
trivial character of their outer toe being reversed, — and their foot even is in all other respects extremely different,
and covered with small tubercle-like scales, instead of plates as in all the Passerin<e, and the rest of the yoke-footed
them to range in the same special division : their whole structure is widely at variance ; and if there be one group
more than another to which they manifest any particular affinity, it is that of the diurnal, Birds of Prey, which we
conceive should range next to them, though still very distantly allied. They certainly accord with the Falcons
more than with any other bird in the contour of the beak, and the nostrils are analogously pierced in a mem-
brane termed the cere : they have a similar enlargement of the oesophagus, which occurs in no other zygodactyle
are lower in the scale than the present one, or, in other words, less distantly removed
Fig 104— Sternum of Parrot apart than all are from the latter; that they have not been generally recognized as
thus insulated, which all have acknowledged to be the case in the instance of the
Parrots, is attributable to their equally constant distinctive characters being less obvious externally.
throat and breast ; [the female is chestnut-brown where the male is black, the tail much graduated, I4
with the Crows. They appear to be less carnivorous].
The Parrots {Psittacus, Lin.) —
Have a stout, hard, solid beak, rounded on all sides, and enveloped at base by a membrane in which
and furnished on each side with three peculiar muscles, [the bony ring at the divarication of the
bronchi being besides incomplete, so as to permit of dilatation and contraction,] further contributes to
the same object, [if, indeed, it be not entirely produced by the latter means]. Their vigorous jaws are
intestines, without coeca ; and subsist on fruit of all kinds [together with bulbs and other succulent
parts of vegetables in many instances, holding their food up to the mouth with one foot, as with a Ji
hand]. Assisted by their hooked bill, they clamber about the branches of trees; nestle in hollow jl
trunks; and have a loud and harsh voice in a state of nature. Nearly all of them are adorned |j
with gorgeous colours, and they are scarcely found out of the torrid zone, [except in the southern ||i
genera without exception, — they have absolutely nothing in common with the other Zygodactyli that should entitle
bird, but which is glandular as in the Pigeons, secreting a lacteal substance with
which the young are at first nourished, (the Parrots and Pigeons being almost the
only birds which subsist exclusively on vegetable diet at all ages). The stomach is
but slightly muscular, and we have found it enormously enlarged in old cage spe-
cimens ; intestines singularly long and slender, as before stated ; and there is no
gall-bladder, a particular in which the Parrots accord with the Toucans, the
great Cuckoo group, and that of the Pigeons. The sternal apparatus (figs. 104 and 105)
differs least from that of the diurnal Birds of Prey, the medial ridge being however
rounded anteriorly, and the furcula slight and peculiarly fiattened, being least unlike
that of the Pigeons, while in one subdivision of Parroquets it is absent altogether.
From the rest of the zygodactyle birds, the Parrots differ remarkably in their intel-
ligence and docility, qualities in which some species are unsurpassed by any member
of the class ; while the other tree birds not framed on the definite type of the Pas-
serinve, are with few exceptions remarkably devoid of intelligence, and incapable of
receiving instruction.
It may further be noticed, that all the numerous tribe of Parrots conform in every
essential detail of their organization, being framed on an especial subtype, which,
however it may admit (like every other) of subordinate modifications, exhibits no
indication of a passage or transition into any other form : the same remark applies
to several of the preceding groups that do not pertain to the Passerints, but which
SCANSORES.
219
The Parrots have been arranged under many named subdivisions, the limits of which are mostly arbitrary,
though several very natural groups are tolerably distinct.
First, among the species with square tails, we may notice the great Black Cockatoos of Australia {Calyptorynchus,
Vig.), large crested species, with beak of extraordinary strength, and very deep vertically. Their plumage is black,
with some red or yellow on the tail ; wings capable of vigorous flight ; and food the seeds of the Eucalypti,
with the juice of which fruit their bills are generally stained. Attempts to maintain them in captivity appear
to have always hitherto failed. The subdivision Corydon, Wagleri, is barely separable.
The White Cockatoos {Plyctolophus, Vieillot), the species of which
inhabit the Indian Archipelago and Australia, fall into two minor
groups according to the form of the crest. Their disposition is sin-
gularly gentle and affectionate, and several species are abundantly
brought alive to Europe, where they are kept with much facility.
Their singular antics and extraordinary grotesque movements are well
known to all.
The square-tailed species without crests constitute the restricted
Parrots (Psittacus) of several authors, and are found in the old and new
continents. They are generally esteemed for the facility with which
they learn to speak ; and the majority are gaily coloured : it is neces-
sary, however, to subdivide them much further. One group, termed
Nestor, is remarkable for the extraordinary elongation of the upper
mandible, which far overhangs the lower : it is believed to be employed
in hooking up bulbs: the members of this division are essentially
crestless Cockatoos, allied to PI. nasicus, and are also natives of Aus-
tralia.
The Love-birds {Psittacula, Kuhl), compose a beautiful group of
species of diminutive size, wherein the tail is slightly graduated ; they
are found in both continents, and are remarkable for having no
furcula.
The Ring Parroquets (Palceornis, Vig.), have a very long pointed
tail, and collar-like mark round the neck; they inhabit the Asiatic
continent and islands, where there are many species.
Australia produces numerous long-tailed Parroquets with more elongated tarsi, adapted for running on the
ground ; their tail-feathers are not pointed, and their colours are in general gorgeously variegated, and peculiarly
mottled on the back. They constitute the Platycercus, Vig. and Horsf. Polyletes, Wagler, is allied, with pointed
tail-feathers ; and Nymphicus refers to a small species related to the latter, but with the pointed crest of some
Cockatoos.
The Maccaws (,Ara, Kuhl ; Macrocercus, Vieillot), are long-tailed American species, which exceed all the rest
in size, and are superbly coloured. The more characteristic have a large space of naked skin on the cheek,
crossed by narrow stripes of short feathers. This bare space is gradually lost as they successively decrease in
size, and they finally grade into the American Parroquets {Conurus, Kuhl), one species of which {Ps. carolinensis,
Auct.) is the only member of the Parrot group found northward of the tropic of Cancer.
The Lories Vieillot), — are oriental species with square tails, and dense soft plumage, the colours of
which are glowing in the utmost degree : beak in general comparatively feeble. Some allied birds are smaller, and
have graduated tails, but are particularly distinguished by their extensile tongue having a circle of papillae at the tip,
adapting them to feed on the nectar of flowers : they are termed Lorikeets {Trichoglossus, Vigors,). Tanygnathus,
Wagler, includes some Lories with immense bills ; and Coryphilus, a number of small species, with slender bills,
thick skin, and commonly purple colouring. Finally, Pezoporus, Illiger, and Nanodes, Vig. and Horsf., consist of
some beautiful and delicate long-tailed species, which have also feeble bills, and tarsi somewhat elevated ; they
are known to seek their food chiefly on the ground.*]
Among the Climbers are commonly placed two nearly allied African genera, which appear
to me to have also some analogy with the Gallinacecs, and with the Curassows in particular.
They have the wings and tail of the latter, [their tail, how^ever, consisting of only ten feathers,
instead of fourteen], and like them inhabit trees; their beak is short, and superior mandible
bulged, [or compressed and much elevated ; the gape remarkably wide] ; the feet have a
short membrane w'hich connects the external and front toes, though it is true that the outer
toe is often directed backward, as observable in the Owls. Their nostrils are simply pierced
in the corneous substance of the beak, the cutting edges of the mandibles are dentelated,
and the sternum (fig. 106), at least that of the Touraco, has not those two very deep emar-
ginations common to the GallinacecB.
[Here we have another insulated group, which also comprises the Colies (p. 201), the anatomy of
* We would enumerate some additional subdivisions, but their distinetive cliaraeters eould not be given with the requisite brevity.
220
AVES.
Fig. 106. — Sternum of Touraco.
which at once indicates the propriety of arranging it in the present series, among which it is most
nearly related to the Toucans. They have but twelve true cervical vertebrae ; and the sternum,
though singularly small, presents no affinity for that of the Poultry. The stomach is large and
but slightly muscular, extending into the abdominal por-
tion of the cavity of the body ; and the intestines are short
and without coeca. Unlike the Toucans, however, they possess
a small gall-bladder; but the tongue, at least in some of
them, is similarly barbed towards the tip. The feet have the
first and fourth toes directed laterally, for which reason they
commonly perch lengthwise on the horizontal branches of
trees, which they perambulate longitudinally, clasping the
bough with their two laterally disposed toes, while the others
are directed forwards. Their movements are light and elegant
in the extreme, a particular in which they differ remarkably
from the Colies : they pass with an easy sailing flight from tree
to tree; live in pairs or families according to the season;
subsist almost exclusively upon fruits, and lay four delicate
white eggs in the hollows of decayed timber].
Such are
The Touracos {Corythaix^ Illiger), —
The beak of which does not ascend upon the forehead, [and
is generally much compressed] , and the head is adorned with an erectile crest.
[Seven species are now known, the ground-colour of which is generally vivid-green, with some gorgeous crimson
on the open wing. We should observe, that in all this group the feathers are very short upon the rump, being the
reverse of what obtains throughout the Poultry. The head, however, is small, as in the latter.]
The Plantain-eaters {Musophaga, Isert), —
Are so named from the fruit on which they subsist, and are characterized by the base of the bill forming
a disk, which covers part of the forehead.
[They grade, however, into the former, the beak becoming more and more inflated, till in one species it for-
cibly recalls to mind that of a Toucan. Another is of great size, approaching the stature of a Curassow, and has
a splendid curled crest, resembling that of several of those birds.
A third genus consists of
The Nape-crests {CMzceris, Swainson), —
Which have a rounded beak approaching that of some Trogons, and hard and sombre mottled plumage,
very unlike that of the others. Their exterior toe is more limited in its range outward by the con-
necting membrane.
Two species are well known, both from Africa, like all the preceding, — one the Phasianus Africanus of Latham.
We here, at length, arrive at a sufficiently marked interruption of the series of the class of
Birds, to be enabled to introduce some remarks on the affinities of the preceding orders,
whieh we conceive might be arranged most naturally as follow.
I. ScANSORES, as limited to the Parrots.
II. Raptores, or the Birds of Prey; wffiich subdivide into two thoroughly distinct
sections.
III. Strepitores, Screechers, consisting of all the remainder that are not organized upon
the definite type of the PasserincB. It is necessary to subdivide them first into three series,
which might be designated Syndactyli, Zygodactyli, and Heterodactyli j the two first of
wffiich names, however, do not rigidly apply in every instance, the groups being founded rather
upon the aggregate of the organization, than upon any single character.
1. Syndactyli. — These, with the exception of the Motmots, are exclusively animal-feeders,
like the Raptores, to which they succeed; and even the Motmots subsist more upon animal
than upon vegetable diet. They fall under two principal ’minor groups, which we term
Buceroides and Halcyoides.
SCANSORES.
221
I The Buceroides are distinguished by a very short and heart-shaped tongue, a singly-emar-
ginated sternum, and ten tail-feathers only ; intestines short, and we believe always without
cceca ; plumage never vividly coloured. In order to mark the degree of value of the two
very distinct genera included, we conceive it necessary to indicate the ITornbills by the term
Appendirostres, and the Hoopoes by that of Arculirostres. Both are peculiar to the eastern
hemisphere.
The Halcyoides have a doubly-emarginated sternum, twelve tail-feathers, and, with the
sole exception of one group of Kingfishers, splendidly coloured plumage. They fall into three
ij tribes, viz., Cylindirostres, comprising the Rollers, Bee-eaters, and Kingfishers, which have
; tongues similar to the foregoing, membranaceous stomachs, and no coeca ; a thick skin, firm
plumage (not moulted the first year), and great power of wing ; nidificating in holes, and pro-
I ducing numerous shining white eggs, &c. — Angulirostres, composed of the Jacamars and
1 1 Todies, which have thin, lengthened, lamina-like tongues, muscular gizzards, and great coeca,
ij resembling those of the Owls; thin skin, soft plumage, feeble powers of flight, and which
produce coloured or speckled eggs, also in holes ; — and Serratirostres, or the Motmots, which
III are intermediate to the Cylindirostres and the Toucans, (which commence the next series).
The Angulirostres and Serratirostres are confined in their distribution to America ; while the
'!' Cylindirostres, with the exception of a single subdivision of Kingfishers partly, are found only
in the old world.
I 2. Zygodactyli. — The members of this division likewise fall into two principal minor
groups, which may be termed Picoides and Cuculoides. The greater number subsist on mixed
j diet, and a marked predatory propensity is retained by some.
The Picoides have always (at least in every knowm instance) a doubly-emarginated sternum,
comparatively muscular gizzard, and no cmca to the intestine. They all produce white eggs,
less spherical than those of the Syndactyli, (in which respect the latter approximate the
j Raptores, w^hich precede them) ; and have an accessory plume to their feathers, more or less
developed; their plumage being almost always adorned with vivid colours. It is in this
j group that the tongue is so variously modified, in the Toucans, Woodpeckers, &c. To bring
j the species as near as possible together, they may be arranged into two tribes, viz., Leviros-
i tres, consisting of two very distinct families, — that of the Toucans, and that of the Touracos
I and Colies ; and Cuneirostres, comprehending the Woodpecker family (which includes the
j Honeyguides), and that of the Barbets. The Toucan and Touraco families are respectively
peculiar to the old and new worlds, the latter, with the sole exception of two or three Colies,
|l to Africa; the Woodpeckers are generally diffused, excepting in Australia; and members of
I the Barbet family are found in the warm regions of both hemispheres.
The Cuculoides have a comparatively lax stomach, and invariably great coeca, which when-
i ever they occur throughout the Strepitores are always of the same proportional dimensions
i and form as those of the nocturnal Birds of Prey : their colours, excepting in one group of
; Cuckoos, are never bright ; and they have no trace of an accessory plume to the feathers :
' the greater number lay coloured or speckled eggs, and many construct inartificial nests in
i; bushes, (all the preceding genera, save the Colies only, resorting to holes for that purpose).
I A great proportion of them have the outer and middle toes more or less directed laterally.
|| They fall under two families only, that of the Courols, Barbacous, and Puff- birds, which have
I; twelve tail-feathers, and that of the Cuckoos, which have only ten or fewer, and which might
' be again naturally distributed into several supergeneric divisions, or subfamilies. Of these,
w^e can only remark, that that which comprises the parasitic species is peculiar to the
old world.
3. Heterodactyli. — This group consists of Birds the great majority of which are mainly
insectivorous, and take their food on the wing. They are generally endowed, therefore, with
considerable power of flight, have a wide gape, and short feet, rarely adapted for progression.
The only zygodaetyle family of them has the toes differently disposed from those of all other
222 AVES.
yoke-footed genera. The species which possess coeca closely accord with the Cuculoides in
their anatomy, but all of them possess the accessory plume to the clothing feathers, in which
they differ from that group. We subdivide them into Trogonoides and Cypseloides.
The Trogonoides consisting of the Trogons only, it will be sufficient to refer to the generic
head (p. 216). They have twelve tail-feathers.
The Cypseloides have only ten. They divide into two tribes, which may be termed Parvi- ;
rostres, containing the family of Podargues and Moth-hunters, nocturnal species with great
coeca, and which lay mottled eggs ; and Tenuirostres, comprising the two distinct families of
the Swifts and Humming-birds, which have no coeca, and lay white eggs, the last-named
family differing remarkably from all the preceding Strepitores in having a complicated inferior
larynx, which character obtains throughout the next order, without a single known exception.
Although the foregoing long series of groups, more or less subordinate, evince a decided
mutual affinity and tolerably regular successionship, to those who have practically studied
them, we have been unable to detect a single character that will apply to all, and the only one
which approximates to being general, consists in the lower larynx being provided with only
the sterno-tracheal pair of muscles, save in the single family of the Humming-birds : hence
these birds are unable to inflect the voice, and sing j and they are generally very inferior in
intelligence and docility to the members of either of the three other orders with which we are
now engaged ; the Picoides and Ploopoes constituting the chief exceptions to this generalization.
Linnaeus obtained a glimpse of their distinctness from the Passerinee, when he instituted his
ordinal divisions Pic(B and Passeresj but he fell into error in assigning a position among the
former to the Crows, which alone could have induced Cuvier to remark that he could discover
no distinctive character to separate the Piece and Passeres of his great predecessor.
The series of Strepitores can accordingly be defined only by negative characters, derived
principally from comparison of them with the Passerinee. Perhaps the most remarkable fact
connected with their anatomy, consists in the coeca being invariably either altogether absent,
or, if present, developed to a cor iderable but fixed size, which never varies ; this diversity
being found to exist in groups that are nearly allied, as in the Swifts and Moth-hunters, the
Kingfishers and Todies, &c.
IV. Cantores, or the restricted Passerinee. — It is impossible for a greater contrast to be
afforded than is furnished by this ordinal division and the preceding one. Although com-
prising many more species and received generic divisions than the three foregoing orders
collectively, there is absolutely no essential difference of structure perceptible throughout the
wdiole immense series ; the only differences consisting in the degrees of developement of parts
common to all : the peculiar type of skeleton, digestive and vocal organs, &c. being invariably
one and the same, just as the Humming-bird or Parrot model is analogously varied, in a minor
degree. There are no subdivisions equivalent to those which have been indicated as families
even of the Strepitores, however the beak may vary in magnitude and form ; the most dissi-
milar beaks being often unaccompanied by other marked diversities, so that a dead specimen
deprived of its head, although at the first glance it might be referred with certainty to the
present order, could only in a few instances be assigned, even on anatomical examination, to '
any particular group of it, and the plumage and style of colouring would even then afford the i
surest indication of its affinities, in the great majority of cases. In the Strepitores, on the
contrary, any one organ, and very commonly a single ordinary clothing feather, would suffice
to indicate the very genus from which it had been taken : the varieties in the form of the
sternal apparatus may be cited as one illustration of the considerable diversities observable in
the whole structure of the Strepitores; M'hereas a single sternal apparatus (fig. 86, p. 1/8),
we have deemed fully adequate to represent the form of this important portion of the skeleton
throughout the amazingly extensive series of the present division.* There are, in fact, no
* Tlie sternal apparatus of numerous genera of Cantores are beautifully figured in Mr. Yarrell’s History of British Birds.
GALLING.
223
characters of dichotomous application, till we descend to minute particulars, such as the sea-
sonal and progressive changes of plumage, the system of coloration, character of the eggs, &c. ;
and these require to be carefully and extensively studied, in order to extricate the Cantores
from their present heterogeneous state of artificial arrangement, which, like most other classi -
fications based on the variations of a single organ (the beak), has induced a variety of approxi-
mations at variance with natural affinity. To detail our own views on the arrangement of
this great order, would require more space than the nature of the present work would
allow; it must suffice, therefore, to refer to the few hints which have been given in the
details of the various genera.
The four orders here indicated have a vague general character in common, which is not
easy to define or even express : it partially consists in the magnitude of the head, as compared
with the subsequent divisions generally ; and a hind toe being always present, on the same
plane with those in front, the great majority of them perch and traverse the boughs of trees
with comparative facility, wffiile the remainder are too obviously allied to admit of separation].
THE FOURTH ORDER OF BIRDS,—
THE POULTRY, (Galling, Lin.)—
Are so named from their affinity to the Domestic Cock, in common with which they have
generally the upper mandible vaulted, the nostrils pierced in a large membranous space at the
base of the beak, and covered by a cartilaginous scale. Their heavy carriage, short wings,
and bony sternum (fig. 107), diminished by two emarginations so wide and deep that they
occupy nearly its whole lateral portion, its crest being ob-
liquely truncated in front, so that the sharp edge of [an
appendage to] the fourchette is only joined to it by liga-
ment, are circumstances which, by greatly impairing the
force of the pectoral muscles, render their flight laborious.
The tail has generally fourteen, and sometimes eighteen,
quill-feathers. Their inferior larynx is very simple, so that
none of them can sing. They have an extremely muscular
gizzard, and [most generally] a large [globular] crop. If
we except the Curassows, they lay and incubate on the
ground, on a few carelessly arranged stems of straw or grass.
Each male has ordinarily several females, and takes no sort
of trouble either with the nest or young ones, which are
generally very numerous, and, in most cases, are able to
run as soon as they quit the shell.
[We should observe, that exceptions occur to almost all
Fig. 107.-Sternum of Red Partridge. generalizations in the course of the series, which will
be pointed out as they arise. In the polygamous species, the male is always larger and more
gaily coloured than the female ; while in such as are monogamous, (as Ptarmigan and Par-
tridges,) the sexes nearly or quite resemble, both in size and colour. This diversity is appa-
rent in some species that are otherwise closely allied together. The head is very small, as
compared with the members of the preceding orders generally ; and the number of cervical
vertebrae is irregular and always greater.]
The Poultry constitute, for the most part, a very natural family, remarkable for having fur-
nished us with the greater number of our farm-yard fowls, and with much excellent game.
Their anterior toes are connected at base by a short membrane, the edges of which are dente-
224
AVES.
lated; and they can only be subdivided upon characters of trivial import, drawn from some of
the appendages of the head. In order to avoid, however, an excessive multiplication of
groups, we associate with them certain genera the toes of which have no connecting membrane,
and one (that of the Pigeons) which links the Poultry with the Passerines, the others (such as
the Hoazin) presenting a slight approach to the Touracos ; [very slight and superficial in both
instances].
The Curassows {Alector, Merrem) —
Are large Poultry-birds of South America, which somewhat resemble Turkeys, and have a broad and
rounded tail, composed of large stiff quills, [fourteen in number]. Several of them possess a singular
conformation of the trachea. They live in the woods, feed on buds and fruit, perch and nestle upon
trees, [their hind-toe being on the same plane with those in front], and are very sociable and easily
domesticated. [The sternum has its inner emargination less deep than in other Poultry]. Gmelin
and Latham have divided them into Curassows and Guans, but upon very indeterminate characters.
We subdivide them in the following manner : —
The Curassows, properly so called, {Crax, Lin.), —
Have a strong beak, its base surrounded by a skin, sometimes brightly coloured, in w^hich the nostrils
are pierced ; and their head is adorned with a crest of long, erectible, narrow feathers, curled at the
tips. Their size is that of a Turkey, and like the members of that genus they fly up into trees. They
are bred in a domestic state in America, and individuals have been received from that country so
variously coloured, that we hesitate about characterizing the species.
The most common, or the Yellow-billed Cu-
rassow(Cr. alector, Lin.), is black, with a white
belly, and cere of the beak brilliant yellow. The
trachea makes but one slight curve before it
enters the breast. Some, as Cr. globicera, Lin.,
have a larger or smaller globular tubercle at the
base of the beak.
The Pauxi (Ourax, Cuv.) —
Have a shorter and thicker bill, and the
membrane at its base, as w'ell as the greater
part of their head, is covered with short
dense plumage resembling velvet.
The most common of them, or the Galeated
Pauxi (Cr. pauxi, Lin.), has an oval tubercle at
the base of the beak, of a light blue colour and
stony hardness, almost as large as the head. This
bird is black, with the lower part of the belly, and
tip of tail, white. It nestles on the ground, and
its native country is not known with precision.
The trachea descends on the right side beneath the skin to behind the sternum, where it turns to the left, and
ascends to enter the thorax through the fourchette : its rings are all compressed. Another species (Cr. galeata.
Lath. ; Cr. tomentosa, Spix), has a red salient crest on the beak, instead of the tubercle.
The Guans {Penelope, Merrem) —
Have a more slender beak than the others, and the space around the eyes naked, as is also the throat,
which is mostly susceptible of inflation.
So many varieties of colour are found among them, that it is difficult to trace the limits of the various s]>ecies.
Those especially which have a crest, are extremely variable. [The size is in general much less than in the others,
and form more slender : the naked parts are often beautifully coloured]. The trachea, at least in the crested
species, descends under the skin far behind the posterior edge of the sternum, ascends, is again flexed, and then
continues its course towards the fourchette, through which, as usual, it gains access to the lungs. In one crestlcss
species (Pen. marail, Tern.), greenish-black, with a fulvous belly, (which appears very distinct,) the trachea forms
in both sexes a curve at the upper part of the sternum, before it enters the lungs.
The Parra q,uas {Ortalida, Merrem) —
Merely differ from the Guans in having no naked skin about the head.
One species only is known, of a bronzed brown above, whitish gray beneath, and rufous on the head, (the Ca-
Fig. 108. — ^The Yellow-billed Curassow.
GALLIN.dE.
225
traca, Buifon ; Phasianus motmot, Gmelin ; Pli. poA'raqua, Lath).
The cry of this bird is very loud, and articu-
lates its name. The trachea of the male descends beneath the skin as low as the abdomen, and then ascends to
enter the thorax.
With these different Curassows has been generally associated
The Ho AZIN {Opisthocomus, Hofmansegg,) —
I An American bird, which has the same port, and a short and thick bill, with nostrils pierced in its
corneous substance, without any membrane. The head is adorned with an occipital crest of long fea-
thers, very narrow and thinly barbed ; and what distinguishes it from all the true Poultry, is the total
absence of membrane between the toes. ’
This bird is the Phasianus aistatus, Lin. ; of a greenish-brown, variegated with white above, the front of the
neck and tip of the tail fulvous, and the belly chestnut. It is found in Guiana, perching along the margin of
inundated places, where it subsists on leaves and the seeds of a species of Arum. Its flesh smells strongly of
castor, and is only employed as a bait for particular fishes. It forms a genus very distinct from any other among
the Poultry, and when its anatomy is known, may become the type of a particular family.
[This very curious bird is perhaps the most insulated species of the whole class : its eyelashes, and reticulated
tarsi, help to separate it externally from the Poultry ; and its anatomy is altogether unique, exhibiting a peculiar
adaptation for deriving nutriment exclusively from foliage. The crop, of enormous dimensions, hollows out, as
it were, the pectoral muscles and anterior portion of the sternal keel, occupying a great heart-shaped cavity, and
extending backward half-way along the trunk and at least four-fifths the length of the sternal apparatus ; it
receives the superior portion of the oesophagus on the left side, and on the right is succeeded by an inflated canal,
five inches and a half long, constricted like the human colon, and terminated by the proventricuius, to which
follows the gizzard, which latter is no bigger than an olive, with its muscular coat scarcely thickened ; the intes-
tines are moderately long, and coeca an inch. The sternal crest, so deeply cut away in front, forms a slight ridge
anteriorly, which is continued forward into a very long bony apophysis, tliat is soldered with the furoula ; the
hindward emai’ginations are inconsiderable, the exterior pair being commonly reduced to a foramen, or even quite
ossified. This bird is not naturally wild, and is observed in small flocks, which commonly perch side by side on
some branch, always in marshy situations.* It appears to have only ten tail-feathers.
We now arrive at the normal series of Poultry-birds, which have the hind- toe small and
elevated.]
The Peafowl {Pavo, Lin.), —
ij So named (Paon) from their cry, and which are characterized by a crest of peculiar form, and by the
I tail-coverts of the male extending far beyond the quills, and being capable of erection into a broad and
I gorgeous disk. The shining, lax, and silky barbs of these feathers, and the eye-hke spots which
j decorate their extremities, are well known to every one, as exemplified in
!j The Indian Peafowl (P. indicus, Lin.), the head of which is adorned with an aigrette of narrow vertical feathers,
[ widened at the tips. This superb bird, originally from the north of India, [where it still exists abundantly in a
I state of nature], was introduced into Europe by Alexander. The wild specimens even surpass the domestic ones
|! in brilliancy. The blue extends over the back and wings, instead of the common barred markings ; and then-
jl train is still longer. [We have seen domestic Peacocks with these characters, which however are not attained by
jl the greater number; and have also observed wild-shot birds like the ordinary breed, which it may be suspected
' had not acquired their final colouring ; the developement of which would seem to be generally arrested in the
i former, so much so that we have seen an individual more than eighteen years of age, that did not difl’er from the
I common farm-yard specimens].
The Japanese Peafowl (badly named by Linnaeus P. as it possesses spurs), is a distinct species, the
! aigrette of which is composed of long and narrow feathers ; its neck is green instead of blue, and undated or
gilded : train scarcely dilfering from that of the other.
[The additional species ranged by the. author among the Peafowl are distinct enough, and now
jj generally known as
I The Pea-pheasants (Polyplectron, Tem.).
I They are much smaller, and particularly remarkable for the tarsi of the male bearing two or more
'j spurs.] The tail-coverts, which do not extend beyond the tail, and are w^ebbed in the ordinary manner,
i have two brilliant metallic spots, and the wing-tertials have sometimes single ones,
j [Three or four species are known, from the mountains of eastern Asia ]
The Impeyan {Lophophorus, Tem.).
The head surmounted by an aigrette like that of a Peafowl, and a similar flat tail, the coverts of which,
* L’Herminier, in Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1837. | which was afterwards continued, this bird having no harsh cry like
! t We suspect that this name originated in a misprint for mutiis, I the other. — Ed.
Q
226
AVES.
however, are not prolonged. It also resembles the Peafowl in the brilliancy of the colours of the
with stout spurs. [The upper mandible very much overhangs the under one, as observable in a less
degree in the Pheasants generally, enabling this bird to root up bulbs with facility.]
We know but one species, from the mountains of the north of India, the Resplendent Impeyan (L. refulgens,
Tern. ; Phasianus Impeyanus, Lath.). Size of a [small] Turkey, and black ; the crest and dorsal plumage of
changeable colours, reflecting tints of gold, copper, sapphire and emerald : tail-feathers chestnut-rufous, [and the
rump white]. The female and young are brown, dashed with grey and fulvous.
The Turkeys {MeleagriSy Lin.) —
Have the head and upper part of the neck invested with a naked, mammellated skin ; an appendage
under the throat, and another conical one on the forehead, which becomes inflated and prolonged when
the bird is excited by passion, when it hangs over the beak. On the lower part of the neck in front,
the adult male has a tuft of very long pendent bristles ; the coverts of the tail, shorter and more stiff
than in the Peafowl, can be expanded in like manner into a fan. The males have weak spurs, [and are
the only American Poultry -birds wherein a trace exists of those appendages] .
But one species was known for a long time, the Common Turkey {M. gallipavo, Lin.). It was brought from
North America during the 16th century, and was soon diffused throughout Europe, where it continues to be
reared for the excellency of its flesh, its great size, and the facility with which it is bred. The Wild Turkeys vastly
exceed the domestic breed in brilliancy, and are of a greenish-brown, glossed with copper reflections.
A second, however, has been recently described, the Ocellated Turkey (M. ocellata, Cuv.), which approximates
the Peafowl in the splendour of its colours, and by the disks of sapphirine-blue, inclosed by circles of gold and
ruby-red, which adorn the tail-coverts. It was captured in the Bay of Honduras.
[We may here introduce a large Poultry-bird of New Holland,
II
The Vultern {Alecturn, Gray), —
Which has been strangely arranged by some authors among the Vultures, on account of its bald neck.
From the Poultry generally, it is distinguished by the shortness of the downy plumage of the rump,
as in the Touracos ; its hind-toe is large, and on the .lame plane with those in front, the same as in
the Curassows, like which it is also destitute of spurs ; but its tail-feathers are eighteen in number.
One species only is known {A. LatJiami, Gray), entirely of a dusky colour, the feathers of the under-parts tipped j
with whitish.]
generally surmounted by a callous crest. Their feet are without spurs ; the tail short and pendent, so
that the long feathers of the croup impart a rounded figure.
The common domestic species {N. meleagris, Lin.), originally from Africa [the indigenous habitat of all], has a
slate-coloured plumage, everywhere speckled with round white spots [of different sizes]. Its noisy and querulous
disposition render it an incommodious species in poultry-yards, although its flesh is excellent. In the wild state,
they live in large flocks, and prefer the neighbourhood of marshes.
[Three or four others are known, of which N. vulturina, Gould, is the most beautiful, having pointed purple
feathers on the lower part of the neck; the body -plumage of all being nearly similar. The Crested Pintado ]
(N. eristata, Pallas), is very remarkable for the appendage to the furcula forming a sort of cup, in which the
trachea undergoes a convolution. No trace of this structure exists in the common species.]
The great genus of
each side with fleshy wattles. Their tail-feathers, fourteen in number, are elevated on two vertical v
planes, placed back to back; the coverts of that of the male are prolonged to form the arch over the
tail proper.
The species so common in our poultry-yards, [absolutely without a special English name] {Ph. gallus, Lin.),
varies endlessly in colour, and very much in size : there are races wherein the fleshy comb is replaced by a crest ijli
of reverted feathers ; some in which the tarsi and even the toes are feathered ; another in which the crest, wattles, .®
and periosteum of the whole skeleton are black ; and some monstrous kinds which have hereditarily five and evenjffl
six toes to each foot. -^1
male : circumference of the eye, and even the cheeks, naked, as in the Pheasants, and the tarsi armed
The Pintados (Numida, Lin.),
Or Guinea-fowl, have a naked head, and fleshy wattles below the cheeks, a short tail, and the skull|
of which are variously disposed. We first distinguish among them
The Fowls {Gallus, Cuv.), —
The head of whieh is surmounted by a vertical fleshy comb, and the inferior mandible furnished on
Pheasants {Phasianus, Lin.) —
Is characterized by partly naked cheeks, covered with a red skin, and by the tectiform tail, the feathers
GALLINyE.
227
Several wild species are also known, as that of Sonnerat {Gal. Sonneratii, Tern.)? which is very remarkable for
the neck feathers of the male, the stems of which widen into three successive disks of a horny nature. The comb
of the same sex is dentelated. This species inhabits the Ghauts of Hindostan.
M. Leschenhault has procured two others from Java : one (G. Bankiva, Tern.), with a dentelated crest like the
preceding; all the feathers of the neck long, pendent, and of the most beautiful golden red: it appears to
me to bear the greatest resemblance to our domestic races : the other {Ph. varius, Shaw ; G. furcatus, Tern.), is
black, with a copper-green neck, speckled with black, its crest plain, and a kind of small dewlap instead of
wattles.
The Pheasants, properly so called {Phasianus, Cuv.) —
Have a long graduated tail, each of its quills being inclined on two planes, and covering each other.
The most common of them {Pk. colchicus, Lin.), was brought from the banks of the Phasis by the Argonauts,
and is now diffused over all temperate Europe, where it requires, however, considerable care. [Another, from
China, with a white ring round the neck, and a greener general cast of colour, but otherwise closely allied, has
also been turned wild, and produced a prolific race of hybrids with the Common Pheasant, intermediate specimens
in every degree being not uncommon. The pure breed of Ph. colchicus is distinguished by the total absence of
the white ring, and reddish-copper tint of the croup, instead of greenish.
China produces several other species, with most superb plumage, as
The Golden Pheasant (Ph. picfus), and Amherst Pheasant (Ph. Amherstii), which have both a gorgeous ruff
round the neck, and the latter in particular an exceedingly long tail, the feathers widening in the middle.
The Reeves’s Pheasant (Ph. Reevesii), from the same country, is one' of the most magnificent of bii'ds. It is
half as large again as the common species, with a tail exceeding six feet in length. Ph. versicolor, and Ph.
Soemeringii, from Japan, are also truly splendid, and nearly allied to the common one.
Others approximate the Common Fowl in their carriage, as the Silver Pheasant (Ph. nycthemerus), from China,
and the Lineated (Ph. lineatus), from the mountains of Thibet : both these have purple-black under-parts,
with the feathers above white and lineated ; a pendent crest on the head. Ph. alhocristatus comes still nearer to
the Fowls, retaining the head only of the Pheasant group ; and Ph. pucrasia, is perhaps the dullest of the whole
genus, with a pointed short tail, but is otherwise allied to the ordinary species : the two last are from the Himma-
layas]. The females of all are sombre [that of-P/^. Reevesii the least so, which is beautifully variegated with white
upon the neck,] and have shorter tails.
We conceive that the description of the Phoenix, by Pliny, (lib. x. cap. 2), was drawn up from a specimen of the
Golden Pheasant.
One of the most singular of all Birds is
The Argus (Ph. argus, Lin).— A large Pheasant from the south of Asia, the head and neck of which are almost
naked. The tarsi are without spurs ; a very long tail in the male ; the secondary quills of the wing exces-
sively elongated, widened, and covered throughout their length with ocellated spots, which, when spread out,
impart an extraordinary aspect to the bird. It inhabits the mountains of Sumatra and some other countries of
the south-east of Asia, and constitutes the genus Argus of Temminck.
The Macartneys {Euplocomus, Tern.), —
j With the naked cheeks common to this genus, have the vertical tail and arched coverts of the Cocks,
! together with erectible feathers on the head, which form a crest similar to that of the Peafowl. The
I projecting lower edge of the naked skin of their cheeks supplies the place of w^attles. The tarsi are
j armed with strong spurs.
I We are acquainted with one only, from the Isles of Sunda (Phasianus ignitus, Shaw) ; size of a Cock, and bril-
; liant black, with a golden-red rump, the upper tail-coverts yellowish or whitish, and the flanks spotted with white
or fulvous. Female brown, finely streaked with blackish above, and dashed with white beneath ; crested like
the male. [The Ph. alhocristatus might be placed with it.]
The Tragopans {Tragopan, Cuv.) —
Are [with the exception of one species] remarkable for the singular adornment of the head, which is
almost naked, with a small slender horn [or erectible excrescence] behind each eye, and a wattle sus-
I ceptible of inflation under the throat. There are short tarsal spurs in both sexes.
I [Four species are now known, all beautifully spotted with white, somewhat as in a Pintado, and in three of them
upon a gorgeous red ground-colour ; the naked parts are also vividly tinted with rich blue and yellow. Females
and young dull brown. They inhabit the Himmalaya range of mountains, and perch like Pheasants].
Ij We should separate from the Pheasant group
: 1 The Cryptonyx, Tern., —
I Wherein the immediate circumference of the eye alone is naked, the tail is moderate and plain, and
j| the tarsi are without spurs. Their most remarkable character, however, consists in the absence of the
;1 hind-claw.
, Q 2
228
AVES.
In the only well-known species {Cr. coronatus, Tern.), the male has a long crest of thinly-barbed rufous feathers,
and some long barbless stems over each eyebrow. Plumage bright green and blue. [Another (Cr. niger), is wholly
black, with the female brown. There are two or three more, all from India and its islands].
The Grouse {Tetrao, Lin.) —
Form another great genus, characterized by a naked space, generally of a bright red colour, in place of
an eye-brow. It is subdivided in the following manner.
The Restricted Grouse (Tetrao, Latham) —
Have feathered tarsi without spurs. Those to which we more particularly confine the name have '
a rounded or forked tail, and naked toes. [They are polygamous, and spread the tail and strut in the
manner of Turkeys].
The Bearded or Wood Grouse, Capercailzie, or Cock of the Wood (T. urogallus, Lin.), is the largest of the true
Poultry, surpassing the Turkey in size. Its plumage is slate-coloured, finely rayed with blackish, [the breast
shining bottle-green] ; female fulvous, barred with brown or blackish. It inhabits the extensive mountain forests
of the north of Europe, nestles in the heather or newly-cleared grounds, and subsists on buds and berries, [and
particularly pine-shoots]. Its flesh is excellent, and the trachea makes two curves befoi’e entering the lungs.
The Black Grouse (T. tetrix, Lin).— Black, with some white on the wing-coverts and beneath the tail, the two
outermost feathers of which are forked and curled outward. Female fulvous, barbed with whitish and dusky
black. Their size that of the Domestic Cock and Hen. Found also in the European mountain forests. [There is
a nearly allied species in Siberia].
An intermediate species appears to exist in the north of Europe (T. intermedins, Langsdorf). [It is still very
doubtful whether this be not a hybrid between the Bearded and Black Grouse.
Several more exist in North America ; one (T. cupido) is remarkable for a double nuchal crest, and an expan-
sile globular pouch on the sides of the neck, of the colour and size of an orange, which is inflated when the bird
is strutting. Others, the Centrocercus, Swainson, have sharp-pointed tail-feathers, and shorter wings : they inhabit
the open country, and do not perch. Such is T, urophasianus, Bonap., the great Cock of the Plains, which is one i
third smaller than the European Wood Grouse, with some inflatable skin on the sides of the neck.
Others again, 5
The Bonasia, Bonap. — L j
Have a naked strip along the front of the tarsi, and the coronal feathers lengthened ; as] |
The Hazel Grouse (T. bonasia, Lin.). — Scarcely larger than a Partridge, and prettily mottled, grey and rufous. |
Inhabits temperate Europe. [We have found its crop and stomach filled with birch catkins.] Another (T. umbellus,
Gmelin), in North America, is about a third larger. ; j
The Ptarmigan (Lagopus, Cuv.) — 1
Are species with a round or square tail, the toes of which are feathered like the tarsi. [They are i
monogamous, and do not strut with expanded tail-feathers]. The more generally diffused species J
become white in winter. ]
The Common Ptarmigan (T. lagopus, Lin.). — Inhabits our highest mountains, and shelters itself, in winter, in ij
holes which it burrows in the snow [a habit which is 1
also practised by the common Partridge.] The Willow fl
Ptarmigan (T. saliceti, Tern.), from the whole north, is |
larger, with a stouter bill. [Though not found in ,
Britain, like the last, it is the common species of the | i
London markets. Another, still more densely clad H
(L. bradydactyla, Gould), occurs in Russia, and there ii
are additional species in Iceland and in North America]. 1 1
There is a Ptarmigan in Scotland, however, which
does not change colour in winter.
The Heath Ptarmigan (T. scoticus, Latham). — [Com- j’
mon Moor-fowl, or Red Grouse of sportsmen, remark- |i
able for being quite restricted in its distribution to the ji
British islands: it renews its feathers twice a year, \
however, like the others].
We may here separate by the name of !
The Gangas {Pterocles, Tern.) — '
The species with a pointed tail and naked toes.
Fig. 109.— Sternum of Ganga. ^^0 circumference of the eyes alone is naked, and
not of a red colour : their thumb is very small. [The wings are remarkably long and pointed, with the
GALLINiE.
229
j first quill longest, and flight extraordinarily swift ; sternal crest more developed than in any other bird
j whatever, the inner einargination of the sternum almost obliterated : furcula singularly short and wide,
^ without any appenddage ; the alimentary passage resembles that of other Poultry, having coeca as
much developed as in a Partridge. The feathers are moulted twice a year, and resemble those of the
Bustards, both sexes being alike in winter, and the male acquiring a peculiar garb in summer. They
lay few eggs, and the young do not follow their parents for some time, but are fed by them in the
nest. They inhabit the arid deserts of Africa and Arabia, and are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere.]
One (T. alchata. Lin,), inhabits the south of B'rance and borders of the Mediterranean. [Another (T. arenarius,
Pallas) occurs in Spain, and a third {Pt. caspicus, Menetr.) is found in south-eastern Europe. There are
many more.
Closely allied to the Gangas, we deem
The Tetraogallus, Hardwicke, —
j A, large species from the mountains of the north of India, with shorter wings and comparatively
' stout bill. The tarsi are armed with spurs, and the first five quills are nearly equal. \
It IS the T. nigelli, Gray],
I The Partridges {Perdix, Brisson), —
1 Have the tarsi naked as well as the toes. Among them
' The Francolins {Francolinm, Tern.) —
Are distinguished by their longer and stouter beak, more developed tail, and generally by their stout spurs.
There is one in southern Europe (T. francolinm, Lin.), with red feet ; the neck and belly of the male black, with
round white spots, and a vivid rufous collar.
Some of the foreign species are remarkable either for possessing double spurs, or a naked skin on the throat, or
they combine these two characters : others, again, have a particularly large beak, and are without spurs.
The Restricted Partridges —
Have the beak not quite so stout : the males have short spurs, or simple tubercles, which are wanting
in the females.
Every one is acquainted with
The Grey Partridge (T. cinereus, Lin.), that prolific species of game, which lives and propagates in our fields,
and is so highly esteemed for the table.
The Red Partridge (T, rufus, Lin.) [and five or six others with the same general character of plumage, form a
natural group, the first dress of which is analogous to that of the preceding. All are peculiar to the eastern
hemisphere.]
The Quails {Coturnix, Tern.) —
Are smaller than the Partridges; with a more slender beak and shorter tail: they have neither spurs,
nor red eyebrow, [and have longer wings. All are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere, where they are
! generally diffused].
j The Common Quail (T. coturnix, Lin.), a small European bird, celebrated for its migrations across the Medi-
|| terranean. [There are many others.]
|1 The Colins {Ortyx, Stephens), —
I Or Partridges and Quails of America, have a shorter and stouter beak, more convex above : their tail
1 is somewhat larger. They perch on branches, and, when disturbed, even on trees.* Several species
I migrate like our Quails.
[Some have remarkable recurved topknots, in one of extraordinary length].
We are obliged to separate from the whole genus of Grouse
The Ortygans {Hemipodius, Tern.), —
Which have no thumb, and the compressed beak of which forms a slight projection under the lower
mandible. They cannot, however, be properly classed until their anatomy is known. The species are
polygamous, and inhabit sandy regions.
Some of them.
The Ortygans {Ortygis^ Illiger), —
Have the general aspect of Quails, with toes separated to their very base, having no small membrane.
[The chief peculiarity of their anatomy consists in the absence of a craw.]
The natives of Java train one species for fighting (the H. pugnax), as Game-Cocks are trained in England.
* The Red Partridj^es will sometimes do this. — Ed.
230
AVES.
Others,
The Attagens {Syrrhaptes, Illiger), —
Are so far removed from the general type of the Poultry, that it is even doubtful whether they should
range in the present order. [They appear to he nearly related to the Gangas.] Their short tarsi are
feathered, as are also the toes, which are short, and joined together for a part of their length ; the
wings being extremely long and pointed.
But one species is known, from the deserts of central Asia [and very rarely eastern Europe,] (T. paradoxus,
Pallas), the Heteroclyte of Temminck.
We are equally necessitated to separate from the Grouse
The Tinamous {Tinamus, Latham ; Crypturus, Illiger), —
x\n American genus, remarkable for a long and slender neck, (although the tarsi are short,) covered with
feathers, the tips of the barbs of which are slender and slightly curled, which imparts a peculiar air to
that part of their plumage. The beak is long, slender, and blunt at the end ; somewhat vaulted, with
a small groove at each side : the nostrils are pierced in the middle of each side, and penetrate obliquely
backwards. Their wings are short, and they have scarcely any tail. The membrane between the base
of their toes is very short. Their thumb, reduced to a spur, cannot touch the ground. They have a
small naked space round the eye. These birds either perch
on low branches, or conceal themselves in tall grass ; they
live on fruits and insects, and their flesh is very good. Their
size varies from that of a Pheasant down to that of a Quail,
or even still smaller. [Eggs of a deep purple colour.]
Some of them (the Pezus of Spix), have a small tail concealed
under the feathers of the rump. Others (the Tinamus of Spix) have
no tail at all, and the nostrils are placed a little further backward.
We should distinguish the Rhynchotis of Spix, wherein the beak,
which is stronger, has no groove, and is a little arcuated and de-
pressed, with the nostrils pierced towards the base.
The Pigeons {Columba, Lin.) —
May be considered as forming some passage from the
GallincB to the Passerines. As in the former, their
beak is vaulted, the nostrils are pierced in a large mem-
branous space, and covered with a cartilaginous scale,
which even forms a bulge at the base of the beak : the
bony sternum (fig. Ill) is deeply and doubly emarginated, although somewhat differently [the
inner notch being mostly reduced to a foramen ; the ridge of the
sternum deep, and rounded off anteriorly (much as in the Par-
rots) ; and the furcula flat and destitute of any appendage]. The
crop (fig. 70, p. 160) is extremely large [and double, or expanding
on each side of the cesophagus, in which it diflfers from that of
any other bird; it also secretes a lacteal substance, as in the
Parrots, during the period of incubation. The gizzard is power-
fully muscular ; the intestines very long and slender, with minute
coeca; and there is no gall bladder]. The inferior larynx is fur-
nished with but one muscle proper — [we have invariably found
two pairs] ; but there is no other membrane between the base of
the toes than that which results from the continuity of the edges.
The tail consists of twelve feathers, and they fly tolerably well.
These birds are invariably monogamous, nestle in trees or the
holes of rocks, and lay but very few eggs, ordinarily two, though
they breed often. Both sexes incubate, and they feed their young
by disgorging grain macerated in the crop. They form but one
great genus, which naturalists have attempted to divide into three
Figf. 110.— Sternum of Tinamou.
Fig. 111. — Sternum of Pigeon.
subgenera, from the greater or less strength of the bill, and the proportions of the feet.
i
GRALLiE.
231
i!
;j
The Gouras {Lophyrus, Vieillot) —
Approximate the ordinary Gallinacea more than the other subgenera, hy their more elevated tarsi and
gregarious habits, finding their food more on the ground, and never [not so habitually] perching. Their
beak is slender and flexible, [and their anatomy precisely that of the others].
One species is even allied to the Gallinaeece by the caruncles and other naked parts about the head (the C. carun-
culata, Tern.)
Another, at least, approaches them in size, which almost equals that of a Turkey, — the Crowned Pigeon of the
Indian Archipelago (C. coronata, Gm.).— Entirely of a slaty-blue, with some chestnut and white on the wings ; the
head adorned with a vertical longitudinal crest of thinly-barbed feathers. It is bred in the poultry-yards of Java,
&c., but refuses to propagate in Europe. It is to this species that the names Goura and Lophyrus espe-
cially apply.
A third approximates the Poultry by the long pendent feathers of its neck, somewhat as in the Cock,— the Nicobar
Pigeon {Col. nincobarica, Lin.), of a brilliant golden-green colour, the tail white. It is found in many parts of
the Indian Isles, [and propagates in the same manner as the others, contrary to what has been asserted.
Other small species compose the Cluemepelia, Swainson,as the Ground Dove of Wilson’s American Ornithology,
C. passerina, Lin.]
The Restricted Pigeons {Columba, as limited) —
Have shorter legs than the preceding, but the same flexible and slender bill.
There are four wild species in Europe.
The Cushat, or Ring Dove (Co/. Lin.), is the largest of them. It inhabits forests, and more parti-
cularly those of evergreens, and is of a bluish ash-colour, rufous beneath, and distinguished by a spot of white on
each side of the neck. [It nestles on the branches of trees.]
The Stock Pigeon (C. osnas, Lin.). — Of a slaty-grey colour, vinous beneath, with some changeable green upon
the neck. Rather smaller than the last, and similar in its general habits. [It breeds, however, either in conve-
nient holes of trees, or in leafy pollards termed stocks, and not unfrequently in rabbit-burrows ; makes no flap-
ping sound with the wings in flying, like the next species].
The Rock Pigeon (C. Uvia, Brisson). — Slaty-grey, some iridescent green on the neck, two black bars on each
wing, and a white rump. The Dovecot Pigeon is derived from this species, and, it would appear, the greater
number of the innumerable domestic breeds, in the production of which, however, the admixture of some proxi-
mate species may likewise have an influence. [The wild Rock Pigeon breeds principally in sea-cliifs, and but
sparingly inland. There is a race, which we suspect to be a distinct species, closely allied, the wings of which are
spotted, somewhat as in the Stock Pigeon, but more extensively, in place of the black bars. Numbers of them,
all shot, are sold in the London markets. We will term it C. macularia\.
The Turtle Dove {Col. turtur, Lin.). — A fulvous-brown mantle, sjmtted with brown, the neck bluish, with a spot
on each side, variegated black and white. It is the smallest of the European wild Pigeons, and resembles the
Cushat in its habits, [excepting in being migratory].
The Collared Dove {Col. risoria, Lin.), appears to have been originally from Africa. It is of a reddish-white
colour, pale below, with a black collar on the neck.
The species of this division are extremely numerous, and might be further subdivided according as the tarsi are
naked or feathered, and upon the naked space surrounding the eyes of some of them. Those with feathered tarsi
constitute the Ptilinopus, Swainson.
Some have even caruncles and other naked parts on the head : and there are others [the Ectopistes, Swainson],
which might be separated on account of their pointed tail.
But the best of all the divisions that have been instituted among the Pigeons is that of
The Vinagos {Vinago, Cuv.), —
i Which are recognized by having a stouter bill, of solid substance, and compressed laterally : their tarsi
' are short, and their feet large and well bordered. They inhabit extensive woods, and subsist on fruit.
I But few species are known, all from the torrid zone of the eastern continent.
1 [They have generally vivid-green plumage, variegated with bright yellow]. One has a pointed tail.
THE FIFTH ORDER OF BIRDS,—
THE STILT-BIRDS (Grall^, liii.),—
Also termed Shore-birds and Waders, names which are derived from their habits and con-
formation. The members of this division are recognized by the nudity of part of the tibia,
and most commonly by the elongation of the tarsi ; conditions which permit them to enter
AVES.
t'
232
the water to a certain depth without immersing the feathers, and to wade therein and seize 1
fish by means of the neck and beak, the length of which is generally proportioned to that of I
the legs. The stronger among them feed on fish and reptiles, and the weaker on worms and 1
insects. A very few content themselves in part with grain or herbage, and these alone inhabit *
at a distance from any water. Their external toe is most commonly united at base to the ‘
middle one, by means of a short membrane; in some there are two membranes, while others
want them entirely, having the toes quite separated; it also sometimes happens, though
rarely, that they are palmated to the end : the thumb is altogether wanting in several genera;
and all these circumstances exert an influence on their mode of life, which is more or less
aquatic. Nearly the whole of these birds, if we except the Ostriches and Cassowaries, have long
wings and fly well. They stretch out their legs backward during flight, contrary to what is ob-
served of others [or at least those of the foregoing orders], which double them under the belJy.
In this order we establish five principal families, together with some isolated genera.
The first family of Stilt Birds, that of
1 The Brevipennes, j
Although generally similar, in other respects, to the rest, differs widely from them in the
shortness of the wings, which are inadequate to perform the function of flight. The beak and
regimen give them numerous affinities with the Gallinacece. |
It appears as if all the muscular power which is at the disposal of nature, would be insuffi-
cient to move such immense wings as would be required to support their massive bodies in |
the air: their sternum (fig. 112) is a |
simple buckler, and without the ridge |
which exists in all other Birds. The '
pectoral muscles are reduced to ex- I
treme tenuity ; but the posterior ex- J
tremities regain what the wings have !
lost. The muscles of their thighs/^
and of the legs especially, are of ani
enormous thickness. i
[Most, if not all, of these birds, are|
remarkable for their singular mode of
incubation. In the Ostrich, Emeu,^
and Nandou, it appears that several !
females lay in the same nest, the eggs j
being chiefly sat upon by the male, I
who feigns lameness when disturbed :
Fig. 112-steriium of Ostrich. artifice practised by the generality
of ground-birds. It may therefore be presumed that they are polygamous, the attendant j
females of each male depositing their eggs together, commonly to the number of thirty, or !
even more.] ]
They all want the back-toe. In the Ostrich, the number of phalanges to the two front-toes ;
are four and five ; in the Cassowary, [Emeu,] and Nandou, the phalanges of the three front- j
toes number three, four, and five, respectively. We recognize two genera.
The Ostriches (Sfruthio, Lin.), — j
Have lax and flexible feathers on the wings, which latter are sufficiently long to accelerate their speed. ^
Every one is acquainted with the elegance of these slender-stemmed feathers, the barbs of which, *
though furnished with secondary barhules, do not hitch in each other, as is the case with feathers ?
generally. The beak is horizontally depressed, of mean length, and blunt at the tip; the tongue short,!
and rounded like a crescent ; and the eye large, with its lids garnished with lashes. Their legs and j
tarsi are very long. They have an enormous crop, and considerable proventriculus betw^een the crop;
II
II
J'
GRALLiE. 233
and gizzard, voluminous intestines, and long ccEca, also a vast receptacle in which the urine accumu-
lates, as in a bladder ; they are accordingly the only birds that urinate. The penis is very long, and
often protruded.
But two species are known, each of which might form a separate genus, [and they are now generally recognized
as such, an additional species having been discovered of one of them.]
The Ostrich of the Eastern Continent {Str. camelus, Lin.). — Only
two toes to each foot, the outer of which, shorter by one-half than the
other, is destitute of a nail. This bird, celebrated from the most
remote antiquity, and very numerous in the sandy deserts of Arabia
and the whole of Africa, attains the height of six feet and a half. It
lives in large flocks, lays eggs which weigh nearly three pounds each,
and which, in very hot climates, it leaves to be hatched by the solar
heat, but, in extra-tropical regions, carefully incubates and de-
fends them with courage. It subsists on grain and herbage, and its
taste is so obtuse, that it swallows indifferently pebbles, pieces of
iron, copper, &c. [its gizzard always containing a surprising quantity
of small stones, which are doubtless taken for the purpose of assist-
ing in the trituration of the food.] When pursued, it dashes stones
behind it with great force. No animal can overtake it in the chace.
The Nandou {Str. rhea, Lin. [Rhea americana, Auctorum]), or
Ostrich of America, is about half the size of the African Ostrich, and
j| Fitf. 113.— Foot of Ostrich. more thinly covered with feathers : it is also distinguished by pos-
j! sessing three toes to each foot, all of which are furnished with claws. Its plumage is greyish, inclining to brown
j above, with a black line descending along the neck of the male. Is not less abundant in South America than the
I other is in Africa. It is easily tamed when taken young, and its flesh during youth is eaten. [The tarsi of this
I bird are scutellated.
I A second South American species (Rh. Darwinii, Gould ; Rh. pennata, D’Orbigny), is one fifth less in size, with
jj reticulated tarsi : it has also a more densely plumed wing, the feathers of which are broader, and are all terminated
!j by a band of white. The bill is shorter than the head, and the tarsi are plumed for several inches below the joint.
Inhabits Patagonia, where it is rare. Mr. Darwin observed that the Nandous swim with facility].
The Cassowaries {Casuarius, Brisson)—
i Have wings still shorter than those of the Ostriches, and quite useless in aiding progression.
il Their feet have three toes, all furnished with nails ; and the barbs of their feathers are so little fringed
with barhules, that at a distance they resemble pendent hair. [The accessory plume of the feathers
! (which in the Ostrich and Nandou does not exist at all) attains its maximum of developement, so that
j two equal stems appear to grow from the same quill, while in the restricted Cassowary there is even a
! third in addition.]
Two species likewise occur of this genus, each of which might also be elevated to the rank of a genus, [now
generally accepted].
The Galeated Cassowary {Str. casuarius, Lin. ; [Casuarius Erueu, Auctorum] ).— The beak laterally compress d,
and head surmounted with a bony prominence, invested with a horny substance ; the skin of the head and neck
of an azure blue and flame-colour, with pendent caruncles, analogous to those of the Turkey : wings furnished
with some rigid barbless stalks, which are employed as weapons in combat : the nail of the inner toe much
the strongest. It is the largest species of bird, next to the Ostrich, from which it differs considerably in its
anatomy; for it has short intestines and
small cceca, wants the intermediate stomach
between the crop and gizzard, and its cloaca
does not proportionally exceed that of other
birds. It lives on fruit and eggs, but not
on grain ; and lays dark-green eggs, few in
number, which, like the Ostrich, it aban-
dons to the heat of the sun. It is found in
different islands of the Indian Archipelago.
The Emeu of New Holland {Casuarius
Novce Hollandice, Latham, [Dromaius Nov<e
Hollandiee, Vieillot] ). — A depressed beak,
with no casque on the head, nor naked
space except around the eye; the plumage
brown, more dense, and the feathers more
barbed; no caruncles, nor spurs to the Fig. ii4.-stemum of Emeu.
wing ; and the nails of the toes nearly equal. Its flesh resembles beef : it is swifter than the fleetest Greyhound,
and the young are striped brown and white. [Either this or more probably an allied species has been extirpated
234
AVES.
in New Zealand, where some bones of it have been found, and a tradition of its destruction is preserved by the
inhabitants.]
N. B.— We cannot with propriety admit into this series, species so little known, or so ill-authenti-
cated, as those which compose the genus of
Dodos {Didus, Lin.), —
The first species of which (D. ineptus) is only known from the description of it by the early Dutch navigators,
preserved in Clusius {Exot. p. 99), and by an oil-paint-
ing, of the same epoch, copied by Edwards, pi. 294 ; for
the description by Herbert is puerile, and all the rest
are copied from Clusius and Edwards. It seems that
the species has entirely disappeared, for at the present
time there is only a foot of it extant in the British Mu-
seum, and an ill-preserved head in the Ashmolean Mu-
seum at Oxford. The beak appears to be not without
some resemblance to that of the Awks, and the foot
would resemble that of the Penguins, had it been pal-
mated. [Since this was written, the author personally
examined these last precious remains of the now extinct
Dodo, and was not merely satisfied of their validity and
total generic distinctness, but expressed an opinion
that the foot also preserved at Oxford was specifically
different from that in the British Museum.]
The second species (D, soliiarius) rests on the sole
testimony of Leguat {Voy. i. p. 98), a man who has mis-
represented well-known species of animals, as the Hip-
popotamus and Manati.
The third, or Bird of Nazareth (D. nazarenus), is
Figr. 115.— The Dodo. ^nown from the account of Frangois Carechi, who
considers it the same as the first species, giving it however but three toes, while all the others allow that bird to
have four. No one has been able to inspect any of these birds since the time of those voyagers.
The Apteryx, Shaw, —
Appears, of all Birds, to have the wings most completely reduced to simple rudiments. Its general
form is that of a Penguin, and size that of a Goose. The feet also bear some resemblance to those of
the Penguins, but are not described to be palmated. The beak is very long, slender, marked on each
side with a longitudinal groove, and furnished
with a membrane at its base : [the nostrils are
placed at the top of the upper mandible be-
neath, which passes beyond the under one].
Wing reduced to a little stump, terminated by a
hook.
[Several specimens of this singular bird have re-
cently been received, more particularly in England,
and its characters are now tolerably determined. It
has no relationship whatever with the Penguin group,
but there is every reason to place it in the present
family. From all other birds, it differs in the com- x'jg. lie.— i he Apteryx,
pleteness of its diaphragm, and in the absence of abdominal air cells ; none of its bones are hollow. The sternum"
is exceedingly reduced, with one deep posterior emargination on each side, and also a pair of anomalous perfora-s
tions or foramina towards the middle : the ribs are extraordinarily broad, and a single pair of vocal muscles are j
attached to the coracoids : stomach but slightly muscular, and intestines of mean length, with moderate-sizedj
coeca. The feathers have no accessory plume, and their shafts are prolonged considerably beyond the barb ;
there are many long vibrissae about the base of the bill, which is invested with a ceral membrane. The feet have!
a short and elevated hind-toe, the claw of which is alone externally visible. The dimensions of the female appear
to exceed those of the male, and her bill is longer. Size that of a domestic fowl, and colour deep brown.
This very interesting bird is nocturnal in its time of action, and subsists on insects. It runs with rapidity, and.|
defends itself vigorously with its feet. Its native name is Kivi-kivi, derived from its cry.]
The family of
Pressirostres —
Comprehends a number of genera with elongated tarsi, in which the back-toe is either quite!
absent, or so short as not to reach the ground. Bill moderate, but strong enough to penetratel
GRALLJC.
235
; the ground in search of worms, [to obtain which they have the habit of patting with the feet,
which causes the worms to rise] : those species in which it is more feeble frequent meadows
and newly-ploughed land, where this food can be procured with greater ease ; those which
I have stronger bills, subsist additionally on grain, herbage, &c.
i The Bustards {Otis, Lin.) —
I With the heavy port of the Poultry, combine rather a long neck and legs, together with a moderately
I stout bill, the superior mandible of which is slightly arcuated and vaulted ; and they also further
! approximate the GaUinacea by the very small membrane at the base of their toes : but the nudity of
1 the lower- portion of the tibia, their whole anatomy, and even the flavour of their flesh, concur to
: place them in the. present order, in common with various members of which they also want the
I back-toe, and the smaller species are nearly allied to the Plovers. They have reticulated tarsi, and
1 short wings ; fly little, hardly ever using their wings, except to assist them in running, the same as
the Ostriches ; and feed equally on grain, herbage, and worms and insects. [The stomach is very capa-
cious, and extremely attenuated, contrasting remarkably with the muscular gizzard of the true Plovers ;
their plumage is moulted twice in the year, the males of most of them developing accessory ornamental
! feathers, or black under-parts, in the spring ; and their flight, when they do fairly rise, is easy and
winnowing, and capable of considerable protraction. The species are numerous, and confined to the
' Eastern Continent.
ji The two first, one indigenous, the other an occasional visitant, in the British Isles, possess a comparatively
;! stout beak, which is compressed laterally.]
The Great Bustard (0. tarda, Lin.). — Bright buflf-coloured plumage on the upper-parts, crossed with numerous
' black lines ; elsewhere greyish-white. The male, which is the largest of European birds, has [in its summer dress]
|! lengthened ear-coverts, which form a sort of large moustache on each side. This species, which is one of the
[ finest kinds of game, frequents extensive plains, and nestles on the ground amongst the corn. [It is polygamous,
I and the female is much smaller than the male ; the latter being further distinguished by a very capacious mem-
' branous sac beneath the tongue. The voice of the male is a remarkable explosive sound. This bird lays only two
I eggs, of a dark greenish colour, with some black patches : the young, when first hatched, are very like young
I Plovers. It has been nearly extirpated in Great Britain.]
I The Little Bustard (O. tetrasc, Lin.). — Less than half the size of the last species, and much less widely dift’used ;
! of a brown colour, speckled with black above, whitish underneath. The male with a black neck, [in summer plu-
mage only,] and two white collars. [In this species, the sexes scarcely differ in size, from which we should infer
; that it is monogamous. It lays four or five spotless green eggs in corn-fields, and is also highly esteemed for
[' the table.]
The greater number of exotic species have the bill more slender, [and depressed instead of compressed]. Among
them we may remark
,■ Tlie Ruffed Bustard (0. houhara, Desm.), of Africa and Arabia, [and rarely Spain, the male of] which is adorned
: with lengthened feathers on the sides of the neck. [Another species with this character exists in central Asia.]
;| The Plovers {Charadrius, Lin.) —
Likewise want the hind-toe, and have a middle-sized bill, compressed, but swoln towards the tip. They
: may be divided into two subgenera.
The Thick-knees {(Edicnemus, Tern.), —
Wherein the tip of the bill is inflated above as well as beneath, and the groove of the nostrils extends
I only half the length of the beak. They are the largest of the Plover group, and live by preference
li upon arid and stony districts, feeding on slugs, insects, &c. They are allied to the smaller species of
! Bustards [in their exterior conformation, but not in the structure of the stomach, which is a muscular
[ gizzard : their plumage also is moulted once only in the year, and they undergo no seasonal change of
colour]. Their legs are reticulated, and they have a short membrane at the base of their three toes.
j The European Thick-knee {Ch. cedicnemus, Lin. ; Oid. crepitans. Tern.). — Size of [larger than] a Woodcock,
and fulvous-grey, with a brown streak along the middle of each feather ; the belly white, and a brown space under
the eye. [This is the Stone Curlew, Whistling or Norfolh Plover, as it is variously designated, which is common in
several districts of South Britain, and w'ell known wherever it occurs from its sonorous whistling. It lays but
two eggs, which however do not resemble those of the Bustards, and taper at one end ; the smaller Bustards (as
we have seen) produce a greater number. The Thick- knees are for the most part migratory, but some regularly
’ stay the winter. We have reason to believe that it rears more than one brood in a season. There are several
exotic species, some considerably larger and much stouter].
j
236
AVES.
The Restricted Plovers {Charadrius,) —
Have the beak swoln only above, and two-thirds of its length occupied by the nasal groove on each
side, which renders it weaker. They live in numerous flocks, frequent low and humid places, and
stamp the ground to cause the worms on which they feed to rise.
Those of France are merely birds of passag^e, which are met with in autumn and spring' ; near the sea-coast some
of them remain till the beginning of winter. [They all breed, however, within the British isles, and at least some
of them in France also.] Their flesh is excellent. They form, with numerous exotic species, a tribe with reticu-
lated tarsi, of which the most remarkable are
The Golden Plover {Ch. pluvialis, Lin.).— Blackish, speckled with yellow at the tips of the feathers ; the belly
black [in summer, in winter white. It breeds on upland moors. There are others very closely allied, but smaller,
in India, Australia, and North America].
The Dottrel Plover {Ch. morinellmy hin.). — Grey or blackish, the feathers edged with whitish fulvous ; a white
streak over the eye, the breast and upper part of the belly bright rufous, and the lower part of the belly white.
[It breeds on the very summits of mountains uncovered by snow ; flies in large scattered flocks, which are not
shy ; and is partial to chalky districts : its feathers are much esteemed by anglers.]
The Ring Plover {Ch. hiaticula, Lin.).— Greyish brown above, white beneath, with a black [or in winter a brown]
collar on the lower part of the neck, very broad anteriorly ; the head marked with black and white, and the beak
yellow tipped with black. Two or three races or different species inhabit these parts, varying in size and the j
distribution of the colours of the head. [Those of Britain are, first, the common Ring Plover, with plumage as
above described, and orange-coloured legs, which is everywhere very abundant on the sea-coast, breeding both |
there and on heaths a little inland ; the Kentish Plover {Ch. cantianus), with longer and black legs, and a rufous ^
occiput, an inhabitant of shingle-beaches, and less deeply coloured ; and the Little Plover {C. minor), which is a
diminutive of the first, and of excessively rare occurrence so far north.] ITiere are numerous other foreign spe-
cies, with similar general distribution of colours.
Various exotic Plovers have scutellated tarsi, and form a small division (the Pluvianus, Vieillot), of which the
greater number of species possess spurs to the wings, and fleshy wattles to the head ; some of them have both
these characters.
The Lapwings {Vanellus, Bechst. ; Tringa, Lin.) —
Have the same beak as the Plovers, and are only distinguished by the presence of a back-toe, which
however is so small that it does not reach the ground.
In the first tribe of them (the Squatarola, Cuv.), this back-toe is scarcely perceptible. The bill is
swoln underneath, and the nasal groove as short as in the Thick-knee. The feet are reticulated, and
the tail of the European species is rayed black and white. It associates with the Plovers.
The Grey Lapwing, or Stone Plover {Tringa squatarola, Auct.) — [This bird differs only from the Golden Plover
in the stoutness of its bill, and in possessing the small back toe. Its seasonal changes are the same, having the '
under-parts black in summer and white in winter ; the feathers above are similarly mottled, only with whitish j
instead of yellow, except in the young, which is even speckled with yellow. From the true Lapwings and the '
Pluviani, this bird and the restricted Plovers differ in their pointed wings and reticulated tarsi ; the latter having
scutellated tarsi, broad and rounded wings, and a different system of coloration. Its habits are precisely those of
the Golden Plover, and it breeds on some of the northern British moors.]
The Restricted Lapwings {Vanellus, Cuv.) —
Have the hind-toe rather more developed, the tarsi scutellated, at least in part, and the nasal fossa pro-
longed over two-thirds of the beak. They procure worms in the same manner as the Plovers, [and are
peculiar to the eastern hemisphere].
That common in Europe, the Crested Lapwing {T. vanellus, Lin.), is a handsome species the size of a Pigeon, of
a richly bronzed black above, with a long and slender occipital crest. [Throat black in summer and white in
winter, at which latter season the colours are comparatively dull.] It arrives in spring, lives and propagates in
the meadows, and departs in autumn. The eggs are considered a great delicacy.
There are some species of this genus in hot climates, the wings of which are armed with one or two spurs, and
others which have fleshy wattles at the base of the beak. They are very noisy birds, screaming at every sound
they hear, and defend themselves with courage against birds of prey. Live also in the meadows. [A second
European species of Lapwing, from the south-eastern countries, is the F. gregarius, Pallas, or V. heptuscha, Tem.]
The Oyster-catchers {Hamatopus, Lin.)-r-
Have the beak rather longer than in the Plovers and Lapwings, straight, pointed, and compressed into
a wedge ; strong enough to enable them to force open the bivalve shells of the mollusks on which :
they feed. They also seek for worms upon the ground. The nasal groove, which is very deep, ‘
occupies half the length of the bill, and the nostrils are pierced in the middle like a small fissure.
Their legs are of mean length, the tarsi reticulated, and the feet divided only into three toes.
GRALLyE.
237
That of Europe (//. ostralegiis, Lin.) is commonly termed Sea-pie, from its black and white plumag'e; the belly,
throat, and base of the wings and tail, being of the latter colour ; beak and feet bright orange-red. [There are
several more,]
We shall place near the Plovers and Oyster-catchers
The Coursers {Cursorius, Lacepede ; Tachydromus, Illiger), —
The beak of which, more slender, hut equally conical, is arcuated, without any groove, and moderately
cleft ; the wings are shorter, and the legs more elevated, and terminated by three toes, without any
thumb or palmature. [They approximate the Bustards in appearance and habits, and have a similar
large membranous stomach ; but do not change colour with the seasons, and are very much smaller ;
are peculiar also to the eastern hemisphere].
One has been met with, but very rarely, in France and England, which is indigenous to the north of Africa, the
Cream-coloured Courser (C. isabellinus, Meyer), of a pale fulvous colour above, white beneath, [the young trans-
versely rayed above with narrow dusky lines. There are several others.]
As far as can be judged from the exterior, it is here that we should also place
The Cariama {Microdactylus, Geoff. ; DicholopTius, Illiger) —
Which has a longer beak, more curved, and cleft as far as the eye, which imparts somewhat of the
physiognomy and disposition of the Birds of Prey, approaching also a little to the Herons. The legs,
scutellated and very long, terminate in thi-ee short toes, a little palmated at the base, together with a
thumb that does not reach the ground.
[This curious bird is most nearly related to the Guans, and should rank in the Poultry order : the
affinity is particularly apparent when it is seen alive. In its anatomy, it chiefly differs from the Galli-
naceous type in wanting the appendage to the furcula, which latter is otherwise similar to that of a
Fowl, and in having the sternal emarginations much less deep. It is essentially a Poultry bird with
the long legs of a Crane ; but differs in its short and elevated hind-toe from the Carassows and Guans].
We are acquainted with one species only, from South America, (M. cristatus, Geoff. ; Palamedea cristata, Gm. ;
Sana, d’Az.), which surpasses the Heron in size, and subsists on Lizards and insects, which it hunts for on high
grounds and along the borders of forests. Plumage yellowish-grey, waved with brown ; some thinly-barbed fea-
thers at the base of the beak, forming a slight crest, which is thrown backward. It flies but seldom, and then
badly ; and its loud voice resembles that of a young Turkey. As its flesh is esteemed, it has been domesticated in
several places.
The family of
CULTRIROSTRES
Is known by a long, thick, and stout beak, which is most generally trenchant and pointed,
and is almost entirely composed of the birds comprehended in the genus Ardea of Linnaeus.
In a great number of species, the trachea of the male [and of the female also] forms various
curves : their coeca are short [or moderate], and the true Herons have even only one.
We subdivide it into three tribes, the Cranes, the Herons properly so designated, and the
Storks.
The first tribe forms but one great genus, that of
The Cranes {Grus, Cuv.), —
Which have a straight beak, but slightly cleft ; the membranous groove of the nostrils, which is large
and concave, occupying nearly half its length. Their legs are scutellated, with toes of moderate length ;
the external but slightly palmated, and the thumb barely reaching to the ground. A more or
less considerable portion of the head and neck is bare of feathers in nearly all of them. Their habits
are more terrene, and their nourishment is derived more from vegetables, than in the following
genera : they have accordingly a muscular gizzard, and tolerably long coeca. The inferior larynx is
provided with only one muscle at each side.
At the head of the genus we place, as Pallas has already done.
The Agami {Psqphia, Lin.), —
Which has a shorter beak than the others, the head and neck invested merely with down, and the
circumference of the eyes naked. They live in the woods, and subsist on grain and fruits.
238
AVES.
The best known species (Ps. crepitans, Lin.), inhabits South America, and is called the Trumpeter, from its
faculty of producing- a low, deep sound, which at first seems to
proceed from the anus. It is the size of a large Capon ; plumage
black, with reflections of brilliant violet on the breast ; and an
ashy mantle tinged with fulvous above. This bird soon recog-
nizes persons, becomes attached to them like a Dog, and when
domesticated, it is said, may be left to take charge of other I
poultry. It flies badly, but runs with great swiftness, and nestles
on the ground at the foot of a tree. Its flesh is considered good
eating.
[The location of this very singular species among the Cranes,
is by no means satisfactory ; but we do not know that it can be
placed to greater advantage elsewhere. Its port resembles that
of the Struthious birds (or Brevipennes) ; and the configura-
tion of the sternum (fig. 117) is unique, not even approaching
that of any other group. The trachea is much elongated, and
continued under the skin of the abdomen, which occasions the
sound of its voice to appear to come from that part. Upon the
whole, we conceive that it is as nearly allied to the Tinamous,
which inhabit the same region, as to any other known genus, and
would prefer to detach it in a more marked manner from that of
the Cranes. It has also some remote affinity with Palamedea.
Fig. 117.— Sternum of the Agami.
The Restricted Cranes {Grus, Bechstein) — |
Have ample wings, and considerably longer neck and legs. Their figure is much more elegant and |j
graceful ; and they feed on corn, and upon reptiles ; chiefly frequenting humid districts in fl; cks that ^
are often numerous. They do not run wdth speed ; hut have singular habits of attitudinizing, with
expanded wings, and circling around each other with a light and tripping step. Their voice is vtry
loud and harsh. Naturalists have further subdivided them, first into
The Balearicans {Balearica, Vigors), — I]
The occiput of which is adorned with a peculiar bushy crest, composed of erect and crimpled barbless^
stems of equal length ; the forehead is clad with short and close feathers, of velvety appearance ; and I
the throat is furnished with fleshy wattles. The sternum resembles that of a Heron; but the furcula
is not anchylosed to its ridge, as in the others, nor does the trachea undergo any convolution ; the ;
laryngeal muscles are attached to the first true ribs. These birds perch with facility, and are very
readily domesticated.
Two species are known, from eastern and western Africa respectively ; tlie first with a pale grey neck, and much ;
larger fleshy wattles, {B. regulorum) ; the other, which is more commonly brought alive to Europe, having a blackish '
neck and small wattles {B. pavonia). Both have also naked cheeks.
The rest have lengthened tertials, and no crest ; the furcula is soldered to the sternal keel, and the :
latter is hollow and inflated to receive the trachea, which undergoes a convolution within it, as in I
several Swans. Such are
The Demoiselles {Anthropoides, Vigors), —
Which have the head and neck quite feathered, and the tertials hanging over the tail to reach the
ground. They are confined to Africa, like the last.
The Paradise Demoiselle (G. paradiseeus, Vieillot ; Anth. ^tanleyanus, Bennett). — A large species, entirely of a j
delicate ashy-grey colour ; the plumage of the head short and erectile, having very much the appearance of infla- !
table skin. The Numidian Demoiselle {Ardea virgo, Lin.) is mr, ffi smaller, and characterized by a black neck, ;j ;
with two elegant whitish tufts on the sides of the head, formed b> the prolongation of the ear-coverts. [
Finally,
The True Cranes (Grus, Vigors) — |
Have the beak as long as the head, or longer ; the head and part of the neck generally naked ; and the f '
tertials commonly recurved. The species are comparatively numerous, and much more widely
distributed. Habits migratory.
One is common in Europe, and sometimes occurs, but as an exceedingly rare straggler, in the British Isles, the
European Crane {Ardea grus, Lin. ; Grus cinerea, Bechst.) ] — Four feet and upwards in height, of an ash-colour, 1
with a black throat ; the summit of the head red and naked. This bird has been celebrated from the earliest | '
ages, on account of its regular migrations, from north to south in the autumn, and back in the spring, which it <
efibcts in numerous and well-ordered flocks. It feeds on grain, but prefers the worms and insects of marshy | ?
1.
GRALLJ^.
239
grounds. The ancients frequently speak of it, because the principal course of its migrations appears to be
through Greece and Asia Minor.
Between the Cranes and Herons may be placed
The Courlan [ {Aramus, Vieillot),]
The beak of which, more slender and rather more deeply cleft than that of the Cranes, is swoln near
the terminal third of its length ; and the toes are comparatively long, without any basal membrane.
[Its anatomy approaches that of the Rails].
The species {Ard. scolopacea, Gm.), resembles the Herons in size as well as manners, and has brown plumage,
with some white pencils on the neck.
Also
The Carle {Europyga, Illig.), —
With a beak more slender than that of the Cranes, but marked with a similar nasal groove, and split
nearly to the eyes, as in the Herons, but having no naked skin at its base.
It is a bird the size of a Partridge, with a long and slender neck, broad open tail, and rather short legs, which
altogether impart a very dilferent aspect from that of the wading birds in general. Its plumage, shaded with
bands and lines of brown, fulvous, russet, grey and black, recalls to mind the colouring of some of the most beau-
tiful Moths. It is found along the rivers of Guiana, [and we suspect is closely allied to the African genus
Rhynchced\.
The second tribe is more carnivorous, and is characterized by its stronger beak, and longer
toes : [they mostly nestle upon trees in large societies, and the young are at first helpless and
naked]. At its head may be placed
The Boatbills {Cancroma, Lin), —
Which would completely resemble the Herons in the strength of their bill, and the kind of nourish-
ment resulting therefrom, were it not for the extraordinary form of that organ ; as, upon close exami-
nation, we find that it is merely the beak of a Heron or Bittern, very much inflated ; in point of fact, the
mandibles are singularly wide from right to left, and formed like the bowls of two spoons, the concave sides
of which are placed in contact. These mandibles are very stout and sharp-edged, and the upper one has
a pointed tooth on each side of its tip ; the nostrils, pierced towards the base, are prolonged into two
parallel grooves to near the end. The feet have four toes, all of them long, and nearly without con-
necting membrane ; for which reason these birds perch on the branches of trees by the sides of rivers,
from which they precipitate themselves on the fish, whieh constitute their ordinary food. Their gait is
slow, and their attitudes constrained like those of the Herons. [The Boatbills are, in brief, simply
modified Herons, from which they differ only in their inflated beak, conforming in their whole
anatomy.]
The known species (C. cochlearea, Lin.), is the size of a common Fowl, and
whitish, with a grey or brown back, the belly rufous, and forehead white ;
head adorned with a black calotte, which, in the adult male, becomes a
lengthened crest : it inhabits the hot and humid regions of South America.
The Herons {Ardea, Lin.),—
Have the beak cleft as far as the eyes, with a small nasal fossa pro-
longed into a groove nearly to the point : they are also distinguished
by the pectinated inner edge of the claw of their middle toe. Their
legs are scutellated, with the toes (including the hind one) rather
long [and articulated on the same plane] : the palmature of the outer
ones is considerable, and their eyes are placed in a naked skin, which
extends to the beak. Their stomach is a very large sac, but slightly
muscular, [the intestines extremely long and slender,] and they have
only one minute coecum. They are unlively birds, which nestle and
perch by the sides of rivers, and consume a vast quantity of fish. The
species are very numerous in both continents, and can scarcely be dis-
tinguished except by differences of plumage.
Fig.iis.-sternum of Purple Heron. The True Herons have a very slender neck, with long and pendent feathers
towards its base. As
The Common Heron (A. major & A. cinerea, Lin.). — Bluish ash-coloured, with a black occipital crest ; the neck
AYES.
240
white, marked on each side with a row of black tears 5 [dorsal plumage rounded in the young, pointed after the
first moult, and much elongated and narrowed in the adult, all the feathers having a crape-like appearance, devoid
of gloss, but rich in colouring. Both sexes alike.] A large bird, very noxious on account of the quantity of fish
it destroys, and formerly celebrated for the sport which it afibrded to falconers. [It breeds, like most of the
genus, on the branches of high trees, many nests together, which are termed Heronries ; seizes its prey by an
instantaneous stroke of the bill, transfixing it if large ; watches for it motionless ; emits a loud cry or honk, and
flies buoyantly : characters which mostly apply to the genus generally.] !
We have also another species, the Purple Heron (A. pnrpurea) [smaller and more slender, with longer toes, like
those of a Bittern. It breeds on the ground, and is rare in the British islands. Colour altogether more reddish.]
Certain small species with shorter legs are termed Dwarf-bitterns [the Ardeola, Bonap. They are in every
respect true Bitterns, and resemble that of North America in immature plumage, acquiring a garb analogous to
that of the Night-herons when adult.] There is one common in the mountainous districts of France {Ard. minuta
and danubialis, Gm.), which is scarcely larger than a Rail, and fulvous, with the calotte, back, and quills, black.
It frequents the vicinity of ponds.
The Tiger-bitterns conjoin to the contour of the Dwarf-bitterns the stature of a Heron and the plumage of the
ordinary Bitterns.
Egrets are Herons, the feathers of which, on the lower part of the back, at a certain epoch are lengthened and
thinly bai’bed. [They are mostly pure white.] One of the handsomest of them, the Heron-crested Egret (A. gar-
zetta, Lin.), is entirely white, with the dorsal plumage not extending beyond the tail, [and a long occipital crest of
narrow feathers, resembling in shape those of the Common Heron. It is peculiar to the eastern continent]. Also
the European Great Egret {A. alba and egretta), likewise wholly white, and the thinly-barbed dorsal plumage
prolonged beyond the tail. [There are numerous others, in every part of the world. A third in Europe is the
Bulf backed Heron or Egret (A. russata), with a shorter and smooth yellow bill, longer toes, and coloured dorsal
plumage in the adult, like the next species.]
We approximate to the Egrets the Squacco Heron {A. comata and ralloides), a bird of the south of Europe, with
a russet-brown back, the belly, wings, and tail, white. The adult has a yellowish neck, [densely clad like that of a ^
Bittern], and a long [striped] occipital crest : [the toes are also long, and the lengthened dorsal plumage of this
and the last species are of a hair-like texture, besides resembling in colour. The present species occurs less
unfrequently in the British Isles than either of the three last.]
Bitterns have the feathers of the neck lax and separated, which increases their apparent size, [at least when they
erect them, which they have the power of doing to their whole clothing plumage]. They are commonly rayed or
speckled, [and not so high on the legs].
The European Bittern (A. stellaris) is bright fulvous or clay-colour, mottled and speckled with blackish, and
has green bill and feet. It is found among the reeds, whence it emits its terrific voice, which has caused it to be
designated Bos-taurus. [This bird is not rare in Britain, runs wfith great celerity like a Rail, flies also with
unwillingness, and with its legs hanging, during the day, and when surprized puffs out its plumage in an extra-
ordinary manner, and strikes with its spear-like bill. In the evening it rises to a vast height in the air, in spiral jj
ch'cles, occasionally in its flight : it breeds among aquatic herbage in the marshes, and lays eggs of a
dark brown colour.]
The Night-herons, with the same port as the Bitterns, have the beak proportionally much thicker, and some f
slender feathers [three in number] growing from the occiput of the adult. One only inhabits Europe {A. nycti- ^
corax, Lin.), the male of which is whitish, with the calotte and back black ; the young brown above spotted with
whitish, and the calotte dusky. [It is rare in Britain.]
In fine, we should remark that these different subdivisions of the genus of Herons are of trivial import, and by
no means well defined. [Together with the Boatbills, they constitute a perfectly distinct group, strongly charac-
terized by their anatomy, and particularly by the single minute coecum, and the number of cervical vertebra^;
— seventeen.] ■'B'
The third tribe, besides having a stouter and smoother beak, has tolerably strong and nearly ; i
equal membranes between the bases of the toes.
The Storks {Ciconia, Cuv.) —
Possess a thick bill, moderately cleft, without any fossa or groove, and the nostrils pierced towards 1
the back and base ; also an extremely short tongue. Their legs are reticulated, and the front toes 1
strongly palmated at base, more particularly the outer. Their large and thin mahdibles, by striking > i
against each other, produce a clattering noise, which is almost the only sound these birds ever make, f
Their gizzard is slightly muscular, and their two coeca so small as to be barely perceptible. Their inferior
larynx has no muscle proper ; and the bronchi are longer and composed of more entire rings than usual.
We have two species in France.
The White Stork (A. ciconia, Lin.).— Wliite, with black quill- feathers, and red bill and feet ; a large bird, which
the people hold in particular respect, doubtless originating from its utility in destroying Snakes and other noxious
animals. It nestles by preference on towers and chimney-stacks, returning to the same every spring, after having
passed the winter in Africa. [The reason that this species is not common in Britain, is that every pair are shot 1
soon after making their appearance, which prevents the founding of a colony.] ;
GRALL.E. 241
[The Black Stork (A. nigra, Lin.).— Blackish, with rich purple reflections, and the belly white. It frequents
retired marshes, and builds in the forests.
Among foreign species, w e may distinguish
The Adjutants [^Argala, Berm.], —
Or bare-necked Storks, the beak of which is still larger and slighter ; and among them
The Pouched Adjutants {Ard. duhia, Gmelin ; A. argala, Lin.) ; which have an appendage under the middle of
the throat resembling a great sausage, and from beneath the wings of which are procured those light downy fea-
thers, that are made into tufts called Maribous. Two species of them are known ; one from Senegal, with a
uniform mantle, {Cic. marihou, Tern.), the other from India, of which the wdng-coverts are bordered with white,
(C. argala. Tern.).— Their large beak enables them to capture birds on the wing. Add C. capillata. Tern.
The Jabirus {Mycteria, Lin.), —
j Which were separated by Linnaeus from Ardea, are very closely allied to the Storks, and much more
! so than the latter are to the Herons ; the moderate opening of their beak, their nostrils, the reticu-
j lated envelope of their legs, together with the considerable palmature of the toes, are absolutely the
jj same as in the Storks, which they further resemble in their mode of life. Their peculiarity consists in
Ij having the beak slightly curved upwards towards its extremity.
i| The best-known species (M. americana, Lin.), is very large, and white, with a bare head and neck, invested with
|| a black skin, the lower part of which is red ; the occiput alone has some white feathers, and the beak and feet are
I black. It is found along the borders of pools and marshes in South Amei’ica, where it preys on reptiles and fish.
I The Ciconia ephippiryncha, Ruppell, only differs from M. senegalensis, Latham, in being drawn from the recent
I specimen.
j The Umbres {Scopus, Brisson) —
: Are only distinguished from the Storks by their compressed beak, the trenchant ridge of which is
I inflated towards the base, and the nostrils are prolonged by a groove which runs parallel with the
j ridge to its tip, which is slightly hooked.
! One species only is known, the Crested Umbre {Sc. umbrettd), as large as a Crow, and of an umber colour, the
male crested. It is diffused over all Africa.
The Anastomes {Hians, Lacep. ; Anastomus, IHig.) —
I Are separated from the Storks by about as trivial a character as that which distinguishes the Jabirus.
I* The mandibles of their beak come in contact only at the base and tips, leaving a wide interval
I between their edges, at the medial portion. Even this seems to be the result of detrition, for the
' fibres of the horny substance appear as though it had been worn away.
j They are East Indian birds, one of which is whitish {Ardea ponticeriana, Gm.), the other greyish-brown
{A. eoromandeliana, Sonnerat). Perhaps the latter is merely the young of the former. Both have black quill and
il tail-feathers. A third, of an iridescent black {An. lamelliger, Tern.), is remarkable for the stem of each of its fea-
ji thers terminating in a narrow horny disk, which passes beyond the vane.
ji The Dromes {Dromas, Paykull) —
I Bear a close resemblance to the preceding, having nearly the same feet and contour ; but their com-
II pressed beak, the base of which is a little inflated beneath, is pierced with oval nostrils, and the
; mandibles close completely.
■jj We know only one species, from the shores of the Red Sea and banks of the Senegal {Dramas ardeola, Payk.)
i| with white plumage, and part of the mantle and wings black.
-!j The Tantals {Tantalus, Lin.) —
I Have the feet, nostrils, and beak of the Storks, except that the ridge of the latter is rounded, and its
Ij tip gradually curved downwards, and slightly emarginated on each side : a portion of the head, and
Ij sometimes of the neck, is bare of feathers.
! The Wood Ibis of North America {T. loculator, Lin.).— As large as a Stork, but more slender ; white, with the
quill and tail-feathers black, as is also the naked skin of the head and neck. It is found in both Americas,
appearing in each during the rainy season, and frequents muddy waters, where it seeks principally for Eels. Its
gait is slow, and general aspect unlively.
The African species {T. ibis, Lin.), which is white, slightly shaded with purple on the wings, and has a yellow
beak, and the naked skin of the visage red, was long regarded by naturalists as the bird so revered by the ancient
Egyptians under the name of Ibis ; but recent researches have proved that the real Ibis is a much smaller species,
which we will notice presently. The bird now under consideration is not even commonly found in Egypt, but is
brought chiefly from Senegal.
R
242
AVES.
That of Ceylon (T. leucocephalus) is the largest of all, and has also the thickest bill. Its beak, and the naked
skin of the face, are yellow, the plumage white, with black quills and cincture round the breast, and long roseate |
plumes on the croup, which are shed during the rainy season. A fourth may be added, the T. lacteus of
Temminck.
The Spoonbills {Platalea, Lin.) —
Approximate the Storks in their whole structure, but their beak, from which their name is derived, is long, j
flat, and broad throughout its length, widening and flattening more particularly at the end, so as to form l
a round spatula-like disk ; with two shallow grooves extending its entire length, without being exactly
parallel to its edges. The nostrils are oval, and pierced at a small distance from the origin of each
groove. Their minute tongue, reticulated tarsi, the somewhat considerable palmature of their toes, ]
their two very small coeca, but slightly muscular gizzard, and inferior larynx without any peculiar
muscles, are the same as in the Storks ; but the expansion of their bill deprives it of all its strength,
and unfits it for any thing but turning up sand, or picking up small fish and aquatic insects.
The White Spoonbill {PI. leucorodla, Gm.). — Entirely white, with an occipital crest. It is common throughout
the ancient continent, and nestles in high trees. [The trachea normally undergoes in both sexes a small convolu- i
tion resembling the figure 8, but we have dissected one female wherein it proceeded straight to the divarication
of the bronchi, and was furnished with a small pair of muscles].
The Roseate Spoonbill {PI. ajaja). — A naked visage, and vivid roseate tints of different shades upon the plumage,
which deepen with age. It is properly an inhabitant of South America.
The family of
Longirostres
Consists of a multitude of Shore-birds, the greater number of which were comprehended by
Linmeus in his genus Scolopax, and the rest confounded by him in that of Tringa, though
partly in opposition to the character assigned to the latter, of having the back-toe too short
to reach the ground. Lastly, it contains a few that have been placed with the Plovers, on
account of the total absence of the hind toe. The whole of these birds have nearly the same;l|i
conformation, the same habits, and most frequently the same distribution of colours, which
I render it difficult to distinguish between them. They are generally characterized by a long, i
slender, and feeble bill, which only permits them to bore in the mud in search of worms and'|,i
small insects ; and the various slight modifications in the form of this beak enable us to |
arrange them into genera and subgenera. m
[We should observe that the distinction between this group and the Pressirostres is extremely 1
vague, or rather, with certain reservations, that they compose but one series, plainly charac-
terized by their anatomy. The sternal apparatus of the Knot Sandpiper (fig. 119.) may serve |'
as a specimen of this portion of the skeleton throughout ;! ‘
the whole, the few modifications which occur of it being ||
inconsiderable. The stomach (save in the Bustards and i|, :
Coursers, which in other respects are the least conform- 1 1
able among them), is always a muscular gizzard, and the li :
intestines long, with small or moderate coeca, and invaria- If
bly a distinct ccecal remnant of the umbilical vessel. The* '
females (except in the very few species of polygamous || t
habit), are larger than the males, and they almost invariably 1 (i
lay four eggs on the ground, upon little or no nest, andfi!j
dispose them with the small ends inwards; the young l|!i
following their parents as soon as they burst the shell]. ||| j
According to his own principles, Linnaeus should have In
classed most of these birds in his great genus of
The Snipes {Scolopax), — %
Fig. iig -sternum of the Knot Sandpiper. Which W6 divide as follows, from trivial variations of the form||(
of the bill.
The Ibises {Ibis, Cuv.). i«l
We separate these from the Tantali of Gmelin, on account of their beak, which, though arcuated as inf .
GRALLiE.
243
the latter, is much more feeble, and devoid of emargination at the tip ; besides which the nostrils,
pierced towards the back and base, are prolonged in a groove which reaches to the end. This beak is
also tolerably thick, and nearly square at the base, and some parts of the head or even of the neck are
always bare of feathers. The external toes are considerably palmated at base, and the thumb suffi-
ciently long to bear upon the ground. [The gradation is, in fact, quite imperceptible from these to the
Tantals, and the anatomy and character of
the plumage concur to show that both natu-
rally pertain to the preceding division of Cul-
trirostres : we believe the Ibises also build in
society upon trees ; and there is certainly no
trace of a passage from them into the Scolo-
paceous birds.] Some of them have short
and reticulated legs ; and these are also more
robust, and have a thicker bill.
The Sacred Ibis (7. religiosa, Nobis; Abou
Hannes, Bruce ; Tantalm AEthiopicus, Latham), is
the most celebrated species. It was reared in the
temples of ancient Egypt, with a degree of respect
bordering on adoration ; and was embalmed after
its death. This arose, according to some, from its
devouring serpents, which would otherwise have
multiplied to a noxious extent in the country ; while others are of opinion that it took its origin from some rela-
tion between its plumage and one of the phases of the moon ; a third class ascribing it to the fact that its appear-
ance announced the overflow of the Nile. For a long while, the African Tantal was believed to be the Ibis of the
Egyptians, which is now ascertained to be a species of the division we are now treating of, the size of a Fowl,
with white plumage, excepting the tips of the quill-feathers, which are black ; the greater coverts [tertiaries]
having elongated, slender, and loose barbs, of a black colour with violet reflections, and covering the extremities
of the wing and tail. The beak and feet, together with the naked part of the head and neck, are black ; and the
latter clothed, in the young, at least the upper surface, with short black feathers.* It is found throughout
Africa.
Fig-. 120.— Sternum of Glossy Ibis.
Other Ibises have scutellated tarsi, and generally a more slender bill.
The Scarlet Ibis {Scol. rubra, Lin. ; Tantalus ruber, Gm.). — Remarkable for its bright-red colour all over,
except the black tips of its wings. The young are at first covered with blackish down, becoming then ash-
coloured, and whitish when they begin to fly : in two years the red makes its appearance, the brilliancy of which
I increases with age. It is found in the hot parts of America, and lives in marshy districts in the vicinity of
estuaries ; does not migrate, and is easily rendered domestic.
The Glossy Ibis {Sc. falcinellus, Lin.). — Body empurpled rufous-brown, with a deep green mantle ; the young
I with the head and neck speckled with whitish. A resplendent species of the south of Europe and north of Africa,
■| and probably that designated Black Ibis by the ancients. [It occurs rarely in the British Isles.]
|| The Curlews {Numenius, Cuv.) —
Have an arcuated bill like that of an Ibis, but more slender, and round throughout ; the tip of the
|j upper mandible passing beyond that of the lower, and bulging a little downwards in front of it.
: The toes are palmated at base.
!; The Whaup Curlew {Sc. arcuata, Lin.).— Size of a Capon, and brown, with the margins of all the feathers
I whitish ; the croup white, and tail barred white and brown. It is tolerably good eating, and common along our
ij coasts, and as a bird of passage in the interior, [breeding in the upland moors of Britain : its plaintive whistle is
I well known along the sea-side, and has given rise to its name.]
jj The Wliimbrel Curlew {Sc. pliceopus, Lin.). — One half smaller, with nearly similar plumage. [Is not quite so
ij common in Britain as the last, and breeds sparingly on our most northern hills. There are several others].
!| The Snipes, properly so called, {Scolopax, Cuv.), —
,i Have a straight hill, with the nasal grooves extending nearly to the tip, which expands a little exter-
I nally to reach beyond the lower mandible, on the middle of which there is a simple furrow. The tip of
J the bill is soft and very sensitive, and drying after death presents a punctured surface. The feet are
I devoid of any palmature. A peculiar character of these birds consists in the compressed form of the
] head, and the backward site [at least in the larger species, with shorter tarsi], of their large eyes,
I which imparts a singularly stupid air, in conformity with their habits.
•We believe that all birds which have any naked parts in the adult state, have invariably the same feathered when youngs.— Ed.
R 2
AVES.
244
[They fall into two natural subdivisions : the first that of the Woodcocks, with less slender form, shorter leg's,
and the tibia feathered to the joint ; colour I'esembling that of decayed leaves.]
The European Woodcock (Sc, rusticola, Lin,). — Universally known, with handsomely mottled plumage. In the
summer it inhabits high mountains, and descends into the woods in the month of October, where it is generally
met with singly or in pairs, particularly in dull weather, and feeds on worms and insects. A few remain in the
level country throughout the year.
[The Snipes, commonly so called, are lighter-made, with longer legs, and tibia bare above the joint. They fre- |
quent marshy districts, and are coloured in adaptation to their abode.
In Britain, we have three species, very similar in their colouring, — the Great or Double Snipe (Sc. major), which
approaches in form to a Woodcock, and is only met with in the seasons of passage ; the Common or Whole Snipe
(Sc. gallinago), 'which breeds in considerable numbers on the northern hills, and is everywhere common in marshy
districts during the winter; and the Half or Jack Snipe (Sc. a minute species, more richly coloured
than the preceding, with much less tail : a fourth, the Sabine’s Snipe (Sc. Sabini), is extremely rare, and exceeds
the Common Snipe in size, having dingy plumage, with no white upon it. All are highly esteemed for the table.]
We should distinguish from the other Snipes
The Grey species (-S. and Novoboracensis : [Macroramphm Leach), which is in truth a Tringa
with a longer bill than usual, similar to that of the Snipes, and retains the gregarious habits and seasonal changes
of colouring of the true Sandpipers and Godwits.] Its front toes are semipalmated. Tliis bird is common in North
America and occurs as a rare straggler on this side of the Atlantic.
The Rhyncheans {Rhynchcea, Cuv.) —
Are African and Indian birds, the mandibles of which are nearly equal, a little arched at the end, with
the nasal grooves extending to the tip of the upper one, which has no third furrow. Their toes are
not palmated. To the port of the Snipes, they conjoin more vivid colours, and are particularly
remarkable for the ocellated spots which adorn the quill-feathers of their wings and tail.
They are found of dilFerent medleys of colour, which Gmelin brought together as so many varieties of one
species (Sc. capensis), and which Temminck also believes to be the same at difterent ages. One perfectly distinct
has, however, been received from Brazil (Rh. hilarea, Val.)
The Godwits {Limosa, Bechst.) — S ;
Have a straight bill, sometimes a little arcuated upwards, and still longer than in the Snipes, the||!
nasal groove extending almost to the tip, which is rather soft and depressed, but without additionalij
furrow, or punctation. The external toes are palmated at base. Their form is much more attenuated;! ^
and legs considerably more elevated, than in the Snipes, and they frequent salt marshes and the shores| |
of the ocean [changing to rufous on the under-parls and partially above in the breeding season, as in||
many Sandpipers, to which their gregarious habits are more nearly related than to those of the Snipes.lis
Two species are not uncommon on the British shores, viz., the Bar-tailed Godwit (L. rufd), which breeds moref ,
to the north, and abounds during the seasons of passage, and throughout the winter ; and the Black-tailed Godwit^
(L. j;ieZa«Mr«), which is much taller, with a longer bill, and (in old specimens) a pectinated middle claw; the
distal half of its tail is black, and it does not acquire so bright a rufous in the spring. This bird breeds in the, .
British marshes, and can pick up and subsist on barley, upon which numbers are fed that are brought from Hol-^ !
land to the London markets. There are several others.]
The Sandpipers (Ch/Mm, Cuv. ; Tern.) — i;
Have the tip of the beak depressed, and the nasal furrow very long, as in the Godwuts, but the mandi-|;^
hies in general are not longer than the head ; their toes, slightly bordered, have no palmation at the ;
base, and the back-toe hardly reaches to the ground; their legs but moderately elevated, and abbre-v ’
viated form, impart a heavier carriage than that of the Godwits. Their size also is much smaller. *
[The author separates his group Pdidna, merely on the charaeter of having the beak a trifle longer j
than the head, a difference which in several species depends merely on age or sex ; the females of all i'
the present family having a proportionally longer beak than the males, besides exceeding them a little^ -
in stature.
Numerous species are found, more or less regularly, on the British shores: the principal of which are — th^f
Knot Sandpiper (Tr. canutus), the size of a Snipe, and ashy-grey above, white below, with some dusky spots oi^i
the breast in winter, suffused with bright ferruginous in the spring ; bill short and straight ; it is a common species]^ :
and occurs in large flocks during the seasons of passage and through the winter, retiring further north to breed. !
The Purple Sandpiper (Tr. maritima), is smaller and less gregarious, and prefers rocky shores; back empurpled,^,, I'
the feathers margined with greyish during the winter. The rest are placed by the author in his Pelidna. Thef *
Purre Sandpiper (Tr. variabilis), still smaller, with a I’ather longer and more arcuated bill, coloured in winter likej I
* The latter imme is generally adopted. — Ed. •
GRxVLL^.
245
the first, and mottled with rufous above, and a black patch across the breast, in the breeding- season : it is the
I commonest of all, and some breed on the upland moors. The Curlew Sandpiper (Sc. subarquata, Gm. ; Numenms
africanus, Lath.), resembles the Knot in colouring and seasonal changes, and the Purre in size, with a still longer
and more-arcuated bill ; it is not common, nor very rare, on the British shores. The Little Sandpiper (Tr. minuta)
I is considerably less than the last, with a short bill ; it acquires some rufous tints in the spring, on the upper parts
and across the breast, and is certainly rare, though very much overlooked. Three or four others occur as strag-
ij glei's. These active-little birds take their food along the margin of the sea, following each retreating wave ; when
, gregarious in considerable flocks, and in their winter plumage, the whole show alternately their grey upper
j parts and white lower parts as they whirl in the air, producing a remarkable appearance, well known to those
i accustomed to wander by the sea side.]
' The Sanderlings {Arenaria, Bechst. ; CalidriSf Vigors) —
Ij Merely differ in the absence of hind-toe, like the Plovers.
jl One only is known (Charadrius calidris, Gmelin), the size of a Purre, with analogous seasonal changes to those
of the Knot Sandpiper. [It appears to be almost generally diffused, and is common on the British shores.]
i[
I The Falcinelles {EroUa, Vieillot) —
jj Have the beak rather more arcuated than in the Curlew Sandpiper, but do not, as has been asserted,
ji want the thumb.
:| We are acquainted with one only, {Sc. pygmcea, Lin.), a bird proper to Africa, but which is occasionally found
, in Europe.
i; The Ruffs {Machetes, Cuv.) —
[ Are true Sandpipers by the bill and feet, except that the palmature of their outer toes is nearly as
j' considerable as in the Garabets, Godwits, &c.
I One species only is known {Tr. pugnax,!^^..). Larger than a Snipe, and very celebrated for the furious combats
ij which the males wage in spring for the possession of the females. At this epoch, the head becomes partly covered
j' with red [or yellow] papillae, and the neck is furnished with a very considerable collar or rulf of lengthened feathers,
i so variously marked and coloured in different individuals, that two can hardly ever be found alike, and rarely much
i resembling each other. They have always yellow legs*, which, together w'ith the semi-palmation of the toes, assists
: us to recognize them at all seasons. The species is common in the north of Europe, [and is remarkable for the
i male exceeding the female in size, at variance with the other members of this group, but in accordance with
' its polygamous habits. Vast numbers are brought from Holland to the London markets.]
j America produces some species nearly allied, as the Hemipalamus, Bonap. ; or Tringa semipalmata, Wilson ;
I [the habits of which are more allied to those of the Gambets, to which in fact they essentially belong].
i Near the Sandpipers should apparently be placed
; The Spathe-bill {Eurinorhynchus, Wilson), —
I Wliich is distinguished by a depressed bill, widened at the tip somewhat as in the Spoonbills, and the
: only species of which is
j The Platalea pygmcea, Lin. ; Eurinorynchus griseus, Wilson {Thun. Acad. Suec., 1816, pi. vi), which is one of
j the rarest birds in existence, as it is only known by a single individual, grey above and white beneath, and about
the size of a Purre Sandpiper. [It has since been met w'ith in northern Asia.]
The Phalaropes {Phalarqpus, Brisson), —
Are small birds, the bill of which, more flattened than in the Sandpipers, is otherwise similar as regards
its proportions and lateral grooves, and the toes of which are bordered with very broad membranes,
as in the Coots. [Their lower plumage resembles in texture that of the Gulls,]
The known species {Tr. lohata and Tr. fuUcaria, Lin.), has a wide bill for a member of this family, and is in
winter ash-coloured above, whitish below and on the head, with a black band upon the neck : it is then the Grey
Phalarope {Tr. lohata, Edw.). In summer it becomes black, mottled with fulvous above, and of a deep reddish
below [like the Knot Sandpiper, Godwits, &c.] : but at all seasons it retains a white spot on the wing, the rest of
which is blackish. It is then the Red Phalarope {Ph. rufus, Bechstein and Meyer ; Tr. fulicaria, Lin.). This bird
is rare in Europe [not very so in the British Isles, during the season of passage, when individuals are occasionally
met with swimming upon inland ponds, like a very diminutive Duck, and evincing little fear or shyness : they
also occur in small flocks, and breed chiefly within the Arctic circle].
The Turnstones {Strepsilas, Illiger), —
Are rather lower on the legs, and have a short bill, and toes devoid of any palmature, like the true
Sandpipers ; but their beak is conical, pointed, and without depression, compression, or inflation, and
the nasal groove reaches only half-way. The thumb barely touches the ground. Their beak, rather
246
AVES.
stouter and proportionally less flexible than in the preceding, is used by them to turn over stones to
search for the worms that lie beneath them. [Its form is not unlike that of a Nuthatch’s hill.]
The two species doubtfully indicated by the author are merely the same in different states of plumage : it
is a bird of remarkably wide geographic range, and tolerably plentiful on the British coasts : its affinitv is rather
with the Oyster-catchers and Plovers].
The Gambets {Totanus, Cuv.) —
Have a slender, round, pointed, and solid beak, the nasal groove of which only extends half its length,
and the upper mandible is slightly arcuated towards the tip. Their form is slight, and legs elevated :
the thumb hardly touches the ground, and the palmation of their outer toe is well-marked. The
species are each found nearly all over the world, [or rather, there are many difficult of determination
apart, which has induced the latter opinion.]
The Greenshank Gambet {Scol. glottis, Lin.).— As large as a [rather small] Godwit, wdththe beak comparatively
stout, [and a little recurved] ; ashy-brown above and on the sides, with the margins of the feathers punctated with
brown, the croup and belly white, and tail rayed with narrow irregular bars grey and white ; the feet green : in
summer the throat and breast are spotted with dusky tears, which disappear after the breeding season. This is
the largest species of Gambet in Europe. [It breeds on the margins of lakes, including those of Britain, and
during the season of propagation is very clamorous, rising on the wing and spreading an alarm at the approach of
danger to all other birds within hearing : in winter it resorts to the sea-shore in small flocks, apparently the
amount of broods. The Greenshank is a characteristic example of a particular group, the members of w'hich are
comparatively large, acquire more or less of a dusky colour on the under-parts towards the breeding season, and
agree in their general habits, mostly frequenting fresh-water lakes. An allied species of North America {Tot. semi-
palmatus) has the toes half-webbed, and has been known to occur in Europe as a straggler. The Dusky Gambet
(T./^^^cMs) is another European species, more delicately formed, with particularly slender beak and feet, and
beautifully barred tail and coverts, which becomes entirely suflfused on the under-parts with fuliginous-black in
the spring, and is rare in Britain. A fourth {T. calidris), the Redshank Gambet, is very abundant in Britain, -
breeding also not uncommonly in marshes near the sea-shore, and especially about the estuaries of rivers.
Others acquire no colour on the under-parts in spring, and mostly breed in the marshes, where they trip across
the broad floating leaves of aquatic plants with grace and agility : such are, particularly, those with longer legs,
as the delicate Wood Gambet {T. glareola), which is sometimes found in Britain, the T. stagnatalis, Bechst., of
eastern Europe, and T. chloropygius of North America : one more common in this country, with shorter legs, and
a conspicuous white rump as it flies, is the Green Gambet {T. ochropus), which conducts into the next minor group.
The others, at least those of Europe, are still smaller, and familiarly known as Summer Snipes in England. One 1 1'
very common may be termed the Common Gambet (T. hypoleucos), which in America is represented by a species ■
with a breast spotted like that of a Thrush (T. macularia). Another in Europe, still more diminutive (T. Tem-'k [
minckii or pusilla), has been generally classed with the Sandpipers, but strictly appertains to the present group i
both in structure and habits, being never found on the sea-shore, but frequenting inland waters like its true | ^
congeners, all of which jerk the tail and nod the head frequently as they run about, and emit a clear whistling ^
note. There are many others in foreign parts.]
The Lobefoot {Lohipes, Cuv.), —
Which we consider ought to be separated from the Phalaropes, which
it resembles in the lobation of its toes, is distinguished from them by
its hill, which is that of a Gambet. Sucii is
The Red-necked Lobefoot {Tringa hyperborea, Lin.). — K little bird, grey
above, white below, tinted with rufous on the scapularies, and having a broad
red gorget round its white throat. Add the Phalaropus frenatus, Vieillot ;
or Holopodius \Wilsonii] of M. C. Bonaparte, [which is found in America
generally. Tlie first-named species breeds in the northern isles of Scotland,
inhabiting marshy grounds, where it cannot be obtained without much diffi-
culty, though far from being timid in its disposition].
The Stilts {Himantopus, Brisson) —
Have a round beak, slender and pointed, even more so than in the
Gambets ; the grooves of the nostrils extending only half-way. But
what particularly distinguishes them, and has given origin to their
name, is the inordinate length and slenderness of their legs, which
are reticulated and destitute of hind-toe, and the hones of which are
so feeble as to render walking painful to them.
%':■
I
I
But one species is known in Europe {Charadrius himantopus, Lin. ; [LT. Plinii, Auct.] ; which is white, with a
black calotte and mantle, and long red legs. It is rather rare, and little is known of its manners. [The latter
ORALLY. 247
I bear a near resemblance to those of the Avocets, with which this g-enus is even linked by an intermediate species,
' which conjoins the webbed toes of the latter with the beak of the Stilts (the H. jJalmatus, Gould, a native of
Australia). There are three or four normal species, and both this and the next genus are almost generally dif-
fused, frequenting muddy estuaries in winter, and salt-marshes during the season of propagation].
We can scarcely place otherwise than here
I The Avocets {Recurvirostra, Lin.), —
! Although their feet, which are w'ebbed nearly to the ends of their toes, almost entitle them to rank
I among the Swimming-birds ; but their lengthened tarsi and half-naked tibiae, their long, slender,
I pointed, smooth, and elastic bill, and the mode of life which results from their conformation, concur
I to approximate them to the Snipes. What particularly characterizes them, and distinguishes them
ij even from all other birds [if two remarkable species of Humming-bird be excepted, the TrocMlus
I recurvirostra and Tr, avocetta'], is the strong upward curvature of their beak, [the mandibles of which
! have often been compared to two thin slips of whalebone]. Their legs are reticulated, and thumb too
I short to reach the ground.
That of Europe (jR. avocetta, Lin.) is white, with a black calotte and three bands of the same upon the wings, 1
j and leaden-coloured legs. It is a handsome bird, of attenuated form, which frequents the sea-shore in winter,
[where it feeds by scooping (as it is termed), with its singular bill, drawing this through the mud or sand from
right to left as it advances its left leg foremost, and vice versa, seizing whatever living prey is thus met with. Its
j manners in the breeding season resemble those of the Gambets, rising on wing and emitting its cry at the approach
of any intruder ; it collects, however, a greater quantity of nest than is usual among the wading-birds, the majo-
:| rity of which pertaining to the present group merely lay in some slight hollow. There are three or four other
species].
ij The family of
' Macrodactyli
I Are furnished with very long toes, adapted for traversing aquatic herbage, or even for swdm-
j ming, in those numerous species which have them bordered, [and not these only]. There are
j| no membranes, however, connecting the bases of their toes, not even the tw^o outer ones.
I The beak, more or less laterally compressed, is lengthened or shortened according to the
1 genus, without ever attaining the degree of feebleness and attenuation which is characteristic
‘ of the preceding family. The body of these birds is also singularly compressed, a conforma-
tion resulting from the narrowness of the ster-
num (fig. 122) ; their wings are short or mode-
rate, and their flight feeble. [The females are
mostly larger, and in some instances excel the
males in brightness of colouring ; and they ])ro-
duce numerous speckled eggs, having a reddisli
clay ground-colour, the young running soon
after they are hatched, being then covered with
a rigid, black, hair dike down : their cry is gene-
rally abrupt and croaking] .
They have been divided into two tribes, ac-
cording to the presence or absence of any arma-
ture on the wings ; but this character is subject
to exception.
The Jacanas {Parra, Lin.) —
Are conspicuously distinguished from all other Stilt- I
birds by the extraordinary length of their four toes, j
which are separated to the base, and the claws of which, more particularly that of the back-toe, are |
extremely long and sharp-pointed. The bill resembles that of the Lapwings by its medium lengtli and j
slight bulge towards the tip, and the wing is armed with a spur. They are noisy and quarrelsome
birds, which reside in the marshes of hot climates, where they walk with facility on the floating leaves
of aquatic plants, by means of their long toes. [They are essentially modified, however, upon the type
248
AVES.
of the preceding group, which is traceable in their whole anatomy ; and are nearly allied to certain
Lapwings, which we believe they also resemble in the number and character of their eggs.] i
America produces some species which have a flat naked membrane at the base of the bill, which is reflected over
part of the forehead. As
The Common Jacana (P. jacana, Lin.).— Black, with a rufous mantle ; the primary wing-coverts green ; and I
fleshy wattles under the beak. It is the commonest of those inhabiting the hot climates of America, and has very i
sharp spurs. !
Some of the same kind are found in Asia, as
The Bronzed Jacana (P. cened). The body black, changing to blue and violet, a bronzed-green mantle, blood- ^
red croup and tail, the anterior wing-feathers green, and a white streak behind the eye. Its spurs are small and
blunt.
Others have been discovered in the east in which this membrane does not exist, and which are otherwise
remarkable for some singular differences in the propoi'tions of their quill-feathers. As
The Long-tailed Jacana (P. siwcwsis).— Brown, with the head, throat, fore-neck, and wing-coverts, white, the
hind-neck adorned with silky feathers of a golden- yellow colour, and a small pedicillated appendage to the tips of
some of the quill feathers.
There is one also in the east which is crested, and has no spurs to the wings, (the P. gallinacea, Tern.).
The Screamer {Palamedea, Lin.) —
Resembles the Jacanas, but on a very large scale, by the two stout spurs which it bears on each wing,
and by its long toes and strong claws, more particularly that on the hind-toe, which is long and! j|
straight as in the Larks ; but its beak, which is slightly cleft, is neither much compressed nor bulging, 1 1
and its upper mandible is a little arcuated. The legs are reticulated. ;: ||
Tlie species known, the Horned Screamer (P. cornuta), termed in Brazil Anhima, and Camouchem Cayenne, is ^ !'
larger than a Goose, and blackish, with a rufous spot on the shoulder, the top of its head bearing a singular orna-
ment, consisting of a long and slender, moveable, horny stem. Its toes have no palmation. This bird inhabits
the inundated grounds of South America, and its very loud voice is heard afar off. It is strictly monogamous : is
said to pursue reptiles ; but although its stomach is only slightly muscular, it scarcely feeds on anything but 1
aquatic herbage. [The trachea of this bird has an abrupt bony box or enlargement about the middle, somewhat ^
analogous to that of the male Velvet Pochard {Oidemia fused)'].
A distinct genus has been made of
The Chauna {Opistolophus, Vieillot), — |
Which has no horn on the vertex, but the occiput is adorned with a circle of erectible feathers. Thei i
head and upper part of the neck are only covered with down, and it has a black collar. A singular * |
phenomenon is exhibited by the circumstance of its skin, even that covering its legs, being inflated by
the interposition of air between it and the muscles, so that it crackles under the finger.
It is the Parra cJiavaria, Lin. The rest of its plumage is lead-coloured and blackish, with a white spot at the
bend of the wing, and another at the base of some of the large primaries. There is a tolerably well-marked palma-
ture between its external toes. It feeds principally on aquatic herbage ; and the Indians of Carthagena rear some
among their flocks of Geese and Poultry, as they deem it very courageous, and capable of repulsing even a
Vulture.
Near to the Screamers we think should be placed, although they have scarcely any naked space j
above the tarsal joint, 1
The Megapodes {Megapodius, Lesson), — | |
A genus recently discovered in New Guinea, with a vaulted beak, a little compressed, the membranous | |
nostrils occupying about half its length, and very stout and elevated tarsi, which are scutellated, the|ll
toes (including the hind one) being long, and terminated by claws which are rather flat. They havef
a short tail, a naked space round the eye, and there is a small tubercle on the carpus, the first and l "
slight vestige of the spur of the Screamer. The membrane between their external toes is very slight, I :
while that of the inner is rather larger. They lay disproportionately large eggs for their size. 4
One species is crested nearly as in the Chauna (Jf. Duperreyi, Lesson) : two others have no crest ; and a fourth^
has scarcely any tail.
In the tribe wherein the wings are unarmed, Linnseus comprises, under the genus Fulica,
all such as have the bill continued baekward into a sort of shield, that covers the forehead ; and
those which do not possess this character he arranges in the genus Rallus.
GRALLiE.
249
^ The Kails (RaUus, Lin.), —
i Which bear, in otlier respects, a very strong mutual resemblance, liave bills of very different pro-
’ portions.
; Among the species in wliich it is longest,
! The Kails {Rallus, Bechstein), —
;| May be first mentioned.
ij The European Rail {R. aquaticus, Lin.).— Olive-brown, marked with black above, bluish-ash-colour beneath,
ijj with some narrow black and white rays crossing the flanks. This bird is common in our ponds and ditches, where
it swims well, and runs lightly upon the leaves of aquatic herbage, feeding on small Crustaceans. [Its frontal
i| feathers are rigid, in place of the shield of the Coots and Gallinules. There are various others, all extra-European.]
i' Other species,
!j The Crakes {Crew, Bechstein), —
Have a shorter bill, as observed in
'i « The Corn-Crake {R. crex, Lin.).— Of a reddish-brown colour, marked with blackish above, and greyish below,
with dull black rays crossing the flanks ; the wings rufous. It lives and nestles in our fields and meadows, and runs
with great swiftness among the long grass. The Latin name, Crex, is expressive of its cry. It feeds on corn, in
addition to worms and insects.
[The following species, or
The Soras {Zapornia, Stephens), —
Have an intermediate beak, and resemble the Kails in their aquatic habits.]
The Speckled Sora {R. porzana, Lin.).— A deep brown, speckled with white, and whitish rays on the flanks. It
is a good swimmer and diver, and does not leave France till the middle of winter. [There are two smaller kinds
; in western Europe, including the British Isles ; the Bail Ion’s Sora (Z. Baillonii), with somewhat speckled
plumage ; and the Little Sora, as it is termed, though surpassing the last in size, {Z. pusilla), the plumage of
I which approximates that of the Common Rail. Of various exotic species, some are considerably larger than the
i Crake and Rail of Europe].
The Coots (Fulica, Lin.) —
! May be subdivided in the following manner, according to the form of the beak, and the membranes
! margining the toes.
The Gallinules {Gallinula, Briss. & Lath.) —
Have the beak nearly as in the Crakes, but distinguished by the frontal shield, and by longer toes,
I bordered with a narrow membrane.
The Common Gallinule (G. cMoropus, Lin.).— Deep olive-brown above, slaty-grey below, with some white on
, the sides, [the feet green, with a red and yellow cincture above the tarsal joint, and the frontal shield bright red :
these lively colours being much more conspicuous in the female, which is larger also than her mate. A very
, common species throughout Europe, and considered to be of universal diffusion, as specimens from the most
distant regions are undistinguishable] .
The Sultanas {Porphyrio, Brisson) —
Have the beak higher in proportion to its length ; and very long toes, with scarcely any perceptible
border ; the frontal shield considerable, and rounded in some, square above in others. These birds
t stand on one foot, while they employ the other to convey food to the beak. Their colours are gene-
rally fine shades of violet, blue, and azure. Such is
! The Common Sultana {Fulica porphyrio, Lin.), a beautiful African species, now naturalized in several islands
and countries bordering the Mediterranean. Its beauty would render it an ornament in our parks.
,1
Lastly,
The Kestricted Coots {Fulica, Brisson) —
Conjoin to a short beak and large frontal shield, toes that are much widened by a festooned border,
which renders them excellent swimmers ; hence their lives are passed in pools and marshes. Their
smooth plumage is not less adapted than the rest of their conformation to this mode of life, and they
consequently exhibit a marked transition from the Wading to the True Swimming Birds, [though only
in superficial or adaptive characters, which are principally external].
There is one in Europe {F. atra, aterrima, and izthiops, Gm.)— [Slaty-black, darker on the neck, with a flesh-
coloured shield, which becomes white in the season of propagation. It is very easily tamed, and subsists on grain,
pond-weed, and even small fish, diving with facility.]
AVES.
250
We terminate this series of Stilt-birds by three genera, which it is difficult to associate with ill
any others, and which may be considered as each forming a separate family. '
y
The Sheathbills {Chionis, Forster) —
Have short toes, nearly as in the Poultry, the tarsi scutellated, the beak thick and conical, and i
enveloped at base by a hard substance, which, it appears, the bird has the power of raising and ;
depressing. |]
We are acquainted with only one species, from New Holland {Ch. necropTiaga, Vieillot), the size of a [large] j
Partridge, and entirely white. It frequents the sea shore, and feeds on dead animal matter thrown up by the ,
tide. [Prof. Blainville has lately shown that this remarkable bird approaches very near to the Oyster-catchers in
its whole anatomy, and the affinity is discernible on comparison of their external characters. fj
Apparently allied are | |
The Attagens {Attagis, d’Orb.), — I ji
The uncompressed bill of which nearly resembles that of a Poultry-bird, and the plumage is not unlikef
the immature dress of a Lark : wings and feet as in Chionis. p
Several species inhabit the Cordilleras of the Andes, varying in size from that of a Partridge to less than* T
a Lark. The smaller constitute the of Vieillot.] 4 ?
The Pratincoles {Glareola, Gmelin) — 1 !
Have a short, conical beak, arcuated throughout, and resembling that of a Poultry-bird. The wings
excessively long and pointed, and tail often forked, producing the flight of a Swallow or Petrel. The j|
legs are of mean length, the tarsi scutellated, the external toes a little palmated, and thumb reaching
to the ground ; [middle claw furnished with an obtusely serrated inner edge]. They fly in troops, and H
cry about the borders of water, subsisting on aquatic insects and worms. [Their sternal apparatus and |
anatomy intimate their position to be among the Snipes and Plovers.] ;
The European species {Gl. torquata) is brown above, white below and on the croup ; the gorget encircled with a
black marking ; and base of the bill and feet reddish. It appears to inhabit the north of the whole ancient world.
Our last genus consists of
The Flamingoes (Phcenicopterus, Lin.), —
Which are among the most extraordinary and isolated of birds, [being, in fact, an extreme modification
of the Lamellirostral type, that is, of the Duck tribe, with inordinately elongated neck and legs]. Their
legs, of excessive length, have their front toes palmated to the ends, and an extremely short hind-
toe ; the neck is equally long and slender with the legs, and their small head is furnished with a bill
the inferior mandible of which is of an oval form, longitudinally bent into a semicylindrical canal,
while the upper one, oblong and flat, is bent crosswise in the middle, so as to join the other exactly.
The membranous groove of the nostrils occupies nearly the whole side of that part which is behind
the sudden bend of the mandibles, and the nostrils themselves form a longitudinal slit at the base of
the groove. The edges of the two mandibles are furnished with small and very fine transverse
laminae, which, together with the fleshy thickness of the tongue, imports some relationship with the
Ducks. We might even place the Flamingoes among the Palmipedes, were it not for the length of
their tarsi, and the nudity of part of the tibia, [an objection which would equally apply to the Gulls !
and Petrels]. They feed on Testaceans, Insects, and the spawn of Fishes, which they seize by means
of their long neck, reverting the head to employ with advantage the crook of the upper mandible.
They construct their nest of earth in marshy situations, placing themselves astride of it [ .^ ] during thel
act of incubation, in consequence of the extreme length of their legs incapacitating them from sitting‘1
in the usual manner. [The digestive organs resemble those of the Ducks with unlobated hind-toe ;
having even the crop, or distension of the oesophagus, which occurs in no species strictly belonging to
the division of Stilt-birds.]
The common species {Ph. ruber) stands from three to four feet in height, and is ash-coloured, with brown
streaks, during the first year ; in the second there is a roseate hue on the wings, and in the third it assumes a
purple red on the back, and rose-coloured wings. This species is found in all parts of the eastern continent below
40 degrees. Numerous flocks are seen every year on the southern coasts of Europe, and they sometimes ascend
as far as the Rhine.
M. Temminck thinks [and has since definitively ascertained] that the American Flamingo is distinct ; besides
which, there is a small species on that continent {Ph. minor, Vieillot) of which the Pigmy Flamingo of Temminck
is the young.
PALMIPEDES. 251
I [Here, at the close of the great series of Ground-Birds, as of the Perchers, may be intro-
I duced a few brief remarks on the classification of these animals, as warranted by the present
state of information. The divisions are not all so strongly characterized apart as the four
I principal groups or orders already speeified ; but chiefly beeause certain genera stand forth
' fi’om the rest, and will not (so far as we can perceive at present) satisfaetorily range with any
of the others. Preserving the same form of nomenclature as before adopted, as less objection-
able than any other that we can devise, the various groups of Ground-birds (as the vast
: majority of the foregoing extensive series may be appropriately denominated,) fall into six
principal divisions, which may be designated as follow : —
!j V. Gemitores {Cooers) — the Pigeons; an order strongly characterized by the whole
! internal anatomy, and not less so by the outward conformation. It is perfectly distinct from
ij the contiguous orders, to whieh it is linked by no intrinsically connecting species.
VI. Rasores (Ground-scratchers) — the Poultry : a group sufficiently cognizable in its
I totality, but not easy to subdivide in such a manner as to exemplify the relative value of its
various genera.
' VII. CuRSORES {Runners) ; or the Brevipennes of Cuvier.
VIII. Calcatores {Stampers) ; or the Pressirostres and Longirostres of our author,
comprising the numerous genera with soft and flexile bills, more or less prolonged, the greater
i number of which lay four eggs, which they dispose crosswise, &c. &c. The name alludes to
the habit which many of them display, of stamping with the foot, to cause the worms on
^ whieh they feed to rise.
II IX. Gradatores {Stalkers) ; or the Cultrirostres of Cuvier.
Ij X. Latitores {Skulkers) ; or the Macrodactyli.
I Each of these appears to us to constitute a distinct and natural order, possessing various
distinguishing characters ; and we suspeet that every genus of Ground- birds will ultimately
! prove, when its characters have been sufficiently studied, to rank in one or another of them.
;| As a whole, they form a series, analogous to those of the Perchers and Swimmersi]
i THE SIXTH ORDER OF BIRDS,—
THE PALMIPEDES,—
Have the feet organized for swimming ; that is to say, placed far backwards on the body, with
' short and compressed tarsi, and webbed toes. They are further characterized by a elose and
, polished plumage, impregnated with oil, and by a quantity of down next to the skin, which pro-
i tect them from the water in whieh they pass most of their lives. They are the only birds in
whieh the neck is longer than the legs, whieh is sometimes the case to a considerable extent,
for the purpose of enabling them to search for food in the depths below, while they swim on
i the surface. Their sternum is very long, affording a complete guard to the greater portion of
their viscera, and having on each side [generally] but one emargination, or oval foramen,
I filled up with membrane. They have most frequently a muscular gizzard, long cceca, and a
! simple inferior larynx ; which last is in one family, however, inflated into a cartilaginous cap-
j sule. [So many exceptions oceur to the foregoing generalization respecting the stomach and
coeca, that it might advantageously have been omitted.]
This order subdivides tolerably w^ell into four families, of which that of
The Divers {Brachypteres) —
Presents, in certain of its species, some [very superficial] tokens of relationship with the Galli-
I nules. The position of their legs, whieh is farther backward than in any other birds, renders
* walking difficult, and obliges them to maintain, when upon land, an upright attitude. As the
AVES.
252
greater number of them are also feeble flyers, and several are quite deprived of that faculty, in
consequence of the shortness of their wings, they may be regarded as exclusively attached to the ’
surface of the water : their plumage is particularly dense, and its surface frequently polished,
presenting a silvery lustre. They swim under water by the aid of their wings, which are
employed as fins. Their gizzard is tolerably muscular ; the coeca of moderate length. They i
have only one special muscle on each side of their lower larynx. Such are
The Loons {Colymbus, Lin.), —
Which are characterized by a smooth, straight, compressed, and pointed bill, with linear nostrils ; but
require to be subdivided from characters derived from the feet [the entire skeleton, character of
plumage, propagation, &c. &c.]
The Grebes {Podieeps, Latham ; Colymbus, Brisson and Illiger), —
Instead of ordinary webs between the toes, have the latter widened as in the Coots, and the anterior
connected only at base by membranes, [which border the remainder] . The claw of the middle toe is
flattened ; the tarsi exceedingly compressed. The semi-metallic [or satiny]
lustre of their lower plumage has led to the occasional employment of it as
fur. Their tibia, as also that of the Loons [in which it is much more pro-
duced,] is prolonged forwards beyond the joint, to give a more efficient
insertion to the extensors of the leg. [Sternum (fig. 123)* very short,
and of peculiar conformation, approaching in some respects to that of
the Cormorants ; which these very singular birds also resemble in the
character of their eggs, the hard shell of which is invested with an ab-
sorbent chalky substance. They have no vestige of a tail. The young are
clad in exquisitely soft down, which is striped black and white, as in the
Emeu. The constant number of cervical vertebrae is nineteen instead of
thirteen, as in the restricted Loons ; and theh skeleton is altogether
extremely different.]
These birds reside in lakes and ponds, and nestle among the rushes,
[producing numerous eggs, whereas the Loons lay very rarely more than
two]. It appears that under certain circumstances they carry their young
under their wings. Their size and plumage change so much with age [the
latter rather according to season], that naturalists have very much multiplied the species. M. Meyer
reduces those of Europe to four, [instead of five, which is the right number, as follow] : —
The Crested Grebe (P. cristattis).— As large as a Duck, and satiny-white, with dusky upper-parts, acquiring with
age a double black crest, and rufous collar edged with black, [which exist only during the breeding season].
The Red-necked Grebe (P. Smaller, with the neck bright rufous, and greyish collar less developed.
The Horned Grebe (P. cornutus) [and Eared Grebe (P. awn^Ms).— Still less, and precisely of the same size with
each other, so that they can only be distinguished, when the seasonal collar falls, by the beak of the second being
distinctly a little recurved, and by a difference in the colour of the iris of the recent specimen ; their collars, how-
ever, during the breeding season, are very different, and that of the Eared Grebe is less developed than in the |
other].
The Little Grebe (P. wmor).— Size of a Quail, with never any crest or collar. [These various species, notwith-
standing the shortness of their wings, can fly with considerable speed, when they once fairly rise, which they do ||
with unwillingness, and seldom except when compelled to migrate. They can walk with their feet, and do not .,|
trail upon the belly, like the Loons ; and when under water, they make more use of their wings than the latter do
habitually].
The Finfeet {Heliornis, Bonaterre; Podoa, Illiger) —
Have feet lobed as in the Coots and Grebes, but their tail is more developed than in either, and
claws sharper. '
Such is Plotus surinamensis, Gmelin ; and Heliornis senegalensis, Vieillot, which Gmelin approximated to the |i
Anhingas. ^
The Loons {Colymbus, Latham; Mergus, Brisson; Eudytes, Illiger), —
With all the [external] form of the Grebes, have the feet webbed in the ordinary manner ; that ill?
to say, their three front toes are connected by membrane to the tips, and are all terminated by |
* The representation (fig. 123), in other respects accurate, is somewhat too long. — Ed.
PALMIPEDES.
253
pointed nails. They are northern birds, whieh rarely nestle with us, and visit these latitudes in
winter, when they are not uneoinmori upon our coasts. [They have large wings, and fly strongly,
but in consequence of the position of the feet, the tibia being quite buried within the integuments,
are unable to walk, though they push themselves forward with facility and tolerable speed, trailing
upon the belly. They have a short tail, on the tripod of which and the feet they are enabled to
stand upright, and take a wide view around them by means of their long neck : they utter dismal
bowlings ; and produce large spotted eggs, two or three in number, which are extremely unlike those
of the Grebes.
Three species are well known, the whole of which are not rare in Britain. One, as large as a Goose (Col. gla-
cialis), the Collared Loon, black above, beautifully spotted with white, with a nearly perfect collar of the same
round the neck, and a black head. The second, (C. glacialis), the Black-throated
Loon, extremely variable in size, but always smaller than the preceding, with a fuli-
ginous grey head, and larger white spots on the upper parts : both of which species
have the immature plumage dusky above, with greyish edgings to the feathers : and
the Red-throated Loon (C. septentriunalis), still smaller and much commoner, the
winter dress of which (and not the immature plumage, which resembles that of the
others, is speckled above with numerous small whitish spots bordering the feathers,
which wear off in spring, leaving the back spotless blackish ; coincident with which
change of appearance, a rufous patch appears in front of the neck. All three are
great destroyers of fish, and proceed with extreme swiftness under water, in general
making little use of their wings to assist their progress. They are common to the
northern regions of both continents, as are also the four first-mentioned Grebes.}
The Guillemots {Uria, Brisson & Illiger), —
With the general form of the beak of the preceding, have it covered with
feathers as far as the nostril, and emarginated at the tip, which is a little
arcuated. Their principal distinction, however, consists in wanting the
back-toe. Their wings, much shorter than those of the Loons, barely sufiice
for the function of flying. They feed on fish and crustaceans, and are found
about the precipitous rocks on which they breed.
[These birds, the first of which is merely an Auk with a more slender bill, fly with considerable swiftness in a
straight line, their wings being reduced to the minimum extent adequate for aerial support, in order that they
might be more efficient under water, where no use whatever is made of the feet,
which are held out like those of a w^ading bird when cleaving the air. Ac-
cordingly they literally fly under water, whereas the subaquatic progression of a
Grebe more resembles that of a Frog, and the Loons do not generally use the
wings at all : hence the prolongation forward of the fixed patella, so considerable
in the Loons, which is reduced in the Grebes, and entirely wanting in the Auks,
Puffins, and Guillemots, which form a particular group, found only in the ocean.
The latter have also smaller coeca, a particularly tough cuticular lining to the
stomach, of a bright yellow^ colour, a different sternal apparatus, which most
nearly approximates that of the Loons, diverse plumage and seasonal changes,
&c. They are pre-eminently remarkable for the manner in which the skeleton
incloses the viscera as in a box, in order to resist the pressure of deep water ;
while their air-cavities are unusually large, whieh causes them to float very high
when on the surface, and are obviously designed to increase the standard of
respiration so as to permit of their sustaining themselves in the air with their
short and narrow wings, these, however, not being violently beaten in the act of
flying. Their movements under water precisely resemble those of the
or common Water Beetles ; the principal motion being more or less vertical, in-
stead of horizontal as in the Grebes and Loons : they are, therefore, together with
the distinct group of Penguins, the most characteristic divers of the class.
One common on the precipitous coasts of all Britain, is the Common Guillemot
(U. troile), of a dusky slate-colour above, white beneath, and a bar of the same on
the wing, formed by the tips of the secondaries ; the throat black in summer,
white in winter. It lays only one egg, of enormous proportional magnitude, and remarkably variable in colour.
The young at first resemble the adults in summer dress ; but their first plumage, which succeeds the down, and
the texture of which is singularly delicate, presents the colouring of the adult winter-garb, and is exchanged for
the latter in the course of a few weeks. They breed in vast numbers on the narrow ledges of rocks, where in
many places they are seen sitting in successive rows, one over another. In autumn they migrate southward,
those which breed on the British shores being replaced by others from more northern latitudes.
Another and smaller species, is the Black Guillemot (U. grglle), entirely black, with a great white wing-spot, in
Fig:. 124. — Sternum of Loon.
Fig. 125. — Sternum of Guillemot.
254
AVES.
summer, and everywhere mottled with white in winter : the bill and feet red. Its range is more northerly, rarely
if ever breeding to the southward of the Scottish Isles, and producing two and often three eggs, proportionally *
smaller, and singularly different from those of the other, both in shape and colour. It is less allied to the Common
Guillemot than the latter is to the Auks, with which an intermediate species, rarely found on the British coasts,
tends even to connect it, — the U. Bi-unnicJm, which scarcely differs except in the more robust form of the bill, i
There is also a breed of the Common Guillemot found on the Welsh coast, and some other places, which has a
narrow white line from the bill to the eye, as in the Razor-billed Auk.] I
The Rotche {Cephm, Cuv. \Mergulm, Ray and Vieillot]), —
Has a shorter bill, more arcuated above, and unemarginated ; the symphysis of the lower mandible
extremely short. Its wings are stronger, and the membranes of the feet somewhat notched.
The known species, termed Little Auh and Greenland Dove, (C. alle ; Colymbus minor, Gmelin), is not larger
than a Pigeon, and black above, white below, with the same mark on the wing as the Common Guillemot. It
inhabits the arctic shores, where it breeds on the ground, and is occasionally met with in our latitudes during the
winter.
The genus of
The Auks {Alca, Lin.) —
Is known by its extremely compressed beak, raised vertically, sharp along the ridge, and ordinarily |
grooved on the sides, together with its feet entirely palmated and without back toe, the same as in the
Guillemots. The species are all from the northern seas.
They requii-e to he divided into three subgenera.
The Puffins {Fratercula, Brisson ; Mormon, Illiger), —
Of which the beak, shorter than the head, is as high or higher than it is long, gmng it a very
extraordinary form, while its base is generally furnished with a folded skin, The nostrils, placed
near its edge, are mere slits. Their short wings can just sustain them for a brief period, and they
reside in the ocean like the Guillemots, and nestle in the rocks, [or rather they burrow holes in loose
soil, and lay their single egg at the depth of several feet. They run or creep swiftly on the ground,
and the Auks and Guillemots can also waddle with more speed than might be anticipated from the
shortness of their legs].
The common species (^Alca arctica, Lin. ; Mormon fratercula. Tern.), is a little larger than a Pigeon, with black
mantle, calotte, and collar, and the rest white. [Legs orange ; bill brightly coloured; and a slip of loose skin at
each eye. It is common in suitable localities on the British shores, flies rapidly, and may often be seen to return
to its mate or young, with a number of small fishes curiously ranged on each side of its bill, each held by the head.
The young are at first covered with long and flocculent black down, which is replaced by delicately soft plumage |
analogous to that of the young Guillemot, succeeded by the adult garb in the course of a few weeks, which last |
undergoes no seasonal changes]. |
M. Temminck distinguishes as |
The Phalerins {Phaleris, Tem.), |
Those species which have the beak less elevated ; as,
jf
The Alca cristatella, Vieillot, and A. psittacula, Pallas. [Six species are known on the arctic shores of America,
one forming the Ceratorynchus, Bonap. ; some of these extend to the north of Siberia.]
The Restricted Auks {Alca, Cuv.) — f ®
Have a more lengthened beak, resembling the blade of a knife ; feathers at its base as far as the nos- f
trils, [the same as in the Guillemots, to which they are most nearly allied,] and wings decidedly too ^
small to support them, inasmuch as they cannot fly at all ; [an erroneous statement respecting one of \
the two species].
The Razor-bill Auk (Alca torda and 2nca, Gmelin). [Plumage and seasonal changes of the Common Guillemot, | ,
only that the black is more deep, and some white transverse lines on the bill. It is rather smaller than that spe- § f
cies, which it exactly resembles in habit and extent of wing, flying equally well : inhabits the same clifis, but less * t
numerously ; and commonly lays two eggs, sometimes three, of similar character to those of the Black Guillemot : ,
has a croaking voice.] |
The Great Auk (A. impennis, Lin.).— Colours of the preceding, but the beak marked with eight or ten cross ‘
grooves, and an oval white spot between the eye and bill. It lays but one great egg, spotted with purplish. [This
species, which is larger than a Goose, is the only northern sea-fowl utterly deprived of the function of flight, and ,
has accordingly its wings reduced to exactly that size which is most efficient of all for subaquatic progression : ■ ,
they are not larger than very moderate-sized fins, and the limb-bones are considerably weightier and less solid
than those of its congener ; but we are not aware that the skeleton makes any approach in form to that of the
I
PALMIPEDES.
255
Penguins of the southern hemisphere, which are very distinct from the Auks. As a particularly rare visitant, this
species is allowed a place in the British Fauna.]
The genus of
The Penguins {Aptenodytes, Forster) —
Is even less capable of flying than that of the Auks. Their little wings, covered with mere vestiges of
feathers, which at the first glance resemble scales ; their feet, placed farther hack than in any other
bird [the Grebes and Loons alone excepted,]
only support them by bearing on the tarsus,
which is widened like the sole of the foot of a
quadruped, and in which are found three bones
soldered together at their extremities. They
have a small hind toe, directed inwards, and
their three anterior toes are joined by an entire
membrane. These birds are found only in the
antarctic seas, never going on shore except to
breed. They can only reach their nests by
trailing on their bellies. The ditference in the
bill authorizes their division into three sub-
genera.
The Penguins, properly so called {Apteno-
dytes, Cuv.), —
Have a long, slender, and pointed beak, the
upper mandible a little arcuated towards the tip,
Fig. 126.— Sternum of Penguin. feathered for about a third of its length ;
in this the nostril is placed, from which a groove extends to the tip.
The Patagonian Penguin {Apt. pataclionica, Gm.).— Size of a Goose, and slate-coloured above, white underneath,
with a black mark, encircled by a citron-yellow cravat. It inhabits the vicinity of the Straits of Magellan in large
flocks, ranging as far as New Guinea. Its flesh, although black, is eaten.
The Gorfews {Catarrhactes, Brisson) —
I Have a stout and pointed beak, somewhat compressed, with a rounded ridge, and tip a little arcuated ;
the groove which extends forward from the nostril terminates obliquely on the inferior third of its edge.
I The Crested Gorfew {Apt. chrysocoma, Gm.). — Size of a large Duck, black above, white below, and adorned with
j a white or yellow crest on each side of the occiput. It is found in the vicinity of the Falkland Isles and of New
' Holland, and sometimes leaps out of the water while swimming. Deposits its eggs in a bole of the ground,
j There are several others.
I The Spheniscans {Spheniscus, Brisson) —
j Have a straight and compressed beak, irregularly furrowed at the base ; the tip of the upper mandible
! hooked, and of the other truncate ; nostrils situate in the middle, and uncovered.
j The Cape Spheniscan {Apt. demersa, Gmelin). — Black above, white below, the beak brown, with a white band in
I the middle, throat black, and a line of the same upon the breast, which is continued along each flank. It chiefly
j inhabits the neighbourhood of the Cape, where it nestles among the rocks. [Fig. 126 represents the sternal appa-
ratus of this species, showing the peculiar configuration common to the group, and particularly the broad
scapula. The bones of the Penguins are permanently filled with marrow.]
The family of
Longipennes
Comprehends those Birds of the high seas, which, in consequence of their capability of pro-
tracted flight, are met with everywhere, [though it does not appear that the particular species
are more widely diffused than others]. They are known by the freedom or total absence of
the thumb, their very long wings, and smooth-edged beak, which in the greater number of
genera is hooked at the tip, and in the others simply pointed. Their inferior larynx has
only one muscle proper on each side, and the gizzard is muscular [or lax and very capacious],
the coeca short [or moderate].
The Petrels {Procellaria, Lin.) —
Have the beak hooked at the tip, with its extremity appearing as though a piece had been articulated to
256
AVES.
the rest ; their nostrils are united to form a tube, which lies along the hack of the upper raandihle ;
and their feet, instead of a l)ack toe, have merely a claw implanted in the heel. They are, of all the Pal-
mipedes, those which remain most constantly at a great distance from land ; and when a tempest comes
on, they are often compelled to seek refuge on reefs and ships, from which circumstance they derive their
name of Storm-hirds: that of Petrel (a diminutive of Peter,) has been applied to them from their habit
of walking on the waves, which they do with the assistance of their wings. They nestle in the holes |
of rocks, [producing but a single egg,] and spurt upon those who disturb them an oily fluid, with
which their stomachs appear to be always filled. The greater number of species inhabit the Antarctic
seas. [Their stomach is extremely capacious, and but slightly muscular, and they feed principally on
oily substances.]
Those are more particularly called Petrels (Procellaria), the lower mandible of which is truncated.
The largest species, or Giant Petrel (Proc. gigantea), inhabits the Austral Seas, and exceeds a Goose in size. Its
plumage is blackish, but with varieties more or less white. In the same seas is found
The Spotted Petrel (Pr. capensis).—'S,ize: of a small Duck, and white, spotted with black above. It is often
mentioned by navigators [as the Cape Pigeon]. “
The Fulmar Petrel (Pr. glacialis). — White, with ash-coloured mantle, the bill and feet yellow, and size that of ^ \
a large Duck. It nestles in the precipitous coasts of the [northern] British isles, and is found throughout the |
whole north. [It has been computed that this species is the most numerous in individuals of the whole class.
Though I'are in our latitudes, its numbers in the Arctic seas are inconceivable.]
Fiyp 127. — Sternum of Storm Petrel.
The Storm-Petrels (Thalassidroma, Vig.) —
Are certain small species, with a somewhat shorter bill, rather longer legs, and black plumage, which
are more particularly designated Storm-birds [and
Mother Carey' s Chickens'] by mariners. [Their habits
are crepuscular and nocturnal, as are also those of
most of the tribe : and their flight considerably
resembles that of a Swallow.]
The most common {Proe. pelagica, Brisson) is scarcely ^
larger than a Lark, but stands higher on the legs. It is J;
entirely brown-black, except the croup, which is white, ”
and there is a trace of white on the greater wing coverts. I '
When this bird seeks a shelter upon vessels, it is a sign of |
an approaching storm. [That of America (Ph. Wilsonii) is ’
distinct, and is sometimes met with on our shores ; as is ^ ’
also a third species with a forked tail, Th. BullocMi. After tempestuous weather, these birds are not unfrequently f ‘
found far inland, generally upon the high road, unable to rise].
We separate, with Brisson, by the name of - [
The Shearwaters (Puffinus), — * •
Those species in whieh the tip of the lower mandible is curved downwards, like that of the upper, and **
the nostrils of which, although tubular, do not open by a common orifice, but by two distinct holes.|f'
Their beak also is proportionally longer. S
The Cinereous Shearwater (P. cinereus ; Proc. puffinus, Gm.) — Ash-coloured above, whitish beneath, with the®
wings and tail blackish ; the young rather more deeply coloured. Its size is nearly that of a Crow, and it is
found almost everywhere, [but rarely so far north as on the British shores].
A smaller species was long confounded with it, black above and white below, the Manks Shearwater (P. anglo-
rwm), which inhabits the northern shores of Scotland and its isles in immense numbers, and which the inhabitants j
salt for winter provision. [A third (P. obscurus, Vieillot) has occurred in Britain, and there ai*e two or three j
more, further south.]
Navigators sometimes mention, under tbe name of Petrels, certain birds of the Antarctic seas, which f
should make two particular genera. One is
The Haladrome {Halgdroma, Illiger), —
Which, with the beak and form of the Petrels and Shearwaters, has a dilatable throat like the Cormo-"^
rants, and entirely wants the thumb, as in the Albatrosses.
Such is Pr. urinatrix, Gmelin.
The other is
PALMIPEDES.
257
The Prions {Pachyptila, Illiger), —
111 other respects similar to the Petrels, have separate nostrils like the Shearwaters, and the beak
widened at its base, its edges being interiorly furnished with fine, pointed, vertical laminae, analogous
to those of the Ducks.
These are the Blue Petrels (Proc. vittata and ccerulea, Forster).
The Albatrosses {Diomedea, Lin.) —
Are the most massive of all aquatic birds. Their large, stout, and trenchant beak, with strongly
marked sutures, is terminated by a hook, which looks as if articulated. The nostrils resemble short
rolls, laid on each side of the beak ; and the feet have no hind toe, not even the little nail which is
found in the Petrels. They inhabit the Austral seas, and feed on the spawn of Fishes, Mollusks, &c. ;
[indeed, upon whatever falls in their way. They pertain to the same particular group as the Petrels,
which they resemble in their whole anatomy. Their webbed feet are equally large, and they have the
same habit of trampling on the waves].
The species best known to navigators, or the Giant Albatross (D. exulans, Lin.), has been termed the Cape Sheep
from its size, having white plumage, and black wings. The English also style it the Man-of -War Bird, [a mistake,
! as this term applies to the Tachypete]. It is particularly common beyond the tropic of Capricorn, and is the great
enemy of the Flying Fish. This bird constructs a high nest of earth, and lays numerous eggs [each individual,
! however, one only, and generally in company with Penguins], which are esteemed good eating : its cry is very loud.
There are three or four others, about two-thirds the size.
The Gulls {Larus, Lin.) —
Have the bill moderately long, compressed, and pointed, the upper mandible arcuated towards the tip,
and the lower forming a projecting angle beneath. Their nostrils, placed near its middle, are long,
narrow, and pierced quite through, [the beak having little bony substance in comparison with those of
the Petrels and Albatrosses]. Their tail is full, the legs tolerably elevated, and the thumb short.
They are cowardly and voracious birds, which abound along the sea-shore, and feed on all sorts of fish,
carrion, &c. They nestle in the sand or in clefts of rocks, and lay few eggs, [generally three in
number]. When they come inland, bad weather may be expected. Several species of them are found
on our coasts ; and as their plumage varies exceedingly with age, they have been further multiplied by
systematists. In general, during youth, they are mottled with greyish. [These birds have a capacious
gullet, and small gizzard, which becomes more muscular with age. Their general anatomy is consider-
ably allied to that of the Calcatores, or Snipes and Plovers. Their toes
: are shorter than in the preceding genera, and the feet better fitted for
walking on land.
Those of Britain are— the Great Black-backed Gull (L. marinus), white, with a
black saddle; bill four inches long, and with the orbits yellow; of common
: occurrence : the Glaucous Gull {L. glaums), with a very pale silvery saddle, and
entirely white quills, from which we do not regard the Iceland Gull {L. islandi-
cus, Auct.), of Europe, as distinct, having obtained intermediate specimens of
every grade of size ; it is rare on the coasts of South Britain : the Herring
Gull (L. argentatus), the commonest of all, differing from the first chiefly in its
inferior size and ash-coloured mantle : the Lesser Blackbacked Gull {L. fuscus),
somewhat less than the Herring Gull, and similar to the first, but not so deeply
I coloured, and having yellow legs instead of flesh-coloured, and red orbits ; which
; is rather common : the Mew Gull (L. canus), a diminutive of the Herring Gull,
with white legs : the Kittiwake Gull {L. rissa), rather smaller still, and at once
j distinguished by the total absence of hind-toe ; both of these being common in
particular localities : and the Ivory Gull (L. eburneus),i'he adult plumage of which
is wholly pure white, contrasting with black feet, and which is only an occasional
! straggler in the British seas. All these are, for the most part, rock-builders. Fiff- 128.— Sternum of Gull.
' Others, the Xema of Leach, have a black hood in summer, like the Terns, and are generally slighter-made,
breeding chiefly in marshes. The commonest in Britain is known as the Hooded Gull (L. ridibundus), with the
I head and upper neck brownish-black during the breeding season, and bill and legs bright vermilion : the Masked
I Gull (L. capistratus) is rather smaller, with the hood considerably reduced, and is not common : L. atricilla is
larger than either, with a stouter bill, and black legs ; also very rare : L. Sabini, smaller than the Masked Gull,
is at once distinguished by its forked tail, and is met with occasionally m Ireland and the west of Britain : and
L. minutus, the smallest of all, not exceeding ten inches in length, and equally uncommon upon the British shores,
is known by its size. There are many more, of both divisions.]
S
AVES.
258
From the Gulls have been very properly separated
The Skuas (Lestris, Illiger), —
The membranous nostrils of v^^hich, larger than in the preceding, open nearer to the point and edge of
the beak ; the tail also is pointed, [and they have great coeca]. They eagerly pursue the smaller
Gulls to rob them of their food, and, as has been said, to devour their excrement ; [the truth being,
that they cause them to disgorge, whereupon they seize the food before it reaches the water, being
endowed with uncommon power of flight] : hence their name, [Lestris, or robber.
Four species occur on the British shores, successively smaller, with the middle tail-feathers prolonged in the
same ratio. Tlie largest {L. cataractes), nearly the size of the Great Black-backed Gull, has deep brown plumage,
with the middle tail-feathers but slightly elongated. It breeds on certain of the northern Scottish isles, high
upon the mountains, defending its nest with extraordinary spirit and intrepidity, and furiously driving off Eagles
from the vicinity, for which reason it is protected by the inhabitants, as a guard to their flocks. The Pomarine
Skua (L. pomarinus) is smaller, and though generally exceedingly rare, makes its apearance in certain seasons in
considerable numbers, as in the instance of November, 1837. L. Richardsonii is the next in size, which is common
about the northern Scottish isles ; and L. parasiticus, the smallest, which belongs more properly to America, has
exceedingly long middle tail-feathers. The females of these birds are larger than the males, which is the reverse
of what is observable in the Gulls ; and they lay but two eggs, of a dark colour].
The Terns {Sterna, Linn.) —
Are termed Sea-swallows, from their extremely long and pointed wings, their forked tail, and short legs,
w^hich induce a port and flight analogous to those of the Swallow's, [the true Terns, however, winnowing
more in the manner of the Gulls]. Their beak is straight, pointed, and compressed, without |
curvature or projection ; having the nostrils near its base, oblong, and pierced quite through. The I
membranes which connect their toes are deeply emarginated, and they swim little, [if at all]. They
fly in every direction and with great rapidity, uttering loud cries, and skilfully raising from the surface
of the w'ater mollusks and small fishes, upon which they feed, [and to obtain which they often plunge], i
They also penetrate to the lakes and rivers of the interior. [Their anatomy precisely accords with that
of the Gulls, as do also the character of their plumage, their seasonal and progressive changes, mode of
propagation, eggs, &c. |
The British species fall into two principal groups ; the majority having the same black calotte in spring as the
Xema Gulls. The commonest {St, hirundo) has an ashy mantle, red feet, and the bill red with a black tip. The |
Arctic Tern {St. arctica), common along our northern coasts, is rather smaller, with shorter legs, and under- |
parts tinged with ash-colour. The Little Tern {St. minuta) is distinguished by its very inferior size, and white
forehead. The Sandwich T. {St. cantiaca and Boysii) is larger than any of the foregoing, with black feet, and
often a tint of roseate on the breast. In the Roseate T. {St. Dougalli), the same tinge is brighter, and the feet
are orange. The Gull-billed T. {St. anglica) has the bill prominent at the symphisis, as in the Gulls; but not-
withstanding its received systematic name, is extremely rare in Britain. The Caspian T. {St. caspia), occasionally
met with in the Cliannel, is very considerably larger than any of the others. The two last are principally marsh
Terns ; and the most characteristic of these is the Black Tern {St. nigra), with tail less deeply forked than in
the others, membranes of the feet more reduced, and smaller bill, which subsists chiefly on insects taken on the
wing, and flies more like a Swallow. There are numerous others.]
We might distinguish from the other Terns, |
The Noddies {Megalopterus, Boie), —
The tail of which is not forked, [but the reverse,] and even wdth the wings ; and the hill has a slight
salient angle, the first indication of that in the Gulls ; [whilst the character of the plumage resem- .•
hies that of a Petrel, and the feathers are not continued forward to the nostrils]. We only know .
of one, — f I
The Black Noddy {Sterna stolida, Lin.).— Brown black, the front of the head whitish. It is well known to ’ ]
seamen for the stupidity with which it throws itself on vessels [and allows itself to be taken. Is one of the most
widely distributed of birds ; and has occurred on the Irish coast. M. Audubon found its nests in vast numbers,
placed upon bushes, in an island uninhabited by Man].
The Skimmers {RJiyncops, Linn.) —
Resemble the Terns by their short feet, long wings, and forked tail ; but are distinguished from all
other birds by their extraordinary bill, the upper mandible of which is shorter than the other, both 1 1
being flattened into simple [vertical] laminae, which meet without clasping. Their only mode of
feeding is by skimming their aliment from the surface of the water with the lower mandible as f
they fly.
PALMIPEDES.
259
The first known species {Rh. nigra, Lin.), is white, with a black calotte and mantle, a white streak over the eye,
and the external tail-feathers white outside, bill and feet red. From the vicinity of the Antilles. There are four
or five others.
The third family, or that of the
Totipalmati,
Is characterized by the thumb being united with the other toes by one single membrane ;
though, notwithstanding this conformation, which renders their feet perfect oars, they are
almost the only Palmipedes which perch on trees. All of them hy well, and have
short legs. Linnaeus arranged them in three genera, the first of which requires to be
subdivided.
The Pelicans {Pelicanm, Lin.) —
Comprehend all those wherein some naked space is found at the base of the bill. Their nostrils are
mere fissures, the aperture of which is scarcely [or not at all] perceptible. The skin of the throat is
more or less extensible, and the tongue extremely small. Their attenuated gizzard forms, with then-
other stomachs, a great sac, [which in several is furnished with an accessory pouch, analogous to that
of the Crocodiles], and they have only middling or small cceca. [Their nostrils, which are always per-
vious in the nestling, soon become entirely closed in
the greater number of genera. The furcula is alw^ays
anchylosed to the anterior portion of the sternal ridge.
Their eggs are encased with a soft, absorbent, chalky
substance, over the hard shell ; and the young are at
first covered with long and flocculent blackish down,
remaining very long in the nest, and generally much
exceeding the parents in weight when they leave it.
None of them appear to moult before the second
autumn. The greater number have bright green
irides.]
The Pelicans, properly so called {Pelicanus, Illiger;
Onocrotalus, Brisson), —
Have the beak very remarkable for its inordinate
length, its straight, very broad, and horizontally-flat-
tened form, for the hook which terminates it, and finally for the lower mandible, the flexile rim of
which supports a naked membrane, which is dilatable into a voluminous pouch. Two grooves extend
throughout its length, in which the nostrils are concealed. The circumference of the eyes is naked,
like the throat. The tail round.
The common European Pelican (Pel. onocrotalus, Lin.).— As large as a Swan, and wholly white, slightly tinged
with carneous, [and having the breast deep buff-colour in old specimens]. The hook of the bill cherry-red. It is
more or less plentifully diffused over the eastern world, nidificates in the marshes, and subsists entirely on live
fish. Is reported to convey provisions and water in its pouch. Two or three others have been distinguished.
The Cormorants {Phalacrocorax, Briss. ; Carlo, Mey. ; Halieus, 111.) —
Have the beak elongated, with the tip of the upper mandible hooked, and that of the other truncate.
The tongue very small ; and the skin of the throat less dilatable. The nostrils are like a little
line, which does not seem to be pervious. The middle claw has a serrated inner edge. [Tail stiff and
cuneated. It may be added, that the feet are placed backwards, in adaptation to diving habits, but are
still tolerably free, these birds employing both the wings and feet in subaquatic progression. Their
voracity is proverbial : and their intelligence surpasses that of most other birds, as does likewise their
docility : hence they were formerly trained in Europe for fishing, as Hawks are for fowling, and they
are still so employed in the East. The species are exceedingly numerous, and some are found almost
everywhere.
Two are very common on the British coasts.
The Bronzed Cormorant (Pel. carlo, Lin.).— Size of a Gooze, and bronzed black, with fourteen tail-feathers.
Both sexes develope, towards the breeding season, various accessory ornamental feathers about the head and
neck, at which time the naked skin becomes brightly coloured, and a tuft of white feathers grows upon each
s 2
Fig-. 129. — Sternum of Cormorant.
260
aves.
flank. These ornaments fall in a few weeks, and are but imperfectly developed in younger individuals, and
seldom except in a state of perfect liberty. In some parts of Europe, this species builds upon house-tops, and not
unfrequently on trees : but on the British coast, they mostly resort to precipitous rocks or islets, generally in
society. From their croaking voice, dark colour, and appearance on the wing, they are often termed Sea Crows.
They can climb with considerable facility, aided by the beak and rigid tail-feathers. Occasionally they fly to inland
waters and fish-preserves, where they are notoriously destructive, and are observed to evince a marked preference
for Eels.
The other species, or Crested Cormorant, (PkaL cristatus, Glass), is smaller, and less robust, with only twelve tail-
feathers ; its glosses incline more to green, and the adults Eave an elegant recurved crest during the breeding
season. This bird is commoner towards the north, while the preceding is more numerous southward : neverthe-
less, the Bronzed Cormorant appears to occur in both continents, whereas the Crested is represented in North
America by a different one {Pk. dilophus), both of these extending to high latitudes, though respectively peculiar
to the Old and New World, so far as has yet been observed.
A third European species is the Black Cormorant (Pel. graculus, Gm.); a diminutive of the first, but possessing
only twelve tail-feathers, like the preceding, with which it has been confounded until very recently, by British
naturalists. It inhabits to the southward of the British Isles, in which it has not hitherto been met with.)
The Tachypetes {Tachypetes, Vieillot) —
Differ from the Cormorants by a forked tail, short feet, the membranes of which are very deeply notched,
an excessive spread of wing, and a beak both mandibles of which are curved at the tip. Their wings
are so powerful that they fly at an immense distance from ail land, and principally between the tropics,
darting upon the Flying-fish, and striking the Gannets to make them disgorge their prey.
One only is known (Pel. aquilus, Lin.), the plumage of which is [richly empurpled] black, the under-part of the
throat more or less varied with white, and the beak red. Its extent of wing is reported to be sometimes ten or
even twelve feet. [This is the noted Frigate-bird, or Man-of-War-hird, of the English sailors, which is surpassed
in command of wing by none of the class, if equalled by any. It breeds on trees on uninhabited islands, and
lays a single spherical white egg.]
The Ga.nnets {Sula, Brisson; Dysporus, Illiger) —
Have a straight beak, slightly compressed and pointed, with the tip a little arcuated, and its edges serrated,
the denticulations [which are more developed in the Cormorants] directed backwards : the [im-
pervious] nostrils are prolonged in a line nearly to the tip : the throat is naked, as is also the skin of
the eyes ; the former but slightly extensible : inner edge of the middle claw serrated. The wings are
less extended than in the Tachypetes, and the tail is a little cuneated. These birds are called Boobies, on
account of the stupidity with wEich they [certain species of them] allow themselves to be attacked by
men and birds, more particularly the Tachypetes, w'hich, as already stated, force them to yield up the
prey they have captured.
The most common is the European Gannet (Pel. hassanus, Lin.).— White, with black feet and wing primaries,
the bill greenish, and nearly equal in size to a Goose. [A common species in the British seas, which breeds in
vast numbers upon the Bass rock in the Frith of Forth, and one or two other similar localities : the young are at
first covered with the blackish down common to the group, in which they contrast remarkably with their white
parents ; their first plumage is dark above, beautifully speckled with white, these terminal specks gradually
wearing off. The Gannets take their prey by plunging upon it from on high, and sail with an easy flight, with
little motion of the wings. Their air cavities are extraordinarily developed ; the ambient medium permeating all
their bones with the exception of the phalanges of the toes, and passing imder the skin of the breast, which is
only attached to the muscles by a number of scattered connecting pillars ; a structure which is also met with in
the Phaetons.]
The Anhingas {Plotus, Lin.) —
With the body and feet nearly like those of a Cormorant, have a very long neck, and a slender, straight,
and pointed bill, with denticulated edges ; the eyes and nudity of the face as in the Pelicans, of which
they have likewise the habits, nestling, like those birds, upon trees. [They may be described as Cor-
morants, with the bill and neck of a Heron.
Two or three species are found, in both continents ; the body inferior in size to that of a common Duck.]
The Phaetons {Phaeton, Lin.) —
Are known by their two very long and slender tail-feathers, which, at a distance, resemble a straw.
Their head has no naked part. The beak is straight, pointed, denticulated, and moderately stout,
[with pervious nostrils at all ages] : their feet are short, and their wings long. Accordingly, they fly
very far from land, on the high seas ; and as they rarely quit the boundaries of the torrid zone, their
appearance serves to indicate to mariners the vicinity of the tropic, [whence their common name of
PALMIPEDES. 261
Tropic-birds]. On land, where they seldom resort except to breed, they perch upon trees. [They are
closely related by affinity to the Gannets.]
Several species are known, with white plumage, more or less varied with black, [and tinged in some with roseate,]
which do not exceed the size of a Pigeon.
The family of
Lamellirostres
Is distinguished by a thick bill, invested with a soft skin rather than with true horn, [the
fact being, that the corneous portion is restricted to the nail-like extremity, the rest corre-
sponding to what is known as the cere] : its edges supplied either with laminae, or small
teeth, [which are modifications of each other] : the tongue large and fleshy, with a dentelated
border. Their wings are of moderate length. They live more in fresh winters than in the
sea : and, in the greater number, the trachea of the male is dilated near its bifurcation into
capsules of various form. Their gizzard is large, very muscular, and the coeca [generally]
long. [These birds lay numerous spotless eggs, and the young follow tlieir parent as soon
as hatched.]
The great genus of
The Ducks {Anas, Lin.) —
Comprehends those Palmipedes which have a large and broad bill, the edges of which are beset with
salient laminae jjlaced transversely, and the purport of which appears to be for straining off the water
when the bird has seized its prey. They divide into three subgenera, the limits of which, however,
I are not very precise.
; The Swans {Cygnus, Meyer) — ■
Have the bill of equal breadth throughout, and higher than wide at the base ; the nostrils placed about
midway: and the neck exceedingly elongated, [possessing twenty-three vertebrae*]. They are the
largest birds of this genus, and feed chiefly on the seeds and roots of aquatic plants, [togetlier with the
grass which grows near the brink of water]. Their intestines, and coeca more especially, are accord-
ingly very long. Their trachea has no inflation or labyrinth.
[Swans are essentially modified Geese, and like the latter are exclusively vegetable feeders, with
similar plumage in both sexes, which is moulted once only in the year, and undergoes no seasonal va-
riation of colour. They attack with the same hissing note, strike similarly with their wings, and the
male guards the female during incubation, and accompanies her while followed by her brood. They
fall into two subdivisions.
In the first, the trachea, after describing a slight curve towards the sternal ridge, proceeds to the
lungs without entering any cavity in the bone. When swimming, they often erect the tertial plumes
! of the wing, in an elegant manner. Three of the four species have a fleshy caruncle over the base of j
} the upper mandible, beneath which the bone is protuberant. j
The Mute Swan {Anas olor, Gmelin), or common domesticated species, the adults of which are wholly pure I
white, with a reddish bill, surmounted by a black protuberance, and leaden-black feet : young, grey, with the bill
lead-coloured. The wild breed {C. immutabilis, Yarrell) is rather smaller, with the rostral protuberance less
developed in the few specimens examined : there is also a semi-albino domestic race, with feet whitish, or par-
tially so, and reported to have white cygnets, which is termed the Polish Swan by the dealers ; it varies in size,
some attaining the largest dimensions of the ordinary tame breed. We are satisfied, from anatomical examina-
i tion, that these are all specifically the same. The wild race is rarely met with in Britain. These birds do not
I appear to breed before the third year.
I The Black Swan {A. atrata, Latham ; A. plutonia, Shaw). — Less than the preceding, and not so elegant in its
conformation, with its tertials curled upwards : colour black, with the exception of its white primaries, and the
bill and naked skin at its base, which are red. It is common in New Holland, and propagates readily twice a
year, or oftener, when brought to Europe.
The Black-necked Swan (C. nigricolUs). — White, with black neck and tips of the primaries ; the sides of the
head white, and bill and feet orange, the former having a black protuberance. Common in South America.
i|j Tlie smallest of all, or Duck-billed Swan (C. anatoides, King.), is also from South America, inhabiting towards the
I Straits of Magellan. Colour pure white, with black tips to the primaries, and bill and feet orange : the former
1 having no basal protuberance. With the exception, therefore, of the common mute species, this division pertains
to the southern hemisphere.
The rest have the trachea elongated as in the Cranes, and similarly entering a cavity in the sternal
* We have found this number in four species, viz., C. olor, atratus, musicus, and Bewickii. — Ed.
262
AVES.
ridge. They carry the neck more upright, and never elevate the tertial plumes. None of them has
any protuberance on the base of the bill ; and they have all white
plumage with black feet, or, in the young, grey plumage with white
wings, and the feet white when newly hatched. They yield the swan’s
down of commerce, which is much inferior both in quality and quan-
tity in the others ; and are restricted in their distribution to the
northern hemisphere.
Of four species, two are respectively peculiar to each continent.
The Trumpeter Swan (C. buccinator) of America is the largest, and yields
most of the down of commerce, together with the next species. Its bill is
wholly black, and the trachea forms a double vertical convolution within the
sternal ridge, and is bifurcated into short inflated bronchi.
Audubon’s Swan (C. Audubonii and americana) is smaller, but fully equals
the European Hooper Swan in size, although it has been confounded with
C. Bewickii. Its bill has an orange-yellow spot on each side towards the base,
and the trachea forms a horizontal flexure within the inflated hind-margin of
the sternum, having similar bronchi to those of the last.
Bewick’s Swan (C. Beivicldi) is considerably smaller, with exactly similar
tracheal apparatus, and a larger orange-yellow space at the base of the
bill, extending to the nostrils. Of seventeen specimens dissected by us,
one only presented the horizontal flexure of the trachea (represented
from the identical specimen in fig. 130), though several were evidently older
birds : but the inflated form of the bronchi constitutes an invariable distinc-
tion from the next species. Tail-feathers generally twenty, sometimes eighteen, and we have more than once met
with nineteen, where none had been lost. It is much less common in Britain, as a winter visitant, than the next.
The Hooper Swan (C. musicus, Anas cygnus, Lin.), or common Wild Swan of Europe, which visits Britain in
abundance in severe winters. The largest specimens are scarcely inferior in size to the Mute species, and have
the most extended brilliant-yellow space at the base of the bill of any, extending beyond the nostrils. The
trachea forms but a single vertical flexure, and the bronchi are much longer than in the others, and not inflated.
On dissecting a cygnet in its down, we found the cavity of the sternal ridge completely formed, but the trachea
did not enter. The tail-feathers are generally twenty, and sometimes twenty-one or twenty-two. All these birds |
utter loud trumpeting cries, and the present species has also a low musical note, which is often repeated.] I
We can scarcely distinguish from the Swans certain species, which undoubtedly are less elegant, but
have the same beak. As
The Knobbed Goose {Anas cygnoides, Lin.), which we rear in our poultry-yards, and which interbreeds readily
with the common domestic species. The base of its upper mandible is protuberant, as in the Mute Swan, and its
neck is whitish, with a dark streak passing down the back of it. [In every essential particular, this is a true
Goose, and has sixteen cervical vertebrae, like the rest of that genus. Its flesh is less highly esteemed than that
of the common bird ; than which, however, it is considerably more prolific, propagating at all seasons. As in the
other Geese, it seeks its food principally, or it may be said wholly, on land, and utters loud noisy cries.]
The Spur-winged Goose {Anas Gambensis, Lin.). — Remarkable for its size, its elevated legs, the tubercle upon
its forehead, and the two stout spurs with which the bend of its wing is armed. Its plumage is empurpled black,
[very like that of a Musk Duck, to which this species is considerably allied, notwithstanding its long legs. It
forms the genus Plectropterus of Swainson.
The author also includes among the Swans the Canada Goose {A. canadensis), which also possesses every
intrinsic character of the true Geese. It is a very large species, with a long black neck, and white mark across
the throat, as in the Black-necked Swan ; which is likewise readily domesticated, and breeds plentifully in Europe.
Another nearly allied {A. Hutckinsonii) has more recently been discovered in the same country — North America,
from which neither has been known to stray across the Atlantic in the wild state, though found very far to the
north. The first down of all the Geese is mottled, of the Swans plain.]
The Geese {Anser, Brisson) —
Have the bill moderate or short, narrower in front than behind, and higher than broad at the base ;
the legs longer than in the Ducks, and placed nearer the middle of the body, to facilitate their gait
on land. They have no labyrinth at the bottom of the trachea, nor does the latter form any curve in
the known species. Several [all] feed on grass and grain.
The Geese, properly so called, —
Have the bill as long as the head, with the ends of the lamellae extending to its edges, and appearing
like pointed teeth.
[The last-mentioned character is most strongly developed in the Snow Goose {A. hyperboreus) of North America,
the adult male of which is white, with black primaries. This species rarely straggles into northern Europe. Four
Fig. 130.— Sternum of Bewick's Swan.
PALMIPEDES.
263
are more or less common in Britain during the winter, the three first of which have been much confused. The
colour of all is nearly that of a coloured domestic Goose. The Grey-lag Goose (A. cinereus), at once distinguished
by the pale grey colour of its rump, which in all the others is dark blackish-brown. The bill also is larger and
broader, with more strongly marked lamellae : the hue of it reddish flesh-colour, tinged with yellowish in summer,
with always a white terminal nail to the upper mandible, except when very young ; and the legs flesh-coloured.
This, which is obviously the origin of the common tame Goose, is at present much the rarest in the British Isles,
though it formerly bred abundantly in the fenny counties. The common statement that the male of the tame
Goose invariably becomes white in the course of a few years, is untrue. The most nearly allied to it is the
White-fronted Goose (A. albifrons), considerably smaller, with always a white forehead in the adult, and ordinarily
more or less black on the under-parts, appearing in irregular patches ; traces of which may likewise be sometimes
found in the preceding species : its legs are orange-yellow, and bill flesh-coloured, with a white nail except when
very young. This species is very common in winter, but has not hitherto been known to breed here. A still
more abundant species is the Bean Goose {A. segetum), nearly as large as the first, with orange legs, and narrower
bill, generally blackish, with an orange band across it, and a black nail : the latter is very rarely white in aged
ijj specimens, which often have the bill nearly wholly yellow, but never quite. The Bean Goose breeds sparingly in
Sutherland, and some parts of Ireland. Lastly, the Pink-footed Goose {A. hrachgi-ynchns, Baillon ; A. phoeni-
copus, Bartl.) is distinguished from the last by its inferior size, and pinkish-red legs, together with its shorter
bill, the similar cross-band of which is permanently of a reddish-colour. It is not very common, though
I more so than the first, and combines the general form of the Bean Goose with the legs of the Grey-lag.]
j The Barnacles —
li Are distinguished from ordinary Geese by a shorter and more slender hill, the edges of which conceal
■ the extremities of the laminae, [though there is no drawing the line of separation, and the present
; I division is generally rejected as superfluous.
Two are common in Britain, and found on both sides of the Atlantic, each retiring very far north to breed, more
I particularly the second species. The Barnacle Goose (A. leucopsis) ; much smaller than any of the preceding,
; with a grey mantle, the feathers broadly edged with black, a black neck, and white visage : and the Brent Goose
ji {A. bernicla), still less, and nearly all black above, with a white spot on each side of the middle of its neck. This
j| bird is one of the finest for the table of the whole tribe. A third (A. ruficollis), common on the shores of the
ji Caspian, and as far eastward as Lake Baikal, occurs as a rare occasional straggler, and has the smallest bill
ij of any].
i The Egyptian Goose, or Bargander, (An. <egyptiaca, Gm.), revered by the ancient Egyptians for the affection
it evinces for its young, and remarkable for its display of colours, and for the small spur on the bend of its
wing, also pertains to this subgenus : it is sometimes domesticated, but always retains a propensity to return
I to the wdld state. [This species very properly constitutes the division Chenelopex, Swainson, and is a modifica-
! tion of the distinct Shieldrake group, all of which belong to the higher division of Geese, and not to the Ducks,
i There is a single inflated labyrinth at the bottom of its trachea, which, with its plumage, and the character of the
^ down of the young, helps to intimate its real affinities*.]
The Cereopsis {Cereopsis, Latham) —
; Is a New Holland bird, nearly related to the Barnacles, [so far as the beak alone would indicate,] but
I with a still smaller bill, the membrane of which is much broader, and extends a little upon the forehead,
i [This species seldom, if ever, enters the water, and has long legs, which are bare above the joint.]
We only know one, the Grey Cereopsis (C. cinereus, Latham), of a grey colour, with black spots, and as large as
j a tame Goose. [It breeds freely in this country, and possesses a tracheal labyrinth].
i The Ducks, properly so called, {Anas, Meyer), —
Have the bill broader than high at its base, and wider at the end than towards the head ; the nostrils
also more approximated towards its back and base. The shortness and backward position of their legs
render their gait upon land more difficult than in the Geese ; and they have also a shorter neck, and
their trachea is inflated at its bifurcation into cartilaginous labyrinths, of which the left is generally the
larger. [They subsist to a greater or less extent on animal diet, and the sexes are always different in
colouring, the charge of the young being entirely left to the female, and the male approximating to the
female colouring immediately after the breeding season.]
The species of the first division, or those in which the hind toe is bordered by a membrane, have a
larger head, a shorter neck, the feet placed further backward, smaller wings, a more rigid tail, the tarsi
more compressed, and the toes longer, with more complete webs. They walk with more difficulty, and
] live almost exclusively on animal food, diving very often. [The plumage is generally moulted once
! * Tlie MaselUtnim ami antarctica, also, referred by the Author | figured by M. Eyton. The truth is, that these trivial modifications of
I to his division of Barnacles, likewise appertain to the Shieldrake the bill are of subordinate value, in the present extensive series,
j group, as shown by their anatomy: their tracheal labyrinths are 1 — Ed.
AVES.
264
only ill the year, the change of colour of the males, about midsummer, taking place without a renewal
of the feathers.] Among them we may distinguish
The Scoters {Oidemia, Fleming) —
By the breadth and inflation of the bill. [Their plumage is chiefly deep black, and they are found
almost exclusively in salt water, where they prey mostly on Testacea. Feet particularly large.
Two species are not uncommon in the British seas— the Common or Black Scoter {Anas nigra, Lin.), entirely
black, with an orange protuberance at the base of the bill, and orange-coloured legs ; which is the most abundant,
and has swollen bronchi ; and the Velvet Scoter (A. fusca, Lin.), which is larger, with pink feet and black mem-
branes, a white band on the wing, and spot of the same at each eye, its trachea having a sudden box-like enlarge-
ment about the middle. A third, allied to the last, the Surf Scoter (A. perspicillata, Lin.), occasionally strays
from America, and is distinguished by the triangular patches of white on the crown and occiput : females of all
I dusky.
The author adds certain species to this genus, with stiff and pointed tail-feathers, forming the Oxyura, Bonap. ;
as the A. leucocephala, Pallas ; and A. lobata , Shaw ; which latter, a New Holland kind, is remarkable for a
large fleshy appendage hanging under the bill. The A. rubida of Wilson is referable to the same natural
division.]
The Garrots {Clangula, Leach) —
Have a shorter bill, which is narrower in front : and at their head we place a species with the middle
tail-feathers very long, which renders the tail pointed. [This bird, forming the division Harelda of
Leach, is quite distinct from the others, and moults twice in the year.]
The Long-tailed Hareld {An. glacialis, Lin.).— White, with a fulvous spot on the cheek and side of the neck, the
breast, back, tail, and point of the wing, black : [scapularies broadly edged with rufous-brown in summer, con-
siderably longer and pure white in winter, when they hang over the wing, as in the Eiders.] Its trachea, ossified
towards the base, has on one side four square membranous facets, above which it is inflated into a bony labyrinth.
[A very active and noisy marine species, not rare off the coast of Scotland in winter, flying in small flocks.
Further north, it becomes exceedingly numerous.]
The Harlequin Garrot \,An. histrionica, Lin.).— Ash-coloured, the male fantastically, streaked with white; eye-
brows and flanks rufous. [Also chiefly a marine species, not very closely allied to the remainder.
The rest have a very large head, or which appears, rather, to be so from the fulness of the plumage, and are
remarkable for their sexual disparity of size. They are chiefly found in fresh water, and prefer to breed in the
hollows ot trees, as severally observed by Linnaeus, Hewitson, and Audubon. One is a common winter visitant in
Britain].
The Golden-eyed Garrot {An. clangula, Lin.).— White, with a black head, back, and tail, a round white spot before
each eye, and two white bands on the wing ; female ashy, with rufous head : the middle of the trachea is very
much enlarged, but preserves its flexibility, and it again becomes singularly widened towards its divarication.
[The little BulFel-headed Garrot {An. albeola, Lin.), common in North America, is nearly allied].
The Eiders {Somaieria, Leach) —
Have a longer bill than the Garrots, ascending higher upon the forehead, vrhere it is cut into by an
angle of the feathers ; hut which is still narrower towards the tip. [These birds are more particularly
allied to the Scoters, with which they accord in their exclusively marine habits and food.
There are two species, both with long white scapularies, hanging laterally over the wing, and black and white
plumage in the adult male. The Common Eider {An. mollissima, Lin.), with a singular green stain on each side
of the neck ; and the King Eider {A. spectabilis), remarkable for a huge protuberance over the base of its upper
mandible. Both yield the celebrated Eider down of commerce].
After these separations, there still remain
The Pochards {Fuligula, Leach), —
The beak of which is wide and flat, but offers no other marked distinguishing character. We possess
several species, in all of which the trachea terminates by nearly similar labyrinths, forming a capsule
to the left, in part membranous, supported by a framework and ramifications of hone.
[Three are very common in Britain,— the Scaup Pochard {An. marila, Lin.), grey, with leaden-coloured bill, and
green-black head and neck, which is chiefly found in salt water; the Red-headed Pochard (^./mna, Lin.), ash-
coloured, with rufous head and neck, and black breast, nearly allied to which, but larger, is the celebrated Ame-
rican Canvass-back {A. ualisneria, Wilson); and the Tufted Pochard {A. fidigula, Lin.; F. cristata, Auct.),
purple-black, with pendent occipital crest, and white flanks and belly. A fourth, the White-eyed Pochard
{A. nyroca, Gm.), is not common, and is distinguished by its maronne head and neck, the latter encircled with a
black collar, and a white spot on the chin. A fifth, the Red-crested Pochard {A. rufina, Lin.), is larger than any
of the foregoing (except the American), with elongated, bright ferrugineous, coronal feathers, and the rest mostly
dark : this bird belongs properly to Asia, and is only known as a straggler so far west. Lastly, the Pied Pochard
{An. Stelleri and dispar), with plumage not unlike that of an Eider, another native of eastern Asia, has likewise
PALMIPEDES. 265
been killed here. Most of these birds are very fine eating, the Scaup least so, and feed (excepting that species)
principally on vegetable diet. Their coeca are larger than in nearly all of the foregoing.]
The Ducks of our second division, wherein the back toe is not bordered by a membrane, have a
more slender head, the feet less broad, the neck not so long, the bill more even, the body not so thick :
they walk better, and feed on aquatic plants and seeds, as well as
on animal diet, [as indeed do also the preceding, though generally
to a less extent]. It appears that their traeheal labyrinths con-
sist of a homogeneous bony and cartilaginous substance, [which
forms a simple vesicle. They all moult twice in the year, the
males attaining, by actual change of feather about midsummer, a
garb more or less similar to that of the females. They have a con-
sidei;^ble dilatation of the oesophagus, and large cceca].
These likewise admit of some subdivisions, [though considerably
less strongly marked than the foregoing]; and firstly, we may
distinguish that of
The Shovellers {Rhyncaspis, Leach), —
The long beak of which is remarkable for its upper mandible
forming a perfect half-cylinder, widened at the end. The laraellse
are so long and delicate that they resemble ciliaj. These birds feed
on small worms, which they obtain from the mud at the edge of
brooks, [and are merely true Ducks with the bill a little modified].
The Common Shoveller (An. clypeata, Lin.), is a very beautiful Duck, with green head and neck, white breast,
rufous flanks, brown back, and wings varied with white, ash-grey, green, brown, &c., which visits us [principally]
in the spring. Its flesh is excellent, and tracheal labyrinth small, [the intestines remarkably narrow and elongated].
It is the Chenerotes of Pliny.
An Australian species {An. fasciata, Shaw), is remarkable for the edge of its beak being prolonged on each side
into a hanging membranous flap, [The Shovellers grade into the ordinary Ducks by a succession of species, allied
to the British Gargany Duck, which latter retains much of the same character of plumage and colouring.]
The Shieldrakes {Tadorna, Leach) —
Have the bill very much flattened towards the end, with a projecting boss at the base. [These birds
are the most duck-like representatives of an extensive group, found chiefly in the southern hemisphere,
and intermediate in their general characters to the present group of Ducks with unlohated hind-toc,
and the Geese, but exhibiting none of the essential characters of the former. Like the Ducks, they have
always a brilliant speculum of metallic colouring on the wing, and an inflated vesicle, in some single,
towards the divarication of the bronchi : hut they are exclusively vegetable feeders ; the male guards
the nest, and protects his brood, uttering with outstretched neck a hissing sound at any intruder ;
their plumage is moulted but once a year, and undergoes no seasonal change of colour, being generally
ahke in both sexes, or, when diiferent, the male is white, as in certain Geese ; and lastly, they have a
gait very different from that of the Ducks, all of them standing high upon the legs, and their yoimg
are at first pied, unlike those of other Lamcllirostres. In ail that we have examined, the intestines are
particularly long and slender. Their subdivision is not easy ; and the common Shieldrake and Egyptian
Goose, or Bargander, may be cited as characteristic examples : the wings of most are very similar.
The Common Shieldrake {Ati. tadorna, Lin, ; T. vulpanser, Auct,). — White, with a green head and neck, a cin-
namon-brown cincture round the breast, and black streak down the belly ; the wing variegated with black, white,
rufous, and green. Common on the shores of the North Sea and of the Baltic, where it nestles in the downs,
generally in deserted Rabbit burrows, [and not rare on the British coasts, subsisting on fuci]. The trachea
swells into two nearly similar osseous capsules at its divarication,
[Another, of eastern Europe and Asia, the Ruddy Shieldrake (T. rutild), has been known to stray westward as
far as Britain, It has more the characters of a Goose, and chiefly inhabits the banks of large rivers. Wing like
the common species, the rest of its plumage chestnut-rufous, whitish on the head and neck.]
Some Ducks of this second division have naked parts on the head, and often likewise a boss at the
base of the beak ; as.
The Musk Duck (A. moschata, Lin.). — Originally from America, where it is still found wild, and is observed to
perch upon trees ; it is now very common in our poultry-yards, where it is reared on account of its size. It readily
hybridizes with the common species, [producing infertile hybrids]. Its capsule is very large, circular, vertically
flattened, and on the right side only. [Its legs are very short, both sexes are alike in plumage, the male guards
the nest and brood, and we consider it to be an extreme modification of the group of Shieldrakes.]
AVES.
266
Some have the tail pointed.
The Pintail Duck (A. acuta). — [A common winter visitant in Britain, highly esteemed for the table ; the male
with a white mark down each side of the neck, meeting behind. It forms, with another, the needless division
Dafila of Leach.]
In otliers, the middle tail-feathers are more or less curled upwards ; as,
The Common or Mallard Duck (A. boschas, Lin.) ; known by its orange feet, greenish-yellow bill, the fine
changeable green of its neck, separated from the dark maronne colour of its breast by a white ring, &c. In our
poultry-yards, it varies like other domestic animals. The wild bird, common in our marshes, nestles among the
rushes, in old trunks of willows, and sometimes upon trees. Its trachea terminates below with a great osseous
capsule.
Some of them have a crested head, and a bill rather narrower anteriorly, and which, though foreign,
are now raised in all our aviaries. [They have smaller feet, perch readily on trees, and surpass all
the rest of the tribe in the splendour of their colours. They constitute the Dendronessa, Swainson].
Such is the Mandarin Duck {A. galericulata) of China, and the Summer Duck (A. sponsa) of North America.
Their capsules are rounded, and of moderate size.
Other exotic species conjoin to the bill of the Ducks, legs which are even longer than those of the
Geese : they perch and nestle upon trees.
[These are the long-legged Whistling Ducks of the West Indies, which pertain to the major division of Shiel-
drakes, and form the subgenus Dendrocygnus.'] One of the number has even semipalmated toes.
Lastly, among those which have no particular characteristic, the following visit our shores during
the winter.
The Gadwall TixiiC^iiA. strepera, Lin.), mostly of a lineated grey colour, with some rufous on the wings; the
Widgeon (A. penelope, Lin.) ; grey, with a vinaceous breast, and rufous head and neck, the forehead and along
the top of the head yellowish-white ; the Teal (A. crecca), with a rufous head, marked with green on each side,
and a spotted breast ; and the Gargany (A. querquerdula and circia), with a white stripe behind the eye. [In
addition to these, two stragglers have been found in Britain, the Bimaculated Duck, (A. giocitans,) from Asia,
allied to the Teal, but larger, with a brown head, having two large glossy green spots on each side ; and the
American Widgeon, with a Teal-like green stripe on the sides of the head (a trace of which is sometimes met with
in the common Widgeon), no rufous on the head, a narrower bill, and smaller tracheal capsule. In all these the
females have lineated brown plumage, which is characteristic of the true double-moulting Bucks with unlobated
hind-toe, and the males are finely rayed across. The habits of all are nearly similar to those of the common
species.]
The genus of
The Mergansers {Mergus, Lin.) —
of which, much more slender and cylindrical than in any of the foregoing,
has each mandible armed throughout its length with small pointed teeth ,
like those of a saw, directed backwards, [and which are merely modifica-
tions of the ordinary lamellae] ; the tip of the upper mandible is hooked.
Their port and even their plumage are the same as in the Ducks, properly
so called ; but their gizzard is less muscular, and the intestines and cceca
are shorter, [though less so than in the Scoters and Eiders. They have a
lobated hind-toe, and the plumage is moulted in autumn only, the colours
of the male undergoing an extraordinary amount of change towards mid-
summer. They do not acquire their adult dress until the second general
renewal of the feathers]. The labyrinth at the inferior larynx of the
males is enormous, and in part membranous [resembling that of the other
Ducks with lobated hind-toe] ; and they live on lakes and ponds, where
they are very destructive to fish, breeding in similar situations to the
common Duck.
[Of five species, four are met with in the British Isles, three of them commonly
during the winter. All are beautiful birds, at least the males in breeding dress.
They are— the Great Merganser {M. merganser and castor), as large as a Shieldrake,
with green head and neck, and short bushy crest, the body white, more or less
deeply suffused with saffron, with a blackish mantle, coral bill, and orange legs,
— the male ; and female rufous-brown, white beneath, with a slender and much
longer crest ; which retires further north to breed : the Bay-breasted M. (M. ser-
rator), size of a Mallard, with a rufous brown breast, spotted with blackish, a green-
A .g. OUCW.UU. neck, surmounted with a long thin crest, white ring round the
neck, and elegant bordered shoulder-tufts ; female very like the last ; which breeds on our northern lakes : and
REPTILIA.
267 !
I
the Hooded M. {M. eucullatus), an American species, rare on this side of the Atlantic, the size of a Widgeon, i
with a very large fan-like crest, white bordered with black. These have two coeca of moderate length, and the j
trachea of the first presents two successive inflations in its course, which are about equal, the same expansions i
being also visible in the second species, wherein the higher is however increased, and the lower one diminished,
in addition to the labyrinth at the inferior larynx. To this first group would seem also to belong the M. brazili-
ensis, which is peculiar to South America.
Finally, the Smew Merganser (ilf. albellus) is very remarkable for possessing only one minute coecum, resem- ‘
bling that of a Heron. It is an extremely beautiful bird, proper to the eastern Continent, and not rare in Britain
during the winter, the male of which is bright glistening white, variegated with black markings, and the female
like that of the others, except that the adult has a black patch before each eye. It retires far north to breed.
The great division of web-footed birds might be naturally arranged into five principal
groups, continuatory with those indicated at the close of the series of Waders : viz. —
I XI. Natatores {Swimmers) ; including the Flamingo, but corresponding otherwise to
the Lamellirostres of Cuvier.
XII. Mergitores {Immergers) ; restricted to the two distinct families of Loons and
Grebes.
XIII. PiscATOREs (Fishers) ; or the Totipalmati, which are all exclusively piscivorous.
XIV. Vagatores (Wanderers) ; or the Longipennesj containing the two perfectly distinct
groups of the Terns, Gulls, and Skuas, and of the Albatrosses and Petrels.
XV. Urinatores (Divers)', more properly so designated; and composed of the separate
families of Auks and Penguins.
THE THIRD CLASS OF VERTEBRATED ANIMALS.
REPTILIA.
These have the heart so constructed that at each contraction a portion only of the
blood received from the various parts of the system is sent into the lungs, the remainder
of this fluid returning into the general circulation without having passed through the
lungs, and consequently without having been subjected there to respiration.
Hence, it results that the action of oxygen upon the blood is less than in the
Mammalia, and that, if the amount of respiration of the latter, wherein the whole of
the blood is obliged to pass through the lungs before returning into the system, be
expressed as unity, the quantum of respiration of Reptiles should be expressed as a
fraction of unity proportionately small, as the quantity of blood propelled into the
lungs, at each contraction of the heart, is diminished.
As respiration imparts the warmth to the blood, and the susceptibility of the fibre
to nervous irritamen. Reptiles have cold blood, and their aggregate muscular energy
is less than in the Mammalia, and much less than in Birds. Hence, their movements
can scarcely be performed otherwise than by crawling or swimming : and though
several of them leap and run with celerity on certain occasions, their habits are gene-
rally sluggish, their digestion excessively slow, their sensations obtuse, and, in cold or
temperate climates, they pass nearly the whole winter in a state of lethargy . Their
proportionally very diminutive brain is less necessary than in the two preceding
classes for the exercise of their animal and vital functions ; their sensations seem to be
less referrible to a common centre ; they continue to live and to execute voluntary
movements, for a very considerable while after having been deprived of the brain, and
even when the head is severed. The connexion with the [main trunks of the]
nervous system is also much less necessary for the contraction of the muscular fibre ;
VERTEBRATED ANIMALS.
268
and their flesh preserves its irritability much longer, after having been separated from
the rest of the body, than is the case with the preceding classes. Their heart pulsates
for many hours after it has been detached, and its loss does not deprive the body of
' mobility for a still longer period. It has been remarked of some which have the
cerebellum extremely diminutive, that this circumstance has some reference to their
disinclination to move.
The smallness of the pulmonary vessels enables Reptiles to suspend their respiration
without arresting the course of the blood, and thus to remain submerged with less
difficulty, and for a longer time, than Mammalia or Birds. The cells of their lungs
are not so numerous, as they contain fewer vessels within their precincts, and they are
also much larger, these organs having sometimes the form of simple sacs, merely a
little cellular.
For the rest. Reptiles are provided with a trachea and larynx, although they have
not all the power of emitting an audible voice.
Their blood not being warm, they consequently do not require teguments capable
of retaining heat ; and they are accordingly covered with scales, or simply with a
naked skin.
The females have a double ovary and two oviducts, and the males of several genera
have a forked or double penis, but in the last order (that of the Batrachians), they
have [mostly] none at all.
No Reptile incubates its eggs. In several genera of Batrachians, these are not
fecundated until after they have been excluded ; they have merely a membranous
envelope. The young of this last order have, on quitting the egg, the form and gills
of Fishes ; and certain genera retain these organs even after the developement of their
lungs. In other Reptiles which produce eggs, the Snake, for example, the young is
already formed and considerably advanced within the egg at the time the parent
deposits it ; and there are even some species which may be rendered viviparous at will,
by retarding the deposition of their eggs, as M. Geoffroy exemplified by depriving
the common Snake of water.
The amount of respiration in this class is not fixed, as in the Mammalia and Birds ;
but it varies according to the relative proportion of the diameter of the pulmonary
artery, as compared with that of the aorta. Thus, Tortoises and Lizards respire much
more than Frogs, &c. [though the latter, it should be observed, respire in part over the
whole damp skin, as conclusively ascertained by the experiments of Dr. Milne
Edwards] . Hence, the differences of energy and sensibility are very much greater than
those between one Mammalian and another, or one Bird and another.
Reptiles also present more varied forms, characters, and modes of gait, than the
two preceding classes ; and it is in their production more especially, that Nature
‘ seems to have tried to imagine grotesque forms, and to have modified in every possible
way the general plan adopted for all vertebrated animals, and for the oviparous classes
in particular.
A comparison of the extent of their respiration with their organs of movement has
led M. Brongniart to divide them into four orders, which are as follow : —
The Chelonians (or Turtles and Tortoises), which have a heart with two auricles,
and the body of which, supported by four limbs, is enveloped by two plates or buck-
lers formed of the ribs and sternum.
CHELONIA.
269
The Saurians (or Lizards), which have a heart with two auricles, and the body of
which, borne on four or two feet, is covered with scales.
The Ofhidians (or Serpents), having a heart with two auricles, and the body of
which is always deprived of feet. And
The Batrachians, the heart of which has only one auricle ; [Prof. Owen has
shown that these also possess twoj ; and which have a naked body, that in the greater
number passes, with age, from the form of a Fish respiring by gills, to that of a
Quadruped breathing by lungs. Some of them, however, never cast their gills ; and
there are certain species which have only two feet.
Other authors, as Merrem, have made a different partition of the Saurians and
Ophidians. They detach the Crocodiles to form an order \_Loricata\ by themselves,
and place the rest of the Saurians with the first family of Ophidians (or that of the
Orvets), which mode of distribution is founded on certain peculiarities of the organiza-
tion of the Crocodiles, and upon a certain affinity of the Orvets for the Lizards. We
have deemed it sufficient to indicate these affinities, which are nearly all internal,
adopting, nevertheless, a division of more easy application. [In consequence, how-
ever, of rejecting this obvious natural arrangement, the Ophidians and Saurians of
our author grade into each other ; whereas the more intrinsical characters remain
inviolate, and indicate three natural groups of Loricata, Saurophidia, and Ophidia.']
THE FIRST ORDER OF REPTILES,—
CHELONIA,—
Better known by the appellation of Tortoises [Testudinata], have a heart with two auricles,
and a ventricle with two unequal chambers, which communicate together. The blood from
the body enters the right auricle, and that from the lung the left ; but the two streams mingle
more or less in passing through the ventricle.
These animals are distinguished, at the first glance, by the double buckler in which their
body is inclosed, and which only allows the head and neck, the tail, and the four limbs, to be
protruded.
The upper buckler, termed the carapace or shield, is formed by the ribs, in number eight
pairs, which are widened and joined together, and also to the plates adhering to the annular
portion of the dorsal vertebrae, by dentelated sutures, so that the whole is completely deprived of
mobility. The inferior buckler, named the plastron or breast-plate, is formed of pieces which
represent the sternum, and which are ordinarily nine in number. A frame- work composed of
bony pieces, which are believed to have some analogy to the sternal or cartilaginous portion
of ribs, and which in one subgenus even remains cartilaginous, surrounds the carapace, and
unites all the ribs which compose it. The cervical and caudal vertebrse are alone moveable.
These two bony envelopes are immediately covered by the skin, or by scales ; the scapula,
and all the muscles of the arm and neck, instead of being attached to the ribs and spine, as
m other animals, are all underneath, as are also even the bones of the pelvis and all the muscles of
the thigh ; so that, in this respect, a Tortoise may be regarded as an animal turned inside-out.
The vertebral extremity of the blade-bone is articulated to the carapace ; and its opposite
extremity, which may be considered as analogous to a clavicle, is articulated to the breast-
plate ; so that the two shoulders form a ring, through which pass the oesophagus and traehea.
REPTILIA.
270
A third bony ramification, larger than the two others, and directed backwards and down-
wards, represents, as in Birds, the coracoid apophysis ; but its extremity remains free.
The lungs are much extended, and situate in the same cavity with the other viscera. The
thorax being in the greater number immoveable, it is by the action of the mouth that the
Tortoise breathes, by holding its jaws firmly closed, and alternately depressing and raising
the hyoid bone : the first of these movements permits the air to enter by the nostrils ; when,
the tongue immediately closing their internal aperture, this second operation forces the air
into the lungs. The same mechanism occurs in the Eatrachians.
Tortoises have no teeth ^ hut their jaws are invested with horn like those of Birds, except
in the Chelydes, in w^hich they are merely covered with skin. Their ear-drum and palatal
arches are fixed to the skull, and immoveable ; their tongue is short, and beset with fleshy
papillse ; their stomach simple and strong ; their intestines of mean length, and without a
coecum ; and they have a very large bladder. The male has a simple penis of considerable
size ; and the female produces eggs covered with a hard shell. The male may often be
recognized externally, by the concave form of the breast-plate. *
These animals are very retentive of life, and will continue to move for many w^eeks after j
having been deprived of the head. They require very little nourishment, and can pass whole
months and even years without eating. Linnaeus united them all in the genus of
The Tortoises {Testudo, Lin.), —
Which have been divided into five subgenera, principally after the for^n and teguments of their
carapaces and feet.
The Land-tortoises {Testudo, Brongniart) —
Have a bulged carapace, sustained by a bony skeleton wholly solid, and anchylosed for the greater
part to the lateral edges of the breast-plate ; their legs are truncated, with very short toes connected
almost to the nails, and are capable, together with the head, of being completely withdrawn into the
armour ; the fore-feet have five nails, and the hinder four, all thick and conical. Several species
subsist on vegetable matter.
The Greek Tortoise (T. grceca, Lin.), is that which is commonest in Europe. It inhabits Greece, Italy, Sardinia,
and (it would appear) all round the Mediterranean ; is rarely a foot long ; feeds on leaves, fruit, insects and
worms ; and burrows a hole in which it passes the winter : it engenders in spring, and lays four or five eggs
resembling those of Pigeons.
Among the foreign species, there are several in the East Indies of enormous size, measuring three feet and
upwards in length. One is more particularly known as the Indian Tortoise (T. indica, Vosm.), of a deep brown
colour, with the carapace compressed in fx'ont, and its anterior border reverted above the head. Others are
remarkable for the pleasing distribution of their colours, as the Geometrical T. (T. geometrica, Lin.), a small
species with a black carapace, each scale of which is regularly adorned with yellow lines radiating from a disk of
the same colour. A nearly similar but much larger kind (T. radiata) inhabits New Holland.
Some species (the Pyxis, Bell), have the anterior portion of the mouth moveable, as in the Terrapins ; and
others (the Kinixys of the same naturalist) can move the hinder part of their carapace, but we have some reason
to suspect that this latter conformation is merely accidental.
The Emydes, or Freshwater Tortoises {Emys, Brongniart) —
Have no other eonstant characters to distinguish them from the preceding, beyond the further sepa-
ration of their toes, w'hich are also terminated by longer nails, and the intervals between them are
occupied by membranes, though they grade even in this particular. They also possess five nails before
and four behind. The structure of their feet adapts them to more aquatic habits. The greater
number live on insects, small fish, &c. ; and their envelope is generally flatter than in the Land-tortoises.
That of Europe (T. europea, Schn. ; T. orbicularis, Lin.), is the most widely dilfused, and inhabits all the south
and east of Europe as far as Prussia. It attains a length of ten inches, and its flesh is eaten, with a view to which
it is fed upon bread and tender herbage ; but it also subsists on insects, slugs, small fish, &c. Marsigni states
that its eggs require a year to hatch. The Painted Eroyde (T. picta, Schaelf.) is one of the prettiest species, brown,
with each scale encircled with a yellow riband, more wide in front. It is found in North America among the
reeds, upon the rocks, or on the trunks of trees, from which it falls into the water on being approached. There
are very many others.
M. Fitzinger separates, under the name of Clielodina, and Mr. Bell under that of Hydraspis, those species which
have an elongated neck, as Em. longicollis, Shaw, &c.
Among the Fresh-wafer Tortoises may be noticed more particularly,
CHELONIA. 271
The Terrapins, or Box-Tortoises, {Terrapene, Merrem; Kinosternon, Spix; Cistuda, Fleming), —
The breast-plate of which is divided into two pieces by a moveable articulation, and which have the
power of completely closing their carapace when the head and limbs are withdrawn into it.
Some have only the anterior segment of the breast-plate moveable, as T. subnigra, Lin., and T. clausa, Schaetf. ;
while in others both segments are equally mobile, as T. tricarinata, Schaeif., and T. pennsylvanica, Id.
There are some Fresh-water Tortoises,
The Chelydrons {Chelydra, Fitzinger ; Chdonura, Fleming), —
Which have a long tail and great limbs, that cannot be quite withdrawn within their armour. They
approximate to some of the following genera, and more particularly to the Chelydes, and should rank
as a particular subdivision.
Such is the Long-tailed Tortoise (T. serpentina, Lin.), which is known by having its tail almost as long as the
carapace, and beset with dentelated and pointed crests, and pyramidal scales. It inhabits the warm regions of
North America, is very destructive to fish and water-fowl, ascends far up the rivers, and sometimes attains a
weight of twenty pounds.
The Turtles {Chelonia, Brongniart; Caretta, Merrem) —
Have their envelope too small to receive the head, and more especially the feet, which latter are
extremely elongated, (particularly those in front,) flattened to serve as oars, and have all their toes
closely united, and enveloped in the same membrane. The two first toes alone of each foot
are furnished with pointed nails, and even these are apt to fall, one or the other of them, at a certain
age. The pieces which compose their plastron do not form a continuous plate, but are variously
dentelated, and leave great intervals, which are occupied only by cartilage. Their ribs are narrowed,
and separate one from another at their external portion, but the entire circumference of the cara-
pace is occupied by a circle of pieces corresponding to sternal ribs. The temporal fossa is covered
over by an arch formed of the parietals and other bones, in such a manner that the whole head is
guarded by a continuous bony casque. The oesophagus is internally armed throughout with carti-
laginous points, and sharp tubercles directed towards the stomach.
The Edible or Green Turtle {T. midas,lAn.) is distinguished by its greenish scales, to the number of thirty,
which do not cover each other in the manner of tiles, and the medial of which are ranged in almost regular hexa-
gons. It attains a length of six or seven feet, and a weight of seven or eight hundred pounds. Its flesh supplies
an agreeable viand, very wholesome to mariners traversing the torrid zone. It feeds in great troops upon the
algae in the depths of the ocean, and approaches the mouths of rivers to respire. Its eggs, which are deposited in
the sand where the sun may warm them, are very numerous, and fine eating ; but its shell is not employed in
manufactures.
A neighbouring species {Ch. maculosa, Nobis,) has the middle plates twice as long as wide, and of a fulvous
colour, marked with great black spots ; and another {Ch. lachrymata. Nobis,) has plates as in the preceding one,
but raised into a boss posteriorly, and black splashes upon the fulvous. The scales of both these are useful in
manufactures.
The Imbricated Turtle (T. imhricata), which is less than the green one, with a more lengthened muzzle and
dentelated jaws,|and bearing thirteen yellowish and brown scales, which cover each other in the manner of tiles,
furnishes the best tortoise-shell employed in the arts ; but its flesh is disagreeable and unwholesome, though the
eggs are very delicate. It inhabits the seas of hot climates.
There are yet two species allied to the Imbricated Turtle, the Ch. virgata. Nobis, the scales of which are more
raised, and the medial equal, but with more pointed lateral angles, and radiating black lines ; and Ch. radiata,
Schaetf., which merely differs from the last by having the hindmost of its middle scales wider, being perhaps a
mere variety.
Finally, the Hawk-billed Turtle (T. caretta, Gm.) is more or less brown or rufous, with fifteen scales, the medial
of which have raised crests, more particularly towards the extremity, the point of the upper mandible is crooked,
and the fore-feet longer and narrower than in the others, preserving also better-marked nails. It inhabits
several seas, and even the Mediterranean, subsists on Testacea, has bad flesh, and shell which is in low estima-
tion, but it furnishes an oil that burns well.
Merrem has recently distinguished, as
The Leatherbacks {Sphargis, 111. ; Coriudo, Fleming ; Dermochelis, Lesueur), —
Those species which have no scales, hut the carapace of which is invested with a sort of leather.
Such is a large species of the Mediterranean [which has occurred two or three times on the British shores]
(T. coriacia, Lin.), the carapace of which is oval, and pointed behind, with three prominent longitudinal ridges.
There is another in the Atlantic {Dermochelis atlantica, Lefevre].
The Chelydes {Chelys, Dumeril ; Matamata, Merrem) —
Besemhle the Emydes hy their feet and nails ; hut their envelope is much too small to inclose the
REPTILIA.
272
head and feet, which are particularly large ; their nose is prolonged into a little trunk ; but the most
strongly marked of their characters consists in having their wndely-cleft mouth not armed with a
horny beak, as in other Testudinata, but rather resembling that of certain Batrachians, which form
the genus Pipa.
The Matamata (T.^?w6na, Gm.).— The carapace bristled with pyramidal eminences, and the body fringed all
round with laminae, as if cut. An inhabitant of Guiana.
The Soft Tortoises {Trionyx, Geoff.) —
Have no scales, but merely a soft skin enveloping both the carapace and plastron, neither of which
is completely supported by bone, the ribs not reaching to the borders of the carapace, nor being
united together for more than a portion of their length, the parts analogous to sternal ribs being
replaced by a simple cartilage, and the sternal pieces being partly dentelated, as in the Turtles, and
not covering the whole inferior surface. After death it is perceptible, through the dry skin, that the
surface of the ribs is very jagged. The feet, as in the Emydes, are palmated without being lengthened,
hut only three of their toes are provided with nails. The horn of their beak is invested with fleshy
lips outside, and their nose is prolonged into a small trunk. The tail is short, and the orifice of the
anus beneath its extremity. They inhabit fresh water, and the flexible borders of their envelope
assist them in swimming.
The Trionyx of the Nile (T. triunguis, Forsk and Gm. ; T. <egyptiacxis, Geoff.) is sometimes three feet long, and
of a green colour spotted with white ; the carapace but slightly convex. It devours the young Crocodiles as soon
as they are excluded, and thus renders more service to the Egyptians than even the Mangouste.
The American Trionyx {T.ferox, Gm.) inhabits the rivers of Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Guiana; and lies
in ambuscade at the roots of the weeds, seizing on birds, reptiles, &c., and (devouring the young Alligators,
while itself becomes the prey of the larger ones. Its flesh is good eating. There are several more.
THE SECOND ORDER OF REPTILES,—
SAURIA,—
Have the heart composed, as in the Chelomia, of two auricles, and a ventricle sometimes
divided by imperfect partitions.
,, Their ribs are moveable, attached partly to the sternum, and can rise and fall for the
^purpose of respiration.
Their lung extends more or less towards the hinder part of the body, often penetrates con-
siderably forward below, and the transverse muscles of the abdomen slide under the ribs so
far as to entwine the neck. Those in which the lungs are most developed exercise the singular
faculty of changing the colours of their skin, according as they are influenced by their wants
or by their passions.
Their eggs have an envelope more or less indurated; and the young issue from them with l |
the form which they retain ever afterwards. ; I
The mouth is always armed with teeth ; their toes, with very few exceptions, are furnished ; |
with nails ; the skin is covered with scales more or less serrated, or at least with little scaly j !'
granules ; and they engender with either a single or double male organ, according to the genus, j
All have a tail more or less lengthened, and in nearly every instance very thick at the base : ! |
the greater number have four limbs, though some have only two. 1 1
Linnaeus arranged them into only two genera, the Dragons and the Lizards ; but the latter 1 1
requires to be divided into several, which differ in the number of feet, of intromittent organs, ! f
in the form of the tongue, of the tail, and of the scales, so that we are obliged to separate |j
them even into families.
The first of these, or that of the Crocodiles, comprises but one genus, — '
The Crocodiles {Crocodilus, Brongniart), — ;i
Animals of large size, which have the tail flattened at its sides, five toes on the fore-limbs, and four on I 1
SAURIA.
273
the hind, of which the three inward only of each foot are furnished with claws, all of them being more
or less connected by membrane ; a single row of pointed teeth in each jaw ; the tongue flat and
1 fleshy, and attaehed very near to its edges, which led the ancients to believe that it was altogether
wanting ; the penis single ; the anal orifice longitudinal ; the back and tail covered with great square
scales of exceeding strength, having an elevated ridge along their middle ; and a deeply dentelated
crest upon the tail, double at its base. The scales of the belly are also square, but smooth and
■ narrow. The nostrils, opening at the tip of the muzzle by two small transverse fissures which close
as valves, are continued by a long straight canal pierced in the palate bones and sphenoid, as far as
the throat.
The lower jaw is prolonged backward beyond the skull, which occasions the upper one to appear
! moveable, as the ancients asserted to be the case : the latter can only move, however, with the
I entire head.
I The external ear is closed at will by two fleshy lips ; and the eye has three lids. Under the throat
I are two small holes, the orifices of glands, where a musky pommade is secreted.
I The vertebrae of the neck are propped together by little false ribs, which render lateral movement
i difficult : hence these animals cannot readily change their course, and are easily avoided by turning.
^ They are the only Saurians which have no clavicular bones ; but their coracoid apophyses are attached
i to the sternum, as in all the others. Besides the ordinary true and false ribs, their abdomen is pro-
I tected by others, which do not ascend to the spine, and which appear to be produced by the ossifica-
I tion of the tendinous extremities of the straight muscles.
Their lungs do not penetrate into the abdomen, as in other Reptiles ; and the fleshy fibres adhering
I to the portion of peritonaeum which invests the liver, impart the appearance of a diaphragm ; cir-
I cumstances which, conjoined to the particular of their heart being divided into three chambers,
j wherein the blood that comes from the lungs does not mingle so completely with that of the body as
in other Reptiles, ally these animals somewhat nearer to the warm-blooded quadrupeds.
! Their ear-drum and pterogoid apophyses are fixed to the skull, as in the Tortoises,
i Their eggs are hard, and the size of those of domestic Geese, whence the Crocodiles are reputed to
I be, of all animals, those which attain the greatest dimensions considering their size at birth. The
females guard their eggs, and continue to protect the young for some months after exclusion.
I They inhabit fresh water, and are very carnivorous, but are unable to swallow under water ; and
j their habit is to drown their prey, and then place it in some hole beneath the surface, where they
! leave it to putrefy before they devour it.
I They differ, indeed, so much from other Lizards, that several recent authors have deemed it neces-
j sary to make of them a particular order, termed Loricata by Merrem and Fitzinger, and Emydosaura
\ by De Blainville.
The species, more numerous than has hitherto been supposed, fall into three distinct subgenera.
The Gavials, Cuv., —
Have the muzzle slender, and very much elongated; the teeth about equal ; the hmd-feet dentelated at
their external edge, and webbed to the ends of the toes ; two great perforations in the bones of the
skull behind the eyes, which may be discerned outside the skin. They have only been observed on
the eastern continent.
That of {Lac. gangetica, Gm.), which attains a large size, is remarkable, not only for the length of
I its muzzle, but for a large cartilaginous prominence surrounding the nostrils, which throws these backwards, and
i led iElian to assert that the Gangetic Crocodile had a horn at the tip of its snout.
The Crocodiles, properly so called, —
Have the muzzle oblong and flattened, the teeth unequal, but resemble the Gavials in other respects.
Some of this form occur on both continents.
The Caymans, or Alligators {Alligator, Cuv.) —
Have a broad and obtuse muzzle, and uneven teeth, the fourth below entering into cavities of the
upper jaw, and not the interstices of the upper teeth, as in the preceding ; their feet are only semi-
palmated, and undentelated ; and the species are only known to inhabit America.
T
REPTILIA.
274
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE SAURIANS,—
The Lizards, —
Is distinguished by its slender, extensible, and forked tongue, as in the Snakes ; by its lengthened body
and rapid gait ; the feet have each five toes furnished with claws, which are separate and unequal,
more particularly those behind ; their scales, under the belly and around the tail, are disposed in
parallel transverse bands ; their tympanum, which is on the upper part of the head, is membranous
and shallow ; a production of the skin, split longitudinally, and which closes by a sphincter, protects
the eye, beneath the front angle of which is a vestige of a third eyelid ; their false ribs do not form a
complete circle ; the males have a double penis ; and the anus is a transverse aperture.
The species are very numerous and much varied, and we subdivide them into two great genera.
The Monitors (recently termed, by a singular mistake, Tupinamhis), —
Are the largest of the whole tribe ; they have teeth in both jaws, but none on the palate, and the
greater number have the tail laterally compressed, in adaptation to aquatic habits. Frequenting the
vicinity of the haunts of Crocodiles and Alligators, it is said that they give warning, by a whistling
sound, of the approach of those dangerous reptiles, and hence, probably, their names of Sauvegarde
and Monitor, though this is not quite certain.
They divide into two distinct groups. The first, or that of
The Monitors, properly so called, —
Are known by their numerous small scales upon the head and limbs, the belly, and around the tail,
which latter has a keel above, composed of a double range of projecting scales. Their thighs do not i
exhibit that range of pores found in most other Saurians. All are from the ancient continent.
,Two species, in Egypt, have been considered the types of separate subdivisions; the Nilotic M. {Lac. nilotica, ,
Lin.), of Varanus, and the Ground M. {L. scincus, Merrem), of Psammosaurus, both of Fitzinger. Africa and India
produce many more, with sharper teeth and still more compressed tail.
The other group of Monitors has angular plates upon the head, and great rectangular scales upon
the belly and around the tail. The skin of their throat is invested with small scales, and forms two trans-
verse folds. They have a range of pores on the inside of each thigh. Two subdivisions are required.
The first, or that of
The Dragonets {Crocodilurus, Spix; Ada, Gray), —
Is distinguished by caudal crests, like those of the Crocodiles, formed of raised scales ; their tail is '
compressed. Such is ^
The Great D. of Guiana {M. crocodilinus), Merr.), which attains a length of six feet, and is eaten. There are 1
various others in the hot regions of America. ;
The Restricted Monitors {Monitor, Fitzinger), —
Have no keeled scales either on the back or tail ; their teeth are denticulated, but with age the hind-
most become rounded.
Some, more particularly termed Sauvegardes, have the tail more or less compressed, and the belly scales longer
than broad; they frequent the borders of water. One, in Brazil and Guiana, attains to six feet in length. It runs
swiftly on the ground, and takes to the water when pursued, into which it plunges, but does not swim ; it devours
all sorts of insects, reptiles, the eggs of poultry, &c., and nestles in holes which it burrows in the sand. Its flesh
and eggs are eaten.
Others, termed Amocva, merely differ in having a round tail, covered, as is also the belly, with transverse ranges
of keeled scales, which on the belly are broader than long. They are American animals, which resemble our Lizards '
extremely, but, besides wanting molar teeth, the greater number have no collar, and all have minute scales on the J
throat ; their head, also, is more pyramidal than in the Lizards, and they have no bony plate over the orbit.
The Lizards, properly so called, —
Form the second great genus of this tribe. They have the back portion of the palate armed with two |
ranges of teeth, and are otherwise distinguished from the preceding animals by a collar round the |
neck, which is formed by a transverse range of broad scales, separated from those of the belly by a
space covered with small ones like those of the throat, and also by a part of the bones of the skull '
advancing over the temples and orbits, so that the ivhole head is defended by a bony casque. |
The species are very numerous, and many are found in Europe [though two only in this country, L. agilis, which
is comparatively rare, and L. vivipara, which, unlike the other, is ovovi viperous, as in the Vipers, and extremely
SAURIA. 275
common upon heaths and sunny banks. One of a beautiful green colour, {L. viridis), is common over the south
of Europe, and in the Channel Islands.]
The division Algyra, Cuv., has the dorsal and caudal scales carinated ; those of the belly imbricated and smooth?
I and no collar round the neck.
i Tachydromus, has square caidnated ssales upon the back, under the belly, and on the tail ; neither collar nor
femoral pores ; but on each side of the anus is a small vesicle, opening by a pore. Their body and tail are very
much elongated, and the tongue still longer than in the Lizards.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE SAURIANS,—
The Iguana Group,—
Have the general form, long tail, and few and unequal toes of the last series ; the eye, ear, double penis,
and anus, also similar ; but their tongue is thick, fleshy, and non-extensible, and is notched only at
the tip. They fall into two sections ; the first having no palatal teeth, in which the following genera
are arranged. j
The Stellions (Stellio, Cuv.) —
Which, with the general characters of this family, have the tail encircled with rings of large scales, |
that are often spinous. The subgenera are as follow. j
Cordylm, Gronov., which have not only the tail, but the belly and back covered with large scales, transversely
arranged. Their head, as in the common Lizards, is protected by a bony casque, and covered with plates. In
several species, the points of the caudal scales form spinous circles ; there are, also, little spines on those of the
sides, the back, shoulders, and outside of the thighs. The latter have a line of large pores.
Stellio, Baud. — Caudal spines middle-sized ; the head posteriorly swollen by the muscles of the jaws ; the back
and thighs bristled with scales larger than the others, and sometimes spinous ; little groups of spines encircling
the ear ; no femoral pores, and the tongue lengthened to a point. But one species is known, which inhabits the
Levantine countiies, where it is persecuted by the Mahometans, who conceive that it mocks their actions when
praying.
Doryphorus, Cuv.— No femoral pores, as in the last, but the trunk not bristled Avith groups of spines.
Uromastix, Cuv., have merely the head not swollen, and all the body-scales small, uniform, and smooth, but
those of the tail are still larger and more spinous tlian in restricted Stellio, though there are none underneatli it.
A series of pores beneath the thigh.
The Agamas {Agama, Baud.) —
Have a great resemblance for the restricted Stellions, especially in the bulging of the head ; but their
imbricated and not verticillated caudal scales distinguish them. The maxillary teeth are nearly the
same, and there are none on the palate. In
The Ordinary Agamas, the scales, raised into points or tubercles, are alike bristled on various parts of the body,
and especially round the ear, into spines that are sometimes grouped, and sometimes isolated. Occasionally, there
is a range round the neck, but they never form the crest which characterises the Galeotes. The skin of the throat
is lax, folded across, and susceptible of inflation. Some only have femoral pores.
The Tapays are merely Agamas, which, with a swollen belly, have a short and slender tail.
Trapelus, Cuv., have all the scales small and spineless, and no femoral pores. That of Egypt changes colour as
readily as the Chameleon.
Leiolepis, Cuv., has the head less swollen, and is wholly covered with small and smooth serrated scales. It has
femoral pores. I
Tropidolepis, Cuv., is uniformly covered with square, imbricated scales, and has the series of femoral pores j
strongly marked. j
Leposoma, Spix., diflers only from the last in the absence of the pores.
The Galeotes, {Calotes, Cuv.), are regularly covered with imbricated scales, often square and pointed, over the
whole body, limbs, and tail, which last is very long ; those of the middle of the back being more or less raised and
compressed into spines, forming a crest of varying length.
Lophyrus, Dumeril, have a compressed tail, and dorsal crest still higher than in the last, from which they differ
in possessing femoral pores. |
Gonocephalus, Kaup., have also a sort of disc on the skull, formed by a crest which terminates by a dente-
lation before each eye. They likewise have a throat-appendage and nuchal crest. The tympanum is visible.
LyrioeepJialm, Merrem, conjoin to the characters of Lophyrus that of having the tympanum couched under the
skin and muscles, as in the Chameleons. They have also a dorsal crest and keeled tail. ,
Brachylophus, Cuv., have small scales, a nuchal and dorsal crest but slightly projecting, a small throat-appen- j
dage, femoral pores, and general aspect of the Iguanas ; but no palatal teeth, and those of the jaws denticulated.
Physignathus, Cuv. — The head bulged backwards, without any throat-appendage, and a crest of great pointed
scales along the back and tail, which last is much compressed.
The Istiures (Istiurus, Cuv. ; Lophura, Gm.) —
Are characterized by a raised and trenchant crest, which extends over a part of the tail, and is sus-
T 2
276
REPTILIA.
tained by long spinous vertebral apophyses ; this crest is scaly like the rest of th-e body ; the belly and
caudal scales are small, and approach a little to a square form ; the teeth are strong, compressed, and
undenticulated, and are found only on the jaws ; there are femoral pores, and the skin of the throat is
lax, without forming an appendage.
The Dragons {Draco, Lin.) —
Are known at the first glance from all other Saurians, by their first six false ribs, instead of encircling
the abdomen, being extended in a straight line, so as to support a production of the skin, which forms
a sort of wing, and acts as a parachute when the animal leaps from bough to bough. They are small-
sized reptiles, everywhere covered with minute imbricated scales, those of the tail and limbs being-
keeled. Their tongue is fleshy, but slightly notched and little extensible. Beneath the throat is a
long pointed [inflatable] appendage, sustained by the hyoid bone, and laterally by two other small
bones. The tail is long ; the thighs have no pores ; and there is a slight dentelation on the neck.
Each jaw has four small incisors, flanked by a long and pointed canine, behind which are a dozen
triangular and trilobate molars.
They have, therefore, the scales and throat-appendage of the Iguanas, with the head and teeth of the Stellions.
All the known species are from the East Indies.
Sitana, Cuv., differs in the non-prolongation of the ribs, and by having an enormous throat-appendage, which
reaches to the middle of the belly, and is more than double the height of the animal.
It is perhaps to this tribe of Agamas that we should approximate a most extraordinary fossil
reptile, the remains of which are imbedded in the Jm*a limestone, —
The Pterodactylus, Cuv.
It had a very short tail, a very long neck, and very large head ; the jaws armed with even and
pointed teeth ; but its principal character consisted in the exeessive elongation of the second toe of its
fore-feet,which extended twice the length of the trunk, and probably [undoubtedly] served to sustain some
membrane by which the animal was enabled to fly, similar to that which the ribs of the Dragon support.
The second section of the family of Iguanas, or that of the Iguanas proper, is distinguished
from the preceding by the existence of palatal teeth.
The Iguanas, properly so called, {Iguana, Cuv.) —
Have the body and tail covered with small imbricated scales ; a range of spines along the baek, or of
raised, compressed, and pointed seales, and under the throat a compressed and pointed appendage, the
edge of whieh is sustained by a cartilaginous production of the hyoid bone. The thighs have the same
range of porous tubercles as in the Lizards proper, and their head is covered with plates ; each jaw is i
surrounded by a range of triangular, compressed teeth, with denticulated edges ; and there are also
two little ranges at the back of the palate.
A species common in all tropical America {Lac. iguana, Lin.), which grows to four or five feet in length, is
esteemed very fine eating, though hurtful in syphilitic disorders. It lives chiefly upon trees, occasionally enters
the water, and subsists on fruit, grain, and leaves. The female deposits eggs in the sand as large as those of a
Pigeon, which are agreeable to the taste, and almost without white. Several others inhabit the same countries. '
Ophryessa, BoiA
Small imbricated scales, a slightly projecting dorsal crest prolonged over the compressed tail, palatal I
teeth, and denticulated maxillary teeth which approximate it to the Iguanas, but no throat-appendage ' ;
nor femoral pores.
The Basilisks {Basiliscus, Daud.)
No femoral pores, but palatal teeth as in the last ; the body covered with small scales ; and a
continuous elevated crest along the back and tail, which supports spinous vertebral apophyses as in
the tail of Istiurus.
The Marblets {Polychrus, Cuv.) —
Have palatal teeth, and femoral pores, like the Iguanas, but which are inconspicuous : their body, f
however, clad with small scales, is not crested ; the head is covered with plates; tail long and sharper- 5
edged ; the throat extensile, forming an appendage at the will of the animal ; and they change colour «|
like the Chameleons, having a very voluminous lung, which fills nearly the whole body, and subdivides ^
into numerous branches ; their false ribs also surround the abdomen, as in the Chameleons, and unite I!
to form. complete circles.
f:
SAURIA.
277
The Ecphimotes, Fitz.
Teeth and pores of the preceding, but small scales on the body only ; those of the tail, which is thick,
being large, pointed, and keeled ; head plated ; general form somewhat short and flattened, as in
certain Agamis, rather than attenuated as in the Marblets.
Oplurus, Cuv., —
Differs from the last in wanting femoral pores, with keeled and pointed caudal scales, which approximate
this group to the Stellions ; the dorsal scales are also keeled and pointed, but very small.
The Anolis {Anolius, Cuv.) —
To the general form of the Iguanas, and especially of the Marblets, conjoin a very peculiar distinctive
character ; the skin of their toes widening under the antepenultimate phalanx into an oval disk, striated
across underneath, so as to attach to different kinds of surfaces, over which they creep with much
facility by means of their very crooked clawsl The body and tail are uniformly roughened with
minute scales, and the greater number have a goitre-like appendage under the throat, which inflates
and changes colour with the passions of the animal, and during the season of copulation. Several of
them at least equal the Chameleon in the facility with which they vary the colours of their skin. Their
ribs unite beneath into complete circles, as in the Chameleons and the Marblets. Their teeth, as in
the Iguanas and Marblets, are trenchant and denticulated, and they have the same range of them on
the palate. The skin of the tail wrinkles into slight folds, each containing some circular ranges of scales.
This genus appears to be peculiar to America.
Some have a caudal crest sustained by spinous vertebral apliopyses, as in the Istiures and Basilisks ; while others
have a round tail, or which is only a little compressed.
It is to this family of Iguanians with palatal teeth, that the enormous fossil reptile of Maestricht ap-
pertains, to which the term Mososaurus has been applied ; the Geosaurus of Soemmering, also, the Mega-
losaunis of Buckland, and the Iguanodon of Mantell, with certain others, all of immense size, appear to
approximate this same family ; but their characters are not sufficiently known to class them with certainty.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE SAURIANS,—
The Geckotians, —
Consists of nocturnal species, so similar that they may be all left under a single generic head,—
The Geckos, Baud. {Stellio, Schneider. ; Ascalabofes, Cuv.).
These have not the attenuated form of the Lizards already treated of, but, on the contrary, are flat-
tened/more particularly on the head, and have the feet of mean length, and the toes nearly equal ; their
gait is slow and stately ; their very large eyes, the pupil of which shrinks from the light, as in the Cats,
indicate them to be nocturnal creatures, which pass the day in obscure plaees ; their very short eyelids
retreat altogether between the eye and orbit, which imparts a different physiognomy from that of other
Saurians ; their fleshy tongue is not extensible ; their tympanum a little deepened ; their jaws are
armed all round with one range of minute serrated teeth ; their palate toothless ; their skin is roughened
above with minute granular scales, among which are often some larger tubercles, and is covered on
the under parts with somewhat less diminutive flat and imbricated scales. Some have femoral
pores. The tail has circular folds, as in the Anolis ; but, when it has been severed, it is reproduced
without folds, and even without tubercles, which has led to a multiplication of the species.
This genus is very numerous, and is diffused over the hot regions of both continents. Their tardy and sombre
aspect imparts a certain resemblance to the Toads and Salamanders, and have hence caused them to be disliked,
and accused of being venomous without any proof that they are so.
The greater number have the tarsi widened throughout or in part, and marked underneath with very regular
folds of the skin, which enable them to adhere to surfaces, so as to walk even on ceilings. Their claws are
variously retractile, and preserve their sjharp points ; which circumstance, in conjunction with their eyes, has led
to their being compared to the Cats among mammiferous animals ; these claws, however, vary in number
according to the species, and in some are wanting altogether.
The first and most numerous subdivision of the Geckos, which I name Platydactyles, have toes widened through-
out their length with transverse scales underneath ; some have claws on all their toes, and very small thumbs.
They are handsome animals, with bright colours, and are entirely covered with tubercles. The different known
species inhabit the Mauritius. There are some with femoral pores, and others without, and among the latter some
with fewer or no claws.
278
REPTILIA.
A second subdivision is formed of the Hemidactyles, which have an oval disk at the base of their toes, formed
by a double range of chevron scales underneath ; the middle of this disk elevates the second phalanx, which is
slender, and bears the third, with its claw, at the extremity. The known species have all five claws, and the range
of pores on either side of the anus ; the scales underneath the tail form broad bands, as in the true Serpents.
A third subdivision, which I style Thecadactyles, have toes widened throughout their length, and furnished
with transverse scales underneath, but which latter are divided by a deep longitudinal groove, into which the
claw retracts completely. Those known to me have the thumb alone clawless, no femoral pores, and the tail
covered with little scales both above and below.
The fourth subdivision of Geckos, I term Ptyodactyles. These have only the ends of their toes dilated into
plates, with a fan-like structure beneath ; the middle of the plate being split, and the claw placed in its fissure.
They have veiy crooked claws on all their toes.
Some have a round tail, and five toes ; while others have the tail bordered with a membrane on each side, and
the toes palmated. It is probable that the latter are aquatic, and they are the Uroplates of Dumeril.
A fifth subdivision is composed of the Spheriodactyles, — which are certain small Geckos, the ends of the toes of
which are tei’minated by a little palette without folds, but the claws of which are always retractile. Those in which
the palette is double, or emarginated in front, approximate the round-tailed Ptyodactyles. More frequently, how-
ever, the palette is round and simple. All the known species are from India and the Cape.
Finally, there are certain of these Saurians which, with all the other characters of the Geckos, have the toes not
widened. Their claws, five in number, are nevertheless retractile. Some of these, with a round tail, and the toes
striated beneath, having dentelated edges, constitute the and there are others with slender and
naked toes, and also a round tail, which are the Gymnodaciyles of Spix.
Some, again, have the tail horizontally flattened, in the form of a leaf, which 1 denominate Phillurus.
One species only is as yet known, from New Holland. ^
THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE SAURIANS,—
The Chameleons {Cliamoeleo, Lin.), —
Are so very distinct from the other Saurians that it is not easy to intercalate them in the series.
All have the skin roughened with little scaly granules ; the body compressed, and the dorsal line
sharp ; tail round and prehensile ; five toes on each foot, but divided into two opposite sets, one con-
sisting of two toes, and the other of the remainder, — the toes of each of these sets being connected by
skin as far as the nails ; the tongue is fleshy, cylindrical, and extremely protrusile ; the teeth trilo-
bate ; the eyes large, but almost covered by the skin, which leaves only a little aperture opposite the
pupil, and they are moveable independently one of the other ; the ear not visible externally, and the
occiput pyramidically raised. Their first ribs are joined to the sternum, and the remainder are each
continued to join the corresponding rib of the other side, encircling the abdomen by complete hoops.
The lung is so vast that, when inflated, the body appears transparent, and induced the ancients to
believe that these animals fed upon air. They subsist on insects, which they take with the glutinous
extremity of the tongue, which organ is the only part of them that moves quickly. The motion of the
limbs is excessively slow. The magnitude of the lung is probably the indirect cause of their changing
colour, which does not take place, as is currently supposed, for the purpose of assimilating them to the
proximate surfaces, but according to their wants and passions. Their lung, in fact, renders them more
or less transparent, by forcing the blood more or less into the vessels of the skin, the colour even of
this fluid being more or less vivid according as the lung is distended with air. They are constantly
found upon trees.
[These most singular animals are particularly remarkable for the diminished sympathy of the two sides of their
whole frame, one of which may be asleep and the other awake, one of one colour and the other of another, &c., —
the separate movement of their eyes being merely another phase of the same phenomenon : hence it is remarkable,
that, unlike most other animals, the Chameleon is totally unable to swim, from the incapability of its limbs
of acting in due concert.]
THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE SAURIANS,—
The Scindoidiens, —
Are recognized by the shortness of their feet, the non-extensibility of the tongue, and the equality of
the tile-like scales which cover the whole body and tail.
The SciNauES (Scincus, Baud.) —
Have four very short feet, a body of nearly the same calibre with the tail, no occipital bulge, no crest
or throat appendage, and the scales uniform and shining, and disposed tile-fashion like those of a Carp.
SAURIA.
279
Some have a spindle-shape ; and others, which are nearly cylindrical, and more or less elongated, resemble
Snakes, and more particularly the Orvets {Anguis), with which they have many internal points of rela-
tionship, and which thus grade from the family of Iguanas by an uninterrupted series of transitions.
For the rest, the tongue of this genus is fleshy, and but slightly extensible and notched ; and the jaws
are armed all round with small serrated teeth. The remainder of their conformation approximates
more or less to that of the Iguanas and Lizards, and all their toes are unguiculated and free. Certain
species have palatal teeth, and a dentelated anterior border to the tympanum, while others (the Tiliqua,
Gray) have no teeth to the palate.
The Seps {Seps, Baud.) —
Merely differ from the Scinques by having the body still more elongated, almost like that of an Orvet,
and the feet stiU smaller, the fore and hind being also more separated from each other. Their lungs
begin to exhibit some irregularity.
The Dipodes {Bipes, Lacep.; — ■
Compose a small genus, which only differs from Seps by the total absence of anterior limbs, merely re-
taining the scapulars and clavicles buried beneath the skin, and the hind feet alone being visible. There
is but one step from them to the Orvets. Some have a range of pores on each side of the anus, which
is not found in others.
The Chalcides {Chalcis, Baud.) —
Are very elongated and snake- like Lizards, like the Seps ; but their scales, instead of being disposed
tile-fashion, are rectangular, and form transversal hands on the tail, like those of ordinary Lizards.
Some have a groove along each side of the trunk, and the tympanum still very apparent. They approximate
the Cordyles, as the Seps do to the Scinques, and lead, in a variety of ways, to the Pseudopodes and Ophisaurs.
Others have a concealed tympanum, and conduct to the Chirotes, and thence to the Amphishaenes.
The Chirotes {Chirotes, Cuv.) —
Resemble the last by their verticillated scales, and still more the Amphishaenes, by the obtuse form of
the head ; but are distinguished from the former by the absence of hind feet, and from the latter by
the existence of fore-feet.
The only species (C. lumhricoides) inhabits Mexico, and has all the internal organization of an Amphisbaene, with
femoral pores, and one great lung and the vestige of a second, as in most Ophidians.
In fact, the genera which terminate this order of Saurians interpose in so many ways between the
ordinary Saurians and the genera placed at the head of the Ophidians, that many recent naturalists
object to separating the two orders, or at least establish one comprised of the Saurians in part, detaching
the Crocodiles, and another of the Ophidians pertaining to the family of Anguis; but among the fossils
of the ancient limestone formations are found two very extraordinary extinct genera, which, with the
head and trunk of a Saurian, have feet borne on short limbs, and composed of a multitude of little
articulations, which form in the aggregate a sort of fin or swimming-paw, analogous to those of Ceta-
ceans. The first of these genera, or that of
The Icthyosaurus,—
Had a large head and short neck, enormous eyes, middle-sized tail, and elongated jaws armed with
conical teeth, inserted in a groove.
Several species are found in England, France, and Germany, some of immense size.
The other genus, or
The Plesiosaurus, —
Had a small head, and extremely long serpent-like neck, composed of more cervical vertebrae than that
of any other known animal. Its tail was short, and its remains are found in the same calcareous strata.
These two genera, for a knowledge of which we are principally indebted to the researches of Messrs.
Home, Conybeare, Buckland, &c., were inliabitants of the sea. They should form a very distinct family,
but what is known of their osteology approaches more to that of the ordinary Saurians than the Croco-
diles, with which latter they have been gratuitously associated by M. Fitzinger, since neither their tongue
nor scales are known, which are the two most distinctive characteristics of the Loricata. [It has since
been ascertained that they were covered merely with skin, apparently as in the Batrachians ; and there is
reason to suspect that the Icthyosaur possessed a cartilaginous dorsal fin, as in many of the true Cetacea^
280
REPTILIA.
THE THIRD ORDER OF REPTILES.
THE SERPENTS (Ophidia).
These have no feet, and are consequently, of all others, the Reptiles which most merit the
name. Their extremely elongated body progresses by means of folds pressed backwards against
the ground. They divide into three families.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF OPHIDIANS,—
The Orvets —
Retains the skull, teeth, and tongue of the preceding group of Seps, and the eye has three lids, &c. 5
whence they are merely Seps without feet. Such are I
The Orvets {Anguis, Lin.), — ^
Externally characterized by imbricated scales, which cover them all over. We subdivide them into
four subgenera, the three first of which have a shoulder-bone and pelvis beneath the skin, '
The Pseudopodes {Pseudopus, Merrem) have the tympanum visible externally, and a small prominence on each
side of the anus, which contains an ossicle analogous to a femur, articulated to a true pelvis beneath the skin ;
the anterior limbs are only represented by an inconspicuous depression, and have no internal humerus. One of J
the lungs is a fourth shorter than the other. The scales are square, thick, and semi-imbricated, and between
those of the upper and lower parts is a groove of smaller scales on each side. |
The Ophisaurs (Ophisaurus, Daud.), merely differ in the absence of external rudiments of limbs, but retain the '
tympanum, and have one lung a third shorter than the other.
The Orvets {Anguis, Cuvier), have no trace of limbs externally visible, and their tympanum even is couched
beneath the skin ; their maxillary teeth are crooked and compressed, and they have none on the palate. The body
is surrounded with imbricated scales, without any lateral fold, as in the preceding ; and one of the lungs is shorter ; |i
by half than the other. [A species, known as the Slow-worm, or Blind-worm, is of common occurrence in Britain, !j
and throughout Europe. When alarmed, it constricts its muscles, and is then singularly brittle.] ■'
These three subgenera have still an imperfect pelvis, a small sternum, scapulars, and also clavicles, hidden ::
beneath the skin ; and the absence of these several bones characterizes I
The Acontias {Acontia, Cuv.), which, in the structure of their head and eye-lids, still resemble the preceding ;
their anterior ribs are connected all round, beneath the trunk, by cartilaginous prolongations ; and they have one |
middle-sized lung, and another very short one. Their teeth are small and conical, and I think that I have per-
ceived some on the palate. They are easily known by having the muzzle closed by a sort of mask. '
THE SECOND FAMILY OF OPHIDIANS,— '
The True Serpents, — |
Which is much more numerous, is eomposed of genera with neither sternum nor vestige of shoulder,
but the ribs of which still encircle a great part of the trunk, and the vertebrae are still articulated by
a convex facet applied to a concave facet of the succeeding one. They have no third eyelid, nor
tympanum ; but the small bone of the ear exists beneath the skin, and its handle passes behind the | ■
tympanic bone. Several have also, under the skin, a vestige of hind-limbs, which in some even shows : j[
itself externally in the form of a small hook. j |
We subdivide them into two tribes. t
That of the Double-Marcheurs [which progress either head or tail foremost,] have still the lower • ;
jaw fixed as in all the preceding Reptiles, by a tympanic bone, articulated direct to the cranium, the i !
two rami of this jaw anchylosed at the symphysis, and those of the upper fixed to the skull, and to i
the intermaxillaries ; so that their swallow cannot dilate as in the following tribe, and their head is of ! ^
even size with their whole body ; a form which enables them to progress backwards or forwards with i
the same facility. The bony frame of the orbit is incomplete behind, and the eye is very small.
Finally, their body is covered with scales, the anus very near its extremity, the trachea long, and the '
heart placed far backwards. None of them is known to be venomous. i
There are two genera, one of which approximates to the Chalcides and Bimanes, and the other to
the Orvets and Acontias.
The Amphisb^enes {AmpMsbana, Lin.) — '
Have the whole body surrounded with circular ranges of square scales, as in the Chalcides and Bimanes ' jl
OPHIDIA.
281
among the Saurians ; a range of pores before the anus ; the teeth few, conical, and growing only from
the jaw, none from the palate ; and they have only one lung.
There are three or four species, which live on insects, and are found principally about ant-hills, a circum-
stance which has induced the opinion that they subsist chiefly upon Ants. They are oviparous.
The Typhlops {Typhlops, Schneider) —
Have the body covered with small imbricated scales, like the Orvets, with which they were long
arranged ; the muzzle prolonged and plated ; the tongue rather long and forked ; the eye reduced to a
point, scarcely visible through the skin ; the anus nearly at the extremity of the body ; and one lung
four times as large as the other. They are small species, resembling Earth-worms at the first glance,
and are found in the hot regions of both continents.
Some have the head obtuse and even with the body, resembling' packthread at both ends. Others have the
muzzle depressed and obtuse, with scaly plates anteriorly. Some, again, have the fore-part of the muzzle covered
with a single broad plate rather sharp in front. And there are others in which the muzzle terminates in a little
conical point, being also totally blind : the posterior extremity of these is enveloped in a bony oval buckler, and
they were formerly ranged with the Orvets, on account of their small scales.
The other tribe, or that of the Serpents properly so called, have a tympanie bone or pedicle to
the lower jaw, which is moveable, and nearly always suspended by another bone analogous to the
mastoid, which latter is attached to the skull by muscles and ligaments, that allow it also to be
moveable. The branehes of this jaw are not united together, and those of the upper are connected by
ligaments only to the intermaxillaries ; so that they can open more or less, which imparts to these
animals the capability of dilating the mouth, so as to swallow objects of greater bulk than themselves.
Their palatal arches partake of this mobility, and are armed with recurved and pointed teeth,
which is the most mai'ked and constant character of this tribe ; their windpipe is very long ; the
heart placed far backward ; and the greater number have only one great lung, with the vestige of
a second.
They divide into venomous and non-venomous, and the former of these into venomous having
several maxillary teeth, and into venomous with isolated fangs.
In the non-venomous, the branches of the upper jaw are furnished throughout their length, like
those of the lower jaw and the palate, with fixed and solid teeth. There are three or four subequal
ranges of these teeth in the upper part of the mouth, and two in the low'er.* Those among them
which have the mastoid bones inclosed within the cranium, the orbit incomplete behind, the tongue
short and thick, and which resemble the Bouble-Marcheurs in the cylindrical form of their head and
body, were formerly classed with the Orvets, on account of their diminutive scales.
The Roles {Tortrix, Oppel ; Torquatrix, Gray; Ilysia, Hemp.), —
Are externally distinguished from the Orvets by the range of scales along the belly and beneath the
tail being rather larger than the others, as also by the extreme shortness of the tail. They have but
one lung. All are from America.
The Uropeltis, Cuv. (AniUus, Oken), is an allied new genus, the tail of which, still shorter and obliquely trun-
cated above, is flat and beset with little scales at the truncation. Their head is very small ; the muzzle pointed ;
they have a range of scales under the tail, a little larger than the rest, and a double range beneath its truncate
portion.
The non-venomous Serpents which, on the contrary, have detaehed mastoid bones, and the jaws of
which are dilatable, have the occiput more or less bulged, and the tongue forked and very extensible.
Two principal genera have long been distinguished, — the Boas and the Snakes proper.
The Boas {Boa, Lin.), —
Formerly comprehended all Serpents, venomous or not so, the under-part of the body and tail of
which is covered with scaly transverse hands, each of a single piece, and which have neither spur nor
rattle at the tip of the tail. Being very numerous, it is necessary to subdivide them, after abstracting
the venomous ones.
* The common opinion is, that all Serpents destitute of pierced
fau^s in the lower part of the jaw, are non-venomous ; but this I have
some reason to doubt. All have a maxillary gland, often very large ;
and the back-molars frequently exhibit a groove, which would seem to
conduct some liquor. This much is certain, that various species, the
back-molars of which are very large, are reputed to be ex'remely
venomous in the countries which they inhabit; an opinion which is
confirmed by the experiments of Lalande and Leschenauld, which it
is desirable should be repeated.
REPTILIA.
r 282
The Boas more particularly so named, have a hook on each side of the anus ; a compressed body,
larger towards the middle ; a prehensile tail ; and small scales, at least on the hinder part of the head.
Among them are found the largest of all Serpents, certain species attaining a length of thirty or forty
feet, and being capable of swallowing Dogs, Stags, and even Cattle, at least according to some narra-
tors, after having crushed them within their folds, lubricated them with their saliva, and enormously
dilated their jaws and gullet. This operation lasts a long while. A remarkable particular of their
anatomy consists in their having one lung but half shorter than the other. [At the extremity of the
great lung in all this tribe is an extremely capacious air-bag, the use of which appears to be for con-
taining the air requisite for respiration, when the nostrils are closed by the tedious process of degluti-
tion.] We subdivide these Serpents according to the teguments of the head and jaws.
Some have the head covered as far as the tip of the muzzle with small scales resembling' those of the body, and
the plates which invest the jaws are not furrowed with grooves. Others have scaly plates beneath the eyes as far
as the muzzle, and no furrows to the jaws. Some, again, have scaly plates upon the muzzle, and grooves upon
those of the sides of the jaws. There are some with plates on the muzzle, and the sides of the jaw hollowed into a
slit-like chink beneath the eye and further backward. And, lastly, some have no furrows, and the muzzle
invested with plates but slightly prominent, which are obliquely cut backwards in front and truncated at the tip,
so as to terminate in corners : these have the body much compressed, and the back keeled. They inhabit the
East Indies whereas the others are from America, and should form a distinct subgenus— Gray.
The Scytals (Pseudoboa, Schneider).
Plates, not only on the muzzle, but over the cranium, as in the Snakes proper ; no grooves, the body
round, and head even with the trunk, as in the Roles.
Daudin has likewise separated
The Eryx, —
Which differ by having a very short obtuse tail, and by their ventral plates being narrower. The head
is short and nearly even with the body, characters in which they approximate the Roles, were it not
that the conformation of their jaws permitted these to distend. The head is covered with small
scales ; and they have also no hooks near the anus.
The Erpetons, Lacepede, —
Are very remarkable for having two soft prominences covered with scales, at the tip of the muzzle ;
head plated ; the plates of the belly not very wide, and those of the under-part of the tail different
from the other scales. Their tail, however, is long and pointed.
The Snakes Proper (Coluber, Lin.) —
Comprehended all the species, venomous or non-venomous, the plates underneath the tail of which are
divided each into two, or, in other words, ranged in pairs.
Independently of the subtraction of the venomous kinds, their number is so vast that we are obliged to have
recourse to all sorts of characters in order to distinguish them. First, are separated
The Pythons, Daudin, —
Which have hooks near the anus, and narrow ventral plates, as in the Boas, from which they only
differ by having the plates underneath the tail double. Their head is plated at the tip of the muzzle,
and their lips grooved. Species occur as large as any Boa.
Some of these Pythons have the first, and others the terminal plates of their tail, simple ; but these are perhaps
accidental varieties.
The Cerberi, like the true Pythons, have the head entirely covered with small scales, with the exception of
plates between and before the eyes ; but they have no hooks near the anus. They have sometimes also simple I
plates at the base of the tail.
Xenopeli'is, Reinwardt ; have great imbricated triangular plates before the eyes, which might be confounded
with the scales adjacent to them, only that the latter are smaller.
Heterodon, Beauvois.— The ordinary plates of this group, but the tip of the muzzle composed of a short single
piece, in form a trihedral pyramid, which is a little raised and erected above, a conformation which has induced
the appellation of pig-snouted Serpents.
The Hurria, Baud. — Indian species, with subcaudal plates always simple, except those at the point, which are
double ; these trivial anomalies, however, merit but little notice.
The Dipsas of Laurenti {Bungarus, Oppel.)— Body compressed, and very much larger than the head : the range
of scales along the spine of the back larger than the others.
DendropMs, Fitzinger ; Ahcetidla, Gray. — Resemble the last by having a range of broader scales along the back,
and narrower scales along the flanks ; but their head is not wider than the body, which is slender and very much
lengthened. Muzzle obtuse.
I
OPIIIDIA. 283
Drymus, Merrem ; Passeriia, Gray. — Body as long and slender as in the last, but a small and slender pointed
appendage at the tip of the muzzle.
Bryophis, Fitzing’er. — The same long filiform or cord-like body, but no appendage, and the scales of equal size.
Oligodon, Boie. Small species, with an obtuse, short, and narrow head, and no palatal teeth. i
After all these dismemberments by different authors, there yet remain several which appear to me less worthy j
of adoption ; being founded on slight differences in the proportions of the head, the thickness of the trunk, &c. :
and there is still left a group the most numerous of all in species, that of I
The Snakes, as most restricted, which have no peculiar distinguishing character. Several of these are found in j
France, [and one only in Britain, the common Ring-necked Snake (C. natrix and ISiatrix torquatiis), which attains i
to a yard in length, and feeds on Frogs, Mice, insects, &c.] It is eaten in some provinces of France. The exotic j
species are innumerable : some are remarkable for the splendour of their colours ; others for the regularity of the I
distribution of them ; many are quite uniform in their tints ; and a few only attain a very large size. j
I
The Acrochordus, Hornstedt — |
Are readily distinguished from the rest of this family by the uniformly small scales with which their
body is covered both above and below'.
The known species Lac. ; Anguis granulatus,'S)C\me\diev,) has each of its scales raised into three i
little crests, resembling, when the skin is very loose, three isolated tubercles. It grows to a large size. Hornstedt |
has stated that it subsists altogether on fruits, which in an animal of this kind would be very extraordinary. \
The Venomous Serpents par excellence, that have isolated fangs, present a peculiar structure of the |
organs of manducation.
Their superior maxillary bones are very small, borne upon a long pedicle, analogous to the outer
pterygoid apophysis of the sphenoid, and are also very moveable ; having a pointed tooth affixed to
them, which is pierced by a small canal, through which issues a liquid secreted by a large gland
beneath the eye. This liquid it is, instilled into the wound inflicted by the tooth, which poisons j
the bodies of animals, and produces effects more or less deadly, according to the species from
which it is derived. The tooth lies down flat in a fold of the gum w’hen the Serpent has no occasion
for it, and behind it are several germs designed successively to replace it, in case it should be
left in a wound. Naturalists have termed these venomous teeth crochets mobiles [or fangs'], but it is
properly the maxillary bone that moves. These Serpents have no other teeth besides the double
range upon the palate.
All the venomous species of which we possess certain information, bring forth their young alive, the
eggs hatching within the body of the parent, [though during the act of parturition] . It is thus that
their general name of Vipers has arisen, which is a contraction of viviparous. i
Venomous Serpents with isolated fangs, present nearly the same external characters as the pre-
ceding ; but the greater number have extremely dilatable jaws, and the tongue very extensile. Their
head, which is wide posteriorly, has in general a savage aspect, which to a certain extent announces
their ferocity. They form two principal great genera, the Rattle-snakes and the Vipers, of which the
second has many subdivisions, around which some alien small ones require to he grouped.
The Rattle-snakes {Crotalus, Lin.) —
Are more celebrated than any other Serpents for the deadliness of their venom. In common with the
Boa, they have simple transverse plates beneath the body and tail, but are most obviously distinguished
by the rattling instrument which they carry at the tip of the tail, and which is formed of several
scaly cornets loosely attached together, that move and rattle whenever the animal shakes or alters the
position of its tail. It appears that the number of these cornets increases with age, and that they acquire
an additional one at each casting of the skin. Their muzzle is hollowed by a little rounded depression
behind each nostril. All the known species are from America. They are so much the more dan-
gerous, as the season or climate is hotter ; but their ordinary habits are tranquil and sluggish. They
move slowly, and only bite when provoked, or for the purpose of killing their prey. Although they do
not chmb trees, they nevertheless feed principally upon Birds, Squirrels, &c., which it was long be-
lieved they possessed the faculty of hallucinating or charming, so as to draw them by degrees to enter
their throat. It would seem, however, that the fear which their appearance inspires occasions those
disordered movements of their prey, which have given rise to the foregoing supposition.
Most of the species have the head scaled similarly to the back ; while others have great plates upon the head.
We approximate
The Trigonocephali of Oppel {Bothrops, Spix ; CopMas, Merrem) ; which are distinguished 'by the absence of
the rattle, but accord in their other characters. Some of these have simple subcaudal plates, as in the preceding,
REPTILIA.
284
and the head plated to the eyes ; the tail terminated by a spur. Others have no subcaudal plates, and the head
scaled like the back. Some have the head plated, with double subcaudal plates : and others conjoin to the latter
character, excepting that the extremity of the tail has small scales both above and below, little scales upon the
head also.
The Vipers {Vipera, Daud.), —
The greater number of which were confounded by Linnaeus with the Snakes proper, on account of
their double subcaudal plates, require to be separated from the latter by reason of their venomous
fangs, and grade into other Serpents with single or partly double subcaudal plates, being distinguished
from the. Rattlesnakes and Trigonocephalets by the absence of cavities beneath their nostrils.
Some have only keeled and imbricated scales upon the head, like those of the back ; and others have the head
covered with small granulated scales, [among which is the Viper or Adder of this country]. Some again [the Ce-
rastes] have a pointed bone over each eyebrow, [and are peculiar to Africa]. Others, which are similar in all other
respects to the preceding generally, have three plates a little larger than the scales which surround them upon
the middle of the head. There are some Vipers, also, with plates upon the head, like those of the Common Snake.
Naia—AxQ Vipers with plated heads, the anterior ribs of which can be dilated and thrown forward, so as to
distend this part of the trunk into a disc more or less broad. The most celebrated species is the Cobra di Capella
of India, with a spectacle-like mark on the disk, and which is extremely venomous. The Haje, or Asp, of Egypt,
is another.
Elaps.—Uedi^ plated, and an opposite organization of the body to the Asps ; their jaws even can scarcely widen,
! on account of the shortness of the tympanic bones, and especially of the mastoids, from which it results that the
head is nearly of even size with the body, as in the Roles and Amphisbsenes.
Micrurus, Wagner, has merely the tail shorter.
Latreille. — Head also plated, and double plates beneath the tail; but the latter compressed like an
oar, which renders them aquatic.
Finally, we place at the termination of the Vipers certain species which only differ in having single subcaudal
plates, either partly or throughout. They are distinguished from the Tisiphones by having no cavities behind
the nostrils.
Some, with entire plates at the base of the tail, compose the Trimererurus, Lacepede, having large plates on the
head, and some of the subcaudal ones double, others single.
Oplocephalus, Cuv.— Have great plates on the head, and all the subcaudals single.
Acanthophis, Daud. ; Ophrias, Merrem. — Plates in front of the skull and of the head, the tail terminated by a
hook, and all its plates simple, though sometimes there are double ones at its extremity.
EcMs, Merrem. — Small plates on the head, and all the subcaudals single.
Langaha, Brugui^res. — Head plated ; the muzzle pointed and projecting ; anterior half of the tail encircled
with entire rings, and the posterior with little imbricated scales both above and below.
Besides these two tribes of Serpents properly so called, which have been longer known, a third has
been discovered more recently, the jaws of which are organized and armed nearly as in the non-
venomous kinds, but which have, nevertheless, the first of their maxillary teeth longer than the rest,
and pierced for the purpose of conducting venom, as in the genera with isolated fangs, already described.
These Serpents form two genera, distinguished from those of the two allied families, by the scaling
of the belly and under-part of the tail.
The Bongars {Pseudoloa, Oppel.) —
Possess, like the Boas, the Rattlesnakes, and the Scytals, simple plates beneath the belly and tail.
Their head is short, covered with large plates, and the occiput but slightly bulged. Their most charac-
teristic distinction, however, consists in their very carinated back being furnished with a longitudinal
range of scales, broader than the lateral ones, as in the Dipsas.
They inhabit the East Indies, where they are called Roclt Snakes, one of the species attaining a length of seven
or eight feet.
The Hydras {Hydrus, Schneider, in part ; Hydrophis and Pelamides, Daud.) —
Have the back part of the body and tail very much compressed and raised vertically, w'hich, imparting
to them the power of swimming, renders them aquatic animals. They are very common in certain
parts of the Indian Seas, [and excessively venomous, feeding on fishes]. Linnaeus ranged those that
were known to him among the Orvets, on account of the small scales with which they are wholly
covered. Daudin has subdivided them as follows : —
Hydrophis.— 'T\\es,e. have a range of scales a little broader than the rest under the belly, as in the Erpetons and
Roles ; the head small, not bulged, obtuse, and covered with large plates. Several species are found in the salt
water of Bengal, and others in the Indian ocean.
Pelamides,— also, great plates on the head, but their occiput is bulged on account of the length of the
BATIIACHIA.
285
pedicles of their lower jaw, which is extremely dilatable ; all their body-scales are equal, of small size, and disposed
hexag-onally. To these subgenera I have added that of
Chersydrus, — the head and body of which are equally covered with small scales.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF OPHIDIANS,—
The Naked Serpents, —
Comprises but one very singular genus, which several naturalists have deemed to belong rather to the
Batrachians, although we are not aware that it undergoes any metamorphosis. It is that of
2 The CoeciLiANS {Cmcilia, Lin.), —
1 So named on account of their excessively minute eyes, which are nearly hidden by the skin, and arc
:j sometimes absent altogether. The skin is smooth, viscous, and annularly wrinkled, appearing naked,
although, upon dissection, some perfect though minute scales are discernible, which are regularly
ji disposed in several transverse ranges between the wrinkles of the skin, and which we have detected,
] with certainty, in more than two species. The head is flattened, the anus round and nearly at the
■I extremity of the body, the ribs much too short to encircle the trunk, the articulations of the vertebrae
I'j together are by conically hollow facets filled up with gelatinous cartilage, the same as in the Fishes
!! and some of the lower Batrachians, and, in a slight degree, in the Amphisbsenes only, among the other
j Ophidians ; their maxillary bones cover the orbits, which are pierced by only a very small foramen, and
iS the temporal bones extend over the fossa, so that the skull presents a continuous bony buckler above ;
j! their hyoid bone, composed of three pairs of arcs, induces the supposition that it originally supported
|! gills. The maxillary and palate teeth are arranged in two concentric lines, the same as in the
I Proteans, but are often sharp and curved backward, as in the Snakes properly so called ; the nostrils
^ open behind the palate, and the lower jaw has no moveable pedicle, the tympanic bone being encased,
together with the other bones, in the buckler formed by the skull.
The auricle of the heart of these animals is not divided so deeply as to be considered double, but
their second lung is as small as in the other Serpents ; the liver is divided into a great number of
transverse laminae. In their intestines have been found vegetable matter, together with soil and sand.
Their ear has merely a small plate upon the oral orifice, the same as in the Salamanders.
Some of them have an obtuse muzzle, lax skin, very deep wrinkles, and two small cilia? near the nostrils ; as
C. annulata of Brazil, which is found in marshy places several feet under ground, C. glutinosa of Ceylon, &c. ;
while others have the folds of the skin nearly obsolete, a very long slender body, and projecting muzzle. One of
these is totally blind, the C. lumbricoides, Daudin ; it is of a blackish colour, two feet long, and no thicker than a
I goose-quill.
THE FOURTH ORDER OF REPTILES,—
THE BATRACHIANS,—
Have but one auricle and one ventricle to the heart, [an assertion disproved by Professor Owen].
Their two lungs are always equal, and when young they conjoin to these, gills, which give them
a relationship with the class of Fishes, and which are borne on the sides of the neck, upon the
cartilaginous arches which support the hyoid bone. The greater number lose these gills,
together with the supporting apparatus of them, upon attaining the perfect state : three genera
only, the Syrens, Protei, and Menobranchi, retaining them at all ages.
During the period of the retention of the gills, the aorta, on proceeding from the heart,
divides into a number of branches upon each side, corresponding to that of the gills ; the
blood from the gills returning through veins which unite together towards the back, into a
single arterial trunk, as in Fishes : this trunk, or the veins which form it more directly, supplies
the greater number of arteries which nourish the body, and even the vessels which conduct the
blood for respiration into the lungs. But in the species which shed their gills, the vascular
ramifications that communicate with them become obliterated, excepting two, which unite
together to form a dorsal artery, each giving off a small branch to the lung of its particular
side, so that the circulation of a Fish becomes thus converted into that of a Reptile.
I
286 REPTILIA.
These animals have neither scales nor carapace, but the body is invested with a naked [and
moist] skin, [over the surface of which the blood receives much of its oxygenation.] With
the exception of one genus, they have no nails to the toes.
The envelope of their eggs is simply membranous, and in most cases these are fecundated
as they issue forth, the male attaching himself to the other sex in order to be simultaneous.
Their eggs or spawn enlarge very much in the water after they have been laid. The young i
not only differs from the adult by the presence of its gills, hut its feet are only developed by !
degrees, and in several genera there are also a deciduous beak and tail, and intestines of a
different form. Some of the species are even viviparous.
The Frogs {Rana, Lin.)~
Have four legs and no tail in their adult state. Their head is flat, the muzzle rounded, the mouth
deeply cleft, and the greater number have a soft tongue attached only to the lower part of the gullet,
but which extends forward to the jaw, and is doubled back above. Their fore-feet have only four
toes, but the hinder sometimes show the rudiment of a sixth.
Their skeleton is entirely deprived of ribs. A cartilaginous plate, even with the head, takes the
place of tympanum, and renders the ear visible externally. The eye has two fleshy lids, and a third,
which is horizontal and transparent, concealed by the lower one.
The inspiration of air is produced simply by the movements of the muscles of the throat, which, by
dilating, draw in the air through the nostrils, and, by contracting, whilst the orifices of the nostrils
are closed by means of the tongue, force the air into the lungs. Expiration, on the contrary, is
effected by the contraction of the muscles of the lower belly : so that, by opening the belly of the
living animal, the lungs will distend without any power of contraction, and by holding open the
mouth the animal will become asphyxiated, for want of air sent into the lungs.
The embraces of the male are excessively prolonged : in reference to which the thumb of this sex
is furnished with a spongy sw^elling, wdiich enlarges during the season, and which is designed to aid
in grasping. The eggs are fecundated at the moment they are laid, and the young is termed a tadpole.
It is at first provided with a long fleshy tail, and a small horny beak, but with no other apparent
members besides certain little fringes at the sides of the neck. These disappear after some days, but
Swammerdam assures us that they still exist as gills underneath the skin. The latter-are minute
crests, which are very numerous, attached to the four cartilaginous arches placed on each side of the
neck adhering to the hyoid bone, and enveloped by a membranous tunic, which is covered by the
general skin. The w^ater, entering by the mouth, to bathe the intervals of these cartilaginous arches,
passes out either by two orifices or by a single one, according to the species, pierced through the
external skin, either on the middle or on the left side of the animal. The hind feet are gradually
developed to view, by little and little, while the anterior likewdse appear beneath the skin, but do not
burst it for some time later. The tail is absorbed by degrees. The beak falls, and occasions the
genuine mandibles to appear, which had previously been soft, and were concealed underneath the skin.
The gills shrink and are obliterated, leaving the lungs to perform their functions unassisted by them.
The eye, w^hich in the Tadpole was only visible through a thinner space in the skin, becomes i
apparent with its three lids. The intestines, previously very long, slender, and spirally contorted,
shorten, and acquire the enlargement of stomach and colon : the Tadpole living solely upon aquatic
vegetation, w^hilst the adult animal preys on insects and other animal substances. Finally, the limbs
of the Tadpole reproduce the parts of them that had been mutilated, nearly as in the Newts.
The particular epoch of each of these several charges varies, according to the species.
In temperate and cold climates, the perfect animal buries itself, during winter, under ground, or in
the mud below the surface of water, where it continues to live without food or respiration, [beyond
what of the latter is effected by the surface of the skin] ; although, during the warm season, if it be held
for a few minutes only with the mouth open, so as to impede the process of respiration, it perishes.
The Frogs, properly so called, {Rana, Laurenti), —
Have a slender body, and the hind limbs very long, and more or less palmated ; their skin is smooth
and slippery ; their upper jaw supplied aU round with a range of minutely fine teeth, and they have an
BATRACHIA.
287
I
interrupted range aeross the middle of the palate. The males have, on eaeh side, under the ear, a deli-
cate membrane, which is inflated with air when they croak. These animals both swim and leap with
celerity.
[One only {B. temporaria) is indigenous to the British Isles.]
Ceratrophrys, Boi^,— are Frogs with a broad head, the skin wholly or partly granulated, and a horn-like mem-
branous prominence over each eyelid.
Dactylethra—'$,o\sX\ African species, with pointed toes, those of the hind-feet broadly palmated, and the three
internal having their extremities enveloped by a conical nail, of a black horny substance.
Hyla, the Tree-Frogs,— dilfer in no respect from the common ones, excepgpg that the extremity of each of their
toes is widened and rounded into a sort of viscous palette, which enables them to adhere to the surfaces of bodies,
and to climb trees, to which last they resort, during the summer, in pursuit of insects; but they deposit their eggs
in water, and penetrate into the mud in winter, like other Frogs. Several species are decked in the gayest colours.
The Toads {Bufo, Laurenti) —
Have the body thick and squat, and covered with tubercles, with a large swelling pierced with pores
behind each eye, from which a fetid milky secretion is expressed ; no teeth whatever ; and the hind
limbs but little elongated. They leap badly, and are generally found at a distance from water. They
are animals of hideous, disgusting form, the saliva of which has been erroneously considered venomous,
as also their teeth, their supposed urine, and even the moisture which exudes from the skin ; [the latter
being, in fact, absorbed by the skin, for the purpose of cutaneous respiration, often in great quantity, so
that the animal, when seized and taken up, lightens itself by discharging a quantity of this from the anus.]
[Two species are found in Britain, viz., the Common Toad (B. vulgaris), which progresses more by leaping than
crawling ; and the Natterjack {B. calamita), an inhabitant of heaths and commons in the south of England, which
has a yellow mesial stripe along the back, never leaps, but creeps with considerable celerity, and utters a chirping
cry. Its appearance is less unprepossessing than that of the other.]
Bombinator, Merrem,— only differs from Bufo by having the tympanum concealed beneath the skin.
BJiinella, Fitzinger ; Oxyrhynchus, Spix, — has the muzzle pointed anteriorly.
Atilophus, Cuv. — Muzzle angular, and a crest on each side of the head, extending round the parotid.
Breviceps, Merrem ; Engystoma, Fitzinger, in part. — No tympanum nor parotid visible externally, an oval body,
the head and mouth very small, and feet but slightly palmated.
Pipa, Laur. — The body horizontally flattened ; head large and triangidar ; tongue wholly wanting ; tympanum
concealed beneath the skin ; small eyes placed tow'ards the margin of the upper jaw; each of the front toes split
at the tip into four little points ; lastly, an enormous larynx in the male, formed as a triangular bony box, within
which are two moveable bones which can close the entrance of the bronchi.
The longest known species (JR. pipa, Lin.) inhabits the obscure nooks of houses in Cayenne and Surinam, and
has a granulated back, with three longitudinal ranges of larger granules. The male places the eggs of the female
upon her back, where they are fecundated, upon which the female returns to the water, the skin of her back
swelling so as to form a number of cells, which inclose each of the eggs, and wherein the young pass their tadpole
state, until they have lost their tails, and developed their limbs, at which time the mother returns to land.
The Salamanders {Salamander, Brong.) —
Have an elongated body, four limbs, and a long tail, which give them the general form of Lizards,
whence Linnaeus left them in that genus ; but they have all the characters of Batrachians. Their head
is flattened; the ear concealed entirely by the flesh, having no tympanum, but merely a little cartila-
ginous plate over the fenestrum ovale ; both jaws furnished with numerous minute teeth ; twm longi-
tudinal ranges of equal teeth on the palate, but attached to the bones that represent the vomer ; tongue
as in the Frogs , no third eyelid ; a skeleton with three small rudiments of ribs, but no bony sternum ;
a pelvis suspended by ligaments to the spine ; four toes before, and nearly always five behind. They
respire, in the adult state, in the same manner as the Frogs and Tortoises. Their tadpoles breathe at
first by gills in the form of crests, to the number of three on each side of the neck, which are subse-
quently obliterated, and which are suspended to cartilaginous arches, that form portions of the hyoid
bone of the adult. A membranous operculum covers these apertures ; but the gill-crests are never in-
closed within a tunic, hut float loosely. Their fore-feet are developed before the hind, and the toes
appear successively.
The terrestrial species {Salamandra, Laurenti) have, in the perfect state, a round tail, and only remain in the
water during their state of Tadpole, which endures but for a brief period, and when they resort to that element to
breed. Their eggs are inclosed in an oviduct. Those of Europe have, on each side of the occiput, a gland analo-
gous to that of the Toads.
The Aquatic Salamanders (Triton, Laurenti) permanently retain the vertically-compressed tail, and pass nearly
their whole lives in the water. [It is certain, however, that those of Britain all leave the water at the end of
summer, and have then a round tail. The small ones, even with the remnants of their gills still attached, may be
REPTILIA.
288
found in abundance at that period about the roots of rushes, &c., in the vicinity of ponds ; whence it is not true
that they quit in consequence of the water being dried up, as has been suggested].
The experiments of Spallanzani, on the extraordinary power which these animals have of reproducing their
parts, have rendered them celebrated. They renew, many times successively, the same member after it had
been severed; and this with all its bones, muscles, vessels, &c. Another faculty, not less singular, consists (as
shown by Dufoy) in their recovering after having been long frozen up in ice. Their eggs are fecundated by fluid
dispersed in the watery medium, which penetrates with the water into their oviducts. They lay long chaplets of
eggs, and the young appear fifteen days from the deposition of them, retaining their gills for a longer or shorter
period according to the species. Modern observers have distinguished several European species, the males of
which develope high membranous dorsal crests very early in the spring, [which are absorbed, and the remnants
cast off, ere they leave the water at the end of summer. One, with a smooth olive-coloured skin like a Frog
{T. punctatus), and handsomely spotted with black, is common in stagnant waters throughout Britain ; and two
others (T. palustris and T. marmoratus), a granulated skin like a Toad, and also spotted upon a much darker
ground, and punctated with white, are — the first at least — equally so. All have the under parts bright orange
colour. Those with granulated skins resemble the Toads in the capability of remaining without food for a most
extraordinary period, in a state of imprisonment, having been found occasionally in closed cavities, where they
must have remained for many years.]
The skeleton of an animal of this genus has been found among the schists of CEningen, which is three feet in
length. It is the pretended fossil man of Scheuchzer.
In the suite of the Salamanders should range several very similar animals, some of which are reputed
never to have gills, while others, on the contrary, retain them permanently, notwithstanding which they
have the same lungs as the other Batrachians, being thus the only vertehrated animals that are truly
amphibious.
The former of these, which have never been seen with gills, fall under two genera.
The Menopoma, Harlan.
Form altogether that of a Salamander, the eyes apparent, feet well developed, and an orifice on each
side of the neck. Besides a range of fine teeth surrounding the jaws, they have a parallel range before
the palate. The known species, fifteen to eighteen inches in length, inhabits North America, where it
is termed HeU-bender.
The Amphiuma, Garden, —
Has also an orifice on each side of the neck, but the body is excessively elongated ; the limbs and feet,
on the contrary, but little developed ; and the palatal teeth form two longitudinal ranges. Likewise
from North America.
Among those which permanently retain them gills.
The Axolotls, —
Altogether resemble the tadpole of a Salamander. They have velvety teeth to both jaws, and two
bands of the same upon the palate. From Mexico.
The Menobranchus, Harlan, —
Has but four toes to each foot ; a range of teeth on the intermaxillaries, and another parallel but more
extended range, on the maxillaries.
The Proteus, Laurenti.
Three toes before, and only two behind ; the muzzle lengthened and depressed ; both jaws furnished
with teeth ; tongue but slightly moveable, and free anteriorly ; eyes excessively small, and couched be-
neath the skin, as in the mammiferous genus Spalax ; ear covered by the flesh, as in the Salamanders;
and skin smooth and whitish. The skeleton resembles that of the Salamander, except that it has many
more vertebrse, and fewer rudiments of ribs ; but the general conformation of the skull is very different.
Inhabits the subterranean waters, with which certain lakes in Carniola communicate. j
The Syrens {Syren, Lin.) — ]
Are elongated animals, having nearly the form of Eels, and three branchial crests ; no hind feet, nor i
even vestige of pelvis ; head flattened ; mouth not deeply cleft ; muzzle obtuse ; eye very small ; ear ;
concealed ; lower jaw armed with teeth all round, but none in the upper; and two raised series on each
side of the palate.
One species {S. laeertina, Lin.) attains a length of three feet. Others are smaller, with the branchial crests less |
developed, and compose the Pseudobranchus of Gray.
289
THE FOURTH CLASS OF VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. 1
THE FISHES— (PISCES).
[Fishes are the proper vertebrated inhabitants of the waters ; and they are formed
and organized for living, moving, and in general finding their food, wholly within this
element. The nature of their locality necessarily makes their history obscure, because
human observation extends to only a very limited portion of the waters, and in that
portion to only a trifling depth ; but when we consider that, exclusive of lakes and
rivers, the seas occupy full seven-tenths of the earth’s surface, that those seas yield
food as far down as the rays of the sun can extend their life-giving energy, and that
there is no obstacle in the water to bar the motions of the fish, we can at once see
that, of all vertebrated animals, they must be the most numerous, and probably they
I exceed in numbers the whole of the other three classes of the same grand division of
animated nature. They inhabit, stratum super stratum, as it were, — one species near
the surface, another near the bottom, and others, again, range through the intermediate
j depth. What may be the absolute depth of the ocean waters at which life ceases, and
j the profound of death and darkness begins, we have no direct means of ascertaining, j
j It varies, of course, with the latitude, being greater as the rays of the sun are more
j direct, and less as their obliquity increases ; and it probably also varies with the nature
I of the bottom. In correspondence with the vast range of pasture which is assigned to
the Fishes, their productive powers are enormous, — the young produced by one Cod-fish, j
at a single deposit, being ascertained to be not much less than four millions, while in the I
. common Flounder they are not fewer than one hundred and fifty thousand. A fertility
so enormous, as compared with anything we are acquainted with on land, of itself
shows the importance of the Class, and how well they are adapted for supplying each
other with food. But, interesting as it is, the space to which we are restricted, forbids
any disquisition on their physiology; and all that we can accomplish, is to render the
text of the last edition of Cuvier’s great work, as faithfully in substance, and as briefly
in expression, as we possibly can. Our own original remarks must necessarily be few;
and we shall inclose them in brackets, the same as this introductory paragraph, to dis-
tinguish them from the substantive part of the genuine text of Cuvier, which, in the |
way of systematic arrangement, has received no improvement, since the science of
Zoology was deprived of that foremost of its cultivators.]
Fishes are oviparous Vertebrata, with a double circulation, and respiring through the
medium of water. For this purpose they have, on each side of the neck, branchiae, or
gills, consisting of arches of bone attached to the os hyoides, or bone of the tongue ;
and to these arches the filaments of the gills are attached, generally in a row upon
each, and having their surfaces covered by a tissue of innumerable blood-vessels. The
water taken in by the mouth passes through among the filaments of the gills, and
escapes by the gill- openings towards the rear. In its progress through the filaments
of the gills, the water imparts to these the oxygen of the air which it contains [and
receives carbon in return, the same as in the lungs of an air-breathing animal. The
gills of a fish do not decompose water, so as to derive oxygen from it, but merely sepa-
u
VERTEBRATED ANIMALS.
I 290
i
rate the oxygen from the atmospheric air contained in the water; and hence, if water is
deprived of this air, or impregnated with deleterious gases. Fishes cannot live in it. As
little can they bear the return of water entering at the gill-openings, and escaping by
the mouth ; for if a fish is held so that the water is made to pass in this direction, it is
as speedily drowned as if it were an air-breathing animal] . The blood is brought to
the gills by the heart, which thus answers to the right ventricle of warm-blooded
animals ; and from the gills it is sent to an arterial trunk, lying immediately upon the
under side of the back bone, which trunk is the left or systematic ventricle of the heart,
and sends the blood throughout the body of the fish. i
Living habitually in water, which is of very nearly the same specific gravity as their
bodies. Fishes have no weight to bear, but merely to propel themselves through the
water ; and their form and their organs of motion are all adapted to this one purpose,
though varying in the species. In many, there is under the spine a membranous air-
bladder, which the fish can expand or contract at pleasure ; and this is understood to
alter its gravity, and enable it to suspend itself at any depth in the water. [Many
fishes, wanting this apparatus, have, however, nearly the same habits as others which
are possessed of it.]
Progressive motion is effected by the tail striking alternately right and left against the
water, [for which purpose the flexure of the spine is lateral, whereas in the other Verte-
brata generally, the principal flexure is vertical], and perhaps the jet of water thrown
backward from the gill- openings may assist. Thus a fish has but little use for extremi-
ties ; and the parts analogous to legs and arms are accordingly very short, terminating in
a number of rays analogous to fingers and toes, and these, covered by membranes, form
what are termed fins. The fins answering to arms are called pectorals, and those
answering to legs ventrals ; and besides these there are often fins on the back called
dorsal, behind the vent called anal, and on the extremity of the tail called caudal.
The texture of the fins is important in classification. If the rays consist of single
bones, whether stiff or flexible, they are said to be spinous ; and if they consist of a
number of jointed pieces, divided at their extremities, they are called soft, or articulated. “
The pectorals are attached to two bones immediately behind the gills, and answering
to the scapulars, which bones are sometimes imbedded in the muscles, or attached to the
spine, but generally to the bones of the head. The pelvis rarely adheres to the spine ;
and it is often in advance of the belly, and attached to the bones of the shoulders.
The vertebrae have their proximate surfaces concave, and filled with cartilage, which
forms the joints, and is generally continued by an aperture through the centre of each
vertebra. Spinous processes, upwards and downwards, support the muscles, and main- ;
tain the vertical position of the body; but, as far as the cavity extends, the downward i
processes are wanting, and there are transverse processes, to which the ribs are some-
times soldered by cartilages.
The head varies much in form, but in general consists of the same number of bones
as in the other Vertebrata, — a frontal of six pieces, parietals of three, occipitals of five,
and five of sphenoid and two of each temporal bone, are included in the composition of
the cranium.
Besides the brain, which is disposed as in Reptiles, Fishes have nodes or ganglions
at the base of their olfactory nerves. The nostrils are simple cavities at the end of the
muzzle, always pierced with two holes, and lined by a regularly-plaited pituitary mem- '
PISCES.
291
brane. In their eyes, the cornea is flat, and there is a little aqueous humour, hut the
crystalline lens is almost spherical, and very hard. The ear is a sac, in which are sus-
pended small hard bodies ; and there are three membranous canals within the cranium
in ordinary fishes, but in its walls in the cartilaginous ones. They want the Eustachian
tube and tympanal bones ; and only the Sharks and Rays have an external opening,
which in them is level with the head. As great part of the tongue is bony, and as it is
often furnished with teeth and other hard parts. Fishes can have little sense of taste.
The fleshy cirri, or beards as they are termed, of some of the species, are perhaps
organs of touch. The body is in general covered with scales, and generally speaking
they have no organ of prehension except the mouth.
In most fishes, the intermaxillary bone forms the edge of the upper jaw, having the
maxillary or the labial behind it. The palatal bones, pterogoid and zygomatic pro-
cesses, and the tympanum and squamosa, form an anterior jaw, as in Birds and Serpents,
to the posterior part of which the lower jaw is articulated, which jaw has generally
two bones in each side, except in the cartilaginous fishes. The teeth are very various
in situation, in number, and in form. They are found on the intermaxillaries, the max-
illaries, the lower jaw, the vomer, the palate, the tongue, the gill-arches, and even on
the bones of the pharynx behind these ; [but many fishes have them only on some of
these places, and there are some which are almost, if not altogether, toothless] .
Besides the gill-arches, the hyoid bone supports the gill-membrane. The gill-lids, or
operculi [by the working of which respiration is carried on] , consist of three pieces, the
operculum, sub-operculum, and inter-operculum. These are articulated on the temporal
bone, and play on the pre- operculum; but many of the cartilaginous species want them.
The stomach and intestines differ greatly ; and, except in cartilaginous fishes, the
pancreas is supplied by coeca round the pylorus, or by a duplicature of the intestine.
The kidneys are against the spine, but the bladder is above the rectum, and opens behind
the vent and the reproductive passage, contrary to what is found in the Mammalia. The
male organs are large glands termed milts, and the female are sacs, which also attain
great size, and have the eggs in their internal folds. In most fishes, there is no im-
pregnation till after the expulsion of the eggs ; but in the Sharks and Rays, and some
others, the case is different, some of them producing perfect eggs, and others bringing
forth the young alive.
The proper classification of Fishes is a very difficult matter. There are two distinct
series of them; — Fishes, properly so called, or Bony Fishes ; and Cartilaginous Fishes,
or Chondropterygii. The latter want some bones of the jaws, and have other pecu-
liarities : they are divided into three orders ; —
Cyclostomi (round-mouths, or suckers), which have the jaws soldered into a sort of
ring, and numerous gill-openings.
Selachii (Sharks and Rays), which have gill-openings similar to the former, but
the jaws not soldered into a ring.
Sturiones (Sturgeons), which have the gill -openings with a lid, as in the Fishes
properly so called.
Of the Ordinary Fishes, or those with bones in the skeleton, one order have the
maxillary bone and the palatal arch fixed to the cranium. These are called Plecto-
GNATHi (soldered jaws), and they consist of two families : Gymnodontes (naked teeth),
and Sclerodermi (hard skins). Another order, the Lophobranchii, which consists
u 2
PISCES.
292
but of one family ; and which, with the jaws perfect, have the filaments of the gills
arranged in tufts upon the arches.
In the rest, which include by much the greater number of the True Fishes, the cha-
racter employed by Ray and Artedi, and taken from the nature of the first rays of the
dorsal and anal fins, furnishes two principal divisions. These are Malacopterygii
(soft fins), in which all the rays, with the occasional exception of the first dorsal or the
pectorals, are soft or jointed ; and Acanthopterygii (spiny fins), in which the first
portion of the dorsal, or first dorsal when there are two, always have spinous rays, and
which have also some in the anal, and at least one in each ventral.
The first of these sub-classes may be divided according to the position of the ventral
fins. If these are on the belly, the fishes are Abdominal ; if attached to the shoulder,
they are Suh-hrachian and if wanting, they are Apodal. Each of these orders com-
prises certain families, of which the abdominal ones are very numerous.
The Spinous Fishes do not admit of this kind of division ; but must be separated into
families, the characters of which are, in many instances, well defined. The same gra-
dation of families cannot be traced among Fishes as among Mammalia. Thus, the organs
of sense, and those of generation in some, indicate connexion between Cartilaginous
Fishes and Serpents, while the imperfect skeleton of others of these fishes indicates a
relation to Mollusca and Worms, [though the far more important disposition of the
nervous system, characteristic of the type of Vertebrated Animals, is still retained.
The abstract of Cuvier’s arrangement of Fishes, by far the best — that is, the most
natural, which has hitherto been made, or which there are materials for making — may
be given briefly thus: — The series of True or Bony Fishes he divides into the two divi-
sions already mentioned, as distinguished by the rays of the fins. The Spinous Fishes
form a single order, and this order he divides into fifteen families, which he names,
from some well-known species as the type, or for some marked peculiarity of character
which belongs to the whole of the family and to no other fish. The Soft- finned Fishes
he divides into three orders, according as the ventral fins are abdominal, thoracic, or
wanting ; and the Cartilaginous Fishes he divides into two orders, — those with free
gills, and those with the gills fixed.]
THE FIRST ORDER OF BONY FISHES.
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
J
This first order contains by far the greater number of the Ordinary Fishes. Their characters >i
are spinous rays in the first dorsal, if there are more than one, and spinous rays in the first 4'
part if there is one only ; but sometimes, instead of a first dorsal, they have free spines ’ i
without any connecting membranes. The anal fin has also its first rays spinous ; and 4
there is generally one such ray in each ventral. [¥/hen we speak of the first ray of a fin, |
we mean the one nearest the head of the fish, which is easily understood in the other fins, and 4
is the extreme one either above or below in the caudal.] 1
The spinous fishes are arranged into fifteen families, and some of these families contain a |
vast number of genera. The families are named, as already noticed, from some well-known |;
species, or some strikingly peculiar character. [When a species is the type, the technical .Ji:
name of the famil)" ends in id(B or oidcB, the Greek word for resemblance ; and when it is %
founded on a peculiar character, the name is descriptive of that]. |
■' ^
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
293
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Percid^ (the Perch Family).
These fishes have the body oblong, covered with hard or rough scales, with the gill-lid or gill-flap, or
often both, toothed or spinous in the margins. The species are very numerous in the waters of all
warm countries ; their flesh is in general agreeable and wholesome ; they are mostly thoracic, or have
the ventral fins under the pectoral, and they are subdivided according to the number of gill rays.
The first division have seven rays in the gills, two dorsal fins, and all their teeth are velvety.
[Cuvier makes use of this expression as descriptive of very minute teeth, set closely together
in numerous rows, and thus resembling the pile of velvet in arrangement though not in texture.]
This division comprises various species, of which the following are the principal genera : —
Perea, including the Common Perch of Europe, and various other species of North America and other places ;
Labrax, the Basse, a marine genus, of which species are found both in Europe and in America ; Bates, the Perch
I of the Nile, of which there are also species in the Indian rivers ; Centropomus, the Sea Pike, which has the oper-
culum obtuse and without spines ; Grammistis, an Indian genus, with white longitudinal stripes, and a black
ground ; Arpro, the River Perch, found chiefly in the Rhine ; Zingel, a peculiar Perch of the Danube, with thirteen
spines in the first dorsal.
This subdivision also comprehends some fishes of foreign countries, whose peculiarities cause several subgenera.
These are, Huro, like a true Perch, only the pre-operculum is not toothed ; Etelis, with hooked teeth in the jaws,
but not in the palate ; NipJion, with strong spines on the pre-operculum and operculum ; Enoplosus, like a Perch,
but with body much compressed, two high dorsals, and the pre-operculum deeply toothed ; Biplorion, compressed,
double-toothed border to the pre -operculum, and two spines on the gill-lid. Other species of this subdivision are,
Apogon, small fishes, of a red colour, with two dorsals far apart, and large scales, easily separated. One of them,
the King of the Mullets, or Beardless Mullet, is found in the Mediterranean ; Clieilodipterus, resembling the former,
but with long teeth in the jaws; and Poviatomus, a very rare genus, of small size, with immense eyes, and
exceedingly small teeth, velvety in their arrangement.
A second subdivision have two dorsal fins, hut long and pointed teeth, mingled with a velvety
arrangement.
Of these the principal genera are Ambassis, with the dorsals near each other, and a spine in front of the former ;
they are small fishes of the warm regions of the East, abundant in pools and rivulets, and sometimes prepared as
Anchovies ; and Lticio-perca, the Perch-Pike, with long teeth on the maxillaries, and and also in the palate, found
in Eastern Europe.
The second division of the Perches have seven rays in the gills, but only one dorsal fin ; the genera
are arranged by the characters of their teeth, and the leading ones are these
Serranus, the Sea Perch ; Antliias, the Barber, a beautiful red fish of the Mediterranean, with metallic reflec-
tions ; Merous, the Great Perch, and some varieties.
Distinct from these are several genera, Plectrepoma, Diacopus, Mesoprion, Acerina, Rypticiis, Polyprion,
Centropristis, and Gristes. These inhabit ditferent parts of the world, and some of them are beautiful fishes.
The Percidse with less than seven gill-rays, are arranged according to the number of their dorsal
fins and the characters of their teeth.
With a single dorsal, some have hooked teeth among the other ones, as Cirrhites, which inhabit the Indian
Ocean, and have six gill-rays. Others have only small teeth, among which there are the following genera, CMro^
nemus, Pomotis, Centrackus, Priarcanthus, Dales, Therapon, Palates, and Elotes. These are chiefly fishes of the
warm countries, some of the fresh water and others of the sea ; their colour is in general silvery, marked with
blackish longitudinal lines.
There are two genera of Percidse which have less than six gill-rays and two dorsals.
These genera are Trichodon, a native of the North Pacific ; and Sillago, found in the Indian Ocean. One of
the latter is supposed to be the finest fish in India.
We now' pass on to other Percidse, which have more than seven gill-rays, and seven soft rays besides
a spine in their ventrals, the other Jeanthopterygii having never more than five soft rays.
The genera, Holocentrum, Myripristis, Beryx, and Traehichthys, all of which are brilliant fishes of the warm
seas, and some have the air-vessel divided into two parts.
All the Percidse hitherto mentioned have the ventrals immediately under the pectorals ; but there
are others which have them differently placed.
The Jugular Percidse have the ventrals upon the throat farther forward than the pectorals. They
comprehend the following genera : —
Trachinus, the Weavers, with the head compressed, the eyes near each other, the mouth obliquely up-
294
PISCES.
wards, tlie first dorsal very short, but with a formidable spine on the first ray, the second dorsal long, the
pectorals large, and a strong spine on the operculum. These fishes lie in the mud, and inflict severe wounds
with their dorsal spine, which the fishermen believe has a poisonous quality, but it is merely rugged, and lacerates
an ill-conditioned wound, similar to what is inflicted by the antler of a Stag. Percis, which resemble the Weevers,
and inhabit the warm seas, have crooked teeth on the maxillaries and the vomer, but none on the palatal bones.
Pinguipes, also of the warm seas, more sluggish than the preceding genus, with the teeth strong and conical,
fleshy lips, and teeth on the palate. Percophis, with the body very long, some of their teeth long and pointed, and
the lower jaw much advanced.
One very remarkable genus of Percidae is Uranoscopus, the Star-gazer, so called because the eyes are placed
on the upper surface of the nearly cubical head, and directed toward the heavens. Their-pre-operculum is toothed
on the lower part ; their mouth is cleft vertically ; they have a strong spine on each shoulder, and only six rays
on each gill. Within their mouth, behind the tongue, is a narrow slip which they can protrude, and with which
they attract small fishes, while themselves are concealed in the mud. Their gall bladder is of immense size.
One species, U. sealer, inhabits the Mediterranean, but none of the others are European. This is a very ugly fish,
but still it is eaten.
The third division comprises the Abdominal Percidae, or those which have the ventral fins behind
the pectorals.
One genus has them still partially attached to the bones of the shoulder. This is Polynemus (many fillets), so
called because the inferior rays of their pectorals are filled and extended into long threads. Their teeth are in part
velvety, like those of the true Perches, and partly also like those of a Carp, and they have them on the maxillaries,
the vomer, and the palate. Their snout, however, is rounded, and the vertical fins are scaly. They are found in
the waters of warm countries, and one, P. paradiseus, of a beautiful yellow colour, with seven filaments from the
fin on each side, at least twice as long as the body, is the celebrated “ mango fish” of the Ganges, reckoned
the most delicious in India. Most of the other species have the filaments shorter, but the flesh of all of them is
excellent.
The following genera have the ventrals still farther behind, and the bones of the pelvis quite detached
from the bones of the shoulder. Of these there are several ; — ■
Sphyreena, the Sea Pike, which has been confounded with the Esox or True Pike. They are large
fishes, with an oblong head and projecting under jaw. Thwe are several species inhabiting the warmer
seas, and one, S. barracuda, is as much dreaded as the White Shark. Paralepis, small fishes, resembling
the last genus in general characters, but with the second dorsal fin small and fleshy. Mullus, the Sur-
mullet, a very celebrated genus, and held in much estimation by epicures. These fishes must not be
confounded with tbe Mullets properly so called, which give name to another family, and are typical of
it, being very different in form and appearance from the Surmullets. The latter have the body thick and
oblong, with the profile of the head nearly vertical, the eyes far up, teeth in the lower jaw and palate only, two
cirri inwards at the lower jaw, and but four rays in the gills. There are two species, both of which are European,
the Striped Red Mullet, M. surmulatus, which is not very uncommon on the southern coast of England ; and the
Plain Red Mullet, M. barbatus, which, though named as a British fish, is chiefly found in the Mediterranean.
Both species are delicious eating ; and the luxurious Romans used to feast their eyes with the changes of colour
in the Red Mullet when dying, before they devoured its flesh. Upeneus is a genus of the tropical seas, with teeth
in both jaws, but none in the palate. They have only four gill-rays, like the Surmullets, but have also an air-
bladder, which the latter are without. These complete the family of the Percidee, as now known.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Fishes with Hard Cheeks.
This family comprehends a number of fishes of which the appearance of the Tiead is singular, being
variously mailed, or defended by spines and scaly plates of hard matter ; but they have many characters
in common with the Percidee. Their principal distinction consists in the suborbital bone being
more or less extended over the cheek, and articulated with the operculum. The Star-gazer is the only
genus of the Perch family w^hich resembles them in this respect ; but in it, though the suborbital bone
is very broad, it is connected posteriorly with the temporal bones, and not with the operculum.
The following are the principal genera : —
Trigla, the Gurnards, so called from the sounds which they utter with their gill-lids when taken out of the water.
They have an immense suborbital plate, to which the operculum or gill-lid is articulated by an immoveable suture,
so as to be incapable of separate motion. They have the head vertical in the sides, hard and rough bones, two
distinct dorsals, three free rays under the pectorals, twelve coeca, and an air-bladder of two lobes. The Gurnards
properly so called, have small teeth in both jaws, and in front of the vomer, together with large pectorals,
but not sufficiently so for raising them out of the water, like those of the Flying Fishes. There are many species
found in the temperate seas, which, though in estimation for the table, are inferior in this respect to the Sur-
mullets. The English species are T. cuculus, the Red Gurnard, with strong plates in the cheeks, the body
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
295
len^hened, and nearly round, one spinous and one soft-ray dorsal fin ; seven rays in tlie gills, gill-opening large,
and with three free rays at the base of each pectoral. T. Hirundo, the Sapphirine Gurnard, with the pectorals of
immense size, but in most of its other characters analogous to the Red Gurnard. It is more abundant than that
species, and grows to a larger size. Is rather a dry fish, but the flavour is tolerably good, and it answers very
well for salting. There are various other species, chiefly found in the Mediterranean.
The following genera, which are closely allied to the Gurnards, deserve some notice: — Prionotus, an
American fish, resembling the Sapphirine Gurnard, but with the pectorals so large, that they can support tlie
body during a considerable leap through the air. They have a characteristic band of small teeth, closely
crowded together, upon each parietal bone. Peristidion, a genus having the whole body mailed with large hex-
agonal scales, ranged in longitudinal rows. Their muzzle is divided in two, and there are cirri to the mouth, but
no teeth. Dactylopterus, celebrated as Flying Fishes. They have the subpectoral rays numerous, longer than the
body, and united by a membrane, so as to furnish large supplemental fins, by means of which the fishes can
protract their fall for a few minutes, when they spring from the water to escape the Coryphenes, and other ene-
mies ; but as the fishes cannot fly, or take a new impulse from the air, they speedily fall down and become the
victims of the pursuers. They are found in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean ; and are small fishes, seldom
more than a foot in length. Cephalacanthus, resembles the former, with the exception of the supplementary fins,
or wings, as they are sometimes improperly called. Coitus, the Bull-head, of which there are several species.
They have the head depressed, with teeth in both jaws and in the front of the vomer, the gill-lids furnished with
spines ; gills with six rays, and large openings, bodies slender, and without scales ; two dorsals, near to each other,
and the ventral fins small. Of these, C. gobio, the Miller’s Thumb, is found in rivers ; C. bubalis, which has the
gill-lids very spiny, C. quadricornis, with four short spinous processes on the top of the head, are found in the
sea : besides these there are some foreign species.
Apidophorus, the Pogge, sometimes termed the Armed Bull-head, has the body octangular, and covered with
scaly plates, with recurved spines on the snout, and teeth in the jaws only; it is a genus found in the Northern
Atlantic and Pacific, but the species are small and unimportant.
Some groups, recently knovm, have the characters of Coitus, and of Scorpeena. Of these we may notice
Hemitripterus, with two dorsals, a bristly head, and no scales on the body ; it varies in length from one to two feet,
and is found on the American shores. Hemilepidotus, has only one dorsal ; teeth in the palate, and longitudinal
bands of scales, w^hich are not visible till the body is dried ; it occurs in the Pacific. Platycephalus, is found in
the Indian Ocean. It has large ventrals, with six rays placed behind the pectorals ; the head depressed, and sharp
and spinous at the sides, but not operculated. There are seven rays in the gills, a row of sharp teeth in the
palate, and the body covered with scales.
Scorpcena, of which there are two subgenera, which have the head rough, and hardened with plates, and are com-
pressed laterally ; the body is scaly ; and there is one dorsal fin. Except in the singular appearance of then-
armed and tuberculated heads, they very much resemble the Perches. The subgenera are Scorpana, without
scales, but armed with spines, which are accounted dangerous. They are a gregarious fish, and have
their haunts among the rocks. Some allied species have the body much compressed, and a very high
dorsal fin, united to the caudal. Sebastes, the Norway Haddock, rather a large species, with many spines on the
head, a long dorsal, of which the posterior portion has soft rays ; the eyes very large, and teeth in all the jaws. It
inhabits the northern seas, and the Greenlanders use its spines as needles. Pterois, Indian fishes, resembling
the last genus, but with no lateral and pectoral rays ; remarkably long ; their colour very beautiful ; and no
teeth in the palate. Blepsias, inhabits the North Pacific; has hard cheeks, cirri on the lower jaw, five gill-rays,
small ventrals, and one dorsal, consisting of three lobes. Apistes, Treacherous, are small fishes, having a formid-
able spine on the suborbital plate, and branched rays in the pectorals. Some have scales, and some not. Agriopus,
want the spine of the former, have the dorsal very high, and reaching to between the eyes, a narrow muzzle, and
the body without scales. Pelor, like Scorpsena in their teeth ; two free rays in the pectorals, head flat, eyes close
together, dorsal spines very high, and whole appearance singular. Synanceia, as ugly as the former ; the head
shapeless, tuberculated, and the skin loose. No teeth on the vomer or palate. Like most of the analogous genera,
they inhabit the warm seas, and this genus is considered poisonous. Monocentris, — body short, thick, com-
pletely covered with rough, angular plates, four or five stout spines in place of the first dorsal ; each ventral a
single large spine ; head and mouth large ; teeth on the jaAvs and palate, short and crowded ; found near Japan.
Gasterosteus, Stickleback, a numerous and very common genus, found both in fresh waters and the sea.
Named from the free spines on the back, and a bony covering on the belly. Their ventrals, placed behind the
pectorals, consist only of a single spine, and they have but three rays and gills. There are several European
species, distinguished chiefly by the number and character of their spines. Though of small size, they are
exceedingly voracious. Oreosoma, a small oval fish, with its body all covered over with scaly cones ; only one
species is known.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Sci^NiDiE (the Maigre Family).
These still resemble the Perches in the notches of the pre-operculum and operculum ; but they have
no teeth on the vomer or palate. The muzzle is thickened, and there are a few scales on the dorsal
fins, of which fins some genera have one and others two.
The following are the principal genera : —
PISCES.
2^0
Scicena, of which there are seven subg-enera. The general characters are,— the head inflated, and supported by
cavernous bones ; two dorsals, or one deeply notched, the soft part much longer than the spinous ; the anal short,
the pre-operculum toothed, and the operculum divided into points at its extremity ; seven arches in the gills.
They resemble the Perches, only they have no teeth in the palate ; their whole head is scaly, their air-bladder
often curiously fringed, and the stony appendages in the ear larger than in most fishes. The following are the
subgenera : —
Scicejia, or Maigres, properly so called, which have the spines of the anal weak, and neither elongated canine
teeth nor cirri at the mouth. One species, S. umbra, inhabits the Mediterranean, and used to be highly esteemed,
but has latterly become rare. It grows to the length of six feet or more. Some other species of this subgenus
are found in the Southern and Indian Seas.
Otolithus, has the anal spines weak, and no cirri, some elongated or canine teeth, and two horns attached to the
air-bladder, and erected forwards. They are Indian and American fishes ; one is known as the Stone Perch of
Pondicherry. Ancylodon, resembles the former, but has a short muzzle, long canine teeth, and a pointed tail.
Corvina, small and crowded teeth, with neither canines nor cirri ; the second anal spine rather strong. One,
species, C. nigra, is abundant in the Mediterranean, and there are others in the Indian and American seas.
Jolmius, resembles the last, but has the second anal spine weaker, and shorter than the soft rays. They are found
in the seas of India, Tropical Africa, and America, and are esteemed as food, their flesh being white and easy of
digestion. Umfinwa, distinguished by a cirrus on the lower jaw. A remarkably beautiful fish, found plentifully
in the Mediterranean, and occasionally on the southern coasts of Bi'itain. Its ground colour is golden, with bright
bands of steel blue ; and its flesh is excellent. It is not a very long fish, but is sometimes forty pounds in weight.
Pogonias, somewhat like the former, but with several cirri below the jaw. Some of them are silvery, and attain
the size of an Umbrina. This fish produces much more sound than any of the other Sciaenidae, on which account
it is sometimes called the Drum-fish.
Eques, has a long and compressed body, elevated at the shoulders, and tapering to the tail ; the teeth are small
and closely set ; the first dorsal is high, the second long and scaly ; and they all belong to the American seas.
The Scisenidae with a single dorsal fin, are subdivided according to the number of the gill-rays.
Those which have seven, correspond to some genera of the Sparidae, and have the pre-operculum always
notched. The following genera have seven gill-rays ; —
Hoemidon, has the muzzle lengthened, resembling that of a Hog ; the lower jaw compressed, opening very wide
and of a bright red. Hence they are called “ Red-throats ” in the West Indian Islands. Their teeth are small, and
closely set ; and their dorsal fin is slightly notched, having the soft part scaly. They inhabit the American seas.
Pristipoma, have pores in the jaw, like the last species, but the muzzle thicker, the mouth not so deeply cleft,
and their dorsal and anal fins without scales. The obtuse angle of the operculum is concealed by a membrane.
They are numerous, and inhabit the warm latitudes of both oceans.
Digramma, resemble the last-named, except that the cavity of the symphysis is wanting, and there are two large
pores beneath each side. Tliey are found in both oceans. Those of the Atlantic have large scales, and those of
the Indian Ocean smaller, and a shorter and thicker muzzle.
The Scisenidae with a single dorsal, and less than seven gill-rays, admit of more subdivision. Some
have the lateral line extending to the caudal fin, others have it interrupted. The following genera
possess the former character : —
Lobotes, have the muzzle short, the lower jaw prominent, the body high, and the posterior angle of the dorsal
and anal fins so elongated, as, with the rounded caudal fin, to appear in three lobes. There are four groups of very
small points near the end of the jaw. Tliey inhabit both oceans.
Cheilodactylis, have the body long, the mouth small, many spinous rays in the dorsal, and the lower rays of the
pectorals simple, and produced beyond the membrane.
Scolopsides, have the second suborbital plate toothed, and terminated by a point directed backwards, crossing
another point of the third suborbital, directed the contrary way. The body is oblong, mouth little cleft, teeth
velvety, scales large, and no pores in the jaws. They inhabit the Indian seas.
Micropteres, have the body oblong, three spines on each side of the jaw, and the last rays of the soft part of the
dorsal separated from the others, and forming a small peculiar fin. They have the operculum without notches.
The Scisenidae with less than seven gill-rays, and the lateral line interrupted, form several genera of
small oval fishes, generally finely coloured, and distinguished by the armature of their heads. They
have a nearer relation to the genus Chsetodon, and resemble some of the fishes with labyrinthic
branchise. The following are the genera : —
Amphitrion, with the pre-operculum and three operculum pieces dentelated, the latter produced on a single row
of blunt teeth. Pomacentres, have the pre-operculum dentelated, the operculum without armature, and a single
row of trenchant teeth. Premnas, have one or two stout spines on the suborbital, and the pi’e-operculum toothed.
Dascyllus, resemble Pomacentres, except in having the teeth very small, and thickly crowded. All the genera in-
habit the Indian seas.
Glyphisodon, with the gill-lids entire, and a single row of trenchant and generally notched teeth. They are
found in the Atlantic, but more abundantly in the Indian seas.
Hdianus, resemble the preceding genus’ in their operculum, but have the teeth small and velvety.
ACANTPIOPTERYGII.
297
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Sparid^ (the Sea-bream Family).
i These have no teeth in the palate ; their general figure resembles that of the preceding family ; their
P bodies have scales larger or smaller, but they have none on the fins ; their muzzle is not thickened, nor
I the bones of the head cavernous ; they have no notches in their preoperculum, nor spines on the oper-
[1 culum; their pyitolus has coecal appendages; they have six gill-rays, which are arranged according to
1 the form of the teeth. The first tribe, of which there are five genera, have the sides of the jaws set
I with round, flat teeth, resembling a pavement. The genera are as follow : —
' Sargus, with cutting teeth in the front, like those of Man ; but in some species the teeth vary.
' Chrysophris, Gilt-heads, with round grinders in the sides of the jaw, and a few blunt conical teeth in front.
There are two European species : C. miratus, a large and beautiful fish, with a' golden eyebrow; and C. microdon,
I with the teeth smaller, and the profile fuller. The first species is occasionally found on the south coast of England.
I ' They have very strong teeth, and are able to break the hardest shells of the Mollusca.
* Pagrus, has only two rows of grinders.
P. vulgaris, silvery, glossed with red, inhabits the Mediterranean, and is occasionally met with on the English
shores. There are others in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, and one of Southern Africa, which has the jaws
I as hard as stone,
' Pagelus, has the teeth smaller, and the muzzle more elongated. P. erythrinus, the Spanish Bream, is silvery,
' glossed with rose-colour : it is a very beautiful fish. There are numerous others found in the Mediterranean
I and other seas ; but the species named is the only one that occurs on the English coast, excepting the Sea Bream,
i P. centrodentus, which is of the same colour as the former, but has a large dark patch on the shoulder,
j Dentex, has all the teeth conical, and the front ones hooked. One species, D. vulgaris, occasionally occurs in
I the south of England, and there are various others.
Some have the mouth less cleft, the body lower, and the caudal scaly to the end ; and others have
no scales on the cheek, but a pointed scale between the ventrals, and one above each of them. These
form a second tribe of the family ; and a third tribe also consists of a single genus, —
Cantharus, which has crowded teeth, hooked, and placed cardwise round the jaws. One species, C. griseus, of
a silvery grey colour, with brown longitudinal stripes, is found on the English shores, and known as the Black
Bream.
The fourth and last tribe consists of two genera : —
Boops, with the mouth small, and the external teeth trenchant. There are several species in the Mediterranean,
silvery or steel-coloured, with longitudinal golden stripes. Oblada, with small crowded teeth behind the trenchant
ones ; silvery, with blackish stripes, and a broad black spot on each side of the tail.
I THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
) Menidas.
I These differ from the last in the great extensibility of the upper jaw, which is advanced or withdrawn
I by means of long intermaxillary pedicles. It contains only the following four genera : —
\ Mcena, with fine narrow teeth in the jaws, and a band of the same on the vomer ; body shaped like that of a
! Herring, lead-coloured on the back, silvery on the belly. Smaris, want the teeth on the vomer, and the body is
i less elevated. Casio, has the dorsal somewhat higher. Geres, mouth protractile, jaw descends in advancing,
' and teeth in the jaws only : much esteemed for food. The first two genera inhabit the Mediterranean, the third
I the Indian Ocean, and the fourth the Atlantic, whence a stray individual sometimes reaches the coast of England.
I THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
i SauAMiPENNEs (Scaly-finucd).
I These fishes are so designated because the soft, and often the spinous parts, of their dorsal fins are
so covered with scales as not to be easily distinguished from the rest of their bodies. This is the most
distinguishing character ; but they also have, in general, the body much compressed, and the intestines
long, and with numerous coeca. Linnaeus included all those known in his time in the genus Chcetodon,
or bristle-teeth, from the thinness and close array of these parts ; but this genus admits of subdivision,
and there are some others.
The Chcefodons have their teeth like a brush, their mouth small, their dorsal and anal fins scaly like
the body, so that it is difficult to say where the fin commences. They abound in the seas of warm
PISCES.
298
climates, and are remarkable for the beauty of their colours. Their intestines are long, with numerous
coeca, and their air-bladders are large and strong. They frequent rocky shores, and are eaten. The
following are the genera : —
Cheetodon, properly so called, with the body more or less elliptical,
the spinous and soft rays continued in a uniform curve, the snout pro-
jecting more or less, and sometimes a small dentation on the operculum.
They all resemble each other, even in their colours, being marked with
a black band which passes over the eye. In some, there are several
vertical bands ; others have them longitudinal, or oblique ; some have
brown spots on the flanks ; some have glossed bands on the vertical
fins, and one or two ocellated spots. Some of them are also distin-
guished by filaments produced from the soft rays of the dorsal, and |
others have very few spines in that fin. !
Chelmon, remarkable for the length of its snout, with the mouth small,
and at the extremity, and the teeth fine like hairs. One species, C.
rostratus, has the faculty of shooting insects with drops of water pro-
jected from the mouth, and it seizes them as they fall. It is found near
the shores of South-eastern Asia.
Heniochus, Coachman, have the first spines of the dorsal, and particu-
larly the third and fourth, extended into filaments like a whip, and
often twice the length of the body.
EpMppus, Horseman, with a deep notch between the spinous and
soft portions of the dorsal, the first of which has no scales, and can be
folded into a groove on the back. There are various species, some of
the American and some of the Indian seas ; and one species is said to
be a very foul feeder. Many of this genus are found fossil in Mount Bolca in Italy, which is a vast magazine of
petrified fishes.
Holocanthus, have a strong spine on the operculum, with the edge of that toothed. They are found in the warm
latitudes of both oceans. Their flesh is excellent, and the colours beautiful, and regularly marked.
Pomacanthus, have the body more elevated from a sudden rise of the edge of the dorsal. They are only known
as American.
Platacc, has trenchant teeth, with three points in front of their brush-like ones, and their body strongly com-
pressed, and continued into thick, elevated, and scaly fins, with a few concealed spines in the anterior edge, so
that the height is much greater than the length. They inhabit the Indian Ocean, but a fossil species has been
found at Bulca.
Psettus, resembles Platax, but has all the teeth small and crowded ; and the ventrals, which are very long in i|
that, reduced to a small spine, without soft rays. They are of various forms, and known only as inhabitants of j
the Indian Ocean. |
Pimelepterus, with a single row of teeth placed on a horizontal base or heel, and trenchant in the anterior part. |
The body is oblong, the head blunt, and the fins thickened with scales, whence the name. They inhabit both oceans, j
Diptcerodon, cLXi analogous genus, with trenchant teeth, chisel-shaped, and the spinous and soft parts of the I
dorsal separated by a deep notch. Found in the Southern Ocean. ij
The following genera, which are ranged with Chsetodon, on account of their scaly fins, yet differ
from them in having teeth on the vomer and palate : —
Brama, Ray’s Bream, has the body deep and compressed, the profile almost vertical, one elongated dorsal fin, |
scales on the dorsal and anal, and slender curved teeth on the jaws and bones of the palate. It is found in the j
warmer seas, but is occasionally met with on the shores of England. j
Pempheris, has a long and scaly anal, the dorsal short and elevated, and an obtuse profile and large eye; a small |
spine on the gill-lid, and small crowded teeth on the jaws, vomer, and palate. Inhabits the Indian seas. |
Toxotes, the Archer, has the body short and compressed, the dorsal far backwards, the snout short and de-
pressed, and the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper one. It has small teeth crowded in all parts of the mouth,
and the gill-lids finely toothed. It hits insects with drops of water at the height of three or four feet above the
surface, and is remarkably sure of its aim.
THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTEKYGII.
ScoMBERiD^ (the Mackerel Family)
This family comprises a vast number of genera, many species, and countless individuals. They are
eminently useful to Man, and are the object of some of the most extensive fisheries. Many of them
were included by Linnaeus in one genus. Scomber, but they are subdivided as follows : —
Scomber, the Mackerel, with the body spindle-shaped, beautifully coloured, smooth, and with small
scales. The common Mackerel is well known as one of the most valuable of the fast-swimming surface
ACANTHOPTERYGII 299
fishes, for the rapidity with which it dies when out of the water, and also becomes putrid, or tainted.
I There are several species in the European and American seas.
i Thynnus, the Tunny, has a soft corselet of large scales on the thorax, a cartilaginous keel between the crests
and the sides of the tail, and the first dorsal approaching the second. It is very abundant in the Mediterranean,
I where it sometimes attains the length of fifteen or eighteen feet. It is captured in vast numbers, and forms an
; essential article of the food of the people. It has been known in the Mediterranean from the remotest antiquity,
I and occasionally appears on the Bx'itish coast. There are several species, of which the Bonito, or Striped Tunny,
is one of the most striking.
; Orcynus, has the pectoral fins much longer than the Tunny, the back blackish, the belly silvery, and the flesh
^ much whiter than that of the Tunny. In summer, it visits the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay, in shoals. [Most
j of the Scomberidse frequent the shores in summer, for the purpose of depositing their spawn ; and they subsist, in
' great part, upon the fry of the later spawners, as these again live upon theirs, which is a beautiful adaptation,
whereby the immense surplus of one family of fish adequately supplies the wants of another.]
' Auxis, have the corslet and short pectorals of the Tunny, and the separate dorsals of the Mackerel. Found in
the Mediterranean. Of a fine blue on the back, with oblique blackish lines, and the flesh deep red. A West Indian
I; species equals the Tunny in size.
Sarda, differ from the Tunnies in having the teeth separate, strong, and pointed. The only known species in-
habits both oceans, and is common in the Black Sea and Mediterranean,
j Cybium, have the body long, no corselet, jaw-teeth large and lancet-shaped, parietal teeth small, short, and
’ crowded. Found in the warm parts of both oceans ; and some of the species grow very large. Thyrsites, has the
jl front teeth longer than the others, pointed teeth on the palate, and no lateral keels to the tail.
Gempylus, have jaw-teeth similar to the last, but no parietal teeth, and the ventral fins scarcely perceptible.
I [These are the subgenera of Scomber, and the remaining Scomberidae have characters somewhat different.]
I Xiphias, the Sword-fishes, resemble the Tunnies in their very minute scales, the keels in their tails,
i! the power of their caudal fin, and their whole internal organization. Their distinguishing characteristic
is a long pointed beak, formed like a sword or
spit, which terminates their upper jaw, and is
a most powerful offensive weapon, with which
they attack the largest animals in the ocean,
[and sometimes drive it into the timbers of
ships, where it breaks, and a portion is left].
This beak is principally composed of the vomer
and the intermaxillaries, and supported at its
base by the ethmoid and the frontal maxil-
laries. Their gills are not divided like the teeth of a comb, but each consists of two large and parallel
laminae, with reticulated surfaces. They swim with extreme rapidity, [and it is probable that the
I peculiar gills enable them to do this with safety, not being liable to get entangled like those in threads].
J Their flesh is excellent. The subgenera are, —
j Xiphias, the Sword-fish, properly so called ; has the beak long, flattened horizontally, and trenchant, like the
I blade of a large sword ; sides of the tail with strong keels ; only one dorsal, which wears in the middle in old speci-
j mens, and then seems two. This is one of the largest and best fishes in the European seas, and is frequently fifteen
' feet long. It is very abundant in the Mediterranean, but less so in the Atlantic. Notwithstanding its formidable
weapon, its great strength, and its almost incredible celerity, a small crustaceous animal penetrates the flesh of
the Sword-fish, and sometimes so torments it that it dashes itself on the shore with mortal violence.
Tetrapturus. Beak shaped like a stiletto; each ventral consists of one jointless blade; two small crests on
I each side of the base of the caudal, as in the Mackerel. [These lateral crests on the tail appear to steady that
i powerful organ, and thus render it more efficient and unerring in its intense labour.] One species inhabits the
I Mediterranean.
j Makaira, like the former, but wants the ventral plates ; rather a doubtful species.
! Istiophorus, has the beak and caudal crests like Tetrapturus, but the dorsal high, and serving as a sail in
I swimming ; and the long and slender ventrals are composed of two rays each. Several species have been named,
I but they are imperfectly known. All the Sword-
; fishes attain a large size, [and the dorsal fin is subject
i to variations].
Centronotus, a genus having free spines in-
; stead of the first part of the dorsal, and ventrals
I in all the species. The subgenera are, —
I Naucrates, the Pilot-fish, has spindle-shaped body,
[ free dorsal spines, keel on the tail as in the Herring,
and two free spines before the anal. The Common
Fig- 135.— The Pilot-fish
300
PISCES.
Pilot-fisli of the Mediterranean is not above a foot long ; but it is swift and voracious, and follows in the wake of
ships along with the Shark, which it has been erroneously supposed to lead, and hence its name of Ductor. A
black species of the South American coasts has been found eight or nine feet long.
Eclacates, form and dorsal spines like the last, but the head flattened, and the keel and anal spines wanting.
Lichia, has dorsal and anal spines on the back, one of the former lying flat and directed forwards, but the body
is compressed, and no keels on the tail. There are several species in the Mediterranean, all eatable, and some of
large size. Trachinotus merely has the body a little more elevated, and the dorsal and anal longer and more
pointed.
Rhynchobdella. Spines as in the former genus, long body, and no ventrals. The subgenera are, —
Macrognathus : has a pointed, cartilaginous muzzle, projecting beyond the lower jaw, and the dorsal and anal
separate from the caudal. Mestacemhelus ; jaws equal, and dorsal and anal joined to the caudal. Both inhabit
the fresh waters of Asia, and feed on worms, in search of which they plough up the sand with their cartilaginous
noses : their flesh is much esteemed.
This is the place for the imperfectly known genus Notacanthus^ which has the muzzle of the last,
free spines for a dorsal, ventrals abdominal, a long anal reaching to the top of the tail, and joining a
very small caudal. The known species inhabit the Arctic Ocean, and have been found two feet and a
half long.
Seriola. This genus resembles Lichia, has a horizontal spine before the dorsal, but the dorsal spines united by
a fin, a small fin with two spines before the anal, and no keel on the lateral line. One species is the Milk-fish of
Pondicherry, so much esteemed for the delicacy of its flesh. There are several other species in both oceans.
N omens, resemble the last, but have large ventrals attached to the abdomen by their inner edge ; colour, i
silvery, with transverse black bands on the upper part. Has been confounded with the Gobies.
Temnodon : tail unarmed, spines or small fins before the anal, first dorsal small, second and anal small,
scales, one row of trenchant teeth in each jaw, with small crowded ones behind, and on the vomer, the parietals,
and tongue ; seven rays on the gills, and the gill-lid forked. There are species common to both oceans, and about
the size of the common Mackerel. il
Caranx, have the lateral line with scaly plates, keeled, and often spinous, horizontal spine before the first of the
two dorsals, last rays of the second dorsal often detached, some spines or a small fin before the anal. Several
species in the European seas, and generally over the globe. Resemble Mackerel, and are called Bastard
Mackerel. [On the British shores they are designated Scad or Horse Mackerel, and they sometimes make their
appearance in immense shoals, literally “ banking the sea,” especially along the Cornish coasts, and shores of the i
Bristol Channel. They feed on the fry of Herrings, and are not in much estimation as food.]
Vomer. This genus have the body more and more compressed and elevated in the different sub-
genera, while the armature on the lateral line diminishes, and the skin becomes smooth like satin,
without any apparent scales. They have no teeth, except short and fine ones crowded together ; and
the subgenera are chiefly distinguished from each other by various filamentary prolongations of some i
of the fins. Linnaeus and Bloch included them, but improperly, in the genus Zeus (Dory). The fol-
lowing are the subgenera ; —
Olistus. These resemble Situlce, a subgenus of Caranx, but the middle rays of the second dorsal are not
branched, but merely articulated, and extend in long filaments.
Scyris. Nearly the same in form and filaments,
but the spines of the fir 't dorsal hidden in the edge
of the second, and the ventrals short.
Blepharis, has long filaments to the second dorsal
and anal, the ventrals very long, and the spine
scarcely above the skin ; their body is very elevated,
but their profile not so vertical as that of some of '
the other subgenera found in the warm seas ; and in
the West Indies one species is called the “Cobbler.”
Gallus, similar to the last in all respects except i
having the profile more vertical. Argyreiosus, has
the profile still more vertical, the first dorsal defi-
nitely formed, and some of its rays extended in
filaments, as well as those of the second dorsal; the
ventrals are also very long.
Vomer, properly so called, has the body com-
pressed, and the profile vertical, as in the two sub-
genera immediately preceding it, but none of the
fins are extended into filaments.
Zeus. After removing the analogous sub-
genera of Vomer, this genus comprehends
ACANTHOPTERYGIL
301
and weak teeth. They differ much, and require
Zeus, the Dory, has the first dorsal deeply notched
between the spines, and the intermediate membranes
extend into long- filaments, together with the forked
spines along the bases of the dorsals and the anal.
One species, the Common Dory (John Dory) is yel-
lowish brown, with golden or silvery reflections,
according to the position of the light, with a round
black spot margined with white on the shoulder.
[The Dory has been a renowned fish since the days of
the ancients, who styled it not the fish of Jove, but
Zeus, that is, Jove himself. The religious also claimed
it as the “Tribute-money-fish,” from the black marks
of the thumb and fingers of St. Peter on the shoulders,
in which it is the rival of the Haddock — neither of
which fishes Peter had any chance of seeing. It is
still held in great estimation by epicures ; and being a
ground fish, it keeps two or three days, and is all the
better for it.]
Capras, the Boar-fish, has the notched dorsal of the Dory, but no spines along the dorsal or anal ; it has the
mouth still more projectile than the Dory, the body
covered with rough scales, and the fins entirely with-
out filaments. [Its flesh in little esteem.]
Lampris,\i&^ a single dorsal very high anteriorly,
as also is the anal, which has one small spine before
its base ; sides of the tail with keels ; ventrals and
caudal lobes very long, but subject to be worn away ;
colour, violet, spotted with white, and the fins red.
Inhabits the Arctic seas, and grows to a large size.
[In Britain it is known as the Opah, or King-fish.]
Equula. One dorsal with several spines, the fore-
most occasionally long, snout much protracted,
body compressed, and edges of the back and belly
toothed with fins. They are small fishes, several
of which inhabit the Indian Ocean, and some of
them have the power of contracting the snout
when at rest, and projecting it suddenly for the
capture of those small fishes on which they feed.
Menas, has the snout as in the last, but the body
more compressed, the abdomen trenchant and very
convex, but the back nearly straight ; the ventrals
are behind the pectorals, but still attached to the shoulder. One only is known, of the Indian Ocean, silvery,
with a black spot near the back.
Stromateus. This genus has the same compressed form as Zeus, and the same smooth epidermis ; but the
muzzle is blunt, and not protractile. It has a single dorsal, with a few concealed spines anteriorly, but no
ventrals. The vertical fins are thickened as in the scaly-finned fishes ; the gullet has a number of spines attached
to the membrane. They are found in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and Pacific. Some of the species
differ a good deal in form.
Peprilus, has the pelvis trenchant and pointed before the vent, resembling rudimental ventrals, and some
species have this part toothed.
Luvarus, resembles the former, but has no trenchant blade on the pelvis, only a small scale, which covers the
vent, and a prominent keel on each side of the tall. A large species, silvery, with a reddish back, is found in the
European seas.
Seserinus. All the characters of the last genus, save that there are little rudiments of ventrals. One small
species is knowm in the Mediterranean.
Kurtus, resemble Peprilus, but differ in having the dorsal shorter, and the ventrals larger; the anal is long, and
the scales so minute as to be invisible till the skin is dried. They have seven gill-rays, a spine between the
ventrals, and some small trenchant plates before the dorsal, which has a spine directed forward at its base. The
ribs are dilated, convex, and form a continuous annular tube, which extends so far under the tail, and contains
the air-bladder. Some have a little cartilaginous horn in advance of the plates before the dorsal. They are found
in the Indian seas.
Coryphcena, Dorades, or Gold-fishes, the Dolphins of the ancients, and of the modern Hollanders.
They have the body long, compressed, and covered with small scales ; the head trenchant in the upper
fishes with the mouth greatly projectile, and few
division into various subgenera.
Fig-. 137. — The Uory.
302
PISCES.
I
part; a single dorsal, which extends the whole length of the back, with flexible rays the whole length, !
but the anterior ones not jointed ; and they have seven rays in the gills. The following are the sub- |
genera : — j
Coryphaina, the Coryphene, properly so called, have the head much elevated ; the profile curved, and descending '
rapidly; they have teeth in the palate, as well as the jaws. They are large and splendidly-coloured fishes, cele- <
brated for the velocity of their motions, and the havoc which they commit among the Flying Fishes. [C. hipparis, '
the Common Coryphene, is found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. It is a brilliant fish, and drives through the
water like a radiant meteor. Its long dorsal is sky-blue, with the rays gold-coloured ; its tail-fin green ; its back
green, mottled with orange ; and its belly silvery, divided from the former by a yellow lateral line. As it passes i
along, however, there is an extraordinary play of colours upon it ; and it is one of the fishes with the changes of j
whose colours, when dying, the luxurious Romans used to gloat their depraved fancy. Some of the Indian species
are brighter coloured than this one ; and, indeed, all the Scomberidae have a tendency to get blackish in the cold |
seas, and brilliant in the warm ones, owing to the greater effect of the solar light in the latter ; for the sunbeam
is Nature’s pencil, down even to the deepest fish or pearl shell].
Curanxamores, differ from Coryphene in having the head oblong, and less elevated, and the eye in a medium j
position. Centrolophes, has no teeth in the palate, and a plain space between the occiput and the dorsal. [One j
species, the Black Fish, C. pompiUus, occasionally wanders from the Mediterranean to the southern shores of |
Britain. It is a powerful fish, and not easily caught, but its flesh is much esteemed. It feeds partially on some i
sea-weeds, but chiefly on other fishes.]
Astrodermus, has the head and dorsal like the Coryphene, but the mouth small, four rays in the gills, and the
ventrals very small in the throat. The scales are thinly scattered over the body, arranged into stars, hence the
name. Only one species is known, which inhabits the Mediterranean ; is silvery, spotted with black, and has a
very long dorsal. The fins are red. !
Pteraclis, teeth and head like the Coryphene, but the scales larger ; ventrals on the throat small ; dorsal and
anals as high as the fish. i
[Such are the leading genera and suhgenera of the Mackerel family, one of the most numerous and |
splendid in the class.] i
THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII. ,
T^nid^ (Ribbon-shaped). 1
This family is closely allied to the Mackerels, its first genus agreeing intimately with the last sub-
genera of Scomber. The fishes composing it are long, flattened on the sides, and have very small
scales. One tribe has the muzzle elongated, the mouth deeply cleft, with strong trenchant teeth, and [
the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper. This tribe contains only two genera. i
Lepidopus, the Scabbard-fish, or Scale- foot— from the form of the ventrals, which are merely two scaly plates. ^
The body is thin and elongated, with a dorsal above, and a low anal beneath, terminating in a well-formed caudal,
j The gills have eight rays ; the stomach is long, with more than twenty coeca near the pyrolus ; and the air-bladder '
} is long and slender, with a glandular body attached. One species, L, argyreus, occurs from England to Southern ?
Africa, but is not plentiful. It is sometimes five feet long, but it is rare. [It swims with extreme rapidity, and
often with the head above water. It has no scales on the body, except the two which occupy the place of the
ventral fins.]
Trichiurus, Hair-tail . The body, muzzled jaws, and teeth like the last, and a dorsal extending along the back ; but
no ventral, anal, or caudal fins, excepting a few obscure little spines on the under side of the tail, which terminates
in a hair-like point ; there are seven rays in the gills ; the stomach is long and thick ; the intestines striped with
numerous coeca ; and their aii’-bladder long and simple. Viewed laterally, they resemble beautiful silver ribbons.
There are several species of the Indian Ocean, and one at least of the Atlantic. [One, T. Lepturus, called by
some the Blade-fish— in contrast, we suppose, to the Scabbard-fish— occurs occasionally in various parts of the
British seas. It is shining silvery, with greyish-yellow fins ; the dorsal mottled with black on the edge ; the
irides are golden]. Some of the Indian Trichiuri have been described as having electric or galvanic properties,
but such is not the fact.
A second tribe comprehends genera whieh have the mouth small, and little cleft.
Gymnetrus, has the body elongated, and flat, without an anal fin, but with a long dorsal, a caudal composed of j
few rays, and ventrals under the pectorals, which are fibrous, with small expansions at their extremities, but both I
they and the anterior of the dorsal are liable to be broken. The fishes themselves are very tender, their bones j
soft, their fins easily rent, and their flesh soon decomposed. They occur in the Mediterranean, the Indian, the
Atlantic, and the Arctic Seas. Some of them are ten feet in length. [Two species have occurred in the British [
seas; — G.Hawhensii, on the coast of Cornwall, and G. arcticus, on some of the northern coasts; but the last |
species is not very satisfactorily made out, as the tenderness of the fish causes it to be mutilated almost the in- j
stant it is stranded.] !
Stylephorus, has a caudal fin, as in the last, but shorter ; and instead of the tail ending in a hook in the middle
of the fin, as it does there, it is produced in a filament longer than the body. |
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
303
A third tribe has the muzzle short, and the mouth cleft obliquely. It contains three genera.
Sepola, have a long dorsal and anal, the top of the cranium flattened, the gape inclining upwards, all the spines
of the dorsal flexible, but those of the ventrals stiflT, cavity and stomach very short, and the air-bladder extending
as far as the tail. One species, of a reddish colour, inhabits the Mediterranean ; [and is occasionally found on the
south coast of England, where it is known as the Red-band Fish, or Red Snake-fish. They appear to have little
command of themselves in a stormy sea]. Lophotes, head short, with an osseous crest surmounted by a spine,
bordered behind this with a low fin, extending from this spine to the tail, which has a very small caudal ; the anal
very short, pectorals moderate, and scarcely any ventrals ; teeth pointed, eyes very large, and abdominal cavity
occupying nearly the whole length of the body. One species is known in the Mediterranean, where it attains a
large size.
THE NINTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Theutyes (the Lancet-fish Family).
These agree with the Mackerel family in some respects, but differ in others, such as trenchant spines
on the sides of the tail, and an horizontal spine before the dorsal. The family contains few genera, all
foreigners, with compressed oblong body, small mouth, slightly or not at all protractile, and only a
single row of trenchant teeth in the jaws. They feed chiefly on fuci and other marine plants, and have
large intestines. [Their powerful spines, which they use very dexterously, are weapons of defence
supplied to them for nearly the same purposes as the horns of the ruminant Mammalia.]
Siganus, have a unique character in their ventrals, which have two spinous rays, one external and the other
internal, and three branch rays between them. They have five gill-rays, a horizontal spine before the dorsal, and
the styloid bones of the shoulder so curved as to unite at their extremities with the first interspiral bone of the
anal. There are numerous species in the Indian Ocean.
Acanthurus, Lancet-fishes, have the teeth ti'enchant and notched, and a strong spine at each side of the tail, as
sharp as a lancet, with which they inflict severe wounds on such as attempt to handle them unwarily ; hence their
common name. They are found in the warm parts of both oceans : some with the dorsal very elevated, others
with a tuft of bristles before the lateral spine, and others again with the teeth divided like a comb.
Prionurus, differ from the last only in having a number of horizontal cutting-blades on the side of the tail, in
place of the strong spine. [These might be termed Scarifiers.]
Naseus, have trenchant blades in the tail like the last, but with conical teeth, and a prominent horn projecting
over the muzzle ; only four rays in the gills, and three in the ventrals. Their skin is leathery.
Axbmrus, more elongated than the last, and without the prominence in front, but with the same number of rays
in the gills and ventrals ; on each side of the tail, they have a single square cutting-blade, without a basal shield ;
their mouths are small, and their teeth slender.
Priodon, have the notched teeth of Acanthurus, the three soft ventral rays of Naseus, and the sides of the tail
armed like Syganus.
THE TENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Fishes with Labyrinths in the Pharynx.
By the terra PJiarynginm labyrinthiformce, is meant that the upper membranes of the pharjmx
are divided into small irregular leaves, more or less numerous in the different genera, containing cells
between them, M'hich the fish can at pleasure fill with water ; and by ejecting a portion of this water,
moisten its gills, and thus continue its circulation while out of its proper element. [From this con-
trivance of Nature herself, we are to understand that, if the gills of a fish can be kept properly j
moistened, by salt water or by fresh, according as the fish is naturally an inhabitant of one or the
other, it may be carried alive over land to an indefinite distance]. By means of this apparatus,
these fishes are enabled to quit the pool or rivulet which constitutes their usual element, and move to
a considerable distance over land. This singular faculty was unknown to the ancients ; and the people
in India still believe that these fishes fall from heaven.
[In cold and temperate climates, this apparatus is not necessary, because all the ponds and streams
there, which are capable of supporting fish, are perennial, and never dried up, except in seasons of
extreme drought, when, of course, all the fishes perish ; but in tropical countries, and in India perhaps
above all other tropical countries, where the seasons are alternate drought and rain, there is neither
food nor water for a fish during the one season, and plenty of both during the other. Hence, these
fishes are furnished with this peculiar apparatus in the pharynx, by means of which they are enabled
to follow the water over dry obstacles, and, in some of the species, to climb steep banks, or even trees,
in the course of their instinctive journeys]. The following are the genera: —
304
PISCES.
Anahas, the Chinbing' Perch of India. This genus has the labyrinths highly complicated; the third pharyngi
have pavement teeth, and tliere are others behind the cranium; the body is round in the section, and covered with
strong scales ; the head is large, the muzzle short
and blunt, and the mouth small ; their lateral line
is interrupted for the posterior third ; the margins
of the operculum, super -operculum, and inter-
operculum, are strongly toothed, but there are
no teeth in the pre-operculum ; their gills have
five rays ; they have many spinous rays in the
dorsal and anal ; and their stomach is of middle
size, rounded, and with three coecular appendages
to the pyrolus. Only one species is known, which
not only quits the water, and moves over banks,
but is said by Daldorf to climb bushes and trees, by means of its dorsals and the spines on the gill-lids ; but
others dispute the latter power. This species is very common in India.
Poly acanthus, has the spinous rays as numerous as the last genus, or even more so ; and the same mouth, scales,
and interrupted lateral line, but the gill-lid is not toothed ; the body is compressed ; there are four rays in the
gills, a narrow band of small crowded teeth in the jaws, but no palatal teeth; the labyrinths are less complicated,
and the pyrolus has only two ccecular appendages.
Macropodus, differs from the last in having the dorsal less extended, and that in the caudal and ventral ending
in slender points ; the anal is also larger than the dorsal.
Hesostoma, have a small compressed mouth, so protractile as to advance from and retreat to the suborbitals ;
they have small teeth on the lips, and some on the jaws of the palate ; five gill-rays, on the arches of which, to-
wards the mouth, there are lamellae resembling the external ones ; the stomach is small, and has only two pyrolic
coeca, but their intestine is long ; the air-bladder is very stout.
Osphromanus [so called from a conjecture, apparently erroneous, that the labyrinths of the pharynx are organs
of smell], resembles Polyacanthus, but has the forehead concave ; the anal longer than the dorsal; the suborbitals,
and inferior edge of the pre-operculum, finely toothed ; the first soft ray of the ventrals very long ; six gill-rays ;
the body much compressed. One species, O. alfax, grows as large as a turbot, and is considered more delicious.
It has been introduced into ponds in the Isle of France and Cayenne, where it thrives well. The female, as in
many other species of fish, digs a cavity in the sand for the reception of her eggs.
Trichopodus, has the forehead more convex than the last, a shorter dorsal, and only four gill-rays. The only
known species is a small fish from the Oriental Isles, of a brownish colour, with a dark spot on the side.
SpirohrancMis, resembles Anabas, but has no teeth on the gill-lids, but teeth in the palate. The only known
species is a minute fish of Southern Africa.
Ophicephalus, like the rest of the family in most of its characters, especially in the pharyngeal labyrinth, and
can creep for some distance over land ; but it differs from all other Acanthopterygii in having no spines in the
fins, except a short one on the first of the ventrals. The body is long, and nearly cylindrical; the head flat, and
covered with polygonal plates ; the dorsal extends nearly the whole length ; the anal is also long, and the caudal
round it ; they have five gill-rays ; the stomach is obtuse, with moderately long coeca ; and the abdominal cavity
extends nearly to the base of the caudal. They are found in India and China, of various species, and different
sizes. In the former country, the jugglers, and even the children, amuse themselves by making it crawl along
upon dry gi’ound ; and in China, the larger ones are cut up alive for sale in the markets.
[All the genera and species of this family are fresh-water fishes ; and they have not hitherto been
found except in the south-east of Asia and the adjacent islands, and in Southern Africa.]
THE ELEVENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Mugilid^ (the Mullet Family).
This family consists of the following three genera : —
Mugil, the Mullet, properly so called, [which must not, however, be confounded with the Red
Mullets, either plain or striped, which are included in the Perch family]. Their organization has so
many peculiarities that they might be formed into a separate family. Their body is nearly cylindrical,
covered with large scales, two separate dorsals with only four spinous rays in the first, and the ventrals
are a little in rear of the pectorals. Their head is a little depressed, covered with large angular scaly
plates ; their muzzle is short ; their form is an angle, in consequence of a prominence at the middle of
the lower jaw ; and their teeth are very small, and in some almost imperceptible. They have six
gill-rays ; the bones of the pharynx give an angular form to the gullet ; their stomach terminates in a
fleshy gizzard, resemhling that of a bird ; they have few coecal appendages, but the intestinal canal is
long and doubled. They are gregarious, resorting to the mouths of rivers in large troops, and con-
stantly leaping up out of the water. [They feed in part upon small Crabs and other Crustacea, which
Fig. 139 _ — Aiiiibas.
' !!
i
:ii
^■ii
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
305
I they swallow entire]. There are several species found in the European seas, of which the flesh is
much esteemed.
M. cephalus, the Grey Mullet, has the eyes half covered by two adipose membranes, adhering' to the anterior
and posterior margins of the orbit; when the mouth is closed the maxillary is completely hidden under the
suborbital ; the base of the pectoral has a long crest with a keel ; the nostrils are separated by a considerable
space, and the teeth are a little prominent. It is the largest and best of the Mediterranean species. [It occurs
also on the British shore, though, perhaps, not so frequently as another species, the Thick-lipped Grey Mullet,
M. chelo. The two are, however, sometimes confounded with each other. In addition to these, there is another
Grey Mullet, first described by Mr. Yarrell, and which, from its shortness in proportion to the length, he has
called M. curtus. With the exception of its form, its small size, and some difference in the rays of the pectoral,
anal, and caudal fins, it bears considerable resemblance to M. cephalus^
M. capita, the Ramando of Nice, has the maxillary visible behind the commissure of the jaws, even when the
month is shut ; its teeth are much weaker r its nasal openings nearer to each other ; and the membrane of the eye
does not cover any part of the ball. The scale before the pectoral is short and blunt, and there is a black spot at
I the base of that fin.
Two much smaller species {M. aureus and M. saltator of Risso) resemble M. capita. The first has the maxillaries
under the suborbitals, like Cephalus, but the nostrils are near each other, as in Capito. The second, with the cha-
racters of Capito, have the suborbital notched, showing the maxillary.
M. chelo, is common in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is easily distinguished by its thick fleshy lips,
by their ciliated edges, and by the teeth which penetrate their substance like hairs. The maxillary is curved, and
appears behind the commissure. M. labia, a small American species, has proportionally larger lips, with their
margins curved. There are also some thick-lipped species in the Indian seas. [There seems little doubt that
Chelo is the Grey Mullet, which is so frequently taken in the bays and estuaries on the Channel coast, although
! not the one generally described as such], j
j Tetragonurus, is so named from the projecting keels or ridges on each side, near the base of the caudal. It is j
also one of those insulated genera which indicate particular families, [rather than belong to any of those esta- j
blished ones]. They in part resemble the Mullets, and in part the Mackerels. Their body is elongated ; their
spine is dorsal, long, but very low ; their soft dorsal, which approaches the other, higher and shorter ; their anal
is opposite the soft dorsal, and their ventrals a little behind the pectorals; the sides of the lower jaw are raised
vertically, and furnished with a single row of trenchant teeth like a saw, and inclosed, when the mouth is shut, by
the upper teeth ; there is also a small range of teeth upon each parietal bone, and two on the vomer ; the gullet is
furnished internally with hard and pointed papillae ; their stomach is fleshy, and doubled ; their coeca numerous,
and their intestinal canal long. Only one species is known, an inhabitant of the Mediterranean, about a foot long,
and black : its flesh is believed to be poisonous.
Atherina, is a genus which does not completely harmonize with any other, and therefore it is arranged between
the Mullets and the Gobies. It has a lengthened body, two dorsals far apart, ventrals behind the pectorals, the
mouth protractile, and furnished with very small teeth. All the known species have a broad silvery band along
each flank. They have six gill-rays ; their stomach is a cul-de-sac, and no ccecular appendages. The last trans-
verse process of the dorsal vertebrae are bent, forming a sort of conical receptacle for the end of the air-bladder.
They are small Ashes, much esteemed for the delicacy of their flesh ; and the fry remain a long time in shoals
along the shores, and are consumed in great numbers. Four species are found in the Mediterranean, and there
are a good many foreign ones. [A, presbyter, is found on the south coast of England, and also on the east coast
as far as Lincolnshire, and in the Firth of Forth, but not abundantly. On the coasts of Hampshire and Sussex it
is plentiful ; and on the Cornish coast it is taken at all seasons. It is a handsome little fish, about six inches long,
known as the Sand Smelt, but inferior in flavour to the true Smelt.]
THE TWELFTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII,
Gobiod^ (the Goby Family).
The fishes of this family are known by the thinness and flexibility of their dorsal spines. They all
have the same kind of viscera, — namely, a long, j
uniform, intestinal canal, without coeca, and :
no air-bladder. [The family contains several
genera, some of which admit of subdivision],
Blennius. The Blennies have one well-marked
character in their ventral fins, inserted before
the pectorals, and having only two rays each.
The stomach is slender, with no cul-de-sac ; the
intestine large, without coeca, and there is no
air-bladder. The form is elongated and com-
pressed, and there is but one dorsal, composed
almost entirely of jointless but flexible ravs.
X
306
PISCES-
They live in small troops, among rocks near the coast, swimming and leaping, and can exist for some
time without water. Their skin is covered with a mucous secretion, whence they have their common
name Blennies. Many of them are viviparous, or bring forth their young alive, fully formed, and
capable of subsisting by themselves. They are divided as follows : —
Blennies, properly so called, have the teeth equal and closely set, forming only a single and regular row in each
jaw, but terminating behind, in some of the species, by a longer and crooked tooth ; their head is blunt, their
profile vertical, and their muzzle short. Most of them have a fringed appendage over each eye, and some have
another on each temple. Their intestines are wide and short. The following are some of the more remarkable
species :—B. ocellaris, Ocellated Blenny, or Butterfly-fish. This has two lobes in the dorsal, the first marked with
around black spot surrounded by a white ring, and then a black one. It is a native of the Mediterranean, [but is
occasionally found in the South of England by dredging. It lives among the rocks and sea-weed, and is under-
stood to feed on minute Crustacea and Mollusca. It spawns in spring. It is a very small fish.] B. tentacularis
has four filaments on the head, the dorsal fin even, and a black spot on the fourth and fifth rays. [It is not
named among the English Blennies.] B. gattorugine, has the dorsal nearly even, and only two fillets on the head.
[It is found on the Cornish shores, varying in length from one inch to five. The general colour is reddish-brown,
paler on the belly.] B. palmicornis, has the appendage over the eye fringed, and the dorsal almost quite even,
the anal long, and the caudal rounded: [it is found on various parts of the British shores, and even as far north as
Norway. It is usually of small size, and pale brown, mottled with dark dull brown]. In some the appendages
over the eyes are hardly visible, but they carry a prominent membrane on the top of the head, which becomes red
and inflated in the pairing season. Of these there are several in the European seas. B. galerita. [Head blunt and
rounded, body smooth, compressed, and clammy, one long dorsal fin, ventrals before the pectorals, with only two
rays each, and both joined at the base. This is an insignificant species, found occasionally on the British shores, but,
like most of the genus, quite valueless.] B. ruhiceps, has the first three rays of the dorsal elevated, with red
points, and the top of the head of the same colour. B. pholis, has the head without any appendages, the dorsal
notched, and the pectorals rather large. [It is found on the British shores, and is remarkably tenacious of life,
being capable of living a good many days if kept in moist grass or moss : like the rest, it is of trifling value.]
The following subgenera are separated from the Blennies, properly so called : —
Myxodes, with the head lengthened, the muzzle pointed, and projected in advance of the mouth ; a single row of
teeth, but no large or canine ones.
Salarias, have the teeth in a single row, placed close, hooked, but very slender and numerous. In a recent
specimen they yield to the touch like the keys of a musical instrument. The head is much compressed above, and i
enlarged transversely below ; their lips are fleshy and thick ; their profile is quite vertical. Their intestines have |
spiral convolutions, and are longer and more slender than in the Common Blenny. They are found in the Indian t
Ocean only.
Clinus, have short pointed teeth, dispersed in several rows ; their muzzle is less obtuse than in the former ; the |
stomach is more ample, and the intestines shorter. There are some variations of character.
Cirrhibarba, resembles Clinus in shape, has small curved teeth, a little filament over the eye, one in the nostril, i
three larger ones at the end of the muzzle, and eight under the point of the lower jaw. Found in India.
Murcenbides, the Spotted Gunnel, or Butter-fish, has the ventral smaller than in any of the rest, often only a i
single ray ; head small ; body lengthened like a sword-blade ; a low dorsal, extending the whole length of the
back ; teeth like Clinus ; and the stomach and intestine have a uniform appearance, [Found generally in the
European seas, even as far north as Greenland, where it is eaten. There it is said to grow to the length of ten '
inches, but on the British shores it is seldom more than six. The mucous secretion of the skin is very copious.]
OpistognatJms, resembles the true Blennies in form, especially its short snout ; has large maxillaries prolonged I
backwards to a sort of moustache ; teeth rasp-like, the external row strongest ; three rays in the ventrals, which
are directly under the pectorals. From the Indian Ocean.
Zoarcus. These cannot be separated from the Blennies, though they have no spinal ray, for they have all the
more essential characters ; [one species, Z, viviparens, is very common on the British shores, especially the north ,
and east ; it is easily taken about'the season when charlock is in flower in the corn-fields ; but it is of little value, i
and generally disliked, because when boiled its bones turn green. It attains the length of seven or eight inches, ' ]
and the female brings forth her young alive. The body is heavy and lumbering, for so small a fish. Z. labrosus
is an American species, of an olive colour, with brown spots, and it sometimes attains the length of three feet.]
AnarricJias. [So very similar did Cuvier consider these fish to the Blennies, that he was disposed to consider
them as Blennies without ventral fins.] Their dor-
sal fin is composed entirely of simple but not stilf
rays, and extends, as does also the anal, very close
to the base of the caudal, which last, as well as the ■
pectorals, is rounded The whole body is soft and f
slimy. Their parietal bones, vomer, and man-
dibles, are hard, with stout bony tubercles, sur- i
mounted by small enamel teeth ; but their front ;
teeth are much larger and conical. This structure of the teeth gives them an armature, which, added to their large i!
size, makes them both fierce and dangerous fishes. They have six rays in the gills; stomach short and fleshy, '
with the pyrolus near its base ; the intestines short, wide, and without coeca ; and they have no air bladder. i
Fig. 141.— Anarrichas lupus.
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
307
A. lupus, the Sea Wolf, or Sea Cat, is the most common species : it inhabits the north seas, and is very often
met with ; attaining- the length of six or seven feet. Its colour is brown, clouded with darker. Its flesh
resembles that of an Eel. It is very valuable to the Icelanders, who salt its flesh for food, employ its skin as
shagreen, and make use of its gall as soap. [This large and formidable species is almost exclusively confined to
the northern seas, and in appearance it is a very repulsive fish. Its body is thick and lumbering, while the form
of the pectorals, the colours of the front, the proximate position of the eyes, and the great teeth, give it much the
appearance of a Cat, or even of one of the more formidable animals of that family. Its manners accord with its
aspect, for it is remarkably strong, very active, and equally ready to defend itself or attack an enemy. It often
enters the fishermen’s nets for the purpose of plundering them of the entangled fish ; and when the fishermen
attack it, and it cannot dart through the net, it fights like a Lion. They maul it with handspikes, spars, and such
heavy timber as they may have in the boats ; but even when it is landed, and apparently dead, they are not quite
safe from its bite. On the east coast of Scotland, it is a frequent though by no means a welcome visitor ; and
though those who can overcome their aversion to its appearance find it wholesome and light food, yet it is a fish
which the majority would not receive gratis. It deposits its spawn in early summer, among the sea-weed, and is
understood to prey indiscriminately upon Fishes, Crustacea, and shelled Mollusca, its jaws and teeth being capable
of breaking the hardest shell. In the Arctic seas, which are its appropriate localities, it grows to a greater size
than on the British shores.]
Gobim, the Gobies, or Sea Gudgeons, are easily recognized by the union of their ventrals, which are
thoracic, and united either for their whole length, or at their bases, into a single hollow disc, more or
less funnel-shaped. The rays of the dorsal are flexible, their gills have flve rays only ; and, like the
Blennies, they have but little gill-opening : they can live for some time out of the water. Like the
Blennies, also, their stomach has no cul-de-sac, and their intestines no cceca. In their reproduction
they further resemble the Blennies ; and some species, as in these, are known to be viviparous. They
are small or middle-sized fishes, which live among rocks near the shore, and most of them have a
simple air-bladder.
They admit of division into the following subgenera
Gobius, comprehending the Gobies, properly so called. They have the ventrals united for the whole of their length,
and also a transverse membrane joining their bases in front, so as to form the whole apparatus into a concave disc.
The body is lengthened, the head moderate and rounded, the cheeks turgid, and the eyes near each other, and
they have two dorsal fins, the last of which is very long. Several species inhabit the European seas, the characters
of which are not sufficiently ascertained. They prefer a clayey bottom, in which they excavate canals, and pass
the winter in them. In spring they prepare a nest in some spot abounding with sea-weed, which they afterwards
cover with the roots of Zostera (grass-wrack). Here the male remains shut up, and awaits the females, which
successively arrive to deposit their eggs ; and these he fecundates, and exhibits much solicitude and courage in
defending them from enemies. The Goby is the Phycis of the ancients ; according to Aristotle, “ the only fish
that constructs a nest.”
G. niger, the Black Goby, or Common Goby, is the one most frequent on European shores. [It is only about
I five or six inches long, and of scarcely any value, except as food for other fish. The margins of the united ventrals !
form almost a perfect oval, and there is a tubercle behind the vent, the use of which is conjectured, but not known.
} In the Mediterranean the species are much more numerous, have considerable variety of colour, and one, the Great
j Goby (G. capita) grows to the length of a foot or more. Other British ones are, the Two-spotted Goby, a small
i species with one dark spot under the base of the first dorsal, and another on the base of the caudal,— this is not above
I two or three inches long; the Spotted Goby, about three inches long, yellowish, with pale rust-coloured spots,
' very abundant in estuaries, or on shallow shores, and used by fishermen as bait ; and the Slender Goby, similar
; to the preceding in colours and in length, but much more slender in the body. The habits of all are nearly
I the same.]
* Other subgenera are,— Gobiodes, which differ from the Gobies in nothing but having one dorsal fin. Tenioides,
more lengthened in the body ; the lower jaw elongated, and rising over the upper one ; tongue very fleshy ; some
i cirri on the lower jaw ; eyes extremely minute, and almost hidden. .- the entire head scaly ; eyes
with a moveable underlid ; the pectorals scaly for more than half their length, which gives them the appearance
I of having wrists. [Indeed, this species leads naturally to the structure and habits of the family next to be noticed].
’ Their gill-openings are still smaller in proportion than those of the Gobies ; and they can live for a longer time
1 out of the water. In the Molucca Islands, which they inhabit, they may be seen creeping and leaping over the
i mud, either to escape from enemies, or to seize upon the minute Crustacea which constitute their food. Eleotris,
\ have, like the Gobies, flexible spines in the first dorsal, and an appendage behind the vent ; but they have the
I ventral fins separate, and six gill-rays. They inhabit chiefly the fresh waters of warm countries, and lui'k in the ^
mud. One, E. dormatrix, the Sleeper, from the West Indian marshes, is tolerably large ; and others have been
found in Africa, in India, and in the Mediterranean.
I Callionyntus, have two very striking characters : their gill-openings are only a hole on each side of the nape,
I and their ventrals are placed under the throat, separate, and larger than the pectorals. The head is oblong, de-
I pressed, and wuth the eyes directed upwards ; their intermaxillaries are very protractile, and their pre-operculi are
i lengthened backwards, and terminate in some spines ; their teeth are small, and thickly set, and they have none
in the palate. They are finely-coloured fishes, with the skin smooth ; the first dorsal supported by setaceous rays,
I X 2
308
PISCES.
the first of which reaches backwards nearly to the tail ; and the second dorsal and the anal have also the rays con-
siderably elongated. They have neither cul-de-sac to the stomach, coeca, nor air-bladder.
One species, C. lyra, the Dragonet, is common in the British Channel, [and not rare on many parts of the
British coast, even as far north as the Orkneys. The prevailing colour is yellow, with spots of brownish yellow,
whence some of the common names of the fish. It frequents the shallow waters, feeding on Crustacea, Mollusca,
and Worms ; and answering little purpose, save as food for more valuable fish. Its flesh is said, however, to be
firm and good. C. dracunmlus, the Sordid Dragonet, is more dingy in colour, and has the rays of the first dorsal
much less produced. It was once supposed to be the female of the other species, but the mistake has been found
out and rectified. There are some subgenera nearly allied to Callionymus.]
Trichonotes, differs not much from the last, except in having the body very long, a single dorsal, and the anal
proportionally longer. The first two rays of the dorsal are extended in long threads, representing the first dorsal
of the former. It is said that the gill-openings of this subgenus are tolerably wide.
Comephoriis, have the first dorsal very low ; the muzzle oblong, depressed, and broad ; the gills with seven rays,
and large openings ; the pectorals very long; and (which distinguishes them from the rest of the family) they have
no ventrals whatever. The known species is found in the fresh-water lake of Baikal. It is a foot in length, very
soft and greasy in its substance, and pressed for obtaining an oil. It is not fished for in the lake, but found dead
on the shores after storms, which are there severe and frequent.
Chirus, are fishes with the body rather long, small ciliated scales, a small unarmed head, a shallow mouth, wdth
small and irregular conical teeth. The spines of the dorsal are always slender, and that fin extends along the
whole back. Their distinguishing character is several series of pores, extending along the side, and having some
resemblance to additional lateral lines. All the known species inhabit the Sea of Kamtschatka.
THE THIRTEENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGIL
Pectorales Pedunculati (Fishes with Wrists to the Peetoral Fins).
There are some spinous fishes in which the carpal bones are so elongated as to form a sort of arm or
wrist, to the extremity of which the pectoral fin is articulated. The family consists of two genera,
closely allied to each other, though authors have sometimes placed them far apart in their arrangements;
and they are also related to the Gobies, [particularly to Periopthalmus, already noticed. This is a very
peculiar structure of the fins ; gives these fishes a strange appearance, and enables them, in some in-
stances, to leap suddenly up in the water, and seize prey which they observe above them; and in others
to leap over the mud, somewhat after the manner of Frogs.]
LopMus, Anglers. — The distinguishing character of these, besides their demi-cartilaginous skeleton,
and their skin without scales, consists in the pectoral being supported as by two arms, each consisting
of two bones, which may be compared to the radius and ulna of an arm, but which in reality belong to
the carpus, or wrist ; and in this genus they are larger than in any other. They are also characterized
by having the ventrals placed much in advance of the pectorals ; and by having the operculum and the
gill-rays enveloped in the skin, so that the gill-opening is merely a hole situated behind the pectoral.
They are voracious fishes, with a large stomach and a short intestine ; and they can live a long time
out of the water, in consequence of the small size of their gill-openings. They admit of division into
three subgenera.
LopMus, head excessively large compared to the body ; very broad, depressed, and spinous in 'many parts ; the
mouth deeply cleft, and armed with pointed teeth; and the lower jaw fringed round with many fleshy barbules.
They have two dorsal fins, and some rays of the first are free, and move on the bones of the head, where they rest
on a horizontal interspinal process. [In the Angler, or Fishing Frog of the British seas, the motions of these de-
tached rays are very peculiar. Two are considerably in advance of the eyes, almost close to the upper lip ; the
posterior of these is articulated by a stirrup upon a ridge of the base, but the anterior one is articulated by a ring
at its base, into a solid staple of the bone, thus admitting of free motion in every direction, without the possibility
of displacement, except in ease of absolute fracture. The third one, which is on the top of the cranium behind
the eyes, is articulated much in the same manner as the posterior one of the other two ; and of course, though
these two have considerable motion in the mesial plane of the fish, they have very little in the cross direction.
The one near the lip, however, can be moved with nearly the same ease and rapidity in every direction ; and while
the others terminate in points, it carries a little membrane, or flag, of brilliant metallic lustre, which the fish is
understood to use as a means of alluring its prey ; and the position of the flag, the eyes, and the mouth, certainly
would answer well for such a purpose]. The gill-membrane forms a large sac, opening in the axilla of the
pectorals, supported by six very long rays, and with a small operculum. They have only three gills on each side.
It is said that these fishes lurk in the mud, where, by agitating the rays on their heads, they attract smaller
fishes, which mistake the appendages upon the rays for worms, and which are instantly seized, and transferred
to the gill-sac. Their intestines have two or three short coeca near the commencement, but the fishes have no
air-bladders.
L. piscatorius,i\\& Fishing Frog, SeaDevil, and many other local names, attains sometimes the length of four or
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
309
five feet ; and the extreme hideousness of its appearance has procured it some celebrity. [There are few parts of
the muddy shores of the British islands where these u^Iy and voracious fish are not to be met with ; and such is its
propensity to keep its great mouth in exercise, that when captured in a net a>ong with other fishes, it speedily
begins to swallow its companions, especially if Flounders, which appear to be its favourite food. On some coasts,
it is sought for on account of the live fish in its stomach, its own flesh being but small in quantity, and held in i
little estimation. Another European species, L. palviparus, has its second dorsal lower, and five vertebrae fewer
in the spine.
Chironectes. These have, like the last genera, free rays on the head, of which the first is small, and often
terminating by a tuft ; and those behind it are enlarged by a membrane, which is sometimes very broad, and at
other times they are united into a fin. Their body and head are compressed, and their mouth opens vertically.
Their gill membranes have four rays, and have no opening but a small hole behind the pectorals. Their dorsal
extends along the whole back, and they often have cutaneous appendages all over their bodies. They have four
gills, a large air-bladder, and a moderate intestine without coeca. They can inflate their great stomach with air,
in the same manner as the Tetrodons blow up their bellies like balloons. On the ground, their two pairs of fins
enable them to crawl along like little quadrupeds ; and the pectorals, in consequence of their position, perform
the functions of hind legs. They can live out of the water for two or three days. They are found only in the seas
of warm countries, and JEneas confounded many of them under the name L. histrio. [In some of the muddy
estuaries on the north coast of Australia, from which the tide ebbs far back in the dry season, these Frog-fishes
are so abundant, and capable of taking such vigorous leaps, that those who have visited the places have, at first
sight, taken them for birds.] One might separate the species in which the second and third rays are united into
a fin, and sometimes also joined to the other dorsals.
Malthus. These have the head greatly extended and flattened, principally by the projection' of the sub-opercu-
lum ; the eyes are forwards ; the snout projecting, with a little horn ; the mouth under the muzzle, of mean size,
I and protractile ; the gills sustained by six or seven rays, and opening by a hole above each pectoral. They have a
simple dorsal, which is soft and small ; and there are no free rays in the head. The body is studded with osseous
tubercles, and bordered round with cirri. They have neither coeca nor air-bladder.
The remaining genus of this family is Batrachtis,tlie Frog-flshes, properly so called. They have the head flattened
horizontally, and much larger than the body ; the gape deeply cleft ; the operculum and sub-operculum spinous ;
six gill-rays ; the rentrals straight, attached under the throat, with only three rays, of which the first is broad and
lengthened : the pectorals are carried by a short arm, resulting from an elongation of the carpal bones : their first
dorsal is short, supported by three spinous rays; the second is soft and long, and has the anal corresponding to it;
their lips are often garnished with filaments ; their stomach is an oblong sac ; their intestines are short, and with-
out coeca ; and their air-vessel is anteriorly deeply forked. They lurk in the sand, in order to swallow small
fishes, in the same manner as the members of the last genus ; and it is thought that wounds inflicted by their I
spines are dangerous. They inhabit both oceans. In some, the scales are smooth, and they have a membrane |
over the eye ; others are scaly, and want that membrane. [None of them appear in the authenticated lists of i
British fishes.]
THE FOURTEENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Labrid^ (the Wrasse, or Rock-fish Family).
This family are easily known by their appearance. They have an oblong body, covered with scales ;
and a single dorsal, supported anteriorly by spinous rays, often furnished with membranous laminae.
The jaws are covered by fleshy lips. There are three hones in the pharynx, — two upper ones attached
to the cranium, and a large under one. All the three are furnished with teeth, arranged like a pave-
ment in some, and pointed, or in laminae, in others ; but generally stronger than is usual in the class
of Fishes. Their intestinal canal is either without coeca, or with two small ones ; and they have a large
and strong air-bladder. They admit of division into various genera and subgenera,
i Lahrus, or Lipped — that is. Thick-lipped — Fishes. A very numerous genus, the species of which
! much resemble each other in their oblong form, and in their double fleshy lips, from which they receive
I their name. One of these lips adheres immediately to the jaw-bones, and the other to the suborbitals.
: They have thickly-set gills, with five rays. Their conical maxillary teeth (of which the middle and front
ones are the largest), and their cylindrical teeth in the pharynx, are arranged like a pavement, — the
! upper ones with two large plates, and the under with one only, which fits to the others. Their stomach
' has no cul-de-sac, but is continued in an intestine without coeca, which, after two reduplications, ter-
minates in a wide rectum. The air-bladder is single, and strong. There are several subgenera.
Lahrus, properly so called, vulgai’ly termed “Old Wives of the Sea.” They have no spines or notches in the j
operculum or pre-operculum, and the operculum and cheek are covered with scales. The lateral line is nearly j
straight. The European seas furnish several species, which, from variations of colour in the same species, are not
easily distinguished from each other. L. maculatus, the Balloon Wrasse, is a foot or eighteen inches long, with
twenty or twenty-one spines in the dorsal; blue or greenish above ; white below; marked all over with yellow, and
310
PISCES.
sometimes the yellow colour predominates. [This species is numerous upon the British shores, though they are
not very often caught ; and from the variations of their colours they are not easily identified. They frequent deep
pools among the rocks, hide themselves in fuci, and are understood to feed chiefly on Crustacea. If the fishermen
know their haunts, they take a bait freely ; and, according to the report of Mr. Couch, the first taken are always
the largest. They frequent the rocky shores only. They spawn in April; and the fry, which are then of small
size, remain among the rocks during the summer. It is understood that the blue colour, which appears to be
characteristic of the high condition of the fish, is very evanescent. L. lineatus, the Lineal- streaked, is more
clouded ; has irregular bands along the flank, the ground of which is reddish ; and the dorsal spines are less nume-
rous, and the soft part of the fin lower, than in the former species. This species is named as a British fish, but it
appears to be exceedingly rare. L. variegatus, the Blue-streaked, is one of the most beautiful of the family, of an
orange red, paler on the belly, having the sides and irides striped with fine blue. The lips are capable of great
extension, and there is a single row of pointed teeth in each jaw. It is found in the British seas, but only on the
south and south-west coasts. L. vetula, is also named as a British fish. It is dark purple, black on the upper
part, paler on the belly, and has the fore part of the head flesh-coloured, tinged with purple, and the eyelid blue.
Few specimens have been met with on the British shores, and those of comparatively small size. Perhaps it is the
Merida of Gmelin. L. carneus, the Three-spotted Wrasse, reddish in the colour, with four light spots, and three
black ones intermediate, extending from the middle of the dorsal to the root of the caudal. It belongs to the
Mediterranean, but has been found on the Channel-coast of England, in the Firth of Forth, and even on the coast
of Norway, and in the Baltic. There are various other species ; but, as we have said, they are not easily distin-
guished from each other, in consequence of the change of colour to which they are subject.]
Cheilinus, difters from Labrus, properly so called, in having the lateral line interrupted at the end of the dorsals,
where it recommences a little lower down. They are beautiful fishes, inhabiting the Indian seas.
Lachnolaimus, (Captains), have the general character of Labrus ; but their pharynx has no pavement-like teeth,
except in the posterior part,— the remainder of them, as well as a part of the palate, being covered with a villous
membrane. They are easily known by the first spines of the dorsal, which extend in long flexible threads. They
are American fishes.
Julis, have the head entirely without scales, and the lateral line forming a curve near the end of the dorsal.
There are some in the Mediterranean, but they are more numerous in the tropical seas. [They are generally
small but beautiful fishes : some are violet, some bright scarlet, some rich green, and some marked with golden
colour ; and those which have the caudal fin rounded, or truncated, have the first dorsal rays extended in long
filaments.]
Anampses, have the character of the last, with the exception of two flat teeth, which project from the mouth,
and curve upwards. The two known species are from the Indian seas.
Crenilabrus. These fishes are separated from the Lutjanus of Bloch, to arrange them in their proper place.
They have the true characters of Labrus, both external and internal ; and differ only in having the border of the
pre-operculum toothed. Some species are found in the North Sea, such as Lutjanus ruprestis of Bloch, yellow,
with clouded bands ranged vertically, and blackish ; L. norvegicus, brownish, irregularly marked with deep brown;
L. melops, orange, spotted with blue, and a black spot behind the eye ; L. exoletus, remarkable for five spines in
the anal fin. The Mediterranean furnishes a number, most beautifully coloured, the most splendid of which is
L. lapina, silvery', with three broad longitudinal bands, composed of vermillion dots, with the pectorals yellow and
the ventrals blue. They are also abundant in the tropical seas ; and many species, hitherto included in the genus
Labrus, ought to be placed here. [Several species of this subgenus occur in the British seas, the chief of which
axe—Cranilabrus tinea, the Gilt- head ; C. corneticus, the Gold-sinny ; C. gibbus, the Gibbous Wrasse ; and C. leusias,
the Scale-rayed Wrasse ; but they are all small fishes, in little or no estimation.]
Corieus. This subgenus has all the characters of the last, in addition to which the mouth is little less protractile |
than in the next. Only one small species is known, which inhabits the Mediterranean. This genus is removed
from Spams, in order to be placed near the preceding ones.
Epibulus. These fishes are remarkable for the extreme extension which they can give to their mouth by means i
of a see-saw motion of their maxillaries, and the sliding forward of the intermaxillaries, which instantly forms a
kind of tube. They make use of this artifice for seizing small fishes which pass near this curious instrument ; and
the same artifice is resorted to by the Coryci, the Zei, and the Smares, according to the degree of protractility of
the mouth. The entire body and head of this subgenus are covered with large scales, the last track of which ad-
vances upon the anal and caudal fins, as in Cheilinus. The lateral line is similarly interrupted as in the latter ;
and, as in Labrus, there are two long conical teeth in the front of each jaw, followed by smaller blunt ones. The
known species is from the Indian seas, and is of a reddish colour.
Clepticus. This subgenus has a small cylindrical snout, which is suddenly advanced forward, but which is not
so long as the head. The teeth are small, and barely perceptible to the touch ; the body is oblong ; the lateral
line continuous ; and the dorsal and anal are enveloped in scales nearly to the top of the spines. One species, of a
red colour, and from the West Indies, is the only one known.
Gomphosus. These Labridse, with the head entirely smooth, as in Julis, have the muzzle in the form of a
tube, composed of the prolonged maxillaries and intermaxillaries, as far as the small opening of the mouth. Several
species are taken in the Indian Ocean, and the flesh of some is considered delicious.
Xirichthgs, resemble Labrus in their general form, but are much compressed. The forehead descends towards
the mouth with a sharp and almost vertical line, formed by the ethmoid and the ascending branches of the inter-
maxillaries. Their bodies have large scales ; their lateral line is interrupted; their jaws are furnished with conical
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
311
teeth, lai-gest in the centre ; the pharynx is paved with hemispherical teeth ; the intestinal canal has two flexures,
but no coeca ; the stomach has no cul-de-sac, and they have a tolerably long’ air-bladder. [Until Cuvier arranged them
difierently, they were always classed with the Coryphenes, from which they differ much, both externally and in-
ternally.] They most nearly resemble Labrus, and are not easily distinguished from it, except by the profile of
the head. Are found in the Mediterranean, and also in the southern seas ; and the flesh of some is much
esteemed.
Chromis. These have the lips, protractile maxillaries, pharyngeals, and general aspect of Labrus ; but their
teeth resemble those of a card, except a range of conical ones in front. Their dorsal fins have long filaments ; their
ventrals are produced into long threads ; their lateral line is interrupted ; and their stomach forms a cul-de-sac,
but has no cceca. A small one, of a chestnut -brown colour, is taken in vast numbers in the Mediterranean ; and
there is one in the Nile, C. niloticus, tbe Egyptian Corycina of the ancients, which attains the length of two feet,
and is reckoned the best fish in Egypt.
Cychla, have the teeth small and crowded, formed into a large band, and the body elongated, which are their
chief dififerences from the preceding subgenus.
Plesiops, have the head compressed, the eyes near each other, and extremely long ventrals ; but in other respects
they resemble Chromis.
Malacanthus. These have the general character of Labrus, and the same teeth in the maxillaries, but their teeth
in the pharynx are arranged like those of a card. Their bodies are elongated, their lateral line continuous, their
operculum terminated by a small spine, and their long dorsal has only a few flexible spinous rays in the fleshy part,
j A species is found in the West Indies, of a yellowish colour, irregularly streaked across with violet, which, like many
' others belonging to this family, has been improperly ranged with the Coryphenes.
Scarus. — The fishes of this genus are remarkable for their jaws — that is to say, for their inter-
maxillaries and premandibles, — which are convex, rounded, and furnished with scale-like teeth on their
margin and anterior surface. These teeth succeed each other from the rear to the front in such a
manner that the bases of the newest form a trenchant range. It has been erroneously supposed
by naturalists that the bone in this state is naked. In the living state, the jaws are covered with fleshy
lips, but there is no double lip adhering to the suborbital bones. These fishes have the oblong form
of Labrus, with large scales, and an interrupted lateral line. They have two plates in the upper part
of their pharynx, and one in the under, furnished with teeth as in Labrus ; but their teeth are in trans-
verse laminae, and not rounded and arranged like the stones of a pavement.
The Archipelago contains one species, of a blue or red colour, according to the season, which is the S. creticiis
of Aldrovandus ; and which, after new investigations, I believe is the true Scarus so celebrated among the
ancients, which, during the reign of Claudius, Elipertius Optatus the Roman admiral sailed to Greece in order
to obtain and distribute through the Italian seas. It is still eaten in Greece, and its intestines are used for sea-
soning. There are numerous species in the tropical seas, which, on account of the form of their jaws and the
brilliancy of their colours, are called Parrot-fishes. Some have the caudal fin in the shape of a crescent; and of
these a few have the front singularly enlarged and rounded, while in others it is truncated to a square. These
constitute the genus Scarus, properly so called, from which two subgenera may be separated ‘.—Calliodon, which
have the lateral teeth of the upper jaw separate and pointed, and on the same jaw an anterior range, much smaller
in size ; and Odax, which resemble the true Labrus in their thickened lips and uninterrupted lateral line, but their
jaws are constructed as in Scarus, except that the bones are flat, not rounded, and are covered by the lips. Their
teeth, however, resemble pavement, like those of Labrus.
THE FIFTEENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII.
Fistularida; (Pipe-mouthed Fishes).
The fishes of this family are characterized by a long tube projected forwards from the cranium, and
composed of elongations of the ethmoid, vomer, pre-operculum, inter-operculum, pterygoids, and tym-
panals, at the extremity of which they have the mouth, composed, as usual, of intermaxillaries, maxil-
laries, palatals, and mandibles. Their intestine has no great inequalities, nor many flexures ; and their
ribs are short, or wanting. The family consists of two genera : — Fistularia, with the bodies cylindrical;
and Centriscus, in which it is oval and compressed.
Fisiularia, Fishes of this genus receive their particular name from the long tube common to all
the family. Their jaws are at its extremity, but little cleft, and opening nearly in a horizontal direc-
tion. Their head, thus elongated, is equal to a third or a fourth of the length of the body, which is
itself long and slender. There are six or seven rays in their gills ; and some osseous appendages
extending behind the head, by means of which the anterior part of the body is more or less
strengthened. The dorsal is directly above the anal ; and the stomach is a fleshy tube extending in a
straight canal, but with two cceca at the commencement. There are two subgenera.
] ^
312
PISCES.
Fistularia, Pipe-mouths, properly so called. These have only one dorsal, consisting, in great part, as well as the
anal, of simple rays. Their intermaxillaries and the lower jaw are furnished with small teeth. From between the
lobes of the raudal fin there arises a sort of filament, which is sometimes as long as the body. The tube of the
muzzle is depressed; the air-bladder is exceedingly small; and the scales on the skin are invisible. They are
found in the warm seas of both hemispheres. [Sailors term them Tobacco-pipe Fishes, and they are of no value,
except as curiosities.]
Aulostomus. These have numerous free spines before the dorsal ; and their jaws are toothless : their body is
very scaly ; not so slender as in the former subgenus, but enlarged and compressed between the dorsal and the
anal, which enlargement is followed by a short and slender tail, ending in a common fin. The tube of the muzzle
is shorter, wider, and much more compressed than that of the true Pipe Fishes ; and the air-bladder is larger.
There is but a single known species, which is a native of the Indian Ocean.
Centriscus, or Snipe-fish. — These have the tubular muzzle characteristic of the family ; hut the body
is oval or oblong, not lengthened, compressed laterally, and sharp on the upper part. They have only
two or three slender gill-rays ; a spinous first dorsal ; and small ventrals behind the pectorals. Their
mouth is very small, and opens obliquely : their intestine has two or three folds, but no coeca ; and
their air-bladder is of considerable size. As in Fistularia, they admit of division into two subgenera.
Centriscus, properly so called. These have the first dorsal fin backwards ; and the first dorsal spine, which is
long and strong, connected, by intermediate pieces, with the bones of the shoulder and the head. They have the
body covered with small scales, and some larger denticulated ones over the apparatus connected with the spinous
ray of the first dorsal. [This ray is strong in itself, firmly supported, and with rugged teeth on its posterior edge,
capable of being moved, and thus forms a very powerful weapon. One species, C. scolopax, the Sea Snipe,
Sea Trumpet, or Bellows Fish of the Cornish coast, is common in the Mediterranean, and is occasionally found
on the south coast as a straggler. The specimens met with are not large, not exceeding five or six inches in length.
The young are of a brilliant silvery lustre ; but when mature, the back is red, paler on the sides, and passing into
silvery, glossed with gold, on the belly. All the fins are greyish white. The scales are hard and rough, granu-
lated on the surface, and beautifully ciliated on the posterior edge. Its flesh is considered good. Its haunts are
understood to be muddy bottoms, in moderately deep water ; and its food the minute Crustacea with which such
places usually abound.]
Amphisile, has the back mailed with large scaly pieces, of which the anterior spine of the first dorsal appears to
be a continuation. Some have other scaly pieces on the flanks, and the spine in question placed so far behind
that it is against the base of the tail ; against which it, as it were, thrusts the second dorsal and the anal ; this
is C. scutatus. Others are intermediate between this form and that of the ordinary Centriscus, or have the mail
plates covering only a part of the back ; such is C. velitaris. All the known species are inhabitants of the
Indian seas.
THE SECOND ORDER OF BONY FISHES.
MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
The second division of the Ordinary Fishes, [or fishes with bones in the skeleton,] the
Malacopterygii, or Jointed-fin Fishes, consists of three orders, the distinguishing character
of each of which is the position or absence of the ventral fins.
The present order comprises fishes which have the ventral fins suspended to the abdomen,
behind the pectorals, without being attached to the bones of the shoulder ; they are the most
numerous order of the division, and include the greater part of fresh-water fishes. They are
divided into five families.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
Cyprinid.® (the Carp Family).
These have the mouth shallow, the jaws feeble, very often without teeth, and the margin formed
by the outer maxillaries ; but they have the pharynx strongly toothed, which compensates for the feeble
I armature of the jaws. They have few gill-rays ; their body is scaly ; and they have no adipose
dorsal, as we shall find in the Silures and Salmon. The stomach has no cul-de-sac or coecal appen-
dages ; and they are the least carnivorous of all fishes. [The genera and subgenera are arranged as
follows :] —
MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
313
Cyprinus. — These form a genus, at once very natural and very numerous ; easily distinguished by
the small mouth, the jaws without a single tooth, and three flat gill-rays. Their tongue is smooth ;
their palate furnished with a thick, soft, and remarkably sentient substance, vulgarly called carp’s
tongue. Their pharynx is a powerful instrument of mastication, having strong teeth on the inferior
pharyngeal bones, and they bruise their aliments between these and a stony disc, which is set in a large
cavity under a process of the sphenoid. They have but one dorsal ; their body is covered with
scales, usually large : they inhabit the fresh waters ; and are the least carnivorous of fishes, — feeding
chiefly on seeds, the roots of plants, and [as is said] on mud and sludge. The stomach is continuous,
with a short intestine without coeca ; and the air-bladder is divided in two by a close contraction.
The genus is divided into the following subgenera : —
Cyprmus, the true Carps, have a long dorsal, of which, as well as the anal, the second ray has a spine more or
less stout. Some of them have fleshy tubercles at the angles of the upper jaw, such as C. carpio, the Common
Carp, a well-known fish : olive green above, and yellowish below ; with strong toothed spines in the dorsal and
anal, and short tubercles. The teeth of the pharynx are flat and striated in their crowns, [something like those of
the Ruminant Mammalia]. Originally [as is understood] from the middle latitudes of Europe, it is now generally
distributed, and thrives well in fish-ponds and other still waters, where it sometimes grows to the length of four
feet: its flesh is esteemed as food. [Though an iiuported fish, Carp thrives well in England, though better in
ponds than even in the most slow running parts of rivers ; but in Scotland the waters are less adapted for them,
and they breed and grow slowly, even in ponds. Austria and Prussia are the great Carp countries. To their
vegetable food they add insects and worms, if such can be obtained : and when out of the water, they are very
tenacious of life, in consequence of which they are easily extended from pond to pond.]
Of the true Carps there is one race, C. rex carporum, the King of the Carps, which have the scales large, but
often wanting in patches, and sometimes entirely. They are artificially varied, — that is, they occur only in ponds.
Some foreign species are reddish brown, and others golden green, but these are imperfectly known.
Some species want the barbules. Among these are,— C. carassius, having the body high, the lateral line straight,
and the caudal fin squared oflf. This is a northern species. C. gibelio, the Crucian or Prussian Carp, has the body
less elevated, the lateral line curved downwards, and tail fin forked. [It occurs as a British fish, but, perhaps,
not so plentifully as the former]. C, auratus, the Golden Carp, [called Gold Fishes or Silver Fishes, according to
their colour]. These are black when young, but by degrees acquire the golden red for which they are esteemed ;
though some of them are silvery, with various clouds of all the three colours. Some have no dorsal ; others a very
small one ; others, again, a large caudal of three or four lobes ; and others, still, very large eyes ; all of which
varieties are merely accidental, and the results of that artificial treatment which they receive when kept in glass
vessels for ornamental purposes.
Allied to these is the smallest of the European Carps, C. amarus, only about an inch in length ; greenish above,
pale yellow beneath, with a steel-blue line on each side of the tail, in April, which is the spawning season.
Barbus, the Barbel, or Bearded Fish— from the cirri at its mouth— has the dorsal and anal short ; a strong spine
for the second or third dorsal ray ; two cirri at
the point of the muzzle, and two at the angles of
the upper jaw. [B. communis^ the Common
Barbel, known by its long head, is very com-
mon in streams and fish-ponds, and sometimes
grows to the length of ten feet. [In the sluggish
parts of the Thames, and some of its affluents.
Barbel are very plentiful. They are said to
plough up the mud with their noses, which,
setting very small animals adrift in the water,
attracts those small fishes on which the Barbel
feeds.]
Gobio, the Gudgeons, have the dorsal and anal
short, and are without spines or beards. In slow-running rivers, where there is a gravelly interruption, they are
found in vast shoals, readily caught, and, though small in size, esteemed for their flavour.
Tinea, the Tenches, resembling the Gudgeons, but have the scales and cirri very small. The Common Tench
is short and thick, of a yellowish brown, and sometimes beautifully golden. It prefers stagnant waters, and is not
in much estimation as food.
Cirrhinus, have the dorsal larger than the Gudgeons, and the cirri in the central part of the upper lip.
Abramis, Bream, have neither spines nor cirri ; a short dorsal behind the ventrals, or long anal ; and the tail
forked. There are two species, the Carp Bream, and the White Bream ; the first is the largest and most highly
esteemed ; and the other is of little value, except to feed other fishes in ponds.
Labeo. All foreigners ; have neither spines nor cirri along the dorsal, and remarkably thick lips, often furred.
Catostomus, have the lips of the former, but a short dorsal above the ventrals. They are from North America.
Leuciscus : dorsal and anal short ; no spines, cirri, or peculiarities of the lips : species numerous, but little
esteemed. [One species, the Ide, L. idus, has been seen as a British fish ; and besides this there are several
others, as L. dobulus, the Double Roach ; L. utilis, the Roach ; L. vulgaris ; L. Lancasteriensis, the Graining ;
Fig. 142.— Tile barbel.
PISCES.
314
L. cephalus ; L. erythropthalmus, the Red Eye; L, cceruleus, the Azurine; L. alburnus, the Bleak; and L.
phoximis, the Minnow ; but none of them are fishes of any great importance, except as bait for more valuable
ones.]
GonorJiynlms, have the head and body elongated, the operculum covered with small scales, the muzzle angular,
the small mouth without teeth or cirri, three gill-rays, and a small dorsal over the ventrals. Known only in
Southern Africa,
Co6/if?>,Loche, or Loach, have the head small; the body long, covered with small scales, and slimy; the ventral fins
are far backwards, and above them there is a single dorsal ; the mouth is at the end of the muzzle, little cleft, and
without teeth, but having lips forming a sucker, a?id numerous barbules ; the gills have small openings, and only three
rays ; the lower bones of the pharynx are strongly toothed ; no coeca to their intestines, and these are very small ;
their two-lobed air-bladder is inclosed in a case of bone, adhering to the third and fourth vertebrae. There are
three species in the fresh waters of Europe. C. harhatula, the Common Loach, or Beard ie, is a little fish of four or
five inches long, clouded, dotted with brown on a yellow ground, and having six barbules at the mouth. It is not
uncommon in the shallow and clear-running streams ; but on account of its lurking habits, the rapidity of its
swimming when disturbed, and its small size, it is not often seen. Small as it is, its flesh is very good. C.fossilis,
the Pond Loach, is sometimes a foot long, with longitudinal stripes of brown and yellow, and ten barbules to the
mouth. They inhabit the mud of stagnant waters ; and can subsist for a long time after the water has been dried
up, or covered with ice. When the weather is stormy, they rise to the surface of the water, and keep it in a state
of agitation by their motion; and when cold, they bury themselves in the mud. Ehrman states that they
habitually swallow atmospheric air, which is discharged by the vent, after being changed into carbonic acid, —
[a fact which is contrary to the usual physiology of the class]. Their flesh is soft, and has a muddy flavour.
C. tcenia, the Groundling, has six barbules, and the body compressed, of an orange colour, marked with a row of
black spots. It has a large spine behind each nostril. It is the smallest of the species inhabiting the smaller
running waters, and lurking under stones. [It is found in the British rivers, and is probably much more nume-
rous than is generally represented ; but as it is of.no value, it is regarded only by naturalists.]
Anableps. This genus, long, but very improperly, united with Cobitis, has strong peculiar characters. The
eyes are prominent, placed under a sort of roof formed by the side of the frontal ; and the cornea and iris are di-
vided by transverse bands, which gives the fish the appearance of having four eyes, whereas in reality it has only
two. There are certainly two openings to each eye, but still, in its essential parts, the organ is single ; and
whether vision is performed by the anterior or posterior opening, the same sentient organ is acted upon. They
have also the generative and urinal aperture, in the male, placed before the vent ; and the female brings forth her
young alive, and in a state of considerable advancement. The body is cylindrical, with strong scales; there are
five gill -rays; the head is flat; the snout blunt, and the mouth across its extremity, with small crowded teeth in
both jaws ; the intermaxillaries have no peduncle, but are suspended to the nasal bones ; the pectorals are in
part scaly ; the dorsal is small, and nearer the tail than the anal ; the pharyngals are large, and covered with
small globular teeth ; the air-bladder is large ; and their intestine is wide, but without any coeca. Only one spe-
cies, A. tetropthalmusy the Four-eyed, is known. It inhabits the rivers of Guiana.
PoRcilia. These have the jaws horizontally flattened, with a small opening, and furnished with a single row of
small and very fine teeth ; the upper part of the head flat ; the gill-openings large, with five gill-rays ; the body
rather short ; the ventrals rather forward ; and the dorsal and anal against each other. They are small fishes of
the fresh waters of America, and bring forth their young alive.
Labias, resemble the preceding, only the teeth have several points. One species, a very small fish, with little
black streaks on the flanks, is found in Sardinia.
Fungulus, still resemble Poecilia, but their teeth are set like velvet : those in the anterior range are crooked, and
they have strong conical ones in the pharynx. They have only four gill-rays.
Molenesia, have the anal between the ventrals, and immediately under the anterior part of the large dorsal ;
teeth like Fungulus, and four or five gill-rays. [These genera are chiefly found in America.]
Cyprinodon, have fine velvety teeth, and six gill-rays, but in other respects are like the preceding genera.
C. umbra inhabits the lakes, and especially the subterranean waters which are so common in Southern Austria.
They are small fishes, of a russet colour, with brown spots.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
Esocid^ (the Pike Family).
These have no adipose dorsal fin. The margin of the upper jaw is formed by the intermaxillary; or
when not so formed, the maxillary is toothless, and concealed by the lips. These fishes are extremely
voracious ; their intestine is short, and has no cmca ; all of them have an air-bladder. Many species
inhabit the fresh waters, or ascend rivers. With the exception of Microstoma, all the known ones
have the dorsal opposite the anal. Linnaeus included them all in the genus Esooe, but we divide that
genus into the following subgenera : —
Esox, Pikes properly so called, have small intermaxillaries, furnished with small pointed teeth in the middle of
the upper jaw, where they form two rows, but the lateral parts of the maxillaries are without teeth. The vomer,
the palatals, the tongue, the pharynx, and the gill-arches, are roughened with teeth like a card ; and they have, in
MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
315
the sides of the under-jaw, a row of long- and pointed teeth. The muzzle is oblong-, obtuse, broad, and depressed.
They have but one dorsal placed over the anal ; a large forward stomach, continued in a slender intestine with
two flexures, but without coeca ; and their air-bladder is very large.
E. lucius, the Common Pike, Jack, Pickarel, Gedd, and many other names, is well known to every one as the
most voracious and destructive of fishes, but its flesh is good, and easy of digestion. [Besides its fame, as an eater
and as being eaten, Shakspeare has thrown a ray of glory around the Pike by representing it as the “ White Lucie”
in the armorial bearings of the immortal Justice Shallow. In some of the still waters of Britain, Pike of thirty-
four pounds’ weight have been killed. It is generally said that, notwithstanding the havoc which the Pike com-
mits among smaller fishes, it will not stand the attack of a Trout of equal weight, the immense velocity of the
latter fish in swimming giving it a decided advantage]. Besides this, two species have been noticed in the fresh
waters of North America,— £. reticularis, with a net-work of brownish lines ; and E. estor, sprinkled with round
blackish spots.
Galajcius, have no visible scales on the body. The opening of the mouth is small, with middle-sized pointed
teeth in both jaws, the margin of the upper being formed by the intermaxillary, and a few strong crooked teeth on
the tongue. There are pores in the sides of the head ; and the position of the dorsal and anal fins, and also the
digestive organs, are like those of the Pikes.
Alepocephalus. Head naked, body with broad scales, mouth small, teeth minute and crowded, eyes very large,
and eight gill-rays. A. rostratus, the only known species, is found in the depths of the Mediterranean.
Microstoma. Snout very short, lower jaw beyond the upper, jaws and intermaxillaries with very small teeth,
three broad and flat gill-rays, eyes large, body long, lateral line with firm scales, a single dorsal a little in rear of
the ventrals, and digestive organs as in the Pike. The only known species {S. microstoma of Risso) inhabits the
Mediterranean.
Stomias. Snout extremely short, mouth cleft almost to the gills, gill-ray reduced to a little membranous
lamina, and maxillaries fixed in the cheek ; intermaxillaries, palatals, mandibles, and tongue, armed with long and
crooked teeth, widely set; body elongated; ventrals far back; dorsal over the anal, and both near the caudal. Two
species were discovered in the Mediterranean by Risso. Both are black, with rows of silvery spots on the belly.
E. boa, Risso, has no cirri ; S. barbatus, has a long and stout one, attached to the symphisis of the lower jaw.
Chauliodus, resemble the former, but have two teeth in each jaw, across the other jaw when the mouth is shut ;
the dorsal between the pectorals and ventrals, which last are not so far back as in Stomias ; the first dorsal ray
terminates in a filament. C. Sloani, the only known species, has been found only at Gibraltar. It is about a foot
and a half long, and of a deep green colour.
Salanx, have the head depressed, gill-lids folded downwards, and four flat gill-rays ; the jaws short and pointed,
each furnished with a row of crooked teeth ; the upper jaw formed entirely by intermaxillaries without peduncles;
the lower jaw is a little lengthened at the symphisis by a small appendage carrying the teeth; the palate and the
inner part of the mouth are entirely smooth, and there is not even a lingual projection.
Belone. This genus have the upper jaw— which, as well as the under one, is extended into a long beak— com-
posed of the intermaxillaries, and both jaws furnished with small teeth, without any others in the mouth, except
in the pharynx, where they are arranged like a pavement. The body is very long, and covered with scales which
are scarcely visible, except one keeled row on each side, near the under edge of the fish. They are remarkable for
the bright green colour of their bones. One species— the Common Gar-fish, Sea Pike, Mackerel Guide, Green-
bone, and a number of other names— is not uncommon on some parts of the British shores, and as far north as
the Arctic regions. It is of a greenish blue on the upper part, fading gradually into silvery white on the belly.
There are several other species, some of which are said to attain the length of eight feet, and bite very severely.
Notwithstanding the colour of the bones, which renders them repulsive to many persons, the flesh of these fishes
is not unwholesome.
Scomberesox, the Mackerel Pike, or Saury Pike, resembles the former in the length of its snout, its general
shape, and its scales ; but the last rays of the dorsal and anal are detached, and form spurious fins on the upper
and under sides, like those of the Mackerel. They are found in the Mediterranean ; [and the Common Saury is
generally distributed along the British coasts, as far to the northward as the Orkneys]. They are gregarious
fishes ; and are followed and preyed upon by Porpoises, and also by the Tunny, and other large members of the
Mackerel family.
Hemiramphus, resembles the Gar-fish in its general characters, but has the upper jaw short, and the lower one
drawn out into a long beak, without teeth. They are found chiefly in the seas of warm countries, though a stray
one is occasionally met with in the south of England.
Exocetus, [literally, “ Fishes out of the water”]. These are at once distinguished from all the rest of the Abdo-
minal Malacopterygii by the immense size of their pectoral fins, which are sufiiciently large for supporting them
for a few moments in the air. Their head and body are scaly, with a line of keeled scales along each flank ; their
head is flat above, and laterally; the dorsal over the anal ; the eye is large ; the intermaxillaries without peduncles,
and found in the margin of the upper jaw ; both jaws have small pointed teeth, and the pharynx pavement teeth ;
they have ten gill-rays ; their air-bladder is very large ; their intestine straight, and without coeca ; and the lower
lobe of the caudal fin much larger than the upper. They do not fly, in the strict sense of the term, but merely rise
from the water to escape voracious fishes, and soon fall again,— their fins merely serving as parachutes, and being
incapable of taking a new stroke in the air, as is done by a wing. They are found in all the seas of the warm
climates ; and it would seem that they have more enemies than most other fishes, for while the voracious fishes
pursue and capture them in the water, the long-winged sea-birds seize them in the air ; and between themselves
316
PISCES^
and their swimming and flying enemies, they furnish one of the most singular sights in the warm seas. E. exilens,
common in the Mediterranean, has the ventral fins long, and in rear of the middle of the body. E. volitans, com-
mon in the Atlantic, has the ventral fins small, and placed further forwards. The latter species sometimes visits
the British shores, in single individuals, and even in shoals. They can leap more than two hundred yards in
distance, and upwards of twenty feet in height. Their food is understood to be the small floating Mollusca ; and
themselves are good eating.
Next to the Pike family, there is placed a genus of fishes which, though differing hut little from
that family in other respects, has longer intestines, and two coeca. It will probably give rise to a new
family. This is Mormyrus, having the body compressed, oblong, and scaly ; tail thin at the base, but
swelling near the fin ; skin of the head naked, covering the operculum and gill-rays, and leaving no
opening for the latter but a vertical fissure, which has led some naturalists to assert that these fishes have
no gill-lids, and only one gill-ray, whereas their gill-lids are perfect, and their rays five or six. Their
gape is small, and resembles that of the Ant-eater, the angles being formed by the maxillaries. The
teeth are small, notched at the extremities, and occupy the intermaxillaries and lower jaw ; and there
are bands of small crowded ones on the vomer and tongue. The stomach is a roundish sac, followed
by a slender intestine with two coeca, almost always covered with fat ; and the air-bladder is long, large,
and simple. They are accounted among the best fishes of the Nile. Two species have a cylindrical
muzzle, — the one having a long dorsal, and the other a short one ; a third has both the snout and dorsal
short ; and in a fourth, the forehead forms a protuberance advancing in front of the mouth. There are
various other species in the Nile [and probably also in the other African rivers], but they have not
been described.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
SiLURiD^ (the Sheat-fish Family.)
These fishes are distinguished from all the rest of the order hy the want of true scales, having only a
naked skin, or large bony plates. The intermaxillaries, suspended under the ethmoid, form the margin
of the upper jaw ; and the maxillary bones are either simple vestiges, or extended into cirri. The in-
testinal canal is large, folded, and without coeca. The air-bladder is large, and adheres to a peculiar
apparatus of bones. A strong articulated spine generally forms the first ray of the dorsal and the pec-
torals ; and there is sometimes an adipose dorsal behind the other, as in the Salmon family. The fol-
lowing are the genera and subgenera : —
Silurus. — These form a numerous genus, known by the naked skin, from the mouth being cleft in the
end of the muzzle, and from a strong spine in the first ray of the dorsal. This spine is articulated only to
the bones of the shoulder ; and the fish can at pleasure lay it flat on the body, or keep it fixed in a per-
pendicular direction, in which case it is a formidable weapon, and wounds inflicted by it are understood
to be poisoned, which opinion has arisen from tetanus sometimes following the wound, not from poison
certainly, but from the ragged nature of the wound itself.
These fishes have the head depressed ; the intermaxillaries suspended under the ethmoid, and not
protractile ; the maxillaries very small, but almost always continued in barbules attached to the lower
lip, and also to the nostrils ; the covering of their gills is without sub-operculum or gill-flap ; their air-
bladder, strong and heart-shaped, is attached, by its two upper lobes, to a peculiar bony structure, which
again is attached to the first vertebra ; the stomach is a fleshy cul-de-sac, having the intestinal canal
long and wide, but without coeca. They abound in the rivers of warm countries ; and seeds of plants
are found in the stomach of many of their species. The following are the suhgenera : —
Silurus, properly so called, with only a small fln of four rays on the fore part of the back, but with the anal very
long, and approaching very close to the base of the caudal. There is no obvious spine in the dorsal; and the teeth
in both jaws, and in the vomer, are like those of a card. S. glanis, the Sly Silurus, is the largest fresh-water fish
of Europe, and the only member of the genus in this quarter of the world. It is smooth, of a greenish black
spotted with black above, and yellowish white below ; head large, with six cirri,— two large ones near the nostrils,
and four shorter on the lower jaw. It sometimes grows to six feet in length, and weighs three hundred pounds.
It is found in the slow-running rivers of Central Europe, and lurks in the mud to watch for its prey. Its flesh is
greasy, and is sometimes employed as hog’s-lard. [It is named as a British fish, but its visits to these shores are
very rare.] Is found in the rivers of Asia and Africa.
Schilbus, have the body vertically compressed, a strong toothed spine in the dorsal, the head small and depressed,
the nape suddenly raised, and the eyes low down. They have eight cirri, are found in the Nile, and their flesh is
MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES,
317
less disagreeable than that of the other Siluri. Some American species, with the head small, rounded, and blunt,
having tln-ee cirri, and the eyes scarcely perceptible, may form a new subgenus.
Mystus, are Siluri with a second or adipose dorsal fin. They are found in the waters of Guiana.
body naked, and no lateral armature; but the subgenus requires division and subdivision. First,
Bagrus has small crowded teeth in both jaws and the vomer, and may be subdivided by the number of cirri, and
the shape of the head. With eight cirri, some have the head long and depressed, and others short and broad.
With six cirri, some have the snout as depressed, and broader than that of the Pike ; others have the head oval,
and a kind of helmet of shagreen-like bones ; in others, the head is round and naked ; while others, again, have
the head greatly depressed, the eyes low down, and the adipose fin very small ; and there are yet others which
have only four cirri. [Some of these, as Pimelodes cyclopum, are ejected in hot water from volcanoes.]
Pimelodes, properly so called, want the teeth in the vomer, but often have them in the palate ; the cirri and
form of the head differ more than in the preceding subgenus; some have but a single row of teeth ; some have the
head helmeted, and a distinct bony plate between the helmet and the dorsal spine ; others have a single plate from
the snout to the dorsal ; others, again, have the head oval and naked ; some with six cirri, and others eight ; some
with a large naked head are called Cats, which have six or eight cirri ; then there are others which have the head
small and flat, the dorsal minute, and the teeth scarcely perceptible ; there are others still which have teeth on the
palatals, sometimes like velvet, or like a card, with a buckler on the nape, distinct or united to the helmet, and
tha'palatal teeth sometimes like a helmet ; some singular ones have teeth like a card, under the skin of the cheek,
and moveable ; others yet have a lengthened snout, or a pointed one, nearly toothless. These last lead to,—
Synodoniis, with the snout narrow, and the lower jaw supporting an assemblage of teeth laterally flattened,
ending in hooks, and individually attached to flexible peduncles. The helmet extends in one plate to the first
spine of the dorsal, which is very strong, as are also those of the pectorals ; the cirri, afld sometimes the maxil-
laries, are barbed. They are found in the Nile and other African rivers, but are not eaten.
Ageniosus. Some of these have the maxillary turned up in a kind of toothed horn, instead of a fleshy cirrus ;
and others have it concealed under the skin, with the dorsal and pectoral spines scarcely visible.
Doras, have an adipose dorsal, with plates in the lateral line, armed with keels or spines ; the dorsal and pectoral
spines strongly toothed, the helmet rough, and the shoulder-bone pointed backwards. Some have teeth only in
the upper jaw; others have the snout pointed, and the teeth absent, or hardly visible, with occasional lateral
bristles to the cirri.
Heterobranchus, head broad, from the helmet having two lateral pieces of the frontal and parietal bones ; oper-
culum smaller, but with a tree-like ramification on the third and fourth gill-arch, as a sort of supplemental gills.;
viscera like the rest of the.family, but they have from eight to fourteen gill-rays, strong pectoral spines, no dorsal
one, and the body long and naked. They inhabit the rivers of Africa, and some of those of Asia. Their flesh is
indifferent, or bad.
One of them, however, Macropteronotes, with a single indented dorsal, constitutes a considerable article of food
in Egypt and Syria, where it is called the Sharmuth, or Black Fish. Others have a dorsal with rays, and also an
adipose one. Protosus, have a second dorsal, with rays ; and this and the anal long, and uniting to form a tail
like an Eel ; lips fleshy ; conical teeth in front of the mouth, globular ones behind, and those above placed on the
vomer; skin naked; nine or ten gill-rays ; eight cirri; and a singular branched appendage behind the vent, be-
sides the tubercle common to the family. Some have large and toothed dorsal and ventral spines ; others have
them almost concealed under the skin. They are found in the East Indies.
Callichthys, have the sides armed with four rows of scaly plates ; head the same, but the snout and under-part
of the body naked ; one ray in the second dorsal ; pectoral spines strong, and dorsal one feeble ; mouth small ;
teeth barely visible ; four cirri ; eyes small, and lateral. They can crawl out of the water like an Eel. [These are
the subgenera of Silurus] .
Malaptherurus, has no dorsals with rays, but only a small adipose one in the tail, and no spines in the pectorals.
The skin is smooth ; the teeth small and crowded, and are ranged into a broad crescent in each jaw ; there are
seven gill-rays ; and the jaws and viscera are like those of Silurus. M. electricus,X\ie Raasch, or Thunder-fish of
the Arabs, is the only known species. It has six cirri, and the head more slender than the body, but enlarged in
front. Like the Torpedo and Gymnotus, it can communicate an electric shock, the organ of which is situated
between the skin and muscles, and consists of a cellular tissue, inclosing a fluid, and abundantly furnished with
nerves. It is found in the Nile, and the rivers of Central Africa.
Aspredo, have the head flattened, and the anterior part of the body much widened ; the tail long; the eyes small,
and placed upwards ; the intermaxillaries under the ethmoid directed backwards, and with teeth on the posterior
edge only ; and they have the whole gill apparatus immoveable, being soldered to the temporal bone and the pre-
operculum ; gill-opening a mere slit behind the head, the membrane of five rays adhering everywhere else ; the
lower jaw is transverse, and shorter than the snout ; the first ray of the pectorals is more toothed than in any
other of the family ; there is but one dorsal, with a weak first ray ; but the anal is long, extending under the long
and slender tail. Some have six cirri, some eight ; and, in the latter case, one pair are attached to the maxillaries,
the others to the lower jaw in pairs.
Loricaria, have hard angular plates on the head and body ; small intermaxillaries suspended under
the muzzle ; transverse disunited mandibles, supporting hooked teeth, which are long, slender, and
flexible. A large membranous veil encircles the opening ; the pharynx is furnished wdth numerous
pavement teeth ; the gill-lids are immoveable, but two small plates supply their places ; they have four
PISCES<
318
gill-rays; strong spines in the first dorsal, pectorals, and even ventrals ; but neither coeca nor air-bladder.
They form two subgenera : —
Hypostomufy have a small dorsal with one ray ; the labial veiled with papillae, with a small cirrus on each side ;
no plates on the belly ; and the intestines spirally convoluted, and as slender as a thread. They inhabit the
rivers of South America.
Loricaria, have one dorsal forwards, the labial veiled with cirri, plates on the under parts of the body, and the
intestines moderately large.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
Salmonid^ (the Salmon, or Trout, Family).
According to Linnseus, these formed but one great genus, characterized by a scaly body, all the rays
of the first dorsal soft, and the second dorsal adipose, or formed of skin inclosing fat, and without rays.
They have numerous coeca, and an air-bladder. Most of them ascend rivers ; and their fiesh is highly
esteemed. They are naturally voracious ; and as the form and armature of their jaws vary greatly,
they may be arranged into the following subgenera : —
Salmo, Salmon and Trout, properly so called. — These have great part of the margin of the upper
jaw formed of the maxillaries ; a row of pointed teeth in the maxillaries, the intermaxillaries„ the
palatals, and mandibularies, and two rows on the vomer, the tongue, and the pharynx, — being, in fact,
the most completely toothed of all fishes. In old males, the extremity of the lower jaw is bent up
towards the palate, where a groove receives it when the mouth is shut. The ventrals are under the
first dorsal, and the anals under the adipose one. They have six gill-rays, or thereabouts ; the stomaeh
is long and narrow, with numerous coeca ; their air-bladder extends the whole length of the abdomen,
and communicates anteriorly with the gullet. Many species are spotted, and their fiesh is in general
very good. They ascend rivers to spawn, often leaping over cascades of considerable elevation, and
finding their way to the brooks and small lakes of the most lofty mountains. [They are understood to
return almost invariably to the rivers in which they are produced ; and therefore the fixing, at the
mouth of a river, of any sort of bar to their progress upwards, is sure to drive them from the estuary.
According to Mr. Yarrell, one of the very best authorities, all the family are clouded with transverse
dusky patches when very young, — analogous to what occur on all the species of Cats.]
S. salar, the Salmon properly so called, is the largest of the genus, with red flesh, and irregular brown spots,
which disappear in fresh water ; the cartilaginous beak of the male is not much hooked. They inhabit the seas
of comparatively cold regions, whence they ascend the rivers for the purpose of spawning, at different times of
the year according to the climate,— some in autumn, some in winter, and some in early spring. [The efforts
which they make to overcome difficulties in the ascent are very great ; and when they have made some progress
up the fresh water, it is equally cruel and impolitic to capture them. It should seem that, in most of the British
rivers, Salmon are diminishing in numbers, and becoming inferior in quality, the cause of which has not been
explained in a satisfactory manner. In Ireland, where they have more recently become an article of commerce,
they are found in considerable abundance. Salmon Fry have the tail forked, and the fork disappears as the fish
advances in age ; but the margin does not become convex, as in the Bull-trout.] S. humatus, is whitish, spotted
with red and black ; and the snout of the male is narrow, and much crooked in the lower jaw. Its teeth are more
robust than those of the true Salmon, and its flesh as red ; but it is inferior in quality. It is found in the mouths
of rivers. S. Sckiefermulleri, the Sea-trout, is smaller than the former, with the teeth more slender and longer.
Tlie flanks are sprinkled with small crescent-shaped spots, and the flesh is paler than that of the Salmon. S.
hucho [perhaps the Bull-trout, or Gray Trout], grows to almost the size of the Salmon, and has strong teeth, and
a pointed lower jaw in the male.
The remaining Trouts are found in all the clear streams of Europe, especially among mountains ; and they are
subject to great variations from age, food, and the nature of the waters ; but these do not appear to account for all
the differences. [In the same river, Trout are yellowish brown, with bright crimson spots, where the water is fine
and pure ; and lurid and dark, and greatly inferior in flavour, where it is tinged with peat.] S. lemanus^ Geneva
Trout, found in that lake, and some neighbouring ones ; ground colour whitish, with pmall blackish spots on the
head and back ; sometimes forty or fifty pounds in weight : the flesh is white. S. trutta, Salmon Trout, bluish
black above, pale on the sides, silvery on the belly, with cross-shaped spots towards the upper part, migratory in
clear streams, and esteemed next in value to the Salmon. [It varies a good deal in colour ; and, from its silvery
lustre, it is called White Trout in some parts of Britain.] S. fario, the Common, or River Trout, is generally
smaller than the last, spotted with brown on the back, and crimson on the flanks,— the crimson spots usually sur-
rounded by a pale-coloured circle ; common in all the clear streams of temperate countries, and sometimes found
two feet and a half long, and fifteen pounds in weight. [The Gillaroo Trout of the Irish lakes appears to be a
variety, in which the internal coating of the stomach is modified a little to suit the nature of the food. S. ferox,
the Great Grey Trout, inhabits the deeper lakes, and grows to a large size, but its flesh is inferior.] S. savelinus,
MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
319
the Welsh Char, or Torgoch, has red spots in the flanks, an orange belly, and red pectorals, with the first ray very
thick and white. S. alpinus, nearly the same colour, but the first rays of the lower fins not so much distinguished.
It abounds in Lapland, where it is very valuable. S. umbla, Northern Char, found in various British lakes, and
also in the Lake of Geneva. [There are various other members of the genus Salmo, but the line of distinction be- i
tween species and variety is sometimes not easily drawn.]
Osmerus, the Smelt, has two rows of teeth on each palatal, but only a few in front of the vomer. Form like a
Trout, but only eight gill-rays, and the body brilliant silvery, with some greenish reflections, but with no spots.
[Found abundantly in some estuaries of British rivers at particular seasons, but very local. It seldom exceeds,
and rarely equals, a foot in length. Its flesh is delicious.]
Mallotus, mouth like the preceding, but teeth very small and crowded, and only in the jaws, palate, and tongue;
eight gill-rays, body lengthened, and small scales ; first dorsal and ventrals behind the middle, pectorals large,
round, and nearly meeting beneath. The only known species, S. groenlandicus, the Capelin, classed by Gmelin
among the Herrings, is remarkably abundant on the shores of Newfoundland, and used as bait in the Cod fisheries,
[and sometimes as manure for the land].
Thymallus, the Grayling, has the jaws like a Trout, but the mouth small, and the teeth remarkably fine ; first
dorsal long and high, scales much larger than on a Trout, stomach thick, and seven or eight gill-rays ; first dorsal
long, as high as the body, spotted with black, and occasionally with red, with dusky bars on the large dorsal.
Recent it smells like wild thyme, and when cooked in its perfume it is a dainty dish.
Coregonus, the Gurniad, has the mouth as in the last, but with few teeth, and sometimes none, the scales
larger, and the dorsal shorter. There are many species or varieties of this genus ; some in the sea, others in the
fresh waters only, and one occurs in several British lakes. [C. Willughbii, the Vendace, is found in some lakes of
the south of Scotland. It feeds on insects, and very minute fresh-water Crustacea.]
Argentina, has the mouth small and toothless, but strong hooked teeth on the tongue, and small ones before
the vomer, six gill-rays, and the digestive organs like those of a Trout. A. sphynena, the only known species,
has the air-bladder thick, and very much loaded with nacre— the silvery substance used in counterfeiting pearls ;
it is found in the Mediterranean. The following subgenera, which have the numerous cceca of the Salmon, and
the double air-bladder of the Carps, have not more than four or five gill-rays.
Crimata, externally like Thymallus, and some of them have the same teeth, differing only in the gill-rays.
Others have teeth in both jaws, sharp and directed forwards. They inhabit the American rivers.
Anastomus, like Thymallus, and with small teeth in both jaws, but the lower jaw is so turned up and enlarged
at the point, that the mouth appears a vertical slit.
Gastropelecus, mouth as in the last, but abdomen compressed, projecting, and sharp ; ventrals small and far
back, first dorsal over the anal ; upper teeth conical, lower ones notched and trenchant.
Plabucus, have the head small, the mouth shallow, a compressed body, the ventral keel entire and sharp, a long
anal, and the first dorsal opposite its commencement.
Serrasalmus, has the body compressed, the belly toothed and sharp, and frequently a spine in front of the
dorsal. The known species inhabit the South American rivers ; and, it is said, pursue ducks, and even bathers ;
wounding them severely with their teeth, which are triangular, notched, and very sharp.
Tetragonopterus, has teeth as in the former, but the mouth smaller, and no keel or tooth on the belly.
Chalceus, with the same mouth and teeth, has the body oblong, and the teeth on the maxillaries small and
rounded.
Myteles, with triangular teeth hollowed in the crowns, and three points at the corners, mouth shallow, with two
rows on the intermaxillaries, but none on the palate, the maxillaries, or the tongue. Some have the elevated
form, falchion-shaped fins, spine directed forwards, and even the sharp and toothed belly, of Serrasalmus, but
not the teeth. One American species grows large, and is good eating. Others have simply an elongated body,
and the first dorsal between the ventrals and the anal. These are Egyptian.
Hydrocyon, have the point of the muzzle formed by the intermaxillaries, the maxillaries nearer before the eyes,
and completing the aperture; the tongue and vomer are always smooth, but the jaws have conical teeth, and the
large suborbital covers the cheek like an operculum. Some have a close range of small teeth on the maxillaries
and the palatals, and the dorsal fin between the ventrals and anals. They inhabit the tropical rivers, and
taste like Carp. Others have a double row of teeth in the intermaxillaries and lower jaw, a single row in the
maxillaries, and none in the palate ; the first is over the ventrals. They inhabit Brazil. Others, again, have a
single row in the maxillaries and lower jaw, with the teeth alternately very long and very sharp, and lodging in
holes of the upper jaw when the mouth is shut ; there are large scales upon the lateral line, and the first dorsal
is between the ventral and the anal. They are also from Brazil. A fourth type have the muzzle prominent and
pointed, the maxillaries very short, and with the lower jaw and intermaxillaries with a single row of closely-set
teeth; the first is between the ventral and anal, and they have large scales. They too are from Brazil. Others,
yet, have no teeth in the maxillaries or lower jaw, and what they have are few, but strong and pointed ; their first
dorsal is directly over the ventrals. They inhabit the Nile.
Cetharinus, have the mouth depressed, cleft at the end of the muzzle, and the upper margin entirely formed by
the intermaxillaries ; the maxillaries are small and toothless, occupying only the commissure ; the tongue and
palate both smooth, the adipose, dorsal, and great part of the caudal, covered with scales. Found in the Nile.
Some have three small teeth in the upper jaw, and the body elevated, but the belly not sharp or toothed. Others
have many ranks of close teeth on the jaws, which teeth are slender and forked, and the fishes themselves are
elongated.
ftaurus, muzzle short, gape cleft far behind the eyes, margin of the upper jaw composed wholly of intermaxil-
320
PISCES.
laries, long’ pointed teeth on the jaws, the palatals, and on the tongue and pharynx, but none on the vomer; eight
or nine, often twelve or fifteen, gill-rays : the first dorsal a little behind the large ventrals ; the body, cheeks, and
gill lid are scaly, the intestines like those of Trouts. They are marine fishes, and exceedingly voracious. One is
found in the Mediterranean, a transparent one in the lake of Mexico, and several in India, where they are dried
and salted as a relish.
Scopelus, have the gape and the gill openings very deep. Both jaws with very small teeth, the margin of the
upper formed entirely by the intermaxillai'ies, the tongue and palate smooth, muzzle very short and blunt, nine
or ten gill-rays, a first dorsal between the ventrals and anal, and a second, in which there are slight vestiges of
rays. One small species in the Mediterranean has brilliant silver spots on the belly and tail.
Aulopus, combines the characters of Salmon and Cod. Their gape is wide, their intermaxillaries forming the
whole margin of the upper jaw ; their palatals, the front part of the vomer, and the lower jaw with a band of card-
shaped teeth, but the tongue and flat part of the palate are only rough. The maxillaries are large and toothless,
as in many fishes, their ventrals are under the pectorals, with the external rays thick and unforked. The first
dorsal answers to the first half of the space between the ventrals and anal. They have twelve gill-rays, and large
scales upon the cheeks, gill-lids, and body. One species inhabits the Mediterranean.
Sternoptyx, are little fishes with high compressed body, the mouth directed upwards, their humeral bones
forming a trenchant crest forwards, and terminating below in a little spine. The pelvis formed by a small spine
before the ventrals. There are small grooves on each side of the pelvic crest, which has been considered as a ster-
num, and hence their name. They have an osseous crest before the first dorsal, and a little membrane answering to
the second. The borders of the mouth are formed by the maxillaries. Two species are found in the Atlantic, which
may become types of two distinct genera. One of these has five gill-rays, the other nine.
THB FIFTH FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES.
Clupeid^ (the Herring Family).
These have no adipose dorsal, and, as the Trout, they have their upper jaw formed in the middle by
intermaxillaries 'without peduncles, and the sides by maxillaries. Their bodies are always scaly, and
most of them have an air bladder and many coeca. Few of them ascend rivers, though they appear
periodically upon the shores.
Clupea, the Herrings, have the intermaxillaries narrow and short, forming but a small portion of the
jaw, which is completed on the* sides by protractile maxillaries. The lower edge of the compressed
body is notched by scales, resembling the teeth of a saw. The gill openings are so wide that the fishes
die almost the instant they are out of the water. The gill arches towards the mouth pectinated, the
stomach is an elongated sac, the air bladder long and pointed, and their bones are very slender and
numerous. They consist of several suhgenera.
Clupea, Herrings properly so called, with the mouth mean-sized, and the upper lip entire. C. harengus needs
no description ; it appears periodically in numerous shoals, [but does not breed in the Polar seas, as was once
stated, as it gets southward into warm latitudes. Its flesh is dry and inferior]. C7. sprattus resembles the Herring,
but is much smaller. C. alba, White Bait, a small and delicate species, resorts to the top of the brackish water
to mature its spawn. It is found in various estuaries, and is highly esteemed. C. pilchardus is about the size of
the Herring, but has the dorsal more forward. It inhabits more southernly than the Herring, and is caught in
vast numbers on the coast of Cornwall. C. sardina, the Sardine, is like the Pilchard, only smaller. It is taken
in the Mediterranean, where the Herring is unknown, and also on the west coast of France. Its flavour is highly
esteemed.
Alosa, has a notch in the middle of the upper jaw, but is in other respects like the Pilchard and Sardine. A. vul-
garis, the Shad, is much larger and thicker than the Herring, growing to three feet in length, and it has no teeth,
and a black spot behind the gills. In spring it ascends rivers, when it is much esteemed ; but when taken in the
sea is dry and disagreeable. A.finta, the Twaite Shad, has teeth in the jaws, and five or six dark spots along the
side. It is the Common Shad of the British rivers ; but is considered inferior to the Common Shad, or Alice Shad,
as it is called, which, as a British fish, is by no means so common.
Chatoessus, resembles a Herring, only the first dorsal ray is prolonged in the filament. Some have the jaws
equal, the muzzle not prominent, and the mouth small and without teeth. Others have the muzzle prominent, but
the mouth small. The fibres of the first gills unite with those on the opposite side, and form under the palate
curious pinnated points. These are from the warm seas, and they complete the subgenera of Clupea as at present
arranged, though the following come appropriately after the Herrings, inasmuch as they have the belly sharp and
notched.
Odontognathus, have the body very compressed, with three sharp teeth near the vent, a long but narrow anal,
a small and feeble dorsal, which is always broken, six gill-rays, the maxillaries prolonged and a little pointed, and
furnished with small teeth directed forwards, and no apparent ventrals. One species from Cayenne is known,
resembling a small Sardine, but having the body more compressed.
Pristigaster, head and teeth as in the Herrings, four gill-rays, ventrals generally wanting, belly compressed,
arched, and toothed. They are found in both oceans.
MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATI.
321
Notopterus. Gill-lids and cheeks scaly; the suborbitals, pre-operculum, and operculum have two crests ; the lower
jaw is keeled, the belly toothed, and the palatals and jaws have fine teeth ; the upper jaw formed in great part of
the maxillaries. Tlieir tongue is set with strong crooked teeth ; they have one strong and bony gill-ray ; ventrals
hardly visible, followed by a long anal, which occupies three-fourths of the length, and is united, as in Gpmnotus,
with the fins of the tail and back ; opposite the middle of the anal there is a small dorsal with soft rays. They
are found in the stagnant fresh waters of India, being the Gymnotus notopterus of Pallas.
the Anchovies, distinguished from the
Herrings by the mouth being more deeply cleft, the
gill-openings wider, and ten or twelve gill-rays.
The small intermaxillaries are fixed under a little
pointed snout, in advance of the mouth, and the
maxillaries are long and straight. E. enchrasicho-
Fig. 143 —The Anchovy. lus, the Common Anchovy, so well known for its
rich and peculiar flavour, is about a span long,
bluish above, silveiy below, the abdomen not trenchant, the anal short, and the dorsal over the ventrals. Taken
in vast numbers in the Mediterranean, and less abundantly in the ocean. E. mdetta is a Mediterranean species.
E. edentulus, an American species, without teeth.
Thryssa, differs from the Anchovies in having the belly toothed, and the maxillaries very long. It is an East
Indian subgenus.
Megalops. Fins and jaws generally formed like those of the Herring, but the belly not trenchant, nor the body
compressed ; teeth in the jaws and palate very small and numerous ; from twenty-one to twenty-four gill-rays ;
and the last ray of the dorsal, and often of the anal, extended in a filament. One American species, the Apalite, is
found twelve feet long, has fifteen rays in the dorsal, and a filament to that in the anal. An Indian species has
seventeen dorsal rays.
Elops, resembles the former, but is rather longer, wants the dorsal filament, has more than twenty gill-rays,
and the caudal with a flat spine above and below.
Buterinus, has jaws like those of a Herring, a round and lengthened body, and prominent snout ; the mouth
shallow ; the jaws with small, crowded teeth ; and the tongue, vomer, and palate, have rounded ones, also closely
set. There are twelve or thirteen gill-rays. This and the former genus are beautiful fishes, of a silvery colour,
with many bones and coeca, and they grow to a large size.
Chirocentrus, has the upper jaw as in the Herring, with a row of stout conical teeth in both jaws, the two middle
ones in front very long ; the tongue and gill-arches toothed like a card, but not the palatal or vomer ; seven or
eight gill- rays, the latter ones very broad; a pointed scale above and beneath each pectoral ; body long, com-
pressed, and sharp, but not toothed on the belly ; ventrals very small, and shorter than the anal, which is opposite;
stomach and air-bladder long and slender. Only one known species, of the Indian Ocean, and silvery.
Hyodon, has the form of a Herring, but the belly not toothed, eight or nine gill-rays, and the teeth and the
mouth like those of a Trout. Found in the fresh waters of North America.
Erythrmus. Upper jaw almost entirely formed of the maxillaries ; conical teeth in the edges of each jaw ; crowded
teeth in the palatals ; five broad gill-rays ; head round, blunt, with hard bones, but no scales ; body oblong, com-
pressed, with scales like Carp ; dorsal opposite the ventrals ; stomach and air-bladder large ; coeca small. Found
in the tropical rivers, and esteemed as food.
Atnia, have the head like the last, but twelve gill-rays, and a hard buckler on the under-jaw; pavement-teeth
behind the conical ones ; nostrils tubular; stomach large ; intestine wide, and with no coeca ; air-bladder cellular,
like the lung of a Reptile. Found in the rivers of the southern states of America, feeds on Crustacea, and is
rarely eaten.
fresh-water fishes resembling Erythrinus, but having the dorsal and anal placed opposite each other, and
occupying the last third of the body. They inhabit the rivers of tropical countries.
Osterglossum, differs from the last by having two cind suspended from the lower jaw, and the tongue closely
toothed like a rasp. A large species inhabits Brazil.
Lepisosteus, have long teeth in the edges of the jaws, and their anterior surfaces rasp-like ; the scales as hard
.as stone ; the dorsal and anal opposite, and far back ; the intestine with two folds, and numerous coeca ; air-bladder
cellular. Of tropical America, grow large, and are good eating.
Porypterus. Sides of the upper jaw immoveable ; head covered with sharpened bony plates; body with strong
scales ; one gill-ray ; a number of separate fins on the back ; the teeth like a rasp, with long ones in front ; the
stomach large ; double air-bladder, with large lobes, the left one opening freely into the gullet. They are found
in the African rivers, and are eatable.
THE THIRD ORDER OF BONY FISHES,—
MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATI,—
Have the ventrals under the pectorals, and the pelvis suspended to the shoulder-bones.
[They are thus better adapted for ascending and descending than the abdominal fishes.]
322
PISCES.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATI.
Gadid^ (the Cod Family).
This family are almost wholly included in the great genus Gadus, easily known by having the
ventrals inserted under the throat, and pointed. The body is moderately long, a little compressed,
and covered with small soft scales ; the head is well-proportioned, hut naked; all their fins are soft;
the jaws and front of the vomer have unequal-pointed teeth, of medium or small size, disposed m
several rows, like a card or rasp ; the gill-openings are large, and there are seven rays. Most of them
have two or three fins on the back, some behind the vent, and a distinct caudal fin. The stomach is a
large and strong sac; and the intestine long, with numerous cmca. The air-bladder is large and strong,
and often notched in the margins. The greater number live in the cold or temperate seas, and furnish
a most important branch of the fisheries. Their flesh is white, easily separable into flakes, and, gene-
rally speaking, wholesome, easy of digestion, and agreeable to the palate. [Taken altogether, they are
probably more really serviceable to Man than any other family of fishes. Their reproductive powers
are great, and their numbers countless ; and they have the advantage of being generally found in vast
shoals, at particular places.] They can be subdivided as follows
Morrhua, Cod, properly so called, with three dorsals, two anals, and a cirrus at the point of the lower jaw. They
are the most numerous and valuable of the family, consisting ofthree sections, or species G. morrhua, the Cod,
two or three feet long, with the back spotted brown and yellow ; inhabits all the north seas, and multiplies exceed-
ingly in the colder latitudes. They are taken in vast numbers for salting, and also for immediate use. [Their
appearance and quality vary a good deal with the nature of the ground.] G. <jeglefinus, the Haddock, brown on
the back, silvery on the belly, with the lateral line, and a spot behind the pectoral fin, black. Almost as numerous
in northern latitudes as the Cod, but less esteemed. [When the Haddock is taken in deep and clear water, it is
perhaps the most delicate, and at the same time the most savoury of the whole family ; but it does not take salt
so well as Cod.] G. callarius, the Dorse, spotted like the Cod, but smaller, and with the upper jaw longest. It is
much esteemed in the north, when eaten fresh. [Besides these, there are various sub-species, or varieties, of all
the three kinds, some of them found on the British shores.]
Merlangus, the Whiting, with the same fins as Cod, but no cirri. Of these, G. merlangus, the Wliiting, is well
known from its abundance, and the lightness of its flesh. It is pale, reddish grey above, silvery below, has a long
upper jaw, and is about a foot in length. G. carbonarius, the Coal-fish, twice the size of the Whiting, blackish
brown, with the upper jaw short, and the lateral line straight. The flesh of the full-grown one is coarse and tough,
but it takes salt like Cod. G. polacMus, the Pollock, jaws like the Coal-fish, brown above, spotted on the flanks,
and silvery below. It is abundant in the Atlantic ; and better than the Coal-fish, but inferior to the Whiting.
Merluccius, the Hake, with only two dorsals, one anal, and no cirri, sometimes exceeds two feet ; the back
brownish grey, the first dorsal pointed, and the lower jaw longest. It is a coarse fish, but captured in great
numbers, and salted. There are some species in high southern latitudes.
Lota, the Ling (which means the Long Fish), has two dorsals, one anal, and some cirri at the mouth. G. molva,
from three to four feet long, olive above, silvery beneath, dorsals equally high, lower jaw a little shorter than the
upper, and with a cirrus. This species salts well, and is not inferior to Cod : hence it is a very valuable object in
the fisheries.
G. lota, the Burbot, from one to two feet long, yellow mottled with brown, dorsals of equal height, and one
cirrus; head slightly depressed, and body cylindrical. It ascends rivers, and its flesh and flavour are highly
esteemed. [The livers of most of the family are large, and furnish a great deal of oil, highly valuable in the dress-
ing of leather, and other operations of the arts.]
Motella, the Rockling. Body lengthened, first dorsal scareely perceptible, second and anal very long, and three
or more cirri. M. vulgaris, the Three-bearded Rockling, has two cirri on the nose, and one on the lower jaw. It
is fawn-coloured, with brown spots. M. quinquecirrata, the Five-bearded, has four cirri on the upper part, and
one on the chin. It is dark -brown on the upper part, and seldom attains any considerable size.
M. glauca, theMackarel Midge, is about an inch and a quarter long, bluish-green on the upper part, and silvery
below, and on the fins. M. argenteola, the Silvery Gade, is also a small fish, with three cirri, and coloured nearly
like the former.
Brosmius, the Torsk, is a northern species, with a long body, a dorsal along the whole back, one barbule on the
under jaw, and the ventrals fleshy. It grows to the largest size in its native north,
Brotula, from the West Indian seas, with the dorsal, anal, and caudal, forming one fin, which ends in a point.
Phgcis, Fork-beard, have a single ray in each ventral, which is produced and forked. They have also a small
barbule on the chin. There are one or two British species.
Raniceps, the Tadpole Fish, has the head broad and depressed, and the first dorsal scarcely visible.
Lepidoleprus, a separate genus, having some relation to the Cod. Their suborbitals are united with the nasal j
bone, and form a depressed muzzle, advancing before the mouth, which, however, retains its mobility. Head ; |
and body with hard spinous scales ; the ventrals are a little on the throat; the pectorals of mean size ; the first li
dorsal high ; the second dorsal, anal, and caudal united ; the jaws short ; the teeth fine and short. They inhabit |
MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATL
323
I
deep water, and utter a grumbling- sound when drawn up to the surface. Two species are known, inhabiting the
depths of the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
I
|l
I
ill
!
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIAT!.
Pleuronectid^ (the Flat-fish, or Flounder Family).
These are all ineluded in the great genus Pleuronectes, which have a character quite unique among
vertehrated animals : this consists in the want of symmetry in the head. [An animal is said to be sym-
metrical when it is supposed to be divided in a mesial plane, or plane exactly along the middle, in a
vertical direction, — the two sides being the exact counterparts of each other, and differing in nothing
but in the one being turned to the right, and the other to the left.] These fishes have both eyes on
one si le, and this side always remains uppermost when the animal is swimming, [while all other fishes
swim on the belly.] The upper side is in general deeply coloured, while the other side is whitish. The
body, from the head backwards, though formed nearly as usual, partakes a little of this peculiarity.
The two sides of the mouth are not equal, and the pectoral fins are rarely so ; the body is depressed,
and elevated in the direction of tlie spinous processes ; the dorsal extends along the whole back ; the
anal occupies the lower edge of the body, and the ventrals are sometimes united with it. [The fins
are thus lateral fins, in respect of the swimming of the fish when in motion ; and the action of the
spine is vertical, in respect of that position, and not lateral, as in other fishes.] They have six gill-
rays ; the abdominal cavity is small, but extends in a cavity imbedded in the flesh on the two sides of
the tail, for the purpose of containing some of the viscera ; they have no air-bladder, and they seldom
rise far from the bottom. Notwithstanding the peculiarity of the cranium, by that twist of the neck
which brings both eyes to one side, the bones are the same as in other families, but very differently
proportioned. They are found along the shores of almost all countries ; and are, generally speaking,
wholesome and agreeable eating.
Some individuals have the eyes placed in the opposite side to that in which they are generally found
in their species, and these are said to be reversed. Others have both sides coloured alike, in which
case they are called “ Doubles.” It is usually the coloured side which is doubled, though occasionally
it is the white one. They are subdivided as follows
P. platessa, Plaice, have a row of sharp teeth in each jaw, and very often pavement-teeth in the pharynx ; the
dorsal does not advance more forwards than the upper eye, and both it and the anal terminate and leave smooth
spaces before the base of the caudal ; they generally have two or three small coeca, and six gill-rays. P. vulgaris,
Common Plaice, has six or seven tubercles, forming a line between the eyes, and spots of Aurora red over the
brown on the upper side of the body. The height is but a third of the length ; and the flesh is soft, and soon de-
composes. P.flesus, the Flounder, similar, but with the spots lighter; some tubercles on the head, and some on
the base of the dorsal and anal fins ; and have rough scales on the lateral line. They ascend a considerable way
up rivers, and reversed individuals are not unfrequently caught. P. limanda, the Dab, has the eyes large, the
lateral line curved above the pectoral, the scales rough, and the upper side brown, with whitish spots. P. mi-
crocephalus, the Laminder, with the eyes smaller, nearer each other, and the back finely mottled with brown and
yellow. [Both these are found in the salt water, as is also P. leminoides, the Long, or Rough Dab, which has the
body elongated, something like a saw, and it approaches that species and quality. P. pola, the Grayed Fluke, has
the head small, the right eye considerably in advance of the left, with the body yellowish-brown, and the fins
darker. [All these, and some other species, are found on the British shores, chiefly on muddy or- sandy bottoms.]
Hippoglosus, the Halibut. Shape and fins like a Flounder, lateral line arched, attains the length of six or seven
feet in the northern seas, and weighs from three to four hundred pounds. Its flesh is rather coarse and diyq but
it admits of being salted. There are several small species in the Mediterranean, some of which have the eyes on
the left side, [whereas all the others hitherto noticed have them on the right side, unless when understood to be
reversed ;] and one is oblong, with a straight lateral line, and large scales.
Rhombus, Turbot genus. Teeth as in the Halibut, but the dorsal advances in front of the eyes, and the anal
comes to the edge of the jaws. The eyes are generally on the left, and in some they are separated by a low crest.
R. maximus, the Turbot, is the most esteemed of the family. Its height is nearly equal to its length, its form a
truncated rhombus, and with the lateral line much arched. The upper or left side is brown, and beset with
tubercles ; but reversed specimens are sometimes taken. R. vulgaris, Brill, is rounded on the sides, has the body
without tubercles, and the first rays of tlie dorsal split into filaments. The eyes are usually on the left side. It is
not so much esteemed as Turbot, still it is a good fish. R. hirtus. Topknot : mouth small, almost vertical ; teeth
distinct and sharp ; colour reddish-brown, mottled with black, with a large spot on the lateral line near the tail,
but not so conspicuous as in one other species, which has the body turned the other way, or the eyes on the
right side, and the lateral line nearly straight. R. megastoma, the Whiflf : body oblong, mouth wide, lateral line
nearly straight, upper colour brown : it is not much esteemed. R. arnoglossum, the Scarlet Fish : oblong, eyes to
the left, fin-rays extending beyond the membrane, and of a yellowish-brown colour.
I
324
PISCES.
Solea, the Sole. Eyes on the right, mouth twisted in the opposite direction, and with teeth only in the sides oppo-
site to the eyes ; form oblong ; snout rounded, generally in advance of the mouth ; dorsal and anal margining all
the sides of the body. S. vulgaris, the Common Sole, is dark-brown on the upper part, with a strong skin and
small scales, and white on the under. S. pegusa, the Lemon Sole, is paler in colour, and wider and thicker than
the Common Sole. All the Soles are excellent fishes, and may be had in good condition nearly all the year.
Menochirus, resembles the Sole, but has only one small pectoral on the same side with the eyes, which is the
right side in all the Soles. The Variegated Sole of the Mediterranean— occasionally found on the British coast — is
an example.
Achirus, are Soles entirely without pectoral fins, some having the ventrals distinct, and others having them
united to the anal.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATL
Discoboli (Fishes with the ventrals formed into a Sucker, or Disc).
The disc formed by the ventrals is the family characteristic, and they consist of two genera, both of
which have the power of attaching themselves to rocks and other hard substances, by means of the
disc, and thus they are capable of remaining in situations where otherwise the current of the water
W'ould carry them away. [This curious property enables these fishes to remain and find their food in
situations where every other species of fish would be swept away by the current of the water.]
Lepidogaster. — These small fishes have large pectorals reaching to the under-side of the body, where
they consist of stouter rays, incline forwards, and unite with each other by a transverse membrane
directed forwards under tlie throat, and composed of the united ventral fins. Body without scales ;
head broad and depressed ; snout curved and protractile ; gills with little opening, and four or five
rays ; only one soft dorsal opposite the anal, and both reaching to the base of the caudal. Intestines
short, straight, and without cosca. They have no air-bladder, but they swim briskly. There are two
subgenera : —
Lepidogaster, properly so called, have the membranes representing the ventrals extended to one complete disc ;
and behind this, another disc, formed by the united pectorals. Some have the dorsal and anal united to the
caudal, and others not. [There are several British species found on the south and west coasts ; but they are small,
and of no interest, except to naturalists.]
Gobiesox, have the disc entire, but with a cleft on the sides, and the membrane produced ; the gill-opening
wider, and the dorsal and caudal smaller, and separated from the anal. [Of this there is one small British species,
not above an inch and a half in length, bright red above, and paler below. The sucker adheres readily to any wet
surface, but not to a dry one.]
Cyclopterus. — Rays of the ventrals suspended round the pelvis, united by a single membrane, and
forming the disc; mouth wide; small pointed teeth in the jaws and pharynx; gill-lid small, and opening
close below; six gill-rays ; pectorals large, almost meeting under the throat, so as to surround the disc
there, but forming no part of it. Their bones are soft; skin naked and mucous, but studded with hard
granulations ; stomach large, and with numerous cceca ; intestine long ; air-bladder moderate. There
are two subgenera : —
Lumpus, have the first dorsal more or less visible, but with simple rays ; the second opposite the anal, with
branchial rays ; the body is thick. [The Lump-fish is found in the British seas, and as far north of them as the
margin of the polar ice. When in good condition for the table, it is red, or rather various shades of blue, purple,
and reddish orange ; but when out of season, it fades to a dull blue. It attains considerable size, and is a high
and thick fish, — the height being about half the length, and the thickness half the height.]
Leparus, with a single dorsal, and this and the anal both long ; the body long, and compressed towards the tail.
[There are one or two British species, some of which are called “ Snail-fishes,” from their soft and unctuous
texture, and the readiness with which they adhere to rocks.]
Echeneis. This genus, like Pleuronectes, might form a distinct family of Sub-brachial Malacopterygii. They
have a disc on the head, formed of cartilaginous laminae, ranged transversely or obliquely backwards, and with
teeth or spines on their posterior edge. These are moveable, so that by means of them the fish can attach itself
firmly to a rock, the bottom of a ship, or any other substance; and it is owing to this that it used to be alleged
that these fishes could at once arrest the course of the swiftest vessel. Body long and scaly, a small dorsal oppo-
site the anal, top of the head flat, lower jaw projectile, teeth small, tongue and vomer rough, eight gill-rays, large
stomach, short intestine, six or eight cceca, and no air-bladder. This species are not numerous, and they inhabit
generally the w'armer seas. [_E. remora, the Common Sucking-fish, is abundant in the Mediterranean; and has
been met with as a straggler on the British shores,— Dr. Turton having found one riding on the back of a Cod-
fish, at Swansea, in 1806. The West Indian species are larger.]
MALACOPTERYGIl APODA.
825
THE FOURTH ORDER OF BONY FISHES.
MALACOPTERYGII APODA.
The fishes in which ventral fins are always wanting, form but one natural family.
Muranidce, or Eel-shaped Fishes, which are lengthened in form, have the skin thick and soft, the
scales almost invisible, and but few bones. They have no coeca, but almost all have air-bladders, often
singularly shaped.
The genus Murcena is easily known by small operculse, surrounded by concentric rays buried in the
skin, and opening only by a hole at some distance backwards, which arrangement, by protecting the
gills, enables these fishes to live long out of the water, [and crawl for some distance over-land, when
such a journey is necessary.] Body long and slender, scales visible only on the dried skin, no ventrals
or coeca, and the vent far backwards. This extensive genus may be subdivided as follow's : —
Anguilla, known by the pectoral fins, and the gill-openings under them ; stomach a long cul-de-sac, intestine
straight, and a peculiar gland near the middle of the long air-bladder. They are again subdivided : — Anguilla,
the true Eels, have the dorsal and caudal meeting at the extremity of the tail, and forming a point, and the dorsal
beginning a considei'able way behind the pectorals. [They have also a singular pulsatory apparatus for the circu-
lation of lymph, situated near the extremity of the tail. They are, strictly speaking, fresh-water fishes.; but they
migrate to the sea in the end of the season, bury themselves in the sludge there, and mature their spawn, again
ascending the rivers for the purpose of spawning. Like Trout, they are much affected in appearance and quality
by the waters which they inhabit. Three species are known as British Eels : — AcuUrostrus, the Sharp-nosed Eel ;
Latirostrus, the Broad-nosed Eel ; and Mediorostrus, the Snigg Eel. Eels are delicate fishes, and not found in
very high latitudes. In Britain they are most abundant, and best in quality in the pure rivers which rise in the
chalk districts.]
Dorsal commencing near or at the pectorals, and upper jaw longest. The Conger is found in most
European seas : and is sometimes from four to six feet long, and as thick as a man’s leg. The margins of the
dorsal and anal are black, and the latei’al line marked with white spots. C. myrus of the Mediterranean is smaller
than the Conger, and has whitish spots on the snout and the occiput. In some foreign ones, the dorsal begins
before the pectorals.
Ophisurus, Snake Eels, differ from the former in having a portion of the extremity of the tail without fins, and
ending in a pouch like the tail of a Serpent. O. serpens of the Mediterranean is brown above, silvery beneath,
has the snout slender and pointed, grows to the length of six feet or more, and is as thick as a man’s arm. Some
foreign species have the pectorals much smaller, which gives them a little the appearance of the genus,—
Murcena, which have no pectorals, very small gill-openings, gill-lids thin, and the rays not easily discernible ;
the stomach short.; the air-bladder small, and placed in the upper part of the cavity. Some have one row of sharp
teeth in each jaw, among which is,— A/, helena, common in the Mediterranean, and much esteemed by the ancients,
who carefully fed it in ponds. The story of Vsedius Pollio, who caused his offending slaves to be flung alive into
the ponds to feed the Mursense, is well known. They grow to the length of three feet or more, are mottled brown
and yellow, and very voracious and ugly.
Others have two rows of sharp teeth in each jaw, and one on the vomer ; and others, again, have round or conical
teeth, as M. unicola of the Mediterranean, which appears uniformly brown, though mai'ked with small lines and
modellings. Others have two rows of teeth on the vomer, and a single one on the jaws ; others, again, have two
rows on the jaws, and four, like a pavement, on the vomer ; and others still have several I’ows of card-teeth, as
M. saga, with long, round, and pointed jaws, and the tail ending in a very sharp point.
Sphagebranchus, have the gill-openings near each other below, the fins apparent only near the tail, and the snout
long and pointed. Some want pectorals, others have mere vestiges, and others still are totally finless.
Monopteras, have the gill-openings united, but with a partition ; the dorsal and anal apparent only from the
middle of the tail backwards ; card-teeth on the jaw's and palate ; six gill-rays, and only thi'ee very small gill-arches.
The known species is from the Moluccas, and it is green above and fawn-coloured below.
Synbranchus. — Gill-opening entirely single, no pectorals, fins fatty, head thick, snout rounded, operculum carti-
laginous, with six rays, stomach and anal perfectly straight, and bladder long and narrow. Found in the seas of
hot countries.
Alabes, have one gill-opening ; pectorals well marked, with a disc between them ; gill-lids small, with three
rays ; teeth pointed ; and intestines as in the last. The well-known species inhabits the Indian Ocean.
Here should be placed a recently-discovered fish, one of the most singular of the whole class, namely: —
Saccopharynx, which can inflate the thorax to a large tube, which terminates in a very long and slender tail,
with long upper and under fins meeting at the point. Teeth sharp, mouth opening behind the eyes, which are
very near the point of the snout, and gill-opening a small hole under the pectorals. Grows large, and appears to
be voracious ; but only a few specimens have been seen floating in the Atlantic, by means of the inflation of the
thorax.
Gymnotus. — Gills partially covered by membranes, but opening before the pectorals ; vent far foiuvards ; anal
fin occupying the under line of the body, generally to the extremity of the tail, but no dorsal. They admit of
subdivision : —
PISCES.
326
Gymnotus, the true Electric Eels, have no caudal or dorsal tin, nor visible scales ; moderate intestines, with
several flexures, and numerous coeca ; stomach short, and plaited on its inner surface. One Ions' air-bladder
extends in a cavity of the abdomen ; the other, in two lobes, is placed over the gullet. Found only in the rivers
and stagnant fresh waters of tropical America ; and the most celebrated is,—
G. electricus, the Electric Gymnotus, called from its form the Electric Eel. It attains the length of five or six
feet, and communicates shocks so powerful that men and horses have been stunned by them. This power is
voluntary, and can be sent in a particular direction, and even through the water, the fish in which are killed, or
stunned, by its shocks. By giving these, it is greatly exhausted, and requires both rest and nourishment before it ;
can renew them. The immediate organ of this power extends along the whole under-side of the tail, occupying :
about half its thickness. It consists of two large longitudinal fasciculi above, and two smaller ones below, resting ;
on the base of the anal fin. Each fasciculus is composed of numerous parallel membranes, nearly horizontal, and '
close to each other, one end being attached to the skin, and the other to the mesial plane. They are joined by 3
numerous transverse and vertical membranes ; and the canals and cells thus formed are filled with gelatinous j
matter. The whole apparatus is largely supplied with nerves, [affording one striking instance of the intimate
connexion between electric or galvanic action in matter, and nervous action in living animals.] j
Campus, has the body compressed and scaly, and the tail much narrowed. They live in the South American rivers. |
Sfenarchus, have the anal separated from the tail, and a caudal,— a soft filament along the back, lodged in a i
groove, in which it is retained by tendinous threads, and reaching the whole way to the tail. It has some freedom J
of motion, but the use of it is not known. The head is oblique, compressed, and naked, with the skin hiding the
operculum and gill-rays ; the body scaly ; the teeth small and crowded, and scarcely discernible in the middle of
the jaw. Like the rest of the genus, they inhabit the waters of South America.
Gy mnarchus.— Body long and scaly ; gill-opening before the pectorals ; a soft-rayed fin along the back, but no
anal, and the tail ending in a point ; head naked and conical; mouth small, and with a single row of cutting-teeth.
G. niloticus, the only known species, inhabits the Nile.
Leptocephalus.—Gi\\-oi>enmg before the pectorals ; body compressed and ribbon-like ; head very small ; snout
short, and a little pointed ; pectorals nearly or totally wanting ; dorsal and anal obscure, but extending to the
point of the tail ; the viscera occupying a small cavity along the under-part of the body. One species is found in
the British seas. L. morrissii, the Anglesey Morris, is a very little fish, silvery, and semi-transparent, but with
bright and prominent rays, and is very lively in its motions. It lurks in sea-weed ; and is one of those animals,
exceedingly rare among Vertebrata, of which the internal structure can be seen without dissection, and its action
understood accordingly. Other species have been found in the warm seas.
Ophidmm, reseinbles the Eels in having the vent far backwai'ds, and the dorsal and anal meeting at the point of
the tail ; and the body is so long and compressed, that the fish has been compared to a sword-blade. The skin
has minute and buried scales, as in the Eels, but the gill-openings are large, and the gill-lids have free motion ;
the dorsal rays are joined, not branched; some have small barbules, others none, and some short cirri ; some are
flesh-coloured, with black fins ; some brown, and some large ones are rose-colour, with brown spots.
[The species without cirri, the O. imberbis of Linnaeus, has been made a subgenus by Cuvier, under the name of
Fierasfer, in which the dorsal seems a mere fold of the skin. A specimen, about three inches long, has been met
with on the south coast of England].
Ammodytes, have the body like the former, a fin with simple-jointed rays along the back, an anal fin, and a forked
caudal, and the fins are not united ; snout sharp ; upper jaw extensile, and shorter than the longer in the closed
mouth ; stomach fleshy and pointed ; no coeca, or air-bladder. They burrow in the sand, and are captured by
digging it at low water ; and are understood to contribute materially to the support of Salmon in the estuaries.
There are two species : — A. tobianus, the Sand-eel ; and A. lancea, the Sand-lance. The latter is thicker in the
body than the former, with the intermaxillaries larger, and the dorsal commencing farther forward. They are j
both found on the sandy shores of Britain. li
THE FIFTH ORDER OF BONY FISHES. |
LOPHOBRANCHII (Fishes w^ith their Gills in Tufts). ; |
All the fishes of the preceding four orders not only have a skeleton of fibrous bones, and i ^
the jaws complete and free, but their gills are always in fibres or fringes, like the teeth of a .
comb ; but those of the present order, while they have the jaws complete and free, have the ■ .
gills not in equal laminae along the arches, but in small round tufts, disposed along the arches j
in pairs, — a structure of which there is no instance in other fishes. These are defended by a '
large operculum, attached by membranes on all sides, except one small hole for allowing the
water to escape ; and mere vestiges of rays are shown in the substance of the operculum. \ \
These fishes are also distinguished by shields or small plates, which cover the body, and often; '
give it an angular form. In general, they are of small size, and almost without flesh. Their. |
LOPHOBRANCHII.
327
intestine is of uniform width, and without coeca; and their air-bladder, though slender, is
large in proportion to their size. They form two genera ; and the first admits of subdivision.
SyngnaiJms. — These are characterized by a tubular snout, composed, as in the Fistularidae, of pro-
longations of the ethmoid, vomer, temporals, pre-operculum, and other bones ; and this snout ends in a
mouth as in other fishes, only its opening is nearly vertical. The gill-opening is near the nape ; and
there are no ventral fins. In their reproduction there is this peculiarity, that the eggs slide into a
pouch formed by an inflation of the skin, and remain there till they are hatched. This pouch is under
the belly in some, and at the base of the tail in others. It bursts spontaneously, and allows the fry to
escape. [Thus these fishes have some analogy to the marsupial Mammalia.]
I Syngnathus, the Pipe-fishes, properly so called, have a very long and slender body, differing little in diameter
] throughout its entire length. Some have a dorsal, caudal, and anal ; others want the anal only, and in these the
i hatching-pouch is situated under the tail. S. acus, the Great Pipe-fish, and S. tylphe, the Peak-nosed Pipe-fish,
both found in the British Seas, belong to these sections. Others, again, have neither anal nor pectorals ; and
^ others no fin but the dorsal. S. ophidion, the Snake Pipe-fish, and S. lumbriciformis, the Worm Pipe-fish, are
] British fishes belonging to these sections. [They have the pouch under the belly ; and it is to be observed that in
all the species it is the male, and not the female, which has the pouch, and hatches the eggs.]
Hippocampus y has the body compressed laterally, and much more elevated than the tail ; and in dead speci-
! mens the neck bends, and the upper part has a faint resemblance to the head and neck of a Horse in miniature,
from which they have been called Sea-horses. The margins of their scales are formed into ridges, and the angles
I into spines. They have no fin in the tail, but that organ is prehensile, and enables them to climb or hold on by
the stalks of marine plants. The common species is found in the British seas, and is sometimes about five inches
long ; and, on the coast of Australia, there is a longer one, with the angles of the scales extended into leafy
i appendages.
i Solenostomus, differ from the former chiefly in having, behind the pectorals, large ventrals united with each
' other and with the body, and forming an apron which serves to retain the eggs while hatching, in the same
manner as the pouch of the Pipe-fishes. There is one dorsal of few rays near the nape, a very small one near the
ii tail, and a large pointed caudal, but otherwise they resemble Hippocampus. The only known species is from the
ji Indian Ocean.
;j Pegasus, have a snout as in the former, but the mouth under it, and moveable, like that of a Sturgeon, only
i composed of the same bones as in other osseous fishes. The body is armed as in Hippocampus, but their thorax
i is broad, depressed, and with the gill-openings in the sides. They have two distinct ventrals in rear of the pecto-
ij rals, which are often large, and have procured these fishes the name of Pegasus, or Flying Horses, The dorsal
[j and anal fins are opposite each other, the abdominal cavity is wider and shorter than in Syngnathus, and the in-
! testine has two or three flexures. Some species are found in the Indian seas.
I THE SIXTH ORDER OF BONY FISHES.
! PLECTOGNATHI (Fishes with Soldered Jaws).
ij Though retaining many of the characters of the Bony Fishes, the members of this order re-
I semble the Cartilaginous ones, in the imperfect structure of the jaws, and the slow ossification
, of the skeleton ; but still this skeleton is fibrous, and resembles that of the Bony Fishes. The
I chief characters are — the maxillary soldered to the side of the intermaxillary, which consti-
i tutes the jaw, and the connexion of the palatal arch with the cranium by an immoveable
suture. Besides, the gill-lid and rays are concealed under the thick skin, with only a small
! opening, the ribs are mere rivets, and there are no true ventrals. The intestine is large, and
I without coeca ; and the air-bladder is always ample. They admit of division, by the character
i| of their teeth, into two very natural families,
Jl THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PLECTOGNATHI.
i;
i! Gymnodontes (Fishes with naked Teeth).
I Instead of teeth, these have the jaws covered with a substance hke ivory, laminated internally, and
1 resembling the beak of a Parrot, though these are true teeth united, and are reproduced as soon as they
I are destroyed by using. Their gill-lids are small, with five obscure rays. They live on Crustacea and
sea-weed, and their flesh is mucous, and not hked, — that of some species being reckoned poisonous, at
I xcast at certain seasons of the year.
328
PISCES.
The genera Tetraodon and Diodon have the faculty of blovring themselves up like balloons, by filling
with air a thin and extensile membranous sac, which adheres to the peritoneum the whole length of
the abdomen. When thus inflated, they roll over and float with the belly uppermost, without any
power of directing their course ; but they are remarkably well defended by spines all over the surface,
which are erected as they are inflated. Their air-bladder has two lobes. They have but three gill-
arches in a side ; and when taken, the escape of the air from the pouch makes a sound. Each nostril
is furnished with a double fleshy tentaculum.
Diodon, Spinous Globe-fishes, get the generic name from the jaws consisting of only two pieces, one above and
the other below. Behind the trenchant edge of each piece, there is a rounded portion furrowed across, and
forming a powerful grinding apparatus. The spines upon the inflated skin, which vary a good deal in the dif-
ferent species, present a formidable appearance. They inhabit the warm seas; but sometimes, though rarely, a
specimen, brought no doubt by the Atlantic current, is found on the coast of Cornwall.
Tetraodon, have each jaw marked with a suture, so as to give the appearance of four teeth. The spines are
small and low, and some species are reckoned poisonous. None of them is recorded as visiting Britain. One is
electrical, T. lineatus, straight, brown and whitish ; it is found in the Nile, cast on shore by the inundations, and
collected by the children as a plaything.
Orthagoriscus, the Sun-fish, has the body compressed, spineless, and incapable of inflation, with the tail so short
that it appears only the anterior half of a fish which had been cut in two in the middle. Their dorsal and anal,
both high and pointed, are united to the caudal ; no air-bladder, and the stomach is small ; their surface is covered
with mucus. They are found in many seas ; and two species at least — 0. mola, the Short Sun-fish, and 0. oblongus,
the Oblong Sun-fish— are found in the British seas.
Triodon.—T\\QS,e species have the mark of a suture on the upper jaw, but none on the under, which gives them
the appearance of having three teeth. A vast membrane, as long as the body, and twice as high, is supported
before by a large bone answering to the pelvis, and makes these fishes resemble Balistes, in the following family.
Fins as in Diodon, body rough like Tetraodon, and the surface of the membrane roughened by a number of little
oblique crests. The only known species is from the Indian Ocean.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PLECTOGNATHI.
SciiERODERMi (Fishcs With Hard or Granulated Skins).
These are readily distinguished by a conical or pyramidical muzzle, which is prolonged forwards from
the eyes, and terminates in the mouth, with distinct teeth in both jaws. The skin is either rough or
covered with very hard scales; and the air-bladder is large, strong, and of an oval shape. There are
two genera. Balistes, File-fishes, admit of subdivision, and have the body compressed ; eight teeth,
generally trenchant, in a single row in each jaw ; the skins scaly or granulated, but not osseous ; the
first dorsal composed of one or more spines, articulated with a particular bone, which is attached to
the cranium, where is a groove for its reception ; the second dorsal and anal long, and placed opposite
each other. Though without ventral fins, they have pelvic bones attached to the shoulders. They
abound in the warm seas near rocks, or on the surface of the water ; and their brilliant colours sparkle
in the water like those of Chetodons. Their flesh is disliked at all times ; and they are supposed to
feed on Coralline Polypi at some seasons, and become poisonous, but Cuvier found only sea-weed in
such as he opened.
Balistes proper, have the whole body covered with long and hard rhomboidal scales, which do not overlap each
other, but have the appearance of the teeth of a file ; three
spines on the dorsal, the first long, the third small and far
back; extremity of the chest salient and prickly, with
some spines in the skin behind, which have been con-
sidered as rays of ventral fins. Some have no particular
armature of the tail ; and of these, again, some have large
scales behind the gill-openings. Such is the European
File-fish — B. capriscus, which has been occasionally, but
very rarely, found on the British shores, and which is com-
mon in the Mediterranean.
Mo7iacanthus.— This subgenus has very small scales, set
rough like the pile of velvet ; a large cirrated spine on the
first dorsal, and the extremity of the pelvis salient and
spinous. Some have the pelvic bone moveable, and con-
nected with the abdomen by an extensile membrane, and
frequently strong spines on the sides of the tail. Some have
stout bristles on the tail, some have the body with tuber-
cles, and others with branched hairs.
PLECTOGNATHI.
329
Aluteres, have the body long, the granulations
scarcely visible, and a single spine in the first
dorsal, but the pelvis is completely hidden in the
skin.
TriacantMis, has a kind of ventrals, each sup-
ported by one large spinous ray, adhering to a non-
projecting pelvis ; the first dorsal has one largish
spine, and three smaller ones behind it ; the body
is crowded with small scales ; and the tail is longer
than in any of the other subgenera. The single
known species inhabits the Indian Ocean.
Ostracion, the Trunk-fish, has the head and body
covered in such a manner with plates of bones,
soldered together, as to form an inflexible cuirass,
leaving only the tail, the fins, the mouth, and a
small margin of the gill-opening, capable of mo-
tion,—all of which moveable parts pass through
openings of the cuirass. The greater part of the
vertebrae are also soldered together. The jaws are furnished with a row of ten or twelve conical teeth ; and they
have no apparent gill-opening, except a mere slit with a cutaneous lobe ; but inside the skin they have a gill-lid and
six rays. They have neither pelvic bone nor ventrals, and the single dorsal and anal are both small ; they have
little flesh, but the liver is large, and abounds in oil ; the stomach is also very large and membranous. Some of
them are thought to be poisonous. They might be subdivided according to the form of the body and the spines,
but it is not yet ascertained whether there may not be sexual dilferences in these respects. [The body is triangular
in some, quadrangular in others, and in some it is compressed ; and the appearance of the cuirass, or covering,
varies still more. None has been met with on the British shores.]
CHONDROPTERYGII.
The second series of Fishes, the Chondropterygii, or Cartilaginous Fishes, cannot
I be considered either superior or inferior to the Ordinary Fishes ; for, while some of the
I genera resemble Reptiles in the structure of their ear and reproductive organs, other
genera have the skeleton so very rudimental that one almost hesitates to regard them
as vertebrated animals. They form a series, ranging parallel to the Bony Fishes, just
j as the Marsupial Mammalia range parallel with the other ordinary Mammalia.
Essentially, the skeleton is cartilaginous, — that is to say, it has no bony fibres, but
! the calcareous matter is disposed in grains. The cranium is always formed of a single
I piece without sutures ; but there are ridges, furrows, and holes, whereby the por-
tions of it aiialogous to the cranial bones of other fishes may be distinguished. Even the
j moveable articulations of other orders are not distinguishable in the whole of this : as,
i for instance, part of the vertebr8e of some of the rays make a single piece, and some
j articulations of the bones of the face also disappear. Among the latter, the most
prominent character is the reduction of the maxillaries and intermaxillaries to mere
rudiments concealed under the skin, while their functions are performed by the palatals,
and sometimes by the vomer. The gelatinous substance which fills the intervals of the
vertebrae in other fishes, and communicates from one to another by only a small hole,
is, in several of this order, a long cord, which traverses all the vertebrae, with little
variation of diameter. .
The series divides itself into two orders : — Those with free gills, like all other
Fishes ; and those with fixed gills, which are so attached to the skin by the internal
edges that the water cannot escape from their intervals, except by holes in the surface.
PISCES.
330
THE FIRST ORDER OF CHONDROPTERYGII,—
CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS LIBERIS,—
(Or, with free gills), have in their gills a single wide opening, and a gill-lid, like the Bony
Fishes, but they have no gill-rays. There are two genera.
Accipenser, the Sturgeon.— General form like that of the Shark, but the body more or less covered
with bony plates in longitudinal rows, and the head externally armed with the same. Their mouth,
placed under the muzzle, is small and toothless ; and the palatal bones, soldered to the maxillaries,
form the upper jaw, while
there are vestiges of the in-
termaxillaries in the thick
lips. Placed upon a pedicle
of three articulations, this
mouth is more protractile
than that of the Shark ;
the eyes and nostrils are on the sides of the head, and harbules are suspended from the muzzle ; the
labyrinth within the cranial bones is perfect, but there is no external ear — the hole behind the temple
leading merely to the gills. The dorsal is behind the ventrals, and has the anal directly opposite to it ; the
caudal surrounds the extremity of the spine, and terminates in the upper lobe of the tail, but an under
lobe gives the tail the appearance of being forked. Internally, we find the spiral intestinal valve, and
the single pancreas of the Shark family ; and there is a very large air-bladder, which communicates
with the gullet by a large opening. Sturgeons ascend some rivers in vast numbers, and are the object
of valuable fisheries. The flesh of most is agreeable, their eggs or roes are made into caviar, and their
air-bladders furnish the finest isinglass.
Fig. 146. — The Sturgeon.
A. sturio, the Common Sturgeon, occasionally found in the west of Europe and on the British shores, is about
six feet long, has a pointed muzzle, five rows of plates with strong spines, and its flesh is much esteemed, being
somewhat like veal. The rivers falling into the Black and Caspian Seas produce this and three other species, if not j;
more. A. ruthenus, the Sterlet, is seldom more than two feet long, with the plates on the lateral line numerous and i
keeled, and those in the belly flat. It is considered delicious, and caviar made from it is reserved for the li
Russian court. There is reason to believe that this is the Slops and Accipenser so much celebrated by the ancients. ■
A. stelatus, the seroregia of the Russians, and the scherg of the Germans, grows to the length of four feet, has the |
plaits rougher and the snout more slender than the others. It is very numerous, but less esteemed than the
Common Sturgeon. A. huso, the Great Sturgeon, has blunter plates, a smoother skin, and shoi’ter snout and cirri, ;
than the Common Sturgeon. It is frequently found more than twelve, or even fifteen, feet in length, and weighing i
more than twelve hundred pounds. One specimen is mentioned which weighed near 3,000 pounds. Its flesh is not
much esteemed, and it is sometimes unwholesome ; but its air-bladder yields the very finest isinglass. It is found j
in the Po as well as in the northern rivers. |1
Several Sturgeons are found in North America, which are peculiar to that quarter of the world. i
Voliodon, may be considered as a subgenus of Accipenser. These fishes are distinguished by the great prolong- i
ation of their snout, the broad margins of which give it the figure of a leaf. In the general form and fins they re- |i
semble the Sturgeons ; but their gill-openings are wider, and the gill-lid is prolonged in a membranous flap, which n
extends to half the length of the body ; their gape is much cleft, and furnished with a number of small teeth. j
Their upper jaw is formed by the union of the palatals and maxillaries with a pedicle of two articulations. There is j
a spinal cord like that in the Lamprey, and the same spiral valve which is common to most of the order ; but the j ■
pancreas is partially divided into coeca. They are furnished with an air-bladder. Only a single species is known, j !
P. folium, which is found in the Mississippi. j
CMmcera. — This second genus of cartilaginous fishes with free gills, closely resembles the Sharks in \|
form, and in the disposition of the fins; but the gills open externally by one apparent hole in
each side, though, if we examine more closely, we find great part of their edges attached, and that there
are five separate holes terminating in the common aperture : still they have a vestige of an operculum
concealed in the skin. Their jaws are more reduced than in the Sharks, for the palatals and tempo-
rals are mere simple vestiges suspended to the sides of the muzzle, and the upper jaw is represented by
the vomer only : hard and undivided plates supply the place of teeth, four of them above, and two below.
The muzzle, supported as in the Sharks, projects forwards, and has pores arranged in rows nearly
CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS LIBERIS.
331
■ — — — — —
I regular. The first dorsal, containing a strong spine, is placed over the pectorals ; and the males, as in
the Sharks, have a bony appendage to the ventrals ; but these are divided into three branches, and they
have spinous appendages before the base of the ventrals, and small spines on the point of a fleshy
appendage between the eyes. Their eggs are large and flattened, with a leathery covering, and
having margins. [In faet, with some singular peculiarities, they approach pretty closely to the fishes
with fixed gills.]
C. monstrosa, the King of the Herrings, and Cat of the Mediterranean, is three feet long, and of a silvery
colour spotted with brown. It inhabits the European seas, the northerly ones most abundantly. Another, forming,
perhaps, a second subgenus, Callirliynchus, has the snout ending in a fleshy appendage like a toe. The
second dorsal begins over the ventrals, and terminates at the commencement of the fin under the tail. Only
one species, from the South Seas, is known.
j THE SECOND ORDER OF CHONDROPTERYGII.
!
I CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS FIXIS.
I These have their gills attached at the outer edge, with a separate opening, through which
! the water from each gill escapes. They have also small arches of cartilage suspended in their
{ muscles, opposite the gills, which may be called gill-ribs. They form two families.
I'
I THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS FIXIS,—
I Selachii (the Sharks and Ravs), —
j Which has been comprised in two genera, has many common characters. The palatals and postmandi-
bularies are alone armed with teeth, supplying the place of jaws, the usual bones of which are mere
rudiments, a single bone representing the tympanal, jugal, and temporal bones, and the preoperculum.
The os hyoides is attached to this pedicle, and supports gill-rays as in ordinary fishes, although not
distinctly visible externally. It is followed by branchial arches, but has none of the three pieces which
I compose the gill-lid. They have pectorals and ventrals, the latter behind the abdomen on each side of
j the vent. Their membranous labyrinth is inclosed in the cartilage of the cranium, and their cavities
;[ contain starchy masses and not stony ones. The pancreas is a conglomerate gland, and not divided
I into coeca ; the intestinal canal is short, but with a spiral valve. The sexes pair regularly, the females
I having oviducts highly organized, which supply the place of a matrix in those that bring both their
I young alive ; such as produce eggs have them with a horny covering, the substance of which is supplied
j by a larger gland surrounding the oviduct. The males are easily known by large appendages on the
ij inner edge of the ventrals, the use of which is not well known, [though believed to serve as claspers~\.
ij Squalus, the Sharks properly so called, have a long body ; a thick, fleshy tail ; moderate pectorals ;
! and resemble ordinary fishes in their form, having the gill-openings on the sides of the neck, not
below, as in the Rays, and the eyes in the sides of the head. The snout is supported by three carti-
laginous branches arising from the fore part of the cranium, and the rudiments of maxillaries, inter-
maxillaries, and premandibulars, may be traced in the skeleton. The bone of the shoulder is sus-
pended in the muscles behind the gills, without connexion with the cranium or the spinal column.
I Some are viviparous ; others produce eggs covered with yellow and transparent horn, of an oblong
|j shape, and with cords of horn at the angles. Their small gill-ribs are apparent, and small ones are
i traceable along the spine ; their flesh is dry and leatheiy, and eaten only by the poor. They are
I numerous, and form many subgenera.
Scyllium (called Dog-fishes on the British coast). — Snout blunt and short ; nostrils near the mouth, continued in
a groove to the edge of the lip, and more or less closed by membranes ; teeth with a long point in the middle, and
I a shorter one at each side. They all have spiracles, and one anal fin ; the dorsals are far backward, the first being
I even before the ventrals ; their caudal is long and truncated, and their gill-openings under the pectorals in the
British ones ; the anal is against the interval between the two dorsals. The species are :
S. canicula, the Small-spotted Dog-fish, with numerous spots and the ventrals truncated. — S. cutilis, the Large-
spotted Dog-fish, with the spots larger, sometimes ocellated, and the ventrals square.— /S. melastomum, Black-
332
PISCES.
mouthed Dog-fish. Light-brown, with ocellated spots. All the three are peculiarly destructive to the more
valuable fishes. Some foreign ones have a slight difference of character.
The Sharks properly so called include all species with a produced snout, no nast^l grooves, and with
a caudal lobe more or less forked. They form the genus
Carcharias,—2L numerous and notorious tribe,
with trenchant-pointed teeth, usually serrated in
the margins ; the first dorsal before the ventrals ;
the second nearly opposite the anals. They have no
spiracles ; the nostrils are in the middle of the
snout, and the last gill-opening extends over the
pectorals. C. vulgaris, the White Shark, is some-
times twenty feet long, with isosceles-triangular
teeth, ragged at the sides, and the lower ones
narrow points placed on wider bases ; these teeth in
the mouth of such a fish forming weapons dreaded
by all mariners. Found in most seas. [Its appear-
ance on the British shores has been mentioned,
but it wants authentication.] C. vulpes, the Fox-
shark, or Thresher.— Triangular teeth in both
jaws ; upper lobe of the tail as long as the whole
body ; second dorsal and anal very small. C. glau~
cus, the Blue Shark, with curved-sided teeth
above, inclining outwards, and straighter ones be-
low ; all ragged on the edges.
Lamna, the Porbeagle, differs from a true Shark in the pyramidal snout, and the gill openings before the pec-
torals. L. cornubica occasionally appears on the
British coast, and its size has caused it to be mis-
taken for the White Shark. L. monensis resembles
the last, but has the snout shorter.
Galeus. — Shaped like the Sharks, but with spira-
cles and an anal. G. vulgaris, the Tope, is found
on the British shores.
Mustelus, resembles the former in shape, but
has the teeth like a close pavement.
Milavis, the Smooth Hound, is a British species.
Notidanus, wants the first dorsal ; has six gill-
openings, triangular teeth above, and like a
saw below. Two species inhabit the Mediterranean. Has the form of the Sharks, and spiracles, with the gill-
openings nearly surrounding the neck ; its teeth are small and not notched. It is the largest of the True Fishes,
being sometimes thirty.six feet long ; but it is a harmless fish. S. maximus, the Basking Shark, is found in the
British seas.
Centracion, has spiral teeth like pavement, and a spine before each dorsal.
apinax, resembles Carcharias, but has spiracles ; no anal fin ; several rows of small trenchant teeth ; and a strong
spine before each dorsal. S. acantheus, the Piked Dog-fish, is a British species.
Centrina, resembles the last ; but the second
dorsal over the ventrals, and the short tail, give
it a clumsy appearance ; its skin is very rough.
Scymnus, the Greenland Shark, is more abun-
dant in the Arctic seas, and is large and vora-
cious ; but is understood not to attack Man.
Zygmna, forms a second genus. Like the
Sharks in the body, but with the snout singu-
larly produced, forming two pieces like a double-
headed hammer, with an eye in the middle of
each extremity. The species of the European
seas grow to the length of twelve feet, [and we
believe larger ones are met with in southern
latitudes].
Squatina, the Angel Fish, has spiracles and
wants the anal ; but it has the mouth at the end
of the muzzle; the eyes in the upper part of
the head ; the head round ; the body broad and
flattened horizontally; the pectorals large and
far forward, but separated from the back by a
Fig. 149.-The Hammer.lie idcd Shark. gill-openings ; their two dorsals are
behind the ventrals, and the caudal is attached both to the upper and under sides of the termination of the body.
Fig. 147.— The White Shark.
CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS FIXIS.
333
il,
i
S. angdus, the Common Angel-fish, grows seven or eight feet long ; is very voracious, and one of the ugliest
! of fishes.
i Pristis, the Saw-fish, form a fourth genus. They
i have a long body, like the Sharks, with the gill-
■; openings below ; the snout extended like the
: blade of a sword, and with strong and trenchant
ij teeth like spines on both edges. This formidable
:jl weapon gives name to the fishes, and with it they
|j will attack the largest Whales, and inflict dreadful
wounds. They sometimes attain twelve or fifteen
;! feet in length.
I Raia, the Skate, [or rather, perhaps, Raiaidce, the Skate family,] are less numerous than the Sharks.
1:1 They have the body flattened till, from its union with the large and fleshy pectorals, it forms a disc.
|| These pectorals are joined to each other before the snout ; extend behind as far as the base of the
II ventrals, and have their humeral bones articulated with the spine behind the gills. Eyes and spiracles
|| above ; mouth, nostrils, and gill-openings below ; and dorsal fins almost always on the tail. Eggs
I brovrn, leathery, and square, with points at the angles. They consist of the following subgenera :
Fig. 150. — The Saw-fish.
;|!
i|
Rhbiobatis, connect the Sharks and Rays by their thick fleshy tail, and two distinct dorsals and a caudal.
The rhomboids formed by the snout and pectorals is sharper in front and narrower than in the ordinary Rays ;
but excepting this they have all the characters of these, and their crowded teeth are placed in fives, like little
paving-stones. Some inhabit the Mediterranean ; some the Atlantic ; and one species from Brazil is said, but
not proved, to be electric. Rhina differs from Rhinobatis in having a stout, broad, and rounded snout.
Torpedo.— TSiil short, but tolerably fleshy ; disc of the body nearly circular, the anterior edge being formed by
two productions of the muzzle, which extend outwards and join the pectorals. The space between the pectorals
and the head and gills is filled by an electric apparatus, consisting of numerous cells formed like honeycombs,
and subdivided by lateral diaphragms, in the intervals of which a mucous fluid is contained. This electric or
galvanic apparatus is, like that in Gymnotus, amply supplied with nerves. The shocks given by the Torpedo,
though smart, are not so benumbing as those of Gymnotus. They probably enable it to stun its prey. The body
is smooth, and the teeth small and pointed. Two species, one with ocellated spots, and another with seven fleshy
protuberances round the spiracles, with the back marbled, sprinkled, or spotted with brown, were long confounded
with this one. There are also several species in the foreign seas. The Common Torpedo is occasionally found on
the Channel coast of England.
Raia, the Rays properly so called, or Skate, have the disc rhomboidal ; the tail slender ; with two small dor-
sals on the upper part, near the point, and sometimes the vestige of a caudal ; and their teeth are small, and
ranged in quincunx on the jaws. The European seas furnish many species, some of which are not yet well deter-
mined. Their flesh is rather hard when recent, but wholesome. [The species found in the British seas are as
follows : R. diagrinea, the Shagreen Ray ; R. batis, the Blue or common Skate ; R. oxyrhynchus, the Sharp-
nosed Ray; R.marginata, the Margined Ray; R. maculata,\\\s. Homelin or Spotted Ray; R, microcellata, t\\Q
Small-eyed Ray ; R. davata, the Thornback ; and R. radiata, the Starry-ray.— British Fishes.']
Trygon, the Sting Ray, has on the tail a strong spine notched on both sides ; teeth similar to the other Rays ;
the disc obtuse forwards, and the tail often without any fin save a rudimental membrane. R. acanthus resembles
Trygon, but has the tail long and slender, without fin or spine.
Miliobatis, the Eagle Ray, has the snout projecting beyond the long pectorals, which extend outw'ards like
wings; the jaw's have broad flat teeth like a pavement ; the tail is long and slender, having a spine on the upper
part near the base, and not far behind the small dorsal. In some there are tw o or more spines.
Cephaloptera, has the small tail, the spine, and the small dorsal of the last subgenus : but the pectorals are
more extended in proportion to the length of the body ; the head is truncated in front, and a lobe of each pectoral
advances on each side of it, making the fish seem as if it had horns.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS FIXIS.
Cyclostomata (vfith the Mouth formed into a Sucker).
j With respect to their skeleton these are the least perfect of fishes, and, indeed, of all vertehrated
i animals. They have no pectorals or ventrals ; their body ends in a circular fleshy lip, with a cartilaginous
ring supporting it, and formed of the soldered palatals and mandibularies. The substance of all the
vertebrae is traversed by a single tendinous cord, filled internally with a mucilaginous fluid, without
contractions and enlargements, which reduces the vertebrae to cartilaginous rays not easily distinguish-
j able from each other. The annular portion is rather more solid than the rest, but not cartilaginous
I through its whole circle. They have no ordinary ribs, but the gill-ribs, noticed as rudimental in the
|i Sharks and Rays, are more developed and united with each other in this family into a kind of cage, but
334
PISCES.
appearance of sacs produced by the union of the faces of the proximate ones. The labyrinth of the ear
is embedded in the cranium, and the nostrils opened by a single orifice, in front of which is a blind ,
cavity, improperly thought a spiracle. The intestine is straight and slender, with a spiral valve.
Petromyzon, the Lampreys, have seven gill-openings on each side, and the skin on the upper and under parts of
the tail is formed into fin-like crests, which, however, have no rays. The Lampreys properly so called, have strong i
teeth in the maxillary ring, and the inner disc of the lip, which is very circular, is covered with tubercles, hard and !|
crusted like teeth : this ring is suspended by a transverse plate answering to the intermaxillaries, and there are f
vestiges of maxillaries on the sides. The tongue, which moves backwards and forwards like a piston, and performs
the suction, has two longitudinal rows of small teeth. Water reaches the gills; from the mouth by a particular •;
membranous canal, a sort of trachea, placed under the gullet and perforated with holes ; there is a dorsal before i
the vent, and another behind it which unites with the caudal. They habitually fix themselves to stones and other
hard substances by means of the sucker ; and they attach themselves to the largest fishes in the same manner, and
in the end pierce their integuments and prey upon their substance.
The species are— P. marinus, the Sea Lamprey, two or three feet long, marbled with brown and a yellow ground;
the first dorsal separate from the second ; two large teeth on the upper part of the maxillary range. In spring they ;
approach the mouth of rivers, and their flesh is highly esteemed. P. fluviabilis, the River Lamprey, from a foot to 1
eighteen inches long ; silvery, with blackish or olive spots on the back ; two large teeth in the maxillary ring; found j
in the fresh waters. P. planerii, the Small River Lamprey, is eight or ten inches long, and has the colours and j
teeth of the preceding : it also inhabits the fresh waters. [The last two are often styled Lamperns.] I
Myxine. — The members of this genus have but one tooth in the maxillary ring, which is entirely membranous ; ,i
two rows of strong teeth on each side of the tongue ; but in other respects like the Lampreys. The mouth is i
circular, with eight cirri, and has a spiracle on the upper margin which reaches the interior. The body is cylin- j
drical, and furnished with one fin round the extremity of the tail. The intestine is straight, but simple, and plaited
internally, and the liver has two lobes : no eyes are perceptible. Their eggs grow to a large size ; they discharge ij,
so much mucus from the pores in their lateral line that if kept in a vessel of water they turn it into a jelly ; they j:
attack fishes in the same manner as the Lampreys, and they are divided into subgenera according to the number |
of their gill-openings. i
Heptratremus, has seven on each side, like the Lampreys, and the only known species is from the South Sea.
Gastrobanclius, has a common canal to the gills on each side, each of which opens by a hole near the heart, and i!
at one third of the length from the head. G. glutinosa, the Hag, is the only known species, and it enters the mouths j<
of fishes when on the fishermen’s line, and plunders their substance. j I
Ammocetes, has the entire skeleton so soft and membranous that there is not a bone in the whole, not even a |
tooth ; they have the external form and gill-openings of the Lampreys, but their fleshy lip forms only a semicircle l|
on the upper part of the mouth, which is furnished with numerous cirri. The known species, A. brancMalis, is |!
from six to eight inches long, about the thickness of a goose-quill, and of no use but as bait for other fish. [It has fij
been accused of sucking the gills of other fishes, but perhaps falsely. It is found in the sand and mud of small j j
streams ; preys on worms, insects, and dead matter, and is, in return, preyed on by the Eel.] |
[^Amphioxus, has the body compressed, the surface without scales, and both ends pointed. It has a dorsal along : i
the whole line of the back, but no other fins. The mouth is on the under side of the body, opens longitudi- i il
nally, and has a row of filaments on each side. A. lanceolatus, the Lancelot, is the only known species. It is a 1 1
British fish, and an inhabitant of the sea, in which it is found, although very rarely, lurking under stones in !;
pools left by the ebbing tide. Pallas considered it as a molluscous animal, and not a fish ; but Mr. Yarrell, in his '
British Fishes, argues that it is a fish, and that in organization it is the lowest of the class. “ The form of the (
fish,” says Mr. Yarrell, “ is compressed ; the head pointed, without any trace of eyes ; the nose rather produced ;
the mouth on the under edge, in the shape of an elongated fissure, the sides of which are flexible ; from the inner i
margin extend various slender filaments, which cross and intermingle with those on the opposite side. Along lj
the sides of the body the muscles are arranged in regular order, diverging from a central line ; one series passing
obliquely upward and backward, and the other series as obliquely downward and backward ; the anal aperture is !
situated one-fourth of the length of the fish in advance of the end of the tail ; the tail itself pointed; from the nose b
to the end of the tail, a delicate membranous dorsal fin extends the whole length of the back, supported by very j
numerous and minute soft rays; the surface of the body smooth.” These characters leave no doubt that the |
animal is a fish ; but that it ought to be classed with the Lamprey family is another matter. The specimen from !:
which the description was made was not above an inch in length, very slender, and almost transparent.] [
335
SECOND GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
THE MOLLUSCA.*
The Mollusca have no articulated skeleton nor vertebral canal. Their nervous
system does not unite in a spinal cordf, but merely in a certain number of medullary
masses dispersed in different points of the body, the principal one of which, called the
brain, is placed crosswise upon the gullet, encircling it with a nervous collar. Their
organs of motion and of the senses have not the same uniformity in number and
position as in the Vertebrated Animals ; and the variety is still more striking with the
viscera, particularly in relation to the position of the heart and respiratory organs, and
even in the structure and nature of the latter ; for some Mollusca breathe the free air,
and others the fresh or salt water. In general, however, their external organs, and
those of locomotion, are symmetrical on the opposite sides of a middle axis.
The circulation of the Mollusca is always double, — that is to say, their pulmonary
circulation always makes a separate and complete circuit ; and this function is always
aided by one fleshy ventricle at least, placed, not as in the Fishes, between the veins
of the body and the arteries of the lung, but, on the contrary, between the veins of the
lung and the arteries of the body. It is, consequently, an aortic ventricle. The
family of Cephalopods alone is provided, besides, with a pulmonary ventricle, which is
even divided into two. The aortic ventricle is also divided in some genera, of which the
Area and Lingula are examples : at other times, as in the remaining bivalves, its auricle
only is divided.
When there is more than one ventricle, they are not united together to form a single
organ, as in animals with warm blood, but they are often placed considerably apart, so
that we may say that then there are several hearts.
The blood of the Mollusca is white, or bluish ; and the flbrine appears to be pro-
portionally less abundant than in the blood of Vertebrated Animals. There is reason to
believe that their veins perform the functions of absorbent vessels.
Their muscles are attached to different points of their skin, and form there tissues
more or less complicated and close in texture. The motions of these tissues are limited
to contractions in different directions, which produce inflexions and prolongations, or
relaxations, of their different parts; by means of which the creatures creep, swim, and
seize upon various objects, according as the forms of the parts are adapted to these
movements ; but as their members are not sustained by jointed and solid levers, the
Mollusca cannot make rapid springs.
The irritability of the greater number of the Mollusca is very great, and is retained
* In the original, there is here a long note, containing an expo- I f From this mode of expression, we infer that Cuvier had adopted
sition of the Linnsean classification of avertebrated animals, and I the theory, that the brain and spinal cord are the result of a union of
also the modification of it proposed by Bruguiferes. Cuvier’s first I the nerves, trending from the circumference to certain centres. The
sketch of the arrangement now to be explained was made in May opposite opinion was that maintained by Haller, and all the earlier
1795. — Ed. 1 physiologists. — Ed.
MOLLUSCA.
336
a long time in parts after they have been amputated. Their skin is naked, very sensi-
tive, and, in general, bedewed with a humour, which oozes from its pores. No peculiar
organ of smell has yet been discovered, although they enjoy that sense ; and it may be
that the entire skin is its seat, for this has much resemblance to a pituitary membrane.
All the Acephales, the Braehiopods, the Cirrhopods, and some of the Gasteropods and
Pteropods, are destitute of eyes ; but the Cephalopods possess these organs, with a
structure equal, at least, in complexity, to those of animals with warm blood. They also
are the only Mollusca in which organs of hearing have been detected, and in which
the brain is inclosed in a particular cartilaginous skull.
Nearly all the Mollusca have a developement of the skin which covers the body, and
resembles more or less a cloak, but which is often reduced into a simple disk, or is folded
into a tube, or hollowed into a sac, or, lastly, extended and divided in the form of fins
or swimmers.
We call those Mollusca naked in which the cloak is simply membranous or fleshy ;
but there is commonly formed within it one or several laminae of a more or less solid
substance, which is deposited in layers, and increases at the same time in extent, as
well as in thickness, because the recent layers always extend beyond the older ones.
When this substance lies concealed in the cloak, common usage allows us to extend
to the species so circumstanced, the title of naked Mollusca. But oftener that substance
assumes such a size and developement that the animal can contract or withdraw under
its shelter ; we then give it the name of shell, and the animal is said to be testaceous.
The skin which covers the shell is thin, and sometimes dried, or wanting: it is commonly
called [by French naturalists], the drap-marin, [and by the English, and those who
write in the Latin tongue, the epidermis'].'^
The variety in the forms and colour, in the exterior sculpture, composition, and lustre
of shells, is infinite. The greater number by far are calcareous ; there are some simply
corneous ; but all are formed of material deposited in layers, or exuded by the skin
under the epidermis, as are the rete mucosum, the nails, the hair, the horns, the scales,
and even the teeth. The texture of shells differs according as that exudation is made
in parallel layers, or in vertical filaments arranged closely against each other, f
The Mollusca present every kind of mastication and deglutition : their stomachs are
sometimes simple, sometimes multiplicate, often furnished with peculiar armatures, and
their intestines are variously elongated. They have, in general, salivary glands, and
always a liver of considerable size, but no pancreas f nor mesentery. Several have
secretions, w'hich are peculiar to them.
They exhibit, also, every variety of generation. Several fecundate themselves,
while in others, although hermaphrodite, the union of two individuals is necessary to fe-
cundation : in many the sexes are distinct and separate. Some are viviparous ; others
are oviparous, and the eggs of these are sometimes enveloped in a more or less con-
sistent shell, or sometimes only in a simple viscosity.
These variations in digestion and generation are found in Mollusca of the same order,
sometimes of the same family.
llie Mollusca, in general, seem to be animals of inferior developement : hebetous
* Previous to my system, the Testacea were considered a peculiar I t The student will find the formatiou of shells, and their structure,
order ; but the transitions from the naked to the shelled Mollusca are admirably explained by Mr. Gray, in a paper, on the economy of Mol-
so insensible, and their natriral divisions are so interlaced, that this I luscous animals, inserted in the PhU. Trans., 1833. — Ed.
distinction can be no longer retained. Moreover, there are several t Professor Grant maintains that there is a pancreas, or its repre-
Testacea which are not Mollusca. | sentative, in all classes of Mollusca. — Ed.
CEPHALOPODES.
337
and incapable of active exertion, they maintain themselves amid living beings princi-
pally by their fecundity, and the tenacity with which they retain life.
DIVISION OF THE MOLLUSCA INTO SIX CLASSES.*
The general form of the body of the Mollusca being, in a sufficient degree, propor-
tional to the complication of their internal organization, indicates their natural divisions.
In some, the body has the form of a sac, inclosing the branchiae, and open above,
whence there protrudes a head well developed, and crowned with certain strong fleshy
elongated productions, by means of which the animals progress, and seize upon objects.
We call these the Cephalopodes.
In others, the body is not open ; the head has no appendages, or only very minute
ones ; the principal organs of locomotion are two wings, or membranous fins, placed
on the sides of the neck, and in which the branchial tissue is often spread. These are
the Pteropodes.
Others, again, crawl on the belly on a fleshy disk, sometimes, though rarely, com-
pressed into a fin. They have almost all a distinct head. We call these the
Gasteropodes.
A fourth class is composed of those Mollusca in which the mouth lies concealed in
the base of the cloak, which also incloses tl^.e branchiae and the viscera, and opens
either throughout its whole length, or at both its extremities, or at one only. These
are our Acephales.
A fifth comprehends the species which, inclosed also in a cloak, and without an
apparent head, have fleshy or membranous arms, garnished with cilise of the same
nature. We have called these the Brachiopodes.
Lastly, there are some which, alike the other Mollusca in the cloak, the branchiae,
&c., differ from them in having numerous horny articulated members, and in a nervous
system more allied to that of the Annulose Animals. Of these we constitute our last
class, the Cirrhopodes.
THE FIRST CLASS OF MOLLUSCA.
THE CEPHALOPODES.*
The cloak unites under the body, and forms a muscular sac, that incloses ail the
viscera. In several species, its sides are extended into fleshy fins. The head issues
from the opening of the sac : it is roundish, furnished with two large eyes, and crowned
with fleshy conical arms or feet, varying in their length, and capable of being bent
very vigorously in every direction ; and, as their surface is armed with suckers, the
animals fix themselves, by their means, with great force to whatever objects they em-
brace. With their feet they seize their prey, walk, and swim. They swim with the
head backwards, and crawl in all directions, with the head beneath and the body above.
* For the name Mollusca, M. de Blainville proposes to substitute I classes is entirely my own, as well as the greater number of the sub-
Mnlacozoa ; and he separates from them the Chitons and the Cirrho- I divisions to the second degree,
pods, with which he makes a subtypical section nnder the name I t The Cephalophora of De Blainville.
Malentozoaria. The following distribution of the Mollusca into |
Z
MOLLUSCA.
338
A fleshy funnel placed at the aperture of the sac, before the neck, affords an outlet
to the excretions.
The Cephalopodes have two branchiae, one on each side of the sac, in the shape of a
compound fern-leaf. The great vena cava, when between them, divides into two
branches, which terminate each in a fleshy ventricle, placed at the base of its respective
branchia, and propelling the blood into it.
The two branchial veins tend to and terminate in a third ventricle, situated near the
bottom of the sac, whence the blood is carried to every part of the body by different
arteries.
Respiration is effected by the water which enters into the sac, and is driven out
again through the funnel. It appears that the water even penetrates into two cavities
of the peritoneum, which the venm cavae cross in their course to the branchiae ; and
that it has some influence on the venous blood, through the medium of a glandular
apparatus attached to these veins.
The mouth opens amidst the bases of the feet. It has two powerful corneous jaws,
similar to the beak of a Parrot, and between the jaws is a tongue roughened with
horny prickles. The gullet swells out into a crop, and then passes into a gizzard as
fleshy as that of a bird, to which succeeds a third membranous and spiral stomach,
into which the liver, which is very large, pours its bile through two conduits. The
intestine is simple and short. The rectum opens into the funnel.
These animals have a peculiar excretion of a deep black colour, which they use to
taint the water when concealment is necessary. It is secreted by a gland, and reserved
in a sac, differently situated in different species.
Their brain, inclosed in a cartilaginous cavity of the head, sends off from each side
a cord which swells, within each orbit, into a large ganglion, whence are derived innu-
merable optic filaments. The eye is formed of numerous membranes, and is covered
by the skin, which becomes transparent in passing over it, and sometimes forms folds
that supply the want of eyelids. The ear is merely a little cavity excavated on each
side near the brain, without semicircular canals or external passages, and in which
there is suspended a membranous sac, containing a little stone.
The skin of these animals, particularly of the Octopus, changes colour, in patches
and in spots, with a rapidity greatly superior to that of the Chameleon.*
The sexes are separate. The ovary of the female is at the bottom of the sac. Two
oviducts carry the eggs from it, passing them through two large glands which envelope
them, during their passage, with a viscous fluid, and gather them together into a sort
of cluster. The testicle of the male, similar in position to the ovary, gives off a vas
deferens that terminates in a fleshy penis situated to the left of the anus. A vesicula
seminalis, and a prostate, also open there. There is reason to believe that impreg-
nation is effected by a sprinkling of the seminal fluid over the eggs, as illustrated
in the majority of Fishes. In the season of spawning, the vesicula contains a vast
number of little filiform bodies, which, through a peculiar mechanism, writhe and
move about rapidly as soon as they fall into the water, and shed the fluid with which
they are filled.
These animals are voracious and savage ; and as they are agile, and are furnished
* See Carus, Nov Act. Nat. Cur. xii. part i. p. 320 ; and Sargiovanni, Ann. dcs Sci. Nat. vol. xvi. p. 3CS. [Also Coldstream, in Edinburgh
Journ. of Nat. and Geogruph. Science, vol. ii. p. 296.] '1
CEPHALOPODES.
339
with numerous organs for seizing their prey, they destroy many Fishes and Crusta-
ceous animals.
Their flesh is eatable. Their inky secretion is employed in painting, and from it
some have asserted that the China ink of commerce is manufactured.* * * §
The Cephalopods comprise only one order f, which we divide into genera from the nature of
the shell. Those which have no external shell formed, according to Linnseus, the single genus
Sepia, or Cuttle-fish, J
which we now subdivide as follows : —
The Poulpes {Octopus, Lam.) ; the Pohjpus of the ancients.
These have only two small conical grains of a horny substance imbedded in their back, one on each
side ; and their sac, having no fins, represents an oval purse. Their feet are eight in number, all nearly
of equal size, very large in proportion to the body, and united together at their insertions by a mem-
brane. The Octopus uses them equally in swimming, in creeping, and in seizing its prey. From their
length and strength they are formidable weapons, by means of which the prey is entangled and
caught ; and they have often been the destruction of swimmers. § The eyes are proportionally small,
and the skin can be made at will to contract over them so as to cover them completely. The ink bag
is embedded in the liver. The glands of the oviducts are small.
Some (the Polypes of Aristotle) have their suckers in two alternating rows along [the oral margin] of each foot.
The common species {Sepia octopodia, Linn.), with a minutely granulous skin, arms six times as long as the
body, and garnished with 120 pairs of suckers, infests our coasts in summer, where it destroys an immense
quantity of Crustacea. The seas of the tropics produce the Octopus granulatus, Lam. {Sepia rugosa, Bose.)
Seb. iii. ii. 2, 3, known by its more decidedly granulated body, its arms only a little longer than itself, garnished
with fifty pairs of suckers. Some believe this to be the species which furnishes the China ink of commerce.
Other Poulpes (the Eledons of Aristotle) have only a single row of suckers down each foot. In the Mediteri'anean
there is a species remarkable for its musky smell : it is the Octopus moschatus, Lam. — Mem. de la Soc. d'Hist.
Nat. in 4to, pi. 11 ; Rondelet, 516.
The Argonauts {Argonauia, Linn.)—
Are Poulpes with two rows of suckers : the pair of feet nearest the back expand, at their extremities,
into a broad membrane. They have not the dorsal cartilaginous spicula of the common Octopus ; but
we always find these Cuttles in a very thin,
regularly-grooved spiral shell, which, from the
disproportionate size of the last whorl, has
some resemblance to a canoe, the spire repre-
senting the poop. The animal uses it too as a
boat, for when the sea is calm, groups of them
have been seen navigating the surface in it,
employing six of their tentacula for oars, and
raising, it is said, the two with expanded ex-
tremities to serve the purposes of sails. If the
waves rise, or any danger threatens, the Argo-
naut withdraws all its arms into the shell, con-
tracts itself there, and descends to the bottom.
Its body does not penetrate within the spire of
the shell, and it appears does not adhere to it,
at least there is no muscular attachment, and this fact has led some authors to think that the Cuttle is
a parasite of the same nature as the Hermit-crab H ; but as it is always found in the same shell, as we
never find any other animal there, although it is very common, and naturally adapted for rising to the
* However, M. Al. Remusat has found nothin? in Chinese authors
to confirm this opinion, [which, the translator may add, is now known
to be erroneousl.
t The discoveries of Mr. Owen have proved the necessity of dividing-
the class into two orders: — 1. Dibrancbiata, with two branchiae, of
which all the naked Cuttle-fish are examples ; and, 2. Tetrabranchi-
ATA, with four branchiae, as in Nautilus, and as supposed to have been
in the multilocular-shelled fossil Cephalopodes.. — Ed.
t In Blainville’s system they form the order CryptodibrancMata.
§ This fact needs confirmation ; and we need scarcely add, that the
stories of their sinking boats and ships are entirely fabulous. — Ed.
II Hence M. Rafinesque, and others following him, have made the
animal a genus under the name Ocijthoe. [Certainly the opinion of its
being a parasite was, until recently, entertained by most naturalists ;
but that advocated by Cuvier has been greatly strengthened, or rather
proved, by the experiments of Mrs. Power. See the Mag. of Natural
History, conducted by Mr. Charlesworth ; and the dissections and
arguments of Mr. Owen, in the Proceedhtgs and Transactions of the
Zoological Society of London. The animal does not sail as here de-
scribed : the use of the expanded arms is to retain the animal within
its shell.]
z 2
MOLLUSCA.
340
surface, and as it has been even asserted that the germ of this shell has been seen in the egg of the
Argonaut *, we must say that this opinion is, to say the most of it, still very problematical. — Poll,
Testae. Neap. hi. p. 10. See also Ferussac, Mem. de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Paris, ii. p. 160 ; and
Ranzani, Mem. di Star. Nat. Lee. i. p. 85. It is the Nautilus and Pompilus of the ancients. — Plin. ix. c. 29.
We know some species, very like each other both in the animal and shell, which Linnaeus confounded together
under the name of Argonauta argo, vulgarly called the Paper -nautilus.
It is supposed that we must ascribe to an animal analogous to the Argonaut, the Bellerophon, shells
rolled up spirally and symmetrically, and without septa ; but thick, not grooved, and whose last whorl is propor-
tionably shorter. [Sowerby says that Bellerophon is the only fossil that bears any real resemblance to Argonauta,
but neither shell, in his opinion, has been formed by a Cephalopodous animal, but probably by one nearly like
that of Carinaria. The fossils are characteristic of the carboniferous limestone, and the oldest secondary strata :
in these the shell is frequently found changed to silex.]
The Sleeve-fish {Loligo, Lam.) —
Have in the back, instead of a shell, a horny lamina in the shape of a sword or lancet. Their sac has
two fins ; and besides the eight feet, furnished with small pedicled suckers inordinately arranged, their
head supports two arras much longer than the feet, and only acetibuleferous near the ends, which are
enlarged. These the animal employs as anchors to fix itself. Their ink-bag is buried in the liver ;
and the glands of their oviducts are very large. They lay their eggs attached together in straight
garlands, and in two series ; [and the entire mass somewhat resembles a mop, being composed of
numerous intestine-like filaments tied together in the centre].
The family is now subdivided from the number and armature of the feet, and the form of the fins. The LoU-
gopsis, like the Octopus, has only eight feet, but our knowledge of the genus rests upon figures that are scarcely
trustworthy.t In Loligo properly so called, the arms have suckers as well as the feet, and the fins are situated
towards the end of the sac. We have three species in our seas,— the L. vulgaris {Sepia loligo, Linn.) ; L. sagittata,
and L. subulata, or Sepia media, Linn. The Onychotheuthis, Lichenst. {Onykia, Lesueur,) have the form of the
Loligo, but the suckers of their arms end in hooked spines. The Sepiola have rounded fins, attached, not to the
end, but to the sides of the sac. The common Sepiola (Sepia sepiola, Linn.) occurs in our seas. The body is short
and obtuse, with small circular fins. It never exceeds three inches in length ; and its horny lamina is slender and
pointed like a needle. :j: The Sepiotheutes, Blainv. (Chondrosepia, Leukard,) have the sac margined throughout
with the fins, as in the Sepia ; but their shell is horny, as in the Loligo.
The Cuttle-fish, strictly so called {Sepia, Lam.), —
Possess the two long arms of Loligo, and a fleshy fin stretched along each side of their sac. Their
shell is oval, thick, tumid, and composed of an infinity of very thin parallel calcareous laminae, joined
together by thousands of little hollow columns, which are placed upright in the spaces between every
two laminae. This structure renders it friable, whence it is employed by artists in polishing various
works ; and it is given to cage birds to sharpen their beaks upon. The Sepia have the ink-bag separate
from the liver, and situated deeper in the abdomen. The glands of the oviducts are enormously large.
They deposit their eggs attached to one another in branehed clusters, not
unlike a cluster of grapes, whence the vulgar have called them Sea-grapes.
The species distributed in all our seas (Sepia officinalis, Linn.) reaches a foot or
more in length. Its skin is smooth, whitish, and dotted with red. In the Indian
Ocean there is one with a skin roughened with tubercles (S. tubercidata, Lam.).
(Among fossils we find some little bodies armed with a spine, which are the
ends of a bone of Sepiae. They constitute the genus Beloptera of Deshayes. See
Ann. des. Sc. Nat. ii. xx. 1, 2. Some other fossils, but petrified, appear to have great
relation to the beaks of the Sepiae. These are the Ry7icholithes of M. Faure Biguet.
—See Gaillardot, Ann. Sc. Nat. ii. 485, and pi. xxii. ; and D’Orbigny, ib. pi. vi.)
Linnasus united in one genus— his m.-E^gs of the Argonaut.
Nautilus —
All spirally twisted, symmetrical, and chambered shells, — that is to say, divided by partitions into
several cavities ; and he supposed them to he inhabited by Cephalopods. One of them is, in fact, the
shell of a Cephalopod, very similar to a Sepia, but with shorter arms : it is the genus
Spirula, Lam. —
In the hinder part of the body of the Cuttle is an interior shell, which, however dissimilar to the
bone of the Sepia in figure, does not differ much from it in the manner of its formation. If we imagine
i
f
II
!l
a
ii
II
a
u
I
* This appears now to have been disproved. — Kd.
t Loligopsis is now ascertained to iiave two arms, remarkable for
their great length and gracility. — See Ferussac, in /Inn. des Sciences
Nat. Part. Zool. n. s. iii. p. 339, &c. — Ed.
t On tiic anatomy of Sepiola and Loligopsis, consult Ur. Grant’s
paper in the 1st vol. of the Zoul. Trans. — Ed.
I
j
CEPHALOPODES.
341
that the successive layers, instead of remaining parallel and in nigh approximation, were to become
concave towards the body, more distant, each growing a little in breadth, and making an angle
between them, we should then have a very elongated cone, rolled up spirally on one plane, and divided
transversely into chambers. Such is the shell of Spirula ; which has these additional characters, that
the turns of the spire do not touch, and that a single hollow column, occupying the interior side of
each chamber, continues its tube with those of the other columns even to the extremity of the shell.
This is what is named the Syphon.
Only one species {Nautilus spirula, Linn.) is known.
The shell of the Nautilus, properly so called, differs from that of the Spirula in this,— that the septa increase
very rapidly, and that the last turns of the spire not only touch, but envelope the preceding. The syphon is in the
centre of each partition. The common species {Nautilus pompilius, Lin.) is very large, silvered within, and
covered externally with a whitish crust, varied with reddish somewhat undulated bands. According to Rumphius,
its animal should be in part lodged in the last cell, and should have the sac, the eyes, the parrot-like beak and the
funnel of other Cephalopods ; but its mouth, instead of their great feet and arms, should be surrounded with
several circles of numerous little tentacula, destitute of suckers. A ligament springing from the beak should run
through the syphon, and fix the animal to it. It is probable also that the epidermis is prolonged over the exte-
rior of the shell ; but we may conjecture that it is thin upon such parts as are vividly coloured.*
We meet with specimens of Nautilus {N. pompilius, B. Gm. List. 552 ; Ammonia, Montf. 74), in which the last
whorl does not envelope nor conceal the others, but in which all the whorls, although they touch, are visible,— a
character which approximates them to the Ammonites ; yet in every other respect they so closely resemble the
common species that it is difficult to believe they are not a variety of it.
Among fossils there are Nautili of large and moderate sizes, and of figures more varied than now exist in the ocean.
We also find among fossils certain chambered shells, with simple septa and a syphon, in which the body is at
first arched, or even spiral, but the last-formed parts of it are straight : these are the Lituus of Breyn, in which
the whorls are either contiguous or separate, (the Hortoles, Montf.)— Others remaining straight throughout their
growth are the Orthoceratites. It is not improbable that their animals had some resemblance to that of the
Nautilus, or to that of the Spirula.
The Belemnites
Belong, probably, to the same family, but it is impossible to be sure of this, since they are only found
in a fossil condition. Their whole structure, however, shows that they were internal shells.f They
have a thin and double shell, that is to say, composed of two cones, united
at their base, and the interior of which, much shorter than the other, is itself
divided internally into chambers by parallel septa, concave on the side that
looks to the base. A syphon extends from the summit of the exterior cone
to that of the internal cone, and is continued hence, sometimes along the margin
of the septa, and sometimes through their centre. The space between the
two testaceous cones is filled with a solid substance, composed either of ra-
diating fibres or of conical layers, which envelope each other, and each of
which rests on the margin of one of the septa of the inner cone. Sometimes
we find only this solid part ; at other times we find also the nuclei of the cham-
bers of the inner cone, or what has been called the alyeolae. Oftener these nuclei,
and even the chambers, have left no other traces behind than some projecting
circles within the inner cone ; and in other instances, the alveolae are found
in greater or less numbers, and still piled or strung together, but detached
from the double conical case which had inclosed them.
The Belemnites are amongst the most abundant of fossils, particularly in
beds of chalk and compact limestone. The most complete works upon them
are the Memoire sur les Belemnites considerees zoologiquement et geologique-
ment, hy Blainville, Paris, 1827 ; and that of M. I. S. Miller on the same
subject, in vol. ii. part 1, of the Geological Trans., Lond., 1826. [The
English student will find the fullest details in Buckland’s Bridgewater
Treatise.] M. de Blainville distributes them from characters derived from
the greater or less depth to which the inner cone, or chambered part, pene-
trates ; from the margins of the external cone, which has, or has not, a small tit:- los.— Ueienmites.
♦ The structure of this singular Cephalopod has been fully described
and illustrated in a very admirable manner, by Mr. Owen, in his
“ Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus,” Lund., 1832. — En.
t It may give the student an idea of the nature of the evidence on
which fossils are occasionally referred to living types, to mention that
Raspail believes the Belemnites to be the cutaneous appendages of
some sea animal, perhaps allied to the Sea-urchins, (^Echinus). — Eu.
MOLLUSCA.
342
fissure ; from the exterior surface being marked with a longitudinal gutter on one side, or with two or
several gutters towards the summit ; or as that surface is smooth and without gutters.
Some fossils, very much like the Belemnites, hut without a cavity, and even with a protruding basis,
form the genus Actinocamax of Miller.
It is upon similar conjectures that the classification of the
Ammonites, Drug., or Snake-stones,—
Is founded, for they, also, are only found in a fossil state. They are distinguished, in general, from
Nautilus, by their septa, which, instead of being plain or simply concave, are angulated, sometimes
undulated, but oftener gashed on the margins,
like the leaves of the Acanthus. The smallness
of their last cell leads to the belief that, like the
Spirula, they were internal shells. The beds of
the secondary mountains swarm with them, and
we find them there from the size of a bean
to that of a chariot wheel. The variations
of their whorls and of their syphon enable
them to be subdivided. Thus the name
Ammonites, Lam., is restricted to the species in which all the whorls are visible. Their syphon
is near the margin. They have been still further distinguished into those which have the margins
of the septa foiiaceous, (the Ammonites, the Planites of Haan,) and into those in which they
are simply angular and undulatory (the Ceratites of Haan). Those in which the last whorl envelopes
all the others, are the Orhulites, Lam., or the Glohites and Goniatites of Haan, or Peloguses, Montf.
The syphon is the same as in Ammonites.* The name Scaphites, Sowerby, [or rather of Parkinson,]
has been appropriated to those species whose whorls are contiguous and on the same plane, excepting
the last, which is detached and bent upon itself. Those which are perfectly straight are the Baculites,
Lam. Some are round, others are compressed ; and in the latter we some-
times observe the syphon to he lateral. The Hamites of Sowerby, [Par-
kinson,] are known by having their first formed cells arcuated. But the
Turrilites, Montf., differ more than any from the usual habit of the family,
for the whorls, in place of remaining on the same level, descend rapidly,
and give to the shell that obelisk form which is denominated turriculated. iss.— Portion of a Bacuiite
From analogy, it is supposed that we ought to refer to the Cephalopods, and to consider as being in-
ternal shells
Fig. 154. — Ammonites
The Camerines, Brug. {Nummulites, Lam.), —
For all of them are equally fossil. They have a lenticular shape, without any apparent aperture, but
within there is a spiral cavity, divided by septa into a multitude of little chambers without a syphon.
They are amongst the most generally diffused fossils, and almost of themselves form some entire chains
of calcareous hills, and immense banks of building stone. (It is upon such rocks that the pyramids of
Egypt are founded, and with stones of the same description that they are built.)
The commonest, and which attains the largest size, are altogether discoid, and have only a single
row of chambers in the whorl of the spire. Some minute sorts of this description have been also found
recent in some seas. Other minute species, both living and fossil, have their margin bristled with points,
which give to them the figure of stars {Siderolithes, Lam.).
The works and the patient researches undertaken successively hy Bimchi {or Janus Plancus), Soldani,
Fichtel and Moll, and Alex. d’Orbigny, have made known an astonishing number of these chambered
and esyphonal shells {Nummularia), of extreme littleness, so as often to be altogether microscopical,
either in the sea, among sand, sea-weed, &c. ; or, in a fossil state, in the sand-beds of various countries ;
and these shells vary to a remarkable extent in their contour, the number and the relative position of
their chambers, &c. One or two species, the only ones in which the animals have been noticed, have,
apparently, a small oblong body surmounted by numerous red tentacula, a structure which, taken in
* According to Sowerby, Orbulites and Ammonoceras, of Lamarck, are not distinct from Ammonites. The Ammonocetas is only an acci-
dentally worn portion of an Ammonite. — Ed.
PTEROPODES.
343
connection with the septa of their shells, has occasioned them, like the genera which we have just
treated of, to be arranged in the series of Cephalopods ; but this classification requires to be confirmed
by more numerous observations before it can be considered as settled.* Linnaeus and Gmelin placed
the species known in their time in the genus Nautilus. M. d’Orbigny, who has studied them more
carefully than any one else, makes an order of them, which he calls Forarniniferes, because the cells
communicate only by holes ; and he divides them into families from the manner in which the cells are
arranged. When the cells are simple, and disposed spirally, the shells constitute his Helicostegues,
which are subdivided ; for, if the whorls of the spire envelope each other, as is particularly the case with
the Cameriues, he names them Helicostegues nautiloides ; if the whorls do not cover themselves, they
are H. ammonoides ; and if the whorls rise up, as in the greater number of univalves, they are his H.
turbinoides. The family Stycostegues is known by the simple cells being, as it were, threaded on a
single straight, or slightly curved axis. When the cells are disposed in two alternate rows, they are
then the Enallostegues. If the cells are gathered together in small numbers, and heaped up in a globular
shape, the family is the Agathistegues. Lastly, in the Entomostegues, the cells are not simple, as in the
preceding families, but are subdivided by transverse partitions, so that a section of the shell discovers
a sort of trellis-work.
THE SECOND CLASS OF MOLLUSCA.f
THE PTEROPODES.
They swim, like the Cephalopods, in the sea, but cannot fix themselves there, nor creep,
from want of feet. Their organs of locomotion consist of fins only, placed at each side of
the mouth. The species known are of small size, and few in number. They are all herma-
phrodites.
The Clio {Clio, Linn.; Clione, Pall.) —
Have an oblong membranous body, without a cloak; the head is formed of two rounded lobes, whence
the little tentacula project; two small fleshy
lips, and a tongue, upon the front of the
mouth ; and the fins contain the vascular net-
work which supplies the place of branchiae ;
the anus, and the orifice of generation, are
under the right branchiae. Some have as-
serted the existence of eyes. The viscera do
not nearly fill the exterior envelope. The
stomach is large, the intestine short, and the
Fig. 156.— Clio borealis. 2iy0j- voluminOUS.
The most celebrated species {Clio borealis, Linn.) swarms in the northern seas ; and, from its abundance, be-
comes a food for the Whales, although no individual exceeds an inch in length. Brugui^re has observed a larger
species, in equal abundance, in the Indian Ocean. It is distinguished by its rose-colour, its emarginate tail, and
its body separated into six lobes by as many grooves.
It seems that we must also place here the
Cymbulia of Peron, —
Which has a cartilaginous or gelatinous envelope in the shape of a boat, or rather of a shoe, roughened
with little points arranged in longitudinal rows. The animal has two large vascular wings, which are
its branchiae and its fins ; and between them, on the open side, there is a third lesser lobe with three
points. The mouth, with two smaU tentacula, is between the wings, towards the closed side of the
shell ; and above are two minute eyes, and the orifice of generation, whence issues a penis in the form
* Some of these multilocular shells belong apparently to the testa-
ceous Annelides ; while the curious observations of Dujardin seem to
have proved that the great bulk of the Forarniniferes are not Mol-
lusca, but animals related to the Infusoria. — Ann. des Sci. Nat, n. s.
vol. V. et seq. — Ed.
t M. de Blaiiiville unites my Pteropodes and Gasteropodes into
one class, which he calls Paracephalophora, of which my Pteropods
constitute his order Apurobranchiata. This order he divides into
two families : — The Thecosomata, which have a shell ; and the Gymno-
somata, which are shell-less.
344
MOLLUSCA.
of a little beak. The transparency of the body allows us to distinguish the heart, the brain, and the
viscera, through the envelopes.
The Pneumodermes {Pneumodermon, Cuv.) —
Carry their dissimilarity to the Clios a little further. The body is oval, without cloak or shell ; the
branchiae attached to the skin, and formed of little leaflets set in two or three lines, disposed in the
figure of the letter H opposite to the head ; the fins small ; the mouth (garnished with two small lips,
and two bundles of numerous tentacula, terminated each by a sucker) has underneath a small lobe, or
fleshy tentaculum.
The only species (P. Peronii, Cuv.) was taken in the ocean by Peron. It is not less than an inch in length.
The Limacin^, Cuv., —
Ought, from the description of Fabricius, to have a nigh relationship to Pneumodermon ; but their body
is terminated with a spiral tail, and is lodged in a very thin shell, of one whorl and a half, umbilicated
on one side,* and flat on the other. The shell serves the purpose of a boat ; and when the creature
wishes to swim on the surface, it uses its fins as oars.
The species known {Clio helicina of Phipps and of Gmel. ; Argonauta arctica, Fabr., Faun. Greenl. 387) is not
less abundant than the Clio boi'ealis, in the Arctic seas ; and is likewise a principal aliment of the Whale.
The Hyales {Hyalea, Lam. ; Cavolina, Abildg.) —
Have two very large wings ; no tentacula ; a cloak slit on the sides, containing the branchiae at the
bottom of the fissures, and clothed with a shell slit in a corresponding manner, the ventral aspect of
which is very tumid ; the dorsal aspect is flat, longer than the other, and the transverse line which unites
them behind is furnished with three acute denticulations. When alive, the animal protrudes, through
the chinks of the shell, certain narrow filaments, or productions of the cloak, of variable lengths.
The best known species {Anomia tridentata, Forskahl ; Carolina natansy Abildgaard ; Hyalea cornea, Lam.) has
a small yellowish semi-transparent shell, and is found in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
The Cleodores {Cleodora, Peron).
For these. Brown first instituted the genus Clio. They appear to be analogous to the Hyales in the
simplicity of their wings, and the absence of tentacula between them. It is also probable that their
gills are concealed in the cloak ; but their conical or pyramidal shell is not slit along the margins.
M. Rang distributes the genus into subgenera thus Cleodora, with the shell pyramidal ; Creseis, with the
shell conical, elongated ; Cuvieria, with the shell cylindrical ; Psyche, the shell globular; Euribia, the shell hemi-
spherical. (And it is probable that we should arrange near the Creseis, and even perhaps in the same subgenus,
the Tripter of Quoy and Gaimard, which Blainville has referred to the family Acerse.)
It has been believed that we may place near to the Hyales, —
The Pyrgo, —
A very small fossil shell discovered by M. Defrance. It is globular, very thin, and divided by a very
narrow transverse fissure, excepting in front, where it becomes also a little enlarged.
(Several Pteropodes have been discovered in the fossil state. M. Rang has found, in the terrains
of Bordeaux, Hyales, Cleodorse, and Cuvieriae. — ^&QAnn. des Sci. Nat. for August 1826. The Vaginula
of Daudin is a Creseis, according to Rang ; and it has, in fact, all the characters of the same.)
THE THIRD CLASS OF MOLLUSCA.
THE GASTEROPODES.
The Gasteropods constitute a very numerous class, of which the Slug and the Snail give
a good general idea. They creep generally upon a fleshy disk, situated under the belly,
but which sometimes assumes the form of a furrow, or of a vertical lamina. The back
is covered with a cloak of greater or less extent, and of various figure, which secretes
a shell in the greater number of the genera. Their head, placed in front, is more or
Sowerby says, “ Umbilicated on both sides.” — Ed.
GASTEROPODES.
345
less distinct, according as it is more or less drawn in under the cloak. It is furnished
with tentacula of [comparatively] small size, and which do not encircle the mouth ;
their number varies from two to six, but they are sometimes wanting ; they are organs
of touch, and, at most, of smell also. The eyes are very small, sometimes placed upon
the head, sometimes at its base, either to a side or at the tips of the tentacula ; they
are sometimes also wanting. The position, the nature, and the structure of their
breathing organs vary, and afford characters whereby to divide them into several
families ; but they have never more than one aortic heart, — that is to say, one placed
between the pulmonary vein and the aorta.
The position of the orifices of the organs of generation, and that of the anus, varies;
but they are almost always on the right side of the body.
Several are entirely naked, others have only an interior shell, but the majority are
covered with one which contains the soft body, and shelters it.
ITiese shells are secreted in [or on] the cloak. Some of them consist of several
symmetrical pieces [or valves] ; some of a single symmetrical piece ; and others of a
non- symmetrical piece, and when this is very concave, or continues to grow for a long
time, an obliquely spiral shell is necessarily produced. In fact, that the shell may
represent an oblique cone, on which are placed successively other cones always wider
in one direction than in the others, it is necessary that the whole should turn to the
side which enlarges the least.
That part upon which the cone is turned is named the columella [or pillar] , and it is
sometimes full, and sometimes hollow. In the latter case, its opening is called the
umbilicus.
The whorls of the shell may remain nearly on the same plane, or they may tend
always towards the base of the columella. In this case, the preceding whorls rise above
the others as they are formed, and constitute what is called the spire, which is acute
in proportion to the rapidity with which the whorls descend, and to the measure of their
increase. The shells with an elongated spire are said to be turbinate. When, on the
contrary, the whorls remain depressed on the same level, and do not envelope each
other, the spire is flat, or even concave. These shells are called discoid. When the
upper part of each whorl envelopes or covers the preceding, the spire is concealed.
The place in the shell whence the animal protrudes itself, is named the mouth, or
aperture.
When the whorls remain nearly on the same plane, the animal, in creeping, has its
shell placed vertically, the columella transversely upon the hinder part of the back ;
and its head passes out under the margin of the mouth opposite to the columella.
When the spire is turbinate, the whorls turn obliquely to the right side in nearly all the
species, but in a small number to the left ; and the latter are named reversed, [or
sinistrorsaT] .
It is to be observed that the heart is always on the side opposite to that to which the
spire is directed. It is, consequently, in general on the left, and only on the right in
the reversed kinds. The contrary is the rule with the organs of generation.
The organs of respiration, which are always within the last whorl of the shell, receive
the circumfluent element under its margin, sometimes because the cloak is detached
from the body along the whole of this margin, and sometimes because it is perforated
there with a hole. The margin of the cloak, in many Gasteropods, is prolonged into
MOLLUSCA.
346
a canal, through which they can reach and receive the circumfluent medium without
extruding their head or foot from the shell. The shell has then, also, in its margin,
near the end of the columella, opposed to that towards which the spire tends, an emar-
gination, or furrow, wherein to lodge the canal of the cloak. Consequently, the canal
is to the left in common, but to the right in the reversed species.
Further, the animal being very flexile, can vary the direction of the shell, and oftenest
when there is an emargination or furrow, it directs the canal forwards, whence it
happens that the spire points to behind, the columella to the left, and the opposite
margin to the right. The contrary of this occurs in the reversed sorts : and this is the
reason that we say that their shell turns to the left, [or is sinistraT] .
The mouth of the shell, and consequently also the last whorl, is greater or less, in
relation to the other whorls, according as the head or the foot of the animal is more
or less voluminous in relation to the mass of viscera which remains fixed within the
shell ; and the mouth is wider or narrower just as the same parts are more or less
broad. There are shells whose mouth is narrow and long ; and there it is that the foot
is thin, and doubles on itself before it can be retracted.
The greater number of the aquatic Gasteropods with a spiral shell, have an operculum,
or a corneous or calcareous plate, affixed upon the posterior part of the foot, to close
the aperture when the snail has withdrawn within the shell.
There are Gasteropods with separate sexes, and others which are hermaphrodites ;
and of these some are capable of self-impregnation, while, in others, the copulation of
two individuals is required.
Their organs of digestion do not vary less than those of respiration.
The class is so numerous that we have deemed it expedient to divide it into a certain
number of orders, the characters of which we have drawn from the position and the
form of the branchiae.
The Pulmonea
Breathe the atmosphere, receiving the air within a cavity whose narrow orifice they can open
and close at wall : they are hermaphroditical, with reciprocal copulation : some have no shell,
others carry one, which is often truly turbinate, but never furnished with an operculum.
The Nudibranchiata
Have no shell, and carry their variously-figured branchiae naked upon some part of the back.
The Inferobranchiata ;
Are similar, in some respects, to the preceding, but their branchiae are situated under the
margins of the cloak.
The Tectibranchiata
Have their branchiae upon the back, or upon the side, covered by a lamina, or fold of the cloak, v
which almost always contains a shell more or less developed ; or sometimes the branchiae are ■
enveloped in a narrow fold of the foot. ,, |j
These four orders are hermaphroditical, with reciprocal copulation. '■
The Heteropodes II
Carry their branchiae upon the back, where they form a transverse row of little tufts, and are,
in some instances, protected, as well as a portion of the viscera, by a symmetrical shell. What
best distinguishes them is the foot compressed into a thin vertical fin, on the margin of which a
little sucker often appears, — the only trace left of the horizontal foot of the other orders of
the class.
GASTEROPODA PULMONEA.
347
The Pectinibranchiata
Have the sexes separated : their respiratory organs consist almost always ot oranchise composed
of lamellae united in a pectinated form, and which are concealed in a dorsal cavity opening with
a wide gape above the head. Nearly all of them have turbinated shells, with the mouth
sometimes entire, sometimes emarginate, sometimes produced into a syphonal canal, and gene-
rally capable of being more or less exactly closed by an operculum attached to the foot of the
animal behind.
The Scutibranchiata
Have branchiae similar to those of the Pectinibranchiata, but they are complete hermaphrodites,
and require no union with a second to effect impregnation : their shells axe very open, and in
several like a shield ; they never have any operculum.
The Cyclobranchiata
Are hermaphrodites of the same kind as the Scutibranchiata, and have a shell consisting of
one or several pieces, but in no case turbinate nor operculate : their branchiae lie under the
margin of their cloak, as in the Inferobranchiata.
THE FIRST ORDER OF GASTEROPODES.
THE PULMONEA.*
From other Mollusca, those of this order are distinguished in this, — that they breathe the
atmosphere through a hole which opens under the margin of their cloak, and which they can
dilate or contract at pleasure. They have, also, no branchiae, but only a network of pulmonary
vessels, which creep upon the walls, and more particularly upon the ceiling of their respiratory
cavity. Some of them are terrestrious, and others live in the water, but these are necessitated
to come, from time to time, to the surface, to receive within their pulmonary cavity the air fit
for respiration. All of them are hermaphrodites.
The Terrestrial Pulmonea have almost all four tentacula, for, in a few only, of small
size, we cannot see the inferior pair, probably because of their littleness.
Those of them which have no apparent shell, form the genus
Limax —
Of Linnseus, which is divided as follows : — The Limaces, properly so called {Limax, Lam.), have an
j elongated body, and a closely-fitted fleshy disk, or shield, for a cloak, which occupies merely the anterior
I part of the back, and covers only the pulmonary sac. It contains, in several species, a small, oblong,
flat shell, or at least, in lieu of it, a calcareous [molecular] deposition. The respiratory orifice is at the
right side of the shield, and the anus opens near it. The four tentacula are protruded and withdrawn
by a process of evolution and involution ; and the head itself can be contracted partially under the disk
of the cloak. The orifice of the generative organs is under the right superior tentaculum. In the mouth
is an upper jaw only, of a crescent form, and toothed, which enables them to devour with voracity herbs
and fruits, to wEich they are very destructive. Their stomach is elongated, simple, and membranous.
Fig. 157 . — Limax rufus.
M. de Ferussac distinguishes the Arions by the
respiratory orifice being towards the anterior part of
the shield, in which there are only calcareous granules.
Limax rufus, Linn., is an example which we meet
with every step in moist seasons, and which is some-
times almost wholly black. It is the species of which
a broth is used in diseases of the chest. The Limax
proper, has the orifice near the hinder part of the
shield, and it contains a more distinctly formed shell
Such are the Limax maximus and L. agrestris of Linn.
* Pulmobranehiata of Blainville. [In consequence of some ob- I animals, urged by Lamarck, English authors often call thi.s order the
jections to the term pulmonated being applied to any invertebrated * Pneumonnbranchous. — Ed.]
348
MOLLUSCA.
The Vaginulus, Feruss.* —
Has a close-fitted cloak without a shell, extended over the whole length of the body ; four tentacula,
of which the inferior are somewhat forked ; the anus quite at the posterior extremity, between the end
of the cloak and that of the foot ; and the same orifice leads to the pulmonary cavity situated along
the right flank. The orifice of the male organ of generation is under the right inferior tentaculum, and
that of the female organ under the middle of the right side. These organs, as well as those of digestion,
are very similar to those of the Snail. The genus belongs to both Indies, and is much like our Slugs.
The Testacell^, Lam. —
Have the respiratory aperture, and the anus, near the posterior extremity ; their cloak is very small,
and also placed there, and contains a small ear-shaped shell, which does not equal one-tenth of the
length of the body. In other respects, these animals resemble our Slugs.
One species is found abundantly in our southern
Fig-. 158.— The Testacella.
departments {Testacella haliotoidea, Diaparn.),
living under ground, and feeding principally
on earth-worms. M. de Ferussac has observed
that its cloak assumes an extraordinary develope-
ment when the animal finds itself in too dry a
situation, and thus produces for itself a sort of
shade and shelter.
[There are some interesting illustrations of the
habits of the Testacellae in Loudon’s Magazine
of Natural History, vol. vii.]
Cuv. —
The Parmacella
Has a membranous cloak, wdth loose margins, situated [upon a gibbosity] in the middle of the back,
and containing, in its posterior part, an oblong flat shell, which exhibits the mere vestige of a spine.
The respiratory aperture, and the anus, are under the right side of the middle of the cloak.
The first known species was from Mesopotamia {Par. Olivieri, Cuv.) ; but we have now one from Brazil, and
some others from India.
In the terrestrial Pulmonea with a perfect and exterior shell, the margin of its aperture is in general
thickened and reverted in the adult.
Linnaeus referred to his genus
Helix, —
Every species in which the aperture of the shell (somewhat encroached upon by the projection of the
penultimate whorl) assumes a crescent-like figure.
When this lunated aperture is wider than it is deep, the shells belong to Helix, Brug. & Lam. In some, the
shell is globular. Everybody knows the edible Snail {Hel. pomatia, Linn.), common in gardens and vineyards,
and esteemed as a delicacy in some departments ; and the common Snail {Hel. nemoralis, Linn.), remarkable for
the vividness and variety of its colours, and very
hurtful to garden stuffs in wet seasons. There is
no one who has not heard of the curious experi-
ments, showing to what extent they can reproduce
amputated parts.
Other species have a depressed shell, or one with
a flattened spire ; and we ought not to pass over
without notice such as have interiorly projecting
ribs, nor those in which the last whorl is abruptly
turned up in the adult [so that the aperture appears 159. — Anastoraa globosa
in the same plane as the spire], and then assumes
an irregular plicated form,— hence denominated Anastoma\ by Lamarck.
The Vitrina, Drap. {Helico-Limax, Feruss.), are Helices with an extremely thin subspiral shell, without an um-
bilicus, and with an ample aperture, whose margin is sharp and even. The body of the Snail is too large to be
drawn within the shell. The cloak has a double edge ; and the superior fold, which is divided into several lobes,
may be made to overlap the shell so as to clean and polish it. The European species live in moist situations, and I
n 1 __x ai'Ta 111 wiirm
are very small ; but there are some of large size in warm climates.
* Synonymous -with the Onchidium of Buchanan ; and the F eroni-
cella of Blainville is not different. — Ed.
t “The peculiarity -which distinguishes this genus from all the other
Heliciform Univalves is so extraordinary, that it appears to us to be
deserving of particular notice, inasmuch as it evidences a consider-
able alteration in the habit and economy of the animal which produces
it, at the time of its arrival at its last period of growth, when it forms
the reflected outer lip, and the teeth in the aperture. Until then, the
animal must crawl about like other Snails, with the spire of its shell &
uppermost ; but as soon as it arrives at maturity, and is about to form
its complete aperture, it takes a reverse position, and afterwards
constantly carries its spire downwards.”— Sowekbt. Two species
are known.— Ed.
GASTEROPODA PULMONEA.
349
j
j
I
I
t
(
We ougfht to arrange near them some Helices which, without having a double-edged cloak, are equally incapable
of retreating within their shell. Helix rufa and brevipes, Ferus., are examples.
When the depth of the aperture is greater than its width, as is always the case in shells with an oblong or elon-
gated spire, they are the terrestrial Bulimi of Brug., which it appears necessary to subdivide as follows : — The
Bulimus, Lam., have an oval rim, thickened in the adult, but without denticulations. In tropical countries, there
are some large and beautiful species ; some remarkable for the size of their eggs [equal to that of a Pigeon], and
with an equally solid shell ; and others for their reversed shells. In our own country there are several of small or
moderate size, and one of them {Helix decollata, Gm.) has the singular habit of breaking off in succession the
whorls from its spire. This example has been quoted as a proof that the muscles of the animal can be voluntarily
detached from the shell ; for a time does come when this Bulimus preserves no more than a single whorl of all
those it possessed at the beginning of the decollation.
The Pupa, Lam., have an obtusely-pointed shell, whose last w^horl is narrower than the penultimate, whence
it has an elliptical, or sometimes a cylindrical form. The mouth is surrounded by a thickened rim, and en-
croached upon, on the side of the spire, by the penultimate whorl. The species are very small, living in moist
stations, amongst mosses, &c. There is sometimes no toothlet in the aperture, but oftener there is one or more
either on the projecting part of the penultimate whorl, or within the outer margin. [The genera Vertigo, Miill.,
and Alcea, Jeffreys, appear to have been separated from Pupa on too slight grounds ; for the inferior tentacula are
not absent, as is alleged, but only reduced to a minimum. The Partula, Fer., deserves probably to be kept dis-
tinct ; for the species are ovo-viviparous, while all the others are oviparous.]
The Chondrus, Cuv., has, as in these latter Pupae, the mouth of the shell encroached upon by the penultimate
whorl, and guarded with plates or toothlets ; but the figure of the shell is more ovate, and more like that of the
common Bulimi. Some have the teeth on the rim of the aperture, and others have plaits situated deeper within
it. [This genus appears to be synonymous with the Azeca of Leach.]
Here terminates the section of terrestrial Helices whose shell has a thickened oral rim \ox peritreme'\ in the adult.
The Succinea, Drap., has an ovate shell, with an aperture longer than its width, as in Bulimus, but larger in
proportion ; the outer lip sharp, and the side of the columella almost concave. The Snail is too large to be con-
tained in it, and we may almost regard it as a Testacella with a big shell. The inferior tentacula are very small.
It lives upon the herbs and the shrubs of the brinks of rivulets, whence it has been considered as an amphibious
genus.
We ought to separate from the genus Turbo of Linnaeus, and approximate near the terrestrial
Helices, the
Clausilia, Drap., —
Known by the slender, long, and pointed shell, with the last whorl narrower than the penultimate in
the adult, compressed, and a little detached. Its mouth is entire and margined, and often toothed or
Fig’. 160. — A. zebra Fig. 161. — A. virginea.
furnished Avith plates. There is mostly found,
within the last whorl, a little lamina [commonly
termed the clamium\, slightly curved, a little
like the letter S, the use of which to the animal
is unknown to us.* The species are small, and
live in moss, at the foot of trees, &c. A great
number of them are reversed.
The Achatina, Lam. —
Ought likewise to be separated from the BuU(r of
Linnaeus, and brought hither. The oval or ob-
long shell has the aperture of Bulimus, but is not
margined ; and has the extremity of the colu-
mella truncated, which is the first index of the
emarginations we find in so many of the shells
of the marine Gasteropodes. These Achatinae
are large Snails which feed on trees and shrubs
in hot climates.f Of such as have, within the
last whorl, a callus or particular thickening,
Montfort makes his genus Liguus. The body-
whorl is proportionahly narrow ; and when the
end of the columella is curved towards the in-
side of the aperture, and the body-whorl is broader, the species constitute Montfort’s Polyphemes.
* The use is to dose the aperture of the shell when the Snail has
retired. See a good description of its mechanism by Mr. J. E. Gray,
in Zool. Journ. vol. i. p. 212. — Ed
+ “ The greater number of Achatince,” says Sowerby, “are African
shells : some are West Indian, and a very few European. Among the
latter, -we can only lay claim to one as decidedly a native of this
country, the A. acicula of Lamarck.”— Ei>.
350
MOLLUSCA.
The Aquatic Pulmonea have only two tentacula. They come ever and anon to the
surface to breathe, so that they can only inhabit waters of inconsiderable depth : thus they i
live in fresh waters or in brackish pools, or at least near the sides and mouths of rivers.
There are some amongst them without a shell : such is the
Onchidium, Cuv.*
A large fleshy cloak, of the shape of a buckler, overlaps the foot on every side, and even covers the
head when this is contracted. It has two long retractile tentacula, and over the mouth a veil, sinu-
ated, or formed of two triangular compressed lobes. The anus and air-passage are under the hinder
margin of the cloak, where, a little deeper, we find also the pulmonary sac. Near them, to the right,
is the opening of the female organs, while, on the contrary, that of the male organ is under the right
tentaculum ; and these two orifices are united by a groove which runs under and along the right edge
of the cloak. Destitute of jaws, they have a muscular gizzard, succeeded by two membranous stomachs. i
Several species inhabit the coasts of the sea, but always in such a situation that they are uncovered at
ebb tide, when they obtain the air necessary to respiration.
The Aquatic Pulmonea, with perfect shells, have been placed by Linnaeus in his genera Helix, Bulla, \
and Valuta, whence they ought to be withdrawn. In Helix were the two following genera, whose aper-
ture, as in Helix, had its inner [or pillar] margin protuberant and arcuate : —
The Planorbis, Brug., —
Had already been distinguished from Helix by Bruguieres, and even previously by Guettard, because '
the whorls of their shell, rolled up nearly on a level, enlarge insensibly, and the mouth is wider than
deep.f It contains a Snail with long, slender, filiform tentacula, at the inner base of which the eyes
are situated. It can exude, from the margin of its cloak, a copious red liquor, which is not to be mis-
taken for its blood. The stomach is muscular, and the food vegetable, as in the Limnseae, which are
the faithful companions of the Planorbes in all our stagnant waters.
The Limn^us, Lam.,
Were separated from the Bulimus of Bruguieres, because, notwithstanding the similarity of the shells,
the margin of the Limnees is sharp-edged and not reflected, and their columella has an oblique fold.
The shell is thin : the animal has two compressed,
broad, triangular tentacula, with the eyes sessile at
their inner base. They feed upon plants and seeds ;
and their stomach is a very muscular gizzard, fur-
nished with a crop. Hermaphrodites, after the fa-
shion of their order, they have the female organ rather
widely apart from the other, — a structure which
compels them to copulate in such a manner that the
individual acting as a male to his mate is the fe-
male to a third, and from this peculiarity we occa-
sionally find them joined together in long strings. „
They abound in stagnant w'aters ; and they are found plentifully, as well as the Planorbes, in marly
or calcareous beds, which we thus discover to have been deposited from fresh water.
The Phys^, —
Which were arranged arbitrarily among the Bullae, have the shell of Limnaeus, but still thinner, and i
there is no fold on the columella. The animal, when it swims or creeps, covers its shell with the two
pectinated lobes of the cloak : it has two long setaceous tentacula, which are bulged at the base where \
the eyes are placed.
The species are small, and live in clear ponds. One of them {Bulla fontinalis, Lam.), has its whorls sinistral, (
[and this, indeed, is the only certain character which distinguishes the genus from Limnaeus.]^
Fig. 1C2 — Limiiaea stagnalis.
* M. de Blainville has changed the name Onchidium into Peronia,
and transfers the first to the Vaginulus. He places Peronia
amongst his Cyclobranchia ; but I cannot perceive any real difference
between their respiratory organ and that of the other Pulmonea. [As
this genus is not the Onchidium of Buchanan, as Cuvier supposed,
M. de Ferussac proposes to name it Onchis.l
t Sowerby maintains that the shell in Planorbis is always reversed, j
or sinistral. — Ed.
t When the shell is oval-globose, and the cloak sufficiently ample
to cover it, in an expanded state, the genus is the Ainphipeplea of
Nilson ; [and when the shell is turreted, and the cloak entire, the
genus is named Aple.va by Fleming. — Ed.]
GASTEROPODA NUDIBRANCHIATA.
351
I From the observations of Van Hasselt it seems that we must here arrange
I The Scarabes, Montf.
i The shell is oval, and the aperture contracted by large teeth projecting from both the columellar side
I as well as the outer lip : this lip is swollen, and as the
animal re-makes it after every half-whorl, the shell is most
protuberant on two opposite lines, and has a flattened
aspect. The animals live on aquatic plants in the Indian
Archipelago.
The two genera which follow were misarranged among
j the Volutes.
I Auricula, Lam., —
Differing from all preceding aquatic Pulmonea by having
I their columella striated with large oblique channels. Their
' shell is oval or oblong; the aperture of the shape of the Bulimus or Limnaeus ; the lip furnished with
j a varix. Several species are of considerable bulk ; but it is not ascertained if they live in marshes,
I like the Limnaeus, or merely upon their margins, after the manner of the Succinea.
j [One species, according to Lesson, lives in fresh water ; the others appear to be terrestrial, living on rocks by
j the sea-side.] We find only one in France, from the coast of the Mediterranean {Auricula myosotis, Drap.) The
mate has two tentacula, and the eyes are at their bases. \CarycMum, Muller, answers so nearly to the description
of Auricula, that the genera ought probably to be conjoined. The typical species (C. minimum) lives under leaves
in shaded woods.]
The Melampes, Montf. {Conovulm, Lam.),
Like the Auricula, have prominent plaits on the columella, but their aperture has no varix, and its
inner lip is finely striated : the shell has somewhat the shape of a cone, of which the spire makes the
base. They inhabit the rivers of the Antilles.
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE NUDIBRANCHIATA.*
They have neither a shell nor pulmonary cavity, but their branchiae are exposed naked
upon some part of the back : they are all hermaphroditical and miarine : they often swim in a
reversed position, the foot applied against the surface, and made concave like a boat ; and
they assist their progress by using the edges of the cloak and the tentacula as oars.
The Doris, Cuv., —
Have the anus in the posterior part of the back, and the branchise are arranged in a circle round the
anus ; and as each resembles a little arbuscule, they constitute alto-
gether a sort of flower. The mouth is a small proboscis, situated
under the anterior edge of the cloak, and is furnished with two small
conical tentacula. There are other two tentacula, of a conoid figure,
[and lamellated structure,] which issue from the superior and ante-
rior part of the cloak. The organs of generation have their orifices
near to each other, under its right margin. The stomach is membranous. A gland, intimately inter-
laced with the liver, sheds a peculiar secretion, that escapes outwards by a hole near the anus. The
species are numerous, and some of them of considerable size. We find them on the shores of every
sea.f Their spawn is shed in the form of a gelatinous ribbon, on rocks and sea-weeds, &c.
The Onchidores, Blainv., only differ from the Doris in the wider separation of their sexual organs, whose orifices
communicate by a furrow drawn along the right side, as in the Onchidia. The Plocamoceres, Leuckard, have all
the characters of Onchidores, and moreover the anterior edge of their cloak is adorned with numerous branched
tentacula. The branchiae of Polycera, Cuv., are like those of Doris, but simpler, and furnished with two mem-
Fiu. Ifi4 — Doris coriiuta.
Fig. 163. — Auricula scarabseus.
* My first four orders are joined together by M. de Blainville into
what he calls a sub-class, and names Paracephalophora monoica. Of
my Nudibranchiata he makes two orders : in the first (^Cpclobranchi-
ata) he places the Dorides ; in the second {Polpbranchiata) the
Tritoniae and its allies, which he divides into two families, according
as they have two or four tentacula.
t The Scottish species are described by Dr. Johnston in the 1st
vol. of the Annals of Natural History ; and Montagu has described
many British species in the Linnaan Transactions. — Ed.
MOLLUSCA.
352
branous laminae to cover them in time of danger : and besides the two conoid tentacula in front, similar to those
of Doris, they have four, or sometimes six others, which are simply pointed.
The Tritonies {Tritonia, Cuv.), —
Have a body, superior tentacula, and generative organs, as in the Doris ; but the anus and the vent of
the peculiar secretion are on the right side, behind the vulva :
the arbuscular branchiae are arranged along each “side of the
back, and the mouth, guarded by broad membranous lips, is
armed within with two lateral horny and cutting jaws, in shape
somewhat like to the scissors for shearing sheep.
We have a large species (Tritonia Hombergii, Cuv.) on our coasts ; and
there are many others, some of them very small, which exhibit great variety in the size and figure of their branchiae.
[Melibea, Rang, differs in having filiform simple tentacula issuing from a wide sheath, and two series of ovate
muricated or tuberculated branchiae on the back, which readily fall off when the animal is handled. M. rosea,
which lives on floating sea- weeds near the Cape of Good Hope, is the type ; but there are some European Mollusca,
of small size, which are also referable to it.]
The Thethys, Linn., — •
Have along the back two row^s of tufted
branchiae ; and upon the head a very large
membranous fringed veil, which curves, in its
contraction, under the mouth. The mouth is
a membranous proboscis without jaws ; there
is at the base of the veil two compressed
tentacula, from the margin of which issues a
small conical point. The orifices of generation,
of the intestine, and of the peculiar secretion,
are as in Tritonia. The stomach is mem-
branous, and the intestine very short.
There is, in the Mediterranean, a beautiful spe-
cies of a greyish colour, spotted with white (Thetis
fimbria, Linn.).
The SCYLL.3EA, Linn.
In this genus the body is compressed ; the
foot narrow and furrowed, to enable it to embrace the stems of sea-
weed ; no veil ; the mouth forming a small proboscis ; the exterior
orifices as in Thethys ; the tentacula compressed, terminating in a
cavity from which a little point, with an uneqnal surface, can be
protruded ; and upon the back are two pairs of membranous crests,
carrying, on their inner aspect, some pencils of branched filaments.
The middle of the stomach is covered with a fleshy ring, armed
wfith horny laminae as sharp as a knife. The common species is found on Fucus natans, or gulf-weed,
wherever this appears.
The Glaucus, Forster,
Have the elongate body and the vents as in the preceding ; four minute conical tentacula ; and on each
side [two or] three branchiae, each formed of long fringes ar- 1|
ranged like a fan, and by whose means they swim. They are M
little charming Molluscs of the Mediterranean and Indian a
Ocean, agreeably painted with azure-blue and silver, and swim ®
with great quickness on their backs. Their anatomy closely f
resembles that of Tritonia. The species have not, as yet, been |
satisfactorily distinguished. ^
The Laniogerus, Blainv., has, on each side, two series of little
plates, finely divided in a pectinate manner, which are the branchiae.
The body is shorter and thicker than in Glaucus, but they have its
four little tentacula.
The Eolidia, Cuv.,
Resemble little slugs, with four tentacula above, and tw^o on
Fi(f. 167-— Scyllaea pelagica.
Fig:. 1C6.— Thethys leporina, upper and under sides.
Fig-. 165. — Tritonia.
GASTEROPODA TECTIBRANCHIATA.
353
the sides of the mouth. Their branchicC are tentaculiform processes or papillse disposed along the sides,
overlying like scales, [or held erect] . They inhabit all seas.
The CavoUna, Brug'uifere, have the habit of Eolidia, but their branchige are disposed in rows across the back.
The Flabellines, Cuv., still exhibit the tentacula of the preceding genera, with branchiae composed of radiating
filaments supported on five or six pedicles on each side. They approximate the Glancus; and in general it is to be
remarked, that all the Nudibranchiata with branchiae placed upon the sides of the back are nearly affined.
The Tergipes, Cuv.,
Are in shape like the Eolidia, but have only two tentacula, and along each side of the back there is a row
of cylindrical branchiae, each terminated by a little sucker, which enables them to be used as feet : hence
the creature can walk in a reversed posture. [This singular structure of the branchiae, and their pedes-
trious use, requires to be confirmed.] The known species are very small.
The Busiris, Risso, is knowm by its oblong body, convex back, two filiform tentacula, and behind
them, upon the neck, two plumose branchiae.
The Plocobranchus, Van Hasselt, has tw-o tentacula, and tw^o labial lobes, and the whole back,
widened at the sides, covered with numerous radiating striae, which are the branchiae. In their natural
conditions, the widened margins of the cloak are raised, and overlap each other so as to form a covering
to the branchiae, which are thus placed in a sort of cylindrical sheath. The only species yet known is
from the shores of Java.
THE THIRD ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE INFEROBRANCHIATA.
These have nearly the habit and organization of Doris and Tritonia, but their branchiae,
instead of being situated upon the back, are on the sides of the body, under the projecting
margin of the cloak, where they form tw^o long series of leaflets. [The species are strictly
littoral, being gasteropodous and incapable of swimming.]
The Phyllidia, Cuv.
Their naked, and generally coriaceous cloak, is not protected by any shell. Their mouth is a small
proboseis, and has a tentaculum at each side ; two other tentacula protrude above from two little
cavities of the cloak. The anus is in the hinder part of the cloak, and the orifices of generation under
I the right side in front. The heart is about the centre of the back ; the stomach is simple, membranous ;
j and the intestine short. There are several species in the Indian ocean.
i The Diphyllides, Cuv. —
t Have branchiae nearly similar to those of Phyllidia, but the cloak is more pointed behind ; the head, of
i a semicircular figure, has a pointed tentaculum on each side, and a slight tubercle : the anus is on the
: right side.
[The Ancylus, Geoffroy,— a fresh-water Gasteropode, with a shell similar to that of a Patella, is placed by Rang
I in this order. He asserts that the animal is branchiferous, while the Rev. Mr. Berkeley has asserted that it is pul-
j monated. They live in stagnant waters and in rivulets, adhering to stones and aquatic plants.]
I
j THE FOURTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
! THE TECTIBRANCHIATA.-*'
They have their branchiae attached along the right side, or upon the back, in the form of
more or less divided, but not symmetrical, leaflets ; these are more or less covered by the
j mantle, in which a small shell is generally contained. They approximate the Pectinibranchiata
* The Monoplcurohranchiata oi DUinvUla.
' A A
i|
'i
MOLLUSCA.
354
in the form of the respiratory organs, and, like them, live in the sea ; hut they are hermaphro-
dites, like the Nudibranchiata and Pulmonea.
The Pleurobranchus, Cut.*
The cloak and the foot both jut beyond the body, which thus appears as if it were between two
bucklers. The former contains, in some species, a little oval calcareous plate ; in others, a horny one,
and in either case it is situated above the head. The branchiae are placed along the right side, in a
groove between the cloak and foot, and represent a series of pyramids divided into triangular leaflets.
The mouth, in the form of a small proboscis, is overhung with an emarginate lip, and with two tubular
cleft tentacula ; the orifices of generation are before, and the anus behind the branchiae. There are four
stomachs, of which the second is fleshy, sometimes armed with osseous pieces, and the third is garnished
with prominent longitudinal laminae. The intestine is short.
There are different species in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, some of which are large and beautiful. [We
have two British species.]
The Pleurobranch^a, Meckel {Pleurobranchidium, Blainv.), — i
Has the branchiae and the orifices of generation situated as in Pleurobranchus ; but the anus is above
the branchiae ; the margins of the cloak and of the foot project but a little, and upon the front of the '
cloak are four short distant tentacula, forming a square which forces a comparison with the anterior
disk of the Aceres. I find but one stomach, with thin parietes, which is a mere dilatation of the
intestine. A greatly divided glandular organ opens outwardly behind the genital orifices. There is no
trace of a shell.
The only known species is from the Mediterranean.
The Aplvsia, Lin. ’
The margins of the foot are turned up into flexile crests, and, surrounding the back on every side, |i
they can be reflected over it. The head, supported on a neck of greater or less length, has the two II
superior tentacula hollowed like the ears of a quadruped, and two others of a flattened shape at the end ^
of the inferior lip ; the eyes at the base of the former. Upon the back we find the branchiae in the '!
form of complicated leaflets, attached to a broad membranous pedicle, and concealed by a little cloak, |j
equally membranous, which contains a horny flat shell. The anus is behind the branchiae, and is often li
concealed under the lateral crests : the vulva is to the right in front, and the penis issues from under ,jl
the right tentaculum. A groove, whieh extends from the vulva to the very extremity of the penis,
conducts the semen thither in copulation. A membranous crop, of enormous size, leads into a muscular
gizzard, armed inside with many cartilaginous and pyramidal bodies ; and this is followed by a third
stomach beset with sharp hooks, and a fourth in the form of a coecum. The intestine is voluminous. '
These animals feed on sea-weed. A peculiar gland pours out, through an orifice near the vulva, a
limpid humour, which is said to be very acrid in some species ; and from the edges of the cloak there
oozes in abundance a deep purple liquid, with which the animal discolours the water of the sea when it j|
perceives danger to be at hand. Their ova are laid in long glairy entangled filaments, as slender as j
threads. I)
There are found in our seas Apl. fasciata, Poiret, punctata, Cuv., and depilans, Linn. ; and the shores of foreign |
countries possess several others. || j
The Dolabella, Lam. —
Differs only from Aplysia in the position of the branchite at the posterior extremity of the body, which ,|l
resembles a truncated cone. The lateral crest fits close to the branchial apparatus, leaving merely a ‘j
narrow groove. The shell is calcareous. !'
The species are found in the Mediterranean and in the Indian Ocean. |
The Notarchus, Cuv. —
Has the lateral crests united and covering the back, leaving merely a longitudinal fissure to conduct n
water to the branchiae. These have no cloak to cover them, but in other respects they resemble the |
branchiae of the Aplysia ; and the organization of the two genera is otherwise similar. In -||
* The same as the Liwiellaria of Montagu, [a name which the Botanists have usurped,] and the Berthella of Blainville. [This genus, Pleu-
robranchaia. Umbrella, Spiricella,and Siphonia, are placed in the preceding order by Rang.]
GASTEROPODA TECTIBRANCIIIATA.
355
Thk Bursatelles, Blainv., —
The lateral crests are united in front, so as only to leave
an oval opening for the water to pass to the branchiae
which are also destitute of a covering cloak. It is, how-
ever, probable that this genus should be allowed to lapse
into the Notarchus.*
The Aceres, {Akera, Muller)—
Have the branchiae covered like the preceding genera, but
their tentacula are so much shortened, widened, and sepa-
rated, that there seems to be none at all, or rather they
form together a large, fleshy, and nearly square buckler^
under which the eyes are placed. Moreover, their her-
maphroditism, the position of their sexual organs, the
complexity and structureof the stomach, the purple liquid
which several of them shed, all approximate them to the
Aplysiae. The shell, in such as have one, is more or less
convolute, with a slight obliquity, without a visible spire,
and the mouth has neither sinus nor canal ; but as the
columella is convex and protuberant, the mouth has a
crescent-like shape, and the part opposite to the spire is always widest and rounded. When the shell
is buried in the cloak, M. de Lamarck names the genus Bullaea. The shell has few whorls, and is too
small to contain the animal.
The Bull<ea aperta, Lam., is an example which is found in almost every sea, where
it lives on oozy bottoms. When the shell is [external], covered with a thin epidermis
and sufficiently roomy, M. de Lamarck allows them to retain the old name Bulla.
The Bulla lignaria, ampulla, and liydatis are examples, [distinguished not only by the
characters of the shells, but by peculiarities in the armature of the stomach, which
consists of two or three comparatively large osseous pieces or jaws of different shapes
Of those of B. lignaria, Gioeni constituted a genus to which he assigned L'o.—Buiiiea aperta.
his own name ; it is the Tricla of Retzius, the Char of
Bruguifere, and disfigured our systems until the cheat
was detected by Braparnaud.] I restrict the term Accra
to such species as have no shell whatever, or merely a
vestige of it behind, although the cloak has the external
form of one. The genus is the Doridium of Meckel
and Lobaria, Blainv. There is a small species in the
Fif^. ]/i -Bulla lignaria. ( Fig. 172.-Bra.npulla; Mediterranean (Bulla carnosa, Cuv.), whose stomach
is as destitute of any armature as its cloak is of a shell, but the oesophagus is fleshy and very thick.
Fig. 169. — Bursatella Leachii.
in each.
The Gasteroptbron, Meckel, —
Appears to be only an Aceres with the sides of the foot expanded into broad fins, by whose aid it is
enabled to swim, which it does in a reversed position. It also has no shell, and no stony apparatus
in the stomach. A very slight fold of the skin is the sole vestige of a branchial cover to be observed.
The one species known (G. Mechelii) is a Mediterranean Mollusk, about an inch long by two in breadth, when
its wings are spread out.
Until a more ample anatomy has been made of it, we believe that it is in this order, and near to the
Pleurobranchus, that the singular genus
Umbrella, Lam. {Gastroplax, Blainv.) —
Should be placed. The animal is a great circular Mollusk, whose foot exceeds by much the cloak, and
has its upper surface roughened with tubercles. The viscera are in a superior and central rounded
part. The cloak is only visible by its slightly projecting sharp edge along the entire front, and on the
right side. Under this slight edging of the cloak are the branchiae, in lamellated pyramids, like those
of Pleurobranchus ; and behind them is a tubular anus. Under this same margin, in front, are two
* -^pfysUi virtdis, Montug., raised to a genus by Oken under the
name of Actann, and which is at least nearly allied to the Elysia timida
of Risso, has been considered as a near ally of Aplysia, but from want
of a knowledge of the branclniE, 1 cannot classify it. [The branchite
cover the back and the superior surface of the lobes under the form of
avascular network, so that the true position of the Elysia is next to
Placubranchus.]
A A 2
MOLLUSCA.
356
tentacula, longitudinally cleft as in Pleurobrancluis, and at tlieir inner bases are the eyes : between
them is a kind of proboscis, perhaps an organ of generation. There is a large concave space in the
anterior margin of the foot, the edges of which can be drawn together like the mouth of a purse ; and
at its bottom is a tubercle pierced with an orifice, which is perhaps the mouth, and is surmounted by
a fringed membrane. The inferior surface of the foot is smooth, and serves the animal to crawl on, as
in other Gasteropodes. It carries with it a hard, flat, irregularly-rounded shell, thickest in the centre,
with sharp margins, and lightly marked with concentric striae. It was supposed at first that the shell
was attached to the foot, but more recent observations have proved that it is upon the cloak, and in its
usual place.
[Tvs'o species have been discovered : one in the Indian Ocean, the other in the Mediterranean.]
The Hetero])oda are distinguished from all other Mollusca by their foot, which, instead of
forming a horizontal disk, is compressed into a vertical muscular lamina, which they use as a h
fin I and on the edge of which, in several species, is a sucker in the form of a hollow cone, that
represents the disk of the other orders. Their branchiae, formed of plumose lobes, are situ- i,
ated on the hinder part of the back, and point forwards ; and immediately behind them are ij
the heart and liver, of inconsiderable size, with a portion of the viscera and the interior organs f ,,
of generation. The body, of a transparent gelatinous substance, sheathed with a muscular
layer, is elongate, and generally terminated with a compressed tail ; the mouth has a muscular |||
mass and a tongue garnished with little hooks ; the gullet is very long ; the stomach thin ; |
two prominent tubes, on the right side of the bundle of the viscera, serve as passages to the |
excrements, and to the eggs or semen. They swim, in ordinary, in a reversed position; and
they can inflate the body with water in a manner which is not yet well understood.
Forskal comprised them all under his genus PterotracJiea, which it is necessary to subdivide.
The Cabinaria, Lam., —
Has the nucleus (formed by the heart, the liver, and organs of generation,) covered with a thin, sym- ,
THE FIFTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE HETEROPODA, Lam.*
metrical, conoid shell, with the point curved [
backwards, and often raised into a crest ; under
One species (Car. cymbimn, Lam.) inhabits the
Mediterranean; another the Indian Ocean (Car. >
fragilis, B. St. Vincent). The Argonauta vitrea of|i«i
authors may be a Carinaria, but its animal is un-Mi j
known. 1,'
The Atlanta, Lesueur, —
From the observations of M. Rang, should bej|[
small shells of the Indian Sea ; and in one of them.
t. tour is raised into a thin crest. They are !
of them, Lamanon believed that he had found the originai||'
I
of the Ammonites.
► M. de lilainville makes a family of this order, whkli he names
Nectopoda, and unites them in his Nucleobranclnata with another
family named the Pteropoda, comprisinir, however, only Limacina o
my Pteropodes. He adds to it, upon I know not what conjecture, the
nr. 1... 1 fni- Arconaiita beinir ar- f
he names
cture, the vol. v- p. 325. — Ed.
GASTEROPODA PECTiNIBRANCHIATA. 357
The Firola, Peron, —
Has the body, the tail, the foot, the branchiae, and the nucleus of the viscera, nearly the same as the
Carinaria, but no shell has been observed. Their snout is prolonged into a recurved proboscis, and
their eyes are not fronted with tentacula. There is often seen hanging at the end of their tail, a long
j jointed thread, which Forskal considered to be a Tape-worm, and the nature of which is not yet cer-
tainly determined.
One species {Pterotrachea coronata, Forsk.) is very common in the Mediterranean; and M. Lesueur has de-
scribed several others from the same sea as different, but they require new and comparative examinations. Such
as have the body abruptly truncate behind the visceral nucleus, instead of being terminated with a tail, M. Lesueur
distinguishes as Fh'oloides.
I To these genera, now well known, I suppose we shall, on a better acquaintance with them, have
' to add the Timoriennes, Quoy & Gaym., which appear to be Firolae deprived of their foot and nucleus of
I viscera ; and the Monophores of the same naturalists, which have nearly the form of Carinaria, but are
I also footless and shelless, nor have any visceral nucleus.
It is not so certain that we should place here the Phylliroes of Peron. The body, transparent and
I much compressed, has in front a snout surmounted with two long tentacula without eyes ; behind, a
j truncate tail ; and we can see through the integuments its heart, its nervous system, its stomach, and
! the genital organs of both sexes. The anus, and the orifices of the genital organs, are also on the right
side, and a penis of considerable length is sometimes even protruded ; but I cannot perceive any other
respiratory organ than its thin and vascular skin.
THE SIXTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE PECTINIBRANCHIATA.*
This order is, beyond comparison, the most numerous of the class, since it comjirehends
almost all the univalve spiral shells, and several which are simply conical. The branchias,
j composed of numerous leaflets or fringes, ranged parallelly like the teeth of a comb, are affixed
j in one, two, or three lines (according to the genera) to the floor of the pulmonary cavity, wdiich
j occupies the last whorl of the shell, and which communicates outw^ards by a wide gape betw^een
I the margin of the cloak and the body. Two genera only — Cyclostoma and Helicina — have,
, instead of branchise, a vascular network clothing the ceiling of a cavity in all respects the same
I as that of the order ; and they are the only ones which respire the atmosphere, water being
I the medium of respiration to all the rest.
All the Pectinibranchiata have tw^o tentacula and two eyes, raised sometimes on pedicles ; a
I mouth in the form of a proboscis, more or less lengthened ; and separate sexes. The penis of
the male, attached to the right side of the neck, cannot, in general, be drawn within the body,
, but is reflected into the branchial cavity ; it is sometimes very large. The Paludina alone has
' the organ concealed, and it comes out through a hole pierced in the right tentaculum. The
I rectum and the oviduct of the female also creep along the riglit side of the branchial cavity ;
; and there is between them and the branchiae a peculiar organ, composed of cells filled with a
j very viscous fluid, the use of wdiich is to form a common envelope for the inclosure of the eggs,
and which the animal deposits with them. The form of that envelope is often very complicated
and very remarkable.
The tongue is armed wdth little hooks [or curved spinules], and w^ears down the hardest
j bodies by slow and oft-repeated frictions.
I The grand difference betw'een these animals lies in the presence or absence of the canal
formed by the prolongation of the margin of the branchial cavity on the left side, and wdiich
I * In M. tie Bla'mville's system, it f ornis the subclass Paraeephalophota dioica.
358
MOLLUSCA.
passes along a similar canal or sinus in the shell, to enable the animal to breathe without leaving j
its shelter. There is also this distinction between the genera — that some want the operculum; 1 1
and the species vary in the filaments, fringes, and other ornaments that deck the head, the foot,
or cloak.
We arrange these Mollusca under several families from the form of their shells, which | ;
appears to be in sufficiently constant harmony with that of their respective animals. p
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PECTINIBRANCHIATA,— |
The Trochoides, —
Is recognized by their shell having an entire aperture, without sinus or canal for a siphon, which the •
animals have not*; and in being furnished with an operculum, or some organ as its substitute.
The Trochusid.e (Trochus, Linn.).f
The mouth of the shell, angular at its exterior margin, approaches more or less to a quadrangular (
figure, and is in an oblique plane in relation to the axis of the shell, because that part of the margin i
next the spire advances more than the rest. The greater number of the animals have three filaments i
on each side of the cloak, or at least some appendages to the sides of the foot.
Among those which have no umbilicus, there are some in which the columella, in form of a concave arch, is
continuous, without any projections, with the exterior margin. It is the angle and advance of this margin that i
distinguishes them from Turbo. These are the Tectai'ia, Month Several are flattened, with a sharp [spiny] margin, j i
whence they have been compared to the rowel of a spur ; these are the Calcar, Montf. Some again are a little h
depressed, orbicular, glossy, with a semicircular aperture and aconvex callous columella; Lamarck calls such Rotella. pi
Others have the columella marked near the base with a little prominence or vestige of a tooth, similar to that of
Monodonta, from which these Trochoides differ only in the general shape of the aperture, which is, in the present
instances, a little deeper than wide:— they are the Cantharides, Montf. The aperture in others is, on the contrary,
much wider than deep, and their concave base gives them a resemblance to the Calyptreae; these Montfort names
Entonnoirs. Others, in which the aperture has the same great proportional width, have the columella in the form
of a spiral canal. And those which have the shell turreted {Telescopmm, Montf.) resemble the Cerithia.
Among the umbilicated Trochusidae, some have no longer any projection on the columella ; the greater number
are flattened, and have the exterior angle sharp. Of this kind is Trochus agglutinans, Linn., remarkable for its habit
of gluing and incorporating with its shell, in proportion as it grows, different foreign bodies, such as gravel, frag-
ments of other shells, &c. It often covers its umbilicus with a testaceous plate. There are some also with rounded
margins, of which we have a common example on our coasts, {Tr. cinerarius, Linn.). Other umbilicated Trochi
have a prominence near the base of the columella : and lastly, in others it is crenulated throughout its length.
The Solarium, Lam., is distinguished from the other Trochi by its obtusely conical spire, whose broad base is
perforated with a wide and deep umbilicus, in which the eye can trace the margins of all the whorls winding up
[like an elegant miniature staircase], and prettily crenulated. The Euomphalus, Sowerby, are fossil shells similar
to Solarium, but without crenulations on the inner whorls of the umbilicus.
The Periwinkles {Turbo, Linn.) —
Comprise all the species with the shell perfectly and regularly turbinate, and of which the aperture is
quite round. From a detailed examination of them, they have been greatly subdivided into genera.
The Turbo, Lam., properly so called, have a round or oval thick shell, with an aperture completed on
the side of the spire by the penultimate whorl. The animal has two long tentacula ; the eyes raised
on [short] pedicles at the exterior base ; and, upon the sides of the foot, membranous expansions,
either simple or fringed, or furnished with one or two filaments. To some of them those stony thick
opercula belong which may be frequently observed in collections, and which were formerly used in
medicine under the name of Unguis odoratus. Some are umbilicated {Meleagris, Montf.), and some
are not so {Turbo, Montf.).
Tbe Delphinula is a shell as thick [and solid] as the Turbo, but subdiscoid, and its aperture is entirely formed
bv the last whorl, and without a varix. The animal resembles the Turbo. The common species {Turbo delphinus,
Linn.) takes its name from the branched curved spines that arm the whorls, and which have given rise to a com-
parison of it to a dried fish.
The Pleurotoma, Defrance, are fossil shells with a round mouth, and a narrow deep incision on the outer margin.
It is probable that this incision corresponds, as in Siliquaria, with some fissure of the cloak. M. Deshayes reckons
already more than twenty- five fossil species. The Scissurellce of M. d’Oi-bigny are recent species.
The Tarritella, Lam., have the aperture of Turbo, but the shell is thin and elevated into an obelisk, or turreted.
* Hence Blainville denominates the order Asiphonobranchiata. t Family Goniostomuta of Dc Blaiiiville.
GASTEROPODA PECTINIBRANCHIATA.
359
The eyes of the snail are on the exterior base of the tentacula ; the foot is small. There is a great number of
fossil species ; and we ought to unite with it the Proto, Defr.
The Scalaria has the turreted spire of Turritella, with the aperture of Delphinula, but the spire is covered with
longitudinal, elevated, rather acute ribs, and the mouth is encircled with a varix. The tentacula and penis of
the animal are long and slender. The principal species, the Turbo scalaris, Linn., or the Wentletrap, has long
been famous for the high prices given for a specimen. It is distinguished by its whorls being separate from each
other. A small species without this peculiarity {Turbo clathrus, Linn.), is common in the Mediterranean.
We may arrange here some terrestrial or lacustrine subgenera, whose shells have an entire roundish operculated
aperture. Of this number are the Cyclostoma, Lam., distinguished from all others by being terrestrious ; and in
place of branchiae, there is a vascular network on the parietes of the pulmonic sac.* In all other respects, Cyclo-
stoma resembles the animals of this family. The spiral shell is finely striated in the direction of its rounded
whorls, and, in the adult, the aperture is encircled with a small raised rim, and closed with a round thin opercu-
lum. The Turbo elegans, Linn., found in woods, under stones and moss, is the type of the genus.
The Valvata, Mull., live in fresh water. Their shell is obtusely conical, with a round operculated mouth ; and
the snail, which has two slender tentacula, and eyes at their inner base, breathes by means of branchiae. In our
native V. cristata. Mull., the branchia, in the shape of a miniature feather, protrudes from under the cloak, and
floats in the water with a vibratory motion, when the animal wishes to breathe.t On the right side there is a fila-
ment that resembles a third tentaculum. The foot is two-lobed in front. The penis of the male is slender, and
lies in the respiratory cavity. The shell, scarcely three lines in height, is corneous, obtuse, and umbilicated.
It is necessary to classify here some purely aquatic snails, which formerly made a part of the genus
Helix, since the shell had the crescent-like aperture that constituted the character of that genus.J The
three first genera are nearly allied to Turbo. Thus
The Paludina, Lam. —
Have been separated from Cyclostoma because they have no rim or varix round the aperture ; because
this, as well as the operculum, has a little angle above ; and because the animal, having branchiae, must
live in water. It has a very short proboscis, two setaceous tentacula, eyes seated on the external bases,
ij a small membranous fin on each side of the body in front, the anterior margin of the foot lobed, the
fin of the right side folded into a small canal to introduce the water into the respiratory cavity, an
approach to the siphon of the following family. In the common species {Helix vivipara, Linn.), the
i female is viviparous, and we find the young, in spring, in the oviduct, in all stages of developement.
j Spallanzani assures us that the young, kept separate from the moment of their birth, can give birth to
I others without having copulated, as happens with the Aphides. The males are, notwithstanding, as
common as the females, their organ issuing from a hole in the right tentaculum, which is thus made
larger than the other, and. affords a character to know the sexes by.
j In the sea there are some shells that differ from Paludina only in their superior thickness. These are
j The Littokina, Feruss.
The common species, or Periwinkle, swarms on our coasts, and is eaten. [The Lacuna of Turton is
I a Littorina with a perforation in the pillar.] The Monodon, Lam., differs from Littorina§ in having a
il blunt tooth at the base of the columella, which has in some also a fine incisure. Several are cre-
ij nulated on the outer lip. The animal is more ornamented, carrying in general on each side three or
'! four filaments as long as the tentacula. The eyes are elevated on pedicles on the outer side of the root
I of the tentacula. The operculum is round and horny.
Trochus tesselatus, Linn., is an abundant example on the French coast.
The Phasianella, Lam. —
Have a shell similar in shape to that of Limneus and Bulimus, but the aperture is closed with a calca-
' reous operculum, and the base of the columella is sensibly flattened and without an umbilicus. The
j shells are much sought after by amateurs, from the beautiful speckled manner in which their various
colours are disposed. Their snail has two long tentacula, with the eyes on tubercles at their exterior
bases, double lips emarginated and fringed, as well as the lateral fins carrying each three filaments.
\Planaxis, Lam., is nearly allied to Phasianella, from which, however, it maybe distinguished by the truncation
of the anterior part of the pillar. There are six species known, one of which is so common on the shores of the
Isle of France that the rocks, in some places, are covered with it.]
* For this reason M. de Ferussac, with Cyclostoma and Helicina,
makes a distinct order — his Puhnonea operculata, [which has been
adopted by Rang and many other systematists ; and seems warranted
by the anatomy of the former genus given by the Rev. Mr. Berkeley
in the Zool. Journ. iv. p. 282.]
t Hence Dr. Fleming was induced to institute the order Cerrict-
branchia for the genus, which he afterwards arranged with the Nudi-
branchia. — En.
J They constitute the family Ellipsustoma of De Blainville.
i Sowerby more properly unites Monodon with Turbo. — En.
MOLLUSCA.
360
■(
The Ampullarta, Lam. —
Has a roundisli ventricose shell with a short spire, like most of the Helices ; its aperture is higher than
wide, furnished with a [calcareous] operculum, and the columella umbili-
cated. They live in the fresh and brackish water of hot climates. The
animal has long tentacula, and pedunculated eyes. At the bottom of the
respiratory sac, by the side of the long branchial comb, there is, according
to the observations of MM. Quoy and Gaymard, a large pouch filled with
air, and which may possibly be a swimming bladder.
Tlie Lanistes, Month, are Ampullarias with a wide spiral umbilicus,— The Heli-
cina, Lam., from the shell, would seem to be Ampullariae with the rirn of the aper-
ture reflected. When this rim is sharp, the shells are Ampullines, Blainv., and
when it is blunt, the Olygirce of Say. There is one species {Helicina neritella,
Lam.) remarkable for a white shelly edge on the inner side of the operculum. It
appears that the organs of respiration are similar to Cyclostoma, and that the
animals can live in the open air. [ The Helicinae are land shells. Mr. Gray has
given a monograph of the genus in the 1st vol. of the Zoological Journal; but since its publication, the number of
species has been doubled.]
The Melanin —
Have a thicker shell, with the aperture deeper than wide, which expands at the part opposite the spire.
The columella has neither fold nor umbilicus. The spire varies greatly in its length. They live in
rivers, but there is no species in France. The animal has long tentacula, and the eyes are placed about
a third way up on their outer side.
The Rissoa, Freminv. {Acmea, Hartm.) dilfers from Melania in having the rim of the aperture united all round.
[“ All we have met with are littoral shells, and several species abound on our s\iOve&:'>—Sowerby.—Melanopsis,
Ferussac, with nearly the same form as Melania, has a callosity at the columella, and a vestige of an emargination
near the base of the aperture, indicating a relationship with Terebra. The Pirena, Lam., have not merely this
sinus, but another on the opposite side. Like the Melania, the two last subgenera live in the rivers of the south
of Europe, and of warm countries, [“ and yet most of the fossil species are found in beds that are considered by
geologists, in this country, to be of marine formation.”—
We incline to refer to this place in the system two genera separated from the Volutes, and which
have a considerable similarity to Auricula, but are operculated, and have only two tentacula. First,
Acteon, Month, {Tornatella, Lam.), with a convolute shell ; and, secondly, Pyramidella, Lam., with a
turreted shell, whose columella is obliquely twisted and plaited.
FitJ. 174. — AmpullariJi rugosu.
The Janthina*, Lam. —
Is widely separated from all that precede by the form of the animal. The shell has some resemblance
to our land snails, but the aperture is angular at its lower part and at its outer side, where, however,
the angle formed by the union of the upper and lower halves of the outer lip, is much rounded in most
of the species, and somewhat so in the common one : the columella straight and elongated, the inner
lip turned back over it. The animal has no operculum, but carries under its foot a vesicular organ,
like a congeries of foam-bubbles, of solid consistency, that prevents creeping, but serves as a buoy to
support it at the surface of the water. The head is a cylindrical proboscis ; and is terminated with a
mouth cleft vertically, and armed with little curved spines : on each side of it is a forked tentaculum.
The shells are of a violet colour ; and when the animal is irritated it pours forth an excretion of deeper
blue to tinge the sea around it.
The Litiopa, Rang, is a small conoid shell without an operculum, the body-whorl larger than the spire, and the
aperture entire. The animal lives on the gulf-weed, whence it can suspend itself by a thread like a spider from
a ceiling ; and by the same thread it can remount at pleasure to the surface of the weed.]
The Nerita, Linn. —
re shells with the columella in a straight line, which renders their aperture semicircular or semielliptical,
t is generally large in proportion to the shell, but always closed perfectly with an operculum. The
pire is almost obsolete, and the shell semi-globular .f
Naticce Lam., are Nerits with an umbilicus. The animal of such as are known has a large foot, simple tentacula,
ve eyes sessile at their bases, and a horny [or shelly] operculum. [In Neritopsis, Sowerby, there is a broad no ch
r sinus in the columella, which distinguishes it from Natica and Nerita, whose forms it seems to combine in itself.]
" M. de Blainville makes this genus his family Oxystoma.
t The genus Nerita, Linn., constitute the family Hemkyclostoma of Blainville.
I
I
GASTEROPODA PECTINIBRANCHIATA.
361
Nerita, Lam. {Peloronta, Oken), has no umbilicus. Their shell is thick, the columella toothed, the operculum
calcareous. The eyes of the animal are supported on pedicles at the sides of the tentacula; and the foot is mode-
rate in size. There is but slight reason to distinguish among them the Velates, Montf., where the side of the
columella is covered with a thick, swollen, calcareous layer ; and the Neritina, Lam., in which the columella is
toothless, and the animals are inhabitants of fresh waters. Some have, however, a delicately toothed columella,
and among these is one whose spire is armed with long spines, (Clitho, Montf.). [The species of Neritae are very
numerous. M. Lesson has brought one from Australia, where it lives abundantly upon trees ! This fact ought
to make us more than ever wary of separating the marine from the fluviatile species. Indeed, some real Neritinae
can live both in fresh and salt water, and others are altogether marine.]
Recent observations induce us to arrange near to the Trochoides
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PECTINIBRANCHIATA,—
The Capuloides,* —
Which comprises five genera, four of which are dismembered from Patella. All of them have a wddely
open shell, scarcely turbinate, without an operculum, or emargination or canal. The animal is male and
female, and resembles the other Pectinibranchiata. Their branchial comb is single, laid across the vault
of the cavity, and its filaments are often very long.
Capulus, Mont. {Pileopsis, Lam.) —
Have a conical shell, with the summit recurved a little in spiral, whence they were for long placed with
the Patellae. The branchiae are in a series under the anterior margin of their cavity ; the proboscis is of
considerable length ; under the neck is a much plaited membranous veil ; there are two conical tentacula
with the eyes at their base on the outside.
Hipponyx, Defr., appear from their shell to be fossil Capuli, but are very remarkable for the base of calcareous
layers on which they rest, and which has probably been excreted by the foot of the animal. [Hipponyx is a truly
bivalve shell.]
Crepidula, Lam.
Shell oval [variable], with an obtuse point obliquely inclined backwards towards the margin : the
under-side is generally concave, and the inner lip forms a broad, flattish, sharp-edged, toothless, hori-
zontal plate, which about half covers the aperture. The abdominal sac containing the viscera is upon
this plate, the foot under it, the head and the branchiae in front. The branchiae consist of a series of
long filaments attached under the anterior margin of the branchial cavity. Two conical tentacula bear
the eyes at their exterior bases.
Pileolus, Sowerby, seem to be Crepidulae, of which the transverse plate occupies half of the aperture, but their
shell has a greater resemblance to Patella. The few species known are fossil.
Septaria, Ferus. {Navicella, Lam.), resemble the Crepidula, excepting that their summit is symmetrical, and
turned down on the posterior margin, and their horizontal plate projects less. The animal has, moreover, a tes-
taceous plate of an irregular shape, attached horizontally upon the superior surface of the muscular disk of the
foot, and covered by the abdominal sac, which rests in part above. It is, probably, the analogue of an operculum*
but does not fulfil its office, being in some degree internal. The animal has long tentacula, and at their outside
are peduncles to support the eyes. They live in the rivers of warm countries.
Calyptr^a, Lam.
Shell conoid, the cavity furnished with a lateral internal appendage, very variable in form, which is
as it were the beginning of a columella, and is interposed in a fold of the abdominal sac. The branchiae
are composed of a range of numerous hair-like filaments. Some have the appendage adhering to the
bottom of the cone, folded itself into a cone, or tube, and descending vertically. Others have it placed
almost horizontally, adhering to the sides of the cone, which is marked above with a spiral line, that
gives to their shell some relation to that of the Trochus.f
SiphonariaJ, Sowerby.
Dismembered from Patella, to which in general form and appearance it very nearly approaches, but
its margin is a little more prominent on the right side, and it is hollowed underneath with a shallow
groove which opens at this prominence, and with which a lateral hole in the cloak corresponds, to intro-
* M. de B .ainville inserts the most of them among \\\& Paracephala-
phora hermaphrodita, Fam. Calyptracea, but they seem to me to be all
dioicous. [It is necessary to arrange with them the Lnttia of Gray,
which has a shell almost identical with that of Patella, but the animal
is pectinibranchous. We have at least one native species, (Puf. Cle-
landi) .]
+ [Mr. Broderip has described many species in the 1st vol. of the
Trans, of the Zoo! . Society, accompanied with beautiful figures ; and
Mr. Owen has given an excellent anatomy of the genus in the same
work.]
t Apparently the same as the Gadinia of Gray.— Phil. Mag. April,
1824.
362
MOLLUSCA.
duce the water to the branchial cavity placed upon the back, and closed in every other place. The
respiratory organ consists in a few small leaflets, attached in a transverse line to the bottom of that
cavity. The animal appears to have no tentacula, but only a narrow veil upon the head. There are
species in which the shell shows no appearance of the groove, and would perfectly resemble a Patella
were it not that its vertex is turned backwards. [We must observe, says Rang, that we have seen
young Patellae to have the character of Siphonaria, and to preserve traces of it at a more advanced age:
it is only then provisionally that we adopt this genus, and assign it a place among the InferobrancMata.']
SiGARETus, Adans.
The shell is flattened, with an ample round aperture, and an inconsiderable spire, whose whorls enlarge
very rapidly, and are visible on the inside. It is hidden during life in the fungous shield of the animal,
which projects considerably beyond it, as well as the foot, and is the true mantle. We observe in front
of this mantle an emargination and a semi-canal, the use of which is to conduct water into the branchial
cavity, but which leave no impressions on the shell. The structure indicates a transition to the following
family. The tentacula are conical, with the eyes at their exterior base : the penis of the male is very
large.
There are species on our own coasts. [This remark is erroneous, unless we consider Cuvier’s Sigaretus the
same as Pleurobranchus. See some remarks on the confusion in the nomenclature of this genus by Mr. Gray, in
the Zool. Journ. i. p. 428.]
Coriocella, Blainv., is a Sigaretus with a horny and almost membranous shell, like that of Aplysia.
The Cryptostoma, Blainv. —
Has a shell very similar to Sigaretus, supported, with the head and abdomen (which it covers), on a foot
four times its size, cut square behind, and which produces in front a fleshy oblong part that constitutes
nearly one half of its mass. The animal has a flat head, two tentacula, a broad branchial comb on the
roof of its dorsal cavity, and the penis under the right tentaculum, but I have not seen any emargination
in the cloak.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE PECTINIBRANCHIATA,—
The Buccinoides,* —
Have a spiral shell, the mouth of which has, near the end of the columella, a sinus or canal, for the
passage of the siphon or tube formed by an elongated fold of the cloak. The greater or less length of
this canal when it exists, the greater or less width of the aperture, and the various forms of the
columella, afford characters for a division of the family into genera, which can be grouped in various
ways.
The Cones (Conus, Linn.) —
Are so named from the conical figure of their shells. The spire,
either flat or slightly raised, forms the base of the cone, whose
apex is at the opposite extremity : the aperture is narrow,
rectilinear, or nearly so, extended from one end to the other,
without protuberance or fold, either on the columella or the
margin. The animal is of a thinness proportioned to the aper-
ture through which it issues : its tentacula and proboscis are ,
much elongated, and we find the eyes near the apex of the
former, on the outside : the operculum, seated obliquely on the
hinder part of the foot, is narrow, and too short to close the
mouth of the shell.
The shells of this genus are in general beautifully coloured, whence
Fij/. 175.— Conus j-eiieraiis. it happens that they crowd our cabinets. Our seas produce only a
very few species, [of which there is a full enumeration in Lamarck’s Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans vertebres.']
The Cowries (Cijprcea, Linn.) —
Have also a [concealed or] very short spire, and a narrow aperture extending from one end to the
other ; but the shell, which is ventricose in the middle, and almost equally narrowed at both ends, forms
* Coequal with the Paracrphaluphora dioica siphunohranchiata of
Blainville.
+ M. de Blainville unites in one familj’’, najiied Angyostoma, the
Conus, Cyprsoa, Ovula, Tcrebellum, and Voluta. In placing here the
genera with a narrow aperture, we do not intend to say that they are
nearest in affinity to the preceding family ; but we place them first
because they exhibit the characters of the siphoniferous tribes in the
most distinct manner.
'(H"
GASTEROPODA PECTINIBRANCHIATA.
363
an oval ; and its aperture in the adult animal is transversely toothed on each side. The cloak is suffi-
ciently ample to fold over and envelope the
shell, which, at a certain age, it covers with a
layer of shell of another colour ; and from this
circumstance, joined to the change which the
aperture undergoes, the full-grown shell may be
'mistaken for another species. The animal has
moderate tentacula, with the eyes at their ex-
ternal bases, and a thin foot without an oper-
culum.
The colours of the shells are very beautiful, and
many species are found in our cabinets, though, with
very few exceptions, they all inhabit the seas of tro-
pical countries. [Bruguiferes was of opinion that the
animal of the Cypraea, before it arrived at its complete
growth, abandons its shell several times, to form
another more fitted to its dimensions. This opinion
is now relinquished.]
The Ovul^, Brug. —
Have an oval shell, with a narrow, lengthened
aperture, as in Cyprsea, but without teeth on the columellar side ; the spire is concealed, and the two
ends of the aperture are nearly equally emarginated, or equally prolonged into a canal. Linnaeus con-
founded them with Bulla, from which they were properly separated by Bruguieres. Their snail has a
broad foot, an expanded cloak, which partly folds over the shell, a moderate and obtuse snout, and two
long tentacula, on which we find the eyes at about the third of their length on the outside. Montfort
restricts the name Ovula to such shells as are transversely denticulated on the outer lip ; and he names
those in which the two ends of the aperture are prolonged into a canal, and the outer lip is plain, the
Volva. When this lip is also plain, without a prolongation on each side, he calls the genus Calpurna.
Fi?. 176- — Cyprsea exanthema.
Terebellum, Lam. —
Has an oblong [or subcylindrical] shell, with a narrow aperture, without plaits or grooves, and
increasing regularly in width to the end opposite the spire, which is more or less salient, according to
the species. The animal is not known. [On account of its hidden spire, Montfort separates the
species named Convolutum, by Lamarck, to form his genus Seraphs, which seems to be unnecessary.]
The Volutes {Voluta, Linn.) —
Vary in the figure of the shell and of the aperture, but are recognized by the emargination without a
canal which terminates it, and by the oblique plaits of the columella.
Bruguieres first separated from them the Oliva, so named from the oblong or elliptical form of the shell, whose
mouth is straight, long, and sinuated opposite tothe short spine, and the plaits of the columella are numerous and
similar to striae. The whorls are separated from each other by a narrow groove. These shells do not yield in beauty
to the Cowries. Their animal has a large foot, the anterior part of which (in advance of the head) is separated by
an indentation on each side : the tentacula are slender, and the eyes are on their side near the middle of their
length. The pi*oboscis, the siphon, and penis are tolerably long: they have no operculum. MM. Quoy and
Gaymard have observed at the posterior part of the foot an appendage, which is laid in the furrow of the whorls.
The remaining species of the Volutes have been subdivided into five genera by M. de Lamai'ck. The Volvaria
nearly resemble Oliva in their oblong or cylindrical form ; but their aperture is narrow, and its anterior margin
rises even above the spire, which is extremely short. There are one or several plaits on the columella. Their
polish and whiteness has induced the natives of some countries to string them into necklaces. There is a small
fossil species in the environs of Paris. [According to Sowerby, Volvaria is entirely a fossil genus, of which two
species are found in the environs of Paris, and one in the London clay at Hordwell.] Voluta, Lam., has an ample
aperture, and a columella marked with some large plaits, of which the inferior is the strongest. Their spire varies
much in its prominence. Some {Cymbium, Montf. ; Cymba, Sowerb.) have the last whorl ventricose : their animal
has a large, thick, fleshy foot, without an operculum ; and over the head a veil, at the sides of which the tentacula
issue. The eyes are seated on this veil, exterior to the tentacula. The proboscis is of considerable length, and the
syphon has an appendage on each side of its base. The shells attain a great size, and several are very beautiful.
[“ The shells are ventricose, light, and buoyant, floating when placed iipon their backs on water, and having when
so placed a boat-like appearance. Their apex is rude, and without regularity of shape. They are sombre, and,
for the most part, uniform in colour. They are covered with a smooth brown epidermis, which is, again, more or
364
MOLLUSCA.
less coated with a vitreous covering or enamel-like glaze, probably secreted by the mantle. The columella is
uniformly curved, and it is believed that none of the species have hitherto been found in the New World.” —
BroderipJ] [The Melo, Broderip, resembles Cymba ; but its apex, instead of being shapeless and rude, takes a
well-fashioned and spirally-marked form. The colouring of the shell is also more elegant and vivid.] Others
(Voluta, Montf.) have the last whorl conoid, narrowing at the end opposed to the spire. The foot is less than in
the preceding genus. Their shells ai'e often very remarkable for the beauty of the colours and patterns which are
painted on their surface. [There is reason to believe that the genera Cymba, Melo, and Voluta, are viviparous.]
Marginella, Lam., with the form of the Voluta, has the outer lip thickened and revolute. The sinus is slightly
marked. According to Adanson, the foot is also less, and has no operculum. The animal can partially cover its
shell by raising the lobes of its cloak. The tentacula have the eyes upon the outer side at their base. M. de La-
marck distinguishes among them the Colombella, by the more numerous plaits
on the shell, and by a swelling of the middle of the outer lip. It appears
that there is no operculum. Mitra, Lam., has an oblong aperture with some
large folds on its columella, of which those next the spire are the largest.
Their spire is generally long and pointed. Several species are brilliantly
spotted with red upon a white ground. Their animal has a small foot, tenta-
cula of moderate length, with the eyes on the side one-third above the roots,
and a moderate siphon ; but it will often protrude a proboscis longer than the
shell. [The genus Conohelix, of Swainson, has a form more conical than the
typical Mitrse ; but its claim to be a good genus is denied by Sowerby.] Can-
cellaria, Lam. — The last whorl ventricose, and the aperture ample and round,
with a plate upon the columella : the spire is prominent, pointed, and the surface marked in general with cancel-
lated striae. [According to Sowerby, this genus is nearly allied to Purpura.]
Fig. 177- — Colombella.
The Whelks {Buccinum, Linu.)* —
Comprise all the shells furnished with an emargination, or short canal, bent to the left, and whose
columella is not plaited. Bruguieres made four genera of them ; viz., Buccinum, Purpura, Cassis, and
Terehra ; which MM. de Lamarck and Montfort have still further subdivided.
Buccinum, Drug., comprises the emarginated shells without any canal, the general form being oval, as well as
the aperture. The animals where known have no veil on the head,— a proboscis, two widely separate tentacula
with the eyes on their outer bases, and a horny operculum. The siphon is prolonged beyond the shell. M. de
Lamarck specially reserves the name Buccinum to such as have
the columella convex and naked, and the outer lip without
ribs or varix. Their foot is moderate in size ; their proboscis
long and thick, and their penis often excessively large. [The
shell of the remarkable genus named Trichotropis by Broderip
and Sowerby, is turbinated and keeled ; its aperture is wider
and rather longer than the spire ; the base entire : but imme-
diately below the obliquely truncated columella there is an in-
distinct canal. The shell is thin and delicate, covered with an
epidermis forming numerous sharp-pointed bristle-like pro"
cesses on the edges of the carinae outside the shell. The horny
operculum is much smaller than the aperture. The animal
resembles a Buccinum, differing from it principally in having
only a very small fold of the mantle to line the nearly obsolete
canal of the shell. There is a British species {T. borealis).']
Nassa has the columella covered by a plate more or less thick
and broad, and the emargination deep, but without a canal.
The animal resembles that of Buccinum, and there are shells intermediate between the two genera. Lamarck
names Eburna those which join to a smooth shell, without plaits on the lip, a pillar that is deeply and widely
umbilicated. In general form their shell has a strong resemblance to the Olives. [There is no operculum.] The
animal is unknown. The Ancillaria, Lam., has also a smooth shell, and at the base of
the columella a striated appendage or varix, without an umbilicu-s, and without a
groove round the spire. The animal, in such species as it has been observed in, is
similar to that of Oliva, and has the foot even more developed. The same naturalist
unites those which are ribbed in the direction of the whorls, under the generic name
of Dolium : the lower whorl is very large and ventricose. Montfort again subdivides
Dolium into the Dolium proper, where the base of the columella is as it were twisted ;
and into Perdix, where it is sharp. Their animal has a very large foot, dilated in
front ; a proboscis longer than its shell ; slender tentacula ; eyes at their exterior
side near the base ; the head without a veil, and the foot without an operculum.
Harpa is easily recognized by the prominent ribs which cross the whorls, and of
which the last forms a rim to the margin of the aperture. The shells are beautiful. The animal has a very large
Forms tlie family Entoinosto7nu of Blaiiiville.
GASTEROPODA PECTINIBRANCHIATA.
365
Fig. 180. — Coiiciiolepas peruvianu.'.
foot, pointed behind, widened in front, where it is marked with two deep emarginations. The eyes are on the sides
of the tentacula, near the base. There is no veil nor operculum. (MM. Reynaud, and Quoy and Gaymard have
observed that, under certain circumstances, the hinder part of the foot is spontaneously amputated.) We recognize
the Purpura, Brug., by its flattened columella, pointed at the base, and forming there, with the outer lip, a canal
excavated in the shell, but not projecting. The species were scattered among the Buccina and Murices by Lin-
naeus. Their snail is like that of Buccinum as now restricted. Some shells similar to Purpura but in which we
notice a spine on the outer margin of the canal, form the genus Licorna, Montf. {Monoceros, Lam.) Others in
which the columella, or at least the lip, is garnished, in the full-grown shell, with teeth that narrow the mouth
constitute the Sistra of the former, and the Ricimila of Lamarck. The Concholepas, Lam., has also the general
characters of the Purpura, but the aperture is so
enormously large and the spire so inconsiderable,
that the shell has the aspect of a Capulus, or of one
of the valves of an Area. The emargination of the
mouth has a small tooth on each side of it. The ani-
mal resembles that of Buccinum, excepting in the
foot, which is enormous in width and in thickness,
and which is attached to the shell by a muscle in
form of a horse-shoe, as in Capulus. There is a thin,
narrow, horny operculum. A species from Peru
{Buccinum concholepas, Brug.) is the only one known.
Cassis, Brug. — Shell oblong ; the aperture oblong or
narrow; the columella covered with a plate as in
Nassa, and that plate grooved transversely as well as
the outer lip : the emargination ends in a short canal,
which is folded and turned up backwards, and to the
left. There are often varices. [The shells are called
Helmets by English collectors, and are in general
remarkable on account of their great size.] The
animal resembles that of Buccinum, but its horny
operculum is toothed, that it may pass between the
grooves of the outer lip. Some have the varix of this
lip toothed externally near the emargination; and
others have it plain. The Morio, Montf. {Cassidaria,
Lam.) are separated from the Cassis because their
canal is less abruptly curved back; and they lead
us to certain of the Murices. The animal resembles
a Buccinum also, but its foot is more developed.
[Oniscia, Sowerby, is sufficiently distinguished
from Cassidaria by its granulated inner lip, its very
short, scarcely reflected canal, and its very singular
general form, which is oblong or subcylindrical, with an obtuse
apex. Strombus oniscus, Linn., is the type of the genus.] Terebra,
Brug., have the mouth, the emargination, and the columella of
Buccinum, but their spire is drawn out so as to be turriculated or
subulate. [The species are numerous and beautiful.] The Subula,
Blainv., is distinguished by some dilference in the animal, and by
the existence of an operculum.
The Cerithium, Brug., —
Dismembered with good i-eason from the Murex of Linnaeus,
Fig. 182.— Cassidaria cchinophora. hav6 a slicll with a turriculatcd Spire, an oval aperture, and
a short but distinct canal
curved to the left and back-
wards. There is a veil on
the head of the animal, two
distant tentacula, having
the eyes at the side, and
a round, horny operculum.
Many of them are found in a fossil state.
IM. Brongniart has separated from Cerithium the Potamides, which, with the same form of shell, have a very
short, scarcely emarginate canal, no sinus or gutter near the top of the right lip, and the exterior lip dilated. They
-Cassis tuberosa.
Fig. 183. — Ceritheum.
live in rivers, or at least at their mouths ;
than land or freshwater species.
and some of them are fossil in formations where there are no other
366
MOLLUSCA.
The Murex, Linn.* —
Embraces all shells whose canal is elongate and straight. I have found in the animals of all the sub-
genera a proboscis ; approximated long tentacula, with the eyes external at their base ; a horny oper-
culum, and no veil over the head : they otherwise resemble the Buccina, except in the length of the
siphon. Bruguieres divided them into two genera, subsequently subdivided into others by Lamarck
and Montfort.
Murex, Brug., are all shells with a salient straight canal, and with varices across the whorls. M. Lamarck
reserves this name specially to those in which the varices are not contiguous, so as to make two opposite rows. If
their canal is long and slender, and the varices are armed with spines, they belong to the Murex of Montfort.
If the varices are merely nodulous,
they constitute his Brontes. Some,
with a canal of moderate length,
have projecting tubes between the
spinous varices which penetrate
the shell ; and these are the Ty-
pMs, Montf. The CMcoracea of
the same have, instead of spines,
the varices garnished with plait-
ed leaves, torn or divided into
branches : their canal is long or
moderate, and their foliaceous
productions vary infinitely in
shape and complexity. When, with
Fijf. 184. — Murex tenuispina. j i i
a moderate or short canal, the
varices are only nodulous, and when the base has an umbilicus, the shell becomes an Aquilla, Montf. We have
several species on our coasts. If there is no umbilicus, that marks the genus Lotorium. Lastly, when the canal
is short, the spire raised, and the varices simple, the shell is a Tritonium. The mouth is generally grooved trans-
versely on both sides. We have son»e large species in our seas. [The T. variegatum is much valued by the inha-
bitants of some of the South Sea islands.] There are of them some with numerous, compressed, almost mem-
branous varices, — the Trophones, Montf. ; and in others they are much compressed and very prominent, but few
in number.f
M. de Lamarck separates from all the Murices of Bruguieres the Ranella. Its character is to have the varices
opposite, so that the shell is as it were girded with a border on two sides. Their canal is short, and the surface is
roughened only with tubercles. The margins of their aperture are furrowed. The Apolles, Montf., are merely
umbilicated Ranellse.
Fusus, Brug., includes all the shells of this family which have no varices. When the spire is prominent, the
pillar without plaits, and the margin entire, this is the Fusus of Lamarck, which Montfort has still further
restricted, for he reserves this name to such as have no umbilicus. The less elongated and move ventricose
species gradually approximate to the Buccina in their shape, and where they have an umbilicus, Montfort calls
them Lathires. The Struthiolaria is another subgenus, distinguished by the inner lip being thickened and
spreading over the lower part of the last volution and the columella, and in the adult the outer lip is thickened
and turned outward, — a character that connects them with the Murex. When the spire is raised, the columella
without plaits, and when there is near the top of the aperture, on its outside, a well-marked sinus or fissure, we
have the characters of Pleurotoma, Lam. When this sinus is wide and touches the spire, some have seized the
too slight distinction to make the genus Clavatula. When the spire is depressed, and the pillar without plaits,
these are the Pyrula, Lam., which are either umbilicated or not. Montfort separates from Pyrula the species
with a flattened spire, and which are striated within the mouth, to call them the Fulgur. They are in some degree
Pyrulae with a plaited columella, and the plaits are sometimes even scarcely perceptible. Amid these dismember-
ments of the Fusus, Brug., we distinguish the Fasciolaria, Lam., by some oblique and distinct folds on the
columella, near the origin of the siphon.
Turhinella, Lam., are likewise shells with a straight canal, without varices, distinguishable by having [from
three to five] prominent, compressed, transverse folds, all nearly equal in size, near the centre of the columella,
and which approximates them to the conical Volutae : in fact, they only differ by the superior elongation of the
syphonal canal, [and in having an operculum, as well as a thickish epidermis].
I
1
I
%
\
I
I
I'
f
t
The Strombusid^ (Strombus, Linn.) —
Comprise the shells with a canal either straight or bent to the right, the external lip of the aperture
becoming, in its maturity, more or less dilated, and always marked with a sinus near the siphonal
canal, whence the head issues when the animal comes out. In the greater number this sinus is at some
distance from the canal.
* Coequal with the family SipJwnostoma of M. de Blairiville.
t It is to be regretted that Cuvier should have given even the appearance of a sanction to these new genera of Montfort. — Ed.
GASTEROPODA TUBULIBRANCHIATA. 367
M. de Lamarck subdivides these species into two subgenera. His Strombus have the outer lip dilated into a wing
of more or less expanse, but not divided
into digitations. The foot is proportion-
ably small, and the tentacula support the
eyes upon a lateral peduncle larger even
than the tentaculum itself. The operculum
is horny, long, and narrow, resting upon a
thin tail. Pteroceras, Lam., have the mar-
gin of the full-grown shell divided into long,
slender digitations, varying in number ac-
cording to the species. The animal is the
same as in Strombus.
Other Strombusidae have the sinus con-
tiguous to the siphon. These are the Ros-
tellaria, Lam. They have generally a second
canal mounting up the spire, and formed
by the external lip, and by a continuation
of the columella. In some of them the lip
is digitated. Their animal resembles that
of the Muricidae ; but the operculum is very
small. Others have merely denticulations
on the lip : their canal is long and straight.
Fig. 185-Pteroceras Scorpio. ^^^e the margin entire and plane ;
and these are the Hippocrenes, Montf.
THE SEVENTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE TUBULIBRANCHIATA.*
They ought to be detached from the Pectinibranchiata, with which they have nevertheless
many affinities, because their shell, in the shape of a more or less irregular tube, and only
spiral at its apex, is permanently fixed to other bodies. Thus they have not organs of
copulation, and must fecundate themselves.
Vermetus, Adanson, —
Has a tubular shell, vffiose whorls, at an early age, still form a kind of spire ; but they are continued on
in a more or less irregularly twisted or bent tube, like the tubes of a Serpula. The shell usually attaches
itself by interlacing with others of the same species, or by becoming partially enveloped by lithophytes.
The animal, having no power of locomotion, is deprived of a foot, properly so called ; but the part
which in ordinary Gasteropodes forms the tail, is here turned under, and extends forwards, even beyond
the head, where its extremity becomes inflated, and furnished with a thin, [horny, multispiral] oper-
culum. When the animal withdraws into its shell, it is this inflated mass which closes the entrance.
It has sometimes different appendages ; and the operculum is spiny in certain species.f The head is
obtuse, furnished with two tentacula of moderate size, having the eyes on the outside at their base.
The mouth is a vertical orifice : under it we see, on each side, a filament which has all the appearance
of a tentaculum, but which really belongs to the foot. The branchiae form a single [pectinated] line
along the left side of the branchial ceiling. Its right side is occupied by the rectum, and by the
spermatic canal, which is also the oviduct. There is no male organ.
The species are pretty numerous, but ill defined. Linnaeus left them among the Serpulae ; and the Vermilia,
which Lamarck still allows to stand near Serpulae, do not differ from the Vermetus. [This remark is erroneous ;
Vermilia is a true Annelide, and should be left where Lamarck has placed it.]
Magilus, Montf. —
Has its tube keeled its whole length. At first it is pretty regularly spiral, and then is extended in a
more or less straight line. Although w^e do not know the animal, it is probable that its place will be
found to be near Vermetus. [The shell is found inclosed in madrepores, bnt not attached to them in
any degree. It would appear that when quite young the animal takes up its station in a hollow part of
* [The genera of this order are arranged amongst the Pectinibran- 1 t [This oh^ervation is erroneous, and has probably arisen from mis-
chiata by Rang 1 taking some operciila of Serpula: for those of a Vermetus.]
368
MOLLUSCA.
the madrepore ; and, increasing itself in size and length as the madrepore increases around it, it keeps
the aperture even with the outer surface of the coral, and thus grows, in some instances, to a consi-
derable length. This singular testaceous parasite is common in the coral rocks of the Isle of France,
and its tube sometimes reaches the length of three feet.]
SiLiauARiA, Brug. —
Resembles Vermetus in the head, the position of the operculum, and in the tubular and irregular shell;
but there is a fissure on the whole length of the shell which follows its contour, and which corres-
ponds with a similar cleft in that part of the cloak which covers the branchial cavity. Along the
whole side of this cleft is a branchial comb, composed of numerous delicate and tubular-like leaflets.
Linnaeus left these shells also in Serpula ; and until a very recent date they were believed to be mem-
bers of the class Annelides. [The remarkable operculum is similar to the pod of a Medicago, consisting
of a spiral lamella rolled five times round an axis like a pulley. This horny lamella is very lustrous
underneath, farinaceous or subpubescent above, and subcrenate on the under side of the rim,
with short striolae. It is convex in the centre, and the projection is multilocular, very exactly resem-
bling a Cristellaria or Robulina.']
THE EIGHTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE SCUTIBRANCHIATA.*
The order comprises a certain number of Gasteropods having a considerable resemblance to
the Pectinibranchiata in the form and position of the branchiae, as well as in the general form
of the body, but they are complete hermaphrodites. Their shells are very open, without an
operculum, and the greater number are not in any degree spiral, so that they cover their
animals, and particularly the branchiae, in the manner of a shield. The heart is traversed by
the rectum, and receives the blood by the two auricles, as in the majority of the Bivalves.
The Haliotides {Haliotis, Linn.) —
Are the only family of this order in which the shell is turbinated ; and from those shells it is distin-
guished by the excessive amplitude of the aperture, and the flatness and smallness of the spire, which
is seen from within. This form has caused it to be compared to the ear of a quadruped.
In the Haliotis, Lam., the shell is perforated along the side of the columella with a series of holes ; and when
the last hole remains incomplete, the shell has the appearance of being emarginate. The snail is one of the most
richly adorned of Gasteropods. A double membi'ane, wdth a furbelowed margin, and furnished with a double row
of filaments, extends, at least in the commonest species, round the foot, and on to the month : outside its long
tentacula are two cylindrical pedicles, which support the eyes. The cloak is deeply cleft on the right side, and the
water, which passes through the holes of the shell, gains access, by the medium of the cleft, to the branchial cavity.
Along the margins of the cleft there are also three or four filaments, which the animal can also protrude through,
the holes of the shell. The mouth is a short proboscis.
Padolla, Montf. \Stomatella, Lam.] has an almost circular shell ; almost all the holes obliterated ; and a deep
groove that follows the middle of the whorls, and shows itself exteriorly by a corresponding ridge.
Stomatia, Lam., have a more concave shell, with a more prominent spire, and without holes : they otherwise
resemble the Haliotis, and connect that genus with certain kinds of Turbo. The animal is less adorned than Haliotis.f
The following genera, dismembered from Patella, have the shell quite symmetrical, as well as the posi-
tion of the heart and branchiae.
Fissurella, Lam. —
Have a broad, fleshy disk under the belly, as the Patella ; a conical shell placed over the middle of the
l)ack, but not covering it completely, and perforated in the summit with a small aperture, which serves
both for the passage of the excrements, and of the water necessary to respiration : that aperture pene-
trates into the cavity of the branchiae situate over the front of the back, at the bottom of which the anus
opens ; and this cavity is moreover widely patulous over the head. There is a branchial comb on each
* M. de Blainville unites this and the following’ order in his sub-
class Paracephalophora hermaphrudita.
t \_Padula and Stomatia (that constitute but one genus, according
to Sowerby,) are placed in the order Pectinibranchiata by Rang, u here
we fiini also next tliein the Velutina of Flemming, distinguLslied by its
neritoid thin shell with a wide entire aperture, without an operculum.
His Stylina {Stylifer, Broderip) has also no operculum, but the spire
is pointed and acute. One species lives on the Echinus ; another im-
beds itself in Starfish.]
ACEPHALES.
369
side of it, and the combs are alike : the conical tentacula have their eyes at their external base : the
sides of the foot are garnished with a row of filaments.
Emarginula, Lam., has exactly the same structure as Fissurella ; but instead of a hole in the apex, its cloak and
shell have a little cleft or emargination on their anterior side, which also penetrates into the branchial cavity. The
margins of the cloak envelope and in a great measure cover those of the shell : the eyes are on a tubercle at the
outer bases of the conical tentacula ; and the sides of the foot are as usual ornamented with filaments.
Parrnophorus, Lam. (5^CM#?<w,Montf.)— As in Emarginula, the shell is covered, in a great measure, by the turned-
up margins of the cloak : the branchiae and other organs are the same as in the two preceding genera ; but the
oblong, slightly conical shell has neither hole nor emargination. [Sowerby unites this with the preceding genus.]
THE NINTH ORDER OF THE GASTEROPODES.
THE CYCLOBRANCHIATA.*
These Mollusks have their branchiae in the form of little leaflets or p}Tamids, attached in a
circle, more or less complete, under the margins of the cloak, very nearly as in the Inferobran-
chiata, from which they are distinguished by the nature of their hermaphroditism ; for, as in
the preceding order, they have no organs for copulation, and impregnate themselves. Their
heart does not embrace the rectum, but varies in its position. We know only two genera, whose
shell never exhibits even a trace of a spire.
The Limpets {Patella, Linn.) — •
Have the body entirely covered with a conical shell ; and under the margins of their cloak there is a
circle of branchial leaflets. The anus and the orifice of the organs of generation are a little to the right
above the head, to which there is a thick, short proboscis, and two setaceous tentacula, having the eyes
at their exterior bases : the mouth is fleshy, and contains a [very long ribbon-like] spinous tongue,
which is directed backwards, and lies folded deep within the interior of the body. The stomach is
membranous, and the intestine long, slender, and much convoluted. The heart is in front above the
neck, a little to the left. Some species occur in abundance on our shores.
The Chitons {Chiton, Linn.) —
Have a series of testaceous symmetrical plates set along the back of their cloak, but not occupying
all its breadth. The margins of the cloak itself are coriaceous, either naked, or chagreened, or gar-
nished with spines, or hairs, or bundles of bristles. Beneath this margin, on each side, is a row of
lamellated branchiae ; and in front, a membranous veil over the mouth holds the place of tentacula. The
anus is under the posterior extremity. The heart is situated behind, upon the rectum. The stomach
is membranous, with a long convoluted intestine. The ovary lies above the other viscera, and appears
to open upon the sides by two oviducts.
There are some small speceies on our shores ; but in the seas of tropical countries they attain a much greater
size. (The Lam., distinguished by the valves being so small as only partially to cover the cloak,
should be re-united to Chiton, which, in the system of Blainville, forms a separate class, named Polyplaxiphora,
and which, he supposes, leads the way to the Articulated Animals.)
THE FOURTH CLASS OF MOLLUSCA.
THE ACEPHALES.f
The Acephales have no apparent head, but a mouth only, concealed in the bottom,
or between the folds, of their cloak. The latter is almost always doubled in two, and
incloses the body as a book is inclosed between its covers ; but it frequently happens
* In the system of Blainville the Cyclobranchiata is an order that
embraces the Doris. With the last three genera of the preceding
order, and with the Patellae, he makes his order Cervico-branchiata,
divided into the Retiferes and Branchiferes ; the Retiferes are the
Patellae; for he supposes that they breathe by moans of a vascular
network in the cavity situated above the head. I have not been able
to discover it, nor indeed to see any other organ of respiration except
that of a cord of leaflets which encircles the body under the margins
of the cloak.
t M. de Blainville unites my Acephales and Branchiopodes in one
class, his Acephalophura.
B B
MOLLUSCA.
370
that, in consequence of the two lobes uniting in front, the cloak forms a tube, or a sac
when it is only closed at one end. This cloalc is generally provided with a calcareous
bivalve, and sometimes multivalve, shell ; and in two families only is it reduced to a
cartilaginous, or even membranous nature. The brain is over the mouth, where we
also find one or two other ganglia. The branchicC usually consist of large lamellae,
covered with vascular network, under or between which the water passes : they are
more simple, however, in the genera without a shell. From these branchiae the blood
proceeds to a heart, generally single, which distributes it throughout the system,
returning to the pulmonary artery without the aid of another ventricle.
The mouth is always toothless, and can only seize upon such particles as the water
floats within reach. It leads into a first, and sometimes a second, stomach : the intes-
tine varies much in length. The bile is poured, generally by several pores, into the
stomach, which the livet surrounds. All fecundate themselves ; and in several of the
shelled species the young, which are innumerable, are retained for some time between
the laminae of the [external] branchiae before they are expelled.* All the Acephales are
aquatic.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE ACEPHALES.
THE TESTACEOUS ACEPHALESf (or a. with four branchial leaflets).
They are beyond comparison the most numerous. All bivalve shells, and some kinds of
multivalves, belong to them. Their body, which includes the liver and the viscera, is placed
between the two layers of the cloak; and in front, still between the same layers, are the four
branchial leaflets, regularly striated crosswise by the vessels. The mouth is at one extremity,
the anus at the other. Tlie heart is towards the back. The foot, when there is one, is
attached between the four branchim. There are four triangular larainm at the sides of the
mouth, which are the extremities of two lips, and are used as tentacula. The foot is merely
a fleshy mass, moved by a mechanism similar to that of the tongue of mammiferous animals : it
has its muscles fixed in the bottom of the valves of the shell. Other muscles, which form
sometimes one, sometimes two masses, go straight across from one valve to the other, to keep
them closed ; but when the animal relaxes these muscles, an elastic ligament situated behind
the hinge opens the valve by its contraction.
A considerable number of Bivalves possess what is called a hyssus, that is, a bundle of more
or less delicate filaments issuing from the base of the foot, and by means of which the animal
fixes itself to foreign bodies. It employs the foot to guide the filaments to the proper place,
and to glue them there : and it can reproduce them when they have been cut away ; but
nevertheless their true nature is not yet well ascertained. Reaumur believed them to be spun
from a secretion, and moulded in the groove of the foot. Poll thinks them to be merely pro-
longations of tendinous fibres.
The shell consists of two valves connected by a hinge, which is sometimes simple, and some-
times composed of a greater or less number of teeth and lamiiise, that are received into cor-
responding sockets and cavities. In a few genera, some supernumerary pieces are laid over
the hinge. In general the valves have, leaning over the hinge, a prominent [subspiral] part,
which is named the summit, or the nates.
In the greater number the valves close perfectly when the animal chooses to draw them
* Some naturalists, as Jacobson, have maintained tliat the minute
bivalves which, in certain seasons, load the external braiichise of the
freshwater Mussel, are not the foetal young, but parasites of diffe-
rent species. This opinion is now generally considered as erro-
neous.
t The class Conchifera of M. de Lamarck.
!'
iC
—
1
ACEPHALA TESTACEA.
371
together; but there are several which always gape, even when brought as nigh together as
possible, either at one or at both ends.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA TESTACEA,—
The Oysters, —
Have the mantle open, with neither tubes nor particular apertures. They have no foot, or only a very
small one, and are for the most part fixed either by [cementation of] their shell, or by their byssus, to
rocks and to other submarine bodies. Those which are free can move only by squirting out the Vi^ater
by a sudden closure of the valves.
Their first section has but one muscular mass passing from one valve to the other, as we see by the
single impression left upon the shell.
It is supposed that we ought to arrange here certain fossil shells, whose valves do not seem to have
been connected by a ligament*, but to have covered each other like a vase and its lid, and to have been
held together by the muscles only. They form the genus Acardium, Brug., or Ostracite, La Perouse,
of which De Lamarck makes the family Rudistes. The shells of it are thick, and of a solid or porous
texture. We now distinguish in it the Radiolites, Lam., whose valves are striated from the centre to
the circumference. One of them is flat, and the other thick, nearly conical, and fixed. The Spheru-
lites, Lametherief, with the valves roughened with foliations that rise up unequally. And it is guessed we
may place here the Calceolce%, of which one valve is conical, but free, and the other flat, or even some-
what concave, so that they call to recollection the figure of a shoe : and the Hippurites, with one valve
conical or cylindrical, that has on its inside two obtuse longitudinal crests : its base appears even to
have been divided into several chambers by transverse partitions ; the other valve forms, as it were, a
lid. The Batolithes, Montf., are cylindrical and straight Hippurites ; they are often very long ; but
there remains much uncertainty on the nature of all these fossils.
As to the Testaceous Acephales, known in a living state, Linnaeus had united under the genus
OsTREA (the Oysters) —
All those which had neither teeth nor transverse laminae in the hinge, the valves being held together by
a ligament lodged in a little cavity on both sides.
The Ostrea, Brug,, has the ligament as just described, and their shells are irregular, inequivalved and foliated.
They are affixed to rocks, to stakes, and even to one another, by the most convex of the valves. The animal
{Peloris, Poli) is one of the simplest of bivalves : we observe on it nothing remarkable but a double series of cilise
round the margin of the cloak, which has the lobes united only above the head near the hinge : there is no appear-
ance of a foot. Every one is familiar with the common Oyster {0. edulis, Linn.), which is fished and reared in arti-
ficial beds. Its fecundity is as astonishing as its taste is agreeable. [Poli says that the ovaries of a single oyster
contain 1,200,000 ova.] Among the species of neighbouring countries we may notice the Os. cristata of the Medi-
terranean ; among those of distant lands, the Os. parasitica, which fixes itself upon the roots of the mangroves
and other trees that grow within the reach of the salt water ; and the Os. folium, which is attached by the denticu-
lations on the back of its convex valve, to the branches of the Gorgonia and other lithophytes.
M. de Lamarck separates, under the name of Gryphcea, certain Oysters, principally fossil, the apex of whose
most convex valve projects much, and is either hooked or in some degree spiral. The other valve is often concave.
The greater number of the species appear to have been free, but some of them have been seemingly attached by
their hooked apices. We know only one recent species {Griph. tricarinata). [Sowerby reunites Gryphaea to
Ostrea.]
The Clams (Pecten, Brug.) have been properly removed from the Oysters, although they have a similar hinge.
They are easily distinguished by their inequivalve semicircular shell being almost always regularly marked with
ribs, which radiate from the summit of each valve to the circumference, and furnished with two angular productions
called that widen the sides of the hinge. The animal {Argus, Poli) has a small oval foot supported on a ;
cylindrical peduncle, in front of an abdomen in form of a sac hanging between the branchiae. In some species, j
known by the strong sinus under their anterior ear, there is a byssus. The others are not adherent, and can even |
swim with considei-able velocity, by flapping their valves together. The cloak is surrounded with two rows of fila- {
ments, several of those of the exterior row being terminated by a little greenish globule [with a metallic lustre]. j
The mouth is garnished with many branched tentacula instead of the four usual labial laminae. The shell of the
clams is often coloured in a lively manner, [and many species are remarkable for the difference in colouring |
*■ [M. Desmoulins has endeavoured to prove that these shells form
a class intermediate between the shelless Acephales and the Cirrho-
podes. Deshayes, on the contrary, asserts that they are true Bivalves,
allied to Cliama. Blainville and Ran^ collect them into a distinct or-
der of Bivalves, under the name of Rudistes.)
t Spherulites now embraces the Radiolites and Birostrites of Lam.,
with JodamicB of Defrance. — En.
t [Sowerby and Rang maintain that Calceola is much more nearly
allied to Terebratula.]
B B 2
i
MOLLUSCA.
372
observable in the two valves.] The larg:e species of our coasts {Ostrea maxima, Linn.), is the Pilgrim’s shell, [worn
in front of the hat by those who had visited the shrine of St. James in the Holy Land.] It is eaten.
The Limae {Lima, Brug.) differ from the Pectens in having a more elongated shell, w ith shorter ears, and a
greater inequality of the sides. The majority have the ribs raised into scales. The valves cannot be closed in the
living state, and the cloak is ornamented with a vast number of filaments of different lengths, without tubercles ;
and further within there is a broad fold which closes the gape of the shell, and even forms a protuberant veil. The
foot is small, and the byssus inconsiderable. The Limae swim rapidly, by flapping their valves. One species in
the Mediterranean, of a pure white colour {Ostrea Lima, Linn.), is eaten.
Pedum, Brug.— The shell is similar to Lima, but the valves are unequal, and the most convex only has a deep
sinus for the byssus. The animal also is very like that of Lima, but its cloak has only a single row of small slender
tentacula. Its byssus is larger. The one species known is from the Indian sea.
Certain fossils may be placed here which have the hinge, ligament, and central muscle of the Ostreae, Pectines,
and Limae, but are distinguished by some peculiarities of the shell. The Hinnites, Defr., seem to be Oysters, or
Clams, wdth small ears and adherent shells, irregular and very thick, especially the convex valve. There is a fossa
at the hinge for the ligament. (Four recent species of this genus have been described.) The Plagiostomes, Sower,,
have the oblique shell of the Limae, flattened on one side, very minute ears, the valves more ventricose, striated,
without scales, and the outlet of the byssus less. They are found in formations older than the chalk. The
Pacliytes, Defr., have nearly the figure of the Pectines, a regular shell with small ears ; there is a transverse flat
space between their summits, which has a strong triangular emargination in one of the valves, through or in which
the ligament passes or is lodged. The Bianchores, Sower., have unequal oblique valves, one of them adherent and
perforated in the summit, the other free and eared. The Podopsides, Lam., have regular striated valves, without
opercula : one has the apex more prominent than the other, truncated and adherent ; this apex is often very thick,
and forms a kind of stalk to the shell. (M. de Blainville regards the preceding four genera as nearer allied to Tere-
bratula ; and M. Deshayes, on the contrary, approximates them to Spondylus.)
Although multivalve, we should approximate
The Anomic, Brug., —
To the Oysters. They have two thin, unequal, irregular valves, the flattest
of which is deeply notched on the side of the ligament, which is similar to
that of the Ostrea. The greater part of the central muscle traverses this
opening, to be inserted into a third plate, that is sometimes calcareous and
sometimes horny, by which the animal adheres to foreign bodies ; and the
remainder of the muscle serves to join one valve to the other. The animal
t^Echion, Poli) has a small vestige of a foot, similar to that of a Pecten,
which glides between the emargination and the plate that closes it, and
perhaps serves to direct water to the mouth, which is adjacent. Their
shells are found attached to various bodies, like Oysters. They are found
in every sea.
[Placunomia, Sowerby, is the link which connects Anomia with the following genus. With an arrangement of the
hinge, approaching very nearly to that of Placuna, we have the distinguishing organization of Anomia, while the
external appearance of the shell, especially if viewed in water, bears the strongest resemblance to a Plicatula, or
some of the plicated Oysters. The organ of adhesion resembles that of Anomia, but is inserted between the laminae
of the internal surface of the lower valve, above the muscular impression, and below the hinge, and passes out into
an external, irregular, somewhat longitudinal superficial fissure, or cicatrix, naiTOwest at the hinge margin, and
which it entirely fills to a level with the surrounding surface of the shell. Three species are known, natives of
the tropical seas.]
The Placuna, Brug., is affined to the Anomiae, and, like them, have thin, unequal, and often irregular valves,
but neither are perforated. On one of these valves, near the hinge, we perceive two prominent ribs, forming a
triangle whose apex is towards the hinge. The animal remains unknown.
Spondylus, Linn.
These have a rough and foliated shell, like the Oysters, and frequently spiny, but their hinge is more
complicated, for, besides the fossa for the ligament, there are two teeth in each valve that enter into
fossm in the opposite valve respectively : the two middle teeth belong to the most convex valve, which
is usually the left, and has, behind the hinge, a projecting flattish beak, as if it had been sawed. Like
the Pectines, the margins of the cloak of the animal are garnished with two rows of tentacula, and in
the outer row there are several terminated with coloured tubercles : in front of the abdomen is a vestige
of a foot, under the guise of a broad radiated disk with a short pedicle, and capable of contraction and
elongation. From its centre there hangs a thread terminated with an oval mass, the use of which is
unknown. The Spondyli are eaten like Oysters. Their shells are very often vividly coloured. They
Fig-. 186. — Anomia ephippium
ACEPHALA TESTACEA.
373
adhere to all sorts of bodies, [and their form is generally modified by the surface of the objects on which
they grow].
M. de Lamarck separates from the Spondylus his Plicatula, from having no external area, or disk, between the (
beaks ; and flat, almost equal, irregular, plaited and scaly valves, as in many Oysters. [Sp. pUcattis, Gmel., is the
type.]
Malleus, Lam. —
Has a simple fossa for the ligament, as in Ostrea, with which genus Linnaeus left this one, and the more
so as the shell is also inequivalve and irregular, but it is distinguished by an emargination on the side
of the ligament for the passage of a byssus.
The best known species {Ostrea malleus, Linn.), a rare and dear shell, has the two sides of the hinge extended
so as to form something like the head of a hammer, while the valves, elongated in a transverse direction, represent
the handle. It inhabits the Archipelago of India. Other species, which are, perhaps, but the young of the Malleus,
have no hammer-head, and these we must be careful not to confound with the Vulsellae.
Vulsella, Lam. —
Has in the hinge, on each side, a little lamina projecting inwards, and it is from one of these laminse
that the ligament, similar in other respects to that of the Oyster, is stretched to the other. On the
side of the lamina is a sinus for the egress of the byssus. The shell is elongated in a direction perpen-
dicular to the hinge. The species best known inhabits the Indian Ocean.
Perna, Brug. —
Has across the hinge several parallel fossae opposed to each other in the two valves, and lodging as many
elastic ligaments : their shell is irregular and foliated, like the Oysters, and has on the anterior side,
underneath the hinge, an emargination, through which the byssus passes. Linnaeus left them also
among his Ostreae. [The recent species are brought from the Indian Ocean, and from New Holland,]
There has been recently separated from Perna, the Crenatulce, Lam., which, instead of transverse fossae on a
broad hinge, have little oval ones quite on the margin, where they occupy little breadth. It does not appear that
there is any byssus. We find them often buried in sponges. To the Pernae, it is supposed, we must approximate
some fossils which have more or less numerous fossae in the hinge answering to one another, and appearing also
to have given attatchment to ligaments. Thus the Gervillice, Defr., have a shell almost similar to Vulsella, but
with a hinge in some degree double ; the exterior with opposed fossae receiving as many ligaments, and the interior
garnished with very oblique teeth on each valve. We find the casts of them with Ammonites in compact limestone,
[Many species have occurred at various geological periods from the lias upward, to the baculite limestone of Nor-
mandy.] The Inoeeramus, Sower., is remarkable for the elevation and inequality of the valves, of which the
summit is hooked near the hinge, and whose texture is lamellated. The Catilles, Brongn., have, independently of
fossae, for the ligament, a conical furrow drawn in a varix, which is bent at a right angle to form one of the margins
of the shell. The valves are nearly equal, and of a fibi'ous texture. They appear to have had a byssus. The Pul-
vmites, Defr., have a triangular regular shell, and its fossae, few in number, diverge within from the summit.
Their casts are found in chalk.
The second subdivision of the Ostracea, as weU as almost all the bivalves which follow, besides the
single transverse [or adductor] muscle of the preceding genera, have another muscle going from one
valve to the other, and placed in front of the mouth. It is apparently in this subdivision that we must
place
[The Mulleria, De Fer., —
One of the most singular and rare of knowm genera. It is remarkable as being intermediate in its
structure between Altberia and Ostrea, and as apparently connecting the regular freshwater bivalves
with the irregular marine bivalves (Ostrese), and with the genus Altheria, inasmuch as in the sinus at
the posterior extremity of the ligament it resembles the Naiades and the ^Etherise ; and in its single
muscular impression, as well as its general form, it approaches to Ostrea.]
Etheri^, Lam. —
Are large inequivalved shells, as, or even more, irregular than the Oysters, without teeth to the hinge,
and where the ligament, in part external, exists also interiorly. They differ from the Ostreae in having
two muscular impressions. It is not ascertained that their animal produces a byssus. They have lately
been discovered in the Upper Nile.
Avicula, Brug. —
Has a shell with equal valves, and a rectilinear hinge, often extended into wings on each side, furnished
with a narrow, elongated ligament, and sometimes with small denticulations on that side which is next
374
MOLLUSCA.
the mouth of the animal. The anterior side, a little under the angle of the side of the mouth, has a
notch for the byssus. The anterior adductor muscle is as yet excessively little. When the ears are j
less prominent, the species have been named Pintadines, Lam. {Margarita^ Leach). ^jj
The most celebrated is the Pearl-mussel (Mytilus inar- j
garitiferus, Linn.) Its nacred interior is employed in all J
sorts of fancy-work, and the orient-pearls, fished for by jil
divers, chiefly at Ceylon, at Cape Comorin, and in the Per- i
sian Gulf, are but e.xcretions of it. The name of Avicula
is ?iven to such species as have the ears more pointed, and
the shell more oblique. There is in the hinge in front of the
ligament, a vestige of a tooth, whose first trace is indeed to be
detected in the Pentadines. The Mytilus hirundo, Linn , is
an example from the Mediterranean, remarkable for its
lengthened auricles : its byssus is large and strong, and has
Fig. 187.— Avicula macropteru. some resemblance to a little shrub.
The PiNXiE, Linn. — I i
Have two equal wedge-shaped valves, which are closely united by a ligament along one of their sides. '
The animal {Chimcp.ra, Poli) is elongated in the same direction as the shell, as well as its lips, its j
branchiae, and all the other organs. Its cloak is closed on the side of the ligament ; its foot is of the i
shape of a conical little tongue, and marked with a groove ; there is a small transverse muscle in the : i
acute angle of the valves, near which the mouth is situated, and a very large muscle at their widest li
part. On the side of the anus, which is behind this large muscle, there is attached a conical appen- j -j
dage, peculiar to this genus, and capable of inflation and elongation, but of the use of which we are i
ignorant. IP :
The byssus of several species is as fine and brilliant as silk, and is used in weaving precious stuffs. The chief is | j
the Pinna nobilis. j
The Arcace/E {Area, Linn.) — j:
Have the valves equal and transverse, that is to say, the hinge occupies the longest side. It is fur- -
nished with a great number of small teeth, interlocking with each other ; and with two nearly equal '■
adductor muscles inserted towards the two extremities of the valves. i
The Areas, properly so called {Area, Lam.), have a straight hinge, and the shell is elongated in a direction 'i d
parallel to the hinge. The apices of the valves are generally protube-
rant, and curved towards the hinge, but widely apart. The valves do
not meet in the middle, because the animal {Daphne, Poli) has in front
of the abdomen a process of a horny substance, or a tendinous ribbon, in
lieu of afoot, which passes out thence, and by which the animal is
affixed to submarine bodies. These shells reside near the shore in
rocky places. They are usually covered with a velvety epidermis. They
are in little request for the table. There are some species in the Medi-
terranean ; and a great number of fossil species, particularly in Italy,
in depositions anterior to the chalk. M , de Lamarck separates, under
the name of Cucidlaa, some Arcae in which the teeth at the ends of the
hinge assume a longitudinal direction. [In Cucullaea the two valves are Fig. 188.— Area barbata.
not exactly alike, and there does not appear to be a byssus, whence
Sowerby doubts the propriety of arranging this genus with the Arcaceae.] We ought probably to separate also such I
species as have well-marked ribs, and whose valves meet closely and completely, for there is thus reason to believe
that the animal is not fixed, and may rather resemble that of
the Pectunculus. There is assuredly still greater reason to sepa- fl
rate the Area tortuosa, Chem., because of its peculiar figure, and )i
its unequally oblique valves. (It is the type of the genus Trisis of u
Oken.)
Pectunculus, Lam. — |
Has the binge in a curved line, and the shell of a lenti-
culir form. The valves close exactly, and their apices are H
near each other. The animal {Aocinea, Poli) has a large
compressed foot, with a double lower margin, and is hence »
Fig. 189.— Pectuiicams Capable of Creeping. It lives in sand. We have some 1
native species. j
ACEPIIALA TESTACEA.
375
Nucula, Lam. —
Has the teeth of the hinge in a broken line. The form of the shell is elongated and narrowed towards
the posterior end. We do not know the animal, but it is probably not much unlike that of the pre-
ceding genus.
For a long time we have placed here the 2'rigonice, Brug., so remarkable for their hinge, which is
furnished with two plates en chevron, crenulated on both surfaces, and each penetrating into two
cavities, or rather between four plates of the opposite side, similarly crenulated on their internal sur-
faces. From the marks on the inside of the valves we inferred that the animal had not tubes, of any
length at least; and MM. Quoi and Gaymard having discovered it alive, we find, in fact, that, like
the Arcacese, it has an open cloak without any separate orifices, not even one for the anus. Its foot
is large, truncate, and hooked at its anterior part. The recent Trigoniae resemble the Cockles in the
figure of their shell, and in the manner in which it is ribbed. Their interior is nacred. The fossil
Trigoniae are considerably ditferent. Their shell is flattened on one side, oblique, longest in the direc-
tion perpendicular to the hinge, and crossed in the contrary direction by series of tubercles.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA TESTACEA,—
The Mytilace^, —
Has the cloak open in front, but with a separate aperture for the passage of excrements. All of them
have a foot with which they crawl, or at least draw out, direct, and fix the byssus. They are known
to the vulgar by the name of Mussels.
Mussels, properly so called {Mylilus, Linn.), — ■
Have a closed, triangular shell, with equal ventricose valves. One of the sides of the acute angle forms
the hinge, and is furnished with a long, narrow ligament. The head of the animal is in the acute
angle ; the other side of the shell, which is the longest, is the anterior one, and allows the passage of
the byssus ; it terminates in a rounded angle, and the third side ascends towards the hinge, to which
it is joined by an obtuse angle ; near this is the anus, opposite which the cloak forms a peculiar aper-
ture or little tube. The animal {CalUtriche, Poll) has the edge of its cloak provided with branched
tentacula near the rounded angle, as it is there that the Avater required for respiration enters. In front,
near the acute angle, there is a small transverse muscle, and a large one behind near the obtuse angle.
The foot resembles a tongue.
In Mytilus, Lam., the summits [of the valves] are nearly terminal. Some species are smooth, others striated.
The common Mussel (M. edulis, Linn.) is spread in extraordinary abundance along- all our coast, where it is often
suspended, in long clusters, to rocks, piles, ships, &c. It forms an article of food of some importance, but it is
dangerous when eaten to excess ; [and under certain unknown circumstances, or to some individuals, becomes
deleterious]. Some species have been found in a fossil state, (which Brongniart distinguishes generically by the
name Mitiloide).
In Modiolus, Lam., the apices are lower, and towards the third of the hinge ; they are also more protuberant and
rounded, whence the shell has more of the ordinary shape of bivalves. We may also distinguish separately the
Lithodomus, Cuv., which has an oblong shell, almost equally rounded at both ends, and the summits very near
the anterior. They at first suspend themselves to stones, like the common Mussels, but then they perforate them,
and bury themselves in the excavations, whence they cannot again issue. After they have made their cells, the
byssus ceases to grow.-* One species {Mytilus lithophagus, Linn.) is very common in the Mediterranean, where
it furnishes a food agreeable enough on account of its peppery taste. There is another {Modiola caudigera) which
has the posterior end of each valve armed with a very hard little appendage, that is, perhaps, of service in the exca-
vation of its dwelling.f
The Fresh-water Mussels {Anodontes, Brug.) —
Have the anterior angle rounded like the posterior ; and the angle near the anus obtuse, and almost
rectilinear : their thin and moderately ventricose shell has no tooth in the hinge, but merely a liga-
ment occupying its entire length. The animal {Limncea, Poll) is without a byssus ; and it creeps over
* "We cannot imagine,” says Sowerby, ” that this remark has
been made from actual observation, because we believe it to be con-
trary to the nature of the animal to be at one time attached by a
byssus, and not at another ; and, moreover, we have ourselves seen
Lithodomi not more than one-eighth of an inch in length, in as com-
pletely-formed proportions as the fuller-grown specimens.” — Ed.
t The means by which the saxicavous bivalved Mollusca perforate
rocks has given rise to much discussion : some believe that they do
the work by the meclianical action of the valves ; others attribute it
to a soivent secreted by the animal. All things considered, I think
the first of these opinions, notwithstanding the difficulties in the way
of its adoption, is yet the most probable.
376
MOLLUSCA.
the sand or mud by means of a large, com- M
pressed, and nearly quadrangular foot. The m
posterior end of the cloak is garnished with M
many small tentacula. The Anodontes live in m
fresh waters. m
We have some native species ; and of the largest ^
{Mytilus cpgnetcs, lAnn.) the valves are used to skim
milk. From its insipidity, the animal is not edible. |j
M. de Lamarck distinguishes, under the name of q
Iridina, an oblong species, whose hinge is granu-
lated its entire length. The cloak of the animal is
closed a little behind.* The Bipsas of Leach is <:i
founded on another species, which has the angles i
more decidedly marked, and a vestige of a tooth in
the hinge. ' |
!U
The Uniones (JJnio, Brug.) — |
Resemble the Anodontes in the shell and in the -
animal, but the hinge is more complicated. There
is a short cavity in the anterior part of the right valve, which receives a short plate or tooth from the
left one, and behind it is a long plate, which is inserted between two others on the opposite side.
They also inhabit fresh water, preferring running streams. Sometimes the anterior tooth is more or |
less large and unequal, as in the My a margaritifera, Linn., whose pearls have been used in making j
ornaments. At other times this tooth is laminated, as in Mya pictorum, Linn., known to every body !
[from its shells being used in holding water colours] . " |
(A great number of species, remarkable for their size and figure, are found in the lakes and rivers of North |
America. MM. Say and Barnes [and Lea] have described them, and have proposed some subgenera amongst them.)
M. Delamarck distinguishes the Hyria, with the angular productions of the hinge so decided that their shell is
almost triangular. And the Castalia, the shell of which, somewhat heart-shaped, is striated with rays ; and the
teeth and plates of the hinge are grooved across their longest diameter, which gives them a relationship with the
Trigonice.
There ought to be placed near the Uniones some marine shells, which have a similar animal, and very nearly the
same sort of hinge, but the summits of the valves are more swollen, and prominent ribs radiate from them to the
margins. These are the Cardita, Brug. Their
shape is more or less oblong or cordate. In
some the shell gapes on the lower side. The
Cypricardia, Lam., are Carditse with the tooth
under the summit divided into two or three.
Their form is oblong, and their sides unequal.
M. de Blainville has again separated the Coral-
Uophaga, whose shell is thin, and the lateral
lamina [of the hinge] so much obliterated that it
might induce us to approximate them to the
Fig.i9i.-Carditacaiicuiata. Venus. One species is known, that burrows in
masses of coral.
ill
^iS
Venericardia, Lam., diifer from the Cardita only because the postei’ior lamina of their hinge is more trans-
verse and shorter, thus making an advance to the Venus : their form is almost round. It may be inferred from
the muscular impressions that their animal has also a resemblance to that of the Cardita and of the Unio. Both
of them approach the Cardia in general form and in the direction of their ribs.
I suspect that this is also the place for the Crassatella, Lam. {PapMa, Roiss.), which has sometimes been
approximated to Mactra, and at others to Venus. The hinge has two slightly-marked lateral teeth, and two very
strong middle ones, behind which, extending to both sides, is a triangular cavity for an internal ligament. The
valves become very thick with age, and the impression made by the margins of the cloak, leads to the belief that
there are no extensile tubes.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA TESTACEA,— <
The Camacea, —
Has the cloak closed, but perforated with three holes, through one of which the foot passes ; the ;
second furnishes an entrance and exit to the water required for respiration ; and the third is the vent : ,
the two latter are not prolonged into tubes, as in the following family. j
* Notwithstanding- the similarity of the shell, Iridina does not belong to this family, but to the Cardiacea. Ed. |
ACEPHALA TESTACEA.
377
The family comprises only the genus
Chama, Linn., —
Where the hinge is very analogous to that of a Unio, — that is to say, the left valve near the summit
is provided with a tooth, and further back with a salient plate, which are received into corresponding
fossae of the right valve. This genus has justly been subdivided. The Tridacncn, Brug., have a shell
greatly elongated transversely, and equivalve ; the superior angle, which answers to tlie head and
summit, very obtuse. The animal is very remarkable, for it is not placed in the shell like most others,
but its organs are all directed, or as it were pressed out, forwards. There is a wide opening in the
anterior side of the cloak for the passage of the byssus : a little beneath the anterior angle there is
another aperture by which the water gets access to the branchiae ; and in the middle of the inferior
side thei-e is a third smaller opening, corresponding with the anus, so that there is no need of a passage
in the posterior angle, which is solely occupied by a cavity of the cloak, open only to the third aper-
ture, which has been just mentioned. There is but a single transverse muscle, corresponding to the
middle of the margin of the valves.
In the Tridacna of Lamarck the shell has in front, like the cloak, a large aperture with denticulated margins
for the [exit of the] byssus, which is distinctly tendinous, and continuous with the muscular fibres. Such is the
Chama gigas, Linn,, of the Indian Ocean, famous for its enormous size. There are individuals which weigh more
than three hundred pounds. The tendinous byssus by which it is suspended to rocks is so large and tough as to
require to be cut with an axe. The animal is edible, although very hard. [It is placed in the shell somewhat
differently from other Lamellebranchiate Mollusca ; for, from a peculiar inversion, it is found that its different
parts have not their ordinary correspondency, — a circumstance which Blainville thinks is owing to the suspended
condition of the shell.]
Hippopus, Lam. — The shell is closed and flattened in front, as if it had been truncated. [H. macrdatus, from
the South Seas, is the only species,]
Chama, Brug. — Shell irregular, inequivalved, often lamellated and spinous, and attached to rocks, corals, &c.,
in the manner of Oysters. The summits are often very protuberant, unequal, and curled. Often also their interior
cavity has this form, though nothing on the exterior surface may indicate it. The animal (Psilopus, Poll) has a
small foot, bent almost like that of a man. The tubes, if there are any, are short and separate, and the aperture
through which the foot passes is little larger than them. There are some living species in the Mediterranean ;
and there are also several fossil species. [The Cleidotluerus, Stutchbury, has a very exact resemblance to Chama,
but is worthy generic distinction from the remarkable circumstance of its internal hinge cartilage having an
elongated testaceous appendage, in form resembling the human clavicle. The only species is from Port Jackson.]
The Dicerates, Lam., do not appear to differ from Chama in anything essential ; but their hinge tooth is very
thick, and the spirals of their valves are so prominent as to prompt a comparison of their form with two horns.
[Only known in a fossil state.]
Isocardia, Lam., has a free, regular, ventricose shell, the beaks of the valves distant, turned backwards, and
involute. The animal {Glossus, Poll) differs from that of Chama only in having a larger and oval foot, and in the
anterior aperture of the cloak beginning to assume the ordinary proportion. One species {Chama cor, Linn.) is
found in the Mediterranean [and German Ocean].
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA TESTACEA,—
The Cardiacea, —
Have the cloak open in front ; and there are besides two separate apertures, (one for respiration and
one for a vent,) which are prolonged in tubes, sometimes distinct, and at others united together. There
is always an adductor muscle at each extremity, and a foot, which in general enables the animal to
creep. We may regard it as a very general rule, that those which have long tubes live buried in the
mud or sand. This peculiarity of their organization is to be traced on the shell by the greater or less
depth of marks made by the insertion of the edges of the cloak previous to its uniting with the impres-
sion of the posterior transverse muscle.
The Cockles {Cardimn, Linn.) —
Have, like most other Bivalves, a shell with equal ventricose valves, with prominent beaks curved
towards the hinge, which gives them, when we view them laterally, the figure of a heart, whence their
generic name. Ribs, more or less prominent, trend from the beaks to the margins of the valves. But
that which distinguishes the Cardia is their hinge, where we may notice, on both sides in the middle,
two little teeth ; and at some distance before and behind, a tooth or prominent lamina. The animal
{Cerastes, Poli) has usually an ample aperture in the cloak, a very large foot, bent in the middle, with
its point directed forwards, and two short or but moderately long tubes.
378
MOLLUSCA.
The species of Cardia are numerous on our coasts, and the C. edule, Linn., is gathered for food. [Fossil species
occur in nearly all the fossiliferous beds, from the mountain limestone upwards.]
We may separate from them, under the name of Hemicardia, the species with valves compressed from before li
backwards, and strongly keeled in the middle, for it is difficult to believe that the animal is not modified to suit
this singular configuration.
The Donaces {Donax, Linn.) —
Have nearly the same kind of hinge as the Cardia, but their shell is of a veiy different form, being a |
triangle, of which the obtuse angle is at the summit of the valves, and the base at their edge, and of
which the shortest side is that of the ligament, or the posterior side, a rare circumstance among
Bivalves. They are generally small shells, prettily striated from the beaks to the margins. Their
animal {Peroncea, Poli) is furnished with long tubes, that are received into a sinus of the mantle.
We have some native examples. (The Donax irregularis, a fossil from the neighbourhood of Dax, is the type of
the genus of Desmoulins, and is distinguished from the other Donaces by several tooth-like lamellae
which accompany the hinge teeth.)
The Cyclades, Brug., —
Like the Cardia and Donaces, have twm teeth in the middle of the hinge, and before and behind two
prominent and sometimes crenulated laminae ; hut the shell, as in several species of Venus, is more or !
less rounded, equilateral, and transversely striated. The external tint is usually grey or greenish. The i
animal has moderate tubes, and is an inhabitant of fresh waters.
One species (Teilina cornea, Linn.) is very common in our marshes. I
Cyrena, Lam.— The shell is thick, somewhat triangular and oblique, and covered with an epidermis, and is ‘
further distinguished from the Cyclas by having three hinge teeth. They likewise inhabit rivers, but we have '
none in France. Cyprina, Lam. — Shell thick, oval, with cmved beaks, three strong teeth, and besides, a lateral
tooth behind : under the teeth a large fossa, in which is lodged a part of the ligament. Palatluiea, Brug., [Pota-
mopMla, Sowerby,] has the shell a right-angled triangle ; three teeth in one valve and two in the other, diverging ||
from the beaks ; and the lateral teeth approximated. The single species known [Venus subviridis, Gmel.] is from :
the fresh waters of India. [It is also found in the river Congo.] i
This is the proper place to set another genus dismembered from the Venus, viz., the Corbis, Cuv. {Fimbria,
Megerl.) Marine transversely oblong shells, which have also strong middle teeth and well marked lateral plates :
their external surface is furnished with transverse ribs, so regularly crossed by rays that it may be compared to
wicker-work. [Venus fimbriata, Linn., is the type.] Since the impression of the cloak has no fold, the tubes
ought to be short. There are some fossil species.
The Tellinid^ {Teilina, Lin.) —
Have in the centre [of the hinge] a tooth on the left and two teeth on the right, often bifid, and at i
some distance in front and behind ; on the right valve, a lateral tooth or plate, which does not pene-
trate into a cavity of the opposite one. There is a slight fold near the posterior extremity of both
valves, which renders them unequal in that part, where they gape a little.* The animal {Peroncea,
Poli), like that of Donax, has two long tubes, respiratory and excrementitial, which can be withdrawn
into the shell, and concealed in a duplicature of the cloak. The shells are generally transversely
striated, and painted with beautiful colours. Some are oval and thickish ; others oblong and much i
compressed ; others lenticular. Instead of a fold, we often find in the latter merely a deviation in the ;
course of the transverse striae. We could separate generically some oblong species, which have no (
lateral teeth ; and others that, with the hinge of a Teilina, have no posterior fold, form the genus f
Tellinides, Lam.
It is necessary to distinguish from Teilina the Loripes, Poli, which have a lenticular shell with the central teeth i
almost obsolete, and behind the nates a simple groove for the ligament. The animal has a short double tube, and f;
its foot is prolonged into a cylindrical cord. We notice within the valves, besides the ordinary impressions, a «
mark going obliquely from the impression of the anterior muscle (which is very long) towards the nates. The 9
impression of the cloak exhibits no sinus for the retractor muscle of the tube.
Lueina, Brug., has, like Cardium, Cyclas, &c., separate lateral teeth penetrating between corresponding laminae *
of the other valve ; and in the centre are two teeth, which are often scarcely visible. The shell is orbicular,
without an impress of the retractor muscle of the tube, but that of the anterior retractor muscle is very long. j
Having thus the same marks as Loripes, their animals ought to be analogous. [It is obvious that Loripes and | &i
Lueina are but one and the same genus.] The recent species, so far as is known, are much less numerous than I qj
the fossil : the latter are very common in the vicinity of Paris. ,||
We ought to place near the Lueina the Ongulina, which has an orbicular shell, two hinge teeth, but no lateral j if
ones, and the anterior muscular impression is not so long.
* [“ The irregular flexuosity of tlie anterior ventral margin appears I species possessing this character, and agreeing also in other general
to have been constantly regarded as the principal distinguishing cha- circumstances, it may perhaps be still considered as the essential
racter of this beautiful genus ; and when we consider the number of 1 character of the genus.”— Soiucriy.]
ACEPHALA TESTACEA.
379
The Venusid^ {Venus, Linn.) —
Comprise many shells, whose common character is to have the teeth and laminae of the hinge collected
under the beaks in a single group. They are in general flatter and more elongated in a direction
parallel with the hinge than the Cardia. Their ribs, when there are any, are almost always transverse,
which is the contrary of the rule in the Cardia. The ligament often leaves, behind the beaks, an
elliptical impression, to which the term vulva has been applied ; and in front of the beaks there is
almost always another oval impression that has been called the anus.^ The animal has always two tubes,
capable of being more or"" less protruded beyond the shell, but they are sometimes united together
apparently in one ; and it has also a compressed foot wherewith to crawl.
M. de Lamarck restricts the name Venus to those which have three divergent teeth under the beaks. This cha-
racter is peculiarly distinct in the species with an oblong, slightly convex shell. [These have been separated by
Sowerby to form his genus Pullastra, to which he unites the Venerupis, Lam., believing that the latter do never
perforate rocks, but merely occupy the holes excavated by other animals.] Some (Asiarte, Sow., or Crassina,
I Lam.) have only two diverging hinge teeth, and resemble the Crassatella in their thickness and some other
i characters. Among the heart-shaped species it is important to notice those whose transverse ribs or striae termi- |
nate in crests or tuberosities on the posterior side ; and those which have longitudinal ribs and elevated crests.
' They lead by degrees to the Cytherea, Lam., which has a fourth tooth upon the right valve, projecting under the |
anus, and received in a corresponding fossa of the left valve. There are some species, as in Venus, of an elliptical j
and elongated form, and others that are ventricose, among which is the famous species (Venus Dione, Linn.), that
originated the application of the name of the Goddess of Love to a shell, and remarkable for the long pointed
J spines that guard its posterior end. There are species too of an orbicular form with slightly curved beaks, in
which the impression of the retractor muscle of the tubes forms a large, almost rectilinear triangle,
j When the animals are better known, it is probable we may have to separate from Cytherea,—!. The species of a
I much compressed, lenticular shape, with beaks approximating to a point. Thei-e being no impression of the fold of
I the cloak, we infer that the tubes are not extensile. 2. Those of a ventricose, orbicular form, which want the
I impression just mentioned, but have a very long imprint of the anterior muscle, as in Lucina. 3. The thick species
“i with radiated ribs and without the impression of the cloak, which connect the Venusidfe with the Venericardia.
! There has been already separated from Venus the Capsa, Brug., which have on one side of the hinge two teeth,
j and on the other one only, but bifid ; the shell has no anus, is considerably convex, oblong, and the impression
I left by the retractor muscle of the foot is considerable ; and the Petricola, Lam., with two or three very distinct
teeth, one of them forked, on each side of the hinge. Their form is more or less cordate ; but, as they live in
cavities of stone, [which they themselves perforate,] they become sometimes irregular. From the marks left on
the shell by the cloak, their tubes ought to be larger.
The Corhulce, Brug., similar in form to the triangular or heart-shaped Cythereae, have only a single strong tooth
in each valve, locking side by side. The ligament is internal. The tubes ought to be short ; and the valves are
rarely quite equal. The fossil species are much more numerous than those actually existing. Some live in the
interior of stones. [The S2)henia, Turton, separated from Corbula, and which has C. rostrata as its type, has not
I been adopted by foreign Conchologists. Sowerby unites it to Mya.]
I The Mactraid^ {Mactra, Linn.) —
) Are distinguished among the shells of this family because the ligament is internal, and is lodged on
In Mactra, Lam., the ligament is attended in the left valve, on both sides, with a lateral tooth, which locks
within two laminae of the opposite valve. Close to the ligament there is on both valves a tooth which is folded
into the shape of the letter V, the point being nearest the umbo. The tubes are short and united. We have some
species on our shores.t In the Lavignons \Listera, Turton] the lateral teeth are almost obliterated : nothing is
noticeable but a small tooth near the internal ligament, and we may remark also a small exterior ligament : the j
posterior side of the shell is the shortest. The valves gape a little. The tubes are separate and very long, as in
Tellina. One species (Mya Mspanica, Chemn.) is native, living in the sand at the depth of several inches.
THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA TESTACEA—
The Inclusa, —
Has the cloak open at the anterior end, or near the middle only, for the passage of the foot. The j
opposite end is prolonged into a double tube, that can be pushed far beyond the shell. This is always
species. The same author has also given a good definition of Amphi-
desma, which is not synonymous witli tlie LiguUi ; but our limits
prevent us going into detail. Cumingia, Sowerby, should be placed
near to Amphidesma. It is remarkable for the dissimilarity of the
hinge of the two valves, one having a strong lateral tooth on each side
of the ligament, and the other being entirely destitute of lateral teeth.
The species are found in sand, in the fissures of rocks, and, so far as is
known, they are tropical.]
* These terms are apt to mislead, and are otherwise objectionable,
j The student should remember that the ligament is always on the pos-
terior side of the beaks.
t Erycina, Lam., is allied to Mactra, but indiflferently character-
ized. One portion of them may be Crassatella:. Amphidesma, Lam.,
II or Lignla of Montagu, appear also to be affined to Mactra ; but they
I are too little known to assign to them a definite place. \Erycina has
'I been since well defined by Sowerby, who has characterized three
MOLLUSCA.
380
agape at both extremities. They live almost uniformly buried in sand or mud, in rocks or in
wood.
The Myad^ {Myai Linn.) —
Are bivalved shells with a variable hinge. The double tube forms a fleshy cylinder ; the foot is com-
pressed. From variations in the hinge MM. Daudin, Lamarck, &c., have established the following
subdivisions, the first three having an internal ligament.
Lutraria, Lam. — The ligament, like that of the Mactra, is inserted in a large triangular fossa in each valve, and
in front of that fossa is a small tooth en chevron, hut there are no lateral teeth. The gape of the valves is wide,
particularly at the posterior end, whence the large double tube for respiration and excremential matters protrudes.
The foot, which issues at the opposite end, is small and compressed. The species burrow in sand at the mouth of
rivers.
Mya, Lam., has in one valve a broad, spoon-shaped tooth, which projects into the other valve, in which there
is a fossa, and the ligament is stretched from the fossa to the tooth. The species on our shores burrow in sand.
Near to the Myae we ought to place the Anatince, Lam., that have a small moveable testaceous appendage, connected
with the ligament immediately before the hinder teeth. In the Solemya, l&m., the
ligament appears externally, but a portion of it remains attached to a spoon-shaped
tooth in each valve. There is no other tooth in the hinge. A thick epidermis overlaps
the margins of the shell. An example {Tellina togata, Poll) lives in the Mediterranean.
[The animal is so remarkable that it may become the type of a distinct family, for,
instead of four lamellar branchiae, it has two only, which are pectinate, or rather pen-
nate.] Glycytneris, Lam. {Crytodairia, Baud.), has neither teeth, nor laminae, nor II
fossae, in the hinge, but a simple callosity, behind which there is an external ligament. j
The animal is similar to Mya. The best known species {Mya siliqua, Linn.), comes
from the Arctic seas. Panopea, Mesnard, Lagr., have in front of the callosity of the
Fig. 192.— Anatina suorostrata preceding, a strong tootli immediately under the beak, which crosses with a similar tooth
of the opposite valve, — a character which affines them to Solen. There is a large species from the hills at the foot ,
of the Apennines, so well preserved that it has been sometimes believed to have been brought from the sea. Per- |
haps we ought to remove from the genus another fossil species, which is almost completely closed at the anterior end.
We may arrange at the end of these different modifications of the Myadse, the Pandora, Brug., which has one ]l
valve much flatter than the other, an internal ligament placed crosswise, accompanied with a projecting tooth of 1
the flat valve. The posterior side of the shell is elongated. The animal is more completely contained within the I
shell than it is in the preceding genera, and the valves close better, but its habits are the same. One native species |
{Tellina buequivalvis, Chemn.), is well known. I
Here, also, we group together some small but singular genera. The Byssomia, Cuv., characterized by an oblong jl!
toothless shell, with the opening for the foot very nearly in the centre of the valves, and opposite the beaks. They |
perforate rocks and corals. One species, furnished with a byssus {Mytilus pholadis, Mull.), is very numerous in 0
the seas of the north. Hiatella, Baud., has a shell that gapes in the middle where the foot protrudes, as in the pre- I
ceding, but the tooth of the hinge is more distinct. The shell is often armed backwards with [two] rows of spines. |
The species live in sand and amid zoophytes, &c. The northern seas possess a small species.* |
The Solenes {Solen, Linn.) — j
Have an oblong or elongated bivalved shell, but their hinge is always furnished with distinct teeth, and
their ligament is always external.
Solen, Cuv., or Razor-fish, has a shell in the form of an elongated cylinder, with two or three teeth in each valve ]
towards the anterior extremity, where the foot passes out. This is of a conical shape, and is used by the animal
to form its burrow in the sand, in which it sinks rapidly on the approach of danger. Several species inhabit our :
shores. The species in which the teeth approach near the centre of the shell may be distinguished generically. ;
The shell in some of them is still long and straight; in others it is wider and shorter, and the foot of these is very |
large. Some such are found in the Mediterranean. In the Sanguinolaria, Lam., the hinge is very nearly the same
as in the broad Solenes, and there are two hinge teeth at the middle of each valve ; but the valves approximate
much closer at their ends, where they only gape to a slight extent, as in some of the Mactrse : S. rosea is the type.
Psammohia, Lam., differs from Sanguinolaria in having a single tooth in one valve, which clasps in between two of ;
the opposite ones. And the Psammothea, Lam., have only one tooth in each valve, but otherwise resemble j
Psammobia. [The Glauconome, Gray, is a genus of the family Solenaceae, “ inhabiting some of the great rivers of A
the continent of China.” The shell is thin, oblong, with close margins, and three teeth in each valve. Solenella,
Sowerby, is an interesting genus, partaking of the characters of Nucula and Solen, so that it may be regarded as i
the link that connects the two families Solenaceae and Mactraceae, “It belongs to the Solenaceae, having the external i
ligament and the large sinus in the muscular impression of the mantle ; but resembles Nucula in having the lateral ;
teeth divided into a series of minute and pointed teeth, differing from it, how'ever, in not having an internal i
ligament.” The species are South American.] '
The Pholades (Pholas, Linn.), — :
Have two principal valves, wide and ventricose on the side of the mouth, narrowed and elongated on ;
the opposite side, and leaving at each end a large oblique opening ; the hinge has, like that of the Mya,
* [Byssomia, Hiatella, Biopholius, anti Pholeobius of Leaoh, are all reduced to the Saxicavaof Lam., by Sowerby, and not unreasonably.]
ACEPHALA TESTACEA.
381
properly so called, a lamina projecting from one valve into the other, and an internal ligament proceeding
from that lamina to a corresponding fossa. The cloak is reflected outward upon the hinge, and con-
j tains one or sometimes two or three supernumerary pieces. The foot issues by the opening at the side
! of the mouth, which is the widest, and from the opposite end there comes out the two tubes united in
one, and capable of being extended in every direction. The Pholades inhabit cells which they have
made, some in the mud, others in rocks, [and others in wood]. They are sought after [in some
countries] from their agreeable taste.
Pholas dactyliis, Linn., occurs on our coasts. [The genus Xylophaga of Turton, which burrows in decayed wood,
is reduced by Deshayes to Pholas.]
The Teredines {Teredo, Linn.) —
Have the mantle extended in a tube much longer than the two small rhomboidal valves, and terminated
by two short tubes, the base of which is furnished on each side with a calcareous and moveable kind
of operculum or palette. These Acephales, while quite young, penetrate and establish their habitations
in submerged pieces of wood, such as piles, ship’s bottoms, &c., perforating and destroying them in
every direction. It is thought that, in order to penetrate as fast as it increases in size, the Teredo
excavates the w’ood by means of its valves ; but the tubes remain near the opening by which its entrance
was effected, and through which, by the aid of its palette, it receives water and aliment. The gallery it
inhabits is lined wdth a calcareous crust which exudes from its body, and which forms a second kind
of tubular shell for it. It is a noxious and destructive animal in the seaports of Europe.
The common species (T. navalis, Linn.), which is said to have been introduced from the torrid zone, has more than
once threatened Holland with ruin, by the destruction of its dikes. It is six inches in length and upwards, and
has simple palattes. In tropical countries, there are large species with jointed and ciliated palettes, which deserve
notice for the analogy they establish with the Cirrhopodes. Such is the Teredo pahmdatus, Lam.
The Fistulana, Brug. —
Has been distinguished from Teredo, for its external tube is entirely elosed at its larger end, and is more
or less like a bottle or club. The speeies are sometimes found buried in wood or fruits that have been
apparently submerged in the water ; sometimes they are simply enveloped in the sand. The animal
has two small valves and two palettes, as in the Teredo. Recent speeimens are brought from the
Indian Oeean, but our formations have preserved some fossil speeies.
Near Fistulana we should place Gastroclicena, Spengler*, whose shells have a toothless hinge, and the margins
being wide apart in front, leave a large oblique opening, opposite to which there is in the cloak a small opening for
the passage of the foot. The double tube, which can be concealed entirely within the shell, is capable of great
elongation. It appears certain that they have a calcareous tube. In some species, the beaks are at the anterior
angle ; in others, near the middle. They live in the interior of madrepores, which they perforate. [“ This bivalve
is inclosed in the posterior clavate extremity of a shelly tube, which is attenuated and open anteriorly, its aperture
being oblong and bilobate, or nearly divided into two by a sort of septum which does not quite meet in the centre:
this double aperture serves for the passage of the two tubes of the animal : the posterior extremity of the shelly
tube is closed. This irregular clavate tube, already inclosing the two valves of the Gastrochaena, is generally found
j within some other shell, to the inside of which it is attached, or it is protected in the ready-formed cavities of shells
or rocks, or it lines cavities perforated by the animal itself in rocks, shells, or corals, and in this latter case, the
1 double termination of the shelly tube projects beyond the surface of the coral or other object in which it is
inclosed.”]
Among fossils, two genera have been recognized furnished with tubes like the Teredo, but the first [Teredina,
Lam.] has a little, spoon-shaped cavity in each valve, and a little loose piece, in form of a shield, at the hinge.
The other {Clavagella, Lam.) has one of its valves agglutinated to the tube, and the other loose. A living species
is found in the madrepores of the Sicilian seas, which has been described by M. Audouin. [The best description
of this genus is given by Messrs. Broderip and Owen in the Trans, of the Zoological Soeiety^
Some naturalists think w^e should also place in this family
The Aspergillum, —
The shell of which is formed of an elon-
gated, conical tube, closed at its widest ex-
tremity by a disk perforated with numerous
small tubular holes ; the little tubes of the
outer range, being longest, form a kind of
corolla round it. The reason for approxi-
mating them to the Acephala with tubes is
Fig 193 -Aspergillum. found in the fact that there is a double
* According to Deslia5'cs, GastrociiBena and Fistulana are the same. — Eo.
MOLLUSCA.
382
projection on one part of the cone, which really resembles the two valves of the Acephales. The re-
semblance between its little tubes, and those which envelope the tentacula of certain Terebella, formerly
caused this animal to be referred to the Annelides.
The best known species {Asp. javanus) is seven or eig^ht inches in length. [Rang conjectures that the animal
of Aspergillum is essentially the same as that of Clavagella, and, as well as Blainville, he erroneously thinks that
both are furnished with a byssus passing through all the anterior apertures of the tube, to attach it to foreign bodies.
The Aspergillum probably burrows in sand, the disk underneath, and the tubular part uppermost.]
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE ACEPHALES. |
THE SHELL-LESS ACEPHALES, (or A. nuda). * i
This is a small order, and differs so far from the other Acephales that it might be made a :
distinct class, w'ere such a division considered to be convenient. Their branchiae assume
various forms, but are never divided into four leaflets : the shell is replaced by a cartilaginous ;|
tunic, sometimes so thin that it is as flexible as a membrane. We divide the order into two |
families. - ||
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA NUDA,— |
The Segregata, — ||
Embraces the genera whose individuals are isolated and without mutual organic connection, although |[
they often live in societies.
The Biphores, Brug. {Thalia, Brown ; Salpa and Dagysa, Gm.), —
Have the cloak and its cartilaginous envelope oval or cylindrical, and open at the two extremities. On
the side of the anus the aperture is transverse, wide, and furnished with a valve, which allows the water
to enter, but prevents its egress ; on the side of the mouth the aperture is simply mbular. Muscular ;
bands embrace the cloak and contract the body. The animal moves by forcing out from the anterior ■.
aperture the water which has entered the body by the posterior, so that its motion is always retrograde,
whence it has happened that some naturalists have mistaken the posterior aperture for the real mouth.
It also generally swims with the back undermost. The branchiae form a single tube or riband, furnished j
with regular vessels, placed obliquely in the middle of the tubular cavity of the cloak in such a manner
as to be constantly bathed by the water as it traverses that cavity.f The heart, the viscera, and the
liver, are piled near the mouth towards the back ; but the position of the ovary is variable. The cloak
and its envelope exhibit in the sun the colours of the rainbow, and are so transparent that the whole
structure of the animal can be seen through them : in many they are furnished with perforated tubercles.
The animal has been seen to come out from its envelope without apparently any injury. But a more '
curious fact in their history is that, during a certain period, they remain united together, as they were .i:
in the ovary, and float in the sea in long chains, the individuals being disposed, however, in a pattern •[
different in different species. M. de Chamisso assures ifs that he has ascertained a still more singular S
fact, which is, that the individuals that have issued from a multiplicate ovary have not an ovary of the
same kind, but produce only isolated individuals of a form considerably different from their originals ; ?=
and these again, give birth to others with ovaries similar to the parents of the first, so that there is, '
alternately, a scanty generation of separated individuals, and a numerous generation of aggregated indi- ■
viduals, and these two alternating generations do not resemble each other. Certainly w^e have observed,
in some species, small individuals adherent to the interior of larger ones by a peculiar sucker, which
w'ere different in shape Horn those which contained them. These animals are found in abundance in
the Mediterranean and the warmer portions of the ocean, and are frequently phosphorescent.
The Thalia, Brown, have a little crest or vertical fin near the posterior end of the back. ||
Amongst the Salpte, properly so called, there are some which have, within the cloak, above the visceral mass, a (''!= ■
gelatinous plate of a deep colour, which may be the rudiment of a shell. In others there is only a simple protu- J
berance of the cloak itself in this situation, but of a thicker texture. In others there is neither plate nor pro- '
* The Acephaluphora hetcrobnmchiata of Blainville. The Tnuiccta j I Some authors say that this tube is perforated at both ends, and that I
of Eainareh. 1 "ater traverses it, a faet 1 have in vain soufjht to determine. ai l
ACEPHALA NUDA.
383
tuberance, but the cloak is prolonged into certain points. And of these some have a single point at each extremity,
others have two, three, or even more at the oi-al extremity ; some have one only at that end ; and the greater number
are simply oval or cylindrical.
The Ascidi.e {Ascidia^ Linn.), Thetyon of the Ancients.
The cloak and its cartilaginous envelope, which is frequently very thick, resemble sacs everywhere
closed, except at two orifices, which correspond to the tubes of many Bivalves, one of which admits the
water of respiration, and the other is the vent. Their branchise form a large sac, at the bottom of
which the mouth is situated, and near the mouth is the mass of viscera. The envelope is much wider
than the cloak propei'ly so called. This is fibrous and vascular ; and we perceive on it one of the
ganglions between the two tubes. These animals attach themselves to rocks and other bodies, and are
deprived of all power of locomotion ; the chief sign of vitality which they exhibit consists in the ab-
sorption and evacuation of water through one of their orifices : when alarmed, they eject it to a con-
siderable distanee. They abound in every sea, and some of them ai'e eaten.
Some species are remarkable for the long pedicle which supports them. M. Savigny, from his own researches
and mine, has attempted to subdivide the Ascidiae into several subgenera: such are Cynthia, — body sessile, envelope
coriaceous, branchial sac plaited longitudinally. Phallusia differs from the preceding in the branchial sac not being
plaited ; their envelope is gelatinous. Clavellina, — the branchial sac without plaits, not reaching the bottom of the
envelope, the body pedunculate, the envelope gelatinous. Boltenia—i\\& body pedunculate, and the envelope coria-
ceous. He also takes into consideration the number and form of the tentacula which encircle the inside of the
branchial orifice, but their characters, in part anatomical, cannot yet be applied with certainty to a gi eat number
of species. Mr. Macleay has more recently proposed two genera, the Cystingia and Dendrodoa, on distinctions of
the same nature.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ACEPHALA NUDA,—
The Aggregata, —
Comprises animals more or less analogous to the Ascidia, but united in a common m.ass, so that they
seem to communicate organically with each other, and in this respect to connect the Mollusca with the
Zoophytes ; but what, independently of their peculiar organization, is opposed to this idea, is that,
according to the observations of MM. Audouin and Milne Edwards, the individuals at their birth live
and swim about separately, and only become united at a certain subsequent period of their life. Their
branchiae form, as in the Ascidia, a large sac, which the food must traverse before it can reach the
mouth : their principal ganglion is likewise between the mouth and the anus, and the disposition of the
viscera and of the ovary is very nearly similar.*
Nevertheless some have, like the Biphorae, an opening at each end. Such are
The Botryllus, Gcertn., —
That has an oval form, adherent to various foreign bodies, and united by tens or twelves, like the rays
of a star. The branchial orifices are at the outer end of the rays, and the vents open in a common
cavity, which is in the centre of a star. Wlien an orifice is irritated one animal contracts only, but if
the irritation is applied to the centre, they all contract. These minute creatures attach themselves to
Ascidige, sea-weeds, &c. In some species three or four starred clusters appear to be piled upon one
another.
The Pyrosom.e, Peron. — «
Are united in great numbers, so as to form a large hollow cylinder, open at one end, and closed at
the other, which swims in the ocean by the alternate contraction and dilatation of the individual animals
which compose it. These terminate in points on the exterior, so that the whole surface of the cylinder
is bristled with them ; the branehial orifices are pierced near these points, and the vents open into the
cavity of the tube. We might thus compare a Pyrosoma to a great number of the stars of a Botryllus
that had been strung in a line together, but the whole mass remaining moveable.
The Mediterranean and Atlantic produce some large species, the animals of which are arranged with but little
regularity. They sparkle during the night with all the brilliancy of phosphorus. A small species is also known
(P. atlanticum), in which the animals are arranged in very regular rings.
The remaining species of this family have, like the typical Ascidia, the vent and the branchial aperture near
each other, on the same extremity of the body. All that are known are fixed, and they have been hitherto con-
founded with the Alcyonia. The mass of the viscera of each individual is more or less prolonged in the cai'tila-
* To M. Savigny we are indebted for our knowledge of tlie singular i known the peculiar structure of the Botryllus and of the Pyrosoma.
organization of this family, which was formerly confounded with the See the admirable work of Savigny on Invertehrated Animals, part ii.
Zoophytes. At the same time, MM. Desmarest and Lesueur made ]
MOLLUSGA.
384
ginous or gelatinous common mass, and more or less constricted and dilated at particular parts*; but each orifice
always represents on the surface a little star with six rays. We unite them all under the name of Polyclinum. ,
Some cover foreign bodies like fleshy crusts ; others rise in conical or globose masses. Others again expand into i
a disk, so as to have a distant resemblance to a flower or an Actinia ; or they are lengthened out into cylindrical
branches, supported by more slender pedicles ; or they are grouped into cylinders {Syjioicum, Lam.). It even <
appears from some recent observations that the Escharidce, hitherto arranged with polypiferous Zoophytes, belong N
to the Moliuscans of this family. j, '
THE FIFTH CLASS OF MOLLUSCA.
THE BRACHIOPODES.t
Like the Acephales, the Brachiopodes have a cloak with two lobes, and this cloak is
always open. In place of a foot, they have two fleshy arms, garnished with numerous fila-
ments, which they can push beyond the shell and withdraw within it : the mouth is betw^een i
the insertions of the arms. We are not well acquainted with their organs of generation, nor
with the nervous system. J They are all covered with a fixed bivalve shell, and are conse- ij
quently destitute of locomotion. We only know three genera of them. M
The Lingula, Brug.—
Have two equal, flattish, oblong valves, with the beaks at the end of one of the narrowest sides, gaping
at the opposite end, and attached between the two beaks to a fleshy pedicle, by which they are sus-
pended to rocks. Their arms are rolled up spirally, to lie within the shell. It appears that their
branchiae consist of little leaflets, arranged all round each lobe of the cloak, on its internal surface.
Only one species {Lingula anatina, Cuv.) is known, from the Indian Ocean. [Mr. Broderip has described two
other species.]
The Teuebratul^, Brug. —
Havetw^o unequal valves united by a hinge : the summit of one, more protuberant than the other, is per-
forated to permit the passage of a fleshy pedicle which attaches the shell to rocks, madrepores, other shells,
&c. Internally, a small bony framework is observed, that is sometimes sufficiently complex, composed
of two branches, which articulate with the imperforate valve, and W'hich support the two arms, edged
all round with long, closely-set fringes, between which there is, on the side next to the large valve, a
third simply membranous and much longer appendage, usually spirally convoluted, and fringed like the
arms. The mouth is a small vertical fissure between these three large appendages. The principal part
of the body, situated near the hinge, contains the numerous muscles, which reach from one valve to the
other, and between them are the viscera, which occupy but little space. The ovaria appear to be two
ramose productions, adherent to the parietes of each valve. I have not yet been able to satisfy
myself in regard to the position of the branchiae. Numberless Terebratulae are found, in a fossil or
petrified state, in certain secondary strata of ancient formations. The living species are less numerous.
There are some species broader transversely, or longer in the direction perpendicular to the hinge, with a
margin entire, or emaiginate, or three-lobed, or with several lobes ; there are even some that are triangular :
their surface may be smooth, or furrowed, or veined : they are thick, or thin, or even transparent. In several,
instead of a hole in the apex of their valve, there is an emargination, and this is sometimes partly formed by two
accessory pieces, &c. It is probable that the animals, when better known, will present generic differences. Al-
ready there have been recognized in the
Spirifer, Sow., two large cones, formed of a spiral thread, which appear to have been the supports of the animal.
In the Thecidea, Def., the support seems to have been incorporated with the small valve.
The Orbicul^, Cuv. —
Have two unequal valves, one of which, being round and conical, resembles the shell of a Patella : the
other is flat, and adherent to rocks. The arms of the animal {Crispus, Poll) are ciliated and spirally
curved, like those of the Lingula.
* On tliese peculiarities Savigny has founded his genera PolycUnum,
Aplidium, Dideniniim, Eucceliitm, Dinzona, Sij'iUina, &c., which
it appears to us unnecessary to preserve.
t Palliobranchiatu of M. de Blainville. [Rang makes them the 1st
order of the Testaceous Acephales.]
t [Mr. Owen has an admirable memoir on their anatomy in the 1st
vol. of the Trans, of the Zoological Society.'\
§ Observations more precise than any we yet have made appear
necess.ary before we can arrange the Magas of Sowerby, the Strigoce-
phales of Defrance, and some other groups, near this one.
,|i
1
CIRRHOPODES.
385
Our seas produce a small species {^Patella anomala, Mull.).
The Discin<e, Lam., are Orbiculae whose inferior valve is notched with a fissure.* We must also approximate to
the Orbiculae,
The Crania, Brug-., whose animal has equally ciliated arms, but the shells have deep and round internal mus-
cular impressions, in which some have fancied they saw a likeness to the figure of a skull. One {Anomia cranio-
laris, Linn.) is a native of our seas. There are many fossil species, of which M. Hoeninghaus has given a beautiful
monograph.
[The Producta of Sowerby is a fossil genus, with a shell somewhat like a Cardium in figure, and rendered re-
markable by the manner in which the anterior margin is produced beyond the part inhabited by the animal. The
species are, to a certain extent, characteristic of the strata of secondary formation, and particularly of the carbon-
iferous or mountain limestone.]
THE SIXTH CLASS OF THE MOLLUSCA.
THE CIRRHOPODESt (Lepas and Triton, Linn.)
In several points of view the Cirrhopodes effect a sort of connection between this sub-
kingdom and that of Articulated Animals. Enveloped in a cloak, and in a shell whose valves
often resemble those of several of the Acephales, their mouth is furnished with lateral jaws,
and the abdomen with filaments named cirri, arranged in pairs, composed of a number of little
ciliated articulations, and representing a kind of feet or swimmers, such as we see under the
tail of many Crustacea. The heart is situated in the dorsal region, and the branchiae on the
sides : the nervous system forms a series of ganglions in the abdomen. However, it may be
said that the cirrhous feet are merely the analogues of the articulated appendages of certain
Teredines, while the ganglions are in some respects only repetitions of the posterior ganglion
of the Bivalves. The position of these animals in the shell is such that the mouth is at the
bottom, and the cirri near the orifice. Between the two last cirri there is a long fleshy tube,
which has been sometimes inadvertently mistaken for a proboscis ; and at its base, near the
back, is the vent. The stomach is puckered with a number of little cavities in its parietes,
which appear to fulfil tlie functions of a liver :
we notice besides a simple intestine, a double
ovary, and a double serpentine canal termi-
nating in the extremity of the fleshy tube pre-
viously mentioned. The eggs pass through this tube,
and in their course are exposed to the influence of
the seminal fluid. The Cirrhopodes are all fixed.
Linnaeus considered them all as belonging to one
genus, which Bruguikes divided into two, and
these have recently been much subdivided.
The Anatifa, Brug. —
Has a compressed cloak, open on one side, and sus-
pended to a fleshy tube, varying greatly as to the
number of testaceous pieces with which it is furnished.
The animal has twelve pairs of cirri, six on each side ;
those nearest the mouth are the shortest and thickest.
The branchiae are elongated pyramidical appendages,
that adhere to the external base of the whole of the
cirri, or of part of them.
In the commonest species (Pentalasmis, Leach) the two
principal valves have a considerable resemblance to those of
Fig. 194.— Group of Anatifa, attached to a ship’s bottom. a Mussel ; two Others serve to complete a part of the margin
of the shell opposite the beak ; and a fifth odd one unites the
• [“We have shown that Lamarck’s new genus Discina ought to be | Orbicula norvegica, which we sent to him.” — SowerbyA
entirely expunged, as being actually formed from some specimens of | 4 The Cirripedes of Lamarck : the Nematopodes of Blainville.
c c
386
MOLLUSCA.
Fig. 195. — Cineras Crauchii.
posterior margin to that of the opposite valve : these five pieces cover the whole of the cloak. From the place
where the ligament should he springs the fieshy peduncle. A strong adductor muscle unites the two valves near
their beaks. The mouth of the animal lies concealed behind them, and the posterior
end of the body, with all its little articulated feet, comes out a little further down,
between the first four valves. The widest spread species in our seas {Lepas anatifera,
Linn.) has got its name from having given rise to a fable of its being the original or
parent of the Barnacle-goose. They grow attached to rocks, piers, to the bottom of
ships, &c. We may distinguish the Pollicipes, Leach, which, besides the five prin-
cipal valves, has several small ones near the pedicle. In some species these valves
almost equal the primary in size. There is often an odd one opposite the normal
odd one. \Scalpellum, Leach, consists of thirteen valves, six on each side and one
dorsal ; and its peduncle is squamose.] Cmems, Leach.— The cartilaginous cloak
incloses five valves, but of small size, so as not to occupy the whole surface. Otion,
Leach.— The cloak contains only two very small valves, with three little pieces which
scarcely merit that name ; and there are two tubular appendages in the shape of ears.
Tetralismis, Cuv., has only four paired valves encircling the aperture, two being
longer than the others. The animal is partly contained in the pedicle, which is wide
and hirsute. They are, in some degree, Balani without a tube. {Lithotrya, Sow.,
is pedunculated like Anatifa, but has, at the base of the peduncle, a shelly appendage
analogous to the testaceous base of Balanus, and possesses besides a peculiarity not
to be found in any other genus of this class, that of penetrating stones for its habi-
tation.]
The Balanus, Brug,, or Acorn-Shells.
The principal part of the shell consists of a testacous tube attached to various bodies, the aperture
of which is more or less closed by two or four valves. This tube is formed of various pieces or com-
partments, which appear to unloose or separate in proportion as the growth of the animal requires
additional room. The branchiae, the mouth, the articulated tentacula, and the anal tube, differ little
from the same parts in the Anatifa.
In Balanus, properly so called, the tubular portion of the shell is a truncated cone, formed of six outer valves,
separated by as many inner ones, three of which are narrower than the others. Their base is usually formed of a
calcareous lamina, fixed to various bodies. The four valves of the operculum close the aperture exactly. The
rocks, shells, and piers of all our coasts are, in a manner, covered with a species, the
Lepas balanus, Linn.
There have been separated from these the Acasta, Leach, whose base is irregular, con-
vex outwardly, and not fixed ; the greater number live within sponges. [Sowerby reunites
Acasta to Balanus.] Conia, Blainv., whose shell has only four exterior valves. [On the
contrary, in the Octomeris, Sow., the pieces or valves amount to eight.] Asema, Ranz.,
whose shell has no well-marked exterior valves. Pyrgoma, Sav-, whose shell forms a very
depressed cone, with only a very small aperture, almost as in a shell of the Fissurella.
Ochthosia, Ranz., which have only three outer valves, and a bivalved operculum. Greusia,
Fig.i96.-B.spinosus. ^ bivalved operculum. M. de la Lamarck sepa-
rates, under the name of Coronula, the depressed species in which the
valves are loosely cellular ; and under that of the species which
form an elongated cone, but narrowest at the base, and girded with rings that
mark the successive epochs of its growth. There are species of both genera
which plant themselves on the skin of Whales, and penetrate into their lard. ^§ili
Diadema, Ranz.— The shell is almost spherical, and has only two small
valves, almost concealed in the membrane that closes their operculum. The i97._conia radiata.
opercula do not shut the aperture entirely without the aid of the mem- .
brane that unites them. They also live upon Whales ; and we often find Otions attached to their surface.
387
THIRD GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM,
THE ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
This third general type of organization is quite as strongly characterized as that
of the Vertebrata. The skeleton is not internal, as in the latter : but is seldom
altogether absent, as in the Mollusks, The articulated rings which encircle the body,
and frequently the limbs, supply the place of skeleton — and being, in almost every
instance, tolerably hard, furnish the necessary resisting fulcra to the muscles of loco-
motion ; whence, as among the Vertebrates, we find that the several actions of stepping,
running, leaping, swimming, and flying, are performed by them. There are also some
families among them that are either footless, or have merely soft and membranous
articulated limbs, by which they can at most crawl. This external position of their
hard parts, with the muscles inward, reduces each articulation to the condition of a
case, and only permits of two kinds of movements. When attached to the next arti-
culation by a closed joint, as in the instance of the limbs, the only motion is by
ginglymus, that is, in a single direction, so that numerous articulations are required to
impart variety of action : and from this results a very great loss of power in the
muscles, and consequently a general feebleness in the creature in proportion to its
magnitude. The articulated pieces which compose the body frame-work, however,
are not always thus connected ; being oftener united by flexible membranes only,
which slide considerably one over another, and so allow of more varied movements,
but not of the same force.
The system of organs in which all Articulated Animals bear the nearest resemblance
to each other, is that of the nerves.
Their brain, placed over the oesophagus, and supplying nerves to the parts ad-
jacent to the head, is very small. Two chords, which encircle the oesophagus, are
continued along the abdomen, and are connected at intervals by double knots or
ganglia, from which the nerves of the body and of the limbs are sent forth. Each of
these ganglia seems to perform the functions of a brain to the adjoining parts, and
continues for a certain time to confer sensibility on them, after the animal has been
divided. If to this be added, that the jaws of these animals, whenever they have
any, are invariably lateral, and open and shut outward and inward, and not upwards
and downwards, and that in none of them has a distinct organ of smell yet been dis-
covered, nearly all has been expressed which it seems can be stated of them generally:
for the existence of organs of hearing ; the presence, number, and form of those of
sight; the productiveness and mode of generation*; their kind of respiration; the ex-
* A remarkable discovery connected -with this subject is that of I See his Dissertation on the Eggs of Spiders, Marbourg, 1824 ; and
M. Herold, who found that in the egg of Crustaceans and Arach- that of M. Rathke on the Eggs of Crabs, Leipsic, 1829.
Hides, the yolk communicates with the back through the interior. — I
c c 2
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
388
istence of organs of circulation, and even the colour of the blood, offer very great vari-
eties,which must be studied under the various subdivisions.
DISTRIBUTION OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS INTO FOUR CLASSES.
The members of this great division, which have mutual relations as varied as they
are numerous, still present themselves under four principal forms, whether we regard
them externally or internally.
The Annelides, Lamarck, or Red-Hooded Worms, constitute the first. In these,
the blood is generally of a red colour, like that of the Vertebrates, and circulates in a
double and close system of arteries and veins, which have sometimes one or several
hearts or fleshy ventricles, tolerably well marked : they respire by organs, which are
either developed externally, or are spread over the surface of the skin, or concealed
internally. The body, which is more or less elongated, is always divided into nu-
merous rings, of which the first, which is termed the head, scarcely differs from the
rest, except by the presence of the mouth and of the principal organs of sense. Several
have their branchice uniformly spread over the surface of the body throughout its
whole length, or only aboujt the middle ; others, and such as inhabit tubes, generally
have them only at the anterior portion. None have any articulated limbs ; but the ^
greater number are furnished with silky feet, or bundles of stiff and mobile filaments,
instead of them. They are generally hermaphrodite, and some require a reciprocal
fecundation. The organs of the mouth consist either of jaws more or less powerful,
or of a simple tube : their external sensitive organs are fleshy tentacles, which in some
are articulated ; and upon which are certain blackish points, that have been considered
as eyes, but which are not present in all the species.
The Crustaceans constitute the second form, or class, of Articulated Animals. These
have articulated limbs, more or less complicated, attached to the sides of the body.
Their blood is white, and circulates by means of a fleshy ventricle placed towards the
back, which receives it from the gills, situate at the sides of the body, or at its hinder
portion, and to which it returns by a ventral canal that is sometimes double. In the
species last alluded to, the heart or dorsal ventricle is lengthened into a canal. These »
animals are all furnished with antennae or articulated filaments, attached to the fore- i
part of the head, and which are generally four in number ; besides which, they have -j
several transverse jaws, and two compound eyes. It is among these only [through- |
out the Articulata] that we find a distinct auditory apparatus. ;
The third class of Articulated Animals is that of the Arachnides, which, in common j
with a great number of Crustaceans, have the head and thorax joined into a single
piece, with articulated limbs on each side, but the principal viscera of which are con-
tained in the abdomen, which is attached to the hinder portion of the thorax. Their
mouth is armed with jaws, and they have a variable number of simple eyes in the head ;
but never any antennse. Their circulation is performed by a dorsal vessel, which
gives out arterial ramifications, and receives venous ones ; but the manner of respira- ^
tion varies, some having true pulmonary organs with orifices leading to them at the
sides of the abdomen, and others receiving air by means of tracheae, in the same
manner as Insects. All, however, have lateral apertures for this purpose, or true '
stigmata.
Insects constitute the fourth class of Articulated Animals, and the most numerous i
ANNELIDES.
389
in species of any throughout the Animal Kingdom. With the exception of some
genera (the Myriapoda), which have the body divided into a great number of subequal
articulations, they all consist of three parts : the head, upon which are the antennae,
the eyes, and the mouth ; the thorax or corselet, which bears the feet, and the wings
whenever these exist ; and the abdomen, which is suspended to the thorax, and con-
tains the principal viscera. Insects that have wings do not possess these [externally]
before a certain age, and often pass through two forms or stages, more or less different,
before they assume the winged state. They respire in all these states by means of
tracheae, which are elastic vessels that receive the air by orifices termed stigmata,
pierced in their sides, and which are distributed by minute ramifications over every
part of the body. The only vestige of a heart consists of a vessel which runs along the
back, and alternately contracts along its course, but to which no branches have been
discovered : hence it is believed that the nutrition of the several parts is effected by
imbibition ; and it is probably this mode of deriving the nutriment which necessitates
the kind of respiration proper to these animals, the nourishing fluid not being con-
tained in vessels*, wherefore, as there was no means of directing it towards cir-
cumscribed pulmonary tubes to be aerated, the latter are consequently diffused over
the whole body, instead. Thus it is, also, that Insects have no secretory glands,
but merely long spongy vessels, which appear, over their whole surface, to absorb the
several juices that should produce them, from out of the mass of nutritive fluid. f
Insects vary endlessly in the form of their manducatory and digestive organs, as also
in the industry of their habits, and mode of life. Their sexes are always separate.
The Crustaceans and Arachnides were long confounded with them under a common
name ; and in many respects bear a considerable resemblance to them, in external form,
the disposition of their organs of movement, their sensations, and even manducation.
THE FIRST CLASS OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS,—
THE ANNELIDES,—
Are the only Invertebrate Animals that have red blood : this circulates in a double
system of complex vessels. Their nervous system consists of a double nervous chord,
the same as in Insects. Their body is soft, more or less lengthened, and often divided
into a very considerable number of segments, or at least of transverse folds.
Almost all of them (the Earth-worms excepted) live in water. Many bury them-
selves in holes at the bottom, or construct for themselves tubes of mud and other
matters, or even transude a calcareous substance, which forms a sort of tubular shell.
DIVISION OF THE ANNELIDES INTO THREE ORDERS.
This class, not a, very numerous one, offers in its respiratory organs the basis of
three sufficient divisions.
Some have their branchiae in form of tufts or arhuscules, attached to the head, or
• M. Carus has observed various movements in the fluid which fills | ^c., in German. Leipsic, 1827, 4to.
the body of the larvae of certain Insects ; but these movements do not I |- See, upon this subject, my Memoir on the Nutrition of Insects,
take place in a system of closed vessels, as in the higher animals. — 1 printed in 1799, among those of the Natural History Society of Paris
See his Treatise, iutitled Discovery of a simple Circulation of Blood, j Baudouin, An vii. 4to, p. 32.
ANNELIDES.
390
to the anterior portion of the body. Nearly all of them inhabit tubes, and we term
them Tuhicolcd.
Others have upon the middle portion of their body, or all along their sides, branchiae
in form of arbuscules, crests, laminae, or tubercles, in which vessels ramify. The
greater number live in mud, or swim freely in the water ; only a very few inhabiting
tubes. These we denominate Dorsihranchiata.
Finally, others have no apparent branchiae, and respire either over the surface of the
skin, or, as is believed in some cases, by their internal cavities. The greater number
live freely in water, or in mud ; some, however, in humid earth : and we designate
these Ahranchiata. I
The genera of the two first orders have all silky bristles, of a metallic colour, upon
the sides, either simple or in bundles, and which supply the place of feet ; but in the
third order, there are some genera devoid of all such support.*
The particular study which M. Savigny has made of these feet or locomotive organs,
has led him to distinguish, firstly, the foot or tubercle which bears the bristles, of |[|
which there is either one only upon each ring, or two, one above the other, which he |
respectively terms a simple or double oar; secondly, the bristles which compose a ;;
bundle upon each oar, varying much in consistence, and which either constitute true 1
spines, or fine and flexible filaments, that are often dentelated, barbed, or irregularly !
so, &c. ; and thirdly, the cirrhi, or fleshy filaments, adhering either to the inside or |
outside of the feet.
With respect to their organs of sense, the two first orders of Annelides have gene-
rally tentacles to the head, or filaments, which, notwithstanding their fleshy consis-
tence, some moderns have designated antennae ; and several genera of the second and
third orders have black and shining points, which have been regarded as eyes. The
organization of the mouth varies exceedingly.
[The Annelides constitute one of the many small, but singular and highly interesting, ^
tribes of animals, which, from being upon the confines of the peculiar class or sub- i s
kingdom to which they in effect belong, exhibit, in a remarkable degree, the modifi- r
cations of other higher groups : thus, by an ordinary observer, these creatures would
be at once classed as Worms ; and the common Earth-worm, one of them, would be i
regarded as the type of the grand class of Linnsean Vermes, the great majority of which, J ||
however, do not even belong to this great subkingdom, but to that of the Zoophytes, ;
from which these articulated animals are at once distinguished by the possession of red
blood circulating in a well-defined system, and a far more perfect developement of the ;
nervous system ; still, in their vermiform appearance, and in the elongated filaments ;
with which many of them are furnished, they resemble certain Zoophytes, — on the ;
other hand, they approximate to the most imperfect Fishes, such as the Lampreys and :
others, in which the spine has disappeared. Their annulose character, and nervous ]
system, however, bring them nearer to the true Annulosa, especially the Myriapoda ;
this will at once be evident by comparing the figures of Geophilus longicornis, given in j
p. 486, with that of Syllis monilaris here figured.f Mr. Mac Leay accordingly con-
* M. Savig^ny has proposed a division of the Annelides according to
their possessing locomotive silky bristles, or not so ; reducing the
latter to the Leeches. M. de Blainville, who has adopted this idea,
ranges the bristled Annelides as a class, termed Entumozoaires Che-
topodes, and the others as one designated Entomozoaires Apodes; but
he mingles with the Apodes many intestinal Worms, which M. '■
Savigny does not admit. .n
t Mr. Mac Leay considers that they form the immediate connexion '
between such Vertebrata as Amphioxus and Myxine, and such Aimn- j ‘ i
losa as Porocephalus, and other white-blooded Vermes, which have il ’(
the sexes distinct. {Ann. Nat. Hist., Feb. 1840.) j
TUBICOLiE.
391
siders them as the intermediate link between the Vertebrata and Annulosa, ob-
serving upon the curious circum-
stance that these two subkingdoms,
so highly organized in the scale of
the creation, should be linked to-
gether by a group exhibiting such
great imperfections of structure.
This class has been greatly neg-
lected in this country. Dr. Johnston has, however, described various species (especially
in the Annals of Natural History, for February, 1840), and Mr. Mac Leay, in the same
number,* has noticed several fossil species. It is, however, in France that the greatest
attention has been paid to them, especially by Savigny, Audouin, and Milne Edwards.]
Fig. 19S. — Syllii moniJaris, with one of its locomotive organs and setigerous
appendage attached thereto.
THE FIRST ORDER OF ANNELIDES.
THE TUBICOL^.
Some species of this division form a homogeneous, calcareous tube, which probably results
from their transudation, like the shells of the Mollusks, but to which the muscles do not adhere ;
others construct tubes, by agglutinating grains of sand, fragments of shells, and particles of
mud, which they join by means of a membrane, which likewise is doubtless transuded j lastly,
there are some, the tubes of which are entirely membranous, or horny.
To the first group belong
Serpula, Linn., — ■
The calcareous tubes of which invest, from their twisting about, fragments of stones, shells, and all sorts of
submarine matters. The truncation of these tubes is either round or angular, according to the species.
The animal within has its body composed of a great number of segments ; its fore-part widened
into a disk, furnished on each side with many bundles of stiff bristles ; and on either side of its
mouth is a tuft of fan-like gills, in general vividly coloured. At the base of each tuft is a
fleshy filament ; and one of these, on the right or left side indifferently, is always prolonged and di-
lated at its extremity into a variously-formed disk, which serves for an operculum and mouth at the
entrance of the tube when the creature retires into it.
The common species {S. contortuplicata, Ellis), has a round and twisted tube three
lines in diameter. Its operculum is funnel-shaped, and its gills often of a fine red, or
varied with yellow, violet, &c. This animal quickly fabricates its tube of mud, aggluti-
nating into it whatever small objects lie around.
There is another and smaller species on our coasts, with a club-shaped operculum,
armed with two or three little points {S. vermicular is, Gmelin). Its gills are sometimes
blue. Nothing is more beautiful to see than a group of these Serpulae when their wings
are expanded.
In other species, the operculum is flat, and bristled with more numerous points.
These are the Galeolaria, Lamarck.
There is one in the Antilles (<S. gigantea, Pallas), w'hich is found among the Madre-
pores, and the tube of which is often inclosed in their mass. Its gills roll up spirally
when they are withdrawn, and the operculum is armed with two little bi'anching horns
the memoir noticed above.
Fig:. — S. contortuplicata,
taken out of its tube.
j Nereidina. . . . Animals free, having a distinct head, provided with eyes, or antennae, or both.
L Serpulina Anira.als sedentary, and having no head, provided with eyes or antennae.
* Mr. Mac Leay has given the following quinarian distribution of the class i
ANNELIDA.
Normal Group.
Polypoda.
Marine animals, having their body
provided with distinct feet.
Abbrran r Group. C Lumbricina .. Animals without eyes or antennae ; body externally setigerous for locomotion ; articula-
I tion distinct.
, , ... J Nemertina .. Animals aquatic, without eyes or antennae ; body not externally setigerous ; articulation
Body without feet, or a distinct 'S indistinct
j Hirudina.... Animals provided generally with eyes, but not with antennie ; body not externally seti-
gerous ; articulation distinct.
392
ANNELIDES.
like the antlers of a stag. This is the Terebella bicornes, Abeldg., and the Actinia or Animal-flower of Home.
M. Savigny has made of it his subdivision of Serpules cymospires, v^hich M. Blainville elevates to the rank of
a genus.
M. Lamarck distinguishes the Spirorbis, the branchial filaments of which are much less numerous (three or
four only on each side) ; their tube is of a tolerably regular spiral form, and they are mostly very small : such is
S. spirellum, Pallas, and S. spirorbis, Muller.
S ABELL A, Cuv. {AmpMtrite, Lam.)
The same body and fan-like gills as in Serpula, but with the fleshy filaments adhering to the bran-
chiae, pointed, and neither of them forming an operculum ; they are also not always present. Their
tube appears oftener composed of granules of clay or very fine mud, and is rarely calcareous. The
known species are rather large, and their branchial tufts are of an admirable delicacy and beauty.
Some, like the Serpulce, have on the anterior portion of the back a membranous disk, across which pass the first
pairs of their bundles of bi-istles ; their branchial pectinations are turned spirally, and their tentacles reduced to slight
folds. They are the Serpules spiramelles of M. Savigny, and the Spiramilla, Blainville. A large and beautiful
species inhabits the Mediterranean, with a calcareous tube like that of the Serpula, or orange-coloured gills, &c.,
the S. protula. Nobis, or Pastula RudolpMi, Risso.
Others have no membranous disk on the foreparts, and their branchial pectinations form two equal spires, the
Sabelles simples of M. Savigny. Such are Amphritite reniformis, Muller, or Tubularia penicillus. Id. ; also Tere-
bella reniformis, Gmelin, together with the Amphritite infundibulum, Montagu, and A. vesicidosa. Id.
Tliere are some with a double range of filaments on each pectination— the Sabella Astarta, Sav., such as S.
ffrandis, Cuv., or S. indica, Sav., and the Tubularia magniflca, Shaw.
Others in which one pectination only is twirled, the others being smaller, and enveloped within the base of the
first. The Sabelles spirographes, Sav., as S. unispira, Cuv., and SpirograpMs Spallanzani, Mart.
In some the gills do not form a simple funnel round the mouth, but numerous filaments, which are serrated and
strongly ciliated on the internal face ; the silky feet of these are almost imperceptible— such is S. villosa, Cuv.
Lastly, some have been described with six filaments disposed like a star — the Fabricia of Blainville.
Terebella, Cuv., —
Like the greater number of species of Sabella, inhabit a factitious tube, but which is composed of
grains of sand, and fragments of shells ; their body has
much fewer rings, and the head is differently ornamented.
Numerous filiform tentacles, capable of much extension,
surround the mouth, and upon the neck are gills of an ar-
buscular, and not a fan-like form.
There are several on our coasts which were long confounded
under the name of Terebella conchilega, Gm., and which are
mosty remarkable for having their tubes formed of large frag-
ments of shells, the aperture having its borders prolonged into several
small branches formed of the same fragments, which serves to lodge
the tentacles.
The greater number have three pairs of branchiae, which in those with
branched tubes pass through a hole for the purpose; they are the
Terebelles simples, Sav.
Amphitrite, Cuv. —
Are easily recognized by their golden-coloured spines, disposed
in a comb-like series, or in a crown, in one or several ranges
upon the forepart of the head, and which probably serve them
for defence, or perhaps to crawl with, or to gather up the mate-
rials for the tube. Around the mouth are very numerous ten-
tacles, and on either side of the commencement of the back are
pectinated gills.
Some of them compose slight tubes, of a regular conical form, which they carry about with them. Their gilded
spines form two comb-like series, the teeth of which are directed downwards ; and the intestine is very ample,
and several times folded, being ordinarily full of sand ; they are Pectinaires of Lamarck, the Amphyctines, Sav.,
the Chrysodons, Oken, and the Cistena, Leach. Such, upon our coasts, is the A. belgica, Gmelin, with a tube
two inches long, formed of small round granules of various colours. A much larger species occurs in the Southern
seas, A. auricoma capensis, Pallas, the slender and polished tube of which appears as though transversely fibrous,
and formed of a soft fucus-stem-like substance, dried up.
There are some species which inhabit factitious tubes fixed to various substances. Their gilded spines form
several concentric crowns upon the head, whence results an operculum that closes the tube when they contract
into it, but which has two parts that can be spread asunder. They have a cirrhus on each foot. Their body
Fig. 200. — ^Terebella medusa, in its tube.
Fig. 201.— Terebella variabilis.
DORSIBRANCHIATA.
393
terminates behind into a tube recurved over the head, doubtless for the purpose of emitting their excrements. I
have found in them a muscular gizzard.
Such upon our coasts is the Sabella alveolata, Gmelin, or TuMpora arenosa, Linn., the tubes of which, united
into a compact mass, present orifices rather regularly disposed, like the cells of a honey-comb. The Amphitriie
plumosa, Fabr., should perhaps range here, of which M. Blainville has formed his genus Pherusa. Amph, ostreariat
Cuv., establishes its tubes upon Oyster-shells, and is reputed to check the propagation of their inmates.
To this order I suppose must be approximated
The Syphostoma, Otto, —
Which have a bundle of fine silky bristles above each articulation, a simple bristle below it, and at the
fore extremity two bundles of stiff and gilded bristles, beneath which is the mouth, preceded by a
sucker encircled by many soft filaments, that perhaps subserve the office of branchiae, and which are
accompanied by two fleshy tentacles. Their medullary nervous cord may be seen through the skin of
the belly. They live deep in the mud.
The species are S, diplochoites, Otto, and S. uncinata, Aud. and Edw.
Lastly, in the vicinity of the same group, has lately been placed
Dentalium, Linn.,-—
The species of which have a shell in form of an elongated cone, arcuated, and open at both ends,
which may he compared to an Elephant’s tusk in miniature ; hut the recent observations of M. Savigny,
and especially of M. Deshayes, render this classification very doubtful.
The animal does not appear to have any appreciable articulations, nor
lateral silky bristles ; but it has a membranous tube, in the interior of
which is a sort of foot, or fleshy and conical operculum, by which it closes
the orifice. At the base of this foot is a small, flat head, and there are
feather-like branchiae upon the neck. If the operculum approximates the
foot of the Tuhulibranchiate Mollusks {Vermetus and Siliquaria), the gills
are rather those of Amphitrite and Terebella. Further observations on their anatomy, and principally
on their vascular and nervous systems, are required to solve this problem.
Different species have the shell angular, longitudinally striated, or round. Among the first are D. elaphantinum,
Martini, &c. ; among the second, D, dentalis, Rumpf. ; and among the third, Z>. entalis, Martini.
Fig. 202. — Dentalium entalis, in its
tube.
THE SECOND ORDER OF ANNELIDES,—
I THE DORSIBRANCHIATA,-
Have their organs, and particularly their gills, distributed about equally throughout the
length of the body, or at least its middle portion.
We place at the head of them certain genera, in which the gills are more developed.
Arenicola, Lam.
Gills of an arhuscular form, upon the rings of the middle part of the body only. The mouth a fleshy
trunk, more or less dilatable, but no discernible teeth, tentacles, or eyes. The posterior extremity of
the body devoid not only of gills, but also of bundles of silky bristles, which occur on the other part ;
no cirrhus on any ring of the body. M. Savigny forms of them his family TJielethuces.
I The common species {Lumhricus marinus, Linn.), is very abundant in the sand of the sea shore, where the
fishermen dig for it to serve as bait. It is nearly a foot long, of a reddish colour, and diffuses, on being touched,
a quantity of yellow fluid. It has three pairs of gills.
j Amphinome, Brug.
j A pair of branchise in form of a crest, or a tuft more or less complicated, on each ring of the body,
|j and two bundles of separate bristles, together with two cirrhi, upon each foot. The trunk or proboscis
without jaws. These form the family of Amphinomes of M. Savigny, who divides them into
Chloeia, wherein are five tentacles to the head and gills in form of a tripinnate leaf. There is one in the East
I Indies {Terebella flava,Gm.), extremely remarkable for its long citron-coloured bundle of bristles, and for its
I' splendid purple tufts of branchiae. Its form is broad and depressed, and it has a vertical crest on the muzzle.
394
ANNELIDES.
Pleione, Sav. {Amphinome, Blainv.), which, with the same tentacles, have crest-like gills. These also are from
the East Indies, and attain a great size.
To these may be added Euphrosine, Sav., which has but one
tentacle to the head, together with arbuscular gills, very
much developed and complicated ; and to which the genus
Anisteria, Sav., established on a mutilated individual, should
probably be approximated ; and, lastly,
Hipponoe, Audouin & Edwards, which, devoid of caruncle,
has only one cirrhus and packet of bristles to each foot. There
is one at Port Jackson, H. Gaudichaudii, Aud. & Ed.
Eunice, Cuv. —
Fisr. 203.-Euphrosine laxxreata. Hkcwise fuTllislied with tuft-likC gills, but the trunk
is formidably armed with three pairs of dilFerently-forraed horny jaws ; each of their feet has two
cirrhi and a bundle of bristles ; and there are five tentacles upon the head above the mouth and two
on the neck. Some species only exhibit two small eyes. M. Savigny’s family of Eunices is constituted
by this division, and the particular genus is termed by him Leodice.
A species, from one to four feet in length, inhabits the sea around the Antilles (E. gigantea, Cuv.), which is the
largest Annelide known. Some upon our coasts are much smaller.
M. Savigny distinguishes by the name of MarpMsia certain species, otherwise very similar, which have no
nuchal tentacles, and the upper cirrhus of which is very short, as Nereis sanguinea, Montagu. An allied species
{N. tubicola, Muller), inhabits a horny tube.
After these genera with complex branchiae, are placed those in which the organs adverted to are
reduced to simple laminae, or even to slight tubercles, or which, lastly, are represented only by the
cirrhi. Some of them resemble Eunice by the powerful armature of the trunk, and by their antennae
of unequal number. Such are
Lycidice, Sav., —
Which, together with the jaws of Eunice, or even a greater number than in that genus, and often un-
equal on the two sides, have but three tentacles, and cirrhi to perform the office of branchiae.
Agla-Ura, Sav. —
Hav6 likewise numerous jaws, of an unequal number, seven, nine, &c. ; but no tentacles, or which are
entirely hidden ; and the gills are similarly reduced to cirrhi.
Under this name I unite the Aglaura and CEnone of Savigny, and even certain species without tentacles, which
MM. Audouin and Edwards leave in Lycidice, as Ag.fulgida and (E. lucida.
The Nereids, properly so called (Nereis, Cuv. ; Lycoris, Sav.).
Tentacles of an even number, attached to the sides of the base of the head, two other biarticulated
ones a little more forward, and between these two simple ones ; only one pair of jaws within the
trunk ; the gills formed of little laminas, traversed by a network of vessels ; and at each of their feet
two tubercles, two bundles of bristles, and a cirrhus above and below.
A great number of species inhabit our coasts.
[The species here figured, N. prolifera (Mul-
ler, Zool. Dan.), exhibits a singular peculiarity
in its mode of propagation, merely by sponta-
neous division, the hind part of the body being
gradually transformed into an additional animal,
the head and tentacular cirrhi being already de-
veloped. Muller describes one mother, to which
three foetuses, of different ages, appeared in one
length. The mother had thirty segments, the
young one nearest to it had eleven, and the two
hinder, or older ones, seventeen segments each.]
Fig, 204.— Nereis prolifera.
After these should rank various genera, equally distinguished by a slender body, and gills reduced to
simple laminae, or even to simple filaments or tubercles. Several, however, have no jaws nor tentacles.
Phyllodoce, Sav. (Nereiphylla, Blainv.), — >
In common with the Nereids proper, have tentacles of even number at the sides of the head, and four
or five small ones anteriorly. They have distinct eyes ; their large trunk is furnished with a circlet
of very short fleshy tubercles, does not contain jaws, and, what particularly distinguishes them, their
DORSIBRANCHIATA.
395
gills are in the form of very broad leaves, forming a range on each side of the body, upon which minute
vessels ramify extensively.
The N. viridis, Muller, of which M. Savigny, without having seen it, proposes to make a genus Eutaliay and the
two species of Eunomia, Risso, appear to me to belong to Phyllodoce, to which also, perhaps, should be referred the
Nereis pinnig era, Montagu, and the N.stillifera, Muller, which M. Savigny, without seen them, proposes to make
into a genus Lepidia, and N. longa, Otto, which M. Savigny places with N.Jlava in his genus Etiona. All these
require to be examined anew after the method detailed by M. Savigny. The genus Phyllodoce, Sav., however, must
not be confounded with that of M. Ranzani, which latter is allied to Aphrodita, and especially to Polynoe.
Alciope, Aud. & M. Edwards, —
Have nearly the mouth and tentacles of Phyllodoce, but the feet present, besides the tubercle which
bears the bristles and the two foliated cirrhi, or gills, a couple of branchial tubercles, which occupy its
upper and lower borders.
Spio, Fabricius & Gmelin.
A slender body ; two very long tentacles that have the appearance of antennae ; eyes upon the head,
and on either side of each segment of the body a gill in form of a simple filament. They are small
northern Sea-worms, which inhabit membranous tubes.
Poly dor e, Bose., appears to me to be referrible to this genus.
Syllis, Sav. — ■
Have tentacles of uneven numbers, articulated in chaplets, together with upper cirrhi to the feet,
which are very simple, and bear no bundles of silky bristles. It appears that they vary with respect
to the existence of jaws.
S. monilaris, Sav. [figured in p. 391 ante], the Nereis armillaris, Muller, of which M. Savigny, without having
seen it, proposes to make a genus, which he terms Lycastis, having tentacles and cirrhi in chaplets, like a Syllis j
but the former, represented to be of even number, requires farther examination.
Glyceris, Cuv.— ■
Are recognized by the form of the head, which terminates in a conical fleshy point, having the aspect
of a small horn, and the summit of which divides into four very small tentacles, that are scarcely visi-
ble. The trunk of some of the species contains jaws, which cannot be perceived in others.
Such are Nereis alba, Muller, and Glyc. Meckelii, Aud. & Edw.
Nephthys, Cuv.
The trunk of Phyllodoce, but no tentacles ; and on each foot two bundles of bristles widely sepa-
rated, and a cirrhus between them.
Lombrinereis, Blainv. —
Have no tentacles ; the body, considerably elongated, has merely a small forked tubercle at each arti-
culation, which bears a little packet of silky bristles. If there be any external respiratory organ, it
can only be the upper lobe of this tubercle.
Nereis abranchiata. Poll., Lumbricus fragilis, Muller, of which latter M. Blainville makes, but doubtfully, his
genus Scoletome.
The Scolelepe, Blainv., which are only known by the figure of Abildgaart {Lumbricus squamatus), have a very
slender body, with numerous rings, each of which has a cirrhus that serves for a gill, and two bundles of silky
bristles, the lower of which seems to consist of a fold of skin compressed like a scale, and the head has neither
jaws nor tentacles.
Aricia., Sav., —
Have neither teeth nor tentacles. The body, which is lengthened, bears two ranges of lamelliform
cirrhi along the back ; and the anterior feet are furnished with dentelated crests, that do not occur on
the other feet.
Ar. Cuvieri, Aud. and Edw. The Lumbricus armiger, Muller, which M. Blainville, without having seen it, pro-
poses to make a genus of, by the name of Scolople, appears to have neither teeth nor tentacles, and bears two
small simple bundles of short bristles on its first segments, and on the rest a bifid tubercle, a little bristle, and a
long and pointed branchial lamina.
Hesione, —
Have a short and rather thick body, composed of few ill-defined rings : a very long cirrhus, which pro-
bably fulfils the office of branchiae, occupying the upper part of each foot, which has also another
lower one, and a packet of silky bristles, and the trunk large, having neither jaws nor tentacles.
Such are H. splendida, Savigny, H. festina, Id., and H. pantherima, Risso.
ANNELIDES.
396
Ophelina, Sav.
Body rather thick and short, the rings ill-defined, bristles scarcely visible, and long cirrhi serving
for gills upon two thirds of its length ; the mouth containing a dentelated crest at the palate, lips sur-
rounded with tentacles, of which the two uppermost are larger than the rest.
Hereabouts should probably be placed the Nereis prismatica and bifrons of Fabricius.
CiRRHATULA, Lam.
A very long filament serving for gills, and two little bundles of bristles at each articulation of the
body, which are very numerous and much serrated, together with a collar of long filaments around the
neck. Head ill-defined, with neither tentacles nor jaws.
Lumbricus cirrhatus, Otto, from which the Terebella tenticulata, Montagu, and the Cirrhinereisfiliger, Blainville,
do not appear to me to differ generically.
Palmyre, Sav.
Distinguished by their upper bundle composed of large flattened bristles disposed like a fan, and
brilliant as the most polished gold ; the inferior bundles small ; their cirrhi and gills not very distinct.
They have a lengthened body, and two long and three very small tentacles.
One only is known, from the Isle of France, two inches in length, the P, aurifera, Savigny.
Aphrodita, Linn.
Easily known from the rest of this order by two longitudinal ranges of broad membranous scales, |
covering the back, to which the name elytra has been given without much reason, and under which |
the gills lie concealed in form of little fleshy crests. The body is generally flattened, and shorter and i
broader than in other Annelides. A very thick and muscular oesophagus is observable on dissection,
which is capable of being reversed into a trunk externally ; the intestine is unequal, and furnished on
each side with a great number of branched coeca, the extremities of which are fixed between the bases :
of the packets of silky bristles which serve for feet.
M. Savigny distinguishes among them the i
Halithea, — I
Wherein are three leaflets, between two of which is a very small crest, and which also has no jaws. |
There is one upon our coasts, which is among the most beautifully coloured of animals {Aphrodita aciileata, | j
Linn.) Its form is oval, six or eight inches long, and two or three broad. The scales of its back are covered
and concealed by a substance resembling tow, which originates at its sides : the latter have also groups of stout
spines, which partly pierce the tongue, together with bundles of flexible bristles, as brilliant as gold, and change-
able to every hue of the rainbow. The colours they present are surpassed in beauty neither by the scale-like
feathers of the Humming-bird, nor by the most brilliant gems. Below them is a tubercle bearing three groups
of spines, of three different thicknesses ; and finally, a fleshy cover. There are forty of these tubercles on each i
side, and between the two first are two little fleshy tentacles ; besides which there are fifteen pairs of broad scales,
which are sometimes bulged upon the back ; and fifteen small branchial crests on each side.
[The animals of this group, which greatly resemble, in form, the Euphrosine laureata, figured in a preceding i
page, are well known under the name of Sea Mice, and are often thrown upon the beach after a gale of wind. In
some species the lateral setae exhibit a beautiful structure, admirably fitting them for weapons of defence, being I
barbed on each side at the tip ; but, in order to prevent the injury which might occur to the animals, in consequence -
of the power it possesses of retracting these setae, each is inclosed in a smooth, horny sheath, composed of two
blades.]
Some species have no tow-like substance on the back, which are the Halithus hermiones of M. Savigny, and form
the genus Hermione of M. de Blainville. There is one in our seas, the Aphr. hystrix, Savigny.
Another division of Aphrodita is the
PoLYNOE, Sav. {Eumolpe, Oken), —
Having no scales on the hack, and five tentacles, together with strong corneous jaws, within the pro-
boscis.
Several small species inhabit our coasts.
SiGALioN, And. and Edw., —
Presents a more elongated form than other Aphrodites, with cirrhi upon all the feet.
Acoetes, Id., —
Have cirrhi which alternate with the elytra for a considerable space, and stronger and better dentelated
jaws. I
r
ABRANCHIA.
397
The Antilles possess a large one, which inhabits a tube of the consistence of leather. The Phyllodoce maxillosa,
Ranzani, named Polyodante by Reinieri, and Eumolpe maxima, Oken, appear to be nearly allied, having the
same trunk and jaws, and neither genus having perhaps been described from perfect specimens. Many species
of Annelides remain, which have been too imperfectly described to admit of their being characterized ; and the
Myriane, and two or three other genera of M. Savigny, must remain to be examined anew.
Finally, we place here a new and very singular genus, which I name
Ch^topterus.
Mouth with neither jaws nor trunk, hut furnished above with a lip, to which three small tentacles
are attached. A disk then follows with nine pairs of feet, after which is a pair of long silky bundles
like two wings. The lamina-formed gills are attached more towards the upper surface than the lower,
[Here also ought probably to be placed the genus
Peripatus of Guilding, founded upon a West Indian
species, which burrows in the sand, and which has
much perplexed naturalists as to its relations. By
Guilding it was considered as molluscous; by Mac
Leay as forming the passage between the lulidce and
the annulose annelidous worms; whilst Gray {Zool.
Misc. p. 6) asserts that it is annelidous, and connects
Nereis with Lumbricus^
THE THIRD ORDER OF THE ANNELIDES,—
ABRANCHIA,—
Have no respiratory organ appearing externally, and seem to respire either, as in the
Earthworms, over the whole surface of the skin, or, as in the Leeches, by internal cavities.
Some of them have yet bristles to serve for locomotion, of which others are deprived, and they
accordingly fall into two families.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ABRANCHIA,—
The Abranchia Setigera,—
Which are provided with silky bristles, comprise the Earthworms and Naides of Lkanaeus.
The Earthworms {Lumbricus, Linn.) —
Are characterized by a long, cylindrical body, divided by transverse furrows into a great number of
rings, and by a mouth without teeth : they require to be thus subdivided:
The True Earthworms {Lumbricus, Cuv.) —
Have neither eyes, tentacles, gills, nor cirrhi : a distinct enlargement, particularly during the breeding
season, indicates where they attach themselves to one another in the act of copulating. Internally
they have a straight, wrinkled intestine, and some whitish glands towards the fore part of the body,
which appear to serve for generation. It is certain that they are hermaphrodite, and it seems that
their contact only serves to excite each other to self-fecundation. According to M. Montegne, the
eggs descend between the intestine and external envelope, as far as around the rectum, where they
hatch, the young crawling out alive by the anus. M. Dufour states, on the contrary, that they deposit
eggs analogous to those of the Leeches. Their nervous chord consists of a series of an infinitude of little
ganglia, serrated one against another.*
M. Savigny subdivides them fm’ther into Enterion, having on each ring four pairs of little bristles, eight
throughout, to which belongs
The Common Earthworm (L. terrestris, Linn.).— This well-known species attains to nearly a foot in length, with
• This is common to very many species, as M. Savigny first observed. As many as twenty have been been characterised. M. Dnges only
distinguishes six.
and range along the middle of the body.
Fig. 205.— Peripatus luliformis.
398
ANNELIDES.
120 or more rings ; the bulge is towards its anterior third. Under the sixteenth ring are two pores, of which the
use is unknown. It pierces the groiind in all directions, perforating it remarkably well, and subsists on roots,
woody fibres, animal matter, &c. In the month of June it searches at night above ground for a mate.
[It is especially in rich and well-manured soils that the Earthworm delights, particularly in gardens
and meadows ; they are extremely sensitive to movements of the earth ; and anglers, knowing well their temerity
in this respect, take advantage of it, in order to obtain a supply of these animals for baits, by introducing a spade
or fork into the ground, and stirring the soil, when they soon appear on the surface. We are indebted to Charles
Darwin, Esq., for a remarkable and interesting memoir on the utility of this animal, read before the Geological
Society. The worm casts, which so much annoy the gardener by deforming his smooth-shaven lawns, are of no
small importance to the agriculturist ; and this despised creature is not only of great service in loosening the
earth, and rendering it permeable by air and water, but is also a most active and powerful agent in adding to the
depth of the soil, and in covering comparatively barren tracts with a superficial layer of wholesome mould. The
author’s attention was directed by Mr. Wedgwood, of Maer Hall, Staffordshire, to several fields, some of which
had a few years before been covered with lime, and others with burnt marl and cinders, which substances in every
case are now buried to the depth of some inches below the turf, just as if, as the farmers believe, the particles had
worked themselves down. After shewing the impossibility of this supposed operation, the author affirms that
the whole is due to the digestive process by which the common Earthworm is supported, since, on carefully
examining between the blades of grass in the fields above-mentioned, he found that there was scarcely a space of
two inches square without a little heap of the cylindrical castings of worms ; it being well known that worms
swallow earthy matter, and that having separated the serviceable portion, they eject at the mouth of their burrows
the remainder in little intestine-shaped heaps. Still more recently Mr. Darwin has noticed a more remarkable
instance of this kind, in which, in the course of eighty years, the Earthworms had covered a field then manured
with marl, with a bed of earth, averaging thirteen inches in thickness.]
[Fig. 206, b, represents the anterior extremity of the Earthworm, to show the mouth, as well as the setae directed
backwards upon the segments of the body, by means of which it is admirably enabled
to work its way through the earth, their backward direction enabling it to retain its
station as it protrudes its head further into the earth. Fig. e, represents one of its
eggs, inclosing, as is sometimes the case, two young ; and fig. d represents the escape
of the young worm from the egg, the anterior extremity of which is furnished with
a peculiar valve-like structure ; these two figures are highly magnified,]
Hypog<eon, Sav., have an additional single, or uneven, bristle upon the back of
each ring. They are only known in America.
MM. Audouin and M. Edwards likewise distinguish the Trophonius, which has
four bundles of short silky bristles on each ring, and at the anterior extremity a
great number of long and brilliant bristles, encircling the mouth.
The Naides {Nais, Linn.),—
Have the elongated body and the rings less marked than in the Earthworms.
They live in holes which they perforate in mud at the bottom of water,
and from which they protrude the anterior portion of the body, incessantly
moving it. Some have black points upon the head, which have been
regarded as eyes. They are small worms, the reproductive power of which
is as astonishing as that of the Hydra or Polypus. Many species exist in our
fresh waters.
Some have very long bristles ; others (the Stylaria, Lamarck) a long protrusile
trunk ; several {Proto, Oken) have small tentacles at the hind extremity, and there
are others with very short bristles.
To this genus may be approximated certain Annelides allied to the Earth-
worms, which fabricate the tubes of clay, or debris, into which they retire.
Such are the Tubifex of Lamarck, which, however, requires further examination.
Climene, Sav., —
Appears likewise to belong to this family. Their body is rather thick,
with few rings, and bears, for the greater portion of its length, a range of
strong bristles, and, a little higher up, a bundle of finer bristles on the dorsal aspect. The head has
neither tentacles nor appendages ; posterior extremity truncated and rayed, and they also inhabit tubes.
Fig;. 206.— Lumbricns terrestris.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ABRANCHIOUS ANNELIDES,— or.
The Abranchia without Bristles,—
Comprise two great genera, both of which are aquatic.
ABRANCHIA.
399
The Leeches {Hirudo, Linn.) —
Have an oblong body, sometimes depressed, and wrinkled transversely ; the mouth encircled by a lip,
and the posterior extremity furnished with a flattened disk, both ends being adapted to fix upon bodies
by a kind of suction, by means
of which these animals move,
for, having fixed their anterior
extremity, they draw the other
up to it and fix that, and then
readvance the first, [besides
which, they swim with facility].
Several have a double series of 207.— Himdo officinalis ; a, its anterior extremity, shewing the sucker.
pores underneath the body, which are the orifices of little internal pouches, considered by some natu-
ralists as organs of respiration, although they are generally filled with a mucous fluid. The intestinal
canal is straight and swoln at intervals, extending for two thirds the length of the body, where there
are true coeca. The blood they swallow continues red, and without alteration, for several weeks. The
ganglia of their nervous system are much more separated than those of the Earthworms. They are
hermaphrodite, and have a large penis about the anterior third of the body, and a vulva a little behind
it. Several accumulate their eggs into cocoons enveloped by a fibrous excretion.
[On opening the Leech shortly after it has gorged itself with the hlood of its prey, it will be found
that none of the blood has passed into the intestines. The operation of digestion is extremely slow,
notwithstanding the rapid and excessive manner in which the Leech fills its stomach : a single meal
of blood will suffice for many months, nay, more than a year will sometimes elapse before the blood
has passed through the intestines in the ordinary manner, during all which period so much of the
blood as remains undigested in the stomach continues in a fluid state, and as if just taken in, notwith-
standing the vast difference in the heat of the body of a mammiferous animal and that of a Leech.]
— Griffith, An. King., part 35, p. 129.
They are subdivided upon characters derived principally from the organs of the mouth. In
Fig. 208. — Developement of Hirudo medicinalis.
The Leeches, properly so called {San-
guisuga, Sav.),~
The anterior sucker has the lip divided into
several segments ; its aperture is trans-
versal, and contains three jaws, each armed
with a double range of very fine trenchant
teeth, which enable them to pierce the
skin without inflicting a dangerous wound ;
they have ten minute points, which have
been considered as eyes.
Every one is acquainted with the medicinal Leech {H. medicinalis, Linn.), so useful an instrument for local
blood-letting.
H^mopis, Sav., — ■
Differs by having the teeth less numerous and comparatively obtuse.
Such is the common Horse Leach, {H. sanguisorba, Sav.).
Bdellia, Sav., —
Has only eight eyes, and no teeth whatever.
There is one in the Nile (Bd. nilotica, Egypt. Ann.)
Nephelis, Sav., — »
Has also but eight eyes, and the mouth with only three folds of the skin interiorly.
M. de Blainville terms them Erpohdellis, and M. Oken Helluo.
Numerous small species inhabit our fresh waters, among which should be distinguished
Trochetia, Dutrochet,—
Which differ by having a bulge at the genitals.
A species {Geobdella trochetii, Blainv.), is often seen upon the ground, pursuing the Earthworms.
400
ANNELIDES.
M. Moquin Tandon has described a subgenus by the name of Aulastoma^ the mouth of which has
merely longitudinal folds, several in number.
In the suite of Nephelis, should be placed the BrancMobdellia of M. Odier, remarkable for having
two jaws and no eyes.
One species only is known, which lives upon the gills of the Crab.
All these subdivisions have the anterior sucker a little separated from the body ; the two next are
distinguished by a further separation, composing almost a segment, having a transverse aperture.
HiEMOCHARis, Sav.,—
In addition to this conformation, have eight eyes, a slender body, and rings not very distinct. Their
jaws do not project, and are scarcely visible ; they do not swim, but advance in the manner of the
caterpillars termed geometrical, and attach themselves particularly to fishes. They are the Piscicola
of Blainville, and the IcthioMella of Lamarck,
One species is common upon the Carp, {H, piscium, Linn.).
Albiones, Sav. {Pontobdella, Leach and Blainville), —
Differ from the preceding by having the body bristled with tubercles, and eyes only six in number.
They live in the sea.
There is a parasite on the Torpedo, named Branchellion, very similar to a Leech, but which appears
to have a little mouth at the hind border of its anterior disk, which last is borne on a slender neck, and
at the base of it is a small hole for the generative organs. The lateral edges of its folds, which are
compressed and salient, have been regarded as branchiae, but I cannot perceive vessels ramifying upon
them ; the epidermis is ample, and envelopes the creature like a very loose sac.
Clepsines, Sav. (Glossoporis, Johnson), —
Ranks commonly also among the Leeches. The body is widened, with a disk only behind, and the
mouth is formed into a trunk, and not suctorial ; but it is not impossible that some of these belong to
the family of Planarics. Phillines, Oken, and Malacobdellis, Blainv., have also a widened body, and
want the anterior sucker. Their habits are parasitic.
The Gordians {Gordius, Linn.), —
Have the body in form of a filament ; slight transverse folds, which mark the articulations only ; and
no feet, branchiae, or tentacles have yet been discerned ; nevertheless, they are internally distinguished
by a knotted nervous chord. They should perhaps be placed, however, with the intestinal worms,
such as the Nemertes,
The various species inhabit fresh water, mud, and inundated grounds, which they perforate in all directions,
&c. [We have not unfrequently met with them upon garden-cabbages, and their name is derived from the com-
plex knots into which they seemingly entangle their ex-
tremely elongated bodies.] The commonest (G. aquaticus,
Linn.), is several inches long, and scarcely thicker than
a hair. See the memoir of Dr. George Johnston on this spe-
cies in the Magazine of Natural History, vol. ix. p. 359.]
[This animal, which is found in slowly-running and stagnant
waters in the summer, is commonly mistaken for the species
of Filaria, the proper habitat of which is the intestines of
Beetles and other insects. The head of Gordius is obtusely
conical, with a simple circular terminal pore for a mouth, from which a sort of membrane can be forced by
pressure. The tail is bifid ; the processes short, equal, and obtuse ; the latter has often been mistaken for the
mouth. Thus Dr. Turton describes the mouth as “small, horizontal, with equal obtuse Jaws.” Dr. Johnston
states, that having cut off portions of the anterior extremity and tail, the detached parts soon lost every sign of
life ; it has, however, been asserted, that each part would grow into a perfect animal.]
Fig. 209. — Gordius aquaticus.
401
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICULATED ANIMALS WITH
ARTICULATED LEGS *
BY M. P. A. LATREILLE.
Overwhelmed by the variety of his occupations, and yielding too easily to the im-
pulse of friendship, M. Cuvier has confided to me the portion of this work which treats
upon insects.
These animals were the objects of his earliest studies in zoology, and hence origin«-
ated his friendship with Fabricius, one of the most celebrated disciples of Linnaeus, who
has repeatedly, in his works, shown evidences of his particular esteem. Various inte-
resting observations upon some of these animals, published in the Journal d’Histoire
Naturelle, formed the prelude to his works upon natural history. Entomology, like the
other branches of zoology, has derived the greatest advantages from his anatomical re-
searches, and the happy modifications which he has thence made in the groundwork of our
classification. The external structure of insects has been better understood ; and this
branch of the science has no longer been neglected, as it had previously been. His
Tableau Elementaire de VHistoire Naturelle, and Legons J Anatomie Compar^e, have
pointed out the path to the natural method. The public will therefore have cause to
regret that his numerous pursuits would not permit him to undertake this portion
of his treatise upon animals.
In undertaking this work, my object has been to unite, in as narrow limits as possible,
the most striking facts in the history of insects ; to arrange these animals with precision
and clearness, in a natural series ; to sketch their physiognomy ; to trace, in as few
words as possible, their distinguishing features, adopting a plan which shall be in rela-
tion to the progressive advance of the science and of the student ; to notice the bene-
ficial and obnoxious species, — indicating, at the same time, the best sources where he
may attain a knowledge of the other species ; to reduce the science to the engaging
simplicity which it exhibited in the days of Linnseus, Geofiroy, and the earlier works
of Fabricius, and yet to present it as it now appears, enriched but not overcharged with
recent observations and researches ; — in a word, to make it conformable to the work
of Cuvier,
This author, in his Tableau Elementaire de VHistoire Naturelle des Animaux, did not
limit the extent of the class of insects, as restricted by Linnseus, but introduced neces-
* [These introductory observations appeared in both editions of the
Rigne Animal, the object of Latreille bein^ herein to set forth the
sreneral principles upon which his arrang^enient of the Linnsean insects
was founded. In the second edition, the same general classification
was adopted, but considerable alterations were made in the arrange-
ment of the secondary and tertiary groups, such as families, genera,
&c., it having been impossible to bring the work down to the then
present state of the science, without modifying the former arrange-
ment, and making great additions ; so that two volumes were requisite
instead of one, to give a summary of the multitudinous genera pub-
lished in the intervening period. In like manner, the internal anatomy
of these animals had been greatly studied, — thereby, in many instances,
affording more certain proofs of the solidity of many of the groups pre-
viously proposed, and of whose internal structure it therefore became
necessary to add the details to the generally e.xternal character pre-
viously given ; so that this second edition ought more strictly to be
regarded as an entirely new work.]
*,* Throughout the Articulated portion of the present edition, the
original passages are enclosed in editorial parentheses, thus [ ].
D D
402
INTRODUCTION TO THE
sary modifications, which have served as the basis of other subsequent classifications.
He at first characterized insects from other invertebrated animals, by more rigorous
characters than had been before employed,— namely, a knotted or ganglionated nervous
chord, extending down the body, and articulated limbs. Linnseus terminated his class
of insects with those which are destitute of wings, although some of them — as the
crabs and spiders — are, in respect to their organic systems, the most perfectly organized
{ks plus parfaits) of the class, and consequently the nearest to the molluscous animals.
This arrangement is therefore opposed to the natural system; and M. Cuvier, by placing
the Crustacea at the head of the class, succeeded by the other apterous insects, has
rectified the method in a point where the series was in opposition to the scale formed
by nature.
In his Legons d’ Anatomie Comparee, the class of insects, after the removal of the
Crustacea, was divided into nine orders, founded upon nature, or the functions of their
mouth-organs, and the variations in their wings, thus uniting the principles of the
Linnsean and Fabrician arrangements. [1st. Those with maxillae, five orders : Gnath-
aptera (including the majority of the Linnaean Aptera, after the removal of the Crustacea),
Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera ; and, 2nd, those without max-
illae, four orders : Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Aptera.] The groups esta-
blished by Cuvier in his Gnathapterous order are nearly identical with those which I
proposed in a Memoir presented to the Societe Philomatique, in April, 1795, and in my
Precis des Caracteres Ge'neriques des Insectes, in which I divided the Linnaean Aptera
into seven orders: — 1. Suctoria; 2. Thysanura; 3. Parasita; 4. Acephala (the Arach-
nides palpistes of Lamarck); 5. Entomostraca ; 6. Crustacea; 7. Myriapoda.
Lamarck’s arrangement of the Linnaean Aptera appears, however, to make the nearest
approach to a natural system; and we have adopted it, with certain modifications, which
we wiU now explain. With him, I divide the Linnaean insects into three classes : —
Crustacea, Arachnida, and Insecta ; but I do not employ the characters derived
from metamorphosis ; — these, although natural, and already employed by De Geer, not
being classical (classique), presupposing the observation of the animal in its different
states, which has been so much neglected. I have not, however, entirely neglected
these characters ; and, indeed, a Memoir which I have prepared upon the metamor-
phoses of insects, not yet published, has been resorted to in the general observations
upon the different groups.
In the class Crustacea, I have established five apparently natural orders, founded
upon the situation and form of the branchiae, the manner in which the head is articu-
lated with the thorax, and the mouth-organs ; and I have terminated this class, like
Lamarck, with the Branchiopoda, which are a kind of Crustaceous Arachnida.
In the class Arachnida, I only comprehend the Arachnides palpistes of Lamarck,
and which thus constitute a group well characterized, both internally [from the struc-
ture of their respiratory apparatus] and externally, from their being destitute of antennae,
and have ordinarily four pairs of feet. I divide this class into two orders : namely, the
Pulmonaria and Trachearia.
The class of Insecta is characterized in a very simple manner by the system of res-
piration consisting of two air tubes running along the sides of the body, furnished at
intervals with centres of ramifications, corresponding with the [external] spiracles, and
by the possession of iwo antennae. The primary groups of insects are founded upon
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
403
the following considerations : — 1st, Wingless insects, with incomplete metamorphoses,
or which do not undergo any change, comprising the first three orders ; 2ndly, Wingless
insects, undergoing complete metamorphoses, comprising the fourth order ; and, 3rdly,
Insects with wings, which they acquire by metamorphosis, either of an incomplete or
perfect kind, containing the last eight orders. The first of these primary groups cor-
responds with Lamarck’s Arachnides antennistes ; the second, consisting of the single
genus Pulex [or the flea], appears, in some respects, to be related by means of the genus
Hippobosca [or forest flies] , with the order Diptera, although, in other respects, and in
its metamorphoses, it is removed from the genus last named. It is, moreover, often
difficult to distinguish these natural enchainments ; and often, even when discovered,
we are compelled to sacrifice these relations to the precision and facility of our [arti-
ficial] methods.
To the before known orders of insects I have added that of Strepsiptera {Kirhy)^
but under the name of Rhipiptera, — the former appearing [but erroneously] to me to
be founded upon an incorrect supposition. Perhaps, indeed, this order might be sup-
pressed, and united with the Diptera, as Lamarck had suggested.
For the reasons assigned in my Considerations Generates, 8^c., p. 46, and which I
might support by other proofs, I have attached more weight to the characters derived
from the organs of locomotion, and the general construction of the body, than to the
modifications of the mouth-organs, at least when their structure is referable to the same
type. Hence I do not divide the class first into gnawing and sucking insects, but into
those with wings, or wing-cases, &c., nearly similar to the series of the Linnsean orders,
using, in a secondary sense, the characters derived from the mouth-organs, which had
been placed in the foremost rank by Fabricius, Cuvier, Lamarck, Clairville, and
Dumeril, whose arrangements consequently differ from mine.
I have followed Cuvier in reducing the number of families proposed in my former
works, and in converting into subgenera the groups separated from the Linnsean genera,
although their characters appear to be sufficiently distinct. Such was also the plan of
Gmelin, which is simple and advantageous, by bringing the subject more within the
capacity of the student.
All my groups are founded upon the comparative investigation of all the parts of the
animals which I desire to make known, and upon the observation of their habits. It is
from being too exclusive in their considerations, that the majority of naturalists entirely
lose sight of the natural system {V or dr e nature!).
To the facts recorded by Reaumur, Roesel, De Geer, Bonnet, the Hubers, &c., upon
the instincts of insects, I have added many collected by myself ; while the works of
Cuvier, L. Dufour, M. Serres, Strauss, Audouin, and Milne Edwards, have furnished
me with anatomical observations. As I have been able to describe but a very small
number of insects, I have selected the commonest and most interesting species.
[Such is a condensed abstract of the introductory observations of Latreille, from
I which it will be seen that the period of ten years, which had elapsed between the pub-
lication of the first and second editions of this work, had rendered it necessary to double
the space assigned to the Linnsean Insecta, which, in the second edition, occupied up-
wards of 1100 pages. The latter was published in 1829 ; and if we contrast the ten
years which have elapsed since that period with the ten preceding, we shall be com-
D D 2
404
INTRODUCTION TO THE
pelled to admit that Entomology has made far more rapid strides in these days than
heretofore. The establishment of Entomological Societies in France and England has
called forth the exertions of many students, who, in every branch of the science, have
added greatly to our knowledge of these tribes of animals ; but it has been especially
with reference to the description of new genera and species that the greatest strides
have been made. To attempt, within the very limited space devoted in this edition
to the Invertebrated Animals, to give even a list of all the new genera established since
1829, would be useless; and this portion of the work must therefore necessarily be
treated in a plan somewhat at variance with that of the vertebrated portion. As we
cannot, therefore, give the genera, subgenera, sections, subsections, and other inferior
groups, which, in the majority of instances, rest upon isolated structural characters,
often of trivial nature (such as the number of joints in the antennae, the number of
cells or spaces formed by the veins of the wings, &c.), I shall coniine myself more espe-
cially to those natural groups which Latreille, in his other works, regarded as ‘‘ natural
families,” — groups equivalent in general with the Linnaean genera, to which but few
additions of importance have been made, and of which the knowledge will afford a good
and sufficiently general view of Entomology, — noticing, however, their sectional distri-
bution, and the more remarkable of the groups now termed genera.
It is in the first place, however, necessary to observe, that the limits of the sub-kingdom
Articulata, and its primary divisions, have recently formed the subjects of much discus-
sion. The researches of Drs. Nordmann, V. Thompson, and Burmeister have clearly
proved, not only that the Cirrhipedes, placed by Cuvier amongst the Mollusca, are, in their
earher stages, active Entomostraca; but also that the Lernsese, placed by Cuvier amongst
the intestinal worms, are similarly active, and furnished with articulated legs in their
early state. The relation of the Annelides with some of the wingless insects has also
been strenuously maintained by some writers, who have deemed the internal organisms
of higher importance than the circumstance of the limbs being articulated.
With respect to the primary divisions, or classes, into which the jointed-legged
Articulata (or the Condylopa of Latreille) are formed, it is to be observed that Latreille
himself, in his Cours d' Entomologie, published subsequently to the second edition of this
work, has modified his views herein set forth, in the following manner : —
Condylopa — {Insecta, Linn.)
1. Apiropoda. — With more than six feet ; destitute of wings.
Class 1. Crustacea.
2. Arachnides.
3. Myriapoda.
2. Hexapod A. — Including the single
Class 4. Insecta.*
Here we find the Myriapoda, which Latreille had in this work united with the true
insects, raised to the rank of a class, whilst the orders Thysanura and Anoplura {Para--
sit a, Latr.) still remained with the fourth class.
Mr. M‘Leay, however, has united these two orders with the Myriapoda, forming
* [Without attaching so much weight to considerations resting
solely upon analogical resemblances, too often of a very fanciful
nature, as some of our recent English naturalists (M'Leay, Swainson),
we may notice that these four groups seem to represent the four pri-
mary groups of vertebrated animals. The Crustacea are aquatic, and,
as such, are analogous to fishes. The Arachnida are terrestrial, and
thus indicate the Mammalia. That the M3Tiapoda are analogous to
the reptiles is sufficiently evident by comparing a Scolopendra with '
the skeleton of a Snake, or an lulus with a perfect one (whence
Latreille named the latter Anguiformes) ; whilst the true insects, fur-|
nished with wings, at once represent the only other winged class—!
that of birds.]
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
r
405
them, with certain worms, into a class, for which he adopted Leach’s name, Ameta-
bola (changeless), in order to distinguish them from the true insects, which undergo
transformations. This author retained the classes Crustacea and Arachnida, but di-
vided the insects, from the structure of their mouth-organs, into those with mandibles
and those with a suctorial mouth, — characters which we have seen had been employed
in the arrangement of the orders of insects inter se.
Other arrangements have been proposed by Kirby and Spence, Burmeister, &c., to
which I can but refer. — I shall, therefore, only add that it appears to me most natural
to confine the Ametabola to the Myriapoda, Thysanura, and Anoplura ; to unite the
winged insects into one class, named Ptilota, after Aristotle ; and to retain the Crustacea
and Arachnida in the limits here detailed. — Entomol. Text-Book, p. 79 ; and Introd.
to Modern Classific. of Insects, vol. i. p. 4.]
f ARTICULATED ANIMALS, FURNISHED WITH ARTICULATED FEET,*
J IN GENERAL.
CRUSTACEA, ARACHNIDA, AND INSECTA.
These threef classes, united together by Linnseus under the common name of Insects,
but which I name Condylopa, are distinguished by their articulated feet, of which they
have at least six.J Each joint [of the legs] is tubular, and contains the muscles of the
following articulation, which always moves by ginglymus, — that is, in but one direc-
tion. The first joint which attaches the limb to the body, and which is generally com-
posed of two§ pieces, is named the coxa, or hip, [the second of these pieces, when
present, is termed the trochanter] ; the next piece, which is ordinarily in a position
nearly horizontal, is the femur, or thigh ; the third is generally vertical, and is named
the tibia, or shank ; and the terminal part of the leg, or properly the foot, is composed
of a series of small joints, which touch the ground, and which are collectively named
the tarsus. '
The hardness of the calcareous or horny || envelope of the majority of these animals
is owing to that of the excretion which is interposed between the dermis and epidermis,
or what is termed in Man the mucous tissue. It is also in this excretion that are lodged
the often brilliant and varying colours with which these animals are sometimes adorned.
These creatures are always furnished with eyes. These are of two kinds : — 1st, The
simple eyes, named ocelli, or stemmata, ordinarily resembling a minute lens, and of which
there are generally three, arranged in a triangle on the crown of the head ; and, 2ndly,
the facetted or composite eyes, of which the surface is divided into an infinite number of
* The series of [external] articulations of which the body is com-
posed has been compared to a skeleton, or vertebral column ; but this
is erroneous, because the supposed vertebras are only hardened por-
tions of the skin, connected by more slender membranous intervening
portions. The researches of Strauss especially prove this, in opposi-
tion to Robineau Desvoidy, and others. The power of exuviation
especially distinguishes these from other Invertehrata.
t Dr. Leach formed the Myriapoda into a distinct class. The tra-
chean Arachnida might also, from their anatomical characters, consti-
tute another, but they are too nearly allied to the pulmonary Arach-
nida to allow this separation.
t Hexapods. Those with more than six feet are the Apiropoda of
Savigny, or my Hyperhexapods.
§ In many Crustacea, the second piece of the coxa appears to form
part of the femur, and the tibiae (as also in the Arachnida) are two-
jointed.
II According to M. Odier, the chief substance of which this integu-
ment is composed is of a peculiar nature, which he names chitine.
Phosphate of lime forms the chief part of the salts of the teguments
of insects, whilst the carapax of the crabs abounds in carbonate of
lime.
406
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
minute [hexagonal] lenses or facets, to each of which there is a corresponding filament
of the optic nerve. These two kinds of eyes may exist in conjunction or separately, vary-
ing in the genera ; and we know not whether their action, when united in the same
individual, be essentially different. The sense of sight, however, must in all instances be
effected in a manner quite unlike that of the Vertebrata. (Consult the Memoir of
Serres on the Eyes of Insects, Montpelier, 1815, 1 vol. 8vo; and the Observations of
Blainville on the Eyes of Crustacea, in Bull. Soc. Philomat.) [also the memoir of
J. Muller, conscisely abstracted in the Insect Miscellanies.”]
Other organs, which we here find, for the first time, amongst the Crustacea and
Insecta*, and which are named antennae, are articulated filaments, varied in the greatest, ,
degree as to their form, even in the sexes of the same species, arising from the head,
and appearing eminently endued with a delicate sense of touch, and perhaps, also, with
some other kind of sensation of which we have no idea, but which has reference to the
state of the atmosphere.
These animals also enjoy the senses of smell and hearing. Some authors place
the seat of the first of these senses in the antennsef ; others, as M. Dumeril, in the
orifices of the breathing pores ; and others, as M. de Serres, in the palpi. These
opinions, however, are not founded upon positive and conclusive facts. As to the sense
of hearing, the Decapod Crustacea, and certain Orthoptera, alone possess a visible ear.
The mouth of these animals presents a great analogy [or general uniformity] , which
also extends, according to Savignyf, in a relative manner, even to those species which
subsist by suction. Those which gnaw their food [Mandihulata, Clairville] by means
of jaws fit for trituration, have the parts of the mouth arranged in pairs laterally, and
placed one before [or over] the other. The anterior pair are specially named mandibles,
[the succeeding pair or pairs being termed maxillse, or hind jaws] ; the pieces which
cover the jaws before and behind are the lips§, that in front being called the labrum,
[and that behind being the labium]. The palpi are articulated filaments attached to
the hind jaws and the hind or lower lip, and appear to assist the animal in
recognizing its food. The form of these different organs determine [or, more properly
speaking, indicate] the kind of nourishment with as much precision as the dental
system of Mammalia. Within the lower lipH, the tongue (ligula) [or rather lingua]
is ordinarily attached. Sometimes, as in the bees, and many other Hymenoptera, it is
prolonged considerably, as weU as the maxillae, forming a kind of proboscis (promuscis),
with the pharynx at its base often covered by a kind of secondary lip {sous-lalre ;
epipharynx, Savigny), and which appears to me to exist, in many beetles, in the form
* And even in the Arachnida, but under modified forms, and with
modified functions.
t With reference, at least, to Insecta, and when they terminate in
a more or less complicated mass, or are clothed with a great quantity
of hairs. According to M. Desvoidy, the internal antennae of the
Decapod Crustacea are organs of smell {Bull. Set. Nat. 1827), but he
cites no direet proof; and, indeed, in the most carnivorous crabs
{Gecarcinus, &c.), where the organ of smell ought to be most fully
developed, the very reverse takes place, [the inner antennae being
very small.]
t Mhnoires sur les Animaux sans FerMres. The original idea [of
this uniformity] was first announced by me (but without develope-
ment) in my Histoire Genirale des Insectes.
§ I here more particularly allude to the Hexapod insects.
II The labium is protected in front by a corneous piece, formed by a
cutaneous elongation, and articulated at its base with a part of the
under side of the head, named the mentum. Its two palpi are termed
labial palpi. The maxillary palpi are two or four in number, in the lat-
ter case being named external and internal, tbe internal palpi being a
modification of the outer lobe of the maxillaj, and which is named
galea by Fabricius, in Orthopterous insects. In these insects, and in
the Libellulae, there is a soft vesiculose body in the middle of the
mouth, distinct from the lower lip, and which, compared with the
Crustacea, appears to be the true tongue {Labium, Fabr.) This
organ is probably represented in many Coleoptera by the lateral divi-
sions of the labium, which are termed paraglossce. The membranous
terminal part of the lower lip, extending between the palpi in the
Orthoptera and Libellulas, is quite distinct from this central tongue,
although nearly all entomologists have termed this terminal extremity
of the lip by the name of languette. It is, nevertheless, true, that this
central tongue is often closely soldered to the [inner surface of] the
lower lip. [The composition of the lower lip is very complicated,
and variable in different groups. As a whole, it is best to retain for it
the name of labium. Its corneous basal piece is the mentum. The
following piece is generally called the labium, having the labial palpi
arising at its base ; but the German authors term this terminal piece
ligula. The internal piece is the lingua. Latreille refers to the
larv® of the Dyticid®, as affording a clear notion of the typical struc-
ture of the labium ; but in these larv®, the labium is almost obsolete.
The perfect Silph®, or Staphylini, afford much better instances.]
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
407
of a membranous piece beneath the labrum, which has the same reference to it as the
mentum has to the labium.
In Hemiptera and Diptera the mandibles and maxillae are represented by scaly pieces,
in the form of setae or lancets, received in a tubular elongated sheath, which is either
cylindrical and articulated, or elbowed, and terminated by fleshy lip-like pieces. In
these insects the mouth becomes a real sucker. In other suctorial insects (Lepidoptera) ^
the maxillae alone are elongated, conjointly forming a tubular and very slender instru-
ment like a long tongue, spirally folded up at rest, the other parts of the mouth being
but very slightly developed, [except the labial palpi]. Sometimes, as in many
Crustacea, the fore-legs approach the maxilla, taking their form and exercising their
functions, so that the maxillae may in such cases be said to be multiplied, and some-
times it may even occur that the real maxillae are so much reduced in size that the
maxillary feet or foot-jaws {pieds-machoires) entirely replace them. But, whatever
may be the modifications of these parts, they may always be recognized, and these
variations reduced to a primitive or general type. [This kind of reasoning may appear
fanciful to persons who have not studied the comparative anatomy of these lower
animals, but there are so many instances in which feet are transformed into jaws, and
jaws into feet, that it is impossible not to arrive at the conclusion that these organs
are but modifications of each other. For instance, in the crabs there are three pairs
of foot-jaws and five pairs of legs, whilst in the jumping shrimps (Amphipoda) there
is only one pair of foot-jaws, the number of legs being increased to seven pairs by the
addition of the two outer pair of foot-jaws. The genera Sergestes, Sicyonia, and
Acetes amongst the Shrimps still more clearly prove this, for here the typical number
of legs is five pairs, but the same kind of modifications occur. In the winged insects
it is quite sufficient to examine the lower lip of a grasshopper, cockroach, or white ant,
to perceive at once that it consists of a pair of small maxillae soldered together, the
ligula (or labium, as it is restrictedly called by some authors) consisting of two inner
lobes, and two galeae, with two labial palpi : if, therefore, we consider the internal lobe
of the maxillae as a palpus, the labium in these insects will possess four palpi and two
inner lobes. If we adopt this principle, we must suppose that as each leg-bearing
segment is furnished with a pair of limbs, the head is a compound segment, furnished
with several pairs of limbs, being the analogues of legs, and such is the view entertained
by some of the most celebrated of modern entomologists. The same principle Latreille
considers to be equally applicable to the antennae, or at least to the inner pair of these
organs in the Crustacea, and hence the Arachnida and Myriapoda are not, in this
respect, anomalous exceptions to the principle.]
THE FIRST CLASS OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS WITH
ARTICULATED LEGS.
CRUSTACEA.
The Crustacea are articulated animals, provided with articulated legs, respiring by
branchiae (a kind of gills), covered in some species by the sides of the carapax or shell,
and external in others ; but which are not inclosed in particular cavities of the body,
} receiving the air by means of orifices in the surface of the skin. Their circulation is
408
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
double, and analogous to that of the Mollusca. The blood is transmitted from the
heart, situated near the back, to the different parts of the body, where it is conveyed
to the branchiae, and thence back to the heart. These branchiae are situated either at
the base of the legs or upon the legs themselves, or upon the subabdominal ap-
pendages, forming either pyramidal masses, composed of layers of fine plates or clothed
with setae, or consisting of simple plates in tufts, even in some appearing to consist
only of hairs.
The nervous system of the Crustacea (especially investigated by Cuvier, Audouin,
and Milne Edwards), exhibits two very different appearances, constituting the two
extremes of the modifications it presents in this class. Sometimes, as in the leaping
shrimps {Talitrus)^ it is composed of two nervous chords, with knots or ganglions
at equal distances along the whole length of the body, and sometimes, as in the Crab
{Maia Squinado), it consists of only two nervous masses, of unequal size, one placed in
the head and the other in the thorax. Other Crustacea {Cymothoa^ Phyllosoma,
Palinurus, Palemon, and Astacus), exhibit intermediate formations, showing the
gradual modifications.*
The Crustacea are destitute of wings, provided with two face-tted eyes, but rarely
with simple eyes, and generally with four antennae. They have in general (the
Poecilopoda excepted) three pairs of maxillae (the upper pair or true mandibles included),
the same number of foot-jaws, the outer pairs of which become, in many species, real
feet ; and ten legs, all of which are terminated by a single hook. When the two
outer pairs of foot-jaws perform the office of feet, the number of legs is [increased to]
fourteen. The mouth consists, as in insects, of an upper lip, a tongue, but no true
lower lip comparable with that of insects, the external pair of foot-jaws [the third
pair, or, where the two outer pairs become legs, the first pair] closing the mouth and
acting instead of a lip, [thus proving what has been suggested above relative to the
nature of the labium in insects] .
Their envelope is generally solid, and more or less calcareous. They change their
coats several times, generally retaining their primitive formf and their natural activity.
They are in general carnivorous, aquatic, and their hfe extends through several years.
They do not become adults until after a series of moultings. With the exception of a
small number in which these moultings somewhat modify the primitive form, and
augment the number of locomotive organs, these animals are at their birth (size
excepted) such as they will remain throughout their life.
The situation and the form of the branchise, the manner in which the head is
articulated with the trunk or thorax, the moveable or fixed structure of the eyesf, the
organs of mastication, and the tegumentary system, form the bases of our distribution,
and give rise to the following orders in the class, and which are confirmed by the
observations hitherto made upon the nervous system.
* [The modifications in the structure of the nervous system of the
larva, pupa, and imag-o of the same insect, fully confirm this, that of
the larva resembling that of the Talitrus, whilst that of the imago is
more analogous to that of the Crab. If we regard the larva as in a
state of immaturity or imperfection, we should be led to consider the
Crab as far higher in the chain of nature than the Talitrus, and such
is the station generally assigned to it, without reference to its nervous
system.]
t [This statement has been opposed by Dr. J. V. Thompson, in his
Zoological Researches and other more recent articles, this writer
asserting that the Crustacea undergo a series of transformations as
striking as those of the true insects ; the anomalous animals long
known under the generic name of Zoea, and which have long perplexed
Crustaceologists (for want of a perfect investigation of their struc-
ture), being affirmed by him to be the young of the Crabs and other
Decapoda. In some cases, however, where- a minute analysis of the
eggs of different species has been made, a contrary result has been
obtained, Rathke having dissected the eggs and watched the gradual
developement of the embryo of the crayfish, and I having dissected
the eggs of the land crab of the West Indies, the young in both in-
stances (and in others subsequently observed by Rathke) resembling
the parents in general appearance.] - .
t Whence Lamarck divided the Crustacea into the Pediocles (or eyes
on footstalks) and Sessiliocles (or sessile eyes) . Leach changed these
names (applying them only to the Malacostraca) into Podopthalma and
Edriopthalma. Gronovius first employed this character.
CRUSTACEA.
409
We divide the class into two sections, Malacostraca and Entomostraca.*
The Malacostraca have the envelope ordinarily very solid, of a calcareous nature,
and ten or fourteen f legs, hooked at the tip; the mouth placed in the ordinary
situation, and composed of a labrum, a lingua, a tongue, two mandibles, often palpi-
geroust, two pairs of maxillae covered by the foot-jaws. In a great number each of
the eyes is supported upon a moveable footstalk, articulated [at its base] , and the
branchiae are hidden beneath the lateral margins of the carapax or shell ; in others, how-
ever, they are attached beneath the post-abdomen.
The Malacostraca consist of five orders : — 1 . Decapoda ; 2. Stomapoda ; Z.LcEmodipoda;
4. Amphipoda ; 5. Isopoda. The first four of these orders were included in the Linnaean
genus Cancer, and the last in his genus Oniscus,
The Entomostraca, or shell insects {insectes a coquille) of Muller, are composed of
the genus Monoculus of Linnaeus. The envelope is corneous, very slender, and the
body in the majority is covered by a shell, composed of two pieces, not unlike that of
the bivalve Mollusca. The eyes are ordinarily sessile, and often there is but one
of these organs. The legs, of which the number varies, are, in the majority,
fitted only for swimming, without any terminal hook. Some of them are most
nearly allied to the preceding groups by having the mouth anteriorly situated, and
composed of a labrum, two mandibles (rarely palpigerous), a tongue, and at most two
pair of maxillae, the outer ones not being covered by foot-jaws. In the others, which
appear to approach the Arachnida in many respects, the organs of mastication some-
times merely consist of the coxae of the legs advanced and lobe-like, armed with
numerous small spines, and surrounding a large central pharynx : whilst in others they
form a small siphon or beak, used as a sucker, as in many Arachnida and Insects ; and
even sometimes they are not, or scarcely, visible on the exterior of the body, the
I siphon itself being either internal, or the action of suction being performed by a kind
I of sucking cup (ventouse).
1 Hence the Entomostraca are either dentate or edentate. The dentate species com-
pose one order, Branchiopoda, and the edentate that of Poecilopoda§, which, in the first
1 edition of this book, I had considered as a section of the preceding order.
jt * Jurine divided the class into two sections, founded upon the pre-
i! sence or want of jaws, in his Memoir on Argulus. [Latreille also
|l adopted this as a primary character in his Cours d’ Entomologie.']
I t The four anterior, when there are fourteen, are formed of the
I four posterior foot-jaws. In the Decapoda the six foot-jaws are ap-
j plied to the mouth, and serve as under-jaws.
i] t [This peculiarity never occurs in the true insects, and serves to
ij prove that the mandibles are but modified maxillse, or rather, to speak
[ more theoretically, the inferior appendages of one of the articulations
j of the body.]
I § In my Families Naturelles du Rigne Animal, the Entomostraca
,| were divided into four orders, namely, Lophyropoda, Phyllopoda,
I Xiphosura, and Siphonostoma. [The Entomostracous Crustacea, like
I the Invertebrata, having been proved by recent investigators to con-
sist of several tribes of animals much more strongly modified in their
structure than the Malacostraca, it has become necessary to establish
1 a greater number of orders and primary groups for their reception
I than were proposed in this work, and Latreille himself became aware
of the necessity for such a step, having considerably altered the
arrangement of the class in his Cours d’Entomologie subsequently
published. Milne Edwards, Burmeister, and De Haan have especially
investigated these animals during the last ten years, and it will be
i serviceable to give a short abstract of the arrangements which they
have proposed, especially as the works of the two last-named authors
I are in the hands of so few naturalists, that even Milne Edwards has
I I not mentioned them in his Review of Crustaceology (Suites de Buffon) .
j Latreille himself, in his Co?jrs d’Entomologie, had cut up the Ento-
I I niOstrdC& (which he h&d sunk as a primary section of the class in
favour of sections characterized by the mouth organs) into five orders,
Lophyropoda, Ostrapoda, Phyllopoda, Xiphosura, and Siphonostoma,
and had characterized several sub-orders which Edwards subsequently
adopted in the following sketch (Suites de Buffon, Crust. I. p. 236,
modified from that published in the Annales des Sci. Nat., March,
1830).
Subclass I. — Crustacea with maxillse.
Legion 1. Podoplhalma.
Order 1. Decapoda.
2. Stomapoda.
Legion 2. Edriopthalma.
Orders. Amphipoda.
Order 4. Isopoda Order 5. Loemipoda.
Legion 2. Branchiopoda, Legion 3. Entomostraca.
Order 6. Ostrapoda (Cythere). Order 8. Copepoda (Cyclops) .
7. Phyllopoda. 9. Cladocera(Daphnia,&c.)
Legion 4. Trilobita.
Subclass II. — Crustacea with a sucker.
Legion I. Ambulatory Parasites.
Order 10. Araneiformes (Pycnogonum).
Legion 2. Swimming Parasites.
Order 11. Siphonostoma.
12. Lerne®.
Subclass III. — Crustacea Xiphosura.
Order 13. Xiphosura.
Burmeister, in his Grundriss fur Naturgeschichte, Zoologischer
I Handatlas, and Memoir on the Cirripedes, has divided the class into
three orders only
CRUSTACEA.
410
The singular fossils called Trilobites, of which M. Brongniart has furnished an
excellent monograph, being considered by him and many other naturalists as crus-
taceous animals allied to the Entomostraca, we have introduced them concisely at the
end of that section.
, FIRST GENERAL DIVISION.
CRUSTACEA MALACOSTRACA,—
Which are divisible into those which have the eyes placed on a moveable foot-stalk,
and those which have them sessile and fixed.
Those Malacostraca with the eyes placed on a moveable foot-stalk, articulated
[at the base, Podopthalma, Leach], composing the orders Decapoda and Stomapoda,
have many characters in common. A large shield, sometimes divided into two parts,
and termed the shell or carapax, covers a large portion of the front of the body. They
have four antennae, the exterior pair being longest and simple, whilst the intermediate
pair is shorter, and divided at the tip into two branches in the crabs, and into three in
many of the Macrura ; two mandibles, each with a three-jointed palpus near the base,
a bilobed tongue, two pairs of maxillae, three pairs of foot-jaws, the two outer pairs
being in some [Squilla] transformed into claws, and ten or fourteen (in those species
which have the four outer foot-jaws leg- shaped) legs.
In the majority the branchiae, of which there are seven pairs, are hidden beneath the
lateral margins of the carapax, the two anterior pairs being fixed at the base of the two
exterior pairs of foot-jaws, and the others at the base of the true legs. In the other
species [Squilla, &c.] they form brushes attached to the five pairs of sub-abdominal
swimming legs. The under side of this post-abdomen is likewise furnished in the
others with four or five pairs of bifid appendages.
THE FIRST ORDER OF CRUSTACEA.
decapoda (TEN-FOOTED).
I
The head is compactly soldered to the thorax, and covered, as well as that part of the body,
by a large and continuous shell or carapax, generally exhibiting on its surface various |
impressed lines, dividing it into regions corresponding with the internal organs, and which 1 1
have been ingeniously named by M. Desmarest. The circulatory system differs in some
respects from that of the other Crustacea; the blood before reaching the branchiee to be
oxygenated passing through two great reservoirs, one on each side, above the legs, analogous!
to the lateral hearts of the Cephalopods, according to Milne Edwards, Audouin, and Cuvier.
1. Aspidostraca, divided into five sub-orders.
1. Parasita, including the Penellina, Lernasoda, Ergasilina,
Caligina, and Argulina.
2. Lophyropoda, including the Ostracoda, Cladocera, and
Cyclopida,
3. Phyllopoda, including the Gymnota (Branchipus), and As-
pidophora (Apus).
4. Cirripedia, including the Lepadeaand Balanoda.
5. Precilopoda, including only Xiphosura.
2. Thoracostraca (Podopthalma, Leach), divided into two suborders,
Decapoda and Stomapoda.
3. Arthrostraca (Edriopthalrna, Leach), divided into nine minor
divisions, Gammarina, Typhina, Loemodipoda, Epicarida, Cymo-
thoadae, Sphoeromatoda, Asellina, Tdotoda, and Oniscoda.
De Haan, in his magnificent work upon the Crustacea of Japan,
adopting the quinarian circular system of M’Leay, divides the class
into five orders, — Decapoda, Stomapoda, Tetradecapoda(EJdr£qptAafma,
Leach), Lophyropoda, and Phyllopoda. M. Duverney has, within the
last few months, submitted a Memoir to the Academic des Sciences at
Paris, proposing a new classification of the Crustacea according to the
organs of respiration, dividing the class into three principal groups,
Nudibranchiae, Cryptobranchiae, and Lamellibranchiae ; but the adop-
tion of this, like any other single character, has had the effect of
breaking the most natural relations.]
1
DECAPODA.
I
il
j
i
i
i
411
The lateral edges of the carapax are bent downwards in order to cover and defend the
branchiae, an aperture being left in front of the shell for the passage of the water.* The
branchiae are situated at the base of the four exterior foot-jaws and of the legs, the four
anterior being smallest. The six foot-jaws are of a different form, applied to the mouth and
divided into two branches, the exterior resembling a small antenna, furnished at the tip with i
a short multiarticulate pieee [and the interior composed of several joints, the two basal being
greatly dilated in the crabs], the base being also furnished with a long pilose tendinous branch.
The anterior pair of legs, and sometimes the two or four following, form large claws, the
penultimate joint being dilated, with its lower extremity prolonged into a finger opposed to
the terminal joints or true tragus, which is moveable, and is named the pollex, whilst the
other is fixed, and is named the index. In Squilla the last joint is very short, and then the
penultimate joint folds baek upon the preeeding. The antepenultimate joint is the carpus.
The respeetive proportions and situation of their limbs is such that these creatures are able to
walk sideways or backwards [crab-like].
The majority of the viscera are inclosed in the thorax, which thus represents the thorax
and greater part of the abdomen of the insects ; the terminal articulated parts of the body
immediately following those segments to which the five pairs of true legs are attached, con-
stitute the part which I name the post-abdomen. The stomach is armed within with five
bony and dentated pieces which serve to triturate the food. At the time of moulting, two
caleareous bodies, round on one side and flat on the other, are found in the stomach,
which are ordinarily called crabs-eyes, and which, as they disappear after moulting, have
been considered to furnish the material for the renewal of the carapax.
The growth of these animals is slow, and they live for a long time. It is amongst these
animals that we find the largest species of annulosa, as well as the most useful as articles of
food ; their flesh is, however, hard of digestion. The body of some species of Palinurus is
more than a foot in length. Their claws, as is well known, are extremely pow'erful. They
ordinarily reside in the water, but are not immediately killed by being removed into the air :
indeed, some species pass a considerable part of their existence out of the water, which they
only seek in order to deposit their eggs in it. They are, nevertheless, compelled to reside in
damp situations and burrows. They are naturally voracious and carnivorous : some species,
indeed, are said to frequent the cemeteries in order to feed upon dead bodies. Their limbs
are renewed [when injured] with great quickness, but it is necessary that the fracture should
have been made at the junction of the joints : they, however, have theinstinet to effect this if
the wound has been of a different nature. When desirous to change their skins, they seek
for some retired spot, where they may be at rest and secure from their enemies. The moult-
ing then takes plaee, the body being at first soft and of a delicate flavour, [as in the case of the
black crab of the West Indies, which is kept in cages expressly for the table]. The chemical
analysis of the old shell proves that it is formed of carbonate of lime and phosphate of lime in
different proportions. By the action of the heat the epidermis assumes a bright red colour,
the colouring principle being decomposed by the action of boiling water.
The greater number of fossil Crustacea hitherto discovered belong to the order of Decapoda.
Amongst the European fossil species, the most ancient approach nearest to the existing species
found in tropical seas, while the more modern ones have a greater resemblance to the species
now existing in our own climates. The fossil Crustacea of tropical regions bear a greater re-
lation to the existing species found in the same situations — a faet of considerable geological
interest. [The order contains two families, or rather sub-orders, named, from the comparative
size of the tail, Brachyura (short tailed) and Macroura or Macrura (long tailed.)f]
* MM. Audouin and Milne Edwards have communicated to the I the blood during a considerable period]. It is on this account that
Academie des Sciences some interesting observations upon a peculiar these crabs have the sides of the thorax more gibbose than ordinary,
organ which exists in the Land Crabs, forming a kind of reservoir, ( t [M. Edwards proposed the establishment of a third sub-order under
placed immediately above the branchiae, and capable of containing a | the name of Anoraoura, forming a passage between the two other
certain quantity of water [serving of course for the oxygenation of I groups, and composed of species belonging strictly to neither, which
412 CRUSTACEA.
THE FIRST FAMILY* OF DECAPOD A,—
Dec APOD A Brachyura {Kleistagnatha, Fabricius), —
Has the tail (or post-abdomen) shorter than the thorax, without appendages or swimmerets at its
extremity, and in a state of rest folded beneath the breast, and lodged in a sternal cavity.
It is triangular in the males, but rounded
and swollen in the femalesf, and is furnished
in the former with four or two appendages at
the base [on the inside], whilst in the female
it has four pair of double filaments employed
in earrying the eggs, and whieh are analogous
to the swimming sub-abdominal appendages of
the Macrura. The antennae are small ; the
intermediate pair, generally lodged in a cavity
beneath the fore-margin of the carapax, are
terminated by two very short [articulated]
filaments. The peduncles of the eyes are
larger than in the Macrura. The first pair of
legs is terminated by a claw. The branchiae
are arranged in a single row in the form of
pyramidal plates, composed of a great num-
mediate antenna ; c, eye ; rf, outer foot jaw j e,/, g-, A, base of the five pairs ^6^ of minUte leaflets Spread One UpOn the
of legs; k, tail; sternum. , i ,
Other : the foot-jaws are ordinarily shorter
and broader than in the Decapods, the outer pair forming a kind of labium.
This family may be regarded as constituting the single genus
Cancer, —
Comprising the numerous species of crabs [and consisting of a portion only of the Linnsean genus
Cancer, divisible into seven sections and a great number of minor divisions, regarded by recent authors
as genera]. Of these the majority have the legs attached at the sides of the breast, and always ex-
posed. The species thus characterized constitute the first five sections, Pinnipedes, Arcuata, Quadri-
latera, Orbiculata, and Trigona.J
had long perplexed Crustaceologists ; and M'Leay, in order to adopt 1
his quinarian system to these animals, has divided the Decapoda into
five tribes, Tetragonostoma and Trigonostoma (composing the
Brachyura) , and Anomura, Sarobranchia, and Caridea (composing
the Macroura). — Illustr. Annulos. of South Africa, No. 3.]
* The groups thus indicated are founded upon a general survey of
important anatomical characters, and generally correspond with the
Linnsean genera, and sometimes also to those of the earlier works of
Fabricius. These families are here of greater extent than in my
other writings ; but if we regard these as primary ordinal divisions,
and the groups here called tribes as families, the arrangement will be
found essentially identical. In the same manner the subgenera here
indicated ought, in a more detailed arrangement, to be regarded as
genera, and thus, although the Decapoda are here only divided into
two genera, it would be correct, in order to bring the system to the
level of our present knowledge, and in order to diminish the vast
number of sub-genera, to convert the sections into tribes or genera,
which might then be divided into subgenera.
t The apparent number of segments is generally seven, varying
occasionally in the sexes of the same species, in which case the
females have the least number. Dr. Leach made great use of this
character, but it appears to me to be too unimportant.
t [Latreille regarded this arrangement of the Crabs here given as
artificial in many respects, and he had modified it not only in his
Pamilles Naturelles, in which the tribes here given were introduced
but their relative position altered, but in his subsequent Cours
d’ Entomologie he proposed another arrangement of the order, as
follows : —
Section 1. Homocheles, claws of equal size in both sexes.
Division 1. All the feet attached to the body in the same line.
Tribes.— 1. Quadrilatera, 2. Arcuata, 3. Pinnipedes, 4. Christi-
mani, 5. Cryptopoda.
Division 2. With the two or four posterior legs dorsal.
Tribe. — 6. Notopoda.
Section 2. Heterocheles, claws of the males larger than those of the
females.
Division 1. All the legs in the same line.
Tribes. — 7- Orbiculata, 8. Trigona.
Division 2. Hind pairs of legs very small, and either dorsal or
abortive.
Tribe.-~9. Hypopthalma.
Dr. Leach, as above mentioned, adopted the number of abdominal
segments, and was consequently led to distribute this order into still
more numerous families. Milne Edwards, however, in his Hist. Nat.
des Crustacis, now in course of publication, has, from anatomical
considerations, considered it more natural to separate the Brachyura
into only four great families.
1. The Oxyrhycha (Trigona, Latr. or the families Maiadae, Lithodiadse,
and Macropodiad® of Leach), consisting of the sea spiders or thorn-
backed crabs, the legs being long, the carapax narrowed into a point
in front, the epistoma very large and nearly square. (Three tribes,
Macropodiens, Maiens, and Parthenopiens).
2. The Cyclometopa (or the Cancerid®, Portunid®, and Pilumnid®
of Leach)! carapax very large, arched in front, narrowed behind, legs
moderately long, epistoma very short, transverse. (Two tribes,
1. Canceriens, composed of three sub-tribes, Cryptopoda, Arcuata,
and Quadrilatera; and, 2. Portuniens or Pinnipedes).
3. The Cataraetopa (Ocypodiad®, Leach), having the carapax quad-
rilateral or ovoid, the front transverse and knotted, epistoma very
short.
4. The Oxystoma (Corystid® and Leucosiad®, Leach), with the shell
orbicular and arched in front, which is not pointed, epistoma ob-
solete.
■t
DECAPODA.
413
The first section, Pinnipedes, have the hind pair of legs terminated by a flattened plate for swimming,
and these species are accordingly met with at a distance from the coasts.
Amongst these swimming or shuttle-crabs, as they are termed, are especially to be noticed the exotic species,
composing the genus Matuta, Fab., having the carapax nearly circular, and armed on each side with a strong spine,
and with the four posterior pairs of legs terminated by a dilated plate for swimming. The same is also the case,
but less strongly, in Leach’s genus Polybius, consisting of the single species, P. Henslowii, found on the Devon-
shire coast. Amongst the species with only the last pair of legs dilated at the extremity into a plate for swim-
ming, the genus Orithyia, Fabr., consisting of a single Chinese species, is distinguished by the tail of the males
being distinctly seven-jointed, whereas there are only five joints in the males of all the other Pinnipedes, the females
alone having seven joints. Amongst these the genus Podopthalmus, Lamarck, has the carapax transverse, and
armed at each side with a very long spine ; the ocular peduncles are very long (P. spinosus, Latr., Isle of France) ;
others which have the ocular peduncles short, and which are of the ordinary crab-like form, compose the genus
Portunus, Fab., amongst which may be mentioned Cancer puber, Linn., and Cancer Moenas, Linn. {Carcimis
Moenas, Leach), two small species, commonly used as articles of food by the lower orders in London. The last-
named species is exceedingly abundant ; the terminal joint of the hind legs is much narrower than in the preced-
ing groups, and thus this species forms a passage to —
The second section, Arcuata, in which the tarsus, or last joint of all the legs, is conical, and some-
times compressed, but never forming a swimming plate, and the carapax arched in front and narrowed
behind, with the claws of equal size in both sexes, and the tail is composed of the same number of
segments as in the Portuni. The true Crabs, composing the restricted genus Cancer, Fabr., are the
types of this section, and are distinguished by having the third joint of the outer foot-jaws emarginate
or sinuated near the inner extremity, and nearly square. The antennae scarcely extend beyond the
front, with but few joints, and are folded backwards.
Cancer pagurus, Linn., the common large edible crab, has the carapax very broad, and arched for a great dis-
tance along the sides, each side having nine festoons, and the middle in front with three short teeth : the claws
are large, and the fingers black and armed with obtuse
points. It sometimes reaches nearly a foot in breadth,
and is of common occurrence on the coasts of England
and France. [It is captured by sinking pots, baskets,
or nets, baited with decaying animal matter, to a con-
siderable depth in the ocean, along the rocky coast.
During the summer months it is very abundant, especi-
ally where the water is deep ; and at low tide they are
found in holes of rocks in pairs, male and female, and if
the male be taken away another will be found in the
hole at the next recess of the tide. By knowing this
fact, an experienced fisherman may twice a day take
with little work a vast number of specimens, after hav-
ing discovered their haunts. In the winter they are
supposed to burrow in the sand, or to retire to the
deeper parts of the ocean. (Ent. Compend. p. 86.) Mr.
Bell has described some beautiful exotic species of this
genus in the Transactions of the Zoological Society,
vol. i.] The genus Xantho, Leach, is nearly allied to the
preceding, but having the external antennae short, and
inserted in the external canthus of the eye. The typical species, X.florida, Leach, inhabits our coasts.
The genus Perimela, Leach, has a longer carapax, with the edges strongly toothed, the eight hind legs equally
compressed, and longer antennae. P. denticulata, Leach, occurs in various parts of our coast, and in the Medi-
terranean.
The genus Atelecyclus, Leach, has the carapax nearly rounded, and dentated at the sides, the tail narrower than
in the preceding; the lateral antennae elongated, the claws very strong, and rather short. The type of this
genus is the Cancer 1-dentatus of Montague, by whom it was discovered on the coast of Devonshire. Other
genera, which it would occupy too much space to notice, have been separated by Leach, Latreille, and others.
Amongst them, however, the two exotic genera, Mur sea, Leach, and Hepatus, Lat., are distinguished by their
claws being greatly compressed, so that they have subsequently been separated by Latreille, as a section thence
named Cristimani, or crested-handed Crabs.
Mr. M'Leay’s arrangement of the Brachyura, as given in the 3rd
part of the Illustrations of the Zoology of Southern Africa, just pub-
lished, is as follows ; —
Tribe Tetragonostoma. Analogies. Tribe Trigonostoma.
Pinnotherina(Parasit. Crabs) Shell orbicular Dromiina.
Grapsina (Square Crabs) Shell quadrilateral Dorippina.
j Caucrina (Arched Crabs)
Parthenopina (Rocky Crabs)
Inachina (Triangular Crabs)
. Shell areuated.mththei coystrina.
I feet often natatory J
{Shell uneven, with 1 ^ ,
crested feet }
{Shell subtriangular,and 1
generally spined / Leucosina.]
414
CRUSTACEA.
The third section, Quadrilatera, have the carapax nearly square, or heart-shaped, with the front
generally elongated and deflexed, forming a hind of hood. The tail is composed of seven segments in
both sexes, the joints being distinct throughout the entire breadth of the tail. The antennae are 4
generally very short. The eyes are generally placed upon long peduncles. Many species reside in the
ground, forming burrows for their retreats, and some frequent fresh water. They are able to
run very fast. Some of these species have the carapax somewhat heart-shaped [thus nearly resembling
some of the Arcuata], with the front margin strongly toothed, including the genera EripMa, Lat.,
Trapezia, Lat., and Pilumnm, Leach, in which last the claws are of unequal size.
The Thelphusce, Lat., have the lateral antennae shorter than the ocular peduncles, and few-jointed. The carapax -I
is nearly of a cordate truncate form, [but broader behind than in the preceding]. There are several species of this
genus, which reside in fresh water, but being able to exist for a considerable time out of their native element ;
one noticed by the ancients occurs in the south of Europe ; it is the Cancer fiuviatilis, Belon. It is often repre-
sented upon the ancient Greek medals. The Greek monks eat it uncooked, and it forms a common article of food
in Italy during Lent. Delalande and De Latour discovered two other species, one in the south of Africa and the
other in the mountains of Ceylon. [I have described and figured another species, under the name of Tlielphusa
atnicularis, discovered by Col. Sykes, in the ghauts of the Deccan, where it occurs in great abundance, and of
which Bishop Heber thus speaks in his Journal:— “ All the grass through the Deccan generally swarms with a
small land-crab, which burrows in the ground, and runs with considerable swiftness, even when encumbered with
a bundle of food as big as itself ; this food is grass, or the green stalks of rice, and it is amusing to see the crab
sitting, as it were, upright to cut their hay with their sharp pincers, and then waddling off with their sheaf to their
holes, as quickly as their side-long pace will carry them.” Col, Sykes found them on the table lands at an eleva-
tion of nearly 4000 feet above the sea, and as they are met with of all sizes, he believes that there productive pro-
cess is completed without the Crab having to undertake any annual journey to the sea, their migrations having
never been noticed, — Trans. Ent. Soc., vol. i.] To this section also belong other species of Land Crabs, composing
the genera Gelasimus, Ocypoda, and Mictyris. The first of these genera has the carapax solid, and nearly quadi’i-
lateral, but rather broader in front ; one of the claws is generally much longer than the other, the fingers of the
smaller claws being spoon-shaped. The animal closes the mouth of its burrow, which it makes near the shore,
with its larger claw. These burrows are cylindrical, oblique, and very deep, each having a single inhabitant. It is
the habit of this Crab to hold up the large claw in the front of the body, as though beckoning to some one,
whence they have obtained the name of Calling Crabs. The species of Ocypoda has the eyes extended along the
greater length of the foot-stalks. Their claws are also unequal, but not to the same extent as in the Gelasimi.
During the day they sit in their burrows, venturing forth only after sun-set. The type Cancer cursor, Linn., inha-
bits Syria and Northern Africa. Other species of Land Crabs are of a truncate cordate form, with the shell rounded
and dilated at the sides. They inhabit tropical climates, and are called by the inhabitants tourlouroux, painted
Crabs, land Crabs, violet Crabs, &c., which names seem to be applied indiscriminately. There are few travellers
who have not mentioned their habits, often mixing up much fiction in their accounts. They pass the greater part
of their lives in the earth, hiding themselves by day and coming abroad only at night. Sometimes they frequent
cemeteries. Once a year, as the period for depositing their eggs draws near, they assemble in numerous com-
panies, and following the most direct line, seek the coast without permitting any obstacle to intercept them in
their way ; after laying their eggs [in the water] they return, greatly enfeebled. It is said that they close the
mouth of their burrows at the period of moulting, after which operation, and whilst still soft, they are reckoned
a great delicacy. These species compose the genera TJca, Latreille, (type Cancer uca, Linn., South America), and
Gecarcinus, Leach, (Cancer ruricola, Cuv,, &c.)
Another interesting group constitutes the genus Pinnotheres, Latr. These are of very small size [of which
there are several native species, named pea-crabs], and which reside, during a portion of the year at least, inside f
various bivalve shells, such as muscles, &c. The carapax of the females is suborbicular, very thin and soft ;
whilst that of the males is firmer and nearly globular, and rather pointed in front ; the legs are of moderate
length, and the claws of the ordinary form ; the tail of the female is very ample, and covers the whole of the
underside of the body. The ancients believed that the Pea-crab lived upon the best terms with the inhabitant of
the shell in which it was found ; and that they not only warned them of danger, but went abroad to cater for
them. The type is the Cancer Pisum, Lin., and Leach has investigated the species in his Malacostraca Podo
pthalma Britannica ; [but this author has given the males and young as distinct species. See further J. V. Thomp-’
son’s Memoir on this genus in the Entomol. Mag., vol. iii.]
The section consists of several other well-marked genera, such as Grapsus, Lamarck, Plagusia, Latr., &c.
The fourth section, Orbiculata, have the carapax either somewhat globular, or rhomboidal, or ovoid, ■
and always very solid ; the ocular peduncles are always short, or but slightly elongated; the claws of|
unequal size, according to the sexes, those of the males being the largest ; the tail never consists of]
seven entire segments ; the oral cavity is gradually narrowed towards its superior extremity ; and the
third joint of the outer foot-jaws is always in the form of a long triangle ; the posterior legs resembl^
the preceding, and none of them are very long.
Corystes, Latr., has the carapax of an ovoid-oblong form, with the lateral antennae [nearly as long as the body],^
DECAPODA.
415
and ciliated. Tlie tail is composed of seven seginents, but three of them are confluent in the males. The type
is Cancer personatus, Herbst., found upon the coast of England. [This genus is of very difficult location, and has
little real relation with Leucosia : it is more nearly allied to some of the arcuated species.]
Leucosia,Y&h., has the carapax of variable form, but generally globular or ovoid, and as hard as stone; the
lateral antennae and eyes are very small ; the tail, large and suborbicular in the females, is generally composed of
four or five, but never of seven segments. Dr. Leach cut up this genus into many others. A very few species
belonging to his genus Ebalia are found on the English coast. The majority of the family inhabit tropical seas.
The fifth section, Trigona, is of very great extent, and consists of species having the carapax
generally irregular or subovoid, and narrowed in front into a kind of beak ; ordinarily very rough and
uneven, with the eyes lateral. The epistoma, or space between the antennse and oral cavity, is always
nearly square, and as long as broad. The claws, at least of the males, are always large and long.
The following legs are very long in the majority, and occasionally the posterior pair have a form dif-
ferent from the preceding. The apparent number of joints in the tail varies, being seven in both sexes
of the majority of species ; but in others, at least in the males, it is less. Many of these crabs are
commonly called sea spiders. Although the number of species of this section are very numerous, only
tM'O had been discovered in a fossil state ; one of which, Maia Squinado, exists at the present time in
the same localities.
Latreille divides this section into sub-sections, from the number of joints in the tail, and the form of the joints of
the foot-jaws. Amongst those with the tail, either in both sexes, or in the females, composed of seven segments,
Parthenope, Fabr., is distinguished by the immense size of the claws, and the smallness of the other legs ; the
fingers are suddenly bent downwards, the ocular peduncles very short, and the carapax exceedingly rough.
A species found on the coasts of England and France (Cancer asper. Pennant) forms the genus Eurynome, Leach ;
the tail is seven-jointed. The other species of Parthenope are found in the Indian ocean.
Maia, Leach, has the fingers not deflexed ; the anterior pair of legs scarcely thicker than the others, which are
moderately long ; the carapax has two frontal spines, and its back and sides are also armed with many tubercles
and spines. The typical species. Cancer Squinado, Herbst., is very common on the coasts of France and the
Mediterranean. It is one of the largest of our crabs, and was known to the ancient Greeks under the name of
Maia, being sometimes figured on their medals. [By the fishermen it is called the Thorn-back, or King Crab.]
Another common British species is the Cancer araneus, Lin., belonging to Leach’s genus Hyas, having the
carapax elongate, subtriangular, subtubercled, with the lateral margins dilated into a lanceolate projection, ex-
ternal antennae with the first joint dilated.
Amongst the species, which have not more than six abdominal segments, and the legs generally long and
filiform, and the third joint of the outer foot-jaw narrower than in the preceding subsection, Hymenosoma,
Leach, has the carapax triangular or orbicular, depressed [and soft], and the basal joint of the lateral antennae
does not reach beyond the ocular peduncles. The species are small, and found in the Indian and Australian seas.
The British genera, Inachus and Achceus, have the carapax subconvex and triangular, and their abdomen six-
jointed. Their four pair of posterior legs are very long, especially the pair succeeding the claws. In the latter
I respect the British genus Stenorhynchus, Latr. (Macropodia, Leach), closely resembles them, having also the tail
six-jointed in both sexes, and the front of the carapax notched. The type is
the very common Cancer Phalangium, Pennant. The genus Pactolus, Leach,
characterized by having the four hind-legs furnished with a didactyle claw [has
been found by M. Milne Edwards to have been constructed upon a fictitious speci-
men in the British Museum].
Lithodes, Latr., is at once distinguished by having the hind pair of legs so small
as to appear almost abortive. The type is a large crab of rare occurrence in British
seas, named Cancer Maia, Linn. The tail is membranous ; the outer foot-jaws are
elongated and apart ; the carapax is triangular, very spinous, and terminated in a
toothed spine. [This is a very anomalous genus, whose relations are difficult to
j Fig. 3.— Stenorynchus Phalangium. decide.]
I [Professor Bell and De Haan have described many new and curious genera belonging to the section Trigona :
[ the former, in the second volume of the Transactions of the Zoological Society ; and the latter, in his work upon
the Crustacea of Japan.]
The sixth section, Cryptopoda, is composed of a few species remarkable for having the legs,
except the anterior pair, concealed, when folded up, beneath the dilated lateral margin of the carapax,
I which is nearly either semicircular or triangular; the upper edge of the claws is compressed, and
' formed like a cock’s comb. The species are exotic, and compose the two genera Calappa, Fabr., and
' AEthra, Leach. In the shape of their claws they resemble some of the Arcuata and Pinnipedes, such as
Hepatus, Mursia, &c. ; so that this section should be placed higher in the series. The same may also
I be said with respect to the species of the following section, some of which approach the Arcuata, and
others the Orhiculata and Trigona.
416
CRUSTACEA.
.i '
The seventh and last section, the Notopoda, is formed of Crabs having the four or two posterior :
legs inserted above the plane of the others, and seeming to be dorsal, and directed upwards. In those 5
where they are not terminated by a sharp hook, the animal generally uses them to retain in its hold ;
various marine productions, such as the valves of shells, sea-weeds, &c., with which it covers itself.
The tail has seven joints in both sexes ; the majority have the abdomen bent beneath the breast, and
the legs terminated by a short hook, and unfitted for swimming.
Homola, Leach, have the carapax nearly square ; the antennae long ; the ocular peduncles long ; the claws of
the males larger than the females, and the posterior pair of legs directed upwards. The outer foot-jaws are long
and exposed [as in the Macrurd\. The type, H. spinifrons, Leach, is a native of the Mediterranean, and is the
Hippocarcinus of Aldrovandus.
Dorippe, Fab., has the four hind-legs elevated, as has also Dromia, Fab.
Dynomene, Latr., has the carapax of the ordinary form, and the two hind legs alone elevated.
Ranina, Lam., is a singular genus, differing from all other Brachyura in having the abdomen extended, [but
not furnished at the end with an apparatus for swimming] ; and from the other Notopoda, in having the six
intermediate legs dilated and natatorial. The carapax is of a reversed triangular form, the front much toothed.
The species are exotic.
[The Brachyurous Crustacea, here given as a single genus. Cancer, have, from the great number of
species of which they consist, their large size, and facility of preservation, owing to their solid envelopes,
attracted the attention of many recent authors. The Malacostraca Podopthalma Britannica, of
Leach ; the Histoire Naturelle des Crustaces, by Milne Edwards ; the Fauna Japonica, of De Haan ;
the Memoirs of Professor Bell, published in the Transactions of the Zoological Society, and by
Mr. MacLeay, in Dr. Smith’s Illustrations of Southern Africa ; together with Polydore Roux’s elegant
work upon the Crustacea of the Mediterranean, must he consulted by those who would desire to
become acquainted with the singular forms and multitudinous genera established in this tribe of
animals.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF DECAPODA,—
Decapoda Macrura {Exochnata, Fabricius), —
Is distinguished by having, at the extremity of the tail, on each side, appendages*, ordinarily forming a
swimmeret or instrument for swimming, the tail itself being at least as long as the body, extended,
exposed, and bent under only towards the posterior extremity. Its under-side generally presents, in
both sexes, five pairs of false feet, each terminating in two
plates or filaments. The tail is always composed of seven
segments. The branchiae are formed of vesicular, bearded
and villose pyramids, arranged, in many, either in two rows
or in separate bundles. The antennae are generally long and
exserted ; the ocular peduncles are mostly short. The external
foot-jaws are generally narrow, long, and palpiform, and do
not entirely hide the other [internal] parts of the mouth. The carapax is narrow and more elon-
gate than in the Brachyura, and ordinarily terminated in front in a point. MM. Audouin and]
Milne Edwards (to whom we must refer for particulars) have noticed that in the lobster {Astacus j
marinus. Fab.), in addition to the two large lateral venous canals, there exists a third, lodged in the
sternal cavity, in which respect the venous systems of the Macrura and Stomapoda agree. The Ma- i
crura never [or but in a very few instances] quit the water, and with a very few exceptions they are
all marine.
Adopting the plan of Delper and Gronovius, the Macrura may be considered as forming but a single ;
genus t, Astacus, which may be thus divided : —
Fig. i.—Gebia stellata, Leach.
• These appendages are composed of three pieces, namely, a base,
(or support to the two others), articulating with the penultimate seg-
ment ; the terminal segment generally forming with them a fan-like
swimmeret ; but in the terminal species the appendages are replaced
by filaments. The sub-abdominal false legs are formed on the same
model, and vary in number, there being only three or four small
pairs in the Anomala, and wanting in the males (except the anterior
pair). In the Hermit Crabs they seem to exist only on one side. Gut I
in the subsequent subgenera they are constantly larger, and there are ■
five pairs, supporting the eggs and being useful in swimming. In the
section Anomala, the peduncle of the intermediate a tenna is pro-;
portionably longer, and the two or four posterior feet smaller, thus j
approaching the Brachyura.
t The sections which we have proposed ought rather to form soj
many genera, based upon those of Fabricius.
if; -...Flj JT Aei Si.
DECAPODA.
417
Tribe A \_Aschizopoda, Westw.]. — Those which, in the proportions, forms, and uses of the feet, the
anterior, or at least the second, pair being cheliferous, and which carrying their eggs beneath their
tails, approach the Brachyura, and which are ordinarily known under the names of Lobsters, Cray-
fish, Prawns, and Shrimps. Divisible into four sections: — 1. Anomala; 2. Locustse; 3. Astacini; 4.
Carides.
Tribe B '[Schizopoda, Latr.]. — Those which have the legs slender and filamentous, accompanied by
an external articulated branch as long as the limbs, which thus appear doubled in number ; fitted for
swimming, and not cheliferous, the eggs being carried beneath them, and not under the tail. [Opossum
Shrimps.]*
The first section [of the tribe Aschizopoda], or the Anomala. — The two or four hind legs are always
much smaller than the preceding. The under side of the tail never presents more than four pairs of
appendages, or false legs.f The lateral swimming-pieces at the extremity of the tail, or the parts which
represent them, are thrown back at its sides, so as not to form with the terminal segment a fan-like
swimmeret. The ocular peduncles are generally longer than those of the Macroura of the following
sections. [Two subsections, Hippides and Paguriens.]
The subsection Hippides (Latr.) has all the upper teguments of the body solid. The two fore-legs
either terminate in a monodactyle or fingerless hand, like a plate, or they terminate in a point. The
six or four following legs terminate in a swimming-plate. The two terminal legs are filiform, folded
back, and situated at the lower base of the tail, which is suddenly narrowed after the first segment,
which is short and broad, and of which the last is in the form of a long triangle. The lateral appen-
dages of the penultimate segment are in the form of bent swimming-plates. The sub-abdominal
appendages are four pairs, and formed of a very slender filiform stem. The antennae are very pilose
and ciliated, the lateral at first approaching the intermediate, and then being bent outwards.
Albunea, Fabr., comprises a single species fi’om the Indian Seas {Cancer Symnista, Linn.)
[a singularly formed animal], with long, setaceous, intermediate antennae ; the carapax flat,
nearly square, rounded at the posterior angles ; a pair of very compressed, triangular,
monodactyle fore-legs,— the three following pairs terminated by a flat, sickle-shaped joint.
Hippa, Fabr., Emerita, Gronovias, has the antennae short, the intermediate with two fila-
ments longer than the external; the two fore-legs terminated by a very compressed claw,
without fingers ; the carapax ovoid. Type, Cancer Emeritus, Linn. Indian Seas.
Reniipes, Latr., differs from the last in the four antennae being very short, and nearly of
equal length ; the ocular peduncles very short, and in some other particulars. Type, R.
testudinarius, Latr. From the seas of New Holland.
The subsection Paguriens has the teguments but slightly crustaceous ; and
the tail is generally soft, bag-like, and bent. The two fore-legs terminate in a
didactyle claw ; the four following terminate in a point ; and the four posterior
much shorter, in a small didactyle claw. The first joint of the peduncle of the
lateral antennae presents an appendage ending in a point, or in form of a spine.
These Crustacea (which the Greeks named Carcinion, and the Romans Cancelli)
part, in empty univalve shells. The tail, except in Birgm, only presents (and that
in the female alone) three false legs placed on one of the sides, each divided into two filiform villose
branches. The three terminal segments are suddenly narrowed.
Birgus, Leach, has the tail solid, suborbicular, with two rows of plate-like appendages on the under side. The
fourth pair of legs is but little smaller than the preceding ; the two posterior pair are [very small, and] hidden in
a groove in the extremity of the carapax. The carapax is in the shape of a reversed heart, being pointed in front.
On account of their large size, the solid consistence of their teguments, and the form of the tail, these Crabs are
not able to lodge in shells, but must retire to crevices in the rocks, or hide themselves in burrows in the earth.
live, for the most
* [It is here proper to observe, tliat in the recent arrangements of
Milne Edwards and M'Leay, the seventh and last section, Notopoda,
of Latreille’s arrangement of tlie Brachyura, and his first section of
the Macroura, Anomala, constitute one of the three primary divisions
of the Decapoda, forming, as may be readily perceived, the passage
between the Brachyura and the Macroura ; and, as constantly occurs
where nature passes from one type of form to another, we find amongst
these animals some of the most striking anomalies which occur in the
class — hence the name Anornoura, or anomalous-tailed Crabs —
which are divided by M. Edwards into two primary sections or fami-
llies: — 1. The Apterura, or those destitute of a terminal swimmeret,
including the Dromiens, Homoliens, Raniniens, and Pactoliens ; and, |
2. The Pterygura, or those which have a pair of moveable appendages
at the extremity of the tail, including the Porcellaniens, Hippiens,
and Paguriens. Thus it will appear that the former section is more
analogous to the Brachyura, and the latter to the Macroura.]
t With the exception of the anterior pair, these appendages are
either rudimental or obsolete in the males,— a peculiarity which oc-
curs also in the Galathaem, Scyllari, and Palinuri. We may also ob-
serve, that in these three genera, the swimmerets at the extremity of
the body are more slender, or nearly membranous, at the posterior
margin. In this section, as in Galathaea, the portion of the thorax
which supports the hind pair of legs forms a sort of peduncle, whence
1 this pair of legs appears to be attached to the tail.
CRUSTACEA.
418
The best known species (Cawcer Linn.) inhabits the Isle of France; and, according to a native tradition, ^
it feeds upon the fruit of the cocoa-nut, making its excursions during the night. [It is of large size, and is called j
the Purse Crab. Mr. Cuming found it in abundance in Lord Hood’s Island in the Pacific, living at the roots of ;
trees. Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard fed this species for many months on cocoa-nuts ; and Mr. Cuming discovered ^
that it climbs the Platamis odoratissima, to feed upon the small nuts of that tree.] 1
In the Hermit Crabs {Pagnrus, Fabr.), the four hind-legs are much smaller than the preceding, with the claws .1
covered with small tubercles. The tail is soft, long, cylindrical, narrowed at the tip, and only furnished with one 1
row of filiform, oviferous appendages. The thorax is ovoid or oblong, i
With the exception of some superficially-known species which live in sponges, serpulae, alcyons, &c., all the \
others live in univalve shells, of which they close the mouth with their fore-legs and one of their claws, which is ’
larger than the others. It is stated that the females deposit their eggs two or three times in a year, !
[The manoeuvres of the native species, when they have outgrown their habitations, are quite ludicrous. Crawling
slowly along the line of empty shells, &c., left by the last wave, and unwilling to part with their now incom- I
modious domicile until another is obtained, they carefully examine, one by one, the shells which lie in their way, n
slipping their tails out of the old house into the new one, and again betaking themselves to the old one, if this |
should not suit. In this manner they proceed until they have found a habitation to their liking. They feed upon |
dead fish, and all kinds of garbage thrown on the shore ; and, when alarmed, they draw themselves closely into ;
the shell, closing the aperture so firmly, by placing their claws over the entrance, that it is next to impossible to ■
extract them without breaking the shell to pieces.] S
Some species, forming the subgenus Ccenobita, Latr., are distinguished by the antennae stretched forward, the
intermediate pair being nearly as long as the lateral ones ; the thorax ovoid, conical, narrow, elongated, and very
much compressed at the sides. These lodge in land-shells on the rocks of the coasts, rolling down, with their
houses, in moments of danger. The other species, forming the most numerous subgenus, Pagurus, have the inter- ^
mediate antennae short and bent, with two short filaments. The front division of the thorax is square, or reversed ^
triangular. ■
Cancer Bernhardus, Linn. (Pagurus strehlonyx, Leach), is very common on the coasts throughout Europe. It is
of a moderate size. Its two fore-legs are armed with points, with the claws nearly heart-shaped, that on the right- ^
hand side being the largest. Pag. Faugasii, Desmarest, a fossil species, approaches it very closely.
Another species from the Mediterranean differs from the rest in many characters, and forms the subgenus
Prophylax, Latr. The tail is coriaceous, linear, and only curved at the tip ; and it has two rows of subabdominal ;
appendages. Probably the species which live in serpulae, alcyons, &c., such as Pagurus tubularis, Fabr., belong :
to this subgenus.*
In all the subsequent Macroura. the two posterior legs alone are smaller than the preceding. The
subabdominal appendages are generally five pairs. The teguments are crustaceous. The lateral appen-
dages of the penultimate segments form a fan-like swimmeret in conjunction with the terminal one.
The two following sections have a character in common, w^hich separates them from the fourth, or
that of the Carides. The antennae are inserted [in a line] at the same height, the peduncle of the
lateral pair being never entirely covered by the scale when present. Often there are only four pairs of
the false suhahdominal feet. The intermediate antennae are never terminated by two threads ; they
are ordinarily shorter, or scarcely as long as their peduncle. The external plate of the swimmeret is
never transversely divided by a suture.
The second section, Locusts (so named from the Latin name Locusta, given to the most remark-
able species of this section by the Romans), have only four pairs of false legs. The extremity of the
swimmeret at the end of the tail is always nearly membranous, or less solid than the rest. The pe-
duncle of the intermediate antennae is alw^ays longer than the two terminal filaments, and more or less
elbowed. The lateral pair have no basal scale, and sometimes they are even widened to a short but
greatly- dilated plate : sometimes they are very large, long, and much spined. The legs are all nearly
alike, and terminate in a point, — the anterior pair being but slightly larger than the following ; their
penultimate joint, as w'ell as that of the two posterior, is at most unidentate, but not so much so as to
form a perfectly didactyle hand. The carapax has no frontal elongation, like a pointed beak or lance, m
Scyllarus, Fabr., exhibits, in its lateral antennae, a perfectly isolated character, the terminal filament bein^
obsolete, and the basal joints greatly dilated transversely, forming a broad, flat, horizontal, and more or less]
toothed crest. The outer branch of the subabdominal appendages is terminated by a leaflet, but the inner one, ini
some males only, appears in the form of a tooth. Leach separated them into the genera Scyllarus, Thenus, andj
Ibacus, founded upon the proportions and forms of the thorax, the position of the eyes, and other parts. They^
form burrov^s in argillaceous ground near the shores, in which they reside. Type, Scyllarus arctus, Linn. Scyl-^
larus vequinoxialis, Fabr., is another species, the flesh of which is greatly esteemed [in the Mediterranean].
Palinurtis, Fabr., have the lateral antennae large, setaceous, and set with sharp points. These Crustacea, called'
by the Greeks Carabos, and by the Romans Locusta, are amongst the largest animals of the class. The [common]^
* [M. Milne Kdwards has published a valuable monograph upon the
Pagurid® in vol. vi. of the new series of the Annnles des Sciences
Naturelles, which has been abstracted in vol. ii. of his Hist. Natx
des Crust aces.
DECAPODA.
419
species of our climate [known in the fish-shops under the name of the Spiny Lobster] is found during the winter
in deep water, approaching the coast only at the return of the spring. It prefers rocky situations. It then lays
its eggs, which are extremely numerous, minute, and bright red. According to Risso, they again breed in August.
The different species are found in the seas of temperate and intertropical zones. The carapax is rough, and
strongly armed with sharp points or teeth, especially in front. Their colours are varied with red, green, and
yellow. The tail is often banded, or marked with eyes. The flesh, especially of the females before and during the
breeding season, is greatly esteemed.
The common English typical species, Palinurus quadricornis, Fabr. (Astacus eleplias, Leach), is of a large size ;
and, when loaded with eggs, weighs twelve or fourteen pounds. It is found upon the French coasts as well as our
own. It is very abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean, and has also been found in the fossil state in Italy,
The third section, Astacini (Latr.), is distinguished from the preceding in the form of the two fore-
legs, and often also in that of the two following pairs, which terminate in claws with two fingers. In
some, the two or four hind-legs are much smaller than the preceding, in which respect they approach
the Anomala ; but the fan-like swimmeret at the extremity of the tail, and other characters, remove
them from that section. The thorax is narrowed in front, which is produced into a beak or pointed
muzzle.
The first subsection, Galathade^, have, as well as the preceding Macroura, four pairs of false legs.
The intermediate antennae are elbowed with two filaments, which are clearly shorter than their pe-
duncle ; and that of the lateral antennae is never furnished with a scaly plate. The two fore-legs are
alone terminated by a didactyle claw, which is often very broad and flattened. The terminal segment
of the tail is bilobed, at least in the majority.
Those species which have the two hind legs much more slender than the preceding, filiform, folded, and useless
in crawling, are the two following genera. Galathea, Fabr,, having the tail extended, the thorax nearly ovoid or
oblong, the intermediate antennae exposed, and the claws long. The upper surface of the body is generally trans-
versely wrinkled, spinose, and ciliated.
Cancer strigosus, Linn., and C. rugosus. Pennant, are two common species on our English coasts. G. gregaria,
Fabr. (forming Leach’s genus Grimotea), is of a red colour; and was discovered by Sir Joseph Banks in his voyage
round the world, abounding in some parts of the ocean in such vast quantities that the surface of the water ap-
peared as if saturated with blood, [Gray, in his Zoological Miscellany.) and M. Edwards, have described many
species of this genus.]
Porcellana, Fabr., forms, amongst the Macroura, a remarkable exception in respect to the structure of the tail,
which is bent under the body, as in the Brachyura. It ditfers from Galathea in its broader outline, the carapax
being often suborbicular, or square. The claws are triangular, the basal joints of the outer foot-jaws are dilated,
and the body is very flat. They are of small size, slow in their movements, and are distributed in all the seas,
hiding themselves beneath stones on the shore. Some species have the claws very large, villose, and very much
ciliated : amongst which is the common English species Cancer platycheles, Pennant, of which the outside of the
claws is alone hairy, aud the thorax naked and rounded. Others have the claws naked, including Cancer hexapus,
Linn.
Monolepis, Say, seems to be intermediate between Porcellana and Megalopus, Leach ; {Macropa, Latr.) The
latter ditfers from the preceding in having the hind pair of legs similar in form and function to the preceding
pairs ; the body much more thick and raised ; the eyes large ; the lateral plates of the anal swimmeret composed
of a single piece ; and the abdomen extended, narrow, and merely curved beneath at its extremity. Four species
are known : three found in the European seas, and the other in the Indian Ocean. [Dr. J. V. Thompson, in his
1 Memoir published in the Philosophical Transactions, has expressed his opinion that these animals are the young
[ of a Brachyurous Crab. The abdomen is, however, furnished beneath with a double pair of false legs, as in the
j Macroura ; and the tail is terminated by a swimmeret. The branchiae are arranged, however, as in the Brachyura.
M. Edwards considers them as the young of some of the Anomoura.]
The second subsection (Astacini proper) comprises those species which have four pairs of false [sub-
f; abdominal] feet ; the intermediate antennae straight, or nearly so, porrected, and terminated by two
I filaments as long as or longer than the peduncle, and which (except in Gebia) have the four or six fore-
|! legs terminated by a didactyle hand. The tail is always extended. The two hind-legs never much
j slenderer than the preceding, nor bent backwards. The peduncle of the lateral antennae is often pro-
; vided with a scale. Some species, as in some of the following sections, live in fresh w'ater.
! Amongst those which have not more than the four fore-legs terminated by two fingers, the lateral antennas not
furnished with a scale at the base, the outer piece of the lateral plate of the swimmeret without any transverse
suture, and which are marine, hiding themselves in burrows which they foi'm in the sand, are the genera Gebia,
Leach [comprising a small British species], and Thalassina, Latr. [a singular genus from the East Indies] ; and
in both of which the immoveable finger of the claws is very short, whilst it is as long as the moveable finger in
j| the genera Callianassa, Leach, in which the fore-claws are very unequal both in their size and form (including a
j single species, C. subterranea, Leach, found on the English and French coasts) ; and Axius, Leach, in which the
I E E 2
420
CRUSTACEA.
claws are nearly equal, consisting also of a single species (A^ius stirhynchus, Leacli) found upon the coasts of
England and France.
Amongst those species which have the six fore-legs fonning as many didactyle claws— (a character which removes
them from all the preceding Decapods, and in which they are related to the species at the head of the following
section— from which, however, they differ in the fore-claws being by far the largest, the peduncle of the lateral
antennae furnished with a scale or spines, the outer plate of the swimmeret at the extremity of the tail appeal ing
in all the recent species, as though it is divided into two parts by a transverse suture,)— are the following genera.
Eryon, Desm., comprises a single singular fossil species found in the calcareous stone used for lithography at
Pappenheim and Aichtedt, in Anspach. The carapax is [very broad], and with very deep lateral incisions. The
plates of the swimmeret are pointed at the tip.
The genus Astacus, Gronovius, Fabr., have the lateral plates of the swimmeret broad and rounded at the ex-
tremity ; the two exterior ones with a transverse suture. The two filaments of the intermediate antennae are
longer than their peduncles, with the sides of the carapax entire.
In the marine species of this genus, the middle plate of the tail does not exhibit a transverse suture. Of some
of these, Leach has formed his genus Nephrops, characterized by the large scale of the lateral antennae, and the
long prismatic claws of the fore-legs. Type, Cancer norvegicus, Linn., a species found on our coast. The
others having the lateral antenna only furnished with two short teeth or spines, and the fore-claws large and oval,
form the restricted genus Astacus, Leach, the type of which is the common Lobster {Cancer gammarus, Linn. ;
Astacus marinus, Fabr.), of which the rostrum in front of the carapax is armed with three teeth on each side, and
a double tooth at the base ; and the claws are very large, and unequal in size. The flesh is highly relished. It is
found in the European Ocean, the Mediterranean, and on the coasts of North America. The internal structure
has been studied with great diligence by MM. V. Audouin and M. Edwards.
In the fresh-water species of this genus, the terminal segment of the tail, forming the middle plate of the swim-
meret is transversely divided by a suture*; and the claws are rough, and finely toothed on the inside of the
fino-ers The rostrum has a tooth on each side, and two at the base. It is ordinarily of a greenish-brown colour,
[but, like the lobster, changes to bright red by boiling]. From its common occurrence it has been greatly studied,
^ ’ not only as regards its anatomy, but also its habits,
and the peculiar power it possesses of renewing its
antennae and legs when thrown off" or mutilated.
The stomach contains, at the time of moulting, two
stony secretions, formerly used in medicine as ab-
sorbents, but which are now replaced by carbonate
of magnesia. It hides itself under stones and in
burrows [in the banks of rivulets and streams],
whence it only comes forth in order to search for
its food, which consists of small mollusca, small
fishes, and the larv« of aquatic insects. It also
feeds upon decaying flesh, and the carcases of ani-
mals floating in the water ; and which is also used
as a bait, being placed in the middle of a bundle of faggots, or in a net. Its moulting takes place at the end of
the spring. Two months after coupling, the female lays her eggs, which are at first collected in a mass, and
attached, by means of a viscid liquor, to the subabdominal false legs. They are of a bright red colour, and in- ,
crease in size before they are hatched. The Crayfish are at their birth very soft, and completely resemble their
parent. They take refuge beneath her tail, where they remain several days until the different parts of their bodies
have acquired a sufficient strength. They live to the age of twenty years, increasing in size in proportion to their
age. Those are preferred which are found in running water. A singular Annelidous parasite {Branchiobdella,
Odier, in Mem. Soc. d’Hist. Nat., Paris, p. 69), first observed by Rosel, infests the branchiae of the Crayfish. ^
Another species inhabits the fresh water of North America; and a third, according to Le Conte, does much in- ,
jury to the rice plantations of the same country.t
The fourth section, Carides (Latr.), have the intermediate antennae inserted higher than the lateral,
and the peduncle of the latter is covered by a large scale. The body is arched, as though hunch-
backed, and of a more slender consistence than in the preceding Crustacea. The front of the carapax i
* [Milne Edwards, from having adopted an evidently improper mode
of nomenclature, has taken away from the two best known .Decapod
Crustacea, the old generic names which they are clearly entitled to
retain. Thus he calls the common Crab, which is the true type of
the genus Cancer, Platycarcinus-, against which impropriety Mr. Bell
has well remarked, that by any other term than Cancer to this genus,
we are obliged to restrict the word Cancer to a small and compara-
tively unimportant group, not a single species of which was probably
distiimtly known to any naturalist of early times. In iike manner, he
has taken away the name Astacus from the Lobster, and given it to
the Craytish, and proposed tlie new name Homarus for the former :
thus doing injustice to Dr. Leach, who, in the manuscripts
quoted in the Entomologist’s Compendium (witli whicli Milne
Edwards is evidently unacquainted), had called the Lobster
gammarus, and the Crayfish Potamobius ftuviatilis. It is proper.
however, to observe, that the latter had been named Cancer astacus
by Linnoeus.]
t [The developement of the embryo Crayfish, in the egg, has been
investigated by Dr. Rathke, in a most elaborate and satisfactory man-
ner, in his Untersuchungen uber die Bildung und Entwichelung der
Flusskrebsen, fol. Leipz. 1829. Some idea of the extent of the re-
searches of this author upon the subject may be entertained from the
fact that five large folio plates are completely filled with details of the
structure, internal and external, of the ova, in various states of de-
velopement, and of the newly-hatched animal, from whence it is im-
possible to arrive at any other conclusion than that the Crayfish does
not undergo any change of form which can in the least degree merit
the name of metamorphosis. A full abstract of this valuable memoir
is inserted in No. 18 of the Zoological Journal, and in the Annales
des Sciences Naturelles for August, 1831.]
DECAPODA.
421
is always prolonged into a point, often forming a sharp-pointed plate, very much compressed, and
toothed on both edges. The antennm are always advanced ; the lateral ones generally very long, and
in the form of a very slender thread : the intermediate antenme, in the majority, are terminated by
three filaments. The eyes closely approach each other. The outer foot-jaws, longer than ordinary,
resemble palpi or antennae. One of the two fore pair of legs is often folded back, or doubled. The seg-
ments of the tail are dilated laterally. The outer plate of the terminal swimmeret is always divided in
two by a suture, as in the terminal species of the preceding section. The middle piece, or the seventh
and last segment of the tail, is long, narrowed towards the tip, and is armed above with rows of small
spines. The false legs, of which there are five pairs, are long and foliaeeous. These Crustacea are much
eaten in different parts of the world, and some species are salted for keeping.*
Those wliich liave the three anterior pairs of legs didactyle, the length gradually increasing, so that the third
pair is the largest, compose the genera Penceus, Fabr., (having no annular divisions in the joints of the legs, and
composed of numerous species, one of which, the Caramote (P. sulcatus, Oliv.), is very common in the Mediter-
ranean, and is a great object of commerce, being salted for exportation to the Levant, and of which the English
species (P. trlsulcatus, Leach) is considered by Latreille to be a local variety),— and Stenopiis, Fabr., having the two
penultimate joints of the four posterior legs with annular divisions.
The remaining species have not more than the two anterior pairs of legs didactyle, and the intermediate antennse
terminated by three filaments.
Atya, Leach, formed of a single North American species, A. scahra, is anomalous in the form of its four claws,
which are small, and split to the base with long terminal pencils of hair, the preceding joint being crescent-shaped.
The others have the claws of the ordinary didactyle form. These, with the exception of the terminal genus, have
the legs more or less robust, but not filiform, without any appendage at the base. The body is neither very soft,
nor very much elongated.
Crangon, Fabr., has the fixed finger or index of the two anterior and largest claws reduced to a small tooth, the
moveable finger being hook-shaped. The superior or intermediate antennae have only two terminal filaments ; the
second legs are folded, and more or less distinctly didactyle at the tips ; none of the joints are annulated ; the
rostrum is very short. Crangon vulgaris, Fabr., the Common Shrimp, is the type of this genus. It does not
exceed two inches in length, and is of a pale glaucous green colour, dotted with grey. It is caught throughout
the year with the assistance of circular nets. Its flesh is delicate.
PontopMlus, Leach {Egeon, Risso), does not generically differ from Crangon.
\ Processa, Leach (Nika, Risso), has one of the fore-legs terminated in a point, and the other didactyle. The
second pair of legs are of unequal length, one being very long, with the two joints preceding the claw annulated.
N. edulis, Risso, found at the mouth of the Rhone.
Hymenocera, Latr., differs in the proportions and form of the legs.
To these succeed a number of genera in which the legs and claws do not present any anomalous structure, and
in which the superior or intermediate antennas have only two terminal filaments, including the genus Ilippolyte,
Leach, comprising several British species of shrimps, and in which the four fore-legs
are terminated by a didactyle claw, the second pair being longer than the first ; and
Pandalus, Leach, comprising another British species (P. annulicornis, Leach), in
which the fore-legs are [very small and] simple, or scarcely bifid; the two following
long, of unequal length, with the two joints preceding the claw annulated.
The Prawn is the type of the genus Paltemon, which differs from the last group
of genera in having the upper antennae terminated by three filaments. It has
I the two anterior pairs of legs didactyle, the smaller pair being folded ; and the carpus is not articulated. The
ji rostrum is very long [and spined]. Some of the exotic species acquire a very large size, with the second pair of
I; legs very long. The flesh of the common species is more esteemed than that of the Shrimp. According to M.
de Brebisson (Cat. Meth. Crust. Depart, du Calvados), they are caught in the same manner as Shrimps, but only
i in summer. They swim well, especially when alarmed, and in different directions. They frequent the coast. The
; lithographic stone of Pappenheim and Sohlnofen often contains the remains of a fossil species, which Desmarest
ji names Paltemon spinipes. Another fossil species, but of a much larger size, has been found in England. Tl'he
species ordinarily sold in the fish-shops is the Paltemon serratus. It is generally three or four inches long, and of
1 a pale red colour, which is brightest in the antennae, and especially in the swimmeret of the tail. Its frontal spine
j! extends beyond the peduncle of the middle antennae : it is curved upwards at the tip, with seven or eight spines
!, above, and five beneath. One of the sides of the body is often distended, which is caused by a parasite of the
genus Bopyrus beneath the carapax, affixed to the branchiae. Paltemon squilla, Linn., is another but smaller
Fig. 7 — Ilippolyte varians.
' * [The gradual developenient of several species of Carides (Pake-
monidae) has been recently described by Dr. J.V. Thompson in Jame-
son’s Edinb. Phil. Journ., Oct. 1836, and by Captain Ducane in the
I Annals of Nat. Hist., On 6rst bursting from the egg, the
tail is terminated by a spatulated plate, destitute of lateral as well as
! subabdominal appendages; the rostrum is produced into a simple
point ; the lateral antennae exhibit only the large scale ; and only two
fi of the legs are of the ordinary length, and these are bihd, as in the
Schizopods ; the other legs are very minute, and incurved. In the
ii course of several moultings, the antennse are lengthened ; the rostrum
and ridge of the carapax spined ; the five pairs of legs extended to
their full size, but still bifid ; and the subabdominal appendages and
the swimmerets gradually developed. These observations are as-
serted, by M'Leay and others, to afford a complete confirmation of
the correctness of Thompson’s assertions that Zoea is the larva of the
common Crab, and that all the Crustacea undergo transformations, —
these gentlemen overlooking the fact that Zoea is a Decapod animal,
not furnished with bifid legs, but having the two pairs of outer foot-
jaws immensely developed, but of the ordinary Macrourous construc-
tion, as are the internal parts of its mouth.]
42.2
CRUSTACEA.
/
British species, having the frontal rostrum not extending beyond the peduncle of the superior antenna:, and
nearly straight. j
[Other genera have been proposed by Risso, Leach, P. Roux, and M. Edwards, founded upon variations in the I
form and proportions of the legs.]
Pasiphcea, Savigny, is a very interesting genus, allied to the preceding in the upper antennae, terminated by j
two filaments ; the four fore-legs terminated by a didactyle claw, but [differing from all the other Carides] in
having the external base of the legs furnished with a thread-like appendage ; the claw-legs ai’e larger, nearly equal
in size, very slender, and filiform ; the body is very long, very compressed, and very soft. Type, P. Sivado, Risso.
Found in the Mediterranean, especially in the Bay of Nice, where it is very abundant.*
The fifth and last section of the Macroura — that of the Schizopoda — appears to unite them with j
the subsequent order. The legs are very slender, like flattened threads, and not furnished with claws,
but having a longer or shorter lateral appendage arising on their outside near the base, and [the legs
are] fitted only for swimming. The eggs are borne between them, and not under the tail. The ocular
peduncles are very short. As in the majority of the Macroura, the front is prolonged into a kind of
rostrum. The carapax is very slender. The tail terminated, as is customary, in a swimmeret. These
Crustacea are minute and marine.
In some, the eyes are very apparent ; the lateral antennae furnished with a scale ; the intermediate
ones terminated by two filaments, and composed of many minute joints, as in the preceding.f
Mysis, lja.tr., has the antemise and legs uncovered; the carapax long, nearly square, or cylindrical ; the eyes
close together ; and the legs capillary, and formed of two thread-like fila-
ments. Type, M. Fabricii, Leach ; Cancer scutatus, O. Fabricius.
[The species of Mysis are termed Opossum Shrimps, from their singular
economy of carrying their eggs and young in a large pouch, with membranous
envelopes, beneath the thorax and between the thoracic legs. Their structure
has been fully investigated by Thompson in his Zoological Researches. In
the Encyclopedie Methodique are also some figures communicated by Dr.
Leach to Latreille, and evidently intended for the Malacostraca Britannica
of the former author, but which were never published by him.
Two other genera, nearly allied to Mysis, have been proposed by Thompson,
founded upon oceanic species, namely : —
Cynthia, having branchiae attached to the subabdominal fins ; and Noctiluca, j
founded upon a luminous species, but not described with sufficient precision, |
and omitted by M. Edwards.
Thysanopoda (Edwards), in which there are also eight pairs of bifid natatory feet, but the branchiae are in the
form of many-branched, membranous appendages, at the base of the true legs.
The genera Phasmatocarciniis, Tilesius (in the Neue Annalen Wetterausch Gesellschaft, vol. i.), considered by
Thompson and Edwards as undescribed, and named by the former Lucifer {Leucifer, Edwards), and that of Podop- j
sis by Thompson, are amongst the most singular of known Crustacea, having a filiform body, with very large
globular eyes placed at the extremity of very long and laterally extended foot-stalks ; and the legs are exceedingly
slender and short. According to Slabber, whose figure of one of the species has been overlooked by all Crustace-
ologists, there are eight pairs of legs of equal size.]
Cryptopus, Latr., has the carapax subovoid, swollen, bent under at the sides, enveloping the body, as well |
as the antennae and legs, having only on the under side a longitudinal slit. The eyes are wide apart. The :
legs are like flattened threads, with a lateral appendage. Type, C. Defrancii, Latr. Mediterranean.
In others, the eyes are hidden. The intermediate anteanae conical, exarticulated, and very short. The lateral
antennae composed of a peduncle and a filament, without distinct articulations : their base is not protected by a
porrected scale.
Mulcio, Latr., has the body very soft ; thorax ovoid ; legs like flattened threads, the majority with an ap-
sophical Traiisuct'wns, that it is a Decapod ; and therefore the observa
tinns of Latreille, at the end of the Decapods, cannot be adopteu.] |
t [The Schizopoda having, since the publication of the second edi-
tion of tiiis work, been well investigated by Edwards and Thompson,
have been found to be more nearly allied to the order Stomapoda,
although presenting so near a resemblance to the Carides. This inno-
vation was adopted by Latreille himself in his Cours d’Entonwlosic,
in which this author has proposed to give tliose Podopthalmous
Crustacea wiiich are destitute of thoracic interna! branchise, but
otherwise resembling the Carides, the sectional name of Caridioides,
indicative of their analogy with the last-named group. The typical
genus Mysis is especially interesting, on account of the complete
transformation of all the three pairs of foot-jaws into legs, so that, to-
gether with the five pairs of true legs, there are eight pairs of loco
motive organs ; and as each of these is divided from the base by the
addition of a lateral appendage, these animals may be said to have not
fewer than thirty-two legs.)
* [Many additional genera have been added to the Carides by Poly-
dore Roux in his Mhnoire sur la Classijtsation des Crustacis de la
Tribu des Salicoques, Marseilles, 1831 ; and by Milne Edwards in the
jinnales des Sciences Naturelles, and Hist. Nat. des Crustacis. Of
these it will be necessary only to notice those of Sicyonia, nearly
allied to PeniEus, but differing from it and alt the other genera in
having no appendages to the false subabdominal legs, and in the modi-
fications of its respiratory apparatus, there being only eleven pairs of
branchiae instead of eighteen. Sergestes and Acetes — in which the
posterior pair of true legs is almost rudimental, or entirely obsolete,
the outer pair of foot jaws being immensely developed, so as to consti-
tute an anterior pair of legs to supply their place. These genera are
founded upon exotic species.]
[Here terminates, in the system of M. Edwards, the great order of
Decapod Crustacea, which, in his Hist. Nat. des Crustaces, is suc-
ceeded by an appendix consisting of “ Decapodes douteux,” compris-
ing the genera Zoea, Cerataspis, Mulcio, and Posydon. With respect
to Zoea, I liave clearly proved in my Memoir, published in the P/iilu-
Fig. 8. — Mysis vulgaris, about twice the
natural length.
a, one of the bifid legs.
STOMAPODA. 423
pendage at the base, the foui'th pair being the longest. I only know one species {M. Lesueurii), collected in the
seas of North America. Olivier found, in the Penna marina, a crustaceous animal very similar at the first
sight ; but the specimens were so much injured that 1 was not able to study its characters.
The Nebalice, which I had at first placed in this section, not having any natatory appendages under
the terminal segments of the body, and their legs being very similar to those of Cijclops, I have intro-
duced, together with Condylura, at the head of the order Branchiopoda. Nehalia, in its exposed eyes,
which appear to be pedunculated, and in some other characters, seems, in conjunction with Zoea, to
unite the ScMzopoda with the Branchiopoda.
THE SECOND ORDER OF CRUSTACEA,— .
STOMAPODA (commonly called Sea-Mantes),—
Have the branchiae naked, and adhering to the five pairs of appendages attached beneath the
abdomen or tail, which this part of the body also presents to us in the Decapods, w^hich
appendages here, as in the majority of the Macroura, are used in swimming, or are fin-feet.
The carapax is divided into two parts, of which the anterior bears the eyes and intermediate
antennae, or more properly composes the head without supporting the foot-jaws. The latter
organs, as well as the four fore-legs, often closely approach the mouth in two lines, converging
interiorly : whence arises the name Stoniapoda, given to this order.
The heart — to judge at least from the Squillce, the most remarkable genus in the order,
and the only one in which it has been studied — is elongated, and resembles a large vessel ex-
tending the whole length of the back, and terminating posteriorly near the anus, in a point.
The teguments of the Stomapoda are slender; and, in some species, almost membranous
and diaphanous. The carapax, or shell, is sometimes formed of two shields, of which the
anterior represents the head, and the other the thorax, sometimes of a single piece, but free
behind, leaving generally uncovered the thoracic segments, which bear the three hind pairs of
legs, and having in front an articulation serving as a base for the eyes and intermediate an-
I tennae : the latter organs are always terminated by two or three filaments. The eyes are
always close together. The composition of the mouth is essentially the same as in the
Decapods ; but the palpi of the mandibles, instead of being adpressed to them, are always
raised. The foot-jaws are not furnished with the whip-like appendage {fouet) which exists in
the Decapods. They have the form of claw-legs, or small feet; and, in many at least [Squilla),
the base externally exhibits, as well as that of the two fore-legs, properly so called, a vesicular
body. The second pair of foot-jaws, in the same Stomapods, is much larger than the others,
II and even than the legs themselves : hence they have been generally considered legs, and the
I number of these organs has been stated to be fourteen.* The four anterior [true] legs have
also the form of claw-feet ; but are terminated, like the foot-jaws, by a hook which folds
upon the inferior and anterior edge of the preceding joint. But in some others, such as the
PhyllosomcB'f, all these organs are filiform, and without any didactyle claw. Some of these,
however, as well as the six hind-legs of the Squillce, are furnished with a lateral appendage or
branch. The seven terminal segments of the body — inclosing a considerable portion of the
heart, and to which the respiratory organs are attached — cannot, moreover, in this respect,
be considered analogous {assimiles) to that portion of the body which is called the tail in the
Decapods, being an abdomen, properly so called. Its penultimate segment has, on each side,
1 a swimmeret formed in the same manner as that of the tail of the Macroura, but often armed,
as well as the terminal segment or intermediate piece, with spines or teeth.
I All the Stomapoda are marine, preferring tropical climates, and not going beyond the tem-
ij * The second pair of true maxillae of the Sguillis has not the same [ cate, and very much notched.
form as in the Decapods, being of an elongated, triangular form, di- t In all those which have the four anterior feet claw-like, the six
vided into four joints by transverse lines. The mandibles are bifur- ' posterior are formed for swimming.
CliUSTACEA.
424
perate zones. Although vve have observed a very great number of individuals, we have never
met with one carrying eggs. Their habits are entirely unknown. It is, however, beyond a
doubt, that those species with powerful claws use them for the purpose of seizing their prey
in the same manner as those Orthoptera which are named Mantes * ; and it is on account of
this conformity that these Stomapods have received the name of Sea-Mantes. They were
named Crangones, or Crangines, by the Greeks.
According to M. Risso, they keep in deep water, in sandy and muddy bottoms, and couple
in the spring ; but other species, forming our second family, being less favoured in respect to
their natatory appendages, and having the body very flat and extended in its surface, are
ordinarily found on the surface of the ocean, where they move but slowly.
We divide the order Stomapoda into two families. In
behind, covering the head (with the exception of the eyes and antennae, which are implanted upon
tremity terminates in a point, and is preceded by a small plate terminating in the same manner. All
the foot-jaws (of which the second pair is very large), and the four anterior feet, ai'e inserted close to
the mouth in two lines converging inferiorly, in the form of claw-feet, with a single moveable and
folded back finger. With the exception of the second pair of legs, all these organs are externally fur-
nished at the base with a small pedunculated vescicle. The other feet, six in number, are linear, ter-
minated by a brush, and merely natatorial : the third joint is furnished at the side and base with a
slender appendage. The lateral antennae have a scale at the base, and the intermediate are terminated
by three filaments. The body is narrow and elongated. The ocular peduncles are always short. This
family comprises the single genus
which we divide as follows : —
In some species, the crustaceous shield [or carapax] is preceded by a small, more or less triangular, plate, situ-
ated above the articulation which bears the intermediate antennae and the eyes. It does not cover the anterior
portion of the thoi-ax, and is not bent down at the sides. The joint which serves as a footstalk to the peduncle of
the intermediate antennae, as well as to the ocular peduncles and the exterior margins of the extremity of the
abdomen, is exposed.
Squilla proper, Latr., has the entire inner edge of the penultimate joint of the two great claw-feet furnished
Gonodaotylus, Latr., has the channel of the great claws unarmed with points ; and the terminal joint is dilated
into a knob at its base. The species are exotic. (Squilla chiragra, Fabr. ; Desmarest, pi. 43.)
Coronis, Latr., has the body very narrow and depressed, with the terminal segment square and entire, without
teeth or spines. The lateral appendage of the six hind-legs is pallet-shaped. [C. scolopendra, Latr., regarded by
him as synonymous with Squilla Eusebia of Risso ; but the figure given by this author in his Hist. Nat. Europ.
Merid., tom. v. pi. 4, has the terminal segment deeply toothed.]
In the other species of this family, the carapax is slender, nearly membranous, diaphanous, entirely covering ;
the thorax, bent down at the sides, prolonged in front into an acute spine, and advanced over the stem of the in-
termediate antennae, and the eyes. This stem is capable of being bent downwards, and inclosed in the shield
‘ Some other analogous Orthoptera (such as the genus Phyllium) resemble leaves. The Phyllosomse, Crustacea of the same order, ex-
hibit to us the same analogy.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF STOMAPODA, ~
Unipeltata, —
The carapax forms only a single shield of a quadrilateral, elongated shape, generally widened and free
common and frontal articulations), and at least the anterior segments of the thorax. Its anterior ex-
SauiLLA (Fabr.),-
with a narrow channel, denticulated on one
side, and spined on the other; and the follow-
ing Joint is sickle-shaped, and often toothed.
The type (Cancer mantis, Linn.) is about seven
inches long. Its great claws have at the base
\ three moveable spines; and the terminal
joint has six long and very sharp spines, of
which the terminal is the strongest. The seg- |
ments of the body, except the last, have six
longitudinal elevated lines, ordinarily termi-
Fig. 9.— Squilla Mantis.
nating in an acute point. It is common in 1
the Mediterranean.
formed by the curve of the carapax. The posterior swimmerets are hidden beneath the terminal segment.
STOMAPODA.
425
These minute and delicate Crustacea are peculiar to the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Seas. The finders of the
large claw-legs are not toothed. The second joint of the ocular peduncles is much larger than the basal joint, and
in the form of a reversed cone. The eyes themselves are large, and nearly globular. The appendages of the
swimming or fin-feet resemble those of the Squill<£.
EricMhus, Latr. (Stnerdis, Leach), has the basal joint of the ocular peduncles short, and the carapax dilated at
the sides. Type, E. vitreus, Latr.
Alima, Leach, has the basal joint of the ocular peduncles much longer, the body much narrower, with the sides
of the carapax not dilated. Each of its angles forms a spine, of which the two posterior are the most acute. Type,
A. hyalina, Latr.
ISqidllericthus, Edwards, has the claws of the great feet armed with spines.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF STOMAPODA, -
Bipeltata, Latr., —
[Comprises the Glass-Crabs, which] have the carapax divided into two shields, the anterior of which
is very large, more or less oval, composing the head, and the second, corresponding with the thorax, is
transverse and angulated in its outline, and bears the foot-jaws and the ordinary feet.
Those feet, with the exception of the posterior pair, as well as the last pair of foot-
jaws, are slender, filiform, and for the most part very long, and accompanied by a
lateral, ciliated [short and slender] appendage. The four other [anterior] foot-jaws
are very minute and conical. The base of the lateral antennae is not furnished with
a scale, and the intermediate ones are terminated by two filaments. The ocular pe-
duncles are very long. The body is very flat, membranous, and transparent, with the
abdomen small, and without spines to the posterior swimmeret. In respect to their
nervous system, they appear to be intermediate between the preceding and following
Fig. 10. — Phyllosoma
clavicornis.
Crustacea.
This family comprises only the single genus Phyllosoma, Leach, of which all the species are inhabitants of the
Atlantic and Eastern Oceans. [M. Guerin has published a monograph of this genus, with figures of all the species,
in his Magasin de Zoologie.']
[M. Edwards has recently added another genus, AmpMon, dilfering from Phyllosoma in its narrower body, and
in the carapax extending behind over the whole body, thus rendering Latreille’s name, Bipeltata, inapplicable.]
Those Malacostraca which have the eyes sessile and immoveable, form the second
general subdivision, [and have been collectively named Edriopthalma by Leach] .
The [Branchiopodous genus] Branchipus comprises the only Crustacea which remain
to be noticed, having the eyes placed on long footstalks ; but in them the peduncles are
neither articulated nor lodged in cavities expressly for their reception, and they are
not only destitute of a carapax, but differ in many other natural characters [from the
Podopthalmous Malacostraca] .
i All the Malacostraca of the present [sub] division are equally destitute of a carapax.
The body, following the head, is composed of a series of articulations, of which each of
the seven anterior ones is generally provided with a pair of feet, and of which the
following and terminal segments (not exceeding seven in number) form a kind of tail,
terminated by a swimmeret, or appendages in the shape of styles. The head is
furnished with four antennae, of which the two intermediate ones are superior ; two
eyes, and a mouth composed of two mandibles, a tongue, two pair of maxillae, and a
jj sort of lip formed by the two foot-jaws, which correspond with the fourth [or inner]
j pair in the Decapoda ; as in the Stomapoda there is no flagrum. The four outer foot-
!| jaws are transformed into feet, sometimes simple, sometimes terminated in a claw,
I but almost always with a single finger. According to MM. Audouin and Edwards, the
ij two ganglionated nervous cords are perfectly symmetrical and distinct throughout their
entire length, and from the observations of Cuvier the Onisci only differ in those cords
j not presenting the uniformity in all the segments of the body, and that there are fewer
5
CRUSTACEA.
426
knots. Hence the nervous system of these Crustacea is the most simple of all [yet
examined] .
The branchise appear to be always attached to the two first appendages of the
under- side of the abdomen. The female carries her eggs beneath the breast, between
certain scales, which form a kind of pouch. They are there hatched, and the young
ones remain attached to the legs, or other parts of the body of their parents, until they
gain sufficient strength to swim and take care of themselves. These Crustacea are of
small size, and reside for the most part either upon the shores of the ocean or in fresh
water. Some are terrestrial and others are parasites.
These animals are divisible into three orders : those in which the mandibles are fur-
nished with a palpus, appear to be more nearly allied in nature to the preceding
Crustacea — these are the Amphipoda. Those in which these organs are destitute of
palpi compose the two other orders, Lcemodipoda and Isopoda. Cyamus, a parasitic
genus, belonging to the second of these orders, conducts us naturally to Bopyrus and
Cymothoa, with which we commence the arrangement of the Isopoda.
THE THIRD ORDER OF CRUSTACEA,
[the first of the Malacostraca Edriopthalma] or the AMPHIPODA,—
Are the only Malacostraca with sessile and fixed eyes, of which the mandibles, as in the pre-
ceding Crustacea, are furnished with a palpus, and they are the only order in which the
subabdominal appendages, always very apparent, resemble, in their long and narrowed
form, their articulations, bifurcations, and the hairs or cilise with which they are provided,
false legs or swimming fin-feet. In the Malacostraca belonging to the following orders,
these appendages have the form of plates or scales, and these hairs or cilise appear to
constitute the branchiae. Many exhibit, as well as the Stomapoda and Loemodipoda,
vesicular bags, placed either between their feet or at their base externally, and of which we
are ignorant of the uses.
The first pair of legs, or that which corresponds with the second pair of foot-jaws, is always
affixed to a distinct segment, being the one immediately behind the head. The antennae
(with the exception of the single genus Phronima) are four in number. They are advanced
in front and gradually attenuated, terminating in a point, and composed, as in the preceding
Crustacea, of a peduncle and a single terminal filament, (or accompanied sometimes by a
small lateral branch) and generally multiarticulate. The body
is ordinarily compressed, and bent downwards behind. The
appendages at the extremity of the tail most frequently resemble
small articulated styles. The majority of these Crustacea swim
and leap with agility, and always on their sides. Some are found
in brooks and fountains, often united in pairs, but the greater number inhabit the salt water.
They are of an uniform colour, varying from reddish to green.
Thev may be comprised in the single genus Gammarus, Fab., which may be distributed into
three sections, from the form and number of the legs : —
1. Those which have fourteen feet, all of which are terminated by a hook or a point.
2. Those which have also fourteen feet, but in which these organs, or at least the four
posterior, are unarmed and merely natatorial.
3. Those which have only ten feet.
The first of these sections [Homopoda, Westw\] is divisible into two subsections : —
Fig. 11. — Gammarus pulex.
AMPHIPODA.
427
1. The Uroptera, Latr., having the head generally large, the antennae often short, and only two
in number in some, and the body soft ; all the legs except the fifth pair simple, the anterior short or
small, and the tail either furnished at the tip with lateral swimmerets, or terminated by appendages or
i dilated points, bidentate or forked at the extremity. They reside in the bodies of various Acalephce
or Medusae, Linn., and some other zoophytes.
Some, forming the genus Phronima, Lat., have only two very short and 2-jointed antennae. The fifth pair of
legs is by far the largest, and terminated by a strong didactyle claw. There are six long slender appendages at
the extremity of the body, each terminated by two points. There are probably various species, but which have
not been described with sufficient care. Type, Cancer sedentarius, Forskal, Faun. Arab., found in the Mediter-
ranean, lodged in a membranous, transparent, bell-like bag, probably the body of a Beroe.
Others have four antennae ; all the legs are single, and the tail is furnished at each side of its extremity with a
plate, like a foliaceous swimmeret.
Hyperia, Latr., having the body thickened in front, the head large and almost entirely occupied by two oblong
eyes, somewhat notched at the inner margin, two of the antennae at least half the length of the body, with a ter-
minal multiarticulated filament. Type, Cancer monoculoides, Montague, [found on the coast of Devonshire].
Phrosine, Risso, differs in having the antennae not longer than the head, and but few-jointed, the terminal fila-
I merit being conical.
I Dactylocera, Latr., has the body not thickened in front, the head of moderate size.
I Themisto, Guerin, has the third pair of foot-jaws terminated by a small didactyle claw ; the third pair of legs is
very much longer than the others. [Many additional subgenera have been recently pi-oposed, belonging to the
Uroptera, especially by M. Edwards.]
! 2. The second subsection, Gammarin^, Latr., have always four antennae, the body covered with
j a coriaceous elastic tegument, generally compressed and arched ; the posterior extremity of the tail is
not furnished with swimmerets, but its appendages are in the form of cylindrical or conical styles.
I Two at least of the four anterior legs are terminated by claws.
1 The vesicular bags in those species in which they have been observed {Gammarus), are situated at
the external base of the legs, commencing with the second pair, and accompanied by a small plate.
I The pectoral scales enclosing the eggs are six in number.
: In the majority the four antennae, although occasionally varying inter se, are applied to the same purposes, and
have the same general structure : the inferior never being leg-like,
j lone, Latr., is an anomalous subgenus, founded upon a figure given by Montague, {Linn. Trans., vol. ix. 3, 3, 4.)
I The body is apparently 15-jointed, the joints being only indicated by lateral incisions ; the four antennae are very
I short, the external longer than the two others ; the two anterior segments of the body are furnished in the female
with two elongated fleshy cirrhi, like oars ; the legs are very short and hooked ; the six terminal segments are
1 provided with lateral, fleshy, elongated, fasciculated appendages, simple in the male but branched in the female.
I Type, Oniscus thoracicus, Montague, found beneath the carapax of Callianassa subterranea, forming a tumour on
j the sides of its body. Montague kept it alive for several days, having removed it from its native abode. The
! females are always accompanied by the males, which retain themselves firmly attached to the abdominal ap-
I pendages of their partners by means of their strong hooks. In regard to its habits, therefore, this animal approaches
the parasitic Bopyrus.
I All the remaining Amphipods have the segments of the body distinct in their entire breadth, and are destitute
i in both sexes of the long oar-like appendages found in lone. In some of these the moveable finger of the claw-
I legs is formed of a single joint.
OrcJiestia, Leach, and Talitrus, Leach [comprising British species] have the upper antennae much shorter than
the inferior, whilst in the following they are not much shorter, [indeed often much longer. The type of the latter
j genus is Talitrus locusta, which is very abundant on our shores, burrowing into the sand, and, unlike the majority
of the species, seldom entering the water.] In Atylus, Leach, the upper antennae are nearly as long as the inferior,
I the head is produced above into a snout, and none of the legs are cheliferous. Type, A. carinatus, Leach. The
i typical genus Gammarus, Latr., is distinguished by the isolated character of the superior antennae, having a short
: branch at the tip of the third joint, and the four fore-legs are in the form of small claws, with the moveable finger
i folding on the under-side : Cancer pulex is the type. [It is exceedingly abundant in fresh-water brooks, where
I there is an accumulation of vegetable debris.] Various other genera, as Melita, Leach, Mcera, Leach, Amphithoe,
j Leach, Pherusa, Leach, &c., have been established by Leach and M. Milne Edwards, founded upon variations in
i their legs and claws.
Leucothoe, Leach, has the moveable finger of the two fore-claws biarticulated. The same character also exists
in Cerapus, Say, composed of a small species found on the sea-shore of the United States, near Egg harbour,
amongst the Sertidarice, and which receives its specific name, C. tubularis, from residing in a small cylindrical
tube. [Dr. Templeton has described a small species of Crustacea from Mauritius in the Trans. Entom. Soc., vol. i.
p. 189, under the name of Cerapus abditus, which inhabits a little membranous tube, resembling in texture the
papyritious covering of wasps’ nests. It is remarkable for wanting feet to the middle segment of its body. Its
; movements are vei-y singular.]
CRUSTACEA.
428
Podocerus, Leach, and lassa^ Leach, have the inferior antennae greatly elongated in the form, and occasionally
assuming the functions of legs and organs of prehension ; their second legs are terminated by a large claw.
Corophium, Latr., has similar lower antennae, but none of the legs are cheliferous. The type is Cancer
grossipes, Linn., Gammarus longicornis^YtHo., Oniscus vohitator, Pal., and which is named Pernys on the coast of
La Rochelle, living in burrows, which it forms in the sand, covered by hurdles, called bouchots by the in-
habitants. The animal only makes its appearance at the beginning of May. It keeps up a continual war
with the Nereids, Amphinomae, Arenicolae, and other marine annelidae which take up their abode in the
same place. Nothing is more curious than to observe these creatures at the rising of the tide assembled in
myriads, moving about in all directions, beating the mud with their arm-like antennae, and diluting it in order to
discover their prey. If they discover any of these annelidae, often
ten or even twenty times larger than themselves, they unite
together to attack and devour it. The carnage never ceases
until the mud has been turned over and examined. They
also attack fishes, mollusca, and dead bodies on the shore.
They mount upon the hurdles which contain muscles, as well as
upon the latter, and the fishermen pretend that they cut the
threads which retain the muscles, in order to cause the latter to Fig. 12.- Corophium longicome ; a, terminal segment of
fall, so that they may be the more readily devoured. They appear
to breed throughout the season, as the females are found carrying eggs at different times : shore-birds and many
kinds of fishes devour them.
The second of the sections of the order Amphipoda, or the Heteropa, Lat., is composed of those which
have fourteen legs, the four posterior at least being unarmed at the tip, and fit only for swimming,*
and forms two subgenera.
Pterygoura, Latr., has the thorax divided into numerous segments, four antennae, with long hairs ; all the
legs natatorial, and of which the posterior are large and pennated. [Type, Oniscus arenarius, Slabber.]
Apseudes, Leach (Euphem, Risso), has the thorax divided into numerous segments, the fore pair of legs
terminated by a large claw, the second pair of legs with the terminal joints very broad and toothed [whence the
specific name of the type, A. talpa, Leach, Montague, from its analogy with the Mole] ; the other legs are single,
the body is long and narrow, terminated by two long threads.
Rhoea, Edwards, differs from the preceding in having the superior antennae thicker, longer, and bifid.
The third and last section of the order Amphipoda, or the Decempoda, Lat., consists of species
having only ten feet.
Typhis, Risso, has only two antennae ; the head is large, with prominent eyes ; each pair of legs is attached to
a distinct segment ; the four anterior are terminated by a didactyle claw. On each side of the thorax are two
moveable plates, forming two valves, beneath which, when at rest, the animal shuts its legs and tail, giving it the
appearance of a ball. Type, Typhis ovoides, Risso.
Anceu^, Risso, Gnathia, Leach, has the thorax divided into the same number of segments as there are pairs of
legs, which are simple and monodactyle. They have four antennae ; the head is large and square, and furnished
in front with two great projections, like mandibles. Type, Cancer maxillaris, Montague, Trans. Linn. Soc.,
vol. vii. pi. 6, f. 2, — found on the Devonshire coast.
Praniza, Leach, has four antennae like the last, but the thorax from above presents only three segments, of
which the two anterior are very short, and the third very large and oval, having the three posterior pairs of legs
attached to it. The legs simple, the head triangular, and the tail furnished at the sides of the extremity with a
swimmeret. [I have investigated the structure of this curious genus very minutely, and published the result
thereof in the Annales des Scienees Naturelles, vol. xxvii.]
To this order also appear to belong various other genera, established by Savigny, Rafinesque, and
Say, but of which the characters have not been hitherto given with sufficient decision ; and even of
those cited above some require a re-examination.
M. Milne Edwards has collected many valuable and detailed observations on many of these Crustacea,
which will serve to clear up much of this obscurity. I am not able to speak with precision also of the
genus Ergina of Risso. From the number of legs it appears to belong to the last section of the Amphi-
poda, but the manner in which they terminate, and the number of the segments of the body, range them
amongst the Isopods.
[Since the publication of the second edition of this work, the Amphipoda have received a consider-
able share of attention. M. Milne Edwards, in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1830, published
a revision of the order, dividing it into two principal groups, (removing the genera Rhoea and Tanais to
* This and the following section formed, in the first edition of this to us to approximate them to the Amphipoda, and not the Isoi>ada. I
work, the second of the Isopodous order, that of Phytibranehes. But Nevertheless, these animals, of which the number is but very small,
not only have we perceived mandibular palpi in some of these Crus* I have been very imperfectly studied,
tacea, but also the form of the subabdominal appendages has appeared I
La:MODIPODA. 429
the order Isopoda), namely, the Crevettines and the Hyperines, the former divided into the saltatorial 1
and ambulatory species. Some new genera were added, especially in the singular family of the Hyperines.
Pterygocera, Latr., and some other genera, he considers not sufficiently studied, and consequently of
doubtful character and situation. Apseudes, lone, Anceus, and Praniza, he also regards as isojiodous.
Various additional genera have also been established by M. Guerin de Meneville, in the Magasiu de
Zoologie, especially amongst the Hyperines, and which are accompanied by figures and generic details.
Dr. Templeton has described some curious minute species from Mauritius, in the Transactions of the
Entomological Society. Still more recently I have received from M. Kroyer, the Danish naturalist, a
memoir upon the Amphipoda of Greenland, published in the last part of the Copenhagen Transactions.
Rathke has described many new species, and some new genera from the Caspian Sea, in the last volume
of the Petersburg Memoirs, and Professor Owen has described some interesting species brought home in
one of the late Polar expeditions. One of the most remarkable of the subgenera established, is that of
Orio of A. Cocco, described in the Giornali di Scienze, ^c., per la Sicilia, for November 1 833, which has
been overlooked by Crustaceologists, and in which the maxillary palpi are exceedingly slender, as long
as the body, and 4-jointed.]
THE FOURTH ORDER OF CRUSTACEA,
LCEMODIPODA,—
Comprises the only Malacostraca with sessile eyes which have not distinct branchim attached
at the extremity of the body, which are nearly destitute of a tail, the hind pair of legs being
attached either at the extremity of the body or to a segment, follow^ed by one or two very
small joints. They are also the only species in which the two fore-legs, which correspond
with the second foot-jaws, form part of the head.
All the species have four setaceous antennae, implanted on a peduncle of three joints ;
mandibles destitute of palpi ; a vesicular body at the base of at least four of the pairs of legs,
commencing with the second or third pair, including those of the head. The body, generally
[ filiform or linear, is composed (including the head) of eight or nine segments, with several
i small appendages in the form of tubercles at its posterior and inferior extremity. The legs
1 are terminated by a strong hook ; the four anterior, of which the second pair is the largest, are
always terminated by a monodactyle claw\ In some, the four following are more slender,
with fewer articulations, without a terminal hook, or are rudimental ami in no manner fitted
for the ordinary uses.
The females carry their eggs beneath the second and third segments of the body, in a pouch
1 formed of scales closely applied against each other.
All these Crustacea are marine. M. Savigny considers them as approaching the Pycno-
j gonides, and as forming, together with them, the passage betw^een the Crustacea and
I Arachmda. In the first edition of this work, they formed part of the Isopodous order, namely,
1 the section Cystibranchiae.
I They may be considered as forming a single genus, for which, on account of its priority, the name of
! Cyamus (Latr.) —
should be retained.
Some of these (forming a first section named Filiformia, Latr.) have the body long and very slender
or linear, with the segments longitudinal ; the legs also long and very slender, and the terminal fila-
ment of the antennse composed of minute joints.
They are found amongst marine plants, creeping along in the same way as the Geometer or Looper-
caterpillars, bending themselves often back with great rapidity, and applying their antennae to various
parts of the body. In swimming they bend the two ends of the body dowiiw^ards.
430
CRUSTACEA.
Fi§;. 13. — Caprella phasma.
Leptomera, Latr, {Proto, Leach), has fourteen complete legs (including the pair attached to the head), forming
a regular series. In some of them (as in Gammarus pedatus, Muller, forming the type of the restricted genus
Leptomera) all the legs (except the two anterior) are furnished with a basal vesicle, whilst in the others {Cancer
pedatus, Montague, being the type of Leach’s Proto) these appendages exist only at the base of the second and
four following legs.
Naupredia, Latr., has ten legs in a continuous series, the second and two following pairs having a vesicular
body at the base. The typical species found on the French coast appears to me to be undescribed.
Caprella, Lamarck, have also only ten legs, but the series is interrupted; the second and following
segments being destitute of legs, but each is
furnished with two vesicular bodies. Type, Squilla
lobata, Muller.
[Dr. Johnston has published a monograph of
the British species of this section in the eighth
volume of the Magazine of Natural History, and
Dr. Templeton and M. Guerin have respectively
described various additional species of this curi-
ous group.]
The other Loemodipoda, forming a second section (Ovalia, Latr.), have the body oval, with the seg-
ments transverse ; the terminal filament of the antenn® appears to be inarticulated. The legs are short,
or of only moderate length ; those of the second and third segments are imperfect, and terminated by a
long cylindrical joint without terminal hooks ; they have at the base an elongated vesicular body.
These Loemodipoda form the subgenus —
Cyamus, Latr. {Larunda, Leach), of which 1 have seen three species, all of which live
upon Cetacea, and of which the commonest {Oniscus Ceti, Linn.) is also found upon the
Mackerel. The fishermen call it the whale-louse. Another species, closely allied, was
brought home by Delalande, in his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. The third, which is
much smaller, is found upon the Cetacea of the Indian seas.
[M. Roussel de Vauz^me has published a very complete and interesting memoir upon
this singular genus in the Annates des Sciences Naturelles for May, 1834, describing three
species living upon Whales of the Southern Ocean, and also observed their respective
habits. Sometimes these creatures are so abundant on the Whales that the individuals
they infest may be easily recognized at a considerable distance by the white colour these
parasites impart to them. When removed, the surface of the body of the Whale is found
to be deprived of its epidermis. C. ovalis and gracilis are stationary, being found in great
numbers agglomerated upon the corneous prominences of Bal<ena mysticetus. C. erraticus is, however, organ-
ized for its wandering habits, being of a slender form, and with larger legs, serving for prehension. The young
ones appear with all the characters of their kind, only the head is rather large, and the supposed branchial appen-
dages, instead of being long and slender, are short and somewhat globose.]
Fig. 14. — Cyamus
Balaaiiarum.
THE FIFTH ORDER OF CRUSTACEA,
ISOPODA,—
Or the Polygonata of Fabricius, (after the removal of the genus Monoculus) is allied to the
Loemodipoda in the absence of palpi to the mandibles, but is separated from them in other
respects. The two fore-legs are not attached to the head, but to a distinct segment, as are the
following feet. These limbs are always fourteen in number, hooked at the tip, without any ;
vesicular appendage at the base. The under-side of the tail is furnished with very distinct ' |
appendages, in the form of plates or vesicular bags, of which the two anterior and exterior :
ordinarily cover, either entirely or for the most part, the others. The body is generally (
flattened, or broader than deep. The mouth is composed of the same pieces as in the pre-|
ceding; (see the general remarks on the Malacostraca) ; but here, those which correspond with^
the two superior foot-jaws of the Decapods present, even more strongly than in those?
Crustacea, the appearance of a lower lip, terminated by two palpi. The intermediate pair of j
antennae is obsolete in the terminal species in the order, which are terrestrial in their habits,|
and which [consequently] differ from the rest in respect to their respiratory apparatus.
M. V. Audouin and M. Edwards have given {Ann. des Sciences Nat., 1827) some interesting]
ISOPODA.
431
observations on the circulation of the Isopoda, and especially in the Ligife. The heart has
the form of a long vessel, extended above the dorsal face of the intestine ; from its anterior
extremity are emitted three arteries, as in the Decapods, but from their examination it would
seem that the venous system is not so complete as in the Macroura. In respect to the
nervous system, there are nine ganglions, not including the brain, but the two anterior and
the two posterior are so nearly together that they may be reduced to seven. The second and
six following send forth nerves to the legs, and the tail is furnished with nerves from the last
ganglion.
The females carry their eggs underneath the breast, either defended by scales, or in a pouch
or membranous sac, which they open in order to allow the young ones to escape ; these are
born with the form and parts peculiar to their own species, and merely increase in size by
changing their skins. [M. Milne Edwards, in his interesting “ Observations sur les change-
mens de forme que divers Crustaces eprouvent dans le jeune dgef (published in the Annates
des Sciences Naturelles,) has given a detailed account of the peculiarities which distinguished
the young individuals of Cymothoa trigonocephala and Anilocra mediterranean which had been
extracted from between the pectoral plates of the females. In the newly-hatched young, the
tail is longer and narrower than in the perfect animal, and it has only six thoracic segments
and six pair of legs.]
The greatest number of the species reside in water. Those which are terrestrial have like-
wise need, as is the case with other Crustacea living out of the water, of a certain degree of
atmospheric humidity, in order to enable them to respire, and keep their branchiae in a state
fitted for that function.
This order, in the system of Linnaeus, consists of the genus
Oniscus, —
[ which we distribute into six sections.
I The first section, Epicardes, Latr., is composed of parasitic Isopods having neither eyes nor antennae,
of which the body is very flat, small, and oblong in the males, but much larger in the females, of an
j oval form, narrow amd rather bent posteriorly, concave beneath, with a thoracic rim, divided on each
side into five membranous lobes, the legs being inserted on this rim, very small and bent round, and
1 fit neither for crawling nor swimming ; the under-side of the tail is furnished with five pairs of small
; ciliated imbricated plates, answering to the same number of segments, and arranged into two longi-
! tudinal rows, but the posterior extremity of the body is not furnished with appendages. The mouth
i only distinctly exhibits two membranous plates, applied upon another of the same consistence, being
i‘ of a quadrilateral form. The hollowed part of the body is filled with eggs, and near the situation
;! where they are discharged the presumed males are constantly found, but their exceedingly minute size
' seems to render the act of coupling impossible. These Crustacea form only a single subgenus, —
1 Bopyrus, Latr., the common and typical species of which is the Bopyrus crangorum, Fab., which is parasitic
upon the Common Prawns, Palcemon squilla and serratus, affixing' itself beneath the carapax, upon the branchiae,
!i when it produces on the side of the body attacked a tumour or swelling like a lens. The fishermen of La Manche
1 believe that these parasites are young soles, [to which fish they bear a slight resemblance in form].
’ M. Risso has described a second species [B. Palemonis, Risso, Crust. Nice. p. 148], beneath the body of the
;| female of which he observed betw'een eight and nine hundred minute young ones, [easily visible with a lens, of a
ij greyish white colour, and which the parent has always the instinct to deposit in the places frequented by the
li Palaemons ; and as soon as the young are free they attach themselves to their prey].
I The second section, Cymothoada, Latr., comprises those Isopoda which have four distinct antennae,
Ij setaceous, and ordinarily terminated by a multiarticulate filament, having eyes and a mouth composed
li of the ordinary parts (see the general observations upon the Malacostraca Edriopthalma), and vesicular
ji branchiae disposed longitudinally in pairs. The tail is composed of four or six segments, with a swim-
i ming plate on each side near the tip, and the five legs are generally terminated by a strong hook or
claw. All the Cymothoada are parasites.
In Serolis, Leach, the eyes are placed upon tubercles on the back of the head, and the tail is composed of only
four segments. The antennae are arranged in two lines, and terminated by a multiarticulate filament. Beneath
j the three basal segments of the tail, between the ordinary appendages, there are three others, transverse, and
1 terminated posteriorly in a point. One species was only known [to Latreille, namely, the Cymothoa paradoxa, Fab.
432 CHUSTACEA.
This extraordinary genus has been considered as affording proof of the relation of the Trilobites to the Isopodous
Crustacea, the body being divided into three longitudinal portions, as in those fossils. The genus has lately been
described and figured in detail by Eights, under the name of Brongniartia Trilobit aides, in the Transactions of the
Albany Institute.^
In the other Cymothoada the eyes are lateral, and not placed upon tubercles, and the tail is composed of four or
six joints; of these the majority have the eyes not formed of granular ocelli; the antennae are at least seven-
jointed, and the six fore-legs terminated by a strong hook ; of these the following subgenera have the tail always
six-jointed, and the lower antennae never exceed in length half of the body.
Cymothoa, Fab., having the mandibles not exposed, the antennae of nearly equal length, the eyes slightly appa-
rent, and the terminal joint of the tail transverse-quadrate. Type, Cymothoa (Estrum, Fab. [These animals were
well known to the ancients, who gave them the name of (Estrus and Asilus, from the resemblance between their
habits and those of the breeze-flies. Aristotle says of the species above mentioned, “ Fishes are attacked by a
sea-louse, w'hich is not produced from the fish but from the mud.”]
Ichthyophilus, Latr. {Nerocila and Lironeca, Leach,) differs from the last in having the terminal segment of the
tail nearly triangular. To these succeed various subgenera, instituted by Leach upon strucUiral characters, such
as the relative length of the antennas, form of the swimming plates of the tail, &c.
In (Ega, and several others, the eyes are generally large, and converge anteriorly.
Synodus, Latr., having also six segments to the tail, differs from all the preceding in the large size of its
exserted mandibles.
Cirolana, Leach, and several others, have only five segments in the tail, and the length of the inferior antennae
is greater than that of half the body.
Eurydice, Leach, belonging to this division, naturally conducts us in the granular structure of its eyes to
Limnoria, Leach, in which these organs resemble numerous ocelli, placed close together, which have the antennae
inserted in a line, and not composed of more than four joints, and all the legs are formed for walking. The tail is 6-
jointed, the terminal joint being large and suborbicular. The only known (recent) species is the L. terebrans, Leach,
which, although not more than a sixth of an inch in length, is, in its powers of multiplication, exceedingly destruc-
tive. It pierces the wood of vessels in different directions with astonishing alacrity, and contracts itself into a
ball when alarmed. It is found in different parts of the British Ocean, [attacking piles of wood immersed in the
water in our dockyards, flood-gates, timber-bridges, chain-piers, &c., and which it perforates in a most alarming
manner. The boring of the insect having for its object the procuring of food, the contents of its stomach resem-
ble comminuted wood. It is necessary that the hole in which it is at work should be filled with salt water.
Coating the wood with copper-headed nails, and the use of Kyanized wood, have been suggested as remedies against
its attacks].
Professor Germar forwarded to Dejean the figure and description of a small fossil crustaceous animal, which
appears to us to belong to this subgenus.
The third section, Sphjeromides, Latr., exhibits four distinct and setaceous or conical antennae, ter-
minated (except in Anthurd) by a multiarticulate filament : the lower pair is always the longest, and
inserted beneath the basal joint of the upper, which is thick and broad. The mouth is of the ordinary
form. The branchiae are vesicular or soft, naked, and disposed longitudinally in pairs. The tail is only
composed of tw'o complete and moveable segments, the first of which, however, exhibits impressed
and transverse lines, indicating the vestiges of the same number of segments. On each side of the pos-
terior extremity of the body is a swdmmeret , terminated by two plates, of which the inferior alone is
moveable, and the upper is formed by an extei’nal elongation of the common support. The branchial
appendages are curved inwards ; the inner side of the anterior pair is accompanied in the males with a
small linear and elongated piece. The anterior part of the head, situated beneath the antennas, is
triangular, or in the shape of a heart reversed. The majority have the body oval or oblong, assuming
the form of a ball when contracted.
Zuzara, Leach (with very large swimmerets), and Sph<eroma, Latr. (with moderate sized-swimmerets), have the
impressed lines on the basal segments of the tail not extended to the sides. In the following they extend to the
margin, forming as many incisions, and the basal joint of the antennse forms a long square or linear plate.
Noesa and Campecopcea, Leach, have the sixth segment of the body considerably longer than the preceding,
whilst it is of equal size in
Cilic(ea, Leach, Cymodocea, Leach, and Dynamene, Leach, distinguished by variations in the form of the
swimmeret and the sixth segment of the body.
Anthura, Leach, differs from all the preceding in its vermiform body, and in having the antennae scarcely as
long as the head, and 4-jointed. The plates of the swimmeret form a kind of capsule. (Oniscus gracilis, Mon-
tague.)
In the fourth section, Idoteides, Leach, the antennae are also four in number, but placed in the |
same transverse and horizontal line ; the lateral ones are terminated by a multiarticulate and gradually |
attenuated filament, the intermediate short, filiform, or slightly thickened at the tip, and 4-jointed, |
none of the joints being articulated. The mouth is composed of the same parts as in the preceding. '
ISOPODA.
433
The brancliise are in the form of bladders, white in the majority, capable of being puffed up and
used in swimming, and covered by two plates or valves of the last segment, laterally adherent to its
sides, longitudinal, biarticulate, opening in the middle in a straight line, like a pair of cupboard doors, i
The tail is formed of three segments, of which the last is the largest, with neither appendages nor I
lateral swimmerets. All these Crustacea are marine.
Idofea, Fab., have the legs strongly hooked, and all of the same form, and the lateral antennae are shorter than
half the body. (Oniscus Entomon, Linn.)
Stenosoma, Leach, has the body linear [and depressed], and the [lateral] antennae nearly equal to the body in
length. {Stenosoma lineare, Leach.)
Arctunis, Latr., is very remarkable in the form of the second and third pairs of legs, which are directed for-
ward, and terminated by a long hirsute joint, and unarmed or feebly-hooked : the two anterior are applied to
the mouth ; the six posterior legs are long, formed for walking, directed backwards, and bifid at the tip. In
the length of the antennae and form of the body they approach Stenosoma. I have only seen one species {A. tuhercu-
lafus), brought from the North Seas in one of the late English expeditions to the Arctic Pole. [This species was
published by Sabine under the name of Idotea Baffini, but a second species exists in the north of our coast, which
I have described in detail, with figures, in the first volunie of the Transactions of the Entomological Society, under
the name of Arcturus longicornis.']
The fifth section, Asellota, Latr., is also formed of Isopods, having four very distinct antennae
arranged in two lines ; they are setaceous, and terminated by a multiarticulate filament, two mandibles,
four maxillae, covered in general by a kind of lip formed of the first pair of foot-jaws ; vesicular branchiae
disposed in pairs, and covered by two longitudinal, biarticulated, but free plates : the tail is formed of
a single segment, and without lateral swimmerets, but with two bifid styles, or two very short ap-
pendages in the form of tubercles in the middle of the posterior margin.
Asellus, Geotfroy, has two bifid styles at the extremity of the body, the eyes distinct, the superior antennae as
long as the basal joint of the inferior, and the hooks at the tips of the legs entire. The only species of this genus
is the Idotea aquatica, Fab. {Squilla asellus, De Geer), which is very abundant in fresh and stagnant water. It
crawls slowly, at least, when not alarmed. In the spring it creeps out of the mud in which it had buried itself
during the winter. After impregnation the female carries her eggs, in great numbers, inclosed in a membranous
sac, placed beneath the breast, and opening by a longitudinal slit, in order to allow the young ones to escape.
Oniseoda, Latr. {lanira, Leach) have the eyes contiguous, and the hooks of the tarsi bifid at the tips. {lanira
maculosa, Leach, found on the coast of England amongst the^ea-weeds.) |
Icera, Leach, has only two tubercles at the extremity of the body. (/. albifrons, Leach, also found on the coast |
of Esigland.)
The sixth and last section of the order Isopoda, or the Oniscides, Latr., have also four antennae, but
the intermediate pair is so minute as to be scarcely apparent, and never consists of more than two joints ;
the lateral are setaceous. The tail is composed of six segments, with two or four style-like appendages
at the posterior margin of the hind segment, and destitute of lateral swimmerets : some species are
aquatic, but others are terrestrial. In the latter the anterior plates of the under-side of the tail exhibit
a row of small holes, through which the air penetrates, and is brought into contact with the respiratory
organs, which are inclosed beneath.
Some of these are marine, and have more than nine joints in the antennae, (including the terminal annuli).
Tylos, Latr., appears to have the power of rolling itself into a ball ; the posterior segment is semicircular, and
exactly fits the incision made by the preceding ; the posterior appendages are very minute ; the antennae have only
nine joints.
Ligia, Fab., have the terminal annuli of the antennae very numerous, and the body is terminated by two styles,
divided at the tip into two branches. ,,
Tlie type, Oniscus oceanicus, Linn,, is about an inch long, of a gray colour, with two large yellow patches on the
back. The lateral antennae are about half the length of the body, the terminal filament being composed of thirteen
joints. The terminal styles are as long as the tail itself. It is very common on the coast, clinging to the rocks and
to the parapets of maritime erections. When it is attempted to be seized it immediately folds up its legs,
and drops. Another species, Oniscus hypnorum. Fab., has the terminal division of the antennae 10-jointed, and
the basal part of the anal styles armed with a tooth on the inside.
The other Oniscides are terrestrial, and the lateral antennae have not more than eight joints, of which the propor-
tions towards the extremity gradually diminish, none of them appearing to be divided into annuli.
Philoscia, Latr., has the lateral antennae 8-jointed, and exposed at the base ; the four exterior posterior appen-
dages are nearly equal. They are always found in moist situations. {Oniscus sylvestris. Fab. ; O, muscorum, Cuv.)
Oniscus, proper, Linn., have also 8-jointed lateral antennae, but the base is concealed, and the tw'O outer appen-
dages at the tip of the tail are larger than the two internal. The animals of this and the two following genera
are called wood-lice, St. Anthony’s hogs, &c. They frequent dark and concealed places, such as cellars, caves,
F F 1
CRUSTACEA.
434
holes in walls, under stones, &c. They feed upon decaying vegetable and animal matter, and only come forth I
from their retreat in wet and moist weather. They crawl but slowly, at least, when not alarmed. The eggs are |
inclosed in a pectoral pouch. Tire young, when first hatched, are destitute of one of the thoracic 'i
segments, and consequently of a pair of legs, which they subsequently acquire. They were formerly ^
much used in medicine, but their employment has long been discontinued. (Types, Oniscus mu-
Fab. ; Cloporte ordinaire, Cloporte aselle,J)e Geer.)
Porcellio, Latr., differs from Oniscus in having only seven joints in the lateral antennae. {Oniscus
asellus, Cuv.)
Armadillo, Latr., differs from all the preceding in the posterior appendages of the body not being
exserted. The last segment is triangular. The lateral antennae have only seven joints, the upper sub-
abdominal plates have a row of small apertures. {Oniscus armadillo, Linn. ; O. cinereus, Panzer —
Armadillo pustulatus, Armadillo officinalis, Dumeril, from Italy, a species formerly much
employed by the apothecaries.) !
SECOND GENERAL DIVISION. y
CRUSTACEA ENTOMOSTRACA (Muller).
Under this denomination, formed from the Greek, and signifying insects in a shell,
Otho Frederick Muller comprised the genus Monoculus of Linnteus, to which some of
his Lerntese must also be added. The researches of Muller upon these animals, of ii
which the investigation is rendered the more difficult owing to their general micro- |
scopical size, together with those of Schaffer and the elder Jurine, have excited the
admiration, and merit the thanks, of all naturalists. Other works, but of a more par- ii
tial nature, as those of Ramdohr, Strauss, the younger Hermann, the younger Jurine, |
Adolphe Brongniart, Victor Audouin, and Milne Edwards, [to which we may add the !
more recent memoirs of Dr. Loven in Sweden, of Dr. Johnston and William Baird in ■[
our own country, and of Dana in America] , have greatly extended our acquaintance |
with these animals, especially in respect to their anatomy. M. Strauss far surpasses |i
the others, although forestalled, as well as the elder Jurine, in various important struc- I
tural observations, by Ramdohr, whose memoir upon Monoculus, published in 1805, |
appears to have been unknown to those authors. Fabricius contents himself with*
adopting the genus Limulus of Muller, which he places in his class Kleistagnatha, or *
our Brachyurous Decapo da. All the rest of the Entomostraca he reunites, after*
Linnaeus, in a single genus Monoculus, placed in his class Polygonata, or our Isopo-iis
dous Edriopthalma. ■
All these animals are aquatic, and ordinarily inhabit fresh water. Their legs, of
which the number is variable — reaching, in some species, to beyond a hundred — are
generally fitted only for swimming, and are sometimes ramified or divided, sometimes *
ornamented with long feathered hairs, or composed of plate-like joints. Their nervous*
system is composed of only one or two globules. The heart has also the form of aj'
long vessel. Their branchiae, composed of hairs or threads, either isolated or united,||
so as to form beards, combs, or tufts, form part of the legs, or at least of a certain®
number of them, as well as, occasionally, of the mandibles and upper maxillae. (See J
Cypris.) Hence the origin of the name Branchiopoda, which we applied to these ani- |
mals, and which we at first united into a single order. J
Nearly all the species have a shell of one or two pieces, of very slender consistence,'^*'
and generally nearly membranous and almost diaphanous, or at least they have a large
anterior thoracic segment, often soldered with the head, and appearing to occupy the «
Fig. 15.-
Armadillo
pustulatus.
ENTOMOSTRACA.
435
situation of the shell. The teguments of the body are ordinarily corneous rather than
calcareous, in which respect these animals approach the Insecta and Ai;achnida. In
those which are furnished with ordinary maxillae, the inferior or exterior are always
naked ; all the foot-jaws performing the office of legs, properly so called, none of them
being applied to the mouth. The second maxillae, except in the Phyllopoda, also re-
semble these last-named organs. By Jurine, they are sometimes called hands.
These characters distinguish the masticating Entomostraca from the Malacostraca,
The other Entomostraca, or those which compose our order Poecilopoda, cannot be
confounded with the Malacostraca, being destitute of organs fitted for mastication, or
because the organs which appear to serve as maxillae are not inserted close together
anteriorly, and preceded by an upper lip, as in the preceding Crustacea and the man-
dibulated insects, but merely formed by the coxae of the locomotive organs, which are
armed for this purpose with small spines. The Poecilopoda represent, in this class,
those species which, amongst the Insects, are distinguished by the name of Haustellata.
They are almost exclusively parasitic, and appear to conduct us insensibly to the
Lernaeae ; but the presence of eyes, the power of changing the skin, or even of under-
going a kind of metamorphosis*, with the capability of transporting themselves from
place to place by the help of the legs, appear to us to establish a positive line of de-
marcation between these animals and the parasitic Lern^^. We have consulted, in
respect to these transformations, various learned naturalists who have frequently ob-
served the Lerneese, and none of them have ever observed the change of skin.
The antennae of the Entomostraca vary, both in form and number, considerably ;
and in some species are employed as organs for svv^imming. The eyes are very rarely
fixed upon a footstalk ; and even when this is the case, the peduncle is merely a lateral
prolongation of the head, and is never articulated at its base. Often the eyes are
placed close together, and sometimes even become confluent, so as to exhibit but one
eye. The organs of generation are placed at the base of the tail : it is a mistaken
notion which has been entertained, that the antennae in some males perform this func-
tion. The tailf is never terminated by a fan-shaped swimmeret, and is never furnished
I with the false feet which are seen to exist in the Malacostraca. The eggs are arranged
I in a mass beneath the back [of the shell] , or are exterior, contained in a common en-
j velope, having the appearance of one or two minute bunches of grapes, situated at the
base of the tail. It appears that they are able to remain for a great length of time in a
! dry state, without losing their properties. It is not until after the third moulting that
these animals become adult, and capable of reproduction ; and it has been observed, in
1 respect of some of them, that a single copulation is sufficient to fecundate many suc-
ij; ceeding generations.
[By referring to pages 409 and 410, the distributions into orders, &c. of the Ento-
mostraca, as proposed by Latreille, Milne Edwards, &c., will be perceived to vary
: somewhat inter se. The question as to the rank of the different groups, subsequently
, described either as orders or minor divisions, cannot be decided until naturalists are
agreed as to the relative importance of the organs upon the variations of which these
different classifications have been proposed. The following is of course that of the
I * The young of the Daphnise, and of some allied subgenera, such,
I especially, as Cypris and Cythere, do not differ, or but very slightly
]j from their parents in other respects than that of size, even at the
i period of bursting from the eggs. Those, however, of Cyclops, the
; Phyliopoda, and Argulus, are subject, in their earlier life, to evident
changes, either in the form of the body or the number of legs. These
organs also undergo changes in some species ■which entirely alter
their uses.
t With the exception of the Phyllopoda, the posterior legs are tho-
racic, or are foot-jaws. (Cypris.)
F F 2
CRUSTACEA.
436
Kegne Animal, although Latreille himself, as stated in p. 410, in his more recent work,
had raised some of those groups, subsequently described, to the rank of orders.]
THE FIRST ORDER OF ENTOMOSTRACA,—
{The Sixth of the Class Crustacea), —
BRANCHIOPODA,-
Has, for its characters, a mouth composed of an upper lip, two mandibles, a tongue,
and one or two pairs of maxillae ; and the branchiae, or the first of these organs when
there are many, always anterior. I
These Crustacea are always wandering about, generally covered by a shell in the
form of a shield, or bivalve case, and provided with two or four antennae. The legs, I
except in a few, are only fitted for swimming : they are variable in their numbers, there
being only six in some, but in others there are from twenty to forty-two, or even more
than a hundred. Many exhibit only one eye.
These Crustacea being for the most part microscopical, it will be perceived that the
application of one of the characters of which we have made use — namely, that of the **
presence or absence of mandibular palpi — will here present nearly insurmountable dif-
ficulties.* The form, and the number of the legs and eyes, the shell and the antennae,
will furnish characters of more ready application, and capable of being examined by
every inquirer.
The order of Branchiopoda composed, in the methods of De Geer, Fabricius, and
Linnaeus [with the exception of a single species, M. Polyphemus'], the single genus,
Monoculus (Linn.),t —
Which we separate into two principal sections: 1. Lophyropa, divisible into three i
subsections, Carcinoida, Ostracoda, and Cladocera ; and, 2. Phyllopa, divisible into
two subsections, Ceratopthalma and Aspidiphora.
The first section of the Branchiopoda — ih&t of the Lophyropa — is distinguished by
the number of the legs, which never exceeds ten, and of which the joints are cylindrical or •'j
conical, and never entirely lamelliform or foliaceous. The branchiae are few in number, and ;
the majority have only one eye. Many, also, have the mandibles furnished with a palpus. ;«
The antennae are generally four in number, and are used in locomotion.]; I
We divide the Lophyropa into three principal and very natural divisions, and of which the j
two first agree with the preceding Crustacea in their palpigerous mandibles, and some other ^
characters. :
The fii’st division of the Lophyropous Branchiopoda, or that of the Carcinoida, Latr., has the shell
more or less ovoid, or oval, not shutting in two parts in the manner of a bivalve shell, but leaving the I
lower part of the body naked. Their antennae have never the appearance of branching arms. The legs |
are ten in number, and more or less cylindrical, or setaceous. The females in those species whose gesta-ffl
tion has been observed, carry their eggs in two external sacs situated at the base of the tail. Some o^
them have two distinct eyes, and form a first subdivision. H
Those species which have the thorax entirely covered by the shell, with the eyes large, and the inter^
mediate antenme terminated by two filaments, compose the two following genera.
* We nevertheless arrange, at the head, all those Branchiopoda t Strauss appears to attribute this character exclusively to Cyprisj)
which have the mandibles furnished with palpi. They compose the and Cythere ; but from the observations of the elder Jurine a^
two first divisions of the Lophyropa. Ramdohr, it exists also in Cyclops. ^
+ Together with that of Binoculus of Geoffrey. ^ fllj;
BRANCHIOPODA.
437
Fig. 16. — Zoea.
Zoea, Bose, Laving the eyes large, globular, and entirely uncovered, with the thorax cornuted. Z. Pelagica,
Bose, found in the Atlantic Ocean ; Monoculus Taurus of Slabber ; .and probably
the Cancer Germanus of Linnaeus. [These curious creatures, of which Latreille
observed that they had not been sufficiently studied, and at the same time re-
gretted that he had never been able to obtain a specimen, have recently attracted
a great deal of attention, from having been asserted to be merely the larvae of
Decapod Brachyurous Crustacea, such as the common edible Crab, &c., by Dr.
J, V. Thompson, who, in his Zoological Researches, and other memoirs published
in the ditferent scientific periodicals, has given figures of many new species, with-
out, however, gaining a knowledge of the perfect analogy which exists between
the organs of these animals and the Macroura. Having fortunately been enabled
to dissect a very large species of this singular group, I have ascertained that
the supposed legs are merely the two outer pairs of foot-jaws immensely de-
veloped ; the five pairs of true thoracic legs existing beneath the carapax. (See
my memoir, published in the Philosophical Transactions.) M. Milne Edwards
treats of them as Crustaces douteux, and thinks it possible that they may be the
young of some of his Anomourous order. In this state of the question (the change
from a Zoea to a Crab never having been observed, although the genera Mega-
lopus and Macropa of Latreille are affirmed to be the intermediate stage), all that
can with certainty be arrived at is, that Zoea is a Malacostracous animal, be-
longing to the order Decapoda, and that it must consequently be removed from
the Entomostraca.]
Nebalia, Leach, has the eyes flattened, and in part covered by a triangular channelled scale. The legs are
furcate ; and the appendages at the extremity of the body setaceous. N. Herbstii, Leach and Desmarest ; and
N. Geoffroyi, Edwards. The latter is described, in a very detailed manner, by M, Milne Edwards, in the Annales
des Sciences NatureJles, [vol. xiii. pi. 15]. The rostrum in front of the shell is articulated at its base. The eyes
are peduncled : the superior antennae are inserted beneath them, vrith the second joint furnished with an oval
ciliated plate. [The terminal part is 9-annulated : these organs are elbowed, and bent down in front. The in-
ferior antennae are longer, more slender, and equally directed downwards : they consist of four strong basal joints,
and nine long terminal annuli. The shell is oval, and the animal considerably resembles a small short Shrimp,
only the legs are very short, bifid, and inserted far behind. Between them and the mouth, there are, however,
five pairs of minute, lamellose appendages, which probably represent the hinder foot-jaws and the fore-legs. The
abdomen is long, slender, nine-jointed, and terminated by two bifid appendages.]
The Nebalie ventrue of Risso (Journ. Phys., Oct. 1822) probably constitutes a distinct genus in the section of the
Schizopoda. In the Cyclops exiliens of Nnixm, i\\e thorax is divided into several segments, which excludes it
from Nebalia. It also forms a subgenus intermediate between the preceding and following.
Cunia, Edwards, is allied to Condylura, but the superior antennae are rudimental, and consist of a single joint.
The head is distinct from the thorax, which is divided into four segments, of which the first supports the four
fore-legs, and each of the three following another pair. All the legs are natatory, directed forwards, and without
hooks at the tip. The two first pairs are alone bifid. [M. Edwards placed it amongst the Amphipoda. The
Cancer scorpioides of Montague, overlooked by all Crustaceologists, appears to be congenerous. Type, Cima
Audouinii, Edwards.]
Condylura, Latr. The inferior antennae are longer. The anterior sides of the first segment are prolonged and
pointed, forming two scales close together like a beak. Some of the middle feet are furnished, like the Schizo-
pods, with an outer appendage close to the base. The tail is narrow, 7-jointed, the last being long, conical,
and extends between the two slender, styliform, 2-jointed lateral appendages. C. Borbignii, Latr. From the
coast of La Rochelle.*
The other Lophyropa of the first division, and in which the thorax is divided into several segments,
the first being by far the largest, are only furnished with a single eye, situated in the middle of the
forehead between the upper antennse, constituting the genus
Cyclops, Miill., studied by the elder Jurine and Ramdohr. The body is more or less oval, soft, or gelatinous,
divided into two portions ; the one anterior, composed of the head and thorax, and the other posterior, or the tail.
The first segment of the latter, in the female, bears two minute feet, and is not always easily distinguishable
from the thorax. The tail is 6-jointed : the terminal joint forked, and more or less furnished with feather-like
filaments. The anterior part of the body is divided into four segments. The first, being the largest, composes
the head and part of the thorax : it bears the eye, four antennse, two palpigerous mandibles, two maxillae, and four
legs, each divided into two cylindrical stems. Each of the three following segments is furnished with a pair of
feet. The two upper antennae are long and multiarticulate, assisting in locomotion, having nearly the action of
feet. The inferior antennae are much shorter, filiform, and generally four-jointed. By their rapid movements.
Nicothoe, Aud. and Kdw., would belonar to this section if fur-
nished with mandibles and maxillae ; but as it is a parasite, and as I
think I have observed in it the vestiges of a sucker, I have placed it
in the order Poecilopoda. Its legs, and the mode in which it carries its
cgifs, agrees with Cyclops. Pontia, Edwards, appears to be allied to
Cyclops. The head is distinct from the trunk, and terminated by a
rostrum, which is rather acute, and apparently two-jointed. It has
two sessile eyes ; four antennte, the superior [long], setaceous, and
multiarticulate, the inferior leg-like, and two-branched. The thorax
is composed of five segments, and supports five pairs of bifid swim-
ming legs. The abdomen is two-jointed, and terminated by two
spalulated appendages. [Type, P. Savignii, Edw.ards. The .Ano
pherttra minutissinia, Templeton {Trans. Ent. Soc., vol. i. pi. 20), is
probably allied to the above.]
CRUSTACEA.
438
they form a current in the water. In the males, both or one of them are constricted and knotted. The upper an-
tennae were, previous to the researches of Jurine, considered as organs of generation, from the manner in which
they are used during coupling. The females are provided, on each side of the tail, with an oval sac, or external
ovary, filled with eggs, and attached by a very slender peduncle. A single act of impregnation is sufficient for
several successive generations. The female is able to produce as many as ten broods in the course of three
months. At their birth, the young have only four feet ; and the body is rounded, and destitute of a tail. These
individuals were considered by Muller as forming a distinct genus, named Amymone. Some time afterwards
(fifteen days in February and March), they acquire another pair of legs, in which state they constitute Miiller’s
genus Nauplius. After the first moulting, they have the same form and organs as the perfect insect, but the
latter are of smaller size. After two more mouitings, they are able to propagate their species. The majority of
these Crustacea swim back downwards, darting about with great agility, and moving both backwards and for-
wards with equal ease. In the absence of animal matter, they attack vegetable substances.
Cyclops staphylinus — in its shorter antennae, which vary in the number of their Joints, and in the gradual nar-
rowing of the body, as well as in the curved corneous point with which the under-side of the base of the tail is
armed — forms a separate division in the genus. ■
Cyclops castor, and some other species, having the antennse and mandibular palpi divided into two branches, |i
form another division.
The subgenus Calanus of Leach is described as having no inferior antennse ; — but is this statement original?
ITie type of the genus is the Cyclops quadricornis (Monoculus quadricornis, Linn. ; and C. vulgaris, Leach), 1
f which has all the antenna single, and not divided. The body is ovoid, and the tail six-jointed. ,
The colour varies considerably, some individuals being reddish, others whitish or greenish, j
The length is one-fifth of an inch. It is very abundant. I
[W, Baird, Esq., has published a very complete memoir upon this genus in the fourth num- i
ber of the Magazine of Zoology and Botany, giving the bibliographical history, anatomy, and jj
economy of the genus, with a monograph of the British species, in great detail. He has given,
after Jurine, a calculation, whereby it appears, that at the end of one year, a female which j
gives birth to forty young at a time, may become the progenitor of 4,442,189,120 young ! He i
has corrected Latreille’s observations relative to the genera Amymome and Nauplius, the ||
Fig. 17.— Cyclops species of which the former genus was composed consisting of the young of C. minutus in dif- ^
vulgaris, magnified. fgj.gnt states, which never assume the form of Nauplius, whereas the Nauplius is the young of j
C. quadricornis. He considers them to be decidedly carnivorous.] I
[Mr. Templeton has described some beautiful species belonging to this genus, in the first volume of the Trans- \
actions of the Entomological Society, from the Island of Mauritius. One species {C. \_Calanus'] arieiis) is remarkable
for the great length of its superior antennse, which are armed near the tip with two very long recurved setse. The
Cyclops {Anomalocera) Pattersonii, described by the same gentleman in the second volume of the same work, is i
closely allied to Cyclops castor. The males of both species are remarkable for having one of the antennse greatly ■
swollen beyond the middle, the other being simple.]
[Cetochihcs of Vauzeme is a singular genus, differing from Cyclops in having a pair of eyes. They have two very
long, and two very short antennse ; five pairs of short foot-jaws ; five pairs of swimming, bifid, and ciliated legs ; I
and a small, narrow, 5-jointed abdomen. Type, Cetochilus australis (Vauzeme in Ann. Sci. Nat., 1834), a species
found, in inconceivable profusion, beyond 42 of south latitude, in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, giving the sur-
face of the sea a red tint, and serving as the food of the whales.— See Brit. Cyclop. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 796.]
The second general division of the Branchiopoda Lophyropa — that in which the shell is formed
of two valves united by a fleshy hinge, and inclosing the body when in inaction — have only six [or
eight] legs, none of which are terminated by a branching swimmeret, accompanied by a branchial i
plate. The antennse are simple ; they have only one eye ; the mandibles and anterior maxillse are pro- i
vided with a branchial plate ; and the eggs are carried beneath the back. These compose our Ostra-
coDA, or the order Ostrapoda of Strauss, and consist of two subgenera, of which the first, Cy there,
appears to require a more minute examination than has been given to it by Miiller, who is our only
authority, especially since the elaborate researches of Strauss upon the second subgenus, Cypris.
Cythere, Miill., Cytherina, Lam., has, according to Muller, eight simple legs terminating in a point, and two
antennse, also simple, setaceous, 5 or 6-jointed, with hairs scattered upon them. The species are found in
salt and brackish water, near the shores of the sea, amongst sea-weed and confervse.* [Mr. Baird, who has care-
fully examined the structure of these animals, states that they have decidedly eight feet and two antennae, and
that they are only found in sea water.— of Zool. and Bot., ii. 139.]
Cypris, Miill., has only sixf legs, and their two antennae are terminated by a pencil of [long] hairs. The shell
is in the form of an oval body, compressed at the sides, arched and swollen at the back, or part where the hinge
is placed ; nearly straight, or a little incised and kidney-shaped, on the other side. In front of the hinge, and in
the mid-line of the body, the single eye forms a large black and round spot. The antennas, affixed immedi-
* If these Entomostraca be exclusively marine, it is not surprising + Four, according to Ramdolir, but eight, according to Jurine ; the
that Jurine and other observers, in consequence of their place of resi- I former regarding the posterior pair as organs of the nrale se.v, and the '
dence, should not have spoken of the species of Cythere, confining latter considering the mandibular palpi, and the branchial plate of
tlieir attention to the soft water species. ' the superior ma.xillae, as legs.
13RANCHI0P0DA.
439
Fi(T. IS.— Cypris
vidua, magnified.
ately beneath, are shorter than the body, setaceous, and 8 or 9-jointed ; the terminal joints short, and pencilled
w ith long; hairs, form a kind of oar. The mouth is composed of a ridged labium ; two large dentate and palpi-
gerous mandibles, the basal joint of the palpi being furnished with a 5-branched branchia ;
tw'O pairs of maxillae, the anterior pair also bearing branchial appendages, and the posterior
palpigerous. The office of the lower lip is performed by a compressed sternum. The legs
are 5-jointed ; the two anterior much larger than the others ; affixed beneath the antennae,
and directed forwards. The two following legs are directed backwards, and are situated in the
middle of the under-side of the body; but the posterior pair never appear out of the shell, but
are bent upwards to give support to the ovaries. The body presents no distinct articulation,
and is terminated behind in a tail folded beneath the breast, with two setaceous or conical fila-
ments. The eggs are spherical.
The laying of the eggs and the casting of the skins of these Crustacea are not less numerous than those of
Cyclops and other Entomostraca, and their mode of life is similar. No recent author has been able to detect their
sexual organs. Strauss, indeed, discovered the insertion of a great conical vessel, which he considered to be a
testicle ; but the individuals which he examined were furnished with ovaries, whence it would seem that the
Cyprides are hermaphrodites. He, however, observed, in disproof of this opinion, that the males may probably
exist at a certain period of the year, and that the vessel he describes may belong to the digestive system.
According to Jurine, the antennae are real fins or paddles, the animals having the power of extending the threads
at will, and according to the rapidity with which they are anxious to swim. We also are of opinion that these
filaments may more probably be engaged in respiration, as well as the so-called branchial plates of the jaws. In-
deed, the plates of the maxillae appear to me to be a real, but greatly dilated palpus ; and the other two are ap-
pendages of the mandibular palpi. Jurine has noticed, that, in swimming, they move these antennae, and two
fore-legs, with rapidity, but slowly whilst crawling on water plants. This pair^f legs, together with those of the
penultimate pair, at such times support the body. He supposes that those legs, which he regards as the second
pair, serve to form a current in the water, and to direct it towards the mouth. The two filaments composing the
tail unite, and seem to form but one when pushed out of the shell. It is conjectured that they are used in clean-
ing the interior of the shell. The female lays her eggs in a mass, fixing them, with a glutinous secretion, to
water-plants : this occupation lasts twelve hours. The number of eggs, in the largest species, amounts to twenty-
four. Having isolated a packet of eggs, Jurine observed them hatch, and obtained a second generation without
the intervention of males. A female which had laid its eggs on the 12th April, had, by the 18th of the following
May, changed its skin six times. On the 27th of the same month, it laid a second mass of eggs ; and on the 29th,
two days afterwards, a third. He therefore concluded that the number of moultings, in the infancy of these ani-
mals, has reference to the gradual developement of the individual, which developement can only be effected by a
general separation of the envelope, now become too small to lodge the animal, which has a determinate limit to
its size.*
[Mr. W. Baird has given a valuable and complete memoir upon this genus in the Magazine of Zoology and
Botany, vols. i. and ii., describing a considerable number of new British species. He also states that a fossil
species occurs in the limestone of Burdiehouse Quarry, near Edinburgh.]
The third general division of the Branchiopodous Lophyropa have also only one eye ; and the shell
is bent in two, hut without any dorsal hinge, and is terminated posteriorly in a point. The head is not
covered by the shell, but is inclosed in a kind of shield like a beak. They have two very large arrn-
like branched antennse, always exserted, and serving as oars. The legs, ten in number, are terminated
by a pectinated or digitated fin, and furnished (except the anterior pair) with a branchial plate. The
eggs are situated beneath the back. The body is always terminated by a tail, with two setae at the
tip. The front of the body either terminates in a point, or forms an apparently distinct head, occupied
entirely by a single large eye.
These are our Cladocera, or the Daphnides of Strauss, and compose Jurine’s second family of
Monocidus. From the form of a pair of their antennae, which resemble branches, and serve as oars,
and their power of leaping, the common species has obtained the name of the Arborescent Water-flea.
Latona, Strauss, lias the antennae oar-like, divided into three single-jointed branches. Daplmia setifera, Muller.
Sida, Strauss, approaches the other known genera in respect to the antennae, which are, however, divided only
into two branches, one being 2-jointed and the other 3-jointed. Daplmia cristalUna, Muller.
In these and the other genera, there also exists another pair of antennae, very short, especially in the females,
situated at the anterior and lower extremity of the head, composed of a single joint, with one or two setae at
the tip.
Polyphemus, Muller, has the antennae oar-like, as in Daphnia and Lynceus, divided into two branches, each of
which is 5-jointed. Moreover, the head, very distinct and rounded, and affixed upon a short neck, is almost
entirely occupied by a single eye of large size. The legs are entirely exposed. A single species only is known
(Monocidus 2}sdiculus,\Axm., He Geer; Polyphemus ocwhcAr, Muller; Cephaloculus stagnorum, Lamarck), [about
the size of a flea.] The legs are unlike those of the Monoculi of this division, being composed of a thigh, tibia.
* See Muller; Jurine, Hist, dcs ilunocles, 2nd division ; Uaindohr,
Mon. iv. ; Strauss, Mem. du Mus. d'Hist. Nat., 7. i. ; Desmare.st,
siderations ; and Crust. Fussiles, in whieh latter work is figuretl a
fossil species named “ Cypris fftve,’’ found in great abundance near
the mountain of Gergovia, in tlie departement du Puy-de l)6me, below
Vieby-des-Bains and Cussac.
440
CRUSTACEA.
and two-jointed tarsus. From the front of the head arise two very short, single-jointed antennse. The shell is so
transparent that ail the viscera may be seen through it. The matrix, when tilled with eggs, occupies the major
part of its interior ; but their number, even in the most numerous broods, does not
exceed ten. The eye is the first part of the animal which makes its appearance whilst
in the egg. The abdomen is terminated by a long tail suddenly folded back. The
animal always swims on its back or sides, giving to its antennae and legs quick and
repeated motions, and executing, with the greatest ease, all kinds of evolutions. It is
subject, in its infancy, to the disease alluded to more in detail under Daphnia, named
the Ephippium (la Selle) ; but the Ephippium is always of a determinate shape. Kept
Fig. 19.— Po^phemus stagiiorum, confinement, it soon dies ; and its young do not live long after their first moultings.
Jurine was not able to detect males amongst the individuals he examined, but the
species is rare near Geneva. It is, however, very common in the ditches and lakes of the north of France, [as well
as in England], where it may often be seen in considerable troops.
[Evadne, Loven, mSwed. Trans., 1835, differs from Polyphemus in having the head not detached from the body,
with the antennae (or mandibular palpi, according to Loven) bifid. E. Nordmanni. Found in the Baltic Sea.]
Daphnia, Muller, has the antennae as long as the body, divided into two branches, of which the posterior is
4-jointed, the basal joint being very short ; and the anterior is 3-jointed. The eye forms a small point, and is
not accompanied, except in a few species, by an anterior black dot, mistaken by Muller and Ramdohr for a second
eye in Lynceus. Although of such minute size, the anatomy of these animals has been elaborately investigated
by Schaffer, Ramdohr, Strauss, and the elder Jurine, — Strauss having especially examined their structure, whilst
Jurine closely noticed their habits. The mouth is situated beneath, at the base of the rostrum. We consider as
an elongated clypeus the inferior portion of the head, termed labrum by Strauss, and we apply the name of
labrum to the part which he term! the posterior lobule of the labrum. Beneath this are two very strong mandi-
bles destitute of palpi, and applied against two horizontal maxillae, terminated by three strong corneous spines,
like recurved hooks. Then succeed ten legs, all of which have the second joint vesiculose ; the eight anterior
terminated in a fin-like dilatation, with bearded filaments at its edges, arranged like a crown ; the two anterior
appear more especially organs of prehension. Ramdohr calls them palpi, and Jurine, hands, (as in Cyclops) ; from
the bearded terminal setae, we do not see why they should not be employed in respiration*, although Strauss has
a different opinion. The two hind-feet have a somewhat different form. The abdomen or body is divided into
eight segments, perfectly disengaged within the shell, long, slender, and bent down at the tip, which is termin-
ated by two recurved hooks. The sixth segment has a row of tubercles, and the fourth a kind of tail. The eggs
remain in a large dorsal sac or matrix, between the shell and the body, for some time after they are discharged
from the ovaries. Muller gave the name of Ephippium (la Selle) to a long, dark-coloured spot, which at certain
seasons appears after the moulting of the females at the upper part of the valves of the shell, and which Jurine
attributes to a disease. According to Strauss, this Ephippium consists of two external plates, riveted on the back
by a hinge, and inclosing two oval capsules, each formed of two valves or lateral plates. Each of these capsules
incloses a corneous, greenish egg, similar in other respects to the common eggs, but remaining much longer un-
hatched, and passing the winter in this state, the Ephippium forming a defence at the time of moulting : this
Ephippium and its eggs are cast, and the eggs produce young, agreeing precisely with those of the ordinary eggs.
The eggs, according to Jurine, hatch in summer in two or three days, but they are capable of remaining for a very
long time in a state of desiccation. "Wlien the young, which have attained considerable developement in the ma-
trix of the female, are fit to be discharged, the parent suddenly deflexes the tail and they quit the pouch. [Want
of space prevents us from giving numerous details relative to the gradual developement of the young.] The males
are very different from the females ; the head shorter, the rostrum less extended, the valves of the shell nar-
rower and less gibbose, the antennse much larger. Strauss was unable to detect the sexual organs of this sex. The
two valves of the shell terminate in both sexes in a style, toothed on its under-side, curved near its base, and of a
length equal to that of the valves. At each moulting, however, this style becomes shorter, so that in adult indi-
viduals it forms merely an obtuse point. A single act of impregnation is sufficient for several succeeding (six at
least) generations, as proved by Jurine. About eight days after their birth, the young moult for the first time,
and repeat the operation every five or six days, according to the state of the weather : not only the body and the
valves, but also the branchiae, and the setae of the oars, cast off their epidermis. It is not until the third moult-
ing that they begin to produce young, and at first they only lay a single egg, then two or three, the number
gradually increasing to as many as fifty-eight in one species (D. magna). The following day after laying her
eggs, the female moults, and in the shed teguments the shells of the eggs of her last brood are also found. The
eggs of each brood are alniost exclusively of one sex, it being very rare to find two or three males in a female
brood, 'and vice versa. In five or six broods in the summer, one at least is of males. These Crustacea cease to
breed and to moult at the approach of winter, and are killed by the first frost. The Ephippial eggs which had
been laid in the summer hatch in the following spring, and in a short time the ponds or ditches are again peopled
with an infinity of Daphnice. Many naturalists have attributed the red colour of some of these waters to the
I>resence of myriads of D.pidex ; but Strauss has never proved this fact, the species being generally but slightly
coloured. In the morning and evening, and even in cloudy days, the Daphnise generally station themselves on
the surface, but in the heat of the day they seek the depths of the water. They swim by taking short springs.
* Strauss indeed considered Cypris and Cythere not to be real Bran-
cliiopods, because their feet are not branchial ; but we do not see
why the hairs of the two anterior and of the antenna; may not, as well
as those of the palpi and anterior maxillae, perform the office of
branchiae.
BRANCHIOPODA. 44 1
' varying; according to the length of their oars and the breadth of their shells. According to Strauss, their food con-
sists exclusively of minute particles of vegetable substances, which they meet with in the water, and often of
confervas. They constantly refused the animal matter he gave them. It is by the action of their legs that they pro-
duce a current on the water, which brings their food towards the mouth. The hooks at the tip of the tail are
used in cleaning the branchiae. [Mr. Baird has published a detailed account of the anatomy and habits of this
genus in the second volume of the Magazine of Zoology and Botany.']
The most common species is D. pulex, {Monoculus pulex, Linn. ; Pulex aqiiaticus arbor escens, Swammerdam),
or the arborescent water-flea. It has the setae of its oars plumose ; its valves are notched on the lower edge, and
terminated by a short tail, which is obtuse in the females.
The last subgenus is Lynceus,MvL\\&c (Chilodorus, Leach), distinguished by the oars being shorter than the shell,
and of which the lower part does not form a produced point. All the species have in front of the eye a small
black spot, having the appearance of a second [frontal] eye.
The second section of the BrancMopoda — that of the Phyllopa— is distinguished from
the former by the number of feet, which is at least twenty,* and in some much more con-
siderable ; their joints, or at least the terminal ones, are flattened, lamellar, or foliaceous, and
ciliated. The mandibles are destitute of palpi. They have two eyes, (situated in some at
the extremity of two moveable peduncles,) and some have also an ocellus ; the antennae, of which
there are generally only two, are small, and not fitted for swimming. These Crustacea compose
' two principal groups.
' 1. The Ceratopfhalma, Latr., have at least ten pair of legs, and at the most twenty-two pairs,
jl .
:i without any vesicular appendages at their base, and of which the anterior are never much longer than
‘ the others, nor ramified. The body is inclosed in a shield, formed like a bivalve shell, or naked, with
|| each of the thoracic divisions bearing a pair of exposed feet. The eyes are sometimes sessile, small,
Ij and close together, but more commonly they are situated at the extremity of two moveable peduncles.
i| The eggs are internal or external, and inclosed in a capsule at the base of the tail.
! In some species the eyes are sessile, immoveable, and the body inclosed in a bivalve shell ; the
I ovaries are always internal. They form the genus
I Limnadia of Ad. Brongniart, which so nearly approach the preceding that Hermann placed the only species
j known [to him and Latreille] amongst the Daphnise. The shell is oval, bivalve, and incloses the body, which is
long, linear, and inflected in front. Upon the head are placed, 1, two eyes in a transverse direction, and close to-
ll gether ; 2, four antennae, two much longer than the others, each composed of an 8-jointed peduncle, and two
ij 8-jointed setaceous branches, rather silky, and two others intermediate in situation, small, simple, and dilated at
j the tips; 3, the mouth, situated beneath, consisting of two mandibles, swollen, curved, and truncate at the
Ij inferior extremity, and two foliaceous maxillae. These parts form together a kind of beak, placed beneath. The
body, properly so called, is divided into twenty-three segments, each of which (except the last) bears a pair of
I branchial feet. All these feet are alike, very compressed, bifid, with the outer division simple, ciliated at the
jl outer edge, and the other 4-jointed, and strongly ciliated on the inner edge. The twelve fore pairs of legs are of
:j the same length, and longer than the others, which diminish gradually in length. The eleventh, twelfth, and
f thirteenth pairs have at the base a slender filament, bent upwards into the cavity between the back and the shell,
1 serving as the support for the eggs. The ovaries are internal, and situated at the sides of the intestinal canal.
|j Tine eggs, after being laid, occupy the dorsal cavity above noticed, and are there attached by means of small fila-
I ments adhering to those of the supports. They are at first round and transparent, but afterwards become
i darker, and irregular in shape. All the individuals observed by Brongniart were provided with them, so that the
il males remain unknown (if there are individuals of that sex), and are supposed to appear at a different season from
|i the females. The type, Limnadia Hermanni (A. Brongniart, Daphina gigas, Hermann), has been found in small
i| pools of water in the forest of Fontainebleau.
jj [M. Guerin has published a monograph upon this genus in his Magasin du Zoologie for 1837, describing three
I species.]
\Estheria, Strauss, {Cyzycus, Audouin,) is a genus closely allied to Limnadia, found in the Red Sea. Type, B.
[I Dahalaeensis, Ruppell, in Trans. Mus. SecJtenberg, 1837.]
In the other species of Ceratopthalma, the eyes are placed at the extremities of two long peduncles,
formed by the lateral prolongation, like a nose on each side of the head. The body is naked, not in-
closed in a shield, and annulated throughout its entire length. The females carry their eggs in an
elongated capsule, placed at the base of the tail when present, or at the posterior extremity of the body
and thorax in those which have no tail.
Artemia, Leach, has the body terminated by a tail, the eyes borne at the extremity of very short peduncles ;
the head confluent, with an oval thorax, supporting ten pairs of legs, and terminated by a long and pointed tail.
* These animals represent in this class of Crustacea the M}'riapo(la in that of the Insecta.
442
CRUSTACEA.
ArtemWj salina, {Cancer salinus, Linn., Montague, in Trans. Linn. Soc., 9. pi. 14,) [the Brine Slirimp] is a very
small Crustaceous animal, commonly found in the salt pans at Lymington, in England, when the evaporation
of the water is considerably advanced. [Latreille observed that we were in possession of very imperfect
characters of this little species. More recently, however. Dr. J. V. Thompson has minutely examined its struc-
ture, and has traced the gradual developement of this singular animal, which, when full grown, is about half
an inch in length, with a highly polished surface. “ Nature having con-
structed them with members solely adapted for swimming, they seem
to be in perpetual quest of prey, gliding with an almost even motion
through the water, and moving with equal indilference and facility
on the back, belly, and sides ; the shape of the animal, the undu- S
lating movements of its tins, and the glossy appearance of its coat, 1
renders it an object of a very interesting description.” — Thompson. M. U
V. Audouin has published some additional and equally interesting r
details of it in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1837.] |
Branchipus, Latr. {Chirocephalus, B. Prevost), have the eyes placed L
at the end of elongated peduncles ; the body long, narrow, and com- I
pressed, the head distinct fi’om the thorax, with its organs varying in '■>
Fig. 20.— Artcmiit salina, in different stages. sexes, with two hom-like projections between the eyes ; eleven pairs of
legs, and the tail terminated by two ciliated, elongated plates. In both sexes the body is nearly filiform, composed
of a head separated from the thorax by a kind of neck, of a thorax channelled beneath, and divided, at least on the
upper side, into eleven segments, not including the neck, each of which supports a pair of very compressed bran- '
chial legs, generally composed of three lamellar joints, with the edges fringed with hairs, and of a long tail,
gradually narrowed to the end, composed of nine segments, terminated by two or more less elongated filaments with |
ciliated edges. The under side of the second segment of the tail exhibits the male sexual organs, and in the female
is furnished with an elongated sac, containing the eggs ready to be laid. The head, (of which the organization of '
the different parts, especially those of the mouth, requires a more minute investigation than has been given to it
by Prevost and Schaffer), presents, 1, two facetted eyes, wide apart, at the end of two flexible peduncles, formed by
the lateral prolongation of the head ; 2, two frontal antenna; scarcely shorter than the head, slender, filiform, and
composed of minute articulations ; 3, two produced organs beneath them, either in the form of horns, and
composed of a single joint, or finger-shaped and two-jointed ; 4, a mouth on the under side of the head, composed
of two kinds of toothed mandibles, destitute of palpi, and of some other pieces. We believe that these produced
horns are only appendages (but differently constructed in the males) of the frontal antennse ; the two other
antennae may either be obliterated in the females, and may constitute in the males of C. diaphanus, Prev., the singular
tentacles with teeth, and capable of being rolled up in a coil, which B. Prevost calls the fingers of the hands.
The observations of Schaffer upon the hairs of the feet, prove that they are so many aerial canals, and that the sur-
face of the feet to which they are attached is able to absorb a portion of the air which is in contact with them, in
the form of bubbles.
Chirocephalus diaphanus, B. Prevost, nearly allied to our Branchipus paludosus, if indeed it be distinct, has, on
bursting from the egg, the body divided into two nearly equal and nearly globular masses. The anterior exhibits
a single simple eye, two short antennae, two very large oars, ciliated at the end, two short, slender, 5-jointed legs. At
the end of the first moulting the two composite eyes appear, the body is gradually elongated, and terminates in a
conical, articulated tail, with two filaments at the tip. The subsequent moultings gradually develope the legs,
and the oar-like appendages disappear. The Branchipi are found, often in great numbers, in small puddles of soft,
disturbed water, and often in those formed after heavy rains, especially in autumn and spring. The first frosts
destroy them. Tliey generally swim on the back, and their short, lamellar feet, unable to assist in walking, are
then kept in an undulatory motion, very agreeable to the sight, and by which a current is produced, which, follow-
ing the canal of the breast, bears to the mouth the minute particles of the insect’s food. When it swims it violently
beats the water from right to left with its tail, which gives it sudden jerks. Wlien deprived of a sufficient degree
of moisture, it soon ceases to move. The shell of the eggs is thick and strong, which favours their preservation,
since it appears that desiccation, unless it be too strong, does not alter the germ, and that the young are subse-
quently hatched when a sufficient quantity of rain falls. M. Desmarest has often observed the Branchipus in pud-
dles of fresh rain-water on the summit of the free-stone {gres) of Fontainebleau. The female Chirocephali have
several distinct layings of eggs, after a single impregnation ; each operation lasting several hours, or even an ' I
entire day : each brood consists of from one hundred to four hundred eggs, ten or twelve being discharged at once,
with sufficient force to embed them in the sand. The two horns, situated beneath the superior antenna; in Branchi- '
pus paludosus, are composed, in both sexes, of two joints, the last of which is large and curved in the male, and
very short and conical in the female. In Branchipus stagnalis, the
horns are composed of but one joint, those of the male resembling, in
their form, direction, and teeth, the jaws of the Lucanus Cervus, or Stag
Beetle. [There is an interesting memoir on this animal and its trans-
formation, by Dr. Shaw, in the Linyicean Transactions, vol. i.]
Eulimenc, Latr., is destitute of a tail, the body, which is nearly linear, Fig.2i. — Branchipu.s stagnalis.
terminating immediately behind the thorax and posterior legs : the four
antennae are short, nearly filiform, two being smaller than the others, and nearly resembling palpi, placed at
the anterior extremity of the head. The head is transverse, with two eyes placed upon large cylindrical pedun-
cles, eleven pairs of branchial feet, of which the three anterior joints and the terminal one are smaller, and
i
BRANCIIIOPODA.
443
gradually pointed, and immediately behind them is a terminal, nearly semiglobular joint, replacing a tail, and
I which IS furnished with an elongated tilament, probably an oviduct. I have obsei*ved near the middle of the
fifth and four following pairs of feet a g^lobose body, probably analogous to the vesicles which these organs present
in Apus. The only species, albida, Latr., is very small, and of a whitish colour. It is found in the River of Nice.
2. The Aspidiphora, Latr., [or second principal group of the Phyllopodous BrancMopoda] have sixty
pairs of legs, all of which are furnished on the outside, near the base, with a large oval vesicle, and of
which the two anterior, much larger than the rest, and ramose, resemble antennae. A large shell covers
the major part of the upper side of the body, almost entirely disengaged, (shield-like,) posteriorly emar-
ginate, and liearing anteriorly, in a confined space, three simple sessile eyes, of which the two anterior
are larger and lunular ; and two bivalve capsules containing the eggs, annexed to the eleventh pair of
feet. Such are the characters of the genus
Apus, Scop., (forming part of the genus Binociilus, Geoffrey, and Limulus, Mull.).— The body, including the
shell, is oval, broader, and rounded in front, and narrowed behind, forming a tail ; but if we remove the shell, it is
nearly cylindrical, convex above, concave and divided by a longitudinal canal beneath, terninating in an elongated
cone. It is composed of thirty joints, equally diminishing in size towards the posterior extremity, and which,
with the exception of the seven or eight terminal ones, bear the feet. The ten anterior segments are membranous,
soft, and without spines, presenting on each side a small eminence, or knob, with only a single pair of legs to
each. The others are more solid and horny, with a row of small spines on the outer edge : the last is longer than
the preceding, nearly square, depressed, angular, and terminated by two filaments, or articulated setae. In some
species, composing the genus Lepiclurus, Leach, there is a corneous elliptic plate. If the number of legs be one
hundred and twenty, the terminal segments after the eleventh and tw^elfth must severally bear more than a pair of
legs, (in which respect these animals approach the Myriapoda). The shell, perfectly disengaged beyond its an-
terior attachment, covers the greater part of the body, and thus defends the anterior segments, which are of a
j softer consistence than the others ; it consists of a large, corneous scale, very slender, nearly diaphanous, exhibit-
I ing the superior teguments of the head and thorax united, and forming a large, oval shield, deeply incised at its
posterior extremity. Its upper surface is divided by a transverse line, forming two united arcs, into two areas,
the anterior of a semilunar form, corresponding with the head, and the other with the thorax. Tluj anterior is fur-
nished with the three eyes, and the posterior is carinated dovm the middle. The shell is only fixed to the body at its
anterior extremity, so that the back of the animal may be distinctly seen throughout its whole length. Immedi-
^ ately beneath the frontal disc are placed the antennae and mouth. The antennae are two in number, inserted on
I each side of the mandibles, very short, filiform, and composed of two equal joints. The mouth consists of a square
' labrum ; two strong, corneous mandibles, destitute of palpi, and toothed at the tip ; a tongue, deeply notched ; two
pairs of foliaceous maxillae, the superior spined, and ciliated on the inner edge, and the inferior resembling small
false legs. They are terminated by a slender, elongated joint, prolonged externally at their base into an ear-
shaped appendage, and bearing a kind of palpus. The legs, about one hundred and twenty in number, gradually
diminish in size after the second pair ; they are all compressed, foliaceous, and composed of three joints, not
including the two long filaments at the tip of the two anterior, and tlie two leafiets terminating the following,
which may be regarded as the analogues of a claw, having the two fingers elongated, and converted into antenna3-
like filaments ; upon the posterior edge of this joint is inserted a large branchial membrane, and the following, or
the second, also bears on the same side an oval, vesicular, red sac. The opposite edge of these legs also exhibits
four triangular, ciliated leaflets. The eleventh pair of legs is very remarkable ; the first joint exhibits, behind
the vesicle, two circular valves, applied upon each other, formed of two plates, and inclosing the eggs, which re-
semble small, red grains. All the individuals hitherto examined have exhibited this structure, and it has, there-
fore, been supposed that each has the power of fecundating its own eggs, and that there are no males.
These Crustacea inhabit ditches, lakes, and standing waters, generally in innumerable quantities. Raised thence
by violent hurricanes into the air, they have been observed to fall like rain. They are generally found in spring
and the beginning of summer. Their food principally consists of young Tadpoles. They swim well on the back,
and when they burrow into the sand, they elevate their tails in the water. When first hatched they have only one
eye, four legs, like oars or arms, with whorls of hairs ; the second pair being the largest. The body has no tail,
and the shell only covers the front half of the body. The other organs are gradually developed during the succeeding
moultings.
The species being few in number, it is not necessary to form (as Leach has done) with those
which have a plate between the tails, a distinct genus {Lepidurus, Leach), type, Monoculusapus,
Linn. The ridge of the shield terminates in a small spine posteriorly, which is not the case in
Apus cancriformis {Limulus palustris. Mull.), which latter is also destitute of a plate between the
tail. This forms the type of the restricted genus Apus of Leach, who has also figured another
species, A. Montagui.
[Prosopistoma, Latreille, in Nouv. Mem. du Museum, is composed of a minute species from Mada-
I gascar, exactly resembling a species of Gyrinus in its external appearance. It is figured in Gudrin,
Iconographie Crust., pi. 34, 14. Eurypterus, Dekay, is composed of a very remarkable fossil animal,
allied to Apus and other analogous genera, the head not being distinct from the body, which is
oval, but attenuated behind, with two large dorsal eyes, and four pairs of legs, the fourth being-
very large, and like broad oars. Annals Nat. Hist., New York, 1825, p. 375, t. 29.]
444 CRUSTACEA.
THE SECOND ORDER OF ENTOMOSTRACA,—
{The Seventh and last of the Class Crustacea), —
PCECILOPODA,-
Is distinguished from the preceding by the diversity in the form of the feet, of
which the anterior, of an indeterminate number, are ambulatory, or fitted for pre-
hension, and the others, lamelliform or pinnated, are branchial, and fitted for swim-
ming. But it is especially in the absence of mandibles and maxillae, of the ordinary
form that they are separated from all the other Crustacea ; sometimes these organs
are replaced by the basal joint of the six anterior legs being armed with numerous
minute spines ; sometimes the organs of manducation consist either in an external
siphon in the form of an inarticulated beak, or in some other instrument fit for
suction, but hidden, or very indistinct.
The body is nearly always covered, either entirely or for the most part, by a
shell in the shape of a shield, composed of a single piece in the majority, but of
two parts in some, and always exhibiting two eyes at least when these organs are
distinct. Two of the antennae {Chelicera, Latr.) are in many in form of hooks,
and perform the functions as such. The number of their legs is twelve in the
greater number*, and of ten or twenty- two in nearly all the others. They reside
for the most part upon aquatic animals, and most commonly on fishes.
We divide this Order into two families, [Xyphosura and Siphonostoma,] which, in
my Families Naturelles, composed two separate orders.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF PCECILOPODA,—
Xyphosura, —
Is distinguished from the following by many characters : they have no siphon ; the coxae of the six pairs
of fore-legs are beset with minute teeth, and perform the office of jaws ; the number of legs is twenty-
two ; the ten anterior, with the exception of the two anterior in the males, are terminated by a two-
fingered claw, and inserted, as well as the two following, beneath a large semilunar shield ; the latter
bear the organs of generation, and are in the form of large leaves, as well as the ten following, which
are branchial, and annexed to the under side of a second shield, which is terminated by a very powerful,
horny, moveable style, like a sword. These animals are w^anderers. They compose the genus
Limulus, Fab., of which the species have received the name of [King Crabs], or crabs of the Moluccas. The
nearly rounded body, somewhat elongated and narrowed behind, is divided into two parts, and covered by a solid
shell of two pieces, one for each division of the body ; it is very concave beneath, and exhibits
on its upper side two longitudinal impressions, one on each side, and a central dorsal ridge.
The fore part of the shell, or that which covers the front of the body, is much larger than the
other, and forms a large semilunar shield, having on its upper side two oval eyes, with very
numerous facets, in the form of minute grains, and situated one on each side on the outside of
the longitudinal ridge ; and at the anterior extremity of that of the centre, which extends to the
pieces of the shell, are two small, simple eyes, close together. Within the cavity of the anterior
shell is a small swollen labrum, ridged in the centre, terminated in a point, and above which
are inserted two small antennae, in the form of small didactyle claws, and elbowed in the middle
of their length, at the union of the first and following joint. Immediately beneath are inserted,
close together in pairs, in two lines, twelve legs, of which the ten anterior (the two or four anterior
in the males only excepted) are terminated by a didactyle claw, and of which the basal joint is
Fig. 23.— Limulus advanced interiorly into a lobe armed with numerous minute spine.s, and performs the functions
poiyphemus. maxillae. These legs progressively increase in size, and, with the exception of the fifth
pair, are composed of six joints, including the moveable finger of the claw ; the fifth pair have an additional
joint, and also a curved appendage at the base, directed backwards, and composed of two joints ; their fifth
* Fourteen in some species, according to Leach ; but the pair which ( ferior antennae. The Arguli, which, in respect to their locomotive
he considers to be the anterior pair, appears to me to be the two in- 1 organs, are the most perfect, have only twelve legs.
PCECILOPODA.
445
joint of the leg- being terminated on the inner edge by five small, corneous, narrow, elongated, pointed, and move-
able plates, and the two fingers are moveable, or articulated at the base. The two pieces situated between these
feet, considered by Savigny as a tongue, appear to me to be the two maxillary lobes of these organs, detached and
free. The males are distinguished by the form of the claws of the two or four fore-legs, which are swollen, and
destitute of a moveable finger. The two terminal legs of the anterior shield are united into a large, membranons
leaflet, nearly semicircular, bearing the sexual organs on its posterior face ; the joints are indicated by sutures.
The second piece of the shell is nearly triangular, and notched at its posterior extremity. Its sides are alternately
notched and toothed, and with six spines on each side. In its concave under-side are situated, arranged in pairs,
and in two longitudinal series, ten fin feet-^, nearly resembling the posterior pair of legs, but united merely at the
base, applied upon each other, and bearing on their posterior face the branchiae, which appear to consist of very
numerous fibres.
These Crustacea sometimes attain the length of two feet. They chiefly inhabit tropical seas, and are found near
the shore. They appear to be pecidiar to the East Indies and coast of America. In the latter part of the world
they are called Casserole Fish,— their shells serving, when the legs are removed, to lade water with.
According to M. Leconte, a learned naturalist, they are used for feeding pigs. The natives use the horny style
at the extremity of the body in making their arrows, the point being dangerous. Their eggs are eaten in China.
In walking, their legs are not seen. Fossii species have been found in strata of moderate age.— Knorr, Mon. De-
luge, i. pi. 14 ; Desmarest, Crust. Fossiles, xi. 6, 7.
One species, forming Leach’s genus Trachyplceus, has the four fore-legs, at least in one sex, terminated by a
single finger, — L. heterodactylus, which I have observed figured in Chinese drawings, and which is probably the
Kabutogani or Unkia of the Japanese, by whom it is figured in their primitive Zodiac as the representative of the
constellation Cancer. In the others, the two fore-claws, at most, are only monodactyle. All the ambulatory legs
are didactyle, at least in the females. This division is composed of numerous species ; but which, in consequence
of the slight attention which has been bestowed upon the details of them, from the differences of sex and of age,
together with their peculiar localities, have not been yet characterized with sufficient nicety. Thus, for example,
the young of the c.ommon American Limidus is whitish, with six strong teeth on the central ridge of the base, and
two on each of the lateral ridges ; but in others of greater age, and which are a foot and a half long, the colour is
much darker, and the teeth have nearly disappeared. We may refer the Limulus Cyclops, Fabr., L. Sowerbii,
Leach, L. tridentatus, Leach, and L. albus, Bose, to the former ; and to the latter the Monoculus polyphemus,
Linn., which I had named L. moluccanus, considering it peculiar to the Moluccas. In all its states its tail is
shorter than the body, and denticulated above, which distinguishes it from other species described by myself and
Dr. Leach. — See Nouv. Diet. d’Hisf. Nat., second edition, and Desmarest.
[Van der Hoeven has recently published two memoirs on this genus, in his Magazine of Natural Histoj-y, pub-
lished at Amsterdam.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF PCECILOPODA,—
SiPHONOSTOMA,
Does not exhibit any kind of jaws. A sucker, or siphon — sometimes external, and in the form
of an acute inarticulated beakf, — sometimes concealed, or nearly indistinct — occupies the place
of the mouth. The number of feet never exceeds fourteen. The shell is very slender, and of
a single piece. All these Entomostraca are parasites.
We divide this family into two tribes, [Caligides and LEUNiEiFORMEs].
The first of these tribes — that of the Caligides, Latr. — is characterized by the presence of a shell,
in the form of an oval or semi-lunar shield ; by the number of visible legs, which is always twelve (or
fourteen, if, with Dr. Leach, we regard the limbs, which I consider as inferior antenme, as legs) ; by the
form and size of those of the ten posteriori, which are either slit into many parts, pinnated, or termi-
nated in a swimmeret, and well fitted, in all their stages of existence, for swimming : sometimes they
are leaf-like, broad, and membranous. The sides of the thorax never exhibit any wing-like expansions
directed backwards, and posteriorly inclosing the body. [The tribe is divisible into two subtribes.]
In the first subtribe, the body — exhibiting, on the upper side, several segments — is elongated, and
narrowed posteriorly, terminating in a tail with two filaments, or two other exserted appendages, at the
tip. This extremity of the body is not covered by a division of the superior integuments, in the shape
of a large rounded scale, deeply notched at its posterior extremity. The shell occupies at least the
moiety of the length of the body. This subtribe comprises two genera of Miiller {^Argulus and Caligus'] .
* The two fore-legs may represent the mandibles of the Decapods ;
the four following feet, their maxillae, and the six hind-legs, their
foot-jaws : so that the fin-feet of the second part of the shell would
thence be the representatives of the thoracic legs of the higher
Crustacea.
t The composition of this beak is not well understood. It is evi-
dent, from Jurine’s figure of Argulus foliaceus, that it incloses a
sucker; but is it the same with the others? and what is the nu.mber
of the pieces of which it is composed ? This we are ignorant of,
although I presume that it consists of a labrum, mandibles, and a
tongue, which forms the sheath of the sucker.
t [Latreille says, “ dio’ dernibres paires but he evidently in; ended
only the five posterior pairs, or ten posterior legs.]
446
CRUSTACEA.
Fiff. 24. — Argulus foliaceus. 1,
the animal mag-nified ; 2, one
Argulus, Mull., at first named by me Ozoliis, but not sufficiently described. The younger Jurine subsequently
examined the species which is the type of the genus, with the most scrupulous attention, observing it in all its
stages. The shield is oval, notched posteriorly, covering the body, with the exception
of the posterior extremity of the abdomen, and supporting, on a triangular frontal
space termed the clypeus, two eyes, four very minute antennae, nearly cylindrical,
placed in front — of which the superior, very short and 3-jointed, have, at the base, a
strong, toothless, recurved hook, and of which the inferior are 4-jointed, with a small
tooth ui)on the basal joint. The siphon is directed forwards. The legs are twelve in
number. The two anterior are terminated by a large limb, circularly dilated at the tip,
and striated and toothed at the edge; exhibiting, on the inside, a kind of rosette,
formed by the muscles, and seeming to act as a sucking-cup. Those of the second pair
are fitted for prehension, with the thighs thick and spinose, and the tarsi composed of
oTthe iarge ‘an teHoV' sucking" three joiiits, the last of which is terminated by two hooks. Tlie other feet are termi-
lengtiu natural j^ated by a swimmeret formed of two fingers, or elongated pinnulae, fringed with bearded
threads. The third pair of legs has an extra finger, but which is recurved. The last
pair of legs is attached to that part of the body which is disengaged behind the shield, or the tail. The abdomen —
regarding it as the part of the body extending backwards between the ambulatory feet, the beak, and a tubercle
inclosing the heart— is entirely free from the place of its insertion, without distinct articulations, and terminates
immediately behind the tw o last feet in a kind of tail, in the shape of a rounded, deeply-notched plate, without
hairs at the tip. It is a kind of swimmeret. The transparency of the integuments permits the heart to be per-
ceived. It is situated behind the base of the siphon, lodged in a solid tubercle, semitransparent, and in the fonn
of a single ventricle.
The eggs are oval, and of a milky white colour : they are attached by gluten to stones or other hard substances,
either in one or two rows, to the number of from one to four hundred. The eggs hatch about thirty -five days after
they are deposited ; and the young ones, on bursting forth, are only three-eighths of a line long. Their general
form is similar to that of the adult state, but the locomotive organs exhibit essential differences. Muller described
the animal in this state as a distinct species, named Argulus Charon. Four long oar-like arms, two placed before
and tw o behind the eye, each terminated by a brush of flexible hairs, w hich the animal moves simultaneously, and
by the help of which it swims easily, v/ith a jerking motion, arise from the anterior extremity of the body. The
rudiments of the antennae are also visible. Tlie tw'O large sucker-like feet are replaced by two strong legs elbowed
near the extremity, and terminated by a strong claw, with which the animal affixes itself to fishes. Of the other
legs which appear in the adult state, those only of the second and third pairs, or the two ambulatory feet, and the
two anterior natatory legs, are the only ones which are developed and free : the following are, as it were, lapped up,
and applied against the abdomen. The first moulting, wffiich is effected by means of a rupture of the skin on the
under-side of the body, having taken place, the oar-like limbs disappear, and all the natatory legs become disen-
gaged. Three days afterwards, the second moult takes place, which does not produce any important change ; but
at the third moult, which takes place two days aftei-wards, we begin to perceive the formation of the suckers of the
fore-legs. At the fourth moult, wdiich also takes place at the end of two days, these legs have assumed the sucker
shape, preserving, however, the terminal hook. At the end of six days, there is another change of the skin, w'heu
the organs of generation become apparent ; but there still remains another moult, retarded for six days, before
these animals are fitted for reproduction. Thus the period of their metamorphoses extends to twenty-five days.
They have then, however, attained only half their size. Other moultings, which take place evei*y six or seven days,
are necessary for their aiTiving at their full growth. Jurine asserts that the females do not become parents with-
out the presence of the males. Those which he kept isolated died of a disease which manifested itself in numerous
brown globules, arranged in a semicircle towards the posterior part of the clypeus.
The only species of this genus known [to Latreille] {Argulus foliaceus, Jurine ; Monoculus foliaceus, Linn. ;
Argulus delpliinus, and A. Charon, Muller ; Monoculus Gyrini, Cuvier ; Ozolus Gasterostei, Latr.) attaches itself
to the under-side of the body of the young of Frogs, Sticklebacks, &c., and sucks their blood. Its body is flattened,
of a greenish-yellow colour, and about two lines and a half long. The younger Herman, who has well described
this crustaceous insect in its perfect state, and who cites a manuscript of L. Baldaner, a fisherman of Strasbiirg,
of the date of 1666, where the same animal is figured, says that, in the neighbourhood of that city, it is only found
upon the trout, which it destroys, especially in fish-ponds. It is also found upon the perch, pike, and carp. He
says it has never been found upon the gills of the fish. This animal turns itself about
in the water in a similar manner to the Gyrini. He says its body is divided into five
somewhat indistinct segments along the back.
[A most elaborate memoir, containing the description of Argulus Catostomi, an
American species of this genus, has recently been published by Messrs. Dana and
Herrick, in Silliman’s Journal.']
Caligus, Miill., are destitute of the sucker-like feet. The anterior legs are furnished
with hooks : the others are divided into a greater or less number of pinnulae, or are in
the form of membranous leaflets. The shell leaves a considerable part of the body ex-
posed, which is terminated posteriorly, in the majority, by tw o long filaments, and in
others by appendages in the form of fins or styles. The space between these appendages Yig. 2i.—Caiigus pischius, I.inn.
also often exhibits various other minute appendages. ""g °f ie|l’
The name of fish-lice, under which these animals are collectively known, indicates
that their habits are the same as those of the other Siphonostoma. Many naturalists have considered the tubular
PCECILOPODA.
447
filaments at the extremity of the body as ovaries. I have sometimes found the eggs beneath the posterior branchial
legs, but never in these tubes. In other cases, the external ovaries, thus elongated, are only found in those females
which lay their eggs in holes or deep burrows ; whereas this is not the case with the Caligi. Muller and other
zoologists have observed that these Crustacea trim and agitate these appendages. We believe, together with both
the Jurines, that they sei*ve for respiration, in the same manner as the anal filaments of Apus.*
The species of the restricted subgenus Caligus (including Risculus, Leach) have all the legs free, and attached,
with the exception of the two last, to the anterior part of the body {ceplialothorax, Latr.), covered by the shield;
and some, at least, of the feet are furnished with numerous filaments. The siphon is not distinct. The abdomen
is naked above, and terminated by two long filaments or two styles. Caligus piscinus, Latr. ; C. curtus, Mull. ;
Monoculus piscinus, Linn. The Oniscus lutosus. Slabber, ought perhaps to form a distinct subgenus, on account
of the fin-like appendages. The Binocle a queue en plumet of Geolfroy may be introduced into this subgenus.
[Messrs. Pickering and Dana have published an extremely elaborate description of a species of Caligus (C. ameri-
canus) found upon the Cod, as many as forty or more individuals occasionally occurring on a single fish; but they
are never found within the gill covers. The figures illustrating this memoir have never been surpassed.]
[M. M. Edwards has published a memoir upon this genus in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, especially with
reference to the structure of the mouth].
In all the other subgenera of Caligus, the upper side of the abdomen is imbricated, or this part of the body is as
though it were inclosed in a kind of case, formed by the terminal feet, which resemble membranes, and are turned
upwards.
Pterygopoda, Latr. {Nogatts ? Leach), has the posterior extremity of the body terminated by two fin-like ap-
pendages. It has digitated feet on the under-side of the post-abdomen, or second division of the body, not covered
by the shield, and a distinct beak. Founded upon a single species, found on the shark.
Pandarus, Leach, has two filaments at the posterior extremity of the body. The legs, of the first and fifth pairs,
are unguiculated, and the others digitated. The siphon is not distinct. Pandams bicolor, Leach ; P. Boscii,
Leach, &c. [Two other species of this genus have been described and figured by Dr. Johnston, in the Magazine
of Natural History, vol. viii.]
Dinemoura, Latr., has two long filaments at the anus, but in which the siphon is distinct. Tlie two fore-legs
are unguiculated ; the two following are terminated by two long fingers ; the others are in the form of membranous
leaflets. C. productus, Muller ; M. salmoneus, Fabr.
Anthosoma, Leach, approaches the preceding, as regards the existence of the siphon and the two anal filaments ;
but it recedes from it, as well as the two preceding, in its antennae, of which two are directed forwards, in the
shape of small monodactyle claws, and in the six hind-legs, which are membranous, folded upwards, at the sides,
upon the post-abdomen, which they envelope. The first and third pairs of legs are unguiculated ; and the second
terminated by two short, obtuse fingers. Anthosoma Smithii, Leach.
[Nemesis, Risso, is a curious genus, of a narrow form, with the anal filaments many times longer than the entire
body. — See Pol. Roux, Crust. Mediter., pi. 20.]
In the second subtribe of the Caligides, the body is oval, without exserted anal appendages, in the
form of filaments or fin-like scales. A portion of the superior integuments composes in front of the
body a shield, which does not cover the anterior half, narrower than it, rounded, and notched anteriorly,
dilated and bilobed at the other end, succeeded by three other pieces, or rounded scales, posteriorly
notched, the second of which is the smallest, being in the shape of a reversed heart; the last is the largest.
The four posterior legs are in the form of plates, united in pairs ; those of the first and third pairs are
unguiculated ; the second are bifid at the tip. The siphon is apparent. The eggs are covered by two
large, oval, contiguous, coriaceous pieces, placed beneath the abdomen, and sui-passing it in length.
Such are the characters of the genus
Cecrops, Leach, of which a single species is only known, which has been found fixed to the branchiae of the
tunny and turbot. C. Latreillei, Leach.
The second of the tribes of the Siphonostoma — that of the Lern.<eiformes, Lat., — is composed of
Entomostraca still nearer allied than the preceding to the Lernsese. The number of the legs does not
clearly exceed ten, (but there is perhaps another pair still more minute), and these organs are, for the
most part, very short, and unfitted for swimming. Sometimes the body is nearly vermiform, cylindric,
with the anterior segment simply a little wider, and furnished with two didactyle advanced claws, and
sometimes, in consequence of two lateral expansions in the shape of lobes or wings, directed behind
the thorax, and of the two ovaries, which are posterior, it forms a small quadrilobed mass. This tribe
comprises two genera.
* In the third volume of the Annal. Gener. des Sci. Physiq., p. 343, j closing: a living; foetus, very different from its parent, and of which he
printed at Brussels, tliere is an extract from the observations of Dr. gives a description. From these observations, these filaments would
Surriray, upon the foetus of a species of Caligus (C. which I seem to be exterior oviducts', but is there not some error in this
is very common upon the operculum of Fsoa’ Rclone. This naturalist I statement? I have studied, with great care, these organs in many
states, that, having crushed the anal filaments of the animal, he ob- specimens— preserved, it is true, in spirits of wine— but I have never
served many membranous and transparent eggs discharged, each in- 1 yet discovered any body inclosed in them.
CRUSTACEA.
448
Dichelestium, of the younger Hermann, has the body narrow, elongated, slightly dilated in front, and composed i
of seven segments, the anterior being larger, rhomboidal, and composed of the head and part of the thorax united.
It supports, 1, four short antennae, the lateral ones being filiform, 7-jointed, and the intermediate pair advanced
like short arms, 4-jointed, with the last in the form of a didactyle claw ; 2, a siphon on its under-side, mem-
branous and tubular ; 3, three kinds of mis-shapen palpi (two many-cleft legs ?) on each side, situated on an ele-
vation ; and, 4, four feet fitted for prehension, of which the two anterior are terminated by several unequal- j
sized, toothed hooks, and of which the second pair are terminated by a strong hook. Each of the second and third
segments supports a pair of legs formed of a joint terminated by two kinds of fingers, toothed at the tip. To the
fourth segment is attached a fifth pair of legs (the last), being in the form of simple, oval, and immovable vesicles,
which Hermann regarded as ovaries rather than legs. The hind segment is flattened, and terminated by two minute
vesicles. The eyes are not distinct. j
Z). sturiouis, Hermann, is about seven lines long. The legs are only seen when the animal is re-
versed. It [is found upon the Sturgeon], into the skin of which it insinuates itself deeply. Hermann
found as many as twelve on one fish. Two or three of this number, males probably, were one-third
shorter than the others. They twist themselves about with great rapidity. They aflix themselves
very firmly by their frontal claws. |
Nicothoe, Aud. and M. Edwards, terminates the class of the Crustacea, and is distinguished
by its anomalous form. With the naked eye, it appears to consist only of two large lobes
united together, somewhat like a horse-shoe, inclosing two others ; but, with the microscope, it I
appears that the two large lobes are two large lateral expansions of the thorax, having the appear-
ance of wings, nearly oval, and directed backwards, and that the two others are external ovaries,
like those of the female Cyclops, attached by a small peduncle to the base of the abdomen. The
body consists of, 1, a distinct head, supporting two eyes widely apart ; two short, lateral, seta-
ceous, 11-jointed antennae ; the mouth formed of a circular opening, performing the office of a cup,
accompanied, on each side, by maxilla-shaped appendages (fore-legs) ; 2, a thorax, composed of
four segments, having, on the under-side, five pairs of legs, the two anterior terminated by a strong
kstio^u ’^u^ionrs the eight others composed of a large joint, terminated by two nearly cylindrical, sub-
equal branches, each composed of three joints ; and, 3, an abdomen, pointed behind, composed »
of five joints, the first largest, and supporting the pair of large, oviparous sacs, the last terminated by two long
bristles. The lateral expansions appear to be only the excessive developement of the fourth and last segments of
the thorax.
N. astaci (Aud. and M. Edwaids, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1826) is half a line long, and about three lines wide, including
the thoracic prolongations. It is of a rosy hue, with the lateral expansions yellowish. It attaches itself firmly to
the branchiae of the lobster, burying itself deeply in the filaments of these organs. They occur in small quantities,
and only upon certain individuals. All the specimens hitherto observed were furnished with these ovaries. It is
probable, however, that, previous to becoming fixed, they are able to swim ; and that, at that period, their thoracic
lobes had not acquired their ordinary developement.
[The animals composing the Siphonostoma are, comparatively speaking, the most imperfectly
organized of all the Crustacea; a peculiarity probably resulting, at least to a certain degree,
from their parasitic habits. Latreille, in his introductory observations, had noticed the rela-
tion of some of these animals tvith the Lernaese, but doubted the existence of any actual affinity
between them. Two Prussian naturalists, however. Dr. Von Nordmann, and my friend Bur-
meister, have more recently published some elaborate memoirs upon these animals, which
completely prove their relation : this is especially the case with such genera as Achtheres,
Ergasilus, &c., which have not only articulated bodies and jointed members, but their young
are active animals, very closely resembling the young of many of the more imperfect Bran-
chiopoda. Dr. Burmeister, whose memoirs are published in the 17th volume of the Nova
Acta Cces. Nat. Curios. ^ accordingly unites these together into one group, which he calls
SchmarotzerJcrebse {Siphonostoma, Latr.) divided into five families : 1, Penellina, com-
prising the genera Lerncsa, Lernmocera, Peniculus, and Penella j 2, Lern^oda, genera,
Anchorella, Tracheliastes, Brachiella, Lernceopoda, Achtheres, Basanistes, Condr acanthus, and
Lernanthropus J 3, Ergasilina, genera, Nicothoe, Ergasilus, Bomolochus, Lamproglene,
Anthosoma, Dechelestium, Nemesis j 4, Caligina, genera, Cecrops, Chalimus, Caligus, Pan-
darus, and Dinematura j 5, Argulina, consisting of the single genus Argulus."^^
* [I regret that want of space prevents me from giving an account j two of the great animal subkingdoms. M. Kollar has also published
of the very elaborate details relative to these singular animals, which j the descriptions of some new species in the last number of the (Vienna
are thus rendered doubly interesting from being upon the confines of I Transactions.'^
TRILOBITES.
449
THE TRILOBITES.
ij Near the Limuli and other Entomostraca provided with a great number of legs,
;j should be arranged, in the opinion of M. Alexandre Brongniart, and other natu-
I ralists*, those singular fossil animals, at first confounded together under the common
|| denomination of Entomolitims paradoxus, but now called Trilobites, of which that
;! author has published an excellent monograph, illustrated by good lithographic figures.
I According to this hypothesis, we must admit, as a positive fact, or at least as most
probable, the existence of locomotive organs, although, notwithstanding all research,
' no vestige of them has yet been detected. f Supposing, on the other hand, these fossil
I animals to be destitute of such organs, I have supposed that they are more naturally
; allied to the Oscabrions, or rather that they formed the primitive type (la souche
j primitive) of the articulated animals, being allied, on the one hand, to the last-
; mentioned Mollusca, and on the other, to the above-mentioned Crustacea, as well
I as to Glomeris f, to which certain Trilobites, such as Calymene, make an approach
; as well as to the Oscabrions, because, like them, they are capable of contracting them-
I selves into a ball. Since the publication of the work of M. Brongniart, several natu-
I ralists have not agreed with his opinion, but, on the other hand, have either partially
! or entirely adopted mine : others still hesitate. Be this as it may, these animals
I appear to have been annihilated during the ancient revolutions of our planet.
; With the exception of the heteromorphous genus, Agnostus, the Trilobites have, like
j the Limuli, a large anterior segment, in the form of a shield, nearly semicircular, or
I lunulated, and succeeded by about twelve to twenty-two segments §, all, except
the last, being transverse, and divided by two longitudinal furrows into three rows of
lobes, whence the origin of the name of Trilobites. jj They are named by some
! authors Entomostracites.
The genus Agnostus, Brong., is the only one which has the body either semicircular or kidney-shaped. In
all the other genera it is oval or elliptic.
Calymene, Brong., ditfers from the others by the power it possessed of contracting the body into a ball, in the
same manner as Spharoma, Armadillo, Glomeris, that is, by causing the two extremities to approximate beneath
the breast. The shield, as broad or broader than long, exhibits, as in Asaphus and Ogygia, two eye-like eminences.
The segments do not extend laterally beyond the body, and are united together as far as the extremity ; the body
is terminated posteriorly in a kind of triangular, elongated tail.
* M. E. Deslongchamps, Professor at the University of Caen, the
Count de Rasoumouski, M. Dalraan, and others, have recently pub-
lished various observations upon these fossils. M. V. Audouin, having
adopted the opinion of Brongniart, has opposed, in a memoir upon this
subject, that which I had given, whereby I had approximated them to
the Oscabrions. The most essential difficulty was to prove the ex-
istence of legs, and this he has failed in doing. As to the application
of his theory of the thorax of insects to the Trilobites.it appears to
me the more doubtful, because, in my mode of looking at the subject,
the anterior segments of the abdomen of insects alone represent the
thorax of the decapod Crustacea.
t Mr. [Parkinson] in his Outlines of Oryctology, nevertheless be
lieves that he has detected these organs, and that they are unguicu-
lated. See also the Entomostracite Granuleux of Brongniart, Trilob.,
iii. 6. [See also the loth vol. of the Annales des Sciences Naturelles.]
t (1st edit, of this work, tom. iii. p. 150, 1.) No known Branchiopod
contracts itself into a ball. This character is confined, amongst the
Crustacea, to Typhis, Sphaeroma, Tylos, and Armadillo ; and amongst
the apterous insects, only to Glomeris, which is at the head of its
class, and which leaves a great space between it and the terminal
Crustacea. Calymene evidently approaches, in respect to the con-
tractility, the last-mentioned insects, Typhis and Sphajroma ; but it
does not appear that the hind part of its body is provided with lateral
natatory appendages, a negative character, which separates them from
Sphaeroma, but which approximates them to Armadillo, and especially
to Tylos. The examination of a specimen well preserved has convinced
me that they had, like the Limuli, dorsal eyes, with two elevations, of
which the cornea was granulose or facetted. In respect to their want
of superior antennae, they have a further affinity with Limulus.
§ It appears that in various Trilobites, and particularly in Asaphus,
the body is composed, in addition to the shield, of twelve segments
detached from each other at the sides, and of another composing the
post-abdomen or tail, of a triangular or semilunar form, e.xhibiting
only superficial divisions, which do not cut the sides. In Paradoxides,
on the contrary, its lateral lobes are terminated by acute prolonga-
tions, quite distinct, and of which twenty-two are easily counted. A
species of Trilobite mentioned by Count Rasoumouski (Ann. Sci.
Nat., June, 1826, pi. x.xviii. fig. 11), which he considers should form
a new' genus, is very remarkable in this respect. Its lateral lobes form
very long points. The feet of the puprn of the gnats are in the form
of long flattened plates, without articulations, terminated by filaments,
and folded back on the sides ; they are in a rudimental state, and may
be analogous to the lateral divisions of this species of Trilobite which
is allied to the Paradoxides.
I The Squilla;, various Amphipod and Isopod Crustacea, have also
many of their segments divided into three portions by two impressed,
longitudinal lines, but these lines are nearer to the margin, and do
not form deep channels.
G G
450
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
In Asaphus, Brong’., the ocular tubercles appear to exhibit a covering, or are granular ; the tail-piece ter-
minating the body, is less elongated than in Calymene, and nearly semicircular, or in the shape of a short triangle.*
In Ogygia, Brong., the shield is longer than broad, with the
posterior angles produced into a spine. The ocular promi-
nences exhibit neither covering nor granulations. The body
is elliptic.
These eminences, having the appearance of eyes, either do
not exist, or are not distinctly to be seen, in the genus Para-
doxides, Brong. The segments, or at least the majority of
them, extend laterally beyond the body, and are disengaged
at their extremity on the sides.
Such are the characters of the five genera established by
M. Alex. Brongniart, and which may be arranged into three
groups : 1, the Reniformes (genus Agnostus) ; 2, theContrac-
tiles (g. Calymene) ; 3, the Extensi (g. Asaphus, Ogygia, and
Paradoxides). We refer for a knowledge of the species and
Fig:. 27.— A, Asaphus expansus. b, The same rolled up. respective Strata, to the work of the above-mentioned
celebrated naturalist, who has associated with him, in respect to the fossil Crustacea, M. Desmarest, so often cited
by us in our accounts of fossil and recent Crustacea. Other savans have proposed other genera amongst the 1 rilo-
bites ; but being confined to the most general considerations, I can only cite those which appear in the best
work yet published on these singular fossils.
THE SECOND CLASS OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS FURNISHED WITH
ARTICULATED LEGS,—
ARACHNIDA,—
Is, like the Crustacea, [composed of species] destitute of wings, and which are in a
manner not liable to change their form, not undergoing metamorphosis, but simple
sheddings of the outer covering of the body. Their sexual organs are placed at a
distance from the posterior extremity of the body, being (except in some males) at
the base of the venter. But they differ from these animals as weU as from the true
insects in many respects. As in the latter, the surface of their bodies exhibits orifices
or transverse slits, named stigmata (but which it would be better to name Pneumo-
stomes,— mouth for the air,— or spiracles, that is, respiratory orifices), serving for the
entry of the air, but being few in number, (eight at most, generaUy only two), and
situated only on the under side of the abdomen. Respiration is effected either by
means of aerial branchiae, serving as lungs and inclosed in bags, to which these
spiracles form the entry, or by means of radiating tracheae. The organs of sight con-
sist only of minute simple ocelli, grouped in different positions when there is a
number" of them. The head, generaUy united to the thorax, merely exhibits at
the place of the antennae two articulated pieces, like smaU didactyle or monodactyle
claws, which have been injudiciously compared to the mandibles of insects, and so
named ; but they move in a direction opposed to the motion of mandibles, or up
and down, assisting, nevertheless, in eating, and replaced, in those Arachmda which
have the mouth formed into a siphon or sucker, by two pointed plates, used as
lancets.t A sort of lower Up {laUum, Fab.), or rather tongue, {languette) , formed
* In Asaphus, Brongniart, described and figured by M. E. Deslong-
charaps, the posterior angles of the shield, instead of being directed
backwards, as in the other species, are recurved.
t Chelicerae, or antennal claws, for such they are evidently, as
proved by a comparison of these organs with the intermediate an-
tennse of various Crustacea, especially those of the order Poecilopoda.
Hence it is not quite correct to say that the Arachnida are destitute
of antennae, a negative character, by which they have been defined
by preceding authors.
ARACHNIDA.
451
by a pectoral elongation ; two maxiUse, formed of the basal joint of two small feet
or palpi *, or of an appendage or lobe of the same joint ; a piece concealed beneath
the mandibles, and called the sternal tongue by Savigny in Phalangium copticum,
and which is composed of a beak-like prominence, produced by the union of a very
small epistome or clypeus, terminated by a very small triangular upper lip, and of
a longitudinal lower rib {carene) generally very hairy. These, together with the pieces
called the mandibles, generally constitute, with certain modifications, the mouth of the
majority of the Arachnida. The pharynxf is placed in front of a sternal prominence,
which has been considered as a lip, but which, from its situation immediately in front
of the pharynx, and from being destitute of palpi, is rather a tongue. The legs, like
those of the Insecta, are generally terminated by two small hooks {ungues) and
sometimes by an additional one, and all are annexed to the thorax (or rather
cephalo thorax), which, except in a few species, is only composed of a single piece,
and very often intimately united to the abdomen, which is soft or but weakly
defended in the majority.
With respect to their nervous system, the Arachnida remarkably differ from the
Crustacea and Insecta, for, if we except the Scorpions, which, in consequence of
their articulated tails, have some extra ganglions, the number of these knots does
not exceed three, and even in those animals there are only seven.
The majority of the Arachnida feed upon insects, which they seize alive, or upon
which they fix themselves, and from which they suck their juices. Others live as
parasites upon the bodies of vertebrated animals. There are, however, some which
are found only in flour, cheese, and upon various vegetables. Those which sub-
sist upon other animals often increase in a very great degree. In some species two
of the legs are not developed before a change of skin, and in general it is not
until after the fourth or fifth moulting that these animals become fitted for repro-
duction.!
Those species which have pulmonary sacs§, a heart with very distinct vessels,
and six or eight eyes, compose the first Order, Arachnida pulmonaria.
The others respire by trachese, and do not possess organs of circulation; or, if
they be present, the circulation is not complete. The trachese are divided near their
origin into different ramifications, and do not form, as in the Insects, two canals,
running parallel with the entire length of the body, and receiving the air in its
different parts by numerous breathing pores. Here we can only distinctly perceive
two II at most, situated near the base of the abdomen. The number of the simple
eyes is four at the most. These form our second and last Order, Arachnida
trachearia.
* These organs do not dififer from true legs, except in their tarsi,
composed of a single joint, and generally terminated by a small hook,
similar to the ordinary legs of the Crustacea. These maxillae and
palpi appear to correspond with the palpigerous mandibles of the
decapod Crabs, and to the two fore-legs of Limulus ; the four follow-
ing legs of Phalangium have a basal maxillary appendage, analogous
to the four maxillae of the preceding animals, described by me in my
I monograph of the French Phalangia, years before Savigny’s Memoirs
were published. Hence it is easy to refer all these articulated
animals to one general type, and hence the Arachnida are not a kind
' of Crustaceous animals, destitute of a head, as Savigny says.
I t M. Strauss and myself have only observed one orifice, although
Savigny admits (but, as it seems to me, incorrectly) two.
'! t We have also seen that the Argulus does not attain this power
J until after the sixth moult. ITie same fact is also applicable to
Lepidopterous insects, and probably to others which change their
skins several times — thus. Caterpillars moult four times before
assuming the chrysalis state, which is effected by a fifth moult, and
the insect does not become an imago until after another, which makes
six muultings.
§ Sacs inclosing aerial branchiae, or performing the office of lungs,
and which I distinguish from the latter organs by the name of pneumo-
branchise.
II The Pycnogonides are destitute of spiracles, and thus appear to
approach the terminal Crustacea, such as Dichelestium and other
Entomostraca suctoria. Savigny considers them most allied to the
Ltemodipodous Crustacea, from which, however, they widely differ in
the structure of the mouth, eyes, and legs. We believe them to be-
long rather to the class Arachnida, near to Phalangium, considering
they may respire by the surface of their skin.
G G 2
452
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
[It is to be observed, that these two orders are regarded by various celebrated ||
naturalists as too widely distinguished from each other to remain in the same class, m
This idea was first entertained by Dr. Leach, (Zoological Miscellany, vol. iii. 1817), ||
who restricted the class to the families Scorpionidse, Tarantulidee, Phalangidee, Solpu- |
gidse, and Araneidae, all of which were assumed to breathe by means of pulmonary
sacs, whilst the Trachearia of Latr. (excepting the Pycnogonidae and Phalangidae), J
were formed into a separate class, which he proposed to name Acari. Even Latreille
himself, in his Cours d’Entomologie, thought it necessary to separate the Pycnogonides I
into a distinct order of the class Arachnida, which he named Aporobranchia. |
Messrs. Kirby and Spence (Introd, to Entomology, vol. iii. p. 21) were also of opinion r|
that the Pulmonary and Trachean Arachnida should not be included in the same class ; ;
but Mr. MacLeay (Horce Entomologicce, p. 382) maintained that the diversity of the |
organs of respiration and circulation is not to be depended upon in the classical arrange- ;!
ment of the Annulosa ; and more recently Duges, in his memoir upon the Acari,
adopted a similar view, considering that external form and general coincidence of
characters, such as the presence of eight feet for walking, the absence of organs used 1 1
as antennse and reticulated eyes, and the constant union of the head and thorax, are of ;
more importance than the variations in the organs of respiration and circulation. This, ‘
which I consider as the most philosophical view of the subject, (confirming as it does
my observation on the distribution of the Crustacea proposed by M. Duverney, anfh, ‘ •
p. 410, note,) has been still more recently confirmed by Duges, who has read a memoir, :
before the French Institution, in which the genera Dysdera and Segestria, belonging
to the Spiders, are stated to possess four spiracles, two of which are connected with ,,
pulmonary, and two with trachean organs (see Guerin, Bull. ZooL, No. 2). This |
author has illustrated this structure in the Crochard edition of the Regne Animal,^
livr. 10, Arachnides, pi. 10, f. 4. With the view of adapting the arrangement of Leach f
to that of Latreille, I have proposed the following distribution of the class (Ent. Text I
Book, p. 131). ;!
Section I. Pulmonaria, Latr. [
Order 1. Dimerosomata, Leach, Araneides, Latreille.
Order 2. Polymerosomata, Leach, Pedipalpi, Latreille, {Scorpionida and Phrynida).i
Section II. Trachearia, Latr. |
Order 3. Adelarthrosomata, Westw., composed of the families Solpugida, Cheli-^
feridce, and PhalangiidcB. \
Order 4. Monomer osomata, Leach, restricted to the Acari.
Section III. Aporobranchia, Latr.
Order 5. Podosomata, Leach, consisting of the single family Pycnogonides.
The Baron Walckenaer, in his valuable Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Apt^res,^
(Paris, 1837, 8vo, tom. i.), has divided the Arachnida of LatreiUe, which he names .
Aceres, after Lamarck, (not adopting the views of Latreille that the chelicerse are modi- jj
fied antennae), into six orders 1 . The Araneides (Theraphoses and Araigne'es)
2. Phryneides (Phrynus, Thelyphonus) ; 3. Scorpionides (Scorpio, Chelifer, and
Ohisium) ; 4. Solpugides (Galeodes) ; 5. Phalangides (Phalangium, Siro, Macro^
cheles, Trogulus, and Mites”) \ 6. Acarides (Tromhidium, Hydrachna, Gamasus,
Ixodes, Acarus, Eylais, Bdella, and Orihata). Thus we find that the respiratory organs
PULMONARIA.
453
I have not been adopted as the ground- work of this arrangement, Chelifer and Scorpio
being united together, whilst in the fifth order we find the “ Mites ” (but no definition
is given to enable us to judge what group is thereby intended) separated from the
remainder of the Acarides, which form the sixth order.
In this valuable work the author proposes to treat of all the Apterous insects, exclu-
sive of the Crustacea ; but the first volume only is yet published. Distinguished as
its author has long been for his writings upon the Arachnida * * * §, the present work, form-
j ing a portion of the Suites d Buffon, is very valuable, as containing a mass of mate-
I rials never before published, with the substance of the various works which the author
has already given to the world. Much interesting detail relative to the habits of
these animals is here collected, and a great number of species as well as genera of
Spiders, are described in this volume.]
THE FIRST ORDER OF ARACHNIDA,—
PULMONARIA, (Unogata, Fabricius), —
Possesses, as above stated, a system of circulation well defined, and pulmonary sacs, always
placed beneath the belly, and externally indicated by transverse orifices {stigmata), sometimes
eight in number, four on each side, but sometimes four or only two in number. The number
of simple eyes is six or eight f, whilst in the following order there are not more than four,
often two, sometimes very indistinct or even wanting.
The heart is a great vessel, extending the whole length of the back, and emits branches on
each side, and in front. J The legs are constantly eight in number. The head is also sold-
ered to the thorax, and exhibits at its anterior and upper extremity two claws, (mandibles of
authors, but named chelicera or antennal claws by Latreille,) terminated by two fingers, one
of which is moveable, or by a single one, which forms a moveable hook.§ The mouth is
composed of a labrum, (see the general observations on the class) ; two palpi, sometimes
having the appearance of arms or claw-legs ; two or four maxillae, composed, when there are
only two, of the basal joint of the first pair of legs; and of a tongue of one or two parts. ||
By taking, as the ground of classification, the progressive diminution of the pulmonary sacs
and spiracles, the Scorpions, in which there are eight, (whilst there are only four or two in
other Arachnida,) ought to form the first genus in the class ; and hence our family Pedipalpi, to
which it belongs, ought to precede that of the spinning species {Araneides), which arrange-
ment I adopted in my Families Naturelles, and Dufour also is of a similar opinion. But
these last Arachnida are in some respects isolated, in consequence of their male organs of
generation, the hook of their frontal claws, their abdomen pedunculated, the spinnerets, and
their habits. The Scorpions, moreover, seem to form a natural passage between the pulmonary
Arachnida and the family of the Pseudo-scorpions, the first of the following order. We
therefore commence with the Spinning Arachnida.
* See his Faune Parisienne, lusectes, f. 2 ; Tableau des Araneides,
1805, 8vo ; the Faune Franqaise, and Mimoire sur une Nouvelle
Classification des Araneides, in the Annals of the Entomological
Society of France.
t Tessarops, Rafinesque, is described as having only four eyes, but
1 suppose the lateral ones were overlooked. See Eresus.
t According to M. Marcel de Serres, the blood in the Spiders and
Scorpions is carried first to the respiratory organs, and thence, by
peculiar vessels, to the different parts of the body. But from analogy
with the Crustacea, the circulation is probably effected in the reverse
manner, (See Treviranus on the anatomy of these animals.)
§ These organs consist of a swollen basal joint, of which one of the
superior angles (when the claw is didactyle), is produced, forming
the fixed thumb, and of a second joint, which constitutes the move-
able piece, either as an opposed finger or as a simple hook.
II That of the Scorpions appears to consist of four pieces in the shape
of an elongated, pointed triangle, produced in front ; but the two lateral
ones are evidently formed of the first joint of the two fore-legs, and
may be considered as two maxillae analogous to the two first maxillae.
In Mygale, Scorpio, &c., the palpi are 6-jointed, the first joint of which,
in the other Spiders, is dilated to form the maxillary lobe. This lobe,
even, in some species, is articulated at its base. If tve pass over this
joint, the palpi are only 5-jointed, as ordinarily described. In the
Scorpions the terminal moveable finger of the claws forms, as in the
claws of the Crabs, a sixth joint.
ARACHNIDA.
454
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PULMONARY ARACHNIDA,—
I The Fileuses or Araneides, — !
i 1
Consists of the genus of Spiders, Aranea, Linn., in which the palpi resemble small feet without a claw I
at the tip, terminated at most in the females by a small hook, and of which the terminal joint incloses
or supports, in the males, various appendages, more or less complicated, employed in generation.* The
frontal claws (mandibles of authors) are terminated by a moveable hook, which folds downwards, having
on its under side, near its pointed extremity, a small slit for the emission of venomous fluid secreted
in a gland of the preceding joint. The maxillae are never more than two in number ; the tongue is of i
a single piece, always external, and situated between the maxillae, and more or less square, triangular,
or semicircular. The thorax f has generally a V-like impression, indicating the region of the head,
but consists of a single piece, to which is posteriorly attached, by means of a short peduncle, a moveable i|
and generally soft abdomen. This part of the body is furnished in all the species beneath the anus |
with four or six nipples, fleshy at the tips, cylindrical or conical, articulated, closely approximating |
together, and pierced at the extremity with an infinity of minute orifices J for the discharge of silken
threads of an extreme tenuity, emitted from internal reservoirs. The legs, identical in form, but dif- I
ferent in length, are composed of seven joints, of which the first two form the haunch, the next the
femur, the fourth § and the fifth the tibiae, and the two others the tarsus. The last is ordinarily ter- 1
minated by two ungues, generally toothed beneath, and by a third smaller unguis, not toothed. The
intestinal canal is straight ; the first stomach is composed of several sacs, and about the middle of the I
abdomen is a second stomach-like dilatation. I
The nervous system is composed of a double chord, occupying the mid-line of the body, and of
ganglions, which distribute nerves to the various organs. According to Treviranus, the number of
ganglions is only two. The upper surface of the abdomen exhibits, especially in the smooth, naked
species, various impressed spots, differing in number and situation, which, according to Dufour, are
produced by the attachment of the filiform muscles which traverse the liver. The pulmonary orifices,
two or four in number, are indicated externally by as many yellowish or whitish spots near the base
of the belly, immediately after the segment, which, by means of a fleshy filament, unites the abdomen |
with the thorax. Each pulmonary mass is formed by the superposition of a great number of white, |
triangular, extremely slender plates, which become confluent around the spiracles, of which the num- :J
her is the same as that of the pulmonary sacs. The female Araneides have two ovaries, quite distinct, p
lodged in a kind of capsule formed by the liver. With respect to the simple eyes, Dufour observes,
that they shine in the dark like those of the Cat, and that in effect the Araneides can see both by day j
and night. The abdomen of Spiders is subject to so great an alteration after death that its colours |
and even its form are not recognizable. Dufour has, however, been enabled, by means of very rapid i!
desiccation (of which he has given the process), to remedy this evil in a great degree. |
According to Reaumur, the silk undergoes a first elaboration in two small reservoirs, like drops of j
glass, placed obliquely, one on each side, at the base of six other reservoirs, like intestines, situated at |
the side of each other, and folded up six or seven times, and proceeding to the nipples by a very j
slender filament. It is in these latter vessels that the silk acquires greater strength, and other pro- P
perties which it possesses. On leaving the nipples the silken threads are glutinous ; they require a ij
certain degree of desiccation or evaporation of humidity to fit them for use. But it appears that in j
favourable weather a moment is sufficient, the animals making use of their threads as soon as they are
discharged. The white, silky masses seen floating in the air in spring and autumn, called in France i|
fils de la merge, are certainly produced, as we have proved, by tracing them from their point of de-
parture, from various young Spiders, especially Thomisi and Epeirae. It is also probable that many of
* After all the observations which have been made upon the coupliuyr
of spiders, I am induced to believe these appendagfes are organs of
generation. 1 have in vain sought for any ventral organs, in a large
male Mygale, preserved in spirits. We ought not always to decide
upon analogy— for instance, the female organs of Glomeris and Julus
are situated near the mouth — a fact of which there is no second
example.
t The expi'ession cephalothorax would be more correct, but it is
not in common use. Neither do I use the term corselet, which is
generally used, because it is ordinarily also applied to a portion only
of the thorax, namely, the prothorax, in Coleopterous and Orthopterous
insects.
t These orifices are upon the terminal joint, which is often with-
drawn. If pressed sharply, a number of minute papillae, pierced at the
tip (which are the real spinnerets), are protruded. Some naturalists
are of opinion that the two smalt nipples placed on the middle of the
four others do not supply silken threads.
§ This joint, the first of the tibia, is a kind of rotule.
PULMONARIA.
r
I
I
I
I
:i
j
i
|i
!
455
these Spiders, not having a sufficient supply of silk, merely emit single threads, such, for instance, as
those made by young Lycosse, which are to be seen in great abundance crossing from ridge to ridge
in cultivated lands, when they reflect the sun’s rays. When chemically analyzed, they are found to
exhibit precisely the same characters as the silk of Spiders, and are, therefore, not formed in the air,
as has been conjectured by Lamarck. Gloves and stockings have been made with spiders’ silk ; but
these attempts, not being capable of a general application, and being subject to great difficulties, are
more curious than useful. The material is, however, far more important for the Spiders themselves.
It is by its means that the sedentary species, or those which do not chase after their prey, construct
their webs of a more or less firm texture, capable, in some exotic species, of holding small birds, and
of which the forms and positions vary according to the habits peculiar to each species, and which are so
many snares in which the insects which serve them for food are captured. Scarcely is one caught
by the hooks of the tarsi, than the Spider, sometimes placed in the centre of its web, or in a cell near
one of its angles, darts forth, approaches the insect, uses all its efforts to wound the captive with its
murderous darts, and to discharge into the wound an active poison. When it opposes too strong a
resistance, and a struggle may be dangerous to the Spider, the latter retires for a time, until it has
lost its strength, and becomes still more entangled in its ineffectual efforts to escape, when, there
being no longer cause for alarm, the Spider returns, and endeavours to twirl it round, weaving, at the
same time, around it a strong silken web, in which it is sometimes entirely encased.
Lister states that the Spiders discharge their threads in the same manner as the Porcupine is fabu-
lously asserted to do, with this difference, that the threads of the Spider remain attached to its body.
This fact has been considered impossible. We have, however, seen the threads issue from the nipples
of some Thomisi, extending in a straight line, and forming moveable rays when the animal moves them
circularly. Another use of silk common to all female Spiders is, for the construction of cocoons
destined for the inclosure of the eggs. The contexture and the form of these cocoons are varied ac-
cording to the habits of the various races of Spiders. They are generally spheroid ; some have the
shape of a cap or a flat sphere ; some are placed on a peduncle, and others are terminated by a club.
Other matters, such as earth, leaves, &c., sometimes cover them, or at least partially ; a finer tissue
often envelops the eggs in the inside, where they are loose or agglutinated together, and are more or
less numerous. [Then follows a long. passage relative to the presumed use of the male palpi as organs
of generation, to which a note is added, that they may at least be considered as exciting organs.] From
the experiments of Audebert, it appears that a single fecundation is sufficient for several successive
generations ; but, as in all insects and other analogous classes, the eggs are sterile if the sexes have
not coupled. The first-laid eggs are hatched before the end of the autumn ; the others remain through
the winter unchanged. It has been observed that the females of some species of Lycosae tear open their
egg-cases when the young are ready to come forth, and the young, when first hatched, mount upon the
back of their parent, where they remain for a considerable time. Other female Spiders carry their
cocoons beneath the breast, or station themselves near them to act as guards. The two fore-legs are
not developed in the young of some species until some days after their birth. Others, during this
period, assemble themselves in society, appearing to spin a common envelope. Their colours are at
this period more uniform, so that the inexperienced naturalist is liable to err in multiplying the num-
ber of species. M. Saint Fargeau has observed that these animals possess, as well as the Crabs, the
power of renewing their lost limbs.
I have ascertained that a single bite of a moderate-sized spider will kill a house-fly in a few minutes.
It is further certain that the bite of the great American Spiders, called Crab Spiders, belonging to the
genus My gale, kill small vertebrated animals, such as humming birds, pigeons*, &c., and may even
cause in Man a violent increase of fever ; even the wound of some of our southern [French] species
has proved fatal. Without believing all the fables of Baglivi and others as to the powers of the Tarantula,
we may dread the bite of the larger species of Spiders, especially those of warm climates. Some
species of Sand-wasps (genus Sphex, Linn.) seize upon Spiders, which they wound, and then bury in
burrows, in which they also deposit their eggs, in order that they may serve as food for the young
when hatched. The majority of these animals die in the autumn, but others live through several
seasons, including Mygale, Lycosa, and probably others. Although Pliny asserts that the Phalangiums
* [See the supplemental observations on the genus Mygale, as to the origin of this widely-spread error.]
456
ARACHNIDA.
were not known in Italy, we consider with Mouffet that the Lycosse, and other large Spiders which
do not construct wehs, as well as the Solpugae, are the animals collectively known under the former
name, and of which several species were described hy the ancients. Lister, who first studied the |
Spiders which inhabit Great Britain with great care, laid the base of a natural distribution, of which
those more recently published are mostly only modifications ; our more recent acquaintance with some
species peculiar to warmer climates, such as as the Mason Spider, described by Sauvages, and other
analogous species, the employment of the organs of the mouth, introduced by Fahricius, a more pre-
cise study of the eyes and their relative sizes, and the relative length of the legs, have contributed to
perfect their arrangement. M. Walckenaer has entered into very minute details relative to these
animals, so that it is difficult to detect a species which wiU not enter into the groups which he has
proposed. The presence or absence of a third unguis at the extremity of the tarsi affords another cha-
racter not yet sufficiently generalized, of which, however, Savigny has given a slight sketch (see
Walckenaer, Faun. Frang., note at the end of the genus Attus).
M. L. Dufour, who has published excellent memoirs upon the anatomy of these insects, and
especially studied those of the kingdom of Valencia, where he has discovered many new species, has
paid particular attention to the respiratory organs of the Arachnida, and it is after his remark that we
divide them into those which have four pulmonary sacs, with four external spiracles, two on each side
close together, and those which have only two.*
The first of these groups, which includes the Araneides tTieraphoses of Walckenaer, and some genera,
for which he has employed the collective name of Aranea, compose, in our method, the single genus—
Mygale.
The eyes are always situated at the anterior extremity of the thorax, generally close together. The
chelicerffi and legs are robust. The majority have only four spinnerets f ; the two lateral ones are situ-
ated rather above the two others, and are longer and 3-jointed, not computing the elevation which
forms their footstalk. They form silken tubes for their abode, which they hide either in the earth
into which they have burrowed, or under stones, in the bark of trees, or amongst the leaves.
The TherapJioses of Walckenaer form a first division, characterized by four spinnerets, the two inter-
mediate and inferior generally very short, and the two exterior much exserted ; the hooks of the
chelicerse folded beneath, along the under side, and not along the inner surfaces. Eight eyes in all,
generally arranged upon a small eminence, three on each side, forming a reversed triangle, of which
the two upper ones are close together; the two others in a line between the preceding. The fourth
pair of legs and then the first pair are the longest, the third the shortest.
Those species which have the palpi inserted at the superior extremity of the maxillae so that they appear to he
six-jointed, the basal joint being long and narrow, and acting as the maxilla; the tongue, always small,
and nearly square, and the two fore tibiae of the males with a strong spine beneath at the tip, form the restricted
genus —
Walck,,— some of which have not a transverse series of moveable, corneous spines at the upper
extremity of the chelicerae, above the place of insertion of the terminal hook. The hair on the under-side of
their tarsi forms a thick cushion, generally hiding the ungues. These are the largest species of the family, some
* [The arrangement of the Spiders given by M. Walckenaer, in his last work, above referred to, differs in some respects from that employed
by Latreille. The following is an abstract of his tabular synopsis
Groups arranged ac-
Genera. cording to the na-
ture of their nests.
f Eyes near together . . Mygale, Filistata, &c. 'l-Latebricoles
Eight eyes 4 Ryes apart Missulena
1 Eyes frontal Dysdera, &c Tubicoles .
Six eyes . Ryes frontal and lateral . Uptiotes, &c Cellulicoles
Eyes frontal and lateral, 1 Lycosa, Dolophones, &c. Coureuses .
unequal J Eresus, Attus, &c
Araign^es .
Eight eyes
Voltigeuses
Thomisus, Sparassus, &c. Marcheuses
■Vagabondes
Sedentaires
Nageuses .
Aquatiques.]
^J.110UU6U»9 ojjaittoauo, v.ia'-w.mv.u
I Clubiona, &c Niditeles .
Pholcus, &c. .... . Filiteles .
, , , . , Tegenaria (Aranea), &c. Tapiteles .
Eyes frontal, equal-sized-^ Epeira, &c Orbiteles .
! Linyphia Napiteles .
Argus, &c Retiteles .
t ''Argyroneta Aquiteles .
[Mr M'Leay, in an article upon some new forms of Arachnida, published in the Annals of Natural History, has thrown doubts upon the
general character given of these groups, figuring one species with only two eyes (Nops Guanabaco^) ; another, with
fhree distinct segments, and one pair of the eyes enormously large {Deinopis Lamia) ; another with the head thorax, and abdomen apparently
articulated {Myrmarachne melanocephala) ; and another with the fore-legs modified, in structure short, thickened, and composed of only six
instead of seven joints (Oftoffiops fFiifcftewaeri).] , . .. • • , j
+ I have observed in Atypus the vestiges of two other nipples, being those which in the Spiders of the following division are placed between
the four exterior ones, and are very visible [ but as they are here scarcely apparent, I have not counted them as such.
PULMONARIA.
457
of which, in a state of repose, occupy a circular space of six or seven inches in diameter, and [are asserted] to
seize Humming-birds. They form their nests in the slits of trees, beneath the bark, in the cavities of stones and
rocks, or on the surface of leaves of various vegetables. The cell of the M. avicularia is in the shape of.a tube, nar-
rowed into a point at its posterior extremity. It is composed of a white web of very fine texture, semitransparent,
like muslin. M. Goudot gave me a nest which was about seven or eight inches long, and about two inches broad.
The cocoon of this species had the size and shape of a large nut. Its envelope, formed of the same materials as
the nest, consists of three layers. It appears that the young are there hatched, and undergo their first moulting.
This naturalist informs me that he has obtained as many as a hundred young ones from one cocoon. (See my
memoir on the habits of the Mygale avicularia, Lin., in those of the Mus. d’Hist. Nat., tom. vii. p. 456.) The
body of this species is about an inch and a half long, black, and very hairy, with the tips of the palpi, legs, &c.,
reddish.
South America and the Antilles also furnish other species, which are known to the French colonists under the
name of Spider-Crabs, and of which the bite is reputed very dangerous. There is also a large East Indian species
(M. fasciata, Seba) ; and a species is brought from the Cape of Good Hope, nearly as large as M. avicularia.
Another species {M. valentina) has been discovered in the arid deserts of Moxenta, in Spain, by M. Dufour ; and
another, from the same country, has been described by Walckenaer (ilf. calpeiana). These two species form a
j particular group, having the ungues exposed. (See further our articles on this and the allied genera in the Nouv.
Diction. d’Hist. Nat., second edition.)
The other species of Mygale (forming the genus Cteniza, Latr., in Fam. Nat.) have a transverse row of move-
able corneous spines at the superior extremity of the basal joint of the chelicera. The tarsi are less hairy beneath
I than in the preceding, and their ungues are always exposed. They construct, in dry shelving situations exposed
I to the sun, in the southern parts of Europe, &c., subterranean cylindrical galleries, often two feet deep, and so
tortuous that the traces of them are often lost. They moreover construct, at the entrance, a moveable lid formed
of silk and earth, fixed by a hinge, and which, by its precise size, inclination, and weight, closely shuts the open-
ing, scarcely so as to permit the place of the nest to be distinguished from the neighbouring soil. The inner surface
I of the lid is lined with silk, which enables the animal to hold it down, and prevent its being pulled open. When
taken by violence from its nest, the Mygale is stupid, and offers no resistance. A silken tube, forming the nest,
1 lines the interior of the gallery. M. Dufour is of opinion that the males do not make these burrows, being gene-
I rally found under stones, and appearing less favoured with organs fitted for those works. We presume, with
M. Dufour, that our ilf. carmmans is only the male of ilf. camentaria, Latr., although M. Walckenaer is of a dif-
’ ferent opinion. The latter species, described by Sauvages under the name of the Mason-Spider {Hist, de I’Acad.
der that of the Mining-Spider {Linn. Trans,, vol. ii. 17, 18), is about two-thirds
; southern departments of France, Spain, &c. Another species {M. fodiens,
Walck., ilf. Sauvagesii, Duf., Rossi), is rather larger than the preceding, and
inhabits Tuscany and Corsica. The Museum d’Histoire Naturelle possesses
a block of earth in which four of its nests are arranged in a regular square.
[M. V. Audouin has published a long account of these nests in the Annates de
la Societe Entoniologique de France.] M. Lefebvre has also brought another
distinct species from Sicily, and another is found in Jamaica, (ilf. nidulans),
w'hich, together with its nest, has been figured by Brown in his Natural
Histoi’y of that island, pi. 44, f. 3.
[It is to Madame Merian that we owe the origin of the stoiy that the large
American Mygale attacks and kills small birds ; this lady, in her splendid
work on the insects of Surinam, not only asserting this, but figuring the
Spider in the act of feeding on a Humming-bird which it had dragged off its
nest. Hence originated the idea that the Mygale spun the webs which are
met with in tropical climates, of sufficient force to hold small birds, but
which are the production of a species of Epeira. Mr. MacLeay, in the
first volume of the Transactions of the Zoological Society, has attacked
this lady’s writings with great violence, giving her credit for all that subsequent compilers chose to add
to her account. She, however, did not assert that the Mygale forms these webs, nor is such the case,
for that spider lives in holes under ground, and in all its movements keeps close to the earth, its food
I consiting of luli, subterranean Crickets, and Cockroaches. On a living Humming-bird being placed into its
I hole by Mr. MacLeay, the Spider even quitted it ; whence he disbelieves the existence of any bird-catching Spider ;
[ but M. Moreau de Jonnfes expressly mentions that it climbs the branches of trees to devour the young of Humming-
I birds, &c. Latreille published an elaborate memoir upon this genus in the Nouvelles Annales du Museum, vol. i.,
and more recently M. Walckenaer has described thirty -six species of this genus in his Histoire Naturelle des
Insectes Apteres.
The M. nidulans, which is sufficiently abundant in the West Indian islands, has been figured, together with its nest,
by Mr. Kirby in his Bridgewater Treatise. It is also figured in Griffith’s translation of the Reg?ie Animal, but
regarded as an undescribed species, named N. nitida. Mr. Sells has communicated some curious observations on
I it and its nest to the Entomological Society of London.]
Those species (of Theraphoses) which have the palpi inserted on an inferior dilatation on the outside of the
maxillae, and 5-jointed ; the tongue very small in Atypus, but which becomes longer and advanced between the
maxillae in the following genera, which is its general character ; the last joint of the palpi in both sexes long and
I
ARACHNIDA.
458
narrowed to a point at the tip ; the males not having' a strong joint at the extremity of the anterior tibiae, — constitute
the following genera : —
Atypus, Latr., Oletera, Walck., having a very minute tongue, and the eyes placed close together upon a
tubercle. Type, A. Sulzeri, Latr., Aranea picea, Sulzer, about two-thirds of an inch long, and anteriorly of
a blackish colour. This species burrows, in shelving ground, covered with turf, a cylindrical
cell, curved below, lined with a white silken tube. The egg-case is affixed by silken threads
attached to each end, to the bottom of this tube. It is found in the vicinity of Paris, Bordeaux,
&c. M. Milbert has sent another species, found in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia.
Eriodon, Latr., Missulena, Walck., has the tongue long and narrow, and the eyes dispersed on
the front of the thorax. E. occatorius, Latr., from New Holland.
Dalm., has the eyes placed on a very elevated frontal tubercle; four of these (the
two anterior being very large) occupying the centre; the external spinnerets are very long.
Founded on a species observed by Dalman, in Copal.
Our second and last division of the quadripulmonary Spiders (or genus Mygale) is
characterised, as in Eriodon, by a narrow tongue, prolonged between the maxillae, and
by 5 -jointed palpi, but the hooks of the chelicerse are folded upon their inner face ; they have six
spinnerets ; the first pair of legs, and not the fourth, is the longest, and the third the shortest. Some
have only six eyes. The number of their pulmonary sacs does not allow us to separate this subdivision
from the preceding ; as they lead to Drassus, Clotho, and Segestria, which have only two pulmonary
sacs, the natural order does not permit us to pass from Mygale to the chasing Spiders, Lycosa ;
Mygale, in fact, consists of weaving Spiders, and it is in this division that A. avicularia was originally
placed by Linnaeus.
Dysdera, Latr., has six eyes, arranged in a horse-shoe, with the open part in front ; the chelicerae very robust and
advanced, and the maxillae straight and dilated at the insertion of the palpi. Type, D. erythrina, Latr., Walck.,
[France, England. The Spiders of this and a new allied genus (Oonops) have formed the subject of a memoir,
published by R. Templeton, Esq., in the last volume of the Zoological Jottrnal.'}
Filistata, Latr., has eight eyes, arranged on a small elevation at the anterior extremity of the thorax ; the
chelicerae are small, and the maxillae curved on the outer edge, and forming an arch round the tongue. Type,
T. bicolor, Latr., France. Another species is found at Guadaloupe, differing in having longer legs, &c.
We now pass to those species of Spiders which have only a pair of pulmonary sacs and spiracles.
All the following species possess 5-jointed palpi, inserted on the outer edge of the maxillae, near to the
base, and often in a notch, the tongue produced between them, and either square, triangular, or semi-
circular, and six spinnerets at the anus. The last joint of the palpi of the males is more or less ovoid,
and generally incloses in an excavation a very complicated sexual organ, but in Segestria it is simple.
With the exception of a very few species, entering into the genus Mygale, they compose that of
Aranea, Lin. {Araneus of some authors),
[Which Latreille divides into two principal groups, according to their sedentary or wandering habits.]
The first division comprises the sedentary Spiders, which construct webs, or at least throw out threads
for the capture of their prey, and generally station themselves upon or near their webs as well as near
their eggs. Their eyes are close together, upon the broad part of the forehead, sometimes eight in
number (four or two being in the middle, and the others at the side), or sometimes only six. [This
division comprises two subdivisions, the Rectigrades and the Laterigrades.]
The first of these subdivisions comprises those species which always walk straight forwards, whence
are named Rectigrades : they weave close webs, upon which they remain stationary, with their legs
elevated in repose. Sometimes the two anterior and the two posterior are longest, and sometimes the
four anterior, or the fourth and the third pairs. The eyes are not arranged in a crescent.
We may divide these into three sections [the TuMteles, Inequiteles, and Orhiteles],
The Tubitel^, or Tapestry-weavers, have cylindrical spinnerets, placed close together in a bunch
directed backwards. The legs are robust, with the anterior or posterior pair largest in some, but all the
legs of nearly equal size in the others.
In the two following subgenera, the maxillae form an arch round the tongue, thus approaching Filistata, and
receding from the following. The eyes are always eight in number, arranged four and four in two transverse lines.
Clotho (Walck., Uroctea, Dufour,) a singular genus, with very small chelicerae, capable of being but slightly
extended, without teeth, with very small hooks, the body short, legs long, and scarcely varying in relative length ;
the eyes are close together, and arranged in the same manner as in Mygale, Walck., three on each side, forming
a curve, with the two other larger ones in a line between them ; the maxillae and tongue are proportionably short;
Fig. 29.— Atypus
Sulzeri.
PULMONARIA
459
the former have a slig'ht dilatation on the outside, the latter is trian^lar : the two upper spinnerets are long ; but,
according to L. Dufour, instead of the two intermediate spinnerets there are two comb-shaped valves,— but I have
distinctly seen in a well-preserved specimen six spinnerets, the two superior being the largest, and four others
very small : the anus on each side is furnished with a pencil of retractile hairs, which L. Dufour has called comb-
shaped valves, and which are distinct from the intermediate spinnerets.
The only species, Ur. 5-maculata, Dufour {Cl. Durandi, Latr.), is about half an inch long, of a brown maroon
colour, with the abdomen black, marked wdth five yellowish spots. Found in the south of Europe and Egypt.
Dufour has made some curious observations on its habits. It constructs on the under side of stones, or in crevices
of rocks, a cocoon in the shape of a cap or patella an inch in diameter, its circumference having seven or eight
festoons ; the points alone being fixed to the stone by means of threads, whilst the edges of the festoons are free.
This singular tent is of an admirable texture, the outer surface resembling the finest tafiety, and composed of a
number of folds. Wlien young it only constructs two layers, between which it takes its station. But sub-
sequently, perhaps at each moulting, it adds additional folds, and when the period of reproduction arrives it
weaves another apartment expressly for the reception of the sacs of eggs and young when hatched, of a softer
texture. The inside of its habitation is always singularly clean. The bags in which the eggs are placed are four,
five, or six in number in each habitation ; they are about one-third of an inch in diameter, and of a lenticular form.
It is not until the end of December or January that the eggs are deposited, and they are enveloped in fine down to
guard them from the cold. The edges of the festoons not being fastened together, the insect is able to creep in and
out at will by lifting them up. When the young are able to dispense with the maternal cares, they quit their com-
mon habitation and form separate abodes, and their parent dies in her tent, which is thus the birthplace and tomb
of the Uroctea.
Drassus, Walck., has robust chelicerse, toothed beneath, the maxillae truncated obliquely at the tip, and the
tongue oval, truncated beneath ; the line formed by the four posterior eyes is longer than that of the four anterior
ones, the proportions of the external spinnerets scarcely differ, and they have not the comb-shaped valves which
exist in Clotho ; the fourth and then the fore-pairs of legs are evidently longer than the others. They take their
stations under stones, in holes of walls, the interior of leaves, and form cells of a very white silk. The cocoons of
some are orbicular, flattened, and composed of two valves applied against each other. M. Walckenaer distributed
the species into three families, from the lines of the eyes and form of the maxillae. D. viridissimus, which alone
comprises his third division, forms on the surface of leaves a fine, white, and transparent web, beneath which it
resides. I have often found on one of the surfaces of pear-leaves a similar web, but angular at the edge, like a
tent, similar to that of Clotho, and which is, I presume, formed by this species.
M. Dufour found another species under stones upon the highest Pyrenees {D. segestriformis). It is allied to
ray D. melanogaster, which is probably the B. lucifugus, Walck. A very pretty little species is common near
Paris, running on the ground ; it is nearly cylindrical, with a fulvous thorax, covered with purple down ; the abdo-
men varied with blue, red, and green metallic tints, with golden lines or spots {D. relucens).
In all the other Tubitelas the maxillae do not form an arch round the tongue : they are dilated on the outside,
beneath the base of the palpi.
Segestria, Latr., has only six eyes, four in a curved line, and two behind the two lateral ones. Tlie tongue is
nearly square and oblong; the first and then the second pair of legs are of the greatest length. These Spiders spin
in the holes of walls cylindrical silken threads, where they station themselves, with their fore-legs extended in
front, diverging threads extended around the mouth of the tube, and form a small web for catching insects.
iS. perfida, Latr., Aranea florentina, Rossi, and other species.
The other Tubitelae have eight eyes ; and in consequence of the medium in which they reside, they may be
divided into terrestrial and aquatic species. Although M. Walckenaer has formed the latter into his last family
of the Spiders (that of Nayades), they have so much relation with the other Tubitelae that notwithstanding this
difference in their habits they ought to be united with them. In the terrestrial species the tongue is nearly square,
or but slightly narrowed and truncated at the tip, the maxillae straight or nearly straight, and more or less dilated
at the tip ; the two eyes at each side of the ocular group are separate and not geminated, as in the aquatic
Tubitelae.
CluMona, Latr., differs from the next in the relative length of the external spinnerets, and in the front line of
eyes being nearly straight. They make silken tubes to reside in, which they place under stones, in crevices of
walls, or between leaves. The cocoons are globular (A. holosericea, Lin.; A. atrox, De Geer.)
Aranea, which at first we had named Tegenaria, still retained by M. Walckenaer, and to which we unite his
AgeleuiB and Nyssi, has the two upper spinnerets evidently larger than the others, and the front line of the eyes
forms a curve. They construct in the interior of our habitations, in the angles of walls, upon plants and hedges,
in the ground or under stones, large webs [cobwebs] nearly horizontal, and at the upper part of which is a tube
in which they station themselves, without motion {Aranea domestica, Linn. ; Tegenaria civilis, Walck. ; Ar.
labyrinthica, Linn., &c.)
Argyroneta, Latr. (comprising the Nayades, Walckenaer; or Tubiteles aquatiques, Latr.) has the maxillae inclin-
ing upon the tongue, which is triangular. The two eyes at each lateral extremity of the ocular group are placed
close together on a particular eminence ; the four others form a square. A. aquatica, Linn, [or diving Water-
spider] is blackish-brown, with the abdomen darker coloured, silky, and with four impressed dots on the back.
It resides in standing water, in which it swims with the abdomen encased in a bubble of air, and in v/hich it forms
for its retreat an oval cell filled with air and formed of silk, from which threads proceed to the diflerent adjacent
water-plants in all directions. Here it devours its prey, constructs its egg-case, which it carefully guards, and
passes the winter, having first closed the cell.
! 460
ARACHNIDA.
The second section of the sedentary and rectigrade Spiders — that of the Inequitel^ or Spinning ;
Spiders {Araignees filandieres), has the external spinnerets nearly conical, very slightly exserted, -
convergent, arranged in a rosette, and the legs very slender. The maxillae incline towards the tongue,
and are narrow at the tip, or at least are not dilated. The majority have the first pair of legs, and
then the fourth, the longest ; the abdomen is larger, softer, and more coloured than in the preceding
tribes. They construct webs with irrregular meshes composed of threads, which cross in all directions J
and different surfaces. They whirl threads round their prey, take great pains in the preservation of
their eggs, and do not leave them until they are hatched. They live but a short time.
Scytodes, Latr., has only six eyes, arranged in pairs, and the ungues of the tarsi are inserted upon a supple-
mental joint. S. thoracica, Latr., inhabits the interior of our apartments ; another species, /S. rubescem, M'as
found by Dufour in the mountains of Valencia. It fabricates an irregular tube of slender texture, of a milky-
white, like that of Dysdera erythrina.
Theridion, Walck., has eight eyes thus arranged, four in the middle in a square, the two anterior ones placed on
a protuberance, and two on each side, also placed on an elevation common to both ; the thorax is like a reversed
heart, or nearly triangular. The species are very numerous. Type, Aranea \Z-guttata, Fabr., Rossi.— Found
in Tuscany and the island of Corsica. Its bite is considered very venomous, and even mortal.*— (See the Tableau
and the Histoire des Araneides of Walckenaer ; the Annales des Sci. Natur., and the Ann. des ScL Physiq.)
A. mactans, Fab., an American species, is similarly dreaded. These fears seem more to originate in the black
colour of the animals, which are marked with blood-coloured spots. T. benigivum, Walck., takes up its abode in
bunches of grapes, and thus defends them from the attacks of other insects.
Epirinus, Walck.,— has also eight eyes, but which are placed close together upon a common elevation of the
narrow and subcylindric thorax. E. truncatus, Latr. Pai'is, Italy.
Pholcus, Walck., — has the first and then the second legs the longest ; the eyes, eight in number, are placed upon
a tubercle, and arranged in three groups, one on each side composed of three eyes placed in a triangle, and the two
others in the middle, in a transverse row. Ph. Phalangioides, Walck., has the body long and very narrow, of a
very pale livid colour ; abdomen very soft, and marked above with blackish spots ; legs extremely long and very
slender, with a white ring at the tip of the thighs and tibiae. It is common in houses, where it spins a web
composed of loose threads in the angles of walls. The female gums her eggs into a rounded naked body, which it
bears about in its jaws. Dufour found another species in the crevices of rocks in Valencia. Like the preceding,
it balances itself backwards and forwards upon its very slender feet.
The third section of the sedentary rectigrade Spiders is that of the Orbitel^, or the Araignees
tendeuses of some authors, having the external spinnerets nearly conical, slightly exserted, convergent
and arranged in a rosette, the legs slender, and the maxillse straight or sensibly widened at the tip ; ;
the first pair of legs, and then the second, are always the longest. The eyes are eight in number, and i
thus arranged, — four in the middle in a square and the two others on each side. They resemble the Ine-
quitelse in the size, softness, varied colours of the abdomen, and shortness of their lives ; but they make
their webs with regular meshes, arranged in concentric circles crossed by straight radii extending from
the circumference and meeting in the centre, where the insects remain stationary and in a reversed
position. Some species secrete themselves in a cavity or cell which they construct near the edges of
the net, wdiich is sometimes horizontal and sometimes perpendicular. The eggs are agglutinated
together, very numerous, and inclosed in a large cocoon. The threads which support the web, and
which stretch to about a fifth their length, are used for the divisions of the micrometer, an astronomical
instrument, as wt learn from M. Arago.
Linyphia, Latr., has four of the eyes in the middle, forming a trapezium widest behind ; the two hinder eyes
being larger than the rest, and the four others, arranged in two pairs, one on each side and in an oblique direction.
Tlie maxillae are dilated at the tip. L. triangularis, Walck. ; Aranea montana, Linn., &c. They construct upon
various shrubs an horizontal slender web, attached by irregular threads in many points ; this web is thus a
melange of those of the Inequitelce and Orbitelie. Tlie insect stations itself on the under side in a transverse
position.
Uloborus, Latr., has the four posterior eyes placed at equal distances in a straight line, and the two lateral ones ;
of the front line nearer the front edge of the thorax than the two intermediate ones. The maxillae widen from
near the base, and are spatulated at the tip ; the tarsi of the three hind pairs of legs are terminated by a single j
unguis. The body is long and subcylindrical. When stationed in the middle of their web, they stretch their four
fore-legs forward in a straight line, and their two hind ones in an opposite direction, the third pair being laterally
extended. They make webs like the other Orbitel®, but looser and horizontally. The cocoon is narrow, long,
angular at the sides, and suspended vertically by one end to a net ; the other end is produced into two points, as
stated to me by M. Dufour. U. Walckenaer ius, Lat. j found in the woods of the environs of Bordeaux, and other
southern departments ; five lines long.
* This species is the type of Wiilckeiiaer’s genus Latrodectes, founded upon supposed differences in the relative length of the legs.
PULMONARIA.
461
Tetragnatha, Latr., has the eyes arrang'ed, four and four, in two lines nearly parallel, and separated by
nearly equal intervals ; the maxillae long, narrow, and dilated only at the upper end, and the chelicerae are very
long, especially in the males : the web is vertical — T. extensa, Walck., Linn.
Epeira, Walck., has the two eyes on each side close together, and the four middle ones forming a square. The
maxillae are dilated from the base, and form a rounded palette. E. cucurbitma is the only known species of which
the web is horizontal ; that of all the others is vertical or inclined.
Some species place themselves in the centre with the head downwards ; the others make in its vicinity a small
cell, either arched over, sometimes in the form of a silken tube, and sometimes composed of leaves brought together
and attached by threads, or opened above like a bird’s nest. The webs of some exotic species are composed of
threads sufficiently strong to catch small birds, and even to annoy man when he may happen to come into contact
with them. The egg case is generally globular, but that of some species is of an oval figure truncated at one end, or
resemblino- a veiy short cone. The natives of New Holland (Foj/a^re a la recherche de La Perouse, p. 239) and of some
of the South Sea Islands, when in want of other food, devour a species of Epeira, early allied to E. esuriens, Fabr.
M. Walckenaer mentions sixty-four species of Epeira, generally remarkable for the variety of their colours,
forms, and habits. He has distributed them into various small and very natural families, of which we have endea-
voured to simplify the study in the 2nd edition of the Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., article Epeira. Various important
sexual organs, have been neglected or not sufficiently
Epeira diadema, Lin. — This is of a large size, with the
abdomen marked with a triple cross formed of small
white spots; it is very abundant in autumn. The eggs
[which the parent deposits at the commencement of the
cold weather, in angles of the ceilings of rooms, passages,
&c. near gardens, enveloping them with a loose white
silken web] are hatched in the spring of the following
year.
E. ventricosa, De Geer, has the abdomen flattened, of a
greyish-brown or obscqre yellowish colour, with a black
band margined with grey down the middle of the back,
and eight or ten impressed dots. It spins its web against
walls or other bodies, and hides itself in a nest of white
silk, which it constructs beneath some prominence, or
in some cavity in the neighbourhood of its web. It
neither works nor feeds except during the night, or when
there is but little day-light.
E. fasciola, Walck., has the thorax covered with a thin silvery pubescence ; the abdomen is of a fine yellow with
black transverse lines. Its cocoon is about an inch long, and resembles a small balloon ; of a grey colour, with
longitudinal black ribs, with one of the extremities truncated, and closed by a flat silken lid. The interior exhibits
a very fine down, which envelopes the eggs. This species is found at the edges of running water, where it spins
a vertical web, of a very regular construction, in the centre of which it stations itself. M. Dufour has given a very
detailed account of this species, and of its habits, {Ann. Sci. Physiq. tom. vi.,) and has for the first time described
the male, [which is exceedingly small, compared with the female.] [The egg cocoon of this species is described
and figured in the Field Naturalises Magazine, vol. ii. p. 57.]
Epeira cucurbitina, Lin., A. senoculata, Fabr., spins its web of small extent in a horizontal position, amongst
the stems and leaves of plants.
Epeira opuntice, Dufour, constantly stations itself amongst the leaves of the agave and opuntia in Catalonia and
Valencia in Spain, where it constructs its net with loose and irregular meshes. Its cocoons are oval and of a whitish
colour, composed of two coats, the interior of which envelopes the eggs.
Amongst the exotic species some are very remarkable. Some of them have the abdomen cased with a very solid
skin, armed points, or horny spines, {A. militaris, spinosa, hexacantha, tetracantha, &c., Fabr. : E. curvicanda,
Vauthier, {Ann. Sci. Nat. tom. i.) has the abdomen dilated behind and armed with two extremely long, curved,
slender spines. These spined species ought to form a distinct subgenus, {Gasteracantha, Latr., in Cours
d’Entomologie].
Other exotic species of Epeira have bundles of hairs upon the legs, {A. pilipes, clavipes, Fabr.) Dr. Leach forms
his genus Nephisa with one of these species, named N. macidata.
We now pass to Spiders, sedentary like the preceding, but which are able to walk sideways, back-
wards, forwards — in fact, in any direction. These form the section of the Laterigrades. The four
fore-legs are always longer than the others ; sometimes the second pair exceeds the first, but some-
times they are equal to them ; the animal stretches them out, throughout their entire length, upon the
surface upon which it is stationed. The chelicerae are generally small, and their hook is folded
transversely, as in the four preceding tribes ; the eyes are always eight in number, often very unequal,
and form, by their union, a segment of a circle or crescent ; the two lateral posterior ones are placed,
further backwards and nearer to the sides of the thorax than the others. The maxillae are in a great
considerations, however, such as the characters of the
studied. The most interesting species are
ARACHNIDA.
462
number inclined towards the tongue. The body is generally depressed, like a Crab, with the abdomen
broad, rounded, or triangular.
These Spiders keep themselves immovably fixed, with the legs stretched out, upon vegetables. They
do not make webs, merely throwing out a few solitary threads in order to catch their prey. The
cocoon is orbicular and flattened ; they hide it between the leaves of plants, of which they bring the
edges into contact, guarding it carefully until the birth of the young.
Micrommata, Latr., Sparassus, Walck.,* has the maxillae straight, parallel, and rounded at the edge, the eyes
arranged into two rows, the posterior row being the longest, and cuiwed behind ; the tongue is semicircular.
M. Smaragdula, Fab., A. viridissima, De G., of a grass-green colour, with the abdomen yellowish-green, with a
darker line. Found common in woods near Paris, where it fastens three or four leaves together into a triangular
pocket, lining the interior with thick silk, placing its cocoon in the middle, which is round and white, and permits
the eggs to be perceived within ; these are not glued together.
M. Argelas (the name of which reminds naturalists of that of one of our most zealous savans, whom I have
held up to their esteem as my deliverer in the revolutionary troubles), is one of our largest [French] species, being
two-thirds of an inch long. This species was discovered near Bordeaux, by the naturalist to whom I have dedi-
cated it. Subsequently, M. Dufour discovered it in the most arid mountains of Valentia, where he observed its
habits. It runs with velocity, extending its legs laterally, its unguicular cushions permitting it to retain its
station on the smoothest surfaces and in every situation. Its cocoon (which it constnicts on the under side of '
pieces of rock) resembles that of Clotho Durandi. It also secretes itself there against inclement weather and its
enemies, and in order to deposit its eggs. This is an oval tent, nearly two inches in diameter, fastened upon the
stones, nearly like marine patellae. It is composed of an outer envelope of yellowish taffety, thin, like the peel of
an onion, but resisting ; and of an inner covering, more pliant, soft, and open at both ends. It is by these j
apertures, furnished with valves, that the animal goes out. The cocoon is globular, placed underneath its abode, j
so that it can cover it, and contains about sixty eggs. ;j
I believe we must also place in this genus the Aranea venatoria, Linn., figured in Sloane’s Jamaica (pi. 225, ;|
fol. 2 ; Nhamdia, 2 ? Pison), and another species from East India, very like the preceding, and which we see ;j
figured upon the drawings and tapestry imported from China. j
Senelops, Dufour, has the maxillae straight, without a lateral notch, and terminating in a point, being obliquely j|
truncate; the tongue is semicircular. The eyes are thus arranged, — six in front, forming a transverse [tortuous] ji
line, and two others, posterior, and situated, one on each side, behind each extremity of the preceding line; the I
legs long, and the second pair the longest, and then the third and fourth, which are longer than the first.
S. omalosoma, Dufour, Valencia, inhabiting the rocks, and running with the quickness of a dart ; also in Syria. I
Other species occur in Senegal, the Cape of Good Hope, and Mauritius.
Philodromus, Walck., has the maxillae inclined upon the tongue, which is longer than broad ; the eyes, at nearly
equal distances apart, form a crescent or semicircle, the lateral ones not being placed upon tubercles or emi- |
nences. The chelicerae are long and cylindrical ; the four or two hind legs do not materially differ in length from |
the preceding. According to M. Walckenaer, these spiders run with rapidity, the legs laterally extended, watch I
for their prey, throw out single threads for its retention, and hide themselves in holes, or amongst the leaves, which
they draw together when they deposit their eggs. i
Some species have the body flat and broad, the abdomen short, dilated behind, with the four middle legs longest. i
Such is Ph. margaritarius, Clerck, which is three lines long, and is very common upon trees, wooden fences, q
walls, &c., where it sits with its feet extended ; when watched it escapes with great rapidity, or falls to the ground |
by dividing the thread by which it was held. Its cocoon is of a fine white, and incloses about a hundred eggs,
which are yellow and loose. It is placed in the crevices of trees or posts exposed to the north, and is very care-
fully guarded.
The other species of Philodromus, which Walckenaer forms into several small groups, have the body, and often •
the chelicerse, proportionably longer. The abdomen is pear-shaped, or oval, and sometimes cylindrical. The i
second pair of legs, and then the first or the fourth, are longest. Ph. rhombicus, Walck. ; Ph. oblongus, Walck., &c.
ThomisuSf Walck., differs from Philodromus in the chelicerae, proportionably shorter and wedge-shaped, and the ;
four posterior legs very evidently shorter than the four anterior. The lateral eyes are often placed on tubercles, |
while those of Philodromus are always sessile. The species of this genus are commonly called Crab-spiders. The
males are very different in their colours from the females, and generally much smaller. i
Some species (all of which are exotic) have the eyes arranged in two transverse, nearly parallel lines, four and 'i
four, the posterior line being the longest. E. Lamarchii, Latr. (allied to Aranea nobilis, Fabr.), &c.
In the others, forming the greatest number, the general outline of the eyes forms a crescent, with the convex
part in front. A. globosa. Fab. ; A. cristata, Clerck ; A. atrea, De Geer, &c, |
Storena, Walck., although imperfectly known, appears to terminate this section, and to lead to Oxyopes (which
is as much allied to the Crab-Spiders as to the Wolf-spiders), and has the maxillae inclined upon the lip, which |
is long and triangular, and nearly as long as them ; the chelicerae, conical ; the two fore-legs and then the second
pair the longest ; the eyes arranged thus— 2, 4, 2.
The second general division of the bipulmonary Spiders, that of the Wanderers {Vagabondes, |
M. Walckenaer places Oils genus in the series of those which are at times wandering and sedentary, such as Attus, Thoniisus, Dtassus, &c.,
and which have only two hooks to the tarsi.
PULMONARIA.
463
thus named in opposition to the former division of the Sedentary species), have the eyes, always eight
in number, extended lengthways along the thorax rather than transversely, or at least the space they
occupy is as long as broad, and which form, by tbeir union, either a curvilinear triangle, or a trunoated
oval, or a square. Two or four of their eyes are often much larger than the others ; the thorax is
broad, and the feet are robust, those of the fourth pair, the two first, or those of the second pair
generally, exceed the others in length. These Spiders do not spin webs, wait for their prey, seize it
running or leap upon it. We divide these into two sections, the Citigrades and the Saltigrades.
The first, that of the Citigrades, comprises the species which are called Wolf-spiders by some
writers. The eyes form, by their arrangement, either a curvilinear or oval triangle, or a square, the
front side of which is much narrower than the breadth of the thorax ; this part of the body is ovoid,
narrowed in front, and with a central longitudinal ridge ; the legs are only fitted for running ; the
maxillae are always straight and rounded at the tip ; the females of most of the species sit upon their
cocoon or carry it about vsdth them, applied against the breast and the base of the belly, or suspended
at the anus. They do not abandon it except in the utmost extremity, and return to hunt for it when
they have no longer cause of alarm. They also tend their young with care for a certain period of time.
Oxyopes, Latr., Sphasus, Walck., have the eyes arranged in four transverse lines, in pairs, the front and hind
ones being shortest, so as to form a kind of oval. The first pair of legs is longest. S. heteropthalmus, Walck. ;
0. variegatus, Latr., &c.
Ctenus, Walck., has the eyes arranged in three transverse lines, gradually becoming broader (2, 4, 2,) and forming
a kind of reversed curvilinear triangle, truncated at the front, or its narrowest part. The tongue is square ; the
fourth and then the first pair of legs are the longest. Established on a Spider, of large size, found at Cayenne.
Bolomedes, Latr., has the eyes arranged in three transverse lines (4, 2, 2), forming a square, rather broader than
long, with the two posterior placed on an eminence ; and which have the second pair of legs as long or longer than
the first pair ; those of the fourth pair are longest. The tongue is square.
Some species have the two lateral eyes of the front line longer than the two middle ones placed between them,
and the abdomen terminated in a point. The females construct, on the top of trees full of leaves, a silken nest, like
a funnel or bell, where they lay their eggs, but when they go out to hunt or are forced to abandon their retreat,
they always carry their cocoon with them, attaching it to their breasts. Clerck says that he saw them leap upon
flies which were flying around them. Ar. mirabilis, Clerck ; A. rufo-fasciata, Fab. &c.
The other species have the four front eyes of equal size, and the abdomen oval and rounded at the tip. They
inhabit the sides of water, running on its surface with surprising quickness, and even entering into it without
being wetted. The females make, amongst the branches of vegetables, large irregular webs, in which they place
their cocoon, which they guard until the young are hatched. Dot. marglnatus, Walck. ; A. fimbriatus, Clerck, &c.
Lycosa, Latr., which have the eyes arranged in a square, as long as or longer than it is broad, with the two
posterior not placed upon an eminence. The first pair of legs is evidently longer than the second, but shorter
than the fourth, which is the longest. The maxillae are obliquely truncate ; the tongue is square, but longer than
broad.
All these Spiders usually live on the ground, where they run with great swiftness. They dwell in holes, which
they have found or formed, lining its inside with silk, and increasing its size as they grow. Some take up their
abode in holes of walls, where they make silken tubes, the outside of which they cover with earth or sand, and in
which they moult and hybernate, having first closed the entrance. The females also therein lay their eggs ; they
carry their egg-case with them when they go out to hunt, and which is attached by threads to the anus. The
young ones fasten themselves, as soon as they are hatched, upon the body of their parent, and there remain
attached until they are sufficiently strong to seek their own food. They are very voracious, and defend the position
of their habitation with great courage.
A species of this genus, the Tarentula, so named from the city of Tarentum, in Italy, in the environs of which it
is common, is very celebrated. In the opinion of the vulgar its venom occasions dangerous wounds, often
followed by death, or by the complaint termed tarentism, which could only be cured by the aid of music and
dancing. Judicious people think it more requisite to combat the terrors of the imagination than the effects of
the venom, for which the medicinal art supplies various remedies. M. Chabrier has published some observations
upon the Tarentula of the South of France {Soc. Acad. Lille, 4 Cahier). The genus is numerous in species, which
have not yet been clearly defined.
L. tarentula {Aranea tarentula, Linn.,) is about a foot long, with the under side of the abdomen red, with a
transverse central black bar.* The Tarentula of the South of France {L. narbonnaise, Walck.) is rather smaller,
with the belly black, with a red margin. L.febrilis, Clerck, an analogous species, occurs near Paris; L. saccata
is much smaller, and is very common near Paris [and London],
Myrmecia, Latr., in Ann. Sci. Nat., tom. iii. p. 27 [as the generic name implies, greatly resembles an Ant]. Hie
legs are long, nearly filiform, the fourth and the first pairs being the longest ; the thorax appears as if divided
into three parts, the anterior of which is much larger than the other two, which are knotted. The abdomen is
* [Several species have been confounded under this name. M. i des Sciences Naturelles, 1833, translated in the Magazine of Natural
Dufour has published an elaborate account of the habits of one of | History, vol. i., new series.]
these, which he regards as the real M. Tarentula, in the Annales i
ARACHNIDA.
464
much shorter than the thorax, and covered half way from the base by a solid epidermis. M. fulva, Brazil. There
also appear to be other species in Georgia, in North America.
[Myrmaraehne, MacLeay, appears only to be a geographical section of Myrmecia, having the head portion of the
cephalothorax more elongated, whereby the posterior eyes are removed wider apart. M. atra of Perty, is precisely
of the same form as Myrmaraehne melanocephala. It is likely to lead to erroneous impressions to assert that
these Spiders prove that the order may include species with additional articulations, as they are only constricted |
in several places, and not articulated.]
The second section of the Wandering Spiders, that of Saltigrades, has the eyes arranged in a large
square, the front row extending the whole breadth of the thorax, which is nearly square, or semi-oval,
flat, or but slightly gibbose above, as broad in front as in any other part, and suddenly deflexed at the
sides. The legs are fitted for running and leaping ; the fore-thighs are often greatly dilated.
One of these insects is very common in summer {Aranea scenica, Linn.) upon walls and windows
exposed to the sun, takes short leaps, stopping suddenly after a few steps, and raising itself on its legs.
When it discerns a fly, or especially a gnat, it approaches it cautiously till within leaping distance,
when it darts upon it, not fearing to take a perpendicular leap, because it always at the same time
suspends itself by a thread, which it winds off as it advances. It also serves to suspend it in the air,
and to mount up again to the spot whence it leaped, or to sustain it whilst the wind carries it from
place to place. Such are the general habits of this section. Many species construct, amongst the
leaves, under stones, &c., sdken nests, in the form of oval sacs, open at each end, into which they
retire in order to take rest, to moult, and to take refuge against the inclemency of the weather. If
menaced with danger they quit their retreats, and run off with great agility. Some species construct,
with the same material, a kind of tent, which serves for the birth-place of their posterity, and in which
the young reside for some time with their parent. Other species, resembling Ants, elevate their fore- |
legs and vibrate them with great rapidity. The males sometimes engage in contests, in which their i
manoeuvres are very singular, but which do not terminate fatally.
Tessarops, Rafinesque, nearly approaches the next, but differs, if there be not some error, in the number of its
eyes, which is only four. (See Annal. Gen. Sci. Physiq., tom. viii.)
Palpimamts, Dufour (in ditto, tom. v.), appears also intermediate between Eresus and Salticus, the eyes being-
arranged as in the former ; the tongue is also triangular and pointed, and the maxillae are dilated and rounded at
the tip, but they are inclined; the terminal joint of the anterior tarsi is inserted laterally, and wants the ungues.
P. gibhus, Dufour, does not leap, but only creeps slowly. It is found under stones in Valencia. M. Lefebvre
brought a new Spider from Sicily, which appears to belong to this genus.
In the two following genera there are always eight eyes, and the maxillae are straight.
Eresus, Walck., has four of the eyes arranged in a small square in front of the thorax, and the other four form-
ing a much larger square at its sides ; the tongue is triangular, and the tarsi terminated by three ungues. '
E. cinnaberinus, Walck., Aranea A^-guttata, Rossi, &c.
Salticus, Latr., Attus, Walckenaer, has four of the eyes in across line in front of the thorax, the two middle ones I
being the largest, and the two others at the sides of the thorax, thus forming a large square open behind ; the
tongue is very obtuse at the tip, and the tarsi have only two terminal ungues. The males of many species are
furnished with very large chelicerae. Some species have the thorax thick, sloping, and very much inclined at the
base. Aranea sanguinolenta, Linn., South of France, and many other species.
The others have the thorax flattened and roof-like at the base, the body being rather oval, and clothed with thick
pubescence, with the legs robust, as in Aranea scenica, Linn., or narrow, elongated, subcylindrical, and naked,
with the legs long and slender, as Aranea formicaria, De Geer.
[Since the second edition of this work many additional genera of Spiders have been published by Mr.
Blackwall, in the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine, from time to time, as well as by
M. Walkenaer, in the work above referred to. The genera Cherses, Arkys, Erigona, and Plectanus,
established by the latter, are extremely singular in their forms. The former of these authors has
devoted much attention to the economy and structural peculiarities of many species of Spiders, his
researches being published in the Transactions of the Linncean Society. M. Hahn also commenced
the publication of an elegant little work, Die Arachniden, since his death continued by M. Koch, in
which a vast number of Spiders are described and figured. M. Perty also described and figured many
Brazilian species in his Delectus of the Articulated Animals of Brazil. A great number of European
species are also figured by Herrick Schaffer, in his continuation of Panzer’s work upon German
insects. M. Lucas, who is attached to the entomological department of the Jardin des Plantes, has
made these insects his particular study, and has communicated some interesting species to Guerin's
Magasin de Zoologie and the Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France.
PULMONARIA.
465
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PULMONARY ARACHNIDA —
The Pedipalpi, —
Possesses very large palpi in the shape of extended arms, terminated by a pincer or claw. The
chelicerae, or external pincers, have two fingers, one of which is moveable. The abdomen is
composed of very distinct segments, without spinnerets at the tip ; and the sexual organs are
placed at the base of the belly. The entire body is clothed in a hard skin. The thorax is
composed of a single piece, and exhibits, near each of its anterior angles, three or two eyelets,
approximating or grouped together ; and near the middle of its anterior extremity, or poste-
riorly, but in the medial line, two other eyelets, also close together. The number of pulmo-
nary sacs is four or eight.
Some (which form the genus Tarantula*, Fabr.) have the abdomen attached to the thorax by a
peduncle, or by a portion of the transverse diameter, without comb-like plates at its base beneath, or a
sting at its extremity. The spiracles, four in number, are situated near the base of the belly, and
covered by a plate. The chelicerse (mandibles of authors) are clawed, or merely terminated by a move-
able hook. The tongue is elongated, very narrow, and hidden. They have only a pair of maxillae,
formed of the basal part of the palpi. All of these have eight eyes, of which three, on each side, near
the anterior angles, are arranged in a triangle ; and two near the middle, upon the front margin, placed
upon a common tubercle, or upon a small eminence, one on each side. The palpi are spinose. The
tarsi of the two fore-legs differ from the others: they are composed of many joints, and resemble threads,
without a terminal hook. These Arachnida inhabit only the hottest parts of Asia and America. We are
unacquainted with their habits. They now constitute two genera.
Phrynus, Oliv., has the palpi terminated by a spined hook ; the body very flat ; the
thorax large, nearly crescent-shaped ; the abdomen destitute of a tail ; and the two
anterior tarsi exceedingly long and slender, resembling thread-shaped antennas.
Phalangium reniforme, Linn., Herbst. East Indies. Tarantula reniformis^ Fabr.
Antilles, &c.
Thelyphonus, Latr., is distinguished from Phrynus by the very short, thick palpi,
terminated by a claw formed of two Angers. The body is long ; thorax oval; and the
tip of the abdomen is furnished with a long articulated seta, forming a tail. The two
anterior tarsi are very short, with but few joints. Phalangium caudatum, Linn. Java.
South America produces another species, described and flgured in the Journ. de Phys.
et d’Hist. Nat., 1777, which the inhabitants of Martinique call the “ Vinaigrier.” A
third smaller species inhabits the Gangetic Delta.
[M. Lucas has lately published a valuable monograph upon Thelyphonus, with
ij figures, in Guerin’s Magasin de Zoologie, containing six species, the largest of which (T. giganteus) is two inches
ji and a half long, and inhabits Mexico.]
!1 The other Pedipalpi have the abdomen intimately connected with the thorax, throughout its entire
it width, presenting, at the base beneath, two moveable comb-like plates, and terminated by a knotted
' tail, armed -with a sting at its extremity. The spiracles are eight in number, exposed, and arranged
I; four and four on each side, along the abdomen. The chelicerae are terminated by two fingers, the outer
|i one being moveable. They form the genus
, Scorpio, Linn., Fabr.
I These have the body long, and suddenly terminated by a long, slender tail, composed of six knots, the last of
I which terminates in a curved and very acute point or sting, beneath the extremity of which are two small orifices,
I by which a venomous fluid is discharged, contained in an internal reservoir. The thorax is oblong, and generally
furnished with a longitudinal, central, compressed line, having on each side, near its anterior extremity, three or
two ocelli, forming a curved line ; and near the middle of the back are two other ocelli, approximated together.
The palpi are very large, with a forceps-like claw at the tip : the basal joint forms a concave and rounded maxilla.
At the base of the four fore-legs is a triangular appendage ; and these pieces form, by their approximation, a kind
i of lip with four divisions, the two lateral ones being considered as maxillae, and the two others as forming the
I tongue. The abdomen is composed of twelve joints, including the tail : the basal joint is divided into two parts,
I the anterior bearing the sexual organs, and the posterior the two combs, the number of the teeth of which varies
according to the species, and even with the age of the individual, and of which the use has not yet been deter-
1 j * [As there is great possibility of confounding this genus with the famed Tarentula, described above, amongst tlie Spiders, it would have
' been better to have rejected it entirely, as it is an evident misnomer.]
fl H
ARACHNIDA.
466
mined. Each of the four following' segments has a pair of pulmonary sacs and spiracles. Immediately after the
sixth segment, the abdomen is suddenly narrowed, the six terminal knotted joints forming the tail. The tarsi are
alike, and 3-jointed, with two terminal ungues. The two nervous cords running from the brain are united at in-
tervals, forming seven ganglions, of which the tenninal ones belong to the tail. For further details of the anatomy
of these animals, consult the works of Treviranus, M. de Serres, and L^on Dufour {Journ. de Physique, 1817).
These Arachnida inhabit the warm countries of both hemispheres, living in the ground, hiding themselves
under stones or other bodies, generally amongst ruins, or other dark and cool places, and even in the interior of
houses. They run quickly, and curve the tail over the back. They can turn it in all directions, and employ it as
an arm of defence or otfence. They seize Wood-lice, and other ground insects, such as Carabi, Weevils Ortho-
ptera, &c., which serve them as food, with their pincers, pricking them with their stings, and then carrying them
to their mouth. They are also particularly fond of the eggs of Spiders and other insects.
The wound occasioned by the sting of the Scorpio europceus is not, as it appears, ordinarily dangerous. That
of the Scorpion of Souvignargues, of Maupertuis, or of the species which I have named Occitanus, and which is
more powerful than that of the preceding, produces, according to experiments which Dr, Maccaryhad the courage
to try upon himself, more alarming elfects. The poison appears to increase in power according to the age of the
animal. Volatile alkali, either applied interiorly or exteriorly, is used to counteract its elfects.
Some authors assert that the indigenous [French] species produce two broods in a year, but it appears more
correct to consider that this takes place in the month of August. According to Maccary, it changes its skin before
coupling. The female carries her young upon her back for
several days, at first not quitting her abode at such time, and
takes care of them for the space of a month, by which time
they are able to shift for themselves.
Some have eight eyes, forming Leach’s genus Buthus.
Scorpio afer, Linn., which is five or six inches long, and in-
habits the East Indies, Ceylon, &c. S. occitanus, Amoroux,
(Tunetanus, Herbst.) Middle of Europe, Barbary, Spain, &c.
The others have only six eyes, forming the restricted genus
Scorpio of Leach. S. europceus, Linn., Fab., Herbst. South
of France.
[The genus Scorpio, Linn., has been revised by Hemprich and Ehrenberg in their great work upon the animals
of Arabia, and many new genera and subgenera separated therefrom. Many new species have also been recently
described by Koch, in the continuation of Hahn’s Die Arachniden.l
Fij;. 32 —Scorpio occitanus.
THE SECOND ORDER OF ARACHNIDA,—
TRACHEARI^,—
Differs from the preceding in the respiratory organs, which consist of radiating or ramified
tracheiE*, which only receive the air by two spiracles; in the absence of a circulating organ f,
and in the number of the eyesj, which is only two or four. From the want of sufficiently
generalized anatomical observations, the limits of this order are not rigorously determined.
Some species, indeed, of these Arachnida — such as the Fycnogonidcs — do not exhibit any
spiracles ; and their mode of respiration is unknown.
The trachean Arachnida are naturally divisible into those provided with chelicerse terminated
by two fingers, one of which is moveable, or by a single one, equally moveable, in the form of
a hook, and those where these organs are replaced by simple plates or lancets, which, together
with the tongue, compose a sucker; but the majority of these animals being minute, their
examination is attended with very great difficulties, so that these characters ought only to be
resorted to when it is impossible to adopt others.
* The tracheffi are vessels which receive and distribute the aerial
fluid in every part of the interior of the body, and thus remedy the
want of circulation. They are of two kinds,— tubular or elastic (formed
of three membranes, the middle one composed of a spiral thread), and
vesicular, formed of only two membranes these form a kind of pneu-
matic reservoir, capable of inflation, communicating with each other
by means of tubular trachere. The tracheae are divided into two prin-
cipal trunks, extending along the sides of the body, and receiving the
air by orifices or spiracles. There are also, in many insects, two other
longitudinal trunks, situated between the preceding, with which they
communicate, and which Serres calls pulmonary trachem, giving to
the ordinary ones the name of arterial trachete. He also distinguishes
the kind of spiracles : the common ones are closed by membranous
lips, opening by simple contraction the others, named tremaeres by
Serres, are shut by corneous, moveable plates, and are peculiar to
.some Orthoptera. Some aquatic larvae have a very peculiar respiratory
apparatus.
t The presence of tracheae excludes all complete circulation, — that
is, the distribution of the blood to different parts, and its return from
the organs of respiration to the heart. Hence, although certain vessels
have been discovered in some insects (Phastrue), and their existence
is possible in the trachean Arachnida, these creatures do not the less
enter into the general system. M. M. de Serres has observed that the
intestinal canal of Phalangium emits a very great number of coecums,
or vermiform appendages, which appear analogous to hepatic vessels,
and that the tracheae ramify most extensively upon these coecums.
t According to Muller, Hydrachna urnbrata has six eyes ; but is not
this a mistake?
I
,|i
■I:
TRACHEARIiE.
467
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE TRACHEAN ARACHNIDA,—
The Pseudo-Scorpionbs, —
Has the thorax articulated, with the anterior segment largest, like a corselet ; the abdomen very-
distinct, and annulated ; the palpi very large, in the shape of feet or claws ; eight legs in both
sexes, with two equal-sized ungues at the tip of the tarsi, — the two anterior, at the most, excepted ;
two apparent chelicerae, terminated by two fingers ; and two maxillae, formed of the basal joint of
the palpi. All of these are terrestrial, and have the body oval or oblong. This family comprises only
two genera.
Galeodes, Oliv. (Solpuga, Lichtenstein, Fabr.), having two very large chelicerae, with vertical, strongly-toothed
fingers, one superior, fixed, and often furnished with a slender, elongated, pointed appendage* at its base, and the
other moveable ; the palpi are large, projecting, and
in the shape of feet or antennae, terminated by a
short, vesicular joint, without any terminal hook ;
the two fore-legs have a similar shape, and are equally
unarmed, but smaller ; the others are terminated by a
tarsus, the last joint of which has two small cushions,
and two long fingers, with a hook at their tips ; five
scales are attached by a peduncle upon each hind leg,
disposed in a row upon the basal joints ; two eyes are
placed close together upon an eminence in front of
the anterior thoracic segment, which represents a large head, supporting the mouth and two fore-legs.
The body is oblong, generally soft, and clothed with long bristles ; the knob at the tip of the palpi incloses a
peculiar organ, which is only protruded when the animal is irritated ; the two fore-legs may be considered as a
second pair of palpi. 1 have discovered a large spiracle on each side of the body, between the first and second
legs, as well as a slit at the base of the belly. The abdomen is 9-jointed. For further details, see the description
of a species found in Spain, by Dufour {Annales Sci. Physiq., tom. v. pi. 69).
It is supposed that the ancients designated these Arachnida under the names of Phalangium, Solifuga, Tetra-
gnatha, &c. M. Poe discovered a species near Havannah, but the others are peculiar to the warm and sandy
countries of the old world. They run with very great quickness, erect their heads when surprised, showing signs
of resistance, and are reputed venomous. Solpuga fatalis, Latr. Bengal. Others are described in the monograph
of Herbstin, and the voyages of Olivier and Pallas.
[Other species are figured, with elaborate details, by Savigny, in the great work on Egypt; and M. Lucas has
described and figured a species from Cuba (G. Cubes), in Gu(^rin’s Magasin de Zoologie. Dr. Schomburgh has
also forwarded, this year, to the Entomological Society of London, a species, of small size, from Demerara, which
he found in the nest of a species of Termes.]
Chelifa-, Geotf. {Obisium, Illiger), has the palpi elongated like arras, with a claw-like hand with two fingers; all
the legs are equal, and terminated by two ungues ; the eyes stand at the sides of the
thorax. These animals resemble small Scorpions deprived of tails. The body is
flattened, with the thorax nearly square, and having one or two eyes on each side.
They run quickly, and often sideways, like Crabs. The eggs are united in a mass.
The elder Hermann says that they carry them beneath the belly; and he also believes
that these Arachnida are able to spin. The younger Hermann and Leach divide
them into —
Chelifer proper, having the first segment of the thorax divided in two by a trans-
verse impressed line ; a style at the tip of the moveable finger of the chelicerae ; it
has only two eyes.
Phal. cancroides, Linn., commonly called the Book Scorpion, is found in herba-
riums, old books, &c., where it feeds upon the minute insects which frequent such situations. Scorpio cimicoides,
Fabr. Lives under stones, the bark of trees, &c.
Obisium, Leach, has the thorax without division ; the chelicerae without a style. It has also four eyes.
See the monograph of Scorpionidee of Leach {Zool. Miscell. vol. iii.), and Dalman’s memoir on Copal Insects,
where a species is described under the name of Eucarpus. [Some new species of this group are described and
figured by M. Theis, in Annales des Sci. Nat., Sept. 1832].
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE TRACHEAN ARACHNIDA,—
The Pycnogonides, —
Has the thorax composed of four segments, occupying nearly the -whole length of the body, terminated
at each extremity by a tubular article, of which the anterior (which is larger, and either simple or pro-
• I do not believe this appendage is peculiar to one sex.
H H 2
ARACHNIDA.
468
vided with chelicerae and palpi, or one kind of these organs) constitutes the mouth.* Both sexes have ^
eight feet, fitted for running ; but the females exhibit, besides, two false legs, situated near the anterior y
pair, and only employed in carrying the eggs. These animals are marine, analogous either to Cyamus
and Caprellaf, or to the Arachnida of the genus Phalangium, with which Linnaeus united them. The
body is commonly linear, with very long legs, consisting of eight or nine joints, and terminated by two
unequal ungues, appearing only to form a single one, the smaller one being slit. The anterior segment
of the body, which replaces the head and mouth, forms a projecting tube, nearly cylindrical, or conical,
having a triangular or trilobed orifice at its extremity. It is furnished, at the base, with the chelicerae
and palpi. The former are cylindrical and linear, simply prehensile, 2-jointed, the terminal joint che-
liferous, with the lower finger, which is immoveable, sometimes very short. The palpi are filiform,
from 5 to 9-jointed, with a hook at the tip. Each succeeding segment, with the exception of the last,
supports a pair of legs ; but the anterior of those with which the head is articulated, hears, on the
back, a tubercle, on which is placed a pair of ocelli ; and on the under side, in the females alone, two
other slender legs, folded upon each other, and bearing the eggs, which are placed all round them in
one or two masses. The last segment is small, cylindrical, and pierced by a small orifice at the tip.
We can discover no vestiges of spiracles. M. Edwards, who has observed these animals in a living
state, tells us that he has seen, in the interior of the feet, lateral expansions of the intestinal canal, or
coecums. I had also perceived the traces, under the form of blackish vessels, [
in different Nymphons ; and hence I am induced to believe that these creatures !■
respire by the skin, — a peculiarity which would render the establishment of a
distinct order necessary, probably between the Arachnida and apterous para-
sitic insects. They are found amongst marine plants, under stones near the 3
beach, and occasionally also on the Cetacea. ||
Pycnogonum, Brunn., Mull., Fabr., is destitute of chelicerae and palpi, and their legs >
scarcely exceed the length of the body, which is proportionately shorter and thicker
than in the following genera. They live upon Whales. I
PhoxicMlus, Latr., has no palpi, but the legs are very long, and they have two chelicerae. Pycnogonum !■
spinipes, O. Fabr.,— P*. aculeatum and spinosum of Montague, Transactions of the Linnaan Society,— Nymphon ji
femoratum of the Acta of the Society of Natural History of Copen-
hagen, 1797, &c.
Nymphon, Fabr., resembles the last in the very narrow and ob-
long form of the body, the length of the legs, and presence of cheli-
cerae ; but they have moreover two palpi, composed of five joints.
N. grossipes, O. Fabr., Muller, Zool. Dan. Compare, also, Leach,
Zool. Miscell. vol. iii. 19, f. 1, 2.
Ammothea, Leach {A. carolinensis, Leach), differs from Nymphon
in the chelicerae being much shorter than the mouth, the basal piece
being very small. The palpi are 9-jointed.
[From the apparent absence of breathing pores, Latreille, in his
Cours d^Entomologie, forms these animals into a distinct order, —
Aporobranchia ; but Leach had previously given to them the ex-
pressive name of Podosomata. There are several British species
described by Dr. Johnston in the Magazine of Zoology and Botany,
No. iv., wherein several new genera are proposed. It will, however,
be necessary to change the names of some of them, as they are
already employed for genera of Crustacea. A still more extra-
ordinary genus, with ten legs, is described by Eights in the
Boston Journal of Natural History, under the name of Decalo- Fig. 36.— Nymphon grossipes, and under side of its beak. I
poda australis. 1 j ^
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE TRACHEAN ARACHNIDA,— > j
The Holetra (Hermann), —
Has the thorax and abdomen united into a mass, beneath a common epidermis. The thorax is at most \
divided into two by a strangulation ; and the abdomen merely presents, in some species, the traces of >
articulations, formed by foldings of the epidermis. The anterior extremity of the body is often ad- =
* The siphon of a large Phoxichilus, brought from the Cape by I The palpi are thence those of the maxillm.
Delalande, exhibits longitudinal sutures, so that it appears to me to t According to Savigny, they form the passage between the Arach- .
consist of a labrum, tongue, and two maxilla, all soldered together. I nida and Crustacea. I place them in this situation with doubt. ’
TRACHEARIiE. 469
vanced, in the form of a muzzle or beak. The majority have eight legs, the others six.* This family
is composed of two tribes.
The first tribe is that of the harvest-men, Phalangita, Latr., having the chelicerse very apparent,
either projecting in front of the trunk or being inferior, but always terminating in a didactyle forceps,
preceded by one or two joints. They have two filiform palpi of five joints, the last terminated by a
small hook; two distinct eyes; two maxillae, formed by the prolongation of the basal joint of the palpi,
and often four others, composed merely of the dilated coxae of the two anterior pairs of feet. The body
is oval or rounded, covered, at least upon the thorax, by a more solid skin. The abdomen exhibits the
appearance of foldings. The legs are long, always eight in number, and divided distinctly, in the
manner of those of insects. Many {Phalangium) have, at the base of the two posterior feet, two spira-
cles, one on each side, but hidden by the coxae. The majority
live on the ground, upon plants, or at the roots of trees, and
they are very active ; others hide themselves beneath stones, or
in moss.
Phalangium, Linn., has the chelicerae projecting, much shorter than
the body, and the eyes placed upon a common tubercle. The legs are
very long and slender, and, when detached from the body, they exhibit
signs of irritability for a few moments. Ph. cornutum, Linn., male ;
Ph. opilio, Linn., female ; and other native species. Consult, also, the
monographs of this genus published by Latreille at the end of his Hist.
Fig. 37.— Phalangium cornutum. Nat. des Fourmis ; Herbst. and Hermann, Mem. Apterolog.
Gonyleptes, Kirby, has the palpi spined, with the two terminal joints nearly equal-sized ;
and the coxae of the hind pair of legs are very large, and soldered together, forming a plate
beneath the body. The hind legs are wide apart from the others. G. horridus, Kirby.
Brazil.
Siro, Latr., has the chelicerae projecting nearly as long as the body ; the eyes wide apart,
and each placed upon an isolated tubercle, or without support. S. rubens, Latr.
Macrocheles, Latr., has exposed and very long chelicerae, but the eyes are either sessile or
wanting. The two fore-legs are very long, and resemble antennae. The upper side of the
body is like a scale, without distinct articulations. Acarus marginatus, and A. testudi-
narius, Hermann.
S Trogulus, Latr., has the anterior extremity of the body projecting like a clypeus, receiving,
! in a cavity on its under-side, the chelicerae and other parts of the mouth. The body is very
; flat, and covered by a very firm skin. It is found beneath stones. T. nepceformis, Latr.
j Phal. tricarinatum, Linn. South of France. 38.— Gonyleptes acan-
thurus.
! fM. Dufour has described a genus allied to the last under the name of Cceculus, in the
Annates des Sci. Nat. for 1832. Many other very curious Brazilian species are described and figured by Perty, in
I the Delectus Animalium Brasili<e, in which many new genera are proposed for their reception. Another very
singular species, with exceedingly long legs, is described by Mr. Hope, in the Linncean Transactions, vol. xvii.,
under the name of Dolichoscelis Haworthii.']
The second tribe of the Arachnida holetra is that of the Acarides, which has occasionally chelicerae,
but they are simply composed of a single pincer, either didactyle or clawed, and hidden in a sternal
lip. Sometimes there is'a sucker, formed of lancet-like plates united together ; or the mouth consists
merely of a cavity, without any other apparent pieces. This tribe is composed of the genus
Acarus (Linn.), —
The majority of the species of which are very minute, or almost microscopical. They are universally dis-
tributed. Some are wanderers ; and, amongst these, some are found under stones, leaves, the bark of trees,
in the ground, the water, or upon provisions, such as flour, dried meat, old dry cheese, and upon putrid
animal matters. Others subsist as parasites upon the skin, and in the flesh of different animals, often
greatly weakening them by their excessive multiplication. The origin of certain diseases, especially the
itch, is attributed to them. It appears, from the experiments of Dr. Galet, that the Mites of the human
psora, placed upon the body of a perfectly healthy individual, will inoculate him with the serus of that
disorder. Other sorts of mites are also found upon insects ; and many beetles, which subsist upon
cadaverous substances or excrement, are often entirely covered with them. They have even been ob-
served in the brain and eyes of Man. The Mites are oviparous, and exceedingly prolific. Many of them
are born with only six feet, and the two others are developed a short time afterwards. The tarsi are
• Trombidium longipes, Henn., is figured with ten legs, the anterior being very long, but it is described as having only eight
470
ARACHNIDA.
terminated in various ways, according to their habits. Some of these insects {Acarides, Latr.) have
eight legs, fit only for walking, and chelicerse.
Tromb'tdium, Fabr., has the chelicerse terminated by a moveable claw; palpi projecting, pointed at tip, with a
moveable appendage or finger beneath the extremity; two eyes, each at the top of a small fixed peduncle. T. holo-
sericenm, Fabr., very common in gardens during spring, of a blood-red colour, with the abdomen nearly
square, and narrowed behind. A much larger species (T. cinctarhm, Fabr.) inhabits the East Indies, and emits a
red dye.
Er})thr<sus, Latr., has the chelicerae and palpi of Trombidium, but the eyes are sessile, and the body not divided.
E. phalangioicles, Latr.
Gamamis, Latr., has the chelicerae didactyle, and the palpi projecting, distinct, and filiform. In some, the body
is covered entirely, or in part, by a scaly skin, but in others it is entirely soft. Some of the latter species live upon
different birds and quadrupeds. Others, as the Acarus telarius, Linn, [or the Red Spider of the hot-houses], form,
upon the leaves of various vegetables, especially upon those of lime-trees, very fine webs, which injure them greatly.
This species is reddish, with a black spot on each side of the abdomen.
Cheyletus, Latr., has didactyle chelicerae ; but the palpi are thick, arm-like, and terminated by a sickle-shaped
joint. A. eruditiis, Schr.
Oribafa, Latr. (Notaspis, Herm.), has the chelicerae also didactyle ; the palpi very short, or concealed; the body
covered with a hairy, scaly skin ; feet long, or moderate. The front of the body is advanced like a beak. Found
upon stones, trees, in moss, &c. They creep but slowly.
Uropoda, Latr., has, from analogy, forceps-like chelicerae ; palpi not projecting ; body covered with a scaly .skin;
legs short ; anus with a long thread, by which this insect is attached to various beetles, and suspended in the air.
A. vegetans, De Geer.
Acarus, Fabr. (Sarcoptes, Latr.), has two didactyle chelicerae ; palpi very short, or con-
cealed ; body very soft ; tarsi terminated by a vesicle. Some species feed upon our ali-
mentary substances (A. domesticus, A. fariitce) ; others are found in the ulcers of the itch
in man, the horse, cat, dog, &c. {A. scab'iei. See the Thesis of Dr. Galet upon this species).
Fig. 3i). — Acarus douiesticus
niagiiilied
Fig 40.— Ixodes
piumbcus, and
its beak, mag-
nified.
Other Mites or Ticks (RicixiiE, Latr.) have also eight legs, formed for walking,
but destitute of chelicerae, which are replaced by lancets, forming, with the tongue,
a sucker. Some have the eyes distinct.
Bdella, Latr., having the sucker advanced and beak-like, with long, elbowed palpi, and four eyes. Scirus longi-
rosfris, Herm.
Smaridia, Latr., with palpi short and straight, and two eyes. A. sambuci, Schr., &c.
The other Riciniae have not the eyes perceptible ; the palpi are in the shape of valves, dilated at the
ti]), serving as a sheath to the sucker, of which the parts are horny and toothed ; the body is clothed
with a corneous skin, or at least with a scaly plate in front. These ticks are parasites, sucking the
lilood of various vertebrated animals ; and although at first very much flattened, they acquire, by suc-
tion, a very large size, and become swollen out like a bladder. They are round or oval.
Lrodes, Latr. {Cynorluestes, Herm.), has the palpi casing the sucker, and forming, with it, a pro-
jecting beak, truncated, and slightly dilated at the tip. They are found in thick woods, abounding
in brush-wood, briers, &c., attaching themselves to low plants by the two fore-legs, extending the
other feet. They fasten upon dogs, cows, horses, and other quadrupeds, and even upon the tortoise,
burying their suckers so completely in their flesh that they can hardly be detached by force, and by
tearing away the portion of skin to which they are fastened. They deposit a prodigious number of
eggs, discharging them from the mouth, according to M. Chabrier.* Their multiplication upon the
ox and horse is sometimes so great that these animals perish from exhaustion. The tarsi are termi-
nated by two ungues inserted upon a plate, or are united at the base upon a common peduncle. The
ancients appear to have known these animals under the name of Ricini. They are our well-known
Ticks, — Ixodes ricinus, Linn., attacking the Dog; and Ix. reticulatus, Latr., Fabr. {Acarus reduvius,
Schr.), the Ox. The latter, w'hen swollen, is half an inch long. The study of the species of this genus
is not sufficiently advanced.
Argas, Latr. {Rhgnchoprion, Herm.), differs from Ixodes in the inferior situation of the mouth, and the palpi
not encasing the sucker, and being 4-jointed instead of three. A. reflexus, Fabr., Latr. Upon pigeons. A. persicus
(Malleh de Mianeh), described by travellers under the name of the Venomous Bug of Miaha, has been the subject
of a curious memoir by M. Fischer de Walldheim. [This insect formed the subject of much discussion at the
Liverpool meeting of the British Association] .
[M. Audouin has described and figured some species of the two preceding genera, and of those of Tetranychus
and Pteroptus, in the Annales des Sci. Nat. for 1832.]
Other Mites {Hydraehnellce, Latr.) have also eight legs, but they are ciliated, and fitted for swimming.
They form the genus Hydrachna of Muller {Atax, Fabr.), and live only in the water. The body is oval
* [The anal orifice being; minute, and close to the mouth, has been mistaken for tlie latter in this observation.]
TRACHEARI.E.
471
or rounded, and generally soft : in some males, it is narrowed behind into a cylindrical tail. The
number of eyes is either two or four, and even six, according to Muller.
EpJais, I,atr., has the chelicerse terminated by a moveable daw. A. extendens, Fabr.
Hydrachna, Latr., has the mouth composed of plates, forming a projecting
sucker, and the palpi have a moveable appendage beneath the extremity.
A. geographicus, Fabr., A. globator, Fabr.
Lhnnochares, Latr., has the mouth sucker-shaped, but the palpi are simple.
A. aquaticiis, Linn. [Other species of these water-mites have been described
by M. Theis, in the Annales des Sci. Nat. for 1832].
[From the very valuable discoveries lately made by M. Dugfes, it appears
that these water-mites undergo metamorphoses, accompanied by a complete
change of form, the larvae having a very large head and six legs, whilst the
pupae are inactive, attaching themselves, by a single pair of legs, to the
bodies of other aquatic insects, and consisting, as it were, simply of an oval
bag with a narrow neck, the insect in this state having been formed, by
M. V, Audouin, into the genus Achlysia, and specifically named A. Dytici, from taking up its residence beneath
the elytra of the Water Beetle They also attach themselves to the slender filaments com-
posing the tails of the Water Scorpions (Nepa and Ranatra).]
Other Mites {Micropthira, Latr.) differ from all the foregoing, in having six legs. They are all parasites.
Caris, Latr., has the sucker and palpi distinct; the body rounded, very flat, and covered with a scaly skin. C.
vespertilionis, Latr. On Bats.
[M. V. Andouin has figured an insect which he considers may be identical with Caris vespertilionis, in the
Annales des Sci. Nat., 1832 ; and which, notwithstanding its possessing only six legs, he considers as more pro-
perly belonging to the genus Argas.]
Leptus, Latr., has also a sucker and palpi, but the body is soft and ovoid. A. autumnalis, Shaw (Misc. Zool.,
vol. ii. pi. 42), is very common, in autumn, upon grass and other herbage. They crawl upon our bodies, and in-
sinuate themselves into the skin at the roots of the hairs, occasioning as painful an irritation as the itch. [It is
the well-known Harvest Bug], but it is so minute as rarely to be observed.
The other species are found upon different insects, and enter into the division of the Trombides hexapodes of
Hermann. T. inseetorum, Herm., T. Libellulce, Herm., T. Culicis, Herm., &c.
[Aclysia, And., here placed by Latreille, is now proved to be the immature state of Hydrachna.]
Atoma, Latr., has neither suckers nor palpi visible ; the mouth consists only of a small orifice, situated upon the
breast ; the body is soft, oval, with the feet short. Acarus parasiticus, Herm.
Ocypete, Leach, belongs to this section, from the number of its legs ; but, according to him, it has mandibles.
0. rubra, Leach. Upon Tipulae.
[From the recent observations of Audouin, Dug^s, and others, it seems questionable whether this terminal sec-
tion of the Mites can be retained, consisting, as it is now supposed to do, entirely of the young states of various
groups of Acaridae.]
[The Senator Van Heyden has lately published a distribution of the Acaridae in the Isis; and many very minute
species are figured in the continuation of Panzer’s Fauna Inseetorum Germanise, by Herrick Schaffer, distributed
into many new genera. At the same time, M. Dugfes, in his more elaborate and complete memoir, published in
the Annales des Sci. Nat., has revised the entire group, dividing it into numerous genera, arranged into the fol-
lowing groups:— 1. Trombidiei; 2. Hydrachniei; 3. Gamasei; 4. Ixodei ; 5. Acarei; 6. Bdellei; and, 7. Oribatei.]
Fig’. 41. — a, Hydrachna globulus ; b, magni-
fied j c, youiig larva ; d, pupa.
THE THIRD CLASS OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS FURNISHED WITH
ARTICULATED LEGS,—
INSECTS (Insecta),—
Which have articulated legs, a dorsal vessel occupying the place of the vestige of a
heart, but without any branch for circulation * ; which respire by means of two principal
♦Anatomists are divided in their opinion as to the nature of this
organ, many regarding it as a distinct heart, whilst others (including
Cuvier, whose opinion appears to have been fully confirmed by the
researches of M. de Serres, inserted in the Mhnoires du Mus. d'Hist.
Nat.) deny it this quality. Some recent observations appear to esta-
blish the existence of several small vessels, but besides that, this cir-
culation must be very partial, as Insects differ materially from the
Crustacea, the blood not returning to the heart. According to Herold,
as quoted by Strauss {Bulletin, de Univert Ferussac), the dorsal vessel
is the true heart of insects, being, as in the higher animals, the loco-
motive organ of the blood, which, instead of being contained in vessels,
extends through the general cavity of the body. This heart occupies
the entire length of the bulk of the abdomen, and terminates ante-
riorly in a single artery, which is not ramified, and which carries the
blood to the head, whence it returns to the abdomen by the mere
effect of its accumulation in the head, to re-enter the heart ; and it is
in this that the entire circulation of the blood of insects consists, and |
which are consequently destitute of veins. According to M. Stratss, j
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
472
tracheae, extending parallel to each other throughout the entire length of the Dody,
having, at intervals, points from whence numerous branches extend, and which corre-
spond with certain external orifices, or stigmata* [or, as they have been termed in a
previous passage, spiracles] , for the entry of the air. All of them have two antennae,
and the head distinct. The nervous system of the majority of insects (those with six f
feet) is generally composed of a brain, formed of two ganglions opposed to each other,
united at their base, and emitting eight pairs of nerves and two single nerves, and of
twelve ganglions t, all of which are in the inferior part of the body. The two anterior
are situated near the union of the head and thorax ; the second and two following are
appropriated to the three segments of which the thorax is composed, and the remaining
ganglions belong to the abdomen, each ganglion emitting nerves to the organs of their
respective segments. The two nervous cords which form, by their reunion, the ganglions,
are tubular, and composed of two tunics, the exterior of which exhibits tracheae. A
medullary substance fills the central canal. The fine work of M. Herold upon the
anatomy of the caterpillar of the Great Garden White Butterfly, examined during its
growth, and until the period of its transformation into the pupa, proves that the nervous
system and the digestive organs undergo decided modifications, the nervous cords being
at first longer and wider apart, which confirms the opinion of De Serres upon the origin
and developement of the nervous system. We have already, in the general observations
on the three classes of articulated-legged Articulata, stated the dilferent sentiments of
physiologists upon the seat of the senses of hearing and smell : we shall therefore
merely add, that, in respect to the former, the small nervous ganglions situated upon
the forehead, of which we have spoken, appear to confirm the opinion of those who,
like Scarpa, place this sense near the base of the antennae. In some Lepidoptera, I
have detected two small apertures near the eyes, which may perhaps be the auditory
channels. If, in many insects, especially those with filiform or setaceous and long an-
tennae, these organs are used as tactors, it appears difiicult for us to account for their
extraordinary developement in certain families, and more particularly in males, if w'e |
do not admit that they are actually the seat of the organ of smell. Probably, also, as
regards the taste, the palpi, in those cases
the heart, or the abdominal portion of this organ, is divided, inter-
nally, into eight chambers in the Cockchafer, separated from each
other by two convergent valves, which permit the blood to be pro-
pelled forwards, but prevent its returning. The definition given by
this naturalist of the dorsal vessel, whatever may be the interior com-
position of this organ, evidently proves that it is not a real heart :
moreover, his observations do not determine the nature of this fluid,
nor how it is directed into the other parts of the body, to effect their
nutrition. [The still more recent observations of Cams, Bowerbank,
and some others, have made us still better acquainted with the nature
of this dorsal vessel, and its uses, confirming the views of Herold as to
the existence of a decided circulation in insects, although it is of a
nature very dissimilar to that of the higher animals].
* The number of the segments of the body of the Myriapoda being
variable, that of their spiracles is so likewise, and extends sometimes
to more than twenty. In hexapod insects, it is often eighteen,— nine
on each side. This is, however, more the case with the larva than the
perfect insect. Caterpillars, and most other larvae, have a pair of spi-
racles in the segment which bears the first pair of feet. The second
and third segments are deficient, because, as I presume, the develope-
ment of wings upon these segments renders the presence of spiracles
unnecessary. Each of the fourtli and seven following segments ex-
hibits a pair ; but in the perfect Beetles, in addition to the tw-o anterior
spiracles which are hidden in the cavity of the prothorax or corslet,
and which have not been noticed, two others are to be perceived, situ-
ated between the base of the elytra and wings, being those of the
mesothorax; but there are none to the metathorax, unless we consider
those of the first abdominal segment as supplementary to the thorax,
relying upon what takes place in the pedunculated Hvmenoptera and
Diptera, where these two segments, together with the demi-scgmcnt
where they are very dilated at the tip, take
to which they belong, form part of the thorax. Thus, in general, all
hexapod insects have eight pairs of spiracles to the abdomen, the two
last being often obsolete. In the Locusts and Dragon-flies, the sides
of the mesothorax exhibit a pair of spiracles (triniah-cs,yL. Serres).
In these and some other insects with uncovered wings, the two first
thoracic spiracles are placed above, between the pro- and meso-thorax.
Except in Libeliula, the true thorax does not exhibit any other spira-
cles. I say the true thorax, because, in some, the trvo anterior abdo
minal spiracles are transferred to the thorax. The metathorax of the
Pentatom® and Scuteller® exhibits, on its under side, a pair of spira-
cles. In the wingless spectre insects [Phasmidm], the mesothorax
has none, but the metathorax has two pairs.
[We thus see that Latreille was perfectly aware that each of the
three thoracic segments was occasionally provided with spiracles ;
and yet his theory, which has been noticed above (that the hind part
of the thorax of the petiolated Hymenoptera and Diptera is abdo-
minal), is founded upon the supposition that the metathorax cannot,
of itself, possess spiracles, and that consequently the spiracles which
we see on the hind part of the thorax of those insects, must be those of
the anterior abdominal segment, transferred to the thorax. The common
Earwig, as I have shown in a memoir upon the anatomy of that insect,
published in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, exhibits
an instance in which the pro-, meso-, and metathorax, are respectively
furnished with a pair of spiracles. I have also entered fully into this
question in the Hymenopterous portion of my introduction to the H
modern classification of insects, with a view to prove the general uni-
formity of the structure of tlie Hymenoptera with sessile and petio-
lated abdomens.]
■\ Some lamellicorn Beetles, in the perfect state, are excentions.
;l
! INSECTA.
473
j the chief part. The tongue, also, cannot be a stranger to this function. The prepara-
I tory apparatus of the mouth ; the intestinal canal ; the biliary or hepatic vessels, and
those which are called salivary, but which are less general ; those free and floating
I vessels which have received the name of excremental ; the epiploon, or fatty matter ;
I and probably also the dorsal vessel, — such are the considerations embraced by the
digestive system. It is singularly modified, according to the diversity of the food,
whence arise a great number of particular types, of which we shall give the description
in treating upon the different families. We will only say a few words upon the organs
of the mouth [instrumenta ciharia, or tropM, as they have been collectively termed],
and the principal divisions of the intestinal canal, commencing with the latter. In those
in which it is most complex, such as the carnivorous Beetles, there may be distinguished
the pharynx, oesophagus, crop, gizzard, stomach or chylific ventricle, and intestines,
which may be divided into the slender intestines, the coecum, and the rectum. In those
insects which have the tongue applied upon the anterior or internal surface of the lip,
or not disengaged, the pharynx is situated upon this surface : this is its general situ-
ation. It is questioned by M. Gaede whether the so-called biliary vessels are in fact
secretors, as commonly considered ; but the more recent observations of L. Dufour
[published in a valuable series of memoirs in the Annales des Sci. Nat.~\ seem to dis-
prove the opinion of M. Gaede.
Some insects (few in number, and destitute of wings, such as the Myriapoda, or
Centipedes) are allied to many of the Crustacea, either in the number of their segments
and legs, or in certain points of analogy in the structure of the parts of the mouth ;
but aU the rest have only six legs, and the body, of which the number of segments never
exceeds twelve, is always divided into three principal divisions, — the head, trunk
[or thorax], and abdomen. Among the latter individuals, some are destitute of wings,
preserving, throughout their whole life, the form which they had at their birth, in-
creasing in size only by changing their skins, and which I have named Homotenes,
“ alike to the end,” or the Ametabolia of Leach. They have, in this respect, certain
relations with the animals of the preceding classes.
The other insects with six legs are almost universally winged ; but the last-named
organs, and often also the legs, do not appear at first, and are only developed at the
close of a series of changes more or less singular, termed metamorphoses, and which
we will shortly explain in a following page. The head* bears the antennae, eyes, and
mouth. The composition and form of the antennae vary much more than in the
Crustacea, and these organs are often much more developed and longer in the males
than in the females.
The eyes are composite or simple. The former, according to the researches of Cuvier,
Marcel de Serres, and others, are formed, 1st, of a cornea divided into a multitude of
small [hexagonal] parts, and which is more convex according to the carnivorous pro-
pensities of the insect, its inner face being spread over with an opaque, scarcely fluid,
various-coloured (although generally black, or of a dark violet colour) substance ; 2nd,
of a choroid, attached, by its contour and edges, to the cornea, covered with a black
varnish, exhibiting a great number of aerial vessels, proceeding from large trunks of
the tracheee situated in the head, and of which the branches form around the eye a cir-
* Its surface is divided into numerous small regions named clypeus
{chaperon, nmus, Kirby), face, forehead, crown, and cheeks. The
denomination of “ chaperon ” being equivocal, I have changed it to
epistoma: it supports the labrum, or upper lip. [M. Strauss, and some
other recent anatomists, consider the head as formed of a series of
segments soldered together, the mandibles, maxilla:, &c., represent
ing the limbs attached to each. See also a memoir on the head of in
sects, by Mr. Newman.]
474 ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
cular trachea : this, however, as well as the choroid, is wanting in various darkling
insects ; 3rd, of nerves, which arise from a large trunk proceeding immediately from
the brain, which there dilates in a reversed conical form, the broad base being towards
the cornea, and of which the threads, running through the choroid and inner plaster of
the cornea, terminate separately in each of the facets. There is no crystalhne nor
vitreous tumour.
Many insects have, in addition to these composite eyes, simple eyes [ocelli'] , the
cornea of which is smooth. They are generally three in number, and arranged in
a triangle upon the crown of the head. In the majority of apterous insects, and
the larvae of those which gain wings, the ocelli replace the eyes, and are often in-
serted in a group : judging from the eyes of the Arachnida, they are evidently fitted
for vision.
The mouth of Hexapod insects is in general composed of six principal pieces, their
form being lateral, arranged in pairs, and mostly transversely ; and two others, opposed
to each other in a direction contrary to that of the preceding, filling up the space be-
tween the former : one is situated above the upper pair, and the other below the lower
pair. In the masticating insects, or those which feed upon sohd materials, the four
lateral pieces perform the office of jaws {mdchoires) , and the two others are considered
as lips ; but, as we have already observed, the two upper jaws have been distinguished
by the particular name of mandibles, whilst the two others have alone retained the
name of maxillae (mdchoires) : the latter are also provided with one or two articulated
filaments which are called palpi, — a character which is never possessed, in this class, by
the mandibles. The extremity of the maxillae is often terminated by two divisions, or
lobes, of which the outer, in the Orthoptera, is termed the galea. We have already
said that the upper lip is called the lahrum. The other lip, or the labium (levre, pro-
perly so called), is formed of two parts: the one, solid and inferior, is the mentum ;
the upper, which often bears two palpi, is the tonguelet (languette), [or ligula]."^
In the suctorial insects, or those which derive their food from fluid aliments, these
different organs of manducation appear under two general modifications. In the
first, the mandibles and maxillae are replaced by small, setaceous, lancet-like plates,
forming, by their union, a kind of sucker, which is received in a sheath which takes
the place of the labium, and is either cylindrical or conical, and articulated, in the
form of a beak (rostrum), or membranous and fleshy, inarticulated, and terminated
by two lips (proboscis) . The labrum is triangular and arched, covering the base of
the sucker.
In the second of these modifications, the labrum and mandibles are nearly obsolete,
or extremely small. The labium is no longer a detached piece, and is only distin-
guished by the presence of a pair of palpi, of which it is the support. The maxillae
have acquired a very great length, and are transformed into two tubular threads, which,
uniting by the edges, forms a kind of proboscis which is rolled up in a spiral manner,
and is named the tongue, but which, to avoid misconception, it would be preferable to
term the spirignatha : its interior presents three canals, of which the middle one forms
* According to what I have said in the introductory observations
upon the Articulata in general, I consider the lower lip to be but a modi-
fication of the second maxillae of the decapod Crustacea, combined
with their tongue (languette). The gradual changes which take place
in the form of these organs, in the Crustacea, Arachnida, and Myria-
poda, naturally lead to this supposition. In this hypothesis, the six
thoracic legs must be analogous to the foot-jaws of the Crabs; and as
has been shown, in the crustaceous genus Apus. Moreover, the five
anterior abdominal segments of hexapod insects will represent ihe
segments which bear the true legs in the decapod Crustacea, or the
third and four succeeding segments of the amphipod and isopod
Crustacea. The various works published in respect to the thorax of
insects will necessarily require revision when this part of the body is
compared throughout the three annulose classes, its nomenclature
being far from fixed in this respect.
I'l
!;l
INSECTA. 475
the canal of the nutritive fluids. At the base of each of these filaments there is a palpus
! ordinarily very minute, and scarcely visible.
j The Myriapoda are the only species of which the mouth exhibits another type of con-
1 struction, which I shall describe when treating upon those insects.
The trunk* of insects, or that intermediate portion which bears the feet, is generally
designated by the Latin name thorax, which the French term corselet. It is formed of
I three segments, which were not at the first carefully distinguished, and of which the
relative proportions greatly vary. Sometimes, as in the Coleoptera, the anterior is by
|i far the largest, separated from the following by an articulation, moveable, and alone
j! exposed ; which alone appears, at first sight, to compose the trunk, and bears the name
ij of the thorax, or corselet. Sometimes, as in the Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, &c., it is
I much shorter than the following, and constitutes, with the two others, a common
I body, attached to the abdomen by a peduncle, or closely united to it throughout its
[ entire posterior breadth, and which is called the thorax.
These distinctions, thus established, were insufldcient, and often ambiguous, as they
did not rest upon a ternary structure of the thorax, as I had clearly noticed in the first
I edition of this work, as a character proper to hexapod insects. Mr. Kirby has em-
! ployed the name of metathorax for the hind part of the thorax.f Those of prothorax
' and mesothorax naturally presented themselves to the mind when the ternary division
! of the thorax was once adopted, and the celebrated Professor Nitzsch was the first who
I used them. Some naturalists have since named the prothorax, or anterior thoracic
I segment which bears the anterior pair of legs, collar (collare). Wishing to preserve
I the name corselet, but to restrain its application in proper limits, we shall employ it in
j all those cases where this segment greatly surpasses the others in size, and where the
! latter are united to the abdomen so as to appear to constitute an integral part of it, —
a peculiarity proper to the Coleoptera, Orthoptera, and many Hemiptera. When the
' prothorax is short, and forms, with the succeeding segments, a common and exposed
I mass, the trunk, composed of the three segments together, will retain the denomination
i of thorax. We shall also continue to call the inferior surface of the trunk the breast
(poitrine), dividing it, according to the segments, into the fore-breast [antipectus] ,
i middle breast [medipectus'] , and hind breast [^postpectus']. The middle line is the
sternum, which we also divide into three: — The fore sternum [^prostermm'], mididlQ
sternum [mesosternum'] , and hind sternum [metasternum~\ .
The teguments of the thoracic segments, as also those of the abdomen, are generally
divided into rings or semi-rings : one dorsal, or superior, the other inferior, and united
I laterally by means of a soft and flexible membrane, which is indeed but a less solid
I portion of the same teguments in many insects, especially the Coleoptera. We also
observe, at the reunion of these rings, a small space, more solid, or of the substance of
• To avoid all confusion, it would be better to restrict the term
trunk to those Aptera of Linnaeus which have more than six legs, and
where these limbs are borne upon distinct segments, with the head
distinct from the trunk. In the Crustacea, where these two parts of
the body are soldered together, the thorax might take the name of
thoracida, and in the Arachnida, cephalothorax, being here still more
simple, with fewer appendages, that of thorax being reserved for the
hexapiid insects.
+ This segment ought not to be restricted, in the Hymenoptera, to
the upper, very short, transverse division of the thorax, at the sides of
which the second pair of wings are inserted, being further composed
of that portion of the thorax which extends to the base of the abdo-
men, as is proved by the position of the two last spiracles of the trunk.
I even think this observation is applicable to all winged insects, the
metathorax being divided, on the upper side, into two parts, one
bearing, in the four-winged species, the second wings, and being des-
titute of spiracles, and the other being furnished with the latter. This
second part appears to be dependent upon the abdomen, as in nearly all
insects, except the petiolated Hymenoptera, Rhipiptera, and Diptera.
Sometimes it is incorporated with the thorax, and closes it posteriorly,
as in these last insects : hence I have named this second division of
the metathorax, the medial segment. Thus, all the segments would
have a pair of spiracles, but those of the mesothorax, scarcely distinct,
or obsolete, in the Hymenoptera and Diptera, and the two metatho-
racic, situated upon the segment which immediately follows that which
bears the second wings. The abdomen will thus be composed of nine
segments, of which the last three compose the organs of generation.
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
4?6
the teguments themselves, each of which bears a breathing pore, so that the sides of
the abdomen exhibit a longitudinal series of small pieces, or each segment is, as it were,
divided into four. Other pieces, also corneous, occupy the lower sides of the meso-
thorax and metathorax, immediately beneath the insertion of the elytra and wings,
which are supported by another piece, placed longitudinally. The relations of these
parts, the size and form of the first joint of the coxae, or haunches, the manner in which
they articulate with the semi-ring to which they are attached, and the extent and
direction of this variable semi-ring, furnish the thorax, considered in this respect, with
a combination of characters which is very serviceable in a systematic point of view.
Some naturalists, especially Knoch, had already made use of them, but without any
determined principle, and with arbitrary names. It was, however, necessary to study
the composition of the thorax carefully, in all the classes of insects — a task commenced
by the late Lachat, and followed up by M. Victor Audouin, who presented a memoir
on this subject to the Academie des Sciences. It is, however, only known to us by
the general sketch of it given by Cuvier in his Report*, and by the extract published
by its author in the article Insect in the Dictionnaire Classique d’Hist. Nat. To
adopt this nomenclature, and give it a general application, we must wait for this memoir
and its illustrative figures ; but in practice, the denominations already introduced will
sufiftce. Another memoir, upon the same subject, by M. Chabrier, with admirable
figures, and one by the elder Jurine upon the wings of the Hymenoptera, must also be
mentioned.
As insects inhabit aU kinds of situations, they have all the kinds of locomotive organs :
namely, wings and legs, which last, in many species, are used as oars. The wings are I
membranous, dry, elastic, generally transparent, pieces attached to the sides of the back
of the thorax ; the anterior pair, when there are four, or when they are the only pair,
being upon the mesothorax, and the posterior pair upon the following segment, or
metathorax. They are composed of two membranes applied upon each other, and tra-
versed, in various directions, by more or less numerous nervures, which are so many
trachean tubes, forming sometimes a network, and sometimes simply veined. The elder
Jurine has advantageously employed the disposition and crossing of these nervures in
systematic arrangement. The Dragon-flies, Bees, Wasps, Butterflies, &c., have four
wings ; but those of Butterflies are covered with small scales, which at first sight re- j|
semble dust, and which give these insects the colours with which they are ornamented, i
They easily come off on being touched by the finger, and the portion of the wing from "
which they have been taken is transparent. With the microscope, these scales appear } ||
of varied figures, and are implanted upon the wing by means of a footstalk, and I
arranged regularly in rows like the tiles of a roof. In front of the fore-wings of these
insects are a pair of pterygoda (a kind of epaulettes), which extend backwards along
a part of the back, upon which they are applied. In certain insects, the wings remain | j|
* [A long note is here given in the second edition, containing the
details of M. Audouin’s researches. I can, however, only introduce
the following slight abridgment : — The trunk, or thorax, is always
typically divisible, on the outside, into three segments, each bearing
a pair of feet, — namely, the prothorax, mesothorax (bearing the fore
wings), and metathorax (bearing the hind wings) . Each segment is
composed of four parts : one inferior, two lateral (these three forming
the breast), and one dorsal, forming the back. The inferior part is
the sternum; the lateral pieces, or flanks, are each divisible into three
principal pieces ; one (the episternum) attached to the sternum,
another (the epimeron), articulating with the coxa. Another small
piece (the trochantine) assists in the union of the epimeron and coxa.
whilst the third piece of the flank is placed, in the meso- and meta-
thorax, beneath the wing, and is called the hypoptera, since changed
by Audouin to paraptera. The dorsal part, or tergum, is divided into
four pieces, named, from their position in each segment, the prje-
scutum, scutum, scutellum, and postscutellum : the first of which is
often, and the last nearly always, internal. Thus the thorax is divi-
sible into thirty-three principal pieces, or forty-three, including the
hypoptera. The epimera had been previously called scapulas, and
parapleurae, by Knoch. The posterior coxa of the Coleopteia, forming
a transverse plate, is his mmrium. Mr. M'Leay has subsequently pub-
lished an elaborate memoir upon the structure of the thorax in the
1 Zoological Journal.l
INSECTA.
477
straight, or are folded up transversely ; in others they are doubled up, or folded longi-
tudinally, like a fan ; sometimes they are horizontal, sometimes inclined like a roof ; in
many they meet upon the hack, and in others they are wide apart.* The two-winged
insects, of the dipterous order, have also, beneath their wings, two small moveable
threads, terminated by a mass, and which, according to the ordinary opinion, replace
the pair of v/ings which are deficient; they are called balancers t {halteres). Other
two-winged, very extraordinary insects, have also two balancers, but situated at the
anterior extremity of the thorax, and which we name, to distinguish them from the
others, prebalancers {prehalteres) . Above the true balancers is a small membranous
scale, formed of two pieces, united at one of the edges, and resembling the two shells
of a bivalve mollusc : this is the alulet, or cueilleron [alula] . Some aquatic Beetles
also exhibit it beneath the elytra, inserted at their base.
Many insects, such as the Cockchafers, Cantharides, &c., have, instead of the two
upper or anterior wings, two scale-like pieces, more or less thickened, and more or less
solid and opaque, which open and shut, and beneath which the wings are transversely
folded in repose. These scale-like pieces have received the name of elytra.% The in-
sects which are furnished with these organs are called Coleoptera, or insects in a sheath.
These pieces are never wanting §, but this is not always the case with respect to the
wings themselves. In other kinds of insects, the extremity of these scales is entirely
membranous, like the wings; and in this case these pieces are called hemelytra : [hence
the name of the Linnaean order Hemiptera].
The scutellum, or escutcheon, is ordinarily a triangular piece, situated upon the back
of the mesothorax, between the places of insertion of the elytra, or wings. It is some-
times very large, and then covers the greater portion of the upper side of the abdomen.
Various Hymenoptera exhibit behind it, upon the metathorax, a small space called the
false escutcheon (post-scutellum) .
The legs are composed of a haunch of two joints [coxa and trochanter], a thigh
[femur], a shank of a single joint [tibia], and a finger, commonly called the tarsus,
which is divided into several phalanges, or joints, the number of which varies from
three to five, depending chiefly upon the changes which the first and penultimate joints
suffer in their relative proportions. Although the counting of these joints may some-
times prove difficult [from their minuteness] , and the numerical series may not always
be in relation with the natural system, it nevertheless forms a good character for the
distinction of genera : the last joint is generally terminated by two hooks. The form
of the tarsi is subject to some modifications, according with the habits of the insects.
Those of the aquatic species are generally flattened, very much fringed, and resemble
oars. II
The abdomen, which forms the third and last part of the body, is confounded with
* That is, when the insect is in inaction. The rapidity of the vibra-
tions of the wings appears to us to be one of the chief causes of the
humming noise which many make. The explanations which have been
given of it are not satisfactory. [Bnrmeister, and some others, have
considered, more recently, that it is by the action of the air passing
rapidly through the raetathoracic spiracles, during flight, that this
noise is produced].
{• These are appendages, in my opinion, of the tracheae of the first
abdominal segment, and correspond to the space pierced with a small
hole adjacent to the anterior edge of an orifice, with a membranous,
internal diaphragm on each side of the same segment in the Locusts.
(See my memoir on the articulated appendages of insects in the Mim.
du Mus. d’Hist. Nat.) [On the supposition that the terminal part of
the thorax of the Diptera is in fact thoracic, and not abdominal, as in-
sisted upon by Latreille, these balancers will necessarily become
metathoracic, and, as such, must be considered analogous to the
posterior pair of wings. The large size of the true wings, and of the
mesothorax, is in favour of this view of the subject, the alula, as it
seems to me, being nothing but a portion of the fore-wing.]
t See M. Odier’s memoir on the chemical composition of these
organs, inserted in the Mhn. Society d’Hist. Nat. de Paris [translated
in the Zoological Journal).
§ [Latreille has evidently overlooked the female of the Glow-worm,
that of Drilus flavescens, and of Pachypus excavatus, all of which have
neither elytra nor wings, although belonging to the order Coleoptera.]
I Mr. Kirby, in his monograph of the Bees of England, and in his
excellent Introduction to Entomology, calls the tarsi of the fore-legs
the hand, the first joint being the palm.
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
I 478
the thorax in the Myriapoda ; but it is distinct in all the other insects which are fur-
nished with six legs. It incloses the viscera, the sexual organs, and exhibits nine or
ten segments, but of which some are often concealed, or very considerably reduced in
size. The organs of generation are situated at its posterior extremity, except in the
Dragon-flies and luli. The terminal segments of the abdomen compose, in many
females, an oviduct (oviscapt, Marcel de Serres), which is either retractile or always
exserted, and more or less complicated, and which is employed as a borer or augur.
It is replaced by a sting in the females [and neuters] of many Hymenoptera.
After coupling, which ordinarily takes place but once, the female deposits her eggs
in the places best suited for their preservation, so that when the young are hatched they
find themselves in the midst of suitable food. The female also frequently collects pro-
visions for them. These maternal cares often excite our surprise, and most clearly
exhibit to us the instinct of insects. In the very numerous societies of many of these
creatures — such as the Ants, White Ants, Wasps, Bees, &c. — the individuals com-
posing the majority of the assembly, and which, by their labours and vigilance, support
these societies, have been considered as neuter individuals, or without sex : they have
been consequently named workers, or mules. It is, however, now ascertained that
they are females, of which the sexual organs, or ovaries, are not fully developed, but
which may become fruitful if a modification of their food, at a certain period of their
early existence, takes place, whereby these organs are developed.
The eggs are sometimes hatched in the abdomen of the mother, which is then termed
viviparous. The number of generations in a year, of a species, depends on the dura-
tion of each : more commonly, there is but one or two in the year. A species, under
similar circumstances, is the more common in proportion as its generations succeed
each other in rapidity, and the female is more fruitful.
A female Butterfly, after coupling, deposits her eggs, from which are hatched, not
Butterflies, but animals with a very long body, divided into rings, a head provided with
jaws, and several little eyes, having very short legs, of which six are scaly and pointed,
placed in the front of the body, and the others, variable in number, membranous, and
attached to the hind rings. These animals, called Caterpillars, live a certain time in
this state, and change the skin several times. At length, however, a period arrives,
when, from this skin of the Caterpillar, issues a very different being, of an oblong form,
without distinct limbs, and which soon ceases to move, and remains a long time appa-
rently dead, and dried up, under the name of a Chrysalis. On regarding it, however,
mere closely, we perceive, in relief, upon the outer surface of this Chrysalis, the lines
which represent all the parts of the Butterfly, but in proportions different from those
which these parts will, at a future day, acquire. After a longer or shorter period, the
skin of the Chrysalis bursts ; the Butterfly comes forth, moist, soft, with flaccid and
short wings, but in a few instants it dries, its wings grow, become stronger, and it
becomes fitted for flight. It has six long legs, antennse, a spiral proboscis, composite
eyes : in a word, it does not in the least resemble the Caterpillar from which it had
sprung, for it is ascertained that the changes in its state are nothing else than succes-
sive developements of the parts contained within each other. Such are the metamor-
phoses of insects. The first state is named the larva, the second the nymph \jpupa'],
and the third the perfect state [imago]. It is only in the last- mentioned state that the
insect is fitted for propagation.
INSECTA.
479
All insects do not pass through these three states. Those which have no wings
come forth from the egg with the forms they are always to maintain, — the Flea, female
Mutillse, Worker Ants, and a few others, excepted. These are called insects without
a metamorphosis. Among those which have wings, a great number undergo no other
change than that of acquiring them. These are said to undergo a demi-metamorphosis,
their larva resembling the perfect insect, with the exception of the wings, which are
entirely wanting. The pupa differs only from the larva in having rudiments of wings,
which are developed at the last moulting, which brings the insect to the perfect state.
Such are the Cimices, Grasshoppers, &c. Finally, the other insects provided with
wings are said to undergo a complete metamorphosis, appearing, at first, under the
form of a caterpillar or worm, and subsequently becoming an inactive nymph, but
which exhibits all the parts of the perfect insect contracted, and, as it were, enveloped
in a bandage.
These parts are free, although very closely approximated and applied against the
body, in the pupae of the Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, &c. ; but this is not
the case in those of the Lepidoptera, and many of the Diptera. An elastic or still more
solid skin is moulded over the body, and its exterior parts form for it a kind of case.
The skin of the chrysahdes of Lepidoptera, consisting only of a simple pellicle applied
upon the external organs, following all their directions, and forming for each of them
so many moulds, hke the envelope of a mummy, permits them to be recognized and
distinguished \jpupa obtecta, Linn.] ; but that of the two-winged flies, being formed of
the dried skin of the larva, has merely the appearance of a cocoon in the shape of an egg.
It is a kind of capsule, or case, in which the animal is inclosed {pupa coarctata, Linn.)
Many larvae, previous to passing to the pupa state, construct for themselves, with
silk which they draw from the interior of their own bodies, by means of the spinnerets
of their lower lip, or with other materials which they have collected, a cocoon, in which
they are inclosed. The perfect insect comes forth from the pupa by a slit or fissure
which it makes down the back of the thorax. In the pupa of two- winged flies, one of
its extremities is detached, in the form of a cap, for the passage of the insect.
The larvae and pupae of the insects with a semi- metamorphosis, differ only from the
perfect state of the same insects in respect to their wings. The other outer organs are
identical. But in complete metamorphosis, the form of the body of the larva does not
always bear a constant relation with that which these insects have in their final state.
It is generally more elongated ; the head is often very different, both in its consistence
and figure, and has only the rudiments of antennae, or else wants them absolutely, and
never exhibits composite eyes. The organs of the mouth are also very different, as may
be at once perceived by comparing the mouth of a Caterpillar with that of a Butterfly,
or the mouth of the larva of a Fly with that of the same insect perfectly developed.
Many of these larvae have no feet ; others, such as those of Caterpillars, have many ;
but these, vrith the exception of the six anterior, are entirely membranous, without
hooks at the tip. Some insects, such as the Ephemerae, exhibit a singular exception in
the metamorphosis : arrived at their perfect state, they again cast off another skin
from their wings.
The insects which compose our first three orders, preserve, throughout life, the form
which they have when born. The Myriapoda, however, exhibit the rudiments of meta-
morphosis, having at first only six feet, or being even, according to Savigny, entirely
ARTICULATED ANIMALS.
480
destitute of them. The other feet, as well as the segments to which they are attached, ,
are developed as the insect increases in age.
There are but few vegetable substances which do not fall under the attacks of insects;
and as those which are useful or necessary to man are not less liable to them than the |
others, they often cause great damage, especially in seasons favourable for their multi !
plication. Their destruction depends greatly on our knowledge of their habits, and on
our own vigilance. Some are omnivorous, such as the White Ants, Ants, &c., of which
the ravages are too well known. Many among these are carnivorous ; and the species
which feed upon carcases or excrement are a benefit conferred on us by the Author of
Nature, and compensate, in some respect, for the losses and inconveniences which the
others cause to us. Some species are employed in medicine and in the arts, as well as
our domestic economy. They have also many enemies; fishes destroy a great quantity
of aquatic species ; many birds, bats, lizards, &c., rid us of many of those which live
upon the ground or in the air. The majority strive to avoid the dangers which menace
their existence, by flying or running away ; but there are some which employ for this
purpose particular stratagems or natural arms.
Arrived at their last transformation, and enjoying all their faculties, they hasten to ;
propagate their race; and when this is performed, their existence soon terminates.
Thus, in our climate, each season of the year (winter excepted) presents to us many
species which is peculiar to it. It nevertheless appears that the females, and neuters
of those which live in society, have a longer existence. Many individuals bred in the
autumn, conceal themselves during the rigours of winter, and reappear in the following
spring.
Like vegetables, the species of insects are subject to geographical limits. Those,
for example, of the New World (with the exception of a small number of the northern
species), are essentially peculiar to it : it also possesses many genera equally peculiar.
The Old World, on the other hand, possesses others unknown in America. The insects
of the south of Europe, North Africa, and the west and south of Asia, have great
general resemblance. It is the same with those of the Moluccas, and the more eastern
islands, including those of the South Sea. Many species of the north are found in the
mountainous regions of more southern climates. Those of Africa differ greatly from
those of the opposite countries of America. The insects of Southern Asia, commencing
from the Indus or Sind, and going to the east as far as the confines of China, have
features greatly resembling each other. The intertropical regions covered with immense
damp forests, are the richest in insects ; and, in this respect, Brazil and Guiana are the
most highly favoured.
All the general systematic arrangements, relative to insects, may be essentially re-
duced to three. Swammerdam took the metamorphosis as the base of his system ; that
of Linnaeus is founded upon the presence or absence of wings, their number, con-
sistence, superposition, nature of their surfaces, and upon the presence or absence of a
sting ; whilst Fabricius only employed the parts of the mouth. The Crustacea and
Arachnida, in all these distributions, are considered as insects ; and they are the ter- i
minal ones in that of Linnaeus, w'hich has been generally adopted. Brisson, however,
had separated the Crustacea as a distinct class, which he had placed before that of the |
Insects, and which comprehended all those species which have more than six feet, —
-namely, the Crustacea and Arachnida of Lamarck, or the Insecta Apiropoda of Savigny. |
r
i
i
j.
INSECTA.
481
Although this order was more natural than that of Linnseus, it has not been followed ;
and it is only recently that anatomical observations, and a more rigorous exactitude of
the applications thence derived, have led us to the natural system.*
I divide this class into twelve orders, of which the first three, composed of species
destitute of wings, do not essentially change their forms and habits, and are merely
subject either to simple moulting or to a rudimental metamorphosis, whereby the number
of feet and of the segments of the body are increased. These correspond with the
Arachnides antennistes of Lamarck. The organs of sight, in these animals, ordinarily
consist of an assemblage of simple eyes, of greater or less extent. The following orders
compose the class of Insects of the same naturalist. From its natural relations, the
order Suctoria, which only consists of the genus Pulex [or Flea], appears to terminate
the class ; but as I place at its head the insects which have no wings, this order,
keeping up the regularity of the system, ought to succeed immediately after that of
the Parasita.
Some of the English naturalists have established, from the consideration of the wings,
several new orders ; but I do not see the necessity for their admission, with the excep-
tion of that of the Strepsiptera, of which the denomination {twisted wings) appears to
me to be defective, such not being the case, and which I consequently term Rhipiptera,
or fan-shaped wingsf
The first order, Myriapoda, has more than six legs (twenty-four, and beyond),
arranged along the whole length of the body, upon a series of rings, each of which bears
one or two pairs, and of which the first, and also the second in many species, appears
to form part of the mouth. They are apterous, — that is, deprived of wings and
scutellum.
The second order, Thysanura, has six feet, and the abdomen furnished, at the sides,
with moveable pieces, in the form of false legs, or terminated by appendages fitted for
leaping.
The third order, Parasita, has six legs ; is destitute of wings ; exhibits no organs of
sight, except ocelli; the mouth is for the most part interior, and only consists of a muzzle
inclosing a retractile sucker, or of a slit situated between two lips, with two hooked
mandibles.
The fourth order, Suctoria, has six legs ; is destitute of wings ; and the mouth is
composed of a sucker, inclosed in a cylindrical sheath of two articulated pieces. They
undergo metamorphosis, and acquire thereby locomotive organs which they did not at
first possess. This character is common to the following orders ; but, in them, wings
are always developed by metamorphosis.
The fifth order, Coleoptera, has six legs ; four wings, the superior pair having the
form of sheaths ; mandibles and maxillae for mastication ; the lower wings folded simply
crosswise, and the sheaths crustaceous, and always horizontal. They undergo a com-
plete metamorphosis.
The sixth order, Orthoptera, has six legs ; four wings, of which the two upper are
in the form of sheaths ; mandibles and maxillae for mastication, the latter covered at
» Cuvier, TahL Elem. de I’Hist. Nat. des Anim., and Leqons d’Anat.
Comparce ; Lamarck, Systhne dcs Anim. sans Eertibres ; Latreille,
Pricis des Caract. Gen., and Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum. See
also, for further details, the excellent Introduction to Entomology
by Messrs. Kirby and Spence. [The Horce Entomologicce of M'Leay,
the Handbuc.h der Entomologie by Hermann Burmeister, translated
by Shuckard, and my Introduction to the Modern Classification of In-
sects, may also be alluded to, as offering many details relative to the
natural arrangement of this class].
t [It is true that the wings are not twisted, but the pribalanciers,
as Latreille terms them, are ; and, as it is now proved that these organs
are mesothoracic organs, the propriety of Mr. Kirby’s name is esta-
blished.]
I I
INSECTA.
482
the extremity with a galea ; the lower wings folded in two directions, or simply longi- |
tudinally, and the sheaths ordinarily coriaceous, mostly crossing at the inner margin.
They only undergo the semi-metamorphosis.* * * § |S
The seventh order, Hemiptera, has six feet ; four wings, the two upper having the r
form of coriaceous sheaths, membranous at the extremity, or similar to the inferior pair, ||j
but larger and stronger ; the mandibles and maxillae are replaced by setae, forming a r
sucker, inclosed in a sheath of a single, articulated, cylindrical, or conical beak-like r
piece. I
The eighth order, Neuroptera, has six feet ; four membranous, naked wings ; and p
mandibles and maxillae for mastication. The wings are finely reticulated, the lower pair ‘
generally of the size of the anterior, or more extended in one of their diameters.
The ninth order, Hymenoptera, has six feet; four membranous, naked wings; man- I
dibles and maxillae for mastication ; the lower wings smaller than the superior ; the i
abdomen of the females nearly always terminated by a borer, or sting. ||
The tenth order, Lepiuoptera, has six feet ; four membranous wings, covered with |.!
little coloured scales, like dust ; a horny piece, like an epaulette, directed backwards, I;
inserted in front of each of the fore-wings ; the maxillae replaced by two tubular fila-
ments united, and composing a kind of tongue rolled up in a spire. f \
The eleventh order, Rhipiptera, has six feet ; two membranous wings, folded like a |
fan; two crustaceous, moveable bodies, in the form of small elytra, situated at the fore
extremity of the thorax |; and the organs of manducation consist of a pair of simple, '
setiform maxillae, with two palpi.
The twelfth order, Diptera, has six feet ; two membranous wings, extended, and
accompanied, in nearly all, by two moveable bodies, in the form of balancers, situated ■
behind them ; and the organs of manducation consist of a sucker, containing a variable
number of setae, inclosed in an inarticulated sheath, often under the form of a proboscis,
terminated by two lips.§
THE FIRST ORDER OF INSECTS,- -
MYRIAPODA (Mitosata, Fab.),—
Commonly called Centipedes or Millepedes, are the only animals of this class which have more
than six feet in the perfect state, and in which the abdomen is not distinct from the trunk (or
thorax). Their body, destitute of wings, is composed of a generally extensive series of seg-
ments, nearly of equal size, each generally bearing, with the exeeption of the anterior segments.
* De Geer first established this order, which he called Dermaptera,
chang'ed, without propriety, by Olivier, into Orthoptera. I retain the
latter, because the French naturalists have generally adopted it. [Dr.
Leach, to add to the confusion, employed the name Dermaptera for an
order consisting of the family of the Earwigs. The name ought cer-
tainly to be restored to the mandibulated Hemiptera of Linnaeus].
t The thora.x of the Lepidoptera has more analogy with that of the
Neuroptera than with the Hymenoptera, the medial segment appearing
to form part of the abdomen, whilst in the latter and the Diptera, it is
incorporated with the thorax.
t Formed, as I presume, of pieces analogous to the pterygoda of the
Lepidoptera. [Such is not the case, as is proved by the dissections of
the thorax published by Curtis and myself, being rudimental elytra,
similar to those of Sitaris, Atractocerus, and certain Phasmae].
§ [It would be out of place to enter into a review of the various
systems proposed by different celebrated authors, as Fabricius, Leach,
Kirby, M'Leay, Laporte, and others ; but as the school of English
Entomologists adopt various orders not employed by Latreille, it will
not be improper to observe, that the orders Myriapoda, Thysanura, and
Parasita, are generally, by most English authors, excluded from the
class of Insects, forming a distinct class — Ametabola. The family of the
Earwigs is raised to the rank of an order by Kirby and Leach, under
the name of Dermaptera, which, to prevent further confusion, I have
changed to Euplexoptera. The genus Thrips has been formed into an
order by Mr. Haliday, named Thysanoptera ; Phryganea, or the Cad-
dice-flies, compose the order Trichoptera of Kirby ; the suctorial
Hemiptera, with the fore-wings entirely of a membranous consistence,
are separated as the order Homoptera of Latreille ; whilst the F'orest-
flies {Hippohosca, Linn.) form the order Homaloptera of Leach, sepa-
rated from the Diptera.]
i
ij
MYRIAPODA.
483
two pairs of legs, mostly terminated by a single hook, whether these segments may be undivided
or separated into two semi-segments, each having a pair of these organs, and of which one !
alone presents two spiracles.*
The Myriapoda resemble, for the most part, small Serpents or Nereides, having the legs
closely placed together throughout the whole length of the body. The form of these organs
is also extended to the parts of the mouth. The mandibles are biarticulate, and immediately
succeeded by a piece in form of a lip, divided into four parts, with the divisions articulated, or
similar to small feet, and which, from its situation, corresponds with the tongue {languette) of
the Crustacea : then follow two pairs of small feet, of which the second pair is in the form of
large hooks in many, appearing to replace the four maxillae of the latter animals, or rather the
two maxillae and lower lip of the Insects, being a kind of mouth-feet. The antennae, two in
number, are short, and rather thickened to the tip, or nearly filiform, 7-jointed in some, much
more numerously jointed in others, and setaceous. The eyes are generally formed of an union
of minute ocelli; and if in some species they exhibit a facetted cornea, these facets are propor-
tionably larger, rounder, and more distinct than in the eyes of Insects. The spiracles are
often very small, and their number, in consequence of that of the segments, is often greater
than in the latter, where it never exceeds eighteen or twenty. The number of these segments
and that of the legs, increases with their age, a character which distinguishes the Myriapoda
from the Insects, the latter being always born with the number of segments which is proper
to them, and with all their true unguiculated feet developed at the same period, or at the time
of their quitting the pupa state. M. Savi, jun.. Professor of Mineralogy at Pisa, has par-
ticularly studied the luli, and observed that they are destitute, on quitting the egg, of these
organs, so that these animals undergo a real metamorphosis. The situation of the sexual
organs, compared with the Crustacea and Arachnida, seems to point out the separation of the
thorax and abdomen.
The Myriapoda live and grow longer than the other insects, and, according to M. Savi, at
least two years are required by some (luli), before the organs of generation appear.
From these particulars we may conclude that these animals approach the Crustacea and
Arachnida, on one side, and the Insects on the other ; but, from the consideration of the
presence, form, and division of the tracheae, they belong to the latter class.
[The relations of this tribe of animals are very difficult. Whilst Latreille and Kirby regard
them as entering the class of Insects, other authors have considered them as forming part
of the Arachnida; and M'Leay has separated them from both these classes, and formed
them into two orders, Chilopoda and Chilognatha, raising them, together with the two other
orders, Thysanura and Anoplura (or Parasita, Latr.), and certain annulated Vermes, into a
distinct class, to w^hich he applied the name of Ametahola (changeless), which Leach had
proposed only for the spring-tailed insects and lice.]
We divide them into two families, quite distinct, both in their organization and habits, and
formed by Linnaeus into two generic groups.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE MYRIAPODA,—
Chilognatha, Latr. (or the genus Tulm of Linn.), —
Has the body generally crustaceous, and often cylindrical, the antennae rather thickened at the tips, or
nearly of equal thickness, and consisting of seven joints, two thick mandibles without palpi, very dis-
tinctly divided into two portions by a central articulation, with the teeth imbricated and planted in a
cavity at its upper extremity ; a kind of lip {languette, or lower lip, composed, according to Savigny,
of the two pairs of maxillae of the Crustacea) situated immediately beneath and covering them, being of
a crustaceous texture, flat, and divided at the outer surface, by longitudinal sections and notches, into
* The rings of the body of insects have generally two spiracles. If
the segments of a large Scolopendra are examined (one of those with
twenty-one pairs of feet), it will be seen that they are alternately
provided with, or deprived of, the two spiracles, and thus compara-
tively they are only to be considered as demisegments. Hence each
complete segment has tv/o pair of feet, one pair being supernumerary,
each segment in the other insects having only a pair of feet.
484
INSECTA.
Figr. 42.— lulus, with the body coiled up, /IpatitiitP nf fppf
and the front of the body unrolled, with UeSlltUte OI leei
the antenna magnified.
four principal divisions, tubercled at its superior edge, the two middle divisions being narrower and
shorter, and situated at the upper extremity of another piece, serving as a common base ; the legs are
very short, and always terminated hy a single claw ; four legs situated immediately beneath the pre-
ceding piece of the form of the following, but placed nearer together at the base, with the basal joint
proportionately longer, and the majority of the remainder attached, in double pairs, to each of the
succeeding joints. The male organs are placed behind the seventh pair of legs, and those of the
female behind the second pair. The spiracles are placed alternately above the base of the feet, and of
a very small size.
The Chilognatha crawl very slowly, or, as we may rather say, glide along, rolling themselves into a
spire or bail. The first segment of the body, and in some also the
second, is largest, and represents a corselet, or small shield. It is only
at the fourth, fifth, or sixth segment in different species, that the dupli-
cation of the legs commences ; the two or four first legs are entirely
free to the base, or they do not adhere to their respective segments but
by a middle or sternal line. The two or three terminal segments are
We observe on each side of the body a series of pores,
which had been regarded as spiracles, but which, according to M. Savi,
are merely orifices for the discharge of an acid fluid of a disagreeable odour, which appears to serve
for the defence of these animals ; the respiratory apertures, discovered by him, are placed upon this
sternal piece of each segment, and communicate interiorly with a double series of pneumatic pouches,
disposed in a chain throughout the whole length of the body, whence extend trachean branches which
are extended upon the other organs. According to M. Strauss, these vesicular tracheae are not con-
nected together by a principal trachea, as is customary.
The form of individuals just hatched is like a kidney, perfectly smooth and without appendages ;
eighteen days afterwards they undergo a first moult, when they assume the adult shape, but they have
only twenty-two segments, and the total number of their legs is twenty-six pairs. M. Savi appears
to contradict the assertion of De Geer, that the young have only three pairs of legs and eight rings
in the young individuals; but is it certain that the moulting
of which Savi speaks is really the first ? — or ought we not,
on the contrary, to conclude that these young do not sud-
denly pass from a state exhibiting no locomotive organs to
one with so many as twenty-six pairs, or in other words,
that there are intermediate changes, which have escaped
the notice of M. Savi ? Do not the observations of the Fi^. 43.— Transformations of lulus, from Oe Geer.
Swedish Keaumur confirm these intermediate changes ? Be this as it may, the eighteen outer legs
alone serve for locomotion. At the second moulting the animal exhibits thirty-six pairs, and at
the third moult forty-three ; at this time the body consists of thirty segments. In the adult state the
male has thirty-nine, and the female sixty-four ; two years afterwards they again moult, at which period
the generative organs first appear. From their birth, which takes place in March, until November,
when Savi ceased his observations, these changes of the skin took place nearly monthly. In the
exuvite, even the membrane which lines the interior of the elementary canal and tracheae is to be
jierceived, the organs of the mouth being the only parts wdiich M. Savi could not discover.
(Osservazioni per servire alia storia di una specie di lulus communissima, Bologna, 1817 ; and another
memoir upon lulus fcetidissima, published in 1819, noticed in t\\Q Bulletin of Ferussac, December, 1823),
These insects feed upon decaying animal and vegetable matter, and they deposit a great number of
eggs under ground. According to Linnaeus they form the single genus
Lulus, Linn., —
which we divide as follows : —
Some have the body crustaceous, without appendages at the tip, and the antennae thickened towards
the extremity.
[Fam. 1. — Glomerid.®, Westw., or the Onisdformes of Latreille, in the Cours d' Entomologies
Glomeris, Latr., resembles Wood-lice, being of an oval form, and rolling themselves into a ball ; the body
convex above, concave beneath, with a row of small scales along each side of the body beneath, analogous to
each of the lateral divisions of the Trilobites. They are only composed of twelve segments, exclusive of the
MYRIAPODA.
485
head. These animals are terrestrial, and live under stones in hilly places. lulus ovalis, Linn. ;
Glomeris marginata, Leach.
[Fam. 2. — Iulid^, Westw., or the Anguiformes of Latr., Cours.']
lulus proper, Linn., has the body cylindric and very long ; they roll themselves up spirally, without
any prominent edge or rim at the sides of the segments. The larger species live on the ground, par-
ticularly in sandy places and woods, and emit a disagreeable scent. The smaller ones feed upon fruits
and the leaves and roots of esculent vegetables ; others are found under the bark of trees, in moss, &c.
I. maximus, Linn., a native of South America, reaches seven inches in length, hdus sabulosus, Linn.
{fasciatus, DeGeer), about sixteen lines long, blackish- brown, with two reddish lines down the back;
Fig. 44— Gio- fifty-four segments, the penultimate pointed,— Europe; and other species described by Savi
meris mar- and Leacli {Zool. Mtsc.)
ginata. Polyclesmus, Latr., resembles lulus in its linear form and habit of rolling itself in a coil, but the
segments are compressed at the sides beneath, with a produced margin. Found under stones in damp places.
I. complanatus, Fabr., and others.
The species with distinct eyes form Leach’s genus Craspedosoma, and appear to be proper to England, not having
been noticed by any prior author.
[Fam. 3.— PoLLYXENiD^, Westw., or the Penicillata of Latr., CoursJ] — Pollyxenus, Latr.— Has the body mem-
branous, very soft, and terminated by pencils of small scales. The antennae are of equal thickness throughout.
Scol. lagura, Lin., very minute : it has twelve pairs of legs, placed on the same number of semisegments. Found
in crevices of walls and under old bark.
[Dr. Leach has given an excellent monograph of the British species of this family or order, in the third volume
of the Zoological Miscellany, illustrated by figures. M. Brandt has more recently given a distribution of the tribe,
in the Bulletin Soc. Imper. Nahiralistes de Moscou, tom vi., 1833, dividing them into three sections,— a, Penta-
zonia {a, Glomeridea, genus Glomeris, 11 species; b, Sphaerotheria, gen. Sphaerotherium, 5 species; and
Sphaeropiasus, 2 species) ; b, Trizonia, {a, Julidea, gen. lulus, 13 species ; and Spirobolus, 2 species ; b, Spiro-
streptidea (gen. Spirostreptus, 2 species ; Spiropseus, 1 species ; Spirocyclistus, 1 species) ; 3, Monozonia (gen.
Strongylosoma, 1 species ; Craspedosoma, 2 species ; Polydesmus, 6 species ; also, probably, Pollyxenus, Latr.,
and Callipus, Risso). Gray, in Griffith’s translation of the Regne Animal ; Pet ty, in the Delectus Animal. Articul.
Brasilice, and Gufirin, in the Iconographie of the Regne Animal, have added various other species or genera.
Rafinesque also described numerous other genera, which have been entirely neglected by systematists.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE MYRIAPODA,—
Chilopoda, Latr. (or the genus Scolopendra, Lin.), —
AYhich has the antennae more slender towards the extremity, of at least fourteen joints or more, a
mouth composed of two mandibles furnished with a small palpiform appendage, exhibiting, in the
middle, the appearance of a soldered articulation, and terminated like a spoon, with toothed edges ; a
quadrifid lip*, of wdiich the two lateral divisions are the largest, annulated transversely, resembling the
membranous feet of Caterpillars ; two palpi, or small feet, united together at the base, and hooked at
the tip ; and a second lipf, formed by a second pair of legs, dilated and united at the base, and termi-
nated by a strong hook, moveable, and pierced beneath the extremity with a canal for the discharge
of a venomous liquid.
The body is depressed and membranous ; each of its rings is covered with a coriaceous or cartila-
ginous plate, and only bears, in general, a single pair of feetj, the last of which is directed backw^ards,
and prolonged like a tail. The organs of respiration are composed entirely, or in part, of tubular
tracheae.
These animals run quickly ; they are carnivorous, shun the light, and hide themselves beneath stones,
logs of wood, the bark of trees, in the earth, &c. The inhabitants of hot climates dread them greatly,
the species inhabiting those regions being very large, and their poison much more powerful.
Scolopendra morsitans is called, in the Antilles, the Malfaisante. Some of them exhibit a luminous
property.
The spiracles are more like those of Insects than those of the preceding family, and are either
lateral or dorsal.
This family (in the arrangement of Dr. Leach composing the order Syngnatha) may, from the last-
mentioned characters, and the nature of its respiratory and locomotive organs, be thus divided. Some
* Analogous to the lower lip of the Chilognatha, and representing, in
my opinion, the tongue of the Crustacea, but able to perform also the
office of maxillae. Savigny names it the first au.xili.iry lip.
t Second auxiliary lip of Savigny. It is not articulated with the
head, but with the anterior extremity of the first semisegment. It
may also represent the lower lip of masticating insects. From these
and numerous other relations furnished by the Entomostraca and
Arachnida, I consider that the legs of the hexapod Insects are ana-
logous to the six foot-jaws of the decapod Crustacea,
t In this case they are only seiniscgments.
INSECTA.
486
have only fifteen* pairs of feet; and their body, vs^hen seen from above, exhibits fewer segments than
when seen from beneath.
Scutigera, Lamarck {Cermatia, Illiger), forming a genus very distinct from the rest of this family, has the body
covered by eight shield-like plates, beneath each of which M. de Serres has observed two pneumatic sacs, or vesi-
cular tracheae, communicating with tubular, lateral, and inferior tracheae. The under side of the body is divided
into fifteen semi-segments, each bearing a pair of legs terminated by a very long, slender, and multiarticulated
tarsus : the hind pairs are very long. The eyes are large and facetted. They form the passage from the preceding
family to the present. They are very active, and often lose some of their legs when touched. The French
species {Scolopendre d vingt-huit pattes, Geoif., — S. coleoptrata, Panzer?) hides itself under the beams and joists
of the wood-work of houses. S. longicornis, Fabr., and other species.
Lithobius, Leach, has the spiracles lateral ; the body di-
vided, both above and below, into the same number of seg-
ments, each of which bears a pair of legs ; and the dorsal
plates are alternately longer and shorter. Scolopendra forci-
pata, Linn., and others described by Fabricius, Panzer, and
Leach {Zool. Miscel. vol. iii.)
The others have at least twenty-one pairs of feet,
and the segments are of equal size and number, both
above and beneath.
Scolopendra proper, Linn. Those species which have only twenty-one pairs of feet, after the two
hooks forming the lower lip and the antennae, and have seventeen joints, form Leach’s genera Scolo-
pendra and Cryptops. In the former, comprising the largest species, the eyes are distinct, eight in
number, four on each side. In the latter, the eyes are wanting, or very slightly perceivable. The
southern departments of France, and other countries of the south of Europe, produce a species (Scol.
cingidata, Latr.) which is occasionally nearly as large as the common species of the Antilles, but
having the body flatter. Also, Scol. morsitans, Linn. ; Scol. gigantaa, Linn. ; and others described
by De Geer, Leach, &c., but incompletely.
Cryptops has the joints of the antennae more globose, subconic, and the two hind legs more slender.
Two species, found near London — C. hortensis and Savignii, Leach.
GeopMlus, Leach, has more than forty-two legs, often much more numerous ; antennae 14-jointed,
not so slender at the tip ; body proportionately longer and narrower ; eyes scarcely distinct. Some
species are electrical {Scol. electrica, Linn.) ; and others, especially described by Leach in Zool. J \
Miscell. vol. iii., Scol. phosphorea, Linn., fell from the clouds upon a vessel at the distance of one 46.— Scolo-
hundred miles from the main land. peudra.
Fig. 45. — a, Lithobius forcipatus ; h, Geophilus longicornis.
[Dr. Leach published a valuable memoir upon these animals, illustrated by figures, in the third
volume of the Zoological Miscellany. M. Brulle, also, in the French national work upon the Morea, and
Koch, in Schaffer’s continuation to Panzer, have published various detached species. Say described
many American species; andM. Gervais has also published several memoirs on this tribe in the Magasin
de Zoologie, the Annals of the French Entomological Society, and especially in the Annales des Sciences
Naturelles for January, 1837, in which he has given a complete revision of the order, and has made
some observations on the young state of some of these animals, and the changes they undergo.]
[In the Bulletin of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg, tom. i.. No. 23, p. 1 82, Brandt has
established another order amongst the Myriapodous Insects, dividing them into two orders: — 1. Gnatho-
gense, including all the previously known Myriapoda, with the two groups, Chilopoda and Chilognatha;
and, 2. The Siphonozantia, which have the parts of the mouth produced into a proboscis. This new
order is divided into two sections and three genera : namely, Polyzonium, Brandt ; type, P. germani-
cum, found in Germany ; and Siphonatus and Siphonophora, founded upon Brazilian species.]
THE SECOND ORDER OF INSECTS,—
THYSANOURA,—
Comprises those apterous insects furnished with six legs, which do not undergo a metamor-
phosis, and have, moreover, at the sides of the body, or its extremity, peculiar organs of
locomotion.
* Leach counts two more pairs, because he includes also the palpi, and hoohed feet of the head, in the number.
I
1
I
THYSANOURA.
00
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE THYSANOURA,—
Lepismen^, Latr.,
Has the antennae like threads, and divided, from the base, into a great number of minute joints; palpi
very distinct and exposed ; the abdomen furnished on each side, beneath, with a row of moveable
appendages, like false legs, and terminated by articulated setae, of which three are more remarkable ;
and the body is clothed with minute, shining scales. It composes the single genus
Lepisma, Linn., —
Which has the body elongated, and covered with small scales, silvery and shining, whence the most
common species has been compared to a small fish. The antennae are setaceous, and often very long.
The mouth is composed of a labrum, two nearly membranous mandibles, two maxillae, with two divi-
sions, having a 5 or 6-jointed palpus, and a labium with four divisions, bearing two 4-jointed palpi.
The thorax is composed of three segments. The abdomen, which is gradually narrowed towards its
posterior extremity, has, at the sides, a row of small appendages arising from a short joint, and termi-
nated in setose points : the posterior are the longest. A kind of scaly style, compressed, and formed of
two pieces, arises from the anus ; then follow three articulated setae, which extend beyond the body.
The legs are short, with the coxae often very large, and strongly compressed and scale-like.
Many species hide themselves in the crevices of sashes which remain closed, or are but rarely opened,
under damp boards, in wardrobes, &c. Others lie hidden under stones.
Machilis, Latr. {Petrobius, Leach), has the eyes very much facetted,
nearly contiguous, and occupying nearly all the head ; the body convex,
arched above ; the abdomen terminated by small threads fitted for leaping,
the middle one placed above the other two, being much longer than
them. They leap very well, and frequent stony places. The species
are entirely European. Lepisma polypoda, Linn., &c. ; Petrobius mari-
ri,..7.-MachiIispo.ypoda. Leach.
Lepisma, Linn. {Forbiema, Geoff.), has the eyes very small, wide apart, composed of a small number of grains ;
the body flat, and terminated by three threads of equal length, inserted in the same line, and not fitted for leaping;
the coxaj very large. The majority of the species are found in the interior of houses. Lep. saccharina, Linn.,
four lines long, of a leaden, silvery colour, without spots, said to be a native of America, and other species.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE THYSANOURA,—
PoDURELL.®, Latr., —
Have the antennae composed of four joints ; the mouth not exhibiting distinct and exserted palpi, and
of which the abdomen is terminated by a furcate tail, applied, in inaction, against the belly, and used
in leaping. These, also, only form the single genus
PoDURA, Linn.
These insects are very small, soft, elongated, with the head oval, and two eyes, each formed of eight
minute tubercles. The legs have only four distinct joints. The tail is soft, flexible, and composed of
a basal piece, moveable at its insertion, and terminated by two branches forming the prongs of the fork,
which are capable of opening and shutting. They can unfold their tail, striking it with force against
the plane of position, and thus raising themselves into the air, and leaping like the Fleas, but to a more
moderate height.
Some species are found upon trees and plants, or beneath bark or stones, and sometimes upon the
snow itself, at the time of a thaw. Many species unite into numerous societies, upon the earth, in
sandy paths, and resemble, at a distance, a small quantity of gunpowder. The propagation of some
species appears to take place in the winter.
Podura, Linn., has the antennae of equal tliickness throughout, without minute
joints at the tip ; the body is linear or cylindrical, with the thorax distinctly articu-
lated, and the abdomen narrow and oblong. Podura arborea, Linn. ; P. aquatica,
Linn., &c.
Smyntlmrus, Latr., has the antennae slenderer at the tip, and terminated by an
annulated joint ; the thorax and abdomen form a globular or oval mass. Podura
^ “ Vig: 48.— Podura villusa.
atra, Lmn., &c.
INSECTA.
488
[These insects have been greatly neglected by naturalists, but Dufour has described various species ;
and a valuable memoir is published in the first volume of the Transactions of the Entomological Society of
London, upon the Irish species, by R. Templeton, Esq., R.A., comprising several new genera, and accom-
panied by beautiful figures. Some of his species, however, appear to me to be established upon the
immature states of these insects. M. Guerin has also very recently presented to the Academic des
Sciences, a memoir, in which he announces the existence of branchiae in the Machilis polypoda, Latr. ;
the breathing apparatus * consisting of minute plates placed under the abdominal segments, and by the
side of those appendages which are compared to the false legs of the Crustacea. They are inclosed in
little membranous bags, of a similar organization to those of the respiratory organs of a great number of
the inferior Crustacea. M. Guerin has still more recently figured them in his Jconographied\
THE THIRD ORDER OF INSECTS —
PARASITA, Latr., (Anoplura, Leacli),—
(Or the Lice), thus named from its habits, have only six legs, and are apterous, like the Thysa-
noura ; but the abdomen is destitute of articulated and moveable appendages. Their organs
of sight merely consist of four or two small ocelli. The mouth is, for the most part, internal,
and exhibits, on the outside, either a snout or fleshy porrected tubercle, inclosing a retractile
sucker, or two membranous lips, close together, with two hooked mandibles. They compose,
according to Linnaeus, the single genus
Pediculus, Linn.
The body is flattened, nearly transparent, divided into eleven or twelve distinct segments, of which
three, forming the trunk, have a pair of legs attached to each. The first of these segments often forms
a kind of corselet. The spiracles are very distinct. The antennae are short, of equal thickness through-
out, composed of five joints, and often inserted in an excavation. Each side of the head exhibits one
or two minute ocelli. The legs are short, and terminated by a very strong nail, or by two opposing
hooks, whereby these animals easily fasten themselves to the hairs of quadrupeds or feathers of birds,
of which they suck the blood, and upon the body of which they pass their lives, and there multiply,
attaching their eggs to those cutaneous appendages. Their generations are numerous, and succeed each
other very rapidly. Particular causes, unknown to us, are very favourable to their production ; and
this is especially the case in respect to the common Body Louse, in the disease named phthiriasisf, and
also in infancy. They always live upon the same quadrupeds and birds, or at least upon the animals
of those classes which have analogous characters and habits. One bird, however, often supports two
kinds of Lice. They generally crawl very slowly.
Some species form the tribe Pediculidea of Leach, including
Pediculus, De Geer, which has, in the place of a mouth, a very
small tubular tubercle, situated at the anterior extremity of the
head, in the form of a snout, and inclosing, in inaction, a sucker.
The tarsi are composed of a joint, in size nearly equal to the tibia,
and terminated by a very strong hook, folding upon a prominent
tooth at the extremity of the tibia, acting with it as a pincers. In
those which I have examined, I have only seen two ocelli, one on
each side. Man supports three kinds, their eggs being known under
the name of Nits. The Body Louse (P. humanus corporis, De Geer),
white, without spots, which multiplies excessively in the disease
called phthiriasis, and the Head Louse (P. humanus capitis, De Geer),
ashy colour, with darker spots, found only on the head of man, and
Fig. 49.— ^2, The Common Louse ; 6, mapified ; c, one especially of children, form Leach’s genus Pediculus, liscvm^ the
the legs magnified ; d, eggs ; e, ditto magnified. i j « j &
thorax quite distinct from the abdomen. The Pediculus pubis, Linn.,
or Morpeon [Crabs, or Crab-lice], forms Dr. Leach’s genus Phthirus, having the thorax very short, nearly con-
* [Latveille, in his elaborate memoir upon the organization of the 1 Burmeister, collect in great numbers upon the skin at particular parts
Thysaiioura, was unable to detect the ordinary spiracles for breathing.] 1 of the breast, neck, and back, where the epidermis peels off. Bur-
t [Alt, in his Dissertatio de Phthirinsi, Bonn, 1820, attributes this 1 meister attributes their appearance to equivocal generation,
disease to another species (T. tahescentium) , which, according to ]
SUCTORIA.
489
B founded with the abdomen, and the four hind legs very robust. (See Dr. Alibert’s fine work upon the maladies
of the skin.)
y Other species, found upon different quadrupeds, have been figured by Redi, but in a coarse manner. That which
I ' lives upon the Pig has the thorax very narrow, with the abdomen very broad {Pediculiis Suis, Linn., forming Leach’s
ij genus H<ematopinus). The Louse of the Buffalo, figured by De Geer (Ins. vol. vii. pi. 1, f. 12), is more singular,
j (Pediculus Cervi, Panzer, belongs to the dipterous genus Melophagus.)
':j The other species {Nmnidea, Leach), such as Ricinus, De Geer, Nirmiis, Herm. & Leach, have the
I mouth on the under side of the head, and composed, on the outside, of two lips, and of two hooks and
j mandibles. The tarsi are very distinct, articulated, and terminated by two equal nails.
' With the exception of a single species, that of the Dog, all the rest are found exclusively upon birds.
The head is generally large, sometimes triangular, or in the others in the form of a semicircle or crescent,
and has often angular projections. It differs sometimes in both sexes, as well as the antennae. I have
perceived, in many species, two simple eyes close together, on each side of the head.
According to observations communicated to me by M. Savigny, these insects have
maxillae, with a very small palpus upon each, hidden by the lower lip, which has also
similar organs. They have, also, a kind of tongue.
M. Leclerc de Laval has stated to me that he discovered, in their stomach, morsels
of the feathers of birds, which he believes is their only food. De Geer asserts, never-
theless, that he found the stomach of the Ricinus of the Chaffinch filled with blood,
wdth which it had gorged itself. It is also known that these insects can subsist but a
very short time upon dead birds. They are then observed crawling, with uneasiness,
upon the feathers, particularly upon those of the head, and near the beak. Redi has figured a great
number of species, [as has also Lyonnet, in his posthumous memoirs].
Some species have the mouth situated near the anterior extremity of the head ; the antennae are inserted at the
side, at a distance from the eyes, and are very small. PedicuUs Sternce, Hirundinis, Linn., &c.
In the other species, the mouth is nearly central ; the antennae placed very near the eyes, and their length is
nearly equal to that of half the head. Ricinus Gallincs, De Geer, &c.
A celebrated German naturalist, Dr. Nitzsch, deeply studied the internal and external anatomy of these animals,
of which he published a memoir in GermaPs Magazine. The true genus Pediculus, or the species provided with a
suctorial mouth, is arranged by him with the Epizoical Hemiptera. The genus Ricinus, De Geer (Nirmus, Herm.),
or the species provided with mandibles and maxillae, are referred to the order Orthoptera, and collectively named
Mallophaga. Two genera of the latter are allied to the former, in being found upon various Mammalia. They are
Trichodectes, having the maxillary palpi obsolete, and living upon the Dog, Badger, &c. ; and Gyropus, having
distinct maxillary palpi, and living upon the Guinea-pig. The last-naxned genus has the mandibles entire, and the
labial palpi obsolete, thus differing from Liotheum, which has the mandibles bidentate, the labial palpi distinct,
and the tarsi terminated by two nails. The species are found on various birds, as are also those of the last genus,
Philopterus, which have 5-Jointed antennae, the third often branched in the males, and the maxillary palpi are in-
distinct. We have not space to enumerate the subgenera into which Nitzsch has divided these genera, in all of
which the pro- and mesothorax compose the trunk, the metathorax being soldered to the abdomen. The subgenus
Goniodes is restricted to the gallinaceous birds. We have described a species of Philopterus in detail, in the col-
lection of memoirs at the end of our History of Ants.
M. L. Dufour has formed a new genus (Triongulinus) for the Pediculus Melittue of Kirby, previously observed by
De Geer, who regarded it as the larva of Meloe proscar ahceus. If it be not the larva of this insect, as Kirby sup-
posed, doubtless it would form a distinct subgenus in the order Parasita ; but Messrs. Serville and Saint Fargeau
have confirmed De Geer’s statement, [as it has also been by numerous recent English observers, as Doubleday,
Newport, Newman, Jenyns, &c.]
[In addition to the species figured by Redi, De Geer, and Lyonnet, and those indicated (from the species of ani-
mals attacked), but not specifically described, by Nitzsch, various species have been described by L. Dufour in the
Annales de la Soeiete Entomologique de France; and by J. G. Children, Esq., in the Appendix to Captain Back’s
Voyage to the North Pole. Mr. Denny has also announced an illustrated monograph of the order.]
Fig. 50.— Ricinus
Pavonis.
THE FOURTH ORDER OF INSECTS —
SUCTORIA, De Geer, (SiPHONAPTERA, Latr., [Aptera, M‘Leay ; Aphaniptera, Kirby]),—
Terminates the Apterous Inseets, and has the mouth formed of a sueker of three * pieees, in-
elosed between the articulated plates, forming together a rostrum or beak, either cylindrical
* Roesel only represents two, but Kirby and Strauss have observed one more. According to the latter, the scales covering the base of the
beak are the palpi.
490 INSECTA.
or conical, the base of which is covered by two scales. These characters exclusively distin-
guish it from all other insects, including the Hemiptera, with which it was ranged by Fabricius.
The Suctoria, moreover, undergo real metamorphoses, analogous to those of many two-winged
insects, as the Tipulidse.
This order is composed of the single genus of Fleas, —
PuLEX, Linn.
The body is oval, compressed, inclosed in a tough skin, and divided into twelve segments, of which
three compose the trunk, which is short, and the others the abdomen. The head is small, very com-
pressed, rounded above, truncate, and ciliated in front. It has, on each side, a small, round eye, be-
hind which is a cavity, in which is placed a small, moveable body, furnished with minute spines. At
the anterior edge, near the base of the beak, are situated the pieces which have been considered as the
antennae, which are scarcely so long as the head, and are composed of four nearly cylindrical joints.
The sheath of the beak is composed of three joints. The abdomen is very large, and each of its seg-
ments is divided in two, being formed of two plates, one superior and the other inferior. The legs are
robust, particularly the posterior, fitted for leaping, spinose, with the coxae and thighs very large, and
the tarsi composed of five joints, the last terminated by two long nails. The two fore-legs are inserted
almost beneath the head, and the beak is placed between them.
The female lays about a dozen white, slightly viscid eggs, whence emerge small larvae, destitute of
legs, very much elongated, resembling minute worms, very active, coiling themselves up in a circle or
spire, serpenting in their progress, at first white and afterwards reddish. Their body is composed of a
scaly head, without eyes, bearing two very minute antennae and thirteen segments, with small tufts of
hairs and a pair of little hooks at the tip of the last. The mouth exhibits a few small, moveable parts,
of which the larvae make use in pushing themselves forwards. After living about twelve days under
this form, these larvae inclose themselves in a small silken cocoon, where they become pupae, and from
whence they make their escape in the perfect state, at the expiration of a similar period.
Every one knows the common Flea {Pulex irritans, Linn.), which
feeds on the blood of Man, the Dog, and Cat. Its larva lives amongst
dirt, and beneath the nails of filthy persons ; also in the nests of birds,
such as Pigeons, attaching itself to the necks of the young, and gorging
itself till it becomes red. Well figured by Dumeril {Consid. Generates
sur la Classe des Insectes.) — Pulex penetrans, Linn., probably forms a
peculiar genus. Its beak is of the length of the body. It is known in
America under the name of the Chigoe [or Jigger]. It introduces itself
beneath the nails of the feet and the skin of the heel, where it soon ac-
quires the size of a small pea, by the quick growth of the eggs, which
it bears in a large membranous bag beneath the abdomen, the nume-
rous family from which occasions, by remaining in the wound, an
ulcer, very difficult to heal, which even sometimes becomes mortal. Frequent washings, and rubbing the feet
with fresh tobacco leaves, or those of other bitter plants, are preventives against its attacks. The negroes [or
more commonly the negresses] are in the habit of extracting the insect, with great skill, from its lodgement.
Various quadrupeds and birds nourish Fleas, which appear to differ specifically from the two preceding.
[The structure of the head and mouth of these insects has been investigated by recent entomo-
logists, especially by Curtis, Duges, and myself. The moveable organs noticed above, implanted in a
cavity at the back of the sides of the head, are proved to be antennae, varying considerably in form in
various species. Their variations have led to the proposal of another genus for certain species, by
Mr. Curtis. The two flat pieces noticed by Roesel, are the lancet-like mandibles ; the two conical scales
at the base of the mouth are the maxillae, the long antenna-like organs in front of the head being the
maxillary palpi ; the third piece, noticed above as described by Kirby, is the slender setiform tongue,
and the two articulated plates above described are the labial palpi, arising from a common labium.
Thus the mouth is seen to consist of all the essential parts, except an upper lip, which is obsolete in
many other tribes. M. Duges has also detected two scales on each side of the meso- and metathorax,
which he considers as the real analogues of the two pairs of wings. j
Various species of Fleas have been described by Curtis, Duges, &c. The Chigoe has also been in-
vestigated by Duges, Guerin, and myself, from whence it appears that the large mass of eggs causes
the abdomen to become immensely swollen. The mouth is of the ordinary type, but the loAver lip is
destitute of labial palpi, whence I have proposed for it the generic name of Sarcopsyllus, or Flesh-flea.]
M
COLEOPTERA.
491
THE FIFTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
COLEOPTERA, Linn. (Eleutherata, Fabr.),—
Have four wings, of which the upper pair is crustaceous, in the form of scales, horizontal,
and meeting [when at rest] along the inner edge by a straight line. They have, likewise,
mandibles and maxillae, and the lower wings are folded only transversely, and covered by the
other two, which form a kind of case, and which are generally known under the name of elytra.
These insects [generally known under the English name of Beetles] are the most numerous
and the best known of the insect tribes. Their singular forms, the brilliant colours exhibited
by many of their species, the size of their bodies, the more solid texture of their teguments,
which renders their preservation much more easy, and the numerous advantages to be derived
from the investigation of such a variety of forms of their external organs, have merited for
them the particular attention of naturalists.
The head is provided with two antennae of variable form, and of which the number of joints
is generally eleven ; two facetted eyes ; no ocelli ; and a mouth composed of an upper lip, two
mandibles, mostly of a scaly consistence, two lower jaws (maxillae), each bearing one or two
palpi, and a lower lip formed of two pieces, namely, the mentum and the tonguelet {languette),
and accompanied by two palpi, generally inserted upon this latter piece ; those of the
maxillae, or the outer maxillary palpi (when they bear two), have never more than four joints,
whilst those of the low'er lip have, ordinarily, only three joints.
The anterior segment of the trunk, or that which is in front of the wings or elytra, and
which is commonly named the corselet [prothorax], and which bears the first pair of feet,
and greatly surpasses in extent the two other segments, which are compactly united together,
as well as to the base of the abdomen : their under part, or the sternum or breast, serves
as a point of attachment to the two other pairs of feet.* The second of these segments [or
the mesothorax], upon which is placed the scutellum, is narrower in front, so as to form a
short peduncle, which is received into the inner cavity of the first segment [or prothorax],
and w^hich serves as a pivot to assist in all its movements.
The elytra and wings arise upon the lateral and superior margins of the hinder division of
the thorax, [or the meso- and metanotum]. The elytra are crustaceous, and in repose are
applied one against the other in a straight line along the inner margin, or suture, and are
always in a horizontal position. In almost every instance they hide the wings, which are
large, and folded transversely. Many species are wingless ; but the elytra are always present.
The abdomen is sessile, or united to the thorax by its greatest width : it is composed on the
outside of six or seven segments ; membranous above, or of a consistence less firm than on
the under side. The number of joints on the tarsi varies from three to five.f
Beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis. The larva resembles a worm, with a scaly head
and mouth, analogous in the number and functions of its parts to that of the perfect insect,
and also with six legs : some species, however, few in number, are destitute of these appen-
dages, or have only simple fleshy tubercles.
The pupa is inactive, and does not take any nourishment. The habitation, mode of life,
and other habits of these insects, both in their immature and perfect states, vary very much.
I have divided this order into four sections, after the number of joints of the tarsi. J
* The mesothorax is always narrow and short, and the metathorax,
often of larger size, is longitudinally impressed down the centre.
t Judging from analogy, the Coleoptera described as monomerous
have probably three joints to the tarsi, but of which the two basal
joints escape the view : this section, as well as the Dimera, have been
suppressed in this edition.
J [The distribution of the Coleoptera, founded upon the number of
joints in the tarsi, has been objected to by some authors, as it has the
effect, if rigidly adhered to, of separating certain groups nearly related
together : as, for instance, the Pselaphidae (which have only 3-jointed
tarsi), and the Staphylinidae, which have 5-jointed tarsi. Some
species are also anomalous in the number of the joints of their tarsi
varying in the sexes. Another objection has been raised to the tarsal
system, on the ground, that the so-called Tetramera have, in effect,
I 5-jointed, instead of 4-jointed tarsi ; and the Trimera, 4-jointed, and
not 3-jointed tarsi, as those names indicate. But these objections
appear to me insufficient ; due allowances must be made for certain ex-
ceptions against every rule ; and the peculiar structure of the tetrame-
rous or trimerous tarsi,equally merits their retention as distinct groups.
Mr. M'Leay has proposed a classification of the Beetles, founded upon
492 INSECTA.
The first section comprises the Pentamera, or those which have five joints in all the tarsi^
and which consist of six families, of which the first two are distinguished by the possession of
a double excrementitial apparatus.*
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA —
Carnivora, Cuv. {Adephaga, Clair.), — f
Which has two palpi to each maxilla, or six in the whole. The antennae are almost always thread-
like or setaceous, and simple. The maxillae are terminated by a scaly piece or slender hook ; and the
inner edge is furnished with hairs or small spines. The tonguelet is received in a notch of the
mentum. The two fore-legs are inserted upon the sides of a compressed sternum, by means of a
large rotule ; the posterior pan have a strong trochanter at the base ; their basal joint is large, and
appears to be soldered with the post- sternum, in the form of a curvilinear triangle, with the outer
edge excavated.
These insects hunt after and devour other insects ; many have no wings under the elytra. The
anterior tarsi in many of the males are dilated.
Their larvae are also very carnivorous. They have, in general, the body cylindric, elongated, and
composed of twelve joints ; the head (not counted in this number) is large, scaly, armed ivith two
strong mandibles bent upwards at the point, with two short conical antennae, two maxillae, divided into
two branches, of which one is formed by the palpus ; a tonguelet, bearing two short palpi ; and six
small smooth eyes on each side. The first segment is covered by a scaly plate ; the others are softer.
Each of the anterior segments bears a pair of feet, of which the extremity is eurved in front. These
larvae differ according to the genera. Those of the Cicindelae, and Aristus bucephalus, have the upper
side of the head deeply impressed in the middle, with its under side very globose. They have on each
side twm of the small smooth eyes much larger than the rest. The upper plate of the fore segment is
large, and like a semicircular shield. The eighth segment has upon the back two hooked tubercles.
The last segment has no particular appendages.
In the other larvae of this family with which we are acquainted, with the exception of Omophron,
the head is not so strong and regular on its upper side. The ocelli are very small, and all alike.
The scaly back of the first segment is square, and does not extend beyond the side of the body. The
eighth segment is destitute of tubercles, and the last is terminated by two conical appendages, as well
as a membranous tube, formed of the elongation of the anal apparatus. These conical appendages are
corneous and toothed in the larvee of Calosoma and Carabus : they are fleshy, articulated, and longer in
the Harpali and Licini. The form of the mandibles approaches that of the perfect Beetles. The larvae
of Omophron Umbatus, according to Desmarest, is of a conical form, with a large head, and two very
strong mandibles, and with only two eyes : the extremity of its body, which is gradually narrowed, is
terminated by an appendage of four joints. I have only counted two in those of the larvae of the
Licini and Harpali.
These insects are either terrestrial or aquatic.
The terrestrial Carnivora have the legs fit only for running ; the four posterior are inserted at
equal distances apart : the mandibles are entirely exposed ; the terminal piece of the maxillae straight
beneath, and bent only at the tip ; the body generally oblong, with the eyes prominent. All the
trachem are tubular or elastic. The intestine is furnished with two small sacs, which secrete an acrid
humour. M. L. Dufour has presented (in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, vol. viii. p. 36,) a
resume of the anatomical characters of these insects, [from which it appears that the digestive tube is
not more than twice the length of the body ; the gizzard is armed interiorly with moveable corneous
the forms of their larvae ; he has, however, only given a slight sketch,
which recent discoveries do not seem to support. Mr. Kirby has
also proposed another arrangement in the Fauna Borealis Americana,
founded exclusively upon the general structure of the perfect insect.]
* Linnaeus, Fahricius, and their followers commence the arrange-
ment of the Beetles with the genus Scarabmus : which comprises
some of the most bulky of the insect tribes, as, for instance, the Rhi-
noceros, Elephant, and Goliath Beetles. The arrangement of Latreille
is founded upon the supposed superior developement of the masti-
catory organs of the Adephaga, and especially upon the circumstance
of their possessing two pairs of palpi to each of the maxillae. Mr.
Hope, in the preface to the second part of his Coleopterist’s Manual,
has supported the Linnaean arrangement with various arguments.]
t This family, one of the most extensive of the insect tribes, has
been illustrated by Weber, Clairville, Bonelli, and especially by Dejean
in his Species General, [now completed by himself, as regards the land
Carnivora, and continued by Dr. Aube, as regards the aquatic species].
COLEOPTERA. 493
pieces, fitted for trituration ; and that the existence of a complicated apparatus for an excrementitial
secretion, possessing ammoniacal qualities, is one of the most striking features of the Carahi.]
They are divided into two tribes.
The first, that of the Cicindeletce, Latr., comprises the genus
CiCTNDELA, Linn., —
Which have the tip of the maxillae furnished with a corneous, slender hook, artieulated at its base with
these under jav^s. The head is robust, with great eyes, jaws very advanced and toothed, and a very
short tonguelet hidden behind the mentura. The labial palpi are distinctly composed of four joints ;
they are commonly hirsute, as well as the maxillary palpi. The majority of the species are
exotic.
Some species have a tooth in the middle of the notch of the mentum, with the labial palpi wide apart at the
base.
Manticora, Fab., has the tarsi alike in both sexes, with cylindrical joints. Manticora maxillosa, Fab. [and M. la-
tipennis, Waterh.] from Calfraria. M. pallida, Fab., forming M’Leay’s genus Platychile, [figured in King’s
Jahrbiieher].
Those species which have the three basal joints of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, with the body oblong
or oval, and the thorax nearly square, compose the genera Megacephala, Latr,, (with a transverse short upper lip) ;
Oxycheila, Dej. (with a large triangular upper lip) ; Eiiprosopus, Latr., and Cicindela pioper, which has the labial
palpi not longer than the maxillary, the third joint of the former not manifestly thicker than the following Joint,
and the three dilated basal joints of the anterior male tarsi elongated.
The body of the last-named insects is generally of a darker or lighter green colour, varied with shining metallic
tints, and with white spots upon the elytra ; they frequent dry situations exposed to the sun, run very quickly,
fiy off when they are approached, and alight at a short distance ; if again disturbed, they have recourse to the
same means of defence.
The larvae of two indigenous species, the only ones yet observed, burrow in the earth, forming a cylindrical hole
of considerable depth, using their jaws and feet in its construction, and loading the concave back of their heads
with the grains of earth which they have detached, with which they ascend backwards, resting at intervals,
fixing themselves to the inner walls of their burrow by the assistance of the two hooked tubercles upon the back ;
when arrived at the orifice, they jerk off their load to a distance. Whilst lying in ambush the flat plate of the head
exactly stops the mouth of the hole, forming a flat surface with the surrounding soil. They seize their prey with
their jaws, and even rush upon it, precipitating it to the bottom of their burrows, with a see-saw motion of the
head. They likewise descend them with equal quickness at the least danger. If they find them too narrow, or the
nature of the earth is not favourable to them, they make a new burrow. Their
voracity is even extended to other larva;, even of their owm kind, stationed in the
same situations. They close the orifice of their burrow when they change their
skin, or undergo their change to the pupa state. These observations have in part
been communicated to me by M. Miger, who has greatly studied the larvae of
Coleoptera.
Cicindela campestris, Lin,, is half an inch long, of an obscure green above, with
the upper lip white, and with a slight tooth in the middle ; each of the elytra with
five small white dots. Very common throughout Europe, especially in the spring.
Cicindela germanica, Lin, [the smallest British species], and some others, are
of a narrower form ; they fly less than the foregoing. All these species are winged,
but other exotic species are apterous, forming Dejean’s genus Dromica.
Clenostoma, Klug, has the body long and narrow, the thorax long and knotted,
and the third joint of the male tarsi is produced on the inside into a plate. The
species are from tropical America.
Therates, Latr. {Eurychile, Bonelli); Colliuris, Latr. {Collyris, Fab,); and Tricondyla, Latr., are three genera
which have no tooth in the middle of the notch of the mentum, and the labial palpi are contiguous at the base.
Therates has the form of Cicindela proper, but in the two others the body is long and narrow, and the thorax knotted.
All the species of these three groups are peculiar to the East Indies and the islands of the adjacent Archipelago.
[The investigation of the family Cicindelidae*, corresponding with the Linnsean genus Cicindela, or
Cicindeletae of Latreille, has been greatly pursued by modern continental authors, who have described
a great many new species, chiefly exotic, and have added several new genera. Dejean’s Species General,
Vander Linden’s Memoir on the Insects of Java, Laporte de Castelnan, in various memoirs. Gory, Say,
Klug, Guerin, Gistl, &c., have particularly studied this family ; and in our own country M‘Leay, Kirby,
and Hope, in the 2nd part of The Coleopterisfs Manual, have described many new species.]
* [English authors have generally adopted the plan first proposed | treille, and for which they retain the old Linnsean generic name, but
by Mr. Kirby, in his “ Century,” of forming the Linnsean genera into 1 with an uniform termination ida."]
natural families, corresponding with the “ families naturelles” of La- I
Fig. 52. — Cicindela campestris, and
494
INSECTA.
The second tribe, that of the Carabici, Latr., comprises the genus
Carabus, Linn., —
Which has the maxillae terminated simply in a point or hook, not articulated at its base. The head is
generally narrower, or at least not broader, than the thorax ; the mandibles, except in a few instances,
are destitute of or with very slight teeth ; the tonguelet is generally exposed, and the labial palpi are
only distinctly three-jointed, ( the basal joint, which in Cicindela is detached, forming a fourth
joint, being here entirely fixed, and forming a support to the palpus, and is accordingly not reckoned
as a separate joint). Many species are destitute of wings, and have only elytra. They often emit
a fetid odour, and discharge from the anus an acrid and caustic liquid.
GeofFroy considered that the ancients designated these insects under the name of Buprestis, and
which they regarded as a dangerous poison, especially to oxen. (See the genus Meloe).
The Carabici conceal themselves in the earth, under stones, the bark of trees, &c., and are for the
most part very active. Their larvae have the same habits. This tribe is very numerous, and of diffi-
cult investigation.
We form a first general division with those in which the exterior [maxillary] palpi are not terminated
by a minute conical joint, the last joint forming, with the preceding joint, an oval or conoid mass,
with a sharp point at its tip.
Some of these have a deep notch on the inner edge of the anterior tibiae, separating the two acute
spurs, which are ordinarily placed at the apex of the limb. These constitute several [five] sections.*
1. The Truncatipennes, thus named from their elytra being almost invariably truncate at the
posterior extremity. The head and thorax are narrower than the abdomen. Some have the ungues
of the tarsi simple, or without teeth beneath. Of these the three following are destitute of wings.
Anthia, Weber, Fab., with the tonguelet horny, oval, and nearly as long as the palpi ; the abdomen is oval, often
convex, and the elytra are nearly entire, or scarcely truncate. These, as well as those of the next subgenus, have
the body black, and with spots of white down. They inhabit the deserts and other sandy places of Asia and
Africa. From an observation of De Latour, they eject from the anus, when disturbed, a caustic liquid. The
species are generally of large size, and in the males of some the thorax is dilated more or less behind, and termi-
nated by two lobes.
Graphipterus, Latr. long confounded with the preceding, but differing in the tonguelet, entirely membranous
except in the centre ; the abdomen is always flattened and orbicular. The species of this subgenus are exclusively
African, and are much smaller than the preceding.
Aptinus, Bonelli, has the last joint of the exterior palpi, and especially of the labial palpi, evidently dilated, and
a tooth in the middle of the mentum. But that which more particularly distinguishes them, and also the Brachini,
is, that their abdomen, which is oval and thickened, contains organs which secrete a caustic fluid, escaping with an
explosion from the anus, and instantly evaporating, with a penetrating scent. ITiis fluid, when the animal is held
between the fingers, produces upon the skin a spot similar to that made by nitric acid, and even, if the species be
large, a painful burn. Dufour first made us acquainted with the organs by which it was secreted (in Annal. du
Mtis. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii.). These insects are often found assembled in societies, especially in the spring,
under stones. They make use of this defence to alarm their enemies, and they are able to repeat the explosion a
considerable number of times. The larger species are found in the tropics and other hot countries, as far as the
limits of the temperate zone. A. Batista, Dej. {Brachintis displosor, Dufour), inhabits Navarre and various parts
of Spain and Portugal.
Brachinus, Weber, Fabr., differs only from Aptinus in being provided with wings, and the middle of the emar-
gination of the mentum not toothed. Brachinus crepitans, Fabr., is found common in the environs
of Paris [as well as in various parts of England]. It is generally four lines long, fulvous-orange,
with the elytra dark blue or greenish blue, and the antennae fulvous, the third and fourth joints
being black. The breast, with the exception of the middle of the abdomen, is also fulvous. Other
species are named, from their explosive powers, B. bombarda,B.exhatans,B.causticus,B. sclopeta,Bic.
{Catascopus, Kirby, appears to us to belong to the section Simplicimani, from a recent investi-
gation, rather than to this section.)
Corsyra, Stev., is placed by Dejean between Brachinus and Catascopus. The claws are simple ;
body flat, short, broad ; palpi filiform.
The other Carabici of the same division have the ungues also simple, but the head is narrowed behind the eyes
into a neck. In some the tarsi are nearly identical in the two sexes, subcylindrical or linear, the penultimate
joint being alone deeply bilobed.
Fig:. 53.-:
hardier beetle
[Mr. M'Leay and several more recent writers have cut up the of the primary group Carabiques, which is itself regarded, as a whole.
Linnsean genus Carabus, or the family Carabidae, into several divisions,
each of which they have regarded as equivalent in value to the family
Cicindelidae. The views of Latreille, in regarding them as divisions
of equal rank with the Cicindeletse, correspond with those of Linnaeus
and Kirby.]
COLEOPTERA.
495
Casnonia, Latr. (having the thorax long and conical), Leptotrachelus, Latr., and Odacantha, Payk. (with the
thorax nearly cylindrical, the elytra truncate, and the tarsal joints entire), are distinguished by having the outer
maxillary palpi filiform, or scarcely thickened at the tip. Od. melanura, Fabr., Claii-ville, is three lines long, of a
bluish green colour, with the elytra, except at the tip, of a reddish yellow ; the tip of the elytra is bluish black.
This species frequents aquatic places, and is commonly found in the departments of the north of France, Germany, j
and Sweden. [It is plentiful in similar situations in the fens of Lincolnshire, Whittlesea Mere, &c., and is found
in quantities in the sedge boats which go to Cambridge.]
Those which have the outer maxillary palpi terminated by an enlarged triangular or obconical joint, and which
have the body flattened and the tarsal joints entire, compose the three following subgenera, namely, Zuphium^
Latr., Polistichus, Bonelli (consisting of a single British species, P. fasciolatus), and Helluo, Bon. [the last of
which consists of numerous exotic species, the type being H. costatus of New South Wales] ; whilst those which
differ from the last in having the penultimate joint of the tarsi deeply bilobed, the jaws long and porrected, and the
body thick, form the genus Drypta, Latr., Fabr., the type of which is the D. emarginata, Fabr., four lines long, of
a fine blue colour, with the mouth, antennae, and legs fulvous. It is more common on the south than the north
of France. M. Blondel, however, found it abundantly near Versailles. [It is very rare in England, and has been
found on the southern coast.]
Tricliognatha, Latr., Galerita, Fabr., and Cordistes, Latr., are exotic genera [chiefly American], differing from
the preceding in having the four basal joints of the anterior tarsi of the males greatly dilated, the fourth being
constantly bilobed in both sexes.
The remaining Truncatipennes have the ungues of the tarsi finely toothed beneath, like a comb.
Ctenodactyla, Dej., and Agra, Fabr., have the head oval, and separated from the thorax by an abrupt neck ; the
fourth tarsal joint is always bilobed. The latter genus has the body very long and narrow, with the thorax of an
elongated conical form, narrowed in front. The species are numerous, and inhabitants of South America.
The four following subgenera have the head not separated from the thorax by a distinct narrow knot or rotule ;
the body is flattened and elongated, and the thorax is longer than broad, heart-shaped, posteriorly truncated.
Cymindes, Latr. {Tarns, Clairv.), with the outer maxillary palpi filiform, the last joint cylindrical, but being in
the labial palpi very large and hatchet-shaped, at least in the males, and all the joints of the tarsi are entire and
nearly cylindrical. [The type is the Carabus humeralis, Fabr., a rare British insect ; there are also several other
British species.]
Calleida, Dej., having the fourth joint of the tarsi bifid. Peculiar to America.
Demetrias, Bon. Similar to the last in the tarsi, but with the palpi filiform, and the last joint nearly ovoid or
subcylindrical. This and the following subgenera consist of very small species [many of which are British], and
which for the most part frequent aquatic, moist, or shady places, and are nearly all natives of Europe.
Dromius, Bon. Generally apterous, with the tarsal joints entire, but in other respects agreeing with Demetrias.
In the I’est the thorax is broader than long, broadly truncate behind.
Of these, Lebia, Latr. (and Lainprias, Bon.), have the middle of the posterior edge of the thorax prolonged into
a transverse lobe; the four basal joints of the tarsi are nearly triangular, and the fourth is more or less bifid or
bilobed. These insects are agreeably diversified in their colours, [being in fact some of the most elegant of the
whole family. The type of Lebia is the Carabus crux minor, Lin., of a fulvous colour, with a black head, and an
irregular-shaped black cross on the back of the elytra. It is very rare in England.] The type of Lamprias, the
Carabus cyanocephalus, Lin., is about three lines long, of a shining blue or green colour above, with the basal joint
of the antennae, the thorax, and feet, reddish yellow, and the tips of the thighs black. It is a rather common
species throughout Europe. Others have the thorax terminated in a straight line, without an advanced lobe,
namely, Dej., Orthogonius, Dej., and Coptodera, Dej., all consisting of exotic species; near the last
of which ought probably to be arranged the subgenus Hexagonia, Kirby.
[“ The subfamily Truncatipennes [or the Brachinidce of M‘Leay] as at present constituted, is, per-
haps, the most incongruous of all the subfamilies of the Carabidm, the term Truncatipennes, applied to
it hy Latreille, by no means indicating a constant character, as many of the species have the elytra
rounded at the tips. The tarsi are indeed generally alike in both sexes, or, if dilated in the males,
the dilatation is of a different character from that of the other subfamilies. It may indeed be rather
regarded as a convenient receptacle for such groups as have not the bipartite and palmated structure
of the Scaritides, the simple tibiae of the Carabides, the dilated male tarsi of the Harpalides and its
subdivisions, or the minute conical terminal joint of the maxillary palpi of the Bembidiides.” {Introd,
to Mod. Class, of Insects, vol. i. p. 75.) The family has been greatly studied, and a vast number of
new species described, together with many new genera ; but these have been established upon slight
structural characters, and as they are for the most part exotic, I have not thought it advisable to
detail them.]
2. The second section, that of the Bipartiti, or the Scaritides, Dej., and which may from their
habits be also called Fossores or Burrowers, is formed of Carabici with the elytra entire or slightly
sinuated at the posterior extremity, the antennae often necklace-like and elbowed [at the extremity
of the long basal joint], the head broad, the thorax large, ordinarily in the shape of a cup, or nearly
INSECTA.
j 496
semiorbicular, separated from the abdomen by an interval, which makes it appear pedunculated ; the
legs are generally but slightly elongated, with the tarsi often short, alike or scarcely different in the
two sexes, without a cushion on the under-side, and merely furnished with the ordinary hairs or cilise ;
the two anterior tibiae are toothed on the outside, as though palmated, or furnished with fingers, in
many species, and the mandibles are often strong and toothed ; the notch of the mentum is armed
with a tooth. They are all found on the ground, hiding themselves either in burrows which they have
dug, or under stones, and often quitting their retreats only during the night ; their colour is generally of
an uniform black. The larva of Ditomm bucephalus, the only one yet observed, has the form and
mode of life of the Cicindelae. They are particularly natives of hot climates.
The three following subgenera have the labial palpi terminated by a large hatchet-shaped joint.
Enceladus, Bon., has the anterior tibiae without any internal notch, and not palmated externally. The thorax
is heart-shaped, broadly truncated. Type, E. gigas, Bon., from the coast of Angola.
Siagona, Lat. {Cucujus and Galerita, Fabr.), has the fore tibiae not palmated, but the notch on the inside is
distinct ; the basal joint of the antennae is elongated. Some species have the abdomen oval, and are apterous
{S. rufipes, &c.). In others, it is oval, truncated at the base, and these species are winged. They inhabit northern
Africa or the East Indies.
Carenum, Bon., has the antennae moniliform, the anterior tibiae toothed on the outside, thus resembling
Scarites ; the maxillae are straight, without any terminal tooth. Type, Scar, cyaneus, Fabr., from New Holland.
All the remaining Scaritides have the labial palpi terminated by an elongated, nearly cylindrical joint, narrowed
at the base ; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is also subcylindi-ical.
A first very natural subdivision comprises the Scarites of Fabricius (except the last-mentioned species), which
have the two fore-legs palmated or fingered at the tip, that is, terminated exteriorly in a long point or spine,
opposed to a very strong inner spur. The antennfe are moniliform, with the second joint as long and often longer
than the following. The mandibles are robust, advanced, and toothed on the inside.
Some of these have the mandibles very strong, protruded, and toothed, the upper lip crustaceous, and very much
toothed on the fore margin ; the fore tibiae are always palmated, and the species are generally of large size.
Pasimachus, Bon., approaches the last in respect to the maxillae, which are straight, and without any terminal
hook; the body is very flat, thorax heart-shaped, broadly truncate behind. This subgenus is confined to
America.
Scapterus, Dej., is placed by its author next the preceding, but the form of the body is long and cylin-
drical. I do not, however, know if the maxillae are similar. It is founded upon a species from the East
Indies, named Scapterus Guerini.
The following have the maxillae arched and hooked at the tip ; the thorax is always separated behind from the
base of the elytra by a decided space.
The three following subgenera are distinguished by the external palpi being terminated by a nearly cylindrical
joint, not narrowed at tip.
Acanthoscelis, Latr. (distinguished by the four posterior curved and flattened tibiae, covered with minute points ;
Type, Scarites ruficornis, Fabr. ; an inhabitant of the Cape of Good Hope.
Scarites, Fabr. (having the four hind tibiae straight and naked, the mandibles ot a triangular form, strongly
toothed at the base). Type, Scarites Pyracmon, Bon. {Sc. gigas, Oliv.) ; about one inch long, found on the shores
of the Mediterranean, the south of France, &c. ; Scarites terricola. Bon., found with the preceding ; Scarites
sabulosus, Oliv., &c.
Oxygnathus, Dej., essentially like Scarites, but with long, narrow mandibles, without teeth, closing like a pair
of pincers, and the body long, narrow, and cylindrical. Type, Scarites elongatus, Wiedeman ; an inhabitant of the
East Indies.
Oxystomus, Latr. (with the labial palpi nearly as long as the outer maxillary, with the last joint spindle-shaped,
— type, 0. cylindricus, Dej., Brazil) ; and Camptodontus, Dej. (with the labial palpi considerably shorter than the
outer maxillary, with the last joint spindle-shaped, — type, C. cayennensis, Dej.), are both distinguished by their
elongated, cylindrical body, and long, narrow, toothless mandibles.
The others have the anterior tibiae not dentated on the outer edge, but simply didactyle at the tip ; the man-
dibles short, but slightly advanced beyond the labrum, which is coriaceous and entire, and the outer palpi termi-
nated by an oval joint, sharpened at the tip. They are of small size, frequent damp places, and occur in our
northern regions.
Clivina, Latr., has three strong teeth on the outer edge of the two anterior tibiae, and one on that of the two
following. Type, Tenebrio fossor, Lin., {Scarites arenarius, Fabr.). [A very common British species, about a
quarter of an inch long. j
Dyschiriits, Bon., which has only small teeth or small indistinct spines on the outer edge of the two anterior
tibiae, the tip of which is produced into a long point ; the thorax is nearly globose. The Clivince, Nos. 8—21 of
Dejean, but the eighth, or C. arctica, appears to possess the characters of Cephalotes. [These species, of w'hich
X). gibbus is the type, are amongst the most minute of the Carabidae; the species are rather numerous, and
very difficult to be determined. The C. arctica has been formed by Eschscholtz into the genus Miscodera
{Leiochiton, Curtis, Oncoderus, Stephens), and belongs, as Latreille indicates, to the family Harpalidae.]
Our second and last subdivision of the Scaritides comprises those which have the anterior tibiae neither
COLEOPTERA.
497
toothed on the outside nor bidigitate at the tips, and the second joint of the antennae is evidently shorter than the
I following;. They nearly approach, in the organs of the mouth, the two last subgenera; and have been confounded,
! by some writers, with Scarites, of which they have the appearance.
Morio, Latr. (with the antennae of equal length throughout, thighs oval, and tibiae triangular, Harpulus monili-
I cornis, Latr. &c.), and Ozcena, Oliv. (with the antennae thickened at the tips, and the femora and tibiae narrow and
i elongated, Ozaena dentipes, Oliv. &c.), have the body naiTOw, elongated, nearly parallelepiped, the thorax nearly
! square, and the last joint of the external palpi nearly cylindidc. All the species are exotic.
, Those which have the body oval or oblong, with the thorax nearly cup or heart-shaped, or orbicular, the last
joint of the outer palpi nearly oval or fusiform, and the labrum notched, compose the remaining genera.
Ditomus, Bonelli, have the palpi shorter than the head, the thorax cup or heart-shaped, and the tarsi short.
Some species, to which Zeigler restricts the generic name, have the body more elongated, the head separated at
the sides from the thorax by an angular space, and often armed in the males with horns ; whilst the others, which
form the genus Aristus, Zeigl., have the body shorter, broader in front, and the head and thorax nearly continuous.
Apotomus, Hoffm., have the anterior palpi very long, the thorax orbicular, and the tarsi filiform and elongated.
Type, Scarites nifus, Oliv. [South of Europe.]
[The typical insects of this section, from the observations of M. Lefebvre de Cerisy, appear to be
, nocturnal in their habits ; and hence their colours are, for the most part, black or obscure. The larger
species are chiefly inhabitants of the Old World. They burrow in the earth, or sand of the sea-shore,
for which their palmated fore-legs well fit them. They are insects of prey, lurking by day in holes
and under stones, and feeding at night upon Melolonthidse, or other soft-bodied insects. No generic
additions of importance have been made to this group.]
3. Our third section of the Carahici — that of the Quaorimani, or Harpaliens of Dejean — comprises
those which, in other respects similar to the last in the elytra terminated posteriorly in a point, have
' the four anterior tarsi dilated in the males, the three or four basal joints being in the shape of a heart
S reversed, or triangular, and nearly all of them terminated by acute angles. Their under-side is generally
' (except in Ophonus) furnished with two rows of papillae or scales, with a broad space between. The
j body is always winged, generally oval, and arched or convex above, with the thorax broader than long,
or at most nearly isometrical; the head is never suddenly narrowed behind; the antennae are of equal
thickness throughout, or but very slightly thickened towards the tips ; the mandibles are not very
strong ; the tooth in the notch of the mentum is always entire, but it is wanting in some species ; the
tonguelet is truncated at the tip, and accompanied by two ear-like membranous paraglossae ; the legs
are robust, and the ungues of the tarsi simple ; the intermediate tarsi, as in the females, are short, and,
with the exception of the dilatation, are similarly formed to the anterior pair.
These Carahici frequent sandy situations exposed to the sun. This section is composed of the genus
Harpalus, as restricted by Bonelli. New groups have since still further diminished its extent. They
consist of the three following divisions : —
The first of these divisions has for its characters, — notch of the mentum with a single tooth, labrum
notched, and the head and fore part of the thorax as broad as, or broader than, the abdomen.
Acinopus, Zeigl., with filiform antennae, the joints short but cylindrical, the thorax narrowed gradually from
the front to the back, and the hinder angles very obtuse. Type, Harpalus megacephalus, Latr. [South of Europe.]
Daptus, Fischer, with the antennae moniliform after the fifth joint, and the thorax narrowed suddenly towards
the posterior angles, which are pointed. Type, D. pictus, Fischer : Russia. Pavgtis, Megerle (P. pcnsylvanicus),
does not appear to me to difler essentially from Daptus.
The second of these divisions is cotnposed of Harpaliens having also the notch of the mentum one-
toothed, but of which the body is more or less ovoid or oval, and narrowed in front, with the labrum
entire, or slightly concave. These are the true Harpalus, Dejean, of which one of tlie most common
species is the Harpalus ceneus, Fabr., about one-third of an inch long, of a shining black colour, with
the antennse and legs yellowish, tlie upper surface generally green or coppery, and very brilliant. It has
also been called Proteus, from the numberless changes in its colours. [The genus, even in its restrieted
state, is very numerous, and requires revision. There appear to be several British species still unde-
scribed, in addition to the great number recorded by Stephens, Curtis, &c.]
The third of these divisions is distinguished by the absence of a tooth in the notch of the mentum.
In other respects, however, it agrees with the preceding division.
Ophonus, Zeigl., has the four anterior tarsi of the males strongly dilated, or evidently larger, and generally fur-
nished beneath with numerous hairs, forming a continuous brush. The penultimate joint is not bilobed, and the
upper surface of the body is finely punctured. [There are numerous British species (including the Harpalus
obscurus, Fabr.), chiefly found on the sea-coast.]
K K
498
INSECTA.
Stenolophus, Zeig’l., differs in having the penultimate joint of the four anterior tarsi — at least in the males, and
the same in the posterior tarsi in some species— divided to the base into two lobes. Type, Carahus vaporario-
rum, Linn., &c.
Acupalpus, Latr., in which the four anterior tarsi differ but slightly from the posterior, with the intermediate
joints rounded, nearly moniliform, and villose. The outer palpi ai'e terminated by a joint pointed at the tip. They
are very small, and seem to unite with Trechus. Type, Carabus meridianus, Linn., [a very common little English
species].
[Many additional genera, allied to Harpalus, have been separated by Dejean, Laporte, Cbaudoir,
Erichson, and other continental Entomologists ; but they are, for the most part, founded upon minute
structural characters, not requiring notice in this edition.]
4. The fourth section, Simplicimani, approach the preceding in the manner in which the elytra
are terminated ; but the two anterior tarsi are alone dilated in the males, without forming a square or
orbicular plate. Sometimes the first three joints are evidently larger, and the following is always
much smaller than the preceding. Sometimes this and the two preceding are broader, nearly equal, in
the shape of a heart reversed, or triangular. The basal joints of the four succeeding tarsi are slenderer
and longer, nearly cylindrical, or in the shape of a long reversed cone. Some have the ungues of the
tarsi simple, or wnthout teeth.
In a first subdivision, of considerable extent, the third joint of the antennm is at most as long again
as the preceding joint ; the legs robust ; and the thorax, in its broadest part, as wnde as the elytra.
Sometimes the mandibles are evidently shorter than the head, and do not extend beyond the labrum
more than half their length.
We commence with those which have all the outer palpi filiform.
Zahrus, Bonelli, has the last joint of the maxillary palpi sensibly shorter than the preceding, and the two anterior
tibiae are terminated by two spines. Type, Carahvs gibhus, Fabr., [a species of not very common occurrence in
this country, and which has been ascertained to feed upon growing corn].
Pogonus, ZeigL, which in the natural order appears allied to Amara, has the two basal joints alone, of the ante-
rior tarsi, dilated in the males, the basal joint being the largest. The body is more oblong. These insects appear
exclusively to inhabit the sea-coast, or the shores of salt water. \_Harpalus luridipennis, Germar.]
Tetragonoderiis, Dejean, has the anterior tarsi of the males proportionately less dilated than in the following, the
basal joints being narrower and more elongated, and rather in the shape of a reversed cone than a heart. They
are peculiar to South America. {^Harpalus circumftisus, Germar.]
Feronia, Latr., has the anterior tarsi of the males, with the three first joints strongly dilated, obcordate, with
the second and third rather transverse than longitudinal. This subgenus comprises a great number of generic
groups, indicated by Dejean in his Catalogue, which are as follow ; — Amara, Poecilus, Argutor, Omaseus, Platysma,
Pterostichus, Abax, Steropus, Percus, Molops, and Cophosus. Dejean, however, having perceived the difficulty of
characterizing them, united them all, with the exception of the first, into a great generical groirp, for which he re-
tained my name Feronia. But as to Amara, I have in vain searched for characters to distinguish it from the
other genera. That derived from the tooth of the notch of the mentum, not to speak of its unimpoi'tance, is a very
equivocal character. This tooth, in all these Carabici, appears to me to have a notch at its tip, but rather more
distinct and deep in some than in others. The moniliform structure of the antennse of some of the groups appears
to me not to be assignable with precision to the limits of such groups. I may say the same of the concavity of
the front margin of the labrum, and the form of the thorax.
The Feronicx may be ai-ranged in three sections. — 1st. The species generally winged, which have the body more
or less oval : slightly convex or arched above, with the antennaj more filiform ; the head proportionally narrowed,
and the mandibles rather less exposed. In their habits they appear to approach Zabrus and Harpalus. Such are
Amara*, with the thorax transverse ; Pcscilus, in which it is nearly as long’ as broad, and the antennse are short,
with the third joint compressed and angular ; and Argutor, similar to PoecUus, but with longer antennse, of
which the third joint is not angulated.— 2nd. The species generally winged, but with the body straight, flat, or hori-
zontal above, and the head nearly as broad. Such are Platysma, Bon. ; to which we may unite that of Omaseus
and Cafadromus, Mach— 3rd. The species analogous to the preceding in their general characters, but which differ
in wanting wings. The majority of these have the thorax not uniformly cordate or truncate, and the elytra have
a transverse fold at the base. Sometimes the thorax is nearly square or truncate-cordate, with the posterior
angles acute ; (genera Cophosus, Zeigl. ; C. cylindricus, Austria, having the body oblong, square, or cylindrical,
and Abax, Bonelli, having the body generally oval, depressed, or slightly convex— type, Carabus striola, Fabr.,
[a common British species], found in the cold and moist parts of forests, &c.), whilst sometimes the thorax is
terminated behind in two acute angles, and evidently narrowed. Those species with the body depressed
on the upper side form the genus Pterostichus, Bonelli ; whilst those with the upper side of the body more convex
form the genus Molops ; from the former of which Steropus has been detached, having the posterior angles of the
thorax rounded. We terminate the subgenus with species of large size, in which the thorax is always truncate-cor-
date, and the base of the elytra has not the transverse fold. Such is the chief character of Pereus, Bonelli —type,
to him to be more so on the outside than on the inner edge. Hence
* Some species of very short stature form the genus Leirus of some
writers. Scoli/tus flea'nosus, ¥nhr., appears to belong to this division,
but Dejean says that the four anterior tarsi are dilated, but they appear
it may form a separate genus, Cyclosomus.
COLEOPTERA.
499
Carabus PayhtdUi, Rossi. The species exclusively inhabit Spain, Italy, and the isles of the Mediterranean.
[The g^enus Feronia, as here described, is of very great extent, and on this account the characters which separate
the different groups of which it is composed (and which are considered by many writers as so many distinct
genera) blend so into each other that it is almost impossible to assign their limits with precision. Hence Dejean
united them all into one genus, (for which Mr. Hope proposes the name of Thalia, Feronia having been long
previously used by Leach for a genus of Diptera,) although, in examining a local collection of small extent, as that
of England, the paucity of the number of species renders the assigning of characters apparently much more easy.]
Myas, Zeigl., resembles Abax {Cheporus, Latr.) metallicus ; but the thorax is more dilated at the sides, with a
slight notch in front of the posterior angles. M. clialybceus, Hungary. Here are also to be arranged the genera
Trigonotoma, Dej., formed of large Indian species, and Pseudomorpha, Kirby.
Sometimes the mandibles are as long as the head, and the body always oblong. The first two genera resemble
Scarites, and the others Lebia.
Cephalotes, Bon. {Brosciis, Pauz.), with the antennae not longer than half the body ; with short joints, and the
labrum entire. [Type, Carabus cephalotes, Fabr.]
Stomis, Clairv., with the antennae longer than half that of the body, with long joints, and the upper lip notched.
[Type, Sto7nis puniicatus, Clairv., a common British species.]
Catascopus, Kirby, dilfers from the preceding in having the body flattened and broader, with the thorax
shorter, the elytra strongly emarginated at the tips, and the upper lip elongated. The eyes are large and promi-
nent. They are of brilliant colours, and resemble at first sight Cicindelae or Elaphri. The species are from
India. Type, C. Hardtvicldi, Kirby. The genus is closely allied to Pericalus, M‘Leay, which have also the eyes
very prominent, but the proportion of the joints of the antennae is different. Type, P. cicindeloides, M‘Leay ; Java.
In a second subdivision, of much smaller extent, the length of the third joint of the antennae is triple that of the
preceding ; these organs and the legs being slender.
Colpodes, M‘Leay, has the four basal joints of the anterior tarsi of the males large, the penultimate being
bilobed. Type, C. brunneus, M‘Leay ; Java. The others haA'^e the tarsal joints entire in both sexes.
Mormolyce, Hagen., has the body very flat, like a withered leaf ; very much narrowed in front ; the head is very
long ; the thorax oval, truncate at both ends ; the elytra are very greatly dilated, and curved on the outside with
a very deep notch at the tip. The only species, M. phyllodes, Hagenb., is from Java. [It is one of the most sin-
gular of known Coleopterous insects. Its true relations are, however, to be found amongst the Truncatipennes,
as proved by the researches of Count Mannerheim and M. Serville.]
Sphodrus, Clairv., has the body depressed, but not foliaceous ; the head ovoid, and the elytra not laterally
dilated. Type, Carabus leucopthalmus, Linn. [A common British species, of large size.]
The terminal Simplicimani are distinguished from all the others by the minute teeth on the under-side of the
ungues, at the tips of the tarsi.
Pristonychus, Dej. {Cteniims, Latr.), has the body elongated, with the thorax heart-shaped, truncate behind.
Types, Sphodrus janthinus and complanaUis ; but this genus insensibly blends into the preceding.
Calathus, Bon., has the body oval, arched above, and with the thorax square. Type, C. melanocephalus. Fab.
[A very abundant and pretty British species.]
Taphria, Bon. {Synuchus, Gyll.), differs from the preceding in having the labial palpi terminated in a mass like
a reversed cone, and the thorax nearly orbicular. Type, Carabus nivalis, Illig.
5. The fifth section, Patellimani, is distinguished from the preceding only by the manner in which
the two anterior tarsi of the males are dilated, the basal joints (generally the first three in some, or
the first tw'o only in others) being either square, or partially of this form, and the others in form of a
heart or reversed triangle, but ahvays rounded at their extremity, and not terminated, as in the pre-
ceding sections, by acute angles, forming an orbicular or oblong plate, of which the under-side is most
commonly furnished with brushes of hairs, without any central naked space. The legs are commonly
long and slender, and the thorax is often more narrowed throughout its whole length than the abdo-
men. They frequent, for the most part, the sides of rivers, or other aquatic places.
We divide the Patellimani into tw'o divisions. In the first, the head is insensibly narrowed behind at
the base. Some of these have the mandibles always terminating in a point, and the plate of the [fore
male] tarsi is always narrow, elongated, and formed of the three basal joints, of which the second and
third are square. The labrum is entire, or without an evident notch ; and one or two teeth in the
notch of the mentura. The following have the under-side of the tarsi furnished with two rows of
papillae, as in the preceding : —
Dolichus, Bon., has the body very flat, and the tarsal claws are toothed beneath. The thorax is in the form of a
truncated heart. Type, Carabus flavicornis, Fabr.
Plaiynus, Bon., similar to Dolichus in the form of the thorax, but with the ungues of the tarsi simple. The wings
are Avanting, or are imperfect, in some species. Type, Carabus angusticollis, Fabr., [a common British species.]
Agonum, Bon., has the thorax nearly orbicular. Type, Harpalus viduus, Gyll. and others ; [a common British
species.]
Anchomenus, Bon., differs from the three preceding genera in having the body of the ordinary thickness, and
the thorax always in the shape of a truncated heart. Type, Carabus prasinus, Fabr. and others.
K K 2
I
I
500
INSECTA.
The following have the under-side of the plate of the tarsi furnished with a close and continued brush. The
outer palpi, and those of the labium, are terminated, in many, by a thicker or broader joint, like a reversed
triangle : —
Callistus, Bon., has the tooth of the mentum entire, and the outer palpi terminated by an oval joint, pointed at
the tip. Type, Carabus lunatus, [a rare British species].
Oodes, Bon., differs in having the last joint of the outer maxillary palpi cylindrical, and of the labial palpi oval
and truncated. The thorax is trapezoidal, and nari'owed in front. Type, Carabus helopioides, Fabr.
CMcenius, Bon., has the tooth of the mentum bifid, the outer maxillary palpi terminated by a nearly cylindrical
joint, and the labial by a reversed conical and elongated joint. Carabus cinctus, Fabr., and many others, belong
to this subgenus ; as does also the Carabus saponarius, Oliv., used in Senegal by the natives instead of soap.
Epomis, Bon., has the outer palpi terminated by a broader compressed joint, in the shape of a hatchet, and is
most dilated in the males. The tooth of the mentum is always bifid. Type, E. circumscriptus, Dejean, and many
others. Dinodes and Lissauchenius, M‘Leay, also nearly approach Epomis.
The others have generally the mandibles very obtuse and truncated, and bidentate at the tip. The upper lip is
distinctly bilobed, the notch of the mentum is not furnished with a tooth, and the dilated portion of the tarsi is
broad, and nearly orbicular. Some have the mandibles terminated in a point, without any notch or tooth near the
tip ; and the plate of the male tarsi is formed of the three basal joints.
Rembus, Latr., has the upper lip bilobed ; the outer maxillary palpi are filiform ; and the last joint of the labial
is slightly thickened, and in the form of a reversed cone. Type, Carabus politus, Fabr.
Diccelus, Bon., has the upper lip merely emarginate, with a central impressed line. The last joint of the outer
palpi is nearly hatchet-shaped, and the body almost parallelopiped. The species are from America.
Others have the mandibles very obtuse, notched at the tip, or with a tooth below it.
Licinus, Latr., has the last joint of the outer palpi almost hatchet-shaped. The plate of the male tarsi is broad
and suborbicular, formed of the two basal joints. Type, Carabus silphoides, Fabr. ; C. depressus, Paykull : [rare
British species].
Badister, Clairv. {Amblychus, Gyll.), has the last joint of the outer palpi oval ; that of the labial palpi is slightly
longer, and often pointed. The plate of the male tarsi is long and square, formed of the three basal joints. Type,
Carabus Mpustulatus, Fabr., [a common British species].
In the second division of the Patellimani, the head is narrowed suddenly behind the eyes, as though
attached to the thorax by a peduncle. It is often small, with the eyes prominent.
Pelecium, Kirby, has not a tooth in the notch of the mentum ; the mandibles are robust, and the upper lip nearly
bilobed. The four basal joints of the anterior male tarsi are in the shape of a reversed triangle. Type, P. cyanipes,
Kirby ; South America. In the following, there is a tooth in the notch of the mentum, and the upper lip is nearly
straight.
Cynthia, Latr., has the outer palpi terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint. The head is small, and the basal
joints of the male tarsi are of a reversed triangular form. Founded upon a Brazilian species, having the appear-
ance of Abax.
Panagceus, Latr., has the tarsal plate of the males formed only of the two basal joints. The head is very small,
with the eyes globular. The parts of the mouth are also very small, and the thorax often suborbicular. Type,
Carabus Crux major, Fabr., [a rare British species].
In the two following subgenera, the outer palpi are filiform : —
Loricera, Latr., is very remarkable, having the second and four following joints of the antennse furnished with
strong bristles. The maxillae are bearded on the outside, the labial palpi are longer than the maxillary, and the
three basal joints of the fore tarsi are dilated in the males. Type, L. cenea, Latr. {Carabus pilicornis, Fabr.), [a
very common British insect] .
Patrobus, Megerle, has the antennae filiform, straight, and without whorls of hairs ; the mandibles are of the
ordinary size; the length of the labial palpi does not exceed that of the maxillary; the two basal joints of the
anterior tarsi are alone dilated in the males. Type, Carabus rujipes, Fabr., [a species very abundant on the
summit of Snowdon, and other high mountains].
We now pass to those Carabiques which have the anterior tibiee destitute of a notch on the inside ;
or which, if they do exhibit one, commences very near the tip of these tibise, or does not extend upon
the fore face, but forms only an oblique and linear canal. The tonguelet is often very short, termi-
nated in a point in the middle of the tip, and furnished with paraglossse, also pointed. The mandibles
are robust. The last joint of the outer palpi is generally very large, compressed in the form of a re-
versed triangle or hatchet in some, or nearly spoon-shaped in others, and often more swollen in the
males {Procerus). The eyes are very prominent ; the elytra are entire, or simply sinuated at the
posterior extremity ; and the abdomen is generally voluminous, compared to the rest of the body.
These Carabiques are, for the most part, of large size, ornamented with brilliant metallic colours. They
run veiy quickly, and are very carnivorous. They constitute a peculiar section (the sixth) in the group,
and which we name Grandipalpi.
Those which have the body robust and wingless, with a bilobed labrum, the last joint of the outer
palpi always very large, the notch of the mentum without a tooth, the inner edge of the mandibles
COLEOPTERA.
501
toothed throughout, or nearly throughout, its whole length, compose a first division, consisting of the
following suhgenera : —
Pamborus, Latr., has the mandibles curved, and strongly toothed throughout the whole length ; and the outside
of the tibiae is produced at the tip into a point. The last joint of the outer palpi is semi-oval and longitudinal. P.
alternans, Latr., from New Holland. [Several other species are described in a monograph by M. Gory, in Guerin’s
Magasin de ZoologieJ\
Cychrus, Latr., has the mandibles straight, and simply curved at the tip ; the anterior tibiae are not produced
into a point at the tip ; the tarsi are alike in botn sexes ; the thorax is in the form of a truncated heart, or nearly
orbicular, with the posterior angles obsolete. [Type, C. rostratus, Fabr. ; a not uncommon British species.]
Scaphinotus, Latr., has the three basal joints of the fore tarsi of the males dilated but slightly, and in the
form of a plate ; the thorax trapeziform and broad, with the posterior angles acute, and turned upwards. Cychrus
elevatus, Fabr. ; North America.
Sphieroderus, Dejean, has the aspect of Cychrus ; but with the two basal joints of the anterior male tarsi very
broad, and forming a broad plate. [<S1. Lecontei, Dejean ; North America.]
[Dr. Flarris has just published (1839) a memoir on Cychrus in the Boston Nat. Hist. Soc. Transactions, in which
he suggests that the different genera separated therefrom ought to be expunged.]
A second division is formed of those species which have also the body robust, generally wingless, but
with the mentum furnished with an entire or bifid tooth, and the mandibles armed with one or two
teeth situated at the base ; the thorax is in the form of a truncated heart ; the abdomen is often
oval.
Tefflus, Leach, has the labrum entire, and the tarsi are alike in both sexes. T. Megerlei, nearly Dvo inches
long. From the coast of Guinea. The last joint of the maxillary palpi is very large, and hatchet-shaped. [M.
Brull^ has removed this genus to the group containing Panagseus, with which it agrees in the majority of its
characters.]
Procerus, Meg., has the labrum bilobed, with the tarsi alike in both sexes. Carabus scabrosus, Fabr. &c.
All these species are of large size, entirely black or blue, or green above, with the elytra very much chagrined.
They inhabit the mountains of the east of Europe, Caucasus, Libanus, &c.
Procrustes, Bon., has the labrum bilobed, and the tooth of the notch of the mentum bifid ; the fore tarsi of the
males is dilated. Carabus coriaceus, [a reputed British species].
Carabus, Linn. (Tachypus, Web.), has the labrum simply notched or bilobed, and with the tooth of the mentum-
notch entire ; the fore tarsi dilated in the males ; they are destitute of wings.
Dejean describes one hundred and twenty-four species, divided into sixteen sec-
tions. The majority of these species inhabit Europe, Caucasus, Siberia, Asia
Minor, Syria, and the north of Africa. Some have been brought from the two
extremities of America ; and it is probable that the intermediate countries possess
others. Carabus auratus, Linn., Panz., is a common continental species, which
has received the ordinary name of the Gardener, [being found in gardens, where
it feeds upon Worms. There are nearly twenty British species, the nomenclature
of several of which is very confused in its synonymes. One of the largest
and best characterized species is C. clathratus, a rare Irish insect, here figured.]
Colosoma, Weber {Callisthenes, Fischer), is generally winged ; the mandibles are
without distinct teeth on the inner edge ; the thorax is transverse, equally dilated
and rounded at the sides, without elongated posterior angles ; the abdomen is
nearly square ; the four posterior tibiae are curved in the males of several. The
species are fewer than in Carabus, but they extend from the north to the equator.
Type, Carabus sycophanta, Linn., three-fourths of an inch long, of a velvet black
with the elytra golden green, or brilliant copper, very finely striated, each having
three lines of fine impressed dots. Its larva lives in the nests of the processionary
Caterpillars, upon which it feeds, devouring many in the course of a day. Other larvae of its own species, smaller
and younger, attack and devour it when its voracity has overcome its activity. They are black ; and are some-
times found running on the ground, or upon trees, especially the oak. [An elaborate anatomical memoir upon
this larva, by Dr. Hermann Burmeister, is published in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, in the last
part of which Mr. Hope has also published the descriptions of some species brought home by Mr. Charles Darwin,
the celebrated naturalist of the expedition of the Beagle.]
A third and last division of the Grandipalpi is at once distinguished from the former by a series of
characters. The majority are winged ; the basal joints of the fore tarsi of the males are always
dilated ; the labrum is entire ; the outer palpi are very slightly dilated at the tips ; the inner edge of
the mandibles is not armed with distinct teeth ; and the tooth of the mentum-notch is bifid. The fore
tibiae of many species have a short notch at the inner side, w'here one of the spines is inserted higher
than the other : so that these Carabiques, as well as those of the following section, might come imme-
diately after the Patellimani. They generally frequent humid and aquatic places. Some of them,
such as Omophron, seem to unite this tribe with the following, or the aquatic carnivorous species.
502 INSECTA,
Some have the eyes of ordinary size, tlie antennae linear, with elongated joints, and the two spurs of the fore
tibiae close together,— the tibiae having only a longitudinal canal.
Pogonopliorus, Latr. {Leishis, Froehl., Manticora, Panz.), is remarkable for the elongation of the outer palpi,
and the labial ones, which are longer than the head; the mandibles are bulg'ed out into a flat angle at the base
outside, and the tonguelet is terminated by three spines. Type, Carabus spinibarbis, Fabr., [a common British
species.]
Nebria, Latr., differs from the preceding in the palpi being much shorter ; the outside of the mandibles is
scarcely dilated, the tonguelet is short. Type, Carabus brevicollis. [One of the most abundant species.]
Alpmis, Bon., are apterous Nebriae, merely more oblong, and which frequent high mountains. Carabus Hell-
wigii, Panz.
Omophron, Latr. (Scolgtus, Fabr.), differs from the three preceding in having the body gibbose above, and nearly
orbicular; the thorax very short, transverse, and the scutellum is not visible. This subgenus is composed of a
small number of species found on the margin of waters in Europe, North America, Egypt, and the Cape of Good
Hope. M. Desmarest has described the larva of the common species, [<S. limbatum, Latr., found on the border of
streams in France.] This larva approaches that of the Dytici in its form.
The remainder of this division have the body thick, with large prominent eyes ; antennae rather thickened at
the tips, with short joints ; one of the spurs of the fore tibiae is inserted above the other; the four or three basal
joints of the anterior tarsi of the males are but slightly dilated in the majority. These insects are found on the
banks of rivers in Europe and Siberia.
Blethisa, Bon., has the thorax broader than long, nearly square, being only slightly narrowed near the posterior
angles, with the four basal joints of the Carabus multipunctatus, Fabr., Panz.
PelopMla, Dej., has the three basal joints of the fore tarsi of the males strongly dilated. Carabus borealis, Yabr.,
[a species recently detected in Ireland],
Elaphrus, Fabr., has the thorax at least as long as it is broad, convex and heart-sliaped ; the four basal joints
of the fore tarsi of the males slightly dilated.
Carabus uliginosus, Fabr., four lines long, has the elytra ornamented with deep circular impressions running
into each other, with an elevated disc.
Cicindela riparia, Linn., is another common British species, smaller than the preceding
Dum., diifers from the preceding in having the labrum nearly semicircular, (instead of short and
transverse,) and the outer palpi are terminated by a suboval joint pointed at the tip; the tarsi are alike in both
sexes. Cicindela aquatica, Linn., [a very common British species found on the banks of streams and in damp
situations, running about with very great agility. Mr. Waterhouse has published a monogi’aph on the genus in
the Entomological Magazine, where he has described eighteen British species ; but subsequent Coleopterists have
greatly reduced the number of the species.]
Our second general division of this tribe, the Subulipalpi, is distinguished by the form of the outer
palpi, of which the penultimate joint is in the form of a reversed cone, and is united to the following,
with which it forms an oval or spindle-shaped mass, terminated in a point. The two anterior tibiae
are always notched. These insects closely resemble the last, both in their form and habits.
Bembidion,l&iY. {Bembidium, GyW.), has the penultimate joint of the outer maxillary palpi swollen, and the
last very slender and conical. The basal joint of the two anterior male tarsi is dilated in the males. Messrs.
Ziegler and Megerle divided this subgenus into several others, but without giving their characters ; founding
them, as it seems, entirely on the change of form of the thorax. These are Tachypus, Bembidium, Lopha, Nota-
phus, Peryphus, and Leia, [the last of which (being previously used for a genus of Diptera) has been changed by
Stephens into Philochthus.'] The type given by Latreille (considered by Dejean as a Tachypus) is the Cicindela
flavipes, Linn., one-fifth of aline long, a very abundant species. [This genus comprises a considerable number of
species, all of which are of very small size, being the most minute of all the Carabiques, and generally of brassy
or coppery tints. Another pretty species is the Cicindela quadri-maculaia, Linn. ; of a brassy colour, with four
white spots on the elytra.]
Trechus, Clairv., has the last joint and the outer palpi as long or longer than the preceding, and as thick at its f
base, so that together they form a fusiform mass. Trechus rubens, Clairv., masoreus, Zeigl., is allied to Ti-echus, |
with palpi fusiform at the tip, but with the penultimate joint shorter than the following ; the fore tarsi of the males
is slightly dilated. Harpaleis collares, Gyil., Blanius, Zeigl., is composed of narrowed Trechi with the thorax of a
reversed-triangular form, and mandibles proportionably larger, and extending beyond the labrum.
[In terminating the terrestrial carnivorous Beetles, it is necessary again to refer to the many works
recently published, containing either isolated descriptions or more complete monographs of these ‘
insects. Dejean, King, Hope, Kirby, Gory, Laporte, Bridle, Erichson, Mannerheim, and many other
recent Entomologists have devoted their attention to this tribe, many seeming to prefer them from
the circumstance of their standing at the head of the order. Some of them have cut up the several
groups given by Latreille into a great number of smaller groups, for which they have retained the
family names terminating in idee. It is of course impossible to give any synopsis, or even notice, of
the many generic or subgeneric groups Avhich have been proposed, chiefly founded upon exotic insects,
of which nothing is known except their existence as cabinet specimens,] I
COLEOPTERA.
503
The aquatic, carnivorous, pentamerous Coleoptera, form a third tribe, that of
The Hydrocanthari, or Swimmers.
Their feet are formed for swimming, the four posterior being compressed and ciliated, or in the form
of plates, and the two hind ones are far apart from the others. The mandibles ai-e nearly covered [by
the upper lip] , the body is always oval, with the eyes slightly prominent, and the thorax much broader
than long : the hook which terminates the maxillae is curved from the base ; the ungues are often unequal.
These insects compose the genera Dytiscus and Gyrinus of Geoffrey. They pass the first and the
last state of their existence in fresh water, such as lakes, pools, and ditches. They swim well, and
rise to the surface of the water from time to time to respire, ascending easily by holding their feet
still and suffering themselves to float. The body being turned upside down, they slightly elevate the
tip of the body above the surface of the water, raising the extremity of the elytra or bending down the
abdomen, so that the air introduces itself into the spiracles, which they cover, and from thence into
the tracheae. They are very voracious, and feed upon small animals which, like themselves, ordinarily
reside in the water, which the Hydrocanthari only leave at the approach of or during the night. When
taken out of the water they emit a very disagreeable odour. They are sometimes attracted by the
light into the interior of houses. Their larvae have the body long and narrow, composed of twelve
segments, of which the first is largest, with the head strong, and armed with two powerful mandibles,
which are curved into an arch and pierced near the tips ; they have also short antennae, palpi, and six
simple eyelets close together on each side of the head. They have six feet of moderate length, often
fringed with hairs, and terminated by two small hooks. They are active, carnivorous, and respire
either by the anus, or by a kind of swimmerets resembling gills. Tliey quit the water in order to
undergo their metamorphosis into pupae.
This tribe is composed of two principal genera.
Dytiscus, Geoff.,* —
Which have thread-like antennae longer than the head, two eyes, the fore legs shorter than the fol-
lowing, and the posterior often terminated by a compressed tarsus finishing in a point. They swim
wdth great quickness by the assistance of their feet, fringed with long hairs, especially the posterior
pair. They dart forward upon other insects, aquatic worms, &c. In the majority of the males the
four anterior tarsi have the three basal joints dilated and spongy beneath ; those of the first pair are espe-
cially remarkable in the large species, in which these three joints forma broad plate, the under surface of
which is covered with small bodies, some of them like warts and others like small suckers. Some females
are distinguished by their elytra being furrowed. The larvse have the body composed of eleven or twelve
segments covered by scaly plates ; they are long, swollen in the middle, and slenderer at each end, especially
when the terminal segments form an elongated cone fringed at the sides with floating hairs, with which
the animal beats the water and thus propels the body forwards, which is ordinarily terminated by two
conical bearded and moveable filaments, between which are two small cylindrical bodies pierced with
a gutter, at the extremity which are aerial channels, to which are attached twm tracheae ; moreover, the
sides of the body are provided with spiracles : the head is large, oval, attached to the thorax by a neck
with strongly-armed mandibles, beneath the extremity of which De Geer observed a longitudinal slit, so
that these organs resemble the mandibles of the larvae of the Myrmeleons, or Ant-lions, and serve them
for suckers : the mouth offers besides a pair of maxillae and a lip with palpi : each of the three first
segments supports a pair of moderately long legs, of wEich the tibia and tarsus are fringed with hairs,
which are serviceable in swimming ; the first segment is the broadest or longest, and defended beneath,
as well as above, by a scaly plate.
These larvae suspend themselves at the surface of the water by means of two appendages at the sides
of the tail, which they keep dry by raising them above the surface. Wlien they wish to change their
place suddenly, they give their body a quick and vermicular movement, beating the water with the
tail. They especially feed upon the larvae of Dragon-flies, Gnats, Tipulae, Aselli, &c. When the period
of their transformation has arrived, they quit the water and bury themselves under the earth of the ad-
jacent hanks, keeping, however, in very damp situations, where they form an oval cavity in which they
♦ [Latreille is incorrect in giving Geoffrey as the author of the I contrary, • corrected it to Uyticus, being derived from the Greek
name Dytiscus, it having been proposed by Linnaeus. Gcoffroy, on the | Deutikos, urinatorius.]
I
504
INSECTA.
inclose themselves. According to Koesel, the eggs of the Dytisciis marginalis hatch ten or twelve
days after being deposited : at the end of four or five more, the larva is already four or five lines long,
and moults for the first time. The second change of skin takes place at the expiration of a similar
interval, and the animal is now as large again as it was before ; when full grown it is two inches long.
In summer it has been observed to become a pupa at the end of fifteen days, and a perfect insect in
fifteen or twenty more days.
This great genus is divisible as follows : —
The majority have the antennae composed of eleven distinct joints ; the outer palpi filiform, or
slightly thickened at the tips, and the base of the hind-legs exposed.
Dytiscusy has all the tarsi composed of five distinct joints ; the three basal joints of the fore-legs being very
large, and forming an oval or orbicular plate. Type, D. marginalisy Linn., a very common British species, an inch
and a quarter long, being of a dark olive colour with a
butf-coloured margin entirely round the thorax, and a
line of the same colour on the outer margin of the elytra,
which are not dilated at the sides; those of the female
are furrowed from the base about two thirds of the whole
length. Fabricius says, that the species when laid upon
its back gains its ordinary position by taking a leap.
Esper kept a specimen of this insect for three years and
a half in good health in a large bottle of water, feeding it
every week and sometimes oftener with bits of raw beef
about the size of a nut, upon which it precipitated itself
and sucked the blood entirely from it. It was able to fast
Fiji. 55 -Dytiscus marginaiis and its larva. for a moiith at a time. It killed a specimen of Hydro-
pMlus piceus, although as large again as itself, by piercing it between the head and thorax, the only part of the
body without defence. According to Esper, it is sensible to the changes of the atmosphere, which it indicates by
the heights at which it keeps in the bottle.
Dytiscus Roeselii, Fab., [the type of Curtis’s genus Cybister, or Trogus of Leach], is much more depressed than
the preceding, and has the outer margin of the thorax and elytra yellowish ; these elytra are finely striated in the
female ; the hind legs have the tibiae very short and broad. It is found in the neighbourhood of Paris and in Germany,
but is extremely rare in England.
Dytiscus serricornis, Paykull, is vei'y remarkable for the antennae of the male having the four terminal joints
forming a compressed and toothed mass, whence Dr. Leach formed it into his genus Agahus ; other characters,
such as the form and relative proportions of the joints of the outer maxillary palpi, have also led him to form other
genera, namely — Hydaficus {Dyt. Hybneri, transversalis, &c.) and Acilius (D. sulcatus)^ [These various groups,
here reduced by Latreille to the subgenus Dytiscus, are far better marked than many of the groups admitted amongst
the Carabiques possessing characters, not only in the imago, but also in the larva states, amply sufficient to warrant
their separation.]
Colymbetes, Claiv., has all the tarsi distinctly 5-jointed, but the four anterior tarsi in the males are equally dilated
into one small oblong plate, and the antennae are at least as long as the head and thorax ; the body is perfectly
oval, and broader than deep, and the eyes are not exposed. Types, Dyt. fuscus, Panz., D. cinereus, Fabr., Panz.,
&c. [These insects are of an intermediate size between the foregoing and following species, and form a very exten-
sive group. Erichson, Eschscholtz, and Aub^, have particularly studied this group, and have proposed various
dismemberments from it, which have been partially adopted by more recent authors.] Some of the smaller species
without a visible scutellum, and with the anterior tarsi scarcely dilated in the males, compose Leach’s genus
Laccophilus ; such are the D. kyalinus. Marsh., D. minutus, Linn., &c.
Hygrobia, Latr. {Hydraclina, Fabr., Pcelobius, Schonh.), have the four anterior tarsi in the males also equally
dilated into a small oblong plate, but the antennae are shorter than the head and thorax ; the body is ovoid, very
thick in the middle, and the eyes very prominent. Type, H. Hermanni, Latr., [a common British species].
Hydropoms, Clairv., has the four anterior tarsi spongy beneath in both sexes, with only four distinct joints, the
ordinary fourth joint being obsolete or very small, and hidden, as well as the base of the following, in a deep notch
of the third. The scutellum is not visible. The body is oval. Types, Dytiscus inequalis, picipes, &c.
Hyphydrus, Latr., consists of such species of the latter as have the body nearly globular, and the last joint of the
four anterior tarsi is very small, and scarcely extending beyond the preceding. H. gibba, ovalis, scripta, Fabr.
Noterus, Clairv., differs from all the preceding by having the antennae dilated in the middle, and the last joint of
the labial palpi is notched, so as to appear forked. Dytisciis crassicornis, Fabr.
Haliplus, Latr., (Hoplitus, Clairv., Cnemidotus, Illig.) forms a distinct section having only two distinct joints in the
antennae ; the palpi terminated by a small joint pointed at the tip, and the base of the hind legs covered by a large
plate. Types, Dytiscus fulvus, impressus, obliquus, and many other species of very small size.
[The family Dyticidse of English authors has been investigated by several recent authors, especially
by Leach, in the Zool. MiscelL, vol. iii.#; Erichson, in his Genera Dyticeorum, and Kafer der
Mark Brandenburg ; Laporte in the Etudes Entomologiques ; Say in the American Phil. Trans.
i
COLEOPTERA.
505
I new. ser. vol. ii. and iv. ; and still more recently by M. Aube in his continuation of the Species general
des Coleopteres of Dejean, and in the Coleopteres d’Europe. In the former of these two works, pub-
lished in 1 838, he divides the Hydrocanthari into three groups, Haliplides^ Dytiscides, and Hydroplorides ;
i the first comprises two genera, Haliplus, 20 sp. ; and Cnemidotus, 3 sp. : the Dytiscides are divided into
Pcelobius, 1 sp. ; Cybister, 36 sp. ; Dytiscus, 17 sp. ; Eunectes, 1 sp. ; Acilim, 17 sp. ; Hydaticm (in four
I sections), 44 sp. ; Colymbetes, 39 sp. ; Ilybius, 11 sp. ; Agabus, 60 sp. ; Copelatus, 17 sp. ; Matus, 1 sp. ;
1 Coptotoma, 1 sp. ; Anisomera, 1 sp. ; Noterus, 3 sp. ; Hydrocanthus, 7 sp. ; Suphis, 1 sp. ; Laccophilus,
22 sp. ; and the Hydroporides comprise the genera Celina, 3 sp. ; Vatellus, 1 sp. ; Hyphydrus, 11 sp. ; and
■i Hydroporus, 122 sp. Besides these, Mr. Babington has read the descriptions of the species brought
home by Mr. C. Darwdn in a paper before the Entomological Society of London.]
The second principal genus, that of
Gyrinus, Linn., —
Comprises those which have the antennse in a mass, and shorter than the head ; the two fore-legs are
long, advanced like arms, and the four others very short and depressed, broader and oar-like. The eyes
are four in number, the body is oval, and generally very shining; the antennae, inserted in a cavity before
the eyes, have the second joint exteriorly elongated like an ear, and the following joints (of which
seven are only distinctly visible) very short, and closely united into a mass nearly like a spindle, and
rather bent ; the head is inserted into the thorax as far as the eyes, which are large, and divided by a
ridge on the sides, so that there appear two above and two below ; the upper lip is rounded, and very
much ciliated in front ; the palpi are very small, and the inner pair of the maxillary are wanting in many
species, especially the large exotic ones. The thorax is short and transverse, the elytra are obtuse or
truncated at the posterior extremity, leaving the anus exposed, which is terminated by a point. The
two fore-legs are slender, long, folded up, and held nearly at right angles with the body when shut up,
and terminated by a very short compressed tarsus, of which the under-side is clothed with fine plush in
the males. The four other feet are broad, very thin like membrane, and the joints of the tarsi form
small leaves.
These insects [which are called Whirlwigs, from their peculiar motions] are in general of small or
but moderate size. They are to be seen, from the first fine days of spring till the end of the autumn,
on the surface of quiet waters, and even upon that of the sea, often assembled in great numbers, and
appearing like brilliant points. They swim or run about with extreme agility, curvetting in a circular
or oblique, or indeed in every direction : whence their ordinary French name of Tourniquets, or their
English name given above. Sometimes they remain stationary without the slightest motion ; but no
sooner are they approached than they escape by darting under the surface of the water, and swimming
off with the greatest agihty. The four hind-legs are used as oars, and the fore ones for seizing the
prey. Ordinarily stationed upon the surface of the water, the upper side of the body is always dry ;
and when they dart down, a bubble of air like a silvery ball remains attached to the hind part of the
body. When seized, they discharge a milky fluid, which spreads over the body, and probably produces
the disagreeable odour which they then emit, and which lasts a long time upon the fingers. Some-
times they remain at the bottom, holding upon plants, where also they possibly hide themselves
through the winter.
Gyrinus natator, Linn., is three lines long, oval, very smooth and shining, of a bronzed black
colour above, black beneath, with the legs fulvous ; scutellum triangular, and very pointed ; elytra
with small impressed dots in regular longitudinal lines. Tlie larva is long and linear, IS-jointed,
each of the first three segments supporting a pair of feet ; the fourth and following segments have
on each side a conical membranous filament, flexible, and bearded at the sides ; tbe twelfth seg-
ment has four, but they are longer, and bent backwards. This larva lives in the water, coming
forth at the beginning of August to undergo its changes. It forms a cocoon of an oval form
. pointed at each end, which it affixes to rushes. This is a very abundant species [throughout
Fig. 56.— (jynnus ' ’
iiatator. EurOpe.J
[Messrs. Laporte, Brulle, and Aubd, have especially studied this family, and have proposed several additional
genera. The last of these authors, in his Species General above mentioned, has described the following genera :
namely, — Enhydrus with three species, Gyrinus with forty-five, Patrus with one, OrectocMlus with fourteen,
Gyretes with eight, PorrorhyncMis with one, and Dineutes with twenty-one.]
505
INSECTA.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA,—
Brachel^tra, Cm’. {Microptera, Grav.), —
Have only one palpus to eacli maxilla, or four in all, [two maxillary ; the outer lobe of the maxillse not
being palpiform, as in the foregoing tribes, and two labial] ; the antennae, either of equal thickness
throughout, or a little thickened at the tip, are generally composed of oval or lenticular joints ; the
elytra are very much shorter than the body, which is narrow and elongated, with the coxae of the fore-
legs very large, and two vesicles near the anus, which the insect protrudes at will.
These Coleoptera compose the genus
Staphylinus, Linn., —
Which have been regarded as forming the passage from the Beetles to the Earwigs, the first genus in
the following order. In some respects, they approach the insects of the preceding family, and in many
others, the Silphae, &c., belonging to the fourth family. They have in general the head large and flat,
strong mandibles, antennae short, the thorax as broad as the abdomen, the elytra truncate at the tip
but still covering the wings, which are of the ordinary size ; the dorsal semi-segments of the abdomen
are as scaly as the ventral ones ; from the anal vesicles a subtle vapour is discharged, which in some
species smells very strongly of sulphuric ether. M, L. Dufour {^Ann. Sci. Nat., vol. viii. p. 16.), has
described the apparatus by which it is secreted.
These Beetles [one of the largest of which is well known under the name of the Devil’s Coach-horse],
when touched turn up the end of the body, bending it in all directions ; they also use it for the
purpose of assisting in folding up their wings under the short elytra. The tarsi of the fore-feet are
often broad and dilated, and the coxae of the four fore-legs are very broad. The majority live in the
earth, on manure and excrement ; others are found in boleti, rotten wood, under stones ; and others
only are met with near water ; some again, of small size, are only found in flowers. All are very
voracious, run with great quickness, and take flight with ease.
Their larvae greatly resemble the perfect insects, being of an elongated conical form, of which the
base, or the widest part, is occupied by the head, which is very large ; the terminal segment of the body
is prolonged into a tube, and accompanied by two conical hirsute appendages. These larvae feed upon
the same substances as the perfect insects.
The genus being very numerous, we divide it into five sections,
The first section, that of the Fissilabra, has the head entirely exposed and separated from the thorax,
(which is sometimes square or semi-oval, and sometimes rounded, or in the shape of a reversed trun-
cated heart)by a neck or evidently narrowed part. The upper lip is deeply slit, and divided into two lobes.
Oxyporus, Fab., has the maxillary palpi filiform, and the labial terminated by a large crescent-shaped joint ;
antennae short and compressed, and fore-tarsi not dilated. Type, Staph, rufus, Linn., about one-third of an inch
long, varied with red and black ; [a not uncommon British species.]
Astrapceus, Gray., has all the palpi terminated by a large, nearly triangular joint, and fore-tarsi much dilated.
Staph, uhni, Clairv.
Staphylinus, Fabr., has all the palpi filiform, and the antennee inserted between the eyes. Some of these,
especially the males, have the fore-tarsi very much dilated, the antennae wide apart at the base, the basal joint not
exceeding one fourth of their entire length, and the head slightly elongated ; these compose the restricted genus
Staphylinus of some systems. Another species, S. dilatatus, Fabr., has been separated on account of its dilated
serrated antennae, to form another [ Velleius, Leach] . According to M. Chevrolat, this species feeds upon caterpillars,
wdiich it seeks upon trees. [It is now known to feed in Hornets’ nests.]
[This genus, Staphylinus as here restricted, is very numerous, and has been divided by Kirby, Leach, Stephens,
and others, into several genera, such as Emus, Creophilus, Goerius, Ocypus, Philonthus, Gabrius, &c.]
Staphylinus erythropterus, Linn., is from two-thirds to one inch long, of a velvety black colour,
with the elytra, base of the antennas, and feet fulvous, [and with golden hairs on the side of the
thorax and abdomen. It is very abundant in the spring.]
The others are of a more linear form, with the head and thorax elongate-quadrate ; the antennae
close at the base, strongly elbowed ; and the fore-tarsi but slightly dilated. These form the
genus XanthoUnus, Stap. fulgens, &c.
Pinophilus, has filiform palpi, and the antennae inserted behind the eyes. P. latipes, North
America.
Lathrobium, Grav., has the palpi terminated suddenly by a minute pointed joint, often indis-
tinct ; the antennae are inserted before the eyes ; the fore-tarsi are dilated in both sexes. Staph,
elongatus, Linn.
Fig. 57. — Staphylinus
erythropterus.
The second section, Longipalpi, has, also, the head entirely exposed, but the lahrum
COLEOPTERA.
507
is entire, and the maxillary palpi are almost as long as the head, terminated in a mass formed of the
third joint, the fourth being concealed or very indistinct, and forming a small point terminating this
mass, when present, the preceding being very much swollen. These insects live upon the margins of
water.
Pwderiift, Fabr., has the antennae inserted before the eyes, filiform, or gradually increasing in size, and longer
than the head ; body long and narrow; and mandibles toothed and pointed at the tip, with the penultimate joint
of the tarsi bifid. Type, Slaph. riparius, Linn., [a pretty little common British species].
Stilicus, differs in having all the joints of the tarsi entire.
Procirrus, Latr., has the last joint of the maxillary palpi distinct, and forming a terminal mass ; the head is
attached by a long peduncle ; thorax long and narrow ; and the fore tarsi dilated. P, Lefeburi, Latr., Sicily.
Evesthetus, Gray., has the antennae inserted before the eyes, but not longer than the head, and moniliform ; body
slightly elongated. E. scaber, Grav.
Stenus, Latr., has the antennae inserted near the inner margin of the eyes, and terminated by a mass formed of
the last three joints; the eyes are large, and the mandibles furcate. Staph, biguttatus, Linn. ; black, with a red
dot on each elytron ; [very common.]
The third section, Denticrura, differs from the preceding in having the maxillary palpi much shorter
than the head, with four distinct joints ; the tibiae at least of the fore-legs are toothed or spined ; the
tarsi fold back on the tibiae, and have the last joint as long as all the preceding together, some of Avhich
are more or less obsolete. The front of the head is cornuted in the males of some species.
Oxytelus, Grav., differs from all the rest in having the palpi terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint, the antennae
moniliform and gradually thickened, with only three distinct joints to the tarsi. [A very numerous genus.]
Osorius, Leach, has the palpi filiform, the body cylindric, and the mandibles much shorter than the head. The
species are from South America.
Zirophoriis, Dalm. (Irenceus, Leach ; Piestus, Grav.), has the body depressed, the fore tibias alone toothed on the
outside, the antennae at least as long as the head and thorax, and mandibles as long as the head. (See Daiman’s
Anal. Entomol., p. 23.)
{LeptocMrus, Germar, differs from the last in the antennae being very short. The species of both are tropical.]
Prognatha, Latr. {Siagonium, Kirby) [not Siagona], differs from Zirophorus in the antennas being filiform, and
composed of elongated joints. [<S. quadricorne, Kirby ; a rare British species.]
Copropliilus, Latr. [Elonium, Leach], has the body flattened, but all the tibiae are toothed on the outside; the
antennae much longer than the head, and the mandibles not toothed. Omalium rugosum, Grav.
The fourth section, Bepressa, has the head free, the labium entire, and the maxillary palpi short, with
four distinct joints; but the tibiae are simple, without teeth or spines, and the tarsi distinctly 5-joiuted.
Omalium, Grav. (having the thorax as broad as the elytra, and transverse-quadrate), Lesteva, Latr. {Antho-
phagus, Gi’av., having the thorax narrower than the elytra, and in the form of a truncated heart), have the palpi
filiform, but the following have them hatchet-shaped
Micropeplus, Latr., has the antennae terminated by a solid club, and received into channels of the thorax. M.
porcatus, [a minute British species].
Proteinus, Latr., has the antennae perfoliated, and thickened towards the tip, but free, and inserted before the
eyes. [P. ovalis, a common insect found in moss.]
Aleochara, Grav., has the antennae inserted between the eyes, or near their lower edge, and free ;, the thorax is
nearly oval, or square, with the angles rounded. [A very extensive group of insects, now cut up into a great
number of genera and subgenera by Stephens, Erichson, and others.]
The fifth section, MicrocepJiala, has the head received into the thorax as far as the eyes, not being
attached by a neck, nor an evident narrowed space ; the thorax is trapeziform, and enlarged from the
front to the hind part ; the body is less elongated than in the preceding, and approaches more an
elliptical form ; the head is much narrow er, and sharpened in front ; the mandibles of moderate size,
without teeth, and simply curved to the point ; the elytra, in many, cover more than the half of the
abdomen. Some of the species live in fungi, or upon dowsers, and others in dung,
Lomeclmsa, Grav., has no spines to the tibiae ; and the antennae (often shorter than the head and thorax), after
the fourth joint form a perfoliated mass ; and the palpi are terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint : some have
the sides of the thorax not raised. Aleochara bipunctata, Grav., &c. ; and the others have them elevated: these
form Gravenhorst’s genus Lomechusa ; L. paradoxa, &c.
Tachinus, has the tibiae spiny, the joints of the antennae are pear-shaped, and the palpi filiform. Type, Oxg-
porus subterraneus, and many other Oxypori, Fabr.
Tachyporus, Grav., is like Tachinus in the tibiae and antennae, but the palpi are terminated by a hatchet-shaped
joint. Oxyporus rujipes, Fabr., Chrysomeliuus, Fabr., and a great many others.
Callicerus, Grav., stated by Latreille to be unknown to him, [is oblong depressed; with the last joint of the
antennae disproportionately long ; the third joint of the maxillary palpi swollen; and the last minute. Type,
Spencii, K. Curtis, Brit. Ent., pi. 443.] '
Stenosthetus, Meg., andDej. Cat., must be suppressed, being a true Pselaphus, [or rather an EuplectusL
INSECTA.
508
[The Brachelytra have been investigated by several recent authors, who have published either com-
plete monographs, or descriptions of the species belonging to various countries. In addition to PaykulTs
monograph of the Swedish species, published in 1789, and Gravenhorst’s Coleoptera Microptera, at :
Brunswick in 1802, and Monogr. Coleopt. Micropt., 1806, we may mention Count Mannerheim’s i
revision of the tribe, published in the Transactions of the Imperial Acad. St. Petersburg, 1831 ; Latreille’s "!
memoir on the Denticrura, in the Nouv. Annates du Museum, vol. i. ; Laporte’s descriptions of many
new species in his Etudes Entomologiques ; Nordmann’s work on the Brachelytra, published at Berlin in
1838 ; Erichson’s description of the Coleoptera of Brandenburg, and his Genera et species Staphylinorum, \
just published, (December 1839) ; and Mr. Stephens’s British Entomology ; in all which works, as well {
as in numerous detached memoirs by other authors, to which we cannot refer in detail, are contained
the descriptions of numerous new species and many new genera, — to speak according to the text of this J
worh, subgenera, — amongst which some remarkable variations of structure occur, especially in some just 1
figured by Erichson, and Diglossa, Hal., and Centroglossa and Deinopsis, Mathews, described in the Ento~
mological Magazine. We have collected all that relates to the natural history of these insects in the if
Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects, vol. i. p. 162. The family Pselaphidse, placed in '
this work at the end of the Beetles, ought in a natural system to be placed in immediate contact with
the Brachelytra.] * ]
Also possesses only four palpi, but the elytra entirely cover the abdomen, which, with other characters,
distinguishes them from the Brachelytra ; the antennae (with some exceptions,) are of the same thickness
throughout, or slender at the tip, and toothed, serrated, or fan-shaped ; being most developed in these
respects in the males. The penultimate joint of the tarsi is often bilobed or bifid. These characters
are rarely found in the next family, the Clavicornes, to which we approach so gradually that it is diffi-
cult to assign its limits rigorously.
Some of the Serricornes, having the body always of a solid consistence, and often oval or elliptic, with
the feet partly contractile, have the head vertically introduced as far as the eyes into the thorax, and
the prosternum, or the middle part of this portion of the body, elongated, dilated, or advanced in front
as far as the mouth, (generally distinguished on each side by a canal, in which the antennae, always
short, repose,) and posteriorly prolonged into a point which is received in an impression of the anterior
extremity of the mesosternum. These fore- legs are at a distance from the anterior extremity of the thorax, ij
Others, having the head also received posteriorly into the thorax, or at least covered by it at the
base, but of which the prosternum is not dilated and advanced anteriorly like a necklock, nor ordi-
narily terminated (except in Cebrio) behind in a point received into a cavity of the mesosternum, and
in which the body is generally entirely or partly of a soft and flexible consistence, compose the second
section, Malacodermi.
A third and last section, the Xylotrogi, comprises those Serricornes in which the prosternum is not
elongated at its posterior extremity, and in which the head is entirely free, and separated from the
thorax by a narrowed neck.
We divide the first of these sections, the Sternoxi, into two tribes.
The first, Buprestides, has the posteriorly produced part of the prosternum flat, not terminated by a
laterally compressed point, and simply received in a depression or notch of the mesosternum. The
mandibles are often terminated in an entire point without a notch ; the posterior angles of the thorax
are not, or but slightly, elongated ; the last joint of the palpi is generally cylindric, and not thicker
than the preceding ; the majority have the tarsi dilated and cushioned beneath. They do not leap,
which eminently distinguishes them from the following tribe. They compose the genus
•The Silphse, in respect to their internal structure, ought, jn conjunction with the other clavicorn Beetles, immediately to follow
Brachelytra.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA,—
The Serricornes, —
These Serricornes form a first section, that of the Sternoxi.
Buprestis, Linn., —
And have been termed Richards by the French, in allusion to their splendid colours, many being
COLEOPTERA. 509
remarkable for the spots of gold colour on an emerald ground ; in others, azure glitters upon the gold,
or various other metallic colours are exhibited. The body is in general oval, broad and obtuse, but
narrowed from the base to the tips of the elytra ; the thorax is broad and short ; the scutellum small
or wanting ; the elytra often toothed at the tips, and the legs short. Tliey creep slowly, but their
flight is very active in hot weather; when attempted to be seized they fall to the ground. The females
have at the extremity of the body a corneous or leathery conical plate, composed of the last three
joints, which is probably the instrument with which they deposit their eggs in dry wood, upon which
the larvte feed ; the small species are found upon leaves or flowers, but others are only found in forests
or timber yards ; they sometimes make their appearance in houses, having been introduced into the wood
whilst in the larva or pupa state.
Buprestis, has the antennae of equal thickness throughout, and serrated from the third or fourth joint ; some of
the species [which are extremely numerous, of large or moderate size, and chiefly extra-European,] have no
[visible] scutellum. Such are B.fasciculata, Linn., from the Cape of Good Hope, remarkable for the bundles of
hair with which it is clothed ; B. sternicornis, Linn., from the East Indies, having the mesosternum produced into
a long porrected horn ; B. vittata and ocellata, splendid Indian and Chinese species. The other species have a
[distinct visible] scutellum ; such are B. gigas, Linn., from Cayenne, two inches long ; and B. viridis, Linn.,
[belonging to the subgenus Agrilus,'] a small English species, about a quarter of an inch long, and of a green colour.
Found upon trees.
Trachys, Fab., has the body short and broad, or almost triangular ; the front excavated ; and the thorax lobed
behind. B. minuia, Linn., [a very minute, and not uncommon British species],
Aphanisticus, Latr., has the antennae terminated by an oblong, compressed, sudden mass, formed of the last
four Joints ; the forehead is deeply notched. They are of minute size, and of a linear form. Bupr. emarginata,
Fabr., [a rare British insect].
Melasis, Oliv., differs from all the rest in the antennae being strongly pectinated in the males and serrated
in the females ; the tarsal joints are cylindrical and entire. M. Buprestoides, Oliv., [a very local British species,
and found in Windsor and the New Forests].
[The Buprestid(S, notwithstanding the splendour of their colours,] have attracted, until lately, but
very little attention as respects their structural classification. Schonherr, and more recently Esch-
scholtz, in the Zoological Atlas, in which fifteen genera are described ; Sober, who has divided the
species into thirty-four genera in the Annals of the French Entomological Society, 1833 ; Gory and
Laporte, in their beautiful Histoire Naturelle et Iconographique des Insectes Coleopteres, iu which they
are describing and figuring all the species of this brilliant family ; Laporte, in Silbermanns Revue Ento-
mologique ; Count Mannerheim, in a memoir published in the Bulletin Soc. Imperiale des Naturalistes de
Moscou, and several other modern authors, have investigated this beautiful but difficult tribe. The larvse
have also been recently observed by Messrs. Audouin, Aube, and Dr. Ratzeburg, [see my Introduc. to
Mod. Classific., vol. i. p. 230, 231] ; they are of a flattened form, and are distinguished by tlieir large,
flat head.
The second tribe, that of the Elaterides, differs essentially from the preceding only in having the
posterior produced part of the prosternum laterally compressed, and often slightly curved and unidentate,
and capable of being lodged at the will of the animal in a cavity of the breast, situated immediately
above the place of insertion of the second pair of feet, whereby these insects, when placed upon their
back, possess the power of leaping ; their mandibles are generally notched at the tip ; the palpi terminated
by a joint, much longer than the preceding, and of a hatchet-shape ; and the joints of the tarsi are
entire. This tribe comprises only the genus
Elater, Linn., —
Which has the body generally narrow and more elongate than in Buprestis, and the posterior angles
of the thorax are prolonged into an acute point. They are called Skip-jacks ; in Latin Notopoda and
Elater ; and when laid upon their backs, being unable to raise themselves in consequence of the shortness
of their feet, they spring perpendicularly into the air, so as to fall upon their feet ; this is effected by
folding the legs close against the body, depressing the head and thorax, and then suddenly bringing the
point of the prosternum against the sides of the impression of the mesosternum with a jerk ; the body
being thus violently brought against the plane of position, is by its elasticity elevated into the air. The
sides of the prostemum have a canal, in which the insects conceal their antennae either partially or
entirely; these organs are pectinated or ramose in some males. The females have at the extremity of
the body an elongated ovipositor, formed of two lateral pointed pieces, between which is the true oviduct.
510
INSECTA.
These insects are found upon flowers and plants, or on the ground ; they depress the head Avhilst
creeping along, and fall to the ground when alarmed, applying the feet to the outside of the body, [which
has particular impressions for their reception].
De Geer describes the larva of one of the species, E. undulatus : it is long, nearly cylindrical ; furnished
with short antennae, palpi, six feet, twelve scaly segments, the last of which forms a flattened rounded
plate, angular at the sides, with two recurved points at the end ; beneath is a large fleshy retractile
lobe, which performs the office of a foot. It lives in soft rotten wood and in the ground. It appears,
also, that the larva of E. striatus, Fab., devours the roots of corn, and often does much injury where it
propagates extensively. [The Wire-worm, so well and objectionably known to the English farmer, is
the larva of one of the commonest of our species, Elater {Cataphagus) sputator,
which is probably but a variety of the E. lineatus, mentioned above ; this larva is
much more slender than that described by De Geer, and has the terminal segment of
the body entire and long, (resembling, in fact, a bit of wire,) with two dark points
at the base above.]
Fijr. 5s.— Elater sputator We may refer the different subgenera which have been formed in this tribe to two principal
and its larva. divisious ; tliose in which the antenme are entirely lodged in the canals on the under-side
of the prothorax compose the first.
Galha, Latr., (having the mandibles terminated in a simple point), and
Eucne.'.nis, Arh., (in which they are bifid at the tip), have the antennae received on each side of the prosternum
in a longitudinal canal close to the lateral margins of the thorax, and the basal joints of the tarsi are always without
elongated lobes beneath. (See the monograph of the last genus, by Count Mannerheim.)
Addocera, Latr., has filiform antennae ; the tarsal joints have no elongated lobes, and the two fore-legs are lodged
in repose in lateral impressions on the under-side of the thorax. Elater ovalis^ and others from East India.
Lissomus, Dalm. (Lu'sodes, Latr., Drapetes, Meg.), has also the antennas of equal size throughout ; tarsal joints
entire, but with the lobes on their under edges advanced like small plates ; the head is exposed. See Dalman,
Ephem. Ent.
Chelonariiim, Fab., has the seven terminal joints of the antennas minute, and the body ovoid. [Exotic insects of
small size.]
Throscus, Latr. {Trixagus, Kug.), has the antennae terminated by a three-jointed mass, and lodged in a cavity on
the under-side of the thorax ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is bifid, and the mandibles are entire at the tip.
Type, Elater dennestoides, Linn., Dermestes adsMctor, Fab. [a rare British insect, of minute size and dull
brown colour, but especially interesting on account of its relations, being considered by some authors as allied to
the Dermestidae from the structure of its antennae. Its larva, according to Latreille, feeds upon the wood of
the oak].
Our second division of this tribe comprises those species which have the antennae always free.
Cerophgtum, Latr., has the four basal joints of the tarsi short and triangular, and the penultimate joint bifid :
the antennae of the males are branched.
All the other genera have the joints of the tarsi cylindrical and entire.
Crgpiostoma, Dej., has the inner terminal angle of the third and seven following joints of the antennae, prolonged
into a tooth with a straight branch at the base of the third joint. Elater denticornis. Fab., Cayenne.
Nematodes, Latr., has the body nearly linear, and the antennae have the second and four following joints reverse-
conic, and the five terminal joints thicker and nearly perfoliated. Eucnemis filuni, Mann.
Heinirliipus, Latr., has the male antenn® terminated like a fan. These are exotic [and of large size]. Elater
ftahellicornls, Fabr.
Ctenicerus, Latr., has the male antennae pectinated throughout their whole length. Elater pectinicornis,
Latr., [a common British species].
Elater proper, has the male antennae simply serrated. Elater noctilucus, Linn., South America, — about an inch
long ; of a dark brown colour, with two pale dots on the thorax, which emit a very strong light during the night,
sufficient to enable a person to read the smallest writing, especially when several of the insects are placed together.
The Indian women ornament their head-dresses with these insects. Brown asserts that all the inner parts of the
insect are luminous, and that it can suspend its light at will ; but M. Lacordaire informs me that the principal
reservoir of the phosphorescent matter is situated on the under-side, at the junction of the abdomen with the
thorax. One of these insects, which had been carried in wood to Paris, in the larva state, caused great alarm to
the inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Antoine, who were ignorant of the cause of the light.
Campylus, Fischer, Exopthalmiis, Latr., differs from all the preceding in having the head free, and the eyes large
and globular ; the body is long and linear. Elater linearis, Linn.
Phyllocerus, Latr., is distinguished by having the palpi filiform [not clavate], and antennae pectinated after the
fourih joint. {P.flavipennis, south of Europe, figured by Guerin in his Iconographie.]
[The family Elateridae, on account of the general uniformity of their appearance and dullness of their colours,
have only recently any attention in respect to their structural distribution into genera and subgenera. Dr.
Eschscholtz, however, in the second volume of Thon's Entomologische Archiv.-, Latreille, in the Annals of the
Entomological Society of France for 1834, and still more recently, Di-. Germar, in the second number of his
COLEOPTERA.
511
Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie, have minutely investigated their structure, and have proposed a s;reat number of
groups in addition to tliose given in the text, often, it is true, resting upon very minute and obscure characters.]
Our second section, Malacodermi, is divisible into five tribes.
The first, Celrionites, so named from the genus Cebrio, Oliv., to which some others are added, has
the mandibles terminated in a single point ; the palpi of equal thickness throughout, or slender at the
tip ; the body rounded and swollen in some ; oval or oblong, hut arched above and bent down in front,
in others. It is often soft and flexible, with the thorax transverse, broadest at the base, with the
lateral angles elongated and acute in some ; the aiite;m® are ordinarily longer than the head and
thorax. The feet are not contractile. Their habits are unknown; many are, however, found upon
plants in moist places. They may be united into a single genus,
Cebrio, Oiiv., Fabr.
In a first subsection, establishing a connexion between this and the preceding tribe, the species have the body
of a consistence as solid as in the Sternoxi, and of an oblong-ovate form ; the mandibles advanced beyond the
iabruin, narrow, very much bent ; the antennae fiabellate or pectinated in the males of most of the species, or
rather thickened at the tips. This subsection consists (with one exception) of species not inhabiting our country,
and comprises several genera, including Physodactylus and Cebrio, in which the prosternum is produced into a
point, and received into a notch of the mesosternum ; and Anelastes, Kirby ; Callirhipis, Latr. ; Sandalus, Knoch. ;
Rhipicera, Latr., Ptilodactyla, Illiger; most of which are formed of South American insects, the males of
many of which are remarkably distinguished by their branched or pectinated antennae. These also differ from the
preceding in the prosternum not being remarkably prolong'ed into a point, and in the mesosternum wanting the
frontal impression. In several of the last-named genera the joints of the tarsi are lobed beneath, and in the genus
Dascillns, Latr. ; Atopa, Fabr., which has the 11-jointed antennse simple in both sexes, the three basal join of
the tarsi are without these membranous lobes, but the fourth joint is deeply bilobed, and the terminal joint
without an appendage between the claws. Type, Atopa cervina, Fab. common British insect.
In the second division of the Cebrionites the mandibles are small, but little or not at all extended beyond the
labrum ; the body generally soft, nearly hemispheric or ovoid, and the palpi pointed at the tip. The antennae are
simple, or but slightly toothed ; in many the hind-feet are used for leaping. They frequent aquatic places.
[These are minute insects.]
Elodes, Latr.; Cyplion, Fab., Dej., has the posterior thighs scarcely differing in size from the others. [Several
minute British species.]
Ecyrtes, Latr., has the hind thighs very large, and used for leaping. These two have the penultimate joint of
the tarsi bilobed ; in the two following it is entire.
Nycteus, Latr., has the third joint of the antennse very minute, and the spurs of the hind tibiae distinct.
Euhria, Zeigl., has the second joint of the antennse minute, and the spurs of the hind tibiae almost obsolete.
Cyplion palustris, Germar. [A minute species, recently captured in Scotland.]
The second tribe of the Malacodermi, that of the Lampxy rides, is distinguished from the preceding
by the thickened tips of the palpi, or at least of the maxillary palpi ; the body always soft, straight, |
depressed, or scarcely convex ; and the thorax, either semicircular or nearly square, advanced over the I
head, which it wholly or partly covers. The mandibles are generally small, terminated in a slender
curved point, entire at the tip ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is always bilobed, and the ungues of
the tarsi are neither toothed nor furnished with any appendage. The females of some species are desti-
tute of wings, or have only short elytra. When seized, these insects fold their antennae and feet close
to the body, without making any movement, as if dead ; many also bend down the abdomen. They
form the genus
Lampyris, Linn.
A first division has the antenns arising close together ; the head either free and produced into a muzzle, or
entirely concealed beneath the thorax, with the eyes of the males very large and globular, and the mouth small.
Lycus, Fab., having the muzzle very long ;
Dictyoptera, Latr., with the muzzle very short ; and
Omalisus, Geolfr., without any distinct muzzle ; are distinguished for the want of the power of emitting light.
[There is one British species, L. minutus, Fabr., belonging to the second of these groups ; it is small, of a black
colour, with red elytra.]
The other Lampyrides of this first division differ from the former, not only in not having a muzzle, and in
having the head, which is occupied almost entirely by the eyes in the males, entirely or nearly hidden beneath
the semicircular or square thorax ; but also in a very remarkable property which they ipossess, either common to
both sexes or peculiar to the females alone — that of being phosphorescent ; whence these insects have obtained
the names of Glow-worms and Fire-flies. The body of these insects is very soft, especially the abdomen : the
luminous matter occupies the under-side of the two or three terminal segments of this part of the body, which are
differently coloured, and generally yellow or white. The light they emit is more or less bright, and of a greenish-
white, or white colour, like that of different kinds of phosphorus. It appears that these insects are able at will
512
INSECTA.
to vary its action, -which is especially the case when they are seized or held in the hand. They live for a very long-
time in a vacuum, or in different gases, except nitric, muriatic, and sulphuric acid gas, in which they die in a few
moments. Their immersion in hydrogen gas I’enders them, at least sometimes, detonating. When deprived by
mutilation of this luminous part of the body they survive, and this detached part preserves for some time its
luminous powers, either when submitted to the action of ditferent gases, in vacuo, or in the open air, its phospho-
rescence depending upon its moistness rather than on the life of the animal, as it is easily re-lighted on moistening
the substance with water ; it appears much more bright also when immersed in warm water, which is the only
ffuid capable of dissolving it.
These insects are nocturnal in their habits, the males being occasionally seen flying, like moths, round lights ;
whence we conclude that the luminous property of the females has for its object the attraction of individuals of
the other sex ; and if, as De Geer states, the larvae and pupae of the common Glow-worm ai’e luminous, it is only
to be attributed to the developement of this phosphoric substance from the earliest age. The males themselves
also possess this power, but in a very slight degree. Nearly all the species of hot climates have both sexes
winged, and as they occur in great quantities, they exhibit a brilliant spectacle to the inhabitants.
Amydetes, Hoffin., comprises some Brazilian species, having the antennae composed of more than eleven joints,
and strongly plumose.
Phengodes, Hoffhi., also consists of other South American species, with only eleven joints in the antennae, the
third and following joints emitting two long ciliated and curled filaments.
The remaining species compose the restricted genus
Lampyris, divisible, from the form of the antennae, the presence or want of elytra and wings, &c., into many
minor groups. [See Laporte’s revision of this genus in the Annals of the French Ent. Soci]
L. noctUicca, Linn., the male of which is nearly half-an-inch long, and has simple antennae ; a semicircular
thorax entirely covering the head, with two transparent spots ;
belly black ; last segments of a pale yellow. The female is
destitute of wings and elytra, and is of a blackish colour ; the
apex paler ; the latter are more especially called Glow-worms.
They are found in the country, at the side of roads, in hedges,
amongst grass, &c., in the months of June, July, and August.
They lay a great number of eggs, which are large, spherical,
and of a citron colour. The larva nearly resembles the female,
but is black, with a pale spot at the hinder angles of the seg-
ments ; the anteniicK and legs being much shorter, they crawl
slowly, and are able to shorten and lengthen their bodies. They
are probably carnivorous.
In our second division of the Lampyrides the antennae are
wide apart at the base ; the head is not formed into a muzzle, and the eyes are of the usual size in both sexes.
Drilus, Oliv., has the antennae pectinated in the males, and shorter and subserrated in the females ; the maxil-
lary palpi are thickened towards the end, which is pointed. The males are alone winged, the female of the typical
species, D. jlavescens, only recently discovered, being apterous, and nearly three times the size ot the male.
M. Mielzinsky has lately observed the transformations of this species, the larva of which feeds upon the common
snail. Helix mmoralis, Linn., and resembles that of a Glow-worm ; but the sides of the abdomen have a row of
1 conical tubercles, and two series of pencils of hairs. Not having traced the transformations of the other sex,
M. Mielzinsky regarded the female as forming a distinct genus, which he named Cochleoctonus.
All the other species belonging to this section or division of the Lampyrides are winged, and their maxillary
palpi are not much longer than the labial.
Telephorus, Schicft'. ; Cantharis, Linn., has the palpi terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint, and the thorax has
not lateral notches. The species are carnivorous, and crawl about on plants. Cantharis fusca, Linn,, is one of
the commonest species of this numerous group, [which are called Soldiers and Sailors by children]. Its larva is
subcylindric, elongated, soft, and of a velvety black colour ; the head is furnished with strong mandibles. Beneath
the termina/segment of the body is a fleshy tubercle, used in walking. It lives in damp earth, and feeds upon
prey. In certain years large spaces of ground in Sweden, covered with snow in the winter, have been observed
covered with great numbers of these larvae and other living insects, supposed to have been raised and transported
thither by violent gales of wind, whence the origin of insect rain, “ pluie d'insectesP
Silis, Meg., has the thorax notched at the sides behind. S. spinicollis, Charp.
Malthinus, Latr., has the palpi terminated by an ovoid joint, and the elytra are shorter than the abdomen. The
species are very small, and are found upon plants.
The third tribe of the Malacodermi, or the Melyrides, has the palpi generally filiform and short ; the
mandibles notched at the point ; the body generally long and narrow ; the head only covered at the
base by a fiat or slightly convex thorax, which is generally square or oblong ; the joints of the tarsi
are entire ; the ungues unidentate, or furnished with a membranous appendage. The antennae are
mostly serrated or pectinated in some males. The majority are very agile, and are found upon leaves
of flow'ers. This tribe, which is only a dismemberment of the genera Caniharis and Derrnestes, Linn.,
composes that of MelyriSy Tabr.
Fig. 59.— Male acd female Glow-worm.
COLEOPTERA.
513
Malachius, Fabr., has beneath each of the anterior angles of the thorax and each side of the base of the abdomen
a retractile vesicle capable of dilatation, and which the animal protrudes when it is alarmed, but of the use of which
we are ignorant. The body is shorter than in the following genus, with the thorax broader than long. One of the
sexes has in some species a hook at the tip of the elytra; the basal joint of the antennae is often dilated and irre-
gular-shaped in the males ; their colours are agreeable. [These are active, pretty little insects, found in the spring
and summer months, especially frequenting umbelliferous plants to prey upon the weaker insects which inhabit
those flowers.] Types, Cantharis cenea,lA\m., zxACantliaris hipustulata, Linn, [two vei’y common British species].
Dasytes, Fabr., has filiform palpi ; the thorax is not furnished with vesicles ; the antennae at least as long as
the head and thorax, and the body generally narrow, and sometimes linear. D. ccsruleus, Fabr,
Zygia, Fabr., and Melyris proper are composed of exotic species, having the ungues unidentate ; the antennae
shorter than the head and thorax, and the body shorter and of a more solid consistence.
Pelecophorus, Dejean, has the maxillary palpi terminated by a large hatchet-shaped joint. Notoscus Illigeri, Sch.
Diglobicerus, Latr., has the antennae only distinctly 10-jointed, the last two joints being large and globular.
The fourth tribe of the Malacodermi, that of the Clerii, so named from the typical genus Clerus, is
distinguished by the following characters : — Two of the palpi at least are advanced, and terminated in
a mass ; the mandibles are dentate ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed, and the first very short,
or indistinct in many species ; the antennse are either filiform or serrated, and sometimes clavate, or
gradually thickened to the tips ; the body is ordinarily almost cylindrical, with the head and thorax
narrower than the abdomen, and the eyes notched. The majority are found upon dowsers, and the
others upon the trunks of old trees, or in dry wood. Such of the larvae as have been observed are
carnivorous. This tribe comprises the genus
Clerus, Geoff.,—
Some of which have the tarsi, when seen either from above or below, distinctly 5-jointed ; and the
antennae are always dentated like a saw.
Cylidrus, Fabr., having long entire mandibles (type, Trichodes cyaneus, Fabr., from the Isle of France) ; and
Tillm, Oliv., having the mandibles of moderate size, and notched at the tip (type, Tillus elongatus, Oliv., a
rare British species), have the maxillary palpi filiform, or but slightly thickened at the tips ; whilst
Priocera and Axina, Kirby, founded upon Brazilian insects, have all the palpi terminated by a mass, the last
joint of the labial palpi being always hatchet-shaped.
Eurypus, Kirby, differs from the last two in having only the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed. This is also
founded upon a Brazilian species.
In others the tarsi, when seen from above, only appear to be composed of four joints, the first of the five ordi-
nary joints being very short, and concealed beneath the second.
Thanasimus, Latr., Clerus, Fabr., having the maxillary palpi filiform (type, Attelabus formicarius, Linn.) ; and
Opilo, Latr., Notoxus, Fabr., having all the four palpi terminated by a large hatchet-shaped joint (type, Atte-
labus mollis, Linn.), have the antennae gradually thickened to the tip, but in the remaining
groups the last three joints form a sudden mass.
Clerus, Geoff. {Trichodes, Fahr.), has the maxillary palpi terminated by a reversed triangular
compressed joint, whilst that of the labial is larger, and hatchet-shaped; the joints of the club
of the antennae are close together ; the thorax is depressed in fi’ont. The perfect insects are
found upon flowers, but the larvae feed upon the grubs of some kinds of Bees.
Trichodes alvearius, Fabr. — Blue, with red elytra banded with blue ; lives in the nest of
Mason Bees (G. osmia, Ileaum.), and feeds at the expense of their posterity. The larva of Atte-
labus apiarius, Linn., devours that of the Honey Bee, and often does much damage in hives.
Necrobia, Latr. {Corynetes, Fabr.), has the four palpi terminated by a joint of the same size,
Fig. 60.— Clerus alve- in the form of an elongated and compressed triangle; the joints of the club of the antennae
arius. apart, and the thorax is not depressed in front. Necrobia violacea, Oliv. ; Dermestes violacea,
Linn. Very common in houses and upon carcases.
Enoplium, Latr., has the ninth and tenth joints of the antennae produced on the inside into a long tooth. Tillus
serraticornis, Oliv.
The fifth tribe of the Malacodermi, that of the Ptiniores, has for its type the genus Ptinus, Linn.,
and some others which are derived from, or most nearly approach it. The body of these insects is of
rather solid consistence, sometimes ovoid or oval, or sometimes cylindrical, but generally short, and
rounded at each end ; the head is almost orbicular, and received in the thorax, which is very much
swollen, or hood-shaped ; the antennae of some are filiform, or become gradually slender to the tip,
either simple or flabellate, pectinated or serrated, and those of others terminate in three joints abruptly
thicker and longer than the preceding joints ; the mandibles are short, thick, and toothed ; the palpi
are very short, and terminated by a larger joint, almost oval, or reverse triangle-shaped ; the tibiae are
not toothed, and the spurs at their tips are very small ; their colours are always obscure and but slightly
2 L
INSECTA.
514
variegated. All these insects are of small size. When touched, they counterfeit death by lowering the
head, inclosing their antennae, and contracting their feet, remaining in this position for some time.
Their movements are in general rather slow ; the species which have wings seldom use them for escape.
Their larvae are very injurious, and hear a great resemblance to those of the Scarabaei ; their body,
which is generally curved, is soft and whitish, with the head and feet brown and scaly; their mandibles
are strong ; they construct, with the fragment of the materials they have gnawed, a cocoon, in which
they change to pupae. Other species take up their abode in old wood-stakes or under stones : in other
respects their habits are similar. Such are the general characters of the genus
Ptinus, Linn.
Some have the front of the body narrower than the abdomen, and the antennae simple or slightly
serrated, and at least as long as the body.
Ptinus, Linn., has the antennae inserted below the eyes, and the body is oblong. These insects frequent houses,
and especially granaries, and the uninhabited portions of the former. Their larvae devour dried plants, and the
prepared dry skins of animals. The antennae of the males are longer than those of the females, and in many
species the latter are wingless. Pt. fur, Linn.
Gibbium, Scop., has the antennae inserted in front of the eyes, and the body is short, nearly globular. Pt. scotias,
Pt. sulcatus, Fabr. [This last is the type of Leach’s genus Gibbium, having the thorax sulcated.]
Tlie others have the body either oval or ovoid, or nearly cylindric ; the thorax as broad as the abdomen ; the
antennae either uniform and serrated, or pectinated, or terminated by three large joints ; they are also shorter than
the body.
Ptilinus, Geolf., has the male antennae strongly pectinated, and the female serrated. Pt. pectinicornis, Fabr.
Xyleiinus, Latr., and Ochina, Zeigl., have the antennae simply serrated in both sexes.
Dorcatoma, Herbst., has the antennae suddenly terminated by three large joints, and only 9-jointed. D. dres-
densis, Herbst.
Anohium, Fabr,, has the antennae also terminated by three large joints, but they are 11-jointed. Many species
of this genus inhabit the interior of our houses, where they do much
injury, in the larva state, by gnawing furniture, books, &c,, which they
pierce with little round holes, like those made by a fine drill. Their
excrement forms the fine white powder observed in the holes of worm-
eaten wood. Other larvae feed upon flowers, wafers, collections of birds,
insects, &c. The two sexes, when calling each other during the period
of their amours, beat with their jaws upon the wood-work on which
they are stationed, for a succession of times, mutually replying to each
other. This is the cause of the noise, similar to the quickened ticking
of a watch, which is often heard [especially in old houses], and which
has received from the superstitious the name of the Death-watch.
Anobium striatum, Oliv. {A. pertinax, Fabr.), is of an uniform brownish-black colour, and is very common in houses.
A. pertinax, Linn, [derives its specific name from the pertinacity with which it maintains its attempt at deception],
preferring, according to De Geer, to suffer death under a slow fire, rather than give the least sign of life.
The third and last section of the Serricornes, forming also a last tribe— that of the Xylotrogi—\&
distinguished, as above stated, from the two preceding sections, by having the head entirely free, and
is composed of the genus Lymexylon, Fabr., which we thus divide : —
Some have the maxillary palpi much longer ; the labial pendent and brush-like in the males, terminated by a
large ovoid joint in the females ; the antennse are .short, and slightly thickened at the middle.
Atractocerus, Palis de Beauv., has the elytra very minute ; the antennse compressed, sub-fusiform ; the thorax
square, and the abdomen depressed. A. necydaloides. Pal. Guinea.
Hylecoetus, Latr., has the elytra nearly as long as the abdomen, the antennse compressed, and the thorax nearly
square. H. dermestoides, Linn. Inhabits Germany, England, and the north of Europe.
Lymexylon, Fabr., differs from the last in having the antennse simple and sub-moniliform, and the thorax nearly
cylindrical. L. navale, Fabr. This insect is very common in the oak forests of the north of Europe, but rare in
the neighbourhood of Paris [and in England]. Its larva is very long, almost like a Filaria. Some time ago, it
multiplied to such an extent in the dock-yards at Toulon that the injuries it committed in the wood-works were
very great.
The others have the maxillary palpi very short, and alike in both sexes. The antennse are always simple, and of
equal thickness throughout.
Cupes, Fabr., has the antennse composed of nearly cylindrical joints, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi is
bilobed. C. capitata, Fabr. North America.
Rhysodes, Latr., has the antennse moniliform, and all the joints of the tarsi are entire. R. exaratus, Dalm. Not-
withstanding the number of joints in the tarsi, this genus approaches Cucujus and certain Brenti with a short
rostrum in both sexes. Their habits are similar to those of the Xylophagi.
I'ig. 61. — Aiiobium strmtiim, natural size and
magiiined.
COLEOPTERA.
515
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA,—
The Clavicornes, —
Has, like the preceding family, four palpi ; the elytra entirely cover the upper side of the abdomen, or
its greater portion ; the antennae almost always thicker at the tips, and often terminated by a perfo-
liated or solid mass. They are larger than the maxillary palpi, with the base naked or but scarcely
covered ; the legs are not fitted for swimming, and the joints of the tarsi, or at least those of the
posterior feet, are ordinarily entire. They feed for the most part in the larva state on animal matter.
We divide this family into two sections, the first of which has the following characters : — Antennse
always composed of eleven joints ; longer than the head, hut forming after the third joint a fusiform
or cylindrical mass ; the second joint not dilated into an ear-shaped appendage ; terminal joint of the
tarsi, as well as the ungues, small, or of moderate size.
These Clavicornes live out of water, whilst those of the second section are aquatic or subaquatic,
and thus lead to the Palpicornes, which are for the most part aquatic, and of which the antennae have
not more than nine joints. The first section comprises several small tribes.
The first tribe, that of the Palpatores, appears to approach, in a natural series, the Pselaphi and
Brachelytra, [in respect of their mouth-organs and habits]. Their antennae (at least as long as the
head and thorax) are slightly thickened to the tips, or are nearly filiform, with the two basal joints
longer than the following ; the bead is separated from the thorax by a narrowed part ; the maxillary
palpi are long, advanced, and thickened at the tips ; the abdomen is large, oval, or ovoid, and laterally
embraced by the elytra ; the legs are long, with the thighs clavate, and the tarsal joints entire. They
are found on the ground under stones, &c. Some {Scydmoenus) frequent damp places. We unite
them into one genus, —
Mastigus, Hotf.
Mastigus, has the antennse [elbowed], with the basal joint very long ; the last two joints of the maxillary palpi
form an oval mass ; the thorax is ovoid. M. palpalis, Latr.
Scgdmcsnus, Latr., has the antennse scarcely elbowed, [the basal joint not being long] ; the maxillai’y palpi are
terminated by a minute pointed joint, and the thorax nearly globose. S. Helwigii, Latr. M. Duros discovered
S. clavatus, Gyll., in an ant’s-nest, which tends to confirm my views of the relation of this genus with the
Pselaphi, at the end of the Brachelytra.
In all the Clavicornes following, the head is generally received into the thorax ; and the maxillary
palpi are never porrected and clavate at the same time. The whole of their appearance exhibits other
distinguishing characters.
The genus Hister forms our second tribe, named Histeroides. The four hind legs are wider apart
at their insertion than the two anterior, which character alone distinguishes this gen-us from all the
others of this family ; the feet are contractile, and the outer edge of the tibiae is toothed or spinose ;
the antennse are always elbowed, and terminated by a solid mass, composed of joints very close to-
gether ; the body is of a very solid consistence, generally square, or parallelopiped, with the prosternum
often dilated in front, and the elytra truncate ; the mandibles are strong, advanced, and often of un-
equal size ; the palpi are nearly filiform, or slightly thickened at the tips, and terminated by an oval or
ovoid joint. In relation to their habits, the toothing of their tibise, &c., these insects approach the
Coprophagous Lamellicornes ; but in other respects, chiefly anatomical, they naturally approach the Silphse.
These animals feed on cadaverous or stercorareous matters, rotten vegetable substances, such as
manure, old fungi, &c. Others reside under the bark of trees. They creep slowly ; they are of a
very shining black or bronzed colour. Such of the larvae as have been observed feed upon the same
substances as the perfect insects. Their bodies are of a linear form, depressed, nearly smooth, soft,
and of a yellowish white colour, with the exception of the feet and first segment of the body, of which
the skin is scaly, and of a brown or reddish colour ; it is furnished with six short feet, and terminated
behind in two articulated appendages and an anal tubular elongation ; the scaly plate of the first segment
is longitudinally channelled.
This tribe exclusively comprises, as above said, the genus
Hister, Linn.
Some of these have the tibiae, at least those of the fore-legs, triangular, and toothed on the outer edge; the an-
tennae always exposed and free ; the body generally square, and but little if at all thickened.
2 l2
/
516
INSECTA,
Fig. 62. — Hister nnicolor.
Ilololepta, Payk., has the body very much flattened ; the prosternum is not advanced over the mouth, and the
four posterior tibise have only a single row of spines. These insects are found beneath the bark of trees. The
larva figured by Paykull as that of one of these insects, belongs to the genus Syrphus or Musca.
Hister is composed of species having the prosternum advanced over the mouth, with the maxillae terminated by
a short lobe, and the palpi but little advanced ; some of which have only a single row of spines on the four hind
tibiae. These also live under the bark of trees, and compose Leach’s genera Platysoma and Dendrophilus ; the
first of which has the body flattened, H. picipes, Fabr. Those species which have two rows of spines on the four
hind tibiae compose Leach’s restricted genus Hister. Ex., H. unicolor, Linn., one-third of an inch long ; entirely
black and shining, and extremely common. M. Paykull has employed the number of teeth
in the tibiae, and of the striae and punctures of the thorax and elytra, as well as the form of
the body, to distinguish the species.
A terminal division of this tribe comprises those Histeroides of very small size, having
a nearly globose thick body, with the prosternum but slightly compressed at the sides ;
not advanced over the mouth, and straight in front.
Abrccus, Leach, has the prosternum prolonged as far as the anterior angles of the thorax,
entirely concealing the antennae when retracted. H. globosus, Pa^^k.
Onthophilus, Leach, has the prosternum narrowed, and the club of the antennae lodged
in an orbicular cavity situated beneath the anterior angles of the thorax. H. sulcatus, Pk.
Ceutocerus, Germar, appears to approach Hister in the form of the antennae, feet, &c.,
but the elytra entirely cover the abdomen, and the jaws are not exserted.
[The monograph of the genus Hister, by Paykull, published at Upsal, 1811, and Sturm’s DeutscMands Fauna,
contains descriptions and figures of a great number of species ; whilst Dr. Erichson has added considerably to
the number of generic groups in the tribe, in an admirable memoir published in Dr. King’s Jahrbucher.']
The other Clavicornes have the feet inserted at equal distances apart. Such of these insects as
have these organs not contractile, or with the tarsi merely folded upon the tihise, the mandibles gene-
rally exposed and flattened, or hut little thickened, and the prosternum dilated in front, compose five
other tribes.
The third tribe, Silphales, possesses five very distinct joints in all the tarsi, and the mandibles are
terminated in an entire point, without notch or slit. The antennae are terminated generally in a per-
foliated club of four or five joints. The maxillae have generally a horny tooth on the inner edge ; the
anterior tarsi are often dilated, at least in the males ; the elytra of the greater number have a depressed
line along the outer edge, which is turned up. This tribe consists of the genus
SiLPHA, Linn. {Pettis, Geoflfr,).
Spheerites, Duftsch., Sarapus, Fisch., has the antennae suddenly terminated in a short solid mass, formed of the
last four joints ; the second is larger than the following. The body nearly square ; elytra truncate : tibiae dentate.
These insects so nearly resemble Hister, that Fabricius united them with that genus. Type, Hister glabratus, Fabr.
[an insect of small size, lately detected in Scotland].
The rest have the antennae terminated in a perfoliated mass.
Some of these have the body oblong, with the head narrowed into a neck behind the eyes ; as broad, or scarcely
narrower, than the front margin of the thorax ; the elytra are oblong ; truncate behind ; the hind thighs, at least
in the males, are generally thickened, and the anterior tarsi are dilated in the males.
Necrophorus, Fabr., has the antennae terminated by a nearly globular 4-joiuted mass ; the body is parallelopiped,
and the maxillae want the horny tooth. The instinctive habits which these insects possess of burying small quad-
rupeds, has caused them to be named Sexton, or Burying Beetles. When a dead Mouse or Mole, &c. is observed,
these insects creep beneath it, dig away the earth until the hole is sufficiently deep to receive the animal, which
they pull in towards them, and in which they then deposit their eggs, the larvae feeding upon the carcase. These
larvae are long, of a greyish white, with the upper side of the anterior segments armed with a scaly plate of a
brown colour, and with small elevated points upon the posterior. They have six legs and strong mandibles.
Previous to assuming the pupa state they bury themselves deeply into the earth, where they construct a cell,
which they line with a glutinous secretion. These insects, like many others equally carnivorous, have a strong
smell of musk. It appears that their powers of scent must be very great, as in a very little time after a Mole
has been killed some of them are seen hovering over the body, although they had not been previously observed
in the vicinity. The digestive canal of the Necrophori and Silphse is at least three times as long as the body ; the
intestinal canal is very long.
Necrophorus vespillo, Linn., is from two-thirds to seven-eighths of an inch
long; black, with the three terminal joints of the antennae red, and two orange-
coloured bands on the elytra ; the coxae of the hind-legs armed with a strong
tooth. [There are several species closely allied to this insect, which is very
common in England ; and it is to be observed that they occasionally frequent
rotten fungus and boleti, as well as animal matter in a decaying state.] Some of
the species from North America surpass the rest in size.
Necrodes, Wilkin ; Silpha, Linn., has the antennae evidently longer than the
head, and terminated by an elongated 5-jointed mass; the body is oval oblong ; lig. 63.— Necrophorus vespillo.
COLEOPTERA.
517
the thorax nearly orbicular, and the spurs of the tibiae of ordinary size. The species are found in Europe, the
equatorial parts of the New World, India, and Australia. [The type, Silpha littoralis, Fabr., is a very common
I English insect.]
I Others of this subdivision have the body oval or ovoid, with the head not, or scarcely, narrowed behind, and
I narrower than the thorax, which is nearly semicircular ; the elytra are rounded, or slightly emarginate at the tip 5
the legs scarcely dilfer in the sexes, and the maxillas have an inner horny tooth.
Silpha^ Linn., has thebody nearly shield-shaped, depressed, with the thorax semicircular and the palpi filiform. Tlie
majority reside in [and feed upon] carcases, and thus diminish the quantity of obnoxious vapour which they emit.
Some creep upon the stems of plants, especially of corn on which small Snails have crawled, in order to devour
these animals ; others mount high trees to feed on Caterpillars. Their larvae are equally active, live in the same
manner, and are often found collected in great numbers. They bear much resemblance to the perfect insect ; the
body is depressed, composed of twelve segments, with the posterior angles acute, the extremity of the body being
narrowed, and terminated by two conical apppendages. In the majority of the species the two anterior tarsi of the
males are alone more dilated than the rest. The species with the extremity of the antennai distinctly perfoliated
or with transverse joints, forming a sudden club, with the elytra notched at the tips, forms Leach’s genus Thana-
tophilus {S. sinuata, Fab., &c.), whilst those with similar antennae, but with the elytra entire, form his genus
Oiceoptoma (type S. thoracica, Linn., of a black colour, with the thorax red, silky, and with three elevated lines ; is
chiefly found in woods.) Those species which have the antennae perfoliated, but with the club gradually formed,
are retained under the generic name of Silpha by Leach. They are generally found in fields, on the borders of |
paths, &c.: example, Silphalcevigata, Fab.; shining black, with the thorax much narrowed in front, and the elytra ;
without elevated lines : S. obscura,\Arm., S. reticulata, Linn., &c. In some the terminal joints of the antennae [
j are globular and not perfoliated ; these form the genus Phosphuga of Leach : ex. S. atrata, Fab., &c. '
A German species {S. subterranea, Illig.), having the four anterior tarsi alike dilated at the base in the males, [
j and the five terminal joints of the antennae forming a perfoliated club, may be formed into another subgenus, Necro- ;
I philus, Latr. !
Agyrtes, Froehl., has the body thick, convex above, not shield-like, thorax nearly square, and the edge of the [
elytra not margined. A. castaneus, Gyll. |
Those Clavicornes which appear to us to approach Agyrtes, both in respect to their characters and I
habits, hut which have the mandibles notched or bidentate at the tip, form the fourth tribe, Scaphidites. i
Their tarsi have five distinct and entire joints, the body is oval, narrowed at both ends, convex above, i
thickened in the middle, with the head low, and received posteriorly in a trapezoidal thorax. The !
antennse are generally as long as the head and thorax, and terminated by an elongated 5-jointed mass;
the legs are long and slender. Except in the Cholevse, the tarsi are identical in the sexes. This tribe
consists of the genus
SCAPHIDIUM, Oliv.
Scaphidium proper, has the five terminal joints of the antennae nearly globular, and forming the club. The
maxillary palpi are but little porrected, and terminate gradually in a point ; the body is navicular, and the elytra
truncate. They reside in boleti. Few species are known, one inhabiting Cayenne, the others the north of Europe.
[S. quadrimaculatum, a very pretty and rare British species ; black shiny, with four red spots on the elyti-a.]
Cholera, Latr., has the club of the antennae composed of more or less perfoliated joints; the maxillary palpi are
much exposed, and suddenly terminated like an awl ; body ovoid, thorax flat ; the four basal joints of the anterior
and the basal joint of the intermediate tarsi are dilated as in the males of some species. {Catops blapoides. Germ.)
In Choleva proper, the antennae are about as long as the head and thorax, the eighth joint is evidently shorter
than the preceding and following, and sometimes scarcely distinct, and the last is pointed. In Mylcechus, Latr.,
Catops, Payk., Gyll., the antennae are shorter, the eighth joint being longer than the preceding, and the last
rounded at the tip. (See the monograph on Choleva, by W. Spence, published in the Transactions of the Linncean
Society of London.)
The fifth tribe, Nitidularice, approaches the Silphales in the shield-shaped, margined body, but the
mandibles are bifid at the tips, the tarsi appear only 4-jointed, the basal and following joint in some
being only visible on the under-side ; the penultimate joint in others is very small, nodose, and hidden
between the lobes of the preceding ; the club of the antennae is always perfoliated, and composed of
three or two joints, and generally short, or but little elongated. The palpi are short and filiform, the
elytra short and truncated in some species. The habitation of these insects varies according to the species,
being found in flowers, boleti, fungi, waste victuals, and under the bark of trees. They form the genus
Nitidula.
Colobicus, Latr., has the club of the antennae only 2-jointed ; the front of the head is produced like a semicircular
clypeus, covering the mandibles and other parts of the mouth ; the tarsi appear only 4-jointed, the real basal joint
being only visible on the under-side.
All the other Nitidulaires have the antennae terminated by a 3-jointed club, and the front of the head is not pro-
duced over the mouth.
Thymalus, Latr., agrees with Colobicus in having the basal joint of the tarsi very short, and the three following
long and entire. In the nearly hemispherical species (T. limbatus), the club of the antennae is shorter.
INSECTA.
I 518
I
I The following have the three basal joints of the tarsi, at least in the males, short, broad, and bilobed, the fourth
; being very small and scarcely apparent, with the maxillary palpi filiform.
Ips, Fab., having the body oval-oblong, depressed, with the posterior extremity of the body exposed, and with
one of the mandibles (the left) truncated and tridentate at the tip, and the other broadly notched. [The species are
mostly small, of a black colour, with red spots on the elytra.]
Nitidula, Fab. (Strongylusy Herbst.), have both the mandibles narrowed at the tip and terminated in a bifid point.
Sorne are flattened, oblong, or ovoid, others orbicular and gibbose, or proportionately more convex than the pre-
ceding. N. cmea, Fabr., is found very abundantly in flowers : it is very small, of a shining bronzed green colour,
with the antennae black, and the feet brownish black or fulvous. [i\T. grisea is one of the commonest British
species, larger than the preceding, and generally found under the bark of willow-trees, where
its larva also resides.]
Cercus, Latr. {Catheretes, Herbst.), differs from the two preceding in having the second and
third joints of the antennae nearly of equal size, the club elongated and pear-shaped, (and not
suddenly formed and orbicular or oval) ; the body is depressed, and the elytra are truncate.
[Very small species, found in flowers.]
Byturiis, Latr., differs from all the preceding by having the tibiae long, narrow, and nearly
Fig:. 64.— Nit. grisea- linear, the elytra covering the body, and not truncated at the tip, the body oval, and the club
of the antennae oblong. [B. tomentosus, a small species of very common occurrence, the larva of which feeds in
the interior of ripe raspberries.]
The sixth tribe, Engidites, agrees with the last in having the mandibles notched at the tip, but differs
in these organs scarcely extending beyond the sides of the labrum ; the body is oval or elliptic, with
the anterior extremity of the head slightly advanced into an obtuse point. The tarsi have five distinct
joints (some male Cryptophagi excepted, which are heteromerous), entire, and merely slightly villose
beneath ; the penultimate joint is but a little shorter than the preceding, the antennae terminate in a per-
foliated mass of 3 joints, the elytra entirely cover the abdomen, the palpi are slightly thickened at the
tips. Some of the species, of very small size, hve in the interior of houses. These Clavicornes may be
united into a single genus,
Dacne.
Bacne, Latr. (Engis, Fabr.), bas the antennae terminated suddenly in a large orbicular, or ovoid, and compressed
close mass.
Cryptophagus, Herbst., has the antennae moniliform, with the second joint as large or larger than the preceding,
and terminated less suddenly by a narrower club with more distinct joints. [Minute domestic insects.]
Anther ophagus, Knoch, has the antennae proportionably thicker, composed of transverse joints, and terminated
gradually by a club, the second and the eighth joints being nearly equal-sized.
Triphyllus, Meg., Dej., differs only from Cryptophagus in the number of the joints of the tarsi.
We now pass to some tribes having the prosternum often dilated in front like a cravat, and which
differ from the preceding in having the feet more or less contractile, the tibise being folded against the
thighs, even though the tarsi may be free. The mandibles are short, thick, and toothed, the body is
ovoid, thick, and clothed with scales, or hairs, easily abraded, which give it a diversified colour. The
larvae are hairy, and feed for the most part on the skins or carcases of animals, many of them being
very injurious in collections of insects. Such of them as have not the feet perfectly contractile, the
tarsi remaining free, with the tibiae long and narrow, form our seventh tribe, Dermestini, and the genus
Dermestes, Linn.
Aspidiphorus, Zeigl., has only ten distinct joints in the antennae, the palpi very short, and the body orbicular.
Nitidula orbiculata, Gyll., [a minute British species].
The following have eleven distinct joints in the antennae, and the palpi are filiform, or thickened at the tips.
Some of these have the antennae not received in particular cavities on the under-side of the thorax.
Dermestes proper, has the antennae smaller in both sexes ; the length of the terminal joint scarcely exceeding
that of the preceding. Some of these insects commit great ravages in fur- warehouses, cabinets of natural history,
&c., D. lardarius gnawing to pieces the insects in collections into which it may happen to make its way ; others
feed upon carcases.
Dermestes lardarius, Linn., is black, with the base of the elytra gray spotted with black ; its
larva is long, gradually narrowed from the front to the extremity of the body ; dark brown
above, white beneath, with long hairs, and two horny hooks on the last segment of the body.
Megatoma, Herbst., has the club of the antennae greatly elongated in the males, the last
joint of a lanceolate form. D. pellio, Linn., is 2^ lines long, black, with three white spots on
the thorax, and one on each elytra. Its larva is very long, red brown, shining, with red hairs,
those of the extremity of the body forming a tail.
Limnichus, Zeigl., dilfers from the last two subgenera in having the antennae gradually
clubbed ; they are granular, and are lodged under the anterior angles of the thorax ; the labial Fig. 65.— Dermestes
palpi are very small. Byrrhus sericeus, Dufts. lardanus
COLEOPTERA.
519
In all the following subgenera, the antennae or their clubs are lodged in lateral cavities on the under-side of the
thorax. The prosternum is always dilated like a cravat.
Attagenus, Latr., has the club of the antennae very large, lax, and three-jointed, and the body short and slightly
convex, Dermestes Serra, Fab.
Trogoderma, Latr., has the club of the antennae lax, 4-jointed, and the body oblong. Antlirenus elongatus, Fab.
Anthrenus, Geoff., has the antennae terminated in a solid obconical mass, lodged in short cavities beneath the
fore angles of the thorax. The species of this genus are very small, living upon flowers in the perfect state, but
feeding in the larva state on dried animal matters, especially preserved collections of insects. These larvae are
oval, clothed with hairs, which are sometimes denticulated, forming brushes, the posterior ones being elongated
behind like a tail. The last skin of the larvae serves as a cocoon for the pupa. Bgrrhus verbasci, Linn.
Globicornis, Latr., has the antennae terminated by a solid globular mass. Megatoma rufitarsis, Latr.
The eighth tribe, Birrhii, differs from the preceding in having the feet entirely contractile, the tibise
folding upon the femora, and the tarsi upon the tibiae, so that when these limbs are thus contracted
and closely applied to the body, the animal seems absolutely destitute of feet and lifeless ; the tibiae are
ordinarily broad and compressed, the body is short and convex. This tribe is composed of the genus
Byrrhus, Linn.
Nosodendron, Latr., differs from the rest in having the mentum entirely exposed, wide, large, and shield-like, the
antennae suddenly terminated in a short 3-jointed mass. The species are found under the bark of trees.
Byrrhus proper, differs in having the mentum of the ordinary size. In some the antennae increase gradually, or
terminate in an elongated 5 or 6-jointed mass. Linn., three or four lines long, black beneath, bronzy
black and silky above, with small black spots separated by paler coloured lines ; [a very common species, found in
the earth, and in sand-pits, &c.]
A species with similar antennae differs in having the fourth joint of the tarsus minute, and
hidden between the lobes of the third. B. striato-punctatus, Dej. [This is the genus O.
omorpJms, Curtis.]
Another small and very hairy species has the club of the antennae 3-jointed, {Trinodes
Mrtus, Cuv.)
Others have the club of the antennae only 2-jointed, the last large and nearly globular.
{B. ermaceus, Zeigl., B. setiger, Illig.) [These form the genus Synealypta, Dillw.] All the
Fi?. 66.— Byrrhus piluia. Byrrhii are generally found in the ground and in sandy places. Murmidius belongs,
according to Dr. Leach, to this family, but the antennae are only 10-jointed, the last forming a club.
Our second section of the Clavicornes, although very natural, is only to be distinguished by a reunion
of several charaeters. Some differ from the other Clavicornes in having only nine or six joints in the
antennae, in this respeet approaching the next family. The antennae of others are 11- or 10-jointed,
but sometimes they are not longer than the head, forming after the third joint a sub-cylindrical, serrated
mass : sometimes they are filiform, and as long as the head and thorax, but here the tarsi are terminated
by a large joint with two strong hooks. Those of Heterocerus and Georyssus are only 4-jointed.
The body is generally ovoid, with the head immersed up to the eyes in a trapezoidal corselet, with
the sides elevated, and terminated behind in acute angles ; the prosternum dilated in front and the ''
feet imperfeetly contraetile. They are found in water or under stones at its edge, often buried in the
earth : some in the form of the antennae approach the Gyrini.
I divide this section into two tribes.
The first tribe, Acanthopoda, is distinguished by its flattened feet, which are broad, and armed on the
outside with spines, the tarsi short and 4-jointed, with ordinary sized claws, and the body depressed ;
the prosternum is dilated; the antennae are rather longer than the head, curved, 11-jointed, the last
six forming a nearly cylindrical serrated mass. This tribe is composed of a single genus.
Heterocerus, Bose.
These insects are found in the ground at the edge of water, rushing from their retreats when the earth is shaken
by the feet ; the form of their feet allows them to dig in the ground, where they conceal themselves, the tarsi folding
back. It is here where the larvae also reside, as first observed by M. Miger.
H. emarginatus, Fab., is a small (common) insect, of a silky black colour, with paler butf variable markings ;
Gyllenhall has observed that the tarsi are in reality 5-jointed, the basal joint being minute.
The second tribe, Macrodactyla, comprises such Clavicornes as have the tibiae simple, narrowed, with
long tarsi composed of five joints (except in Georyssus), the last joint being large, with two strong
ungues at the tip ; the body is thick and convex ; the thorax less rounded, and often with acute pos-
terior angles. The chief type of this tribe is the genus
Dryops, Oliv. (Farms, Fabr.),
Which is divisible as follows : —
520
INSECTA.
First, — Those with very short 10 or 11-jointed antennae, the third and following joints fojjming a subcylindrical,
serrated mass.
Potamophihis, Germ. {Hydera, Latr.l, have the antennae not lodged in cavities, and rather longer than the head,
with the first joint nearly as long as all the rest, and the second short and globular ; the palpi are exserted and the i
mouth is naked. Parnus acuminatus, Fabr. '
Dry ops, Oliv., has the antennae shorter than the head, and received in a cavity beneath the eyes, nearly covered by !
the second joint, which is large, dilated, and ear-like ; the palpi are not exserted. Leach applies this generic name to
Dryops Dumerilii, which ditfers from the others (which he names Parnus) in the length of the feet and form of the
thorax, &c.
Second,— Those with filiform 11-jointed antennae, at least as long as the head and thorax.
Elmis, Lat. {Limnius, 111.), [insects of very small size], found in water, under stones, or the leaves of the water-lily.
Third, — Those with very short 9 or 6-jointed antennae, terminated in a nearly solid, oval, or globular mass.
Macronychus, Mull., has five distinct joints in the tarsi, the body oblong and antennae 6-jointed. M. \-tuhercu~
lotus, Mull.
Georissus, Latr., has only four distinct joints in the tarsi, the body short and nearly globular, and the antennae
9-jointed. Pimelia pygmcea. Fab., [a very minute shining black insect, with deep rows of dots on the elytra ; i
rather rare].
THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA,--
The Palpicornes, —
Possesses, like the last, antennae terminated in a club, which is ordinarily perfoliated, hut of not more
than nine joints in any species, inserted beneath the lateral and advanced margins of the head ; never
longer than it and the maxillary palpi, and often shorter than the last-named organs ; the mentum is ^
large and shield-shaped. The body is generally ovoid, or hemispherical and convex. The feet are in ||
the majority proper for swimming, and have only four or five distinct joints, the basal joint being I
much shorter than the following ; all the joints are entire.
Those species wLich have the feet fitted for swimming, with the basal joint of the tarsi much |i
shorter than the following, and the maxillae entirely corneous, compose a first tribe, Hydrophili, which jj
embraces the genus ||
Hydrophilus, Geoffiroy, —
Which Linnaeus regarded only as a first division of his genus JDytiscus, but the anatomy of the two I
groups differs materially : the digestive canal of the Hydrophili, in its great length and texture, having |
much analogy with that of the Lamellicornes, approaching the carnivorous tribes only in its j
biliary vessels. j
Some of these have the body either oval, oblong, and depressed, or long and narrow, with the thorax rough and j
narrowed behind ; the legs slender ; the tarsi filiform, but slightly ciliated ; the antennae (always 9-jointed) termi- j:
nating in an obconical and nearly solid club. These Palpicornes are all very small; they swim but little and j,
badly, inhabiting stagnant water, which they occasionally quit in order to hide themselves in the earth or under
stones. They compose the family Helophoridea of Leach, corresponding with the Fabrician genus Elophortis.
Elophorus, Fab., having the body oval, thorax transverse, and eyes slightly elevated ; and
Hydrochus, Germ., having the body long and narrow, the thorax oblong, and the eyes prominent (if. elongatus,
Fabr.), have the maxillary palpi terminated by an oval joint ; whilst in i
Ochthebius, Leach, the maxillary palpi are terminated by a more slender, short, and conical joint, and the
thorax is nearly semiorbicular. E. pygmceus, Fabr. ; Hydrcena riparia, Latr.
Hydrcena, Kug., has the maxillary palpi much longer than the head and antennae, with the terminal joint larger
than the preceding, fusiform, and pointed at the tip. They have the aspect of Ochthebius. E. minimus. Fab. ; ;
Hydrcena riparia, Kugel.
The other Hydrophiliens have the body ovoid or subhemispherical, and generally convex, with the thorax much
broader than long, the tibiae and tarsi generally with long hairs. They compose the family Hydrophilidea of
Leach, or the genus Hydrophilus, Fabr. »
Spercheus, Fabr., has only six joints in the antennae, and the clypeus is notched. S. emarginatus, Fabr. [a very I
rare British species]. ;
Globaria, Latr., has the body nearly spherical, laterally compressed, and capable of being rolled into a ball like
Agathidium. Its antennae appear to be only 8-jointed, the fifth being dilated internally into a spine, the terminal .
joints forming a very elongated, nearly cylindrical club, pointed at the tip ; the elytra entirely embrace the abdo-
men, the four posterior tibiae having a brush of long hairs at the tip. The only species, G. Leachii, is small and
exotic: I believe it to be from South America.
All the remaining Hydrophiliens have nine joints in the antennae, with the club oval or ovoid, and the body not
contractile into a ball. '
Hydrophilus, Geoflf., comprises the largest species in the tribe, with the two intermediate joints of the club of
the antennae obtuse at one end, and elongated, arched, and pointed at the other ; the first joint of the club is i
COLEOPTERA.
52J
saucer-shaped, more elongated on the front side ; the sternum is elevated in the middle into a keel, which is pro-
duced behind into a longer or shorter acute spine ; the maxillary palpi are longer than the antennae ; the tarsi,
j especially of the hind legs, have a long row of fringes, and are terminated by small ungues of unequal size.
I In some the sternal spine is very much elongated behind, and the last joint of the anterior male tarsi is triangu-
i larly dilated. These are the Hydrous of Leach ; one of which, H. piceus, Fab., is an inch and a half long, oval,
and of a black brown colour and highly polished. [It is a common British species, frequenting ponds and ditches] ;
I it swims and flies well, but walks badly ; its sternal point is capable of inflicting a severe wound. The anus of the
! female is furnished with two spinnerets, with which it constructs an ovoid cocoon of silk, surmounted by a point
I like a curved horn ; its outer surface is coated with gum, which renders it impervious to the water ; and in its
1 interior the eggs are symmetrically arranged. These cocoons float on the surface of the water.
I The larvae resemble worms, being soft and of an elongated conical form, with six feet ; the head large and scaly,
j more convex below than above, and armed with strong mandibles ; they respire by the extremity of the body, are
I very voracious, and feed on the young fry in flsh-ponds. I'liat of H. piceus is depressed, blackish, wrinkled, with
I the head reddish brown, round, and capable of being thrown back upon the back ; by which means it is able to
seize small shells floating on the surface of the water, its back serving it as a point d’appui for breaking the snail
shell. They swim well, and have two fleshy appendages at the extremity of the body, used in enabling the insects
to suspend themselves at the surface while in the act of respiration. Other larvae of Hydrophili are destitute of these
I appendages, and are not able to swim, and do not suspend themselves in the same manner as the preceding. The
females of these species swim with difficulty, and carry their eggs beneath the abdomen in a silken tissue ; but
these species belong to the extreme genera.
Hydrophilus proper, of Leach, consists of species having the tarsi alike in both sexes and
not dilated, with the sternal spine not extending beyond the metasternum. [Hydrophilus
caraboides, a most abundant British species, of an olive-black colour.]
In the three following subgenera the middle joints of the club of the antennae are not dilated
and prolonged in front into a spine.
Lhnnehius, he&ch, has the maxillary palpi much longer than the antennae; the last joint
shorter than the preceding, and cylindrical, and the tip of the elytra truncate. H. griseus^
truncatellus, &c.
Hydrobius, Leach, has the maxillary palpi scarcely longer than the antennae; the body
convex ; the eyes depressed, and the front of the head not suddenly narrowed. H. scarabce-
I Fig. 67.— Hydrophilus oides, melaiiocephalus, &c.
caraboideb. Berosus, Leach, differs from the last in having the eyes very prominent ; the front of the
head suddenly narrowed, and the thorax narrower at the base than the elytra; the body is very gibbose.
Hydr. luriduSi Fab.
I The second tribe, Sphceridiota, is formed of terrestrial Palpicornes, with the tarsi composed of five
distinct joints, the basal joint being at least as long as the second. The maxillary palpi are rather
shorter than the antennae. The body is nearly hemispherical, with the prosternum prolonged into a
' point at its posterior extremity, and the tibiae spinose, the anterior being palmated or digitated in the
larger species. The antennae have always nine joints, or simply eight, if the last is considered as an
appendage of the preceding. (See the Elaterides, and some other genera of Coleoptera.) These insects
are small, and inhabit cow-dung and other excrementitial matter, and some species are found near the
margins of water. They compose the genus
Sph^ridium, Fabr.
I Sphceridium proper, of Leach, comprises only those species which have the anterior tarsi of the
males dilated. Dermestes scarabceoides, Linn., is shining black, smooth, with very spiny feet, a spot
of blood-red at the base of each elytron, and the tip reddish. These spots vary, and even disappear in
some specimens [of this very common British insect].
' The species which have the tarsi alike in the two sexes, with the mass of the antennae loosely imbri-
i cated, form the genus [Cercyon, not] Cercydion of Leach; Sph. unipunctatum^ Linn. The form of
J the tibiae and the arrangement of the spines or teeth would enable us to divide Sphaeridium into
several other groups, which would facilitate the study of the species, which have probably been too
; much multiplied.
I THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA PENTAMERA,—
The Lamellicornes, —
I Has the antennae inserted in a deep impression beneath the lateral margins of the head, always short,
mostly composed of nine or ten joints, and terminated in all by a mass generally formed of the last
three joints, which are lamellar ; sometimes arranged like a fan, or the leaves of a book, opening and
INSECTA.
522
shutting in the same manner ; sometimes forming a concentric, contorted club, the first or the basal |
joint of the mass being in such case semi-infundibuliform, and receiving the others ; sometimes t
arranged perpendicularly to the axis, and forming a kind of comb. The body is generally ovoid or ■
oval, and thick, the outer edge of the anterior tibiae is toothed, and the joints of the tarsi, except in i
some males, are entire, and vs^ithout any brush or cushion beneath ; the anterior extremity of the head
is advanced and dilated, generally in the form of a shield; the mentum is generally large, and covers <
the tonguelet, or is incorporated with it, and bears the palpi ; the mandibles of many are membranous, ^
a peculiarity not found in any other coleopterous insect. The males often difier from the females |
either in the horns or tubercular elevations of the thorax or head, or in the size of their mandibles. ]
This family is of very great extent, and one of the most beautiful of the order, in respect to the \
size of the body, the variety in the form of the head and thorax in the diiferent sexes, and often also j
in those species which in the perfect state live upon vegetable substances, in respect to the brilliancy \
of the metallic colours with which they are ornamented. But the majority of the other species, which P j
subsist on decomposing vegetable matter, as manure, tan, or excrementitious matter, are generally of
an uniform brown or black colour ; some of the coprophagous species, nevertheless, are not inferior
in this respect to the preceding. All have wings, and they crawl but slowly. The larva have the "
body long, nearly semicylindrical, soft, often transversely wrinkled, whitish-coloured, 12-jointed, with
the head scaly, armed with strong jaws and six scaly feet. Each side of the body has nine spiracles ;
the posterior extremity is thickened, rounded, and generally curved beneath, so that these larva q
having the back convex or arched, are not able to extend themselves in a straight line, and crawl but |
badly on a smooth surface, and tumble sideways or back downwards at every step. A general idea of
their form may be obtained from that of the grub so common in gardens and pastures, which produces (
the common Cockchaffer. Some species do not change to pupae until they have passed three or four j
years as larvae ; they form for themselves in their retreats, with the earth or the debris of the mate- 1
rials they have gnawed, a cocoon of an ovoid form, or in the shape of an elongated ball, of which the i
particles are fastened together with a glutinous secretion. Their food consists of dung, manure, tan,
the roots of vegetables, including some which are useful to Man, whence these insects occasionally i
cause much loss to the cultivator. The nervous system, considered in the larva and imago states, ;
exhibits remarkable differences.
We divide this family into two tribes, the anatomy of which, according to Dufour, is so different as P j
to raise them to the rank of two distinct families, — [Scarabceides and Lucanides]. a
The first, that of the | ,
ScARAB^IDES,
Possesses antennae terminated in the majority by a club composed of leaflets capable of being shut up,
and in the others consisting of box-like joints, either in the form of a cone reversed, or nearly globu-
lar ; the mandibles are alike, or nearly alike, in the sexes, but the head and thorax of the males often -
exhibit prominences of peculiar form ; sometimes also their antennae are more developed. This tribe
corresponds with the genus
ScAKAB^us, Linnaeus.
We divide this genus into numerous small sections, founded upon the consideration of the mastica-
tory organs, antennae, and habits, the distinction of which sections has been confirmed by the anato- '
mical researches of M. Dufour.
1. The Coprophagi, or the Scarabaeides of our first section, have the antennae generally composed of ,
eight or nine joints, the last three of which form the knob ; the labrum and mandibles are membranous
and hidden. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is also of this consistence, broad, and curved on the *
upper edge ; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is always largest, and the last joint of the labial is
slenderer than the preceding, or very small, behind each of which last palpi is a membranous produc-'
tion, or tonguelet. The sternum offers no particular prominence, and the claws of the tarsi are simple ;
the fore tarsi are often wanting, either naturally or from being worn away.
Some of the Coprophagi have the two middle legs much wider apart at the base than the others ;
the labial palpi very hairy, with the last joint minute ; the seutellum wanting, or very small.
Ateuchus, Weber {Scarabceus of the Latins and Mac Leay, Heliocantliarus of the Greeks), consists of species j
peculiar to the old world, with the body rounded, generally depressed above, alike in both sexes ; antennae 9-jointed, -
COLEOPTERA.
523
with a leaf-like club ; four posterior tibiae, slender, elongate, not thickened at the tip, truncated obliquely and ter-
minated by a single spur, and with the outer margin of the elytra not sinuated near the base ; the clypeus is gene-
rally divided into three lobes, its edge presenting six teeth.
These insects (which Mr. Mac Leay has described in his exceWQui Horce Entomologic<e) inclose their eggs in balls
of dung, or even of human excrement, like large pills, (whence they have been called Pilularii,) which they roll
along with their hind feet (often in company), until they reach the hole in which they are to be deposited. Two of the
species were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, and introduced into their hieroglyphical writings. Their
effigy is represented on all their monuments, models of them were made of the most precious materials, and
formed into amulets, &c., suspended round the neck, and which were buried with the mummies. The insect itself
has been found in some of their coffins.
Scarabceus sacer, Linn., found not only in the whole of Egypt, but in the south of France, Spain, and other
southern parts of Europe, has until lately been regarded as the object of this superstition ; but another species, dis-
covered in Sennari by M. Caillaud, appears, from its more brilliant colours, and the country where it is found,
and which was the first residence of the Egyptians, to have attracted their earliest attention. I have named it
Ateuclius AEgyptioriim. (See my Memoir on the Insects painted and sculptured
by the Egyptians, and the Works of Champollion.)— Some Ateuchi, having the
thorax and abdomen shorter, more rounded, and more convex, form the genns
Pachysoma, Kirby, (<S. JEsculapius, Oliv. and Hippocrates). \J\Inematium,
Mac Leay, is closely allied to these. M. Ritchii, from the interior of Africa.]
Gymnopleurus, Illig., differs in having the outer edge of the elytra strongly
notched near the base. The four posterior tibiae are very slightly spined. Ateu-
chus sinuatuSf pilularius, &c.
Other Coprophagi, closely allied to the preceding, have the middle tibiae (which
as well as the posterior are often thickened at the tips) furnished with two spurs.
The clypeus has in many species only four or two spines.
Sisyphus, Latr., has only 8-jointed antennae, and the abdomen triangular, with
very long hind legs. At. Scluefferi, Fab., and others [described by M. Gory in
his Monograph on this genus].
Circellium, Latr., has the body hemispherical, the abdomen semicircular, scu-
tellum wanting, and clypeus 6 or 4-toothed. At. Bacchus [Cape of Good Hope].
Coprobius, Latr., is composed of New Woi’ld species, without a scutellum ; body
ovoid, not convex, and the sides of the thorax angular.
' Chceridium, Serville and St. Fargeau, has shorter legs. We also unite their Hyboma with Coprobius.
j Eurysternus, Dalm. {Mschrotes, Serv.), possesses a scutellum, with the body oval-oblong.
I Oniticeltus, Zeigl. (with the body oblong and scutellum distinct), and Onthophagus (without a scutellum, and the
body short and broad), are exclusively distinguished by having the third joint of the labial palpi scarcely distinct,
I and the preceding larger than the first. The last-named group is further distinguished by the males having the
j head and thorax often cornuted. S. taurus, Linn, [a very rare British species], the male of which has two long
I curved horns on the head. [There are several other British species.] All the species are of small size,
ij Onitis, Fab. (liaving the second joint of the labial palpi largest, the scutellum distinct, and the fore tibiae of the
i males long and curved), and Phanceus, Mac Leay, (having the first joint of the labial palpi largest, the scutellum
j replaced by a sutural space, the males cornuted, and the legs of equal size in both sexes, and composed of many fine
i' and large exotic species,) differ from the rest in having the second joint of the club of the antennae encased between the
'' two outer joints, and the thorax large. (See the Monograph of this genus by Mac Leay, in the Horce Entomologicce,)
^ Copris, Geoffr., as now restricted, comprises only such as have the club of the antennae formed of three plates ;
' the four hind tibiae greatly dilated and truncate at the tip ; the scutellum wanting ; the body thick and differing
I in the sexes. The largest species inhabit the tropical parts of Africa and the East Indies. Scarab<eus lunaris,
|i Linn, [is a local British species]. Eight lines long ; black and shiny, with an erect horn on the head of the males.
' [It is found under dung in sandy places near London.]
l! The terminal Coprophagi have the legs inserted at equal distances apart, the scutellum very distinct, and the
elytra covering the abdomen. In other respects they nearly approach the preceding subgenus, but the sexual
differences are less strongly marked, consisting only in slight tubercles. They appear at the commencement of
[ spring, [hovering over every fresh deposit of animal excrement. This is the family of Aphodiidce, Mad.]
li Aphodius, Illig., has the inner lobe of the maxillae not corneous nor dentate, the body is rarely short, and the
,j thorax not transversely strigose. Scar, fimetarms, Linn, [a very common British insect, and many other species].
|| Psammodius, Gyll., has the inner lobe of the maxillae corneous and with two teeth, the body short, and the thorax
: transversely rugose.
i Euparia, St, Farg. and Serv., also belongs to this section, apparently allied to Eurysternus.
I Psammodius naturally conducts us to the following section, Arenicoli, which, with Aphodius and
Psammodius, are the only species in which the elytra entirely cover the abdomen : the mandibles are
horny, exposed, and curved ; the terminal lobe of the maxillae is straight, with few exceptions ; the
I antennae are 10 or 11-jointed. These Beetles also live in dung, and form deep burrows in the earth ;
' they fly about in the twilight after sunset, and counterfeit death when alarmed. [The Arenicoli form
: two sections, corresponding to the families Geotrupidcs and Trogidm, Mac Leay.]
524
INSECTA.
In the Geotrupides the antennae are generally 11 -jointed, the mandibles are generally exposed and
curved, and the upper lip more or less exposed ; the species are generally of black or red colours, "with
the elytra smooth or simply striated ; the males are often cornuted. They chiefly feed upon
excrementitious matter.
jEgialia, Latr. (having the body short, thorax transverse and abdomen gibbous, and composed of [a single small i
British species, found upon our sandy coasts.] Ps. arenarius, Gyll., &c.) and j
Chiron, Mac Leay, (DiasojwMs, Dalm.), having the body narrow, long, and subcylindric, [and consisting of several
exotic species, and placed by Mac Leay amongst the Lucanidae], are both distinguished by having only nine joints
in the antennae ; the others have eleven joints, which are, however, sometimes difficult in computation, the joint
preceding the club being sometimes apparently confounded with the basal joint of the club. !
I Lethrus differs from the rest in having the club obconical and the mandibles exposed, very large, serrated inter-
inally, and with a large tooth in the males. Lethrus cephalotes, Fabr., according to Fischer, is destructive to young
buds and leaves, which it bites off, whence, in Hungary, it is called “ the Schneider,” and where it does much '
I injury to the vines, crawling backwards, with its food in its jaws, into its hole, each of which is occupied by a male
I and female ; but in the pairing time a strange male sometimes intrudes, when a battle ensues which only ends in
I the death or flight of the stranger. ^
The others have the joints of the club of the antennae of the ordinary form, and leaf-like.
Geotrupes, Latr., has the labrum advanced and transversely square, the jaws are curved and very compressed, and '
with the club of the antennae oval or ovoid, the anterior tibiae long and multidenticulate, and the clypeus lozenge-
shaped : Scarabceiis stercorarius, Linn., [the common Dor, or Shard- \
borne Beetle. One of the commonest British insects ; there are several
others, natives of this country.] Those species which have the thorax '■
of the males cornuted form the [genus Typhceus, Leach], Ceratophyus,
Fischer. Type, Scarabceus typhceus, Linn., [or the common English
Bull-comber].
Ochodceus, Meg., has the labrum strongly notched, the mandibles
elongate, triangular, and the fore-tibiae with only two teeth on the
outer edge. Melolontha chrysomelina. Fab. [Germany].
Those species with the club of the antennae large, orbicular, or sub-
globose, the middle joint being encased between the two outer ones,
form three subgenera. i
Athyreus, Mac Leay, approaches the Coprophagi in having the middle j
feet wider apart than the others.
Elephastomus, Mac Leay, has the clypeus produced into a thick, |
square horn, furcate at tip, and the maxillary palpi very long. Scarab, proboscideus, Schr. [New Holland], i
Bolbocerus, Kirby {Odontceus, Zeigl.), has one of the mandibles simple, and the other bidentate at the tip ; the 1
maxillary palpi scarcely larger than the others. S. mobilicornis, Fabr., a small [rare British species, the male of :
which has a long erect horn on the head]. i
Hybosorus, Mac Leay, (having the basal joint of the antennae obconical and elongated, the tibiae narrow and elon-
gated), and
Acanthoeerus (having the basal joint of the antennae very large, dilated above, and the tibiae lamellar and con-
cealing the tarsi), have ten joints in the antennae, the last joint of the palpi elongate, and the mandibles not or but i
slightly toothed. The species of both are very small [and exotic].
In the second division of the Arenicoli, or the Trogides, the antenna are always composed of ten [
joints, the labrum and mandibles but slightly exposed, the maxillae armed with teeth ; the body is
dingy-coloured, and tubercular above ; their fore-legs are advanced, their thighs covering the head
beneath. These insects produce a stridulation by the action of the mesothorax against the sides of the i
prothoracic cavity.
Trox, Fabr.— These insects are found in the earth or sand, where they appear to devour the roots of vegetables.
\Trox arenarius and two other British species, of small size.] Mr. Mac Leay has separated the apterous species
with the sides of the thorax dilated, under the name of Phoberus.
Cryptodus and Mcechidius, Mac Leay, have the extremity of the body not covered by the elytra, and nine joints
to the antennae: Maechidius appears to me to approach the Melolonthae. [Mr. Mac Leay has subsequently discovered
that Cryptodus belongs to the Cetoniidae. Both subgenera are Australian.]
A third section, XylopMli, {Geotrupes and certain Cetonice, Fabr.), has the scutellum distinct, the
extremity of the abdomen not covered by the elytra, the claws of the tarsi often unequal, the antennae
always 10-jointed, the last three forming a leaf-like mass, the middle leaf never being entirely concealed
by the outer ones ; the mandibles horny as well as the maxillae, which are straight and often toothed.
All the feet are inserted at equal distances apart. [This section comprises two divisions, corresponding j
with the families Dynastidce and Rutelidoe, Mac Leay.]
The first division (comprising the Geotrupes of Fabricius) comprises those species, the males of which !
COLEOPTERA.
525
differ from the females in being armed with peculiar horns or tubercles either on the head or thorax ;
the labrum is generally entirely concealed ; in some species tbe maxillae are terminated by a simple coria-
ceous or crustaceous lobe, without teeth ; in others they are scaly, pointed, and armed with a few teeth ;
the sternum is not prominent ; the tarsal ungues are generally equal, the colours generally black or brown.
Oryctes, Illig. (having the legs scarcely differing in length, with the four hind tibiae thick and toothed, [a very
numerous genus]— type. Scar, nasicornis, Linn., a reputed British species, 1^ inch long, the male having a curved
horn on the head,) and Agacephala, Mann, (having the fore-legs in the male considerably elongated, and the four
posterior tibiae slender, and comprising a few Brazilian insects), differ from the following in having the maxillae
terminated by a coriaceous lobe without teeth. The others have them horny, and more or less toothed.
Scarabceiis proper {Geotrupes, Fabr.), has the body very thick, and the outside of the mandibles sinuated or
toothed. The equatorial countries of both hemispheres produce some very remarkable species.
[Mr. Mac Leay, considering that the name Scarab<£us ought to be retained for the sacred Scarabaei, or the Ateuchi
of this work, and that the name Geotrupes ought to be given to the species which strictly merit that name, from
their habits of burrowing into the ground, has proposed the name of Dynastes for these giant beetles here described
under the name of Scarabaeus. Mr. Kirby has further separated some species, especially in his manuscripts
presented to the Entomological Society, founded upon the structure of the mouth, and which Mr. Hope has made
use of in his ColeopterisV s Manual, part i., in which many new genera are described and illustrated, with figures
mostly drawn by me from Mr.Kirby’s own dissections, so that the observation of Latreille, that the study of this group,
in respect to the structure of the mouth, has not
been sufficiently profound, is no longer to be made.
The species are very numerous ; one of the largest is]
Searabceus hercules, Linn. — Five inches long ;
from South America, black, with grey elytra spotted
with black.
Phileurus, Latr., has the body depressed, and the
mandibles narrow, without teeth on the outside.
[Composed of exotic species.]
Our second division \1iutelid(B, Mac L.] is
nearly allied to the preceding in some respects,
and also to the Melolonthse and some Cetoniae
polished than in the Scarabaei, and ornamented with brilliant colours. The head and thorax are
identical, and not cornuted in either sex ; the maxillae are scaly, truncated at the tip, with five or six
strong teeth. The mesosternum is often porrected, the scutellum large, and the tarsal claws unequal-
sized. With few exceptions, they are confined to the equatorial regions of the New World.
Hexodon, Oliv., has the mesosternum simple, the body sub-orbicular, depressed, legs slender, and tarsal claws
minute and equal. [Composed of two African species.]
Cyclocephala, Latr. {Chalepus, Mac Leay), has the sternum also simple, the body ovoid, the tarsal claws unequal.
Numerous South American species. In the following the sternum is advanced between the middle feet.
Dej., has the hindlegs of the males enormously dilated and elongated. Searabceus macropus,
[Francillon, from South America].
Rutela, Latr. (and Pelidnota, Mac Leay, Oplognathus, Kug.), has the feet not remarkably differing in the sexes,
the scutellum small, or moderate.
Macraspis, Mac Leay, differs in having a greatly developed scutellum, and the mandibles nearly triangular.
Chasmodia, Mac Leay, has a large scutellum and sternal point, but the mandibles are narrow, and obtuse at the
tip : all the tarsal claws are entire.
Ometis, Latr., differs from the above in having the epimera developed between the hind angles of the thorax
and shoulders of the elytra.
The genus Melolontha, of Fabricius, constitutes our fourth and fifth sections.
The fourth section {Phyllophaga), is formed of Scarabaeides, nearly allied to the last described sub-
genera, but the mandibles are concealed above by the clypeus, and beneath by the maxillae, the outer
edge being alone exposed ; they are destitute of any sinus or tooth on the outside; the number of joints
in the antennae varies from eight to ten, that of the club also varies, and, in this respect, the sexes often
differ ; the elytra are united along the whole length of suture.
[This section comprises Mac Leay’s two families, Anoplognathidcp and Melolonthidce.']
The first division {AnoplognatJiides) has the clypeus thickened in front, forming alone, or with the |
labrum, a vertical triangular face, the point of which is applied to the mentum ; the maxillae of some |
are terminated by a coriaceous or membranous lobe, very long, and without teeth, or having hut very |
small ones, and situated near the middle of the internal margin ; in others they are entirely horny, |
resembling mandibles either entire at the tips, or terminated by two other teeth. j
526
INSECTA.
Pachypus, Dej. (the males of which have only 8 joints in the antennae, the club being 5-jointed, P. excavatus)
[South of Europe], and
Amblyterus, Mac Leay (having the antennae 10-jointed, the club being 3-jointed), have the men turn nearly ovoid
and very hairy, and the maxillae terminated by a triangular hairy lobe, without teeth, or with very small ones.
Anoplognathus, Mac Leay, (and Repsimus, Leach), have a sternal point, the claws of the tarsi entire and unequal :
in size, the antennae 10-jointed. [These are splendid Australian insects, with bronzed bodies, apparently of very '
common occurrence, from the numbers brought to England.] *
Mac Leay, has the antennae 10-jointed, one of the tarsal claws entire and the other bifid; the
anterior tarsi are dilated, and spongy beneath in the males. [Brazilian insects.]
Apogonia, Kirby, differs in having all the tarsal claws bifid. ’ [Exotic species of small size.]
Geniates, Kirby, has the antennae 9-jointed, and the extremity of the maxillae with thi-ee teeth, the mentum of
the males with a beard, the claws as in Leucothyreus. G. barbatus, Kirby, (Brazil). Melolontha obscura, and others,
appear to form a different subgenus, the tarsi not being dilated.
A second division of the Phyllophagi [called by mistake Xylophiles in the text], and which comprises
the Melolonthidce of Mac Leay, has the labrum transverse, with a notch in the middle ; the mentum is
as long as, or longer than broad, either nearly square or heart-shaped. The maxillae are scaly, and ^
mostly armed with five or six teeth. This division comprises two subdivisions, Melolonthides and Hoplides.
The Melolonthides have more than three plates in the club of the antennae ; the body is generally
thick, mandibles robust, entirely, or for the greatest part, horny, the upper extremity strongly truncate,
with two or three teeth, the labrum generally visible, the maxillary teeth robust, and all the tarsi have
two claws.
Melolontha proper, has 10-jointed antennae, the last five or seven in the males, and four or six in the females,
form the club ; the labrum is thick and deeply notched in the middle ; the tarsal claws are equal ; the abdomen
is generally pointed at the end, at least in the males. |
Melolontha vulgaris {Scarabaus melolontha, Linn.), [the common Cockchaffer,] is too well known to require
description, and has formed the subject of elaborate anatomical works by Strauss Durckheim, Leon Dufour, and
Chabrier. This insect (as well as another closely-allied species, M. hippocastani) [which last, however, is of very
rare occurrence in this country] appear in certain seasons in so great abundance that they defoliate in a very
short time large spaces of our forests and woods, devouring the leaves. The larva is also equally destructive to
the roots of grass, &c., in our pastures and gardens, being a white grub [with a scaly head, six legs, and the body
thick, fleshy, white, and curved, so that the creature ordinarily lies upon its side].
Rhisotrogus, Latr., differs only from Melolontha in having the antennae 9 or 10-jointed, with the club 3-jointed.
As it is not always possible to distinguish the number of joints immediately preceding the club of the antennae,®
1 reunite the genus Amphimallon, which I had first formed, and in which there are only nine joints in those!
organs. M. solstitialis, [the July Chaffer, a very common British species,] and others. %
Ceraspis, Lep., Serv., has the hind margin of the thorax with two notches, the intermediate space forming a'l I
point ; antennae 10-jointed ; tarsal claws, except the anterior, unequal ; body clothed with small scales ; consisting!
of a few Brazilian species, C. pruinosa, &c. !
Areoda, Leach, has 10-jointed antennae ; the sternum pointed ; all the tarsal claws equal in the supposed females, ^
and unequal in the males. These are of brilliant colours. [A. lanigeva, a handsome but common North Ameri-' -
can insect.] In all the following Melolonthides the antennae have only nine joints. The four following have all the'!
tarsal claws equal.
Dasyus, Lepel. and Serv., has the ungues of the two fore-feet, at least in the males, bifid, the others entire. M „
Serica, Mad. {Omaloplia, Dej.), has all the ungues bifid ; the body ovoid, swollen, silky, with the thorax muchp 4
broader than long. S. brunnea [a common British species of small size, mostly found in Spiders’ webs]. %ii
Diphueephala, Dej., has all the tarsal claws bifid; fore-tarsi more or less dilated in the males ; body narrowj^ ;■
and the front of the head deeply notched. [Small species of a shining green colour, proper to Australia; mono- ;
graphed by Waterhouse in Trans. Ent. Soc. vol. i.] ]
Macrodactylus, Latr., resembles the last in the length of the body, but the thorax is nearly hexagonal, and the' i
tarsi alike in both sexes. Small insects, peculiar to the New World.
The remainder have the ungues of the middle tarsi alone unequal. {
Plectris, Lep., Serv., has the largest of the middle ungues, and both in the other tarsi bifid. f]
Popilia, Leach, has the sternum advanced. [See Newman’s Monograph of this genus, an abstract of which has
appeared in the Mag. of Nat. Hist.} ^
Euchlora, Mac Leay {Anomala, Meg.), has no sternal point ; one of the ungues of the four anterior tarsi is bifid ,
in the males ; body convex ; clypeus short and transverse. [Latreille cites a species, M. viridis (which is the true i
type of Euchlora, of which group, confined to the Asiatic species, Mr. Hope has given a monograph in the Pro- ,i,
ceedings of the Zoological Society^) and also M. Vitis, Julii, Frischii, &c., which are retained as species of Anomala f
by English writers. The allied genus, Mimela, K.) has also been monographed by Mr.Hope in Trans. Ent. Soc. vol.i.] '
Anisoplia, Meg., has also no sternal point, but the clypeus is narrow in front, with the extremity elevated. ['
M. horticola, agricola, [British species]. {, !'
Lepisia, Lepel. and Serv., have no sternal point, but the four anterior tarsi have both ungues bifid. '1
COLEOPTERA.
527
The Hoplides have the mandibles small, depressed, and apparently divided longitudinally into two
parts ; the inner membranous and the outer horny. The extremity is not sensibly toothed ; the
labrum is scarcely visible ; the maxillee have rarely only minute teeth ; the two hind tarsi have gene-
rally only one claw.
Dicrania, Lepel. & Serv,, have two ungues, alike, and bifid in all the tarsi ; body polished ; species inhabiting
Brazil.
Hoplia, Illig., has but a single unguis to the hind tarsi ; those of the other feet are unequal and bifid ; the hind
tibiae are terminated by a coronet of minute spines; the body squamose. {Hoplia argentea,Ol\\ . H. pulveru-
lenta is the only British species.]
Monocheles, Illig., differs from Hoplia in the clypeus being in form of a triangle, truncated in front ; thighs of
hind legs very robust ; tibiae short, with a strong curved spur.
The fifth section, Anthobii, is composed of species closely allied to the Hoplides, but having the two
I divisions of the lower lip produced considerably beyond the mentum, and the elytra gaping at the tips,
I which are rounded ; the antennae have nine or ten joints ; the last three compose the club ; the ter-
j minal lobe of the maxillae is membranous, silky, and pencil-like, but leathery in others ; the upper lip
! and mandibles are more or less solid as they are more or less exposed. These insects live upon
j flowers or leaves. [None of these insects are found in England ; they chiefly inhabit the southern
parts of Europe and the warm parts of both hemispheres.]
Some have the labrum and mandibles exserted, and two equal and entire claws in all the tarsi.
Glaphyrus, Latr. (having the inner edge of the mandibles toothed, the club of the antennae ovoid, and the hind
' legs large), and
! Amphicoma, Latr. (having the mandibles without teeth on the inner edge, and the club of the antennae globular,
i and all the legs of ordinary size), have the basal joint of the club of the antennae concave, and inclosing the others,
j Anthipna, Esch., has the club of the antennae composed of five leaflets.
i The others have the labrum and mandibles covered or not exserted, and some at least of the ungues of. the tarsi
are bifid, and in some of these all the tarsi have two ungues.
Chasmatopterus, Dej. (having all the tarsal ungues bifid), and
Chasme, Lepel. & Serv. (having the larger unguis alone of the two posterior tarsi bifid), have the hind legs
scarcely differing from the others, whilst in
Diclieles, Lepel. & Serv., the hind feet, at least in the males, have the thighs very thick and toothed ; the tibiae
I thick, and terminated by a strong claw.
i Those which have but one unguis in the two posterior tarsi are Lepitrix, Lepel. and Serv., having nine joints in
j! the antennae, and the terminal lobe of the maxillae very %\aid\\—Pachycnemus, Lepel. & Serv. (with 10-jointed
j antennae, the maxillary lobe long and narrow, and the elytra narrowed behind), and Anisonyx, Latr., having the
|! elytra oblong, rounded behind, with the hind tibiae subcylindric or elongate-conic.
I The sixth and last section of the Scarahgeides {Melitophili) is composed of insects having the body
,1 depressed, often of an oval form, brilliant, without horns, the thorax trapeziform or nearly orbicular ;
ji an axillary piece occupies in the majority the space between the posterior angles of the thorax and
ij the shoulders of the elytra ; the anus is not covered ; the sternum is often prolonged into a point or
' advanced horn ; the claws of the tarsi are equal and simple ; the antennae have ten joints, the last
three of which form the club, always leafed. The labrum and mandibles are concealed, and in the
[ form of flattened plates, entirely or partly membranous ; the maxillae are terminated by a hairy lobe
I like a brush, without horny teeth ; the mentum is ordinarily ovoid, truncated above or nearly square,
|| with the middle of the upper edge more or less concave. The larvae live in old rotten wood : the
i[ perfect insect is found upon flowers, as well as on the trunks of trees, in places where the sap
]! exudes, and which they greedily lap up.
I This section is divisible into three principal divisions, which correspond to the genera TricJiius,
I Fabr. ; Goliathus, Lamarck ; and Cetonia, Fabr., in its restricted state. The Melitophili of the two first
ij divisions have not the sternum much porrected, and the lateral or axillary piece of the mesosternum
; {Epimera, Aud.) is not generally exposed above. Another character, which appears still more rigorous,
|i consists in the labial palpi being inserted in lateral cavities on the anterior face of the mentum, the
sides of the mentum extending behind them, and thus guarding them.
The Trichides have the mentum either nearly isometrical, or longer than broad, with the maxilla
I exposed. This division comprises the single subgenus
1 Trichius, Fabr. [which has been cut up by Kirby, Gory, and others, into various minor subgenera]. Trichius
' noMlis, Linn., and T. fasciatus, Linn, [are British species ; the latter exceedingly rare]. The female of T. hemi-
; pterus, Linn., and some others from North America, are distinguished by having a long and slender horny instru-
528
IN SECT A.
ment at the extremity of the abdomen, with which they deposit their eggs. These species are commonly found
on the ground, where they crawl about slowly. [They form the subgenus Valgus of Scriba.]
The second division, Goliathides, is distinguished by having the inentum much broader, covering
the maxillae.
Platygenia, Mad. (having the body very flat, the thorax subcordate, and the maxillae terminated by a pencil of
hairs), and
Cremastocheilus, Knoch (having the thorax transverse-quadrate, the maxillae terminated by a strong tooth,
with small spines ; composed of several small curious exotic species), have the mentum concave in the middle, and
the anterior extremity of the clypeus never cornuted nor toothed.
Goliath, Lam., Kirby, has the mentum without any discoidal concavity, emarginate at the top edge, and the
anterior extremity of the clypeus of the males is divided into two lobes like truncated and obtuse horns. The
thorax is nearly orbicular. This genus is composed of large and splendid species, from Africa and the East Indies.
Some species from South America have been separated by St. Fargeau and Serville under the name of Inca, having
the fore femora armed with a tooth. All the known species are of large size, but one sent from the Cape of Good
Hope is not larger than C. gagates ; the fore thighs are not toothed in the Goliathi, and the tibiae have not a notch
in the inside. An insect from Java, considered as a Goliath by Serville and St. Fargeau, has all the characters of
Cetonia, only the thorax is rounder, and the male has a forked horn on the head. [This is the Goliath rhino-
phyllus, Weid. These splendid insects have recently attracted considerable interest in this country, several of
the gigantic African species having been received by several Entomologists. Mr. Hope, in the Coleopterist’s
Manual ; Mr. Mac Leay, in his Memoir on the Cetoniid<e ; Messrs. Waterhouse and White, in the Mag. of Nat.
History, as well as myself in the new edition of Drury, have described various species, or distributed them into
subgenera. Various new species have also recently been described by the French Entomologists.]
The third division of the Melitophili, named Cetoniides, [thus named, although not corresponding
with the Cetoniidce of Mac Leay, as stated in the text,] has the sternum more or less prolonged into
an obtuse point between the second pair of legs ; the axillary piece is always visible above, occupying
the space between the posterior angles of the thorax and the shoulders of the elytra ; the thorax ordi-
narily triangular, but truncated in front ; the mentum never transverse ; its front edge more or less
notched in the middle ; the maxillary lobe is pencil-like ; the body is nearly ovoid, and depressed.
Gymnetis, Mac Leay, has the hind margin of the thorax produced over the scutellum : the New World produces
several species. Others, from Java and other parts of the East Indies, have the thorax elongated in the same
manner, but not entirely covering the scutellum, and the clypeus is more or less bifid. Other species, from the
East Indies or New Holland, with the clypeus similarly bifid, or armed with two horns in the males, the abdomen
nearly triangular, and the club of the antennae very elongate, compose the genus Macronata of Wiedemann ; but
all these groups will possess no solidity until the numerous
species of the genus Cetonia have been investigated.
The European species possess a scutellum of the ordi- 1 1
nary size.
Cetonia aurata, Linn.— Nearly an inch long; of a
shining-green colour above, coppery-red beneath, with
white marks on the elytra ; [is one of our commonest
insects, frequenting flowers, especially those of the
Rose, whence its common name, the Rose-beetle. It is
here figured with its larva, pupa, and cocoon, formed of
small particles of chips, &c.j
[The splendid Monographie des Cetoines by Messrs.
Gory and Percheron, although not sufficiently precise
either in its structural details or bibliographical refer-
ences, is indispensable to the student, as well as Mr.
Mac Leay’s Memoir on the Cetoniida, in Dr. Smith’s
work on the African animals collected by him ; Mr.
Hope’s Coleopterisfs Manual, and the general works on
insects recently published, must also be consulted for
descriptions of many new species, as well as genera, of
Lamellicorn Beetles. The laiwae of this tribe have also i
been admirably illustrated in an anatomical Memoir by
De Haan, published in the Memoires Nouvelles du Mu- i
seum d’Hist. naturelle.']
The second tribe of Lamellicorn Beetles, the
Luca-nides,—
So named after the Linnsean genus Lucanus, or Stag-beetles, has the club of the antennas composed of ::
teeth arranged perpendicular to the axis, like a comb ; they are always 10-jointed, the basal joint
being mostly very long, [the second being so inserted as to form an elbow with the preceding] ; the
COLEOPTERA.
529
i mandibles are always horny, often very much porrected, largest, and very diversified in form in the
I males. The maxillaj are commonly terminated by a long, narrow, hairy lobe, but in some they are
entirely horny, and toothed ; the tonguelet consists of two small hairy setae extending beyond the large
horny mentum ; the fore-legs are often elongated, with the tibiae externally denticulated ; the tarsi are
terminated by two equal and simple claws, with a small appendage between them, terminated by two
bristles ; the elytra entirely cover the body.
We divide them into two sections, the first of which has the antennae strongly elbowed, naked ;
labrum very small, united to the clypeus ; maxillae terminated by a membranous or coriaceous lobe, very
hairy hke a pencil, without teeth, or wdth only one ; the tonguelet either entirely concealed, or incorpo-
rated with the mentum, or divided into two narrow, long, hairy lobes ; this section forms the genus
Lucanus.
Those which have only three or four joints in the club of the antennae form a first division.
Sinodendron, Fab., has a strong resemblance to Oryctes: the body nearly cylindrical, the mandibles hidden,
without teeth, and alike in both sexes ; the head of the males has an erect horn. Scarabaus cylindricus, Linn.,
a common British insect. Those with the body convex, ovoid, and the mandibles elevated vertically, and shorter
than the head, form two subgenera, —
j^salus, Fab. (having the body short and convex, the mandibles terminated above in a horn, and the maxillae
covered by the mentum, composed of a single European species, Ms. scarahtsoides, Fabr.), and
Lamprima, Latr. [composed of splendid metallic Australian insects, Lethrus <eneus, Fabr., &c.], with the body
more elongated, the mandibles much longer than the head in the males, and very much toothed and hairy within.
Those with the body flatter, especially in the females, the mesosternum prolonged and advanced, and head nar-
rower than the thorax, are
Ryssonotus, Mac Leay, having the mandibles of the males formed as in Lamprima, comprising a single Aus-
tralian species, Lucanus nebulosus, Kirby, and
Pholidotus, Mac Leay {Chalcimon, Dalm.), with tb“ mandibles of the males greatly elongated, narrow, curved,
and serrated on the inner edge. Lamprima Humboldtii, Schonh., and a few other beautiful species from South
America.
[The magnificent genus Chiasognathus, Steph., is closely allied to the last. It is composed of a large and splendid
species found in the Island of Chiloe, on the west coast of South America. Another species has been recently dis-
covered on the Continent of America.]
In the following, the mesosternum is not pointed, and the head is as wide as, or wider than the thorax.
Lucanus proper, having the eyes not divided by the sides of their head, the body depressed, and the maxillae
terminated by a very long lobe.
Lucanus cervus, Linn., the common Stag-beetle, is one of our largest insects, the males being two inches long,
or even longer, with the mandibles very large, curved, and toothed (like stag-horns) ; the females have the head
narrower and the jaws smaller ; the size of this species and of its horns varies considerably. This insect flies about
in the evening in the middle of the summer, [especially round the oaks], upon the wood of which the larva feeds,
remaining in that state for several years before undergoing its final transformation. It is supposed that this larva
was the Cossus of the Romans, a worm-like animal, which they esteemed as a delicious treat.
I unite the Ceruchus and Platycerus of Mac Leay, to Lucanus.
Platycerus, Latr. [Dorcus, Mac Leay], has the eyes entirely divided transversely
by the margins of the head ; the maxillae are tex'minated by a shorter and broader
lobe. Lucanus parallelipipedus, Fab. [the small Stag-beetle, commonly found
in England]. I also reunite to Platycerus the Nigidius, Mgus, and Figulus of Mac
Leay.
Syndesus, Mac Leay, differing from all the preceding in having the club of the
antennae composed of the last seven joints. S. cornutus, Fab. [New Holland].
[Ilexaphyllum, Gray, is a Brazilian genus, closely allied to Syndesus in the an-
tennae.]
The Lucanides of our second section have the antennae but slightly
elbowed and villose ; the labrum always exposed, horny, and transverse ;
the mandibles robust, and very much toothed ; without remarkable sexual
disproportions ; maxillse entirely horny, with at least two strong teeth ;
the tonguelet also horny, and situated in a notch of the mentum, and terminated by three points.
The abdomen is attached by a peduncle, which has the scutellum on its upper part. These insects
compose the genus
Passalus,—
Which Mac Leay restricts to the species with the club of the antemiae 3-jointed, the maxillae armed with three
teeth at the tip, and two on the inside. The species with a 5-jointed club to the antennae, and with only two teeth
to the maxillae, compose his genus Paxillus. He also places in this same family the genus Chiron, which we have
placed amongst the coprophagous Lamellicornes. These insects are strangers to Europe and also Africa, being
M M
530
INSECTA.
I confined to the eastern countries of Asia, and particularly to America ; Madame Merian says that the larva of
I the species she figured feeds upon the roods of the batatas : the perfect insect is not rare in sugar grounds.
[Eschscholtz, Sadovski, and Percheron, have recently published monographs of the genus Passalus. Mr. Hope
has described various new species of Lucanidse in the TranSo Zool. Society, vol. i., ColeopterisVs Manual, &c. I
have also described some new genera and species in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, vol. i., and in the Entomol.
Magazine, No. 23.]
The second general section of the Coleoptera, named Heteromera, has five joints in the
four anterior tarsi, and one joint less in the two hind tarsi. These insects entirely subsist on
vegetable substances, and are divided by us into four great families, the two first of which, in
respect to certain portions of their internal organization, have some analogy with the first of
the pentamerous Beetles. Some of the Heteromera have the elytra generally hard, the tarsal
claws almost always simple, the head ovoid or oval, capable of being posteriorly received into
the thoracic cavity, or sometimes narrowed behind, but never forming a sudden neck at its
base: many of them avoid the light. This division comprises . the three following families,
^Melasoma, Taxicornes, and Stenelytra}.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA HETEROMERA,—
The Mela.soma, —
Is composed of insects of a black or ashy colour, and unvaried, whence the name of the family ; they
are for the most part apterous, with the elytra often soldered together ; the antennae entirely or partly
moniliform, nearly of equal thickness throughout, or slightly thickened at the tip, inserted beneath ®
the produced margins of the head, and having the third joint generally elongate ; the mandibles bifid
or notched at the tip ; and having also a horny tooth at the inner edge of the maxillae ; all the joints of
the tarsi are entire, and the eyes oblong and but slightly elevated, which, according to Marcel de Serres,
indicates their nocturnal habits. They live for the most part in the ground, beneath stones, or in the
sand ; often also in low and dark parts of buildings, such as cellars, stables, &c,
The adipose tissue of these Heteromera is so much more abundant than in the following, that even
when stuck upon a pin they are able to live nearly six months without food, as I ascertained in some
specimens of Akis.
We divide this family, which corresponds with the genns Tenehrio of Linnaeus, from the absence or
presence of wings. Amongst those which are destitute of these organs, a first tribe, Pimeliarice, is
composed of those which have the palpi subfiliform, and not terminated by a distinctly hatchet-shaped
joint. This tribe is named from the very numerous genus,—
PiMELiA, Fabr.
[None of the species are found in this country.]
Pimelia proper, consists of species peculiar to the shores of the Mediterranean, Western and Southern Asia
(except India), and Africa, which have the body more or less oval, with the thorax narrower behind than the
elytra ; the front margin of the head straight, without a tooth in the middle, or a deep notch for the reception of
the antennae ; the two terminal joints of the antennae distinct, and the mentum more or less heart-shaped. M.
Fischer has divided the species into three genera, but the characters do not appear to be sufficiently marked. A
very remarkable species, —
P. coronata, is peculiar to Upper Egypt, where it is found in the tombs ; it is about an inch and a half long,
black, with a row of short spines bent backwards along the edges of the elytra.
Trachyderma, Latr., consists of Pimeliae with a narrower abdomen.
Cryptochile, Latr., differs in their shorter form, with the mentum concealed by the prosternum. They are pe-
j culiar to the southern extremity of Africa.
I The three following subgenera differ from Pimelia in having the body short, gibbous above, with the thorax
i short, and as broad behind as the elytra.
i Erodius, Latr., has the last two joints of the antennae united into a small club, the body generally swollen, and
j the fore tibiae with a spur in the middle.
i Zophosis, Latr., has the antennae nearly filiform, or slightly thickening to the tip, with the tenth joint distinct
I from the preceding, and the third scarcely larger than the second.
i Nyctelia, Latr., differs from the last in the much greater length of the third joint of the antennae. The species
I are from South America, whilst those of Erodius and Zophosis are found in the Old World.
IHegeter, Latr. (having the thorax trapeziform), and
Tentyria, Latr. (with the head rather broader than the thorax, and antennae longer than in Akis), are separated
COLEOPTERA.
531
from the preceding in having the head more or less narrowed in front, the middle of its great margin having a
notch to receive the upper lip ; the antennae are always 11-jointed, and the thorax cordate-truncate.
Eurychora, Thunberg (with the body oval, the edges acute and ciliated), and
Adelostoma, Duponch. (with the body narrow and elongated), differ from all the foregoing in having the
front edge of the mentum slightly emarginate, (not divided into two lobes,) or concave, with the lateral angles
acute.
We terminate the Pimeliaires with such as have the mentum square, without any notch or impression in the
front edge; the body is always oblong, the antennae have always eleven distinct joints, the anterior femora are
often thickened, and sometimes toothed.
Tagenia, Latr. (having the third joint of the antennae scarcely longer than the following, and the eleventh very
small), and
Psammetichus, Latr. (with the third joint of the antennae much longer than the following, and the last joint as
large as the preceding), have the thorax narrow, and the sides of the head dilated.
Scaurus, Fabr., with the thorax nearly isometrical, or square, composed of Old World species.
Scotobius, Gerinar, has the thorax broader than long, with the sides rounded ; composed of South American
species.
Sepidium, Fabr., has the sides of the thorax angular, or with a strong tooth, and the middle of the back is chan-
nelled; the sides of the head are but slightly dilated. The species are found in the South of Europe and Africa.
The two last genera have the antennae composed of nearly cylindrical joints, the three or four terminal joints
alone being rounded or ovoid ; the species are inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope.
Trachynotus, Latr., has the eyes round or oval, and the thorax depressed.
Moluris, Latr., and Psammodes, K., have the eyes narrow and long, and the thorax convex.
The second tribe of the Melasoma, that of the Blapsides, is named from the genus Blaps, Fabricius,
in which the maxillary palpi are terminated by a joint evidently dilated like a hatchet or triangle.
This tribe is formed of a single genus, —
Blaps.
Those species which have the body generally oblong, with the sides of the abdomen embraced by the elytra,
which are mostly narrowed behind, and the tarsi alike in both sexes, form a first division, some of which have the
mentum small, occupying not more than a third part of the under-side of the head.
The four following subgenera have the tibiae slender, without strong teeth, and the thorax is not dilated in
front.
Oxura, Kirby, has the body long and narrow, and the thorax longer than broad.
Acanthomera, Latr., has the thorax nearly orbicular and transverse, and the abdomen nearly globular.
Misolampus, Latr., has the thorax nearly globose, and the abdomen nearly ovoid. [These three groups do not
occur in England.]
Blaps, Fabr., has the thorax nearly square, flat, or but slightly convex ; the abdomen oval, transversely truncate
at its base ; the elytra in many are narrowed into a point, especially in the males, and the third joint of the an-
tennae is longer than the following.
Blaps mortisaga, Linn., is black, but little shining, and the tip of the elytra forms
a short obtuse point. It is found in dark and dirty places about houses. [A very
common British insect.]
Fabricius states that the Turkish women which inhabit Egypt, where Bl. sulcata is
common, eat that species cooked with butter in order to make themselves fat. It is
also said that it serves as an antidote against the ear-ache, and the sting of the
Scorpion.
Gonopus, Latr., has all the tibiae angular, the two anterior broad, and strongly
toothed on the outside, and the thorax is dilated in front. [Exotic species.]
The other insects of this tribe, which have the. feet alike in both sexes, differ in the
large size of the mentum, which occupies the greater part of the under-side of the
head in the form of a heart truncate behind.
Heteroscelis, Latr., has the outer edge of the four fore feet armed with two strong
teeth, one in the middle and the other at the tip, and the body oval, rounded at each
end.
Machla, Herbst., has the antennae terminated by a small club, formed of the last three joints, and lodged in canals
on the under-side of the thorax.
Scotinus, Kirby, has the antennae terminated in a small club, but the last two joints are nearly united, and not
lodged in canals. [These three subgenera consist of exotic insects.]
Asida, Latr., differs from the last three subgenera in having the thorax nearly trapezoid, and the mentum
covers the base of the maxillae.
In the remainder of the Blapsides, the body is oval and but little elongated, the lateral fold of the elytra is narrow
and extends but slightly beneath, and the feet are unlike in the sexes, the two fore anterior tarsi being dilated in
the males, the under-side being generally silky, or furnished with a brush. These insects inhabit sandy districts,
the two^fore tibiae being generally broad and dilated triangularly, so as to be fitted for burrowing.
Pedinus, Latr., has the fore margin of the head always notched ; the two anterior tarsi of the males are alone
532
INSECTA
evidently more dilated than the following’. Megerle and Dejean have cut this up into several other subgenera,
without, however, characterizing them. Such are their genera, —
Opatrinus (in which the males have the four basal joints of the anterior tarsi of equal breadth, composed of
American species); Dendariis, Meg., in which the basal, and especially the fourth joint, are evidently narrower
than the interveningjoints, the tibiae long and narrow, but little dilated at the tip ; Heliophilus, Dej., in which the
sides of the thorax are suddenly narrowed near the posterior angles ; Eurynotus, K., with the thorax large,
scarcely broader than long, and strongly margined ; Isocerus, Meg., with the body distinctly more convex above,
and the thorax transverse, and Pedinus proper, in which the males have the three basal joints of the two anterior
tarsi always very much dilated, diminishing gradually in breadth, the fourth being very small ; the hind thighs
of the same individual are concave and silky beneath. [We possess a species of this genus found on the sea coast,
of small size and black colour, — P. mariiimus.']
Blapstinus, Dej. (with the front margin of the head notched,) and
Platyscelis, Latr. (with the head entire in front), have the four anterior tarsi of the males equally dilated.
We are now arrived at Melasomata furnished with wings, having the body generally oval or oblong,
depressed, or but slightly elevated, with the thorax square or trapeziform, as broad behind as the ab-
domen ; the palpi are largest at the extremity ; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is hatchet-shaped ;
the mentum is but little extended in breadth, leaving the base of the maxillse exposed.
These Melasomata compose the third and last tribe, that of the Tenehrionites, formed of the single
genus
Tenebrio, —
Such as it was at first formed by Fabricius, to which we reunite those which he has named Qpatrum
and Orthocerus. They serve as types for the same number of peculiar sections.
1. Those with the body oval, the thorax nearly trapezoid, curved at the sides or semi-oval, broader
behind than the abdomen ; the maxillary palpi terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint.
Crypticus, Latr., has the body convex and polished above, with the head exposed ; the antennae are nearly as long
as the thorax ; the tibiae are long and narrow. Type, Pedinus glaber, Latr. [a species found in England on the sea
coast, of a small size and black colour].
Opatrum, Fabr., has the body generally less elevated and often depressed, the head and eyes received into the
deep prothoracic cavity ; the antennae are shorter than the thorax, the elytra are rough, the fore tibiae are broad in
some.
Silplia sabidosa, Linn., about one third of an inch long, of an ashy grey colour. Very common throughout
Europe [including England] in sandy places, appearing in the first fine days of the spring.
2. Those with the body narrow and elongated, nearly of the same width or wider behind, with
the thorax nearly square, and at least as long as wide, the antennae forming a thick mass.
Corticus, Dej. (having cylindric antennae), and
Orthocerus, Latr. (with spindle-shaped antennae), have these organs thick, perfoliated, hairy, and apparently only
10-jointed ; Hispa miitica, Linn. [The type of the last subgenus is found in sand pits in various parts of England.]
The antennae of the others are of the ordinary thickness, not visibly perfoliated, and with ten distinct joints.
Chiroscelis, Lam., with the fore-tibiae palmated. Ch. bifenestra, Lam., [a large African insect].
Toxicum, Latr., with simple fbre-tibiae, and with the head triangular, and thorax nearly square. [Exotic species
of moderate size.]
Boros, Herbst., with simple fore tibiae, and with the head oval, and thorax somewhat oval.
3. Those with the body long and narrow^, the thorax nearly square, the antennm of the ordinary
size, and not suddenly terminated by a club ; the thighs of the two fore-legs are thick, and the tibiae
bent and narrow.
Calcar, Dej., has the thorax oblong, the body linear, of equal breadth throughout, the front of the head notched.
Upis, Fab., has the thorax oblong, the body narrow but not linear, the front of the head straight. U. ceram-
boides, Fabr. [a German species].
Tenebrio, Linn., Fabr., differs only from Upis in having the thorax broader than long.
Tenebrio molitor, Linn., about two-thirds of an inch long, of a black brown colour, is of very common occurrence
[in England], being found, especially in the evening, in unfrequented parts of houses, bake-houses,
and corn-mills, &c. Its larva [known under the name of the Meal-worm] is long, cylindric, and
of an ochre colour, scaly, and very smooth ; it lives in barley and wheat [biscuits, flour, &c.]
and is given to Nightingales. The Brazilian, T. grandis, is found under the bark of trees, and
discharges from the anus a caustic fluid to the distance of a foot.
Heterotarsus, Latr., has the penultimate joint of all the tarsi minute, and received in a canai
of the preceding joint.
[The student will find the descriptions of many new genera in this and the two preceding sections
of Melasoma, described by M. Solier in the Annates de la Societe Entomologique de France, and 74._Teuebrio
by M. Guerin in his Magasin de Zoologie, and in the Voyage de la CoquilleJ] molitor.
COLEOPTERA.
533
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA HETEROMERA,—
The Taxicornes, —
Have no corneous hook on the inner edge of the maxillje; they are also furnished with wings ; the body
is often square ; the thorax trapezoid or semicircular, and concealing or receiving the head ; in some the
antennae, generally inserted beneath the produced margin of the sides of the head, are short, more or
less perfoliated, gradually thickened, or terminating in a mass. The feet are fit only for running, and
all the joints of the tarsi are entire, and terminated by simple hooks ; the fore-tibiae often broad and
triangular ; many males have the head furnished with horns. The majority of these beetles are found
in fungi growing on trees, or beneath the bark ; others live in the ground, under stones,
j Some, forming the first tribe, Diaperales, have the head entirely exposed, and never entirely received
! in a deep notch of the front of the thorax, which is either trapezoid, square, or subcylindric, its sides
like those of the elytra, not forming a decided margin to the body. This tribe has for its type the
I genus
!| Dtaperis,—
i Of which some have the antennae thick, straight, and perfoliated or clavate.
i Plialeria, Latr. {Uloma and Phaleria, Dej.), has the fore-tibiae broad and triangular, the body ovoid, and the an-
j tennae not terminated by a club. A numerous subgenus, divided by Dejean into several others, the type, Tene-
brio cadaverinus [the only British species found on the coast], being retained as the type of Phaleria.
j Biaperis proper, has the fore-legs narrow and nearly linear, with the maxillary palpi terminated by a sub-
cylindrical joint. Type, D/apms [a handsome but rare British species], nearly one third of an inch long,
! black, with three dentate bands of orange on the elytra.
I [The insects of this genus have formed the subject of a valuable monograph by Laporte and Brulld, in the An-
nales des Set. Nat.]
HypopMceus, Fabr., diifers from the preceding in the linear form of the body. They are found under the bark
of trees. Pf. [a rare British species].
The three following have the antennae terminated by an abrupt club, composed at least of four joints.
Trachyscelis, Latr., with the antennae scarcely larger than the head, having a 6-jo'inted club ; body thick, convex,
! and tibi« broad and fossorial. [T. Apliodioides, a reputed British species of small size.]
! Leioides, Latr. {Anlsotoma, Illig.), differs in having the tibiae narrow and spinose, club of antennae 5-jointed. [A
very numerous genus, of minute species.]
1 Tetratoma, Herbst., has the body longer, and the club of the antennae 4-jointed. [T. femgorum, and several other
British species of small size, found in fungi.]
The antennae in the others are curved, and terminated by a 5 or 3-jointed perfoliated club ; the palpi filiform,
the head of the males often cornuted. They are found in boleti growing on trees : they form the genus Eledona,
Latr., Boletophagus, Fab.
jj Coxelus has the three terminal joints alone of the antennae forming the club. (C. spinulosiis.)
! The second tribe of the Taxicornes, the Cossyphenes, is formed of species resembling, in the general
I form of the body, Peltis, Nitidula, and Cassida, being ovoid or subhemispherical, margined all round
i by the dilated edges of the thorax and elytra ; the head entirely hidden beneath the thorax, or received
j into a very deep notch in the front of this part of the body ; the maxillary palpi are hatchet-shaped,
j This tribe is composed of the genus
j COSSYPHUS, Oliv.
Cossyphus proper, having the front of the thorax entire and produced over the head, (consisting of exotic
I species,) and
Helceus, Latr., with the head received in a deep frontal notch of the thorax, or exposed through a central aperture
i (composed of Australian species), have the body flattened and shield-shaped, whilst in
I Nilio, Latr., it is nearly hemispherical, with the head also exposed. [Composed of exotic species, having much
I the appearance of Lady-birds.]
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA HETEROMERA,—
The Stenelytra, —
Differs from the preceding only in the antennae, which are neither moniliform nor perfoliated, and in
which the tip is not generally thickened. The body is often oblong, arched above, with the feet long;
the males closely resemble the females. These insects are generally much more active than the preceding ;
some are found under the bark of old trees, but many frequent the leaves and flowers; the greater num-
ber were united by Linnaeus with the genus Tenebrio ; but he arranged others with Necydalis,
INSECTA.
534
Chrysomela, Cerambyx, and Cantharis. In the first edition of this work, I had united the whole into
one genus, Helops, but their internal as well as external anatomy indicates that tliis family constitutes
five tribes, composed of the same number of genera, namely, Helops, Cistela, Dirccea, Fabr., (Edemera,
and Mycterus, Oliv. In respect to their digestive organs and other characters, Helops and Cistela ap-
proach Tenebrio ; but the Cistelae have the mandibles entire, and generally live amongst leaves and
flowers, in which respect they differ from Helops ; the majority of the Dircaeae have the faculty to
leap, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi is bifid in many. Some live in fungi, &c., and others in
rotten wood. These are allied on one hand to Helops, and on the other to (Edemera, and especially to
Nothus, belonging to the same tribe. Such are the principles upon which I have distributed this family.
Those which have the antennae inserted near the eyes, and the head not produced into a long muzzle,
form the first four tribes, \Helopii, Cistelides, Serropalpides, and (Edemerites'\.
The Helopii have the antennae covered at the base by the margin of the head, nearly filiform, or
slightly thickened at the tip ; generally composed of nearly cylindrical joints, the terminal one being
always the longest ; the extremity of the mandibles is bifid ; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is
largest, and hatchet-shaped ; the eyes oblong, and kidney-shaped : none of the legs are formed for
leaping ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is either entire or not deeply bilobed ; the ungues entire ;
the body often arched above, and of a solid consistence ; the larvae, so far as known, are filiform,
smooth, and shining, with very short feet like those of the Tenebrionidae ; they are found in old wood ;
the perfect insects are also met with beneath the bark. This tribe nearly corresponds with the genus
Helops, Fabr.
Epitragus, Latr. (having the base of the maxillae hidden by the mentum),
Cnodalon, Latr. (with the head narrower than the thorax), and
Campsia, Lepel. and Serv. (Camaria, L. & S., with the head as broad as the hind part of the thorax), are American
groups, having the hinder extremity of the prosternum produced into a small point, received into a notch of the
mesosternum. In all the other Helopii the mesosternum is not notched, nor the prosternum pointed.
Spheniscus, Kirby (Brazilian insects, having the appearance of Erotyli),
Acanthopus, Meg. (with the fore thighs thick and toothed, A. dentipes, Germany),
Amaiygmus, Dalm. (with simple fore-legs and antennae),
Sphcerotus, Kirby (with the thorax narrower throughout than the abdomen, and with simple antennae and
slender tibiae), and
Adelium, Kirby (being of an oval form, with the thorax nearly orbicular, composed of New Holland insects), have
the body nearly ovoid or short, with the thorax transverse. [None of these subgenera occur in this country.]
Helops proper, has the thorax transverse, scarcely as long as wide, and closely applied to the base of the elytra.
H. coeruleus, and carahoides, [British insects, the last being exceedingly abundant].
Lcena has the last joint of the antennae thicker than the preceding, and ovoid, the thorax truncate-cordate,
separated from the abdomen by a visible space ; anterior femora thickened. [European species of small size.]
The following Helopii have the body long and narrow, the thorax nearly square, or truncate-cordate.
Stenotracheliis, Latr. (Dryops, Pk.), with the head narrowed behind into a neck, the three terminal joints of
the antennse short and thick. D. anea, Payk. [a continental species]. ' ©
Agnathus decoratus, Germar, appears to approach the last very closely, as does also Pelmatopus Hummelii, Fisch^ M
Strongylium, K., and Stenochia, K., have the head not narrowed into a neck, and the terminal joints of theW
antennae scarcely differing from the preceding. [Brazilian insects, mostly gaily coloured.] -W
Pytho, Latr., has the body flattened and the thorax narrowed behind. [P. depressus, found in the north of Europe.®
The larva is very flat.]
The second tribe, Cistelides, is exceedingly close to the preceding, but the antennse are not concealed
at the base ; the mandibles are entire ; the tarsal ungues denticulated : many of these insects live in
flowers. This tribe forms the genus j
Cistela, Fabr. 1
Lystronichus, Latr., has the thorax thick, narrow, and suborbicular. [Brazilian insects.] |
Cistela proper, has the thorax depressed trapezoid, the head produced into a short muzzle, the|
antennal joints mostly serrated, and the body ovoid or oval.
Cistela ceramhoides, five lines long ; black, with orange-coloured, striated elytra ; the larva
resides in the decomposed wood of the oak.
MycetocJiares, Latr. {MycetopMla, Gyll.), has the head not produced into a muzzle, and the
body narrow and elongated. H. barbatus.
Allecula, Fabr., differs from the preceding in having the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed,
and the last joint of the maxillary palpi hatchet-shaped.
[M. Sober has revised this tribe, and added several new genera, in the Annales de la Societe
ceiamboides Eutomol. de Francc.]
COLEOPTERA.
535
The third tribe, Serropalpidesy is distinguished by the maxillary palpi being serrated, very large, and
drooping ; the antennae are inserted in a notch of the eye, often short and filiform ; the mandibles are
generally bifid at the tip, and the tarsal ungues simple ; the front of the head is not produced, and the hind
thighs are not thickened, in which they differ from the foUowing; the penultimate joint of the tarsi, of the
four fore-feet at least, is bilobed, and in those in which it is entire, the hind feet are fitted for leaping,
being long, compressed, with slender tarsi. This tribe has for its type the genus—
Dirc^a, Fabr.
OrchesiaMtY., differs from the rest in having the antennae clavate, the maxillary palpi terminated by a hatchet-
shaped joint, and the hind feet are formed for leaping. [O. micansy Latr., a minute British species.]
Eustrophus, Illig. (with the body ovoid, and the antennae shorter than the thorax), and
Hallomenus, Payk. (with the body elongate oval, and the antennae longer than the thorax), have the palpi but
slightly thickened at the tip. The remainder have the body narrow and elongated, with the maxillary palpi hat-
chet-shaped, and some of these have the antennae thick and short.
Dirccea proper {Xylita, Payk.), has the maxillary palpi not serrated, the antennae thick, the body oval-shaped
and the scutellum very small. ^ *
I Melandryay Fabr., with the maxillary palpi evidently serrated, the thorax depressed at the sides, and the
scutellum moderate-sized. \_M. caraboides, a common British species.]
Hypulus, Pk., has the body narrow and nearly linear, with the thorax oblong and narrow behind. D. quercinus
[a very rare British species]. ’
Serropalpus, Hellw., has the antennae slender, subcylindric, the body of a firm consistence, and the maxillary
palpi strongly serrated. '
Serropalpus, Gyll., differs from the last in having the body soft, the maxillary palpi scarcely serrated and the
penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed. [Two very rare British species.] *
The fourth tribe, (Edemerites, is nearly aJKed to the preceding in the insertion of the antennte, bifid
mandibles, bilobed penultimate joint of the tarsi, and securiform maxillary palpi ; but (with the excep-
tion of Nothus, which, although nearly allied to some of the preceding, differs in having the hind
femora thickened) exhibits a series of characters which does not allow them to be confounded with
any other Heteromera. The body is long, narrow, nearly linear, with the head and thorax rather nar-
rower than the elytra ; the antennae are longer than these parts of the body, serrated in some, but
composed of long cyHndric joints in the others ; the anterior extremity of the head is more or less
produced into a short muzzle, with the eyes more prominent ; the thorax is at least as long as broad,
nearly square or cylindrical ; the elytra are linear, narrowed behind, and often flexible. These insects
are related to the Telephori and Zonites. They are found in flowers or trees ; their metamorphoses
are not known. They form a single genus,—
CEdemera, OIiv,
Nothus, Zeigl. {Osphyay Illig.), has the antennae short, simple, and inserted in a notch in the eyes • the hind thighs
thickened in one sex, the thorax as broad as the base of the abdomen, and the tarsal claws bifid ’ m ^
very rare insect, found in Huntingdonshire.] * ^ ^
RJuebusy Fischer, ought probably in a natural system to be placed here.
CaZopus, Fab., has the antennae very long and serrated, the hindlegs simple, with the second joint very short
C. serraticornisy [a common continental species]. * ^
Sparedrus, Megerle, differs from Calopus in haying the antennae simple.
Dytilus, Fisch., has the antennae also fiUform, inserted in front of the eyes ; the elytra are not narrowed at the
tips. D. helopioidesy [a continental species],
(Edemeray Oliy., has the hind legs thickened in one sex, the antenn* long and slender in one sex and the
elytra yery much narrowed at the tips. [CEd. coerulea, a yery common British insect. Seyeral of the species
haye been separated as distinct subgenera by Stephens.] ^
The fifth and last tribe of the Stenelytra, that of the Rhyncostomuy is composed of insects some of
which are nearly allied to the (Edemerites, whilst the others appear to belong in a natural order
to the family of the Weevils {Rhyncophora). The head is evidently prolonged in front, in the shape of
a muzzle or flattened rostrum, having the antennae at its base and in front of the eyes, which are al-
ways entire. These insects form a single genus
Mycterus,— ■
Some of which have the antennae filiform, and the muzzle not dilated at the tip.
Stenostomay Latr. (Leptura, Fabr.), has the body narrow, the thorax conical, truncated, the elytra flexible nar-
rowed to a point. (Ed, rostratay Latr., [South of Europe], ’
Mycterusy Clairv., has the body ovoid, solid, silky, [with the elytra entire] ; the antenn* appear to be 12-jointed.
\M. griseus, a continental species.]
536
INSECTA.
Rhinosimus, Latr. {Salpingus, Illig.), has the antennae terminated by an elongated mass, formed of three or five
joints ; the muzzle very flat, with a produced angle on each side before the tip. They reside beneath the bark of trees,
and require in a natural order to be arranged near to Anthribus of Fabricius, by whom indeed they were united
therewith. The body is depressed and the palpi thicker at the tips. [-S. roboris, a pretty minute British species.]
Our second general division, —
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA HETEROMERA,—
The Trachelides, —
Have the head triangular or heart-shaped, carried on a kind of neck, which, being as wide as the
front of the thorax, prevents it from being immersed therein up to the eyes ; the body is often soft,
with the elytra flexible, not striated, and often very short, one partially lapping over the other ; the
maxillae are never hooked ; the tarsal joints are entire, and the ungues bifid. The majority live in
the perfect state upon different vegetables, devouring the leaves or sucking the honey of the flowers :
many, when seized, depress the head, and contract the feet, as if they were dead ; others are very active.
We divide this family into six tribes, forming the same number of genera. The first tribe, Lagriarice,
has the body elongated, narrower in front than behind, with the thorax either subcylindric or square, or
ovoid and truncated ; the antennae inserted near a notch of the eyes, simple, filiform, or thickened gra-
dually to the tips ; generally moniliform, with the last joint longer than the preceding in the males ;
the palpi thickened at the tips, and the last joint of the maxillary palpi long and triangular ; the tibiae
long and narrow ; the two anterior curved ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed, and the ungues
neither bifid nor toothed. The indigenous species inhabit woods, and are found upon different vegetables ;
the body is soft, the elytra flexible, and, like the Cantharides and Meloes, they feign death when taken.
Lagria proper, is composed of species which have the antennae gradually thickened, and partly or entirely moni-
liform, the last joint ovoid or oval, the head scarcely advanced in front, and the thorax subcylindric or square.
[L. liirta, a very common British insect, of small size ; found in hedges, in which also I have found its larvae,
which is hairy, with thc'extremity of the body bifid.)
Statira, Latr., is formed of exotic species resembling the genus Agra ; prolonged in front, and suddenly nar-
rowed behind the eyes.
Hemipeplus, Latr., doubtfully belonging to tliis tribe, has the antennae filiform, short, and elbowed, the body
linear and depressed, and the head heart-shaped.
The second tribe, Pyrochroides, approaches the preceding in respeet of the tarsi, the length and
slenderness of the anterior part of the body, which is however depressed, with the thorax nearly orbi-
cular or trapezoidal ; the antennae, at least in the males, are pectinated or feathered ; the maxillary palpi
are but slightly serrated, and terminated by a subsecuriform joint ; the labial filiform ; the abdomen
elongate, entirely covered by the elytra, and rounded behind. They are found in the spring in woods, the
larvae living beneath the bark of trees ; they form the genus —
Pyrochroa, Geoffr.
Dendroides, Latr., has long feathery branches to the antennae. (Exotic species.)
Pyrochroa proper, has the antennae simply pectinated. [^Pyrochroa rubens, a very abundant
British species, of a scarlet colour, with black legs and antennae.]
The third tribe, Mordellonce, although not distinguished by any constant cha-
racter, derived from the tarsi, ungues, antennae, or palpi, is easily to be distinguished
by the general form of the body, elevated and arched, with the head low, the tho-
rax trapezoid or semicircular, the elytra very short, or narrow and pointed at the
tips, as well as the abdomen. In their antennae, many approach the Pyrochroides >
others, in their maxillae, ungues, tarsi, and parasitic habits, are allied to Nemognathas
and Sitaris, subgenera of the last tribe of this family, birt they are removed from both by their extreme
agility, and the firm texture of their integuments. They form the genus—
Mordella, Linn.
Some have the palpi of unequal thickness throughout, the antennae of the males strongly pectinated or fan-
shaped, the extremity of the mandibles not notched, and the tarsal ungues denticulated.
Ripiphorus, Bose., has the wings extended beyond the elytra, which are as long as the abdomen ; the tarsal un-
gues bifid; the antennae strongly ft^pectinated in the males, «<mserrated in the females. Some naturalists have |
found in the nests of the common Wasp, many living individuals of the [English species], Ripiphorus paradoxus ||
which has been thence inferred to be parasitic in the laiwa state in such situations. Nevertheless, from anobser- jjj
Figf. 7G. — Pyrochroa
rubens.
COLEOPTERA.
537
vation of M. Farines, the larva of the two-spotted Ripiphorus lives and undergoes its changes in the stalk of
the Eryngium campestre.
Myodites, Latr. {Ripidius, Thunb.), has the wings also extended, but the elytra are very short ; the antennae arc
very strongly feathered ; the tarsal claws are toothed.
I Pelccotomay Fisch., has also the tarsal claws toothed, but the wings [and abdomen] are entirely covered by the
j elytra. [Exotic insects, of moderate size.] In the others the palpi are terminated by a large hatchet-shaped
I joint ; the mandibles are bifid at the tips, and the antennae of the males are only serrated.
Mordella, Linn., has the antennae of equal thickness throughout, and slightly serrated in the males ; the eyes are
I not emarginate, [and the abdomen is terminated by a long point. M. aculeata, Linn., and many other small
I British species].
1 Anaspis, Geoffr., has the antennae simple, and rather thickened to the tips, the eyes notched, [and the abdomen
j not pointed]. A. frontalis [and numerous other minute British insects],
I The fourth tribe, Anthicides, possesses simple or but slightly serrated and filiform antennae, or but little
thickened at the tips ; the joints very nearly alike, except the last, which is rather longer, and oval ; the
maxillary palpi are terminated by a hatchet-shaped joint ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is bilobed ; the
I body narrower in front, with the eyes entire or scarcely emarginate. Some of these species are found
[ upon plants, but the majority live on the ground, and run with great quickness : their larvae are probably
j parasites. They compose the genus, —
' Notoxus, Geoffr.
i Soraptia, Latr., has the thorax nearly semicircular, and the antennas inserted in a notch of the eyes, filiform.
They haveagreat analogy with Mordella, Cistela, &c., in their form. {S.fusca, a minute British species.)
j Steropes, Stev. {Blasfanus, Illig.), has the antennae terminated by three long joints.
Notoxus proper, has the antennae gradually thickened, the joints conical, and the thorax of a reversed ovoid form,
narrowed, and truncated behind, or divided into two globose knots. Some species [to which English Entomologists
i restrict the name Notoxus], have the thorax produced into a horn over the head. N. monoceros, Linn, [a small
British species found in sand banks]. Those with the thorax unarmed [form the restricted genus Anthicus of En-
1 glish authors. A.fuscus, and many other minute species], some of which are apterous.
' The two following tribes, which terminate the Heteromera, have several characters in common:
i mandibles terminated by a simple point ; palpi filiform, or but slightly thickened at the tips ; abdomen
I soft ; elytra flexible ; possessing vesicatory powers ; ungues generally bifid. In the perfect state, many of
I them are herbivorous ; but many amongst them are parasites whilst larvas.
I The fifth tribe, Horiales, differs from the succeeding by having the ungues denticulated, and furnished
I with a seta ; and the antennse are filiform, not longer than the thorax ; the labrum small ; mandibles
; strong and exposed ; palpi filiform ; thorax square, and the two hind legs very robust, at least in one sex.
I The transformations of Horia maculata are described in the Trans. Linn. Son. of London, [by the kte
I I Lansdown Guilding]. The larva destroys that of a large Carpenter Bee {Xylocopa teredo, which
j makes its nest in the trucks of trees in St. Vincents) : this is effected, as the author supposes, by the
ji larva of the beetle devouring the provisions laid up in store for the larva of the Xylocopa, which is of
j course starved to death. This tribe is composed of the genus —
j HoRiA,Fabr,,—
I Species of which inhabit the intertropical parts of South America, and East India.
! Cissites, Latr., has the head narrower than the thorax, and the posterior femora greatly thickened.
The sixth and last tribe, or the Vesicatory Beetles {Cantharidice), is distinguished from the preceding
by the tarsal ungues, which are very deeply divided, so as to appear double ; the head is generally
large, broad, and rounded behind ; the thorax is generally narrowed behind, approaching the shape of
a truneated heart ; in others it is nearly orbicular ; the elytra are often slightly inclined at the sides ;
they counterfeit death when seized, and many at such times emit a yellowish liquid from the joints of
the feet, which is caustic, and of a penetrating odour, the organs for the secretion of whieh have not
been observed. Several species {Meloe, Mylahris, Cantharis,) are employed externally as vesicants, and
internally as a powerful stimulant ; the latter is however very dangerous in its application.
This tribe is formed of the genus —
Meloe, Linn., —
Which has been divided into various others. The anatomical researches of Messrs. L^on Dufour and Bretonneau
upon the epipastic powers of these insects, enable us to arrange these generic groups in a natural order, only slightly
differing from that already adopted. The latter has discovered that Sitaris does not possess this property ; it also
resembles Zonitis in its general structure, and the latter are contiguous to Cantharis. These insects therefore
538
INSECTA.
occupy one extremity of this tribe, whence it becomes easy, from a comparative study of other relations, to pursue
the series to the other extremity ; this is also in accordance with the progressive changes of the antennae.
Cerocoma, Geoff., has only nine joints in the antennae of both sexes, those of the males being of a very irregular
construction. The species appear towards the summer solstice in great abundance at the same place ; they are
found upon flowers, especially the wild chamomile. N. Schdfferi, Linn. [None of the species are found in
England.]
Hycleus, Latr. (Dices, Dej.),has the two or three terminal joints of the antennae united (at least in the females),
into a thick ovoid mass, the number of joints being nine or ten. Mylahris impunctata, Oliv. [Exotic species.]
Mylabris, Fabt., has longer antennae, with eleven distinct joints in both sexes, gradually terminating in a club ;
the eleventh or last joint being large and ovoid,
Megerle has separated some species, from the variation in the length of the intermediate joints of the antennae,
into the genus Lydus, some of which are better characterized by having one of the divisions of the ungues toothed.
Mylabris chicorii, Linn., inhabits the south of Europe, and its vesicatory properties are as powerful as the Can-
tharis of the shops, with which, no doubt, it is mixed in Italy. The Chinese use M. pustulata.
(Enas, Latr., has the antennae not longer than the thorax, and of equal thickness throughout, with the last joint
conoid.
Meloe, Linn., has the antennae composed of short rounded joints, the middle ones being the thickest, and some-
times arranged so that these organs make a strong crescent in some males ; the wings are wanting, and the oval
elytra partially cover the abdomen. They crawl slowly on the ground and low plants [in the spring], emitting an
oleaginous reddish fluid from the joints of the feet. In some parts of Spain they are used instead of, or mixed with,
the common Cantharides. I have regarded them as the Buprestes of the Ancients, who attributed to them very
pernicious properties, such as destroying oxen when eaten by them.
M. pr Oscar ab<eus, Linn, [the common British species], is about an inch long, and of a black colour, shining, very
punctate, the sides of the head and thorax, antennae, and feet, tinged with violet. According to De Geer, the
female deposits in the earth a great number of eggs united into a mass. The larvae have six feet, two filaments at the
extremity of the body, and attach themselves to flies, which they suck. Mr. Kirby thought this larva was an ap-
terous insect or parasite, to which he gave the name of Pediculus melitt<e, and at first I adopted this opinion. Dufour
also formed it into a distinct genus, Triungulinus. But the recent researches of Lepeletier and Serville, who have
reared these Triungulini from the eggs of isolated females of Meloe, do not permit us to doubt that they are the
young of the Meloe. We know, indeed, that many Heteromera deposit their eggs in the nests of various Bees—
may it not be the same with these Meloes, the larvae of which attach themselves to the Bees until they have com-
pleted their provisioned nests, in which they then take up their abode ?
The remaining subgenera have ordinary-sized wings and elytra.
Tetraonyx, Latr., has short maxillae, and the penultimate tarsal joint is bilobed. [Exotic insects, chiefly Brazil.]
Cantharis, Geoff. (Lytta, Fabr.), has short maxillae, entire tarsal joints, and the head is larger than the thorax.
Cantharis vesicatoria [the common Blister-fly], is of a shiny green colour, with black antennae. M. V. Audouin
has studied its anatomy with great care, [Ann.
Sci. Nat. voL ix.) This insect appears in our cli-
mate [France] towards the summer solstice, and
is found most abundantly on the ash and lilac, of
which it consumes the leaves; it emits a most
penetrating odour. Its larva lives in the earth,
and ffeeds upon the roots of vegetables. [It has
lately been found in immense numbers in Eng-
land, but very locally.] In the United States of
America, another species, C. vittata, is employed
for the same purpose. It is found in abundance
upon the potato.
Fig. 77.— Cantharis vesicatoria,
Zonitis, Fabr., has the antennae slenderer than in Cantharis ; the maxillary palpi are filiform, and the maxillae
short.
In the two following subgenera the maxillae are terminated by a very long silky filament,
Nemognatha, Latr., having, filiform antennae, and the thorax nearly square.
Gnathium, Kirby, with the antennae rather thickened at the tip, and the thorax narrowed in front, [Both con-
sisting of exotic species.]
Sitaris, Latr. (Apalus, Fabr.), has the elytra suddenly narrowed, so as to expose part of the wings. They reside
in the larva state in the nests of Mason-bees. [<S. humeralis, a rare British species, beautifully figured by Curtis.]
Apalus proper, Fabr., has the elytra not so strcr-^ly narrowed, and the middle joints of the antennae rather
dilated.
The third general section of the Coleoptera (Tetramera) exclusively comprises those species
which have four [distinct] joints to all the tarsi, [a minute joint, overlooked by most authors,
being affixed at the base of the terminal joint, and between the lobes of the so-called penul-
timate joint ; hence the supposition of Latreille that the loss of thefifth joint was caused by the
basal joint becoming coalescent with the second joint, cannot be maintained.]
COLEOPTERA.
I r
539
I All these insects feed upon vegetable substances. Their larvae have generally short feet, or
I they are wanting and replaced by fleshy lobes in a great number. The perfect insect is found
I I upon the flowers or leaves of plants. I divide this section into seven families ; the larvae of the
I first four or five live mostly hidden in the interior of vegetables, and are generally deprived of
I feet, or have them very minute ; many of them devouring the hard and ligneous particles. These
beetles are the largest of the section,
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Weevils {Rhyncophora), —
Is distinguished by the anterior elongation of the head, which forms a sort of muzzle or proboscis ; the
majority have the abdomen thick, and the antennae elbowed and often clavate ; the penultimate joint
i of the tarsi is nearly always bilobed, and the posterior femora are toothed in the majority.
I' The larvae have the body oblong, like a very soft white worm, with a scaly head, and destitute of
feet, or having only small fleshy tubercles in their stead. They devour different parts of vegetables ; many
live entirely in the interior of fruits or seeds, and often commit great havoc ; their pupae are inclosed
;j in a cocoon. Many Rhyncophorae also injure us in the perfect state, when they happen to become very
Ij numerous in certain limits. They puncture the buds or leaves of various cultivated plants, and feed
I upon their parenchyme.
[If Latreille, in the second edition of this work, found it necessary to state that he was compelled
to omit many minute details occasioned by the works of Germar and Schonherr, the latter published
in 1826, how much more necessary is it to do this now that Schonherr's great work has appeared upon
the Weevils, occupying ten thick octavo volumes.]
Some have the labrum distinct ; the anterior elongated part of the head short, broad, depressed, and
] muzzle-shaped ; the palpi very distinct, filiform, or thickened at the tip. They compose the genus —
Bruchus, Linn., —
Which is thus divided Those species with the antennae thickened at the tips, the eyes not notched, and which •
have five joints in the four anterior tarsi, form the subgenus Rhinosimus, which we have from the latter character
placed in the Heteromera.
Tliose with similar antennae and eyes, but with only four joints in all the tarsi, the penultimate joint being bilobed,
form that of
I Anthribus, Geoff, of which the species are found in old wood, or amongst flowers.
Bruchus proper, has the antennae filiform, often serrated or pectinated, and the eyes entire ; the anus is naked,
I and the hind feet generally very large.
I The female deposits an egg in the young and tender germ of various leguminose or cereal plants, palms, &c.,
I upon which the larva feeds, and within which it undergoes its transformations : the perfect insect, in order to
I make its escape, detaches a portion of the epidermis like a small cup ; hence the small holes too often observed in
peas, dates, &c. The perfect insect is found upon flowers.
Bruchus Pisi, Linn., is two lines long, black, with grey spots on the elytra; it does great mischief in certain
years [to peas], especially in North America. [The genus is very extensive.]
Urodon, Sch. [Bruchela, Meg.], differs in having the three terminal joints of the antennae thickened.
Rhcebus, Fischer, has the elytra flexible, and the tarsal ungues bifid. R. yebleri, Fis. [a minute beautiful green
species].
Xylophilus, Bonelli, has the palpi terminated by a mass {Anthicus populneus, oculatus, pygmaus). [Some of these
have been separated by me into the genera Aderus and Englenes in the Zoological Journal ; they appear nearer
allied to Nothus and other Heteromera.]
The others have no visible labrum ; the palpi are short, scarcely visible to the naked eye, and of a
conical form ; the anterior prolongation of the head forms a beak or proboscis.
Sometimes the antennm are straight, inserted upon the proboscis, and composed of from nine to
twelve joints.
Those which have the three or four terminal joints forming a mass, compose the genus —
Attelabus, Linn., and particularly of Fabricius.
They devour the leaves or tender parts of vegetables, the females of the majority rolling up the leaves, in which
they lay their eggs, furnishing also a retreat for their young during the period whilst they are feeding.
The proportions of the proboscis, the manner in which it is terminated, the tibiae and abdomen, have afforded
characters for the establishment of four subgenera.
I
INSECTA.
540
Apoderus, distinct by the head affixed to the thorax by a rotale.
Ab>igf has the head immersed to the eyes in the thorax.
Rhynchites, has the proboscis dilated at the tip, and the abdomen nearly square.
R. Bacchus [a splendid but very rare British species], lives on the vine, the larvae
inhabiting^ the rolled-up leaves, which it devours, and thus sometimes commits
great damage.
Apion, Herbst., has the body pear-shaped. See the monographs of Germar and
Kirby, in Trans, Linn. Soc., vol. xii. [Some of the species do much damage,
devouring the seeds of clover.]
Rhinotia, Kirby \Belus, Sch.], has the body almost linear, and the antennae
thickened, but not clubbed.
Eurhinus, Kirby, has the antennae terminated by a long mass, the last joint
being greatly elongated in the males.
Tubicenus, Dej. {Auletes, Sch.), has the antennae terminated by a perfoliated
mass, and the abdomen is oblong.
Those which have the antennse filiform, with the last joint alone forming the mass, the proboscis
often longer in the males than in the females, and often differently terminated, and always stretched
out in front, the body elongated, and the penultimate tarsal joint bilohed, compose the genus — ^
Brentus, Fab. {Curculio, Linn.)
These insects are peculiar to warm climates. Some of them, which have the body linear, and the antennae filiform,
and 11-jointed, form the subgenus
Brentus proper, Linn., whichhas been greatly cut up by Schonherr. From the statements of Savi and Lacordaire,
it appears that these species are always found beneath the bark of trees ; the only European species is the Brentus
italieus.
Ulocerus, Schon., has the body linear, and the antennae 11-jointed.
Cylas, Latr., has only 10-jointed, and the thorax nodose.
Sometimes the antennae are distinctly elbowed, the basal joint being much longer than the following.
These form the genus Curculio, Linn.
We divide them into Brevirostres and LongirostreSy according as the antennae are inserted — near the
tip of the rostum, close to the mandibles, — or further back, either near the middle or at the base.
The Brevirostres form, according to Fabricius, two genera, {BracJiycerus and Curculio'].
Brachycerus, Fabr.— =
Has all the joints of the tarsi entire, without cushions beneath ; the antennae are short, scarcely elbowed, and only
9-jointed, the last forming the mass ; they want wings ; the body is very rugose, or unequal. They are peculiar to
the south of Europe and Africa, living on the ground in sandy places, and appearing early in the spring. According
to M. Cailliaud, the Ethiopian women suspend one of the species round their necks as an amulet.
Curculio, —
Has nearly all the under-side of the tarsi cushioned, and the penultimate joint bilobed. The antennae are 11
or 12-jointed, comprising the false joint by which they are sometimes terminated. Although here much more re-
stricted than in the Linnaean system, this genus comprises an immense number of species, particularly described
by Schonherr and Germar, who have greatly divided it. They may be divided, according to our own observations,
into two principal divisions.
1. Those in which the mentum, more or less orbicular, occupies all the oral cavity, and hides the maxillae and
mandibles, which are not distinctly toothed.
Cyclomus, (including Schbnherr’s Cryptops, Deracanthiis, and Amycterus), has the tarsi not pulvillose, and the ;
penultimate joint scarcely bilobed. In all the rest the tarsi are pulvillose, and the penultimate joint bilobed.
Curculio proper (including a very great number of genera of Schonherr), is winged, and has the lateral impres-
sions of the rostrum oblique, and directed downwards ; the fore legs scarcely differ from the rest. The South j
American species, forming the genera Entimus, Chlorima, &c., are remarkable for their splendour, and often for a
their size. The Diamond Beetle, {Curculio imperialist is one of them. Other small species peculiar to our climate, a.
of a much smaller size, but scarcely less splendid, [especially under a lens,] and of a silvery or green colour, form the r
genus Polydrusus, Schonherr, Cure, sericeus, micans, Betulce,&c.
Leptosomus, Sch., has the head very long behind, the rostrum very short, the thorax subcylindic, and the elytra
produced into two divergent spines. A single species, C. acuminatus, Fabr. New Holland.
Leptocerusy (including many of Schonherr’s genera), differs in having the fore-legs elongated, the tibiae curved,
the thighs thick and spined, and the tarsi often dilated and ciliated ; the antennae are long and slender. (Chiefly
I Brazilian species.)
Phyllobius (including also many other genera of Schonherr), is winged, but the rostral fossula is straight and n
short.
The Brevirostres with the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed, the wings wanting, as well as the scutellum i
form various other genera, such as Otiorhychus, Omias, Pachyrhynclms, Psalidium, Thylacites, Syzygops,
Hypliantus, &c. |
Fig-. 78. — 1, AttelabuB curculionoides ;
2 Apoderus avellanae ; 3, Rhynchites
cavifrons.
COLEOPTERA.
145
Our second general division of the genus Curculio of Fabriciiis differs in the narrowness of the mentum, which,
from not occupying the whole breadth of the oral cavity, leaves the sides of the maxillae and mandibles (which
are toothed) exposed ; the club of the antennae is formed of five or six joints.
Those with only two teeth in the mandibles, and the labial palpi distinct, and which are destitute of wings, com-
pose the sub-genera Myniops, RhylirrMnus (which have simple tarsi), and Liparus (which has pulvillose tarsi).
Those which have wings form the sub-genera Hypera and Hylobius. Those with three or four teeth in the mandi-
bles, and the labial palpi nearly obsolete, form the subgenus Cleonus, including various other genera of Schonherr.
The Longirostres, or those with the antennae inserted at a distance from the insertion of the man-
dibles, often near the middle of the rostrum, which is generally long, nearly correspond to the genera
Liocus, RhyncJicenus, Calandra, Fabr. In the first two the antennae are at least 10-jointed, but oftener
11-or 12-jointed ; the club being at least composed of the last three joints.
Li XUS, Fabr. —
Nearly resembles Cleonus in the trophi, the long fusiform club of the antennae, the narrow elongated form of the
body, and the armature of the feet. It is nearly linear in L. paraplecticus [a common British species], the larvae of
which live in the stems of Rliellandrium, and produce in horses which may happen to eat them [with the plant],
the disease called “ parapffgie.”
Rhinocyllus, is composed of a species with the antennae scarcely elbowed, and which, from its supposed efficacy
in the toothache, [has been specifically named R. anti-odontalgicus].
Rhynchtenus, Fabr. —
Has not such general characters. In some the sternum has not a cavity for the reception of the rostrum ; and of
these some have the antennae 11- or 12-jointed, and the legs not fitted for leaping.
ThamnopMlm, is winged, the antenna short and scarcely elbowed, and the tibiae armed with a strong hook at the
tip.
Bagous, has the tibiae curved, with a strong hook at the tip ; the tarsi long and filiform. These are small insects,
found in marshy places.
Brachypus, differs from the last in having the penulti-
mate joint of the tarsi very much dilated ; the last joint
sometimes without claws.
Balaninus, has the rostrum very long, sometimes longer
than the whole body, B. nucum [the common Nut Weevil],
the larva of which feeds on the kernel of the nut.
Rhpnchmms, differs from the preceding by negative cha-
racters ; and from the following by having 12-jointed an-
tennae.
Sibynia, having only 11-jointed antennae ; the club com-
posed of seven.
Myorldmis, differs in having no wings. Many of Schon-
herr’s genera are here united together.
We now pass to those which have only nine or ten joints
in the antennae, and are able to leap.
Clonus, Clairv., has the body nearly globular, but they do
not leap. The following are able to leap, having thick hind
thighs.
[Many minute British species.]
Ramphus, has the antennae fixed between the eyes.
In the remaining Rhynchaeni the legs are apart at the base, and the sternum has a cavity for the reception of the
rostrum.
In AmerJiinus and Baridius, the latter is however wanting.
Those which possess this cavity have been distributed into a very great number of genera by Schonherr.
CamptorJiynchus (Eurkinus, Sch.), differs in having the terminal part of the antennae forming a thick perfoliated
mass.
Cenfrinus, has the scutellum distinct, the club of the antennae elongated, and the prosternum with two spines.
Zygops, has the eyes united above, and the legs very long.
Ceutorliynchus, has the scutellum scarcely visible, the antennae 12-jointed.
Hydaticus, has 11-jointed antennae.
Orobites, has the body very short and sub-globose, the antennae 12-jointed.
Crypt or hynchus, has the body oblong-convex ; the fore-legs longest, especially in the males ; antennae 12-jointed.
Tylodes, is apterous or sub-apterous, with the scutellum wanting.
Calandra, Fab,—
Comprises the terminal Longirostres which have only nine joints to the antennae, the last, or the two last, forming
the club, with the tip spongy. They feed in the larva state on seeds or woody substances.
Anchonus, Sch. (with 10-jointed antennae), and
Orthochates, Germ, (with 9-jointed antennae), are both apterous.
542
INSECTA.
Rhina, Latr., is winged, and the antennae are inserted near the middle of the rostrum ; the fore-feet in the males i;
are very long.
Calandra proper, has the antennae much elbowed, but inserted at the base of the rostrum.
Calandra granaria, the Corn Weevil, commits great havoc in granaries, its larva feeding on the grain ; that of ii
C.palmarum feeds on the palm. Its larva is esteemed a delicacy by the natives of South America. I
Cossonus, has short antennae, inserted near the middle of the rostrum. !
Drgoptho7’us, Sch., has only 6-jointed antennae, and 5- jointed tarsi ; none of the joints being bilobed.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Xylophagi, —
Have not the head produced into a muzzle ; the antennae are thickened towards the tips, or perfoliated
from the base ; always short, with fewer than eleven^ joints in the majority ; the tarsi (which
appear to be 5-jointed* in some), generally entire, or having the penultimate joint dilated and heart-
shaped ; in the latter case the antennae are always terminated by a club, either solid and ovoid, or
divided into three plates, and the palpi are short and conical. These insects generally live in wood,
which their larvae pierce, forming burrows in every direction ; and when abundant in forests, especially
those of firs and pines, they destroy the trees in a few years, rendering them unfit to be used in
the arts. Some are also very destructive to the olive ; others feed on fungi.
We divide this family into three sections.
1. Those which have the antennae composed of ten joints at least, either terminated in a thick mass,
generally solid, or having three elongated plates ; or forming a cylindric and perfoliated mass from the
base, and the palpi are conical ; the anterior tibiae in the majority are toothed, and armed with a strong
hook ; and the tarsi have the penultimate joint generally bilobed. Some have the palpi very short, and
the antennae terminated in a solid or trilamellar mass, preceded by five joints at the least. These
Xylophagi compose the genus —
ScoLYTUs, Geoffr.
In some the penultimate joint of the tarsi is bilobed, and the
antennse have seven or eight joints preceding thejclub.
Hylurgus, Latr., has the club of the antennse solid, globular,
and annulated. [iL. piniperda, and numerous other species
of minute size, some of which are very destructive to pine
forests.]
Hylesinus, Fabr., has the club of the antennae solid and
annulated ; but pointed at the tip.
Scolytus proper (Eccoptogaster, Herbst.) has’ the antennae
Fig. 80-1, 2.Tomicas .ypog.aphus-3, 4, 5. 6, Hyhugus piniperpa Straight, naked ; the club solid. Very compressed, its annuli
(natural size and magnified) . forming concenti’ic constrictions. [(S. destructor, and several
other species, the former of which is exceedingly injurious, destroying the elms in great quantity round London.]
Camptocerus, Dej., has the male antennae furnished below the club with long filaments.
Phloiotribus, Latr., dilfers from all the rest in the club of the antennae being formed of three long filaments.
In the others the tarsal joints (apparently five in number) are entire, and the club of the antennae commences at
the sixth or seventh joint.
Tomicus, Latr., has no notches at the sides of the thorax, and the tibiae are not striated. [Numerous minute>
cylindric species.]
Platypus, Herbst., has the sides of the thorax notched to receive the femora, and the tibiae are transversely
striated.
[The insects of this genus, or rather family, have been recently described by Dr. Erichson in Weigmanns Archiv.,
and figured in Dr. Ratzeburg’s Forst Insecten. Several new genera ai'e established in these works.]
The others have the palpi large, very visible, and of unequal length. The body is depressed and
narrowed in front ; the antennae either 2-jointed, the second joint being very large and irregular-shaped,
or 10-jointed, and entirely perfoliated ; the tarsi are entire. These are exotic insects [of the most
singular appearance and greatest rarity], wdiich compose the genus
Paussus, Linn., —
[Of winch’ll have published a monograph in the Trans. Linn., and Entomol. Society, proposing several
new genera].
• Latreill' observes, that these appear to be allied to Cryptophagus,
and other analogous Pentamerous Coleoptera. [The fact is, that
whilst some of the species here placed at the head of the Xylophagi,
are extremely close in their relations to the Curculionidae, others
possess no other relation than that of being minute in size, and
xylophagous in habits.]
COLEOPTERA.
543
Paussus proper, has only two joints to the antennse, the second very large and compressed.
Hylotorus, Dalm., composed of a single species apparently with ocelli, and with the antennse scarcely longer than
the head, and 2-jointed.
Cerapterus, Swed., has the antennse 10-jointed and perfoliated.
2. Those which have only 10-jointed antennse, and the maxillary palpi are not narrowed to the tips,
but are of equal thickness throughout, or thicker at the tips ; the joints of the tarsi are always entire
They are divisible into two principal genera ; those with the three terminal joints forming a perfoliated
mass compose that of —
, Bostrichus, Geoffr.
Bostrichus proper, has the body cylindrical, the thorax forming a kind of hood over the head. The species are
found in old wood and timber. \B. capucinus, a rare British species.]
Psoa, Fabr., has the body narrower, and thorax flat.
Cis, Latr., has the body oval, depressed, or but little elevated ; the last joint of the tarsi much longer than the
others ; the head of the males often horned. [Many minute species, found in fungi.]
SpMnduSf scarcely appears to me to dilfer from the last.
Nemosoma, Desmar., has the body long, linear, and the mandibles robust and exserted. [iV. elongata, a singular
small and very>are British species, found under the bark of old palings.] 3
The second principal genus, —
Monotoma,—
Has the club (or tenth joint) of the antennae solid, and button-shaped ; the body is elongated, with the front of the
head narrowed into an obtuse muzzle ; the palpi are very small, and, as well as the mandibles, not prominent.
Sy nchita, Helw., has not the front of the head prolonged, and the two basal joints of the antennae are alike.
Cerylon, Latr., has the front of the head produced into an obtuse triangle ; the first joint of the antennae much
longer than the second ; the body nearly oval or parallellipiped, and the elytra not truncate behind. [C. Msteroides,
a small species found under the damp bark of trees.]
Rhyzophagus, Herbst., differs from Cerylon in its narrow elongated form and elytra truncate at the tip ; the
tarsi appear to me pentamerous.
Monotoma, Herbst., differs from all the preceding in having the head as large as, and separated from, the thorax,
by a narrowed part. Cerylon picipes [and other small species, of which Aub^ has given a monograph in the
Annates de Soc. Entomol. de France}.
3. Those which have eleven distinct joints to the antennse ; the palpi filiform, or thickened at the
tips in some, or slender at the tips in others, the tarsal joints are entire.
In some of these the club of the antennse consists only of two joints. These form the genus
Lyctus.
Lyctus proper. Fab., has the mandibles and basal joints of the antennse exposed.
Diodema, Megerle, has the basal joint of the antennae hidden by the side of the head : the body oval, oblong,
convex. D. subterranea.
I Bitoma, Herbst., differs in having the body long, narrow, depressed. {B. crenata, a small British species, found
I under the bark of trees.]
j In the others the three or four terminal joints of the antennse form the club, the last being larger than the]pre-
,! ceding joints.
i In some the mandibles are concealed or scarcely visible ; these are the genus
Mycetophagus, —
i Colydium, Fabr., has the antennse scarcely longer than the head, and inserted beneath the advanced sides of the
li head, and terminated by a perfoliated mass.
j| Mycetophagus proper, has the antennse at least as long as the thorax, the body oval, thorax transverse, and the
I club of the antennse commencing at the sixth or seventh joint, [ilf. quadripustulatus, and several other species of
j small size, found under old stumps of trees, bark, &c.]
I Triphyllus, Meg., has the club of the antennse shorter, and formed suddenly by the last three joints, the last being
! globular.
1 Meryx, Latr., has the maxillary palpi exserted, and terminated by an enlarged joint, of a reversed triangular
' form. [M. rugosus, Latr., New Holland.]
Dasycerus, Brongn., has 3-jointed tarsi ; the antennse have all the intermediate joints capillary, and very setose ;
1 the abdomen is nearly globular.
j Latridius, Herbst. has the palpi very short, pointed at tip ; the head and thorax narrower than the abdomen
i which is subquadrate, or subovate ; the basal joint of the antennse is very thick. [L. porcatus, and other species
of minute insects, having domestic habits.]
Silvanus, has the body nearly linear, the thorax longer than broad, and as broad as the base of the elytra ; the
palpi nearly filiform. [T. dentatus, a small flat insect, often found floating in tea and coffee, introduced with the
sugar.]
] In others the mandibles are entirely exposed, and large ; the body often narrowed and depressed. These insects
[ compose the genus —
544
INSECTA.
Trogosita, Olivier.
Trogosita proper, has the antennae shorter than the thorax, the mandibles shorter than the head, and the max-
illae with a single lobe.
Trogosita mauritanica, Linn,, a flat beetle, four lines long, of a pitchy black colour, found in nuts, bread, and in
the bark of trees ; its larva, known in Provence under the name of the Cadelle, attacks grain.
Prostomis, Latr. {Megagnatkus, Meg.), has the mandibles very long, and two lobes to the maxillae ; the body is
long and narrow. Trogos mandibularis, [a continental species].
Passandra, Dalm., has the antennae nearly as long as the body, with the eleventh joint alone of the antennae en-
larged, in form of a reversed triangle. [Exotic species, lately monographed by Mr. Newman.]
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Platysoma, —
Approaches the last in respect to its internal anatomy, entire tarsi, and habits ; but the antennfe are of
equal thickness, or slendered at the tips ; the mandibles are always exposed ; the palpi short, body
depressed, and thorax nearly square. These insects are found under the bark of trees, and may be
united into the single genus
Cucujus, Fabricius, —
proper, has the antennae shorter than the body in many species, with the basal joint shorter than the
head. [C. clavipes, depressus, &c. See my memior on these insects in Zoolog. Journal.^
Dendrophagus, Gyll., has the antennae longer, and cylindrical, with the basal joint longer than the head,
Uleoiota, Latr. {Brontes, Fabr.), has similar antennae, but the third joint is as long as the following ; the mandi-
bles, in the typical species, are furnished with a long horn-like appendage.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Longicornes, —
Has the three basal joints of the tarsi furnished beneath with short brushes ; the first and second [not
the second and third, as described by Latreille], being heart-shaped, and the third [not the fourth]
deeply bilobed, with a small nodule, representing a joint, at the base of the terminal joint ; the labium^
placed upon a short transverse mentum, is generally membranous, heart-shaped, or bifid ; or horny, and
in shape of a very short transverse segment of a circle, in others {Parandra). The antennae are fili-
form or setaceous, generally at least as long as the body, either simple in both sexes, or serrated,
pectinated or fan-shaped in the males ; the eyes of the greater number are kidney-shaped, surrounding
the base of the antenna ; the thorax is trapeziform or narrowed in front ; in those which have the eyes
rounded entire, or scarcely emarginate ; in which case the legs are long and slender, with the tars
elongated.
The larvae, nearly all of which reside in the interior of trees, or under the hark, are destitute of feet,
or have them only very small ; the body is soft, whitish, thickest in front, with the head scaly, and
furnished with robust mandibles, the other parts not being prominent. They do much injury to trees,
especially those of large size, piercing them very deeply, or forming burrows in them. (See the memoir
of Lansdown Guilding, in the 13th vol. of the Limujean Transactions). Others devour the roots of
plants ; the females have the abdomen terminated by a tubular and horny oviduct. These insects
produce a slight sharp sound, by the friction of the peduncle of the base of the abdomen against the
inner recess of the thorax, when they alternately cause it to enter and withdraw it.
In the system of Linnaeus, these insects form the genera Cerambyx, Leptura, Necydales, which
GeofFroy, Fabricius, and other naturalists have endeavoured to arrange and simplify by the transposition
of species, or by establishing other generic groups. From the immense quantity of species discovered
since the days of Linnaeus, and the insufficiency of the characters assigned to these genera, a complete
revision of the family had become necessary, [which, since the publication of the last edition of
this work, has been effected by Serville, in the Annates de la Socie'te Entomologique de France, in ■
which a series of long memoirs has been published by this author, containing numerous new genera,
the number of which has been greatly augmented by Messrs. Hope and Newman, in recent memoirs
published in this country].
We divide the Longicornes into two primary sections.
The first section has the eyes either deeply notched or crescent-shaped, or long and narrow ; the ,
COLEOPTERA.
545
head is immersed as deep as these organs in the thorax, not being separated by a sudden neck ; in many
it is vertical.
Some of these have the terminal joint of the palpi either conical or triangular, or cylindric and
truncated at the tip ; the terminal lobe of the maxillae is straight, (not inwardly curved at the tip) ; the
head is generally porrected, or but slightly inclined ; and in those few which have it vertical {Dorcacerus),
it is nearly as broad as the body, and the antennae are very wide apart at the base, and spinose ; the
thorax often very rough, and rarely cylindrical. These Longicornes compose two prineipal groups or
tribes, \Prionii and Cerambycini].
1. The Prionii have, for their characters, labrura wanting or very small, and scarcely distinct ; man-
dibles very strong and large, especially in the males ; inner lobe of the maxillae wanting, or very small ;
antennae inserted near the base of the mandibles, or the notch of the eyes, but not encircled by them at
the base ; thorax often trapezoid or square, crenulated, or toothed at the sides.
Parandra, Latr., has the antennas simple, nearly moniliforni, compressed, not longer than the thorax, and the
terminal lobe of the maxillae small, scarcely reaching beyond the basal joint of the palpi ; it is more especially
distinguished by the horny tonguelet in the form of a very short transverse segment of a circle, neither notched nor
lobed in front, and by the tarsi having the penultimate joint scarcely bilobed, and the last joint longer than all the
rest, with two setae at the tip of a small appendage between the claws. Thebodyisparallellipiped, [and very shining].
The species are peculiar to America. Type, P. Icevis, Latr.
Spondylis, Fabr., approaches Parandra in the form of its antennae and maxillary lobes, but it has the tonguelet
as in all the rest of the Longicornes, membranous, heart-shaped ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is deeply bilobed,
and it is destitute of the setigerous appendage between the claws. buprestoides, Linn., 6 or 7 lines long. [In-
habits the North of Europe.]
Prionus. — The third and last genus of this tribe has the antennas longer than the head and thorax, serrated or
pectinated in some, simple and slender at the tips, and with elongated joints in others ; the terminal lobe of the
maxillae is at least as long as the two basal joints of the palpi ; the body is generally depressed, with the thorax square
or trapezoid, and either toothed, spined, or angular at the sides.
These insects only fly in the evening or during the night, and always settle upon trees. Some exotic species are
remarkable for their size, and the enormous developement of their mandibles. The larvae of Prionus cervi-
cornis, which lives in the wood of the Gossampinus tree, is eaten [by the natives of South America].
This genus comprises a very great number of species, which, from the variety in the form and size of their
mandibles, antennae, thorax, and abdomen, are divisible into many smaller subgenera, described by M. Serville, [in
the memoir above alluded to]. Some of the species have the body elongated, straight, with the thorax much shorter
than the abdomen, and greatly curved at the sides, and the mandibles of large size in the males. Amongst these
are the continental species, P. scabricornis, and many large exotic species.
Others have the body not so oblong, somewhat depressed in front, and with moderate-sized mandibles in both
sexes, and the antennae strongly serrated in the males. Amongst these is
Prionus coriarius [the only British species], an inch and a half long, and of a brown black colour. It lives in the
larva state in the rotten trunks of oaks, &c. : when ready to undergo its transformation, it forms a hole in the
I earth.
Anacolus, Lep. and Serv., has the elytra small and triangular. [Brazilian insects.]
Other species, of varied and often metallic colours, have the body shorter and broader, nearly oval, the antennae
■ simple, the head prolonged behind the eyes, &c.
I The Cerambycini have the labrum very distinct, and extending across the entire front of the head ;
I the two maxillary lobes are very distinct and exserted ; the mandibles of the ordinary size, and alike
I or scarcely differing in the two sexes ; the eyes always notched ; the antennse ordinarily as long as,
‘ or longer than the body ; the thighs, or at least the four anterior, are generally clavate, being slen-
j der at the base.
ij We arrange in the first place those which have the last joint of the palpi evidently thicker than the
I preceding, of a triangular or conical form ; the head not being materially narrowed, and prolonged in
j front like a muzzle, the thorax not dilated from the front to the hind part, and the elytra not in the
shape of small scales, nor suddenly narrowed from the base and terminated like an awl. These con-
stitute the normal group of the Cerambycini, the others being in several respects anomalous, the last
of which appear to connect this tribe with the following. They compose the genera Cerambyoc, Clytus,
Callidium, and part of Stenocorus, Fabr. They are the Cerambyoc of Linnseus, to which some of his
Lepturae are to be united. Modern Entomologists [especially Serville,] have greatly augmented the
number of their generic groups, but their characters are so slight that they may be reduced to one, —
Cekambyx.
A great number of species, all from South America, proportionably shorter and broader than the following, with
I I the antennae often pectinated, serrated, or spined, are remarkable for the extent of the thorax, of which the length
546
INSECTA.
nearly equals half of that of the elytra, sometimes smooth, semiorbicular, with a single tooth at the posterior
angles, sometimes very unequal and tubercular ; the prosternum is either carinated or terminated in a point,
either flat, truncated, entire, or notched at its posterior extremity, which is applied to a produced lobe of the meso-
sternum ; the fore-legs at least are wide apart at the base. The scutellum is large in some, the tarsi short and
dilated.
Lissonotus, Dalra. (with the antennae greatly compressed and serrated, or semi-pectinated and long), and
Megaderus, Dej. (with simple antennae, shorter than the body), form a first division, having the thorax nearly
semi-orbicular and very large, with a single tooth on each side at the hind angles, and the scutellum very
large.
Those with the thorax very rough and multidentate, the antennae long, simple, or slightly spined, and the thorax
very large, form four subgenera.
Dorcace?m, Dej., having the head vertical, large, and nearly as broad as the thorax, and the scutellum small.
Type, Cerambyx barbatus, Oliv.
Trachyderes, Dalm., with the thorax large and much broader than the head ; the posterior extremity of the
prosternum, and also the opposite part of the mesosternum, elevated and keeled.
Lophonocerus, Latr., has the head much narrower than the thorax, and with the third and three following joints
of the antenn® furnished with hairs. Cerambyx barbicornis, Oliv., &c.
Ctenodes, Klug, differs from the preceding in having the antennee much shorter than the body, and pectinated or
serrated ; the thorax toothed at the sides. {Ctenodes zonata, &c.)
In the following the thorax, either square or cylindrical, orbicular, or nearly globular, is much shorter than the
elytra; the prosternum is neither carinated nor pointed at its posterior extremity, and the scutellum is always
small.
Phtenicocerus, Latr., differs from all the rest in having the third and following joints of the male antennae pro-
longed into flattened plates, forming a large fan. P. Dejeanii; Brazil. In the rest the antennae are only simple
or serrated.
Callichroma, Latr., comprises many species, remarkable for their colours, and the agreeable odour they emit,
and these exhibit a curious anomaly in the maxillary palpi being very much smaller than the labial, and even than
the maxillary lobe, which is advanced; the posterior
tibise are often compressed. [The only British species,]
Cerambyx moschatus, Linn, [or the Musk Beetle as it has
been erroneously named, the scent it emits being more
like otto of roses than musk], is about an inch long, en-
tirely green, or shaded with blue, some specimens being
of a more golden colour. [This handsome species is very
common upon willows, and may be easily detected by its
scent.] There are numerous other species found on the
Continent and in America.
Other Longicornes of the same division, but with
ordinary-shaped maxillary palpi, are distinguished from
the following by possessing twelve distinct joints in the
antennae, at least in the males ; we unite them into the
single subgenus—
Acanthopteriis, Latr.— Some American species, with
the thorax nearly square or subcylindrical, and the elytra
ordinarily terminated by one or two spines, are called
Stenocorus, by Dalman ; others, peculiar to the western parts of the Old World, with the thorax nearly globular,
and the antennae simple and not fasciculated, form the subgenus Purpuricenus. Types, Cerambyx Koehleri, Des-
fontainii, &c. Another species,
Cerambyx alpinus, Linn., has the body depressed, and the third and three following joints of the antennae ter-
minated by a little bundle of hairs.
The following Cerambycini have only eleven joints to the antennae ; some, or at least the males, have the antennae
long and setaceous ; the last joint of the palpi in the form of a reversed cone ; the thorax is either nearly square
and"a little dilated in the middle, or oblong and nearly cylindrical ; it is often rugose, and tubercled at the sides.
Tliese compose the subgenus
Cerambyx proper, some of which have been further separated under the name of HamaticJierus, having the
thorax very rough, and spined or tubercled at the sides in the middle, with the third, fourth, and fifth joints of the
antennae evidently thicker than the following, thickened, and rounded at the tip. C. heros, Fab., is an abundant
continental species, the laiwa of which forms deep burrows in oak wood, and which is probably the Cossus of the
ancients.
We unite in the same subgenus different species of Callichroma of Dejean, having the thorax entire or scarcely
unequal, and either oval or subcylindrical. These are exotic, and nearly all from America, being of small size.
We further unite in the same genus the Gnom<x of Dejean, having the thorax very long and cylindrical.
The Cerambycini with the antennae generally scarcely longer than the body, the thorax always unarmed, and
sometimes nearly globular or orbicular, and sometimes narrower and subcylindrical, the palpi always very short,
terminated by a thicker joint than in the preceding, form the genus CalUdimn, which now constitutes three
Fig. 81. — Callichroma moschata,
COLEOPTERA.
547
Certallim, Dej., has the head at least as broad as the thorax, which is cylindrical, or slightly dilated in the
middle. Type, C. ruficolle, Fabr. [a French species].
Clytus, Fab., has the head narrower than the thorax, nearly globular. Clytus arcuatus, [a rare British species,
I and others].
i Callidiumy has the thorax in like manner broader than the head, flattened, and orbicular. [Callid. Bajulum, a i
very common insect, very destructive to wooden posts and rails.] |
We terminate this tribe by insects which, in respect to the palpi, the form of the head, thorax, and
elytra, as w^ell as their respective proportions, offer various exceptions or anomalies, commencing with
those in which the thorax has a form analogous to that of Certallum. It is of the breadth of the head
I and of that of the base of the elytra, or scarcely narrower, and either subcylindrical, round, or orbicular,
and is broader towards the middle. All the thighs are clavate, and placed upon a suddenly formed
slender and elongated pedicle. The elytra in the majority are either very short, or suddenly narrowed
* at a short distance from the base, and then subulated. Those of the first groups however do not exhibit
such diversity in the elytra.
Obrium, Meg., has the head rounded, and not prolonged in front into a muzzle ; the palpi with the last joint
thickened, and truncate at the tip ; antennae shorter than the body, and thorax long and narrow.
Rhinotragus, Germ., has the head produced into a muzzle ; the thorax suborbicular. They evidently approach !
the next subgenus.
Necydalis, Linn., are the only species which have the elytra contracted into a pair of very short scales, or extended
to the tip of the abdomen, but narrowed suddenly at a little distance from the base, thus (alone) resembling CEde-
mera ; the abdomen is long and narrow, and apparently pedunculated at the base. The species with subulated
elytra compose the subgenus Stenopterus, {S. rufa, Linn.) [a reputed British species.] Those with very short,
scalelike elytra form the subgenus Necydalis proper, or Molorchus, Fab. Type, N. major ^ Linn, [a rare British
species, figured by Curtis].
Certain species, for the most part peculiar to the African islands. New Holland, New Ireland, and
New Zealand, anomalous in several respects, and which in a natural order ought probably to be
placed between the Lamiariae and Lepturetae, will terminate the division of the Cerambycini. These
have the palpi nearly filiform, with the last joint subcylindrical, slightly narrowed tow^ards the base ;
the thorax mostly smooth, or slightly unequal, without acute tubercles, dilated from the front to the
! hind part, trapeziform or truncate conical, as in the last tribe of this family ; the abdomen is nearly
in form of a reversed triangle in many, and the elytra are truncate.
DisticJiocera, Kirby, has the male antennae dilated to the tip, and with furcate joints. [New Holland.]
Tmesisternus, Latr., has simple setaceous antennae, longer than the body ; the thorax is lobed behind, proster-
num prolonged behind, truncate, and received into a notch of the mesothorax. (Undescribed species, from New
Ireland.)
Tragocerus, Dej., has not the prosternum produced ; the antennae filiform, and rather shorter than the body, sub-
serrated ; thorax unequal, and elytra oblong.
Leptocerus, which have not the prosternum produced behind ; antennae setaceous, much longer than the body,
especially in the males, and the elytra subtriangular. Cer. scriptus, Linn. Isle of France.
The Longicornes of our third tribe, the Lamiarice, are distinguished by having a vertical head ;
the palpi filiform or scarcely thickened at the tips, and terminated by a more or less ovoid joint,
I pointed at the tip. The outer lobe of the maxillae is slightly narrowed at the tip, and bent over
the inner division. The antennae are often setaceous and simple, and the thorax, exclusive of its
I tubercles or spines, is nearly of equal breadth throughout. Some of the species are apterous, a pecu- {
: harity which occurs in no other division of this family.
1 This tribe is composed of the genera Lamia and Saperda of Fabricius, and some of his Stenocori.
j Cerambyx longimanus, Linn., neither belongs to this genus nor to Prionus, where it was at first placed, but to a
’ distinct one belonging to the Lamiariae, namely,
Acrodniis, Illig. {Macropus, Thunb.), distinguished from all other Longicornes by having the thorax furnished
on each side with a moveable tubercle, terminated by a point or by a spine. The body is flattened, the thorax trans-
! verse, antennae long and slender, the fore-legs longer than the others, and the elytra truncated at tlie tips and
\ terminated by two spines, the outer one being the longest ; the most remarkable species is A. longimanus, in
] which the thighs and tibias of the fore-legs are very long and slender ; the upper side of the body is agreeably diver-
; sified with grey, red, and black colours,
ij All the other Lamiariae compose but a single genus, —
[ Lamia,—
Which we divide into two sections,— those with the sides of the thorax tubercular or spined, and those in which
it is entire and cylindric. The first is again divided into those with and those ivithout wings. A great number of
N N 2
li
548
INSECTA.
the former, from South America, having the body shorter, broader, and depressed, with the thorax transverse, the i
abdomen nearly square, scarcely longer than broad, the feet robust, and the tarsi much dilated, form the genus—
Acanthocinus, Megerle, of which we possess only three European species.
One {L. csdilis, Fabr.) is remarkable for the male antennae being more than
four times the length of the body. |
Others of a similar form, with the antennae bearded or fasciculated, form (
the subgenus Pogonocherus, of which there are several Bi'itish species,
nearly all of which are remarkable for having the elytra obliquely truncate i
at the tips.
Tetraopes, is but slightly elongate, and has each eye entirely divided into
two parts by the tubercle, from whence arises the antennae.
Monochamus, Dej., has the body narrow and long, the antennae exceed-
ingly long, a strong spine on each side of the thorax, middle tibiae slightly
bent.
In Dejean’s catalogue, if we except the apterous species, the other Lami<e of Fabricius are retained under the
generic name Lamia, but Dahl has separated C. curculionoides and nebulosa, (French species), under the name of
Mesosa, which is nearer to Saperda, in having the thorax not spinedat the sides.
Lamia textor, [a very rare British species], an inch long, and of a dull black colour, conducts to —
Dorcadion, Dalm., composed of the species which have no wings, a group peculiar to Europe and the adjacent
parts of Asia, and of which the larva probably feeds upon the roots of vegetables.
Parmena, Megerle, has been separated from the last from having the antennae longer than the body.
The other Lamiariae have the thorax not armed at the sides with tubercles or spines, but cylindrical, the body
always elongated, and nearly linear in many species. These compose the genus—
Saperda, Fabricius.
Gnoma, Fabr., restricted to some species from Java, New Holland, Sumatra, &c., resemble Lamia in the position u
of the head and the parts of the mouth, but the thorax is as long as the abdomen, cylindrical, and more slender in
the middle ; the fore-legs are very long. C. longicollis, Giraffa, &c.
Adesmus, Dej., has the first and third joints of the antennae greatly elongated, exceeding more than one third of
the whole antennae.
Dej., has the body cylindric, antennae filiform, short, terminated in an acute point ; thethii'dand
fourth joints very long, and the following very short. [Species proper to the East Indies and Isle of France.]
Colobothea, Dej., has the antennae close together at the base, the body compressed, the elytra notched or trun-
cate at the tips, with the outer angle produced into a spine. This group is peculiar to South America, and to the
most eastern of the Islands of the Asiatic Archipelago.
Other Saperdae, from Brazil, with the thorax as broad as or scarcely narrower than the elytra, have the
third and fourth joints of the antennae very elongated and dilated, and the elytra dilated behind. {Saperda amicta,
togata, &c.) Many other Saperdae with the body very long and narrow have the antennae 12-jointed, thus forming a
distinct group. {Saperda Cardui, &c.)
Amongst the species considered by all Entomologists as true Saperdae, may be mentioned Saperda carcJiarias,
Linn, [a British species lately discovered in the fens of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, in great quantities,
and which is figured in the EntomologisVs Text Booli\, the larva of which lives in the trunks of poplars, and some-
times destroys young plantations.
Some species have the body still more narrow, and the antennae excessively long.
The fourth and last tribe, that of the Lepturetoe, is distinguished by having the eyes rounded, entire,
or scarcely emarginate ; the antennae inserted more in front, or at the anterior extremity of the slight j
emargination of the eyes ; the head is posteriorly prolonged behind the eyes in many, or suddenly nar- u
rowed into a neck at its junction with the thorax, the latter being conical and narrowed in front. The
elytra gradually diminish in width to the tip.
This tribe composes the genus
Leptura, Linnaeus, —
Except such species as belong to the preceding tribes and to the Donaciae. Thus modified, the genus corresponds fl
to Stenocorus, Geotfr., and to those of Rkagium and Leptura of Fabricius. In some species the head is elongated
immediately behind the eyes ; the antennae often shorter than the body, and close together at the base, inserted at
a distance from the eyes upon two small eminences like tubercles, and separated by an impressed line ; the
thorax is ordinarily tubercular, and spined at the sides.
Desmoeerus, Dej., has the palpi filiform, with the last joint of the maxillary nearly cylindrical ; the third and two
following joints of the antennae are dilated atthe external angle, especially in the males. D. cyaneus, Fab. ; North
America.
The following differ in having the palpi dilated at the extremity, and terminated by a conical joint ; the antennae
regular.
Vesperus, Dej. [consisting of a few species from the south of Europe], differs in the males alone being winged ;
the thorax is conical, entire, and without spines or tubercles ; the elytra of the females [which sex is very broad
and convex], are short, and gaping at the tip.
Fig. 82. — Acanthocinus speculifer.
COLEOPTERA.
549
Bhagiutn, Dahl, [and the three following, having wings in both sexes], has the antennae simple, not more than half
the length of the body, and the last joint of the palpi forms a triangular mass. The head is large, nearly square,
with the eyes entire ; the sides of the thorax have a triangular tubercle. [i2. Ufasciatuni, and two or three other
British species.]
Rhamnusium, Meg., has the antennae rather shorter than the body, serrated, with the third and fourth joints
shorter than the following; the eyes are evidently emarginate. R. Salicis, Fab., [an European species].
(and a, Dej.), has the antennae at least as long as the body, simple, with the basal joint much
shorter than the head ; the eyes are entire, or very slightly emarginate.
Euriptera, Serv. & Lep., has the antennae 12-jointed. [A Brazilian insect.]
Distenia and Cometes, Serv. & Lep., have the thorax spined at the side, palpi short, antennae villose. The
former has the elytra narrowed and terminated by a spine, in the latter they are linear and unarmed. Both are
Brazilian.
Stenoderus, Dej., has the antennae long, the basal joint at least as long as the head, and the body long, narrow,
and linear ; the eyes are entire. [Exotic insects].
In the other species the head is suddenly narrowed immediately behind the eyes ; the antennae, inserted near
the anterior extremity of their internal notch, are wide apart at the base ; the two prominences from which they
spring are nearly on the same plane ; the thorax is mostly entire at the sides. These form the genus —
Leptura proper, some of which have the thorax conical, as in Lept. armata, Gyll. {L. calcarata, Fab.), [a very
common British species, of a black colour, with yellow marks in the elytra], whilst in others the thorax is nearly
globular, as in L. tomentosa, [another common British species, of smaller size and black colour].
THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Eupoda,—
Is composed of insects, the first of which (the Donacics) so closely approach the last of the Longicornes,
that Linnseus and Geoffroy united them together, and the last of which are so close to the Chrysomelae,
the types of the following family, that the first of these naturalists placed them in this genus. The
parts of the mouth exhibit the same relations : thus, in the first, the tonguelet is membranous, bifid,
or bilobed, as in the Longicornes ; the maxillae also greatly resemble theirs ; but in the terminal
Eupodae the tonguelet is nearly square or rounded, like that of the Cyclica. The lobes of the maxillae
are however membranous, or but slightly coriaceous, whitish, or yellowish ; the exterior is dilated at the
tip, and has not the appearance of a palpus, which thus more nearly resembles that of the Longicornes
than of the Cyclica. The body is more or less oblong, with the head and thorax narrower than the
abdomen ; the antennae are filiform, or thickened at the tips, and are inserted in front of the eyes,
which in some are entire, round, and prominent, and in others slightly notched; the hind part of the
head enters into the thoracic cavity ; the thorax is cylindrical or transversely square ; the abdomen is
larger compared to the other parts of the body, oblong, or in the form of a long triangle ; the joints of
the tarsi, except the last joint, are cushioned beneath, and the penultimate joint is bifid or bilobed ;
the hind legs are thickened in a great number, whence the origin of the family name. All these insects
have wings, and fix themselves to the stems or leaves of plants, more especially to the Liliaceae in respect
to many of our native species ; the larvae of some (Donacia), devour the interior of the stems of water
plants, upon which the perfect insect is found ; those of others feed externally, but covered with their
own excrements, which forms a kind of mantle, as in the Cassidae.
We divide this family into two tribes, [Sagrides and Criocerides\.
The first, Sagrides, is composed of the genus —
Sagra, —
The mandibles of which terminate in an acute point. The tonguelet is deeply bilobed. Some have
the palpi filiform, the eyes emarginate, and the hind thighs very thick, with the tibiae curved.
Megalopus, has the front of the head produced into a muzzle ; the mandibles strong and crossing each other ;
the antennae are thickened at the tips. Handsome Brazilian beetles. See the monographs of Klug, Mannerheim,
[and Gistl].
Sagra, Fabr. [first named Alurnus], is exclusively confined to South Africa, Ceylon, [Java], and China, and
has the palpi terminated by an ovoid joint, the antennae nearly filiform, and the four anterior tibiae straight ; they
are splendidly coloured, being golden, green, or copper-coloured.
The others have the palpi thickened at the tips, the eyes entire, and the thighs of nearly equal thickness ; the
body is narrow and depressed.
Orsodachna, Latr., has the antennae filiform, composed of reversed-conical joints ; the last joint of the palpi alone
is rather larger than the preceding, and nearly of an ovoid truncate shape. [Several small British species.]
Psammoecusy Boudier [Crypta, Kirby], has the antennae composed of short joints, thickening to the tips, and
INSECTA.
550
the maxillai'y palpi suddenly terminated in a large triangular joint. Anthicus 2-punctaiiis, Fab., placed in
this situation by Latreille, with doubt [and inserted by English Entomologists near Latridius and other pesudo-
Xylophaga.] [The genera Carpophagus and Megamerus, Macleay, are composed of New Holland insects, allied to
Sagra.]
The second tribe, Criocerides, is distinguished from the preceding by the mandibles having the tip
truncated, or with two or three teeth, and by the tonguelet, which is either entire or but slightly
notched. It is composed of the genus
CuiocERis, GeofFr.—
which we divide as follows
Sometimes the mandibles are pointed, and with two or three teeth at the tips. The palpi are filiform. The
antennae, of the ordinary thickness, are neaidy moniliform in some, and composed of reversed conical joints in
others, with the tips evidently thickened. i
Donacia, Fab. {Leptura, Linn.), has the posterior thighs large and thickened ; the antennae of equal thickness
throughout ; the eyes entire, and the last joint of the tarsi almost entirely received between the lobes of the third
joint. These insects are often brilliantly coloured, and bronzed or gilt. Many also exhibit a silky coating, which
must be useful to them when they fall into the water. They ordinarily live upon aquatic plants, as the Sagittaria,
Nymphaea, &c., upon which they take firm hold. It is in their roots that their larvae reside. Their pupae, according I
to M. A. Brongniart, are attached to their filaments by only one side, and thus form knots or bulbs. The larvae are
naked and hidden, like those of the Lepturidae. [The genus comprises a great number of British species.]
Hcemonia, Meg. {Macropltiea of the British Catalogues], are Donaciae with the penultimate joint of the tarsi
very small and nearly entire, and the last very long. [D. Equiseti and Zosterce, [rare British species]. >
Petauristes, Latr., has the hind thighs large, but the eyes are notched ; the antennae composed of shorter joints, I
and the lobes of the third tarsal joint only receiving the base of the last joint. {Lema varia, Fabr.] [1
Crioceris proper {Lema, Fabr.), differs from the preceding in having the hind thighs scarcely different from the I
others. The antennae are slightly thickened at the tips, and are nearly moniliform, the joints being scarcely
longer than thick ; the eyes are prominent and notched ; the hind part of the head forms a kind of neck. ii
These insects live upon Liliaceae, Asparagus, &c., and, like those of the preceding family, make a slight noise
when seized. Their larvae feed upon the same plants, on which they take firm hold by means of their six scaly
feet. They have the body soft, short, and swollen ; their excrements are occasionally used by them to form a
covering over the back, defending them from the action of the sun ; the anus is for this purpose placed upon the
back. They descend into the earth to become pupae. il
Crioceris merdigera, the Lily Beetle, is three lines long, with the thorax and elytra red. It is found throughout
Europe upon the White Lily. M. Boudier has published some observations upon the French species, L. brunnea,
in the Memoirs of the Linncean Society of Paris.
Crioceris Asparagi, [the Asparagus Beetle, is of a smaller size], being blue, with the thorax red with a spot in the ||
middle, and the elytra are yellowish white with blue markings. [Its larva feeds upon the young sprigs of
^ asparagus, and sometimes does damage to the plants. See my memoir on this insect in the
GardenePs Magazine.~\ Cr. \2-pu7iciata, Linn., also feeds on this plant.
Auchenia, Thunb. [Crevia, Kirby], differs in having the eyes entire ; the palpi pointed at the tip ;
seven terminal joints of the antennae thickened, and the thorax with the sides dilated in the
middle — (Crioceris subspbiosa, Fab.)
p \ Megascelis, Dej., differs from the preceding in having the mandibles truncate ; the palpi termi-
nated by a swollen truncate joint, with a small joint-like prolongation. The species are of small
Fi^. 83.-Criocei-is . \ ^ ^
Asparagi. Size, and peculiar to South America.
THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Cyclica, —
Has also the under-side of the three basal joints of the tarsi spongy or pulvillose, the third being
bilobed, and the antennae filiform, or slightly thickened at the tips ; the body is also generally rounded,
with the base of the thorax as broad as the elytra in the species, few in number, in which the body
is oblong ; the maxillae have the outer lobe of a narrow form, nearly cylindrical and palpiform, and
the inner lobe is broader, and without a scaly hook. The tonguelet is nearly square, or oval ; entire,
or slightly emarginate. All the larvae with which w^e are acquainted are furnished with six feet ; the
I body is soft, coloured ; they feed like the perfect insect upon the leaves of different vegetables, where
they ordinarily affix themselves by a glutinous secretion ; it is there also where many of them become
pupae, the exuviae of the larvae being crumpled up at the extremity of the body of the pupae, which are
often varied in their colours. Other larvae enter the earth.
These insects are generally of small size, often ornamented with metallic and brilliant colours, with
the body naked and without hairs. They are generaUy slow in their motions, timid, and faU to the r
COLEOPTERA.
551
earth when attempted to be seized, folding the antennse and legs beneath the body. Many species
leap well. The females are very prolific.
In respect to the different habits of the larvae, the Cyclica are divided into four principal groups : —
1. Larvae which cover themselves with their own excrement ; 2. Larvae living in tubes, which they
bear about with them ; 3. Naked larvae; and, 4. Larvae which live in the interior of leaves, feeding on
their parenchyme — {Cyclica saltatoria.)
Such are the principles which have influenced us in our arrangement of this family. We divide
them into three tribes, from the mode of insertion of the antennae, \_Cassidari(B, Chrysomelinoi^ and
GalerucitcB].
The Cassidaricc, [or Tortoise Beetles,] which form the first tribe, have the antennae inserted at the
upper part of the head, close together, straight, short, filiform, and nearly cylindrical, or gradually
thickened tow'ards the tip ; the mouth, entirely placed beneath, with short, nearly filiform palpi, is
sometimes arched round and sometimes partially received in a cavity of the prosternum ; the eyes are
ovoid and round ; the feet contractile, short, with the tarsi flattened, the lobes of the third joint
entirely receiving the terminal joint. The body being flat beneath, these insects, by means of the
arrangement of the tarsi, lie close upon the leaves, where they generally remain immoveable. In other
respects the body is generally orbicular or oval, and margined all round by the dilated thorax and elytra.
The head is hidden beneath the thorax, or received in an anterior notch. Their colours are very varied,
and prettily arranged in spots, points, rays, &c. Such of their larvae as we are acquainted with cover
themselves with their own excrements. The Cassidariae form two genera. The first, or that of
Hispa, Linn., —
Has the body oblong, with the head entire, exposed, and free, and the thorax trapeziform. The mandibles have
only two or three teeth ; the outer lobe of the maxillae is shorter than the inner ; the antennae are filiform.
Alurnus, Fabr,, has the extremity of the mandibles prolonged into a strong tooth, with a shorter tooth on the
inside ; the tonguelet is horny. These are South American insects of large size.
Hispa, Linn., has the mandibles terminated by two or three small teeth of nearly equal size. There are a great
number of American species. Many have the upper surface of the body, as well as a portion of the antennae,
armed with many spines. Such is Hispa atra, Linn., a small black species [of very rare occurrence in England],
which is found upon grass.
Chalepus, Thunb., has the tibiae longer, slender, and curved, and the two anterior armed with a long spine in
the male (H. spinipes, Fabr.). Some species of Hispa have a frontal horn. H. rostratus, Kirby, forming another
subgenus.
Cassida, Linn.—
Is distinguished from Hispa by having the body orbicular, or subovoid, or nearly square in a few species. The
thorax, more or less semicircular, entirely hides or covers the head, or receives it in a deep frontal notch ; the
elytra, often elevated in the scutellar region, form a broad margin to the body ; the mandibles offer at least four
teeth, and the outer maxillary lobe is at least as long as the internal lobe.
Imatidium, Fabr., differs only in having the head exposed, and received in a notch of the thorax. The body in
all the Cassidae is depressed, nearly round, shield or tortoise-shaped, often elevated pyramidically in the middle
of the back, and margined all round by the sides of the thorax and elytra. The under-side of the body is flat,
so that these insects fix themselves quite close to the plants on which they are stationed.
Cassida viridis, is about l-6th of an inch long ; is of a green colour, with black thighs. Its larva lives on thistles
and artichokes. Its body is very flat, and furnished with
spines all round the edges, and entirely covered by its own
excrement, which it attaches in a mass together, and carries
on a kind of fork fixed near the anus. The pupa is also very
flat, with thin toothed appendages at the sides of the body ;
the thorax is broad, rounded in front, and covers the head.
In the larva of a species from St. Domingo the excrements
form small numerous articulated filaments like a wig.
[The genus is very numerous, and comprises many sin-
gular forms, some of which have been recently separated as
Fig. 84. — Cassida viridis, in its different states.
subgenera by the Rev. F. W. Hope, in the Annals of Natural History. 1
The second tribe {Chrysomdinai) has the antennae inserted in front of the eyes, or near their inner
extremity, and wide apart. These insects do not leap ; they form, with the following tribe and some
of the preceding family, the genus Chrysomela of Linnaeus ; but which, from its actual extent, we
have restricted by the adoption of some other. The species which possess the above characters form,
as in the early works of Fabricius, two genera.
INSECTA.
552
The first of these genera, —
CnYPTOCEPHALUS, —
Is composed of Chrysomelinae in which the head is inserted vertically into a swollen thorax like a hood, so that
the body, generally in the form of a short cylinder, or nearly ovoid, and narrowed in front, appears from above to
be truncated and deprived of a head. The antennae in some are more or less serrated or pectinated ; in others
they are long and filiform. The last joint of the palpi is always ovoid.
In some the antennae are short, pectinated, or serrated after the fourth or fifth joint.
Clythra, Fabr., has the outer margin of the elytra straight, or with but a slight notch ; the posterior angles of the
thorax are rounded and not arched, and the anterior are not indexed beneath. The body is always in form of a
short cylinder ; the antennae are always free ; the eyes entire, or scarcely emarginate. The males have the head
generally large, with the mandibles large and porrected, and the fore-legs long. C. quadripunctata, Linn., [a
common British species]. Its larva lives in a coriaceous kind of tube, which it bears about with it.
The following differ in having the elytra much dilated externally at the base, with a deep notch. The posterior
angles of the thorax are acute and arched, and the anterior are greatly inflexed. The eyes are often notched.
These are peculiar to the New World.
Chlamys, Knoch., has the body short, cylindric, or cubic, and the surface of the body is very unequal. [See the
monographs of Klug and Kollar.]
Lamprosoma, Kirby, has the body globular [and very smooth].
In others the antennse are evidently longer than the head and thorax, simple, filiform, or thickened to the tips.
Cryptocephalus, Geoffr., has the body cylindric ; the thorax as broad as the abdomen, and the antenna and palpi
of equal thickness throughout. C. sericea, Linn, [a common British species. The genus is extremely numerousj.
Choragus, Kirby, has the antennse terminated by three large joints. C, Sheppardi, [a small British species.
This genus is more allied to Anthribus and Bruchus.]
Euryope, Balm, (having the mandibles very strong, and the second joint of the antennae longer than the
Eumolpus, Klug (with the mandibles of ordinary size, and the second joint of the antennae shorter than the third),
differ in having the body narrowed in front and nearly ovoid.
Eumolpus Vitis, a small continental species, does much injury to the vine. This genus passes, by means of
Colaspis, in a very gradual manner, to the genus
Chrysomela,—
In which the body is generally ovoid or oval; the head exposed, advanced, or slightly inclining forwards; the
antennae simple, about half the length of the body, and often moniliform and slightly thickened to the tips.
Some, having the body ovoid, or oval, and winged, and the palpi pointed at the tips, approach Eumolpus, and
are distinguished from all the following by the filiform antennae, longer than half the body.
Colaspis, Fabr., has not the mesosternum pointed. [A very numerous exotic genus.]
Podontia, Dalm., has the mesosternum produced into a short conical point. [Exotic insects.]
In the following Chrysomelinae of the same tribe the antennae are shorter, and composed of reversed-conical
joints, or more or less moniliform, and thickened to the tips ; the false joint, or appendage, at the end of the last,
is very short, and scarcely distinct.
Some have the maxillary palpi thick, and truncated at the tip.
Amongst these some have the two terminal joints of the palpi united into a truncated mass, the last shorter
than the preceding, and either transverse or in the form of a short truncated cone.
Phyllocharis, Dalm., has the mesosternum not pointed. [Exotic species], peculiar to New Holland and Java.
Doryphora, Illig., has the mesosternum pointed like a horn. Composed of South American species.
Cyrtonus, Dalm., composed of two Spanish species, has no mesosternal point, but the joints of the antennae are
longer, the body more globose, and the thorax more elevated transversely.
Apamcea, Leach, is allied to Doryphora, but has the antennae of the male 8-jointed, the last two forming a club.
ITrochalonota, Westw., is also globose. Type, Chrysomela hadia, Germ. South America.]
Paropsis, Oliv. {Notoclea, Marsh.), is peculiar to New Holland, and is distinct by having the last joint of the
maxillary palpi hatchet-shaped. [See the monograph on this genus, published by Marsham in the Transactions of
the Linn<ean Society of London.l ... ...
In the two following subgenera the same joint, quite distinct from the preceding, and as large or larger than it,
is more or less semi-ovoid. These insects are widely distributed over the Old World, and particularly Europe.
Timarcha, Meg., is composed of apterous species, having the body gibbose ; the antennse moniliform, especially
towards the base ; the elytra united together, and the tarsi very dilated, especially in the males. These insects
are found on the ground in woods, upon turf, and low herbs at the sides of foot-paths, crawling slowly, and emit-
tino- a yellow fiuid from the joints of their feet when disturbed. They especially inhabit the south of Europe, and
the”" northern countries of Africa. Amongst those which have the thorax narrowed behind, and nearly of a
crescent-shape, and which are the largest of the tribe, is the {Tenehrio) Uvigatus, Linn, [a common British species],
from four to eight lines long; black, with the thorax and elytra smooth, finely punctured, and the antenn* and
feet violet-coloured. Its larva is green or violet-coloured, very swollen, with the extremity yellow. It is found
on the Lady’s bed-straw. It undergoes its transformations in the earth.
Chrysomela proper, comprises those species of Olivier which are furnished with wings, and in which the maxil-
lary palpi, according to the subdivisions established above, have the last joint as large as or larger than the pre-
ceding, of an ovoid-truncate or conic-reversed form. Such is
COLEOPTERA.
553
Fig. 85. — Chrysomela populi . fig. 1# Larva
3, Imago.
Pupa I
Chrysomela sanguinolenta [a common British species], four lines long, black or blue-black, with the sides of the
thorax thickened, and the elytra with a broad margin of red. It is found on the earth in fields, at the sides of
oot-paths.
Chrysomela populi, Linn., is blue, with red elytra, having a small
black mark at the tip. It is found in the willow and poplar, on
which its larva lives, often in society. [It is very abundant in
England], and forms, with some others, the genus Lina of
Megerle.
We finish this tribe with those Chrysomelinae which have the
maxillary palpi slender at the tips, and terminated in a point.
Phuedon, Meg. (and Colaphus, Meg.), have the body ovoid or
orbicular.
Prosocuris, Latr. {Helodes, Fabr.), has the body narrow, more elongated, and the terminal joints of the antennae
form a straight mass. [P. phellandrii, a common British species. Several other subgenera have been separated by
recent authors, and of which the British species are described by Mr. Stephens, in his
Entomology.l
The third and last tribe of the Cyclica, Galerucitoe, has the antennae always at least as long as half
the body, of equal thickness throughout, or gradually thickened to the tips, inserted between the eyes
at a little distance from the mouth, and generally close together at the base, and near to a small longi-
tudinal elevated line ; the maxillary palpi, thickened in the middle, are terminated by two joints in
form of a cone, but united together at the base, the last being short, and either truncated, obtuse, or
pointed ; the body is either ovoid or oval, and sometimes nearly hemispherical. Many, especially
amongst the smaller species, have the hind thighs thickened, which gives them the power of leaping.
This tribe is composed of the genus
GA.LERUCA,—
Which we divide into two principal tribes — those which do not leap, Isopoda [having equal-sized feet], and those
which leap, Anisopoda, [or having unequal-sized feet].
Adorium, Fabr. {Oides, Weber), is composed of exotic species having the penultimate joint of the maxillary palpi
dilated, and the last much shorter, and truncate.
Luperus, Geolf., has the last two joints of the maxillary palpi scarcely differing in size, and the antennae com-
posed of cylindrical joints as long as the body. [Small British species.]
The others, which have the palpi terminated in the same manner, and the antennae shorter, and composed of
reversed-conical joints, are the
Galeruca proper [composed of numerous species, including] Chrysomela Tanaceti, Linn., which is oval-oblong,
black, but slightly shining, and with the elytra strongly punctured. It lives on the tansy.
The Saltatorial Galerucit*, or those which have the posterior thighs thickened, arranged by Fabricius in his
genera Chrysomela, Galeruca, and Crioceris, are reunited into a single genus (Haltica), in the systems of Geoffroy,
Olivier, and Illiger. These beetles are very small, but adorned with varied and brilliant colours, and leap with
great agility and to a great height when disturbed. They often devastate the leaves of such vegetables as serve
them for food, their larvae devouring the parenchyme, and undergoing their transformations within the leaf.
Some species, especially those which have been called in France puces des jardins, Garden-fieas [and in England
Turnip-fieasi, do much damage in the two states [of larva and imago], to pot-herbs, [and especially to turnips just
sprung up.f South America is the country which, above all others, abounds with the greatest number of these
I insects. Illiger has published, in his Entomological Magazine, an excellent monograph on these insects, which
I he has distributed into nine families, some of which appear to us to form distinct subgenera.
Octogonotes, Drapiez, differs from all the rest in having the maxillary palpi with the third joint swollen, and
the last very short and truncate ; the labial are terminated in a point, as in the following subgenera, but in these
I the maxillary palpi are similarly terminated, or subulated at the tip. The last joint of the hind tarsi of Octogonotes
is suddenly swollen and rounded above, with the claws very small,
j (Edionychus, Latr., differs from all the following by possessing the last-mentioned character, and includes the
I first two families of Illiger. The only European species is A. marginella, Olivier, found in Spain and Portugal.
In the following subgenera, the last joint of the hind tarsi is gradually thickened, and terminated by two
l| ordinary-sized claws.
ij Psylliodes, Latr., has the first joint of the hind tarsi very long, inserted above the posterior extremity of the
i; tibia, which is produced into a conical appendage, compressed, toothed at its edges, and terminated by a small
tooth. It corresponds with Illiger’s ninth family Altitarses. H. chrysocephala, &C.—H. dentipes, aridella, &c.,
having the posterior tibiae dilated in the middle into a tooth, form another subgenus,
j Dibolia, Latr. (previously Altitarsus, Latr.), has the head for the most part received into the thorax, and the
i| posterior tibiae terminated by a furcate spine. (Illiger’s eighth family, A. echii, Oliv., &c.)
Altica, Latr., has the head exposed, the posterior tibiae truncate at the tips, without any prolongation or fork,
jl and the tarsi terminal and short. Type, Chrysomela oleracea, Linn, [and numerous other British species, arranged
1 by Stephens into several new subgenera, forming Illiger’s third, fourth, fifth, and sixth families.]
Longitarsus, Latr., has all the characters of Haltica proper, but the posterior tarsi are at least as long as the
i posterior tibiae. (Illiger’s seventh family.)
INSECTA.
554
THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TETRAMERA,—
The Clavipalpi, —
Is distinguished from all the others of the same section, which, like these, have the underside of the
three basal joints of the tarsi furnished with cushions beneath, and the third joint hilobed, (the ter-
minal joint also having a node at its base, which is also observed in the Coccinellse,) by having their
antennae terminated by a very distinct and perfoliated mass, and by their maxillae being armed on the
inner edge with a horny tooth ; in a few, the tarsi are entire, but they recede from the other Tetramera
which have similar tarsi, by having the body nearly globular, and contractile into a ball. The body is
often of a rounded form, generally very gibbose and bemispherical, with the antennae shorter than the
body ; the mandibles notched or toothed at the extremity ; the palpi terminated by a much thicker joint ;
the last joint of the maxillary palpi being very broad, compressed, and nearly crescent^shaped. The
form of the organs of the mouth indicates that the species are not carnivorous : the indigenous species
are, in fact, found in fungi growing on the trunks of trees, beneath the bark, &c.
They may be reunited into the single genus
Erotylus, Fabr. —
Some of which have the the maxillary palpi terminated by a large hatchet- or crescent-shaped joint.
Erotylus proper (including A^gethus, Fabr.), has the intermediate joints of the antennae subcylindric, and the
club of the antennae formed of the terminal joints, oblong ; the inner and corneous lobe of the maxillae having
two teeth. The species are confined to South America. [They are very numerous, a considerable number having
been described by M. Godart in his monograph on this genus.]
Triplax (and Tritoma, Fabr.), differ in having the antennae submoniliform, and terminated by a shorter ovoid
club, and by the maxillae having a single small tooth on the inner edge. In Tritoma, the body is nearly hemisphe-
rical— T. bipustulatum [a small British species, of rare occurrence on fungi], — and in Triplax, the body is oval, or
oblong. [Several small British species.] The others have the last joint of the maxillary palpi elongated, and more
or less oval.
Languria, Latr., has the body linear, and the club of the antennae [3- to] 5-jointed. [Exotic insects, having
somewhat the appearance of Elateridae.]
Phalacrus, Payk. {Anisotoma, Illig.), has the body sub-hemispherical, and the club of the antennae only 3-jointed.
The species [are very numerous, and of small size. They are found upon flowers, and beneath the bark of trees].
Agathidium, Illig. (Anisotoma, Fabr.), differs from all the rest of the family by having all the joints of the tarsi
simple, and the body nearly globular. [Minute British species.]
The fourth section of the Coleoptera, that of the Trimera, has only three [ordinary-sized]
joints in the tarsi; [a fourth, however, but very minute, exists at the base of the last or fourth
joint]. They compose three families ; those of the first two are closely allied to the last of the
Tetramera. Their antennae, always composed of eleven joints*, are terminated by a club
formed of the last three, compressed, and of a conical or reversed triangular form. The basal
joint of the tarsi is always distinct; the second joint ordinarily bilobed, and the last, presenting
a knot at its base, is always terminated by two ungues ; the elytra entirely cover the abdomen,
and are not truncated. The last of the Trimera, or the third family, approach in this respect,
and in many other characters, the pentamerous Brachelytra, and some others of the same
section, such as Mastigus, Scydmcenus, and have habits very different from those of the other
Trimera.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TRIMERA,—
■ The Fungicol^, —
Have the antennae longer than the head and thorax ; the body oval, with the thorax trapezoid ; the
maxillary palpi filiform, or rather thickened at the tips, but not terminated by a very large hatchet-
shaped joint ; the penultimate joint of the tarsi is always deeply bilobed. This family may be reduced
to the single genus
Eumorphus, —
Some of which have the third joint of the antennae much longer than the preceding and following. Such are
Eumorphus, Weber, which has the club of the antennae suddenly formed, solid, and very compressed ; the max-
* I, however, only count nine in Clypeastcr, but from the smallness of those insects, I may have fallen into some error.
COLEOPTERA.
555
ilJary palpi are filiform, and the two terminal joints of the labial palpi form, when united, a triangular mass. They
inhabit India and America.
Dapsa, Zeigl., has the antennal club narrow, elongated, with the joints apart at the side. [Exotic species.]
The others have the third joint of the antennae scarcely longer than the adjoining joints. Many of the species
are indigenous [to France and England], and live in Lycoperdons, or beneath the baric of trees.
Endomychus, Weber, has the four palpi thicker at the tips ; the last three joints of the antennae apart at the
sides, longer than the preceding, and forming a reversed triangular mass. [E. coccineus, a pretty little English
species.]
Lycoperdina, Latr., has the maxillary palpi filiform ; the last joint of the labial larger than the preceding, and
the two last joints of the antennae forming a reversed triangular club. L. Bovistce, [a small British species, found
in pulF-balls].
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TRIMERA,—
The Aphidiphagi, —
Is composed for the most part of insects of a hemispherical form ; the thorax very short, transverse,
almost crescent-shaped ; the antennae terminated by a compressed mass in the form of a reversed cone,
composed of the three terminal joints, and shorter than the thorax ; the last joint of the maxillary palpi
is very large, hatchet-shaped ; and the second joint of the tarsi deeply bilobed. In the other Trimera,
of the same family, the joints of the tarsi are simple, or the second is but slightly bifid, a character
which, with some others, distinguishes these insects from the Fungicolae.
Some have the body more or less thick, and never flattened and shield-shaped ; the thorax transverse ; the head
exposed ; the antennae distinctly 11-jointed; the terminal joints forming a reversed conical club.
These insects compose the genus
CoCCINELLA.
Lithophilus, Frohl., has the body ovoid, with the thorax strongly margined at the sides and narrowed behind,
with the second joint of the tarsi very slightly bifid. L. ruficollis, Dahl, [a minute European species].
Cocdnella proper, has the body nearly hemispherical ; the thorax very short, nearly crescent-shaped, scarcely
margined ; and the second joint of the tarsi deeply bilobed.
Many species of this genus are widely dispersed upon trees and plants in our gardens, and enter our houses ; they
are well known under the name of Lady-birds, or Lady-cows. The generally hemispherical form of their bodies,
the number and arrangement of the spots on their elytra, which resemble a kind of inlaid work of black upon
yellow or orange, or vice versa, as well as the agility of their motions, cause them to be easily loiown. They
are the first to appear in the spring ; when seized, they fold up their legs against the body, and emit a mucilaginous
humour from the joints of the legs, as in the Chrysomelae, and which is of a yellow colour and very disagreeable
scent. They feed upon plant-lice, as well as their larvae, of which the form and metamorphoses closely resemble
those of the Chrysomelinae. Occasionally, individuals, differing greatly from each other, are found coupled to-
gether, but the results of such unions have not been observed.
Cocdnella 1-punctata, the common Lady-cow, is about three lines long ; black, with the elytra red,
with three black dots on each, and one in the middle. It is the commonest species in this country,
as well as in France.
Clypeaster, Andersche, {Cossy pirns, Gyll.), has the body very ffat and shield-shaped, with the
head hidden beneath a nearly semicircular thorax ; the antennae do not distinctly possess more
than nine joints ; the joints of the tarsi are entire, and the prosternum forms a kind of cravat
beneath the mouth. [The species are of very minute size], and are found beneath the bark of
trees, and under stones.
Fig. 86. — Cocci
nella 7 * pun
ctata.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA TRIMERA,-
I The Pselaphi, —
Has the elytra short and truncated, covering only a part of the abdomen, thus possessing a certain re-
semblance to the Brachelytra, and especially to the Aleocharae ; this last part of the body is, however,
much shorter, broad, very obtuse, and rounded behind ; the antennse, terminated in a club, or thickened
j to the tips, sometimes formed of only six joints ; the maxillary palpi are ordinarily very large ; all the
joints of the tarsi are entire, and the first is much shorter than the following, and scarcely visible at
first sight ; the last is often terminated by a single unguis.
These insects are found on the ground, under the debris of vegetables, and some inhabit ants’ nests.
[By English entomologists, this extremely interesting family, placed by Latreille at the end of the
order Coleoptera (on account of the structure of the tarsi exhibiting a greater simplieity than that of
any other Beetles), is arranged in immediate connexion with the Staphylinidae. The monographs of
Reichenbach, Denny, and Leach, and the more recent works of Aube, Stephens, and Erichson, have
INSECTA.
556
made us acquainted with a great number of species, and some new genera, of this minute and curious
tribe.]
Those which have eleven joints to the antennae form the genus
PsELAPHUS, Herbst.
Some, few in number, have two ungues to the tarsi.
Chennium, Latr., has the ten basal joints of the antennae equal-sized, and the palpi not exserted. C. hitubercu-
latum, [a continental species].
Dionix, Dej., has the third and four following joints of the antennae very minute ; the eighth and three following
thicker than the preceding, and as long as the seven preceding together ; the maxillary palpi exserted, and the
labial palpi short, stretched forwards, and 3-jointed, with a point at the tip.
The others have but a single tarsal unguis, and some of these have the maxillary palpi very long and elbowed,
the second and fourth joints being especially elongated.
Pselaphus proper, ditfers from the two following by having the antennae evidently longer than the head and
thorax, and terminated by a club formed of the last three joints, which are evidently longer than the preceding.
[P^. Herbstii, and several other British species.] ,i
Bythinus, Leach (having the second joint of the antennae thick and dilated into a lateral tooth— Ps. securiger,
Reich.), and
Areopagus, Leach (having the second joint of the antennae slender, and the basal one sometimes dilated— P^.
glabricollis, Leach), have the ninth and tenth joints of the antennae scarcely thicker or larger than the preceding,
but the eleventh very large.
In others the maxillary palpi are shorter than the head and thorax, and the fourth joint, at least, is short, and
ovoid or triangular.
Ctenistes, Reichenb., has the three terminal joints of the maxillary palpi armed with a tooth of the outside.
\Ct. palpalis, a continental species,]
Bryaxis, Leach (and Euplectus and Tychus, Leach), have the maxillary palpi of the ordinary form, the last joint
longer, conical, or hatchet-shaped ; the thorax is short, and scarcely longer than broad; the form of the last joint
of the palpi and of the joints of the antennae, although olfering good characters, does not appear sufficiently
important for the establishment of [Leach’s] genera. 1
The terminal Pselaphiens have the antennae composed of only six joints, or are even inarticulate.
Claviger.
Claviger proper has distinctly 6-jointed antennae, the eyes appear wanting, and the maxillaiy palpi are very j
short. The species are found under stones, and in the nests of small yellow Ants. [Claviger faveolatus, a minute '
species, first detected by me in England in 1838, in Whychwood Forest, Oxfordshire.] See the monographs of
Germar in the third volume of his Magasin der Entomologie, Aub^, Gyllenhall, [and particularly the recently pub-
lished memoir of Schmidt.] 1
Articerus, Dalm., has the antennae apparently composed of a single joint, forming a long cylinder, truncated at i
the tip ; the eyes are distinct. A. armatus, observed by Dalman in gum copal.
Note. — The tarsi of Dermestes atomarius, De Geer, having appeared to M. Leclerc de Laval to be i
composed of only a single joint, we had formerly established for its reception a new primary section h
of the Coleoptera, which we had thence named Monomera. Fischer adopted this section, giving ;
the generic name of Clambus to the insect ; Schuppell had also proposed for it that of Ptilium ;
M. Gyllenhall has, however, reunited the species to ScapMdium, and, in fact, we consider that this ;
new' genus ought to be placed near that genus ; the section Monomera must, therefore, be suppressed.
[Having carefully examined these minute insects, I am able to state that their tarsi consist of I
several joints.]
THE SIXTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
ORTHOPTERA, (Ulonata, Fabr.), [Dermaptera, De Geer],—
United, for the most part, by Linnaeus with the Hemiptera, and by Geoffroy with the Cole-
optera, but forming a peculiar division, exhibit a body generally less firm than the last men-
tioned order ; soft, semimembranous, wing-covers much nerved, and not uniting at the suture
in a straight line ; wings folded longitudinally, and often fan-like, divided by transverse
nervures ; maxillae alw^ays terminated by a corneous denticulated piece, and covered by a
galea, corresponding with the outer division of the maxillae of the Coleoptera ; and lastly, a
kind of tongue, or epiglottis.
i
ORTHOPTERA.
557
The Orthoptera are insects* which undergo a semicomplete metamorphosis, all the changes
I being reducible to the increase and developement of wing-covers and wings, which begin to
' appear under a rudimentary form in the pupa. This pupa and the larva resemble the perfect
insect in other respects, walking and feeding in the same manner.
The mouth of the Orthoptera is composed of a labrum, two mandibles, two maxillae, and
four palpi ; those of the maxillae have always five joints ; the labial palpi, as in the Coleoptera,
have only three. The mandibles are always very strong and horny ; the tonguelet is con-
stantly divided into two or four plates. The form of the antennae varies less than in the Cole-
optera, but they are generally composed of a much greater number of joints. Many, in
addition to the composite eyes, have two or three ocelli. The under-side of the basal joints
i of the tarsi is often fieshy, or membranous ; the basal joint in the Grasshoppers with short
i antennae, presents three lobes, or divisions, on the under-side. [In these insects, however, the
tarsi consist but of three joints ; these lobes, therefore, indicate the other two joints, which
are evidently soldered with the first.] Many females are furnished with a real borer, formed
of two plates, for depositing their eggs, which are often covered by a common envelope.
The posterior extremity of the body is generally armed with appendages.
I The intestines of the larvae resemble those of the perfect insects.
I All the known Orthoptera are, without exception, terrestrial, both in their perfect and two
previous states. Some are carnivorous, or omnivorous ; but the greater numbers feed upon
living plants. The species which inhabit our climate have but a single generation in a year,
the eggs being deposited towards the end of the summer. This is also the period of their
last transformation.
We divide the Orthoptera into two great families, [Cursoria and Saltatoria], a mode of dis-
tribution confirmed by their anatomy ; the insects of the first having only tubular tracheae,
whilst those of the second have vesicular tracheae. [We are indebted to M. Serville for a
revision of the generic division of this order, published in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles.
Dr. Burmeister, in 1838, also w^orked out the order, adding many new genera, in his Hand-
buck der Entomologie. In 1839, M. Serville, unacquainted with Burmeister’s work, published
his Histoire NatureUe des Insectes Ortkopteres, in which he introduced many new genera, as
well as some established by Burmeister, but with other names ; which of course must rank as
synonymes. Dr. Burmeister has just published, in the third number of Germar’s Zeitschrift
der Entomologie, a revision of these two works, with a view of pointing out the synonymes.]
In the first family all the legs are alike, and solely fitted for running ; in the second, the
thighs of the hind legs are much larger than those of the other feet, which gives them the
power of leaping ; the males, moreover, make a sharp noise, or a kind of stridulation. These
are the leaping, or musical Orthoptera.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ORTHOPTERA,—
The CuasoRiA, —
I Has the hind legs solely fitted, like the others, for running. They have generally the wing-covers and
wings resting horizontally on the body ; the females do not possess a horny ovipositor. These form
three genera, [Forficula, Blatta, and Mantis]. The first, that of
The Earwigs {Forficula, Linn.), —
Has three joints to the tarsi, the wings folded like a fan, and shutting up transversely beneath crus-
taceous wing-covers, which are very short, and meet in a straight suture ; the body is linear, with two
large scaly moveable appendages, which form a forceps at the posterior extremity of the body. The
head is exposed; the antennae are filiform, inserted in front of the eyes, and composed of from
twelve to thirty joints, in different species. The galea is slender, elongated, and nearly cylindrical ;
• This order, the Lepidoptera and Strepsiptera, and the apterous hexapod insects, do not possess any aquatic species.
INSECTA.
558
the tonguelet is fui-cate ; the thorax is plate-like. The second joint of the tarsi is simply dilated
beneath, near the tip, or in form of a reversed heart, and not notched. These insects have been very
carefully investigated in respect to their internal anatomy, by Messrs. Ramdohr, Posselet, Marcel de
Serres, and especially by Leon Dufour, in the Annales des Sci. Nat., vol. xiii. From their anatomical
characters they appear to L. Dufour to constitute a distinct order, which he names Labidoures.
Mr. Kirby had also previously proposed the name of Dermaptera for them as an order. *
These insects are very common in damp situations, where they often assemble in troops under
stones, and the bark of trees ; they do much injury to the fruits of our gardens, [devouring also the
petals of flowers], as well as the bodies of their dead companions, defending themselves with their
forceps, of which the form varies according to the sex. It is a vulgar notion that they creep into the
ear of sleeping persons ; this, however, is the origin of their French name, Perce-oreille [English name.
Earwig ; German name, Ohrwurm, &c.]
[The species has been distributed into a considerable number of subgenera by Leach, Serville, and Burmeister.j
Latreille divides them, in a note, into
Forficula proper, which has not more than 14 joints to the antennse.
Forficula auricularia, is more than half-an-inch long, brown, shiny, with a reddish head, the
sides of the thorax grey, and the feet yellow-ochre coloured. The female guards her eggs with
much care, as well as her young, for a considerable time.
Forficula minor (the small Earwig), is much smaller, and has 11- or 12-jointed antennse ; it
forms Leach’s genus Labia.
Forficesila, Latr,, has more than 14 joints to the antennae. [F. gigantea, the type of Leach’s
genus Lahidura, with 30 joints to the antennse.]
CJielidura, Latr., is wingless.
The second genus, that of
Blatta, Linn.,
Has five joints to all the tarsi ; the wings are only folded longitudinally ; the head
hidden beneath the large plate of the prothorax, and the body is orbieular, or oval, and flattened.
The antennae are filiform, inserted in an inner notch of the eyes, long, and composed of a very great
number of joints; the palpi are long; the prothorax shield-like; the wing-covers are ordinarily as
long as the abdomen, coriaceous or semimembranous, and crossing each other slightly at the suture.
The posterior extremity of the abdomen presents two conical and articulated appendages ; the tibiae
are very spinose.
The Blattae [or Coekroaches] are noeturnal inseets, exceedingly active, some living in the interior
of our houses, especially kitchens, bake-houses, and corn-mills. Others are found in the country.
They are very voracious, consuming all kinds of provisions. The species found in the French colonies
are there termed Kakerlacs, and greatly annoy the inhabitants by the mischief they commit, attacking
not only eatables, but gnawing also woollen and silk materials, and even shoes ; they will also eat
other insects. Some species of Sphex make war
upon them.
[The species are very numerous, and have lately been
formed into a considerable number of genera by Serville
and Burmeister ; Latreille, however, retained them under
the single genus Blatta.']
Blatta orientalis [the common Cockroach] is an inch
long ; the male is furnished with wings shorter than the
abdomen; the female has only short rudiments. The
eggs, 16 in number, are symmetrically arranged in an
oval compressed case, which is at first white, but subse-
quently brown and solid, denticulated on one side ; the
female carries it about with her for some time at the
extremity of the body ; she then attaches it to various
substances by means of a gummy secretion. This species
is a scourge both to the inhabitants of Russia and Fin-
land. It has been supposed to have come from South
America, whilst others give Asia as its native country.
* Dr. Leach divided the other Orthoptera into two other orders. I
Those with the wings folded longitudinally, and with the wing covers
meeting in a straight line, were his Orthoptera ; and those with the 1
elytra crossing each other, and the wings similarly placed, form his
order Uictj'optera {Blatta'^ .
i!
OllTIIOPTERA. 559
Blatta lapponica, devours the cured fish which the Laplanders have provided for their sustenance, in lieu of
bread. In our country it inhabits woods, [which leads to the suspicion that the species thus named are not
identical], M. Hummel has published a series of very interesting observations on Blatta germanica, in his
Essais Entomologiques.
The third genus, that of
Mantis, Linn., —
Has also five joints in all the tarsi, and the wings simply folded longitudinally, but the head is
exposed, and the body long and narrow ; the palpi are also short and pointed, and their tonguelet
qiiadrifid.
These insects are found only in temperate or hot climates, and reside upon trees or plants, often
resembling their leaves or twigs in the form and colour of the body, and seeking the full sun-light.
Some are rapacious, whilst the others are herbivorous. The eggs are ordinarily inclosed in a capsule
of a gummy secretion, which hardens in the air, and is divided internally into a number of cells, and is
sometimes in the form of an oval cocoon, sometimes like a pod with angles, and sometimes spined.
The female fastens it to plants, or other substances elevated from the ground.
Some have the two fore-legs much larger and longer than the others, with the coxae long, the thighs very strong,
compressed, and armed beneath with spines, the tibiae curved, and terminated by a strong hook ; they have
ocelli distinct, and close together in a triangle ; the first segment of the thorax is very large ; the four lobes of the
tonguelet of nearly equal length ; the antennae inserted between the eyes, and the head triangular and vertical.
These species are carnivorous, seizing their prey with the fore-feet, which they elevate in front of the body, and
quickly folding the tibias upon the under-side of the femur [which thus becomes a most powerful raptorial instru-
ment, not only fitted for capturing the prey, but also exactly formed for conveying it to the mouth]. The eggs
are very numerous, and are inclosed in the same number of cells disposed in regular series, and united in an ovoid
mass or cocoon.
[These Orthoptera, which are very numerous, have been distributed by Serville and Burmeister into a great
number of genera, founded mostly upon external characters of form.] Latreille, however, retains them in the
single subgenus
Mantis proper, restricting it, however, to
those which have no frontal horn on the head.
Mantis religiosa, Linn, (the Praying Mantis, or
Sooth-sayer), is regarded by the Turks as an
object of religious respect. Another species is
still more venerated by the Hottentots. The
former is very common in the south of Prance
and Italy. See the work of Stoll, and the memoir
of Lichtenstein, in the Transactions of the Lin-
nean Society, [also the works of Serville and Bur-
meister].
Those species which have the forehead pro-
longed into a horn, with the antennae of the males
pectinated, form the genus Empusa, Illiger.
The others have the fore feet similar to the hind
ones ; the ocelli very indistinct, or wanting ; the
first segment of the thorax shorter, or of the same
length as the following ; the interior divisions of
Fig. 89-Mantis, in the act of seizing a fly. with a young one just hatched. tonguelet shorter than the lateral ; the an-
tennae inserted in front of the eyes, and the head nearly ovoid, porrected, with the mandibles thick, and
the palpi compressed. These insects are of very sin-
gular form, and resemble either the twigs or leaves of
trees. They appear to feed only on vegetables, and,
like many of the Grasshoppers, their colours resemble
those of the plant on which they ordinarily reside ;
the two sexes often differ very widely from each other.
They form the subgenus
Spectrum, Stoll, —
Which has been divided into two others.
Phasma, Fab., comprises the species which have the
body filiform or linear, similar to a stick, many of
which are entirely destitute of wings, or have the wing-
covers very short. Many large species are found in the
Moluccas, and South America. P. Rossia, Fab., in-
habits the South of France.
Phyllium, Illig., has the body very flat and membranous, and the feet furnished with broad membranes.
560
INSECTA.
Mantis siccifolia [or the Walking Leaf], a species peculiar to the Sechelles Islands, Mauritius, &c., of which the
female has very short antennae, with the wing-covers as long as the abdomen, but destitute of wings ; the male
is much narrower, with long filiform antennae ; short wing-covers, and wings as long as the abdomen.
[Latreille, in the Families Naturelles, Saint Fargeau and Serville, in the Encyclopedic methodique, the latter in
his Histoire naturelle des Insectes Orthopteres, and Gray in his Synopsis of Phasmida, have constituted a great
number of generic groups detached from those given above, and which are founded upon the variations
in the developement of the wings in the dififerent sexes ; the proportions of the thoracic segments, antennae, &c.
Messrs. Burmeister and Brull4 have considerably reduced the number of these groups in their works upon this
order.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ORTHOPTERA,—
The Saltatoria, —
Has the two hind feet remarkable for the size of their thighs, and for the very spined tibiae thus formed
for leaping. The males call their females by making a chirping noise, which is sometimes produced
by rubbing an inner part of the wing-covers like a talc-like mirror, against each other with rapidity,
and sometimes by a similar alternate motion of the hind thighs against the wings and wing-covers,
the thighs acting the part of the bow of a violin. The majority of the females lay their eggs in the
ground.
This family is composed of the genus
Gryllus, Linn., —
Which we divide as follows : —
Some have the organ of sound in the males consisting of an inner part of the wing-covers in the
shape of a mirror ; the ovipositor of the females is very long, exserted, and often sabre-shaped, and the
antennse are either very long and slender at the tips, or of equal thickness throughout, but very short.
In some of these, the wings and wing-covers are horizontal, the wings when folded up in repose
forming long filaments, extending beyond the wing-covers, and the tarsi have only three joints, as in
the genus
Gryllus, Geoflxoy & Oliv. {Acheta, Fabr.), [and Achetidce of English authors].
They live in burrows, and ordinarily feed upon insects ; many are nocturnal. They form four subgenera.
Gryllotalpa, Latr., having the tibiae and tarsi of the two fore-legs very broad, flat, and toothed, like hands
proper for burrowing ; the other tarsi of the ordinary form.
Gryllotalpa vulgaris [the Mole-cricket], is an inch and a half long, and of a brown colour. It is too well known
from the injuries it commits in gardens and cul-
tivated fields, living in the earth, where its fos-
sorial fore-legs, like those of a Mole, enable it to
form a burrow. It cuts or detaches the roots of
plants, but less with the intention of feeding upon
them as to form a passage, for it feeds, as it would
seem, upon other insects or worms. The song
of the male, heard only in the evening or night»
is soft, and not disagreeable. [It is thence, in
some parts of England, called Chur-worm.] The
female forms, in June and July, at the depth of
about six inches, a subterranean rounded cell,
smooth in the interior, in which she deposits from 200 to 400 eggs ; the cell with its gallery resembles a bottle T
with a long bent neck. The young live for some time in society. See for further details the observations of |
M. le Feburier in the iVToMW. Cours d? Agriculture. [From more recent observations, it appears certain that the j
Mole-cricket is obnoxious in gardens, &c., from its herbivorous habits. One species, G. didactyla, in the West ||
Indies, does great injury to the plantations of young sugar canes. See, also, the work of Kollar on injurious
insects, translated by Miss Loudon.]
Tridactylus, Oliv. {Xya, Illig.), are also fossorial in their habits, but only with the anterior tibiae ; the posterior
tarsi are replaced by narrow, bent, moveable appendages ; the antennae are very short, and 10-jointed. Minute
exotic insects. [The genus Ripipteryx, Newman, is closely allied to this genus.]
Gryllus proper \_Gryllus acheta of Linnaeus, Acheta of English author.s], have not the feet fitted for burrowing,
and the females have the ovipositor long and exserted ; the antennae are greatly elongated, pointed at the tip ; the
ocelli are indistinct. The Field-cricket, Gryllus campestris, Linn., and the common House-cricket, G. domesticus^-
belong to this genus. The first forms deep retreats in dry and hot situations, in which it stations itself to surprise
other insects upon which it preys. The female deposits about 300 eggs ; the House-cricket inhabits the interior
parts of houses, especially in the neighbourhood of fire-places, in which it makes its burrows, and breeds. The ;
male produces a harsh noise ; that made by G. megacephalus can be heard at the distance of a mile. ' |
Fig. 91.— Gryllotalpa vulgaris.
ORTIIOPTERA.
561
3hjnnecopMla {Splicerium, Charpent.), is destitute of wings, and lias the body oval. 31. acervorum is of very
small size, and lives in Ants’ nests [on the Continent].
Others [having, like the last, a talc-like spot at the base of the wing-covers in the male], have these
organs disposed like a roof, and the tarsi have four
joints ; the antennse are very long and filiform. The
females have the ovipositor always exserted, com-
pressed, and sabre or cutlass-shaped. These insects
are herbivorous, and form the genus
Locusta, Geoffr. [_Gnjllus, or GnjlUdce, of English
authors].
[The Great Green Grasshopper, with long antennee],
L. viridissima, is two inches long, green, without spots ;
the ovipositor of the female is straight.
' Fig. 92.— L. viridissima. Many species of this genus are destitute of wings, or
'i _ ’ have wing-covers only, but of very small size.
I [The species of this genus, or rather, family, have been distributed into a considerable number of generic groups
I by Thunberg, Serville, Latreille, Burmeister, and others, founded upon external variations of form.]
The others have the antennse filiform and cylindric, sword-shaped, or thickened at the tips, and as
; long as the head and thorax ; the wings and wing-covers are roof-shaped when inactive, and the tarsi
j are 3-jointed. The tonguelet, in the majority, has only two divisions ; the ocelli are three in number,
I and constantly distinct ; the mandibles much toothed ; the abdomen conical, and compressed at the
: sides. They leap with much more energy than the preceding, and have a much longer sustained
jl flight. They feed upon vegetables with great voracity. They may be united into a single genus, that of
i Acrydium, Geoffr.,—
I Whicn [has been greatly divided into genera and subgenera by Serville, Burmeister, and Thunberg, but which]
Latreille divides as follows.
j Some have the mouth exposed, the tonguelet bifid, and a membranous pulvillus between the tarsal ungues,
j Pneumora, Thunb., has the hind-legs shorter than the body, and scarcely fitted for leaping ; the abdomen is
I bladder-shaped in one of the sexes. These species are only found in the southern parts of Africa.
;| ^ Proscopia, Klug, is wingless ; the body is long and cylindrical ; the head, without ocelli, is prolonged in front
j into a point or cone, bearing two very short 7-jointed antennae, pointed at the tip ; and the hind-legs are large and
long. These insects are peculiar to South America, and have been well monographed by King,
j Truxalis, Fab., has the antennae compressed, and of a prismatic form ; the head elevated into a pyramid.
I Gryllus nasutus, Lam., and many other exotic species.
Xyphicera, Latr. {Pampliagus, Thunb.), is composed of species which, in respect to their antennae, are interme-
diate between Truxalis and the following genus.
i| Acrydium proper, Gryllus, Fab. {Gryllus locusta, Linn.), \Locustid<e of British authors], differs from Pneumora
in having the hind feet longer than the body ; the abdomen solid, and not bladder-like : and from Truxalis, in
,1 having the head ovoid, and the antennai filiform, or terminated by a knot. Many species have on each side of the
body, near the base of the abdomen, a large cavity, closed on the inside by a very thin pellicle. I have described
I this organ in the eighth volume of the 3Iemoires du 3Iuseum, which has some influence either in the production of
the chirping, or in flight. From analogy with the Cicada, I have compared it to a kind of tambour. The species
j fly high in the air, and often in troops. Their hind wings are often agreeably coloured, especially with red and
• j blue. Amongst the exotic species the thorax is often crested, warty, or otherwise singularly formed. Certain
I species have been termed Migratory, from their uniting themselves in troops of incalculable numbers, and mi-
i pating thiough the air in thick clouds, and in an astonishingly short time transform the places where they alight
J into an arid waste. Their death even becomes a scourge, the air being infected by the immense masses of their
I dead bodies. M. Miot, in his excellent translation of Herodotus, conjectures that the mass of dead bodies of
[| winged serpents which the historian relates to have seen in Egypt, was a mass of the bodies of these migratory
. locusts. This opinion perfectly accords with my owm. These insects are consumed in different countries of
i j Afiica, the inhabitants using them for their own food, and as an article of commerce. They tear off the wings and
wing covers, and then bake them. A great portion of Europe is often overrun by
Giyllus migratorius, which is two inches and a half long, with brown wing-covers spotted with black, and a
I, slightly elevated crest on the thorax. The eggs are enveloped in a glutinous secretion, forming a cocoon, which
the insect is said to fasten to plants. [This is, however, refuted by the observations of Mr. Smirnove upon the
locusts of Russia, published in the Transactions of the Linncean Society of London.'] It is common in Poland.
I The south of Europe, Barbary, Egypt, &c., suffer similar devastations from some other species, of which some
i are of larger size, as G. cegyptius, tataricus, Lam., &c., and which scarcely differ from G. lineola. Fab., which is
[ found in the south of France ; a species peculiar to the same countries, and which is that which is eaten and pre-
^ pared in Barbary, in the manner above detailed. The natives of Senegal dry another species, of which the body is
[ o o
INSECTA.
562
yellow, spotted with black, and which Shaw and Denon have fig-m-ed in the accounts of their voyages in Africa ;
they then reduce them to powder, which they use as flour, as 1 learn from M. Savigny. These two species, and
some others, have a conical prominence upon the prosternum, and compose the genus Acrydium. Amongst
those which do not present this character, and in which the antenncE are equally Aliform, some have the
wing-covers and wings perfect in the two sexes, and belong to the genus which I have named (Edipoda. In this
number are G. stridulus, G. cterulescens, {G.flavipes, and a great number of smaller species found in this country,
usually called Grasshoppers, but distinguished by their shorter antennae.]
Other Acrydia, similarly winged and with filiform antennae, have the upper part
of the prothorax strongly elevated, very compressed, forming a sharp crest, rounded
and prolonged into a point behind. Foreign countries possess numerous species,
one only of which, and of smaller size, is found in the south of France (A, arma-
tum, Fischer.]
In the others, one of the sexes, at least, has the wing-covers and wings very short,
and in no wise fitted for flight. I have formed for these a new generic group, named
Fig. 93. — G. flavipps. ,.
Podisma.
The Acrydia which have the antennae thickened at the tips, either in both sexes or in only one of them, are
formed also into a peculiar genus, Gompliocerus, by Thunberg. G. sibiricus, and other small British species.
In the second division of the genus Acrydium, the prosternum receives in a cavity a part of the under-side of
the head ; the tonguelet is quadrifid, and the tarsi have no pulvillus between the ungues ; the antennae have only
13 or 14 joints ; the thorax is prolonged behind like a large scutellum, which is sometimes longer than the entire
body, and the wing-covers are very small. These Orthoptera form the genus
Tetrix, Latr. {Acrydium, Fab., part of Gi'yllus bulla, Linn.), which is composed of very small species.
THE SEVENTH ORDER OF INSECTS,-
THE HEMIPTERA (Rhyngota, Fabr.),—
Terminate in our system the numerous division of insects furnished with wing-covers, and
being the only ones among them which have neither mandibles nor maxillae, properly so
called, [that is, fitted for biting]. A tubular articulated tongue, cylindrical or conical in its
form, curved downwards, or directed under the breast, having the appearance of a kind of
rostrum ; presenting throughout its whole upper face, when stretched forward, a gutter, or
canal, out of which three scaly, stiff, slender, and pointed setae may be withdrawn, and which
are covered at the base by a tonguelet ; these setae form unitedly a sucker, resembling a sting,
having for its sheath the tubular piece above described, and in which it is kept by means of
the superior tonguelet [or labrum], situated at its base. The inferior seta is composed of two
threads united into one at a short distance from their origin ; thus the number of the pieces
of the sucker is, in reality, four. M. Savigny considered that the two superior setae, or those
which are separate, represent the mandibles of the biting insects, and that the two threads of ^
the inferior seta answer to the maxillae (or rather, as it appears to me, to their terminal lobes, 'j
which in the Bees and Butterflies are transformed :
m*'
into an elongated filament) ; hence the lower lip
is replaced by the tubular sheath of the sucker, and
^ the triangular piece at the base becomes the labrum.
The tonguelet, properly so called, also exists, and
under a form analogous to that of the preceding
piece, but bifid at the tip (see Cicada) ; the palpi
are the only organs w'hich have entirely disappeared,
and vestiges of them are perceived in Thrips, [which,
however, are now proved to belong to an order dis-
tinct from the present ; palpi, small and inarticulate,
also exist in some of the Hydrocorisae].
The mouth of the Hemiptera is, therefore, fitted
only for extracting by suction fluid matters : the
delicate threads of which the sucker is formed pierce the vessels of plants and animals, and the
/ (ikx^
Fig-. 94. — Promuscis of Hemiptera. Pentatoma. {e, eyes;
o, ocelli ; a, base of antermse ; I I, upper lip ; I 2, under-
lip, or canal ; m, mandibular, and mo', maxillary set«.)
i
HEMIPTERA.
563
nutritive fluid, successively compressed, is forced up the main canal, and arrives at the oeso-
phagus ; the sheath of the sucker is often elbowed, or forms an angle. Like other sucking
insects, the Hemiptera possess salivary vessels.
In the majority of the insects of this order the wing-covers are coriaceous, or crustaceous,
with the posterior extremity membranous, and forming, as it were, a kind of supplemental
piece ; they nearly always cross each other : those of other Hemiptera are merely thicker and
larger than the hind wings, semi-membranous, like the wing-covers of the Orthoptera, and
sometimes opaque and coloured, sometimes transparent and veined. The wings have several
longitudinal folds.
The composition of the thorax begins to exhibit the modifications which we meet with in
the following orders. Its anterior segment, hitherto known under the name of corselet
[thorax, or more strictly, prothorax], is in many of much less extent, and is incorporated with
the second, which is equally exposed.
Many possess ocelli, but their number is generally only two.
The Hemiptera [like the Orthoptera] exhibit to us, in their three states, the same forms
and habits. The only change they undergo consists in the developement of wings, and an
increase in the size of the body.
I divide the order into two sections \Heteroptera and Homoptera, regarded as distinct
orders by many English authors, under the names of Hemiptera and Homoptera].
In the first section, Heteroptera, the rostrum arises from the front of the head, the wing-
cases are membranous at the extremity, and the first segment of the thorax is much longer
than the others, and forms by itself the corselet.
The wing-covers and wings are always horizontal, or slightly inclined.
This section is composed of two families [^Geocorisee and Hydrocorisce\ The first.
Geocoris^ (or Land-bugs), —
Have the antennae exposed, longer than the head, and inserted between the eyes, near their inner
margin ; the tarsi have [generally] three joints, the first of which is often very short. They form
the genus
CiMEX, Linn., —
Some of which, Longilabres, have the sheath of the sucker composed of four distinct and exposed
joints ; the upper lip is considerably prolonged beyond the head, like an awl, and transversely striated
on the upper side ; the tarsi have always three distinct joints, the first equal in length to, or longer
than the second. These species emit, in general, a very disagreeable scent, and suck other insects.
Sometimes the antennae, always filiform, are composed of five joints ; the body is generally short, oval,
or rounded.
ScuTELLERA, Lam., —
In which the scutellum covers the abdomen. Cimex lineatus, Linn, [a reputed British insect].
Pentatoma, Oliv., in which the scutellum covers only a portion of the upper-side of the abdomen. This genus,
as proposed by Olivier, comprises live others in the Systema Rhyngotorum of Fabricius ; but his
groups are imperfectly characterized and badly arranged. His genera ^lia and Halys are Pen-
tatomae, which have the head more prolonged, and advanced in front like a snoiit, more or less
triangular. The type of the former is ^lia acuminata [a rare British species], which differs
from the rest in having the antennas covered at the base by the anterior and detached margin
of the under-side of the thorax, and by the scutellum of much larger size, whereby this species
more nearly approaches Scutellera. His genus Cydnus has the head seen from above, broad,
semicircular ; the thorax transversely square, scarcely narrower in front than behind, and the
tibiae are often spinose. These species are found on the ground ; some other species may also
be united, which have the sternum neither keeled nor spined : such are Cimex ornatus and
oloraceus, [handsome rare British species, forming Hahn’s genus Eurydem<i\.
Other Pentatomae, having the mesosternum elevated in the manner of a keel, or exhibiting a point like a spine,
|| are generically distinguished under the name of Edessa^ employed by Fabricius. Many of the species which he
Ij introduces into this genus possess this character, which is also found in some of his species of Cimex, as P. hce-
morrhoidalis, Linn, [the type of Curtis’s genus Acanthosoma, and P. griseus, the type of Laporte’s genus
Raphigaster].
|i
i.
o o 2
564
INSECTA.
The female of the last-named species protects her youn^? with great care, leading them about as a hen does her
chickens..
Heteroscelis^ Latr., is formed for the reception of a species from Cayenne, having the head cylindrical, the
anterior tibi« broad and palette-like.
Canojms, Fabr,, as shown by the recent observations of M. Alexandre Lefebvre, is composed of small South
American insects, not yet arrived at their full developement, having the body rather compressed, and very convex
above, concave beneath, and the ocelli, as well as the wings, wanting].
[The preceding insects form the family Pentatomidce^ Leach ; Pentatomites and Scutellerites, Laporte ; and
Scutati, Burmeister. The number of genera into which they have been divided by these authors, as well as by
Hahn, in his Die Wanzenartigen Insecten, is very greatly increased, and has probably been carried too far.*]
Sometimes the antennee have only four joints, and the body is ordinarily oblong. In some of these the antenna3
are filiform or clavate.
Some exotic species approach the preceding in the general form of the body, being rather ovoid than oblong,
and are distinguished from all the following by being either very flat, membranous, with the margins very strongly
dilated and angular, or by having the prothorax posteriorly prolonged into a truncated lobe, and the sternum
cornuted. Such is
Tesseratoma, Lepel and Serv. Type, Edessa papillosa, Fab.
Dinidor, Latr., has similarly 4-jointed antennae, but the thorax is not posteriorly lobed. (Edessa obscura,
mactans, &c.)
Phl<jea Lep. and Serv., is quite flat and membranous, with the sides of the body dilated and angular, the ante-
rior extremity forming a flattened, truncated hood, hiding the antennae, which are very short, apparently 3-jointed,
and elbowed. [P. corticata, a singular Brazilian insect.]
All the others have the body generally oblong, and do not exhibit such characters as the last group. Some of
these have the antennae inserted near the lateral and superior margin of the head ; the ocelli are close together,
or at the same distance apart as they are from the eyes.
Coreus, Fab., has the body oval ; the last joint of the antennae ovoid or fusiform, often thicker and not longer
than the preceding. C. marginatus, Geolf. [a common English species]. From the proportions of the joints of
the antennae the species may be thus subdivided. Gonocerus, with the third joint of the antennae compressed and
angular at the sides,— C'. sidcicornis, insidiator, &c. ; Syromastes, with the third joint of the antennae simple, and
longer than the fourth, — C'. marginatus, &c. ; Coreus, with the last joint of the antennae much longer than the
fourth, and compressed,— C. liirticornis, &c.
Holhymenia, Lep. and Serv., has the second and third joints of the antennae plate-like. [Exotic species.]
Pachylis, Lep. and Serv., has the third joint alone of this form.
Anisoscelis, Latr., has the antennae Aliform, without dilatation ; some have the posterior tibiae with a broad mem-
brane,-L. membranaceus, F., &c. The others, L. valgus, &c., have not, [but the hind femora are often grotesquely
thickened. These are exotic species of large size.] Some of the species, with long slender antennae, form my
genus Nematopus. ^ 4.x,
Alydus, Fab., has the body long and narrowed ; the eyes prominent ; the ocelli close together, and the thorax
slightly broader behind. [A. calcaratus, a rare British species].
Leptocorisa, Latr. [part of Gerris, Fab.], has the body long and filiform ; the antenna and legs are also greatly
elongated, and the former straight. _ . . i,
Neides, Latr. (Berytiis, Fab.), has the antennae elbowed. [Small singular insects, three or four species of which
occur, but rarely, in this country. C. tipularius, Linn.]
We now pass to the Geocorisce which have the antennae similarly filiform, or thickened at the tips, and
4-jointed, but inserted lower than in the preceding ; the ocelli are close to the eyes, and the apical membrane of
the hemelytra has only four or five nerves. [These form the family Lyg(sid<e.']
Lygveus, Fabr., has the head narrower than the thorax, which is narrowed in front,— C. eqzcestris, Linn. C. dp-
terus Linn. ; red, with the head, a spot on the thorax, and two on the hemelytra, black ; the wing-covers without
apical membrane, but occasionally this, as well as the wings, is fully developed. [The ocelli are wanting in this
species, which forms the type of the genus Pyrrhocoris, Fall. ; Platynotus, Schill. ; or Astemma of Lep. and Serv.
It is occasionally found in this country.]
The species with the fore-legs thickened form the genus Pacliymerus, Lep. and Serv., but which name having
been previously used, must be changed. [The species are very numerous, and form Hahn’s genus Rhy-
parochronus-l ,
[Geocoris, Fallen, Opthalmicus, Schill.] Saida, Fab., has the head as broad as the thorax, and often dilated
behind, with large eyes, S. atra, grylloides, &c., Fabr.
Myodatlia, Latr., has the hind part of the head elongated into a neck.
We now arrive at those Geocorisve longilabres with four-jointed antennae, slender, and often capillary at the tips.
Astemma, Latr. has the second joint of the antennae of equal thickness, the thorax scarcely broader behind than
in front, transverse, quadrate, or cylindrical. Saida pallicornis, &c.
Miris, Fab., resembles Astemma in the antennae, but has the thorax narrowed in front.
Capsus, Fab., has the thorax trapezoid, and the second joint of the antennae slender at the base, pilose and thick
at the tip. [C. ater, and a great number of English species.]
* The Rev. F. W. Hope has published a catalogue of the species | species. Germar has also added many new genera and species in the
belonging to this tribe, with the description of a great number of new first part of his Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie, 1839.
L-
IIEMIPTERA. 565
Heterotoma, Latr., has the two basal joints of the antennae very thick and setose. The type of this cui’ious genus
is Capsus sjnssicornis, Fab. [a common British species].
The other Hemiptera of this family have only two or three joints in the sheath of the proboscis ; the labrum is
short, and not striated ; the basal and often the second joint of the tarsi are very short; the legs inserted in the
I middle of the breast; the ungues apical. Some of these have the proboscis straight, and generally resting in a
canal ; the eyes of ordinary size, and the head not narrowed into a neck. The body is generally entirely or partly
membranous, and often flattened. They compose the majority of the Fabrician genus Aeanthia, from which the
following have been separated.
Syrtis, Fab. (Macrocephalus, Swed., PJiymata, Latr.), has the fore-legs very large and claw-like, serving to seize
their prey. In Macrocephalus the scutellum is distinct, and covers nearly the whole abdomen. In Phymata
{S. crassipes, F.), the [scutellum is minute], and only covers part of the upper side of the abdomen.
Tingis, Fab., has the body very flat, and the antennae terminated by a short knob, the third joint being elong-
ated ; the majority live upon plants, puncturing the leaves of flowers, and sometimes producing galls. The leaves
of the pear are often gnawed by T. pyri. [These are minute insects, many of which are English, having the body
membranous, and covered with small cells ; the thorax is extended behind, over the scutellum.]
Aradus, Fab., resembles Tingis in the form of the body, but has the antennae cylindrical, with the second joint
as long as the third, or longer. They are found under the bark of trees, in crevices of old wood, &c. [Small
insects, of which several are found in this country. A. depresstis, Betula;, &c.]
Chnex proper, Aeanthia, Fab., has the body very flat, but the antennae terminate in a setaceous joint. The
typical species, C.lectularius, Linn., the Bed-bug, is too well known to need description. It is said not to have existed
in England before the great fire in 1666, and that it was imported in wood from America ; Dioscorides, however.
It has also been asserted that this species sometimes gains wings. It also infests young Pigeons,
Swallows, &c. ; but that which attacks the latter birds appears to me to form a distinct species.
[The Rev. L. Jenynshas recently described it as distinct, C. Hirundinis ; as well as one from Pigeons,
C. cohmbarius ; and one found ona Bat, G. Pipistrelli. {Annals of Nat. Hist., June, 1839.)]
Various plans have been proposed for their extirpation, but the best is extreme cleanliness.
The other Geocoris^ of this subdivision have the proboscis exposed, arched, or sometimes
straight, with the labrum prominent and the head suddenly narrowed behind into a neck. The
latter form the primitive genus
Reduvius, Fabricius, —
In which the proboscis is short, very acute, and capable of pricking strongly, the pain of which lasts for a long-
time. The antennae are very slender at the tips ; many species produce a noise similar to that made by Crioceris
and the Capricorn Beetles, which is more quickly repeated. This genus has been thus subdivided,
Holoptilus, Lep. and Serv,, which have only three joints to the antennae, the last two furnished with very long
hairs, arranged in two rows, and verticillated in the last joint.
Reduvius proper, has the antenncB 4-jointed, and smooth, or but slightly pubescent, and the body is oblong-
oval, with the feet of moderate size. R. personatus, Linn., inhabits the interior of houses, where it lives upon
flies and other insects, which it approaches stealthily, and then darts itself, immediately killing them by piercing
them with its proboscis. In the preparatory states it looks like a Spider, covering itself with particles of dust
and dirt.
Nabis, Latr,, in which the thorax is but slightly divided transversely, and Petalocheirus, Pal. Beauv., in which
the fore tibias form a round plate, may be united therewith.
Zelus, Fab., has the body linear, v/ith the legs very long, slender, and alike, [consisting of a great number of
exotic species].
Ploiaria, Scop., differs from the last in having the two fore-legs [short] with elongated coxae, formed as in
Mantis for seizing the prey, Gerris vagabundus, Fabr. [an insect of small size, not uncommon in England].
We are now arrived at Geocorisae remarkable for the large size of the eyes, and the head not formed into a
neck, with the head transverse. They live at the sides of water, w'here they run with great agility, and often take
short leaps.
Leptopus, Latr., has the proboscis short and arched, and the antennae setaceous ; [small species, several of which
are found on the Continent].
Aeanthia, Latr. {Baida proper, Fabr.), has the proboscis long and straight, and the antennae filiform. Saida
litoralis, Fabr., &c. [several British species of small size],
Pelogonus, Latr., differs from Aeanthia in having the antennae very short, and folded beneath the eyes. The
species are small, and approach Naucoris, to which they conduct with the following.
Sometimes the four hind legs, very long and slender, are inserted upon the sides of the breast, and wide apart ;
the tarsal ungues are very small, indistinct, and fixed in a fissure at the side of the tarsi. These feet serve either
for rowing or creeping on the water. They are peculiar to the genus
Hydrometra., Fabr,, —
Which Latreille divides into three others.
Hydrometra proper, with setaceous antennae, and the head produced into a muzzle, with the rostrum received
in a canal on the under side. [H. stagnorum, a small, very slender, and common species, found crawling on the
surface of water.]
Gerris, Latr., has filiform antennae, with the sheath of the proboscis 3-jointed, and the second pair of legs wide
mentioned it.
Fig. 9<3. — Cimex
lectularius.
566
INSECTA.
apart from the anterior, and twice as long as the body. [Common insects, often seen skimming along the surface
of the water.]
Velia, Latr., with the antennae also filiform, but with the sheath of the sucker only 2-jointed ; the legs mode-
rately long, and placed at equal distances apart. F. currens, [a common British insect, seen running on the
surface of brooks.]
[The works of Laporte Comte de Castelnau, the Encyclopedie Methodique, Burmeister’s Manual of
Entomology, vol. ii., Spinola’s Essay on the Heteropterous Hemiptera, and Hahn’s work, Die Wanzen-
artigen Insecten, must be consulted for many new genera established in this division of the order.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HEMIPTERA,—
The Hydrocorise, or Water-hugs, —
Has the antennae inserted beneath the eyes, by which they are concealed, being shorter than the head,
or scarcely longer than it.
All these Hemiptera are aquatic and carnivorous, seizing other insects with their fore-legs, which
fold upon themselves, and serve them as claws. They prick very sharply [with the proboscis]. The
tarsi have only one or two joints ; the eyes are generally of a remarkable size.
Some of the Hydrocorisae, forming the subfamily Nepides, have the two fore-legs formed into claws
composed of a very thick or very long thigh, channelled on the under side to receive the under surface
of the tibia and of the tarsus, which is very short, or is united with the tibia, forming with it a strong
hook ; the body is oval and very depressed in some, and of a linear form in others. These insects form
the genus
Nepa, Linn.,—
Which may be thus divided : —
Galgulus, Latr., in which allthe tarsi are alike cylindrical, with two distinct joints, the last of which is furnished
with two hooks at the tip ; the antennae appear to have only three joints, the last of which is large and ovoid.
(Nmicoris oculata, Fab. ; North America.)
The antennae in the following genera are composed of four joints, and the anterior tarsi are terminated simply
in a point, or by a hook.
Naucoris, Geotf., has the labrum exposed, large, and triangular ; the body is nearly oval and subdepressed ; the
eyes flattened ; the extremity of the body is not furnished with elongated processes ; the four hind feet are ciliated
with 2-jointed tarsi, and two ungues at the tip. N. cimicoides, Linn., [a common British insect, half an inch long].
In the three following subgenera, the labrum is hidden in the canal, and the extremity of the abdomen furnished
with two filaments.
Belostoma, Latr., has all the tarsi 2-jointed, and the antennae semi-pectinated. [Exotic species.]
Nepa, Latr., has the fore tarsi formed of a single joint, and the four hind tarsi 2-jointed ; the antennae appear
forked ; the fore coxae are long, and the thighs thicker than the other parts. The abdomen
is terminated by two long filaments, which are employed in respiration ; the eggs resemble
the seed of some plant, being oval, surmounted by a coronet of hairs. M. L. Dufour has
published an elaborate memoir on their internal anatomy. N. cinerea, Linn., of a dirty
ash-colour, with the upper surface of the abdomen bright red, [is a very common insect.]
Ranatra, Fabr., differs from Nepa in its linear form, and the more elongated form of the
legs. N. linearis, Linn, [a common British species in certain localities]. The coronet at
the top of its eggs is formed of only two threads.
The others, Notoneciides, have the two fore-legs simply ineurved, with the thighs
of the ordinary size ; the tarsi diminishing to a point, and very much ciliated or
similar to the others ; the body is nearly cylindrie or ovoid, and rather thick, or not
so much depressed as in the preceding ; the hind legs are very much ciliated, in
the form of oars, and terminated by two very minute claws : they swim or row
with great quickness, and often on their backs, [whence their generic name]. They
Fig. 97.— Nepa cinerea. cOmpOSC the gCnUS
Notonecta, Linn., —
Which may be thus divided
Corixa, Geoff., which has no scutellum, the elytra horizontal ; the fore-legs very short, with
the tarsi composed of a single compressed and ciliated joint ; the other legs are elongate, and
the two middle ones terminated by two very long ungues. N, striata, Linn, [and several other
small British species].
Sigara, Leach, founded upon N. minutissima, Fabr., has the fore-tarsi 1-jointed, but possesses
a distinct scutellum, and the body ovoid.
Notonecta, Linn., has a distinct scutellum ; a rostrum elongate-conic ; the wing-covers de- s^ -N. giauca.
flexed at the sides, and all the tarsi 2-jointed ; the fore tarsi are cylindrie, simple, and terminated by two ungues.
HEMIPTERA.
5G7
1
N. glauca, Linn., more than half an inch long, [is one of our commonest water insects]: it swims upon its back in
order the better to seize its prey, and is able to prick sharply.
Plea, Leach, is founded upon Notonecta minutissima, Linn., which has the ungues of the hind feet large, and
the elytra entirely crustaceous.
The second section of the Plemiptera, that of the
Homoptera, Latr., —
Is distinguished from the preceding by the following characters : — The proboscis arises from the
lowest part of the head, near the breast, or even, as it appears, between the two fore-feet.
The wing-covers (nearly always roof-like) are throughout of the same consistence and semi-
membranous, sometimes even nearly like the wings. The three segments of the thorax are
united into a mass, and the first is often shorter than the following. All the Ilemiptera of
this section feed only upon the fluids of vegetables ; the females have a scaly ovipositor, gene-
rally composed of three denticulated plates, and lodged in a scabbard of two valves : they use
this instrument as a saw to make notches in vegetables, in order to deposit their eggs. The ter-
minal insects of this section undergo a kind of complete metamorphosis.
I divide it into three families, \CicadaricB, Aphidii, and Gallinsecta.']
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE HOMOPTEROUS HEMIPTERA,—
The Cicadari^, —
Comprises those which have three joints in the tarsi, and the antennae generally very small, conic, or
awl-shaped, from 3- to 6-jointed, including a very slender seta, with which they are terminated. The
females are provided with a denticulated, saw-like ovipositor. Messrs. Ramdohr, Marcel de Serres,
Leon Dufour, and Strauss, have studied the anatomy of different insects of this family with great care;
the latter has not yet however published his researches. Amongst the others, M. Leon Dufour is the
author whose investigations are the most extended and complete, at least as regards the digestive and
generative systems, as is easily proved on referring to his memoir intitled Recherohes anatomiques sur
les Cigales, inserted in the fifth volume of the Annales des Sciences naturelles.
Some of the Cicadariae are named Chanteuses, and have the antennae composed of six joints and three
ocelli. The mesothorax, seen from above, is much more spacious than the prothorax, and is narrowed
towards its extremity, where it forms a kind of scutellum. It is nearly of the same form in the Ful-
gorae and other genera separated therefrom. The mesothorax is often of a reversed triangular form,
and the prothorax is generally very short and transverse. In Membracis, Cicadella, &c., it is, on the
contrary, much more extensive than the other thoracic segments, and very much developed in one or
the other direction, and the mesothorax appears only in the form of an ordinary triangular scutellum.
In the whole of the family, the mesothorax is very short and concealed. Considered in respect to other
insects, the head of the Cicadariae, seen in front, exhibits immediately above the lahrum a triangular
space, answering to the epistome or clypeus, above which is another space, often swollen and striated ;
above this is the forehead, and which is succeeded by the vertex or superior part of the head.
The Chanteuses comprise the Cicadcs mannifercB, Linn., or the genus Tettigonia, Fabr., and form
with me the genus
Cicada, Oliv. {Tettigonia, Fabr.).
These insects, in which the wing-covers are almost always transparent and veined, differ from the following not
only in the structure of their antennce, and the number of the ocelli, but also in not possessing the power of
leaping ; the males also produce in the hottest part of the day a kind of monotonous and noisy music, whence they
have been termed by authors “ chanteuses,” or singers. The organs of sound are placed at each side of the base
of the abdomen, internal, and covered by a cartilaginous plate hke a shutter, and which is an appendage of the
under side of the metathorax. The cavity which incloses these instruments is divided into tw'O partitions by a
scaly and triangular edge ; seen from the underside of the body, each cell exhibits anteriorly a white and folded
membrane, and in the hollow part, a stretched-out slender membrane, which Reaumur calls the mirror : if this
part of the body be opened from above on each side, there is seen another folded membrane, which is moved by a
very powerful muscle, composed of a great number of straight and parallel fibres extending from the scaly ridge;
this membrane is the timbale. The muscles, by contracting and relaxing with quickness, act upon the timbales,
stretching them out, or bringing them into their natural state, whereby the sounds are produced, and which, even
after the death of the animal, may be repeated by moving the parts over each other in the manner they act whilst
alive.
568
INSECTA.
The Cicadae are found upon trees, or shrubs, of which they suck the sap. The female pierces the small twigs of
dead branches of trees as far as the pith with its ovipositor, lodged in a semi-tubular sheath formed of two valves,
and composed of three scaly pieces of a narrow and elongated form, two of which are terminated like a file, in
order to deposit their eggs therein, the number of which being great, the female makes a succession of slits, the
place of which is indicated by so many elevations on the exterior. The young larvae quit their birth-place, how-
ever, in order to descend into the ground, where they increase in size and become pupae. Their fore-legs are short,
the fore thighs being very strong, and armed with teeth, fitted for burrowing in the earth. The Greeks devoured
the pupae, which they called Tettigometrce, as well as the perfect insect. Before coupling the males were preferred,
but afterwards the females were selected, being filled with eggs. The Cicada Ormi, by puncturing the elm, causes
it to discharge the saccharine pui’gative fluid which has been termed manna.
[The genus is very numerous, and the species are found in all the warmer regions of the globe, some being of
large size. In England we, however, possess but a single species, which has been figured by Curtis under the
name of C. anglica. It has only occurred in the New Forest, in Hampshire.]
The species which have a slit on the upper side of the abdomen, exposing the timbale, such as C, hcematodes, &c.,
compose the genus Tibicen of my Fam. Nat. C. orni, Fab., may in this respect form another genus. [See
the monographs of Germar.]
The other Cicadarice {Muettes) have only three distinct joints to the antennse, and two small ocelli.
Their legs are in general fitted for leaping ; neither of the sexes is furnished with organs for the pro-
duction of sound.
The wing-covers are often coriaceous and opaque ; many of the females envelope their eggs in a
white cottony mass.
Some of these {Fulgorellcs) have the antennse inserted immediately beneath the eyes, and the fore-
head is often prolonged into a muzzle, varying in figure according to the species. This is the distin-
guishing character of the genus
Fulgora, Linn.
The species in which the forehead is advanced, with two ocelli, and which have no appendage beneath the
h is Fulgora laternaria, Linn., a very large species, varied with
yellow and red, with a large eye-like spot on each of the hind
wings ; the muzzle is very much dilated, and vesicular. Ac-
cording to some travellers, this insect is affirmed to emit a very
strong light during the dusk. [It is an inhabitant of South
America. The statement of its luminous properties, originating
with Madame Merian, requires confirmation. The species of
the true genus Fulgora are rather numerous, extraordinary in
their forms and colours, and widely dispersed. I have published
a monograph, with figures of many new species, in the last part
of the Linruean Transactions
The south of Europe possesses a small species belonging to
the same genus, F. europ<sa: [belong to the subgenus Bictyo-
pliara, Burm.]
Other Cicadaris, with the forehead advanced, but wanting ocelli, and having two slender appendages beneath
each antenna, compose the genus Otiocerus, Kirby (Cobax, Germar). [Small American insects, monographed
by Kirby.]
Those in which the head is not remarkably produced in front are formed by Fabricius into several genera, to
which others subsequently established, [especially by Germar, Gxierin, and Burmeister,] must be added.
Sometimes the antennae are shorter than the head, inserted at a distance from the eyes, in some of which the two
ocelli are distinct.
Lystra, Fab., similar, at first sight, to small Cicadae. The body and wing-covers are elongated, the second joint
of the antennae is nearly globular, and granular, as in the Fulgora.
Cixius, Latr., resembles Lystra, but the second joint of the antenn* is cylindric and entire. The genns AcMlus,
K. [founded upon an Australian species, A. fiammeus, K.] scarcely dilfers from Cixius.
I have separated, under the generic name of Tittigometra, insects analogous to the preceding, but in which the
antennae are lodged between the posterior and lateral angles of the head and those of the anterior extremity of
the thorax. The eyes are not prominent. [Small European insects.] Ccelidea, Germar, appears to be closely
allied to Tettigometra, of which they have the aspect, and are described as having the antennae inserted beneath
the eyes.
In the others the ocelli are wanting.
The species which have the wing-covers large, and the prothorax evidently shorter in the middle than the
mesothorax, compose the subgenus Pceciloptera, Latr,, Flata, Fabr.
Issus, Fab., is composed of those species in which the prothorax is at least as long as tlie mesothorax, and
the wing-covers, shorter, or as long as the abdomen, are dilated at the base, and subsequently narrowed.
HEMIPTERA.
569
In others, the antennae are at least as long’ as the head, and often inserted in a notch below the eyes.
Anoiia, Kirby, allied to Otiocerus, and which approaches the preceding in the mode of insertion of the
antennae. [Small exotic insects.]
Asiraca, Latr. {Delphax, Fab.), has the antennae inserted in a notch below the eyes, as long as the head and
thorax, with the first joint generally longer than the second, compressed, and angulated; the ocelli are
wanting. [A. clavicornis, Latr., a small, exceedingly active species, and several others, inhabitants of this
country.]
Delphax, Fab., has the antennae similarly inserted, but not longer than the head, with the first joint much
shorter than the second ; the ocelli are present. [Numei’ous very small species, found by sweeping grass at the
sides of roads, commons, &c. Some of the species occasionally have the wing-covers only partially developed.
These constitute the genus Criomorphus, Curtis.]
Derhe, Fabr., are unknown to me, but I presume they come near the preceding insects, and especially
to Anotia.
In the terminal Cicadariae the antenna are inserted between the eyes. These compose the genus
CicADELLA (or the Cicadas Ranatras, Linn.), —
Which may be thus divided : —
We commence with the species which, with the exception of a small number, (Ledra,) formerly com-
posed the genus Menibracis of Fabricius. The head is very much deflexed, or low in front, and pro-
longed into an obtuse point under the form of a clypeus, more or less semicircular. The antennae are
always very small, terminated by an inarticulate seta, and inserted in a cavity under the margins of
the head ; the prothorax is sometimes dilated, and horned on each side, and prolonged behind into a
simple or composite horn, and sometimes it is elevated longitudinally down the back, compressed like
a crest, sometimes porrected and pointed in front ; the legs are seldom spined.
[This genus comprises three principal groups, — the Membracides, Cercopides, and Cicadellin(js].
Some [the Membracides] have no scutellum, properly so called, exposed.
Menibracis, Fab. (having the prothorax elevated, compressed, and leaf-like along the middle of the
back), and
Tragopa, Latr. (where this part of the body is horned, or pointed on each side, without any intermediate eleva-
tion, and posteriorly produced into a point as long as the abdomen), have the tibiae, especially of the fore-feet,
foliaceous.
In the following the tibiae are of the ordinary form, and not foliaceous.
Darnis, Fabr., in which the prolongation of the prothorax
is in the shape of a long triangle, covering the wings and
abdomen.
! Bocydium, Latr., has the prolonged part narrowed so as
j to expose the wings and sides of the abdomen, and more
or less lanceolate, or spear-shaped. [Such are Bocyd. glo-
bulare, and B. cruciatum, tw^o extraordinary Brazilian in-
sects, of small size, here figured. The majority of the species
of Membracides are exotic, of small or but moderate size, and
amongst them are to be found some of the most anomalous
forms.]
In others the scutellum, although the prothorax is prolonged, is exposed, at least in part, the posterior
extremity of the prothorax exhibiting a transverse suture, which distinguishes it from the scutellum. These
form the subgenus Centrotus proper. Types, C. cornuta and C. genista;. [Two small species, of rather common
occurrence in woods in this country, the last of which is figured in the EntomologisV s Text Booh, pi. 3. f, 2.]
We now pass to the species in which the head is but little lower than, or on the same plane as, the
prothorax ; horizontal, or but little deflexed when seen from above, and in which the prothorax is
neither elevated in the middle, nor posteriorly prolonged, olfering only lateral dilatations, and in which
the mesothorax assumes the form of a triangular scutellum, of the ordinary size ; the wing-covers are
always exposed ; the posterior tibise are more or less spined.
In many, such as the following [which compose the tribe Cercopides], the thorax has the form of
an irregular hexagon, being prolonged and narrowed behind, and terminated by a truncature fitting to
the base of the scutellum, and often receiving it ; this truncature being concave, or emarginate.
AEtalion, Latr., has the crown of the head transverse, the forehead being suddenly deflexed in front, and the
antennae are inserted above a line drawn between the eyes. [Brazilian insects.]
In the three following subgenera the vertex is triangular and bears the ocelli, and the antennae are inserted in a
line di’awn between the eyes.
Ledra, Fab., has the head very flat between the eyes, like a transverse clypeus ; the sides of the prothorax are
Fig 100.— Bocydium globulare ; &, B. cruciatum.
570
INSECTA.
dilated into short wing-like appendages, and the hind tibiae are very compressed, and margined by a membrane.
C. aurita, Linn., [a species not uncommon in the woods in Kent].
Ciccus, Latr., has the antennae terminated suddenly after the second joint in a seta composed of four distinct
cylindric and elongated joints ; the anterior extremity of the head is generally advanced. [Exotic species.]
Messrs. Serville and Saint Fargeau [as well as Drs. Germar and Burmeister] have established numerous additional
genera in this group. The Eurymela fenestrata, Serv. and St. F., described by them as Brazilian, is a native of
New South Wales, the description given of which by these authors being inexact, the insect possessing ocelli,
although difficult to be detected. Hence this genus ought to be introduced at the genus Issus.
Cercopis, Fab., Germ. {Aphrophora, Germ.), has the third joint of the antennae conical, and terminated by an
articulated seta.
[C. vulnerata, Rossi, the only British species closely allied to C. sanguinolenta, Linn., is a common
insect, and the handsomest in the family; being black, with
blood-red spots.] C. \_Aphroplior<i\ spumaria, Linn., is an ex-
tremely abundant species, the larva of which is found upon
leaves and twigs in the midst of a frothy secretion, of a white
colour, which has been commonly called Cuckoo-spit.
In the other Cicadarise, terminating this family, [and
forming the tribe Cicadellines, and which in the earlier
works of Fabricius formed his genus Cicada], the pro-
Fig. 101. — Aphrophora spumaria ; a, imago ; b, frothy secretion ;
c, pupa, thorax is not at all, or scarcely, prolonged posteriorly,
and is terminated by a straight, or nearly straight, line, as long as the breadth of the body, the
scutellum, at its base, occupying a great portion of this breadth.
Eulopa, Fallen, has the eyes very prominent, the head but little advanced beyond the eyes, but depressed,
and forming a kind of ridge round the face ; two ocelli placed on the posterior and superior part of the head, and
legs destitute of spines or teeth. C. Ericce, a small species, [found on heaths].
Eupelix, Germar, has the head in the form of an elongated and very flat triangle, with the ocelli situated in
front of the eyes, upon the edges of the head, which are prolonged, nearly cutting through the eyes. C. cuspidata,
Fab. [a rare British species, found with the preceding].
Pentliimia, Germ., has the antenn® inserted in a large channel, reducing the space between the eyes more than
ordinary ; the head, seen from above, appears semicircular, and gradually deflexed in front ; it is rounded, and its
edges are extended above these channels ; the body is short. These insects have some resemblance to Cercopis,
with which Fabricius united them. C. sanguinieollis, Fabr., [a very rare British species].
Gypona, Germar, appears to be closely allied to Penthimia, but I have seen no specimen of that subgenus.
lasstis, Fabr., has the superior surface of the head comprised between the eyes, very short, transverse, and
linear, or arched, and very little advanced even in the middle beyond the eyes. The plates at the sides of the
clypeus are large ; the antennse terminate in a long seta ; the ocelli are situated near or below the anterior margin
of the head. [Numerous small British species, divided by Curtis, Lewis, Burmeister, and Germar into various
subgenera.]
Cicadella proper, or Tcttigonia, Fabr., Oliv. ; Cicada, Linn., has the head, seen above, triangular, without being
either very long or very flat, whereby it is distinguished from Eupelix ; the eyes also are not cut into by the sides
of the head ; the ocelli are situated between them. These insects are, in other respects, very nearly related to
lassus, as well as in respect to the extent of the plates at the sides of the face, and the length of the seta of the
antennse, which appears to be articulated at its base, as in Ciccus, from which it chiefly differs in the form of the
thorax. [This is also a very numerous group, which has been likewise much cut up by late writers.] Some of the
species, as C. grisea, transversa, striata, Fabr., appeared to Latreille to form a distinct subgenus, from the flat-
tened form of the head, and the ocelli inserted near its edge.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HOMOPTEROUS HEMIPTERA,—
The Aphidii, commonly called Plant Lice, —
Which are distinguished from the preceding by having only two joints in the tarsi, and the antennte
filiform, or like a thread, and longer than the head, composed of from six to eleven joints.
The winged individuals have always two wing-covers and two wings. These are very small insects,
having the body generally soft, and the wing-covers very similar to wings, differing only in being larger
and somewhat thicker. They multiply with exceeding rapidity.
Some have ten or eleven joints in the antennte, the last of which is terminated by two setae. They j
leap well, and form the genus ;
PsYLLA, Geoff. {Chermes, Linn,).
These Hemiptera, which are also termed by the French False Plant-lice, live upon trees and plants, ,
HEMIPTERA.
571
from which they obtain their nourishment ; the two sexes are winged ; the larvae have the body gene-
rally very flat ; the head broad, and the abdomen rounded behind. Their legs are terminated by a
membranous vesicle, accompanied beneath by two ungues. Four broad pieces, which are the sheaths of
the wing-covers and wings, distinguish the pupae : many in this state, as in that of the larva, are
covered by a white cottony secretion, arranged in flakes. Their excrements, form threads or masses, of
a gummy saccharine nature.
Some species, by puncturing vegetables to extract the sap, produce in various parts, especially in the flowers and
buds, monstrosities, having the appearance of galls. In this number is Psylla Buxi, figured by Reaumur,
Mem. Ins., vol. iii. pi. 19, fig. 1—14, which is found on the box. The alder, fig, nettle, &c. produce other
species.
Latreille has formed with the species which lives in the flowers of Juncus articulatus, a genus, under the name
of Livia. The antennae are much thickened at the base.
[Mr. Curtis has published the figure of another genus under the name of Livilla, founded upon a small, inter-
esting British species.]
The other Aphidii have only six or eight joints in the antennse, the last of which is not terminated
by two setae.
Sometimes the wing-covers and wings are linear, fringed with hairs, and carried horizontally upon
the body, which has nearly a cylindrical form ; the proboscis being small, or scarcely distinct. The tarsi
are terminated by a vesicular joint without ungues ; and the antennae have eight somewhat moniliform
joints. Such is the genus
Thrips, Linn.,—
The species of which are extremely active, and appear to leap rather than fly. When much irritated,
they elevate and bend the extremity of their bodies into an arch in the same manner as the Staphylini.
They live upon flowers and plants, and under the hark of trees. The largest species scarcely exceed a
line in length.
f Latreille observes in a note that the structure of the mouth exhibited to him characters
which appeared essentially to distinguish the species of Thrips from the other insects of
this order. M. Strauss also, who had studied them with admirable precision, considered
that they belonged to the order Orthoptera. [Subsequently, the genus has been raised
to the rank of a distinct order by Mr. Haliday in a valuable memoir published in the En-
tomological Magazine, under the name of Thysanoptera, and I have illustrated the structure
of the mouth in my Modern Classification of Insects, vol. ii. p. 1, with figures. Mr.
F. io2.-Thrips, jjaji^ay has established a number of generic and suhgeneric divisions.]
Sometimes the wing-covers and wings are oval or triangular, without a fringe of hairs, and are
deflexed at the sides like a roof ; the rostrum is very distinct ; the tarsi are terminated by two ungues ;
and the antennae have only six or seven joints : these form the genus
Aphis, Linn.
Aphis, proper, has the antennae longer than the thorax, ^-jointed, the third being elongated; the eyes are entire,
and the posterior extremity of the abdomen is furnished with two horns or tubercles.
They live mostly in society upon trees and plants, which they suck with their proboscis. They do not leap, and
crawl but slowly. The two horns at the extremity of the body in many species are
tubes, from which frequently exude small drops of a transparent saccharine fluid,
[termed honey-dew], of which the ants are very fond. Each society consists in spring
and summer of plant-lice always apterous, and of pupae [demi-nymphes], of which the
wings ought to be developed ; all these individuals are females, which produce living
young, which are ejected tail foremost, without any previous coupling. The males,
amongst which some are winged and some wingless, appear only at the end of the summer or in autumn. They
fecundate the last generation produced from the preceding individuals, consisting of wingless females which
require impregnation, after which they deposit eggs upon the branches of trees, which remain in that state all
through the winter, from which young plant-lice are produced in the spring, capable of multiplying without union
with the males.
The influence of a single impregnation thus extends through several successive generations. Bonnet, to whom
\ we are indebted for the majority of the facts observed upon this subject, obtained, by the isolation of females,
I nine generations in the space of three months. The punctures which the plant-lice make in the leaves and young
j twigs of vegetables, often cause these parts to assume different forms, as may be seen in the young buds of the
I lime, the leaves of the gooseberry, pear, and especially of the elm, poplar, &c., where they produce a kind of vesi-
cles or excrescences, containing whole families of plant-lice, and often a saccharine fluid, in the interior. The
Fig. 108.— Aphis Rosse.
572
INSECTA.
majority of these insects are covered with a mealy matter, or with cottony threads, sometimes arrang-ed in rows.
The larv£E of the Hemerobii, those of many Diptera, and Coccinellse, destroy a great number of plant-lice. M.
Aug. Duvau has communicated to the Academy of Sciences the interesting result of his observations on these
insects, and his memoir has been inserted in the collection of those of the Museum d’Hist. Nat.
The Aphis of the oak {A. Quercfis, Linn., Reaumur, 3, pi. 28, f. 5), is remarkable for having the proboscis at
least three times as long as the entire body.
M. Blot has published, in the Memoirs of the Linncean Society of Caen, 1824, various curious observations upon
a species found in the Departement du Calvados, which is very injurious to the apples, destroying the young
shoots. He considers it as the type of a new genus, which he calls Myzoxyle. [It is probable that this insect is
identical with that so well known in England under the name of Apple-hliglit, which is covered entirely with a
white cottony secretion, and which multiplies in vast numbers in the crevices of the bark of diseased apple-trees.]
De Geer also described a species of Aphis found upon the apple, but which differs materially from that described
by M. Blot, which last has no horns on the abdomen, the antennae are.shorter, and, according to M. Blot, only
5-jointed, the second joint being the longest. [The species of this family, Aphidae, are extremely numerous,
almost every plant possessing a distinct species. They however require a more minute investigation than has yet
been given to them. The Senator Van Heyden has described several new genera recently in the Memoirs of the
Museum Sechenbergeanumf]
Aleyrodes, Latr. (Tinea, Linn.), has the antennae short, 6-jointed, and the eyes notched. Type, T. prolctella,
Linn. ; Reaumur, Memoires, vol. ii. pi. 25, fig. 1 — 7, resembles a small white moth, having a small blackish spot
on each wing-cover. It is found on the leaves of the Chelidonium, cabbage, oak, &c. Its larva is oval, very flat-
tened, like a minute scale, and resembles that of Psylla. The pupa is fixed, and inclosed in an envelope, so that
this insect undergoes a complete metamorphosis.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE HOMOPTEROUS HEMIPTERA,™
The Gaelinsecta, —
Of which De Geer formed a distinct order, have only a single joint* in the tarsi, with a single hook at
the tip. The male is destitute of a proboscis, has only two wings, which shut horizontally upon the
body ; the abdomen is terminated by two threads. The female is without wings, and
(? furnished with a proboscis. The antennae are filiform, or thread-like, and often eleven-
jointed (nine in the species described by Dalman in the memoir noticed below),
insects compose the genus
These
Fig. 104.— Coccus Coccus, Linn, (or Scale-insects).
aceris, male of ' v /
female. Yhc bark of many of our trees appears often warty, by reason of a great number of small
oval or rounded bodies, like a shield or a scale, which are fixed to them, and in which no external
traces of the insect are to he observed. They nevertheless belong to this class of animals, and to the
genus Coccus, Some of these are females ; the others are young males, and which are similar to
them in form. But a period arrives when all these individuals undergo singular changes. They fix
themselves to the plant, the larvae of the males for a determinate period necessary for their trans-
formations, and the females permanently. If observed in spring, their bodies are noticed gradually to
increase in size, ending in their acquiring the appearance of a gall, being either spherical, kidney-
shaped, boat-shaped, &c. The skin in some is entire and very smooth ; in others it is incised, or offers
traces of segments. It is in this state that the females are impregnated, shortly after which they
deposit their eggs, of which the number is very great ; these they deposit between the ventral surface
of their bodies and a layer of a cottony secretion, with which they had previously lined the spot on
which they had stationed themselves. Their bodies subsequently dry up and become a solid cocoon, '
which covers the eggs. Other females envelope their eggs in a very abundant cottony secretion, which
equally defends them. Those which are of a spherical form become a kind of l)Ox, inclosing the eggs.
The young Scale-insects have the body oval, very flat, and furnished with the same organs as their
mother. They disperse themselves over the leaves, and reach by the end of the autumn the branches,
on which they affix themselves in order to pass the winter. Some, the females, prepare at the com-
mencement of summer to become parents ; and the others, or the larvae of the males, are transformed
into pupae beneath their own skin. These pupae have the two fore-feet directed forwards, and not
backwards, like the four hind legs, and like all the legs of the other inactive pupae. Having acquired
Ualmaii, in a memoir upon some species of Coccus, considers that the number of the joints in the tarsi is three.
NEUIIOPTERA.
573
wings, the males make their escape from the posterior extremity of their cocoons backwards, and then
seek the females, which are much larger than them. Ueaumur observed two small points like ocelli
at that part of the head which corresponds with the mouth. I have discovered in the head of the male
of the Coccus of the elm ten small similar points, as well as tw'o balancers on the sides of the thorax.
Geoffroy states that the females have at the extremity of the body four white filaments, which appear
only on pressing the body of the insect.
Doi thez observed upon the Euphorbia Characias a species which appears to differ in several respects
both of structure and habits from the other species, and which determined M. Bose to form this insect
into a distinct genus, named Dorthesia, The antennae have nine joints, much longer and slenderer in
the male than in the female; the latter continues to live and to be active for some time after depositing
her eggs ; the male has the extremity of the body furnished with a thick brush of long white threads :
! hence this insect is nearer allied to the Aphides than to the Cocci.
1! The Cocci appear to injure the trees, by causing by their punctures a too abundant overflowing of
i ■ the sap. Hence they require the attention of those persons who cultivate peaches, oranges, figs, and
I olives. Some species attack the roots of plants ; some are precious on account of the splendid scarlet
I colour they furnish for the dyer. Further researches on these insects might detect others equally
i useful in this respect.
Geoffroy divided these insects, which are called by the French Galle insectes, or, by contraction, Gallitisectes,
into two genera, CJtermes and Coccus; the latter was called by Kdaumur, Progall-insecte.
The Mealy-bug, C. adonidum, is somewhat of a rosy hue, with the body covered with a white mealy powder ;
the wings and anal setae of the male are of the latter colour. The female has the sides of the body furnished with
i appendages, of which the two posterior are longer, and form a kind of tail. The female envelopes its eggs in a
white cottony secretion, which serves them as a nest. It is naturalised in our hothouses, where it does much
mischief.
The female of Coccus Cacti [the Cochineal insect of commerce], is of a dark brown colour, covered with a white
down, flat beneath, convex above, margined, with the segments rather distinct, but becoming obliterated at the
period of oviposition. The male is of a dark red, with white wings. It is cultivated in Mexico upon a species of
Cactus or Opuntia, and is distinguished by the name of Mesteque, or fine cochineal, from another closely allied
species, smaller and more cottony, called the wild cochineal. It is celebrated for the crimson dye that it pro-
duces ; it also furnishes carmine. This production is one of the chief riches of Mexico.
Coccus polonicus [or the Scarlet Grain of Poland], was also employed in Poland as a considerable object of com-
merce, before the introduction of the Coccus Cacti as a dye. It lives upon the roots of Scleranthus perennis, and
some other plants. The colour produced from this species is almost equal to that of the Coccus'Cacti.
Coccas IZicis, Linn., which lives upon a small kind of oak in the south of Europe, and of which the female
reaches the size of a pea, was employed before the introduction of cochineal. It is also still employed in
medicine.
A species from the East Indies produces gum lac, and another is employed in China for the manufacture of
wax tapers.
A male Coccus, from Java, remarkable for having the antennae composed of about 22 joints, moniliform, and
very pilose, having two thick and nearly coriaceous wings, composes the genus MonopMeba of Leach.
[These insects have recently been divided into several other genera by Illiger, Bouch^, Burmeister, &c.]
THE EIGHTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
THE NEUROPTERA (Odonata, and the major part of Synistata, Fabr.),—
Is clistinguislied from the preceding orders by the fore-wings being membranous, generally
naked, transparent, and similar to the two posterior in respect to their consistence and uses ;
from the 10th and following, by the number of these organs as well as by the structm’e of the
mouth, which is fitted for mastication, or furnished with true mandibles and maxillae, that
is, formed on the ordinary plan [for biting], a character which separates this order from the
tenth, or that of the Lepidoptera, of which the fore-wings are, moreover, mealy. In the
Neuroptera these wings have their surface furnished with a very fine net-w'ork ; the inferior
being mostly as large as the superior, or sometimes larger, sometimes narrower, but longer.
The maxillae and the inferior piece of the lower lip, or the mentum, has never a tubular
INSECTA.
574
formation ; the abdomen is not furnished with a sting, and is but seldom provided with an
ovipositor.
They have for the most part the antennse like a thread, and composed of a great number of
joints ; two or three ocelli ; the thorax is formed of the three segments intimately soldered
into one mass, distinct from the abdomen, and supporting the six feet ; the first of these seg-
ments is generally very short, and like a collar. The number of the joints in the tarsi is
variable ; the body is generally elongate, with the integuments soft, or but slightly scaly ; the
abdomen is always sessile. Many of these insects are carnivorous in their first and
last states.
Some undergo only a demi-metamorphosis, the others are subject to a complete one ; but
the larvae have constantly six feet with hooks, of which they commonly make use in searching
after their food.
I divide this order into three families, which, in their progressive arrangement, exhibit the
following natural relations : — 1st. Carnivorous insects undergoing a demi-metamorphosis, with
aquatic larvae. 2nd. Carnivorous insects undergoing a complete metamorphosis, with terres-
trial or aquatic larvae. 3rd. Carnivorous, or omnivorous and terrestrial insects, undergoing a
demi-metamorphosis. 4th. Herbivorous insects undergoing a complete metamorphosis, with
aquatic larvae, constructing for themselves portable cases. We finish with such as have the
wings less net-like, and which resemble Phalaenae, or Moths.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE NEUROPTERA,—
The Subulicones, Latr., — 1
Is composed of the order Odonata of Fabricius, and of his genus Ephemera. The antennae are in the
form of an awl, scarcely longer than the head, 7-jointed at the most, the last being in the form of a |
seta. The mandibles and maxillae are entirely covered by the labrum and labium, or by the anterior |
and advanced extremity of the head. The wings are always very much reticulated, extended some- 1
times horizontally and sometimes elevated perpendicularly ; the posterior are as large as the anterior, j
or sometimes smaller, and even obsolete. In all, the ordinary eyes are large and very prominent, and |
they have two or three ocelli situated between the preceding. They pass the first two stages of their ^
existence in the water, where they feed upon living prey.
The larvae and pupae, of which the form approaches that of the perfect insect, respire by means of
peculiar organs, situated upon the sides of the abdomen, or at its extremity. They creep out of the <
water in order to undergo their final transformation.
Some of them have the mandibles and maxillae corneous, very strong, and covered by the two lips ;
the tarsi are 3-jointed ; the wings of equal size, and the posterior extremity of the body terminated
simply by hooks, or leaf-like appendages. They form the order Odonata, Fabricius ; or the genus >
Libellula, Linnaeus, [Dragon-flies or Adder-bolts]. ^
The slender form of the body, their varied colours, their large gauze-like wings, the rapidity of flight V
with which they pursue other insects upon which they feed, easily distinguish these Neuropterous ‘
insects. They have a large and rounded head, or in the form of a broad triangle, two very large lateral >■
eyes — (see M. Cuvier’s memoir on their composition in the Mem. de la Soc. d’Hist. Nat. de Paris) — m
three ocelli, situated upon the vertex ; two antennae, inserted upon the forehead behind a vesicular ' i
elevation, and composed, in the greater number, of five or six joints, or three at least, of which the d
last is compound, and becomes gradually slender like a style ; the upper lip is semicircular ; the two f
mandibles scaly, very strong, and toothed ; the maxillae are terminated by a piece of the same consist- j
ence, toothed, spined, and ciliated on the inside with a palpus composed of a single joint applied upon 1
it dorsally, resembling the galea of the Orthoptera ; the under lip is large, and composed of three leaves ; 5
the lateral pair, being the labial palpi, greatly dilated ; a kind of epiglottis, or elongated vesicular ■ [
tongue, in the interior of the mouth; the thorax thick and rounded; the abdomen very long, and ]■
flattened or cylindric, terminated in the males by two lamellar appendages, of which the figure varies
NEUROPTERA.
575
according to the species, and which have been carefully studied by Messrs. Van der Linden and
Charpentier ; the legs short, and directed forwards.
The female, in order to deposit her eggs, places herself upon plants close to the edge of the water,
into which she repeatedly thrusts the extremity of her body. The larvae and pupae reside in the water
until the period of their final transformation, and are somewhat like the perfect insect, except in
wanting wings. But the head, upon which we perceive no ocelli, is remarkable for the singular form
of the piece which occupies the place of the lower lip. This is a kind of mask, covering the mandi-
bles, maxillae, and nearly all the under side of the head. It is composed, 1st, of a principal triangular
piece, which Reaumur calls the mentonniere, and which articulates by a hinge with a pedunele
attached to the head ; 2nd, of two other pieces inserted at the lateral and anterior angles of the pre-
ceding piece, moveable at the base, transverse, and entire, in the form of broad and denticulated
plates, similar, in their mode oi closing the mouth, to a pair of shutters, or in the form of small
hooks. The insect is able to close or extend this very quickly, seizing its prey by means of the claws
at its upper part. The posterior part of the abdomen is sometimes furnished with five unequal-sized
conical plates, capable of opening or closing, and forming a kind of pyramidal tail, and sometimes
with three elongated villose plates like oars. These insects may he seen every instant opening the
rectum in order to take in a supply of air, when they close it again, and shortly afterwards eject the
water with force and mingled with hubbies of air, this action appearing to assist them in their motions.
[Its more immediate object is, however, in order to obtain a supply of fresh oxygen from the water
thus introduced into the rectum.] When arrived at the period for their final change the pupae quit
the water, crawl up some adjacent stem, where they fix themselves by their claws, and scale off their
pupa-skin.
M. Poey, who has particularly studied the insects of Cuba, has informed me, that at a certain season
of the year the northerly winds bring to the city of Havannah and its neighbourhood an innumerable
quantity of specimens of one of the spe-
cies of Libellulse. [Other instances of
their periodical flight or migrations in Eu-
rope have been observed. See Dr. Weis-
senborn’s memoir on this subject in the
new series of the Mag. of Nat. Hist.l
Fabricius, preceded in this respect by Reau-
mur, divided the Dragon-flies into three genera.
Lihellula proper, has the wings extended
horizontally in repose ; the head nearly globu-
lar, with the eyes very large ; a vesicular eleva-
tion, having on each side an ocellus, upon the
vertex ; the other ocellus, or the anterior one,
is much larger, and the middle division of the
lower lip much smaller, than the lateral ones,
which, closing by a straight suture, exactly
shut the mouth. The abdomen is generally
broad and flat. The larvae and pupae have five
appendages at the extremity of the body, which
is short. Type, L. depressa, Linn., [a very
common British species, as well as L. cancel-
lata, here figured, the males in both of which
are remarkable for the fine leaden-blue colour Fig. io5.~Libeliuia canceilata.
of their abdomen]. The memoir of Van der Linden on the Libellulae of Bologna, and subsequently upon those
of Europe, as well as the Hor<e Entomologicce of M. Charpentier, and a series of memoirs by M. Boyer de Fonsco-
lombe in the Annates de la Societe Entomologiqiie de France, may be consulted. The British species, distributed
into various genera, have been described by Mr. Stephens.]
AEshna, Fabr., is similar to Libellula in the manner in which the wings are carried when at rest, and in the form
of the head, but in which the two posterior ocelli are situated upon a simple transverse elevation, having, more-
over, the middle lobe of the lower lip larger, and the two others wide apart, and armed with a strong tooth or
spine ; the abdomen is always long, narrow, and cylindric. The body of the larvae and pupae is also more elongate
than in those of Libellula ; the mask is flat, with its two hooks narrow, and armed with a moveable hook at the
tip. Lihellida grandis, [a common English species, two inches and a half long, and many others]. They fly with
astonishing rapidity over the margin of waters, pursuing flies and other insects in the same manner as swallows.
576
INSECTA.
Agrioti, Fabr., has the wing's elevated perpendicularly in repose ; the head transverse, with the eyes apart ; the
form of the lower lip is similar to that of ^shna, but its middle lobe is slit to the base. The forehead is not fur-
nished with a vesicle; the ocelli are nearly equal in size, and arranged in a triangle on the vertex ; the abdomen
is very slender and filiform, and occasionally very long. The body in the larva and pupa states is also long and
slender, and the abdomen terminated by two oar-like appendages ; the mask is flat, with the superior extremity of
the chin-piece elevated into a point in some, and forked in others. Lihellula virgo, Linn., is of a golden-green
or bluish-green colour, with the wings blue, either entirely or partially, and sometimes pale brownish-yellow.
[This and several other species of smaller size, belonging to the subgenera separated from Agrion by Leach, are
of very common occurrence in this country.]
The other Subulicorn Neuroptera have the mouth entirely membranous or very soft, and com-
posed of parts very indistinct ; they have 5 -jointed tarsi; the lower wings are much smaller than the
superior, or even wanting ; and the abdomen is terminated by two or three long threads. They form
the genus
Ephemera, Linn., —
Thus named from the short duration of their life in the perfect state. The body is soft, long, slender,
and terminated behind by two or three long articulated filaments. The antennm are very small, and
composed of three joints, of w^hich the last is very long, in the form of a conical thread. The front of
the head is advanced like a hood, often keeled and notched, and covers the mouth, of which we cannot
trace the organs on account of their softness and smallness. These insects carry their wings almost
always elevated perpendicularly, or but slightly deflexed, like the Agrions. The legs are veiy slender,
with the tibiae very short and united to the tarsi, which have often only four joints, the first being
nearly obsolete. The two ungues of the terminal joint are very compressed, and the fore-legs are much
longer than the others.
The Ephemer<s generally appear at sunset in the fine days of summer and autumn, along rivers, lakes, &c., and
sometimes in such numbers that the ground, after their death, is covered with them, so that they are carted away
as manure. The falling of one species, with white wings, resembles that of a fall of snow.
These insects unite in swarms in the air, where they fly up and down, extending the threads of their tails. It is
there also that the sexes unite, the males being distinguished by two hooks at the extremity of the body ; their
fore-legs and anal threads are also longer, their eyes larger, and some males possess four eyes, two being much
larger, and elevated on columns. The females deposit their eggs in a gelatinous mass, and, as the propagation of
the species is the only object of the existence of the individual, they very soon perish, often on the day in which
they undergo the final change, sometimes living only a few hours. Those' which .fall on the water are greedily
seized by the fishes, and fishermen give them the name of Manna. But if we consider them in the larva state,
we find their existence extending through two or
three years. In this, and the pupa state, they reside
in the water, concealed during the day under stones,
or in horizontal burrows, which they form in the
banks, from which it is supposed that these larvae
derive their food. Although resembling the perfect
insect in several respects, they differ materially in
having longer antennae, wanting ocelli ; by possess-
ing horn-like mandibles; the abdomen has, more-
over, on each side, a row of plates, mostly in pairs,
which are a kind of false branchiae, and which are
employed not only in respiration, but also as paddles.
The pupa differs from the larva by possessing scales
inclosing the wings. At the moment when they un-
dei’go this change they quit the water, and appear,
after casting their skin, under a new form ; but, by
Fig. 106. — Ephemera vulgata : larva, pupa, and imago.
a singular exception, they have to undergo another moulting before they are fit for propagation. Their last exuviae
are often found fixed to trees, and upon walls.
De Geer formed these insects and the Plirygane<e into a distinct order, in consequence of the minuteness or
absence of the parts of the mouth. In the TabUau Elementaire of Cuvier they also form a peculiar group, named
Agnatha, but which formed part of the order Neuroptera.
The number of the wings and of the anal filaments lead to the establishment of various divisions in the genus
Ephemera ; some having four wings and two tails {E. Swammerdamiana) ; others four wings and three tails
{Ephemera proper, E. vulgata, Linn.) ; some with two wnngs and three tails, and the eyes of the male doubled, one
pair placed in foot stalks. [Others again have only two wings and two tails. These various groups have been
formed into separate genera by Leach, and other subsequent authors, E. vulgata, the commonest species, and
which is well known to fly-fishers under the name of the Grey Drake, being retained as the type of the restricted
genus Ephemera.]
np:uropt£ra. 577
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE NEUROPTERA,—
The Planipennes,—
Which composes, with the following, the greater portion of the order Synistata of Fabricius, com-
prises those Neuroptera which have the antennae always composed of a great number of joints, and
j longer than the head ; the mandibles are distinct, and the lower wings nearly equal to the upper,
extended, or simply folded under at the inner edge.
They have generally the wings very much reticulated and naked, with the maxillary palpi ordinarily
filiform, or rather thickened at the tips, shorter than the head, and composed of four or five joints.
I shall divide this family into five sections, composing, on account of their habits, so many small
I distinct sub-families.
1. The PanorpatcB of Latreille, 'which have five j^oints in all the tarsi, and the anterior extremity
of the head prolonged, and narrowed in the form of a beak or rostrum. They constitute the genus
Panorpa, Linnseus, —
And have the antennae setaceous, and inserted between the eyes ; the clypeus prolonged into a
corneous conical plate, grooved beneath to receive the mouth ; the mandibles, maxillm, and lower lip
I nearly linear ; four or six short filiform palpi ; those of the maxillae appearing to me to consist of only
four joints. The body is long, the head vertical, the first segment of the thorax very small and collar-
like. The two sexes diflfer greatly in many species. Their transformations have not been observed.
II hemoptera, Latr., Ohv., has the hind-wings exceedingly long and linear, and the ocelli are wanting. These
singular insects have hitherto been only observed in the hottest paii|& of Europe, Africa, and the adjacent parts of
j Asia. [See the recent monograph of Klug in the Berlin Transactions:\
I Bittacus, Latr., has the four wdngs of equal size, as well as ocelli ; the abdomen is alike in both sexes, and the
1 legs long and terminated by a single tarsal unguis. [Exotic species.]
Panorpa, Latr., has wings and ocelli like those of Bittacus, but the abdomen of the male is terminated by a
long:) jointed, recurved tail, with a claw at the tip ; and that of the female is long, and pointed at the tip. The le^^s
are of moderate length, and the tarsi have two ungues.
Panorpa communis, Linn., is a very abundant species, found in hedges and woods.
[Several other British species,]
Boreus, Latr., differs from the preceding in the large size of the prothorax ; the
wings of the males are short, curved, and awl-shaped, and the females are wingless.
The only species, B. hiemalis, Linn., is found in winter under moss in the north of
Europe, and on the Alps, [it is small, and has occurred, but rarely, in this country.]
2. The Myrmeleonides, having also five joints in the tarsi, but in which
the head is not prolonged in the form of a beak or muzzle, and the antennae
Fi^. I07.-Panorpa communi.s. thickened at the tips. The head is transverse and vertical, having only
compound eyes, which are round and prominent ; six palpi, those of the
j labium being longer than the others, and thickened at the tips ; the first segment of the thorax is
I small ; the wings of equal size, long, and roof-like ; the abdomen mostly long and cylindric, with two
j filiform appendages at its extremity, in the males ; the legs are short. They inhabit hot situations in
p the southern elimates of both hemispheres, clinging to plants, where they remain stationary during the
" day. They fly swiftly. Their pupae are inactive. These insects compose the genus
Myrmeleon, Linn., —
Which Fabricius has divided into two.
Myrmeleon proper, has the antennae gradually thick-
ened, curved at the tips, and much shorter than the
body, and tiie abdomen is long and linear.
Tlie destruction which the larva of the common Eu-
ropean species makes amongst Ants, has gained for it
the name of the Ant Lion. Its abdomen is very large,
proportioned to the rest of its body; its head is very
small, and armed with two long horn-like mandibles,
toothed on the inside and pointed at the tip, which sen e
it both for pinchers and suckers. Although furnished
with six legs it w'alks but slowly, almost always back-
wards : not being able, therefore, to follow its prey, it
resorts to stratagem, and forms in the sand a conical
P P
INSECTA.
578
pit-fall, by crawling' backwards in a spiral direction and throwing out the sand with its head, and at the bottom
of which it stations itself, leaving only its jaws exposed, its body being buried in the sand, and thus waiting
patiently until an insect falls to the bottom of the pit, when it is instantly seized by the jaws and sucked to death ;
if it endeavours to escape, the Ant Lion showers sand after it, which rarely fails to bring it to the bottom of the
pit. The nutritive fluid thus obtained is never converted into excrement, the insect having no orifice analogous
to the anus. When full grown, and ready to assume the pupa state, it spins a perfectly round cocoon of a silky
matter, the exterior of which it covers with sand. Its spinnerets are placed at the extremity of the body. The
perfect insect makes its appearance at the end of fifteen or twenty days, leaving the exuviae of the pupa in the
opening it has made in the cocoon.
The common European species, M. formicarium, Linn, [which has not,
however, been discovered in England], is about an inch long, with the
wings transparent, with black veins dotted with white, and with dark
spots, one of a whitish colour near the anterior extremity. [The species
are very numerous].
Ascalaphm, Fab., has the antennae long, and suddenly terminated by a
Fig. 109.- M. fonnicariuni. knob, with the abdomen oblong, oval, and scarcely longer than the
thorax. The wings are shorter and broader than in Myrmeleon.
Bonnet observed a larva near Geneva similar to that of Myrmeleon, but which neither crawled backwards nor
formed a pit. The posterior extremity of its body was furnished with a bifid plate, truncated behind. This larva
is probably that of Ascal. italicus, a south of Europe species, which begins to be found in France in the environs
of Fontainebleau. [This is probably doubtful, the larva being more likely to be that of Myr. Libelluloides. See my
Introd. to Mod. Classif. of Insects, ii. p. 45, in which I have figured a larva of Ascalaphus, and subsequently
Mr. Swainson has figured that of Asc. MacUayanus, from L. Guilding’s drawings.]
3. The HemeroUi, Latr., similar to the preceding in the general form of the body and wings, but
with filiform antennae and only four palpi. They form the genus
Hemerobius, Linn., —
Some of which have the prothorax very small, the wings roof-like, the last joint of the palpi thickest,
ovoid, and pointed. The larvae are terrestrial.
Hemerobius proper, has the eyes globose and brilliantly metallic, the wings large and deflexed. They fly slowly,
and many of them emit a disgusting scent. The females deposit their eggs upon leaves, to the number of ten or
twelve, fixing each of them by a long and very slender footstalk. The larvae resemble those of Myrmeleon, but are
more elongate, and are wanderers. They feed upon the plant-lice, which they seize with their mandibles, and suck
their juices, destroying them very quickly. The pupa is inclosed in a cocoon of close silk, spun from the anus
of the larva. Hemerobius {Chrysopa, Leach,) Perla, Linn., is pale yellowish-green, with golden eyes, transparent
wings, and green nerves. [A common species in this country]. -
Osmylus, Leach, is composed of those species which possess three ocelli, of which the preceding are destitute.
H. maculatus, Fabr., [a local British species, of large size].
Nymphes, Leach, founded upon an Australian species, has the same character, but the antennae are filiform and
shorter. [iV. myrmeleonides, Leach.]
The others have the first segment of the thorax large and corselet-like, the wings generally carried
flat on the back, and the palpi filiform, with the terminal segment conical or nearly cylindric, and often |
shorter than the preceding. Their larvae are aquatic. i
Semblis, Fabr., is composed of the genera Corydalis, Chauliodes, and Sialis, Latr.
Corydalis, is distinguished by the mandibles, which are very large and like horns in the males. [C. cornuta, a i
North American insect.]
Cliaidiodes, Latr., has the antennae pectinated; and
Sialis, has ordinary- sized mandibles, and the antennae are simple and the wings roof-like. S. lutarius, Linn.,
[the May-fly, a well-known bait for anglers]. The larva lives in the water, and creeps or swims slowly, like those
of the Ephemerae : it has false branchiae at the sides of the abdomen, aud the tail is elongated into a point ; but it
changes into an inactive pupa. j
4. Another division, that of the Termitince, is composed of Neuroptera which undergo demi-meta-
morphoses, all being terrestrial, active, carnivorous or omnivorous, in all their stages. If we except i
Mantispa, ((bstinct from all the insects of the order in the form of the fore-legs, resembling those of
Mantis), the tarsi have at most four joints, which distinguishes them from the preceding genera of the j
same family. The mandibles are always strong and horny, the hind wings are of the size of the fore
wings, and without folds, or are smaller. | j
Some have from five to three joints in the tarsi, the labial palpi exserted and distinct, and the an^^
tennse multiarticulate.
Mantispa, Illig., has five joints in all the tarsi ; the fore-legs formed as in Mantis ; the antennaj are very short.
NEUROPTERA.
579
the eyes large, the prothorax very long, and the wings roof-like. Exotic species, [recently monographed by Erich-
son, of great interest from their apparent relationship with the order Orthoptera].
Raphidia, Linn., has 4-jointed |arsi, the wings roof-like, the head elongated and narrowed behind, prothorax
long, narrow, and subcylindric, and the abdomen of the females terminated by a long, exserted ovipositor, formed
of two valves. R. ophiopsis, [the Snake-necked Fly, of rare occurrence in this country. See the monograph of
Schummel]. The larva lives in the fissures of the bark of trees, and has the form of a small snake : it is very
active.
Termes, Linn. {Hemerobius, Linn, [the winged males]), has also 4-jointed tarsi, but the wings are carried hori-
zontally on the body, and very long ; the head rounded, and the prothorax short and square. The body is de-
pressed, with the antennae short ; the mouth very similar to that of the Orthoptera, with a four-cleft lower lip ;
three ocelli, one rather indistinct ; the wings generally but slightly
transparent, coloured, with the nervures not forming a close net-
work, and the legs short.
The Termites peculiar to the tropical and adjacent countries, are
known under the name of White Ants, and commit most extraor-
dinary ravages, especially in the larva state, in which they are called
Workers, and are like the perfect insect, but with the body softer and
without wings, and the head generally larger, and destitute of eyes, or
nearly so. They are united into colonies of incalculable numbei s,
and live concealed in the interior of the earth, trees, and other
wooden matters, such as furniture, shelves, &c., in which they form
Fig:, no.— White Ants : 1, Worker; 2, Soldier. galleries, forming routes conducting to the centre of their nests, so
that these objects, of which the outer surface is [with surprising instinct] left untouched, fall to pieces on the
slightest touch. The nests of some species are external, but without any evident exit. Sometimes they are elevated
Fi^-. 111.— 5, Nest of Termes fatale (ten or twelve feet high).— 6, Nest
of Termes atrox.
Fig. 112.-7, Section of the nest of Termes fatale, on a scale of one
inch to eight feet.
j to a great height above the surface, like pyramids, and are sometimes surrounded by a solid roof, which, from the
height and number of these insects, appear at a distance like a small village. Sometimes they affix their nests to
ij the branches of trees. Another sort of individual, termed Neuters or Soldiers, and which Fabricius mistook for
li pupae, defend the nest. They have the head much larger and longer, and the mandibles are very long and cross
over each other. They are far less numerous than the larvae, and liv e near the outer surface of the nest, so that
|1 they make their appearance first when it is attacked ; they are also stated to compel the Workers to labour. The
demi-nymphs have the rudiments of wings, and in other respects resemble the larvae.
|| When arrived at the perfect state, the Termites quit
III their habitation, fly abroad during the evening or
night in great numbers ; they lose their wings before
morning, which dry, and falling to the earth, they
become the prey of birds, lizards, &c. The couples are
then collected by the larvae, which inclose each of them
in a large cell ; but Latreille conjectures that the act of
coupling takes place in the air, as in the Ants, and that
the females alone occupy the attention of the larvae in
order to the establishment of fresh colonies. The ab-
domen of the female subsequently acquires an enor-
mous size, from the innumerable eggs which it contains.
The royal chamber occupies the centre of the habita-
tion, and around it are distributed those which con-
tain the eggs and provisions.
Some larvae of Termes viarum have eyes, and appear
to have habits somewhat dilferent to the rest, and to approach our Ants.
Negroes and Hottentots are very fond of these insects.
with eggs.
I
I
580
INSECTA.
T. lucifugus flavicollis inhabit the south of France, living in the interior of trees. The exotic species have
been but imperfectly characterised, Linnaeus having confounded several under the name of T. fatale.
EmUa, Latr., comprises several insects allied to Termes, butwith the head larger than the thorax ; tarsi 3-jointed ;
wings scarcely extending beyond the abdomen. [See my monograph on this exotic genus, published in Transac-
tions of the Limuean Society of London.']
The other Termitines have the tarsi 2-jointed ; the labial palpi indistinct, or very short ; the antennae
about 10-jointed ; the first segment of the thorax very small, and the hind wings smaller than the fore
ones. They form the genus
Psocus, Latr. {Termes, Hemerobius, Fabr.),
These are insects with a short, soft, and gibbose body ; the head large ; the antennae setaceous ; wings roof-like,
and but slightly veined. They are very active, and live on the bark of trees. We generally find in
books of collections of plants, the P. pulsatorius, of a whitish colour, and which has been believed
to produce the slight noise like the ticking of a clock, often heard in houses, whence its specific
name.
5. The Perlides, which, have three joints in the tarsi, the mandibles almost always
membranous and small, with the hind wings broader than the fore wings, and folded
at the inner edge. They consist of the genus
Perla, Geolf., —
In which the body is elongate, narrow, and flattened ; the head rather large; antennae setaceous ;
pro thorax nearly square ; the wings shutting horizontally on the body ; and the abdomen generally
terminated by two setae. Their larvae are aquatic, and are stated [by Latreille, but erroneously,] to reside in cases
which they bear about with them. [They are naked, and resemble the imago, but are wingless.]
Perla bicaudata, Linn. {Phryganea), is a rather common species, found on the margin of rivers.
Nemoura, Latr., differs from Perla in its corneous mandibles, and in the abdomen not being terminated by setae.
[See the monograph of this group, published by Mr. Newman in the Magazine of Natural History.]
Figr- 114. — Atropos
pulsatorius.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE NEUROPTERA,—
The Plicipennes, Latr., —
Are destitute of mandibles, and their hind wings are generally broader than the superior, and folded
throughout their whole length. They comprise the genus
Phryganea, Linn.
They have at the first sight the appearance of small Phalmnae, and De Geer observed that the internal
structure of their larva has great resemblance to that of caterpillars. In the systems of Kirby and
Leach, they form the order Trichoptera, which is connected with the Lepidoptera by means of the
Tinea. But as we naturally pass from the Plicipennes to the Perlides, we should be compelled to ter-
minate the Neuroptera with Libellula and Ephemera, of which the structure and habits greatly differ
from those of the Hymenoptera, which succeeds them in this system. The Libellula and other adjacent
Neuroptera, appear to us nearest allied to the Orthoptera.
The head of the Plicipennes is small, with two long setaceous and porrected antenna ; the eyes are
round and prominent ; two ocelli, placed in the forehead ; a conical or bent labrum ; four palpi, the
maxillary pair being often very long, filiform, or nearly setaceous, 5-jointed, and the labial 3-jointed;
the maxilla and lower lip membranous and united ; the body is generally very hairy, and forms with
the wings an elongated triangle, as in many Noctua or Pyralides ; the prothorax is small ; the wings are
simply veined, silken, or hirsute in many, and always roof-like. The legs are long, furnished with
small spines, with five joints to all the tarsi. These insects chiefly fly in the evening or night, often
entering our houses, attracted by the light, and being extremely active in all their movements. They
emit a disagreeable smell when touched. The smaller species fly in troops over water. Many females
carry their eggs united into a pacquet at the posterior extremity of the abdomen. Their larvae [which
are the well-known bait of the angler, called Caddice, or Cad-bait,] reside, like the larvae of some moths,
in cases generally cylindrical, covered with various substances they collect in the water, such as bits of
straw, leaves, sticks', sand, and even small shells, often symmetrically arranged, and which they affix to
their cases hy silken threads, spun from internal reservoirs similar to those of caterpillars ; the interior
of this habitation forms a tube, which the larva bears about with it, protruding the anterior part
of its body when it creeps forward, never quitting it of its own accord, and immediately re-entering it if
forced out of it.
HYMENOPTERA.
581
These larvae are elongate, nearly cylindric, with a scaly
head furnished with strong mandibles, and a small eye on
each side ; six feet, of which the two anterior are shortest
and thickest, and the other four longer ; the body is com-
posed of twelve joints, of which the fourth has a conical
tubercle on each side in the majority of the species ; the
terminal segment is furnished wdth tw^o moveable hooks ; the
majority also possess two series of white flexible filaments,
which appear to be respiratory organs. When ready to
assume the pupa state, they fix their cases to some sub-
stance under water, closing each end with an open grating,
which, as well as the cases itself, varies in the different
snecies. ns.— Phryganea grandis.- a. Larva in its case:
^ grating ; c. Imago.
The pupae have in front two hooks, which cross each other like a beak, and with which they make
their way through the grating, [immediately before they assume their final form,] when, although pre-
viously immoveable, they walk or swim with agility, by means of their four fore-legs, which are free and
fringed. The pupae of the larger species crawl up plants out of the water, where they throw off
their skin, but the smaller ones merely come to the surface, and are there transformed into winged
insects in the same way as Gnats, their old envelope serving them for a boat.
Some have the hind wings evidently larger than the fore ones, and folded.
Sericostoma, Latr., has in one of the sexes the maxillary palpi dilated into a mask covering the face ; in the
other sex they are filiform, and 5-jointed.
PJmjganea proper, has the mouth alike in both sexes, and the palpi shorter than the head and thorax, and
slightly villose. P. grandis, [and a great number of other species, well known to the angler and fly-fisher].
, Mystacida, Latr., has the antennae exceedingly long, as well as the maxillary palpi, which are very hairy. (P.
fdosa, quadrifasciata, &c.)
The others have the fore wings narrow, lanceolate, subequal, and not folded.
Hydroptila, Dalm., with short antennae of equal thickness throughout.
Psychomyia, Latr., has similar wings, but the antennae are long and setaceous, founded upon a minute, appa-
rently undescribed species.
[This tribe has recently been thoroughly investigated by M. Pictet, whose memoir forms a thick quarto volume,
with many plates. Messrs. Stephens and Curtis have also described many new English species, as well as addi-
tional genera.
Dr. Burmeister has published an entire revision of the order Neuroptera in the last part of his Handbuch der
Entomologie, in which he has also established many additional genera.]
I
j
j THE NINTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
j THE HYMENOPTERA, Linnaeus (Piezata, Fabricius),—
i
i Also possesses four membranous, naked wings, a mouth furnished with mandibles, maxillte, and
jj two lips ; but the wings (of which the anterior are always the largest) have fewer nervures
j than those of the Neuroptera, and are only veined [and not net- like] ; the females have the
i| abdomen terminated by an ovipositor or a sting. All possess, in addition to their compound
I eyes, three minute ocelli ; their antennae are of variable form, not only differing in the genera,
j but also in the sexes of the same species j they are nevertheless filiform or setaceous in the
, majority ; the maxillae and lower lip are generally narrow, elongated, attached in a deep cavity
I of the head by long muscles* ; semitubular at the base ; often folded back at the extre-
I J more fitted for conducting the nutritive fluids than for mastication, and united in many
I in the form of a proboscis ; the tonguelet is membranous, and either widened at the tip or
i long and filiform, having the pharynx at its base, and often covered by a sort of sublabrum or
I epipharynx ; two labial and two maxillary palpi ; thorax composed of three segments united in
* Hence the mentum partakes of this general movement ; in other biting insects it is fixed.
582
INSECTA.
a mass, the anterior being very short and the two others united into one.* The wings are
crossed horizontally upon the body ; the abdomen mostly suspended to the hind part of the
thorax by a slender thread or peduncle ; the tarsi are 5-jointed, none of the joints being
bilobed. The borer or sting [both of which are described in a note as being typically com-
posed on the same model], are formed for the most part of three long and slender pieces,
two of which serve as a sheath to the third in those which have a borer, and of which the
upper has a groove at its under side to encase the two others.
M. Jurine has found in the articulation [of the nerves] of the wings good auxiliary charac-
ters for the distinction of genera, making use of the presence or absence, number, form, and con-
nexion of the two kind of cells situated near the external apex of the fore wings, which he
terms radial [or marginal], and cubital [or submarginal] cells. The middle of the fore mar-
gin of the wings has often a callous spot, termed the stigma, whence a nerve extends which
runs to the tip of the wing, and forms with the fore-edge of the wing the radial cell, some-
times divided into two ; a second nervure also extends from the stigma, which also extends to
the apex of the wing, leaving between it and the first-mentioned nerve a space occupied by the
cubital cells, of which the number varies from one to four.
The Hymenoptera undergo a complete metamorphosis ; the majority of their larvae are
vermiform, and are destitute of feet, such as those of the second and following familes; those of
the first family have six hooked feet, and often from twelve to sixteen others, which are simply
membranous ; the head in all is scaly, with mandibles, maxillae, and a lower lip, at the extre-
mity of which is a spinneret for the passage of the silken matter of which the cocoon of the
pupa is composed. Some feed upon vegetable substances ; others, always footless, upon the
dead bodies of insects, in all their states of egg, larva, pupa, and imago. In order to supply
their weakness, the female supports them with provisions, sometimes carrying their food to
the nests which they have prepared for them, often with surprising skill, and sometimes
by placing their eggs in the bodies of larvse and pupae of insects, upon which their young feed.
Other equally footless larvae of Hymenoptera are fed on more elaborated animal and vegetable
food, and more constantly renew^ed. These are reared in common by individuals destitute of sex,
united in societies, charged exclusively with such works, and whose labours and regime are the
theme of continual admiration. The Hymenoptera in the perfect state subsist almost exclu-
sively on riowers, and are commonly most abundant in southern climates. The extent of their
existence, from their birth till their final change, is confined to a year.
[The natural classification of these insects has been but comparatively little attended to.
Various plans of arrangement, founded not only upon the structure of the imago, but also
upon its habits, and the peculiarities of the preparatory states, have recently been proposed
by Saint Fargeau, Hahlbom, Hartig, Haliday, &c. I must however refer to the 2nd vol. of
my Introduction to Entomology for an investigation of these arrangements.
I divide this order into two sections, [Terebrantia and Aculeata].
The first, that of the Terebrantia, is characterized by possessing a borer in the females.
I divide the Terebrantia into two great families, [the Securifera and Pupivora'].
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE HYMENOPTERA,—
The Securifera, —
Is distinguished from the following by the sessile abdomen, of which the base is united to the thorax
by its entire width, and appears to be but a continuation of it, without any proper motion. The
females have an ovipositor, for the most part like a saw, which is used not only in depositing the eggs,
but also in preparing a place for their reception. The larvse have always six scaly feet, and often
* In a note Latreille adopts tlie theory that the metathorax is a very
narrow segment, and that the hind part of the thorax which has two
spiracles at the sides, is in reality the first abdominal segment, so
that in the pedunculated Hymenoptera, the peduncle is the second
and not the first abdominal segment.
HYMENOPTERA.
583
others, but which are membranous. This family is composed of two tribes, [the Tenthredinetce and
Urocerata].
The Tenthkedinet^ — ,
Or Saw-flies [as they are commonly called, from their saw-like ovipositor], have the mandibles long and
compressed, the lower lip divided into three lobes, the ovipositor composed of two plates, toothed like
a saw, united, and lodged in a channel beneath the anus ; the maxillary palpi are always composed of
six joints, and the labial of four ; the wings are always divided into numerous cells. This tribe is
composed of the genus
Tenthredo, Linn.
The abdomen is cylindric, rounded behind, 9-jointed ; the form of the antennae varies ; the mandibles
are strong and toothed ; the maxillary palpi are filiform and 6-jointed ; the lower lip is divided at the apex
into three lobes ; the labial palpi are only 4-jointed. It is with the alternate motion of the saws of the
ovipositor that these insects make a succession of small holes in the branches or other parts of trees,
in each of which an egg and a drop of frothy liquid are discharged, the latter of which has the effect of
closing the hole. The wound thus made becomes more and more convex by the increase in size of the
egg, and sometimes these parts assume the form of a gall, either woody or pulpy, according to the parts
injured ; these tumours form the abode of the larvae which reside within them, and the insect makes
with its teeth a circular hole for its escape. But in general these larvae are external feeders, devouring
the leaves. They greatly resemble the Caterpillars of Lepidopterous insects, hut have from eighteen
to twenty-two feet, or only six, which distinguishes them from caterpillars, which have from ten to
sixteen feet. Many of these false caterpillars roll themselves into a spire, and others have the
extremity of the body elevated in the air. In order to undergo their change, they spin, either on the
earth or on the plants upon which they have fed, a cocoon, in which they remain unchanged for many
months, changing to pupae only a few days before they become perfect Sawflies.
Some, in many of which the antennae are not more than nine-jointed, with two spurs at the tip of the fore tibiae,
have the ovipositor not exserted, the labrum apparent, the inside of the four hind tibiae without spines in the
middle, or with only one ; the larvae have from twelve to sixteen false legs.
Cimbex, Oliv. {Crabro, Geoffr.), comprises those species which have the antennae
alike in both sexes, and terminated by a knob or a reversed cone rounded at the
tip, preceded by four or five joints, and the two subcostal nerves are contiguous
without a wide intermediate space. The larvae have 22 feet ; some when disturbed
discharge from pores of the body, often to the distance of a foot, drops of a
greenish liquid. Dr. Leach has divided this genus into numerous others [adopted
by English authors], founded upon the number of joints in the antennae preceding
the club, their relative sizes, and the arrangement of the cells of the wings.
Fig. (ZarBea Leach, (one of these genera), peculiar to New Holland, differs from the
rest by having the four posterior tibiae furnished with a moveable spine in the middle, the posterior angles of the
scutellum produced into short obtuse teeth, the antennae very short and 6-jointed.
Syzygonia, King, has also 6-jointed antennae, and the radial cell is appendiculated. The species are Brazilian,
as well as those of Pachylosticta, Klug, which have antennae composed of five joints, and the fore-wings dilated
near the apex.
Saint Fargeau, in his work on the Tenthredinid<s, adopts only the genus Perga, and we also consider the genera
of Leach as simple divisions in the genus Cimbex, the type of which is the Tenthredo femorata, [a large and rare
British species].
Hylotoma, Latr. (Cryptus, Jur.), has the antennae apparently only 3-jointed, the third forming a long prismatic
or cylindric mass ; the greater number have a spine on the inside of the four hind tarsi, in the middle. The larvae
have from eighteen to twenty feet. Type, Tenthredo Roste, Linn., [a common British species].
Schizocerus, Latr. {Cryptus, Leach), has four submarginal cells, and the male antennae forked.
Ptilia, St. Farg., differs from Hylotoma in having only three submarginal cells. Sometimes the antennae have
at least nine joints, and do not terminate in a mass.
Tenthredo proper, have nine simple joints in both sexes ; the larvae have from 18 to 22 feet. The number of teeth
in the mandibles varies in the perfect insect from two to four ; the wings also vary in the number of the cells, and
hence various subgenera have been established, such as Allantus, Dolerus, Nematus, Jur., and Pristiphora and
some others of Leach, [such as ^elandria, Fenusa, Dosytheus, Emphytus and Crcesus], Type, T. Scroplmlarice,
Linn., a common species, much resembling a Wasp, the larva of which feeds on the Water Betony. De Geer has
described a singular species, which in the larva state infests the leaves of our fruit trees under the form of a small
black slug, and to which he refers the Tenthredo Cerasi, Linn. ; this larva is black, and covered with a slimy
secretion. Peck, an American naturalist, has given the complete history of another species, which has a
similar larva.
INSECTA.
584
Cladius, King, lias also 9-joiiited antennae, but those of other males are pectinated on one side. [C. difformis,
a small black species, rather uncommon.]
Athalia, Leach, has the body short, and the antennae from 10 to 14-jointed, and simple in both sexes. [A,centi-
foUce, Panz., is extremely destructive to turnips, its larva being known under the name of the Nigger, or
Black Jack.]
Pterygophorus, Klug, has the antennae more than 16-jointed, with a single row of teeth in the males, and serrated
in the females, [composed entirely of Australian insects].
Lophyrits, Latr., has the male antennae furnished with a double row of long branches, and serrated in the
females. The larvae have twenty-two feet, and live in society, especially upon firs and pines.
In the following genera the labrum is hidden, or but little exposed ; the inner edge of the four posterior tibiae
has often two spurs in the middle, and often a third above the preceding pair. The antennae are always composed
of a great number of joints.
Megalodontes, Latr. {Tarpa, Fab.), have the antennae serrated or comblike.
Pamphilius, Latr. {Lyda, Fab.), has the antennae simple in both sexes. Their larvae have no membranous feet,
and the posterior extremity of the body is terminated by two horns. They feed upon leaves, which they often
roll up and fasten together.
The terminal Tenthredinetae have the ovipositor extended beyond its sheath, and exposed posteriorly ; the inner
extremity of the two fore tibiae has only a single spur, which is bent, and terminated by two teeth ; the antennae
are always composed of a great number of joints, and are simple.
Xyela, Dalm. (Pinicola, Breb., Mastigocerus, Klug), is very distinct, from its elbowed antennae suddenly
attenuated towards the tip, 11-jointed, the third joint being exceedingly long, as well as the maxillary palpi ; the
stigma is replaced by a cell . The larvae live in the interior of vegetables, or in old wood. [These are small and
singular insects, one species of which, X. pusilla, has occuri-ed, but very rarely, in this country.]
Cephus, Latr. {Trachelus, Jur.), has the antennae inserted near the forehead [not elbowed], and thickened at tip.
From some observations published in the Bulletin Universel of Ferussac, it appears that the larva of the most
common species, C. pygnueus, lives in the stems of wheat.
Xiphydria, Latr. {Urocerus, Jur.), has the antennae inserted near the mouth, and more slender at the tips.
[This genus naturally belongs to the family Urocerata, the construction of its ovipositor agreeiug with that of
Urocerus; the larvae also live in solid wood. The imago is remarkable for the great length of its neck, whence
the names of the typical species, X. camelus and Dromedarius.
[The student must especially consult the monograph on this family published by Saint Fargeau, the
numerous memoirs of Klug in the Berlin Magazine, various works of Dahlbom and Hartig, the two last
of whom have studied the family with great care, and especially with reference to their transforma-
tion. Mr. Stephens has described the British species in his British Entomology. 1
The second tribe, that of the
Urocerata, —
Is distinguished from the preceding by the following characters : The mandibles are short and thick ;
the lower lip entire ; the ovipositor of the females is either very much exserted, and composed of three
threads, or spirally coiled in the interior of the abdomen and capillary. This tribe is composed of
the genus
SiREX, Linn., —
The body of which is nearly cylindric, the head nearly gobular. The females deposit their eggs in old
trees, especially of fir ; the ovipositor is lodged at its base, between two valves, forming a sheath.
Latr., has the antenucE inserted near the mouth, 10 or 11-jointed ; the mandibles are without teeth ;
the maxillary palpi long and 5-jointed ; the posterior extremity of the body nearly rounded, and the ovipositor
capillary, and spirally coiled within the abdomen. The two species [known to Latreille] are found in Europe
upon trees early in spring, and are very active. [The typical species, O. coronatus, has been found in this
country.]
Sirex proper {JJrocerus, Geoffr.), has the antennae inserted near the forehead, with from 13 to 25 joints ; the man-
dibles toothed internally ; the maxillary palpi very small, nearly conical, and 2-jointed, with the extremity of the
abdomen prolonged into a horn, and the ovipositor exserted and formed of three threads. These insects are of
large size, and generally inhabit pine forests in cold and mountainous countries, and produce during flight a buz-
zing noise like that of the Humble Bees. In certain seasons they appear [in such countries] in such abundance
that they become objects of popular dread. The larvae have six feet, with the posterior extremity of the body
terminated in a point ; they live in wood, where they spin a cocoon and undergo their transformations. [Saint
Fargeau, contrary to the statements of the German naturalists, who have such abundant opportunities of studying
the manners of this genus, has endeavoured to show that these insects are parasites. Typical species, Sirex
gigas, Linn. (S. mariscus, L., the male) ; it has occurred in this country, but very rarely, and is as large as
a Hornet.]
Tremex, Jur., differs in having shorter antennae, composed of only thirteen or fourteen joints, and in the fore-
wings having only two cubital cells.
HYMENOPTERA.
585
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HYMENOPTERA,—
The Pupivora, —
Has the abdomen attached to the thorax by a small portion only of its transverse diameter, and often
by a slender peduncle, so that its mode of insertion is very distinct, and it is easily bent over the thorax.
The females are armed with a borer, which serves them as an oviduct.
The larvae are footless grubs, and are, for the most part, parasites, and carnivorous.
I divide them into six tribes.
The first tribe, Evaniales, Latr., has the wings veined, and the superior, at least, areolated ; the
antennae, filiform or setaceous, 13-or 14-jointed; the mandibles toothed internally; the maxillary palpi
6-jointed, and the labial 4-jointed ; the abdomen implanted high on the thorax, and often beneath the
scutellum, with the ovipositor generally exserted, and composed of three threads. This tribe may be
formed into a single genus,
Fcenus.
Evania, Latr., has the ovipositor internal, the antennae elbowed, and the abdomen very minute, compressed,
pedunculated, and attached at the upper and posterior extremity of the thorax, close to the scutellum. [JS. appen-
digaster, Latr., a small species, regarded as parasitic upon the Cockroach.]
Pelecinus, Latr., has the abdomen sometimes very much elongated, filiform, and arched, sometimes narrowed
gradually towards the base and terminated in a club ; the posterior tibiee are thickened, and the ovipositor not
exserted. [Singular American insects.]
Fcenus, Fabr., has the ovipositor long, exserted, and formed of three long and equal threads, and the abdomen
and posterior tibiae clavate, and the antennae filiform. [Two British species.]
Aulacus, Jur., has the abdomen compressed, the tibiae slender, and the antennae setaceous. [Several continental
and American insects.]
Paxylloma, Brebisson, has the abdomen sickle-shaped. [This genus is arranged by subsequent authors
amongst the Ichneumones adsciti. Latreille had noticed its great relation with Ophion. P. buccata, the type,
has occurred in this country.]
The second tribe, the Ichneumonides, have the wings also veined, the superior always exhibiting
in the disc perfect or closed cells ; the abdomen is affixed between the two hind feet ; the antennae are
generally filiform or setaceous, (very rarely clavate,) vibratile, and composed of a great number of
joints (16 at least). In the majority the mandibles have no tooth on the inside, and are terminated
in a bifid tooth. The maxillary palpi are always apparent, or prominent, and have mostly only five
joints. The ovipositor is composed of three threads.
This tribe embraces nearly the whole of the genus
Ichneumon, Linn., —
Which destroy the progeny of Lepidopterous insects, so injurious to the agriculturist, under the form
of Caterpillars, in the same manner as the Ichneumon quadruped was supposed to destroy the Croco-
dile, by depositing its eggs in its entrails.
The old authors named these insects Musccb tripiles, on account of the three threads of the
ovipositor ; and Musccb vihrantes, because they continually vibrate their antennae, which are often
curved, with a white or yellow ring in the middle. They have long maxillary palpi, nearly setaceous,
5- or 6-jointed, the labial being shorter, and 3- or 4-jointed. The tonguelet is generally entire, or
simply eraarginate. The body has generally a narrow and elongated or linear form, with the ovipositor
sometimes exterior and like a tail, and sometimes very short, and hidden in the interior of the abdo-
men, which is terminated in a point, whereas it is thickened and obliquely truncate in those which
have the ovipositor exposed. Of the three pieces of which it is composed the middle piece is the only
part which penetrates into the body, in which the eggs are deposited ; its tip is often slit like the point
of a pen. The females, when ready to deposit their eggs, run or fly about in order to discover the
larvae, pupae, or eggs of insects, and even of Spiders, Plant Lice, &c., destined to receive the eggs and
to nourish the young Ichneumons, exhibiting in these searches an admirable instinct, in order to find
the objects of their search in their most concealed retreats. It is [in caterpillars, &c., which live]
beneath the bark of trees, or in their crevices, that those with an elongated ovipositor place their
eggs [in the manner represented in the annexed figures] ; whilst those with a short ovipositor place
586
INSECTA.
their eggs in or upon the bodies of naked caterpillars, or pupae, to which they can obtain easy access.
The larvae of the Ichneumons have no feet, and thus resemble those of the following families. Those
which reside, like intestinal Worms, inside
the bodies of other insects, sometimes in so-
ciety, devour only the fatty parts of the body,
being the portions not absolutely necessary
for existence ; hut when ready to assume the
pupa state they pierce through the outer
skin, or else they kill their victim and un-
dergo their own changes in its body. The
majority spin a silken cocoon, in which the
pupa is inclosed. These cocoons are some-
times united in a mass, sometimes naked, and
sometimes enveloped in a common cottony
mass, often seen attached to the stems of
plants. Their union and arrangement forms
a mass sometimes resembling a piece of
Fig^. iiz.—Pimpia manifestator, depositing its eggs. houey-comb. These cocoons are sometimes
of a uniform whitish colour, and sometimes banded ; some cocoons are suspended to the leaves of trees
by a long thin thread.
This family is extremely numerous in species. [Gravenhorst, in his Ichneumonologia Europtea,
describes nearly 1650 species of European Ichneumones genuini ; and Stephens and others have added
greatly to their number. The Ichneumones adsciti are probably as numerous ; so that, supposing the
number of species in the world to he double that of those found only in Europe, we shall have more
than 6,000 Ichneumonidae ; a number which, although very extraordinary, is probably far below the |
actual amount.]
The vai-iation in the number of joints in the palpi may serve as the basis for the principal divisions in the
family. [This character has been proved by Haliday and Nees von Esenbeck to be inapplicable to the Ichneumo-
nides adsciti.']
The first comprises those species which have the maxillary palpi 5-jointed, and the labial 4-jointed ; the second
cubital cell is very minute, and nearly circular, or wanting.
A first subdivision is formed with the species which have the head not prolonged into a beak ; the labrum not
deeply notched ; the maxillary palpi very long, and the ovipositor not covered at the base by a large vomeri-
form plate.
Some of these have the ovipositor exserted.
Stephanus, Jur. (having the thorax very narrow in front, and the antennae attached to the posterior and superior
part of the metathorax, as in the Evaniae, — exotic insects), and
Xorides, Latr. (having the metathorax convex and armed at the apex, so that the abdomen is attached in the
oi’dinary manner with a distinct peduncle), differ from the others by having the head nearly globular, the mandibles
terminated in an entire point or slightly emarginate. The second cubital cell is often obsolete.
The others have the head transverse, and the mandibles distinctly bifid at the tip. Some, as
Pimpla, Fab., have the abdomen cylindrical and very shortly peduncled. [Numerous British species.] Type,
Ichneumon persuasorius, Linn. Another species (P. ovivora, Bull. Ferussac), destroys the eggs of Spiders.
Cryptus, Fab., has the abdomen nearly oval, with a long curved peduncle. Some of the species are apterous,
whence, as well as from the form of the thorax divided into two nodes, they should constitute a distinct subgenus.
They are always found on the ground. [They constitute the subgenus Pezomachus, Gravenhorst, who has pub-
lished a monograph upon them.]
Others have the ovipositor of the females hidden, or but little extended beyond the anus.
Ophion, Fab., has the abdomen sickle-shaped, the antennae filiform or setaceous ; the ovipositor is slightly ex-
serted. The second cubital cell is very small. Type, Ichneumon luteus, Linn., [a common British species], the
female of which deposits her eggs on the body of the larva of the Bombyx vinula, fixing them by means of a long
peduncle. The larva of O. moderator, Fab., destroys that of another Ichneumon, Pimpla strobilellce. Fab.
Banchus, Fab., has similar antennae, but the abdomen is gradually narrowed to the tip. [B. pictus, Fab., a com-
mon British species.]
Hellwigia, Gravenh., have the appearance of the preceding, but the antennae are clavate. [A continental
species.]
Joppa, Fab., differs from the following in having the antennae dilated in the middle, and pointed at the tip.
[Exotic species.]
HYMENOPTERA.
587
Ichneumon proper, has the head transverse, the abdomen oval, nearly equally narrowed at each end. [Numerous
British species.] Pan2er has separated, under the name of Trogus, those species which have the scutellum in the
form of a conical tubercle, and the abdomen marked by deep transverse impressions.
Alomyia, Panzer, has the head narrower and more rounded, with the abdomen more dilated towards the poste-
rior extremity.
Hypsiccra, Latr. {Tryphon {Exochus) Grav.], has the appearance of Alomyia, but is remarkable for its pyramidal
head, with a frontal elevation supporting the antennae.
Peltastes, Illig. {Metopius, Panzer), has the abdomen united to the thorax by the greater part of its transverse
diameter, subsessile, and slightly dilated towards the extremity. Iclin. necatorius, Panz. [and two or three allied
British species]. They have a circular elevation beneath the antennas.
The second and last division of the species with 5-jointed maxillary and 3-jointed labial palpi has the labium
deeply notched, and the ovipositor is exserted and covered at the base by a vomeriform plate ; the hind thighs
are thick.
Acanitus, Latr., has the front of the head not produced into a beak. In
Agathis, Latr., it forms a beak. These insects approach in their wings the following subgenera.
Our second division of the Ichneumons differs from the preceding in respect to the joints of the
palpi only, in consequence of the labial palpi having only three joints, as in the majority of the species
of the following division ; the second cubital cell is nearly as large as the first, and nearly square ; the
ovipositor is exserted ; the tip of the mandibles is bifid or notched.
Bracon, Jur., has an evident hiatus between the mandibles and clypeus ; the maxillae are prolonged interiorly
beneath the mandibles ; the second cubital cell is square and rather large ; the ovipositor is long; the antennae
are setaceous, as long as the body, and the maxillary palpi are much longer than the labial.
Vipio, Latr., has the antennae shorter and filiform ; the maxillae are proportionably larger, and form a kind of
beak, and the maxillary palpi are not much longer than the labial.
Microgaster, Latr., does not exhibit any decided hiatus between the mandibles and clypeus ; the maxillae and
lower lip are not prolonged ; the second cubital cell is small. The ovipositor as well as the abdomen is short.
Our third and last division, corresponding with the genus Bassus of M. Esenbeck, has like the
preceding, four joints in the labial palpi, but the maxillary palpi are 6-jointed ; the abdomen is
semi-sessile.
In some the mandibles are gradually narrowed to the tip, and terminated by two teeth.
Helcon, Nees, has the abdomen, seen from above, composed of several Joints, and terminated by a long ovi-
positor.
Sigalphus, Latr., has the abdomen vaulted beneath, and only 3-jointed above, with the ovipositor withdrawn and
sting-like.
Chelonus, Jur., has the abdomen similarly formed beneath, but inarticulated on its upper suface.
Alysia, Latr., has the mandibles nearly square, with three teeth at the tip, one in the middle, and the two others
formed by the produced angles of the terminal margin.
[The investigation of the Ichneumonidae, since the death of Latreille, has been greatly attended to ; the great
work of Gravenhorst has made us acquainted with the Ichneumones genuini, or those which composed Latreille’s
first division, whilst the Ichneumones adsciti, or those composing the two other divisions of Latreille, have been
described by Dr. Nees Von Esenbeck, Professor Wesmael of Brussels, and Mr. Haliday, in various memoirs and
separate publications, in which a great number of genera are added to those noticed in the text.]
The third tribe, Gallicol.® {Diploleparm, Latr.) has only a single nerve in the hind wings ; the upper
wings possess a few cells or areolets : namely, two brachial cells at the base, the internal one being
generally incomplete or but slightly distinct, one radial and triangular, and two or three cubital ; the
second in those which have three, being always very small, and the third very large, triangular, and
closed by the external margin of the wing. The antennae are thickened at the tip, but not forming a
mass, and mostly from 13- to 1 5-jointed; the palpi are very short, [not very long, as described by
Latreille]. The ovipositor is rolled spirally up in the interior of the abdomen, with the posterior
extremity lodged in a slit of the belly ; the Gallicolae form the genus
Cytstips, Linn., —
Which Geoflfroy inconsiderately named Diplolepis, and gave the name of Cynips to insects of the
following family, united by Linnaeus with the terminal division of the Ichneumons.
The abdomen is compressed, the thorax very much elevated, the ovipositor of the females appears to
consist of a single long and very delicate piece, rolled up spirally at the base, and the terminal part
being lodged beneath the anus, between two elongated valves, each forming a demi-sheath. The
extremity of this ovipositor is channelled with lateral teeth, with which the insect enlarges the slits
INSECTA.
588
made in various vegetables in order to deposit its eggs ; the fluid accumulating in the wounded part of
the plant forms excrescences or tumours, which have been termed galls or nut-galls, the latter of which
is employed with a solution of green vitriol, or sulphate of iron, in producing a black dye.
The form and solidity of these galls vary according to the nature of the parts of the plants which
have been attacked, as the leaves, petioles,
buds, bark, roots. Many are spherical, and
resemble fruits, such as gall-apples, &c. ; others
are hairy, as the bedeguar of the rose ; others
resemble small artichokes, fungi, &c. The eggs
inclosed in these galls increase in size and con-
sistence. They give birth to small larvse
destitute of feet, but furnished with tubercles to
supply their stead ; sometimes they live singly,
and sometimes in societies. [ I have obtained
more than eleven hundred gall-flies from a single gall, found at the root of an oak]. They devour the inte-
rior without stopping its growth, and remain five or six months in that state. Some undergo their changes
within the galls, but others quit them in order to descend into the earth. The small round holes
observed in the sides of the galls, show that the insect has made its escape : various insects of the
following family are also found within, but these have taken the place of the real inhabitants, having
destroyed them in the same manner as the Ichneumons.
An insect [considered to belong to this family] deposits its eggs in the seeds of the most forward
wild figs in the Levant. The modern Greeks, following a custom handed down to them by their
forefathers, fasten several of these fruits, amongst the later figs, the insects escaping from which,
covered with the fecundating dust, make their way into the eye of the fruit of the latter, and thus pro-
voke the maturity of the fruit. This operation is termed caprification.
Ibalia, Latr. {Sagaris, Panz.), has the abdomen very compressed, like the blade of a knife; the antennae filiform;
the radial cell is long and narrow, and the two brachial ones very distinct ; the two anterior cubital cells are very
small. [/. cultillator, Latr., a very rare British species.]
Figites, Latr., has the abdomen ovoid, thick, and rounded above, compressed beneath ; the antennae moniliform,
and thickened to the tips. There is only one complete brachial cell ; the radial cell is far from the tip of the
wing, and the second cubital is wanting.
Cynips proper {Diplolepis, Geoff.), has the abdomen similar, but the antennae are filiform, and there are three
cubital cells ; the radial cell is also more elongate. C. Gallte tinctorice, Oliv., resides in a sound hard tubercular
gall found upon a species of oak in the Levant, and which is used in commerce, [and which is our chief ingredient
in the manufacture of ink]. By breaking the galls, the perfect insect may occasionally be obtained. C. Quercus
pedunculata, punctures the male flower-stalks of the oak, and produces small galls in bunches, like bunches of
currants. [See, for numerous additional genera and species, the memoirs of Boyer de Fonscolombe, Walker,
Westwood, and especially Hartig, published in the 3rd number of the Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie.']
The fourth tribe (Chalcidi^, Spin.), differs only from the preceding in having the antennas elbowed
(except in Eucharis), and forming beyond the angle an elongated or fusiform mass ; the basal joint is
often lodged in a groove [of the face] ; the palpi are very short ; the radial cell is generally wanting,
and there is only a single cubital cell, which is not closed. The antennae have not more than twelve
joints. The genera hitherto established may be referred to that of
Chalcis, Fabr.
These insects are very small, ornamented with brilliant metallic colours, and possess, in general, the
power of leaping. The ovipositor is mostly composed of three threads, as in the Ichneumons, and
exserted. The larvae are similarly parasites. Some, in consequence of their minute size, feed on the
eggs of insects wliich are scarcely perceptible ; many others live in the larvae and chrysalides of
Lepidoptera. I presume that they do not weave a cocoon in order to become pupae.
Some, having always 11- or 12-jointed antennae, have the hind thighs very thick, lenticular, with the tibiae curved;
of these, some have the abdomen attached to the thorax by a foot-stalk, with the ovipositor straight, and rarely
exserted.
Chirocera, Latr, has the male antennae feathered like a fan. C. pectinicornis, Latr.
Chalcis, Fabr., has the antennae single in both sexes ; of these some have the peduncle elongated. [C. sispes, a
British species.] In others, the peduncle is very short, (Vespa minuta, Fabr.) [a British species]. C. annulata,
Fig. 003. — Oak gall-apple and Cynips quercusfolii.
HYMENOPTERA.
589 I
which resides in the card-nests of one of the wasps of South America, and which R(?aumur considers as the
female of this wasp,
Dirhinus, Dalm., has the head deeply bifid and prolonged in front, as well as the mandibles. [D. eoecavatus,
Dalin., an African species.]
Palmoti, Dalm., composed of species found in copal, has the antennae terminated by three thick joints, and the
ovipositor exserted.
Leucospis, Fab., has the abdomen applied against the hind part of the thorax, rounded behind, with the ovi-
positor curved over the back. The female of L. dorsigera places its eggs in the nests of Mason Bees ; that of L.
gigas oviposits in Wasps’ nests.
The others have the antennae mostly only from 5- to 9-jointed, with the hind thighs oblong, and the tibiae
straight.
Eucharis, Latr., with straight 12-jointed antennae, and, according to Latreille, without any vestige of palpi. j
Thoracantha, Latr., Brazilian insects, with the scutellum extended over the abdomen. j
The remainder have the antennae at least 9-jointed, simple, and elbowed, and scutellum small. I
Of those which have the antennae not inserted close to the mouth, some have the abdomen nearly ovoid, com-
pressed at the sides, and the ovipositor mostly exserted.
Agaon, Dalm., has the head very large and flat, and the basal joint triangular. [A. paradoxum, Dalm,, from
Sierra Leone, closely allied to the insect which is used in caprification.]
Eurytoma, Illig., has the male antennas nodose and verticillated, and the ovipositor short. [Numerous small
British species.
Miscocampus, Latr. [Torymus, Dalm., or more properly Callimome, Spinola], has the antennae not verticillated,
and the ovipositor long. One species is parasitic upon the Cynips of the Rose bedeguar, [a very numerous British |
genus].
The others have the abdomen flat above, triangular and pointed in the females, or subcordate or suborbicular.
The ovipositor is mostly concealed.
In some of these, the stigmal branch arises at a distance from the union of the costal nerve with the costa of the
fore wings.
Perilampus, Latr., has the abdomen short and cordate, and not prolonged, with the scutellum thick and promi-
nent. [Several British species.]
Pteromalus, Latr., has the thorax short, with the collar not narrowed in front, and the abdomen of the females
terminated in a conical point. [A very numerous genus.]
Clevnymus, Latr., has the collar elongated and narrowed in front ; the abdomen is also much longer. [C'. de-
pressus, Latr., a rare British species, &c.]
In others, the stigmal branch arises from the union of the costal nerve with the costa ; the middle legs are longest,
with a long spur at the apex of the tibiae.
Eupelmus, Dalm. [has the ovipositor exserted], and the basal joint of the middle tarsi broad and ciliated, and
the stigmal branch removed from the costal nerve.
Encyrtus, Latr,, has the stigmal branch arising from the apex of the costal nerve ; the club of the antennae is
compressed and truncate. [A very numerous genus, of minute species.]
Spalangia, Latr., differs from all the preceding in having the antennae inserted quite close to the mouth.
Eulophus, Geof. {Entedon, Dalm.), has the antennae from 4- to 8-jointed, those of [some] males being branched.
[A very extensive genus.]
[This family, Chalcididce, has recently received much attention, and a great number of additional
genera have been established, especially by Spinola, Dalman, Walker, Esenheck, Haliday, and my-
self. Those found in this country are described in the generic synopsis of my “ Modern Classifi-
cation.”]
The fifth tribe, Oxyuri, resembles the preceding in the absence of nerves in the lower wings, but
the abdomen of the females is terminated by a tubular ovipositor of a conical form, and either internal,
exsertile from the anus like a sting, or external, and forming a kind of tail or terminal point. The
antennae are from 10- to 15-jointed, and either filiform or rather thickened to the tips, or clavate in
the females. The maxillary palpi in many are long and pendent. We reunite the different genera of
which it is composed to that of
Bethylus, Latr. & Fabr.
Their habits are probably the same as those of the Chalcidites, but as the majority of these insects
are found upon the ground or low plants, I conjecture that their larvae live in the earth.
Some have the wings furnished with veins and cells, and a portion of these have the antennas inserted near the
mouth.
Dryinus, Latr. {Gonatopus, Klug), has the antennae straight, 10-jointed, in both sexes ; the thorax binodose, and
the fore tarsi terminated [in the females only] by two large reflexed hooks. Some females are apterous. [See the
monographs of Esenbeck and Walker.]
Anteon, Jur., has only 10-jointed ante) nas, at least in the males, but the thorax is continuous, and the tarsi are
terminated [in the males only] by ordinary-sized claws.
INSECTA.
590
BethylluSy Latr. {Omalus, Jur.), has the antennae elbowed, 13-jointed, in both sexes, the head flattened, and the
prothorax elongated and subtriangular.
Another portion has the antennae 13- to 15-jointed, and inserted near the middle of the face.
Proctotrupes, Latr. {Codrus, Jur.), have them 13-jointed and straight in both sexes. [Numerous British spe-
cies, monographed by Haliday.]
Helorus, has the antennae distinctly elbowed, and 15-jointed ; the first joint of the abdomen forms a sudden
long peduncle. \_H. anomalipes, a singular British insect.]
Bdyta and Cinetus, Jur., have the antennae 14- or 15-jointed, filiform in the males, and thicker at the tip in the
females.
The other Oxyuri have neither cells nor brachial or basal nerves. Some of these have the antennae inserted in
the forehead. These are
Diapria, Latr. {Psilus, Jur.), which has no cell in the wings. The males have 14-, and the females 15-jointed
antennae.
Others have the antennae inserted near the mouth.
Ceraphron, Jur., has a radial cell, the maxillary palpi prominent, the antennae filiform and 11-jointed, and the
abdomen ovate-conic.
Sparasion, Latr., is similar to Ceraphron in the radial cell and maxillary palpi, but with the antennae 12-jointed ij
in both sexes. |
The two following subgenera difier from Sparasion in having the palpi very short, and not exserted or pendent. '
Teleas, Latr. having 12-jointed antennae.
Scelio, Latr., with 10-jointed antennae.
In the terminal subgenus Platygaster, Latr., the radial cell is wanting, the antennae in both sexes are 10-jointed,
the first and third being very elongated ; the palpi are very short, and the abdomen spatulate. I refer to this sub-
genus the Psilus Boscii, Jurine, a very curious insect, in which the basal segment of the abdomen supports a
strong horn, which extends over the back of the head and thorax, and which, according to Leclerc de Laval, is a
tube for the ovipositor. [This opinion is certainly incorrect. The insect is remarkable for its habits, and has been '!!
described by the Canon Schmidberger, under the name of the Paradoxical Pear-fly. See Kollar, Obnox. Ins.,
translated by Miss Loudon.] The species is very minute, and black.
[See the monographs of Platygaster, and several of the preceding genera, published by Mr. Walker in the Ento-
mological Magazine, in which work, as well as in Esenbeck’s work on these families, various additional genera
are described.]
The sixth tribe, Chrysides, Latr., like the three preceding tribes, have the hind wings not veined,
but the ovipositor is formed by the terminal segments of the abdomen, like the sliding tubes of a tele-
scope, and terminated by a small sting. The abdomen, which in the female appears to be formed of
only three or four segments, is vaulted or flattened beneath, and capable of being folded against the
breast, when the insect assumes the appearance of a ball. This tribe is composed of the genus
Chrysis, Linn., —
Which in the richness of their colours vie with the Humming-birds ; hence they have been termed
Golden-tailed Flies. They may be observed w'alking, but in a constant agitation and with great agility,
upon walls and palings exposed to the heat of the sun. They are also found upon flowers. The body
is elongated, and covered with a solid skin ; the antennae filiform, elbowed, and vibratile ; the maxillary
palpi long and 5-jointed, the labial 3-jointed ; the abdomen in the majority is semi-oval, truncated at |
the base, so as to appear sessile ; the terminal segment has often a deep row of impressed dots, and ^
the apex is denticulated. They deposit their eggs in the nests of Solitary Mason-bees, or other
Hymenoptera, their larvae destroying those of these insects.
Parnopes, differs from the rest in having the maxillae and lower lip very long, forming a proboscis. P. carnea,
a continental species, places its eggs in the nest of Bembex rostrata.
The others have not an elongated proboscis.
In some the thorax is not narrowed in front, the antennae semi-ovate, and only with three segments, as in
Chrysis proper, which may be thus divided : —
Those with the four palpi equal, and the labium deeply notched, form the genus Stilbum, Spin., to which we may
unite Euchrmis, Latr.,— [and Pyria, St. Fargeau]. Those with the maxillary palpi much longer than the labial,
with the labium notched, and the abdomen rounded at the tip, form the genus Hedychrum. Those with the palpi
as in Hedychrum, but with the labium rounded and entire, form the genera Elampus and Chrysis, the first of
which has the mandibles with two teeth within, and the abdomen entire at the tip, and the second has the man-
dibles with one tooth within, and the extremity of the abdomen is spined, and has a row of deep spots. To
this last group belongs C. ignita, Linn., the commonest species in Europe, of a blue colour, with the abdomen
fiery-red.
Cleptes, Latr., has the mandibles short and toothed, and the thorax narrowed in front ; the male has the
abdomen 5-, and the female 4-jointed.
HYMENOPTERA.
591
fSee the monog;raph of British Chrysides published by Shuckard in the Entomological Magazine, and the more
recent one of King, and Spinola’s memoir in the French Entomological Society'' s Transactions, as well as Saint
Fargeau’s, in the Memoires du Museum.
The second section of the Hymenoptera, the Aculeata, differs from the first in wanting
a borer; a sting, composed of three pieces, which is concealed and retractile within the
abdomen, ordinarily replaces it in the females and in the neuters of such species as are
united in societies. Sometimes, as in some Ants, this sting does not exist, and the insect
defends itself by ejecting an acid liquid secreted in special reservoirs under the form
of glands.
The Hymenoptera of this section have always the antennae simple, and composed of a con-
stant number of joints, namely, thirteen in the males and twelve in the females ; the palpi
are ordinarily filiform ; the maxillary palpi often longer, have six joints, and the labial four.
The mandibles are smaller, and often more toothed in the males than in the other individuals.
The abdomen, united to the thorax by a peduncle, or slender thread, is composed of seven
joints in the males and six in the females. The four wings are always veined, and offer the
different sorts of ordinary cells.
The larvae have never any feet, and subsist upon food which the females or neuters provide
them with, consisting either of the dead bodies of insects, or the honey of flowers ; and in
some species of a mixture of pollen, stamens, and honey.
This section is divided into four families, \Heterogyna, Fossores, Diploptera, and
j THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ACULEATED HYMENOPTERA,
The Heterogyna —
1 Is composed of two or three kinds of individuals, of which the most common, or the neuters, or
j females, have no wings, and rarely ocelli distinct. All of them have the antennae elbowed, and the
lower lip small, rounded, and vaulted or spoon-like.
Some of these live in society, and present three kinds of individuals, of which the males and females
I are winged, and the neuters wingless ; in the last two kind of individuals the antennae are thickened
to the tips, and the length of the basal joint is at least equal to one-third of their entire length ; the
I second is nearly as long as the third, and in the form of a reversed cone. The upper lip of the
neuters is horny, and shuts perpendicularly beneath the mandibles. These Hymenoptera compose
[I the genus
j Formica, Linn, (or the Ants), —
So celebrated for their foresight, and of which some are so well known_for the injury they commit in
^ our gardens and the interior of our houses, where they attack saccharine matters, preserved viands, &c.,
giving them a disagreeable scent of musk ; whilst others are equally obnoxious to trees, by gnawing
the interior, in order to make for themselves a habitation where they may breed.
The Ants have the peduncle of the abdomen like a scale or knot, either single or double, whereby
j they are easily distinguished. They have the antennae elbowed, generally rather thicker at the tips ;
' the head triangular, vdth the eyes oval or rounded, and entire ; the clypeus large ; the jaws very
' strong in a great number, but of which the form varies in the neuters ; the maxillae and labium are
I small : the palpi filiform, those of the maxillae being longest ; the thorax compressed at the sides, and
I the abdomen nearly oval, furnished in the females and workers either with a sting or with glands
situated near the anus, which secrete a peculiar acid, called formic acid.
They live in society, often of great extent, each species consisting of males and females, which have
j wings which are much less veined than in the majority of this section, and which easily fall off ; as
j well as of neuters, which are destitute of wings, and which are only females with the ovaries imperfect.
I The two former kind of individuals are only found temporarily in the Ants’ nest, from which they
I make their escape almost as soon as they have gained their wings. The males are much smaller in
I size than the females, as are also their heads and mandibles, and the eyes larger. The union of the
I
1
INSECTA.
592
sexes takes place in the air, where the winged individuals form large swarms, after which the males
soon die, without again entering their former abode. The females, now ready to become mothers, quit
the neighbourhood, and, having first pulled off their wings with their feet, become the foundresses of
new and distant colonies. Some are, however, made prisoners by the neuters of the parent colony,
who strip them of their wings, in order that they may deposit their eggs, after which it is believed
that they are driven off.
The neuters, distinct not only by their want of vrings and ocelli, but also by the size of the head,
the strength of the jaws, the thorax more compressed and often nodose, and the legs proportionably
longer, are alone charged with the works of the nest and rearing of the young, the nature and form of
the former of which varies according to the instinct of the different species. They are more generally
established in the ground, some using only particles of earth, and having their nests entirely hidden,
and others covering their nests with bits of stick, straws, &c., forming a conical mound. Some inhabit
the trunks of old trees, which they pierce in every direction. The neuters feed the young grubs, and
move them on fine days to the outer surface of the nest, in order to give them heat, and removing
them back again at the approach of night or bad w'eather ; they defend them from their enemies, and
take the greatest care of them and of the pupae, especially when the nests are disturbed. Some of the
latter are inclosed in a cocoon, whilst others are naked : the neuters also tear open the cocoon when
the period of the final change arrives.
Different nests have exhibited to me neuter individuals (few in number) remarkable for having a
much larger head than the ordinary neuters ; M. Lacordaire also gave me a neuter Ant allied to Atta
eephalotes, Fab., assuring me that the individuals of this kind are the defenders of the society, and
appear to perform the duty of captains in their excursions.
The name of Ant-eggs is commonly given to the larvae and pupae. Those of T. flava are used for
feeding young Pheasants. The neuters prevent the perfect insects, which have recently acquired their
wings, from leaving the nest until a favourable opportunity, dependent upon the heat of the
atmosphere.
The majority of Ants’ nests are entirely composed of a single species, but Nature has departed from
this plan in E. {Polyergus) rufescens, or the Amazon Ant, and F. sanguinea. The neuters of these two
species seize by violence auxiliaries or slaves of their own caste (neuters), but of different species,
namely, F. cunicularia, Latr., and F. fusca, Linn. When the heat of the day begins to decline, and
regularly at the same hour, at least during several days, the Amazon Ants quit their own nests in a
close and numerous column, and direct their course to the ant-hill they intend to attack, and which
they enter, in spite of the opposition of the owners, and carry off in their jaws the larvae and pupae of
the neuters of these Ants, and which they take to their own nest, where they are tended by other
neuter slave Ants of the same species, which have been previously stolen in a similar manner, and
which also take charge of the young of these amazon conquerors. Such is the composition of a ||
mixed Ant-nest.
It is known that Ants are very fond of the saccharine liquid which exudes from the bodies of Aphides
and Coccid(B ; four or five species also collect the Aphides, and even their eggs, which they keep at
the bottom of their nests, especially in bad seasons. Others construct galleries of earth from their
nests along the stems of branches of trees, as far as the twigs peopled by the Plant-lice.
The winged Ants perish at the commencement of the cold weather, but the neuters pass the winter
dormant in their nests ; their prudence, so much celebrated, has no other end than to augment and
consolidate their habitation with all kinds of matters ; for a store of food would be useless in a season
when the insects could not use it.
The habits of exotic, and especially tropical Ants, are almost unknown. The Visiting Ant performs
some service to our colonists by driving away Rats, and a quantity of other obnoxious insects ; but
other species are obnoxious from the destruction which they make, and which it is impossible to prevent.
I divide the genus Formica in the following manner
1. Formica proper, destitute of a sling ; the antennae inserted near the forehead ; mandibles triangular and den-
ticulated ; the abdominal peduncle consists of a single knot. Formica rvfa, Linn, [the great Horse Ant, or Pis-
mire], common in woods, where it forms nests like a large sugar loaf or dome, composed of earth, fragments of 1
wood, &c., and which are often of large size ; the winged individuals appear in spring. F. fusca, cunicularia, and , 1
a great number of species.
HYMENOPTERA.
593
and
2. Polyerqus, Latr., which is also destitute of a sting, but with the antennse inserted near the mouth, and the man-
dibles narrow, curved, or very much hooked. P. rufescens, the Amazon Ant above described, not yet discovered in
this country.
3. Ponera, Latr., the neuters and females armed with
a sting. Peduncle of abdomen formed of a single knot ;
antennae in these individuals thickened at the tip ; mandi-
bles triangular ; head subtriangular. P. contracta, Latr.,
a very small species, [first discovered in England by me].
OdontomacJius , Latr., has the peduncular node spined
above ; the antennae of the neuters filiform ; the head
oblong, and deeply emarginate behind ; and the mandibles
long and narrow ; all the species are exotic.
4. Myrmica, Latr., has also a sting, but the peduncle
Fig. 119.-., Fo^ica fusca and its ja^vs ; b, Polyergus rnfescens and abdomen is composed of two knots ; the antennae
>‘8 jaws. exposed; the maxillary palpi long and 6-jointedi
the mandibles triangular. F. rubra [misprinted rufa by Latreille], Linn., a very common British species.
Eciton, Latr., differs from Myrmica only in having linear mandibles.
Atta, Fabr., differs from Myrmica only in having very short palpi ; the head
of the workers is generally very thick. A. cephalofes. Fab., the Visiting Ant
of the West Indies, above mentioned.
Cryptocerus, Latr., furnished with a sting, with the peduncle of the abdomen
formed of two knots ; the head very large and flat, with a groove on each side
to receive the antennae. South American insects, [monographed by King].
[The excellent monograph of the ants by Latreille, and, as relates to their
habits, the memoirs of Huber, ought to be consulted in this family.]
The other Heterogyna are solitary in their habits, each species being
only composed of winged males and apterous females, the latter always 120.— nua cephaiotea.
armed with a powerful sting ; the antennae are filiform or setaceous, vihratile, with the first and third
joints elongated ; the length of the first never equalling one third of these organs. They form the genus
Mutillx, Linn.
Some, of which males have only been observed, have the antennae inserted near the mouth ; the head small, and
the abdomen long and nearly cylindric. Genera, Borylus, from Africa and India, and Labidus, from South
America, [to which must be added two others, described by Mr. Shuckard in his monograph on these genera pub-
lished in the Annals of Natural History, May and June, 1840], ’
Tlie others have the antennae inserted near the middle of the face ; the head is more robust than in the preceding,
and the abdomen either conic or ovoid. These form the genus Mutilla proper, the species of which are found in
hot sandy districts. The females run quickly, and always on the ground. The males often alight upon flowers,
but we are ignorant of their precise economy. ’
Some have the thorax nearly cubical, and not nodose in the females.
Apterogyna, Latr., has the two basal segments of the abdomen in the form of knots ; the male antennse are very-
long ; the fore-wings have only basal cells, and a single cubital small and rhomboidal cell. [Exotic insects.]
Psammotha'ma, Latr., has three cubital cells, with two recurrent nervures ; and the males have the antennfe
pectinated. [Mutilla flabellata, Fabr., Cape of Good Hope.]
Mutilla proper, has also three cubital cells, with two recurrent nerves, but the antennae are simple in both sexes,
and the second segment of the abdomen does not form a knot. Type, Mutilla europcea, [a rather common British
species].
Myrmosa, Latr., differs from the preceding in having the thorax in both sexes equal, but divided into two distinct
segments, with the abdomen conic in the females.
Myrmecoda, Latr., has the thorax of the females also equal above, but divided into three segments by sutures,
and the maxillary palpi very short. [These insects are now proved to be the females of the genus Thynnus, placed
by Latreille in the family Scolietes.]
Scleroderma, King, differs only in the maxillary palpi being elongated, and the antennae has the second join
not inclosed in the tip of the preceding. [Small continental species. See my monograph on this genus, published
in the Transactions of the Entomol. Soc. of London, vol. ii.]
Methoca, Latr., has the thorax nodose. [M. ichneumonides, a very interesting insect, found but rarely in this
country, resembling an Ant, and now proved to be the female of the genus Tengyra, placed by Latreille in the
next family.]
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ACULEATED HYMENOPTERA,—
The Fossores, —
Comprises those aculeate Hymenoptera which have all the individuals winged, and of two kinds only
[males and females], and which live solitarily, their legs being fitted only for walking, and in many for
Q a
594
INSECTA.
digging ; the labium is always more or less notched at the tip, and never filiform or setaceous ; the
wings are always extended. They compose the genus
Sphex, Linn., —
The majority of the females of which deposit with their eggs, in nests formed for their reception, in
earth or wood, various insects or their larvae, and sometimes Spiders, which they have previously pierced
with their stings, and which serve for the food of their young, when hatched ; the latter resemble worms,
having no feet, and are transformed in a cocoon which they have spun previous to becoming pupae ;
the perfect insect is generally very active, and lives upon flowers ; the maxillae and labium are elongated
i and proboscis-like in many species.
We distribute the numerous subgenera separated from the primitive genus Sphex, into seven principal
groups IScolietes, Sapygites, Sgjhegites, Bembecidcs, Larrates, Nyssoniens, Crabronites']. In the two first
of these, the eyes are often notched ; the body of the males narrow, long, and terminated by three anal
points, or teeth.
1. The Scolietes, comprising those which have the first segment of the thorax sometimes arched, and
extended at the sides as far as the wings, sometimes transverse-quadrate, or like a knot ; the legs short,
thick, very spinose, with the tibiae curved near the base, and the antennae of the females shorter than
the head and thorax. They are named after the genus
ScoLiA, Fab.
Some have the maxillary palpi long, with unequal-sized joints, and the basal joint of the antennae sub-conical.
Such are
Tiphia, Fab., with which we may associate Tengyra, Latr.
The others have the maxillary palpi short, and the basal joint of the antennae long.
Myzine, Latr. (with the mandibles dentate), and
Meria, Latr. (with the mandibles simple), have the basal joint receiving and hiding the second.
8colia, proper, has the second joint of the antennae exposed. [This is a numerous genus, composed for the most
part of large exotic species.]
2. The Sapygites, Latr., have the first segment of the thorax formed as in the preceding, with the
legs short but slender, neither spined nor strongly ciliated, and the antennae in both sexes as long as
the head and thorax ; the body is generally naked. This subdivision is named after the principal
Sapyga, Latr. '
Some have filiform or setaceous antennas. ' |
Thynnus, Fab., has the eyes entire, [New Holland insects] ; and Scot<e7ia, Klug [Brazilian species]. 1
Polochrum, Spin., has them notched, and the mandibles toothed. ,
Others have the antennae thickened at the tips, or clavate in some males. :
Sapyga proper, the species of which fly about walls and trees exposed to the sun, on which they appear to
deposit their eggs. [It now appears that they are parasites in the nests of Bees which inhabit those situations].
Ceramius, Latr., from the form of the prothoracic collar and the extended wings, belongs to this subdivision ; j
but from more important characters it ought naturally to be united with the Diploptera.
3. The Sphegites are Fossores, which nearly approach the preceding in respect to the prothoracic |
collar, but the hind legs are at least as long again as the head and thorax, and the antennse are often
slender, formed of loose joints, and much curved in the females. They are named after the ,
dominant genus
Sphex. ;
Some have the first segment of the thorax square, either transverse or longitudinal, and the abdomen attached ]
to the thorax by a very short peduncle ; the upper wings have generally two or three complete cubital cells, and
another imperfect and terminal. They now form several subgenera.
Pepsis, Fab., has the labrum apparent ; the antennae in the males straight ; the maxillary palpi not much longer
than the labial ; the males have the hind tibiae and tarsi compressed. All the species are exotic, especially South ;)
American, and have the wings coloured.
Ceropales, Latr., has the labrum and antennae of Pepsis, but the maxillary palpi are much longer, with very
unequal-sized joints. ,
Pompilus, Fab., resembles Ceropales in the latter respect, but the antennae of both sexes are convoluted and
composed of loose joints ; the labrum is but slightly exposed. Type, S. viatica, Linn, [a common species]. These j
insects provision their nests with Spiders, having first pricked them with their stings.
Salius, Fab., is established upon the males of some species which have the pro- and metathorax proportionably j,
more elongated than in Pompilus, and the mandibles are not toothed.
Planiccps, Latr., differ from Salius in having the head flat, with the posterior margin concave, the ocelli very |
HYMENOPTERA.
595
small and distant ; the fore-wings have only two complete cubital cells, the second of which receives the first
recurrent nerve.
Aporus, Spinola, has also two complete cubital cells, but the second receives the two recurrent nerves ; in other
respects they entirely resemble Pompilus.
The others have the first segment of the thorax narrowed in front like a knot, and the first abdominal segment,
and sometimes part of the second, narrowed into an elongated peduncle ; the upper wings have always three perfect
cubital cells, and the commencement of a fourth.
Ammopkila, Kirby, has the mandibles dentate, and the
maxillae and labium very long and proboscis-like ; the second
cubital cell receives the two recurrent nerves, 'fype, Sphex
sabulosa, Linn, [a very common British species], the female
of which provisions her nest with caterpillars.
Miscus, Jur. (Fam. 1), differs only in having the third cu-
bital cell petiolated in front.
Others have the mandibles and palpi similarly formed, but
the maxillae and labrum are much .shorter.
In Pronceus, Latr., the second cubital cell receives, as in
Fig. 121.— Ammophila sabulosa. Ammophila, the two recurrent nervures. [A large African
species].
In Sphex proper the same cell receives only the first recurrent nerve ; the third is inserted beneath the other.
[S. flavipennis, the only British species, but very rare.]
In Chlorion, Latr., the first recurrent nerve is inserted beneath the first cubital, and the second beneath the
third. C. compresstm, a splendid green species with red thighs, which is very common in the Isle of France,
where it provisions its nest with BlattaJ.
Dolichurus, Latr., has the maxillary palpi much longer than tlie labial, and nearly thread-like.
The last Fossores of this third division have no teeth to the mandibles.
Ampulex, Jur., resembles Chlorion in the insertion of the recurrent nerves.
In the two following the second cubital cell receives the two nerves.
Podium, Latr., has the maxillary palpi scarcely longer than the labial. [Exotic species.]
Pelopteus, Latr., has them longer, with unequal joints; the antennae are inserted higher. P. spirifex, a conti-
nental species, makes its nests of mud in the angles of rooms, arranging them spirally, covering them with mud,
and provisioning them with Spiders, dipterous insects, &c.
4. The Bemhecides have the collar linearly transverse, the sides not extending to the base of the
wings ; the legs short, or of moderate length ; the abdomen semiconical and elongate ; the labrum
naked and exserted. This family is named after the genus
Bembex, Fabricius, —
The species of which are peculiar to warm climates. The body is elongated, pointed behind, mostly i
varied with black and yellow, or reddish and glabrous ; the mandibles narrow, elongated, toothed
inside, and crossing each other; the fore-tarsi of the females furnished with spinose cilije ; the males
have generally one or two elevated teeth on the under-side of the abdomen. The species are rapid in
their flight, and make a sharp buzzing noise ; many emit a strong scent of roses. I
Some have the proboscis long, and the labrum forms a long triangle. |
Bembex proper has very short palpi. B. rostrata, Linn, [a reputed British species], forms deep burrows in the
sand [for its nest], which it provisions with two-winged flies, as Syrphidae, Muscidse, &c.
Monedula, Latr., has the palpi long. [Exotic species.] j
Stizus, Jur., has the proboscis not elongated, and the labrum short and rounded. [Exotic species.]
5. The Larrates have the appearance of the Bembecides, but the labrum is concealed, and the man- |
dibles have a deep notch within at the base. I
Some have three complete cubital cells.
Palarus, Latr. (Gonius, Jur.), has short antennae thickened at the tips, and the second cubital cell is petiolated.
[A continental species].
Lyrops, 111., has filiform antennae, and the mandibles have a tooth within.
Larra, Fab., differs from Lyrops in the mandibles not having a tooth within.
The others have only two complete cubital cells.
Dinetus, Jur., has both cubital cells sessile, and the mandibles 3-dentate within.
Miscophus, Jur., has the second cubital cell petiolated, and the inside of the mandibles not toothed.
6. The Nyssoniens have the labrum more or less completely hidden, the maxillse and labium not
forming a proboscis; the mandibles without a notch at the base within ; the head of ordinary size, and
the abdomen gradually attenuated and never peduncled.
a Q 2
596
INSECTA.
Astata, Latr. {Dimorpha,3uv.), has three complete sessile cubital cells, and the radial is appendiculated ; the
eyes are contiguous, [especially in the males].
Nysson, Latr., has the same number of cubital cells, but the second is petiolated ; the radial is not appendicu-
lated, and the eyes are wide apart.
Oxybelus, Latr., has only one complete cubital cell, receiving a single recurrent nerve ; the mandibles terminate
in a simple point, and the scutellum is spined.
Nitela, Latr., has also only a single cubital cell, the mandibles terminate in teeth, and the scutellum is not spined.
Pison, Jur., ditfers from all the rest in having the eyes emarginate.
7. The last division of the Fossores, that of the Crabronides, differs from the preceding only in
having the head generally larger and nearly square, the antennae often thickened at the tip, the
abdomen oval or elliptic, w^ith the base narrower than the middle, and often pedunculated.
Some have the antenna; inserted below the middle of the face, with the clypeus short and wide.
Trypoxylon, Latr. {Apius, .Tur.), differs from the rest in having the eyes notched. T.figidus, [a very common
British species, having the abdomen long and slender at the base]. The female makes use of burrows formed by
other insects, in order to deposit her own insects therein, together with spiders for their support, closing the hole
with fine earth. .
Of those with entire eyes, some have the mandibles narrow, and mostly terminated by a point, and the antenna;
close together at the base. , • a
GorvUs Latr (Arpactus, Jur.), has three complete submarginal cells ; the mandibles of moderate size, and
unidentate within ; the anterior tarsi are often ciliated. [See the monograph of Saint Fargeau in the Annal. Soc.
^%mbro Faff , hironly a single closed cubital cell ; the mandibles terminate in a bifid point ; the antennae elbowed,
filiform • \he clypeus often glitters with silver or golden hairs. Some males are remarkable for the great dilatation
of the anterior tibi^ and basal joint of the tarsi. The female of C. cribrarius provisions its nest with the larva; of
a Tortrix found in the oak. Others employ dipterous insects for the same purpose. [See the monograph of Saint
Fara-eau and Brull^ in the same y4wnaZc5.] , , i
Jur., is so named from the great size of the stiRina of the fore wings, which have two closed cuhital
”ln'others the mandibles, at least in the females, are stronger, and bidentate within, and the antennas are wide
has two complete cubital cells, and a third commenced. One species, P. unicolor, feeds its
three complete sessile cubital cells, and often the commencement of a fourth, not extending
Alvson Jur., have also three complete cubital cells, but the second is petiolated. , . . , j a. +•
The terminal Crabronites have the antenncE inserted nearer the middle of the face, and thickened at the tips.
Psen Latr., has the clypeus nearly square, and the abdomen peduncled. i
P^*7««fto,Fabr., has the clypeus trilobed; the basal segment of the abdomen is narrowed into a knot, the
antennae suddenly thickened, [and the abdominal segments not constricted], and all the cubital cells sessile.
CeZ’is, ^iv\pMlanihus, Jur.), has the antenn* gradually thickened, [the abdominal segments constricted],
Th^femS^f th^iSs m^ nests in the sand, burying the dead bodies of Bees, Andrens, and Wee-|
vils, as food for their progeny.
pc monographed by Mr. Shuckard, in avolume published
upon that tribe. Van der Linden and Klug have also especially studied these insects].
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE ACULEATED HYMENOPTERA, ^
The Diploptera, —
Is the only one in this section which (with very few exceptions, Ceramias) has the fore-wings folded
longitudinally; the antenna are ordinarily elbowed and clavate, and thickened at the tips; the eyes
are notched; the collar extends at the sides as far as the wings; the fore-wings have two or three
complete cubital cells, the second of which receives two recurrent nerves: the body is glabrous and
black more or less varied with yellow or fulvous. Many live in temporary societies, composed of
males’ females, and neuters. The females which have withstood the severity of the winter, com-
mence the nest and take care of the young which they produce ; they are subsequently assisted by
the neuters.
We divide the Diploptera into two tribes, [JIfasanfe and .n
The first, or the Masarides, have the antennae at first sight only composed of eight joints, the
eighth forming with the following a nearly solid mass, with indistinct articulations; the upper wings
HYMENOPTERA.
597
have only two complete cubital cells ; the middle and the fore margin of the clypeus is emarginate,
receiving the labrum in the emargination. The tribe is named after the typical genus,
Masaris, Fabricius.
Masaris proper, has the antennae rather longer than the liead and thorax, and the abdomen long.
Celonites, Latr., has the antennae scarcely longer than the head, and the abdomen scarcely longer than the
thorax.
The second tribe of the Diploptera, that of the Vespari^, is composed of the genus
Vespa, Linn., —
The antennae of which are distinctly 13-jointed in the males, 12-jointed in the females, and terminated
by an elongated mass, which is pointed and sometimes hooked at the ti|) (in the males) ; they are
always elbowed, at least in the females and neuters. The lower lip is sometimes divided into four
plumose filaments, and sometimes into three lobes, with four glandular points at the tip, the middle
lobe being notched at the tip. If we except a very few species, the upper wings have three complete
cubital cells. The females and neuters are armed with a powerful sting. Many live in societies,
consisting of males, females, and neuters.
The larvse are vermiform, without feet, and each is inclosed in a cell, where they feed either upon
the dead bodies of insects which the parent Wasp had deposited at the same time as the egg, or upon
the honey of flowers, the juice of fruits, or of animal matters, elaborated in the stomach of the females
or neuters, and which these individuals feed them with daily. M. Saint Hilaire discovered a species
in Brazil which makes an abundant provision of honey, which, like common honey, is under some
circumstances poisonous. {Mem. du Mus. Hist. Nat.)
Ceramius, Latr., has the fore wings extended and flat, and only two cubital cells. [Exotic species, one of which,
C. lusifanicus, appears to be allied to Masaris.] In all the rest the fore wings are doubled [longitudi nally when
at rest], and have three complete cubital cells.
Some have the mandibles longer than broad, and beak-like ; the labium is narrow and elongate, with the clypeus
cordate or oval.
These are solitary Wasps, each species consisting of males and females, which last lay up a store of provisions
for their young before they are born, and for the whole period of their larva state. Their nests are formed of
earth, sometimes concealed in holes in walls, in the earth, or old wood, and sometimes they are fixed upon plants,
the parents storing them with caterpillars or spiders, having previously wounded them with their stings.
Synagris, Latr., has the labium divided into four long plumose filaments, without glandular points at the apex.
[<S. cornuta, and other African species.]
Eumenes, Latr. , has the labium divided into three pieces ; the middle one bifid, and all glandular at the tips.
In some of these the abdomen is ovoid, or conic, and thick at the base, as in
Pterochilus, King, having an elongated proboscis. {Pt. phalerata, a German species).
Odynerus, Latr. (and Ryggchium, Spin.), in which the lower parts of the mouth are short. The female of
V. muroMa forms burrows in the sand several inches deep, at the mouth of vfhich she constructs a curved earthy
tube ; she provisions her nest with six or eight green larvse without feet, and with them deposits an egg, and then
closes the mouth of the cell, and destroys the tube. [There are numerous British species.]
In the others the abdomen has the basal joint narrow, long, and pear-shaped, and the second bell-shaped.
Eumenes proper {E. coarctata, Fab.), the typical species, constructs its spherical nest upon the stems of plants,
especially heath, in which it deposits an egg, together with a supply of honey, according to Geoflroy.
In Eumenes the mandibles form a long and pointed beak ; in Zethus they are shorter, and the maxillary palpi
not longer than the maxillse. In JJisccslius, which resembles Zethus in the mandibles, the maxillary palpi
ai’e longer.
The remaining species of Wasps have the mandibles scarcely longer than broad, with a broad and oblique trun-
cation at the tip ; the labrum is short, and the clypeus nearly square. They form the genus
Vespa proper (and Polistes, Latr.), and are united in societies, often very numerous, composed of males,
fonales, and neuters. The two latter kinds of individuals form, with bits of old wood or bark, and which they
detach with their jaws and reduce to a pulp-like paper, horizontal layers of hexagonal cells, like honey-comb,
suspended from above by several short pillars and opening downv/ards, and which are solely used to lodge, in an
isolated manner, the larvse and pupae. The number of these layers in a Wasp’s nest varies. The nest is some-
times open and sometimes enveloped in a covering, with apertures leading to the cells. Its figure is varied in the
different species.
The females commence the nest [in the spring], and deposit eggs, which produce neuters, or workers, which
assist in enlarging the nest, and tending the subsequent broods, until the beginning of autumn. The society con-
sists only of these two kinds of individuals ; at that period, however, the young males and females appear, all the
larvae and pupae which do not undergo their final change before November are destroyed by the neuters, which
likewise perish, as well as the males, with the cold; a few females alone remain, to become the foundi-esses of fresh
colonies in the following spring. Wasps feed upon other insects, meat, fruit, and feed their young with the juices
598
INSECTA.
of those substances. The larvae, owing to the position of their cells, have the head downwards ; and, when ready
to become pupae, spin a cocoon for themselves. The males neither work [nor sting.]
Some species (forming the genus Polistes, Latr.), have the portion of the inner edge of the mandibles which is
beyond the angle shorter than that which precedes this angle, and the middle of the clypeus is pointed. Some of
these, as the Brazilian P. morio, have the abdomen formed as in Eumenes, whilst in others, as in the French
P. gallica, Linn., it is of an oval form. The former of these two species makes a large inclosed nest in the form
of a truncated cone, with a hole at the bottom, [fixed to the branches of trees] ; the second makes its nest, con-
sisting of about twenty or thirty cells, exposed and arranged like a bouquet, the outer cells being smallest. Others
have the abdomen ovoid, or conical, as in the South American F. nidulans, which suspends its nests to the boughs
of trees by a ring, the nests being of a conical form, with a convex bottom, having an opening in it. In proportion
to the extent of the community the nest is enlarged, by a fresh layer of cells being added to the under-side of the
old bottom.
The other Wasps, forming the genus Vespa proper, have the upper portion of the inner edge of each mandible
as long as, or longer than, the posterior, which precedes it, and the middle of the front edge of the clypeus is
truncate, with a tooth on each side. Vespa crabro, the Hornet ; F. vulgaris, the common Wasp, and other
species.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE ACULEATED HYMENOPTERA,—
The Mellifera, or Anthophila, Latr. (the Bees), —
Exhibits, in the peculiar circumstances of the two hind feet, that of collecting the pollen of flowers, an
unique character, which distinguishes it from all the other families of insects. The first joint of the
tarsi in these feet is very large, much compressed, in the form of a square plate, or of a reversed
triangle. The parasitic species are, however, destitute of this peculiar property ; but the form of their
feet is always essentially the same ; they are merely deprived of hairs, or pollen brushes.
The maxillae [and lower lips] are generally very long, and form a kind of proboscis ; the lower lip
has often the form of a lance-head, or a long filament, the extremity of which is silken or hairy. Their
larvae feed exclusively on honey, and the fecundating farina of flowers ; the perfect insect, in like
manner, only subsists on honey. These Hymenoptera embrace the genus Api^, Linn., which I divide
into two sections, {Andrenetae. and Apiari(B\.
The first section, Andrenet.<e, Latr., has the middle division of the lower lip in form of a heart, or
lance-head, shorter than its sheath and folded above in some, and nearly straight in others. It is
composed of the genus
Andrena, Fab. {Proabeille, Reaumur ; Melitta, Kirby].
These insects live solitarily, and only possess two kinds of individuals, males and females. The man-
dibles are simple, or terminated by not more than two teeth ; the labial palpi resemble the maxillary,
which are always 6-jointed ; the lateral lobes of the labium are very short. The majority of the
females collect upon the hairs of the hind-feet the farina of flowers, and form it, with a little honey,
into a kind of paste, for the food of their larvae. Thay form in the earth, and often in beaten foot-
paths, deep burrows, in which they place this paste, with an egg, and then close the aperture
with earth.
Some have the middle division of the lower lip heart-shaped, and folded in repose.
Hylveus, Fab. (Prosopis, Jur.), has the body glabrous, the upper wings with only two complete submarginal
cells. They do not gather pollen, and appear to deposit their eggs in the nests of other Bees. [Several British
species.]
Colletes, Latr., has the body villose, with three complete cubital cells ; these collect pollen. Type, A. succmcta,
Latr, [a common British species].
The others have the labium in the form of a lance-head, and some of them have this part folded upon the
upper side of the sheath, as in
Andrena, [having the hind feet not remarkably pilose, consisting of very numerous British species], and
Dasypoda, the last of which has the hind tarsi clothed with very long hairs. The upper wings in both these
subgenera have only two submarginal cells.
In the others, the labium is nearly straight, or slightly folded beneath at the tip ; the maxillae more elbowed, and
the cubital cells three in number, as in
Sphecodes, having the male antennae nodose, and the middle labial lobe short ;
Halictus, in which the females have a longitudinal slit at the apex of the abdomen ; and
Nomia, Latr., in which the legs of the males are swollen or dilated.
Tbs second section of the Melliferse, that of the Apiari^, comprises those species which have the
middle division of the lower lip at least as long as the mentum or tubular sheath, and like a filament.
HYMENOPTERA.
599
The maxillae and labium are greatly elongated, and form a kind of proboscis, elbowed and folded beneath,
in inaction. The two basal joints of the labial palpi have often the form of a compressed scaly seta ;
the two others are very minute, and affixed obliquely near the end of the second.
The Apiariae are either solitary or social in their habits.
The Solitary Bees have never more than the two ordinary kinds of individuals, males and females,
each female providing alone for the support of her posterity. The hind feet of these females are fur-
nished with neither pollen baskets, nor silken pollen brushes. They are provided on the outside with
numerous close hairs.
A first division of Solitary Bees comprises those which have the second joint of the posterior tarsi in-
serted in the middle of the extremity of the preceding joint.
The Andrenoides approach the Andrenetae in having the labial palpi composed of slender joints,
plaeed end to end, and similar to the 6 -jointed maxillary palpi ; the females have no ventral brush, but
their hind legs are provided with bundles of hairs, with which they collect pollen.
The three following have the mandibles of the females narrowed at the tip.
Systropha, Illig., has a tooth beneath the apex ; three complete cubital cells, and the male antennae curled.
Rophites, Spin., with similar mandibles, but having only two complete cubital cells, and the antennae never
curled.
Panurgus, with the mandibles not toothed ; the wings with two complete cubital cells.
Xylocopa, Latr., or the Carpenter Bees, have the mandibles nearly spoon-shaped ; the labrum is ciliated in front;
the upper wings have three complete cubital cells, the first of which is cut in two by a transparent line. The male
in many species differs greatly from the females, which resemble great Humble Bees ; their wings are often violet,
copper, or golden-coloured, and brilliant. Type, Apis violacea, Linn, [a continental species,. the female of which
forms long burrows in wood, palings, &c., in which it makes several cells, in each of which it deposits an egg and
a supply of pollen paste. The species are numerous, and chiefly inhabitants of tropical climates.
The labial palpi of the other Apiariae resemble scaly plates ; the two basal joints very long ; the maxillary palpi
short, and often with fewer than six joints.
The DasygastrcE are remarkable for the under side of the abdomen of the females being furnished
with a stiff, silky coat of hairs ; the labrum is as long as broad, and square ; the mandibles of the females
strong, triangular, and toothed.
Ceratina, Latr., approaches Xylocopa, the only subgenus which has 6-jointed maxillary palpi, and three complete
cubital cells. The abdomen is oval, and destitute of a ventral brush, as well as in Stelis and Ccelioxys, which never-
theless ought, from their general characters, to form part of this group.
All the other Dasygastras have never more than four joints in the maxillary palpi, and two complete cubital
cells.
Chelostoma, Latr., has the body long and subcylindric ; the mandibles advanced, narrow, and curved ; and the
maxillary palpi 3-jointed.
Heriades, Spin., has the body also long and subcylindric, but the mandibles are triangular, and the maxillary
palpi 2-jointed.
In the four following subgenera, the abdomen is shorter and subtriangular, or semi-oval. These are Mason Bees
and Leaf-cutter Bees.
Megachile, Latr., has the maxillary palpi 2-jointed ; the abdomen flat above, and capable of being elevated so as
to be able to use their sting above their bodies. M. muraria [a continental species], with violet-coloured wings,
makes its nests of fine earth, and fixes them against walls exposed to the sun, each nest containing from twelve to
fifteen cells. Other species, named Leaf-cutter Bees, employ in the construction of their nests portions of leaves,
perfectly oval or circular, which they cut out of leaves with their jaws with surprising dexterity ; these they carry
to their burrows made in the earth, or sometimes in walls, or the trunks of old trees, forming cells of them of the
size of a thimble, and inclosing an egg in each cell, with a supply of pollen paste, the cover of one cell forming the
bottom of the next above it, and so on until the burrow is filled. Of this number is Apis cenluncularis, Linn., [a
common British species].
Lithurgus, Latr., has 4-jointed maxillary palpi, and the abdomen depressed above. [Exotic species.]
Osmia, Panzer, has also 4-jointed maxillary palpi, but the abdomen is convex above. Some of the species of
this genus, [which is numerous,] are IMason-bees, and others Leaf-cutters ; amongst the latter is the Tapestry-bee
of Reaumur, which uses portions of the wild scarlet poppy to form its nests. It belongs to Saint Fargeau’s genus
Anthocopa, differing from Osmia in having tridentate instead of bidentate mandibles. Some species make their
nests in the galls of trees.
Anthidium, Fabr., has the abdomen convex, and the maxillary palpi only 1-jointed. The females strip off the
cottony matter growing upon various wild plants, in order to form their nests thei'ewith.
Stelis, Panz. (with the scutellum simple and the abdomen semicylindrical), and
Caelioxys, Latr. (with two teeth or spines to the scutellum, and the abdomen triangular), differ from the prece-
ding and agree with the following in wanting the ventral brush, which leads to the supposition that they are
parasites.
600 INSECTA.
Other Apiarise, forming the subdivision CuculiruB, are similar to the preceding in their posterior
tarsi, and also in the labial palpi, which are like scaly setae ; hut they are destitute in both sexes of a
ventral pollen-brush, and have the labrum in the form of an elongated, truncated triangle, or short
and nearly semicircular. The scutellum is emarginate, bidentate, or tubercular. They appear to de-
posit their eggs in the nests of other Bees, whence I have given them the name of Cuckoo-bees.
Some, nearly glabrous, have the paraglossae much shorter than the labial palpi.
Ammobates, Latr. (with 6-jointed maxillary palpi), and
Pliileremus, Latr. (with 2-jointed maxillary palpi), have the labrum elongate-triangular. In others it is short,
semicircular, and semi-ovate.
Epeolus, Latr. (with three complete cubital cells, and 1-jointed maxillary palpi), and
Nomada, Fab., have three complete cubital cells ; the last has 6-jointed maxillary palpi. [A very numerous genus,
the species of which greatly resemble small Wasps.]
Pasites, Jur., has only two cubital cells and 4-jointed palpi.
Other Cuculinae have the body hairy in spots, and the paraglossae nearly equal the labial palpi in length.
Melecta, Jur., with 5- or 6-jointed maxillary palpi, [ill. punctata, a common, handsome British Bee.]
Crocisa, Jur., with 3-jointed maxillary palpi, and the scutellum elongated and notched.
Ox(ea, Klug, has the labrum oblong, and the maxillary palpi obsolete or only 1-jointed, and very minute.
The terminal subdivision of the Solitary Bees, named Scopulipedes from the thiek coating of hairs of the
hind legs, in which also the basal joint of the tarsi has its outer edge dilated, so that the following joint is
inserted nearer to its inner angle. The under side of the abdomen is naked, or destitute of a pollen brush.
In some the maxillary palpi are composed of four or six joints, and in many of these the mandibles have only one
tooth in the inside. They fly with great rapidity, and make a loud buzzing.
Eucera, Latr., comprising those species which have the two lateral divisions of the labium as long as the labial
palpi, and the males have very long antennae. Apis longicornis, Linn, [a common British species].
Macrocera, Spin., differs from Eucera, having only 5-jointed maxillary palpi, and only two cubital cells.
Melissodes, Latr., an American Eucera, with 4-jointed maxillary palpi, and three cubital cells.
The others of this subdivision have the paraglossae much shorter than the labium, and always three cubital cells ;
and some have 6-jointed maxillary palpi.
Melitturga, Latr., (with the male antennae clavate, and the palpi continuous).
Anthophora, Latr., (with the antennae filiform, and the two terminal joints of the labial palpi minute and oblique).
[A. retusa, a common British species, and] A. parietina, make their nests in walls, the latter forming a perpendi-
cular curved tube at its orifice, composed of grains of earth, which it destroys when it has finished laying its eggs.
Saropoda, Latr., have only five joints in the maxillary palpi, and those of the labial palpi are continuous.
Ancyloscelis, Latr., has only 4-jointed maxillary palpi ; the females have a strong toothed spine at the tip of the
posterior tibiae. Brazilian insects. My genus Melitoma, having been established upon females of this genus,
must be suppressed. Tetrapedia, Klug, also enters into the preceding genus.
Centris, Fabr., differs from the preceding in having the mandibles generally with several teeth within, and the
maxillary palpi, as in the preceding, have only four joints. American insects.
In the two following subgenera the maxillary palpi have only a single joint, which is obsolete in some species.
Epicharis, Klug, has the labial palpi continuous, and each of the second and third cubital cells receives a
recurrent nerve.
AcantJiopus, Klug, has the two terminal joints of the labial palpi forming a small oblique branch, and the third
cubital cell receives two recurrent nervures.
The terminal Apiarise are social in their habits, the societies consisting of males, females, and neuters,
the feet of the last of which have the outer face of the tibiae furnished with a smooth excavation, or
pollen basket, in which they place the pollen mass, which they have collected with the silken coating
of the inside of the basal joint of the hind tarsi. The maxillary palpi are very minute, and composed
of a single joint. The antennae are elbowed.
Some have the posterior tibiae terminated by two spines.
Euglossa, Latr., has the labrum square, and the proboscis
as long as the body. Some of these have the body nearly
glabrous, as E. dentata, cordata. The hind surface of the
basal joint of the two posterior tarsi is nevertheless coated
with a brush. Their habits are unknown. Others have
the hind tibiae convex : we also observe near the outer edge
a narrow longitudinal impression. Aglae, St. Farg., seems
established upon such individuals.
Bombus, has the labrum transverse, with the proboscis
shorter than the body ; the body is robust and very hairy ;
the hairs often arranged in coloured bands. The Humble
Bee, B, lapidarius, so well known to children, is the type of this genus, the species of which live in underground
til
III
HYMENOPTERA.
601
habitations in societies of fifty or sixty, but sometimes two or three hundred individuals: the society is, however,
broken up at the approach of winter [like that of the Wasps]. The males are disting’uished by their small size, the
mandibles narrower, bidendate, and bearded, and the body often differently coloured. The females are the largest,
and have the mandibles spoon-shaped, as they are also in the neuters, which are intermediate in size between the two
others. Reaumur and Huber have observed two varieties amongst the neuters, differing in size from the ordinary
ones: according to the latter author, several of the workers which are produced in the spring, couple in June
with males which are produced from the common parent, and soon afterwards deposit eggs, which produce only
males, which fecundate the females which only appear towards the end of the summer, and which are destined to
become the foundresses of fresh colonies in the following year ; all the rest perish. These females, which survive
the winter, employ the first fine days in spring to commence their nest, which is formed in the earth, often at one
or even two feet deep. One species, B, lapidaria, builds it on the surface of the ground, under stones. The cavi-
ties in which these nests are formed, are vaulted with earth and moss, which the Bees card with their hind legs.
A layer of rough wax lines the interior of the nest. Sometimes an opening is merely made into the bottom of the
nest, but sometimes it is one or two feet long, and lined with moss. A layer of leaves lines the floor of the nest,
on which the female deposits masses of brown wax, their inner spaces being destined to inclose the eggs and
larvae. These larvae there live in society until the period when they are ready to change to pupae, when they separate,
and each forms for itself a silken cocoon of an oval form, attached to each other vertically, the pupae being always
head downwards ; hence they always make their escape out of the bottom of the cocoon on arriving at the imago
state. Reaumur asserts that the larvae feed upon the wax which forms their abode ; but in the opinion of Huber,
it simply protects them from the cold ; the food of these larvae consisting of a large supply of pollen paste moist-
ened with honey, with which the pupae provide them : there are, moreover, found in the nests two or three small
cups of honey always open.
The larvae appear four or five days after the eggs are deposited, and undergo their changes in the months of May
and June. The workers remove the wax around the cocoon in order to facilitate the escape of the Bee. It has
been supposed that these produced only neuters, but we have seen above that they also produce males. These
workers assist the female in her works. The number of the cocoons, which serve for the abode of the larvae and
pupae, increases, forming iri'egular layers of cells, one above another, on the sides of which the brown matter, which
Reaumur names pat^e, is ordinarily found. The wax which these insects make, has, according to Huber, the
same origin as that of the Domestic Bee, being only an elaborated kind of honey, which exudes from between the
segments of the abdomen ; several females live on good terms together in the same nest ; the females are far less
productive than the queen of the hive. [The species are very numerous. Types, Apis musconm, Linn., the Moss-
carder Humble Bee] ; Apis lapidaria [the Lapidary Humble Bee, which builds amongst stones, but also uses moss] ;
and A. terrestris, [which builds in the ground without using moss. The females of some Humble Bees are desti-
tute of apparatus for carrying pollen paste on the hind legs, and are consequently considered as parasites. They
form the genus Psithyrus, St. Farg., changed by Newman to Apathus.']
The other Social Bees have no spurs at the extremity of the posterior tibiae.
Apis, Linn., —
The workers of which have the basal joint of the hind tarsi oblong, and furnished on the inside with transverse
rows of short hairs.
Apis mellijica, Linn., or common Hive Bee, is much smaller and more oblong than the Humble Bee ; the body
Fig. 123.— Drone Bee. Fig. 124.— Queen Bee. Fig. 125.— Neuter Bee.
is clothed with a plush in some parts, and its colours are but little varied ; the Hive consists of neuters or Workers,
of which the number is from 15,000 to 20,000, or even sometimes 30,000,— of about 600 or 800, or even sometimes
more than 1000 males, and which are commonly called Drones, and generally of a single female, which the ancients
called the King, and the moderns term the Queen. The workers, smaller than the other individuals, have
12-jointed antennae and 6-jointed abdomen ; the basal joint of the hind tarsi dilated into a pointed ear at the outer
basal angle, and covered on the inside with a short, fine, close silken coating, and armed with a sting. The female
exhibits the same characters, but the workers have the abdomen shorter, the mandibles spoon-shaped, without
1 teeth ; the outside of their hind tibiae are also furnished with the pollen basket ; the coating of the basal joint of
the hind tarsi has seven or eight transverse striae. The males and females are larger, with the mandibles notched
beneath the tip, and pilose ; the proboscis is shorter, especially in the males. These differ from the two other
kinds in having 13-jointed antennae ; the head rounded ; the eyes large, and united on the crown ; the mandibles
smaller and more hairy ; the want of a sting ; the four hind feet short.
The ventral segments of the workers, with the exception of the first and last, have within two pockets, where the
wax is secreted and moulded into plates, which are discharged between the ventral segments. The wax, according
INSECTA.
602
to the younger Huber, is but an elaboration of honey ; and the pollen, mixed with a little of this substance, serves
only for the food of these insects and their larvae.
Huber distinguishes two kinds of Worker Bees : the first, which he calls Wax Workers, are charged with the
gathering of food and other materials for the building, and in their employment ; the others, or Nurse Bees, are
smaller and weaker, formed for retreat, and employed solely in the nourishment of the young, and the interior
economy of the hive.
We have seen that the workers resemble the females in various points : various curious experiments have proved
that they are of the same sex, and that they may be transformed into Mother Bees, if, whilst larvae, and during
the three first days of their existence, they receive a peculiar nourishment, such as is alone given to the larvae of
the future queens ; but they cannot in such cases acquire all the faculties of the latter, unless they are then placed
in a large cell, similar to the royal cell of the queen larvae. If, fed with this kind of food, their abode is not changed,
they become capable of laying only male eggs, and differ from the true queens by their smaller size ; the worker
Bees are therefore nothing else than females, of which the ovaries, on account of the nature of the food with which
they are fed whilst larvae, remain undeveloped.
The matter of which the honey-comb is composed not being able to resist the inclemencies of the weather, and
these insects not possessing the instinct to form a general envelope, they establish themselves in cavities where
their labours find a natural defence. The workers, on whom alone the labours of the hive devolve, form with the
wax honeycombs consisting of double layers of hexagonal cells, which latter are opposed to each other, base to
base, the base of each cell being pyramidal, and consisting of three rhombs. The combs are always perpendicular,
parallel, and fixed either by the upper part or side, and separated from each other by spaces which permit the
passage of the Bees: hence the direction of the cells is always horizontal. Mathematicians have demonstrated that
their form is at once the most economical in respect to the quantity of wax required, and the most advantageous
in respect to the space occupied by the cells. The Bees, however, have the instinct to modify their form according
to circumstances. If we except the cell fitted for the larva and pupa of the queen, these cells are nearly of equal
size :, some contain the young brood, and others the honey and pollen of flowers ; amongst the honey-cells, some
are open, others closed for reserve. The royal cells, of which the number varies from two to forty, are much larger,
nearly cylindrical, rather thickened at the tip, with small cavities on their outer surface. They are generally sus-
pended like stalactites upon the edges of the comb, so that the larva is always in a reversed position ; some weigh
as much as 150 ordinary cells. The males’ cells are of an intermediate size between those of the queens and
workers, and are placed irregularly here and there. The Bees always extend their comb from the top down-
wards. They stop up the small apertures of the habitation with a kind of mastic, which they collect from different
trees, called propolis.
The coupling takes place at the beginning of summer, out of the hive, and it is supposed that a single fecundation
suffices for all the eggs which the female deposits during the course of two years, and probably during all her life.
The deposition of eggs takes place rapidly, and ceases only in autumn ; Reaumur calculates that the female de-
posits 12,000 eggs in the course of twenty days in the spring. Guided by her instinct, she makes no mistakes in
the choice of the cells which are proper for the dilferent eggs ; sometimes, however, when there are not suffi(;ient
cells, she places several eggs in one, which the neuters subsequently remove. Those which are deposited on the
return of spring, are always the eggs of workers, which hatch at the end of four or five days. The Bees take care
to give their larvae the necessary paste proportioned to their age and sex ; and seven days afterwards they are ready
to become pupae, when their cells are closed with a convex lid by the workers, whereupon the larvae line the interior
with a layer of silk, spin a cocoon, and become pupae. In about twelve more days they become Bees, and disen-
gage themselves from these cells. The workers then clean out the cells they have left in order to be ready to
receive another egg. It is, however, otherwise with the royal cells, which are destroyed, and the Bees construct
new ones if necessary. The eggs containing the males are deposited two months later, and those of the females
soon after the latter.
This succession of generations forms so many particular societies, capable of forming fresh colonies, and which
are known under the name of sw'arms ; a hive sometimes produces three or four in the year, but the last are
always weakest. Those which weigh from six to eight pounds are the best. When they become too numerous in
the hive, these swarms quit their old abode. Various particular signs indicate to the cultivator the loss which he
is about to sustain, and which he endeavours to prevent, or rather, to turn the emigration to his own advantage.
Bees sometimes undertake violent combats amongst themselves : the males also, after they have impregnated the
females, from June to August, are destroyed by the workers, which also kill the male larvae and pupae.
Bees have both internal and external enemies, and are subject to diiferent diseases.
The Bee-keeper pays much attention to these insects, choosing the most approved hives, namely, such as are
the least expensive in construction, the most favourable for the rearing of the Bees, and the best adapted for their
preservation. He studies their habits, prevents the occurrence of accidents to which they are liable, and, in
return, finds that he is well repaid for his trouble. The origin of bee-keeping is hidden in the darkness of anti-
quity ; with the ancients they were the hieroglyphic symbol of royalty.
All the species of Apis proper are confined to the old world : those of the south and east of Europe, as well as
of Egypt [and India], differ from our species, which has been transplanted to America and other colonized parts,
where it has become acclimatised.
The terminal subgenus of Social Bees is
Melipona, Illig. {Trigona, Jur.), which differs from the preceding by having the basal joint of the hind tarsi of
the workers of a reversed triangular form, and without ti’ansverse striae ; the fore-wings have only two cubital
LEPIDOPTERA.
603
cells. The species inhabit South America ; they build their nests on the summit of trees, or in their cavities.
The honey of M. Amalthea is very agreeable, but very fluid, and soon becomes corrupt. It furnishes to the Indians
a spirituous liquid, of which they are very fond. It appears that some species of Melipona have been found in
the island of Sumatra. M. Cordier possesses a piece of amber, inclosing a specimen of M. Amalthea. [I ques-
tion whether this insect was not inclosed in gum copal, or anime, and not in amber. I have seen many Meli-
ponae inclosed in the gum anime.]
The species without teeth in the mandibles are Melipona proper ; those with teeth form the genus Trigona.
[The recent work of the Comte de Saint Fargeau, forming part of the Suites de Buffon, must be consulted, as
well as the tenth volume of the Encyclopedie Methodique, for many additional facts and genera established
relative to the family of the Bees. Also the work of Dr. Bevan on the Honey Bee, and the volume on Bees in the
Naturalist’s Library ; whilst the MonograpMa Apum Anglia of Mr. Kirby may be mentioned as one of the most
perfect examples of an entomological monograph which has ever been published.]
THE TENTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
LEPIDOPTERA, Linn. (Glossata, Fabr.), —
Terminates the series of those which have four wings, and presents to us two characters which
are especially peculiar to it.
The wings are covered on both surfaces with small coloured scales, similar to a farinose
powder, which comes oif on being touched. A proboscis, or tongue, rolled up in a spiral
direction between two palpi, clothed with scales or hairs, forms the most important part of
the mouth, and with which these insects draw up the nectar of flowers, which is their only
nourishment. We have seen, in the remarks on insects in general, that this proboscis is
composed of two tubular filaments, representing the maxillae, each bearing at its base exter-
nally a very small palpus, like a tubercle. The visible palpi, or those which form a kind of
sheath to the tongue, replace the labial palpi of masticatory insects, being cylindrical, or
conical, generally turned upwards, 3-jointed, and inserted upon a fixed labium, which forms
the portion of the lower part of the oral cavity below the proboscis. Two minute pieces,
situated one on each side, at the anterior and superior edge of the front of the head, near the
eyes, seem to be the vestiges of mandibles ; and we also discover, in an equally rudimental
form, the labrum.
The antennse are variable, and always composed of a great number of joints. In many two
ocelli are visible, but hidden beneath the scales of the head. The three segments of which
the thorax of hexapod insects is composed, are united into a single body, the first being very
short, and the two others confounded together. The scutellum is triangular, but pointed
towards the head ; the wings are simply veined, and variable in figure, size, and position. In
many the hind pair have several longitudinal folds towards the inner edge ; at the base of
each of the upper wings is a piece like an epaulette, prolonged behind, which corresponds
with the tegula of the Hymenoptera ; but, in its more developed state in this order, I call it
the pterygoda. The abdomen, composed of six or seven joints, is attached to the thorax by a
very small portion of its diameter, and is furnished with neither sting nor ovipositor analogous
to that of the Hymenoptera. In many females, however, as in Cossus, the terminal segments
are elongated and narrowed, so as to form an oviduct, like a pointed and retractile tail. The
tarsi have constantly five joints. The species always consist only of males and females; the
latter ordinarily deposit their eggs, which are very numerous, upon vegetable substances,
upon which the larvse feed, and after which the females soon die.
The larvee of Lepidopterous insects are known under the name of Caterpillars. They have
six scaly feet, corresponding with those of the perfect insect, besides from four to ten
membranous feet, of which the two last are situated at the posterior extremity of the body,
near the anus ; those with only ten or twelve feet are called Geometers, or Loopers, from
604
INSECTA.
their peculiar mode of walking. Seizing fast hold of the objects on which they are stationed
with these six fore-legs, they elevate the intermediate segments of the body into an arch, until
they bring the hind-feet close to the others ; these they disengage, and, retaining hold with
the hind feet, thrust forward the body to
its full length, and then recommence the
same manoeuvre. Many of these Looper-
caterpillars resemble, in their mode of
standing, fixed for a great length of time
only by their hind legs to twigs, as well as
in their form and colours, small pieces of
stick. Such an attitude necessarily requires
a prodigious muscular force, and Lyonnet
has, in effect, discovered that the caterpillar
of the Goat Moth posseses 4041 muscles.
Some Caterpillars with fourteen or sixteen
feet, (some of the intermediate membranous
legs being, however, smaller than the others,) have been named Semi-geometers. The mem-
branous feet are mostly terminated by a more or less perfect coronet of little hooks.
The body of these larvae is generally long, subcylindric, soft, variously coloured, sometimes
naked, and sometimes hairy, tubercled, or spined, and consists of twelve segments, exclusive
of the head, with nine spiracles on each side ; the skull is horny or scaly, with six small
granular shining points, which seem to be ocelli, on each side : it has moreover two very short
conical antennae, a mouth composed of a pair of strong mandibles, two maxillae, a labium,
and four small palpi ; the silky material which it uses is elaborated in two long, tortuous,
internal vessels ; a tubular and conical point, situate at the tip of the labium, is the spinneret,
whence the silk is discharged. The majority of Caterpillars feed upon the leaves of vegetables;
others devour flowers, roots, buds, seeds ; others eat the hard and solid parts of the wood ;
this they soften with a secretion which they discharge from the mouth : certain species de-
stroy our woollen cloths, stuffs, furs, &c., and are the most obnoxious of our domestic insects ;
others feed on grease, fat, bacon, wax, &c. ; many feed upon a single material, but others, less
delieate, attack difierent kinds of plants. One of the most striking instances of providence
is the perfect coincidence between the appearance of the Caterpillar and the vegetable upon
wliich it is destined to feed. Some kinds of Caterpillars are social, and often live together
under a kind of tent of silk, which they spin in common, and which serves them as a defence
against bad weather ; many fabricate cases, either fixed or portable ; some are lodged in the
parenchyme of leaves, where they make galleries ; the greater number however delight in
daylight ; others, on the other hand, only come forth at night. Winter, notwithstanding its
rigours, so uncongenial to nearly all insects, is the period when some moths make their appear-
ance. Caterpillars generally moult four times before passing to the clu’ysalis state. The majority
then spin a cocoon in which they are inclosed ; a kind of meconium or red liquid, which these
insects discharge at the moment of their final transformation, softens one end of the cocoon,
and allows the escape of the moth. Generally one end of the cocoon is weaker, or even fitted by
the arrangement of the threads for the escape of the insect. Other Caterpillars merely con-
tent themselves with attaching together leaves, or particles of earth, &c., with silken thread,
thus forming a rough kind of cocoon. The Chrysalides of diurnal Butterflies are ornamented
with golden spots [whence their name of Aurelise or Chrysalides], and are naked, and fixed
by the posterior extremity of the body; these Chrysalides are of the peculiar kind which
Linnaeus termed and which are mummy-shaped; the sheaths of the feet and
antennae being fixed. Those of many species, especially of Butterflies, are hatched in a few
days ; and thus there are two broods of these in a year. But in respect to others, these Cater-
LEPIDOPTERA.
605
pillars or Chrysalides pass the winter, and the insect only undergoes its change in the spring
or summer of the following year. In general the eggs deposited in the autumn are not
hatched till the next spring. They escape from the Chiysalis in the ordinary manner, or by a
slit down the back of the thorax.
The larvm of Ichneumonidse and ChalcididEe rid us of a great number of these destructive
insects.
[The arrangement of this order cannot be considered as arrived at an equal degree of per-
fection with that of the Coleoptera, or some other orders. Dr. Horsfield, in his Lepidoptera
Javanica, has attempted a more natural classification, founded especially upon the transforma-
tions of these insects, but his w^ork is incomplete ; as is also the case with BoisduvaPs Histoire
naturelle des Insectes Lepidopteres. The British species have been described in detail by
Mr. Stephens, in whose w^ork, as well as in that of Curtis, great numbers of new genera are
introduced ; there still, however, requires a more minute investigation of the generic characters
of these insects, and especially of the exotic species, than has yet been given to them ; authors
having generally contented themselves with describing or figuring the beautiful marking of
the wings, without attending to the real generic or structural peculiarities.]
We divide this order into three families, which correspond with the three genera of which
the order is composed in the Linnsean system.
THE EIRST FAMILY OF THE LEPIDOPTERA,—
The Diurn a [or Butterflies], —
Is the only one in which the outer edge of the hind-wings is not furnished with a scaly and stiff bristle
like a bridle, to retain the two fore-wings, which, as well as the others, generally, are elevated perpen-
dicularly in repose ; the antennie are terminated either by a knob, or are nearly of the same thickness,
or even more slender, and terminated in a bent hook at the tip. This family corresponds wfith the
genus
Papilio, Linnaeus.
The caterpillars have alw'ays sixteen feet. The chrysalides are nearly always naked, attached by
the tail, and mostly angular. The perfect insect, always furnished wuth a proboscis, only flies by day,
and the colours of the under side of the wings are equal in beauty to those of the upper.
We divide them into two sections.
The first have only a single pair of spurs to the tibia;, placed at the tips ; the-fore wings are elevated
perpendicularly in repose ; the antennae are mostly clubbed at the tip, which is truncated, or
rounded, or are sometimes nearly filiform. This very numerous section may be further divided as
follows.
1. Those with the third joint of the palpi either obsolete, or if present, clothed with scales as
thickly as the preceding joint, and the tarsal claws very distinct. Their caterpillars are elongate,
subcylindric ; the chrysalides are almost ahvays regular, sometimes smooth, but inclosed in a rough
cocoon ; some of these (Hexapoda) have all the legs fit for walking, and nearly alike in both sexes :
the pupa is not only attached by the tail, but by a thread round the middle of the body ; the central
cell of the hind wings is closed externally.
The four following genera have the inner edge of the hind wings concave or folded.
Papilio proper, or the Equites of Linnaeus, have the lower palpi very short, scarcely reaching the clypeus, with
the third joint scarcely distinct. Theirfcaterpillars, when alarmed, throw out a forked horn from the neck, which
emits a disagreeable scent.
These Butterflies are remarkable for their size and the variety of their colours. Tliey are generally found in the
equatorial regions of both worlds ; many have the hind wings prolonged into a tail, as in onr Papilio Machaon,
or the Swallow-tail Butterfly.
Zelima, Fabr., differs from Papilio only in having the club of the antennae shorter and rounder. [Two exotic
species.]
Parnassius, Latr. {Doritis, Fabr,), have the palpi elevated above the clypeus, and pointed, with three distinct
joints; the caterpillars have a retractile tentacle in the neck, but they form a kind of cocoon with leaves. P.
Apollo, [a reputed British species], which, with the others, is only found in mountainous districts.
Thais, Fab., has palpi like Parnassius, but the club of the antennae is elongated and curved ; the caterpillars
are apparently destitute of the retractile tubercle in the neck. The species are found in the South of Europe.
INSECTA,
606
In the following the lower wings extend beneath the abdomen, and form a kind of gutter for it ; their larvae
are destitute of a tentacle in the neck ; and many of them subsist on cruciferous plants. These Lepidoptera
{Papilio Danai candidi, Linn.), form two subgenera.
Pieris, Sclirank. (Pontia, Fab.), has the palpi subcylindric, slightly compressed, with the last joint nearly as
long as the preceding, and the club of the antennae ovoid. P. brassicce, Linn., the Great Garden white
Butterfly, &c.
Colias, Fab,, having the antennal club elongate, obconic, and the palpi very compressed; with the last joint
much shorter than the preceding. C. edusa, and Hyale, Linn., the Clouded yellow Butterflies, &c.
The other Butterflies of the same division are named Tetrapods, from having the two fore-legs
very small, and folded up, and not fitted for walking, either in both sexes, or only in the males ; the
chrysalis is suspended only by the tail, and hangs with the head do wm wards. In some of these, the
fore-legs, although small, scarcely differ in form from the hind ones ; the hind wings have the central
cell always posteriorly closed ; the palpi are wide apart, slender and cylindric, and short. All these
subgenera are exotic.
Danais {Eiipl<ea, Fab.), has the wings triangular, and the antennae terminated by a long and curved knob.
Idea, Fab., has the wings nearly oval, elongated, with the antennae nearly filiform.
The two following subgenera differ in having the wings more elongate and narrow, and the abdomen is
very long.
Heliconia, Latr. {Mechanitis, Fab., P. Heliconii, Linn.), has the antennae long and gradually thickened.
Acraa, Fab., has them shorter, and suddenly clubbed.
In the others (P. nymphalis, Linn.), the two fore-legs are more strongly bent, and either visible and
very hairy, or concealed and minute. The hind wing has the central cell open in many, the palpi are
longer, and often thicker and close together.
Those with the palpi rather compressed, apart in their whole length, and terminated by a slender joint, [are
known under the name of Fritillary Butterflies,] having the under-side of the wings ornamented with silver, or
yellow spots on a buff ground. The caterpillars are very spinose.
Cethosia, Fab., has the tarsal ungues simple, and the club of the antennse oblong.
Argynnis, Fab., has pearly spots on the under-
side of the wings ; the caterpillars are very spinose,
with two longer spines on the neck, and the tarsal
claws are unidentate.
Melitcea, Fab., has the caterpillars furnished with
small villose tubercles ; the wings are spotted, the
pearl being replaced by yellow.
Those with the palpi contiguous throughout their
whole length, and gradually pointed to the tip, and
very compressed, compose five other subgenera.
Vanessa, Fab., are separated from the following
by the antennae suddenly terminated by a short
knob. The caterpillars are very spinose. [This
subgenus comprises some of the most beautiful of
our British Butterflies, such as Papilio Antiopa,
Linn., or the Camberwell Beauty ; Pap. lo, Linn., the Peacock ; Pap. Cardui, Linn., the Painted Lady ; Pap. Ata-
lanta, Linn., the Red Admiral ; P. Polychloros, Linn., the Large Tortoise-shell ; Pap. Urticte, Linn., the Small
Tortoise-shell; Pap. C. album, the Comma Butterfly], the chrysalis of which last rudely represents a human
face, or the mask of a satyr.
In the four following subgenera the antennae are terminated by an elongate mass, or are nearly filiform. The
caterpillars are either naked, or armed with but few spines.
Libythea, Fab., in which the males alone have the fore-legs minute, and the palpi very advanced like a beak.
Biblis, Fab. {Melanitis, Fab.), have the palpi also longer than the head, but obtuse at the apex ; the fore-legs
short, and folded up in both sexes ; the wings broader and simply toothed ; the nerves of the fore-wings dilated
at the base.
Nymphalis, Latr., is similar to Biblis in the feet, but with the palpi shorter, and differing from Vanessa only in
the longer club of the antennae ; but the caterpillars have fewer spines, or merely fleshy prominences ; they are
narrowed to the extremity of the body, which is rather forked. These Butterflies are generally beautifully orna-
mented, and have a rapid and high flight. The males of some have changeable reflexions in their hues, [as in the
Purple Emperor, Papilio Iris, Linn.]. The form and size of the club of the antennae vary a little, as well as the
relative proportions of the wings, which have given rise to the establishment of several other subgenera ; but their
characters are very equivocal. The species which approach nearest to Biblis form the genus Neptis, Fab., whilst
the furthest removed are P. Jasius, and the allied species, [forming the genus Charaoces, Bdv.]
Morpho, Fab., has nearly filiform antennae, being but slightly thickened at the tips. All the species are South
American, and of great size, with eye-like spots on the wings.
Fig-. 127. — Argynnis Paphia.
LEPIDOPTERA.
607
Pavonia, God., has the central cell of the hind wings closed, and the innermost nerve of the fore wings curved
like an S. One of the species, P. Phidippus, from the East Indies, with the hind wings tailed, is the type of the
genus Amathusia, Fabr.
The following have the discoidal cell of the hind wings closed behind.
Brassolis, Fab., has the antennae suddenly clubbed, and the palpi short; the males have a longitudinal slit at
the inner edge of the hind wings, covered with hair.
Eumenia, God., with the palpi longer, and the antennae at a short distance from the base, gradually thickening,
and forming an elongated mass.
Eurybia, Illig., has short palpi, but they are thicker, and the club of the antennae is fusiform and bent.
Satyrus, Latr. [Hipparchia, Fabr., and of English authors],
has the palpi extending beyond the clypeus, very compressed,
the antennae terminated by a small club, or by a slender elong-
ated mass ; the two or three basal nerves of the fore-wings are
swollen. The caterpillars are naked, or nearly smooth, with
the extremity of the body forked. The chrysalides are bifid in
front, and the back is tubercled. [This is a very numerous
British genus, the majority of which are ornamented with eye-
like spots. Such are Pap. Galathea, Janira, uElgeria, &c.]
We terminate this first section of the diurnal Lepi-
doptera by those which have the palpi 3-jointed, but the
third joint is nearly naked, and much less clothed with
scales than the preceding ; the tarsal claws are very
minute. The caterpillars are oval, or like Wood-lice. The chrysalides are short, entire, and always
attached by a thread round the middle of the body, like those of Papilio or Pieris. Linnaeus united
I them in his Papiliones plebeii, and division Purdies. They are the G. Argus of Lamarck, and Fabricius
I has divided them into many genera, which have need of revision,
j Some of these have the antennae terminated by a knob.
Erycina, Latr., has the fore feet, at least in the males, much shorter than the others. [These are almost exclu-
i' sively South American Butterflies.]
I: In the others the fore-legs are like the others in both sexes.
' Myrina, Fab., is distinguished by the great length of the palpi. [Exotic species.]
j Polyommatus, Latr., thus named from the numerous eye-like spots on the wings, has the palpi not much extending
I beyond the clypeus. [The species are numerous, of small size, and are known under the names of Blues or
Coppers.] The most abundant species of the former is Pol. Alexis, the Common Blue.
Other Lepidoptera of this division are furnished with antennae of a completely isolated form.
I Barbicornis, God., has the antennae in both sexes setaceous and plumose. [Established upon a Brazilian species,
!| which Latreille considered fictitious, but which is now well knowm to be real. Latreille here added the genus
Zephyrius, Dalman, which he described as having the antennae terminated by ten or twelve globular joints ; the
genus is, however, identical with Polyommatus. See Boisduval, Hist. Nat. Lep. i. p. 114.]
|i The second section of the Diurnal Lepidoptera is composed of species in which the posterior tibiae
have two pairs of spurs, one pair at the tip and another above, as in the two following families :
the lower wings are generally placed horizontally in repose, and the extremity of the antennae is
often suddenly bent and pointed. Their caterpillars, of which, however, but a few are known, roll
i up leaves, in which they spin a thin web of silk, within which they are transformed to chrysalides,
- which have smooth bodies, and are without angular eminences. They form the division of the Plebeii
urbicolce of Linnaeus, and were united with the Polyommati under the name of Hesperia, by Fabrieius.
:| But we must further add some exotic Lepidoptera, whose natural station has not yet been discovered.
I' These different Lepidoptera conduct us very well to the second family. They compose two sub-
!' genera.
I Hesperia, Fab.,—
Which have the antenna; distinctly terminated by a club, and the palpi short, broad, and very squamose in front.
[The species are very numerous, of small size, and are known to collectors under the name of Skipper Butterflies,
from their peculiar flight.] H. ilfatocP, Fab., is a common species. Its caterpillar is elongated, with the first
i segment behind the head narrowed, a character familiar to this group.
;j Urania, Fab., —
I Has the antennae filiform at the base, and gradually slender and setaceous at the tips, and the palpi long, slender,
with the second joint very compressed, and the last long, slender, and naked. Pap. Rhipheus, Leilus, Lavinia,
Orontes, &c. They form Dalman’s genera Cydimon, Nyctalemon, and Sematura. [See the memoir of Mac Leay
ij on the transformations of a species which inhabits Cuba, in the Trans. Zool. Soe., and my observations on the
affinities of these interesting insects, in the new edition of Drury’s Exotic Entomology.']
608
INSECTA.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE LEPIDOPTERA —
The Crepuscularia, —
Has, near the origin of the external edge of the hind wings, a stiff bristle, which passes through a hook
on the under side of the fore-wings, maintaining them whilst in repose in a horizontal or inclined
position ; according to Godart, however, some of the Smerinthi are nevertheless destitute of this in-
strument, which is also found in the following family, but the Crepuscularise are distinguished by their
antennae forming an elongated mass, either prismatic or fusiform. Their caterpillars have always sixteen
feet ; their chrysalides are not angulated like those of the Diurnal Lepidoptera, and are mostly in-
closed in a cocoon, or are concealed either in the earth or beneath some substance. They mostly fly
either in the morning or evening [twilight]. This family composes the genus
Sphinx, Linn., —
Which has derived its name from the peculiar attitudes of the larvae, which resemble the fahled Sphinx.
They make a humming noise during flight. I divide this genus into four sections, corresponding to the
Fabrician genera Castnia, Sphinx, Sesia, and Zygoena.
The first, Hesperi-sphinges, is composed of Lepidoptera which evidently seem to connect the Hes-
periae and true Sphinges. The antennae are always simple, thickened in the middle, or towards the tip,
which forms a pointed hook without a bundle of hairs at the end. All have a very distinct proboscis,
and the palpi are composed of three distinct joints. In some, the terminal joint is long, slender, and
nearly naked, as in Urania ; in others they are shorter and broader.
Agarista, Leach, has the palpi long-, with the terminal joint nearly naked ; the antennae gradually thickened in
the middle, and terminated by a long hook. [New Holland insects.]
Cocytia, Boisduval, has glass-like wings ; the palpi are as in Urania, and the antennae as in Agarista.
Coronis, Latr., has the palpi similar, suddenly terminated in a club, with a hook at the tip. [A Brazilian species.]
Castnia, Fabr., has the antennae like those of Agarista, but the palpi are shorter, broader, and cylindric. [See
the monographs of Dalman, Gray, and the Encyclopedie Methodique.']
The second section, Sphingides, has the antennae always terminated by a small brush of scales ; the
palpi are broad or transversely compressed, very squamose, with the third joint mostly indistinct. The
majority of the caterpillars have the body smooth, elongated, with a horn on the back, near the ex-
tremity of the body ; and the sides oblique or longitudinally striped. They feed on leaves, and
undergo their changes in the earth without weaving a web. Such are the species of
Sphinx, Linn, [or the Hawk Moths], — ■
Properly so called, which have the antennae prismatic, simply ciliated, or striated on one side, and which
have a distinct proboscis. They fly with great swiftness, hovering over flowers, and making a humming
somid ; the chrysalides of some species have the tongue-case exserted like a nose, as in Sphinx Convol-
vuli, the Unicorn Hawk Moth.
The species are numerous, and of very large size.
One of the largest, is the Death’s Head Moth, Sphinx
Atropos, Linn, [belonging to the subgenus Acherontia,
Och.], remarkable for the skull-hke patch on the back
of the thorax, and for the squeaking kind of noise it
emits, which has been supposed by Reaumur to be
caused by rubbing the palpi against each other, and
by Lorey to be owing to the rapid escape of the air from
two ventral cavities ; the caterpillar is of a very large
size, and feeds on potatoes, jasmine, &c.
The larvae of other species [forming the subgenus
Eumorpha, Hb., or Metopsilus, Duncan], have the power of thrusting out the front of the body to a great
length, [w'hence they have obtained the name of Elephant Hawk Moths,] such as Sph. Elpenor, Porcellus, &c.
Other Sphingides have the body terminated by a tassel of scales. Scopoli formed them into a distinct genus,
Macroglossum. Such are the Humming-Bird Hawk-Moth {Sph. stellatarum), and the Broad and Narrow-bordered
Bee-Moths {Sph. fuciformis, Bombyliformis, &c.), the two last of which have the wings glassy. [This group of
Hawk Moths is remarkable for flying in the hottest sunshine.]
Smerinthus, Latr., has the antennte serrated, and the tongue wanting. The species are sluggish in their flight,
and the hind wings extend beyond the fore ones in repose, as in many moths. Sph. Tilice, Populi, and ocellata.
Fig. 129. — Acherontia atropos ; reduced.
LEPIDOPTERA. 609
The third' division of Sphinx, Sesiades, comprises those with the antennse always simple, elongate-
fusiform, and often terminated by a small bundle of scales ; the palpi are slender, and distinctly 3-jointed ;
the abdomen is generally terminated by a tassel. The caterpillars devour the interior of twigs, or the
roots of vegetables, like those of Zeuzera or Cossus ; they are naked, without any posterior horn, and
construct a cocoon with the particles of the materials on which they have fed.
Sesia, Latr., —
Has the antennse terminated by a small brush of scales ; the wings are horizontal, and have glassy spaces ; the
tail is tasselled. Many of the species resemble Wasps and other hymenopterous and dipterous insects. [Nu-
mei'ous small British species, which fly about in the hottest sunshine.]
Thyris, Hoff., ditfers in the antennse being nearly setaceous, and the abdomen pointed.
Mgocera, Latr., has the antennse without a bundle of scales at the tip, but thickest in the middle ; the abdomen
also pointed at the tip. The wings are entirely clothed with scales.
The fourth and last division of Sphinxes, Zyg^nides, has the antennse always terminated in a point
without a brush, and either simple in both sexes and fusiform, or thickest in the middle ; setaceous
and pectinated, at least in the males ; the palpi of moderate size, or small, subcylindric, 3-jointed ; the
wings are deflexed, and have, in many, vitreous spots ; the abdomen is not tasselled ; the spurs of the
hind-tibiae are small ; the larvae are exposed, and feed on various leguminosae. They are cylindric,
without a posterior horn, pilose, like those of many Bombyces, and form a silken cocoon, which they 1
attach to stems of grass, &c. Their habits are well described by Boisduval, in a monograph on this
tribe.
ZYG.ENA, —
The typical genus, is not found in the New World ; the antennae are simple in both sexes ; suddenly terminated
by a fusiform mass, and the palpi reach beyond the clypeus, and are attenuated at the tip. [The species are
numerous.
Sphinx filipendulce, [the Hornet Moth, a very common and handsome species, is the type].
Syntomis, Illig., differs in having the antennae slender and gradually dilated ; the palpi are shorter. [Exotic
species.]
Atychia, Hoff., has simple antennae in the females, or bipectinated in the males ; the palpi very pilose, and ex-
tending considerably beyond the clypeus ; the spurs large.
Procris, Fab. {Ino, Leach), approaches Atychia in the antennae, but the palpi are shorter, the wings longer, and
the spurs small. S. statices, Linn., [the Forester Sphinx, a very common small species, of a shining green colour].
The other Lepidoptera of this division have the antennae in both sexes bipectinated.
Glaucopis, Fab., has a distinct proboscis.
Aglaope, Fabr., has not a proboscis. Many species of these two subgenera occur in tropical climates ; they seem
to connect the Crepusculariae with Callimorpha.
THE THIRD [AND LAST] FAMILY OF THE LEPIDOPTERA,—
j The Nocturna, —
Presents to us ordinarily the wings bridled in repose by a bristle or bunch of hairs arising at the base
j of the outer edge of the lower pair, and passing through a ring on the under side of the upper. The
wings are horizontal or deflexed, and sometimes rolled round the body. The antennse gradually di-
j minish to the tips, or are setaceous. This family is composed in the Linnsean system of the single
i! genus
|j Phal^ena [or Moths].
These insects in general fly only during the night, or after sunset ; many are destitute of a proboscis ;
some females are destitute of wings, or have only very small ones. The caterpillars generally spin a
cocoon ; the number of their feet varies from ten to sixteen ; the chrysalides are always rounded, and
I not angulated nor pointed.
The classification of this family is exceedingly embarrassing, and our systems are yet but imperfect
j sketches. We divide it into ten sections.
'The first section, Hepialites, has for its types the genera Hepialus and Cossus of Fabricius. The
caterpillars are naked and fleshy, and reside in the interior of vegetables, upon which they feed ; their
cocoons are for the most part formed of the particles of these vegetables. The segments of the abdomen
of the pupae are denticulated ; the antennae are always short, with only a single sort of small short teeth.
In others they are terminated by a single filament, but furnished at the base in the males with a double
R R
610
INSECTA.
row of pectinations ; the proboscis is always very short and indistinct ; the wings are roof-like and elon-
gated ; the females have the ovipositor long ; their caterpillars commit much havoc in ditferent trees, &c.
In some, the antennae are nearly alike in both sexes, with only very short teeth.
Hepialus, Fabr., —
Which has these organs nearly moniliform, and much shorter than the thorax ; the hind wings are generally des-
titute of a bridle. The caterpillars live in the earth, and eat the roots of plants. The Great Swift or Ghost Moth
(Hepialus Humuli), is a very common insect; the male with silvery white wings, and the female bulf, with reddish
marks.
Cossus, Fab., has the antennae longer, with a row of short denticulations ; the caterpillars live in the interior of
trees, forming their cocoons of the sawdust they make. The chrysalis, immediately before undergoing its final
change, works itself to the outer opening of its cell, in order to make its escape. The Goat Moth, Cossus ligniperda,
is the type of the genus. Its larva is like a thick, short, red worm ; it lives in the interior of various trees, and
discharges a fetid liquor when alarmed, and which serves to soften the wood.
Stygia, Drap., has a double row of teeth in the antennas. [Exotic species.]
Zeuzera, Latr., differs from the preceding in having the male antennae furnished at the base with a double row
of long pectinations, and subsequently terminated by a thread ; those of the females are simple, but cottony at the
base, Z. ^sculi, the Wood Leopard, a handsome rare species, of a white colour, with numerous steel-blue spots.
The larva lives in the interior of various trees.
Our second division, Bombycites, differs from the first and third, by having the proboscis always
very short and rudimental ; the wings are extended and horizontal, or roof-like, the lower ones ex-
tending beyond the upper ones at the sides ; and the male antennae entirely pectinated. The larvae are
exposed, and feed upon the tender parts of vegetables ; they mostly make a cocoon of pure silk ; the
chrysalides have no rows of teeth on the margins of the abdominal segments.
We form with the species which have the wings expanded and horizontal, a first subgenus, or the Phalcena Atta-
cus of Linnaeus, to which we restrict the name of
Saturnia, Schrank., including that of Aglaia. It comprises the largest species, which have the wings mostly ^
ornamented with glass -like spots. Such are the Great Atlas Moth of China, B. Cecropia, Luna, &c. The silk of '
which the cocoons of two of the species are formed, has been employed from time immemorial at Bengal. I am
assured by M. Huzard, that in a Chinese manuscript these caterpillars have been termed the wild Silk-worms of
China, and I conjecture that the silken materials, obtained by the ancients in commerce, were produced from these
caterpillars. Europe furnishes five species of this subgenus, the largest of which is the Great Peacock, B.pavonia
major: the only British species is the Emperor Moth, \_B. pavonia minor'\ ; the cocoon of this species is curious,
being formed internally with stiff, convergent, elastic threads, which facilitate the escape of the inclosed insect,
but prevent the entrance of others.
The other Bombycites have the upper wings inclining at the side, or roof-like, the outer edge of the lower
extending beyond that of the upper wings.
Lasiocampa, has the palpi porrected like a beak, and the hind-wings often notched. The perfect insect often
resembles a packet of dead leaves. B. quercifolia, potatoria, &c. [divided by the German and English entomologists
into numerous subgenera].
Bomhyx proper, has the palpi not remarkably prominent.
B. Mori, Linn., the Silk-worm Moth. This well-known insect is a native of the northern provinces of China.
It was imported by the Greek missionaries, in the time of Justinian, to Constantinople ; whence, at the time of
the crusades, it passed from Morea into Sicily and the kingdom of Naples, and subsequently, especially under
Sully, into France. But the ancients also obtained their silks, both by sea and land, from Pegu and Ava, or the
ancient Seres, which are the more generally alluded to in the writings of the earlier geographers. It is known
that silk was anciently sold at its weight in gold, and that it has become an important source of national riches.
B. neustria, the Lackey Moth, the larva of which lives in society, under webs of large size, upon our fruit-trees ;
and B. processionea, the Processionary Moth, the caterpillars of which are also social, and which often change
their abode, marching in procession, one being in front serving as a guide, followed by two, and then three, four,
five, and so on.
The third section of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, that of the Pseudo-Bombyces, is composed of
species in which the hind wings, like those of all the following, are furnished with a bridle, which
fixes them to the anterior in repose, by which they are also then covered. The proboscis in the ter-
minal species is elongated, differing only from the following tribes by being rather shorter. The
antennse are entirely pectinated, or serrated, in the males. The larvse of all feed on the exterior parts
of vegetables.
The first of these have the proboscis short, and unfitted for suction. In some of these the caterpillars do not
form portable cases, and are long, and furnished with ambulatory feet.
Sericaria, Latr., has both sexes winged, and the upper wings are not denticulated on the inner margin. B. dis-
par, Fab. [the Gipsy Moth]. B. versicolor, Bucephala, Coryli, pudibunda, &c., forming WiQ geneva. Endromis,
Pygcera, Liparis, &c.
LEPIDOPTERA.
611
Notodonta, Ochs., has the inner margin of the wing denticulated, [whence these insects are called Promi-
nent Moths].
Orgyia, Ochs., differs from the preceding by having the females almost wingless. B. antiqua, Fab. [the
Vapourer Moth].
Limacodes, Latr., differs from all in having the caterpillars like Wood-lice, and which seem also to represent
the Polyommati amongst the diurnal species. H. Testudo and Asellus, Fab.
Psyche, Schrank., the caterpillars of which form portable cases of silk, to which they affix bits of stick, thus
resembling the nests of the Caddice-fiies. Some of the species, from the East Indies and Senegal, are very remark-
able in their forms.
The terminal Pseudo-Bombyces have the proboscis very distinct and elongated.
Chelonia, God. {Arctia, Schr., Eyprepia, Ochs.),
has the wings roof-like ; the antennae pectinated in
the males ; the palpi very hirsute, and the proboscis
short.
B. caja, the Great Garden Tiger Moth, having
brown upper-wings marked with white, and red
under-wings spotted with blue black. The larvae are
very common, and are termed Woolly Bears.
Callimorpha, Latr. (^Eyprepia, Ochs.), has the
wings roof-like, but the antennae are only serrated
in the males ; the palpi only slightly squamose, and
the proboscis long. B. Jacobcece, a very common
species, black, the upper wings having a line and two carmine red spots ; the under wings of the latter colour,
bordered with black.
Lithosia, Fab., has the wings horizontal in repose.
The fourth section of the Nocturna, that of the AposuRiE, differs at once from all the rest of the
order in the caterpillars being destitute of any anal feet, the extremity of the body terminating in a
point, which in many is forked, or furnished with two long articulated appendages, forming a kind of
tail. In respect to the proboscis, palpi, and antennae, the Moths differ but little from tbe preceding.
Bicranoura, God. (Cerura, Schr., Harpyia, Ochs.), have the external habit of Chelonia or Sericaria, and the
extremity of the body of the larva is terminated by two tails. [C. Vinula, the Puss Moth.]
Plaiypteryx, Lasp. (JDrepana, Schr.), more resembles Phalsena, having the fore-wings hooked at the tips and the
body slender; the body of the larvae terminates in a point. In respect to the latter state, these Moths therefore
resemble the Dicranourae ; but, in their perfect state, that of Phalenites. Ph. falcataria, lacertinaria, &c.
The fifth section of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, that of the Noctu^lites, Latr., resembles the pre-
ceding in the wings, but differs in having a corneous proboscis rolled up in a spiral direction, and
mostly very long ; palpi terminated suddenly by a very small joint, slenderer than the preceding, which
is much larger, and very compressed. The body is generally clothed with scales rather than with
wool ; the thorax is often crested above, and the abdomen is of an elongate conic form ; the antennae
are generally slender and simple. Their flight is very rapid, and some species fly during the day.
The caterpillars have mostly sixteen feet ; some have two or four -less, but the anal pair is never
wanting ; and in those with only twelve feet the anterior pair of the membranous legs is as large as
the following. The majority of these caterpillars inclose themselves in a cocoon. They compose the
section Phalcem-Noctua, Linn. All the generic groups established recently, and which are character-
ized rather from the caterpillar than the perfect state, may be reduced to the two following
subgenera.
Erebus, Latr. (Thysania, Dalm., Noctua, Fab.), has the wings always extended and horizontal, and the last joint
of the palpi long, slender, and naked. These are very large moths, all of which are exotic except one Spanish
species.
Noctua,
Has the last joint of the palpi very short, and clothed with scales, like the preceding. The majority have the
larvae 16-footed, as the Red Under-wing Moths, Noctua \Catocald\ sponsa, &c. Others have only twelve feet,
and the imago is ornamented with golden or silvery spots, such as the Burnished Brass Moth, Noctua [Phisia]
Chrysites, &c. The larvae of some, as N. Vei'basci, Absinthii, &c., feed on the flowers of the plants after which
they are named. Others have the antennae feathered, as N. graminis, the larva of which is very destructive to
pastures in Sweden [and elsewhere]. This genus is divided by Ochsenheimer into forty-two genera, being for the
most part equivalent to the groups proposed in the systematic catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Vienna, of which,
however, the nature of our work does not allow the details. After the removal of Erebus, Latreille, in a note,
suggests that the Noctuae form two series ; the first having partially geometrical larvae, and the others having
16-footed larvae, both, however, terminating with species conducting to Herminia and Pyralis.
Bombyx Cyllopoda, Dalm., forms a new and anomalous subgenus.
R R 2
Fig-. 130. — Chelonia villica.
INSECTA.
612
The sixth section of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, that of the PnALiENA tortrix, Linn., has the
greatest relation to the preceding species, the upper wings having the outer margin curved at the base,
and subsequently narrowed ; and their short, broad form, like a truncated oval, gives these insects a
remarkable appearance ; the proboscis is distinct, and the palpi generally nearly similar to those of the
Noctuse, but rather more advanced. They are small Moths, agreeably coloured, with the wings nearly
horizontal, or rather slightly deflexed at the sides ; the upper pair slightly crossing the lower. The
caterpillars are 16-footed, the body being generally smooth, or but slightly hairy ; they roll up the
leaves, fixing them by threads in a parallel direction, and thus forming them into cases, whereby they
devour the parenchyme of the leaves at leisure ; others make retreats by fastening several leaves or
flowers together, and some reside inside fruits ; some of these caterpillars have the body slender at the
tip, and their cocoons are in the figure of a boat turned upside down ; these cocoons are sometimes en-
tirely of silk, and sometimes of silk mixed with other matters. They form the subgenus
Pyralis, Fab. [Tortrix of English authors].
P. pomana, Fab., the Codling Moth, P. vitis, P. prasinaria, [and a great number of species, divided by more
recent authors into a great number of subgenera]. Latreiile in a note adds indications of the additional sub-
genera (7hr^W.r dewfaria, Hb.), Valuer a {P.rutana, umhellanay Her acleana), din^Procerata (P. saldo-
nana, Fabr.).
The seventh section of the Nocturna, that of the Phal^nites, Latr. {Phal. Geometra, Linn.), has
the body generally slender, with the proboscis either wanting or but little elongate, and nearly mem-
branous ; the palpi small and subcylindric ; the wings ample, extended, or like a nearly flat roof ; the
antennae in many of the males are pectinated ; the thorax smooth ; the caterpillars have generally only
ten feet ; sometimes, however, they have an extra pair ; the anal feet always exist. From their mode
of walking, they are called Geometers, or Loopers, described above (p. 604). Their attitude of repose
is singular ; fixed to a branch or twig, and holding only by the hind pair of feet, the body is stretched
in a straight line, and at an angle with the branch imrnoveably. In their colours, also, and the rugo-
sities in their bodies, they also resemble branches : in this position they will remain for many hours,
and even for entire days. The chrysalides are naked, or are inclosed in a very slender cocoon. When
the caterpillars are not taken into consideration, this section only forms a single genus, —
Phala:na.
type of my subgenus Metrocampay has twelve feet, but the rest
only ten, such as P. sambueariay the Swallow-tailed Moth, formed
by Leach into the subgenus Ourapteryx ; P. grossulariatay Linn.,
•the Magpie Moth, [a very abundant species, the larva and pupa of
which are figured in a preceding page. The females of P. brumatay
and some others, have only very slight rudiments of wings. The
latter species appear only in winter. One species, P. sexalisatay
is remarkable for the males possessing a small appendage at the
inner edge of the hind wing. These species form my subgenus
Hyhernia.
[This is a very extensive tribe, formed into the family Geome-
tridee, and divided by recent authors into a very great number of
genera.]
The caterpillar of P. margaritaria, Fab., the
Fi^. 131. — Phalfena ^rossulariata.
The eighth section of the nocturnal Lepidoptera, that of the Deltoides, presents to us species very
nearly allied to the Phalaenae proper, but of which the caterpillars have fourteen feet, and roll up leaves.
In the imago, the palpi are elongated and recurved. The wings form with the body, at the sides of
which they are horizontally extended, a kind of delta, of which the posterior edge has at the middle
an indented angle, or appears furcate. The Deltoid Lepidoptera form the subgenus
Ilerminiay Latr., belonging to the division of the Phalaena Pyralis of Linn., Hyblcea and part of Crambus, Fabr.
The ninth section of the Nocturna, that of the Tineites, Latr. {Phalcena Tinea, Linn.), and the major
part of his Pyralides, comprises the most minute species of the order, and of which the caterpillars are
alw'ays furnished with sixteen feet at least, are rectigrade, and live hidden in fixed or moveable cases
which they form. In some, the wings form a kind of elongated triangle, nearly flattened; such are the
Ph. Pyralides, Linn., w'hich have four distinct palpi, and generally exposed. In others, the upper wings
are long and narrow ; in all, the hind wings are always broad and folded ; the four palpi of these are
also often exposed.
LEPiDOPTERA. 613
The substances upon which the caterpillars feed, or on which they mostly dwell, provide them with
materials for their cases. Among the cases formed of vegetable matters, some are very singular : the
Adelae, for instance, make their nests of bits of leaves, arranged upon each other. In some the material
is transparent. The caterpillars of the true Tinete clothe themselves in cases formed of hair, fur, &c.,
which they cut off with their jaws, as well as of the hair of the skins of animals, and which they fasten
with silken threads. They have the instinct to elongate or widen these cases by slitting them, and
introducing a new piece. They undergo their transformations in these cases, having first closed the
orifice with silk. Reaumur, Rosel, and De Geer have especially investigated the habits of these insects.
Other species burrow into the interior of the vegetable and animal substances upon which they
subsist, forming simple galleries, where they construct cases either of these materials or of silk ; these
habitations are always fixed, and serve only as retreats. Others, again, pierce the interior of leaves
upon which they feed, producing dried-up patches either in spots or undulating lines, to be observed
on many leaves : buds, fruits, seeds, and often grains of wheat, as well as the resinous galls of some
fir trees, serve for food and abode to others.
These Moths are often ornamented with very brilliant colours, the upper wings having gold or silver
spots.
Some, the Pyralides, having the four palpi always distinct, exposed, or slightly hidden by the scales of the clypeus,
porrected, have their wings roof-like, but more flattened. Some of these have the proboscis very distinct, and the
caterpillars live upon different plants.
Botys, Latr., has leaf-rolling caterpillars, with ordinary organs of respiration. Phal. urticata, Linn, [the Small
Magpie Moth], the caterpillar of which feeds on the nettle.
Uydfocampe, Latr,, is composed of nearly allied species, but of which the caterpillars are aquatic, with long,
filamentous appendages for respiration, the interior being furnished with tracheae. They form tubes with the
leaves of aquatic plants, or are exposed.
Others have the proboscis obsolete, or nearly so.
Aglossa, Latr., has the four palpi exposed, the wings forming a flat triangle. P. pinguinalis, Linn., the larvae
of which feeds on grease or buttery substances. According to Linnaeus, it has been found but rarely in the human
stomach, where it produces more violent effects than ordinary intestinal worms. A medical man has sent me
some caterpillars of this species, which had been vomited by a young female. P. farinalis, Linn., feeds
on flour.
Galleria, Fab., has the palpi covered by the scales of the front of the head ; the fore-wings narrower than in
Aglossa, and notched at the hind margin, and greatly deflexed at the sides. G. cereana, Fab., the Honeycomb
Moth, the larva of which commits much mischief in hives, by burrowing through the comb, and constructing a
silken web, mixed with grains of excrement ; the cocoons are sometimes found united in a mass. G. alvearia, Fab.
[also feeds on honeycomb], but is more allied to Tinea than this genus. Crambus erigatus, Fabr., and Tinea tri-
bunella and colonella, are allied to the preceding, but the palpi are longer, whence they are nearer allied to
Crambus. They form several subgenera.
The others have the maxillary palpi not always distinct, the upper wings long and narrow, sometimes rolled I'ound
the body and sometimes extended perpendicularly at the sides. In this state the insect has always a narrow and
elongated form, approaching that of a cylinder, or cone.
Some have the labial palpi large and porrected, the last joint at most being recurved ; the maxillary palpi are
distinct.
Crambus, Fab., has a distinct proboscis, and the palpi beak-like ; they frequent dry pastures.
Alucita, Latr. {Ypsolophus, Fab.), has also the distinct proboscis, but the last joint of the palpi is recurved.
Euplocamus, Latr. {Phycis, Fab.), has the proboscis very short, with the last joint of the palpi recurved; the
male antennae have a double row of beards.
Phycis, Fab., similar to Euplocami, but with the antennae only ciliated. Others have the labial palpi entirely
recurved over the head in many. In the two following subgenera the palpi scarcely extend beyond the forehead.
Tinea, has the proboscis short, formed of two membranous filaments ; the head is very hairy. P. tapezana. Fab.,
the larva of which gnaws clothes and other stuff materials, concealed in a case formed of particles of these sub-
stances, which it gnaws off.
Other species, T. sarcitella, F., pellionella. Fab., flavifrontella and granella, feed on clothes, woollen stuffs,
furs, objects of natural history, and grains of wheat in granaries.
llythia, Latr. {Crambus, Fab.), has the proboscis distinct, and of the ordinary size, and the last joint of the
palpi shorter than the preceding.
Ypojiomeuta, Latr., has the proboscis distinct, and the last joint of the palpi as long as the preceding joint.
These insects are allied to Lithosia, T. evonymella (the Small Ermine Moth), and T. padella, the last of which
lives upon fruit-trees, in vast numbers, the larvae covering the branches with webs.
(Ecophora, Latr., has the palpi extending over the head as far as the middle of the thorax. The Corn Moth
belongs to this genus, as well as T. Harrisella, the larva of which forms a kind of hamoc.
Adela, Latr., difibrs from the preceding in the very small and pilose palpi, the very long antennae, and the eyes
contiguous. The species are found in wood, and appear as soon as the oak leaves expand. The wings are generally
INSECTA.
614
very brilliant. [They are called Japan-Moths.] A. De Geerella, Reaumurella, &c. [The former figured in the
plate of Moths in the EntomologisVs Text JSooA.]
The tenth and last section of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, that of the Pterophorites, has great
affinity with the preceding in the narrow form and length of the body and wings, but differs in having
the wings slit through their whole length, like branches, or bearded fingers, like feathers. Their wings
thus imitate those of birds. Linnaeus united them in his division of PJialcena Alucita. De Geer named
them Phalcence-Tipules.
We form them, with Fabricius and Geoffroy, into the subgenus Pterophorus, the caterpillars of which have sixteen
feet, and feed on leaves and flowers, and do not form a case. The palpi are recurved from the base, and not longer
than the head ; the chrysalides are naked, setose, or tubercular. P. pentadactylus, Linn., the White Plumed
Moth. A very common species.
Orneodes, Latr., has the palpi advanced, longer than the head, and the chrysalis is inclosed in a silken cocoon,
P. hexadactylus, Linn., &c.
THE ELEVENTH ORDER OF INSECTS,—
THE RHIPIPTERA,—
Previously established by Mr. Kirby under the name of Strepsiptera (or Twisted Wings),
[and whieh has been fully proved by recent observations to have been correctly named, and
that Latreille’s name, Rhipiptera, ought no longer to be applied to it], is composed of some
very singular insects, anomalous both in their structure and habits.
At the sides of the anterior extremity of the thorax, near the neck, and at the outer base of
the two fore-legs [but in reality originating upon the very short and collar-like mesothorax],
are attached a pair of small, crustaceous, moveable organs, like small elytra, bent backwards,
narrow, elongated, clubbed, and curved at the tip, and terminating at the origin of the wings.
[Latreille then contends that these pre-balancers are not representatives of the elytra, but of
the pieces termed ptergodes, observed at the base of the wings of the Lepidoptera ; but it
has been proved that they are the real representatives of elytra.] The wdngs of the Rhipiptera
are large, membranous, divided by longitudinal nervures, and folding lengthwise, like a fan.
The mouth is composed of four pieces, of which two are short, and appear like a pair of two-
jointed palpi ; and the other two are inserted near the inner base of the preceding, in the form
of small linear plates, pointed, and crossing each other at the tip, like the mandibles of many
insects ; they more nearly resemble the lancets of the mouth of some Diptera than true man-
dibles. According to Savigny, the mouth is composed of a labrum, two mandibles, two maxillae,
each supporting a pair of small exarticulate palpi, and of a lower lip without palpi.] The head
is further furnished with a pair of large hemispherical eyes, somewhat pedunculated ; two
antennae, approximating at the base on a common elevation, nearly filiform, short, and com-
posed of three joints, the two first being very short and the third very long, divided from its
base into two long compressed branches, which are applied against each other. The ocelli
are wanting. The thorax [supposed by Latreille to bear] in its form and divisions much
resemblance to that of many Cicadce, Psylla, and Chrysis, [is now shown to be quite anomalous
in its structure, consisting of a ring-like pro- and meso-thorax, and an immense metathorax] ;
the abdomen is subcylindric, 8- or 9- jointed, and terminated by appendages analogous to
those of the above-mentioned Hemiptera. The legs, six in number, are nearly membranous,
compressed, of nearly equal size, and terminated by filiform tarsi composed of four mem-
branous joints, vesiculose at their tips, the last being rather larger than the others, without
terminal ungues. The four fore-legs are close together, but the two others are placed far
I
DIPTERA.
615
behind, the space between them being very ample, and divided by a longitudinal impression
in the middle. The posterior extremity of the metathorax is prolonged into a large scutellum
over the abdomen.
These insects live in the larva state between the scales of the abdomen of some Andrenge
and Wasps, belonging to the subgenus Polistes. They move their prebalancers at the same
time as their wings. Although apparently far removed, in many respects, from the Hymen-
optera, I nevertheless consider them nearest allied to some of these insects, such as the
Eulophi.
M. Peck has observed the larvse of Xenos Peckii, which is found in Wasps ; it is oval-oblong,
without feet, annulated, with the anterior extremity dilated into a head, and the mouth formed
of three tubercles. These larvae are transformed to pupae in the same situation, and beneath
their own skin, as it appears to me from an ex-
amination of Xenos Rossii, and without changing
its form. (See the memoir of M. Jurine upon this
insect.) Probably the two prebalancers are ser-
viceable in enabling the insect to disengage itself
from between the scales of the abdomen of the in-
sects in which they have lived.
They are a kind of (Estri of insects. We shall
subsequently see that a species of Conops under-
goes its changes in the interior of the abdomen of
Bonibi.
They compose [ four genera ] Xenos, Rossi ;
Sty lops, Kirby [and Elenchus and Halictophagiis,
Curtis]. They chiefly vary in the form of the
antennae. The species of the first-named genus live
in Wasps, and those of Sty lops in Andrence. See
on these insects the memoir of Kirby, in the
eleventh volume of the Linncean Transactions j [also the work of Curtis, and several memoirs
which I have published in the Entomological Transactions^
Pis'. l.SO. — A, Stylops Dalii, nat. size ; b, matrnified ; c, An-
drena, with the heads of two of its larva exserted between
the abdominal rings a ; d, larva extracted and magnified.
THE TWELFTPI ORDER OF INSECTS,—
THE DIPTERA (Antliata, Fab.),—
lias for its characters six feet, two membranous extended wings, having almost always beneath
them two moveable slender bodies named halteres, or balancers, (which Latreille, in a note,
endeavours to prove cannot be the representatives of hind wings, but rather of a pair of
spines observed in the metathorax of some Hymenoptera, such as Cryptocerus). The sucker is
composed of scaly, setiform pieces, of variable number (from two to six), and either inclosed in
a canal on the upper side of the proboscis, which is terminated by two fleshy lip-like lobes, or
covered by one or two inarticulated plates, which serve it for a sheath.
The body is composed, as in other hexapod insects, of three principal pieces ; the ocelli,
when present, are [almost] always three in number, [two in some Tipulidae]. The antennae
are ordinarily inserted on the forehead ; those of our first family have much relation, both in
their form, composition, and appendages, with those of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, but in the
616
INSECTA.
following families they are only composed of two or three joints, the last of which is generally
fusiform or lenticular, with a small styliform appendage, or hair, either simple or bearded.
li mouth is only fit for extracting and drawing
forth fluid matters, and when these are inclosed
n proper vessels, with an envelope easily pierced,
\4^ j >0 ^ the pieces of the sucker act as lancets, piercing
I envelope, and forming a passage for the
\ liquid, which ascends by the pressure of these
lancets together, to the pharynx, situated at the
base of the sucker, the sheath of which serves
Fiyr- 131— A, iioadofTabaiius; B, hcadofMusea. ouly US a dcfencc to tliese laucets, aud is gene-
rally folded upon itself in their action. This sheath appears to represent the lower lip of mas-
ticatory insects, and the setae, at least in those with the most complicated mouth, represent
the other parts, such as the labrum, mandibles, and maxillae. The clypeus, or epistome as I call
it, is represented by the basal part of the proboscis preceding the sucker and palpi ; the base
of the proboscis mostly bears two filiform or clavate palpi, composed in some of five joints,
but in most of only two. The wings are simply veined, and generally horizontal. As in the
Hymenoptera, their veins furnish good secondary characters of groups.
The use of the balancers is not known ; the insect moves them with great rapidity. Many
species, especially those of the terminal families, have above the balancers two membranous
pieces, like the two valves of a shell, attached together at one side, and which are termed
alulets. One of these pieces is united to the wing, and partakes of its movements, at which
time the two valves are upon the same plane. The size of these winglets is in inverse, propor-
tion to that of the halteres ; the prothorax is always very short, and often its lateral portions
prominent, like tubercles. The mesothorax alone occupies the greatest part of the thorax;
in front of which, on each side, and behind the prothorax, are tw^o spiracles, and two others
are observed near the base of the balancers. As in the Hymenoptera, those of the meso-
thorax are hidden or obliterated.
The abdomen is attached to the thorax only by a portion of its transverse diameter ; it con-
sists of from five to nine segments, and is generally terminated by a point in the females : in
those whieh have it composed of the smallest number of joints the terminal ones often form
a kind of ovipositor, composed of tubular pieces, entering into each other like those of a
telescope. The male sexual organs are external in many species, and curved beneath the
abdomen. The legs, which are long and narrow in the majority, are terminated by a 5-jointed
tarsus with two ungues, and often with two or three vesicular pulvilli. Many of these insects
do us much damage, either in sucking our owm blood or that of our domestic animals, by
depositing their eggs upon their bodies, so that their larvae may there obtain nourishment ;
or by infecting our viands and cereal plants with the same intention. Others, in return, are
useful, by devouring obnoxious insects, consuming dead carcases, or other decaying animal
matter, which w'ould otherwise render the air w^e breathe impure, as well as by hastening the
decomposition of putrid w^ater.
The duration of the life of dipterous insects arrived at the final state is very short. They
all undergo a complete metamorphosis, but modified in two material ways. The larvae of
many change their skin in order to undergo their transformation to pupae, and some spin a
cocoon ; but the others do not moult ; their skin hardens, contracts, and generally shortens,
becoming a strong cocoon, of an egg-like form, for the inclosed pupa. The body of the larva
is detached, leaving its own proper organs attached to the skin within, such as the parts of the
mouth, &c. : shortly afterwards the inclosed insect assumes the form of a soft and gelatinous
mass, without any of the parts of the future insect being visible ; some days afterw'ards, how^-
DIPTERA.
617
ever, these organs beeome distinet, and the inseet has then assumed the real state of pupa
[inelosed within its old skin]. It seales olF the anterior extremity of its cocoon, like a cap,
when it makes its escape.
The larvae of dipterous insects are destitute of feet, but some possess appendages which
resemble them. This is the only order in which the head is soft and variable ; but this cha-
racter is confined to such as are transformed beneath their own skin. The mouth is generally j
furnished with two hooks, which serve them to gnaw their food. The principal organs of I
respiration in the majority of the larvae of this order are placed at the posterior extremity of
the body ; many have also a pair on the segment immediately behind the head.
Messrs. Fallen, Meigen, Wiedemann, and Macquart, have lately rendered signal service by
the establishment of numerous generic groups, by the description of many new species, or by
correcting the synonomy of those previously described. They have also employed the cha-
racters founded upon the arrangement of the nerves of the wings which I first used in my
“ Genera.” [Latreille here overlooks the previous claims of Harris.]
The work of Macquart upon the Diptera of the north of France appears to me to be the {
best treatise yet published on these insects. [M. Macquart has lately published a general I
I classification of the order, in two volumes, in the Suites de Buffon, as well as a distinct work |
on Exotic Diptera. Messrs. Plaliday and Walker have added much to our knowledge of
British Diptera.]
We divide this order into two principal sections, which form distinct orders in the works of
[several] English authors.
The Diptera of the first section have the head always distinct from the thorax, the sucker
inclosed in a sheath, and the tarsal claws simple, or unidentate. The transformation of these
insects from the larva to the pupa state never takes place within the abdomen of the
parent fly.
A first subdivision is composed of Diptera having the antennae divided into a great number
of joints ; they form
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,—
The Nemocera, —
The antennae of which are mostly composed of from fourteen to sixteen joints, or from six or nine to
twelve in others. They are filiform or setaceous, often villose, especially in the males, and much
longer than the head. The body is elongated, with the head small and rounded ; the eyes large ; the
proboscis exserted, short, and terminated by two large lips, or prolonged into a beak ; tw'o external
palpi inserted at its base, generally filiform or setaceous, and composed of four or five joints ; the
thorax thick, elevated, and gibbose ; the wings oblong ; the balancers entirely exposed, and not
accompanied by large alulets ; the abdomen elongated, mostly formed of nine segments terminated in
a point in the females, thicker at the tip, and armed with hooks in the males ; the legs very long and
slender, and often enabling these insects to balance themselves.
Many of the smaller species assemble in great troops in the air, where they form a sort of dance.
They are found at almost all seasons of the year. Many deposit their eggs in the w^ater ; others in the
earth, or upon plants.
The larvae, always elongated and worm-like, have a scaly head, of a constant form, and the mouth
is furnished with parts analogous to maxillae, and lips. They always shed their skins on assuming the
pupa state. These pupae, which are sometimes naked and sometimes inclosed in cocoons spun
by the larva, approach the perfect insects in their figure, being furnished with external organs, and
undergoing their transformations in the ordinary manner. They have often near the head and thorax
two respiratory organs, in the form of tubes, or ears.
This family is composed of the genera Culex and Tipula of Linnaeus.
Some have the antennae always filiform, as long as the thorax, thickly clothed with hairs, and
618
INSECTA.
composed of fourteen joints; and the proboseis is long, porrected, filiform, inclosing a punctorial
sucker, composed of five setae, [according to LatreiUe, but in reality of six, exclusive of the palpi].
They constitute the genus
CuLEX, Linn. {Culicides, Latr.), —
And have the body and legs very long, the antennae very hairy, forming a thick pencil, in the males ;
the eyes large, convergent above ; the palpi porrected, filiform, villose, as long as the proboscis, and
5-jointed in the males, shorter and fewer-jointed in the females ; the proboscis is composed of a
membranous cylindrical tube, terminated by two lips, forming a kind of knob, and of a sucker consisting
of five [six] scaly filaments, producing the effect of a sting, the wings resting horizontally upon
the back, with small scales.
These insects are very annoying, especially in damp situations, where they most abound. Thirsting
for our blood, they pursue us every where, entering our habitations, especially in the evening,
making a loud buzzing, and piercing our skins, which our clothes cannot even always protect, with
the delicate setae of their proboscis, which are denticulated at the tips. In proportion as they thrust
it into our flesh the sheath of the proboscis becomes elbowed towards the breast. They discharge a
venomous fluid into the wound, which is the cause of the pain felt. It is observed that we are only
attacked by the female gnats ; [the males indeed have the mouth organs, fewer in number and
weaker]. The gnats are known in America under the names of Maringouins or Musquitoes. They
are only to be guarded against by enveloping the bed with a Musquito curtain. The Laplanders drive
them away by fire, and by coating the naked parts of the body with grease. The females deposit their
eggs on the surface of the water, crossing their hind legs near the anus, and by degrees extending
them as the eggs are discharged from the body, and which they place side by side, the entire mass
resembling a small boat : each female deposits about 300 eggs in the course of the year. These
insects are able to withstand the strongest frosts. The larvae live in stagnant water, and are es-
pecially to be found in the spring. They suspend themselves at the surface of water, head downwards
for respiration ; they have a distinct rounded head, furnished with a pair of antennae, and of ciliated
organs, which serve by their continual motion to form a kind of current, which brings their food to the
mouth ; a thorax with bundles of hairs ; an elongated, nearly cylindric abdomen, much narrower than
the anterior part of the body, 10-jointed, the antepenultimate joint being furnished with a respiratory
organ on its back ; the terminal joint is also terminated by setae and by radiating pieces. These larvae
are very active, swimming with great agility, often descending, but quickly coming again to the
surface of the water. After having undergone several moultings, they are transformed into pupae,
which continue moveable with the assistance of their tails and two oar-like pieces at its extremity.
They also suspend themselves at the surface of the water, but in a contrary direction to that of the
larva ; the organs of respiration being now placed at the thorax, and consisting in a pair of tubular
horns. It is then also that the imago is developed, the exuviae of the pupa becoming a kind of raft
for it, which preserves it from submersion. All these changes are effected [in the summer], in three
or four weeks, so that there are several generations in the course of the year.
Culex proper, comprises those species which have
the male palpi longer than the proboscis, and very
short in the females. C. pipiens, Linn., the Common
Gnat.
Anopheles, Meg., has the male palpi as long as
the proboscis.
^des, Hoffm., has the palpi in both sexes very
short. Robineau Desvoidy, in his essay on this
family, has added three other genera.
Sabethes, with the palpi shorter than the pi'obos-
cis, and the middle tibiae and tarsi dilated.
Megarhina, with the proboscis long and recurved
Fig. 132.— Culex pipiens, female, natural size and magnified, with the head palpi short, with the basal joint
of the male. .
thick.
Psorophora, with the ocelli distinct ; the legs of the female ciliated, and two small appendages at the sides of
the prothorax. C. ciliatus, Fabr.
The other Nemocera have the proboscis either very short, and terminated by two large lips, or like
DIPTERA.
619
a perpendicular or incurved beak ; the palpi are curved under, or recurved, but in the latter case they
have not more than two joints. Linnaeus united them in his genus
1 Tipula {Tipularice, Latr.),
Which we divide in the following manner : —
A first section is composed of species with antennae longer than the head, at least in the males,
slender, filiform, or setaceous, more than 12-jointed in the majority, and with long and slender feet.
Some, having always wings, are destitute of ocelli, the palpi always short, the head scarcely
prolonged in front, the wings horizontal or roof-like, with but few nerves ; the eyes crescent-like, and
the tibiae not spined. These are small species which reside, in the early states, either in w^ater or in
the galls of vegetables.
The Tipulides Culiciformes resemble Gnats, having the antennae entirely pilose, but with the hairs
much longer in the males than in the females. Their larvae live in the water, and resemble those of
Gnats. Some of them have false feet ; others have arm-like appendages at the posterior extremity of
the body ; they are generally of a red coloiur. The pupae are also aquatic, and respire by two outer
appendages placed at the anterior extremity of the body. Some have the power of swimming,
I Corethra, Meg., has the antennae composed of fourteen oval joints, the terminal ones scarcely differing from the
preceding, and the wings horizontal. T. culiciformis, De Geer [the Straw-coloured Midge].
Chironomus, Meig., has the wings inclined, the antennae
13-jointed in the males, and 6-jointed in the females, with short
hairs, the last joint, as in the males, being very long. T. annulata,
De Geer, [a very numerous genus of Midges].
Tanypus, Meig., has the wings also deflexed, but the antennae
are 14-jointed in both sexes ; the penultimate joint very long in
the males ; the rest, as also all the joints of the female antennae,
nearly globular ; the larvae have four false feet, — two near the
head, and two at the extremity of the body.
The Tipules Gallicoles have the antennag composed in
both sexes of at least thirteen joints, furnished in the
majority with short hairs ; at the most with a pencil of
hairs at the base in some males.
Ceratopogon, Meig. {Culicoides, Latr.), has a bundle of hairs at the base in the males ; the proboscis, as in
the two following subgenera, has the form of a pointed beak ; the wings are incumbent on the body, and their
larvae live in vegetable galls.
Latr, has no brush or hairs to the antennae; the wings are roofed, and have a great number of
nerves ; one species has two appendages at the side of the thorax, which appear to be formed by the lateral extre-
mities of its front segment.
Cecidomyia, Meig., has the antennae, as in Psychoda, moniliform, and furnished with verticillated hairs ; the
Lestremia, Macquart, has the antennae formed of
five globular, pedunculated joints in the males, the
legs long and slender, and the basal joint of the
tarsi long. C. destructor, Say, appears to belong
to this subgenus.
Macropeza, Meg., is also closely allied to these
insects.
The Tipules Terricoles comprise the largest
species in the family, with the antennae longer
Fi)r. 134.— Cecidomyia destructor, and C. Tritici, with the larvaa of the latter i^^nthe head, and slender ; destitute of OCelU;
feeding in wheat flowers, magnified.
the eyes round and entire ; the wings, extended in many, have always membranous nerves, united
together transversely, and closed discoidal cells. The front of the head is narrowed, and prolonged
I into a muzzle, with a basal prominence ; the palpi generally long, and the extremity of the tibiae
i spinose.
The larvae of many species live in the earth, the rotten parts of trees, &c. The thorax is not distinct,
and they have no false feet. They exhibit at the superior extremity of the body two more evident
apertures for respiration. The pupae are naked, with two respiratory tubes near the head ; and the
edges of the abdominal segments spinose. These insects are well known under the name of Daddy
Long-legs, Tailors, &c.
wings horizontal on the body, with only three nerves.
Fig. 133.— Chironomus, with its Pupa and Larva, magnified.
620
INSECTA.
In many, the win^s are always extended, and the palpi long-; with the last joint very lonff and annular.
Ctenophora, Meig., has filiform antennae, pectinated in the males, and serrated in the females. Tipula pectini-
cornis, Fabr.
Pedicia, has them nearly setaceous, simple, with the two basal joints thicker, and the seven terminal ones
slender and subcylindric.
Tipula, Latr., has also the antennae nearly setaceous and simple; but all the joints, except the second, are nearly
cylindric ; the first is largest, the third elongate. T. oleracea, the Common Crane Fly, or Daddy Long Legs, very
common in pastures; the larva feeds on the roots of dying plants, [and many other species]. |
Nephrotoma, Meig., has 19-jointed antennae in the males, and fifteen joints in the females, the third and following |
being arched. 1
Ptychoptera, Meig., has simple sub-setaceous antennae, 16-jointed; the third much longer than the others, and
the following oblong.
In the following, the terminal joint of the palpi is scarcely longer than the others, and presents no appeai’-
ance of annuli ; and the wings are often incumbent on each other. Some of these have more than 10-jointed
antennae.
RMpidia, Meig., has the male antennae pectinated.
Erioptera, Meig., has, like the preceding, many nerves, but they are pilose.
Lasioptera, Meig., has the wings villose, but only with two nervures.
Limnobia, Meig., has the wings glabrous, and the antennae simple in both sexes.
Polymera, Weid., has 28-jointed antennae.
Trichocera, Meig., has the basal joints of the antennae oval, and the terminal ones very slender, long, and pu-
bescent. T. hiemalis, the Winter Midge.
Macropeza, Meig., has the hind feet exceedingly long ; the basal parts of the antennae are hairy.
Dixa, Meig., appears allied to Trichocera, but the basal joint of the antennae is very short, second nearly globular,
and the following more slender.
Megistocera, V/eid., has only 10-jointed antennae.
Hexatoma, Latr., has 6-jointed antennae, and consists of the Anisomer<e and Nematocerce of Meigen, the first of
which has the third joint of the antennae much longer than the second.
Chionea, Dalm., differs from all the rest in wanting wings ; the abdomen of the females is terminated by a bivalve
ovipositor ; the eyes are rounded, and the ocelli obsolete. The only species [known to Latreille] is found in winter
on the snow. C. araneoides, Dalm.
The Tipule atome of De Geer forms another apterous subgenus, but the antennae have at least fifteen joints. It,
as well as the preceding, is very small.
Another division, the Tipules fungivores, is distinguished by possessing two or three ocelli ; the
antennae, much longer than the head, slender, 15- or 16-jointed; the eyes entire, or notched; the last
joint of the palpi not articulated ; the wings horizontal, wdth much fewer nervures than in the preceding;
the legs long and slender, with the tips of the tibiae spinose ; some have the palpi curved, and composed
of four joints.
Rhyphus, Latr., has the eyes entirely occupying the head ; the ocelli of equal size, and the muzzle advanced, and
not longer than the head.
Asindulum, has the eyes occupying only the sides of the head, and the muzzle prolonged beneath the breast.
Gnoriste, Meig., difl'ers from the last only in having the palpi apparently inserted near the tip of the proboscis.
In the following, the head is not produced into a muzzle.
Bolitophila, has long antennae, and the eyes arranged in a transverse line. Guerin has published a complete
memoir on a species of this genus.
Macrocera, Meig., has the male antennae very long, and the ocelli arranged in a triangle.
In the rest, the antennae are never longer than the head and thorax.
Mycetophila, Meig., has spined hind tibiae, and only two ocelli.
Leia, Meig., differs from Mycetophila in having three ocelli ; the front one being very small.
Sciophila, Meig., has the joints of the antennae more distinct ; and a small cubital cell.
Amongst the subgenera with simple tibiae, and three ocelli close together, some have 16-jointed antennae, and
the eyes entire.
Platyura, Meig., approaches Sciophila, but the first cubital cell is much larger ; the abdomen of the females is
broader behind.
Synapha, Meig., has only a single cubital cell, closed by the hind margin of the wing ; the middle discoidal cell
is furcate in the middle, forming a closed oval cell.
Others have the eyes notched in the inside.
Mycetobia, Meig., has 16-jointed antennae, and the wings have a large closed cell, extending from the base to the I
middle. i
Molobrus, Latr. {Sciara, Meig.), has similar antennae, and the middle of the wing exhibits a cell, extending from
the base to the hind margin, and closed only by this margin.
Campylomyza, Wied., has only 14-jointed antennae, at least in the females ; the inner portion of the wings has
no nervures ; and the eyes are entire.
DIPTERA.
621
Ceroplatus, Bose., has the palpi apparently composed of a single joint, and the antennse fusiform and compressed.
Our last general division of the Tipulaires, is the T.florales, consisting of species having the an-
tennae scarcely longer than the head in both sexes, thick, and 8- or 10-jointed, forming a perfoliated
mass ; nearly cylindric in the majority, but fusiform in others, or terminated by a large joint ; the body
is short and thick ; the head is generally almost entirely occupied by the eyes in the males. From the
nervures of the wings and palpi, these Diptera approach the Tipulaires fungivores,
Cordyla, Meig., differs from all the rest in having 12-jointed antennae ; the eyes are round, entire, and apart, and
the ocelli wanting ; the legs are long, and spiny at the tips of the tibiae. The others have 11-jointed antennae, and
the eyes of the males very lai ge.
Simulium, Latr. (Culex, Linn.), has no ocelli, and the eyes of the females are internally notched, and crescent-
shaped. The species are very small, frequenting damp places, and are very troublesome, from their biting, or
rather pricking the flesh ; they also sometimes penetrate into the generative parts of cattle, and kill them. Like
some of the Culicidae, they are also called Musquitoes.
In the others, there are three ocelli.
Scatopse, Geoff., approaches the last in having the eyes emarginate, but differs from all in having the palpi very
small, and apparently composed of but a single joint. T. latrinarum, De Geer, a small fly, commonly found in
privies.
Penthefria, Meig., has the eyes entire, and separate in the two sexes ; the legs are long, and not spinose.
Dilophus, Meig. {Hiritea, Fabr.), has the eyes contiguous in the males, often occupying almost the whole of the
head ; the tips of the tibiae have a coronet of spines.
BiMo, Geoff. {Hirtcea, Fabr.), has 9-jointed antennae, forming a perfoliated mass. The species are very sluggish,
flying but little. Some of them are very common in gardens ; the two sexes often differ greatly in appearance and
colours. Tip. hertulanay Linn. Their larvae live in dung, earth, and manure, and have small rows of spurs on the
segments of the body. The pupae are not inclosed in cocoons.
Aspistes, Hoffm., has only 8-jointed antennae ; the last joint forming an ovoid mass.
All the following Diptera (a very small number excepted), have the antennae composed [at first sight] I
of only three joints, the first of which is sometimes so short, that it is scarcely to be reckoned as such ; I
the last is in many transversely annulated, but without distinct separations. It is often accompanied
by a seta, generally lateral, or placed at the top of the joint in others ; having at its base one or two
joints, and sometimes simple, sometimes hairy. If this seta is terminal, it happens in many that its
length dimmishes and its thickness increases, forming a kind of style. Although this style is,
in effect, a continuation of the antennae, it would create confusion in the nomenclature by adding the
number of its joints to that of the ordinary joints of the antennae. The palpi have never more than two
joints. Some of these (a small number excepted) cast their larva-skin on becoming pupae, and have
the sucker composed of six or four pieces ; the proboscis, or at least its lips, is always exserted ; the
palpi, when present, are external, and inserted near the margins of the oral cavities, and the sucker arises
near this cavity. The larva, in those which retain the larva skin, serves as a cocoon for the pupa,
without changing its primitive form. This subdivision comprises three families, \_Tanystoma, Nota-
cantJia, and Athericera'].
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,—
The Tanystoma, — ■
I^ distinguished by having the last joint of the antennae (not reckoning the style), not transversely
annulated, and the sucker consists of four pieces.
Their larvae resemble long worms, nearly cylindric, and without feet, with a scaly head of constant
form, always furnished with hooks or retractile appendages, which serve them for gnawing or sucking
the substances on which they subsist. The majority live in the earth, and change their skin on
assuming the pupa state. The pupae are naked, and exhibit many of the external parts of the imago,
which escapes from its exuviae by a slit down the back.
A first division comprises those Diptera which have the proboscis always entirely, or almost entirely,
exserted, with the sheath of a rather solid, nearly horny consistence, being more or less porrected,
and either cylindric, conic, or filiform, terminating without any marked dilatation ; the palpi
are small.
Some of these live by rapine, and have the body oblong, wdth the thorax narrow in front ; the wings
incumbent on the body ; the proboscis short, or but slightly elongated, and forming a kind of beak ;
the antennae are close together, and the palpi exposed.
INSECTA.
622
Asilus, Linn., —
Has the proboscis porrected in front. They make a buzzing noise whilst flying, and seize Flies,
Tipulse, Humble-bees, and even Beetles, which they suck. Their larvse live in the earth, having a
scaly head armed with two moveable hooks, and being there transformed into pupse, which have
hooked teeth on the thorax, and small rows of spines on the abdominal segments.
A first subdivision, Asilici, Latr., has the head transverse ; the eyes lateral and wide apart, even in
the males ; the proboscis at least as long as the head, and one complete cell, of an elongated trian-
gular form, near the inner margin of the wing, and terminating at the hind margin. The epistome
is always bearded.
Some of these (with two pulvilli, and two ungues at the tips of the tarsi) have the antennae scarcely longer than
the head; the style scarcely distinct, or very short.
Laphria, Meig., has the style not at all, or scarcely visible, and the proboscis straight. [Numerous handsome
exotic species.]
Ancilorhynchus, Latr., has the style scarcely exserted, and pointed, and the proboscis like a compressed, curved
and hooked beak.
Dasypogon, has the style distinct and conical, and the proboscis straight.
In the two: next subgenera the antennae are evidently longer than the head.
Ceraiuvgus, Wied., has the antennae not arising on a peduncle.
Dioctria, Meig., has them inserted on a common peduncle.
In others, the style at the tip of the antennae is prolonged like a seta.
Asilus proper, has the style simple. The species are very numerous. A. crabroniformis [the largest British
species], is not uncommon at the end of summer in sandy places. The transformations of A. forcipatus have
been observed.
Cyrtoma, Meig., differs from all the rest in having 2-jointed antennae, the palpi resting on the proboscis, the
conic-elongate form of the last joint of the antennae, and the smallness of the palpi.
OmmatiuSy Illig., differs from all the foregoing in having the style of the antennae plumose.
Gonypus, Latr. {Leptogaster, Meig.), has three ungues at the tips of the tarsi, the middle one replacii^ the two
pulvilli.
The second subdivision, Hybotini, Latr., has the head rounder, nearly occupied by the eyes in the
males, with the clypeus rarely bearded ; the proboscis is very short ; the wings have fewer nerves than
the preceding insects, and their inner portion does not exhibit the complete triangular cell, or it is
only rudimental.
(Edalea, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae large, elongate-fusiform, and terminated by a very
small style.
Hybos, Meig. (Damalis, Fab.), (with thick hind-thighs), and
Ocydromia, Hoffm. (with the hind-thighs of ordinary size), have the last joint of the antennae short, ovoid, or
conic, with a long seta.
Microphora, Meig., has the third joint of the antennae, as well as the style, long.
Lemtopeza, nearly allied to Ocydromia, but with the style terminal, and not dorsal.
Empis, Linn. {Empides, Latr.), —
Are closely allied to Asilus in the form of the body and position of the wings, but with the proboscis
perpendicular, or directed backwards. The head is rounded, nearly globular, with the eyes greatly
extended. The species are of small size ; live by rapine and on the honey of flowers. The last joint
of the antennae is always terminated by a short biarticulate style, or by a seta. The males of some
species have the basal joint of the fore-tarsi very dilated.
Some have 3-jointed antennae, of which the last is sometimes in the form of an elongate cone.
Empis proper, has the proboscis much longer than the head, the bi-articulate style at the tip of the antennae
being always short ; the palpi always recurved. Empis pennipes, Fab., remarkable for the hind legs of the females
being very hairy.
Ramphomyia, Meig., differs from Empis in wanting the small transverse nerve at the tips of the wings.
In the following, the proboscis is scarcely longer than the head.
Hilaray Meig., has the antennae terminated by a small 2-jointed style. In
Brachystoma, Meig., they are terminated by a long seta.
Gloma, Meig., differs from the preceding in having the last joint of the antennae terminated by a seta, and
forming, with the px'eceding joint, a spherical body.
The rest have only two distinct joints in the antennae, the last joint being ovoid or subglobose, and
terminated by a seta, forming the second joint of the style. The proboscis is generally short, with
the palpi resting upon it.
DIPTERA.
623
Hemerodromia, Holfm., has the two fore coxae very long-.
Sicus, Latr. {Tachydromia, Meig-.)> has the first or second pair of thighs thickened.
Drapetis, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae subglobose, and the proboscis scarcely exserted.
M. Macquart [as well as Mr. Haliday and Professor Zetterstedt] have established several additional genera,
which it would occupy too much space to notice in detail.
The other Tanystoma of our first division have the body generally short, broad, with the head
exactly applied to the thorax ; the wings extended, and the abdomen triangular. They have, in a
word, the appearance of Domestic Flies. The proboscis is often very long.
Cyrtus, Latr. [yesiculosa, Latr.], —
Intermediate between Empis and Bombylius, with the wings deflexed at each side of the body ; the
alulets very large, and covering the balancers ; the head small and globular ; the thorax very gibbose ;
the abdomen vesiculose, and the proboscis directed backwards, or wanting.
Some have a proboscis directed backwards.
Panops, Lam., with antennee longer than the head, cylindric, and 3-jointed, without a terminal seta.
Cyrtus proper, with antennae very small, 2-jointed, with a seta at the tip.
The others have not an extraordinary proboscis.
Astomella, Duf,, has the antennae 3-jointed, with the last joint forming a compressed, elongated knob, without
a seta.
Henops, Illig. {Ogcodes, Latr.), has antennae inserted before the eyes, small, and 2-jointed, with a terminal seta.
Acrocera, Meig., differs in having the antennae inserted behind the eyes.
Bombylius, Linn. (Bombyliers, Latr.),—
Has the wings extended horizontally on each side of the body, with the balancers naked ; the thorax
higher than the head, or gibbose, as in Cyrtus ; the antennae close together, and the abdomen trian-
gular, or conical. The proboscis is porrected in front, and very long in many species. The antennae
are always 3-jointed, the last being elongated, compressed, fusiform, generally terminated by a very
short style, and never by an elongated seta. The palpi are slender, filiform ; the legs are long and
slender. These insects fly wfith wonderful rapidity, hovering over flowers without settling, and intro-
ducing their long proboscis in order to suck up the honey, and making a sharp buzzing noise. I suppose
that their larvae, like those of Anthrax, are parasites.
Some have the proboscis evidently longer than the head, very slender, and pointed at the tip.
ToxopTiora, Meig., has the antennae as long as the head and thorax, filiform, pointed at the tip, and the body
elongated.
Xestomyza, Wied., has shorter antennae, but the first joint is elongated, and longer than the other joints, and
fusiform, as is also the third.
Apatomyza, Wied., has the first joint also very long, but cylindrical. In the subsequent subgenera the last
joint [of the antennae] is the longest, and sometimes the two basal joints of the antennae are short, and of nearly
equal length.
Lasius, Wied., has the head nearly occupied in one sex by the eyes, and the last joint of the antennae very long,
nearly linear, compressed, and without a terminal style ; the abdomen is voluminous ; the proboscis occa-
sionally extends beneath and beyond the extremity of the body, which seems to connect this genus with [Cyrtus
or] the tribe of Vesiculoscs.
Usia, Latr., has the last joint of the antennae ovoid, conic, obtuse, or truncated at the tip, and terminated by a
style ; the palpi not apparent. [South of Europe, or Africa.]
Phthiria, Meig., resembles Usia in the antennae, but with distinct palpi ; sometimes the second joint is evidently
shorter than the first ; the last is long, generally almost cylindric, and pointed at the tip.
Bombylius proper, has very distinct palpi, and the body is clothed with a thick woolly coating of hairs. B. major,
Linn., a very abundant species [in this country].
Geron, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae longer, terminating like an awl, and the wings wanting one of
the transverse nerves near the hind margin.
Thlipsomyza, Wied., is allied to the preceding, and Phthiria ; and I presume that
Amictus, Wied., also approaches them. Both have the basal joint of the antennae longer than the second, and
cylindrical ; the wings of Amictus, however, differ from the preceding subgenera.
The other species have the proboscis not longer than the head, and thickened at the tip, and the basal joint of
the antennae is the largest.
Ploas, Latr. (ConopJiorus, Meig.), has this joint much thicker than the rest.
Cyllenia, has this joint merely longer, but not thicker, and the abdomen is more elongated, and nearly conical.
Anthrax, Scop. {Anthracii, Latr.), —
Similar to the Bombylii, with the body depressed, or but slightly elevated above ; not gibbose, with
the head as high and broad as the thor.ax. The antennae are always very short, and, except in
INSECTA.
. 624
Shjgides, wide apart, terminated by an awl-shaped joint ; the proboscis is ordinarily very short, scarcely
advanced in front of the head, often received into the oral cavity, and terminated by a small thickened
part formed of the lips. The palpi are generally hidden, filiform, and each is attached to one of the
setae of the rostrum. The abdomen is squarer than in Bomhylius. These insects are generally very
hairy. Their habits are very similar to those Diptera. They often alight on the ground, upon walls
exposed to the sun, along which they are often observed flying, as well as upon leaves.
Stygides, Latr. {Lomatia, Enc. M^th., Stygia, Meig.), has the antennae wide apart at the base.
In all the others they are wide apart at the base.
Some of these have the head subglobose, with the proboscis short, and the extremity of the wings not
reticulated.
Anthrax proper, wdth the ocelli contiguous ; [a very numerous genus, having the wings generally spotted].
Hirmoneura, Wied., with the anterior ocellus at a distance from the other two, and the proboscis retracted.
The others have the head shorter, subhemispherical, the proboscis longer than the head, and the extremity of
the wings often strongly reticulated.
MuliOy Latr., has the wings reticulated in the usual manner, and the proboscis but little longer than the head.
Nemestrina, Latr. (Cytherea, Fabr.), has the extremity of the wings reticulated, as in the Neuroptera, and the
proboscis much longer than the head ; the two basal joints of the antennae very nearly equal, and the last very short
and conical ; the tarsi have three pulvilli.
Fallenia, Meig., is formed of two species of Nemestrina, w^hich scarcely differ from Anthrax in the reticulation
of the wings.
Colax, Wied., also appears to us to approach the terminal Anthracii in the antennae and wings, but the oral
cavity is closed, as in Qistrus, and the ocelli are wanting.
Our second general division of the Tanystoma has the proboscis membranous, with the basal part
generally very short, terminated by two lips, very distinet, and ascending. The larvae of the terminal
Diptera of this division have the head of a variable form.
Some of these {Leptides) have the wings extending, and exhibiting many complete cells ; the
antennae do not terminate in a plate, and the palpi are filiform or conical.
Thereva,luSXY. {Bibio, Fab.), has the palpi withdrawn into the oral cavity; the antennae are fusiform or elongate-
conic at the tips, with a small articulated terminal style. Type, Bihio plebeia, Fab., which is found on plants.
The larva of T. hirta, De Geer, lives in the earth, and resembles a small Serpent; its body is white, and pointed
at each end. It entirely strips off its skin on assuming the pupa state.
In the others the palpi are exterior, and the last joint of the antennae is either globose or kidney-shaped, ovoid
or conic, and terminated in all by a long seta. The tarsi have three pulvilli. Such is
Leptis,—
Which is divided into numerous subgenera.
Atherix, Meig., has the basal joint of the antennae larger than the second ; thick, at least in one sex, and with
the third joint lenticular and transverse ; the palpi are porrected.
Leptis, Fab., formerly Rhagio, Fab., has the terminal joint of the antennae subglobose, or ovoid, always termi-
nated in a point, and never transverse. In Leptis, Macquart, the antennae are shorter than the head, with the
three joints nearly equal in size, and the palpi porrected. Type, Musca scolopacea, Linn., a veiy common species.
Chrysopilus, Macq., differs from the last in having the palpi perpendicularly elevated.
[VerTitileo, Macq.], has the antennae as long as the head, with the first joint cylindric, the second short, the third
conical, and the palpi recurved. Type, Musca Vermileo, Linn. [Vermileo De Geeri, Macq., a species common in
France, but not discovered in England]. The larva is cylindrical, with the front of the head attenuated, and four
fleshy lobes at the other end of the body. It gives to its body all kinds of curvatures, crawling on the sand, in
which it forms a conical burrow, at the bottom of which it conceals itself, either entirely or only in part, suddenly
starting when an insect falls into the hole, and twisting itself round it, thrusting the hooks of its head into its
body and sucking its juices. It then throws the carcase away, as well as the sand, by curving its body into an
arch, and then suddenly letting it go. The pupa is concealed beneath a layer of sand. I have kept some of these
larvae, sent me by M. de Romaud, for nearly three years unchanged.
Clinocera, Meig., from its wings, appears to belong to the next division.
The other Tanystoma of our second division have the wings incumbent on the body, and only exhibit
two complete or closed cells. The antennae terminate in a palette, nearly always furnished with a seta.
The palpi, in the majority, are flattened, and rest on the proboscis.
These characters, a compressed body, triangular head, slightly advanced like a muzzle ; the abdomen
curved beneath, and long slender legs armed with spines, particularly distinguish the genus
Dolichopus, Fab., Latr., —
Which now forms a small tribe, distributed by Macquart in a very natural manner, which we have
adopted, except in reversing it, whereby Orthochile is brought to the head.
DIPTERA. 625
The male organs in some are accompanied by plate-like appendages.
Orthochile, Latr., has the proboscis forming a small beak.
In the rest the proboscis is short, or scarcely prominent.
Dolichopus proper, has the third joint of the antennae nearly triangular, but little elongated, with a seta of
moderate length, without a thickened knot between the middle and extremity.
These insects are often of green or copper colours; the legs are long, and very delicate. They station them-
selves on walls, the trunks of trees, leaves, &c. Some run with celerity on the surface of water. The male organs
of generation are always external, large, complicated, and folded beneath the abdomen. D. ungulatus, Fab., the
larva of which lives in the earth : it is long, cylindric, with two points in form of two recurved hooks. The pupa
has two curved horns in front of the thorax.
Sybistroma, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae nearly in the form of the blade of a knife, with a very long
seta, knotted beyond the middle.
The male organs in the others are furnished with filiform appendages. In some the hind part of the antennae is
either oval, triangular, or very long.
Rhaphium, Meig., has it very long, and nearly lanceolate.
Porphyrops, Meig., has it hatchet-shaped or triangular, with a villose seta, the first joint of which is indistinct.
Medeterus, Fisch., has the seta simple and dorsal, with the basal joint distinct and elongated, and the last joint
of the antennae oval.
Hydrophorus, Macq., differs from Medeterus in having the seta entirely terminal.
In the others, the third joint of the antennae is nearly globose, and the seta always villose.
Chrysotus, has it terminal.
Psiloptis, has it inserted rather above.
Diaphorus, has it inserted lower, and the head nearly spherical, and entirely occupied by the eyes, in the males,
thus appearing to conduct us to the next family, Platypezinte, The wings, ocelli, and other characters derived
from the parts of the head, corroborate those which we have mentioned, but it is impossible for us to enter into
such details.
The Platypezinae of Meigen, from which Macqiiart has judiciously removed the genus Cyrtoma, and
to which we have added that of Scenopinus, and his family Megacephali, is composed of Diptera very
similar in the proboscis, antennae, and wings to Dolichopus, but the body is depressed, with the head
hemispherical, and almost entirely occupied by the eyes, at least in the males. The legs are short,
without spines, and with the posterior tarsi often flat and broad.
These Diptera are very small. Some of them have a seta in the last joint of the antennae. Those
in which it is terminal, and the eyes contiguous above in the males, form two subgenera.
Callomyia, Meig., has the basal joint alone of the posterior tarsi dilated, but as long as all the rest united.
Platypeza, Meig., has the four basal joints of the posterior tarsi flattened.
Pipunculus, Latr., {Cephalops, Fall.), has the seta inserted on the back of the third joint, near its base ; the
tarsi are not dilated, the eyes not united above in either sex, and the head nearly globose.
Scenopinus, Latr., has no seta to the terminal joint of the antennae, which is narrower and longer than in the
preceding.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,—
The Tabanides, —
Has, for its characters, a proboscis exserted, and generally terminated by two lips ; with the palpi
porrected, the last joint of the antennae annulated, and a sucker of three pieces. It comprises the
genus
Tabanus, Linn., —
And is composed of large flies, well known for the tox'ments they inflict upon horses and cows, of
which they pierce the skin, in order to suck their blood. The body is generally but slightly hairy;
the head is as wide as the thorax, nearly hemispherical, and covered, except in a narrow space, particu-
larly in the males, by the eyes, which are generally golden-green, with purple stripes. The antennae
are nearly as long as the head, 3-jointed ; the last joint being terminated in a point without seta or
style at the tip, often notched at the base above, wdth transverse divisions, in number from three to
seven. The proboscis in the greater number is nearly membranous, perpendicular, of the length of
the head or rather shorter, nearly cylindrical, and terminated by two elongated lips ; the two palpi
mostly rest upon it, and are thick, villose, conical, compressed, and 2-jointed ; the sucker, inclosed in
the proboscis, is composed of six pieces like lancets, and which from their number and respective situ-
ation represent the parts of the mouth of the Coleoptera. [It is only the females which possess this
number of lancets ; the mouth of the males is much weaker, and has only four. This sex is harmless,
s s
626
INSECTA.
it being only the females which bite.] The ahilets generally cover the halteres ; the abdomen is de-
pressed and triangular ; the tarsi have three pulvilli.
These insects appear towards the end of spring, and are very common in woods and pastures, flying
with a buzzing noise. They even attack man, to suck his blood ; and cattle in some parts are some-
times nearly covered with blood from the continued attacks of these insects. That of which Bruce
has spoken in his Travels, under the name of Tsaltsalyia, and of which even the lion is afraid, is prob-
ably a species of this genus.
Pangonia, Latr. {Tanyglossa, Meig.), has the proboscis much longer than the head, slender, scaly, generally
pointed at tip, and with very short palpi : the last joint of the antennae is divided into eight rings. The species
are only found in hot climates, and subsist on the honey of flowers.
The rest have the proboscis shorter, or scarcely longer than the head ; membranous ; terminated by two large
lips, and with the palpi at least equal to half the length of the proboscis ; the last joint of the antennae is divided
into five or four rings.
Tabanus proper, has the antennae scarcely longer than the head ; the last joint is rather crescent-shaped, and
divided into five rings, the first largest, with a tooth above. T. bovinus, De Geer, the Large Gad-fly, the larva of
which lives in the ground : it is long and cylindric, narrow'ed towards the head, which is armed with two hooks ;
the pupa is naked, nearly cylindric, with two tubercles in front ; the segments of the abdomen ciliated ; and six
points at its posterior extremity.
Tabanus maroccanus, Fabr., according to Desfontaines, attacks camels, which are sometimes covered with them.
The others have the antennae evidently longer than the head, and terminated by a joint of an elongate-conic form,
or nearly cylindric ; and generally only with four annuli. The ocelli are wanting in many.
Silvias, Meig., has three ocelli, and the first joint of the antennae is longer than the following, and cylindric.
Chrysops, possesses three ocelli, but the two basal joints of the antennae are nearly of equal length. C. ccecutiens,
Fabr., a common species, which greatly torments horses.
Hvematopota, Meig., wants ocelli, and the basal joint of the antennae is thick, and nearly oval in the males.
Hexatoma, Meig. {Heptatoma, previously), has the antennae larger than the preceding, and cylindric, with the last
joint very long ; ocelli wanting.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,—
The Notacantha, —
Has, like the last, the third and last joint of the antennae transversely annulated, or composed of five
distinct joints {Chiromyza) ; the sucker is formed of only four pieces ; the proboscis, of which the stem
is very short, is nearly withdrawn into the oral cavity : the membranous consistence of this organ, and
its reflexed lips ; its clubbed palpi, also reflexed ; the arrangement of the wings, which are mostly crossed
over each other ; the oval or orbicular form of the abdomen ; and the scutellum often armed with
points, distinguish the Notacantha from the Tabanides. But few of their larvae have been observed :
those hitherto observed, and which have been described by Swammerdam, Reaumur, and Rosel, are
aquatic (see below), and approach those of the Athericera by their soft head of a variable form, [?] and
by their habit of changing to pupae beneath their own skins ; but they preserve their former size and
form, which is not the case with the Athericera. The larvae of other Notacantha {Xylophagus), live in
the rotten and moist parts of trees.
We divide the Notacantha into three principal sections, \Mydasii, Decatoma, and Stratiomydesl.
The first, Mydasii, have no teeth or spines on the scutellum ; the body is oblong, with the abdomen
long, triangular, and conical; the wings are extended; the antennae, which constitute the chief
character, are composed either of five distinct joints, two of which form in some a club, and in others
the extremity of a cylindrical stem ; or of three joints, the last of which is largest, nearly cylindrical,
gradually pointed, and divided into three annuli ; so that these organs are always divided into five.
If we except Mydas, in which we have the rudiments of a style, neither the latter nor the seta exists
in any of these Notacanthae ; probably the two terminal joints represent them.
Some have the antennae much longer than the head, 5-jointed, terminated in an elongate mass formed of the
last two joints, with a very short terminal seta; the hind thighs are strong, and toothed or spiny beneath. The
tarsi have only two pulvilli. The posterior cells are closed before reaching the apex of the wing. These Diptera
compose the genus
Mydas,—
Which is divisible into two subgenera.
Cephalocera, Latr., has the proboscis long, and advanced.
Mydas proper, has it short, and terminated by two large lips.
Others have the antennae scarcely longer than the head, and cylindric ; the tarsi have three pulvilli, and the
posterior cells extend to the hind margins of the wings.
DIPTERA.
627
Chiromyza, Wied., has the antennae with five distinct joints.
Pachystomus, Latr., has the antennae 3-jointed, the third joint divided into three annuli. The larva of P. syr-
phoides, Pz., lives beneath the bark of the pine ; its pupa resembles that of the Tabani.
The second section, Decatoma, Latr., has the antennae always composed of three joints, the last
being longer, without a style or seta, and divided into eight annuli, clavate in some, and nearly
cylindric, or elongate-conic in others. The wings are generally incumbent on the body, and the tarsi
have three pulvilli. They may be united into a single genus —
Xylophagus,
Hermetia, Latr., has the antennae much longer than the head, with the two first joints very short, and the third
very long and compressed ; the scutellum is narrowed.
The antennae in the others are never much longer than the head, and terminated by a nearly cylindric, or
elongate-conic joint. Some have the scutellum not spined.
Xylophagus proper, has the body long and narrow, with the antennae rather longer than the head, terminated
by a subcylindric joint. X. ater, Latr.
Acanthomera, Wied., has the antennae at least as long as the head, and terminated by a joint in the form of an
elongate cone ; the first joint larger than the others ; the abdomen broad and flattened ; the face with a pointed
beak ; the two joints of the palpi of equal size.
RapMorhynchus, Wied., has the basal joint of the palpi very short, and the second much longer, and terminated
in a point. The species of this and the preceding are of large siz^j and inhabit South America.
The others have the scutellum armed with spines.
Ccenomyia, Latr. {Sicus, Fabr.), are closely allied to the two preceding subgenera ; the antenna; scarcely longer
than the head ; the palpi very visible, cylindric, pointed at the tip, with two equal-sized joints. The scutellum
has two spines. S. ferrugineus, Fab.
Bens, Latr., has the antennae rather longer than the head, with the two basal joints of equal size, and the third
elongate-conic. The scutellum has four or six spines.
Cyphomyia, Wied., has the antennae still more elongate, and the basal joint longer than the second ; the third
linear and compressed. The scutellum has two spines.
\Ptilocera, Wied.J, (not Ptilodactylus, as written by Latreille), has the antennae emitting three or four linear,
villose filaments, the tips being nearly setaceous. The scutellum has four teeth.
Platyna, Wied., has the antennae filiform ; the two basal joints elongate-cylindric ; the scutellum with one spine,
[and the abdomen very greatly dilated].
The third section, Stratiomydes, Latr., has also the antennte 3-jointed, the last joint offering not
more than five or six annuli, the style, or seta, not included. The latter exists in nearly all ; and in
I those which do not possess it the third joint is long, elongate-fusiform, and always divided into five
or six joints ; the wings are always incumbent upon each other. In some of the species, which have
the antennae terminated by an oval or globular mass, and always aristate, the scutellum is not spined.
This section corresponds with the genus
! Strati OMYS, Geoff.
I Some have the third joint of the antennae elongate, fusiform, or conical, without a terminal seta, and mostly
! terminated by a 2-jointed style. The scutellum armed with two teeth, or spines, in the majority.
! In the four following subgenera the proboscis is short, and the front of the head does not form a beak,
j proper, has the antennae much longer than the head, the first and last joint greatly elongated ; the
J last with at least five distinct joints, without a sudden style at the tip. The larvae have the body long, flat, cori-
aceous, and annulose ; the three terminal joints, long and slender, form a tail, terminated by a coronet of hairs ;
the head is scaly, small, oblong, and furnished with a number of small hooks, serving to disturb the water, in
which these larvae reside. They respire by extending their
tails to the surface, a spiracle being situated between the
scales, at the extremity of the body. The skin, unchanged in
form, serves as a cocoon to the inclosed pupa, which, however,
only occupies one extremity of the larva skin. The perfect
insect escapes by a slit made through the second segment.
S. chamaeleon, Fab., a very common species.
Odontomyia, Meig., have the antennae scarcely longer than
the head, with the first two joints short, nearly equal, the third
forming an elongate cone, slender, with at least five distinct
joints ; the last conic, suddenly compressed, and recurved.
Ephippium, Latr. (Clitellaria, Meig.), has the antennae
scarcely longer than the head, with the two basal joints short,
the third forming a shorter cone, thicker, the fourth joint
truncate-conic, suddenly narrowed at tip, and terminated by a
2-jointed style. S. ephippium, Fab. (E. thoracicum, Latr.).
Oxycero, Meig., simitar to Ephippium in the shortness of the antennae, which are also styliferous, but with
S S 2
INSECTA.
628
the third joint shorter, nearly ovoid, and the fourth joint shorter, the style not terminal, but dorsal. O. Hy- 1
poleon, Fab.
Nemotelus, Geoff., differs from the preceding in having the proboscis long, siphon-shaped, elbowed at the
base, and lodged in a frontal protuberance of the head, like a beak.
In the other’s the third joint of the antennse forms, with the preceding, an ovoid or globular mass, terminated
by a long seta. The scutellum is rarely spined.
Chrysochlora-, Latr. {Sargus, Fab.), has the third joint of the antennae conic, and terminated by a seta.
Sargus, Fab., has the same joint subovoid, or nearly globose, rounded, or obtuse at the tip, with the seta dorsal.
The first joint is nearly cylindrical ; the scutellum rarely spined ; the body often elongate, green, or coppery, and
brilliant. Musca cupraria, Linn., a very common species, the larva of which resides in cow dung, and is of an
oval, oblong form, narrowed and pointed in front, with a scaly head furnished with two hooks. It becomes a pupa
beneath its own skin, and without materially altering its form.
Vappo, Latr. {Pachygaster, Meig.), differs chiefly from Sargus in the antennae being shorter, with the basal joints
transverse.
Our second general division of those Diptera which have a sucker received in the proboscis, y
or sheath, and the antennte only 2- or 3-jointed, comprises those which have the proboscis ^
generally membranous, bilabiate, long, elbowed, and bearing two palpi implanted a little ^
above the elbow, and most commonly received into the oral cavity, and has only two pieces I
in the sucker, when it is always protruded. The last joint of the antennae, always furnished ^
with a style or seta, has no annular division. The palpi are hidden in repose. This division
forms
THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,—
The Athericera, —
The proboscis of which is generally terminated by two large lips ; the sucker has never more than
four, and often only two pieces. The larvae have the body very soft, contractile, annulated, narrower
in front, with the head of a variable figure, and its external organs consisting of one or twm hooks, \
accompanied in some genera with fleshy lobes, and probably in all with a sort of tongue destined to ‘
receive the nutritive fluids. The spiracles are four in number ; two placed in the prothorax, and two
at the extremity of the body, on scaly plates ; each of the latter is formed, in many, of three small
spiracles close together. These larvae do not change their skins ; that which they first possess hardens,
and becomes a kind of cocoon for the pupa. It also shortens, and assumes an oval form ; the anterior
part, which was slenderest in the larva, thickens. We also discover in it traces of articulation, and
often vestiges of spiracles, although they no longer serve for respiration. [The manner in which the
transformation to the pupa state is effected, is described in the general observations on the order, and I
need not be repeated.]
Few of the Athericera are carnivorous in the perfect state. They are found, for the most part, on
flowers, leaves, and sometimes on human excrement. I
This family comprises the genera Comps, CEstrus, and the major part of that of Musca, of i
Linnaeus. j
We naturally commence with those species of the latter genus, which have the sucker formed of
four pieces and not of two, as in all the other Athericera. They form a first tribe, Svrphid^.
The proboscis is always long, membranous, elbowed near the base, terminated by two large lips, and ;
the sucker inclosed in an upper canal ; the upper piece of the sucker is thick, and notched at the tip,
the others are slender ; to each of the two labial ones, representing maxillae, is attached a small,
slender palpus ; the head is hemispherical, and occupied for the most part by the eyes, especially in
the males. Its anterior extremity is mostly produced like a muzzle, or beak, receiving the proboscis :
when it is folded in inaction. Many species resemble Humble-bees, and others Wasps. This tribe
comprises but a single genus,
Syrphus, —
A first general division of which is composed of those with the proboscis shorter than the head and thorax.
Some of these have the front of the head produced into an eminence above the oral cavity ; at the head of
these are placed such as have the seta of the antennae plumose ; the body short and hairy, resembling Humble-bees.
Volucella, Geoffr., has the third joint of the antennae oblong, its outline forming a curvilinear and elongate |
triangle.
Musca mystacea, Linn., a very common species, the larva of which lives in the nests of Bombi, its body being
DIPTERA.
629
gradually widened behind, with small points on the sides, and terminated by six filaments. It is furnished beneath
with two spiracles and six fleshy lobes, each armed with three long hooks.
Sericomyia, Meig., has the third joint of the antennae semiorbicular.
Eristalis, Meig., restricted to the species which have the seta villose, and which differ from Volucella in the
wings, which have the outer cell closed by the posterior edge of the wing.
Others differ from the preceding by having the seta of the antennae simple, or without distinct hairs ; the body
short, and the abdomen triangular.
The two following subgenera have the last outer cell of the wings strongly sinuated on the outer edge, and the
body is generally hairy.
Mallota, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae transversely trapeziform.
Helophilus, Meig., has the same joint of a semi-oval form ; the body less hairy than in the preceding. The
larvae of many have the body terminated by a long tail, which they can elongate and elevate perpendicularly until
it reaches the surface of the water or cloaca in which they reside, in order to respire by means of the aperture at
its extremity. Their interior presents two large and very brilliant tracheae, which, near the tail, are much folded,
and kept in constant agitation ; vessels filled with rain-water often contain many of these larvae. Type, Musca tenax,
Linn., a very common species, resembling in size and colour the male of the Hive Bee. Its larva is rat-tailed ; and
it is said to be so tough, that the strongest pressure will not destroy it.
Others differ in having the outer cell of the wings closed by the posterior margin of the wing, its outer edge being
straight, or but feebly sinuated ; the frontal prominence is very short, and the abdomen narrower than in the pre-
ceding.
proper, {Scceva, Fabr.), has the abdomen narrowed from the base to the apex. Their larvae feed only
upon all kinds of Aphides, which they often hold up in the air, and suck them very quickly ; the body of these
larvae is of an elongate-conic form, uneven, and even sometimes spinose. When ready to metamorphose, they fix
themselves to leaves or other substances by a glutinous secretion ; the body shortens, and its anterior end, which
was the slenderest, becomes the thickest. Scceva Ribesii, Fabr., [a very common species].
Chrysogastei', Meig., has the forehead of the females channelled on each side ; and the nasal eminence is thicker.
Baccha, Meig., differs from the last in having the abdomen narrow at the base, and swollen at the tip. I think
the Syrphus conopseus [genus Doros], ought to be added to this, although the palette of its antennae is less
orbicular.
We now pass to other subgenera, agreeing with the preceding in the form of the muzzle, but the antennae are at
least as long as the face.
Paragus, Linn., has the antennae not fixed on a common footstalk, and their length does not exceed that of
the head.
In the five following, they arise from a common elevated footstalk, and are larger than the head.
Sphecomyia, Latr., has the seta lateral, and inserted on the second joint ; the third joint being very short. A
species from Carolina.
Psarus, has the seta inserted on the back of the third joint, near the top ; this joint is nearly oval, of the same
length as the second joint ; the peduncle of the antennae is more elevated than in the analogous genera.
Chrysotoxum, Meig., has the seta inserted on the third joint, near the base ; this joint is the longest, forming a
narrow and elongate triangle ; the twm others are nearly equally long. |
Ceria, Fabr., has the seta terminal ; the body narrow and elongate, like that of a Wasp ; the second and third j
joints of the antennse fox-m a fusiform mass ; the abdomen is long and cylindric. i
Callicera, Meig., has the seta terminal, and the body short, broad, and silky. The nasal prominence does not
exist in the following subgenera ; the antennal seta is nearly always simple, and the wings incumbent on each
other.
Ceratophya, Wied. (with an unarmed scutellum), and
Aphrites, Latr. {Microdon, Meig., with the scutellum armed with two teeth), agree with the last subgenera in the
length of the antennae, close together at the base. In the following, they are shorter than the head ; and the hind
legs are often large, especially in one sex.
Merodon, Meig. (having the abdomen triangular and conical), and
Ascittf Meig. (with the abdomen narrowed at the base, and clavate), have the palette of the antennae oblong-tri-
angular. In the following it is short, or but slightly elongated, sub-orbicular, or sub-ovoid.
Sphegina, has the abdomen clavate, as in Ascia. In the others, it is triangular, conic, or subcylindrical.
Some of these have the wings not extending beyond the extremity of the abdomen ; and some have the hind
thighs thickened, and armed with numerous small spines.
Ewnerus, Meig., to which we add his Xylota, which dififers only in having the abdomen narrower, and almost
linear. M. pipiens, Linn.
Milesia, Latr. {Tropidia, Meig.), has the two hind legs much longer than the others, with thethighs much thicker,
and armed with a single tooth ; in many, the abdomen is conical.
Pipiza, Meig. (and Psilota, Meig.), have the hind legs little longer than the others ; the abdomen depressed and
semi-elliptic. These Diptera have much affinity with the JSyrphi and Chrysogasteri.
Brachyopa, Hoffm., differs from all the preceding in the wings extending far beyond the abdomen, [in consequence
of the shortness of that part of the body]. They otherwise resemble Milesia, and appear to lead to Rhingia.
Rhingia, Scop., forms the second general division of the Syrphies, having the proboscis longer than the head and
thorax, and nearly linear.
INSECTA.
630
Peleeocera, Hoflf., is unknown to me, but is at once distinguished from all with the antennae shorter than the
head, by the short, thick seta of the antennae.
The sucker of all the other Athericirae is only composed of two setae, of which the upper represents
the lahrum, and the lower the tongue.
These Athericerae form three small tribes, which correspond with the genera (Estrus and Comps
of Linnaeus, and with that of Musca of Fabricius, as at first proposed by him.
As Stomoocys and Bucentes are connected with the last of these genera, we shall commence with the
tribe (Estrides, Latreille, which is composed of the genus
(Estrus, Linn., —
Well characterised by possessing, in the place of a mouth, only three tubercles, or but slight rudiments
of a proboscis and palpi.
These insects have the appearance of large meat-flies, very hairy, their hairs being generally coloured
in rings, like Humble-bees. Their antennae are very short, each inserted in an excavation below the
forehead, and terminated by a rounded palette, bearing on its back, near the base, a simple seta ; the
wings are generally apart ; the alulets large, and hiding the balancers ; the tarsi are terminated by two
ungues, and two pulvilli.
These insects are found but rarely in the perfect state, the time of their appearance being very
limited. As they deposit their eggs on the bodies of various herbivorous quadrupeds, it is in woods
and pastures frequented by these animals that they are to be sought after. Each species of (Estrus is
ordinarily parasitic upon a single mammiferous animal, selecting, as the situation for its eggs, that part
of the body which is best fitted for the larvae, which either remain in that particular situation, or are
passed from thence to a more favourable place of developement. The Ox, Horse, Ass, Eein-deer, Stag,
Antelope, Camel, Sheep, and Hare, are the only quadrupeds hitherto known to be subject to the
presence of the larvae of (Estri. These animals appear to have a strange dread of the insect, when it
seeks to lay its eggs upon them.
The nature of the abode of these larvae is of three kinds, which may be distinguished as cutaneous,
cervical, or gastric, according as they reside either in tumours formed in the skin, or in some parts of
the head or stomach of the animal destined to support them. The eggs, whence the larvae of the first
kind are hatched, are placed by the parent fly beneath the skin [of oxen, &c.], which it [is stated by
some authors, including Latreille, but evidently erroneously,] to pierce with its ovipositor, composed of
four tubes, entering into one another, and armed at the tip with two hooks, and two other pieces ; this
instrument is formed of the terminal segments of the abdomen. These larvae, called taons by the
French peasantry [and or worm/s by the English], have no need to change their situation,
finding themselves, as soon as born [or rather as soon as they have buried beneath the skin], in the
midst of a purulent humour, which serves them for nourishment. The eggs of the other species are
merely stuck upon various parts of the body, either close to natural and internal cavities, into which
the larvae easily penetrate, and there fix themselves, or where the animal is in the habit of licking itself,
whereby the larvae are carried by the tongue into the mouth, and so pass to the place [in the stomach]
destined to receive them. It is thus that the Sheep Bot-fly places its eggs at the inner edge of the
nostrils of that quadruped, which becomes agitated, stamps the ground with its fore feet, and hurries
away with its head to the ground ; the larva insinuates itself into the maxillary and frontal sinuses,
and fixes itself to the internal membrane with which they are lined, by means of two strong hooks
with which its mouth is armed. It is thus, also, that the Horse Bot-fly deposits its eggs, without
settling, by hovering in the air at intervals over the inner part of the legs, at the sides of the shoulders,
and sometimes on the withers. (Estrus h(Bmorrhoidalis, the larva of which also lives in the stomaeh of
the Horse, places its eggs upon the lips ; the larvse, attaching themselves to the tongue, pass by the
oesophagus into the stomach, where they subsist on the humour secreted by its inner membrane. They
are generally found round the pylorus, and rarely in the intestines. They often exist in great numbers,
hanging like a bunch of grapes : Mr. Clark, nevertheless, considers that they are rather serviceable than
otherwise to the Horse.
These larvse have, in general, a conical form, and are destitute of legs. Their body is composed of
eleven segments, exclusive of the head, furnished with small tubercles and spines, often arranged in
bands, and which facilitate their progression. The principal organs of respiration are situated in a
DIPTERA. 631
scaly plate at the posterior extremity of the body, which is thickest. It appears that their number
and arrangement are different in the gastric larvae : it also appears that the mouth of the cutaneous
larvae is only composed of fleshy lobes, whilst that of the internal larvae is armed with two strong,
bent hooks.
When the larvae have obtained their full size, they quit their former abode, fall to the earth, and
there hide themselves, in order to undergo those transformations to pupae beneath their own skin, like
the other Diptera of this division. The gastric larvae pass through the intestines and escape by the
anus, probably with the excrement. It is generally in June and July that these changes take place.
M. Humboldt has observed, in South America, Indians with the abdomen covered with small
tumours, produced, as he believed, by the larvae of (Estri ; and later observations appear to confirm
this opinion. These larvae probably belonged to the genus Cuterebra of Clark, the larvae of which
reside beneath the skin of several mammiferous animals. It also appears, from various testimony,
that larvae analogous to those Qilstri have been extracted from the maxillary or frontal sinuses of
Man ; but these observations have not been pursued.
Some have a small and retractile proboscis.
Cuterebra, Clark, has the seta of the antennae plumose, and the palpi not visible. (Estrus buccatus, Fab. ;
Cuniculi, Clark ; and Ephippium, Latr. ; all from America.
Cephenemyia, Latr., has the seta simple, and the palpi evident. (Estrus Trompe, Fab., the larva of which infests
the frontal sinus of the Rein-deer.
The others have no proboscis, and the seta of the antennae is always simple.
(Edemagena, Latr., has two palpi. (Estrus Tarandi, the Bot of the Rein-deer.
The following have no palpi.
Hypoderma, Latr., with a small oral aperture like a Y. (Estrus Boris, the larva of which resides in tumours on
the back of Oxen.
Cephalemyia, Latr., has two small tubercles like points, which are the vestiges of palpi ; the alulets cover the
balancers. (Estrus Ovis, the Sheep Bot-fly, the larva of which lives in the frontal sinuses of the Sheep.
(Estrus proper (Gastrus, Meig., G aster op Jiitus, Leach), has two simitar tubercles,
but the wings cross each other, and the alulets only partially cover the halteres.
(Estrus Equi, the Great Horse Bot, hcemorrhoidalis, vederinus, &c. This difiers
in the cells, extending to the hind edge of the wings, whereas in all the rest (which
Leach and Meigen retain under the name of (Estrus) the cells are closed before reach-
ing the hind margin.
The third tribe of the Athericera, that of the CoNOPSAuiiE, is the only
one in which the proboscis is always exserted and siphon-shaped, either cylin-
dric, conical, or setaceous. The reticulation of the wings is the same as in
our first division of Muscides. The majority of these insects are found on
plants. They compose the genus
Fig. 136.— Gasterophilus equi. CONOPS, LinuagUS.
Some have the body long and narrow ; the abdomen long, clavate, and bent under at the tip, with
the male organs exposed.
One portion of these has the proboscis only elbowed at the base.
Systropus, Wied. {Cephenes, Latr.), has the antennae much longer than the head, the last joint alone forming
the club, without a style, and the abdomen long and slender. South American insects, like small species
of Sphex.
Conops proper, has the antennae much longer than the head, and the last two joints form together a mass, with
a terminal style.
Conops rufipes, Fab., which undergoes its transformations in the interior of the body of living Bombi, escaping
between the segments. An apod larva, found in Bombus lapidarius, being probably that of this species, has fur-
nished Messrs. Audouin and Lachat materials for some fine anatomical observations.
Zodion, Latr., has the antennae shorter than the head, terminating in an ovoid mass.
Myopa, Fab., has the proboscis elbowed at the base, and a^ain near the middle, the apex being bent under, and
the antennae shorter than the head. [Several British species.]
The others {Stornoxydos, Meig.), resemble domestic Flies in their general form, the arrangement of
their wings, the antennae terminated by a palette shorter than the head, and furnished with a seta,
and the abdomen short and conical, without external appendages.
Stomoxys proper, has the proboscis only elbowed at the base. Type, Conops calcitrans, Linn, [a vei*y common
insect, often observed on windows, and which is the species] which pricks our legs so sharply, especially
before rain.
632
INSECTA.
Bucentes, Latr. {Stomoxys, Fab., Siphona, Meig.), has the proboscis elbowed twice, as in Myopa.
Carmis, which Nitzsch refers to this family, is distinguished by having only the rudiments of wings ; the direc-
tion of the proboscis, and the form of its antennas and body, seem to indicate that it comes near Stomoxys.
The fourth and last tribe, Muscides, is distinguished from the preceding by having a proboscis
always very apparent, membranous, and bilabiate, generally bearing tfwo palpi (except in Phora), and
capable of being entirely withdrawn into the oral cavity, and a sucker of two pieces. The antennae
always terminated by a palette with a lateral seta.
These Athericera embrace the ancient genus Musca of Fabricius, which the works of Fallen and
Meigen (without speaking of our own) have singularly modified. The difficulties, however, which
oppose its investigation, are nevertheless far from removed ; for although these authors have estab-
lished a great number of genera, there are, nevertheless, some, such as Tachina and Anthomyia, which
can only be regarded as magazines. In the work of Meigen, which is confined to the European
Diptera, the first of these genera comprises 315 species, and the second 213. Dr. Robineau Desvoidy,
anxious to complete these researches and serve science, has undertaken with much zeal the special
study of the Muscides, which he terms Myodaires, and has presented a memoir upon the subject to the
Royal Academy of Sciences, [since published]. As Latreille, however, was only acquainted with the
general distribution of this tribe through the report of M. de Blainville, presented to the Academy, he
was not able to make use of it : indeed, it would too far exceed the limits of this work to do so, and
probably alarm young naturalists by the multitude of genera which he has established, and which
appeared to the reporter to be too slightly characterized. We think that the work of Meigen, except
in respect to the revision of the two genera above mentioned, is quite sufficient, in the actual state of
the science. [The vast extent of this tribe, which probably equals that of all the other Diptera united
together, has, notwithstanding the remarks of Latreille, rendered the establishment of many additional
genera requisite. M. Macquart, in his Histoire Naturelle des Dipteres, and Messrs. Haliday and
Walker, in various detached memoirs, have added to the number of those proposed by Meigen, although
they have materially reduced the number proposed by Robineau Desvoidy, which amounted to 354,
divided into ten primary groups, two of which still remain unpublished, and which will of course
increase the number of his genera.]
This tribe comprises the genus
Musca.
The first section comprises those species which have the antennae inserted near the forehead ; the
palpi placed upon the proboscis, and retractile with it into the oral cavity, and transverse nerves to the
wings. This section comprises eight principal groups, or subtribes.
The first division (Creophil^) has very large alulets, nearly covering the balancers. The wings are
generally apart, with the two terminal and external cells of the posterior limb closed by a transverse
nervure.
Some of these have the epistome not beak-like, and the sides of the head not advanced into horns.
A portion of these have the seta of the antennae naked.
Echinomyia, Dumeril, has the second joint of the antennae long'est ; the last is nearly trapezoidal, with the seta
biarticulate at its base. Musca grossa, Linn., the largest known species, nearly as large as a Humble-bee. It is
black, very bristly, with the head buff, eyes brown, and base of the wings reddish. It makes a loud buzzing,
settles upon flowers in woods, and oftejn upon cow-dung, on which its larva resides ; the body of which is yellowish,
shining, conical, with a single hook, and two fleshy horns at its anterior extremity ; the other being terminated
by a circular plate, upon which are two spiracles, each placed upon a lenticular lobe, elevated in the middle.
The segment after the head is also furnished on each side with a spiracle. In the cocoon of the pupa, which is
also conical, the posterior extremity also presents two more distinct spiracles ; its contour formed by a plate with
nine flaps. [It appears to me that Latreille has erred in referring Reaumur’s figures to Echinomyia grossa. They
seem to me to be those of the transformations of Mesembrina meridiana. I presume that the larva of Echinomyia
grossa is a parasite,]
In the other Creophilse the third Joint of the antennae is never shorter than the second. Sometimes the face is
nearly naked, and never clothed with long bristles.
Gonia, Meig., has the seta of the antennae elbowed, and the abdomen with distinct segments, and convex.
Miltogramma, Meig., has the abdomen also convex, with distinct joints, and the seta of the antennae straight.
Trixa, Meig., differs from Miltogramma in having the third joint of the antennae scarcely longer than the
second.
In the four following subgenera the abdomen is swollen, with the articulations indistinct, or flattened.
DIPTERA.
633
Gtpnnosoma, Meig'., has the abdomen vesicular, with indistinct articulations, and the antennae as long as
the head.
Cistogaste?’, Latr., has the abdomen similar, but the antennae much shorter.
Pkasia, Meig., has the abdomen very flat and semicircular, and the tibiae but slightly bristly.
Trichiopoda, Latr., has the abdomen flat but oblong, and the hind tibiae with a row of lamelliform bristles.
Sometimes the face has two rows of long bristles, like moustaches, two being larger than the rest.
The three following have the wings vibratile, and the abdomen narrow and elongate ; the antennae are not
shorter than the face.
Lophosia, Meig., has the last joint of the antennae forming a large triangular palette.
Ocyptera, Meig., has the third joint of the antennae seldom much larger than the preceding, and forming a linear
or oblong square. M. Dufour has observed the transformations of two species ; the larva of O. cassidos, residing
in the visceral cavity of Cassida bicolor, and that of O. bicolor, in the same cavity of Pentatoma grisea : both these
larvae feed on the fatty matter of the insects they infest ; their bodies are oblong, soft, whitish, perfectly glabrous
and contractile, and terminated by a sort of siphon one third of the length of the body, of a more solid consistence,
and unchangeable in its form, with two hooks at the tip : the posterior extremity of this siphon, occupying one
of the metathoracic spiracles [of the insect infested], and in contact with the air, enables the parasite to respire.
Neither antennae nor eyes have been observed. It is in the same situation that the larva changes to the pupa state.
This [or rather the old larva skin] is ovoid, without any trace of segments, with several tubercles at one end. It
quits its abode before assuming the perfect state, either without destroying the insect, or the larva infested, or
after it has killed it.
Melanophora, Meig., has the antennae much shorter ; the anteunae not extending lower than the middle of the
face ; the outer terminal cell is more advanced posteriorly than the inner one.
The abdomen of the other Creophilae is but little elongated, triangular ; and the wings are not vibratile.
Phania, Meig., has the abdomen 4-jointed ; the tip being elongated, narrowed, and folded beneath ; the third
joint of the antennae is long and linear.
Xysta, Meig., has the abdomen 5- or 6-jointed, and the antennae short, with the last two joints nearly equal ; the
hind tibiae are rather curved, compressed, and ciliated.
Tachina, Fabr., has the abdomen 4-jointed, but not recurved at the tip ; the antennae as long, or nearly as long,
as the head ; the last joint longer than the preceding. Some of the species, forming a peculiar group, live whilst
larvae in the bodies of different caterpillars, which they destroy.
We now pass to Creophilae which have the seta of the antennae evidently villose or plumose ; the third joint
always forms an elongated palette, and is longer than the preceding joint.
Dexia, Meig., has the habit of Ocyptera, with the abdomen narrow and elongated, especially in the males.
Miisca proper {Mesembrina, Meig.), has the abdomen triangular, the eyes contiguous, or very close together in
the males. Here are to be arranged the majority of the flies of which the larvae feed upon meat, carcases, &c., and
others in manure. They have all the form of soft worms ; whitish in colour ; destitute of feet ; thickened and truncate
at the posterior extremity, and pointed at the other end, where are one or two hooks, with which these larvae gnaw
their food, and of which they hasten the corruption. They undergo their changes in a very few days [in the
summer] ; the females have the extremity of the body narrowed, and elongated into a tube, to enable them to bury
their eggs. Musca vomitoria, Linn., the Common Meat Fly, with the forehead fulvous ; the thorax black, and ab-
domen blue, with black marks. It possesses a remarkably fine sense of smelling, and makes a loud buzzing noise,
when it enters our houses in order to deposit its eggs on meat. Deceived by the odour of Arum dracunculus
when in flower, it sometimes deposits its eggs in that flower ; when ready to assume the pupa state, it quits its food
and descends into the earth, or else undergoes its change in some dry and retired situation. M, domestica, Linn.,
the small Common Domestic Fly, the larva of which lives in moist manure.
Siarcophaga, Meig., differs from Musca, by the eyes being wide apart in both sexes ; the eggs in some species
are hatched within the abdomen of the parent, as is the case with ilf, carnaria, Linn, [a very abundant species],
which is larger and longer than the Meat Fly : the female deposits her young larvae upon flesh, carcases, and
sometimes in the wounds of persons.
We terminate the Creophilae by some subgenera contrasting with the preceding in the form of the head, situation
of the wings, or of their external cells.
Achias, Fabr., remarkable for the horn-like elongations of the sides of the head ; with the antennae inserted high
in the forehead.
Idia, Meig., has the front of the head produced into a beak.
The two following have the terminal cells of the wings extending to the posterior edge ; the abdomen is
flattened.
Lispe, Latr., has the body oblong ; the antennae nearly as long as the face ; and the style plumose.
Argyriiis, Latr., has the body short ; the abdomen very flat, nearly semicircular ; the head short and broad ; the
antennae very short ; with the seta elbowed.
In all the remaining Muscides, the alulets are small, or nearly obsolete ; the balancers exposed ; and
the principal nerves of the wings extending to the outer edge of the wings, which closes the posterior
cells.
A second general division of the Muscides, that of the Anthomyzides, is composed of species having
INSECTA.
634
the appearance of Common Flies ; the wings not vibratile ; the antennae inserted near the forehead,
always shorter than the head, terminated by a long or linear joint, with the seta mostly plumose ; the
legs are of moderate size, and the abdomen composed of four joints.
Anthomyia, Meig., has the seta of the antennae plumose ; the abdomen in both sexes pointed at the tip, and the '
proboscis not terminated like a hook. Musca pluvialis, Linn.
Drymeia, Meig., has the proboscis exhibiting this character, and the eyes united behind, in the males.
Ccenosia, Meig., has the abdomen of the males swollen at the tip. Tlie larvae of C.fungorum live in boleti, and
often in the edible mushroom. De Geer observed, also, that these larvae will destroy each other.
Eriphia, Meig., has the antennae shorter, with a simple style, and the eyes of the males united behind.
Our third division, Hydromyzides, has the head almost triangular, with the eyes very prominent ; a
swollen and vaulted muzzle ; a very thick proboscis ; and the sides of the face not bristly ; the antennae
are very short, with the style plumose : the legs are strong. All the indigenous species are found in
aquatic situations.
Ropalomera, Wied., has all the thighs swollen, and the face has a frontal tubercle.
Ochthera, Latr., has the thighs of the fore-legs very robust, denticulated beneath ; the tibiae curved, and applied
against the thighs, and terminated by a strong spine. In the following Hydromyzides, the thighs are not
swollen.
Ephydra, Fall., has the eyes very prominent ; the muzzle thick ; and the seta of the antennae thick at the base,
and simple.
NotipMla, Fall., has the head rounder, without a frontal muzzle.
The Muscides of the three following divisions have the body oblong ; the wings incumbent, not vi-
bratile ; the head nearly spherical, and the face covered by a white membrane, with an impressed line
on each side. The antennae are sometimes inserted in fossulae, but oftener porrected, and in many
as long or longer than the head.
The fourth division, Scatomyzides, are distinguished by the head being never longer than broad,
nearly spherical ; the hind legs not greatly elongate ; the antennae, with the third joint longer than the
preceding, and, except in Loxocera, always shorter than the head.
Some have the hind legs large, with thick compressed thighs ; and the antennae very short ; with a simple seta.
Thyreophora, Latr., has the antennae lodged beneath a frontal prominence ; and the second and followingjoints
of the tarsi nearly alike. T. eynophila, Panz., has the scutellum bispinose ; it is almost always found on the dead
carcases of dogs, and M. Percheron has assured me it is sometimes phosphorescent.
Sphcerocera, Latr. {Borborus, Meig.), has the antennae exposed, with the palette hemispherical ; the hind thighs
are compressed, with the two basal joints of the tarsi evidently larger than the following. It is almost always
about manure that these Diptera are found, and it is probably there that their larvae reside.
Sometimes the hind legs do not materially differ from the others ; the antennae are nearly as long as the face,
deflexed, and terminated by an elongated, narrow palette.
Dialyta, Meig., has the face bristly ; the abdomen 4-jointed, and the seta of the antennae simple.
Cordylura, Fall., has the face bristly ; the abdomen 5-jointed, and the wings scarcely extending beyond the
abdomen.
Scatophaga, Latr., differs from the last in having the wings longer than the abdomen, which is never clavate.
Musca stercoraria, Linn., a very common buff-coloured species, found in great numbers upon excrement, in which
the females deposit their eggs.
Loxocera, Latr., has the face not bristly ; the body long, narrow, and the antennae much longer than the head.
Chyliza, Fall., has the antennae shorter than the head, with the seta thick, like a style.
The others have the antennae always much shorter than the face, with the palette either oblong, ovoid, or
nearly globose.
Some of these have the body narrow and elongate, and the abdomen pointed or stylate ; sometimes the face
is naked.
Lissa, Meig., has the upper side of the head with an elevation, and the abdomen is almost linear.
Psilomyia, Latr. (to which Geomyza, Fall., may be added), has the body less elongate, and the abdomen ter-
minated by an articulated style.
Tetanura and Tanypeza, Meig., are allied to the preceding ; the legs in both seem longer, and the abdomen of
Tetanura is obtuse at the tip, and that of Tanypeza pointed or stylate in the females.
Lonchoptera, Meig., has the face bristly at the sides, and the basal joint of the antennae is verv slender ; the
wings have no transverse nerve, except close to the base.
The body in the other Scatomyzides is thicker and more oblong, and its fonn is more like that of the common
House-fly.
Heleomyza, Fall., has the head bristly.
Dryomyza, Fall, (with the face concave beneath the antennae), and
Sapromyza, Fall, (with it straight), differ from the following in having the antennal seta plumose.
DIPTERA. 635
The terminal Scatomyzides have the seta simple ; the antennae always short and straight ; they are small and
glabrous Flies, black, and more or less varied with bulf ; the legs strong, and the eyes large. The upper side of
the head is flat, with a brown, triangular mask, in which the ocelli are placed. They are found in flowers. Many
of their larvae mine the interior of vegetables, and some are very injurious to agriculturists, destroying various
cereal plants previous to their fructification. The larvae of Musca Frit sometimes destroy the barley crops in
Sweden, to the amount of 100,000 golden ducats in a year, being one-tenth of the produce. The larvae of Oscinis
puniilionis and lineata. Fab., are equally obnoxious. They constitute our genus
Oscinis, Latr., to which we add the genus Chlorops,
Meig., and Piophila, Fallen.
The fifth division (Dolichocera), which em-
braces the genus Teianocera, Dum., is closely allied
to the preceding, but the length of the second
joint of the antennae, which equals or surpasses
that of the third, at once distinguishes it. These
organs are porrected, as long as, or longer than,
the head, and pointed at the tip. The upper
surface of the head forms a triangle, obtuse at the tip.
Some have the antennae shorter than the head.
Otites, has the seta simple, and the lower part of the face is not produced.
Euthycera, Latr., has the seta plumose, and the lower part of the face produced into a truncated muzzle.
The others have the antennae as long as, or longer than, the head.
Fepedon, Latr., has the antennae evidently longer than the head, and the seta simple.
Tetanocera, Dum., has the antennae as long as the head, and the seta sometimes plumose.
The sixth division, Leptopodites, is remarkable for the length and slenderness of the feet, the
hind ones being at least as long again as the body, which is also slender and filiform ; all the tarsi are
short. The head is spherical or ellipsoid, and terminated in a point. The antennae are very small.
They are found on plants, and many frequent aquatic places,
Micropeza, Meig., has the head ellipsoid, terminated in a point, and the seta of the antennae simple. Calobata
filiformis, Fabr.
Calobata, Fabr., has the head spheroidal, and the seta often plumose.
Nerius, Fabr., has the habit of Micropeza, but diflers in the antennae being as long as the head.
The seventh division, Carpomyz^, has the wings vibratile, spotted with black or yellow, an appear-
ance very like that of the Domestic Flies, but with the eyes apart, and the abdomen with four or five
external segments, mostly terminated in the females by a cylindric or conie ovipositor ; the antennae
always short, with the seta rarely villose. The larvae of many species live in fruits or seeds, in the
germ of which the parent fly had deposited its eggs.
Many species approach the preceding subgenera in the narrow and elongated form of the body, and long legs,
as well as in the globular or more elongated form of the head.
Diopsis, Linn., distinct from the very elongated horns into which the sides of the head are produced, and the
scutellum with two spines. These singular exotic insects have been monographed by Dalman, [and subsequently
by me, in the Transactions of the Linncean Society}.
Cephalia, Meig., has the palette of the antennae narrow and long, and the palpi spatulate.
Sepsis, Fall., has the palette much shorter, with a naked seta, and the palpi nearly filiform. [Small, active Flies,
with wings spotted with black.]
The other Carpomyzae have the appearance of Common Flies, with the head short and hemispherical, and the
legs of moderate length.
The three following subgenera have the upper surface of the head almost horizontal, so that the antennae appear
inserted on a level with the top.
Ortalis, Fall., has the abdomen not terminated by an external ovipositor in the females. M. Fallen refers the
Musca cerasi, Linn., to this subgenus, the larva of which generally feeds inside the fruit of the cherry, quitting
the fruit and entering the earth when ready to undergo its transformations.
Tetanops, Meig., has an exserted ovipositor in the females, like a tail ; the head, seen from above, appears nearly
triangular.
Tephrites, Latr. {Trypeta, Meig.), has the abdomen similarly terminated, but the head is rather transverse than
longitudinal, and rounded. Musca Cardui, Linn., the larva of which lives in galls, on the common thistle, on
the substance of which it feeds.
Dacus, Fab., comprises those Tephrites which have the palette more elongate, including the species which
attacks the olive. The inhabitants of the Isle of France are scarcely able to obtain any sound lemons, in conse-
quence of the attacks of a species of this genus.
I'
636 INSECTA.
Platystoma, Meig., differs in having the head more compressed transversely, so that the upper surface is more •
slanting, and the antenn* appear inserted in the middle of the face. *
This naturally conducts us to Timia, Wied., and Mosillus, belonging to the next division.
The eighth division, Gymnomyzides, is composed of small Muscides, with a short body, curved,
nearly glabrous, of a shining black colour, the head much compressed transversely, as in Platystoma,
without any inferior prominence ; the scutellum advanced ; the abdomen short, depressed, and some-
times terminated by a small point, and the legs nearly glabrous.
Celyphus, Dalm. (having the scutellum extended over the body), and
Lauxania, Latr. (with the scutellum of ordinary size and the seta plumose), have the antennae longer than the
head. The others have them shorter. 1
In some of these they are very short and wide apart, and lodged in impressed fossulae, the space between them :
being elevated. \
Mosilhis, Latr., has the first cell of the posterior edge of the wings almost closed ; Meigen divides them into two |
subgenera, — Timia, with the abdomen 6-jointed, and Ulidia, with it 5-jointed. "
Homalura, Meig., with the abdomen 5-jointed, and ;
Act(M'a, Meig., with it 6-jointed, have the first cells of the posterior limb of the wings entirely open and ;
longitudinal.
In others the antennae are nearly contiguous, and the cells of the posterior edge of the wing are always open. j
Gymnomyza, Fall., has the antennae inserted beneath a sort of arch, and near the middle of the face.
Lonchcea, Meig., has them inserted higher, without any appearance of an arch. j
The second section of the Muscides, and which forms our ninth and last sub-tribe, the Hypocera, !
consists of a single subgenus, distinct from all the preceding in many respects. The palpi are always <
external ; the antennae inserted near the oral cavity, very short, terminated by a large globular joint,
with a very long seta ; the wings have only three oblique discoidal nerves, whence the name Trinmra
given to them by Meigen ; the legs are very short and spiny, with the thighs large and compressed,
especially in the hind legs. They are extremely active, and form the genus Phora, Latr. ; Tri-
neura, Meig.
Our second general section of the Dipterous insects differs from the preceding in the
mouth, antennae, and transformations, and other less important characters ; whence Dr. Leach
was induced to form them into a distinct order, Omaloptera. Those which terminate this
section have a certain relation with the hexapod wingless insects, composing our order of
Parasites, or the genus Pediculus of Linnaeus. I
This section forms |
THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE DIPTERA,— j
The Pupipara (or the Nymphipara of Reaumur). J
The head of these insects, seen from above, is divided into tw o principal portions, the posterior
being the principal, supporting the eyes and receiving the anterior part in an emargination in front.
This is also divided into two parts, the posterior being the largest, and supporting the antennae at its
sides ; and the other constitutes the mouth organs. The inferior and oral cavity of the head is occu- Ij
pied merely by membrane, out of the extremity of which the sucker protrudes, arising from a small ■
bulb, or advanced peduncle, composed of two setae close together, and covered by two coriaceous, !
narrow, elongate and villose plates, which act as sheaths. Whether these valves represent, as I pre- j
sume, the palpi of other Diptera, or whether they are pieces of a sheath properly so called, as regarded
by M. Dufour, who has discovered two small bodies, which he takes for palpi ; it is not less certain ^
that the proboscis of these insects differs materially from that of the preceding Diptera, and that the j
proboscis has in this case more resemblance to that of the Fleas, from which it is, however, removed !
by the absence of articulations. In Melophagus the base of the plates of the sucker is covered by two ■
small, coriaceous, triangular pieces, united, and forming a kind of labrum ; they seem to represent, in a
small degree, the two pieces which cover the base of the rostrum of the Flea.
The body is short, broad, flat, and defended by a solid or leathery-like skin. The head is more i
intimately united to the thorax than in the preceding families. The antennae, always situated at the ^
lateral and anterior extremity of the head, appear either under the form of a tubercle bearing three
setae, or that of small hairy plates. The size of the eyes varies, being very small in some species. In
DIPTERA.
637
general the piipiparae are destitute of ocelli ; the thorax is furnished with four spiracles, two anterior
and two posterior ; the latter pair, overlooked by Dufour, are situated, as in other Diptera, near the
base of the balancers. The abdomen of H. ovina is furnished with ten spiracles, in the shape of
small, round, corneous tubercles, the four posterior being close to the anus. The wings are always
apart, and accompanied by balancers ; their [fore-edge] is more or less margined with setae ; the supe-
rior nerves, which are nearest it, are strong and well defined ; but those which extend to the hinder
edge are weak, and not transversely united. In the terminal Diptera of this family these organs
are wanting, or simply rudimental ; the balancers are also obsolete. The legs are terminated by two
robust claws, which have one or two teeth on the under side, which makes their appearance double
or triple. The covering of the abdomen is continuous, so that this part of the body can be distended,
and acquire a considerable volume, as becomes necessary in the body of the female Hippobosca, for
their larvae are hatched and are nourished therein until the period of their transformation into pupae.
They are then discharged under the form of a soft, white egg, nearly as large as the abdomen of the
female ; the skin hardens, and becomes a solid cocoon, brown at first, but subsequently black ; round,
and often notched at one end, exhibiting a shiny plate or operculum, which becomes detached like a
cap at the period of the final transformation. This cocoon has neither rings nor transverse incisions
by which it is distinguished from those of other Diptera, especially the Athericera, which it most
resembles. It is in the fine works of Reaumur, De Geer, Leon Dufour [and Lyonnet], illustrated as
i: they are by figures in detail, that we must look for a complete account of these transformations, and
I of the changes which take place in the female at the period of her delivery. According to L. Dufour,
i the ovaries in their configuration and position singularly resemble those of the human female. The
[: matrix, at first small, becomes enormously dilated, until it occupies the w'hole of the abdominal cavity.
These Diptera are known under the name of Spider-flies, and live almost exclusively upon some
quadrupeds and birds. They run very quickly, and fly sideways.
Some, or the Coriacea, Latr., have the head distinct, and articulated with the anterior extremity of
the thorax. They form the genus
Hippobosca, Linnaeus.
Hippobosca proper, has wings, distinct eyes, and antennae in the shape of tubercles, with three setae on their
upper side. H. equina, Linn., the Horse- or Forest-fly, a species common in some places on Horses, which it
infests, especially fixing itself in great numbers beneath the tail.
Ornithomyia, Latr., has the antennae in the shape of villose plates, and the nerves of the wings extending to
the hind edge.
These insects form, in the monograph of Leach, four genera.
Feronia (,Nirmomyia, Nitzsch.), distinct by the antennae-like tubercles, and the claws of the tarsi double, and
not treble.
Ornithomyia, with ocelli and tridentate claws, plate-like antennae, and wings of large size, and rounded.
Stenepteryx, similar to Feronia, but with very long acute wings.
Oxypterum, with acute wings, but with the antennae in the form of teeth, eyes small, ocelli wanting. They live
on various species of Birds. Hippobosca avicularia, Linn.
Strebla, Wied., has the wings incumbent on the body, with longitudinal nervures united by some transverse
nervures. The eyes are very small, and situated at the posterior angles of the head. Found on a South American
species of Bat.
Melophagus, Latr. (Melopkila, Nitzsch.), destitute of wings, and with the eyes scarcely distinct. Hippobosca
ovina, [the common Sheep-tick].
A species of Melophagus, which lives on the Stag, exhibiting rudiments of wings, and with the thorax a little
larger than the head, forms the subgenus Lipoptena, Nitzsch. Near Melophagus ought also to come the genus
Braula, Nitzsch., of which the only known species lives on the Honey-bee, and is absolutely blind. Its thorax
is divided into two transverse parts, and the last joint of the tarsi is furnished with a row of small bristles.
Reaumur had long ago figured this, or a closely-allied animal.
The. other Pupiparae, PhthiromyicE, Latr., have the head very small, or almost obsolete, forming near
the anterior and dorsal extremity of the thorax a small body, which is elevated vertically. They
compose the genus
Nycteribia, Latr. {Phthiridium, Hermann), —
And have neither wings nor balancers, and more nearly resemble Spiders than Hippoboscse. They live on Bats.
Linnaeus places the only species with which he was acquainted with the Pediculi. See the article Nycteribia, in
the Encyclopedic Methodique, and in the Nouv. Dictionn. d'Hist. Naturelle, [and also my memoir in the Transac-
tions of the Zoological Society of London, in which I have described numerous species].
638
FOURTH GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
\
THE RADIATA (Radiated Animals, or Zoophytes).
[Neither of these names is literally applicable, for all the animals in the division are
not radiated ; and the very name Zoophyte, “ plant-animal,” is a contradiction. In
England, the term Zoophyte is much more restricted than in France, but it is equally
inapplicable, excepting, perhaps, to those species, about which there are still disputes
as to whether they are animals or vegetables.]
These animals have no mesial plane, but may be variously divided into symmetrical
parts, radiating from one or more axes. Their organs of motion, when they have any,
are moveable spines attached to the skin, or flexible papillae, capable of inflation. They
have no true system of circulation, and their nervous system is always obscure, and
sometimes cannot be traced. Some have a mouth and vent, others only one opening,
and others, ugain, appear to be nourished through pores. Some are of distinct sexes ;
some bisexual, and some are produced by buds or division. [Some very minute ones,
as Volvox, consist of a globular tunic inclosing a vast number of smaller globes, each
of which is also a tunic inclosing another generation.] Many grow in clusters upon
stalks, or Polypidoms — dwellings of polypi, which are sometimes leathery or horny, and
sometimes calcareous. [The individuals produce the polypidoms, and are connected
with it ; and when they are alive, it is probably always covered with an epidermis.]
According as their organization is more or less complicated, they are divided into five
classes : —
1. Echinodermata [Spiny Skins], have, besides these, the intestine and organs of
respiration, reproduction, and partial circulation, floating in a large cavity. The Ho-
lothurice are united to them ; because, although they have no spines on the skin,
the internal structure is even more complicated.
2. Entozoa [Intestinal Worms], inhabit the viscera of other animals. They are
long and flattened ; have no visible organs of circulation or respiration ; and some have
a distinct alimentary canal, while others have not. [A species which infests the intes-
tines of the Eel was, for a long time, regarded as the young of that animal.]
3. Acalepha [Sea Nettles], are round and radiated, with only one opening to the
body, and no organs of respiration or circulation. They approach the Polypi, only
their organic tissues are more developed.
4. Polypi [Many Tentacula, once consideredas plants] . These are gelatinous animals,
with a mouth and digestive organs more or less complicated. Many of them live in
clusters upon branched or expanded polypidoms, which made them be considered as
animal plants. [Individually they are minute, and some of them microscopic ; but still
they fabricate vast reefs of hard rock, consisting of salts of lime cemented by animal
PEDICELLATA.
639
matter. The Thethya and Sponges have been joined to this class, though their
I animals have not yet been observed.
5, Infusoria [Animalculse] , the most minute members of the Animal Kingdom, and
for the most part microscopic. Some have a very complicated organization, and some
appear to be mere particles of animated jelly. [They exist in countless myriads,
principally in stagnant water, and some are so tenacious of life, that, after having
been for some time dried to powder, they revive again when moistened.]
THE FIRST CLASS OF THE RADIATA.
THE ECHINODEEMATA.
These have a well- organised skin ; sometimes a sort of skeleton ; a digestive and a
vascular system ; and a sort of radiating nerves. There are two orders : those with
feet, or vesicular appendages answering the same purpose, and those without.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE ECHINODERMATA,
PEDICELLATA.
These have the skin pierced with numerous small holes, through which protrude cylindric
tentacula, terminating in suckers. These are extended or retracted by a humour distinct from
that of the intestines, discernible in some of the species, and answer the purpose of feet, by
which they perform their locomotion, or adhere to the rocks. Vessels from these continue to
unite in a trunk for each row, which trunk terminates near the mouth. The order consists of
three very natural families.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PEDICELLATA,—
The Asterias [Star-fish], —
So called, because the body is generally in the form of a star with five rays. Some, however, as
A. discoidea, have the body a pentagon, with straight sides ; others, as A. membranacea, have a re-
entering angle in each side ; and others, again, as A. tesselata, have the sides concave.
The frame-work of the body is composed of horny pieces, variously arranged. In those which have
distinct rays, there is a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of each
ray, perforated on both sides, for allowing the action of the feet ; and
all the surface is covered with pores leading to small tubes which admit
water, probably for the purpose of respiration. On the central disc, but
toward one side of it, there is a stony plate, and below it a canal filled
with calcareous matter ; and it is probable that this is the apparatus by
which the hard matter of the body is elaborated. There is a sort of verte-
brated osseous column in each ray ; and some of the species have osseous
plates, and spines on the sides of the rays. Internally, they have one
stomach, with two branched coeca extending to each ray; each ray,
also, contains two ovaries, and it is understood that they propagate by self-impregnation. The rays
are easily reproduced, for the central disc and one ray will reproduce all the others. The mouth, which
is the only opening to the alimentary organs, is on the under side of the central disc. According to
Tiedemann, the principal nerve surrounds the mouth, and sends off a filament to each arm. Such are
Fig:. 13S. — Asterias.
ECHINODERMATA.
640
the general characters of the genus Asterias, the Star-fish, properly so called ; and, in proportion as
they deviate from the Five-rayed Star, their cceca and ovaries are more numerous.
A. ruhens, is very common in the European seas. A. glacialis, is much larger, often a foot in diameter; and
it has tufts of fleshy tubes round the bases of the spines on the body. A. aurantia, is still larger, and has the
edges of the rays paved with osseous plates, bearing strong and moveable spines. Some, as A. paposa, have
more than five rays. Some have the rays solid, and without the groove, and they are called OpMurce, because
their rays have some resemblance to the tails of Serpents. These move by flexures of the rays, which have spines
on the sides in some, and are covered with imbricated scales in others. In them the pores are between the bases
of the rays. The only feet which these have are in fine short grooves round the mouth. By some authors they
have been made a separate genus. Some have the rays branched, and of them some have the division near the
end of the rays, and seldom repeated; but in others it begins at the base, and each divti^on is branched again
and again, till the whole resembles a bunch of Serpents’ tails ; each branching is into so many lateral parts : there
are two points at the base of each ray. Those branched ones have been called Gorgonocephalce, or Medusa’s
Heads.
Alecto, or Comatula, have five large articulated rays proceeding from a stony plate on the upper part of the
disc ; their rays are often divided into two or three branches, and both rays and disc are furnished with articu-
lated threads. The cavity of the body has a star-shaped mouth, and a tubular opening, both on the under side.
Encrinus [the Encrinites], —
Resemble the last, but have the plate on the disc prolonged to a stem of many articulations. They are named
from the form of the stem, and the number of rays. Pentacrinus europceus, is the only species in the European
seas ; but there are others in the tropical oceans. In a fossil state they are exceedingly numerous, and varied in
their appearance. The fossil Entrochites are portions of the stems or branches of Encrinites.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PEDICELLATA.
The Echinus [Sea Hedge-hogs, or Sea Eggs],
These have the body covered with a crust of calcareous matter, in segments nicely adapted to each
other, and perforated by regular rows of holes for the membranous feet. The crust is also pierced by
a number of smaller holes with four membranous tubes, which seem to be the breathing apparatus ;
and where not perforated, the crust is armed with broad spines, articulated upon tubercles, and move-
able. The mouth is furnished with five flat, calcareous teeth, in a very complicated apparatus, and
having strong muscles ; and, as these wear away at their cutting edges, they extend by growth at the
opposite extremity. The intestine is long, and attached spirally to the interior of the crust. The five
ovaries, which are edible, are arranged round the vent, in the separate openings. Their motions
are slow ; and they feed upon the smaller shelled Mollusca and Crustacea, which they seize with their
membranous feet. Great numbers of them, including many not now found alive, are met with in a
fossil state, especially in the chalk, where they are usually filled with flint earth, the same as the i
sponges.
They are either regular or irregular, — the regular ones having the mouth in the middle of the under
side, and the vent opposite ; and the others are irregular in proportion as they deviate from this
character.
Echinus, properly so called. — Figure generally an oblate spheroid, with two bands of apertures, dividing the i
surface from the mouth to the vent into segments, resembling those formed by the meridians on a globe. Some I
have the spines stout, with smaller ones at the base, and others have them slender. Among the latter, is E. escu-
lentus, found in the European seas. It is about the size of an ordinary apple, closely set with short spines, gene-
rally of a violet colour. The ovaries are of the same colour ; and in the spring months they are edible, and have
a very agreeable flavour.
They vary in shape, and in the number and arrangement, and also the form of the spines. Some are depressed,
some compressed, some have the spines unequal, and one species, E. atratus, has the spines unequal and trun- j!
cated, resembling small paving-stones. |
None of the irregular ones have the two apertures of the body opposite to each other in the middle j
of the under and upper sides. The spines upon them are straight and slender ; and the chief distinc- |
tions are the number, arrangement, and extent of the holes for the feet.
Chironeus, have the general form of the last, but the mouth and vent are both on the under side. *
Nucleolites, have the vent above, but near the margin. i
Galerites, have a flat base, and a conoidal body, with the mantle in the centre of the disc, and the vent near its
margin. |ji
Scutella, have the openings as in the last, but the form of the body much depressed, and disc-like. Some have |
no openings to the crust but the pores, and in others again these seem to be obliterated, or at all events do not '
PEDICELLATA. 641
penetrate into the cavity. Rotula has one of the margins toothed like a wheel ; and some have large pores, and
some not.
Cassidulus, are oval, with the vent above the margin on one side, and the lines of pores incomplete. They are
distinguished by the number and extent of the lines of pores, Avhich in some species form only a rosette on
j the back.
Clypeaster, have the vent near the margin, the body depressed, the base concave, and the outline sometimes
angular and sometimes round.
j Fibularia, small in size, mostly globular, with the openings on the under side, and a rosette of pores above.
Spatangus, have the openings below, and the rosette on the back. Some have the outline round or oval, and
j sometimes with a deep groove on one side, making the section heart-shaped.
- Of the last, two specimens are found in the European seas ; and the last, especially, has branched tentacula
surrounding the mouth, in which character it bears some resemblance to Holothuria. The other irregular ones
are chiefly fossil, and abound in various marine strata, especially in the chalk formation.
! THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE PEDICELLATA.
The FIolothuria (Sea-slug).
' These have the body oblong, with a leather-like covering, and an aperture at each end. The mouth
j is without teeth, or has only bony plates instead ; but it is surrounded by curiously-branched tenta-
' cula, which the animal can, at pleasure, retract entirely ; and it is also furnished with sacs for the
secretion of saliva. The reproductive organs are also situated near the mouth, composed of a number
of ramified culs-de-sac, all opening into one oviduct. The impregnating parts are understood to be
!i some very elastic chords near the other extremity of the animal ; thus each individual is bisexual.
; The intestine is long, convoluted, and fixed to the covering of the body by a kind of mesentery,
i! Along the intestine there is also a double system of complicated vessels, which appear to be the organs
' of circulation. The opposite extremity is not less curious ; for, besides the vent, it contains the respi-
I; ratory organ, or gill, which is in the shape of a hollow tree very much branched, and the animal can
i receive or expel water by means of this apparatus, which possibly thus assists it in its locomotion, as
well as supplies air from the inhaled water. In the breeding season the ovaries become very much
extended, and contain a reddish matter, which is understood to be the spawn, or eggs. These animals
jj are exceedingly sensitive, as is the case with the Leeches among Annelida: ; and when disturbed, they
I sometimes contract so violently that the integuments are ruptured, and the intestines protrude. The
subdivisions are made according to the arrangement of the feet.
( Thus, in some, as in H. phantapus, which inhabits the European seas, and has the body almost scaly, all the feet
i are on a soft disc in the middle of the body ; and when they crawl, the extremities are turned up. When extended,
the tentacula of these are very large.
Some, as H. squamata, a small species of the European seas, — but there are much larger ones in hot climates, —
have all the under surface soft, with numerous feet ; and the upper surface convex, sometimes supported by bony
plates, and the opening of the mouth in the form of a star.
In others, again, the body is cartilaginous, flattened horizontally, and sharp at the edges, with the mouth and
feet on the inferior surface. Of these, H. regalis, found in the Mediterranean, is more than a foot long, three or
four inches broad, and crenulated at the edges.
Others still, have the body cylindrical, and capable of being inflated with water. All the Under side is furnished
with feet, and the remaining parts roughened in various ways. H. tremula, common in the European seas, the
Mediterranean especially, is an instance of this peculiarity of form. It is of a black colour ; more than afoot
long when inflated with water ; has the back bristled with soft conical points, and the mouth furnished with twenty
branched tentacula.
Yet, in others, the feet are arranged in five rows, like the ridges on a melon, of which the European species,
; H. penacta, is more than a foot long, and of a brown colour.
There ax’e also some, as H. papillosa^ which have the body equally furnished with feet round its whole surface.
[The Holothuria of the European seas, even of the Mediterranean, are not very numerous, neither
are they brilliant in colours ; but in more tropical seas, where coral reefs rise within a moderate distance
of the surface, as in the Red Sea, and the seas to the north and east of Australia, they are exceedingly
I numerous, and many of them splendidly coloured ; so that, together with other Radiata of this and of
I other orders, they make the sea-bottom, when seen by the light of an almost vertical sun, as gay as a
i tropical garden. The Holothuriae resemble cucumbers ; and various Actiniae, when their tentacula are
expanded, have as gay an appearance as the flowers of almost any plants. Many of this species are
esculent, and of a very gelatinous nature. When properly prepared, the Chinese are exceedingly fond
I T T
642
ECHINODERMATA.
of them as a principal ingredient in restorative soups. The Malays cateli and dry them in great quan-
tities for the Chinese markets, where they fetch a high price, and are called tre-pang.']
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE ECHINODERMATA.
APODA.
The number of known species in this order is but few. They resemble Holotburise, but want
the feet ; and their leather-like skin is quite unarmed.
Molpadia, —
Have the form of the body and the internal structure similar to those of Holothuria, but they have no
feet or tentacula, and the bony parts of the mouth are less complicated than in the Echini.
M. holothurioides, of the Atlantic ocean, was the only species known to Cuvier.
Minyas, —
Have the body without feet, but of a spheroidal form, and furrowed like a melon.
M, cyanea, is a beautiful species, of a dark blue colour, inhabiting the warmer parts of the Atlantic ; the mouth
in this genus has neither tentacula nor bony plates.
Priapulus, — ,
Have the body eylindrical, with deep annular rugte, and terminated anteriorly by an elliptical and longi-
tudinally wrinkled mass, in the centre of which is the mouth, with numerous teeth arranged in quin-
eunx, and having the points turned backwards. The muscular system resembles that of Holothuria.
P. vulgaris, the only known species, inhabits the northern seas, and is from two to three inches in length.
Lithodermis, —
Have the body oval, compressed in the hinder part, and covered above with an extremely hard granu-
lated erust ; the mouth has tentaeula, but Cuvier diseovered no seeond opening to the body.
Only one species, L. cuneus, from the Indian seas, about two inches long, and of a blackish colour, was known |
to Cuvier. •
SiPHUNCULUS, )
Have the body long and cylindrical, and wrinkled both longitudinally and across ; the mouth is an
— extensile and retraetile proboseis ; the intestine straight for nearly
the whole length of the body, and then returning in a spiral upon j
itself. In these, and indeed in most of the order, there are threads
^whieh appear to be nerves, and in this genus the breathing apparatus \
Fig. 139.— siphuncuius. sides, and open near the vent.
There are a good many species, most of which live in the sand, though some small ones perforate submarine ;
rocks, and lodge in the cavities. S. edulis, which is eaten by the Chinese in the Oriental islands, occurs also in |
the salt lakes of Languedoc. They are used by the fishermen as bait. Some Indian species are nearly two feet
long. They used to be classed with worms, but their organization is quite different.
Bonellia, —
Have the body oval ; the proboscis very extensile, and forked at the extremity : their intestinal canal
is long and convoluted. What appear to be the organs of respiration are situated near the vent ; and
the ovary is an oblong sac which opens near the base of the proboscis. They inhabit the sand at a , I
considerable depth, and can elevate their proboscis to the water, or even to the air, where the water is
very shallow.
B. viridis, of a green colour, and is found in the Mediterranean.
Thalassema, I
Have the body oval or oblong, and the proboscis in the form of laminae, resembling the bowl of a spoon,
but not forked. The intestinal canal resembles that of the preceding genus, but they have only one
abdominal thread. j
They are distinguished into Thalassema proper, which have two lateral hooks placed considerably in advance.
APODA.
G43
and no thread-like appendag-es at the posterior extremity, of which T. Neptuni is an example ; and Echiurus, which
have bristly hairs at the posterior extremity. They inhabit the sands, and are much sought after by fishermen
as bait. Sternaspis, has bristles as in the last, and a disc of a horny texture, and surrounded with hairs on the
anterior part of the body. The habits of all these are very much the same.
THE SECOND CLASS OF THE RADIATA.
THE ENTOZOA, or Intestinal Worms.
'i'his class is remarkable for by far the greater number being inhabitants of the
internal parts of other animals, in which alone they can continue their species, — so
that it must be regarded as their natural habitat ; and they must have a use in the
economy of nature with which we are quite unacquainted. There is scarcely one
animal, especially of the vertebrated classes, which is not infested by several kinds ; and
those which inhabit one animal, are rarely found in one of another genus. They are
met with most abundantly in the alimentary canal, and the ducts which empty their
contents into it ; but they occur also in the cellular tissue, and in the parenchyma of
the most closely invested viscera, such as the liver and the brain. They are most fre-
quent in diseased states of the viscera, and they themselves occasion disease, or, at all
events, annoyance ; but they occur even in healthy states. The difficulty of con-
ceiving how they could get into places so obscure, and apparently so well protected,
and the fact of their never having been found alive except in the interior of living
animals, caused it for a long time to be believed that they were products of spon-
taneous generation. It has been found, however, by actual observation, that most of
them either produce ova or living young ones, and that many of them have the sexes
in different individuals. Though some of them attain a very large size, we must sup-
pose that the germs are exceedingly minute, and capable of being transmitted through
capillary vessels, and apertures too small for being discerned by the naked eye ; and,
from the early age at which they are found in some animals, there is reason to con-
clude that the germs have been in these anterior to their birth, [though how trans-
mitted through the placental decidua is, and probably must remain, an unexplained
and unexplainable mystery. As is the case with all mysteries, the Intestinal Worms,
more especially those which inhabit the human viscera, have led to a great deal of
mystification and quackery, and nostrums innumerable are recommended to the public ;
nor are there wanting fabricated imitations of some of the more formidable species,
usually prepared from the intestines of other animals.]
The Entozoa are true parasites, and cannot assimilate matter for their own growth
and nourishment unless they receive it from the body of a living animal. They have
no vestige of breathing apparatus, which shows that they must receive their nourish-
ment aerated by the breathing of the animals upon which they are parasitic. This
supersedes all necessity of a circulating system ; and the traces of a nervous one are
so very obscure that many naturalists have doubted its existence. When we find
the character and the form of these animals in any species, we include it along with
those which it most resembles, though it should not be parasitical within the body of
any other animal. The injury which these Intestinal Worms occasion to the animals
T T 2
ENTOZOA.
644
upon which they live, when their numbers become excessive, are well known ; and we
may mention, that the best remedy for those infesting the human intestines, appears
to be animal oil mixed with spirits of turpentine,
j The class admits of division into two orders, of which the organization is so dif-
ferent that they might, perhaps, be considered as two distinct classes ; or, at all events,
subclasses. These are, — Entozoa Nematoidea, or Cavitied Entozoa, which have the
j intestine floating in a distinct abdominal cavity, and commencing at a mouth and ter-
minating at a vent ; and Entozoa Paeenchymata, which have the viscera obscure,
generally in the form of vascular ramifications, and sometimes not at all discernible.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE ENTOZOA.
NEMATOIDEA. .
The members of this order have an external skin, more or less provided with muscular
fibres, and striated transversely. They have an intestinal canal running distinctly through
the whole length, and attached to the skin or tunic of the body by many filaments, which
appear to transmit nourishment. There is no circulation ; but, in some species, there are
two cords extending from a ring round the mouth, which are understood to be nerves. Re-
productive organs are apparent in all, and in some they are
greatly developed ; nor is the reproductive energy of the ;
animals under circumstances favourable to its developement ' ■
Fig;. 140.— Pentastoma teenoides. less activc than the Organs would indicate. This order forms
only one family, but contains several genera.
Filar: A (Thread-worm), — j
Has the body long, slender, and thread-like, resembling that of the Gordii among Annelidse, but i
with mere marks on the body instead of the rings. The mouth is a circular opening at the anterior
extremity. They are not found in the open cavities, but are imbedded in the parenchyma of the
cellular tissues, between the coats of the viscera, and in other situations : they often exist in numerous j
bundles, contained in a common cyst or tunic. They are not confined to the larger animals, but are |
found in insects and their larvae, and even in various Mollusca. i
The most common, or at all events the most dreaded by Man, is the Guinea Worm, F. Medinensis, This trou- ;
blesome animal is very common in hot climates, where it insinuates itself under the skin, generally of the leg, and
is said to gnaw to the length of ten feet, or more. According to the accounts it will, if undisturbed, remain in the 1
body for a long time without causing much uneasiness ; but, if it is disturbed, it is said to cause the most excru- i
ciating pain, especially if it finds its way to a very sensitive part of the body. When it shows itself externally, it is ,
extracted very slowly for fear of breaking it, as, if that takes place, its position in the body retreats more inwardly,
and causes great agony and convulsions. It is about the size of the tube of a Pigeon’s quill, and has the tail ter-
minated by a sharp trunk. The sexes are in separate animals, but the mode of propagation is a little obscure. j
Trichocephalus, — i
Have the body round, thread-like in the anterior part, and terminating in a round mouth; and the
i posterior part of the body is considerably thicker. ,
! T. dispar, is the most common species. It is from an inch to two inches in length, and thick for about the last
I third. The thick part of the male is spirally convoluted, and the organ of generation is conspicuous. In the
female it is more straight, and has a simple opening. It is one of the worms of most frequent occurrence in the
human intestines ; and, in some diseases, it multiplies very rapidly. ]
Trichostoma, have the anterior part of the body tapering gradually to the mouth ; and Oryuris, has the tail ^
slender and thread-like. One species of the latter, 0. curvata, from an inch to three inches long, is found in the |
coecum of the Horse.
Cncullanus, has the body cylindrical, but thinner in the anterior portion. Tlie head is blunt, and enveloped in
a sort of hood. This genus has hitherto been found in the intestines of Fishes only. One species, C. lacustris, is ,
common in the Perch, the Pike, and other Fishes. It is about an inch long, about the thickness of a thread, and
NEMATOIDEA. 645
appears red from the blood with which the intestine is usually gorged. An analogous species, found on the Eel,
was long mistaken for the young of that animal.
Ophiostomus, have the body formed as in the preceding, but the mouth cleft across, which gives the appeax’ance
of two lips. O. cystidicola, is found in the air-bladder of some Fishes.
Ascaris (the Ascarides), —
Have the body round, and slender toward each extremity. The mouth is furnished with three fleshy
tubercles, among which there is a short tube, which the animal can protrude as occasion requires.
The species are numerous, and inhabit the intestines of many animals. The females, which are far more
numerous than the males, have the intestinal canal straight, and an ovary divided into two branches, which is
several times longer than the body, and opens by a single oviduct at about one-fourth of the length from the
anterior extremity. The males have also a single vessel, very long, and with the external organ, which is near
the tail, sometimes double. Two white filaments, one extending along the back, and another along the belly,
have been considered as nerves ; and two thicker ones, extending along the right and left sides, have been con-
sidered as muscles, as a circulating system, and even as a breathing apparatus. Some species, as A.lumbricdides,
have the head without lateral membranes. This species is found, without any remarkable difference, in Man, in
the Ox, the Hog, and all the varieties of the Horse family ; it has sometimes occurred fifteen inches in length. It
is naturally of a white colour ; and, from what has been said of its reproductive organs, its power of multiplication
is excessive. It occasions disease, and even death, especially in children, or in all cases where it ascends from
the intestines into the stomach. A. vermicularis, which has a small membrane on each side of the head, is very
common in children, and also in adults, when afflicted with certain diseases. It chiefly inhabits the rectum, at
the extremity of which it causes intolerable itching. Its length is not more than half an inch, and its body is
thickest in the anterior part. It is an exceedingly active little animal, and derives its name from the Greek verb,
“ to leap, or move.”
Strongylus,—
Have the body round, and the vent of the male inclosed in a sort of purse variously formed, which is
regarded as the sheath of the organ of generation, which can be protruded from it. The female is
Muthout this apparatus, and thus more nearly resembles the Ascarides.
Some species have the mouth ciliated, or toothed, among which is S. equinus, which is about two inches long,
with a hard spherical head, small soft spines round the mouth, and three lobes in the caudal appendage. It is
very common in the intestines of the Horse ; and, so far as is known, in those of all the solipede family of pa-
chydermatous animals. Sometimes it makes its way to the arteries, and there occasions aneurisms, and other
unpleasant diseases.
Other species have the mouth with tubercles, or papillae, and among these one of the most remarkable is
S. gigas, the largest worm which is known to inhabit the intestines of any animal. It grows to the length of two
or three feet, and is as thick as the little finger. It is usually found in the kidneys of various animals, as the
Wolf, the Dog, the Marten, and even Man ; where it is coiled up, and inflates the organ, causing great pain.
Sometimes small ones pass off" with the urinary discharge. It is not, however, confined to the kidneys, but is
met with in other viscera. Its usual colour is a fine red ; the mouth has six papillae ; the intestine is straight,
with cross furrows ; the ovary is simple, and three or four times the length of the body. It is understood to have
a posterior opening, and also one near the mouth. M. Otto has considered a slender white thread, which passes
along the abdomen, as being the nervous system.
Spiropterus, have been separated from the Ascarides. They have the termination of the body spiral, with two
wing-like membranes, between which is the reproductive organ. One species is occasionally found in the human
bladder, and another in the stomach of the Mole,— to the villous coat of which it attaches itself by a small tubercle.
Pkgsoloptera, has a small bladder between the wing-like membranes. Sclerottoma, has the mouth furnished
with six small scaly plates. It is found in the Horse and the Hog, Liorhynchus, has the mouth in the form of a
small proboscis, with which it penetrates the cavity of the viscera.
Pentastoma, have the body flattened, and sharp in the sides, and the transverse rugse crenulated. The skin is
thin and weak ; the head broad and flat, with the mouth beneath, and a longitudinal slit on each side, from which
issue the hooks whereby the animal adheres. The intestine is straight, and the reproductive organs long and
tortuous. A white filament surrounding the mouth, and two filaments which proceed from it, appear to be the
nervous system. One species, P. tcenio'ides, occurs in the frontal sinuses of the Horse and Dog, and attains a
length of about six inches. Prionoderma, resemble the former, only the mouth is terminal, and has two
small hooks.
Cuvier includes the following genera of intestinal worms in this order, but gives it as his opinion that,
when they are better known, they will require subdivision as a distinct family.
Lern,®a, —
Have the body resembling the former both in its external and its internal organisation ; but it is pro-
longed into a sort of neck of a horny consistency, at the end of which is the mouth, variously armed
with plate-like appendages. It insinuates the mouth and these appendages into the gills of fishes.
ENTOZOA.
6-16
remains fixed there, and lives upon their blood. They contain two cords, sometimes of equal length
and at others long, and even doubled, which appear to be ovaries.
Lerneea, properly so called, have the body oblong- ; the neck long- and slender, and the head surrounded by a sort
of horns. L. branchialis, is the best known ; it infests the common Cod, and other fishes of the same family.
Its neck and head, the latter furnished with three hooks, are dark brown. It fixes itself firmly in the gills, and
adheres with the body bent in the form of the letter S. L. acularis, which is more slender, and has two long and
two short horns, attaches itself to the eyes of Herrings and other fishes. L. multicornis has been found on the
gills of a Serranus in the eastern seas.
Penella, have the head inflated ; the neck horny, with two short hooks on the nape ; the body long, furrowed
across, and ending in slender filaments resembling the plume of a feather. P. filosa, which is seven or eight
j inches long, insinuates itself into the flesh of the Sword-fish, the Tunny, and other species, and causes them such
j torment that they often dash themselves on the shore.
Splir/rion, have hooks at the mouth ; the head extended longitudinally like a hammer ; the neck slender ; and
I the body flattened and heart-shaped.
Anchorilla, attaches itself to the gills of fish by means of a single hook on the under part, which is directed
backwards.
Branchiella, has two protuberances supporting the hook, by which it attaches itself. [One species, B. Salmonia,
infests Salmon, while they are in the sea, but drops oft’ after they come into the fresh water.]
Clavella, attach themselves by the mouth only ; and Cuvier was of opinion that these two groups may be united
with the Lerneomyzce, or Sucking Lernaea, of De Blainville.
Cliondr acanthus, besides the hooks at the mouth, have the edges of the body variously notched, or toothed :
some have a sort of two arms on each side ; some have many branched ones ; and others have a slender neck, and
deep notches in the sides of the body.
Nemertus, which may one day require to be made a separate order, are very soft-mouthed, slender, and long,
with the anterior extremity blunt, and the mouth large. The intestine extends the whole length of the body, and
i is accompanied by the ovaries, which open near the mouth. One species, N. Barlasii, is more than four feet long;
j it lurks in the sand, and sucks various Mollusca out of their shells. It occurs on the coast of Cornwall.
I Tubularia and Cerchrotula, of Renieri, and OpMocephalus of Quoy and Gaymard, appear to be analogous ; but
! little concerning them is known.
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE ENTOZOA.
PARENCHYMATA.
This order includes all these Entozoa which have the body filled with a parenchyma, or
pulpy matter, either in a cellular tissue, or simply in the cavity, in which there is no alimentary
apparatus to be discovered, except a few canals, which carry nourishment to all the parts, and
which, in the majority of cases, originate in external suckers. The ovaries are also imbedded
in the parenchyma ; there is no abdominal cavity, no intestine, and no vent ; and the signs of
a nervous system are few and doubtful. The order admits of division into four families.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PARENCHYMATA.
The Acanthocephala.
These have a prominence, which appears to act as a sort of proboscis, and they attach themselves to
the coats of the intestines by means of the recurved spines with which the proboscis is beset. They form
but one genus,
Echinorhynchus, —
Which have the body round, in some instances long, and in others shortened to a kind of sac. The
proboscis, by the hooks on which they attach themselves, is extensile, and contains a papilla, which
may be an organ of absorption ; but the animal appears to absorb moisture by its whole surface. The
only vestiges of internal viscera are two small cceca attached to the base of the proboscis, and a longi-
tudinal thread which some regard as a nerve, and others not. Some species have an oviduct, but in
others the ova are diffused through the parenchyma. In the males, the organs are more distinct ; and
they most likely impregnate the ova after they are excluded. They often perforate the coats of the in-
testines, and are found in their substance, or adhering to their external surfaces.
I
PARENCHYMATA.
647
E. gigas, is the largest known species ; it is found in the Hog and the Wild Boar, and the females are sometimes
fifteen inches long. E. Jueruca is a smaller species, with only one row of spines on the proboscis. It has been
fonnd in the liver of the Cat.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PARENCHYMATA,—
The Tremadotea, —
Have the under part furnished with cup-like discs, or suckers, by which they adhere. Those which are
parasitical in other animals, may all be included in one genus,
Fasciola, —
But it admits of subdivision, according to the form and arrangement of the suckers.
Festucaria, with only one sucker upon or under the anterior part. They ai’e found in various birds, reptiles,
and fishes.
AmpMstoma, with a sucker at each end, in various vertebrated animals.
Caryophyllceiis, have the head broad, winged at the margin, with a two-based sucker underneath, and sometimes
another on the opposite end of the body. One species is known, and it infests fresh-water fishes, especially the
Bream.
Distoma, has a sucker at the anterior extremity, and another on the under part, a little farther back. The species
of this genus, or rather subgenus, are very numerous, and inhabit many animals ; some of them even the wrinkled
membrane surrounding the eyes of birds ; but there appear to be others in salt water or fresh, which are not para-
sitical upon any animal.
Distoma hepatica [the Fluke, so called from its shape, is but too well known as infesting the liver of the Sheep,
and if not occasioning “ the rot,” at least greatly aggravating its symptoms, and accelerating its progress.] It is
also found in other ruminants, in the Horse, the Hog, and even in Man. It is from three quarters of an inch to
an inch and a quarter in length, and its form is that of an oval leaf, pointed at the posterior extremity, and with
a narrow portion at the anterior. The first sucker is at the base of this narrow portion, and leads to two branched
tubes. Behind the sucker, there is an erectile tentaculum, which appears to be the male organ ; and behind this
is the second sucker. The mineral vessels are convoluted through the middle portions ; and the ovaries are also
diffused through the body, and open near the male organs. As in many of the Mollusca, all the individuals appear
to be bisexual, and have a mutual coitus. [The eyes are placed on the most conspicuous part of the head, and
like the eyes of birds, they are provided with horny rings, by means of which they command a great range of
focal lengths. Some naturalists have considered the ramified tubes which proceed from the sucker as circulating
vessels ; but this seems a mistake, as the convoluted vessels which the same naturalists have looked upon as in-
testines, are the seminal vesicles and ovaries. The power of multiplication in these animals is immense ; and
the ducts of a single liver have been found to contain more than a thousand, while the germs are quite innumerable.
Though they accompany the rot in sheep, they do not appear to cause it, neither does their multiplication appear
in aircases to render it more mortal, for sheep have died of rot with not more than a dozen of Flukes in the liver,
while others have been alive with hundreds. Those sheep which are in the best condition, always have Flukes in
them in the autumn ; but they are also the ones most subject to the rot. It is probable that these Flukes, or at
all events the germs of them, exist in the water, or on the plants of humid and marshy places ; at all events, even
the healthy sheep drop a few of them in the winter months ; and the deceased ones vast numbers ; and thus the
rotten sheep taint both the flock and the pasture.] Echinotoma, have hooks on a projecting tubercle.
Holostoma, —
Have one half of the under surface of the body concave, and acting as a sucker. They are found in
some Mammalia and birds.
Hexastoma, have the body flattened underneath, with six suckers on the under part. They are found in fishes,
in reptiles, and even in the human body, in very peculiar situations.
Cyclocotula, —
Have eight cups ranged in a circle on the lower part of the body backwards, and a small proboscis in
front. One small species, C. heloni, has been found parasitical upon the common Sea-pike, Belone
Tristoma, is another subgenus, which resembles the Flukes. The body is broad and flat, with a pedunculated
sucker on the under part, and two small ones anteriorly a little in advance of the mouth. There is a circular
ramified vessel, the function of which is not well known, embedded in the parenchyma of the body. T. coccinea,
about an inch broad, and of a bright red colour; attaches itself to the gills of the Sword Fish, and other large
species.
Hectocotylus, is one of the most singular genera in this family. The individuals are long worms, thick, but
compressed in the fore part, and having the whole of the under surface covered with suckers, arranged in pairs ;
and there is a sac at the posterior extremity, containing the folds of the oviduct. Some of the species are tour or
five inches long, and they are chiefly parasitical upon the Cuttle-fishes.
648
ENTOZOA.
Apsidogaster, should best occupy this place in the system. It has the under-side formed into projecting laminae
by four rows of little furrows. One small species, found on Mussels.
Planaria.
This genus, though not inhabitants of the interior of other animals, but of the waters, are yet so
similar to the Flukes in appearance and organisation, that this was the best station for them. Some
inhabit fresh water and others salt.
Their body is depressed, parenchymatous, and has no distinct abdominal cavity. The mouth,
which is in the middle of the lower part of the body, or a little nearer the tail, is, as in the Fluke,
dilated into a sort of proboscis, and leads to ramified vessels. They are bisexual, and in their manner
of reproduction have very much similarity to the Flukes, and they appear also to be similar in the
structure of their eyes. They are exceedingly voracious, and will even feed upon their own species.
They multiply rapidly in the ordinary way, and also by division of the body — even spontaneous divi-
sion, as is alleged. Mutilated parts are also very readily reproduced, and a partial division of the
body will even produce an animal with two heads or two tails, according as the anterior or posterior
end is cleft. Several species inhabit the fresh waters ; but larger ones are met with on the sea-shores.
[Their appendages vary ; but it is not easy to say what is specific and what accidental.]
M. Duges separates from the true Planaria, Prostoma, which have an opening at each end of the
body ; and Derastoma, in which there is one opening, nearer the anterior than in Planaria.
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE PARENCHYMATA,—
T^nioidea (The Tape-worm Family).
This family includes all the Intestinal Worms which have two or four suckers on the head. The
space between these is, in some cases, marked by a pore ; and in others, drawn out into a sort of pro-
boscis, naked, or armed with spines. In some instances, there are four little probosci armed in this
manner.
T^nia,- —
The Tape-worms, commonly so called, form the most numerous genus, and are, unfortunately, but too
well known. They have the body long — often exceedingly so, flat, and composed of a number of
joints, or articulations, more or less marked ; they are thinner anteriorly, and generally have a square
head, with four small suckers. Some have thought that they have discovered canals ramifying from
the suckers, and winding along the joints of the body. Each joint has two pores, differently situated
in the different species, which appear to be the orifices of ovaries, situated in the thick parts of the
joints, sometimes simple and sometimes ramified. The Tape-worms are among the most cruel enemies
of those animals in which they breed, as they completely absorb their nourishment and exhaust their
substance. Some have no projecting part among the four suckers. Among these is
Tcenia lata, or Taenia vulgaris, the Common Tape-worm, which has the joints broad and fiat, with a double
pore in the middle of each flat side. They are often twenty feet long, and specimens of more than a hundred feet
have been observed. The principal part of the length is about an inch broad ; but the portion toward the head
is considerably narrower. They are exceedingly annoying, and so tenacious of their hold that the most violent
remedies are sometimes unable to expel them.
Other species have the prominence between the suckers, but with little radiating points. Of these,
Taefiia solium, the Solitary Worm, is one of the most annoying to the human species. The joints, with the
exception of those in the anterior part, are longer than in the Common Tape-worm, and they have the pores alter-
nately on the opposite sides. The most common length is four or five feet ; but much longer ones are some-
times met with. The detached joints are called cucurbitini. That only one can exist in one human body at
the same time is a vulgar error. Of all Intestinal Worms, they are the most dangerous, and the most difficult
to expel.
Several genera, or subgenera, are distinguished from the true Taenia by the form of the head, and others by a
vesicle at the termination of the body. About five genera have the head different.
Tricuspidaria, —
Have the head formed into tubes, and each side has, instead of a sucker, three very sharp-pointed
spines.
Only one species, T. nodulosa, is known. It infests the Perch, the Pike, and various other fishes.
Bothryocephalus, —
Have two longitudinal grooves on the head instead of suckers. They infest various fishes, and
some birds.
PARENCHYMATA.
649
Dibathryorhynchus, —
Have two little probosci, or tentacula, on the head, bristled with small hooks.
Fla VI CEPS, —
Have four tentacula, with curved spines, with which they penetrate the substance of animals. Some
have the body retractile into a membrane, and others not. One, which infests the Skate family, is
several inches long, and has the head shaped like a flower.
Tetrarhynchus, —
Resembles the head and the first two joints of the preceding. One species of it infests the tongue of
the Turbot. Tentacularia differ only in wanting the spines on the tentacula.
Those which have the head with four suckers, but the body terminating in a sort of bladder, and
the joints very obscure, are also with propriety separated from the true Tape-worms.
Cysticercus, —
Or Hydatids, have the bladder supporting one body and head. They are very numerous, and found in
the membranous and cellular substances of many animals. They are very common in Ruminants, and
many other Mammalia, as in the Hare, the Rabbit, the Hog, various species of the Quadrumana, and
even in Man.
One species, C. cellulosa, occurs in vast numbers among the muscular fibres of the Hog, and produces, or
accompanies, the disease in that animal which is known by the name of the Measles, and renders the flesh both
unpalatable and unwholesome. It is small, breeds rapidly, and finds its way to all parts of the body, even to the
heart and the eyes. It is said, however, that they have never been found in the Wild Boar, which proves that
they, or the disease which favours their developement, are induced by the very artificial manner in which tame
Hogs are bred. Those found in the Quadrumana and in Man are very analogous. Acrostoma, found in the
amnios of the Cow, is very nearly allied.
Coinurus, have several bodies and heads attached to the same bladder. C. cerebralis, is well known as infecting
the brain of the Sheep, consuming the substance, and occasioning the disease called the “staggers,” in which the
animal totters round and round toward the affected side, but without any alleviation of its suffering. Other
species infest the Ox and other ruminants, and they all produce the same sort of effect ; but, as scarcely any
ruminant is so susceptible of change by artificial means as the Sheep, they are most severe upon it. In some
instances the bladder is as large as an egg, with thin walls, susceptible of contraction ; but the bodies and heads
are small, and can be almost entirely withdrawn into it.
ScoLEX, Linn.
The body round, contracted to a point posteriorly, and have a variable head, with two or four suckers.
The inflated part is very contractile. Most of the species are small, and live on fishes.
THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE PARENCHYMATA,—
The Cestoidea, —
Comprises those which are destitute of external suckers. This consists of only a single genus, —
Ligula.
These are the simplest in their organization of all the Entozoa. The body is like a long, flat ribbon,
with one longitudinal stria, and numerous cross ones ; and the internal parenchyma appears to contain
nothing but the ova distributed through its substance. They are chiefly found in the abdomen of birds
and fresh-water fishes, whose bowels they envelope and contract in such a manner as to destroy them;
and at certain periods they perforate the abdomen, and leave it.
One species, L, abdominalis, infests the Bream ; and, in some parts of Italy, it is considered agreeable food.
[It will be perceived that the whole of the Entozoa are remarkable for the great developement of
their reproductive system ; and not a few of them for the great and rapid growth of the individual ;
and this is exactly what analogy would lead us to suppose. Living, not only in the bodies, but upon
the living, or already assimilated substance of other animals, the labours which they have to perform are
few and simple, compared with those of most of the animal creation. They have but little use either
for locomotion or sensation ; and they have probably less for circulation, respiration, or digestion,
excepting in the Planarii and any others which do not live in the bodies of other animals. As their
habitations are obscure, their habits are equally so ; and the purpose which they answer in the economy
of nature is quite a mystery.]
650
ACALEPHA.
1
THE THIRD CLASS OF THE RADIATA,—
THE ACALEPHA,—
Includes all those Radiated Animals which swim in the waters of the ocean ; and in
which we can still perceive vessels, though these vessels are, in truth, little else than
intestinal tubes, ramified through the parenchyma of the body. They admit of a natural
division into two orders, — Simple and Hydrostatic.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE ACALEPHA.
THE ACALEPHA SIMPLICIA.
These float and swim in the water, by alternate contraetions and dilatations of the body,
although their substance is merely gelatinous, and without any apparent fibres. The apparent
vessels found in some of them are only hollows in the gelatinous substance originating from the
stomach, and offering no proof of a true circulation. There are obvious points of resemblance
among them all ; but still they admit of division into genera and subgenera.
Fig. 141. — Medusa.
Medusa, —
Have a central disc, more or less convex, on the upper surface, something like the head of a mushroom,
and termed the umbrella. The contractions and dilatations of this disc con-
tribute to the locomotion of the animal ; [but they are not powerful enough for
stemming rapid currents of the water.] The margins of the umbrella, and those
of the mouth, or of the suckers which supply the place of a mouth, in the middle
of the under surface of the disc, are furnished with tentacula, very much varied
in form and size, and these variations are the basis of many subdivisions of the
genus. [They are very numerous ; and the small ones give the seas in which they
abound the appearance of being crowded with flakes of half-melted snow. Some
of these show fine prismatic colours ; and in not a few the gelatinous matter which fills the integument
of the disc is of so acrid a nature as to irritate and blister the skin, even after it has been dried.]
Medusa, properly so called, includes all those that have a true mouth on the under side of the disc ; but this
mouth is sometimes a simple opening, and at other times placed on a peduncle.
^quorea, includes those in which the mouth is simple, and not on a peduncle, or furnished with arms or ten-
tacula. When there are no tentacula round the disc, they form the Phorcynia of Lamarck. When the disc is
furnished with tentacula all round, they are the ^quorea strictly so called, and one of the most numerous in the
warm seas. Some have the under surface covered with laminae, and others have the margins of the umbrella
diversified by furrows.
Pelagia, comprehends those which have the mantle produced into a peduncle, or divided into arms or ten-
tacula.
In all these subgenera, there are no lateral cavities ; but in the majority of those with a simple mouth, there are,
in the substance of the umbrella, four organs inclosed in furrowed membranes, which, at certain seasons of the
year, are tinged with a dark-coloured substance, understood to be the germs of the young. They are lodged in four
cavities, which open near the mouth, or the sides of the peduncle ; and as small animals are sometimes entangled
in them, some have regarded them as mouths, and others as organs of respiration. That they are not mouths is
evident, and the respiration appears to be performed by the mai-gin of the umbrella. The tentacula, whether on
the margin of the umbrella, or round the mouth of the animal, vary not only in different species, but in the
different ages of the same species.
Cyanea, —
Includes all the species which have a central mouth, and four lateral ovaries.
C. aurita, is one of the most common and widely distributed species. With age, it acquires four very long
arms ; the margin of the umbrella is finely ciliated all round ; and within it are observed reddish vessels origin-
SIMPLICIA.
651
ating in the stomach, and proceedings by ramifications toward the circumference. Another species, C. chrysaora,
has the margin furnished with long tentacula, and rows of brown or yellow spots, forming rays on the convex
surface. It is very common, and there are great varieties in the spots.
Cuvier distinguishes under the name of
Rhizostoma, —
Those Medusae which have no central opening or mouth, and which are thence supposed to draw their
nourishment by suction by the ramifications of the peduncle, or by the tentacula. They have four
ovaries or more.
Rhizostoma, properly so called, have a central peduncle, more or less ramified according to the species. The
vessels which, arise in the small pi-otuberances of the peduncle, unite in a cavity at its base ; and from this, other
vessels are ramified to all parts of the umbrella, or disc. The most common species is the blue Rhizostoma, which
is often left on sandy shores by the ebbing tide. The umbrella is sometimes two feet in diameter. The peduncle
is composed of four pairs of arms, which are very much branched and toothed, and each is furnished with two
auricles or appendages at the base, which are also toothed. A fine network of vessels, occupying the thickness of
the margin, extends all round the umbrella. According to the observations of MM. Audouin and Milne Edwards,
these MeduscE are social, or at least they are always met with in numerous shoals, swimming in the same direction,
and with the body obliquely inclined.
The Cephece of Peron differ from the other Rhizostoma only by having filaments intromixed with the denta-
tions, or papillae of the peduncle. The Cassiopei<e have no peduncle ; and their arms, which are usually eight in
number, and sometimes branched, rise directly from the under surface.
Astoma, —
Might be the general name for those which have no central mouth, no ramifications of the peduncle,
and no cavities for the ovaries.
Some, however, have the peduncle furnished on each side with filaments that may act as suckers. Others have
no filaments, but the extremity of the peduncle is hollowed out like a funnel, which seems to be the sucker, as
from it vessels ascend the peduncle, and others are ramified from its base all over the body. Others again, want
the funnel-shaped membrane, or it may have been mutilated before the specimens were obtained. There are still
others, which have no vestige of a peduncle ; but merely little suckers distributed over the under surface, on the
lines of the vessels which are ramified below it ; [and these suckers are, of course, so many little mouths]. Some
have no vestiges of suckers or any other external apparatus, but have both sides smooth ; and there are yet others
which have no trace even of internal vessels. The under surface of these is usually concave, and may act as a
stomach. These last are very simple animals, and differ from Hydra in scarcely anything but size.
Beroe.
This genus should be separated entirely from the Medusae. It has a globular body, provided with
salient ribs, extending from the centre of the upper surface to that of the under, and bristled with
points or filaments, which appear to be connected with vessels in which there is some appearance of a
fluid circulating. The mouth is on the one extremity, and leads to a stomach, which occupies the axis
of the body. There are also on the sides two organs, which are probably analogous to what are con-
sidered the ovaries of the Medusae.
B. pileus, a species very common in the Channel, has the body spherical, with eight ribs, and two ciliated
tentacula, which become very long byprejection of their inferior extremities. MM. Audouin and Milne Edwards
have described its natural organization with considerable minuteness, and have traced various sets of vessels,
but without being able very clearly to explain their functions. This species is understood to constitute great part
of the food of the common Whale. Naturalists have referred to the same genus very simple species, which consist
of only a sac, furnished with ciliae, and open at both ends. The Doliolam of Otto have not even projecting ribs,
but resemble barrels without bottoms.
Callianir<B of Peron, differ fi’om Beroe only in having the ribs more salient, and united two and two, so as to
form two sets of a sort of wings. Janira, resemble the last; but they have upon each side three long ciliated
ribs, and two filaments. Alcinacce, have a cylindrical body, open at the one end, and two large wings at the other,
which when folded up completely cover the body. The cylindrical part is marked with four salient ribs, which
end in points, and have eight braces of ciliae. Ocyracee, have similar wings ; but they have no ribs, and only
four rows of ciliae on the cylindrical portion.
Cestum, —
Bears, perhaps, the nearest resemblance to Beroe than to any other genus. It is a very long gelatinous
i ribbon, having one of the sides furnished with two rows of ciliae, and there are fainter traces of the same
on the other side: the mouth is in the middle of the inferior edge, and the stomach is embodied in the
gelatinous substance of the ribbon ; from the anal extremity there proceed vessels which ramify toward
j both extremities of the ribbon ; and near the sides of the mouth there are two vessels which are pro-
652 ACALEPHA.
bably ovaries. Notwithstanding its very singular shape, this animal may be considered as resembling
a Callianira, in which the wings are excessively developed.
There is but one known species, C. Venens, “ the Girdle of Venus,” which, considered as a ribbon, is five feet
long:, and two inches broad ; but as an animal, it is five.feet broad, and two inches hig^h. It inhabits the Medi-
terranean ; but its substance is so tender, that it is diflicult to preserve an entire specimen.
The two genera following, though long included among the Medusae, ought rather to form a small separate family Ij
of the order, on account of the interior cartilage which supports the gelatinous substance of their body.
Porpita, have a circular cartilage, and the surface marked with concentric striae, crossed by radiating ones.
The upper surface is simply invested with a thin membrane, which projects beyond it ; but the under surface is
furnished with many tentacula, the external ones long, and beset with small cilia terminating in little globes ; I
these sometimes contain air ; and those toward the middle are the shortest, simplest, and most fleshy. In the ' |
middle of these tentacula the mouth is situated, in the form of a small projectile proboscis. It leads to a simple
stomach, surrounded by a coat of glandular substance. There is only one known species, which is of a black
colour, and found in the Mediterranean and the warmer seas.
Velella, have the mouth and tentacula like the preceding, only the latter are not ciliated. The cartilage is oval, j
and has a crest of some elevation passing obliquely across it, and it is transparent, without striae. There is but one |
known species, which inhabits the same seas as Porpita. It is fried and eaten. I
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE ACALEPHA.
THE HYDROSTATICA.
The members of this order are distinguished by one or more vessels filled with air, by means
of which they keep themselves suspended in the water. Appendages, exceedingly membranous,
and varied in their forms, some of them probably suckers, and others ovaries, are attached to
the air vessels, and with these constitute the whole visible organization of the animal.
Physalia, —
Consists of a large oblong air vessel, with an oblique and wrinkled salient crest on the upper surface, and
furnished below, near one of the ends, with a number of cylindrical appendages, which have their
extremities of different forms, but they all communicate with the air vessel. The middle ones are
beset with groups of little filaments ; and the lateral ones end in two threads each, one of which is
usually very long. There is apparently a very small opening at one end of the air vessel ; but there
are no intestines visible, though there is an inner vessel, with a thinner tunic, from which cceca
proceed to the processes of the crest ; and no nervous, or circulating, or glandular system is visible.
They float upon the surface of the sea when smooth, and the crest answers the purpose of a sail.
When living, it has two filaments much larger than the others, which are gemmed with a sort of pearly-
looking drops. When touched it stings or burns the fingers, like those Medusae which are called “ sea
nettles.’’ They are found in all the warm seas, and have been, strangely enough, confounded with
Holothuria.
Physsophora, —
Resemble Physalia in their general characters ; but the air vessel is much smaller, has no crest, and is
often accompanied by lateral ones still smaller. The tentacula, which are very numerous, are suspended
in a bunch under the air vessels.
The Physsophora, properly so called, have the secondary air vessels placed laterally under the principal one ;
and the tentacula are conical, cylindrical, or terminating in thread-like appendages, the last being susceptible of
considerable elongation.
Hippopus, have only lateral vesicles, semicircular, or resembling the foot of a Horse. These are arranged in
two rows like the grains on the spikes of certain grasses ; and by their united contraction and dilatation, the
animal can move with considerable velocity. [As the Physalia have been compared to little sailing boats, so these
may be looked upon as a sort of steamer in miniature.] Capulita:, have vesicles attached in two regular rows,
often of a pretty long axis. Racendda, have the vessels small and globular, and united into an oval mass.
Rhizophyza, have a single air vessel on the top of a stem, on the sides of which the tentacula are attached.
Stephanomia, have the secondary air vessels blended with the tentacula around the stem.
Diphyes, —
Are curious animals, different from the Hydrostatic Acalepha, and yet, perhaps, resembling them more
than any other animals in the system. Two of them are always found together, one within the cavity
HYDROSTATICA.
653
of the other ; but they can in every case be separated without injury to the life of either. They are
gelatinous and transparent, and move nearly in the same manner as the Medusae. The containing
animal produces from the bottom of its cavity a chaplet, which passes along a semi-canal in the con-
tained one, and which chaplet appears to consist of ovaries, tentacula, and suckers, analogous to those
of the preceding genera.
[These singular animals are inhabitants of the tropical and southern seas ; and we are indebted for most of what
we know concerning them to MM. Quoy and Gaymard.] The following are their distinctions as grounds of
classification : —
Diphyes proper, in which the two individuals are similar and pyramidal, with a few points round the aperture,
which is in the base of the pyramid.
Calpes, in which the received is pyramidal, and the receiver small and square.
Abyles : the received oblong, or oval.; the receiver small and bell-shaped.
Cuboides: the received small, and bell-shaped ; the receiver larger, and square.
Navicula : the receiver bell-shaped, and the received large, but something in the shape of a wooden shoe.
There are other combinations besides these ; [but we know too little of the habits of the animals to be able to
understand the purpose of their very irregular economy. We do not even know whether any one form is adapted
for being only a received or a receiver, or whether the same form of animal may not be sometimes the one and
sometimes the other ; neither do we know when, how, or for what pui’pose the one takes possession of the other
as a dwelling.]
THE FOURTH CLASS OF THE RADIATA,—
THE POLYPI,—
The Polypi are so named, because the tentacula which surround their mouths have
a slight resemblance to the arms of the Cuttle-fish {Sepia), which was called Polypus
by the ancients. The form and number of these tentacula vary. The body is always
cylindrical, or conical, frequently without any viscera but its cavity, and frequently
with a visible stomach, and with intestinal tubes which are hollowed out of the sub-
stance of the body, as in the Medusse ; and along with these tubes ovaries are usually
found. The greater part of them are capable of producing new individuals by putting
out a sort of buds ; but they propagate also by eggs. [This twofold means of propa-
gation appears to answer a double purpose, — the buds being produced for the enlarge-
ment of an established colony, and the eggs committed to the waters for the purpose
of forming new ones.] The Polypi form three orders, which are again divided and
subdivided into families, tribes, and genera.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE POLYPI,—
THE CARNOSI— (Fleshy Polypi).
This order includes all those fleshy animals that have the power of fixing themselves by
their base ; but many of them can also crawl upon that base, or detach it, and swim, or, at
all events, allow themselves to be moved along by the current of the water ; but the motion
which they most usually perform is that of expanding or retracting the tentacula, and opening
and shutting the single aperture of the body. This aperture, which is of course both mouth
and vent, opens immediately to the stomach, which is a simple cul-de-sac. It has, however,
a proper membrane of its own ; and between this and the external skin there is a rather com-
plicated, but obscurely known organization, consisting of vertical and fibrous leaflets, to which
POLYPI.
654
the ovaries are attached in the form of tangled threads. The intervals between the leaflets
have communications with the tentacula ; and it should seem that water enters by these, per-
vades the space between the leaflets, and ultimately escapes by small openings in the circum-
ference of the mouth ; at least, some of the Actiniae eject water in this manner.
Actinia.
These have the body fleshy, often brilliantly coloured ; and the tentacula are arranged in several
rows round the mouth, somewhat like the petals of a double flower, for which reason they have been
called “ Sea-anemonies.’' They are very sensitive to light, and expand or close
their tentacula according to the fineness of the day. When the tentacula are
retracted, the aperture from which they proceed closes like the mouth of a purse,
and the animal appears a simple fleshy tubercle, adhering to the rock. Their
reproductive powers are scarcely inferior to those of the Hydra. Amputated
parts are speedily re-produced ; and the numbers may be multiplied by simply
dividing the body ; though their usual mode of reproduction is by bringing forth
Fig. 142.— Actinia. young alivc. Thcsc young pass from the ovary into the stomach, make their
escape by the mouth of the parent animal, and find localities for themselves. There are several dis-
tinctions among them, besides those of size and colour. All the Actiniae are voracious, and miscel-
laneous feeders. Small Fishes, Crustacea, and shelled Mollusca are, however, their usual food, and
they very speedily extract the contents, and eject the empty crusts and shells.
Actinia proper, fix themselves by a broad and fiat base. There are very many species, especially in the warmer
seas, where some of them are of large size, and equal in brilliancy of colour to any flowers of the garden. The
species most common in Europe are, among others, A. senilis, which is three inches wide, with a leathery and
rugged envelope of an orange colour, and two rows of tentacula of moderate length, marked with a ring of
rose-colour. It is found on the sands, into which it sinks if disturbed. A. Skin soft, finely striated, of a
bright purple, often spotted with green ; body smaller than the last, but the tentacula longer and more numerous.
It abounds on the coasts of the Channel, and has a beautiful appearance. A. plumosa. — White, more than four
inches wide, mouth in lobes beset with small tentacula, and with a row of larger ones within the lobes. A. effceta.
— Light brown with whitish streaks, smooth, lengthened, and often thickest at the upper part. Inhabits the Medi-
terranean, and usually fixes itself to shells. Those which have been enumerated are a mere specimen out of many
species, the distinctions of which are, however, often obscure.
Thalassiantha and Discosoma of Ruppel, are Actiniae, the first with branched, and the second with very short
tentacula.
Zoanthus, have the same texture, mouth, and tentacula as Actinia, and differ little in their general organization;
but they occur in groups adhering to a common base, which is sometimes broad and flat, and at other times a sort
of creeping stem.
Luceknaria, —
Resemble Actinia, but are of softer substance. They fix themselves by a slender peduncle to sea-weeds
and other bodies. The upper part expands like a parasol, and is surrounded by numerous tentacula,
arranged in bundles ; and between these are eight ccEca proceeding from the stomach, and containing
a red granulated matter.
L. qiiadricorna, has the edge in four forked branches, with two bundles of tentacula in each. L. auricula, has
the border octagonal, with a bundle of tentacula in each division.
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE POLYPI.
GELATINOSI.
These have no firm envelope, and no ligneous, fleshy, or horny axis within the body. They
are wholly gelatinous, more or less conical, and the simple cavity serves for a stomach.
Hydra.
These are the simplest of all animals in their organization, the whole of which consists of a small,
gelatinous horn, beset with filaments which serve as tentacula. Even the microscope finds nothing in
their bodies but a transparent parenchyma, containing mere opaque granules ; still they can swim and
crawl, and even walk, by attaching the ends of the body alternately in a manner similar to Leeches and
geometrical Caterpillars. They disturb the water with their tentacula, and thus bring their prey within
GELATINOSI.
655
their reach. Light affects them very powerfully, and they are fond of it. By division of the body
they may be multiplied to an indefinite extent ; but their natural production is by buds, which shoot
out from various parts of the parent animal, and drop off when they are matured. They are found in
stagnant waters, usually under the floating leaves of aquatic plants ; and it is understood that they tend
to purify the waters. Some are green, others of a grey colour, and they vary also in size.
Corine, have a fixed stem and oval body, open at the summit, and covered with little tentacula. Their texture
is firmer than that of Hydra ; some of them carry the ova on the under part of the body, in a manner similar to
that of some Crustacea and Arachnidse.
Cristatella, have over the mouth a double range of numerous tentacula, forming a sort of plume in the shape of
a half-moon, the regular motion of which brings food to the animal. These mouths are on short necks attached
to a gelatinous body, which moves somewhat similar to Hydra. They inhabit stagnant waters ; but to the naked
eye, they appear only as little spots of mould.
Vorticella, have the stem fixed, often much branched and divided, with a bell or horn-shaped termination to
each branch, and two opposite groups of filaments, which agitate the water. They abound in stagnant fresh
waters, and are arranged as bushes, shi’ubs, plumes, and other agreeable forms ; but they are too minute for being
seen by the naked eye.
Pedicellaria, are found between the spines of Echini, and by some considered as organs of these animals, but the
probability is that they are Polypi, which seek shelter there. They consist of a slender stem, with a horn on the
tip, furnished with tentacula like minute threads or leaves.
THE THIRD ORDER OF THE POLYPI,
CORALLIFERI.
These include all those numerous species, which were for a long time regarded as marine
plants, and in which numerous individuals are so united as to form compound animals, for the
most part fixed like plants by a branched stem, or by simple expansions of a solid substance,
at the base, or in the middle of the group. The individual animals, which are more or less
analogous to Actinia and Hydra, are all connected in a common body, and have a general
nutrition, so that whatever one eats, tends to the nourishment of the common body, and of all
the individuals. Their instincts appear also to be common, at least in those species which
have free motion in the water, for they swim by the joint action of the general body, and of
all the Polypi. Polypidom (the House of the Polypi), is the name usually given to the common
part of these compound animals ; but the name is not quite correct, inasmuch as the common
part is sometimes internal, and sometimes external. These polypidoms are formed in layers
by deposition, somewdiat similar to the ivory of teeth ; and they are of various degrees of
hardness ; the hind parts being composed of salts of lime, but always united by means of
animal matter, in the same manner as the lime in bones, crusts, and shells. The differences
of form and situation in the polypidoms, gives rise to many divisions and subdivisions.
THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE CORALLIFERI.
The Tubularia.
These inhabit tubes which have a common gelatinous stem pervading the axis, like the pith of a tree ;
and the tubes open sometimes on the summit, and sometimes at the sides, for allowing a passage to the
Polypi. These Polypi are individually very simple, and resemble in their organization Hydra and Cris-
tatella.
They form three principal genera, but each admits of subdivision.
Tubipora, —
Have the tubes simple, and of stony consistence, each containing a simple Polype, and arranged parallel
like the pipes of an organ.
T. nmsica, abundant in the Oriental Archipelago, has the tubes of a fine red, and the polypi green and like Hydra.
Some fossil polypidoms, such as Catenipora, in which the tubes are disposed in meshes, and Favosites, where they
I are crowded and hexagonal, resemble this genus.
1
656 POLYPI.
Tubularia, —
Have the tubes of a horny substance, and simple, or branched ; and the polypi come out at the
extremities only. Many of them are found in stagnant fresh water, on the surfaces of plants.
Tubularia marina, have two ranges of tentacula, the exterior as rays, and the interior a tuft. T. indivisa,
found in the European seas, have the tubes about two or three inches long, resembling bits of stone. Tibiana,
have the tubes in zigzag, with a small opening at each angle. Cornularia, have the tubes conical, and the polypi
have eight toothed tentacula. Anguinaria, have small cylindrical tubes, adhering to a creeping stem, with an
opening near the extremity for the polypus. Campanularia, have the terminal habitations of the polype bell-
shaped. Some have the branches of the bell smaller, and others have climbing stems.
Sertularia, —
Have a horny stem, simple or branched, with the cells for the polypi on the sides. The common
gelatinous stem forms the axis of the horny one. They propagate by buds, which are produced in
larger cells. The dispositions of the cells have caused various subdivisions.
Aglaophenia, have the cells on one side of the branches. Amatia, have the cells partially united, and in some
cases forming a sort of spire. Antennularia, have the cells in horizontal whirls ; and Sertularia proper, have
them alternate or opposite, on both sides of the stem.
THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE CORALLIFERA,—
The Cellularia, —
Have each polype adhering to a horny or calcareous cell with thin walls, and no apparent connection
with each other, except by a very thin epidermis, or by pores in the walls of the cells. The polypi in
general resemble Hydra.
Cellularia, have the cells arranged in the form of branched twigs, but no communicating axis, and the substance
of their stems is more calcareous. There are several subdivisions.
Crisia, with cells in two ranks, generally alternate, and opening on the same side. Acamarckus, with a vesicle
at each opening. Loricula, with two cells opposite, placed back to back. Eucratea, with one oblique cell on each
articulation. Salecorniaria, with the joints of the stem hollow, and their surfaces studded with cells in quincunx.
This genus consists of many cells, united in clusters like a honeycomb, sometimes covering various
bodies, and sometimes forming leaves or stems. Some species have cells on one side the leaves only.
Cellepora, have numerous small calcareous cells, crowded upon each other, and each pierced by a small open-
ing. Tubulipora, are masses of little tubes with wide openings.
There are bodies in the sea, which resemble the Coralliferi, or Polypi having stems or polypidoms,
in which no polypi have yet been discovered. Pallas, and other naturalists of name, have considered
them as plants ; but others regard them as polypidoms, in which case they belong to this order. They
form one great genus, with many subdivisions. This genus is
CoRALLiNA (the Corallines), —
Which have articulated stems, supported on a kind of roots, and branching again and again, but having
no pores in their substance, or visible polypi.
Corallina proper, have the calcareous joints of uniform appearance, and there is no sign of epidermis or bark.
The bottom of the sea on certain coasts is covered with these like a thicket of bushes, having the joints oboval,
and the sprays arrayed like pinnate leaves. The colour is white, or reddish, or greenish. It was once used in
medicine, though only on account of the salts of lime which it contains. Amphircea, has the joints elongated.
Jania, have them slender, and with less calcareous matter. Cymapolia, has the calcareous joints separated from
each other by portions of horny matter, and pores more distinctly marked than most of the others. Penicilla,
have the interior of the stem composed of a tissue of horny threads, with an external calcareous crest investing
the whole. The stem terminates in a bundle of articulated branches, resembling those of the other Corallines.
Halymeda, have the stems and branches composed of joints externally, like the others ; but internally they have
a corneous tissue, from which the cutaneous matter is easily separable by acids. Flabellarius, have no distinct
joints ; but consist of large leaf-like expansions, which have their stems of the same consistency as those of
Halymeda. Galaxura, have the stems hollow, and branching into two. Lingora, resemble the last, but have no
articulations in the stems. Anadiomena (Corsican Moss), is articulated and branched, and consists of a horny
substance, with a gelatinous covering. It is much used for expelling worms. Acetabulum, is in form one of the
most singular of the Corallines, It consists of a slender stem, supporting a round thin plate like a parasol, which
has a round smooth disc surrounding the central pores, the outer portion marked with striae, and the margin
crenulated. No polypi have been discovered in their pores ; but the rays of the striated disc are hollow, and con-
tain greenish granules, which led Cavalini to conclude that it is a vegetable. Polyphysa, have a hollow stem,
with a bundle of small closed vesicles on the summit. This has also been considered a vegetable.
CORALLIFERL
657
[As the Corallines are situated on the very border, the indefinite border we may say, which separates the animal
kingdom ; and as many zoologists and botanists are fully as zealous for an extension of territory, as for under-
standing and governing well that which unquestionably belongs to them, the Corallines are, like sponges, claimed,
and taken and retaken by both parties. The real cause of this, is the apparent impossibility of arriving at a true
definition of what constitutes a plant or an animal, or what is the specific and unequivocal difference between the one
and the other. Baron Cuvier, who was one of the most cautious as well as the most profound of zoologists, rarely
speculates beyond the facts, and never enters into warfare on debateable ground. There is enough, however, even
in his short synopsis, to show that the Corallines are really animals, although their polypi have not been discovered,
and even although there should be none to discover. From the exceedingly varied structures of animals, and
more especially from the extremely simple organization of some of those of the present grand division, we can
easily see that no one organ of the higher animals is necessary for carrying on the functions of animal life, in
some manner or other. The Hydra is a remarkable instance of this ; for, simple as it is in its structure, it is far
more instinct with life than those which, according to our types, we are disposed to consider as the most perfect
animals ; and, from the functions which it can perform with its simple organization, we cannot help concluding
that there may be animals still more simple, and that a mere epidermis, or fibre, or any other nameable part
however simple, may contain in it all the principles of life and reproduction. In addition to this, which we grant
is only hypothesis, though very probable hypothesis, we may remark, that it cannot have failed to strike the atten-
tive reader that all the substances elaborated by these Corallines are of an animal nature, not a vegetable one.
The hard parts of them are always composed of salts of lime, the cement of which is an animal gelatine, and the
soft parts are also animal. In the most plant-like of them there is no substance in the least resembling that of the
plants with which they agree most in form ; and as little is there any substance similar to theirs in the most
analogous of the true vegetables. This may be considered as coming as near to absolute proof of the animality of
these productions, as analogical reasoning can come. Indeed, what need we more? For, though we should dis-
cover Polypi upon the Corallines, all that we could conclude from that would be that they were compound animals,
with a sort of heads and mouths ; whereas, according to our present knowledge of them, they are animals without
either: and, as we find animals of other genera equally deficient of those parts, we have no reason to conclude
that the Corallines may not be also without them. The fact is, that the subtle arguments which are sometimes
raised to prove the animality of animals, always tend to the proof of quite another position, namely, that the
animal in question is not itself, but some other one, having different organs, or parts, of some kind or other.
For want of the fundamental definition to which we have alluded, it is impossible to argue upon what is animal
or what is vegetable, abstractedly from the description of that matter of which the subject in question is composed.
Therefore we have no foundation upon which to build, but the matter of which the subject under consideration
is composed ; and though there are some difficulties even here, yet the line of distinction is, upon the whole, pretty
broad and definite, although, perhaps, it is not easily described in words. No man, however, who possesses ordi-
nary discernment, can confound the hard matter of a plant with that of an animal ; and though, externally, many
of the Corallines resemble bushes, or branches, the substance of them is no more like wood than it is like the
horns of a Deer. The argument now used is equally applicable to the Sponges ; and though it is not demonstra-
tive in the present state of our knowledge, and probably never will become so in any state of it, yet it comes as
near to demonstration as any thing that we can obtain upon mixed questions, in which life, either animal or
vegetable, is involved.]
THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE CORALLIFERI,—
The Corticati.
This family includes aU the genera in which the whole of the Polypi of any one Polypidom are
obviously connected by a common substance, of a thick, or fleshy, or gelatinous consistency, in cavities
of which the individual developeraents of the polype are contained ; and they, and the containing
membrane, or skin, are supported by an internal axis, or core, varying in form and consistency, in the
different members of the family. The polypi of such as have been observed are a little more complex
in their organization than those of the preceding families of this order, and bear a good deal of resem-
blance to Actinia. They have a distinct stomach, from which eight intestinal tubes proceed ; and of
these two long ones penetrate the common mass, and two shorter ones appear to be ovaries. They
are divided into four tribes, Ceratophyta, LithopJiyta, Natantia, and Spongia, chiefly on account of
the form and texture of the supporting substance.
Ceratophyta, —
Which compose the first tribe, have the interior axis fibrous, like wood, but resembling horn in its
substance and consistency ; there are two genera of them, both very numerous, and the last admits of
subdivision.
Antipathes, black coral. These have the axis branched, and fibrous, so as to have a ligneous appearance. The
bark, or integument which contains it, is so soft, that it shrivels or comes off after death ; and then the axes have
the appearance of dry sticks.
Gorgonia, have the horny or fibrous part of the axis invested with a covering so thick, and so full of calcareous
POLYPI.
658
granules, that it dries entire on the axis, and retains its colours, which are often very bright and beautiful ; but it
is soluble in acids. The Polypi of several species have been examined, and found to have eight toothed tenta-
cula, and a stomach and other viscera, like those of Corollium.
Among them, M. Lamouroux distinguishes Plexaures, which have the covering membrane thick, with the cells
not prominent, and it effervesces but slightly with acids ; Ermicen, which have the same back, but the cells of
the polypi prominent ; Murisen, which have the covering of moderate thickness, with projecting mammillae covered
with rough and imbricated scales ; and Primnoa, in which the mamillae become imbricated by the one hanging
partially over the other.
Lithophyta,—
The second tribe, have a fixed internal axis of stony consistency. The leading genera are, Isis,
Madrepora, and Millipora ; but they admit of subdivision.
Isis, have the axis branched, and no cells or cavities on its surface ; and the internal tunic of gelatinous matter
is mixed with calcareous particles, as in Gorgonia.
CoralUna [Isis nobilis of Linnaeus], is the Coral of commerce, so much admired for its fine red colour, and the
high polish of which it is susceptible, and so often made into trinkets. There are very profitable fishings (or
divings) for it in different parts of the Mediterranean. The covering is of a reddish colour, and contains cal-
careous matter. The polypi have eight toothed arms, or tentacula. Melita, has the stony axis interrupted by
nodes full of a substance of the consistency of cork. Isis, properly so called, has the horny part knotty ; and
the bark thick, soft, and easily removed after death. Mopsia, has the bark much thinner, but also stronger.
Madrepora (the Madrepores), —
Have their stony substance sometimes branched, and sometimes in rounded masses, or in leaves ; but
it is always furnished with laminae, concentrated toward points in the form of stars, or terminating in
lines more or less serpentine. During life the stony part is enveloped in a horny bark, which is soft
and gelatinous, and roughened by rosettes of tentacula, which are the Polypi, or rather the Actiniae, for
they have more than one row of tentacula. The laminae of the polypi have some slight resemblance
to those on the stony case ; and the covering and polypi contract a little upon being touched.
The varieties of their general form, and the figures which are produced by the combinations of their laminae,
have been made the foundation of numerous subdivisions ; but several of these run into others, so that they are
not absolutely specific, and it will be impossible to fix them definitely until the relations between their forms
and the polypi are known.
When there is only a single star, circular or elongated, with many laminae, they are the Fimgia of Lamarck ;
and their polype resembles a single Actinea, with numerous tentacula ; and the opening of the mouth corresponds
exactly with the point toward which the lamin® converge.
There are found among fossils stony polypidoms consisting of a single star, which appears never to have
adhered to others. These are the Turbinata and Cyclolithus of Lamarck, and the Turbinolopsis, Lamouroux.
When the Madrepore is branched, and the stars are confined to the extremities of each branch, it is the Caryo-
pliyllia of Lamouroux. The branches are striated, and each star answers to a mouth surrounded by many
tentacula.
Oculina, have the small lateral branches very short, which gives them the appearance of having stars along the
branches, as well as on the extremities, Madrepora, or Madrepores properly so called, have the whole surface
roughened by little stars. Pocillopora, have little stars with pores in the intervals ; and Serialopora, have their
stars in lines. Astrea, have a broad and generally convex surface, hollowed by crowded stars, each having a
polype with numerous tentacula in a single row, in the centre of which is the mouth. Explanaria, are broad,
with the stars on one side. Porites, has the stony substance branched. Meandrina, have the surface formed into
little hills and valleys. In each valley there are mouths ; but the tentacula, instead of forming stars or rosettes
around them, are ranged along the sides of the valley. In some, however, the mouths are merely festooned. If
the hills which separate the valleys are raised into crests furrowed on both sides, they are called Pavonia ; and
mouths, usually without tentacula, are found in the valleys, the crests probably acting as substitutes for the latter.
There are also others, which have these hills conical or star-shaped, and the principal distinction of them is
having the polypi on the projecting parts or in the hollows. Agaricina, are composed of laminae, having valleys
only on the one side, and the sides of the valleys furrowed. It is probable that we should consider as nearly
allied to the Madrepores, certain polypidoms composed of cylinders, the sections of which form stars. These are
Sarcinula, and when they have a solid axis, they are perhaps nearly allied to Tubipora, in the first family of the
order.
Millipora, —
Which compose the third genus, have the stony portion much diversified in shape, and the surface
scooped only into small holes or pores, and sometimes there are no apparent perforations. Disticho-
pora, have strongly marked pores on two sides of the branches. Millipora proper, are solid and
variously branched. Sometimes the pores are not discernible, and they are Nullipores. Eschora, have
flattened and leaf-like expansions. Retepora, are Eschorse pierced like a net-work. Adeom, are
Eschorse on articulated stems, entire, or pierced like a net-work.
CORALLIFERI.
i
659
Natantes, —
Which form the third tribe of the coral family, have the axis stony, but not fixed. They consist of
two principal genera, but each admits of subdivision.
Pennatula,
This genus have a common body, perfectly free, and susceptible of locomotion by the contractions of
its fleshy part, and the joint action of all the polypi. The contractions and dilatations are produced
by fibrous layers, which are embedded in the fleshy substance. The axis is a single stony column, and
the polypi generally have eight toothed tentacula. Whatever may be their form, one extremity is
always without polypi, and resembles the barrel of a feather — hence the name. Most of them can
emit a bright phosphorescent light ; and though their general habit be to swim freely in the water, some
species fix themselves in the sand, or get entangled in the folds of submarine bodies ; but they never
form an adhesion.
Pennatula, properly so called, have the portion without polypi cylindrical and with a blunt point ; and the other
part furnished on both sides with laminee of various length and breadth, which are supported by tough bristles ;
but these bristles are not articulated upon the stony axis. The polypi are situated between these laminae. Several
species are found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Virgularia, have the laminae much shorter. Scirpearia,
have the body slender, and the polypi detached and alternate. Pavonaria, are also slender, but the polypi are
arranged in quincunx on one side only. Renilla, have the body short with filaments, and a kidney-shaped disc on
one side, bearing the polypi, Veretillum, are cylindrical, but without any branches ; and the axis is usually small
and the polypi large. Ombellularia, have a very long stem with a tuft of polypi at the end.
There are many small and porous stony bodies found in a fossil state, and in the sea, which, if they
w^ere invested with a living integument and polypi, would rank very nearly with this tribe. They are
Ovolites, Lunulites, OrbuUtes, and others.
Alcyonium,
Which, wdth Spongia, forms the fourth tribe, has the polypi with eight arms, and the intestines in a
common mass with the ovaries. It is not, however, supported by a stony axis ; but always fixed to
the body ; and when it is drawn out into trunks and branches, these present nothing internally but
gelatinous matter. The covering is hard, and marked with furrows, into which the polypi retire.
A. digitatum, the Sea Hand, divided into short and thick branches, and A. exos, with the branches smaller, and
of a fine red, are the most common in the European seas. Linnaeus and his followers included with this genus
the Thethga, which have the interior roughened by long spiral lines of silicious matter, which unite in an equally
silicious nucleus. The crust, like that of the Sponges, presents two kinds of openings, one for admitting water, and
another for ejecting it.
Spongia (Sponges), — ■
Are well known as fibrous marine bodies, whose only sentient portion appears to be a sort of thin gela-
tine, which soon dries off. No polypi have been observed in them ; and our knowledge of their real
nature is very obscure. All the analogies, however, point them out as being animal, and not vegetable.
The forms which they assume are almost innumerable.
THE FIFTH CLASS OF THE RADIATA.
I
THE INFUSORIA.
It is usual to place at the close of the Animal Kingdom, these beings, which are so small
as to be in general inscrutable by the naked eye ; and which have been known only since
the microscope brought, as it were, a new world within the scope of our observation.
[Every increase of extent of magnifying power and clearness of view, which the suc-
cessive improvements of the microscope have enabled us to obtain, has been rewarded
by new discoveries in the numbers, the forms, and the organization of these minute
animals. Farther improvements in the structure of the instrument, and the mode of
using it, may enable the observers of a future age to obtain information relative to this
part of the Animal Kingdom, of which we of the present age can form no adequate
INFUSORIA.
\
660
idea. But, even in the present limited state of our information, this department of
nature is a very extensive one, and requires the study of a whole lifetime to obtain even
a moderate knowledge of all its branches.]
The greater part of the Infusoria have a gelatinous body, and a very simple organ-
ization ; but some naturalists have included among them other animals, which are far
more complex in their organization, and which agree with them only in the smallness
of their size, and the habitats in which they are usually found — these will constitute
our first order ; but we must retain the doubts, which are not yet cleared up, respecting
their organization.
THE FIRST ORDER OF THE INFUSORIA.
ROTIFERA.
These are, as we have stated, distinguished by a more complicated organization. Their body
is of an oval shape, and gelatinous ; and we can observe that they have a mouth, a stomach,
an intestine, and a vent near the foot. The body usually terminates in a sort of tail, variously
formed ; and it has on the fore part a very singular organ, variously divided into tubes with
toothed edges, the teeth of which vibrate in various ways, and give the organ the appearance
of one or more toothed wheels, revolving with greater or less rapidity. The apparently revolving
organ does not appear to convey food to the mouth ; and so it may be, in some way, con-
nected with the function of respiration.
Furcularia, —
Or the Rotifera properly so called, have the body unarmed, and the tail composed of articulated portions,
which enter into each other.
TricJiocerca, have the rotatory organs a little less developed. Vaginales, are said to resemble the former,
inclosed in a transparent membrane ; but that is doubtful.
Tuhicolaria, form for themselves little habitations of foreign substances, out of which the rotatory organs are
protruded, in a manner similar to the tentacula of polypi. Branchionus, are distinguished by a sort of membranous
shield on the back.
THE SECOND ORDER OF THE INFUSORIA.
HOMOGENEA.
The body of these shows no viscera, or other complex organization, and in many there is
not even a vestige of a mouth.
The first tribe comprehends those which, with a gelatinous body, more or less contractile in several
parts, has yet ciliae, or some other simple external organs.
Urcolaria, have the shape of a horn, but with ciliae. Trichoda, have a flat body, ciliated at one extremity.
Leucophora, have ciliae all round the body. Kerona, have the ciliae like little horns. Hiantopa, have them
prolonged in a sort of threads.
The second tribe have no external organ, except a tail.
Cercarea, have an oval body, with a thread-like termination. The seminal animalculae, which have given
occasion to so many whimsical hypotheses, belong to this genus.
Vibrio, have the body round, like a very minute bit of thread. The “ Eels in paste and in vinegar,” as they are
called, belong to this genus.
Enchelis, have the body oblong, more soft, and less defined than that of Vibrio. There are various other forms.
Proteus, are so constantly changing their shape, that no definition or description of it can be given.
Monas, are, even under the microscope, mere points, which move with great rapidity, though they have no appa-
rent organs of motion.
Volvox, are globular bodies, revolving on their axes, and containing more minute globes, each of which also, in
all probability, contains a numerous embryo race.
INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES
A.
Page
Abramis
313
Abranchia
397
Abrocoma
121
Acalepba
650
Acanthocephala
646
Acanthocinus
548
Acantliopis
284
Acanthopoda
519
Acanthopterygii
292
Acanthurus
303
Acarides
469
Acarus
469
Acasta
386
Accentor
191
Accipenser
330
Accipitres
163
Acelepha
650
Acephales
369
Aceres
355
Achatina
349
Acherontia
608
Acheta
560
Acheus
123
Achirus
324
Acoetes
396
Acontia
280
Acrochordus
283
Acrydium
561
Actinia
654
Actinocamax
342
Aculeata
591
Adephag’a .
492
^g-ithalus .
198
JEgotheles .
196
Affama
275
Agathistiffues
343
Ag-eniosus
317
Aggregata
383
Aglaura
394
Ailurus
84
Alabes
325
Alauda
196
Albiones
400
Alca
254
Alcedo
210
Alciope
395
Alcyonium
659
Alector
224
Alectura
228
Alepocephalus
315
Alligator
273
Alosa
320
A1 uteres
329
Amadina
200
Ambassis
293
Amblotis
106
Ami a
321
Ammocetes
334
Ammodytes
328
Ammonites
342
Amrnopbila
595
Ampelis
182
Amphibia .
97
Amphinome
393
Amphioxus
334
Amphipoda
Page
426
Amphisbaena
280
Amphisile
312
Amphitrion
290
Amphitrite
392
Amphiuma
288
Ampullaria
300
Anabas
304
Anabates
206
Anableps
314
Anampses
310
Anarricbas
308
Anas . . 281, 263
Anastomus . 241, 319
Anatifa
385
Anatina
380
Ancillaria .
364
Ancylus
353
Andrena
598
Andrenoides
599
Anguilla
325
Anguis
280
Aniielides .
389
Anobium . .
514
Anodon
375
Anoema
119
Anolius
277
Anomala
417
Anomia
372
Anoplognatbides
525
Anoplotherium .
131
Anoplura .
488
Anser
262
Anthicides
537
Anthobii
527
Anthomyzides .
633
Anthophila
598
Anthrax
623
Anthropoides
238
Anthus
193
Antilope
139
Antipathes
657
Antiiota
615
Aphaniptera
489
Aphidii
570
Aphidiphagi
555
Aphis
571
Aphrodita
396
Aphrophora
570
Apiariae
598
Apidophorus
295
Apis
601
Aphysia
354
Apoda
642
Aposurse
611
Aptenodytes
255
Aptera
489
Apteryx
234
Apus
443
Aquila
167
Arachnida
450
Arachnotheres .
207
A ram us
239
Aranea . 454, 458
Area .
374
Arctictis
84
Arctocephalus
100
Arctomys
Page
110
Arcuata
413
Ardea
239
Arenaria
245
Arenicola .
393
Arenicoli
523
Argala
241
Argentina .
319
Argonauta .
339
Argulus
446
Argus
371
Argynnis .
606
Aricia
395
Armadillo
434
Artemia
441
Arvicola
114
Asaphus
450
Ascalabotes
277
Ascalaphus
577
Ascaris .
645
Aschizopoda
417
Ascidia
383
Asellota
433
Asema
386
Asilici
622
Asilus
622
Aspergillum
381
Aspidiphora
443
Aspredo
317
Astacini
419
Astacus
420
Asterias
639
Astoma
651
Astrodermus
302
Astur
170
Asturina
170
Ateles
61
Ateuchus
522
Athericera
628
Atherina
305
Atherura
118
Atilophus .
287
Atlanta
356
Atropos
580
Atta .
593
Attagis
250
Attelabus .
539
Atypus
458
Auchenia .
136
Aulacodus
118
Aulopus
320
Aulostomus
312
Auricula
351
Auxis
299
Aves . ,
154
Avicula
373
Axinea
374
Axinurus
303
Axolotls
288
B.
Baculites .
342
Balaena
149
Balaenoptera
149
Balaninus
541
Balantia
104
Balanus
Page
386
Baiearica .
238
Balistes
328
Barbastellus
75
Barbus
313
Barita
179
Basiliscus .
276
Bassaris
85
Bathyergus
116
Batrachia .
285
Batrachus .
309
Bdellia
399
Belemnites
341
Belidea
105
Belone
315
Beluga
147
Bembex
595
Beroe
651
Bethylus
180,
,589
Bimana
44
Bipartiti
495
Bipeltata .
425
Bipes
279
Biphores
382
Blaps
531
Blatta
558
Blennius
305
Blepharis .
300
Boa
281
Bocydium .
589
Bombinator
287
Bombus
600
Bombycella
182
Bombycitis
610
Bombylius
623
Bombyx
610
Bonasia
228
Bonellia
642
Boops
297
Bos
143
Bostrichus
543
Bothryocephalus
648
Botryllus .
383
Brae It elytra
506
Brachinus .
494
Brachiopodes
384
Brachycerus
540
Brachylophus
275
Brachypteres
251
Brachyura
412
Bradypus .
122
Brama
298
Branchiobdellia
400
Branchiopoda
436
Branchipus
425,
,442
Brentus
540
Breviceps
287-
Brevipennes
232
Brevirostres
540
Brosmius .
322
Brotula
322
Bruch us
539
Bubo .
174
Buccinoides
362
Buccinum .
364
Buceo ,
216
Buceros
211
662
INDEX.
Budytes
193
Bufo
287
Bulimus
349
Bulla
355
Bullaea
355
Buphaga
202
Buprestis .
508
Bursatelles
355
Busiris
353
Buteo
171
Buterinus .
321
Byrrhus
519
C.
Caecilia
285
Calamophilus
197
Calandra
541
Calidris
244
Caligides
445
Caligus
446
Callichroma
546
Callichthys
317
Callidium .
546
Callionyraus
307
Callithrix .
62
Callitriche
375
Calloinys .
120
Calocephala
98
Calotes
275
Calyptomena
194
Calyptraea .
361
Cainacea
376
Camelus
135
Canieleopardalis
138
Carnpophaga
182
Cancer
412
Cancroma .
239
Can is
90
Cantharidiae
537
Cantharus
297
Capra
141
Capras
301
Caprella
430
Caprimulgus
195
Capromys
112
Capsa
379
Capuloides
361
Capulus
361
Carabus
494
Carabici
494
Carabus
501
Caranx
300
Carapus
326
Carcharias .
332
Carcinoida
436
Carcinus
412
Cardita
376
Cardium
377
Carduelis .
199
Carides
420
Carinaria .
356
Carnaria
66
Carnivora .
82
Carnivora .
492
Carnosi
654
Carpomyza
635
Caryocatactes
204
Casmarynchus
183
Cassicus
202
Cassida
551
Cassidaria .
365
Cassidarise
551
Cassis
365
Castor
117
Casuarius .
233
Catarrh actes
255
Catarrhini
54
Catliartes .
165
Catoblepas .
141
Catostoinus
313
Cavia .
119
Cavolina
353
Ceblepyris
182
Cebrio
511
Cebus
.’ 6(
), 61
Cecidoinya
619
Cecrops
447
Cellularia
656
Centenes .
78
Centracion
332
Centrina
332
Centriscus
312
Centronotus
299
Centropus
214
Cephalopodes
337
Cephaloptera
333
Cephalopterus
182
Cephalotes
68
Cephus
254
Ceram bycini
545
Cerambyx
545
Cerastes
377
Cerathopthalma .
441
Ceratophyta
657
Cercolabes
118
Cercoleptes
85
Cercomys
112
Cercopides
569
Cercopithecus
57
Cercyon
521
Cereopsis .
263
Cerithium .
365
Certhia
206
Cervus
137
Cestoidia .
649
Cestum
6£1
Cetacea
144
Cetharinus
319
Cetonia
528
Cetoniides .
528
Ceyx .
210
Chaetodon .
297
Chaetopterus
397
Chaetura
195
Chalceus .
319
Chalcis
279
, 588
Chalybaeus
180
Chama
377
Chamaelio .
278
Chanteuses
567
Charadrius
235
Chatoessus
320
Chauliodus
315
Cheilinus .
310
Cheilodactylis
296
Cheirogaleus
65
Cheiroraeles
70
Cheiromys
65
Cheiromys
110
Cheironectes
102
Cheiroptera
67
Chelicerae .
444
Chelifer
467
Chelmon
298
Chelonia
269,
, 271
Chelonia
611
Chelydra .
271
Chelys
271
Chermes
570
Chersydrus
285
Chilognatha
483
Chilopoda .
485
Chimaera
330
Chimera
374
Chinchilla .
120
Chiones
250
Chirocentrus
321
Chironectes
309
Chironomus
619
Chirotes
279
Chirus
308
Chiton
369
Chitonellus
369
Chizaeris
220
Chlamyphorus
125
Chloromys
120
Cholaepus
123
Chondropterygii
329
Chondrus
349
Chromis
311
Chrysis
590
Chrysochloris
80
Chrysomela
552
Chrysophris . 297
Cicada . . 567
Cicadari* . 567
Cicadella . 569
Cicadellines . 570
Cicindela . 493
Cicindelidae . 493
Ciconia . . 240
Cirabex . . 583
Cimex . . 565
Cinclus . . 187
Cineras . . 386
Cinnyris . . 207
Circaetus . . 169
Circus . . 171
Cirrhatula . 396
Cirrhibarba . 306
Cirrhinus . 313
Cirrhopodes . 385
Cissopus . . 180
Cistela . . 534
Citijrrades . . 463
Cladobates . 78
Cladocera . 439
Clang-ula . 264
Clausilia . 349
Clavicornes . 515
Clavig-er . 556
Clavipalpi . 554
Cleodora . 344
Clepsines . 400
Clepticus . . 310
Clerus . . 513
Climene . . 398
Clinus . . 306
Clio . . 343
Clupea . . 320
Clupeidae . . 320
Clytus . . 547
Cobites . . 314
Coccinella . . 555
Coccothraustes . 200
Coccus . . 572
Coccyzus . . 214
Coelog-enys . 120
Coenurus . . 649
Colaris . . 205
Coleoptera . 491
Colius . . 201
Coluber . . 282
Columba . 230
Colymbus . 252
Comephorus . 308
Concholepas . 365
Condylura . 81
Conj^er . . 325
Conia . . 386
Conirostres . 196
Conopophaga . 181
Conops ’ , . 631
Conus . . 362
Coprophagi . 522
Coracias . . 204
Coralliferi . . 655
Corallina . . 657
Corbis . . 378
Corbula . . 379
Cordylus . 275
Coregonus . 319
Coriacea . . 637
Coricus . . 310
Corine . . 655
Coriocella . . 362
Corophium . 428
Corticati . . 658
Corvus . . 203
Coryphaena . 301
Corythaix . 220
Corythus . - 201
Cossus . . 610
Cossyphus . 533
Cottus . . 295
Coturnix . . 229
Crabronides . 596
Crania . . 385
Crassatella . 376
Crax ... 224
Crenilabrus
310
Creophilae
632
Crepidula
361
Crepuscularia
608
Creusia
386
Crex .
249
Cricetus
114
Crimata
319
Criniger
186
Crispus
384
Crioceris
550
Cristatella
655
Crithoderes
188
Crocodilurus
274
Crocodilus
272
Crossarchus
93
Crotalus
283
Crotophaga
216
Crustacea
407
Crypsirina
204
Cryptocephalus .
552
Ciyptonyx
227
Cryptopoda
415
Cryptoprocta
92
Cryptostoma
362
Crypturus
230
Ctenodactylus
121
Ctenomys .
121
Cucujus
544
Cuculinae .
600
Cuculus
213
Culex
618
Culicides .
618
Cultrirostres
237
Curanxamores
302
Curculio
540
Curruca
190
Cursoria
557
Cursorius .
237
Cuscus
104
Cyamus
429
Cyanea
650
Cybium
299
Cychla
311
Cydas
378
Cyclica
550
Cyclobranchiata
369
Cyclostoma
359
Cyclostomata
333
Cyclocotula
647
Cyclops
437
Cyclopterus
324
Cygnus
261
Cymbulia .
343
Cymindis .
169
Cymothoada
431
Cynips
587
Cynocephalus
59
Cynogale
93
Cynomys
111
Cypraea
362
Cyprina
378
Cyprinidae .
312
Cyprinodon
314
Cyprinus
313
Cypris
438
Cypselus
194
Cyrena
378
Cyrtus
623
Cysticercus
649
Cystophora
99
D.
Dacne
518
Dacnis
203
Daphne
374
Daphnia
440
Dasyprocta .
120
Dasypus
124
Dasyurus .
103
Decapoda .
410
Decatoma .
627
Decempoda
428
Delphinapterus
147
Delphinula
358
Delphinus .
146
INDEX.
663
Delnliinorhvnchus
146
Emarg’inula
369
Fungulus .
314
Gypogeranus
172
Deltoides .
612
Emberiza
198
Furcularia
660
Gyrinus
505
Dendrocolaptes
206
Empis
622
Fusus
366
Dendronessa
266
Ernys
270
H.
Dendrophis
282
Enallostigues
343
Dentalium
393
Encrinus
640
G.
Habia
184
Dentox
297
Engidites .
518
Haematopus
236
Denticrura
507
Engraulis
321
Gadidae
322
Haematornis
171
Dentirostres
178
Enterion
397
Gadus
322
Haemocharis
400
Depressa
507
Entomostegues
343
Galaeopith ecus .
76
Haemopis
399
Dermaptera
556
Entomostraca
434
Galatliadeae
419
Haemulon
296
518
521
Entozoa
643
Galaxius
315
Haladroma
256
Desmodus
71
Eolidia
352
Galbula
211
Halcyon
210
Diadema
386
Epeira
461
Galeodus
467
Haliaeetus
168
Dianeris
533
Ephemera
576
Galius
332
Halichaerus
99
Dibathrvorlivnchus
648
Ephippus .
298
Galernca
553
Flalicore
145
207
Epibulus
310
Gallicolae
587
Halictophagus .
615
377
Epicardes
431
Gallicoles, (Tip ules) 619
Halieus
259
Dichelestiura
448
Epimachus
209
Gallin®
223
Haliotis
368
183
Eques
296
Gallinsecta
572
Halithea
396
Didelphis .
102,
104
Equula
301
Gallinula .
249
Haimaturus
105
Didus
234
Equus
133
Galius
226
Haltica
553
Diffitigrada
87
Erebus
611
Gammarinae
427
Hamites
342
Di^ramma
296
Erethizon
118
Gammarus
426
Hapale
62
Dinops
70
Erinaceus
77
Garrulus
204
Harpagus
167
Diodoti
148,
328
Erinomys
78
Gasteropteron .
355
Harpaliens
497
Diomedea
257
Eriomys
120
Gastrochaena
381
Harpalus .
497
Diphyes
652
Erolia
245
Gasteropodes
344
Harpyia
69, 169
Diphvllides
353
Erotylus
554
Gastrobanchus .
334
Helamys
115
Diplo'lepariie
587
Erpeton
282
Gastropelicus
319
Helianus
296
Diploptera
596
Erythrinus
321
Gastroplax
355
Helicostegues .
343
Diplostoma
116
Eryx
282
Gebia
416
Helictis
89
Diptera
615
Esocidae
314
Gelatinosi
655
Heliornis
252
Diptffirodon
298
Esox
314
Gempylus .
299
Helix
348
115
Estrilda
200
Genetta
92
Helops
534
535
Etheria
373
Geocorisae
563
Hemerobius
578
Discinag
385
Eudytes
252
Geometridae
612
Heniochus
298
Discoboli .
324
Eulabes
187
Geomys
116
Hemipodius
229
Diurna
605
Eumorphus
554
Georychus
114
Hemiptera
562
Dolabella
354
Eunice
394
Geospiza
200
Hemiramphus .
315
Dolichocera
635
Euphonia .
184
Geotrupides
524
Hepialites
609
Dolicbopus
624
Euphrosine
396
Gerbillus
113
Hepialus
610
Dolycbonyx
199
Euplocomus
227
Glaucopis
204
Heptratemus
334
Donacia
550
Eupoda
549
Glareola
250
Herpethotheres .
170
Don ax
378
Eurinorynchus
245
Giaucus
352
Herpestes
93
Doras
317
Euiopyga .
239
Globicephalus .
147
Hesione
395
Do reus
529
Eurylaimus
194
Glomeridae
484
Hesostoma
304
Doris
351
Euryotis
115
Glossata
603
Hesperia
607
Dorsibranchiata
393
Evaniales .
585
Glossophaga
71
Heterobranchus
317
Dortliesia .
573
Exocetus .
315
Glossoporis
4C0
Heterocerus
519
Doryphorus
275
Exochnata
416
Glossus
377
Heterodon
282
Draco
276
Glyceris
395
Heterogyna
591
Drimophilus
182
F.
Glyphisodon
296
Heteromera
530
Dromas
241
Gobia
313
Heteropa
428
Dryinus
283
Falco .
166
Gobiesox
324
Heteropoda
356
Dryophis
283
Falcunculus
180
Gobiodae
305
Heteroptera
563
Dryops
519
Fasciola
647
Gobius
307
Hians
241
Dvcoteles
131
Felis .
94
Goliathus
528
Himant.opus
246
Dynastes
525
Feronia
498
Gomphosus
310
Hippides
417
Dysopus
70
Fiber .
114
Gonorynchus
314
Hippobosca
637
Dysporus
260
Ficedula
189
Gonocephalus
275
Hippocampus
327
Dytiscus
503
Fileuses
454:
Gonyleptes
469
Hippoglossus
323
Filaria
644
Gordius
400
Hippolyte
421
E.
Filiformia .
429
Gorgonia .
658
Hipponyx
361
Firola
357
Graculus
188
Hippopotamus .
130
Echeneis
324
Fissiiabra •
506
Grallas
231
Hippopus
377
Eephimotes
277
Fissirostres
194
Grallaria .
187
Hirudo
399
Echidna
127
Fissurella .
368
Grallina
186
Hirundo
194
Echinodermata
639
F stularia .
311
Grandipalpi
500
Hispa
551
Echinops
78
Fistularia .
381
Graphyurus
111
Hister
515
Echinorhynchus
646
Flabellines .
353
Graucalus
180
Hoazin
225
Echinosorex
78
Flaviceps .
649
Grus
237
Holetra
468
Echinus
640
Flo rales, (Tipules)
621
Gryllotalpa
560
Holocanthus
298
Echis
284
Forficula
557
Gryllus
560
Holostoma
647
Echyrays
112
Foenus
585
Gryphaea
371
Holothuria
641
Eclacates
300
Formica
591
Guarica
201
Honiogenea
660
Edentata
122
Foraminiferes
343
Gulo .
86
Hoinopoda
426
Edolius
183
Fossores
593
Gymnarchus
326
Homoptera
567
Edriopthalma
425
Fratercula .
254
Gymnetrus
302
Hoplides
527
Elanus
170
Francolinus
229
Gymnocephalus .
182
Horia
537
Elaps
284
Fregilus
208
Gymnoderes
183
Hurria
282
Elater
509
Fringilla
198
Gymnodontes
327
Hyaena
94
Elenchus .
615
Fulgora
568
Gymnops .
189
Hyalea
344
Eleotris
307
Fulica .
249
Gymnomyzides .
636
Hybotini
622
Elephas
128
Fuligula
264
Gymnotus .
325
Hydra
655
Eleutherata
491
Fungicola .
554
Gymnura .
78
Hydrachna
471
Elops
321
Fungivores,(Tipules) 619
Gypaetos
166
Hydrachnellas
470
664
INDEX.
Hydrobata
187
Lanius
178
Lycidice
394
Microptera
506
Hydrocanthari
503
Larrates
595
Lycoris
394
Micropteres
296
Hydrochaems
119
Larus
257
Lyctus
543
Micropthira
471
Ilydrocorisse
566
Laterigrades
461
Lymexylon
514
Microstoma
315
Hydrocyon
319
Latraria
380
Lyriocephalus .
275
Micrurus .
284
Hydrometra
565
Leiolepis
275
Lytta
538
Midas
62
Hydroniys
112
Lemnius
114
Milavis
332
Hydrophilus
520
Lemur
63
M.
Miliobatis
333
Hydrophis
284
Leparus
324
Millipora
658
Hydromyzides
634
Lepas
385
Macacus
58
Mdvus
170
Hydrostatica
652
Lepidogenys
167
Machetes .
245
Mimus
185
Hvdrus
284
Lepidogaster
324
Machilis
487
Minas
301
Hylobates
56
Lepidoleprus
322
Macrodactyla
519
Minyas
642
Hynienoptera
581
Lepidoptera
603
Macrodactyli
247
Modiolus
375
Hyodon
321
Lepidopus
302
Macropod us
304
Moenura
189
Hyperoodon
148
Lepisma
487
Macropteronotes
317
Molenesia
314
Hypocera
636
Lepisosteus
321
Macropus
105
Mollusca
335
Hypostomus
318
Leposoma
275
Macrorbinus
99
Molossus
69
Hypsiprymnus
105
Leptimus
624
Macroscelides
78
Molpadia
642
Hypiidaeus
114
Leptis
624
Macroscus
109
Mon acanthus
328
Hyrax
132
Leptocepbalus
326
Macrura
416
Monas
661
Hystrix
117
Leptonyx
98
Mactra
379
Monasa
215
Leptopodites
635
Madrepora
658
Moniior
274
j
Leptosomus
214
Magelus
367
Monoculus
436
Leptura
548
Maia
415
Monodon
148,
359
Ibis
242
Lepus
118
Makaira
299
Monophores
357
Ichneumon
585
Lernsea
645
M alacanthus
311
Monopteras
325
Icthyosaurus
279
Lernaeiformes
447
Malacoderrai
508
Monotoma
543
Icterus
202
Lestris
258
Malacopterygii .
312
Monotremata
127
Ictides
84
Leuciscus .
313
Malacostraca
410
Mordella
536
Idoteides .
432
Libellula
574
Malaptbeurus
317
Mbrmoops
73
Ig-uana
275
Lichanotus
64
Malleus
373
Mormyrus
316
Inclusa
379
Lichia
300
Mallotus
319
Morphnus
169
Indicator .
215
Ligula
649
Maltbus
309
Morrhua
322
Inequitelae
460
Lima .
372
Malurus
197
Moschus
136
I n ferob r anchiata
353
Limacinse .
344
Mammalia .
38
Motacella .
*189,
192
Infusoria
660
Limax
347
Manatus
145
Motella
322
Insecta
471
Limictis
93
Mangusta
93
Muettes
568
Insectivora
77
Limnadia .
441
Manis
126
Mugil
Mulleria
304
Inuus
59
Limnsea
375
IManorrhinus
188
373
Inis
650
Limnaeus .
350
Mantis
559
Mullus
294
Isocardia .
377
Limnoria
432
Mai'garita .
374
Muraena
325
Isopoda
Istiophorus
430
Limosa
244
Marsupiata
100
Murajnoides
306
299
Limulus
444
Martes
88
Murex
366
Istiurus
275
Lingula
384
Masaris
597
Mus
*110,
112
lulidae
485
Linaria
199
Mastigus .
515
Musca
632
lulus
484
Lipurus
106
Mastodon .
129
Muscicapa
180
Ixodes
470
Lithobius
486
Mecistura .
197
Muscipeta
181
Lithodermis
642
Medusa
650
Musophaga
220
J.
Lithodomus
375
Miegacephali
625
Mustela
. 87, 88
Jacapa
184
Lithophyta
658
Megaderma
72
Mustelus
332
Litbotrya .
386
M egalonyx
124
Mutilla
593
Jacchus
62
Litiopa
360
Megalops
321
Mya .
*376,
380
Janthina
360
Littornia
359
Megalopterus
258
Mycetes
60
Julis .
310
Lituus ,
341
Megalotis .
91
Mycetophagus
543
K.
Lixus
541
Megapodius
248
Mycteria
241
Loarcus
306
Megatherium
124
Mycterus .
535
IvBrodoii « •
119
412
301
Lobipes
246
Melampes
351
Mydas
626
Kleistagnatba .
Kurtus
Lobotes
Locusta
296
561
Melaniae
Melasoma .
360
530
Mydaus
Mygale
*80,
88
456
Locustella
191
Meleagris .
226
Myodaires
632
L.
Locustse
418
Meles
85
Myopotamus
117
Loligo
340
Meliphaga
187
Myotbera
186
Labeo
313
Lombrinereis
395
Melithreptus
207
Myoxus
111
Labias
314
Loncheres
112
Melitopliili
527
Myriapoda
482
Labrax
293
Longicornes
544
Melitta
598
Myrmecobius
103
Labridse
309
Longipalpi
506
Mellifera
598
Myrmecophaga
126
Labrus
309
Long! pen nes
255
Mellivora
87
Myrrneleon
577
Lachnolaimus
310
Longirostres
540
Meloe
537
Mysis
422
Lpemodipoda
429
Lophiodon
133
Melogale . ,
89
Mystus
317
Lagoniys
119
Luphius
308
Melolontba
525
Myteles
319
Lagopus
228
Lophobrancbii
326
Meiolontbides
526
Mytelus
374
Lagostomus
120
Lopbopborus
225
Melyris
512
Myxine
334
Lagothrix
61
Lophotes
303
Membracis
569
Myxodes
306
Lagotis
120
Lophiira
275
MenidcC
297
Lagriarise
536
Lopbyropa .
436
Menobrancbus .
288
N.
( Lamellicornes .
521
Lophyi’us .
*231,
, 275
Menocbirus
324
Laineilirostres .
261
Loricaria .
317
Menopoma
288
Naia
284
La.mia
547
Loripes
378
Mephitis
88
Nais .
398
Lamna
332
Lota
322
Mergus . 252, 266
Naseus
303
Lainpris
301
Loxia
201
Meriones
113
Nasua
85
Lainprotornis
186
Lucanus
529
Merlangus
322
Natan tes
659
Lainpyristes
511
Lucernaria
654
Merluccius
322
Natica
360
Langaha
284
Lucina
378
Merops .
209
Naucrates
299
Lanio
179
Lumbricus
397
Microcebus
64
Nautilus
340
Laniogerus
352
Lptra
89
Microcephala
507
Necrophorus
516
Lanistes
361)
Luvarus
301
Microdactylus .
237
Nectarinea
206
1
INDEX.
665
Nematoidea
644
Ortalida
224
Pennatula
659
Plantigrada
82
Nemocera
617
Orthoceratites
341
Pentalasmis
385
Platalea
242
Neophron
165
Orthocerus
532
Pentamera
492
Platax
298
Nepa
566
Ortho^oriscus
328
Pentastoma
645
Platurus
284
Nephelis
399
Orthon3^x
187
Pentatoma
563
Platypezinas
625
Nephthys
395
Orthoptera
556
Pentobdella
400
Platypus
127
Nereiphylla
394
Ortyg’is ,
229
Peprilus
301
Platyrrhini
60
Nereis
394
Ortyx
229
Perameles
104
Platyrynchus
181
Nerita
360
Orycteropus
116
125
Percidae
293
Platysoma
544
Nerpestus
645
Osmerus
319
Perdix
229
Plecotus . .
75
Neuroptera
573
Osphromanus
304
Periopthalmus .
307
Piectognathi
327
Nirmidea
489
Osteopera
120
Peripatus
397
Plectrophanes .
198
Nisus
170
Osterglossum
321
Perna
373
Plesiops
311
Nitidula
517
Ostracion
329
Pernis
171
Plesiosaurus
279
Nocthorus
62
Ostracoda
438
Peronaea
378
Pleurobranchaea .
354
Noctilio
70
Ostrea
371
Perodicticus
64
Pleurobranchus .
354
Noctua
175, 611
Otari a
99
Petaurus
105
Pleuronectes
323
Nocturna .
609
Otion
386
Petromyzon
334
Pleurotoma
358
Noctuaelites
611
Otis
235
Phaenicophaeus .
215
Plicipennes
580
Nonieus
300
Otolicnus .
65
Phaenicopterus .
250
Ploceus
199
Notacantha
626
Otoiithus .
296
Phaeton
260
Plocobranchus .
353
Notacanthus
300
Otoinys .
115
Phalacrocorax .
259
Plotus
260
Notarclius
354
Otus
173
Phalaena . 6
;09, 612
Pneumodermon .
344
Notidanus
332
Ourax
224
Phalaena-tortrix
612
Podargus .
196
Notonecta
566
Ovalia
430
Phalaenites
612
Podiceps
252
Notopoda
416
Ovis
142
Phalangista
104
Podoa
252
Notopterus
321
Ovula
363
Phalangium
469
Podophthalma .
410
Notoxus
537
Oxyrynchus
203
Phalaropus
245
Podura
487
Nucula
375
Oxyuri
589
Phascalomys
106
Podurellae .
487
Nudibranchiata
351
Phaleris
254
Poecilia
314
Numenius
243
p
Phascochaeres
131
Pcecitopoda
444
Numida
226
Phascogale
103
Poephagomys
121
Nummulites
342
Pachydermata
128
Phascolarctos * .
106
Pogonias
215
Nycteribia
637
Pachyptela
257
Phasianella
359
Poliodon
330
Nycteris
73
Padolla
368
Phasianus
226
Polistes
597
Nyctebius
196
Pagelus
297
Phasma
559
Pollicipes .
386
Nycticeus
75
Pagrus
297
Phibalura
184
Poly acanthus
304
Nyctiornis
209
Paguriens .
417
Philedon
187
Polychrus
276
Nyctocleptes
116
Pagurus
418
Philomela .
190
Polyergus .
593
Nyctonomus
70
Palaeraon
421
Phoca
97
Polygon ata
430
Nyctophilus
73
Palseotherium
132
Phocaena
147
Polynemus
294
Nymphipara
636
Palamedea
248
Pholas
380
Polynoe
396
Nymphon
468
Palathsea
378
Phora
636
Polyphemus
439
Nyssoniens
595
Palinurus .
418
Phryganea
580
Polypi ectron
225
Palmipedes
251
Phrynus
465
Polypi
653
0.
Pal my re
396
Phthiridium
637
Polyxenidae
485
Palpatores
515
Phthiromyiae
637
Pomacanthus
298
Ochthosia
386
Palpicornes
520
Phycis
322
Porphyria
249
Octodon »
121
Paludina
359
Phyllidia .
353
Porypterus
321
Octopus
339
Pandion
168
Phylliroes
357
Potamides
365
Oculina
659
Pandora
380
Phyllodoce
394
Pressirostres
234
Ocypterus
179
Pan or pa
577
Phyllopa
441
Priapulus
642
Odonata
573
Papilio
605
Phyllophaga
525
Priodon
303
Odontognathus .
320
Paradisaea
205
Phyliosoma
425
Prionii
545
ffidemera
535
Paradoxornis
201
Physa
350
Prionites
209
G5dicnemus
235
Paradox ur us
93
Physalia
652
Prionodon
92
Oestrus
630
Parasita
488
Physeter
148
Prionurus
333
Oidemia
264
Pardalotus
180
Pliysignathus
275
Pristigaster
320
Olig^odon .
283
Parenchymata
646
Physsophora
652
Pristipoma
296
Olistus
300
Parmacella
348
Pica .
204
Pristis
333
Omaloptera
636
Parinophorus
369
Picumnus
213
Proboscidea
128
Onchidium
350
Parn us
519
Picus
212
Procellaria
255
Ondatra
114
Parra
247
Piezata
581
Procnias
183
Ong-ulina .
378
Parus
197
Pileolus
361
Procyon
84
Oniscides
433
Passalus
529
Pileopsis
361
Producta
385
Oniscus . 431, 433
Passerine .
177
Pimelepterus
298
Promerops
209
Onocrotalus
259
Patella
369
Pimelia
530
Proteles
94
Opatrum
532
Patellimani
499
Pimelodes
317
Proteus . 288, 660
Opbelina
396
Paussus
542
Pimpla
586
Psaris
180
Ophicephalus
304
Pavo
225
Pinna
374
Pselaphus .
556
Ophidia
280
Pecten
371
Finn i pedes
413
Psettus
298
Opbidium
326
Pectinibranchiata
357
Pinnigrada
97
Pseudoboa . 282, 284
Opbisaurus
280
Pectunculus
374
Pinnotheres
414
Pseudo-bombyces
610
Ophisurus
325
Pedetes
115
Piophila
635
Pseudomys
113
Ophyressa
278
Pedicellaria
655
Pipa .
287
Pseudopus
280
Opisthocomus .
225
Pedicellata
639
Pipra
193
Pseudo-scorpiones
1 467
Opistognathus .
306
Pediculus
488
Pisces
289
Psilopus
377
Opistolophus
248
Pedipalpi
465
Pithecia
61
Psittacus
218
Oplocephalus
284
Pedum
372
Pitta
186
Psocus
580
Opiums
277
Pegasus
327
Pitylus
200
Psophia
237
Orbicula
384
Pelagius
99
Plabucus
319
Psylla
570
Orbiculata
414
Pelamides
284
Placuna
372
Pteraclis
302
Orbitelaj
460
Pelicanus
259
Placunomia
372
Pteroceras
367
Orbiilites
342
Peloris
371
Planaria
648
Pterocles
228
Orcynus
299
Peltis
516
Planaxis
359
Pterodactylus
276
Oriolus
188
Pern ph oris
298
Planipennes
577
Pteroglossus
217
Ornithorhynchus
127
Penelope
224
Planorbis
350
Pteromys
1C9
666
INDEX.
Pterophorites
614
Saimiri
61
Simia
54
Synbranchus
325
Pteropodes
343
Salamander
287
Simnopithecus
58
Syndactyli
209
Pteropus
68
Salanx
315
Simplicia, (Acalepha) 650
Synetheres
118
Ptero trachea
356
Salarias
306
Simpliciraani
498
Syngnathus
327
Ptiloris
209
Sal mo
318
Siphonaria
361
Synistata
573
Ptiniores
513
Salmonidae
318
Siphonostoma
445
Synodontis
317
Ptinus
514
Salpa
382
Siphunculus
642
Syphostoma
393
Piiffiniis
256
Saltatoria .
560
Si rex
584
Syren
288
Pulex
490
Saltigrades
464
Sitana
276
Syrnium
174
Pulmonaria
453
Sanguis.uga
399
Sitta
206
Syrphus
628
Pulmoiiea .
347
Saperda
548
Solarium
358
Syrrhaptes
230
Pupa
349
Sapyga
594
Solea
324
Pu pi para
636
Sarcoramphus
165
Solen
380
T.
Pupivora
585
Sarda
299
Solenodon
80
Putorius
87
Sargus
297
Solenostomus
327
Tabanides
625
Pycnogonides
467
Saturnia
610
Solidungula
133
Tabanus
625
Pyralis
612
Satyris
607
Somateria
264
Tachyglossus
127
Pyranga
184
Sauria
272
Sorex
79
Tachy petes
260
Pyrgita
199
Saurothera
214
Spagebranchus
325
Tachyphonus
184
Pyrgo
344
Saurus
319
Spalax
115
Tadorna
265
Pyrgoma
386
Saxicola
189
Sparidae
297
Taenia
648
Pyrochroa .
536
Scalaria
359
Spectrum
559
Taenidae
302
Pvrosoma .
383
Scalops
81
Spermophilus
111
Taenioidea
648
Pyrrhocorax
188
Scalpellum
386
Sphaeridiota
521
Talpa
80
Pyrrhula
201
Scansores .
211
Sphasridium
521
Tamia
109
Scaphidium
517
Sphaeromides
432
Tanagra
184
Q.
Scaphites .
342
Sphargis
271
Tanatia
216
Scarabaeus
522
Spheniscus
255
Tantalus
241
Quadrilatera
414
Scarabes
351
Sphex
594
Tanystoma
621
Quadrimani
497
Scaritides .
495
Sphingides
608
Taphozous .
73
Quadruraana
54
Scarus
311
Sphinx
608
Tapir
133
Querula
182
Scatomyzides
634
Sphyraena
294
Tarantula
465
Schilbus
316
Spinax
332
Tardigrada
122
R
Schizopoda
417, 422
Spio
395
Tarentula
463
Sciaena
296
Spirifer
384
Tarsius
65
Radiata
638
Sciaenidas .
295
Spirobranchus
304
Taxicornes
533
Raia .
333
Scincus
278
Spiropterus
645
Taxidea
86
Rallus
249
Sciuroptenis
110
Spirorbis
392
Tectibranchiata
353
Ramphastos
217
Sciurus
109
Spirula
340
Tellina
378
Rana
286
Sclerodermi
328
Spondylus
372
Ternnodon
300
Ranella
366
Scolelepe .
395
Spongia
660
Tenebrio
532
Raniceps .
322
Scolex
649
Squalus
331
Tenioides
307
Recti grades
458
Scolia
594
Squamipennes
297
Tenthredo
583
Recurvirostra
247
Scolopax
242
Squatina
332
Tenuirostres
206
Rediurus
565
Scolopendra
485
Squilla
424
Terebella .
392
Regulus
192
Scolopsides
296
Staphylinus
506
Terebellum
363
Reithrodon
113
Scolytus
542
Steatornis
196
Terebrantia
582
Remipes
417
Scomber
298
Stellio
275;
, 277
Terebratula
384
Reptilia
267
Scomberesox
315
Stemmatopus
99
Teredo
381
Rhagium .
549
Scopelus
320
Stenarchus
326
Tergipes
353
Rhinella
287
Scops
176
Stenelytra
533
Termes
578
Rhinobatis
333
Scopulipedes
600
Stenocorus
548
Termitinse
578
Rhinoceros
131
Scopus
241
Stenops
64
Terrapene
271
Rhinolophus
72
Scorpaena .
295
Stenorhynchus
98
Terncoles (Tipules) 619
Rhinopoma
73
Scorpio
465
Sterna
258
lersina
182
Rhipiptera
514
Scotophilus
75
Sternoptyx
320
Testacella .
348
Rhizomys
116
Scutellaria
563
Sternoxi
508
Testudo
270
Rhizostoma
651
Scutibranchiata
368
Stomapoda
423
Tetanocera
635
Rhombus .
323
Scyllaea
352
Stomatia
368
Tetragonopterus
319
Rhyncaspis
265
Scyllium
331
Stomias
315
Tetragonurus
305
Rhynchsea
244
Scymnus
332
Stomoxys
631
Tetrapturus
299
Rhyncheenus
541
Scyris
300
Stratiomys
627
Tetralismis
386
Rhyncobdella
300
Scythrops .
215
Strepsilus
245
Tetramera
538
Rhyncophora
539
Securifera
582
Strepsiptera
614
Tetrao
228
Rhyncops .
258
Segregata .
382
Strepsirrhini
63
Tetraodon
328
Rhyncostoma
535
Selachii
331
Strix
173
Tetraogallus
229
Rhyngia
629
Sepia
339
Stromateus
301
Tettigonia
567
Rhyngota .
562
Sepola
303
Strombus
366
Tetyra
180
Ricinioe
470
Seps .
279
Strongylus
645
Thalacomys
104
Ricinus
489
Septaria
361
Struthio
232
Thalassidroma
256
Ripiphorus
536
Seriola
300
Sturnus
203
Thalia
382
Rissoa
360
Serpula
391
Stycostegues
343
Thamnophihis
179
Rodentia
107
Serrasalmus
319
Stygides
624
Thalassema
642
Rostellaria
367
Serricornes
508
Stylaria
398
Thelphusae
414
Rotifera
660
Serropalpides
535
Stylephonis
302
Theraphoses
456
Ruminaiitia
134
Sertularia .
656
Stylops
615
Thethys
352
Rupicola
194
Seserinus .
301
Subul iconics
574
Theutyes
303
Rutilidse
525
Sesia .
609
Subulipalpi
502
Thrips
571
Rytina
145
Setigera
397
Succinea
349
Thryssa
321
Ryzaena
93
Siderolithes
342
Suctoria
489
Thy 1 acinus
103
Si gal ion
396
Sudis
321
Thylacis
104
S.
Siganus
303
Sula
260
Thymallus .
319
Sigaretus .
362
Surnia
175
Thynnus
299
Saccomys .
116
Siliquaria .
368
Sus
130
Thysanoura
486
Saccopharynx .
325
Silpha
516
Syllis
395
Tichodroma
206
Sagra
549
Siluridae
316
Sylvia
189
Timoriennes
357
Sabella
392
Silurus
316
Synallaxis
206
Tinea
313
INDEX.
667
Tineites
612
Trionyx
272
Tipula
619
Triton
287
, 385
Todus
210
Tritonia
352
Tomicus
542
Trochelus .
207
I'orpedo
333
Trochetia .
399
Torquatrix
281
Trochoides
358
Tortrix
281
Trochus
358
Totanus
246
Trogides
524
Totipalmati
259
Troglodytes
192
Toxotes
298
Trogon
216
TrachearicE
466
Trogosita .
544
Trachelides
536
Tropidolepis
275
Trachinus
293
Truncatipennes
494
Trag'opan
227
Trygon
333
Trapelus
275
Tubicolae
391
Tremadotea
647
Tubicolaria
661
Tri acanthus
329
Tubifex
398
Trichecus .
100
Tubipora .
393,
,655
Trichides .
527
Tubitelae
458
Trichiurus
302
Tubularia
656
Trichocephalus .
644
Tubulibranchiata
367
Trichocerca
660
Tupaia
78
Trichon otes
308
Turbinella
366
Trichopodus
304
Turbo
358
Trichotropis
364
Turdus
184
Tricuspidaria
Tridacna
648
Turrilites .
342
377
Turritella .
358
Trig-la
294
Typhlops .
281
Trig-ona
Trigoniae
Trigonocephalus
Trimera
415
375
283
554
Tyrannus .
U.
181
Trineura
636
Ulonata
556
Tringa . 236, 244
Ulula
174
Triodon
326
Umbrella .
355
Umbrina
296
Viverra
92
Unio .
376
Voluta
363
Unipeltata .
424
Volvox
661
Unogata
453
Vomer
300
Upupa
206
A^orticella .
655
Urania
607
Vulsella
373
Uranoscopus
294
Vulpus
91
Uria
233
Urocerata
584
X.
Uroinastix
275
Uropeltis
281
Xanthornus
202
Uroptera
427
Xenopeltis
282
Ursotaxus
86
Xenops
206
Ursus
83
Xenos
615
Xiphias
299
V.
Xirichthys .
310
Vagabondes
Xylocopa .
599
462
Xylophagi .
542
Vaginulus
348
Xylophagus
627
Valvata
359
Xylophili
524
Vanellus
236 1
1 Xylotrogi
508,
514
Vampyrus
71
Xyphosura
444
Vanga
179
Velia
566
Y.
Venericardia
376
Venus
379
Yunx
213
Vermetus
. 367
Vesiculosa
623
Z.
Vespa
597
Vespertilio
. 67,74
Zapornia
249
Vetrura
348
Zeus .
300
Vibrio
660
Zoea
437
Vidua
200
Zygasna
332,
609
Vinago
. 231
Zygodactyli
.
211
Viper a .
284
INDEX OF POPULAR NAMES
Addax
A.
Page
139
Birds
Birds of Prey
Bison
Page
154
163
143
Civet
Class, meaning of
Coaita
Page
92
15
61
Adjutant
241
Bittern
240
Coal-fish
322
Agami
237
Black-bird
185
Coatimondi
85
Agouti
120
Blenny
306
Cochineal insect .
573
Ai
123
Blood, the .
22
Cockatoo
219
Albatross
257
Boa .
281
Cockle
377
Algazel
140
Boar-fish
301
Cockroach
558
Alligator
273
Boat-bill
239
Cod .
322
Amaduvat
200
Bobalink
199
Coendou
118
Amazon-ant
592
Bombardier Beetle
494
Colin
229
Anchovy
321
Bongar
284
Colugo
76
Angel-fish
332
Bot .
630
Coly
201
Angler
308
Bottlehead
148
Condor
165
Avi
. .
216
Bottletit
197
Condylure
81
Animals, general de-
Bream
313
Conger
325
scription of .
19
Breve
186
Coot
249
Animal Kingdom, ge-
Brill .
323
442
Ant
591
Bubow
174
Ant-catcher
186
Buffalo
143
Ant-eater .
126
Bug .
565
Ant-lion
577
Bulfinch
201
Antelope
•
139
Bunting
198
Apara
,
124
Burbot
322
Apple-blight
572
Burying-beetle
516
Argali
,
142
Bustard
235
Argus
227
Butterfly .
605
Aricari
217
Buzzard
171
Armadillo
Articulated Animals
Ass
Assaphan .
124
387
134
110
C.
Cabassou .
125
Atherure .
118
Cachalot
148
Attagen
230
Cachicame
124
Auk
254
Caddice
580
Aulacodon
118
Ca’ing Whale
147
Averano
183
Camel
135
Avocet
247
Campanero
183
Aye-aye
110
Canary-bird
200
Azurine
197
Canet
116
B.
Babbler
190
Capelin
Capuchin .
Capybara
Cardinal-finch
319
61
119
201
Baboon
59
Cariama
237
Babyroussa
130
Carle
239
Badger
85
Carp .
313
Bald Tyrant
182
Cassican
202
Baltimore .
202
Cassowary
233
Balysaur
86
Cat
94
Bandicoot .
104
Caterpillar-hunter
182
Banxring .
78
Cavy .
119
Barbacou .
215
Cedar-bird
183
Barbel
313
Cellular membrane
21
Barbet
215
Cephalot
68
Barbican
215
Chaffinch .
199
Baritah
179
Chameleon
278
Barnacle
263
Chamois
141
Bathyergue
116
Chat .
189
Basilisk
276
Chauna
248
Bat
67
Cheirogale
65
Bear .
83
Chigoe
490
Beaver
117
Chimpanzee
56
Bee .
601
Chincha
120
Bee-eater .
209
Chinchilla
120
Bethule
180
Chocard
188
Bharsiale .
86
Choucari
180
Binturono .
84
Chough
208
Bird-of-Paradise
205
Circulation
37
Coral
Cormorant
Coronard
Coryphene
Cotinga
Courser
Coua
Couagga
Coucal
Courlan
Courol
Cowries
Coypu
Crab .
Crab-louse
Crake
Crane
Crayfish
Creeper
Cricket
Crinon
Crocodile
Crossbill
Crow
Cuckoo
Curassow
Curlew
Cuttlefish
Cymindue
657
259
169
302
182
237
214
134
214
239
214
362
117
412
488
249
237
420
206
560
186
272
201
203
213
224
243
D.
Dab . . . 323
Daddy Long-legs 619
Daman . . 132
Death’s head Aloth 608
Death-watch 514, 580
Deer
Delundung
Demoiselle
Desman
Diamond-beetle
Dipper
Dingo
Diver .
Dodo
Dog .
Dog-fish
Dolphin
Dor .
Dormouse
Dory
Douc
137
92
238
80
540
187
90
251
234
90
331
146
524
111, 113
301
58
Douroucouli
Pag;e
62
Dove
231
Dragon
276
Dragoon-bird
182
Dragonet .
274, 308
Dragon-fly
574
Dromedary
136
Drongo
183
Duck
263
Duckbill
127
Dugong
145
Dunnock
191
Dzegguetai
134
E.
Eagle .
167
Eagle-hawk
169
Earwig
557
Earthworm
397
Eel . .
325
Eels in paste
660
Egret
240
Eider
264
Elanet
170
Electric Eel
326
Elephant
128
Elk .
137
Emeu
233
Emperor-moth
610
Encoubert
124
Encrinite
640
Erne
168
F.
Falcinelle
245
Falcon
166
Falconet
180
Falcopern
167
Fauvette
190
Fennec
91
Fieldfare
185
File-fish
328
Finch
198
Finch-tanager .
184
Finfoot
252
Fire-fly
510
Flamingo
250
Flatbill
181
Flea .
490
Flounder
323
Fluke
647
Fly . . .
632
Flycatcher
180
Forest-fly
637
Fowl
226
Fox
91
Frigate-bird
260
Frog
286
Functions, bodily, of
animals, 25. Intel-
lectual
28
G.
Gad-fly
626
Galago
65
Galet
92
Gallinazo
165
Gallinule
249
Gambet .
246
INDEX.
669
Ganga
228
Gannet
260
Gar-fish
315
Garrot
26f
Gastromargue
61
Gauflfre
116
Gavial
273
Gazelle
139
Gecko
277
Genet
92
Genus, meaning of
15
Gerbil
113
Gibbon
50
Gipsy-moth
610
Giraffe
138
Glow-worm
512
Glutton
87
Gnat
618
Gnu .
141
Goat .
141
Goat-moth
610
Goby .
307
Godwit
244
Goldfinch .
199
Goliath-beetle
628
Goose
262
Gordian
400
Gorfew
252
Goulin .
189
Goura
231
Grackle
188
Grampus
147
Grasshopper
561
Grayling
319
Great Atlas Moth
610
Grebe
252
Green-finch
200
Griffin
166
Grison
87
Grosbeak .
200
Ground Hog
125
Groundling
314
Grouse
228
Guacharo .
196
Guan
224
Gudgeon
313
Guerlinguet
109
Guillemot
253
Guinea-fowl
226
Guinea-pig
119
Guinea-worm
644
Gull
257
Gurnard
294
Gurniad
319
Gyall
143
Gymnode .
183
H.
Haddock .
322
Haematorn
171
Hake
322
Halibut
323
Halket
99
Hamster
114
Hare .
118
Harfang
175
Harrier
171
Harpagon
167
Hawk
170
Hawk- moth
608
Hedgehog
77
Hedge-sparrow
191
Heron
239
Herring .
320
Hibou
173
Hog
334
Honey-guide
215
Honey-sucker
206
Hoodcap
99
Hoopoe
207
Hootia
112
Hornbill
211
Hornet
598
Hornet Moth
609
Horse
133
Howlet
174
Human species, va-
rieties of
49
Humble-bee
600
Humming-bird
207
Hydra
284
Hysena
94
I.
Ibex .
142
Ibis
242
Ichneumon
93
Iguana
270
Impeyan
225
Indri .
64
Inia
148
Instinct
31 n.
Intestinal Worms
643
J.
Jabiru
241
Jacamar .
211
Jacana
247
Jackal
91
Jackdaw
204
Jaguar
95
Jaguarondi
96
Jay
204
Jerboa
115
Jerfalcon
167
Jumping Hare
115
K.
Kangaroo .
105
King-crab
444
Kingfisher
210
Kinglet
192
Kinkajou ,
85
Kite .
170
Koala
106
L.
Lackey-moth
610
Lady-bird .
555
Lama
136
Lamprey
334
Lancelot
334
Lancet-fish
303
Langarey .
179
Lapwing
236
Lark .
196
Leech
399
Lemming .
114
Lemur
63
Leopard
95
Lily-beetle .
550
Limpet
369
Liudo
184
Ling .
322
Linnet
199
Lion
95
Lizard
274
Lizard-seeker
214
Loach
314
Lobefoot
246
Locust
561
Locustelle
191
Loon .
252
Looper
612
Lori
64
Louse
488
Lump-fish
324
Lycaon
91
Lynx
96
Lyre-tail .
189
M.
Macaque .
58
Macartney
227
Macauco
64
Maccaw
219
Mackerel .
298
Magot
59
Magpie
, 204
Magpie-moth (
604, 612
Maigre ,
296
Malkohah
215
Malmac
65
Man
44
His peculiar confor-
mation
45
Physical and moral
developement 47
Manakin
193
Manati
145
Mandrill
59
Mangue
93
Marinot
110
Marmoset
62
Marten
88
Martin
195
Mastodon .
129
Matamata
272
Mealy-bug
573
Meat-fly
633
Medullary matter 21
Merganser
266
Midge
619
Mina
187
Minnow ,
314
Mite
469
Mocker
185
Moco
119
Mole .
80
Mole-cricket
560
Mole-rat
115
Molossine
69
Monk .
99
Monkey
54, 57
Morse
100
Mosquito .
618
Moth .
608
Moth-hunter
195
Mot-mot
209
Moucherolle
181
Moufflon
142
Mouse
112
Mullet
304
Muntjac
138
Musang
93
Muscular fibre
21
Musk
136
Musk-duck
265
Musk-ox
144
Muskquash
114
Mussel
375
Myrounga
99
N.
Nandou
233
Nape-crest
220
Narwhal
148
Natural History, de-
finition of
13
Natural method .
16
Nereid
394
Nerves, the
23
Nicagua
170
Nightingale
190
Noctules
70
Noddy
258
Nutcracker
204
Nuthatch .
206
Nutrition .
22
Nut-weevil .
541
Nyctibune .
196
Nyentek
89
Nylghau
141
0.
Onagga
134
Opossum .
102
Opossum Shrimp
422
Order, meaning of 15
Organization
16
Oriole
188
Orthonet
187
Ortygan
229
Orvet
280
Osprey
168
Ostrich
232
Otary
99
Otter .
89
Ouistiti
62
Ounce
95
Ourang
54
Oviparous Vertebra-
ta .
153
Owl
173
Ox
143
Oxpecker .
202
Oyster
371
Oyster-catcher
236
P.
Paca .
120
Panda
84
Pangolin
126
Panther
95
Pardalote .
180
Parraqua .
224
Parrot
218
Partridge .
229
Pauxi .
224
Peafowl
225
Peccary
131
Pelican
259
Penduline .
198
Penguin
255
Perch
293
Periwinkle
358
Pern .
171
Petaurist
105
Petrel
255
Pettychaps
192
Phalanger
104
Pheasant
226
Philander
104
Phyllostome
70
Piauhau
182
Piculet
213
Pig
130
Pigeon
230
Pika .
119
Pike .
314
Pilchard
320
Pilot-fish
299
Pine-finch
201
Pintail-duck
266
Pipe-fish
327
Pipe-mouth
312
Pipit .
193
Pitpit
203
Plaice
323
Plantain-eater
220
Plover
235
Plumage of Birds
159 n.
Pochard
264
Pogge
295
Pollock
322
Pongo
55
Porbeagle
332
Porcupine .
117
Porpoise
147
Potoroo
105
Potto
64, 85
Poultry
223
Prairie Dog
111
Prawn
421
Prion
257
Pseudostome
116
Ptarmigan
228
Puff-bird
216
Puffin
254
Puma
96
Puss-moth
611
Python
282
Q.
Quail
•
229
R.
Rabbit
119
Raccoon
.
84
670
INDEX.
Rail
249
Rain -fowl .
215
Rat
no, 112
Ratel .
87
Rattle-snake
283
Raven
203
Ray
333
Razorbill
254
Razor- fish .
380
Redstart
190
Redwing
185
Reedling
197
Reindeer
137
Respiration
37
Roach
313
Robin
189
Rockling
322
Roe
138
Role
281
Rolle .
205
Roller
204
Rook
203
Rorqual
149
Rose-beetle
528
Roussette
68
Ruff .
245
S.
Sagouin
62
Saki .
61
Salamander
287
Salmon
318
Sanderling
245
Sandpiper .
244
Sapajou
60
Sardine
320
Sawfish
333
Scabbard-fish
302
Scale-insect
572
Scinque
278
Scorpion
465
Scoter
264
Screamer
248
Scytal
282
Sea-bream
297
Sea-devil
308
Sea-hedgehog
640
Seal
97,99
Sea-pike
294
Sea-slug
641
Sea-wolf
307
Secretary
172
Secretion
22
Senses, the
25
Serpent
280
Sersine
182
Shad
320
Shark
332
Shearwater
256
Sheathbill .
250
Sheep
142
Shieldrake
265
Shoveller
265
Shrew
79
Shrew-mole
81
Shrike
178
Shrimp
421
Silk-worm
610
Skate
333
Skimmer
258
Skipjack
509
Skua
258
Skunk
88
Sleeve-fish
340
Slow-worm
280
Sloth
122
Slug
348
Smelt
319
Snail
348
Snipe
243
Snipe-fish .
312
Snowfleck
198
Sokinak
78
Sole
324
Solitary-bee
599
Sora
249
Souslik
111
Sparrow
199
Sparrow-hawk
170
Species
19,
19 n.
Spheniscan
255
Spider
454
Spider-catcher
207
Sponge
659
Spoonbill
242
Sprat
320
Spring-bok
139
Squirrel
109
Stag .
137
Stag-beetle
529
Star-fish
639
Starling
203
Stellarine
145
Steen-bok
140
Stentor
60
Sterrinck .
98
Stilt
246
Stilt-birds
231
Stone-curlew
235
Stork
240
Storm-petrel
256
Sturgeon
330
Sucking-fish
324
Sultana
249
Sunbird
207
Sun-fish
328
Surikate
93
Sum .
175
Sw^allow
194
Sw'an
261
Swift
194
Sword-fish
. 299
T.
Taguan
109
Taira
87
Tamandua
126
Tamarin
62
Tanager
184
Tapeworm
648
Taxel
86
Teal .
266
Teeth of Mammalia,
general remarks on 150
Teledu
88
Temia
204
Tench
313
Tenrec
78
Tern .
258
Terrapin
271
Thick-knee
235
Thread-worm
644
Thrush
184
Thunder-fish
317
Tiger
95
Tiger-cat .
95
Tiger-moth
611
Tinaraou
230
Tit
197
Toad
287
Tody
210
Tope
332
Tortoise
270
Toucan
217
Touraco
220
Tree-creeper
2C6
Trilobites
449
Troopial
202
Trout
318
Trunk-fish
329
Tunny
299
Turbot
323
Turkey
226
Turnip-flea
553
Turnstone
245
Turtle
271
Tyrant
181
U.
Unau
123
Urchin
77
Ursal
100
Urson
118
V.
Yarn pyre .
71
Varieties
19
Vertebrate Animals 35
Vicugna
. 136
Viper
284
Viscacha .
. 120
Vole .
114
Volutes
363
Vultern
226
Vulture
164
W.
Waders
231
Wagtail
192
Walrus
100
Wapiti
138
Wart-hog .
131
Wasp .
597
Water-flea .
439
Water- wagtail
193
Waxbill
200
Waxwing .
182
Weasel
87
Weaver
199
Weever
293
Weevil
539
Whale
149
Whelk
364
Whidah .
200
Whirlwig .
505
White Ant
579
V/hite Bait .
320
Whiting
322
Widgeon
266
Wire- worm
510
Wolf .
91
Wolverine .
86
Wombat
106
Woodcock .
244
Wood-leopard
610
Woodpecker
212
Worbles
630
Wrasse
309
Wren .
192
Wryneck .
213
Y.
Yak .
143
Yapach
102
Z.
Zebra .
134
Zerda
91
Zoophytes .
638
i
5
I
!
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