years in the country, and have travelled through it in every direction;
we are therefore bound to suppress the few detached observations we were
able to make during the short space of four weeks.
Captain Von Kotzebue having frequently sent his people to fish in the
Bay of Boto Fogo, we enriched our collection by thirty-two kinds of
fish, the greater part of which were very similar to those already
described as tenants of the Atlantic, but still differing from them in
some respects.
How abundant the insects of Brazil are is generally known, particularly
in the warm and moist lands along the coast, in the vicinity of Rio
Janeiro. Few of them crawl on the ground; the greater part of them live
on the leaves and fruits, or under the bark of trees, in flowers, and in
the spongy excrescences of the trees. Among the coleoptera, the
_Stachylinus_ is a rarity: the white-winged _Cicindela nivea_ of Kirby
is to be found in great abundance on the sand of the beach, which is of
the same colour as itself; the _Cic. nodicornis_ and _angusticollis
Dej._ on the other hand, frequent the paths in the forests. _Cosnania_,
which supplies the place of our _Elaphrus_, is found among the grass by
the side of brooks. The little animals of the _Plochionus_ and
_Coptodera_ species climb, by means of their indented claws, along the
moss on the trunks of the trees: their numbers, in these extensive
forests, must be immense. Of the _Cantharis_, the number is small; the
strongest of which is the _Cantharis flavipes_ F. the descriptions of
which vary, so that it may still be doubted whether we have a correct
account of it. To show the proportion of the numerous subdivisions which
we observed in the different genera, it will be sufficient to give the
numbers of those which we were able to collect during the short period
of our stay:--these were, _Elater_, 37; _Lampyris_, 17; _Ateuchus_, 14
(including the _Deltachilum_ and _Eurysternus_); _Passalus_, 13;
_Anoplognathidæ_, 14; _Helops_, (including _Stenochia_ and _Statira_)
17; _Curculionidæ_, 108; _Cerambycidæ_, 101; _Cassida_, 24; _Haltica_,
26; _Doryphora_, 12; _Colaspis_, 15; and _Erotylus_, 12. The _Phanæus_,
according to MacLeay, distinguished by the total absence of claws from
the feet, is peculiar to the warmer parts of America: _Onthophagus_ is
not met with along the shore, but is found in the interior. Such large
_Copris_ as are seen in the old world, (_Isidis_, _Hamadrias_,
_Bucephalus_,) have not been discovered here: their place is supplied by
the large _Phanæi_, _Faunus_, _bellicosus_, _lancifer_, &c. A
golden-green _Copris_ is a great rarity. _Onitis_ seems to be quite
wanting in America: all the specimens, in this part of the world, that
have been placed in that class, belong partly to the _Phanæus_, and
partly to the _Eurysternus_ Dalm. a remarkable species of the genus
Ateuchus.
The _Ateuchi_ are not less numerous in South America than in Africa;
and here is found what may be looked upon as the intermediate link
between _Copris_ and _Onitis_. No part of the world is so rich in
_Rutelides_ as trophical America; and according to the narrow limits
within which Mac Leay confines this family, it would seem to be
exclusively restricted to this continent. The greater part have not the
head divided from the head-shield by a line, and the breast is
lengthened in front into a spine: this extensive division is peculiar to
America. In the second division, the head-shield of which is bounded by
a strongly marked line, those which are provided with a breast-bone are
American. South America possesses also the intermediate genus between
the _Rutelides_ and _Scarabæi_, in the genus _Cyclocephala_,
_Anoplognathidæ_ were hitherto known to us from New Holland, Asia, South
Africa, and South America, and are characterised by the drooping form of
the upper-lip, falling lowest in the middle, and by the inequality of
their claws; the under-lip, at the same time, has either a projection in
the centre, or consists of two parts lapping over one another. In the
same way that the _Anoplognathidæ_ of New Holland have the appearance of
_Rutelides_ proper, are the South American _Anoplognathidæ_
distinguished by their resemblance to _Melolonthidæ_: those of Brazil
have no breast-bone, and at least one claw to each foot is cloven, which
distinguishes them from those of Asia. _Chelonarium_ and _Atractocerus_
fly about in the evening, and are attracted by a light. The Brazilian
jumping beetles differ, almost all of them, in their form, from those of
Europe. Among the _Heteromerides_, in the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro,
owing to the dampness of the soil, no unwinged beetle is to be met with;
a few varieties of the species _Scotinus_ have been found upon the Organ
mountains only.
Owing to the excessive roughness of the weather, our passage from Rio
Janeiro to the Bay of Conception afforded us but few opportunities to
add to our collections. A snipe blown out to sea from the Rio de la
Plata, a specimen of _Diomedea Albatros_ at Terra del Fuego, a large
_Salpa_, and a _Lepas_, were all we were able to obtain. The Bay of
Conception presents a rich field to the ornithologist. A kind of parrot,
with a long tail, and naked round the eyes, flies about in swarms; and a
smaller kind from the interior, is to be found tame in the houses; our
guns frequently brought down two small kinds of doves. Of _Ambulatores_
we met some, of the genera _Cassicus_, _Motacilla_, _Muscicapa_,
_Pyrgita_, _Saxicola_, _Cotile_; of birds of prey, _Percnopterus Jota
Mol._, and two buzzards; of _Grallatores_, two kinds of _Hæmatopus_,
both with white legs, the one with a black body, as _H. niger_ is
described by Quoy and Gaimard, the other more similar to the European; a
_Vanellus_ with spurs to the wings, _Numenius_, _Scolopax_,
_Phalaropus_, _Ardea Nycticorax_; and lastly a small bird with
remarkably short legs, digitated, and with a short thick bill,
frequenting the sea-shore, and feeding on seeds of _Rumex_ and
_Polygonum_, and constituting a new species, which may be called
_Thinocorus_. Of aquatic birds, there were two kinds of _Sterna_ and
_Larus_; many thousands of _Rynchops nigra_, which were so numerous as
to appear like clouds when they rose into the air; a _Procellaria_ of
the variety _Nectris_; two kinds of _Podiceps_, and an _Aptenodytes_ of
the variety _Spheniscus_. The upper part of the latter was of a lead
colour, and the lower part white, with a line of dullish grey running
from the bill to the belly, and forming a boundary between the two
colours; the bill and legs quite black. The animal was alive when
brought to us. When resting, it lay upon its belly and stretched out its
head. In the water it appeared unable to maintain itself afloat except
by incessant paddling, the whole of the body being meanwhile under
water.
Of amphibia, only five kinds can be distinctly named; a brown _Coluber_,
two small lizards of the family of _Scincoidea_, a small _Rana_, with a
spot like an eye on the belly, and a small _Bufo_. Of fishes, the most
remarkable was a _Torpedo_, with the back of a reddish brown, and
smooth; and a _Callorhynchus antarcticus_: the latter may very well
remain in the class of _Chimæra_. Of crustaceæ, we collected three
_Canceres_, a _Portunus_, a _Porcellana_, a _Sphæroma_, and a _Ligia_.
The dry land along the coast is extremely poor in insects. The number of
beetles collected in 1816, together with those taken on the present
occasion, amounted only to sixty seven, but they are altogether peculiar
to the country. The most remarkable are a _Carabus_ of the beautiful
colours of the _hispanus_, but with narrow striped cases to the wings,
and a large _Prionus_: the joints of the feet, in this latter, are short
and cylindrical, constituting a distinction from the whole family of the
_Cerambycinæ_; in every other respect it is unquestionably a _Prionus_,
and may be called _Pr. Mercurius_, on account of two wing-shaped
appendages, attached to the neck-corselet. Sixteen Carabicides were
found belonging to the _Calosoma_, _Pæcilus_, _Harpalus_, _Trechus_,
_Dromius_, and _Peryphus_. We were surprised at finding so few
dung-beetles. We met with only two large ones, namely, the _Megathopa
villosa_ of _Esch_. Entomography, forming a species of the _Ateuchus_,
and a _Copris torulosa_, described in the same work; this, however, is
owing to the very little moisture in the atmosphere, which dries the
dung almost immediately. It is curious, that all the seventeen kinds of
_Copris_ of South America known to us, have but seven stripes upon each
wing-case; whereas those of the Old World have eight: the larger kinds,
_Hamadrias_, _Bucephalus_, and _Isidis_,[4] alone agree with the South
American in the number of stripes. Of the Americans, the _C. Hesperus
Oliv._ is the only one with a border to the seventh stripe, and the _C.
Actæon Klug_ of Mexico is the only one that has eight stripes.
Various kinds of beetles in Chili seek a shelter from the rays of the
sun in the dry cow-dung: almost all the Heteromerides with wings grown
together, the greater part of the beetles armed with trunks, and several
Carabides, were found there. The ten kinds of Heteromerides, with
distorted wings, found here, belong to five new classes: the other
Heteromerides consist of a _Helops_ and a black _Lytta_ with red thighs.
Of beetles furnished with a proboscis, we met with four kinds of
_Listroderes_, two remarkable _Cryptorhynchi_, and a few others of the
shape of a _Rhigus_. Lastly are to be noticed, a _Lucanus_ of the form
of the _femoratus_, a large _Stenopterus_, and a large black _Psoa_. We
found very few other species of insects, but several kinds of
_Pompilus_, one two inches long, and a curious _Castnia_, were the most
remarkable.
Of marine animals there remain to be noticed--a small _Octopus_, a
_Loligo_, two _Chiton_, _Patella_, _Crepidula_, _Pilcopsis_,
_Fissurella_, _Calyptræa_; of _Concholepas_, only empty shells; a large
_Mytilus_, a small _Modiola_, _Turritella_, _Turbo_, _Balanus_; and a
Holothuria of the variety _Psolus_.
In the vast sea between the coast of Chili and the Low Islands or the
dangerous Archipelago, very few animals appear to live near the surface,
at least we saw none; a quantity of flying-fish were seen, resembling
the _Exocoetus volitans_, but having the rays of the breast-fins
parted towards the end. During the short space of ten days that we
stayed at O Tahaiti, the inhabitants, who for a trifling remuneration
brought us all sorts of marine animals, enabled us to make acquaintance
with all the natural productions of this much praised country. Birds are
scarce in the lowlands along the coast. The little blue _Psittacus
Taitianus_ frequents the top of the cocoa-palm; the _Ardea sacra_ walks
along the coral reefs; but it is seldom that a tropical bird is seen on
the wing. A _Gecko_ of the species _Hemidactylus_ lives about old
houses; a small lizard of the family of _Scincoidea_, with a
copper-coloured body and a blue tail, and a striped _Ablepharus_, are
met with frequently among the rocks. Of fishes, the variety is great,
many of them of splendid colours, particularly the small ones, which
feed upon the coral, and seek shelter among its branches. The same place
of refuge is chosen by numbers of variegated crabs, more particularly
the _Grapsus_, _Portunus_, and _Galathea_. Three kinds of _Canceres_
already known were brought us, the _maculatus_, _corallinus_, and
_floridus_; the two former move but little, and their shells are as
hard as stones. A small _Gelasimus_ burrows under the ground, and makes
himself a subterranean passage from the water to the dry land. The
female has very small claws, but the male has always one very large pink
claw, which is sometimes the right and sometimes the left.
A large brownish _Gecarcinus_ lives entirely on the land, in holes of
his own making; his gills accordingly are not open combs, but consist of
rows of bags closely pressed together, and somewhat resembling bladders.
_Hippa adactyla_ F. is very frequent here, and keeps itself concealed
under the sands on the sea-shore. It was from these that Fabricius, who
has given a wrong description of their legs, formed his species _Hippa_;
Latreille mentions them by the name of _Remipes testudinarius_. Six
kinds of _Pagurus_. Of Crustacea already described, _Palæmon
longimanus_, _Alphæus marmoratus_, and _Squilla chiragra_; the legs of
the last are red, and formed like a club; it uses them as weapons of
offence or defence, and inflicts wounds in striking them out by a
mechanism peculiar to itself. The number of insects collected on the low
land was very small; among them the _Staphylinus erytrocephalus_, also a
native of New Holland; an _Aphodius_, scarcely to be distinguished from
the _limbatus Wiedem._ of the Cape of Good Hope; an _Elater_ of the
species _Monocrepis_; of _Oedemera_, three varieties of the species
_Dytilus_, to which belong the _Dryops livida_ and _lineata_ F.; two
small varieties of _Apate_; _Anthribus_, _Cossonnus_, _Lamia_, _Sphinx
pungens_, and a large _Phasma_.
No place could be more convenient for the observation of the Mollusca
and Radiata than Cape Venus. At a few hundred paces from the shore is a
coral reef, which at low water is completely dry. In the shoal water,
between the reef and the shore, is found the greatest variety of the
more brittle kinds of coral, and among their sometimes thick bushes,
mollusca and echinodermes lie concealed. The rapid movements of a small
_Strombus_, which, when taken, beat about it with its shell, formed like
a thin plate of horn, and armed with sharp teeth, were very curious. On
breaking the stone which is formed by fragments of coral, a _Sternaspis_
was found burrowing in the interior. Seven classes of Holothuria were
examined; three belonged to the species of _Holothuria_, called by
Lamarck _Fistularia_, but which name had already been given by Linnæus
to the tobacco-pipe fish; the fourth was a species newly discovered, and
to which we appropriated the name of _Odontopyga_, because the fundament
is armed with five calcareous teeth; the belly is furnished with small
tubes, and the back covered with bumps. Two more belong to the species
_Thyone_; and the seventh kind of Holothuria ought, properly speaking,
to form a class apart, not having tubular feet, but adhering, by means
of their sharp skin, to extraneous objects, on which account they might
be called _Sinapta_; their feelers are fringed and they live concealed
among stones. We found five small kinds of sea-leeches; and among three
kinds of star-fish, the _Asterias Echinites_, the large radii of which
easily inflict a severe wound; another had the form of the _Asterias
Luna_, was eight inches in diameter, without radii, and had more the
appearance of a round loaf of bread somewhat flattened. Of corals, the
variety was very great, as may be judged from the circumstance of our
having collected twenty-four kinds within so short a space of time.
_Fungia_ is quite at home here; for, independently of _F.
agariciformis_, _scutaria_, and _limacina_, a long kind was also found,
having, like the two former, only one central cavity; they are found in
shallow water among other corals. Of tabular corals already known, there
remain to be mentioned, _Pavonia boletiformis_, _Madrepora prolifera
abrotanoides_, _corymbosa_, _plantaginea_, and _pocillifera_.
The inhabitants of the Navigator Isles brought us the little _Psittacus
australis_, _Columba australis_, and another very prettily marked dove,
having green plumage, ornamented with a dark violet line across the
breast, and the feet and head of a reddish purple. It climbed about the
sides and roof of its cage, did not leave its perch when it wanted to
drink, but stooped down so low as merely to hang by its legs; it would
not eat seed, but lived principally on fruit, particularly bananas, all
which closely agreed with the habits of parrots.
During our passage to the equator, _Sterna solida_ and _Dysporus Sula_
alighted frequently on our vessel, and allowed themselves to be taken.
The latter, when old, has a blue beak and red feet; when young, a red
bill and flesh-coloured legs. The exterior nostrils are entirely
wanting; but in every part are air-cells between the skin and the
muscles.
Besides these animals, six varieties of _Pteropodes_ were caught; also a
_Glaucus_, differing from that of the Atlantic _Janthina penicephala
Per._, a _Planaria_, _Salpa vivipara Per._, a _Pyrosoma_, resembling
that of the Atlantic, and a _Lepas_, attached to the shell of the
_Janthina_. Our collection of Acalephi was extremely rich; of fourteen
kinds taken, only one, _Physalia Lamartinieri_, was known to us.
Our eight days' stay at the coral island Otdia, afforded us an
opportunity to observe or collect about one hundred different kinds of
marine animals. It has already been mentioned elsewhere, that the only
kind of mammalia found upon this island is a middling-sized cat, which
feeds on the fruit of the pandanus tree, and makes its nest in the dead
branches, which it easily hollows out. Several lizards have also been
found in these islands, such as the striped _Ablepharus_ of O Tahaiti,
and a small _Gecko_; a large coal-black lizard was several times seen,
but always escaped among the dry pandanus leaves. The fishes are
remarkable for the singularity of their form, and the beauty of their
colours; those brought to us by the inhabitants belonged to the
_Holocentrus_, _Scarus_, _Mullus_, _Chætodon_, _Heniochus_,
_Amphacanthus_, _Theutis_, and _Fistularia_.
Of Crustacea we saw twenty different kinds; among them a _Gonoplax_ of
the middling size, and as white as the coral-sand, among which it lives,
on the shore. The _Hippopus_ found here differs from the _maculatus_
already known by the much greater elevation of its shell. The large
_Tridachna_ is the _Tr. squamosa Lam._ It is very unusual to meet with
an animal belonging to the family of Lepades in tubular holes made in
the coral rocks, as is the case with the _Lithonaetta N._ Among the
twenty kinds of tabular coral here observed, there was not one of those
collected at O Tahaiti; there were three new _Distichoporæ_,
_Seriatipora_, six kinds of _Madrepora_, two _Porites_, four _Astrea_,
_Pocillopora cærulea_, and another kind, forming broad, yellow, leafy
masses, the slime of which stings like a nettle; _Cariophyllæa
glabrescens Cham._, and _Tubipora_, with red animalculæ.
A calm of several days, between eighteen and twenty degrees of north
latitude, during our passage to Kamtschatka, afforded opportunities for
the observation of several remarkable animals. A small animal of
Lamarck's family of Heteropodes, with two rows of separate fins,
received the name _Tomopteris_. Secondly, a _Salpa_, of the class which
lives apart and has fine long fibres projecting from the hinder part of
the body. Thirdly, a small animal, nearly allied to the _Diphyes_, the
soft part of the body, which contains the tube for receiving
nourishment, having no air-bladder. Fourthly, a small _Beroe_, having
the power of drawing in its fins. Fifthly, a very small _Porpita_. The
sixth animal was a very remarkable crab, the triangular shell on the
back, only two lines in length, provided with a spike from eight to ten
lines long, (_Lonchophorus anceps_,) projecting both before and behind.
Professor Germar has given to a species of beetle the name
_Lonchophorus_, but the same had already been described by Mac Leay,
under the name of _Phanæus_. Seventhly, an animal belonging to the class
_Arthrodiæ_, (_Arthronema N._) the exterior consisting of stiff tubes,
in the interior of which is afterwards found a skin, which eventually
divides into separate parts. Eighthly, a _Clio_, about a line in length,
with a projection from the globular part of the body. Ninthly, a second
variety of _Appendicularia_, described by my friend and companion, on
board the Rurik, A. von Chamisso, in the tenth volume of the _N. Acta
Acad. Leop. Car._, which proved to be a species of Mollusca belonging to
the Heteropodes of Lamarck. Tenthly, a _Pelagia_, scarcely, if at all,
to be distinguished from the _Panopyra Per._ Lastly, a new kind of
_Cestum_, _C. Najadis N._
In the thirty-fourth degree of latitude, renewed calms again enabled us
to add to our collection, firstly, a new species of Physsophorides
(_Agalma N._); secondly, a new _Diphyes_; thirdly, a new _Pelagia_, with
a yellow skin on the belly, attached to which was a small Cirrhipede of
the class _Cineras_; fourthly, a Medusa, with broad belly-bags, and four
strong fins; fifthly, a Medusa of the same species, with five and six
fins; sixthly, a very small Entomostracea of a flat form, and
distinguished by its blue glossy colour, similar to that of the _Hoplia
farinosa_; seventhly, a _Loligo_, probably _cardioptera Per._,
remarkable on account of the largeness of its eyes; eighthly, a second
species of _Phyllirhoe_, placed by Lamarck among the Heteropodes, to
which class it does not, however, belong. The species found in the South
Sea has no eyes, and plain feelers; on which account it was formerly
considered by us as forming a distinct class, and called _Eurydice_.
But, although the _Phyllirhoe_ is found to vary so remarkably in its
formation, owing to the want of feet, still I consider it as nearly
allied to the _Eolidia_. Ninthly, a new _Glaucus_, of a remarkably slim
body, with short fins, and of a blackish-blue colour. Tenthly, a
_Eucharis N._ In addition to these, no less than eight Crustacea were
taken in the net. In the vicinity of Kamtschatka, the vessel sailed
daily through red masses floating on the surface; on drawing up some of
the water, the pail was found full of red _Calanus_, a line and a half
long, with rough feelers of the same length as the body.
In Kamtschatka we found the Bay of Awatscha poor in Mollusca and
radiated animals, owing probably to the inconsiderable ebb and flood.
The objects most frequently met with, were an ugly little _Turbo_, the
empty shell of which was tenanted by a black _Pagurus_ and a _Balanus_.
A large _Cyanea_ differs from the European _C. ciliata_, in the form of
the stomach. Another Medusa, constituting a new kind of _Sthenonia N._,
was observed; its digestive organs resemble those of the Aurelia; and
about the edge, eight bunches of very long fibres project, provided,
like those of the Physaliæ, with two rows of suckers.
The environs of St. Peter and St. Paul, lying under fifty-three degrees
of north latitude, possess an insect Fauna, such as is in Europe only
found in sixty and seventy degrees of latitude; as for instance, in
Lapland and Finland. A great number of species are exactly similar in
both regions; others of the Kamtschatkan insects have been met with
nowhere else, except in Siberia, and a small number is quite peculiar to
the former country. All have not yet been subjected to a diligent
examination, and only the following can be with certainty mentioned.