Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they
are listed at the end of the text.
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Project Gutenberg has the other two volumes of this work.
Volume I: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44056.
Volume II: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44057.
* * * * *
Zoological Illustrations,
OR
ORIGINAL FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS
OF
NEW, RARE, OR INTERESTING
ANIMALS,
SELECTED CHIEFLY FROM THE CLASSES OF
Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology,
AND ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THEIR NATURAL AFFINITIES.
BY
WM. SWAINSON, ESQ., F.R.S., F.L.S.
ASSISTANT COMMISSARY GENERAL TO H. M. FORCES. CORRESPONDING MEMBER
OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PARIS; HONORARY MEMBER
OF THE CAMBRIDGE PHILOSOPHIC SOCIETY, &c.
VOL. III.
SECOND SERIES.
London:
PRINTED BY W. J. SPARROW, 3, EDWARD STREET, HAMPSTEAD ROAD.
PUBLISHED BY BALDWIN & CRADOCK, PATERNOSTER ROW,
AND R. HAVELL, 77, OXFORD STREET.
1832.-1833.
* * * * * *
TO
WILLIAM JOHN BURCHELL, ESQ.,
THE AFRICAN TRAVELLER,
Whose discoveries have benefited every branch of natural science; whose
knowledge is equal to their full elucidation; and whose
talents,--unfostered by, and unknown to, his own Government,--are held in
respect and estimation throughout the civilized world.
THIS THIRD VOLUME OF
Zoological Illustrations,
IS DEDICATED;
BY HIS ATTACHED AND AFFECTIONATE FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR.
* * * * * *
PREFACE.
----
In closing our second series of ZOOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS, we cannot but
express gratification at the terms in which they have been alluded to at
home and abroad. It is hardly necessary to state that the scientific
interest of the subjects described, and the attention bestowed upon the
plates, have progressively increased, as the work has approached its
termination. The contents of this series may now be divided into three
equal portions, so that the BIRDS, the INSECTS, and the SHELLS, will form
distinct and uniform volumes, unconnected, except in the general title,
with each other.
As complete sets of the first series have now become very scarce, new
editions of the deficient parts are in rapid progress; and the whole will
then be divided, as above, into three portions.
It is but justice to Mr. G. Bayfield,[1] that the author should here
express his satisfaction at the skill and care with which he has executed
the colouring of the plates, both of this work, and of every other in which
his services have been engaged.
In answer to several correspondents who have requested to know what book we
can recommend, as giving a general and popular introduction to the
_natural_ arrangement of animals, we are obliged to confess that amid
countless volumes of anecdotes, compilations, and methods, no such work has
ever been undertaken. With the intention of supplying this deficiency, we
have devoted the greatest portion of the last five years to an Encyclopedia
of Zoology; wherein the science will be placed under a new and striking
light; no less instructive to the general reader, than interesting to the
learned. In another year, we trust this work will be before the public. To
_that_ volume we must consequently refer the readers of _this_, whenever
they wish to understand the full scope and influence of those novelties in
natural arrangment, which are but slightly glanced at in the following
descriptions.
As more than usual care is necessary in the binding of these volumes, it
may be as well to mention that we have particularly instructed Mr. Betts,
of Compton Street, Brunswick Square, on this subject.
_Tittenhanger Green,
4th March, 1833._
* * * * * *
[Illustration: TRICHOGLOSSUS _Swainsonii_.
_Swainson's Green-lory._]
TRICHOGLOSSUS Swainsoni.
_Swainson's, or Blue-bellied Lory._
----
Family Psittacidæ. Sub-family Psittacinæ. Genus Lorius. _Swains_.
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Bill_ obsoletely notched; _Tail_ lengthened, cuneated, narrowed from the
base, the two middle tail feathers conspicuously longest, _Nob._
_Type_ Lorius. (Trichoglossus.) Swainsoni. J. and S.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Green: head, middle of the body and bands on the sides, azure-blue;
throat, breast, and flanks, orange-crimson._
Trichoglossus Swainsoni. _Jardine and Selby. Ill. of Orn. pl. iii._
Blue bellied Parrakeet. _Brown's Ill. pl. 7, White's Voyage, pl. 4. p.
140._
Le Perruche à tête bleue, male. _Le Vaill. Perr. 1. pl. 24. fig.
pulcherima._
Perruche des Moluques. _Buffon, Pl. Enl. No. 743?_
_Trichoglossus hæmatodus. Lin. Tr. 15. p. 289. omitting Syn._
----
Large flocks of these resplendent Lorys enliven the woods of New Holland,
clinging to the Eucalypti trees, and sucking the honey from the blossoms by
their brush-shaped tongue. Mr. Caley, whose notes we now follow, says it a
bird remarkable for docility and attachment to some people, although a
perfect scold to others. When young they are caught by the natives, but
from the loss of their favourite food seldom survive in confinement. An
individual, kept by Mr. Caley, on being shewn the coloured drawing of a
native plant, tried to suck the flowers, and it even made the same attempt
with a piece of cotton furniture. Its scientific history we have already
given elsewhere.
We have received more than usual pleasure at seeing our name affixed to
this charming bird, and in clearing up its history. (_Ill. of Orn. vol. 3.
p. iii._) As a child we well remember our unwearied delight at seeing its
figure in _White's Voyage_. As a collector we have preserved a series of
nearly twenty specimens, and as a naturalist our name is no longer excluded
from the Ornithological Nomenclature of New Holland. It is indeed somewhat
curious, that while we were giving information to one of the writers in the
_Lin. Trans_. upon the subjects of his paper, he should have studiously
witheld from us the only public acknowledgement, for such assistance, it
was in his power to make.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PROTESILAUS _Leilus_.]
PROTESILAUS Leilus,
_Protesilaus Butterfly_.
----
Genus Amphrisius, _Sw._ Sub-genus Protesilaus, _Sw._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Wings trigonal, acute, yellow with black transverse bands; the inferior
lengthened, narrowed, with two long acute tails; antennæ short, the club
thick, slightly compressed, but solid, and convex all round; front very
hairy; _Larva_ covered with sharp spines. _Pupa_ braced, but suspended
downwards.
Type, Pap. Protesilaus. AUCT.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings straw-colour; the superior with four, short, black, costal bands
towards the base, and two towards the exterior margin; the latter uniting
at the posterior angle._
Pap. Protesilaus. _Lin. Fab. Ent. Sys. 3. pl. p. 23. Ency. Meth. p. 50.
Merian Sur. pl. 43. Cramer, pl. 202. f. a. b._
----
From the resemblance which this insect bears to the rare British species,
named by collectors the scarce Swallow-tail, (_Papilio Podalirius_,) it is
generally called the Brazilian Swallow-tail. We advert to this
circumstance, trivial as it may sound to scientific ears, first because it
is one of the many proofs in which the nomenclature of the vulgar conveys
greater information than that of the professor: and secondly, because these
very names, in numberless instances, imply a perception of natural
analogies, which, without the labour of philosophic research, suggest
themselves to unscientific observers. In the present instance, these facts
may be verified in the most unquestionable manner. According to our views,
_Protesilaus_ not only represents one of the primary groups of the
Lepidoptera, but also typifies the Fissirostral birds, of which the
swallows are the most pre-eminent.
Madam Merian's valuable work on the Insects of Surinam, has furnished us
with a figure of the larva; which, unlike that of the European
Swallow-tails, is covered with spines: the chrysalis also departs from the
usual type of the family, in having the head directed downwards. These
facts we have verified by an inspection of the original drawings, of M.
Merian, now deposited in the British Museum. These are all important
variations in structure, which can only be explained by the natural system.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: CRESSIDA _Heliconides_]
CRESSIDA Heliconides
_Cressida Butterfly_.
----
Sub-Fam. Papilionæ. Genus Papilio. Sub-Genus Cressida. _Nobis_.
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Wings diaphanous; posterior perpendicularly elongated, obtusely dentated
or scolloped. Antenna stout, the club very thick.
Types, Cressida Heliconides and Harmonides. _Sw._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Anterior wings diaphanous, with the base, and two opaque, costal
transverse spots, black; posterior black, with a central white space, and
a marginal row of crimson spots, brightest beneath._
Papilio Cressida, _Fab. Ent. Sys. 3. 1. p. 20. Don. Ill. of Ent. 3. pl.
12. f. 2. Ency. Meth. p. 76. No. 145._
----
For a long time, the only museum in Europe which could boast of this
butterfly, was that of Sir Joseph Banks; who found it in Van Deimans Land,
during his celebrated scientific voyage with Captain Cook. Fabricius, the
most eminent entomologist of that day, described the species from this
specimen: which, with the whole of the Banksian Cabinet, was presented by
its learned and munificent possessor to the Linnæan Society of London,
where it still exists. The only published figure is that of Donovans, which
is much too small, and is otherwise faulty. The species is still very rare
in collections; our own, a fine pair, were received from Van Diemans Land.
Although unacquainted with the larva, and pupa state of this species,
nature has stamped the perfect insect with the image of that group she
intends it to represent. Its long, narrow, anterior wings, almost
transparent, immediately reminds even the unpractised entomologist of the
Heliconian butterflys; while the analysis of the genus _Papilio_, confirms
this idea, by shewing that _Cressida_ is the Heliconian type. We scarcely
need remind the student of the natural system that if our theory be
correct, this representation, under one form or other, will be found to
pervade every group of _Lepidoptera_. In all such as we have yet
investigated, this opinion has been fully verified.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PAPILIO _Memnon_.]
PAPILIO Memnon,
_Memnon Butterfly_.
----
Fam. Papilionidæ. Sub-Fam. Papilionæ. Genus Papilio.--_Sw._
(Typical form or Sub-genus.)
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Wings without tails; the anterior horizontally lengthened, entire; the
posterior margin concave; posterior wings perpendicularly lengthened, the
margin rounded and scolloped; antennæ long. _Larva_ smooth; _Pupa_ braced
in an erect position.
SUB-TYPES OF FORM. 1. _Typical_, Memnon. 2. _Sub-typical_, Erectheus. 3.
_Aberrant_, Pammon, Drusius? Codrus.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings black, rayed with blue-grey; inferior wings beneath with two rows
of marginal black spots on a pale ground, and four red spots at the
base._
Papilio Memnon, _Linn. Auct. Ency. Meth. 1. p. 29. No. 10. Cramer, pl.
91. f. c._
----
Although of sombre colours, this butterfly is imposing in its size, and
highly interesting. It is, in fact, that form which is _pre-eminently
typical_ of the whole of the Latriellian _Papilionidæ_. It seems to be
common throughout India and particularly so in Java, from whence we possess
several specimens. Dr. Horsfield's elaborate work has furnished us with
figures of the caterpillar and chrysalis.
In now first defining some of the natural groups of the modern Genus
_Papilio_, it may be as well to state that we give the results of minute
analysis, the details of which we hope to lay before the public on a future
occasion. In regard to the nomenclature, we have adopted the following
principles, suggested to us by a scientific friend of no ordinary
authority, as tending to facilitate recollection, without altering well
known specific names. Each genus or sub-genus will be named after that
species which is its peculiar type; and the new specific name of this
species will imply one of its supposed natural analogies. Thus the
sub-genus _Protesilaus_, derives its name from the typical species, while
the specific name, now proposed of _Leilus_, points out the analogy of the
group to _Urania_ Fab. The sub-genus we now define, as being in our
estimation, pre-eminently typical, retains the name of the genus. It seems
also a geographic group, since all the species yet discovered belong to the
old world.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: CARACOLLA _acutissima._
_Two-toothed Disk-Snail._]
CARACOLLA acutissima,
_Two-Toothed Disk Snail_.
----
Class Mollusca. Order Phytophages. _Swains._
GENERIC (?) CHARACTER.
_Animal_ with four tentaculæ, the lower pair very short; _Shell_ discoid,
greatly depressed; the spire but slightly raised above the body whorl;
aperture large, oblique, angulated; the lower portion generally dentated;
the margin thickened and reflected.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell imperforate, with the spiral whorls flattened obliquely, the body
whorl acutely carinated, and convex beneath: outer lip reflected; with
from 1 to 2 tuberculated teeth near the extremity_.
Caracolla acutissima. _Lam. Syst. 6. p. 2. p. 95. Knorr. vol. 4 pl. 5. f.
2. 3._
_Encycl. Meth. pl. 462. f. 1. a. b.?_
Helicodonta. _A. de Fèrrusac. pl. 58. f. 2._
Helix caracolla. _Guerin. Iconog. du Règ. Anim. Mol. pl. 6. f. 1._
----
It is seldom we can deliniate more than the covering of testacious animals,
particularly where the species are natives of tropical countries. In the
present instance we owe this power to the singular fact of this snail
having survived a voyage from Jamaica, and peered out upon an English sun.
It is now near forty years ago since an intelligent correspondent of our
honoured father sent him from Jamaica, a box of land shells: they were
carefully packed in moist decayed wood, and enclosed the living animals.
The season was summer and the voyage short; the box was immediately opened,
and by placing the shells in luke-warm water, the animals of every one
slowly emerged from their shells. Of their ultimate fate we know not: but
that celebrated artist and entomologist, the late Mr. Lewin, then a guest
in the house, executed highly finished drawings upon vellum of each
species; and from one of these our present figures are faithfully copied.
At the request of our friend Dr. Leach, a copy was also made by some one
and transmitted to Baron de Fèrussac, for his great work upon Land shell,
where it will be found engraved at pl. 58. fig. 2. M. Guerin has re-copied
this latter figure, but as both are inaccurate, without any fault of these
gentlemen, (who never saw the original drawing of Lewin) we have now
represented it correctly.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PRINIA _familiaris_
_Indian Wren warbler._]
PRINIA familiaris,
_Indian Wren-warbler_.
----
Family, Sylviadæ. Sub-Family, Sylvianæ. _Sw._ Genus, Prinia. _Horsf._
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Bill rather lengthened, much compressed, entire; rictus smooth; wings
rounded; tail broad and cuneate; feet large, strong.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Above olive brown, beneath yellowish; ears, throat, and tips of the
greater and lesser wing-covers white; tail feathers tipt with dusky
white, and margined beneath by a black bar._
Prinia familiaris. _Horsfield. Zool. Researches. Linn. Trans. 8. 165._
The sultry groves of India are not without birds which recall to the
European the songsters of his own distant land. And although nature, in her
boundless profusion, has so distributed her productions that even the
little "Kitty Wren" may in vain be looked for beyond the confines of
Europe, its representative in the East is no less neat, active, and
familiar to the habitations of man. The _Prinia familiaris_, observes Dr.
Horsfield (whose politeness enables us to figure the bird), is abundant in
many parts of Java, near villages and gardens, in the confines of which,
among trees and shrubs, it builds its nest. Sprightly and active in all its
motions, it sports among the branches in short and rapid flights, and has
received its native name from its enlivening and pleasant notes. Our figure
is the size of life, and to avoid a tedious description, all the details
have been accurately measured.
We must refer the scientific Ornithologist, for our exposition of the
natural affinities of this group, to _Northern Zoology, vol. 2, p. 200_. It
is unquestionably the Rasorial and Scansorial genus of the Sub-family
_Sylvianæ_, as there pointed out, and of which _Orthotomus_ is a sub-genus,
or type of form.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: AMPHRISIUS _Nymphalides._]
AMPHRISIUS Nympalides,
_Amphrisius Butterfly_.
----
Family Papilionidæ. Sub-Fam. Papilionæ. Genus. Amphrisius. _Sw._ (Typical
Sub-Genus).
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Wings without tails, the anterior externally dentated, the posterior
short and rounded, the margin scolloped; Antennæ long. Larva covered with
spine-like tubercles; _Pupa_ braced in an inverted position.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Anterior wings black, with longitudinal paler rays; posterior wings
yellow, with a black serrated border, and an internal row of black
spots._
Papilio Amphrisius. _Godart. Ency. Meth. 1. p. 27, No. 7._
Papilio Heliacon. _Fab. Ent. Sys. 3. 1. p. 19. Don. Ind. Ins. pl. 19. f.
1._
Papilio Amphrisius.--_Horsf. Descrip. Cat. Part 1. pl. 4. f. 13._
----
The Butterflies of which we consider the species now figured as the typical
example, constitute one of the great natural divisions of the modern genus
_Papilio_; and they are peculiarly distinguished in all their three stages
of existence, namely in the caterpillar, the pupa, and in the winged state.
Dr. Horsfield has enabled us to illustrate the two former, and we add a
figure of the perfect butterfly from specimens in our own cabinet,
collected in Java. It seems subject to much variation in point of colour,
but we have strong suspicions that some of the varieties are distinct
species. The richness of the black resembles Genoa velvet, while that of
the yellow may be compared to glossy satin. All the larger species of the
group are Oriental, but we suspect America is not without typical examples,
although they are of a much smaller size. The species however, even with
these additions, are so few, that the sub-types of the group cannot be
accurately made out.
As this seems to be the pre-eminent type of the genus, we preserve to it
the generic name.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: ACHATINELLA. Pl. 1.
_1, Pica. 2, Perversa. 3, Acuta_]
ACHATINELLA Pica,
_The Bead Snails_.
----
Class Mollusca. Order Phytophages. _Lam. Sw._ Genus ----?
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Shell oblong-conic, spiral, Columella with the base thickened and
truncate, inner lip none; outer lip internally thickened; aperture
without teeth. _Nob._
Type _Monodonta seminigra_ Lam.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell trochiform, black; apex and base of the pillar white._
Monodonta semi-nigra _Lam._
Achatina pica. _Swains. Monog. in Brands Journal, April, 1828, p. 84._
----
Achatinella is a very peculiar group of land shells, found only in the
Pacific Islands. They are all small, and so remarkably beautiful, that the
natives use them for ornaments. It was under this form that seven different
species came into our possession on the return of Captain, now Lord Byron,
from his voyage to the South Seas. As the systematic conchologist will find
them fully described in the Journal above quoted, we now only illustrate
them by figures.
----
ACHATINELLA perversa, _fig. 2._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell reversed, sub-trochiform, fulvous brown with darker transverse
bands and longitudinal lines; apex and suture white._
Achatinella perversa. _Swains. Monog. No. 2, p. 84._
Our figures of this elegant species are somewhat larger than nature.
----
ACHATINELLA Acuta, Fig. 3.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell ovate-oblong, chesnut, with a marginal fulvous band; spire
somewhat lengthened, acute, the tip black._
Achatinella acuta _Sw. Monog. No. 3, p. 84._
Shell somewhat pyriform, the spire being pointed, and considerably longer
than the aperture: In these respects it differs considerably from the two
preceding, but the great peculiarity of the twisted and truncated columella
or pillar, sufficiently points it out as belonging to this group.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MURICINÆ. Pl. 3.
_Murex eurystomus_]
MUREX (_Centronotus_) eurystomus,
_Wide mouthed Murex_.
----
Family Cassidæ, Sub-family Muricinæ, _Nob._ Genus. Murex _Auct._
SYNOPSIS OF THE SUB-GENERA.
1. _Typical._
Canal very long: Shell armed with tooth-like
spines mostly arranged in three varices MUREX _Auct._
2. _Sub-Typical_ (?).
Canal very long: Shell without spines, varices
tuberculated. HAUSTELLARIA. _Sw._
3. _Aberrant._
Canal moderate: Shell with foliated or compressed
varices.
1. Varices foliated, mostly three. PHYLLONOTUS. _Sw._
2. Varices numerous, mostly acute. CENTRONOTUS. _Sw._
3. Varices compressed, fin shaped. PTERYNOTUS. _Sw._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell with from 7 to 8 simple foliated varices; body whorl with three
brown bands; aperture effuse, tinged with rosey; umbelicus very large._
Murex Saxatilis. _Auct. Lamark. 7. p. 167. Martini. pl. 108. f. 1013._
----
We feel some surprize that Lamark should have viewed this large and
imposing _Murex_ as one of the varieties of _Saxatilis,_ from which it is
unquestionably distinct. It is by no means common, nor do we know its
precise locality.
In directing the attention of the philosophic Zoologist to the above
synopsis, we feel called upon to express our opinion on the unfortunate
Denis De Montford, whose labours, however honoured in his own country, have
neither been understood nor appreciated in this. We can say of him, what
can be said of very few, that he had an intuitive perception of natural
groups. And if we cannot place him on a par with his great rival Lamark, in
the extent of his researches, or the polished accuracy of his names, we can
safely affirm that in other respects, he is fully equal, either to him, or
to any of his successors.
There are some extraordinary analogies between the natural types of this
genus, and the series of vertebrated animals, which we cannot at present
develope. Nor can our doubts on the Sub-typical form, which we rather think
has not been discovered, effect any alteration of the series here pointed
out.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: POLYDORUS Thoas.]
POLYDORUS Thoas,
_Polydorus Butterfly_.
----
Sub-family Papilionæ. Genus Amphrisius. Sub-genus Polydorus. _Sw._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Anterior wings horizontally narrow and obtuse, posterior perpendicularly
lengthened, and furnished with prominent spatulate tails; _Larva_ covered
with fleshy tubercles; _Pupa_ braced and suspended, but with the head
downwards.
Types, Pap. Polydorus. Polystes. Romulus. &c. _Auct._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Anterior wings brownish black, with darker stripes between the nerves;
posterior, black with a central five-parted spot of white; lunules round
the margin, obscure above, bright crimson beneath._
Papilio Polydorus _Linn. Cramer. Pl. 128. f. a. b. Fab. Ent. Syst. 3. 1.
p. 9. Ency. Meth. p. 72. No. 130. Horsf. Cat. pl. 3. f. 17. 17. a._
(_larva and pupa_).
----
Among the most remarkable of those laws which belong to the natural system,
is that which assigns to every great division of our globe its peculiar
races of animals: and these in numerous instances, are so marked, that a
naturalist would no more expect to find such genera inhabiting a different
continent, than a Physiologist would hope to discover a race of Hottentots
among the Highlands of Scotland. It is under the tropical latitudes of the
old world (and chiefly those of Asia), that nature has placed the group of
butterflys which we now, for the first time, characterize. Distinguished,
in the most beautiful manner, by their larva and pupa, they shew, even in
the external appearance of the perfect insect, an unerring distinction, in
the dark stripes between the nerves of the anterior wings. We have indeed,
in the tropics of America, a race of black and crimson butterflys
representing these of India; but they belong to a very different group; and
are known at the first glance by their broader wings, totally destitute of
the stripes just mentioned.
M. M. Latrielle and Godart, are evidently mistaken regarding the insect
figured by Clerk, which they consider to be the female of _Polydorus_; this
error we have ascertained from fine specimens of both sexes, sent from Java
and now in our possession. We have figured the male, and Dr. Horsfield has
enabled us to add the Caterpillar and Chrysalis.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PTILIOGONYS _cinereus_.
_Male_.]
PTILIOGONYS cinereus,_ male_.
_Yellow-vented Short-foot_.
----
Family Laniadæ. Sub-fam. Tyranninæ. Genus Ptiliogonys. _Nob._
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Zool. Journ. no. 10. p. 164.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Light cinereous; flanks olive; under tail covers bright yellow; quills
and tail glossy blue-black, the latter ornamented with a central snowy
band; chin and vent white._
For Synonyms--see pl. 62.
----
On the sixty-second plate of these Illustrations, we figured the female of
this elegant and highly interesting bird, from a specimen sent to us from
Mexico, by the late Mr. W. Bullock. We are now enabled to add the male from
a fine example, obligingly presented to us by John Taylor Esq. F. R. S. It
was killed near Real del Monte; and these, we believe, are at present the
only specimens that have reached England.
By viewing this as the type of the Scansorial group of the
Tyrant-flycatchers, (_Tyranninæ_) every circumstance, even the most minute,
regarding its structure and its colours will be explained. As representing
_Brachypus_, (North. Zool. 2. 485.) and its analogies, it has the under
tail covers richly coloured. As representing _Leiothryx_ (Il. 490.) it has
the same coloured cinereous and silky plumage: as a scansorial type, it has
a conspicuous although an _incumbent_ crest, and a long ornamented tail. It
is a Titmouse among the Tyrants, and is nearly as much of a _Ceblepyris_ as
of a _Tyrannus_. Indeed, when we described the female, we thought it
actually entered the circle of the former, but the laws of representation
has set us right on this point. _Phoenicornis_ is the first of the
_Ceblepyrinæ_, as _Philiogonys_ is the last of the _Tyranninæ_. The
_females_ of _Phoenicornis_ are clothed in the same slate coloured plumage,
but, as being of a _fissirostral_ type, their mouths are conspicuously
bristled, while those of _Ptiliogonys_ are quite smooth. Finally, the wings
are those of a _Ceblepyris_, but the tail that of a _Tyrannula!_
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PLECOCHEILUS _undulatus_.]
PLECOCHEILUS undulatus.
_Waved Pupa-snail._
----
Family Pupadæ. _Guilding._ Genus Carychium. _Muller._
Sub-Gen. Plecocheilus. _Guild._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Animal_ hermaphrodite, snail-like; the head bilobed, and bearing four
tentaculæ, two of which are long and terminated by the eyes; mandibles
greatly lunated, with a small transverse mouth and a triangular cutaneous
plate; mantle perforated. _Eggs_ large, externally calcarious. _Shell_
oval, ventricose, the two last spiral whorls very short, but elevated;
aperture entire, elongated; outer lip thickened and reflected; inner lip
thin, nearly obsolete; pillar with a strong compressed inflexed plate.
_Guilding._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell irregularly and minutely corrugated, and longitudinally striated;
marked beneath the olive epidermis with oblique, undulated, dark
stripes._
Carychium undulatum (1814). _Leach. Zool. Mis. 1. pl. 35._
Auricula caprella (1822). _Lam. Sys. 6. 2. p. 140. Chemnitz pl. 176, f.
1701.-2._
Plecocheilus undulatus. _Guilding in Zool. Journ. 3. p. 532._
----
The pleasure which our scientific brethren will receive from possessing
this copy of Mr. Guilding's beautiful drawing, will be changed into regret
on knowing that the gifted hand which originally traced it is now cold. A
liver complaint, doubtless brought on by too much exposure to a tropical
sun, terminated the mortal career, a few months ago, of this accomplished
Zoologist and excellent man. The name of Guilding now belongs to posterity.
His loss, and that too in the prime of life, leaves a blank in the ranks of
science, which there is no one so qualified to fill; where can we look for
profound and indefatigable research, matured knowledge, a ready pen and an
exquisite pencil, all employed unceasingly to illustrate _from life_ the
animals of tropical regions. The search, unfortunately, will be fruitless.
May his spirit now be with that God whose minister he was, and whose works
upon earth it was his purest delight to study.
This noble species was discovered by Mr. Guilding, in great numbers, upon
the trunks and branches of trees in the forests of St Vincent: its eggs are
hard like those of a bird, and the young shell resembles that of a
_Succinea_. In _Carychium_ the eyes are at the _base_, but here they are at
the _tips_ of the tentaculæ.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PROTESILAUS _Swainsonius_.]
PROTESILAUS Swainsonius,
_Swainsonian Swallow-tail._
----
Sub-family Papilionæ. Genus Amphrisius. Sub-genus Protesilaus. _Nob._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
See pl. 93.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings pale straw-colour; anterior with a forked band near the black
exterior margin, and another much shorter towards the middle, both
black._
Papilio Swainsonius. _Langsdorff_, MS.S.
Mus. Nost.
----
We have searched in vain for some account of this very distinct and
handsome species, collected by our venerable and enthusiastic friend Dr
Langsdorff, in the interior of Brazil; and transmitted to us some years
ago, in remembrance of the many happy days we passed together in the
enchanting scenery of that delightful region. We have not seen the species
in any of the London collections, and we believe it altogether undescribed.
The Larva and pupa are of course unknown to us, but the whole structure of
the perfect insect agrees so truly with that of _Protesilaus Lelius_, that
we have no doubt whatever of its belonging to the same sub-genus, and thus
becoming an interesting addition to a group, capable of the most complete
and diversified demonstration.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PODALIRIUS _Pompilius_.]
PODALIRIUS Pompilius,
_Pompilius, or Javanese Swallow-tail._
----
Sub-family Papilionæ. Genus Papilio. Sub-genus Podalirius. _Nob._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Wings_ trigonal, acute, yellow, with black transverse bands, the
inferior with two long narrow acute tails; _Antennæ_ short, the club
thick and solid at the base, but greatly compressed at the tip, where it
is concave beneath; _head_ small, front hairy; _Larva_ smooth; _Pupa_
braced in an erect position.
_Type_ Podalirius Europæus. _Nobis._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings above pale yellow, the anterior with five short, black, stripes
across the areola; and two others, much longer and broader, close to the
exterior margin: posterior wings without lunulate spots._
Papilio Pompilius. _Fab. Mantissa 2. p. 8. Ent. Syst. 3. 1. p. 25. Ency.
Meth. 1. p. 49. Horsf. Cat. pl. 3. fig. 5. 5. a._ (_larva and pupa._)
----
We may term this the Javanese Swallow-tail, for in that and the other
Indian islands it appears to be not uncommon. We are indebted to the
elegant _Catalogue_ above quoted, for our figures of the _larva_ and
_pupa_; and to the rich collection of Mrs. Children for the examination of
the perfect insect.
Entomologists will doubtless feel surprize that this and the _Protesilaus_
on our last plate, should be placed as distinct types in two different
genera. We have not done this without long deliberation; but we cannot, in
a work of this nature, enter into those details which would demonstrate
these divisions to be truly natural, in the most rigid acceptation of the
word. We desire not, however, that Entomologists should adapt our
views,--at least for the present. We hope, indeed, that they will not,
because experience has shewn, that until a theory has been fully explained,
more injury than good results to science, from injudiciously adopting, and
hastily applying, a system not understood. We only desire, in short, to
record our views, that they may be comprehended hereafter. We consider this
as the Thrysanuriform type of the sub-genus, and our English _Papilio
Machaon_ of authors, as the Heliconian.--_Tempus ducamus._
* * * * * *
[Illustration: LEPTOCIRCUS _Curius_.]
LEPTOCIRCUS Curius,
_Clear-winged Butterfly._
----
Sub. Family Papilionæ. Genus Urania. Sub-genus Leptocircus, _Nob._
(_Erycinian type_).
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
_Size and aspect of an_ Erycina; _Anterior wings_ sub-hyaline;
_posterior_ greatly lengthened, and terminating in two long tails;
_Head_, _thorax_, and _body_ very thick; _Anterior feet_, _palpi_, and
_Antennæ_ papilioniform.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Black; the exterior half of the superior wings hyaline, bordered with
black, inner half with a green band, continued on the inferior wings,
which are plicated, and edged externally with white._
Papilio Curius _Fab. Ent. Syst. 3. 1. 28. Don. Ind. Ins. pl. 47. f. 1.
bad._
----
There are only two collections we believe in this country, which possess
this rare and extraordinary butterfly, and it may be even doubted whether
these specimens do not belong to distinct species. One is in the Banksian
cabinet, now possessed by the Linnæan Society, the other in that of the
lady of our friend J. G. Children Esq. Zoologist to the British Museum. We
are told the species has been "made into a genus" by some continental
methodist, but who, according to the disreputable and slovenly mode fast
creeping _among us_, gives no definition. We have elsewhere expressed our
reasons for rejecting all such names (_North. Zool. 2. pref. lx._), and we
are thus pledged to do so upon every occasion.
Nature has so admirably disguised this insect in the external form of that
tribe of butterflys which she intends it to represent, that it was only
upon looking to its anatomical construction, that we discovered it was a
type of the true _Papilionæ_, and not of the _Erycinæ_. The construction of
the anterior feet, of the head and palpi, and of the antennæ, all which are
here represented, magnified, places this fact beyond doubt, and leaves us
nothing to desire but a knowledge of its caterpillar and chrysalis, and of
the direction of the wings when the species is at rest. We suspect that
like those of _Urania_, they are then _deflexed_.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: TROGON _Mexicanus. f._
_Mexican Trogon. fem._]
TROGON Mexicanus,
_Mexican Trogon. female._
----
Tribe Fissirostris. Family Trogonidæ. _See North Zool. 2, p. 326._
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
_Body_ thick. _Bill_ very short, strong, thick, nearly triangular, but the
sides compressed, surrounded by long, stiff, bristly feathers, the culmen
arched from the base. _Wings_ very convex, the quills graduated; tail very
broad, feet short, weak, gressorial.
SUB-GENERA.
1. Bill with several unequal serratures on the
margin of the upper mandible: head not
crested, tail even, tarsi feathered to the
base of the toes; anterior toes united to
half their length. America. TROGON. _Auct._
2. Bill serrated; head with an erect compressed
crest; tail very long, cuneated. America. CALURUS. _Sw._
3. Bill entire. Inhabits tropical Asia. HARPACTES. _Sw._
4. Bill with obscure serratures: tarsi naked,
covered with scales; the two anterior toes
divided nearly to their base. (_Type_,
Trogon Narina). Africa. APALODERMA. _Sw._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Female. Breast and upper plumage olive brown; body and under tail covers
crimson; front, chin, and ears grey; wing covers lineated with undulate
dusky lines; two middle tail feathers ferruginous brown, with black
tips._
----
We have already given the general reader some account of the manners of
these very singular birds, and we have said more upon them in _North. Zool.
Vol. 2_. Having figured the male on our 82nd plate, we now exhibit, in the
female, that remarkable difference between the sexes, which pervades all
the species. Our figure and specific character renders a detailed
description of the plumage unnecessary; it should be observed, however,
that the lateral tail feathers, in the female, are without those two black
transverse bands on the inner web, towards the tip, which are so
conspicuous in the male. There is another species from Mexico, which
country seems to be the most northern range of these birds. We feel
gratified at being able to characterize four typical forms of the genus;
all of which, at the same time, are marked by geographic peculiarities.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: ACHATINELLA. Pl. 2.
_1, bulimoïdes._ _2, livida._]
ACHATINELLA bulimoïdes,
_Thick-spired Achatinella--middle figures_.
----
GENERIC CHARACTER.
See pl. 99.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell ovate-oblong, subventricose, whiteish, with chesnut bands; spire
thickened, the tip pale brown._
Achatinella bulimoïdes. _Sw. in Brands Journ. Ap. 1828. p. 85._
----
We continue our Illustrations of these pretty little land-shells, of which
all the species, as we before remarked, are natives of the South Sea
Islands, and very little known to collectors. The present is distinguished
by the thickness of its spire, the apex being more suddenly pointed. We
have represented two varieties in point of colour, but in both the suture
is scarcely, if at all, margined by an indented grove.
----
ACHATINELLA livida,
_Livid Achatinella_.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell reversed, ovate, obtuse, livid brown or greyish; spire thickened;
suture with a deep fulvous line._
Achatinella livida. _Brands Journ. Ap. 1828. p. 85._
----
A small reversed species, unbanded, and scarcely exceeding half an inch in
length. In form it perfectly resembles the green variety of _Bulimus
citrinus_. The three specimens in our museum vary in colour from a light
olive brown, to a livid purple which lies in longitudinal shades, and
gradually changes, on the spiral whorls, to white; suture marked by a line
of deep orange brown; aperture white, tinged with purple.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MURICINÆ. Pl. 3.
MUREX (PHYLLONOTUS) _Imperialis._ _var. a._]
MUREX (_Phyllonotus_) Imperialis,
_Imperial Murex. var. a._
----
Genus Murex. Sub-genus Phyllonotus. _Nob._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
See pl. 100.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
See pl. 67.
----
In a popular work like this, we wish to consult the taste of the amateur,
no less than of the philosophic naturalist; and with this object we have
delineated a beautiful variety, having the aperture rose colour, of the
_Murex imperialis_ already figured at pl. 67 of our second volume. It was
then in the possession of Messrs. Stuchbury, and was nearly the only one,
among very many of the usual orange-mouthed specimens, which came to their
hands.
We have already intimated that the series of types in this genus, (see pl.
100) besides possessing innumerable analogies in the class _Mollusca_,
exhibits a most singular one with the series of vertebrated animals; four
of which can be traced by comparing them with four of the classes of the
vertebrated circle. Commencing with _Phyllonotus_, we may call them, from
the hideous and repulsive aspect of many of the species, the _Reptile_
type, as the name given to one (_Murex scorpio_), sufficiently intimates.
In the tooth-like spines of _Murex tenuispinosus_ we see some resemblance
to the teeth of quadrupeds: the _Murex haustellum_ has been well compared
to the head of a snipe, while in the fin shaped varices of _Murex
pinnatus_, we have a representation of the _fish_. If the analogy between
_Centronotus_ and the _Amphibia_ cannot be traced, it is because the latter
has so few forms; but the Hedgehogs, which represent the _Amphibia_ in the
circle of Quadrupeds, are again represented under the form of a shell, in
the sub-genus _Centronotus_. These analogies, however remote are
unquestionably natural, _because they follow each other in a uniform
series_.
Thus, Murex represents Mammalia.
Haustellaria Aves.
Pterynotus Pisces.
Centronotus Amphibia--Hystrix.
Phyllonotus Reptilia.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MARIUS (PETREUS) _Thetys_.
_Larva & Pupa_.]
MARIUS (_Petreus_) Thetys,
_Thetys Butterfly_.
----
Family Nymphalidæ. Sub-family Paphianæ. Genus Marius. Sub-genus Petreus.
(Heliconian Type.)
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Superior wings long, horizontally lengthened; Larva naked, with 3, 4
fleshy filaments on the body.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
See pl. 59.
----
The perfect insect, or butterfly, of this elegant species we have already
figured at pl. 59 of our second volume: and that our illustration of a form
so interesting may be complete, we have now delineated the caterpillar and
the chrysalis, as given by Stoll; together with a sprig of the _Cashew_
tree upon which it feeds. Every entomologist, upon looking to the perfect
insect, will immediately be struck with its resemblance to the long-winged
Heliconian Butterflys, and to the genus _Euploea_, which is the Erycinian
type of that family. Now this resemblance, which hardly requires pointing
out, is a perfectly natural analogy; and is confirmed in the most
remarkable manner by the caterpillar, which puts on that peculiar form
which distinguishes _Euploea_. The species in short, in every stage,
exemplifies the truth of that fundamental law of nature which we have
elsewhere so fully illustrated, viz. "that every _natural_ group, contains
representations of ALL others in the same class," following each other
precisely in the same series: thus establishing a truth which has long been
suspected, but not before demonstrated, that the laws of variation are
precisely the same in every group throughout the animal kingdom. The genus
itself represents the Swallow-tailed types already figured (_Podalirius_,
_Protesilaus_, and _Leptocircus_), but of the three remaining sub-genera of
_Marius_, we are as yet ignorant. It is, however, by this genus that the
two sub-families of _Paphianæ_ and _Heliconinæ_ are united; as it blends
into the latter by means of the genus _Fabius_, which we shall shortly
illustrate.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: ZEONIA _Heliconides_.]
ZEONIA Heliconides,
_Zeonia Butterfly_.
----
Family Erycinidæ. Sub-family Erycinæ. Genus ----; Sub-genus Zeonia. _Nob._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Wings trigonal, hyaline, the posterior ending in long tails; Palpi very
short, not projecting beyond the head; Antennæ hairy, with the club very
small, but gradually thickening from the base.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings hyaline; the margins, and a common central band black and opaque;
inferior wings two-tailed, with a red stripe at the anal angle._
----
No method is more calculated to demonstrate the existence of that
symbolical representation which reigns throughout nature, than that of
bringing before the eye of the student a series of forms belonging to
different families, but which are _disguised_, under an outward appearance
of general similitude; How few, even among professed entomologists, would
suspect that the present butterfly, and _Leptocircus Curius_, pl. 106, were
of totally different families: looking to their general aspect, as size,
form, and colour, we should even be tempted to place them in the same
genus; On closer examination, however, we find that one is a genuine
_Papilio_, and the other an _Erycina_; That this fact may be placed beyond
all doubt, we have given magnified details of both insects, which, from
their great rarity, will be highly acceptable to the Entomologist.
The specimen here figured is the only one we met with in Brazil, nor have
we seen the species in any other collection; Excepting the black bands and
the crimson spots, all the wings are transparent; the under surface being
similar to the upper. We possess the mutilated remains of a second species;
but we know not to what natural genus they belong.
Fig. 1. _Zeonia_, wing. 2. _Leptocircus_, wing. 3. _Zeonia_; anterior foot,
with the claw more enlarged; 4. head and palpi in profile; 5. Antennæ.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: LEPTOLOPHUS _auricomis_.
_Golden-eared Parrakeet._]
LEPTOLOPHUS auricomis,
_Golden-eared Parrakeet._
----
Sub-family Psittacinæ. Genus Platycercus. Sub-genus Leptolophus. (The
Rasorial type.)
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
Bill distinctly toothed, culmen slightly carinated; nostrils thick,
tumid, naked; head crested; wings very long, outer web of the quills not
sinuated; tail very broad, cuneated, the two middle tail feathers
conspicuously longest and pointed.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Cinereous, wings with a longitudinal white stripe; ears orange; lateral
tail feathers banded with yellow and black._
Palæornis Novæ-Hollandiæ. New Holland Parrakeet. _Lears Parrots, No 8._
----
The discovery of this remarkable and highly interesting Australian species
is due to Allen Cunningham, Esq. who, on an inland expedition ordered by
our government, in 1827, discovered it in small flocks on the arid sandy
plains between Lat. 29 and 28, 50. Long. 150¾ E. We must again express our
public thanks to this intelligent and liberal naturalist for the
ornithological specimens then collected. Among these were two skins of the
bird in question; but as the mere addition of a new species to our already
overwhelming list would be of little importance to the philosophy of the
science, we have hitherto refrained from publishing it. In truth, the
natural affinities of this extraordinary Cockatoo-Parrakeet called for a
much deeper investigation of the whole family than it had yet received, nor
are we ashamed to confess that nearly five years elapsed before we could
partially accomplish this, with any thing like satisfactory results. But we
regret not the delay, since it is obvious that the illustration of such an
apparently anomalous form as this, is infinitely more useful to science
than the specification, _in a few lines_, of a hundred new species, or even
of as many new genera, unaccompanied by analytical or comparative results.
The time, in fact, is now gone by, when such crude additions to
ornithological nomenclature, possess any claim to permanent interest, or
carry with them any authority: they encumber rather than advance science,
by keeping up the already overwhelming stock of undigested materials. Mr.
Lear has recently given beautiful figures of this species, but under the
peculiarly inappropriate name of _Palæornis Novæ-hollandiæ_. The genus is
_Platycercus_, _all_ the species of which are from New Holland, excepting
those of the Fissirostral type. The exactness of our figure renders a
detailed account of its plumage unessential.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MUREX (_Centronotus_) _radix_.]
MUREX (_Centronotus_) radix,
_Porcupine Murex._
----
Genus Murex. Sub-genus Centronotus. _Nob._
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTER.
See pl. 100.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell ovate globuse, transversely grooved; with numerous varices, armed
with compressed, spine-like foliations: colour white; the spines, base,
and inner lip black._
Murex radix. _Gm. 3527. Lam. Syst. 7. 168._
----
Centronotus _radix_ was formerly a shell of excessive rarity, but many
specimens have latterly been brought from Panama; one of these, obligingly
lent to us by Mr. Cummin, we have here figured of the natural size.