f. 
MiIcROGRAPH?tA, 187 
moving, until they tread, as it were, under that fuperficies with their 
_ tails ; the hanging of thefe in this pofture, put me in mind of a cer- 
_ taincreature I have feen in London, that was brought out of America, 
__ which would very firmly fufpend it felf by the rail, with the head down- 
wards,and was faid to{leep in. that. pofture, with her young onesin her 
falfe belly; ‘which is'a Purfe, provided by Nature for the produéion, 
_ nutrition, and prefervation of her young ones, which is deferibed by Pif6 
inthe 24. Chapter of the fifth Book of his Natural Hiftory of Brafil. 
» The motion of it was with the tail forwards,drawing its felf backwards, 
by the frifking to and fro of that tuft which grew out of one of the 
' _" of its tail. Iehad another motion,which was more futable to that 
_ ofother creatures, and that is, with the head forward ; for by the moving 
of his cha ps\(if F may: fo cal] the parts of his mouth). it. was able to move 
itfelf downwards very gently towards the bottom, and did,as ‘twere,eat 
 Upits Way through’ the water. FIN | 
But that which’was-moft-obfervable in this creature, was, its Meta> 
morphofis or change:for having kept feveral of thefe Animalsin a Glafs of 
Rain-water,in which they were produc’d, I found, after about.a fortnight 
or three week keeping, that feveral of them flew away in Gnats,leaving 
their hufks behind them in the water floating under the furface, the 
placé' where thefe Anitnals were wont to refide, whil’ft they were in- 
habitants of the water : this made me more diligently to watch them, to 
fee if I could find them at the time of their ssahsilesibcdpentil not long 
after, I-obferv'd feveral of them to’be changed into an unufual thape, 
wholly differing from that they were of before, their head and body b 
ing town ‘thuch bigger and deeper: but not broader, and their belly, or 
hinder part fmaller, and coy}’d, about this great body much of the fafhi- 
onreprefented by the prick‘d line in the fecond Figure of the 27. Scheme, 
the head and hornshow fwam uppermoft, and the whole bulk of the bo- 
dy feem’d tobe grown much lighters for when by my frighting of it, it 
would by frifking out of itstail (in the manner exprefs‘d in the Figure 
by BC) fink it felf belowthe furface towards the bottom 3:the:body 
would ‘mote fwiftly te-afcend, then when it was in its formerthape —~ 
“T fill marked its progres from time to time,and found its body ftill to 
ed ger and’ bigger, Nature, as it were, fitting and accoutring it | 
for 
erElement; of which it was now going to be an inhabitant; 
for,by oblerving one of thefe with my Aficrofcope, I found the eyes’ of it». 
tobe altogether differing from what they feem‘d before, apocegmne ; 
all Over pearl’d or ‘d, like the eyes of Gnats.) as'is’ vifible m 
thé'fReono by A. At length, I faw part of this creature to {wim 
 thé'Reong Figure’ of this creature to" 
above; and part benedith the farface of the water, “below which though 
it would quickly plunge it felfifI by any means frighted it,and peony | 
Sete Bs TOR Oe ae eae apntaraadaiielett 
found ’that the headuind body of a Gnat,begaii to appear and ftand' 
 Wbovea pice "erty degreesie drew out its lege, frkthe to for. | 
imoftthen SUIS eta length its whole body perfect and entire‘appear ¢ 
: ae of the hufk (which it left in the water) ftandipg on its leggs at 
ane : ¢ 2 ! 
