ZOOLOGY. 337 



orous carnivora the musky secretion may be observed in a natural 

 group of the largest species of shrews (musareignes) these are 

 known as the musareignes musquees of some authors, and are the 

 Sorex, Myosurus giganteus, etc. The two singular species of the 

 tribe of Desmans (Afygale) also exhibit very well developed musky 

 secretions. Beyond doubt, there are variable mixtures in these secre- 

 tions, and possibly several varieties of musk, for the perfume obtained 

 from the anal pouches of the moschus moschiferus is of a pure and 

 more lasting nature than that from the civets ; this is the musk which 

 is so rare and much sought after in Indo- China, whose odor persists 

 for years without any sensible diminution of weight. 



Among birds, the musky odor of the duck of Barbary (^4 nets mos- 

 chatus) is well known, and that given off by vultures at the time of 

 pairing, laying and hatching an odor which also impregnates their 

 eggs. The three genera of crocodiles also furnish a musky secretion, 

 due to glands situated near the jaw. This odor is communicated to 

 the whole body, and exhaled strongly from their eggs when boiled, as 

 has been observed at Hayti, by Dr. A. Ricord, in the flesh and eggs 

 of Crocodilus acutus. 



We should not be surprised at meeting in insects that are so ap- 

 proximate to the vertebrata, if not their superiors, in the development 

 of the functions of animal life, musky secretions analogous to those 

 which we have just noticed, and which seem also to characterize nat- 

 ural groups. Facts of this kind, being much less known concerning 

 insects than concerning vertebrata, seem to merit special attention. 



Writers of the natural history of the Lepidoptera indicate the 

 Sphinx convolvuli as exhaling a strong musky odor. It is very per- 

 ceptible in the males, and I am induced to beh'eve is peculiar to them, 

 for several females that I had an opportunity of examining while 

 alive were absolutely free from it. I believe that once I detected a 

 slight musky odor in a female of this class, which I had caught, but it 

 was explainable by the fact that copulation had just been effected. I 

 have observed the same musky odor, with less prominence, however, 

 in an allied species, Sphinx ligustri, a fact not noticed before by 

 writers. This odor was well developed in the vessel in which the 

 male insect was confined, and seemed to proceed from all parts of the 

 body, especially the abdominal segments. It would be interesting to 

 examine the male of the Sphinx pinastri, the third species of this 

 genus, with reference to this point. It would be a character to add 

 to those of the genus, and a novel example in support of the view that 

 the secretion of the same odorous substances is met with in species 

 united by one true zoological parent. 



Berce says that the musky odor also belongs to a different lepidop- 

 tera Charaxes jasius. This is the beautiful day butterfly found all 

 along the Mediterranean coast, which the Turks call the pacha of 

 two tails. The odor is especially developed when the insect struggles 

 to escape death. 



Chevrolat cites, among coleoptera, as affording a strong musky 

 odor, Velleius dilatalus a rare staphylinide, a parasite of the nests 

 of different species of wasp. A number of species of ants give off a 

 decided musky odor, especially when their ant-hills are destroyed ; 

 and this secretion accompanies a product of a different nature 



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