COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 83 



of the head. One group (Lucanidce) is distin- 

 guished by the portentous length of their jaws, gar- 

 nished with a formidable armature of angular pro- 

 jections and pointed teeth, bearing some resent- 

 blance to the branching antlers of some kinds of deer, 

 on which account they have been named Stag-beetles. 

 A second (Eusceles of Macleay) is so remarkable for 

 the disproportionate length and thickness of the hin- 

 der legs, that it has been regarded as the representa- 

 tive of a quadruped of similar peculiarity of structure, 

 and has therefore obtained the name of Kanguroo 

 beetle. In an extensive section (Longicomes) y of 

 which many of the species are noted for elegance of 

 form and agreeable markings, the antennae are cf 

 such extraordinary length as to equal in some in- 

 stances four times that of the body ; and they are 

 now and then singularly adorned with fascicles 

 or tufts of long hair. Certain kinds, distributed 

 throughout several different genera, and usually de- 

 signated by the specific term longimanus, are fur- 

 nished with anterior legs of unusual length, greatly 

 exceeding, in relation to the size of the body, those 

 of the Grallatores, or wading birds, and imparting a 

 very grotesque aspect by their strange disproportion. 

 Examples of similar anomalies everywhere present 

 themselves in this Protean race of animals ; but these 

 will suffice to show that 



Nature here 



Wantons as in her prime, and plays at will 

 Her virgin fancies. 



