BRACHYCERUS. 



BRACHYPTERYX. 



012 



Shell Unsymmetrical, Irregular, always Adherent. 



Orbicula (Lamarck). Shell orbicular, very much compressed ; ine- 

 quilateral, very inequivalre ; the lower valve very delicate, adhering ; 

 the upper valve patelliform, with the summit more or less inclined 

 towards the posterior side. Fissure of adhesion in the lower valve 

 subcentral. Hinge toothless. 



Example, Orbicula, lamtllosa. 



Orbicula lamellosa. A single specimen, showing the cilia. 



The recent species are found attached to stones, shells, sunEen 

 wrecks, &c., and have been found at depths ranging from not far below 

 the surface to seventeen fathoms. 



Fossil species are said to have been found in the Lower Greensand 

 of Sussex, in the Speeton Clay of Yorkshire, in both the great and the 

 inferior Oolite, in the carboniferous limestone, and in the Ludlow Rock 

 below the Old Red-Sandstone. 



O. B. Sowerby has satisfactorily proved that Lamarck's genus 

 Ditcina must be expunged, it having been formed from specimens of 

 Orbicula tiorvegica, sent by Sowerby to Lamarck. 



Crania (Retzius and others). G. B. Sowerby, who has done so 

 much in the thirteenth volume of the ' Linnaean Transactions ' to 

 unravel the confusion which had previously been created by authors, 

 gives the following generic characters : 



Shell inequivalve, generally equilateral, rather irregular, orbicularly 

 subquadrate, and flattish ; the upper valve patelltform, having its 

 umbo or vertex rather behind the centre ; the lower valve attached by 

 its outside, the greater part of it being generally extended over the 

 substance to which it adheres ; and in this respect it differs greatly 

 from Orbicula, which is attached by means of a ligament which passes 

 through a fissure in the centre of the lower valve. There are four 

 muscular impressions in each valve ; of those in the upper valve two 

 are in the posterior margin and the other two nearer the centre, but 

 not always very near to each other ; of those in the lower valve two 

 are nearly marginal and rather distant, but the other two are nearly 

 central, and so close together that they appear to form but one : they 

 in general have a small projection between them ; and the whole of 

 the muscular impressions in the lower valve are frequently lost by 

 decomposition in the fossil species, so as to appear only three oblique 

 perforations, as Lamarck has described them. 



Example, Crania ptrtonata. 



Crania pertonata. 1, external view; 2, 3, internal view. 



The recent species (and this is the only one known) is found adhering 

 to stones and shells at very great depths. It is stated in the ' Zoologi- 

 cal Journal,' by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, that a specimen of Crania 

 pertotiata was taken by Captain Vidal at the depth of 255 fathoms. 



There are several fossil species, mostly from the Chalk. 



The species of Brachiopoda in the British seas are not numerous. 

 The following are given in Forbes and Hanley's ' History of British 

 Molluscs : ' 



Terebratula (Ifypothyrw) piittacca. Undoubtedly indigenous, but 

 very rare. 



Terebratula Caput Serpentit. It was first described as British by 

 Dr. Fleming, and has recently been dredged up in considerable num- 

 bers in deep water on various parts of the coast. 



Terebratula Cranium. But one specimen of this has been obtained, 

 which is now in the possession of Dr. Fleming. 



Terebratula (Megathyrit) cittellula. This species, which for some 

 time was only known as a Crag-Fossil, has been taken in the Isle of 

 Skye and in the deep-water fishing-grounds of Zetland. 



Crania anomala. This species has been taken several times on 

 various parts of the British coast. 



BRACHY'CERUS, a genus of Coleopterous Insects of the family 

 Curculionida (included in the genus Curculio by Linnteus). Generic 

 characters : Rostrum short ; antennae inserted towards the apex of the 

 rostrum, short, 9-jointed, the basal joint longest, the terminal joint 

 forming a knob ; tarsi with all the joints entire, and without pubes- 

 cence beneath. The species of this genus are apterous, and generally 

 very rough. They appear to be peculiar to the south of Europe and 

 Africa, and live upon the ground. 



BRACHYPHY'LLUM, a genus of fossil plants, supposed to belong 



HAT. HIST. DIV. VOL. I. 



to the Conifers. One species, B. mammillare of Brongniart, occurs in 

 the carbonaceous beds of the Bath Oolite Formation on the Yorkshire 

 coast. 



BRACHYPODI'NJE, Swainson's name for a sub-family of Birds 

 belonging to the Sferulidce, containing the following genera, or rather 

 sub-genera : 



Brachypus, Swainson, thus characterised by him : Bill short ; 

 rictus (gape) bristled ; feet small, weak ; lateral toes equal ; hinder 

 toe as long as the tarsus. Type, Brachypvu dispar, Sw. (Turdw 

 dispar, Horsfield). 



Chloropsii, Jardine and Selby. Bill more lengthened ; the tip 

 much hooked ; the notch forming a small distinct tooth ; rictus 

 smooth ; feet small ; lateral toes unequal ; the hinder toe rather 

 shorter than the tarsus. 



lora, Horsfield. Bill nearly as long as the head, lengthened, conic ; 

 rictus smooth ; tarsi somewhat lengthened, the anterior scales divided ; 

 tail even. Type, lora scapulnris, Horsfield. 



Andropadus, Swainson. Bill short ; the upper mandible serrated 

 near the tip ; neck with setaceous hairs. Type, L'Importan, La 

 VaillamX 



Hcematornii, Swainson. Bill short ; rictus bristled ; lateral toes 

 unequal; hinder toe shorter than the tarsus. Types: 1. Chryso- 

 rrhofus, Le Vaillant. 2. Turdus haemarrhous of authors. 3. Turdus 

 bimaculatus of Horsfield. 4. Erytkrotis of Swainson (Lanius jocosm 

 of Linnaeus). 



Mr. Swainson does not seem to have been aware that the appellation 

 Brachypus had previously been conferred by Fitzinger on a sub-genus 

 of Saurians, belonging to the Chalcides of Daudin, and it should 

 therefore be no longer used to distinguish a sub-genus of birds. The 

 term at the head of this article, which Mr. Swainson has applied to 

 the sub-family, might be changed with advantage; for it may be 

 liable to create confusion when unexplained by contexts, and leave 

 the reader in doubt whether a sub-family of birds or reptiles is 

 ill tended. 



BRACHYPODIUM, a genus of Grasses [GRAMINACE.E] belonging 

 to the tribe Feilucinetf of that order. It has unequal many-flowered 

 glumes ; the outer palea rounded on the back, setigerous at the sum- 

 mit, lateral nerves slightly converging, not vanishing upwards ; the 

 inner palea fringed on the ribs with rigid setao ; the styles terminal. 

 Two of the species, B. sylratitum and B. pinnatum, are British. This 

 genus is distinguished from Trilicum (Wheat) by the unequal glumes 

 alone. (Babington, Manual of Britith Botany.) 



BRACHYPTE'RES (Short-Winged Birds), Cuvier's name for those 

 birds generally known by the name of Divers. [DiVEK.s.] 



BRACHY'PTERYX, a genus of Birds approaching to Saxicola, 

 thus defined by Dr. Horsfield : 



Bill with the culmen carinated between the nostrils, the sides 

 being flattened, and rounded towards the apex, with the sides convex ; 

 edges subinflected ; wings very short and obtuse : tail moderate and 

 rounded ; feet elongated and weak ; the tarsi slender ; the toes very 

 slender, and the claws very much compressed; hallux or hind toe 

 comparatively large. 



Brachypteryx montana, Horsfield. The species on which the genus is 

 founded has the following characters : Weight of the male five, and 

 of the female six drachms. In the male, the head, neck, and breast 

 have a dark indigo-blue tint, inclining to black, with a grayish 

 reflection on the surface, variegated with lighter and darker shades ; 

 on the throat and the lower part of the neck this colour passes into 

 gray ; on the forehead it is more intense, inclining to black. Above 

 the eyes is an oblong white spot. The back, the wings above the 

 shoulders, the coverts of the tail, the vent, hypochondria;, and thighs 

 are deep chestnut-brown, with a ferruginous reflection. The wings 

 underneath, and the tail at the extremity and underneath, are pure 

 blackish-brown ; the shafts of the quill- and tail-feathers are black 

 and shining. The inner vanes of the quills and the tail-feathers 

 generally have a very deep brown colour. The exterior vanes of the 

 tail-feathers are slightly tinted with the ferruginous lustre of the 

 upper parts. The lower parts of the breast and abdomen are whitish. 

 The plumes on the posterior portion of the body are very thickly 

 disposed ; the vanes consist of long, delicate, silky, pendulous lamina: 

 or filaments, forming a lax covering about the lower parts of the 

 abdomen, the hypochondrias, and the root of the tail. The irides 

 have a dark hue. The bill is black, and the tarsi are deep brown. 

 The tint of the claws is somewhat lighter. 



In the female, the dark blue tint, which in the male covers the head 

 and neck, extends over the body generally, and also marks the 

 exterior vanes of tlie quills. The interior vanes of the latter and the 

 tail-feathers are dark brown, inclining to black. The throat and neck 

 underneath have a dark grayish tint. The abdomen is grayish-white. 

 Over the eyes it has, like the male, a white spot, and the bill and 

 tarsi also agree with that. The covering of the abdomen, vent, and 

 thighs is likewise long, delicate, silky, and pendulous. 



Dr. Horsfield met with this species in one situation only, at an 

 elevation of about 7000 feet above the level of the sea. He thinks it 

 probable that it may he found on all the peaks of Java, which are 

 covered with thick forests, accommodated to its peculiar habits. The 

 recurrence, he observes, of several quadrupeds and birds, at a certain 

 elevation is as regular in that island as that of many plants and 



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