CHRYSOCOLLA. 



CHEYSOPHYLLUM. 



VXU 



This creature inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, where it is said to 

 live much in the same way as the mole, and to prey like it upon 

 worms, &c. 



C. holotericia, the Changeable Mole, is a species also found at the 

 Cape. 



CHRYSOCO'LLA (from xpi/o-j!, gold, and *6\\a, glue), is a name 

 which the Greeks appear to have applied to Borax, perhaps from its 

 use as a flux in melting gold. 



CHRYSOCOMA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Crimposita. C. Linosyris, a British plant, is now referred to Linosyris. 



[LlNOSYKIS.] 



CHRY'SODON (Oken), a name given to the Pectinairei of 

 Lamarck, the Amphictenes of Savigny, and the Ci&tenfs of Dr. Leach, 

 forming a part of the genus Amphitrite of Cuvier. [ANNELIDES.] 



CHRYSOGA'STER, a genus of Dipterous Insects of the family 

 Syrphidte. Characters : Body much depressed ; no false nervures to 

 the wings ; third joint of the antennae oval or orbicular. 



About fourteen species of this genus liave been discovered in Eng- 

 land ; they are all of moderate size, and their colouring is metallic. 

 C. fjilendens is about one-third of an inch in length ; the head is 

 greeu ; antenna? yellow ; thorax golden-green ; abdomen purple- 

 black, greenish towards the sides ; the legs are black ; wings brownish. 

 This and all the other species recorded as British have been found in 

 the neighbourhood of London. 



CHRYSOLITE, a Mineral called Peridot by Hauy. OKvine is a 

 variety of this mineral, and Chnsite also, according to Dr. Thomson. 



It occurs massive and crystallised. Primary form a right rhombic 

 pri.sm. Colour green, sometimes brownish or yellowish ; streak white. 

 Lustre vitreous, translucent, transparent, double refracting. Specific 

 gravity, 3'33 to 3'41. Hardness, 6'5 to 7. Fracture conchoidal. 



The massive varieties are amorphous, granular. 



The Chrysolite used in jewellery is brought from the Levant, and 

 is supposed to be found in Upper Egypt. The variety on account of 

 its colour called Olirirv, occurs in basalt in Bohemia, Hungary, and 

 on the banks of the Rhine. The following are analyses : 



Kluproth. Vauquelin. 



Silica 39 38 



Magnesia ... . . 43'5 50'5 



Protoxide of Iron, . . 19 9'5 



101-5 98-0 



Some varieties contain small portions of alumina and of the oxides 

 of nickel and manganese. It does not fuse or lose its transparency 

 before the blow-pipe. With borax it fuses into a coloured glass, and 

 with soda into a brown scoria. 



CHKYSUMK'I.III.K, a family of Coleopterous Insects of the 

 section C'yclica. Characters : Antenna; wide apart at the base, anil 

 inserted before the eyes ; body generally short and convex ; tarsi 

 short and rather broad, 4-jointed, the penultimate joint bilobed ; all 

 the joints, excepting the terminal joint, covered beneath with a velvet- 

 likr *ul>gtance. 



The Ckrygomelid(E constitute a very numerous and beautiful family 

 of the Beetle Tribe : they are generally of moderate size, and fre- 

 quently very brilliant in colouring. 



Between seventy and eighty species have been discovered in England, 

 and the number of species contained in collections from various parts 

 of the world may probably amount to four or five hundred. 



This group may be divided into two sections : those in which the 

 head is hidden beneath the thorax, and the body is frequently some- 

 what cylindrical ; and those in which the head projects from the 

 thorax" so as to be distinctly seen when the insect is viewed from 

 above, and where the body is generally rounded, or oval, and convex. 



The first of these sections may again be readily subdivided accord- 

 ing to the proportions of the antennae. In some the antenna; are 

 short, and more or less serrated ; here belong the genera Clythra, 

 /." in firogoma, and Chlamys. The species of this last genus are among 

 the most remarkable of Coleopterous Insects. They are of small size, 

 the largest being about half an inch in length, and the thorax and 

 elytra are generally very uneven, and studded with numerous angular 

 projections. This circumstance, together with the extremely brilliant 

 colouring with which they are adorned, has caused them to be com- 

 pared to pieces of minerals; indeed, one which is now before us, and 

 which is of a beautiful red hue, we have known to be mistaken at 

 first .sight for a piece of copper-ore. Moat of the species of Chlamyt 

 inhiiliit Brazil, and none are found out of the western hemisphere. 

 The generic characters are : Head vertical ; thorax humped ; the 

 posterior margin produced in the region of the scutellum ; body some- 

 what cube-formed ; antenntc with the basal joint rather long, the 

 second very small; the remaining joints dilated, and more or less 

 serrated ; labial palpi sometimes forked. 



The remainder of the C'hi~yomelida! of the first section have the 

 antennae long and slender. The genera are Crypt ocephaliu, Choragut, 

 Euryope, and Eumolpw. 



The second section, or those in which the head is apparent when 

 the insect is viewed from above, comprises the genera Cnlrupif, Podon- 

 I'ni, /'/<(/""'/'"'''., /(',///;>/""", Cyrtimus, Paropirit, Apanuea, Timarcha, 

 Chrytomrla, Pturdm, and Prasomvrii. 



The genus to which the name Chryiomtla is now restricted, is 



principally distinguished by the following characters : Maxillary 

 palpi with the terminal joint as large or larger than the preceding 

 one, and of the form of a truncated cone, or nearly oval ; the elytra 

 are separate, that is, not joined at the suture ; no sternal projection. 



Upwards of forty species of this genus have been discovered in 

 England. 



C. Sanl-sii is one of the largest species of the genus : it is rather 

 less than half an inch in length, and of a brown colour with a metallic 

 lustre ; the thorax has an indentation running parallel with and close 

 to the lateral margins ; the elytra are coarsely punctured ; the legs 

 and antenna; are ochre-coloured. It is found on nettles in the neigh- 

 bourhood of London and elsewhere, but is rather local. C. sanguine' 

 lenta is about three-eighths of an inch in length, and of a dull blue- 

 black colour ; the elytra are rather rough. C. Graminis is about the 

 same size as the last, and of a bright-green colour; this species is 

 abundant in various parts of Cambridgeshire. C. polila is about a 

 quarter of an inch in length, and very glossy ; the head, thorax, and 

 legs are green, and the elytra are of a reddish-ochre colour. This 

 species is very common in marshy situations. C. cerealis is about the 

 same size as C. tanguinolenta. This is one of the most beautiful spe- 

 cies of the genus. It is tolerably common in France and Germany, 

 but till found on the summit of Snowdon (about twenty years ago), 

 was scarcely known as a British insect. It is very glossy ; the legs, 

 antenna;, and under parts are blue ; the elytra are adorned with 

 longitudinal stripes of blue, green, and red ; and the same colours 

 are observed on the head and thorax. C. Goettingensis is of a purple 

 colour, and the elytra are very finely punctured. This species ia very 

 common in chalk districts. [CTCLICA.] 



CHRYSO'PHILA, a genus of Dipterous Insects. [LEPTIDES.] 



CHRYSO'PHORA, a genus of Coleopterous Insects of the section 

 Lamellicornia and family Xylojihili. The principal generic characters 

 consist in the immense size of the hind legs of the males. The sternum 

 is produced into a somewhat pointed process between the second pair 

 of legs ; the posterior thigh of the male is very thick ; the tibia; are 

 curved, and produced at the apex internally into a long bent process ; 

 the hind legs of the female are thick, but comparatively short, and 

 the hinder tibia; are abruptly terminated ; the outer claws of all the 

 tarsi are larger (in both sexes) than the inner ; they differ in the male, 

 however, in being broader than in the female, and those of the ante- 

 rior pair of legs are bifid ; their outer claws are very long, and the 

 insect has the power of bending them under so as to fix their points 

 beneath a projection of the fourth joint of the tarsus : they are pro- 

 bably used for clinging to the slender branches or leaves of trees. 



But one species of this genus is known C. chrysochlora. It is of a 

 rich metallic green colour ; the head, thorax, and scutellum are wha- 

 greeued ; the elytra are rugose throughout ; the tibia of the hind leg 

 is of a brassy or copper-like colour ; all the tarsi are blue-black. The 

 length of the hind leg of the male exceeds that of the body, which is 

 about one inch and a half; the female is rather less. This beautiful 

 insect inhabits Venezuela. 



CHRYSOPHRYS, a genus of Acanthopterygious Fishes belonging 

 to the family Sparidce. The body is deep, compressed ; dorsal fin 

 single, the rays partly spinous, the posterior rays flexible ; teeth of two 

 kinds, six incisors in each jaw, conical, with rounded and oval molar 

 teeth in four rows above and three rows below ; cheeks and operculum 

 with scales ; brachiostegous rays six. 



C. aurata, Gilt-Head, is one of the fishes most abundant in the 

 Mediterranean. From Gibraltar it is found as far south as the Cape 

 of Good Hope, and northward along the coast of France and Spain. 

 It has been recently taken on the British coasts. These fiahes were 

 so called by the Greeks on account of their golden-coloured eye- 

 brows. They are said to spawn in the summer : their food consists 

 of molluscous and testaceous animals. The Gilt-Head has peculiar 

 rounded teeth. The body is deepest at the commencement of the 

 dorsal fin. The head short and elevated ; the back silvery gray, 

 shaded with blue ; the belly like polished steel, with longitudinal 

 gold-coloured bands on the sides ; the fins are a grayish-blue ; the tail 

 darker ; the dorsal and anal fins appear as if placed in grooves from 

 the rising edges of the scales on each side. This fish seldom exceeds 

 12 inches in length. 



CHRYSOPHYL'LUM, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural 

 order Sapotacetr. C. Cainito yields a West Indian fruit commonly 

 called the Star-Apple. Like the rest of its kindred it abounds in a 

 sweet harmless milky juice, that flows most copiously when the tree 

 is beginning to mature its fruit, which grows on a rnoderately-sized 

 spreading tree with very slender flexible branches. The leaves are 

 dark -green on their upper surface, and are covered beneath with ;i 

 remarkably satiny ferruginous pubescence. The flowers grow iu 

 small purplish bunches, and are succeeded by a round fleshy smooth 

 fruit, resembling a large apple. In the inside it is divided into ten 

 cells, each containing a black shining rhomboidal seed, and surrounded 

 by a white, or sometimes purplish, gelatinous pulp, traversed with 

 milky veins, and of a very sweet agreeable flavour. In an unripe 

 state the taste is said to be astringent and unpleasant. When cut 

 across, the seeds, which are regularly disposed round the axis of the 

 fruit, present a stellate figure, from whence the name of Star-Apple is 

 derived. There is a smaller species, which produces the fruit called 

 the Damson-Plum. The tree is common in the hothouses about 



