LEPORin.fi. 



LEPTOCEPHALUS. 



UM of Pall** ; Semlanoi Sa*Uhik, or Ground 



Bar*' of the nee'ejiiiisr n " the Volga'; TschoUchot, or Itteltakau, or 

 the rVT"-f Mooee of UM Tartar* ; Ruala of the Kalmuc* ; Calling 



Hare of Pceuant) he* the heed loafer than ueual with bare*, ana 

 thickly covered with tar, even to the Up of the noee ; numerous hairs 

 hi the whlakere; ear* large and rounded; leg* very short; sole* 

 fomd beneath; iu whole coat very eoft, long, and smooth, with a 



1 ' 1 colour ; the ham of 

 >y, and tipt with 



v. _~, --, -~~, , and ends of the 



fur vellowiek Length about inche* ; weight from 3J to 44 ounce* ; 



>> l T & \ 



m KM wnT ; mmrm imrga BUU ivuuu . 



fomd beneath; iu whole coat very aoft, long, and * 

 thick long fine down beneath of a brownieWead ooloui 

 the eaaw colour, toward* the end* of a light gray, 

 hlaek; the lower pert of the body hoary; the aide, ai 

 fur yellows*. Length about 6 inchoi ; weight fro" ' 

 in winter scarcely 2 j ounce*. (Pallas ; Pennant) 



CauiBf Hare (Lafomyi ftailliu). 



It inhabit* the south-eastern parti of RUM la, and U found about all 

 UM ridge* spreading from the Ural Mountains to the south, about the 

 Irtish, and in the western part* of the Altai Mountain!, but nowhere 

 in the Eut beyond the Oby. (Pallas ; Pennant) 



It delights in the moat sunny valleys and hills, where the herbage 

 U plentiful and delicate. The Calling Hares choose these localities 

 whan in the vicinity of a wood, which will afford them a ready refuge 

 in the case of danger or alarm. Their burrows, especially those 

 lielxuliit to the old onea and to females, are curious and intricate, so 

 well concealed amid the shrubs of some dry spot that detection is 

 very difficult ; and to increase the difficulty the animal U said to drop 

 iU excrements under some bush, that they may not betray its abode, 

 which would almost defy search were it not for their peculiar cry or 

 call. This is described as being like the piping of a quail, but deeper, 

 and so loud as to be beard at the distance of half a German mile. It 

 U repeated at just intervals, thrice, four times, and even six, at night 

 and morning, bat seldom in the day, unless the weather be cloudy. 

 Both the male and female emit this note, but the latter U silent for 

 ome time after she has given birth (in May) to her young, which are 

 bom naked and blind, and are carefully attended to by the mother, 

 who coven them op warm with the cosy materials of her nest. 



The sub-family Cortina, which has the following dental formula 



ilMJenn. ; Molar*, t 1 20 is often referred to Ilyttricida:. 



[HrrruciDJB.] 





Tfrta of Oiria Aftrt*. T. Carter. 



Tb following specie* of Lamm ft are recorded in the 'British 

 neetuo CatrfogoT-T-r 



/. prinerft, the Little Chief. North America. 

 /. alpimut, UM Ladajac. Siberia. 



L. Roylci, the Indian Sulgan. Himalaya. 



L. \cpalrntit, the Re<l -Shouldered Sulgan. Ncpaul. 



L. rujfacfiu, the Reddish Sulgan. Cabul. 



Pouil Lc]i 



Of the genus Lepta tho following specie* are named : L. diiuriamu, 

 Hare, of the Caverns, Cuvier, Bucklaud, Pander, and D' Alton ; L. 

 jiritctu, Hare of the Oeseous Breccias, Cuvier. Fossil Hares and 

 rabbit* are also recorded by M. Bourdet, M. D'Orbigny, M. RUso, 

 M. Wagner, Mean*. Croizet and Jobert, and Meein. Marcel de Seme 

 and Pitorre. 



The following fossil specie* of Layomyi are recorded : L. Corti- 

 cantu and L. Sardiu, from the Osseous Breccia of Corsica and 

 Sardinia respectively. Other remains of Lagomyi are noticed by 

 Cuvier, Wagner, M. de Serres, Rissp, Chabriol and Bouillet, Croizet 

 and Jobert, Bravard, Sedgwick (Oeningen beds), and Murchuon. All 

 tertiary. 



Of the Agouti (Daiyprocta of Illiger ; CUoromyi of F. Cuvier) 

 remains are noticed by M. Bravard and M. Eichwald in tertiary bed*. 

 LEPTACAN'THUS, a genus of Fossil Placoid Fishes occurring in 

 the Carboniferous and Oolitic strata. (Agassiz.) 



LEPT/ENA, a subdivision of the great family of Fossil Bradtiopoda, 

 proposed by Dalman to include species which Mr. Sowerby named 

 Prwlucta. Its use is at present more restricted, and has become 

 rather indefinite. Leptana lota, of the Silurian system, may be 

 regarded as a frequent type. The species are extinct, and are 

 confined to Palaeozoic strata. 



LE'PTIDES, a sub-family of Dipterous Insects of the family Sra- 

 chy.ttoma (Macquart). The family of insects to which the present 

 section belongs U distinguished by the proboscis being short and 

 membranous ; the lips terminal and thick ; third joint of the antenna 

 simple, often spatulate ; stylet often dorsal ; abdomen usually with five 

 distinct segment*. The wings have commonly one submarginal and 

 three posterior cells. The family Brachyiioma, is divided by Macquart 

 into four tribes or sub-families Xylotomte, Leptidei, Dolichopoda, and 

 Syrphidte. 



The first, or the Xylotomcc, are distinguished by the third joint of 

 the antennae being conical, by the wing having two submarginal cells, 

 and by the tarsi being furnished with two small cushions. 



In the sub-family leptidet the antennae are inserted near the base of 

 the head, and have generally a terminal stylet ; the tarsi are furnished 

 with three small cushions ; the femora are elongated ; the wings have 

 two submarginal and generally five posterior cells. This group con- 

 tains six genera, of which one (Clinoccra) is distinguished from all the 

 other Leptides by its possessing only three posterior cell* to the wings, 

 the remaining genera having five. 



In the genus Leptii the head is depressed; the palpi are generally 

 decumbent, with tho second joint conical and the third joint short 

 and generally conical. The thorax has a distinct tubercle ; body 

 conical and transparent The species inhabit Europe. The Lejitlt 

 rermileo (Miuca rermileo, Linn.) has been separated from Lrptit 

 proper by Macquart, and forms the type of his genus Vermilro, dis- 

 tinguished chiefly by the body being elongated and depressed, the first 

 joint of the antennae elevated, ana the last conical and horizontal in 

 its direction. 



L. rermileo of Fabricius, or Vermileo Degterii, Macquart. This Fly 

 is about 4 or 5 lines in length, of a yellow colour, having four block 

 streaks on the thorax, and five range* of black spots on the body ; the 

 wing* immaculate. The larva somewhat resemble* the stick-like 

 caterpillar of the Oeomttnt, and is nearly of a cylindrical form, but 

 narrower towards the anterior extremity of the body ; the posterior 

 extremity U furnished with four fleshy tubercle*. It lives in sandy 

 districts, forms excavations in the soil, at the bottom of which it 

 secretes itself either wholly or partially. If an insect falls into it* 

 trap it rise* suddenly, clasp* the insect with its body, and having 

 sucked all it* juice*, bend* itself in the form of a bow, and by sud- 

 denly relaxing throws away the remain*. 



The next genus, ChrytojJiila (Macquart), ha* tho body furnished 

 with velvet-like hair, the palpi elevated and with the second joint 

 cylindrical, the third being generally conical ; thorax without a distinct 

 tubercle. Several species are found in Europe. The genus f>i>ania, 

 which is the next in succession according to Macquart, has but two 

 distinct joint* to the antenna; ; it contains but one species. The genus 

 Aikrriz ha* the third joint of the antenna; distinct ; the stylrt ia 

 generally dorsal ; the body depressed. All the species of this genus 

 are European. 



The third sub-family, Jtolichopodo, is distinguished by the second 

 joint of the palpi being membranous, depressed, and covering the base 

 of the proboscis. The stylet of the antenna; is sometimes dorsal and 

 sometimes apical ; the eye* are generally separated in both sexes; the 

 abdomen is somewhat cylindrical, or approaches a conical form ; wings 

 decumbent, without any discoidal cell, and generally possessing four 

 posterior cell*. 



The Syrphido} are a very extensive group, and although given by 

 Macqnart as a division of his family Jlrachyatoma, certainly constitute 

 I a lection of higher value than a sub-family. [SYKFHID&] 



LEPTOCE'PHALUS,a remarkable fish of the Eel tribe, discovered 

 on the British coast in Pennant's time, and since observed ini he 



