Some Anomalies 



Scarab l the only three that I know are 

 likewise atrophied: all of them lack the tarsi 

 of the fore-legs. These four witnesses 

 prove to us that this singular mutilation is 

 common to the whole group. 



An absurd system of nomenclature has 

 seen fit, in its blindness, to substitute for the 

 ancient and venerable term of Scarabaeus that 

 of Ateuchus, meaning weaponless. The in- 

 ventor of the name was none too well-in- 

 spired: there are plenty of other Dung- 

 beetles that have no horny armour, such as 

 the Gymnopleuri, 2 who are so closely allied 

 to the Scarabaei. Since his intention was to 

 designate the genus by calling attention to a 

 characteristic peculiarity, he should have 

 coined a word meaning, "deprived of tarsi 

 on th,e fore-legs." Only the Sacred Beetle 

 and his kinsfolk, in the whole of the insect- 

 world, could rightly bear that name. This 

 never occurred to the nomenclator; this im- 

 portant detail was apparently unknown to 

 him. He saw the grain of sand and did not 

 notice the mountain : a defect not uncommon 

 among the forgers of names. 



For what reasons are the Scarabs' fore- 



1 Cf. The Sacred Beetle and Others : chap. iii. Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



2 Cf. idem: chap. viii. Translator's Note. 

 259 



