320 



THE MECHANICAL FUNCTIONS. 



they possess in common with all articulated ani- 

 mals, the typical form of which consists, as we 

 have seen, of a series of rings, or segments, 

 joined endwise in the direction of a longitudi- 

 nal axis. The principal portions into which 



the body is divided are 

 the head, the trunk, and 

 the abdomen: each of 

 which is composed of 

 several segments. I 

 have here given, in il- 

 lustration, the annexed 

 figures, showing the 

 successive portions into 

 which the solid frame- 

 work, or skeleton, of 

 one of the beetle tribe, 



the Calosoma sycophanta* may be separated. 

 The entire insect, which presents the most per- 

 fect specimen of a complete skeleton in this class 

 of animals, is represented in Fig. 149 ; and the 

 several detached segments, on an enlarged scale, 

 in Fig. 150. The head c, as seen in the latter 

 figure, may be regarded as being composed of 

 three segments; the trunk, x, Y, z, of three; and 

 the abdomen, B, of nine. Fig. 151, is a view of 

 the head separated from the trunk, and seen from 

 behind, in order to show that its form is essen- 



* Carabus sycophant a. Linn. 



