USE OF THE JAWS. 



483 



male. The use of these jaws is at present problematical, for the 

 male Synagris does not use them for labour, the whole of that 

 business devolving on the female. Neither would they serve the 

 purpose of weapons. Even the male stag beetles, who really do 

 fight when urged by jealousy, do very little harm to each other, 

 the result of a battle being very much like that of a duel be- 

 tween two ironclads, neither of which can penetrate the armour 

 of the other. Some entomologists think that they are used in 

 detaining the female in case she should prove coy, but as the 

 greater bulk of male insects have feeble jaws, and many have 

 no jaws at all, this theory cannot be maintained. Perhaps, when 

 we know the use of a man's beard, a lion's mane, or a turkey's 

 wattles, we shall learn the object of these enormous jaws. 



As to the name Synagris, it is utterly absurd when applied to 

 an insect. It is a name employed by Aristotle in his " History 



Fig. 2*9 — Synagris eornuto 

 (Brownish yellow.) 



of Animals " to designate some marine fish, and why it should 

 now be transferred to a terrestrial insect is more than I can 

 understand. 



This species is a native of Southern Africa, which is the great 

 home of these curious insects. Its general colour is black, but 

 the thorax is yellowish brown, with the exception of a large 

 black patch in the centre ; and its wings are also brown, with a 

 decided glossy surface. The enormous jaws of the male are 

 yellow in colour, and not only are they very large, sickle-shaped, 

 and sharply pointed, but they each throw out a large horn or 

 tooth near the base, the horn being large enough to make half a 

 dozen ordinary jaws. There is also a blunt tooth on the outer 



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