ARGUS. 



193 



J. E. Gray, Esq.,F.R. S., has also published a paper 

 in the Zoological Journal, from which the following 

 observations are abridged, in illustration of some ob- 

 servations on the disputed question of the molluscous 

 animal (Ocyt/toe), found in the shells of the genus 

 Argonauta, being a parasite or not. He states that he 

 had lately examined ten specimens, four of them re- 

 ferable to Ocythoc Crnnc/iii, and the remainder to 

 Ocyfhoe antiquoruni, there being but little, however, 

 to distinguish them except their "size. All these 

 specimens, as well as those which have been figured, 

 were females, and had eggs enclosed in the hinder 

 part of the shell, in the cavity which is uniformly 

 found behind the body .of the animal. Only one or 

 t \voof these individuals had their bodies marked with 

 the ridges of the shell, the impressions of which were, 

 however, mostly observable upon the arms. The 

 animals all appeared to be retained in the shells by 

 the inflection of the anterior pair of arms. He adds, 

 that he had also lately seen several specimens pre- 

 served without shells, and having their bodies shaped 

 exactly like that of the common Octopus, without the 

 slightest appearance of having been enclosed in a 

 shell. From these tacts Mr. Gray is inclined to 

 regard it as probable that the Ocythoc is only para- 

 sitic in the shell of the argonauta, and that the shells 

 are only resorted to by females during the breeding 

 season for the protection of their eggs, the chief pur- 

 pose of the dilated portion of the anterior arms being 

 to retain the animal in the shell. lie also states, that 

 he is not aware that any author had distinctly asserted 

 from his own observation, that these parts are ex- 

 panded into the form of sails before the wind, a 

 service they seem incapable of performing except in 

 poetic fiction. 



A. argo. 



The genus is divided into three species by Lamarck, 

 the shell of the first, A. argo, here figured, has its keel 

 much narrower than the others, and the pointed 

 tuberculations on either side of it very sharp ; the 

 sides of the shell are transversely striated, with 

 wrinkles proceeding longitudinally from the recurved 

 spire : the second species, A. tuberculusa, is more 

 convex at the sides, having nodulous elevations, the 

 keel much broader, and the points on cither side of it 

 more obtuse ; the third species, A. nitida, is a much 

 smaller shell than the A. tuberculosa,md has its aper- 

 ture very much diluted in proportion to its size : in 

 general appearance it however resembles the latter. 



One 01 the species inhabits the Mediterranean, 

 and the two others the Indian and African seas. 



The elegant symmetry and the delicate structure of 



NAT. HIST. VOL. I.' 



this mollusk, combined with the doubtful character 

 and habits of its inhabitant, will always render it an 

 object of interest, not only to conchologists, but to all 

 persons who love to look from " nature up to nature's 

 God," and humbly trace the infinite wisdom displayed 

 in all His works. 



We cannot close this article without briefly ad- 

 verting to the admirable memoir on this part of the 

 animal kingdom by Mr. Owen ; which, for elaborate 

 research and anatomical knowledge, stands superior 

 to any other work on the subject. 



ARGUS, or ARGUS PHEASANT (Phas'xmus 

 Arnts\ a large, beautiful, and very singular species 

 of pheasant, found native in the south-east of Asia, 

 more especially in Sumatra and some of the other 

 islands. Some naturalists have made it the type of 

 a new genus (Argun], to include the superb pheasant 

 of China, the existence of which is only known from 

 Chinese paintings, and is on that account a little 

 doubtful. One circumstance would, however, lead 

 us to believe that a bird, which the Chinese represent 

 so often, and always with the same characters, has a 

 real existence in the country. That circumstance is 

 this : the CameUia jafxmica, frequently represented in 

 Chinese paintings, was, long regarded as a jperely 

 imaginary plant ; and yet it is now, perhaps, the 

 leading beauty in the British garden. The same 

 may be the case with the superb pheasant; but we 

 must in the mean time confine ourselves to the argus. 

 This bird, except its superior size, aiid the singular 

 enlargement of some of its feathers, hereafter to be 

 noticed, is a true pheasant. The bill is as long as 

 the head, compressed, the upper mandible curved, 

 and slightly hooked at the tip. The nostrils are 

 about the middle of the upper mandible, lateral, and 

 half closed by membrane. The tarsi are slender and 

 without any spurs. The three anterior toes are 

 partially united by membrane, and they have rnsorinl 

 or scraping nails like the other gallinte. The head, 

 cheeks, and part of the neck, are destitute of feathers. 

 The tail is elevated, divided into two compressed 

 planes of six feathers each, and having the two 

 middle feathers rnucli longer than the rest. The 

 wings are singular in their structure. They are 

 short and round, very short, in fact, in proportion to 

 the size of the birds ; but in proportion as the primary 

 quills are short, the secondaries are long and broad, 

 being in the male not less than two feet and a half 

 in length. Those produced feathers are thickly 

 studded over with eye spots, which have a very 

 brilliant appearance, and on account of which the 

 bird has been called argus. When the bird displays 

 himself, for it is in the male that the greater splen- 

 dour appears, the feathers of the tail are spread fan- 

 shape, with the two long feathers in the middle rising 

 'high over the rest. The produced secondaries 

 glittering with their multitude of eyes, bear against 

 the lower and lateral parts of the tail, and rising hih 

 over these, give the whole display the form of a 

 coronal plume with three points. The colours are 

 beyond description beautiful, as there is no language 

 containing names for a tenth part of the tints. Every 

 colour is there in the perfection of its beauty ; and 

 yet the contrasts are so sweetly delicate, that, there 

 is not the slightest expression of gaudiness about rhe 

 whole bird. - As is the case among all gallinaceous 

 birds, the female is much less showy than the male, 

 has the secondaries less produced, and without the 

 eyes, which give so much liveliness to the othri 



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