CEPHALOPTERES CERAMBYCID^. 



769 



cnHna; sixth family, Turbinacea, including the genera 

 Cibicide3,Q&d Botanies; seventh family, Tnrriculacca, 

 tho genus Turrilitcs. Under the alphabetical arrange- 

 ment of these species, genera, families, and orders, 

 detailed accounts will he given of each. 



CEPHALOPTERES. A genus of cartilaginous 

 fishes, with fixed gills, belonging to the family of the 

 rays. These arc singularly-shaped fishes. The head 

 is blunt in front, but the pectoral fins advance so 

 much on each side of it, as to give the fish the 

 appearance of having horns, or rather a winged head, 

 on which account the generic name is given to it. 

 The tail is slender and eel-shaped. A farther notice 

 of them will be found in the article RAY, in connexion 

 with the rest of the family. 



CEPHALOTES. The brown bat of Lima, for 

 a notice of which see the article BAT. 



CEPHALOTUS (Labillardiere). A curious New 

 Holland herbaceous aquatic plant brought to England 

 in 1822. Linnaean class and order Uodccnndria He.v- 

 agynia, natural order Rosacca;. Generic character : 

 calyx six-cleft and coloured; corolla none; stamens 

 inserted in the base of the calyx ; anthers twined, 

 glandular at the back ; style cylindrical ; capsules 

 six, many seeded. This, like the Nepenthes, is called 

 a pitcher-plant, because the leaves are formed into 

 little pitchers with beautifully fringed lids, and finely 

 varied in colour by streaks of pink or pale purple. 

 They are kept in frames or in a shady part of a 

 greenhouse planted in peat earth, and surrounded by 

 pieces of grassy turf to keep them cool and moist. 



CEPH A LUS Moon-fish. A genus of fishes 

 belonging to the order Plectognathes, or those which 

 have the bones of the jaw and head soldered toge- 

 ther, and to the division Gymnodontes, or those that 

 have the jaws covered with ivory plates instead of 

 teeth. The characters of the present genus are : 

 each jaw united into one piece ; the body compressed. 

 incapable of beinir inflated, as is the case with the 

 globe-fish, and destitute of spines ; the tail so short, 

 and ending so abruptly, that the whole body has the 

 appearance of only the half of a fish. Their dorsal 

 and anal fins, which are long and pointed, are 

 united with a cordon which is exceedingly short. 

 Three or four species of the genus are known, and 

 one found in the European seas (Cephalus mohi) is 

 sometimes more than four feet in length ; but, from 

 the great thickness of the body, it weighs between 

 three and four hundred pounds. The profile of 

 this one is very round, but the posterior extremity 

 appears over where the thickness is greatest. The 

 back is short, of a bright black colour, marked with 

 blue spots. The sides are silvery, and the fins black. 

 The eyes are large and round. The flesh is eaten, 

 but the animal requires to be skinned, as the skin is 

 very thick and rough, bearing some resemblance to a 

 piece of leather. There is another species, found 

 chiefly in the southern Atlantic, which is more oblong, 

 and has the skin very hard, and reticulated into a 

 number of small angular compartments. A third 

 species is said to be furnished with some spines. It 

 is very small in comparison with the others. These 

 fishes range the ocean much more extensively than 

 their singular figure would lead one to expect. Their 

 food is understood to consist of sea-weed and crusta- 

 ceous animals. 



CEPHUS (Latreillc). A genus of hymenopterous 

 insects, belonging to the section Scrrifera, and to the 

 family Tenthrcdimda:, or saw-flies. The body is com- 



NAT. HIST. Vot. I. 



pressed, the antenna? thickened towards the tips, 

 composed of about twenty joints ; the posterior tibia? 

 spurred in the middle, and the wings have two mar- 

 ginal, and four sub-marginal cells. In several respects 

 this genus materially differs from the family of the 

 saw-flies, approaching to the genus Sirex ; indeed the 

 type, C. pygmccus, was described by Linnaeus as a 

 species of sirex. Latreille has stated that the larvae 

 of these flies are six-legged grubs, destitute of false 

 abdominal legs ; those of C. abdominalis attack the 

 flowering buds of fruit trees, doing considerable mis- 

 chief; and from some statements published in M. 

 Ferussac's " Bulletin," it appears that the larvae of the 

 typical species -live in the stems of wheat : in sup- 

 port of which we may state, that we have met with 

 one of the species in the perfect state, in some abun- 

 dance, in wheat fields. The insects, of which there 

 are about a dozen British species, are of moderate 

 size, and are ornamented with bands of yellow on a 

 black ground. 



CEPOLA. A genus of spinous-finned fishes, 

 belonging to the eighth family of the order. They 

 are riband fishes, and forming the characteristic species 

 of that division. It gets its common name from the 

 brightness of its colours, and the wavy bands which 

 mark the sides. It is also, for the same reason, 

 sometimes called the band-fish. These fishes have 

 the body elongated and flat ; the dorsal and anal 

 fins very long, and the caudal fins very distinct. 

 Their ventral fins are of mean length, and consist of 

 many rays. One of their most remarkable characters 

 is the way in which the mouth opens. The upper 

 jaw is very short, and the under one is not only- 

 longer, but advances upwards in front, so that the 

 mouth is on the upper part of the head, and the chin 

 in front of the muzzle. The teeth are very pointed ; 

 the abdominal cavity is very short, but the air- 

 bladder is long, extending to the root of the tail. 



The common riband, or band-fish (Cepola rubes- 

 cens), occurs on the south coast of England, but 

 rarely, if ever, on the more northerly coast of Britain. 

 It is a poor fish, and of very little value as food, but 

 its appearance is curious, and its colours are very 

 showy. The ground colour on the sides is carmine 

 red, waved along the sides with glistening silvery 

 bands. The length is about a foot on the average. 

 The mouth large, turning upwards, as already men- 

 tioned, and furnished with a single row of curved 

 teeth in each jaw. The eyes are large, and the aniles 

 silvery mottled with bright red. The body tapers 

 from the head backwards, and is smooth, and even 

 partially transparent to appearance. Fishes which 

 have this latter appearance are usually of but little 

 value. This one is, however, taken in the Mediter- 

 ranean, though it is in little esteem even in a country 

 where there are many fish days in the calendar. In 

 the water it is a very beautiful fish. It swims near 

 the surface, gliding about like a serpent, and showing 

 its bright colours to the greatest advantage. It is 

 understood to subsist chiefly upon floating Crustacea, 

 and radiata, which the peculiar form of its mouth 

 renders it very expert in seizing. For a general 

 account of the family, see the article T.ENIOID^E. 



CKRAMBYClDv-E (Kirby). A family of cole- 

 opterous insects, belonging to the section Tetranura, 

 and to the sub-section Capriearnet or Longicorncx. 

 These insects are distinguished by the great length 

 of the antenna;, which often exceed that of the entire 

 body ; the upper lip is distinct, and reaches across 

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