CEYLONITE CHvETODON. 



had filled itself (it is not stated with what) in an 

 exposed manner above ground, then retired into the 

 earth, from whence it emerged in the perfect state in 

 March. Neither of these ideas would, however, be 

 correct, because the perfect cetouia only appears 

 above ground for a short time in spring and summer, 

 retiring thither again tor the purpose alone of deposit- 

 ing her eggs, which is"the last act of her existence. 

 Moreover, the grubs of the cetonia do not feed above 

 ground, but in rotten timber and wood ; and, indeed, 

 it is remarkable that the larva and pupa of the com- 

 mon rose-chatfer are often found under ground in ants' 

 nests, where, it would seem, they support themselves 

 by feeding upon the bits of wood of which the nests 

 are composed, and without being attacked by their 

 hostile hosts. From this circumstance they are called, 

 ui some countries, the king of the ants. After remain- 

 ing two or three years in the larva state, they may 

 be considered as full grown, when the larva makes a 

 cocoon of bits of sticks, giuten, &c., in whir*" it 

 becomes an inactive pupa, and from which, in the 

 following summer, it emerges. 



Some difference of opinion exists as to the food of 

 the larva of these insects ; some authors supposing 

 that they feed upon the earth in which they live, 

 whilst others state that they attack the roots of living 

 plants ; and by some it is affirmed, that in this state 

 they scarcely do ai>" mischief to plants, feeding upon 

 putrescent wood. 



This family, which corresponds with Latreille's 

 section Mcliiophili, is divisible into three sections. 

 First, the Trie/rides, having the sternum not produced 

 into a point, the thoracic lateral scales not developed, 

 and the lower jaws not concealed by the chin. Here 

 belong the British genera Trichius, Gnorimus, and 

 Valgus,w\& some others proposed by Mr. Kirby in the 

 Zoological Journal, and by Messrs. Gory and Per- 

 cheron in their very beautiful Monographic des 

 Cetoines, now in course of publication. In this first 

 section we possess but four British species, which 

 have been until recently placed in the genus Tiichius, 

 but the diversity of their habits sufficiently warrants 

 their separation. Thus the beautiful Trichius fasdatus 

 is always found upon flowers, whilst the Gnorimus 

 variabilis not only passes its larva state within the 

 bodies of decayed oak trees, but is found, on arriving 

 at the perfect state, on the trunks of such trees. 

 The Valgus hemipterus, on the contrary, is commonly 

 found on the ground, where it creeps but slowly. 

 This, and some North American species, are dis- ! 

 tinguished by the horny spear-shaped ovipositor at 

 the extremity of the body, which evidently is employed 

 by them to bore a hole in the earth for the reception 

 of their eggs. 



The second section, Go/iatfudes, is distinguished ; 

 from the preceding by the large size of the mentum ' 

 which conceals the lower jaws. Here belong various 

 exotic genera, of whose habits nothing is known, 

 including, however, some of the largest and most 

 beautiful species of lamellicorn insects. 



The third section, Cetoniides, have the sternum 

 pointed, and the lateral thoracic plates developed. 

 Here Belongs the British genus Cetonia (containing 

 two British species) and various other exotic genera. 

 CEYLONITE. A mineral which derives its 

 name from Ceylon, to which island it was originally 

 supposed to be exclusively confined. It is now, 

 however, found in considerable quantities in the 

 rocky beds of the Rhine, and in several volcanic 



districts. This mineral is distinguished from SPINEL, 

 which see, by its semi-metallic lustre, inferior hard- 

 ness, greater specific gravity,and inferior transparency. 

 When it occurs in grains, it is apt to be confounded 

 with tourmaline ; but its semi-metallic lustre, greater 

 specific gravity, and its not becoming electric by 

 heating, distinguish it from that mineral. 



CH^EROPOTAMUS. A name given by Cuvier 

 to a genus of fossil pachydermata found in the 

 gypsum in the neighbourhood of Paris, where it 

 accompanies the remains of the anoplotheria and 

 palaeotheria, but is of much rarer occurrence than 

 either of these. But little of this animal has been 

 found, excepting the teeth and some parts of the 

 head. The incisors (if there were any) have not 

 hitherto been discovered. The canine tooth in the 

 lower jaw is pointed, and tolerably large, and an 

 j empty space occurs between it and the first rnolar- 

 tooth, which is conical, pointed, and slightly com- 

 pressed, but by no means trenchant ; it has two 

 thick roots, which separate as they enter the alveolus. 

 The second molar is rather more compressed, having 

 also two roots ; and behind its points, which are 

 blunt, are two other points much lower, and scarcely 

 projecting, which form a second lobe. Two teeth 

 follow, which are tuberculated, having four principal 

 tubercles on the coronal, which is nearly rectangular ; 

 two smaller tubercles occur in the middle of the 

 others, and there are some other inequalities about 

 their bases. These teeth resemble very closely the 

 third and fourth molar teeth of the babyroussa, and, 

 generally speaking, teeth of this description indicate 

 an animal of the swine family ; but no known animal 

 of this kind has the first molar of this conical form, 

 and the pecari alone has a canine tooth as small as 

 the chaeropotamus, and besides is a much smaller 

 animal than this appears to have been. 



From these and other fragments, Cuvier was led 

 to the conclusion, that the plaster quarries contain 

 the remains of an animal approximating more nearly 

 to the genus Porcus, than either the anoplothetium, 

 or the palaeotherium, which however differed in many 

 particulars from any species of swine now existing. 

 He offers as a conjecture, that the dichobunes, whose 

 feet so nearly resemble those of swine, approached 

 very nearly to this new genus, and possibly formed 

 the link between it and the anoplotheria, properly so 

 called. But one species (the Parisiensis) has hitherto 

 been noticed. 



CH^ETODON bristle-tooth. A genus of spinous 

 finned fishes, belonging to Cuvier's sixth family of the 

 division, or those with scales on the fins. They 

 obtain their name from the very peculiar form of the 

 teeth, which are long, slender, and bristle shaped, 

 ranged in several rows, and bearing some resemblance 

 to brushes. Their mouth is very small ; their dorsal 

 and anal fins are covered with scales, not easily dis- 

 tinguishable from those on the back. They are 

 exceedingly numerous in the warm seas, and many of 

 them are so gay in their colours, that they are sought 

 after with some avidity by collectors, as cabinet fish. 

 Their intestines are long and large, with numerous 

 long but slender caeca. The air-bladder is very large. 

 They are usually found near reefs and rocky shores ; 

 La Cepede has enumerated forty-two species. Their 

 flesh is excellent food, and they are much sought after 

 by the sailors. They are remarkable for their form, and 

 the brilliancy and variety of their colours. The limits 

 by which the different species are separated are ill 



