12 



Datura! 



AMADAVADE. A small bird of the 

 Finch tribe (FringiUidce), having a beautiful 

 red bill. The upper part of the body is 

 brown, the rump dark red, and the prime 

 feathers of the wings are black ; as are also 

 those of the tail, which are longest in the 

 middle, and gradually slope to the sides : it 

 is frequently kept as a pet in cages, and 

 lives on seeds. 



AMBLYRHYNCHUS. The name given to 

 a genus of Lizards, very much resembling 

 the Iguanas, common on all the islands 

 throughout the Galapagos Archipelago. 

 They differ, however, from the Iguana, in 

 having, instead of the long, pointed, nar- 



row muzzle of that species, a short, ob- 

 tusely truncated head, and also in the 

 strength and curvature of the claws. Mr. 

 Darwin (in his " Journal of Researches," &c.) 

 thus speaks of the one which is termed Am- 

 blyrhynchus cristatus : " It lives exclusively 

 on the rocky sea-beaches, and is never found, 

 at least I never saw one, even ten yards in- 

 shore. It is a hideous looking creature, of 

 a dirty black colour, stupid and sluggish in 

 its movements. The usual length of a full- 

 grown one is about a yard ; but there are 

 some even four feet long. I have seen a 

 large one which weighed twenty pounds. 

 On the island of Albemarle they seem to 

 grow to a greater size than on any other. 

 These Lizards were occasionally seen some 

 hundred yards from the shore, swimming 

 about ; and Captain Collnett, in his voyage, 

 says, ' they go out to sea in shoals to fish.' 

 With respect to the object, I believe he is 

 mistaken ; but the fact stated on such good 

 authority cannot be doubted. When in the 

 water the animal swims with perfect ease 

 and quickness, by a serpentine movement of 

 its body and flattened tail, the legs during 

 this time being perfectly motionless and 

 closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on 

 board sank one, with a heavy weight at- 

 tached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly ; 

 but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up 

 the line, the Lizard was quite active. Their 

 limbs and strong claws are admirably adapt- 

 ed for crawling over the rugged and fissured 

 masses of lava, which every where form the 

 coast. In such situations, a group of six or 

 seven of these hideous reptiles may often- 

 times be seen on the black rocks, a few feet 

 above the surf, basking in the sun with out- 

 stretched legs." Its habits are entirelyaquatic, 

 as well as its food, which consists of sea- 

 weed. 

 The species termed Amblyrhynchus subcris- 



tatus is terrestrial, and is confined to the 

 central islands of the Archipelago. These 

 " inhabit both the higher and damp, as well 

 as the lower and sterile parts ; but in the 

 latter they are much the most numerous. 

 Like their aquatic brethren, they are ugly 

 animals; and from their low facial angle have 

 a singularly stupid appearance. In size, per- 

 haps, they are a little inferior to the latter, 

 but several of them weighed between ten and 

 fifteen pounds each. The colour of their 

 belly, front legs, and head (excepting the 

 crown, which is nearly white), is a dirty 

 yellowish-orange : the back is a brownish- 

 red, which in the younger specimens is 

 darker. In their movements they are lazy and 

 half torpid. When not frightened, they slowly 

 crawl along with their tails and bellies drag- 

 ging on the ground. They often stop and 

 doze for a minute with closed eyes and hind 

 legs spread out on the parched soil. They in- 

 habit burrows, which they sometimes ex- ! 

 cavate between fragments of lava, but more 

 generally on level patches of the soft volcanic 

 substance. They feed by day, and do not 

 wander far from their burrows. When atten- 

 tively watching any one they curl their tails, 

 and, raising themselves on their front legs, 

 nod their heads vertically with a quick 

 movement, and try to look very fierce ; but 

 in reality they are not at all so : if one just 

 stamps the ground, down go their tails, and 

 off they shuffle as quickly as they can." 

 They live on the leaves of trees and other 

 vegetable productions ; and their flesh is 

 considered a delicate kind of food. 



AMBLOTIS. [See WOMBAT.] 



AMIA. A small Malacopterygious fresh- 

 water fish, found in the rivers of South 

 America. It belongs to the Clupeidce fa- 

 mily ; feeds on Crustacea, and is rarely 

 eaten. 



AMMOCETES. A genus of Chondrop- 

 terygious fishes, allied to the Lampreys, the 



maxillary ring being without teeth, the 

 fleshy lips semicircular. The common 

 species, Ammocetes branchiaUs, is about the 

 thickness of a goose quill, and is very com- 

 mon in some of the English rivers, where it 

 is known as the Stone Grig. It lodges in 

 the mud, where it preys on worms, insects, 

 &c. ; and is of no use but as bait for other 

 fish. It has been accused of sucking the 

 gills of fishes. 



AMMODYTE, or LAUKCE. This fish, 

 which is of the Malacopterygious or soft- 

 finned kind, is named Launce from its lance- 

 like shape, and is from eight to ten inches 

 long ; its form is slightly square, being rather 

 rounded on the sides, and somewhat flat- 

 tened above and beneath ; the head is small 

 and taper, and the under jaw much longer 

 than the upper ; the mouth is destitute of 

 teeth, but at the entrance of the throat are 

 two oblong bones for retaining the prey. 

 The pectoral fins are small, and the tail is 

 slightly forked ; the general colour of the 

 body is a greenish-blue on the back, and the 

 belly is either of a silvery white, or of a 

 yellowish hue. These fishes are in England 

 called Sand-eels, being remarkable for their 



