16 



at Natural ^ 



party who were witnesses to his monster 

 meal, the serpent could neither defend itself 

 nor retreat ; and it was dispatched, by re- 

 peated heavy blows on the head with large 

 clubs. It was thirty-three feet in length. 



ANAMPSES. A genus of Acanthoptery- 

 gious fishes found in the Indian seas. They 

 are small and beautifully coloured. The 

 head is without scales ; and they are dis- 

 tinguished by having two flat teeth, which 

 project from the mouth, and curve upwards. 



ANARRICHAS. A genus of Acanthop- 

 terygious fishes, bearing great resemblance to 

 the Blennies, except in their being destitute 

 of ventral fins. Their dorsal fin is composed 

 entirely of simple but not stiff rays, and ex- 

 tends, as does also the anal, very close to the 

 base of the caudal, which last, as well as the 

 pectorals, is rounded. The whole body is 

 soft and slimy. Their front teeth are large 

 and conical, and they may be regarded as 

 fierce and dangerous fishes. [See WOLF- 

 FISH.] 



ANAS. The name of a large Linnean 

 genus of birds, of the order Anseres; whose 

 distinguishing character is, that the beak is 

 convex, terminating in an obtuse point ; as 

 the Swan, the Goose, the Duck, Widgeon, &c. 



ANASTOMA. A genus of land shells, 

 resembling the other Helices in every respect, 

 except in the peculiarity of the last whorl 

 taking a sudden turn and reflecting the aper- 

 ture upwards, so as to present it on the 

 same plane with the spire; so that the animal 

 must walk with the spire of its shell down- 

 wards, resting on its foot. 



ANATZFER^E. A name given to a 

 genus of multivalve Cirrhipeds. [See ACORN- 

 SHELL.] 



ANATID^E. The Duck tribe ; a family 

 of web-footed birds ; order Natatores. 

 They are distinguished by a broad depressed 

 bill, which is covered with a soft skin ; and 

 by the hind toe not being included in the 

 web. The bill is furnished with a set of 

 horny laminae at the edge of each mandible, 

 which serve to filter the fluid taken up by 

 the bill, and retain the solid substances taken 

 up with it : the tongue is large and fleshy, 

 the gizzard strong and muscular, and lined 

 with a tough coat, so as to be capable of 



hich they feed. Many are migratory, and 

 fly with great strength at a considerable 



grinding down the shells of the mollusca on 



which the 



fly 



elevation. 



ANCHOVY. (Engraulis encrasicolus.) A 

 well known small fish, abounding in many 

 parts of the Mediterranean, particularly on 

 the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Spain : it oc- 

 curs also, though not in such considerable 

 numbers, on some of our western coasts, as 

 well as on those of France and Holland. It 

 is about four inches long, of a bluish-brown 

 colour on the back, and silvery white on the 

 belly. It is covered with large, thin, and 

 easily deciduous scales, and may be readily 

 distinguished from the Sprat and other kin- 

 dred species by the anal fin being remarkably 

 short. Mr. Couch, in his Cornish Fauna, says, 



" this fish abounds towards the end of sum- 

 mer, and if attention were paid to the fishery, 

 enough might be caught to supply the con- 

 sumption of the British islands ; " and he 

 adds, that he has seen it in the Cornish seas 

 of the length of seven inches and a half 1 



ANCLLLA, or ANCILLARIA. A genus 

 of Mollusca, inhabiting a spiral, univalve 

 marine shell, which, when the animal is 

 alive, is so much covered by the foot, that 

 only the middle of the back can be seen. 

 The species are numerous, and they are 

 chiefly confined to tropical climates. The 

 shells are smooth, and appear as if highly po- 

 lished. 



ANCYLUS. A fresh-water Gasteropo- 

 dous Mollusc, with a shell similar to that 

 of a Patella. They live in stagnant waters 

 and in rivulets, adhering to stones and 

 aquatic plants. 



ANDRENmSJ. A family of solitary 

 Bees, each species consisting only of males 

 and females. The mandibles are simple, 

 or terminated by one or two notches ; in which 

 the labium and terminal maxillary lobes do 

 not form an elongated proboscis, a character 

 which distinguishes them from the APID^: 

 [which see]. The antennas are elbowed ; and 

 the hind legs are generallycompletelyclpthed 

 with hairs, the trochanters and femora in the 

 females being pollinigerous. The species of 

 the genus Andrena are very numerous ; they 

 make their appearance in the early spring 

 and summer months, and have very much 

 the appearance of hive-bees. The females 

 collect pollen from the stamens of flowers, 

 rather by means of the general hairiness of 

 the body than with the posterior tarsi : this 

 they form, by the addition of a little honey, 

 into a paste for the food of their progeny. 

 They burrow in the ground, in sandy situ- 

 ations, especially if exposed to the sun, often 

 to a considerable depth. At the foot of these 

 burrows they deposit an egg, with a suffi- 

 cient quantity of this prepared food for the 

 supply of the future grub ; which they then 

 cover up, and proceed, cell after cell, closing 

 up the hole at the top with earth, to prevent 

 the attacks of parasites, which, notwith- 

 standing, often succeed in entering the hole 

 and depositing their eggs in the cells. The 

 sexes of many of the species are unknown. 



ANEMONIES, SEA. [See ACTINIA.] 



ANGEL-FISH, or MONK-FISH. (Sgua- 

 tina Angelus.) This fish, which is more re- 

 markable for its singularity of form than 

 for its beauty, would seem to connect the 

 genus of Rays and Sharks, were it not for 

 the situation of its mouth, which is an ex- 

 ception from each. It is said to have ac- 

 quired the name of Angel-fish from its ex- 

 tended pectoral fins having the appearance 

 of wings ; and it is called Monk-fish, because 

 its rounded head appears as if enveloped in 

 a monk's hood. The head is large, and the 

 mouth very wide ; the teeth are broad at 

 the base, but slender and very sharp above, 

 and disposed in five rows round the jaws. 

 By means of muscles uniting them to the 

 jaws, the teeth are capable of being raised 



