32 



Creatfttrj? of Natural 



the water, they will almost immediately 

 leap upon it again as if to attack you, but 

 without the smallest means either of offence 

 or defence. They were first discovered dur- 

 ing Capt. Cook's voyage to these regions, and 

 the beautiful unpublished drawing of Fors- 

 ter the naturalist has supplied the only 

 figures and accounts which have been given 

 to the public, both by British and foreign 



I have never seen more than two or three 

 together ; whilst the two smaller species 

 congregate in vast numbers. I know not 

 to what cause we can assign this very re- 

 markable paucity of individuals in the larger 

 species." 



AFTER A. An order of the Linnsean class 

 Tnsectce; characterized, as the term implies, 



writers "on natural history. Mr. G. R. Gray !! 7 having no wings in either sex. It includes 

 has therefore named it in the zoology of our j tjie , modern ord 

 voyage, Aptenodytcs Forsteri, of which we and Mvnapoda. 

 were fortunate in bringing the first perfect 



orders Crustacea, Arachnidu, 



specimens to England. Some of these were 

 preserved entire in casks of strong pickle, 

 that the physiologist and comparative ana- 

 tomist might have an opportunity of tho- 

 roughly examining the structure of this 

 wonderful creature. Its principal food con- 

 various species of cancri and other 



APTERYX. A bird which in form some- 

 what resembles a Penguin, and stands about 

 two feet in he' " 

 slender, ma: 

 tudinal groove, and furnished with a mem- 

 brane at its base. Its wings are simple ru- 

 diments ; a mere stump, terminated by a 

 hook. It has no abdominal air cells, nor 



_ 



height. The beak is very long, 

 rked on each side with a longi- 



crustaceous animals ; and in its stomach we | are any of its bones hollow. The feathers 



frequently found from two to ten pound 

 weight of pebbles, consisting of granite, 

 quartz, and trappean rocks. Its capture 

 afforded great amusement to our people, for 

 when alarmed and endeavouring to escape, 

 it makes its way over deep snow faster than 

 they could follow it ; by lying down on its 

 belly and impelling itself by its powerful 

 feet, it slides along upon the surface of the 

 enow at a great pace, steadying itself by ex- 

 tending its fin-like wings, which alternately 

 touch the ground on the side opposite to the 

 propelling leg." 



In No. IV. of the Appendix to the work 

 above quoted, (the Geology of the Southern 

 Islands, by R. Me Cormick, Esq.,) the writer 

 observes : " As I had no opportunity of land- 

 ing for specimens, I was in the habit of ex- 

 amining the stomachs of most of the birds 

 which I shot and preserved for the Govern- 

 ment Collection ; and found the Penguins 

 my best geological collectors, for their crops 

 were frequently filled with pebbles ; more 

 especially the large species, Aptenoclytcs 

 cmtarctica. In one of these individuals I 

 found upwards of a pound of small fragments 

 of rocks ; comprising basalt, greenstone, 

 porphyry, granite, vesicular lava, quartz, 

 scoriae, and pumice ; but none of them ever 

 brought me a vestige of aqueous rocks, all 



were volca: 



e a vestige 

 Tiic, and 



such the appearance of 



the Antarctic lands, even at a distance, 

 would proclaim them to be. We saw threi 



species of Penguins within the Antarctic 

 circle. The larger kind, 'Aptenodytes 

 antarctica,' attains a great size. I preserved 

 one, weighing seventy-five pounds. It is a 

 scarce bird, generally met with singly ; and 



have no accessory plume, but full loosely, 

 like those of the emu, and their shafts are 



prolonged considerably beyond the base. 



The feet have a short and elevated hind-toe, 

 the claw of which is alone externally visible. 

 The eye is small, and a number of bristle- 

 like hairs surround the mouth. Its colour 

 is deep brown ; its time of action nocturnal ; 

 and it subsists on insects. It runs with ra- 

 pidity, the limbs are extremely powerful, 

 and it defends itself vigorously with its feet. 

 This bird is chiefly met with in the southern 

 parts of the interior of New Zealand. When 

 chased, it takes refuge in the clefts of rocks, 

 hollow trees, or in deep holes which it exca- 

 vates in the ground ; and it runs with great 

 swiftness, with its head elevated like the 

 ostrich. The natives value it greatly for the 

 sake of its skin, which, prepared with the 

 feathers on, they make into dresses. The 

 name given to this bird by the New Zea- 

 landers is Kiwi. A second species of this 

 curious genus has been lately received by 

 Mr. Gould from the South Seas. 



APUS. A genus of small Crustaceous 

 animals which inhabit ditches, lakes, and 

 standing waters, generally in innumerable 

 quantities. They often swarm in myriads, 

 and, indeed, have been known to be carried 

 up by violent storms of wind, and scattered 

 over the land ; hence they often appear 

 suddenly in puddles of rain water where 

 none have been previously, especially in 



