104 



Crrasfttrgi of Natural 



CARCIIARIAS. A genus ofChondrop- 

 terygious fishes, notorious for their hold and 

 predaeeous habits, and distinguished by their 

 trenchant-pointed teeth. [See SHARK.] 



CARDIACEJE. A family of Molluscous 

 animals, including the Cockles and their 

 allies ; the shells of which are all equi valve, 

 or nearly so. They are furnished with a re- 

 gularly-toothed hinge, often of great com- 

 plexity and beauty ; and there is always a 

 double abductor muscle : the respiratory ori- 

 fices are usually prolonged into tubes, which 

 can, however, be drawn within the shell by 

 means of a retractor muscle. There are 

 numerous species, widely diffused ; many of 

 them being remarkable for the smallness and 

 delicacy of their shells, as well as for the 

 comparative activity of the animals that 

 form and inhabit them. 



C ARDIUM. A gen us of Mollusca belong- 

 ing to the Cardiacce, The foot is largely 

 developed, and is a most important organ 

 to the animals, it being used by most of 

 them not merely for progression, but in 

 the excavation of hollows in the eand or 

 mud of the shores on which they dwell. 

 As usually seen, the foot of the Cardium, 

 or Cockle, when extended, tapers gradually 

 to a poir.t ; and as its diameter is at its 

 larges* point much less than the breadth of 

 the shell, it is not apparent by what means 

 the hole that is 

 excavated is made 

 sufficiently large 

 for the reception 

 of the latter : this, 

 however, is ac- 

 com 

 diste 



foot with water, 

 through a tube 

 which opens just 

 witliin the mouth ; 



OA.RDIOM FiMBRii. and thus the size 

 of the borer be- 



comes so nearly equal to that of the shell, 

 that it is enabled, by rotatory motions often 

 repeated, to excavate a burrow large enough 

 to receive the animal with its shell. The 

 shell is generally white, with sometimes a 

 bluish or yellowish cast ; it has twenty-six 

 longitudinal ridges, is transversely wrinkled, 

 and has somewhat imbricated strise. The 

 Cockles, with few exceptions, inhabit the 

 ocean only : they abound most on sandy 

 shores ; and are used as a wholesome and 

 nourishing food. The most common species 

 is the Edible Cockle (.Cardium edule). 



Cardium Bechei. This beautiful species 

 (which is a native of the Eastern seas) is 

 dedicated to Sir Henry de la Beche, by its 

 discoverer, Sir E. Belcher, and is described 

 in the " Proceedings of the Zoological So- 

 ciety" (March, 1847), as without exception 

 the most striking and distinct from any 

 hitherto known that can well be imagined. 

 In colour it is of a pure rose tint, with the 

 following singular contrast of character. 

 The middle and anterior portion of the shell 

 is smooth, presenting a peculiar soft velvety 

 appearance, the effect of its being minutely 

 decussated with concentric and radiating 



plished by the 

 ension of the 



striie, and covered with an exquisite thin 

 shining horny epidermis, disposed in fine 

 concentric cords, abruptly terminating at 

 the posterior area. The posterior portion, 

 accordingly destitute of epidermis, is very 

 thickly rayed with ribs of short compressed 

 spines, as if the delicately clad surface of 

 the shell had been thus far ploughed up, as 

 it were, into furrows. 



CARDINAL-BIRD. [See GROSBEAK.] 



CARDUELIS. A genus of Passerine birds, 

 of the Finch tribe. [See riUNGJLLiD^E : 

 GOLDFINCH.] 



CARIAMA. A Grallatorial bird, of the 

 genus DiCHOLOPHus, the species being D. 

 cristatus, of the size of a heron, inha- 

 biting the great mountain plains of Brazil, 

 " where its sonorous voice often breaks the 

 silence of the desert." Its retired habits 

 are well described by Mr. Broderip : " A 

 tenant of the vast solitudes that form its 

 wide-spreading home, it flies from the face 

 of man ; and being almost always on the 

 watch, is very difficult of approach. Stalk- 

 ing slowly on the plain, its eye instantly 

 notes the distant intruder, and, after a mo- 

 ment's hesitation, it decides either to stay 

 or fly, according to the circumstances. Those 

 who have had the best opportunities of 

 observing them in their native wilds, state 

 that the hunters, though surrounded by these 

 birds, cannot, without considerable labour, 

 obtain them. As soon as the bird perceives 

 that it is pursued, it sets otf with great ra- 

 pidity ; the pursuer follows on horseback, 

 but it is not till after a sharp and tedious 

 course, with all its turnings and windings, 

 that the Cariama,wearied out, either crouches) 

 on the ground, or alights on some bush or 

 tree. Till this happens, the horseman in 

 vain seeks for an opportunity to throw his 

 lasso or pull his trigger. But," adds the 

 writer, " wild as the bird is in its natural 

 state, it is easily domesticated, and will live 

 sociably with the other tenants of the poul- 

 try-yard." The Cariama is about two feet 

 eight inches in length : it has an ornamental 

 tuft on the head ; the neck covered with 

 long, loose feathers, like those of the bittern ; 

 legs long ; feet long and slender ; and tail 

 rounded. The plumage on the upper part 

 of the bird is brown, and the under parts 

 whitish ; the neck feathers are finely rayed 

 with zig-zags of darker brown than the ge- 

 neral colour ; the wings are dark, traversed 

 with white bands and dotted : the tail fea- 

 thers are blackish, with white extremities ; 

 and the plumage on the front of the neck is 

 prettily variegated with white and brown. 

 The bill is of a bright coral red ; and the 

 legs and feet are of an orange red. It feeds 

 chiefly upon lizards and insects. The ana- 

 tomical structure of the Cariama is interest- 

 ing to zoologists, on account of the relation 

 it bears both to the waders and gallinaceous 

 birds. 



CARINARIA. AgenusofGasteropodous I 

 Mollusca, with an elongated, subcylindrical, | 

 transparent body, furnished with a sort of 

 fin which performs the part of a rudder. 

 The shells of this genus were formerly known 



