IBtcttonarp of STmmatetr $ature. us 



coeval with the Colossochelys in the same 

 fauna, have reached to the present time ; 

 and what is true in this j-espect of one spe- | 

 cies in a tribe, may be equally true of every 

 other placed under the same circumstances. 

 We have as yet no direct evidence to the 

 point, from remains dug out of recent allu- 

 vial deposits ; nor is there any historical 

 testimony confirming it ; but there are tra- 

 ditions connected with the cosmogonic spe- 

 culations of almost all Eastern nations 

 having reference to a Tortoise of such gi- 



C:ic size, as to be associated in their fabu- 

 accounts with the elephant. Was this 

 Tortoise a mere creature of the imagination, 

 or was the idea of it drawn from a reality, 

 like the Coloxxochcl >/s f Without attempting 

 to follow the tortoise tradition through all 

 its ramifications, we may allude to the in- 

 teresting fact of its existence even among the 

 natives of America. The Iroquois Indians 

 believed that there were originally, before 

 the creation of the globe, six male beings in 

 the air, but subject to mortality. There was 

 no female among them to perpetuate their 

 race ; but learning that there was a being 

 of this sort in heaven, one of them under- 

 took the dangerous task of carrying her 

 away. A bird (like the Garuda of Vishnoo, 

 or the Eagle of Jupiter) became the vehicle. 

 He seduced the female by flattery and pre- 

 sents : she was turned out of heaven by the 

 supreme deity, but was fortunately received 

 upon the back of a tortoise, when the otter 

 (an important agent in all the traditions of 

 the American Indians) and the fishes dis- 

 turbed the mud at the bottom of the ocean, 

 and drawing it up round the tortoise formed 

 a small island, which, increasing gradually, 

 became the earth. We may trace this tra- 

 dition to an Eastern source, from the cir- 

 cumstance that the female is said to have 

 had two sons, one of whom slew the other ; 

 after which she had several children, from 

 whom sprung the human race. 



"In this fable we have no comparative 

 data as to the size of the tortoise ; but in the 

 Pythagorean cosmogony the infant world is 

 represented as having been placed on the 

 back of an elephant, which tens sustained on 

 a huge tortoise. It is in the Hindoo accounts, 

 however, that we find the fable most circum- 

 stantially told, and especially in what relates 

 to the second Avatar of Vishnoo, when the 

 ocean was churned by means of the moun- 

 tain Mundar placed on the back of the king 

 of the tortoises, and the serpent Asokee used 

 for the churning-rope. Vishnoo was made 

 to assume the form of the tortoise, and sus- 

 tain the created world on his back to make 

 it stable. So completely has this fable been 

 impressed on the faith of the country, that 

 the Hindoos to this day even believe that 

 the world rests on the back of a tortoise." 



We ought to apologise to our readers, per- 

 haps, for devoting so much space to the 

 " vague and uncertain indications of mytho- 

 logical tradition : " we shall not, however, 

 pursue the subject further, but merely state 

 that the result at which the researches and 

 inquiries of the discoverers arrived was, 

 " that there are fair grounds for entertaining 

 the belief as probable that the Colossochelys 



A tlas may have lived down to an early pe- 

 riod of the human epoch and become extinct 

 since : 1st, from the fact that other Chelo- 

 nian species and crocodiles, contemporaries 

 of the Colossochelys in the Sewalik fauna, 

 have survived ; 2nd, from the indications of 

 mythology in regard to a gigantic species of 

 tortoise in India." Ann. Nat. Ilist. vol. 15. 



COLUBER : COLUBRID^. An exten- 

 sive genus and family of Ophidian reptiles, 

 comprising all serpents, whether venomous 

 or not, whose scales beneath the tail are ar- 

 ranged in pairs ; but now, according to Cu- 

 vier's arrangement, including only the harm- 

 less snakes, many of which habitually reside 

 among trees, and are distinguished by the 

 brilliancy of their colours and the graceful- 

 ness of their forms. [See SNAKES.] 



COLUGO. The Flying Squirrel. [See 

 GALKOPITHECUS.] 



COLUMBID^E. A natural family of 

 birds, comprising the pigeons, doves, and 

 turtle-doves. In Britain there are four na- 

 tive species ; the Ring-dove or Wood-pigeon; 

 the Rock-pigeon, which is the original of all 

 our domesticated breeds; the Stock- dove, 

 which, like the Ring-dove, chiefly frequents 

 coppices and groves ; and the Turtle-dove, 

 which is the smallest, and the most elegant 

 both in form and colour. The Cplumoidce 

 fly well, and associate invariably in pairs ; 

 their nests are constructed in trees, or in the 

 holes of rocks ; and both parents sit upon 

 the eggs. They are further remarkable for 

 the peculiar mode in which their young are 

 fed. The crop is furnished with numerous 

 glands, which become developed in both 

 sexes during incubation : these glands se- 

 crete a sort of milky substance, with which 

 the food that passes into the crop is moist- 

 ened ; and the food, saturated with this 

 secretion, is regurgitated by the parents for 

 the nourishment of their young. By some 

 naturalists these birds are regarded as form- 

 ing a distinct order called GYEATOKES. [See 

 PIGEON.] 



COLUMELLID^E. A family of univalve 

 shells, distinguished by their having no canal 

 at the base of the aperture, but a notch, more 

 or less distinct, and plaits on the columella 

 or left lip. Many individuals of this family, 

 as MITKA, MAUOINELLA, VOLUTA, &c., are 

 remarkable for their beauty. 



COLYMBID2E. The Colymbidce, or Di- 

 vers, are a family of birds inhabiting the 

 northern regions, and distinguished by their 

 legs being placed so far back, that they al- 

 ways assume an erect position when stand- 

 ing. Their feet are large and webbed ; they 

 are rapid and powerful divers; and they 

 feed both on fish and vegetables. [See DI- 

 VER.] 



CONCHIFERA. The scientific name 

 given to Bivalve Shells, which are separated 

 into three orders : Brachiopoda ; Dimyaria; 

 and Monomyaria: [which see.] The Mol- 

 lusca which inhabit them, not having any 

 especial organs for seeing, hearing, or smell- 

 ing, are limited to the perception of no other 

 impressions but those of immediate contact. 



