-popular iDtctumavj? of ftmrnatett Mature. 223 



ERYCINID^E. A family of Lepidopterous 

 insects, distinguished by tiie fore legs of the 

 males being only rudimental : the anal edge 

 cf the hind wings is but slightly prominent, 

 and the discoidal cell is either open or 

 closed, partially or entirely, by a false ner- 

 vure. The caterpillars are very short, pu- 

 bescent, or hairy ; and the chrysalis is short 

 and contracted. These insects are of small 

 size, and generally of very brilliant colours, 

 often varied, and their wings marked with 

 spots. They are almost exclusively confined 

 to South America. Their night is very rapid, 

 and the majority of them rest with their 

 wings extended on the under side of leaves. 

 Some of the species have the hind wings 

 produced into two o_r more tails, often of 

 very great length ; in this particular re- 

 sembling the genera Papilio and Tliecla ; 

 others bear a certain resemblance to the 

 Hipparchiae, Heliconii,&c. See the fine work 

 of Messrs. Doubleday and Hewitson for the 

 numerous genera and species of this family, 

 where all the leading forms are beautifully 

 figured. In the British Museum there is a 

 very large collection of them. 



ESOX : ESOCID^E. A genus and family 

 of voracious fishes, many of them inhabit- 

 ants of rivers. They are destitute of the 

 adipose fin, and the border of their upper 

 jaw is either formed solely by the inter- 

 maxillaries, or they have no teeth. The 

 different sub-genera vary greatly in the form 

 of the body, the size of the scales, the length 

 of the jaws, and other striking points. [See 

 PIKE.] 



ESQUIMAUX DOG. [See DOG.] 



ET1IERIA. A genus of Conchifera, or 

 Bivalves, found in the rivers of Africa and 

 Madagascar. Shell inequivalve, very ir- 

 regular ; teeth none ; bosses short and in- 

 distinct ; ligament external, penetrating 

 partly into the shell. In its foliated struc 

 ture and toothless hinge it resembles Ostrcea, 

 but differs from it in having two muscular 

 impressions. The exterior is rugged and 

 irregularly shaped, but the interior of the 

 valves is pearly, of a vivid green colour, and 

 raised in small blisters, which are said to be 

 formed by small particles of sand being ac- 

 cidentally introduced during the formation 

 of the nacreous fluid. These shells are abun- 

 dant in the Nile above the cataracts, where 

 the inhabitants collect them for the purposes 

 of ornamenting their tombs with them. Ih 

 Lake Tchad, in Central Africa, Major Den- 

 ham found a fine species of this genus. 



EUCHIRUS: EUCHIRID^C, or LONG- 

 HANDED BEETLE. A remarkable genus 

 and family of Lamellicorn beetles ; the 

 longest known species of which is represented 

 in the two accompanying figures ; one of 

 which is the male, and the other the female. 

 The species (E. longimanus) is found in the 

 East Indies, where it seems to be by no 

 means common. It is of a rich reddish- 

 brown colour. The two cuts will show the 

 form of the sexes of this species better than 

 the most elaborate description. The insect 

 is most probably a native of one of the islands 

 in the East Indian Archipelago. Another 



LONO-HAUDKD BKETLK : MAI.B 



species {E. quadrilincatus) in the British 

 Museum collection, was found by Mr. Cum- 

 ing in the Philippine Islands. It is dis- 

 tinguished, among other marks, by four Ion- 



gitudinal lines on the elytra. A third most | 

 gorgeous species, has been named by Mr. 

 Hope Chirvtwius Macleaii. It is of the most ] 

 brilliant metallic green ; the elytra being I 

 black, with variously shaped orange spots. 

 A closely allied species to this, also iu the 



