260 



Ertarfttrg of $ahtral 



the meaningless vagary of the hour, but a 

 frolicsome dance, the wooing of its mate, 



which lies concealed in the herbage over 

 which it sports. The two insects are some- 

 thing similar in their general form, but very 

 differently marked. The male exhibitor is 

 known by his four glossy, satiny, white 

 wings, bordered with buff ; the lady reposer 



(HEPIOLUS HDMULI.) 



has her upper wings of a tawny yellow, 

 spotted and banded with deep brown. They 

 are very inert creatures, easily captured ; 

 and their existence appears to be of very 

 short duration, as we soon cease to observe 

 them, either in action or at rest. The male 

 probably becomes the prey of every bird that 

 feeds by night ; his colour and his actions 

 rendering him particularly obnoxious to 

 dangers of this nature ; and the frequency 

 witli which we find his wings scattered about, 

 points out the cause of death to most of them. 

 The bat pursues with great avidity all those 



(HEPIOLUS HUM DLL) 

 creatures that fly in the evening ; and by its 

 actions it seems to meet with constant em- 

 ployment, and has greater probability ot 

 success than some insectivorous birds that 

 feed by day, as all the myriads which abound 

 at this time are the sole prey of itself and a 

 few nocturnal ramblers. From this singular 



flight in the twilight hour, haunting as it 

 were one particular spot, the fancy of some 



:ollector, considering it as a spectre-like 

 action, named it the Ghost-moth. 



GIBBON. (1'ithecus lar.) The Gibbon, 

 or Long-armed Ape, is a species of the 

 Quadrumana, distinguished from others by 

 the slenderness of its form, but more par- 

 ticularly by the extraordinary length of its 

 arms, which, when the animal is standing 

 erect, reach to the ankle-joints. The hands 

 and feet are even more adapted for climbing 

 than those of the Orang-Outang ; their form, 

 in fact, is admirably suited to their arboreal 

 habits ; and they are here observed to sweep 

 from the branch of one tree to another with 

 surpassing velocity : suspending themselves 

 by their long anterior limbs, they launch 

 onwards by an energetic muscular move- 

 ment, seizing with wonderful precision the 

 distant branches, and continuing their pro- 

 gression without any pause or perceptible 

 effort. It is worthy of note, that their feet, 

 which are very long, have the soles turned 

 so much inwards as to afford no support to 

 the erect posture. The colour of the Gibbon 

 is black ; but the face is commonly sur- 

 rounded with a white or grey beard. There 



s a variety, called the WHITE GIBBON, which 



GIBBON , OR LONG-ARMED APE. 

 (PITHECT73 l,AR.) 



differs from the above species in being en- 

 tirely white, except the face and hands, 

 which are black. Notwithstanding the ap- 

 parent ferocity of the Gibbon, and its un- 

 gainly figure, it is of a more gentle and 

 tractable nature than any of its congeners ; 

 and it has even been commended for the 

 decorum and decency of its behaviour. It 

 inhabits the islands of the Indian Archi- 

 pelago. 



GILTHEAD. (.Chrysopliris auralus.) An 

 Acanthopterygious fish, of a broad and com- 

 pressed form, about twelve inches in length, 

 and somewhat resembling the Bream. It is 

 found in abundance in the Mediterranean, 

 and is sometimes taken on the coasts of 

 France and Spain. The back is sharp, and 

 of a dusky green or silvery gray colour ; be- 

 tween the eyes there is a gold-coloured 

 crescent-shaped stripe, from which it re- 

 ceives its name : the incisor teeth in each 

 jaw are conical, the molar ones roundish ; 

 the tail is very forked, the fins are grayish- 

 blue, the dorsal fin extending almost the 



