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LEPTID^E. A subfamily of Dipterous 

 insects, distinguished by the proboscis being 

 short and membranous ; the lips terminal 

 and thick ; and the abdomen usually with 

 live distinct segments. 



LEPTOCEPHALUS, or ANGLESEA ! 

 MORRIS. A Malacopterygious fish, cha- 

 racterized by a very small and short head, : 

 and a remarkably compressed body. It is 

 common in the seas of hot climates. One 

 specimen of it was taken on the coast of 

 Anglesea by a gentleman named Morris, i 

 and is described by Pennant ; but since that 

 time many others have been found on our ; 

 coasts. It is four inches long ; head very j 

 small ; the eyes large ; lower jaw slender ; 

 numerous small teeth in each jaw ; the body 

 compressed sideways ; extremely thin, and 

 almost transparent : the bones forming the 

 vertebrse have no spinous processes what- 

 ever ; the dorsal and abdominal margins, 

 as well as the lateral line, exhibit a series of 

 small black specks ; and its general opal- 

 like hue and graceful motions give it a very 

 pleasing appearance. It is usually found 

 among sea-weed. 



LEPTOCONCHUS. A genus of Mollusca, 

 found in the Red Sea, where it is imbedded 

 in calcareous masses of Polyperia. The 

 head of the animal is furnished with a pro- 

 boscis ; two tentacula, with eyes in the 

 middle ; foot of moderate size, and no oper- 

 culum. The shell is of a dirty-white colour, 

 subglobular, delicate, fragile, and translu- 

 cent ; spire low ; aperture large, and fur- 

 rowed externally. 



LEPTOPHINA. The name given to a 

 subfamily of serpents belonging to the family 

 Colubridce. They are characterized by a 

 long and very slender body, slightly de- 

 pressed : the head elongated, and narrowed 

 before ; and a very long, slender, and acutely 

 pointed tail. "The whole of the serpents 

 composing these genera live," Mr. Bell ob- 

 serves, "in woods, entwining themselves 

 amongst the branches of trees, and gliding 

 with great rapidity and elegance from one 

 to another. Their habits, combined with 

 the graceful slenderness of their form, the 

 beautiful metallic reflection from the surface 

 in some species, and the bright and change- 

 able hues in others, place them among the 

 most interesting of the serpent tribe. Their 

 food consists of large insects, young birds, 

 &c., which the extraordinary size of the 

 head, the width of the gape, and the great 

 dilatability of the neck and body, enable 

 them to swallow, notwithstanding the small 

 size of these parts in a state of rest." They 

 are perfectly harmless ; and it is even said 

 that children are in the habit of taming and 

 playing with some of the species, twining 

 them round their necks and arms, and that 

 the snakes appear pleased at being thus ca- 

 ressed. 



LEPTOPTILUS. AgenusofGrallatorial 

 birds, containing the well known Adjutant 

 of India [which see]. 



LEPTURIIXaS. The third family of 

 Longicorn beetles, comprising such as have 



the eyes rounded, or very slightly emargi- 

 nate ; the antennae of moderate length, in- 

 serted before the eyes ; the head is inclined 

 downwards, and narrowed into a neck at its 

 union with the thorax, which is conical or 

 trapezoid, and narrower in front than the 

 head ; the mandibles are acute at the tips ; 

 the elytra are narrowed to the tips, so as to 

 give the terminal part of the body the ap- 

 pearance of an elongated but reversed tri- 

 angle. These insects are of moderate size, 

 active, and generally gaily coloured, being 

 often ornamented with yellow markings ; 

 they are found either upon umbelliferous 

 flowers in the hot sunshine, or on the trunks 

 of trees, where they usually reside in their 

 previous states. 



One of the largest and finest of these 

 beetles is a North American species, the JDes- 

 mocerns palliatus, which appears on the 

 flowers and leaves of the common elder 

 towards the end of June and until the middle 

 of July. It is of a deep violet or Prussian 

 blue colour, sometimes glossed with green, 

 and nearly one half of the fore part of the 

 wing-covers is orange-yellow, suggesting the 

 idea of a short cloak of this colour thrown 

 over the shoulders, which the name palliatus, 

 that is, cloaked, was designed to express. The 

 head is narrow ; the thorax is narrow before 

 and wide behind, and has a little sharp pro- 

 jecting point on each side of the base. The 

 larva; live in the lower part of the stems of 

 the elder, and devour the pith, as Dr. Harris 

 informs us. In this country are many spe- 

 cies, some of which are rather large and hand- 

 some. They are described in the works of 

 Mr. Stephens. 



LEPUS. [SeeHAEE.] 



A group of parasitic 

 Crustacea ; one species of which infests the 

 Sun-fish (Orthogariscus}. The fish and 

 its parasite are thus described in Capt. Grey's 

 Travels in Australia : " We caught also a 

 fish ( Or thogariscus), which the seamen called 

 a devil-fish. The length of it was six feet 

 two inches ; breadth from fin to fin, three 

 feet six inches ; length from tip of nose to 

 pectoral fin, two feet ; thickness through the 

 breast, one foot six inches. This fish was 

 infested about its nose with a kind of parasite 

 (Lernea), having two long thin tails. The 

 sailors stated that these animals frequently 

 cause large sores about the nose of the fish, 

 and that when suffering from this, it will 

 allow the sea birds to sit on it, and peck 

 away at the affected part. The habit of the 

 fish is to swim during calms, with one of the 

 hind fins out of water, and it is then har- 

 pooned from a boat. I have myself seen 

 petrels perched upon them ; and directly one 

 of these fish was hoisted on board, the sailors 

 looked for the parasites and found them. 

 They were an inch long, and covered with a 

 transparent shell marked with gray spots 

 and lines ; the hind part of the body, near 

 the tail, being darker than the fore part, as 

 if the intestines were seated there. These 

 little creatures adhered strongly to any sub- 

 stance that they were laid on, and caused 

 an irritating feeling to the skin, if placed on 

 it ; they swam with great rapidity when put 



