SBtcttonani at 



415 



and when viewed in front broader than the 

 rest : the cheeks and under side of the tho- 

 rax are clothed with an ashy pubescence ; 

 above with yellow ferruginous hair : the 

 femora are yellow, with three black stripes 

 in front : the tibiae are black above, yellow 

 at their extreme apex : tarsi palmated, and 

 all the joints fringed with white silvery 

 hairs. These insects exhibit wonderful me- 

 chanical ingenuity in the construction of 

 their pollen-cases ; the same species some- 

 times choosing trees, posts, or rails in a 

 decaying state, at other times burrowing in 

 banks, or in the mortar of old walls, or 

 availing itself of the interstices from which 

 the mortar has fallen out. Mr. F. Smith 

 tells us that on one occasion he split off a 

 large portion of an old willow tree, which 

 was perforated in all directions by the bees, 

 and in doing so, laid open to view a channel, 

 about eight inches long, containing seven 

 cells, constructed of rose-leaves. These he 

 preserved for some weeks ; at length a male 

 bee made its escape, and on examination, it 

 proved to have quitted the upper cell. The 

 rest followed in regular succession, three 

 other males, and three females. Mr. Smith 

 observes, that he is not acquainted with any 

 species of this genus which continues its 

 burrow to the outside of the substance in 

 which it is constructed, as a means of escape 

 for its young brood. The Leaf-cutter Beea 

 are subject to the intrusion of parasites, be- 

 longing to the genus Ccelioxys. 



" The process which one of these bees em- 

 ploys in cutting the pieces of leaf that com- 

 pose her nest is worthy of attention. Nothing 

 can be more expeditious : she is not longer 

 about it than we should be with a pair of 

 scissars. After hovering for some moments 

 over a rose-bush, as if to reconnoitre the 

 ground, the bee alights upon the leaf she 

 has selected, usually taking her station upon 

 its edge, so that the margin passes between 

 her legs. With her strong mandibles she 

 cuts without intermission in a curve line so 

 as to detach a triangular portion. When 

 this hangs by the last fibre, lest its weight 

 should carry her to the ground, she balances 

 her little wings for flight, and the very mo- 

 ment it parts from the leaf flies off with it 

 in triumph ; the detached portion remaining 

 bent between her legs in a direction perpen- 

 dicular to her body. Thus without rule or 

 compasses do these diminutive creatures 

 mete out the materials of their work into 

 portions of an ellipse, into ovals or circles, 

 accurately accommodating the dimensions 

 of the several pieces of each figure to each 

 other. What other architect could carry 

 impressed upon the tablet of his memory 

 the entire idea of the edifice which he has to 

 erect, and, destitute of square and plumb- 

 line, cut out his materials in their exact 

 dimensions without making a single mis- 

 take ? Yet this is what our little bee in- 

 variably does. So far are human art and 

 reason excelled by the teaching of the Al- 

 mighty." Kirby and Spencers Entomology. 



MEGALOSAURUS. The name given to 

 an extinct genus of lizard-like reptiles, of 

 gigantic size, discovered in the oolitic slate 



of Stonesfield, near Oxford. Some of them 

 measured from forty to fifty feet in length ; 

 but no perfect skeleton has been found. The 

 generic character of this animal is founded 

 by Dr. Buckland chiefly on the structure of 

 the teeth, which he describes as presenting 

 " a combination of mechanical contrivances 

 analogous to those which are adopted in the 

 construction of the knife, the sabre, and the 

 saw." These teeth were arranged in a pretty 

 close series, in sockets, along the alveolar 

 border of the jaws ; and when it is remem- 

 bered that, according to the measurement 

 of the imperfect remains which have been 

 discovered, the Megalosaurus was about 

 seventy feet in length, the predaceous powers 

 of this carnivorous extinct monster must 

 have been truly apalling 



MEGALOTIS. A genus of Mammalia 

 allied to the family Canidce. [See FENNEC.] 



MEGATHERIUM. This name has been 

 given by Cuvier to an extinct genus of gi- 

 gantic quadrupeds, whose structure bears a 

 great resemblance to that of the Bradypus 

 or Sloth family. Several remains of the 

 Megatherium have been found in South 

 America : the one described by Cuvier was 

 in a fossil state, and found a hundred feet 

 below the surface of a sandy soil, in the vici- 

 nity of the river La Plata ; other specimens, 

 however, have since been found on the same 

 continent, but not in BO complete a state. 

 The skeleton was twelve feet (French) long, 

 by six feet in height ; the thigh-bones ex- 

 cessively thick, and the leg-bones still more 



so in proportion : the fore limbs were longer 

 than the- hind, and there were three enormous 

 claws on the fore feet, but only a single one 

 on the hinder. The head was relatively small : 

 in the upper jaw were five teeth on each side, 

 and in the under jaw four all molars. 

 " As to its place in the system of quadru- 

 peds," Cuvier observes, " it is perfectly 

 marked by the sole inspection of the ordinary 

 indicatory characters, that is, the claws and 

 teeth. These show that it must be classed 

 in the family of unguiculated quadrupeds 

 destitute of cutting teeth ; and, in fact, it 

 has striking relations with these animals in 

 all parts of its body. The great thickness of 

 the branches of the lower jaw, surpassing 

 even that of the elephant, seems to prove 

 that the vast animal was not content with 

 leaves, but, like the elephant and rhinoceros, 

 broke and ground the branches themselves, 

 its close and flat-crowned teeth appearing 

 very proper for that purpose. The position 

 of the bones of the nose, having some analogy 



