416 



of 



with that of the elephant and tapir, would 

 induce a suspicion that the animal wore a 

 trunk, but it must have been very short, since 

 the length of the head and neck together 

 equals that of the fore legs. However this 

 be, we find in the absence of canine teeth 

 and the shortness of the muzzle, sufficient 

 characters to constitute a new genus in the 

 family of the edcntatcd, which ought to be 

 placed between the Sloth and the Armadillo ; 



since to the shape of the head of the former, 

 it joins the teeth of the latter. It would be 

 necessary to know particulars of which a 

 skeleton cannot inform us, such as the nature 

 of the teguments, the form of the tongue, 

 the position of the mammae, &c., in order to 

 determine to which of these it approached 

 the most. In the mean time, I thought I 

 might give it the generic name of Megathe- 

 rium, and the trivial one of Americanum. 

 It adds to the numerous facts which apprise 

 us that the animals of the ancient world 

 were all different from those we now see on 

 the earth ; for it is scarcely probable that, 

 if this animal still existed, so remarkable 

 a spec-es could have hitherto escaped the 

 researches of naturalists. It is also a new 

 and very strong proof of the invariable laws 

 of the subordination of characters, and the 

 justness of the consequences thence deduced 

 for the classification of organized bodies ; 

 and under both these views it is one of the 

 most valuable discoveries which have for a 

 long time been made in Natural History." 



Remains of a similar animal were collected 

 by Sir Woodbine Parish, in the river Salado, 

 which runs through the flat alluvial plains 

 to the south of the city of Buenos Ayres. It 

 was found there after a succession of three 

 unusually dry seasons, which lowered the 

 waters in an extraordinary degree, end ex- 

 posed part of the pelvis to view, as it stood 

 upright in the bottom of the river. This 

 animal apears to have been larger than the 

 one described by Cuvier. The thigh bone 

 was twice the thickness of that of the largest 

 elephant ; the fore foot measured more than 

 a yard in length, and more than twelve 

 inches in width, and was terminated by an 

 enormous claw ; and the upper part of the 

 tail was two feet wide. [See the articles SLOTH 

 and MYLODON.] 



MEGAPODIUS. A genus of Rasorial 

 birds ; so called from their large feet, which 

 serve an important part in their economy. 

 The eggs of these birds *are very large ; we 

 may mention 



The DUPERREY'S MEOAPOPITIS (Meijapo- 

 dim Dupcrreyii), which inhabits the um- 

 brageous forests of New Guinea. In size 



it is rather less than the partridge : the 

 neck is well clothed with feathers ; and a 

 very thick crest, raised towards the occiput, 

 covers the head : the wings are concave, an 

 inch longer than the tail, and terminated in 

 a point ; tail sub-oval, pointed, and very 

 short : legs grayish, and feathered down to 

 the tarsi. The neck, throat, belly, and 

 lateral parts, are of a gray slate-colour : the 

 feathers of the back and the wing-coverts 

 are large, and of a ruddy yellowish brown : 

 rump, upper part of the tail, and vent-fea- 

 thers ochreous red. The bird is timid, runs 

 very fast among the bushes, like a partridge 

 in standing corn, and utters a feeble cluck. 



The MEGAPODIUS TUMULUS. [See JUN- 

 GLE-FOWL.] 



MELANDRYID^E. A family of Coleop- 

 terous insects, specially distinguished by the 

 large size of the three terminal joints of the 

 maxillary palpi : the body is generally elon- 

 gate and sub-cylindric or depressed ; the 

 mandibles are short and often bifid at the ; 

 tips ; and the tarsal claws are entire : the | 

 penultimate joint of the tarsi is generally 

 bilobed in the two anterior pair of legs ; in 

 those species in which it is entire, the hind 

 legs are formed for leaping, being long and 

 compressed with slender tarsi. These insects 

 chiefly reside beneath the bark of trees. 



MELE AGRIS. A genus of Rasorial birds, 

 which contains two species, the COMMON 

 TURKEY (M. gallopavo) and the still more 

 splendid HONDURAS TURKEY (M. ocellata.) 

 [See TURKEY.] 



MELIT^EA. A genus of Butterflies be- 

 longing to the family Nymphalidce, and 

 distinguished by their antenna;, which have 

 a wide flat club ; the eyes are naked. There | 

 are several British species, for which we must 

 refer to such works as Stephens, Wood, and 

 Humphreys and Westwood: we particularize 

 two. 



MELITEA SELENE, APRIL FRITILLARY, or 

 SILVER-SPOT BUTTERFLY. This is a well- ! 

 known and beautiful insect, occurring on ; 

 heaths and in woods throughout the south 

 and west of England ; two broods being pro- | 

 duced, one in May, and another in August. \ 

 The wings above are pale fulvous, spotted 

 with black, and a marginal series of dusky 

 spots, bounded by a slender black line : the 

 ground colour of the posterior wings is ferru- 



SILVER-SPOT BUTTERFLY. 

 (MET.II-EA SELENI-.) 



ginous, with a brighter band at the base, 

 which is bordered on each side with a row 

 of irregular silver and yellow spots, and 

 having a large black ocellus in the centre, 

 with a rufous pupil ; the rest of the wing is 



