456 



Crratfttrg at Datura! $?t's't0rjj ; 



and Red Admiral, are included in it : also 

 the Fritillaries (so called from the spotted 

 flower of that name), the under side of whose 

 j wings is delicately ornamented with pearl 

 or silvery spots. Others, belonging to the 

 I genus Morpho, which comprises also some 

 ! of the largest known Butterflies, have the 

 j upper surface of the wings adorned with the 

 most splendid silvery blue ; while others, as 

 I the males ofApatura It- is, or Purple Emperor, 

 present the eye with a changeable gloss of 

 intense purple. The numerous species form- 

 i ing the genus Hipparchia are of feeble con- 

 : struction in the imago state, and cannot 

 : bear comparison with those before mentioned, 

 : which are the most robust and active of le- 

 j pidopterous insects. The species of this 

 I family are extremely liable to sport into 

 varieties, which is especially the case with 

 I the Hipparchice; the caterpillars of which, 

 it is to be observed, confine themselves to 

 the different grasses, and feed only in the 

 ! night. The caterpillars of Vanessa are armed 

 | with long and rough spines, arranged in 

 transverse whorls upon the segments, except 

 the first. Those of the Fritillaries are simi- 

 larly armed, but have two long spines on 

 the neck. 



NYROCA. A genus of Ducks, containing 

 the POCHARD (N. ferina\ and CANVAS- 

 BACKED DUCK (jY. valisneria). [See DUCK 

 and POCHARD.] 



OCELOT. (Felis pardalis.*) An animal 

 of the feline tribe, less than the Ounce, but 

 its skin is more beautifully variegated. The 

 I ground colour of the male is a bright reddish 

 tawny above, and nearly white 011 the lower 

 part of the sides, breast, limbs, and belly. 

 Several large, long, broad stripes, of a deeper 



tinge, and edged with black, are variously 

 disposed over the upper parts of the body; the 

 head i streaked and spotted with black, and 

 the limbs and belly are beautifully marked 

 with numerous small round spots ; the tail 

 is spotted or marked with patches also. The 

 colours of the female are less vivid, and more 

 inclining to ash-colour. The Ocelot inhabits 

 the hotter parts of South America ; is ex- 

 tremely ferocious ; and preys upon various 

 kinds of game. 



OCTOCERA. The first family of the or- 

 der Cryptodibranchiata of Blaiuville, in the 

 class Mollusca, containing the genus Octo- 

 pus. a species of which being found in the 



Argonauta, or Paper Sailor, has given ncn 

 to the long-continued controversy as to whe- 

 ther it is really the constructor of the shell, or 

 whether it is a mere pirate, which, having 

 destroyed the true animal of the Argonaut, 

 has possessed itself of the habitation." 



OCTODON. A genus of small Rodent 

 Mammalia, inhabiting Chili. They have 

 large ears, and a long and tufted tail, and 

 are somewhat allied to the Chinchilla 

 group. The only known species is the Octo- 

 don Degus, which is often seen traversing 

 the brandies of low underwood. In size and 

 shape this species generally resembles the 

 Water Rat, with which, indeed, it appears 

 to be connected systematically. " These 

 animals," Mr. Bennett observes, " burrow in 

 the ground, but always under brushwood 

 fences or low thickets. They are so abun- 

 dant in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, 

 that in the high road between that place 

 and St. Jago more than a hundred may fre- 

 quently be seen at one time in search of 

 food. Sometimes, but not often, they are 

 observed on the lower branches of the shrubs, 

 and on those which form the fences. They 

 fly at the least alarm, and in running carry 

 their tufted tails like a bent bow." Mr. Ben- 

 nett adds that two living specimens brought 

 by Mr. Cuming from Chili, were placed by 

 him, in 1831, in the men<iqerie of the Zoo- 

 logical Society : one of tnem escaped, but 

 the other was alive when Mr. B. wrote (Dec. 

 1835), and was as active and lively as it was 

 on its first arrival. They were rather shy, 

 and not very playful. They leaped readily, 

 and without any exertion, from the floor of 

 their cage to a narrow perch placed at the 

 height of nearly a foot, and there remained 

 seated at their ease. They lived on vege- 

 table food. 



OCTOPODA. The name of a tribe of Di- 

 branchiate Cephalopods, with eight feet or 

 tentacular appendages. 



OCTOPUS . The common Octopus or Poulp 

 is the Polypus of ancient naturalists. It has 

 eight arms, each of which is six times the 

 length of its body, and furnished with 120 

 pairs of suckers. Every sucker is composed 

 of a circular adhesive disc, which has a thick 

 fleshy circumference, and presents a number 

 of lines radiating towards the circular orifice 

 of an inner cavity. In this cavity is a move- 

 able circular piston, which in its operation 

 forms an air-pump of the most precise and 

 beautiful construction. When a fish becomes 

 infolded within the tenacious grasp of its 

 arms, resistance is vain ; for with such tena- 

 city do the suckers adhere, that they may be 

 sooner wrenched off than unfixed. Some of 

 these Oc.topi measure four feet between the 

 ends of the arms ; and it is said that much 

 larger ones are sometimes met with in the 

 warmer regions of the globe. It has been 

 justly remarked that " there is something 

 strange and uncouth in the aspect of this 

 creature ; its long flexible arms moving and 

 curling in all directions ; and its large eyes, 

 which stare with fixed gaze, rendering it 

 really repulsive." 



Mr. Adams, in his Natural History of the 



