470 



Crcarfttrg at Datura! 



resemblance to a small short-legged pig, 

 which at first sight it conveys a tolerable 

 notion of. When full grown the Aard-vark 

 measures about five feet from the tip of the 



ORrCTEROPOS OAPENSI8. 



anout to the end of the tail, the latter being 

 nearly half the length of the body. By 

 means of its long glutinous tongue it feeds 

 principally on nuts, which, after it has ef- 

 fected an entrance into their dome-like ha- 

 bitations, it literally devours by thousands ; 

 and as these insects in tropical climates are 

 not only very large, but of a fat and unctuous 

 nature, and found in immense abundance, 

 the animal is generally in good condition. 

 The flesh is allowed to be wholesome and 

 palatable food, and the hind quarters espe- 

 cially, when cured as hams, are much es- 



ORYX) or EGYPTIAN ANTELOPE. 

 (Oryx gazella.) The size of the Egyptian 

 Antelope, or Pasan, is somewhat superior to 

 that of a deer, and it is more easily dis- 

 tinguished than many others in this ex- 

 tensive race ; the horns affording a character 

 perfectly clear and constant, being three feet 

 long, nearly straight, annulated half way 

 up, and gradually tapering to the point. 

 The head is white, with triangular patches 

 of black on the forehead and under the eyes: 

 the neck and upper part of the body are of a 

 pale bluish gray ; the belly and insides of 

 the limbs are white ; and a dark stripe runs 

 along the iback to the tail, which much re- 

 sembles that of a horse. The hoofs and horns 

 are black : the hair under the throat, along 

 the ridge of the back, and over the shoulders, 

 is long and rough. It inhabits different parts 

 of Africa, and is met with also in Persia, 

 India, and Arabia. It is resolute and dan- 

 gerous when hard pressed, its long sharp 

 horns being used with amazing energy and 

 address. 



OSPHRANTER. A genus of Kangaroos 

 figured in Mr. Gould's fine work. 



cies, O. Antilopinus, or 



One spe- 

 Red Wallaroo, is 



from Port Essington. Capt. Chambers in- 

 formed Mr. Gould, that, when hard pressed, 

 this robust-formed animal becomes exceed- 

 ingly fierce and bold, and while among the 

 rocks and at bay, a most dangerous antago- 

 nist, one of his finest dogs being tumbled 

 over a precipice and killed by an old male. 

 The female is much smaller than the male, 

 the former being but five feet six inches from 

 the snout to the end of the tail ; while the 

 latter is at least seven feet three inches. 



OSPRE Y.^(Pandion Jialicetus.') This is one 

 of the most numerous of all the large birds 

 of prey, and is found scattered over the whole 



of Europe. Its haunts are on the sea-shore, 

 and on the borders of rivers and lakes : its 

 principal food is fish, upon which it darta 

 with great rapidity and undeviating aim. 

 It is nearly two feet in length : bill black, 

 eye yellow ; the head is small and flat, the 

 crown white, marked with oblong dusky 

 spots ; the cheeks, and all the under parts of 

 the body, are white, slightly spotted with 

 brown on the breast ; from the corner of each 



eye a streak of dark brown extends down 

 the side of the neck towards the wing ; the 

 upper part of the body is brown ; the legs 

 are very short, thick, strong, and of a pale 

 blue colour, and the claws black : the outer 

 toe is larger than the inner one, and easily 

 turns backwards, by which means this 

 bird can more readily secure its slippery 

 prey. The Osprey builds its nest among 

 rocks or on fir-trees, and lays three or four 

 eggs, of an elliptical form, rather less than 

 those of a hen. 



OSTEOLEPIS, or BONY-SCALE FISH. 

 An ichthyolite of very singular structure, 

 discovered by Mr. Hugh Miller, and de- 

 scribed by him in his work, entitled ' The 

 Old Red Sandstone,' &c. We shall give the 

 account of it in his own words : " We are 

 accustomed to see vertebrated animals with 

 the bone uncovered in one part only, that 

 part the teeth, and with the rest of the 

 skeleton wrapped up in flesh and skin. 

 Among the reptiles we find a few exceptions ; 

 but a creature with a skull as naked as its 

 teeth, the bone being merely covered, as in 

 these, by a hard shining enamel, and with 

 toes also of bare enamelled bone, would be 

 deemed an anomaly in creation. And yet 

 such was the condition of the Osteolepis and 

 many of its contemporaries. The enamelled 

 teeth were placed in jaws which presented 

 outside a surface as naked and as finely ena- 

 melled as their own. The entire head was 

 covered with enamelled osseous plates, fur- 

 nished inside like other bones, as shown by 

 their cellular construction, with their nou- 

 rishing blood-vessels, and perhaps their oil, 

 and which rested apparently on the cartila- 

 ginous box, which must have enclosed the 

 brain, and connected it with the vertebral 



