popular Btcttottarj? 0f 



$ature, 503 



it has merely a fleshy protuberance ; and at 

 the lower part of the back is a glandular 

 orifice, from which exudes a strong-scented 

 fluid, and which is surrounded by strong 

 bristles. The Peccary is a gregarious animal, 

 and in its wild state is fierce and dangerous ; 

 sometimes attacking the hunters with great 

 vigour, and often killing the dogs. It is 

 useful in destroying several reptiles, particu- 

 : larly the rattle-snake, which it does without 

 the least dread or inconvenience. It is ca- 

 pable of being tamed like the hog, lives on 

 i the same kind of food, and has nearly the 

 same habits and natural inclinations. The 

 ; flesh of the Peccary is tolerable food, but, to 

 ' prevent an unpleasant flavour, the dorsal 

 j gland must be cut away as soon as the ani- 

 : mal is killed. Our figure represents what 

 some of the older naturalists regarded as a 

 j variety of the Tajacu ; but modern writers 

 j have proved its distinctness as a species, and 

 ! from its white lips have named it Dicotyles 

 lal/kitus. It is also a native of South Ame- 

 rica. 



PECTEN. A Molluscous animal, whose 

 testaceous covering has a hinge like that of 

 the Oysters; but they are easily distinguished 

 from the Ostrea family, by their inequivalve 

 j semicircular shell being almost always re- 

 j gularly marked with ribs, which radiate 

 I from the summit of each valve to the cir- 

 i cumference, and are furnished with two an- 

 gular productions called ears, that widen 

 the sides of the hinge. The animal has a 

 small oval foot supported on a cylindrical 

 peduncle, in front of an abdomen in form of 

 a sac hanging between the branchiae. In 

 some species, known by the strong sinus 

 under their anterior ear, there is a byssus. 

 The others are not adherent, and can even 

 swim with considerable velocity, by flapping 

 their valves together. The mantle is sur- 

 rounded with two rows of filaments, several 



of those of the exterior row being terminated 

 by a little shining green globule. The mouth 

 is garnished with many branched tentacula 

 instead of the four usual labial laminae. The 

 Clam-shells are often coloured in a lively 

 manner, and many species are remarkable 

 for the difference in colouring observable in 

 the two valves. The well-known large spe- 

 cies found on our coasts (the Pecten jacobums 

 of authors) is the Scallop or Pilgrim's shell, 

 worn in front of the hat by those who had 



visited the shrine of St. James, in the Holy 

 Land. There are numerous species, some of 

 which are found in the British seas. 



PECTENIBRANCHIATA. The name 



fiyen by Cuvier to an order of Gasteropoda. 

 t includes almost all the spiral univalve 

 shells, as well as several which are merely 

 conical. The animals of this order are so 

 named from the comb-like form of the gills, 

 which are usually situated in a cavity behind 

 the head. 



PECTUNCULUS. A genus of Conchife- 

 rous Mollusca, found in the Atlantic Ocean, 

 the Mediterranean Sea, and in the West 

 Indies, where it lives on the sandy or muddy 

 coasts, and moves by the aid of its foot, which 

 is large. The shell is orbicular, equivalve, 

 sub-equilateral, thick, striated longitudi- 

 nally ; and many of the species covered with 

 a soft downy epidermis : hinge curved, with 

 a line of teeth diverging on each side, those 

 in the middle being incompletely formed ; 

 ligament external. No byssus. 



PEDICULUS. [See LOUSE.] 



PEDIONOMUS. A genus of Gallinaceous 

 birds, allied to the Partridges and Quails, 

 which contains the PEDIONOMUS TOEQUATUS, 

 or COLLARED PLAIN WANDERER. This is a 

 small quail-like bird, with lengthened bus- 

 tard-like legs, admirably suited for running, 

 and a small hind toe. It is a native o_f South 

 Australia, on the desert plains of which it ia 

 not unfrequently found. 



PEDUM. A singular genus of Conchifera, 

 only one species of which is known, and that 

 is found in the Indian seas, at great depths, 

 and is rare. The shell ia hatchet-shaped, 

 inequivalve, and slightly eared; attached 

 by a byssus passing through a sinus in the 

 lower valve ; hinge toothless, with a tri- 

 angular area in each valve, separating the 

 umbones ; ligament contained in a groove 

 running across the area ; bosses unequal and 

 distant, the lower valve rather convex, with 

 the sides reflected over the upper. This rare 

 shell is white, slightly tinged with purple 

 near the bosses ; and buries itself partially 

 in madrepores, in crevices of its own boring. 



PEEWIT. [See LAPWING.] 



PEGASUS. A genus of Lophobranchiate 

 fishes, native of the Indian Seas, and in some 

 degree allied to the genus Syngnathug. They 

 have a snout, with the mouth under it, and 

 movable, like that of a sturgeon, only com- 

 posed of the same bones as in other osseous 

 fishes. The body is armed as in Hippo- 

 campus, but their thorax is broad, depressed, 

 and with the gill openings in the sides. They 

 have two distinct ventrals in rear of the 

 pectorals, which are often large, and have 

 procured these fishes the name of Pegasus, or 

 Flying Horses. The dorsal and anal fins are 

 opposite each other; the abdominal cavity ia 

 wider and shorter than in Syngnathus, and 

 the intestine has two or three flexures. 



The principal species, the DRAGON PEGA- 

 SUS {Pegasus draco) is a small fish, three or 

 four inches in length, and is remarkable for 

 the size of its pectoral fins, which are sup- 



