548 



{rnuurj) of Natural l^t 



mal, though less enduring in its speed than 

 most other Antelopes. 



PROPITHECUS. A genus of quadrupeds 

 allied to the Lemurs, but distinguished from 

 them by its shorter muzzle and its rounded 

 ears, as well as by the marked disproportion 

 in length between its hinder and anterior 

 extremities, the greater length of its hands, 

 and the shortness of its anterior thumb. 

 Propitkecus diadema : Length of body and 

 head, twenty-one inches ; tail, seventeen 

 inches. Face nearly naked. Above the 

 eyes, the long, silky, waved hairs which 

 cover the body commence by a band of yel- 

 lowish white crossing the front and passing 

 beneath the ears to the throat ; the back of 

 the head and neck clothed with black hair, 

 which is freely intermingled with white on 

 the shoulders and sides, the white gradually 

 increasing towards the posterior portion of 

 the body : the under surface white through- 

 out. 



PROSCOPIA. A genus of Locusts pecu- 

 liar to South America ; which have a mem- 

 branous pellet between the terminal hooks 

 of the tarsi, the antennas filiform, and the 

 posterior legs long and approximated to the 

 intermediate pair, which are remote from 

 the anterior pair. [See LOCUST.] 



PROSTHEMADERA. A genus of birds 

 belonging to the family of the Jloncy-eaters. 

 It contains the POE-JJIUO (Prostheniadera 

 ciitchniHta), a Passerine bird of New Zealand, 

 the native name of which is Tui. It is thus 

 described by the Rev. VV. Yale, a missionary 



there, belonging to the Church Missionary 

 Society. " This remarkable bird," says the 

 writer, " from the versatility of its talents 

 1 for imitation, has, by some, been ci-.lled ' the 

 Mocking-bird ;' and, from its peculiar plu- 

 mage, has by others been denominated ' the 

 Parson Bird.' It is so restless in its dispo- 

 sition, as to seem incapable of remaining in 

 one situation, or unemployed, for a single 

 moment. There is not a note of any bird 

 of the woods but what it exactly imitates ; 

 and when confined in a cage, it learns with 

 great ease and correctness to speak long 

 sentences. It imitates dogs, cats, turkeys, 

 geese, and, in fact, every sound which is re- 

 peated a few times in its hearing. Its size 

 is that of the thrush ; and its plumage a 

 beautiful glossy black, with a few very fine 



white hairy feathers scattered about the head 

 and breast, a few stronger ones about the 

 nostrils, and two small clusters of long white 

 feathers hanging down from the neck upon 

 the breast, resembling a pair of clerical 

 bands. Its eye is penetrating, and its voice 

 peculiarly mellow. Its general food is flies 

 and small insects, which it is very expert in 

 catching ; supplying itself in a very short 

 time with great abundance. It also feeds 

 upon the berries of various plants, and will 

 not reject earthworms. This bird seems to 

 associate with every other warbler of the 

 wood ; and, next to the ground-lark, is found 

 in the greatest number of all the birds of 

 New Zealand. It is delicious eating. It 

 seems to be of a tender constitution, short- 

 lived, and not able to bear the extremes of 

 either heat or cold." 



PROTELES, or AAKD-WOLF. (Prottlu 

 Lalandii.) A carnivorous animal, about the 

 size of a full-grown fox, inhabiting the 

 southern parts of Africa. The genus Pro- 

 teles, of which, as far as is at present known, 

 this is the only species, resembles both the 

 Civets and Hyaenas ; the teeth and pointed 

 head resembling the former, while its striped 

 fnr, and the stiff bristly hair which runs along 

 the neck and back, give it the appearance of 

 the latter. The body is covered with coarse 

 woolly fur, the general colour being a yel- 

 lowish gray, radiated with transverse stripes 

 of dusky black ; and the tail is short and 

 bushy. It has five toes on the fore-feet, but 

 only four on the hinder ones ; the claws on 

 all being large and strong. It burrows like 

 a fox, and, like that predatory animal, it 

 ventures abroad at night only in search of 

 its food, which consists chiefly of carrion and 

 the smaller kinds of vermin. 



PROTEUS. A very singular amphi- 

 bious reptile, peculiar to certain subterra- 

 nean waters, or underground lakes, of the 

 Tyrol. It is very eel-like in its appear- 

 ance and movements, but has four short 

 limbs. The waters in which it dwells are 

 sometimes dried up ; and when this happens, 

 it buries itself in the mud. They retain 

 their external gills through life, the lungs 

 not being developed sufficiently to maintain 

 respiration by themselves. It is particularly 

 found in the great Cave of Adt'lsberg, and 



is known to the inhabitants of the country 

 Bfla liiba, while the Germans call it Weiss 

 Fish. A live specimen was exhibited at the 

 Linnacan Society in June, 184", by a gentle- 

 man who had it in his possession for eighteen 

 months. The water in which it resides is 

 strongly impregnated with carbonate of lime ; 

 but the party was not aware on what it fed. 

 The name PROTEUS is also given to an 

 infusorial animalcule (Amoeba dijfflucns) 



