G22 



Crratftiry of 



a set of sharp spines. The whole upper 

 jnirt is of a dull brown colour, sometimes 

 streaked with black ; the lower part is of a 

 dusky white, marked with many small bliick 

 spots ; and the jaws are covered with small 

 granulated but sharp-pointed teeth. The 

 tail is of a moderate length, and two fins 

 near its extremity ; along the top of it there 

 is one row of spines, and on the edges a few 

 more are irregulatly dispersed. In the 

 males of this species the fins are full of 

 spines. The females are generally called 

 Maids ; and fishermen distinguish the fe- 

 males of the three species of most frequent 

 occurrence by the names of Skate Maid, 

 Thornback Maid, and Homelyn Maid, 

 frequently calling the old male of the Skate 

 with his two long appendages the Three- 

 tailed Skate. It is a very voracious fish, 

 and commits great havoc among numbers of 

 the finny tribe and Crustacea. It is found 

 on the coast of Scotland, among the Orkneys, 

 in many parts of the Irish coast, and on the 

 British coasts from Cornwall to Kent. 



The FLAPPER SKATE, (/fata intermedia.') 

 This species is distinguished from Raia batis, 

 in the upper surface of the body being per- 

 fectly smooth, without granulations, and of 

 a dark olive colour spotted with white ; in 

 the dorsal fins being more remote from each 

 other, and in the anterior margins of the pec- 

 torals being rather more concave, giving the 

 snout a sharper appearance. 



SKIPPER. A name commonly applied 

 to the Mackerel Pike, or Saury Pike (Scom- 

 I bcresox saurus). They are gregarious fishes ; 

 j and are followed and preyed upon by Por- 

 I poises, and also by the Tunny, and other 

 I large members of the Esocidce or Mackerel 



I 1 family. 

 SKIPPER [BUTTERFLIES]. A name 

 applied to several species of Butterflies, of 

 I the genera Thymele and Pamphila. 



SKUA GULL. [See GULL.] 



SKUNK. (Mephitis Americana.) A car- 

 nivorous animal of the genus Mephitis inha- 

 biting both North and South America. It 

 has short round ears, black cheeks, and a 

 white stripe extending from the nose to the 

 back. The upper part of the neck and the 

 whole back are white, divided at the bottom 

 by a black line, commencing at the tail, and 

 passing a little way up the back. The belly 



8X0MC (MEPHITIS AMERICANA.) 



and legs are black ; the tail is very full of 

 long coarse hair, generally black, sometimes 

 tipt with white ; and the claws are long, 

 like those on the fore feet of the badger. 



This animal is remarkable for the intolera- 

 ble odour of the secretion from its glandular 

 pouches, which, it has the power of ejecting 

 on its pursuers, and serves as a most com- 

 plete means of defence ; the least quantity 



of it being enough to produce nausea and 

 I a sense of suffocation. Clothes that are in- 

 : fected with this smell retain it for many 

 | weeks ; and nothing, it is said, will render 

 | them sweet, but burying them for a time 

 j in the fresh earth. As soon as the animals 



are dead, the glands from which this vapour j 

 issues are cut away, and the flesh, then un- | 

 tainted, is eaten by the American Indians, j 

 who say the flavour much resembles that of 

 a young pig. There are several species of 

 this genus, all of them American. 



SKY-LARK. [See LARK.] 



SLOTH, or AI. (Bradypus torquatus.) 



An herbivorous Edentate quadruped, of 



most uncouth appearance, treated by Buffon 



as one whose existence must be a burthen to i 



I it, from its imperfect formation ; but though ; 



i uncouth and apparently disproportioned, it , 



is found on examination that the organization ' 



and habits of the Sloth are as completely j 



adapted to each other, as are those of any | 



j other animal. It is true that the arms or j 



j fore legs are nearty twice as long as the ' 



I hinder pair ; and that when it attempts to j 



i walk on the ground, the action is most awk- 



I 1 ward and laborious : but when we consider ! 

 that the Sloth is formed to live not on the 

 I ground but in trees, and not on the branches 



of trees, like the squirrel, but under them, 

 ; the complete adaptation of its whole struc- 

 ture to its mode of life becomes apparent. 

 No man had a better opportunity of observ- 

 ing this animal than Mr. Waterton, during 

 his long residence in the wilds of South Ame- 

 rica ; and he, a close observer and just rea- 

 soner, thus writes : " He moves suspended 

 from the branch, he rests suspended from 

 the branch, and he sleeps suspended from the 

 branch. Hence his seemingly bungled com- 

 position is at once accounted for ; and in 

 lieu of the Sloth leading a painful life, and 

 entailing a miserable existence upon its pro- 



j geny, it is but fair to conclude that it just 

 ; enjoys life as much as any other animal, and 

 : that its extraordinary formation and singular 

 habits are but further proofs to engage us 

 to admire the wonderful works of Omni- 

 potence." They bring forth and suckle 

 their young like ordinary quadrupeds ; and 

 the young Sloth, from the moment of its 

 birth, adheres to the body of its parent till it 

 acquires sufficient size and strength to shift 

 for itself. The head of the Sloth is short, 

 the face small and round, the hair coarse and 

 shaggy, differing considerably in colour in 

 different individuals, but resembling, in 

 general, dry withered grass or moss. Its 

 powerful claws, and the peculiarly enduring 

 strength of its long arms, make very efficient 

 weapons of defence against the large snakes 

 by whom it is often attacked. It lias some- 

 times been brought to this country ; a speci- 

 men was in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's 

 Park, in 1846. 



The following is Dr. Lund's account of the 

 THREE-TOED SLOTH (Bradypus torquatus), \ 



