650 



of Natural 



masses of rock. It feeds on the roots of the 

 fern, and on the outer covering of the Phor- 

 mium tenax, or New Zealand flax. The 

 French Museum has subsequently obtained 

 a specimen from Stewart Island, to the south 

 of New Zealand. A figure of it is given in 

 ' L'lllustration,' December 4. 1847. 



STRIGID^E. The name of the family of 

 Nocturnal birds of which the Owl (Strix) is 

 the type. [See OWL.] 



STROMBUS : STROMBID^E. A genus 

 and family of Mollusca, for the most part 

 found in the seas of tropical countries, in- 

 habiting large and thick oval shells. The head 

 of the animal is furnishedwith a proboscis 

 and two short tentacula ; and the eyes are 

 situated on a lateral peduncle longer than the 

 tentacula itself. Spire of the shell mode- 

 rate ; mouth long, and rather narrow, ter- 

 minated by a canal more or less long and 

 recurved ; right lip dilated in the adult, and 

 having a small notch or sinus near the 

 canal ; left lip sometimes thickened ; oper- 

 culum horny, long, and narrow. In many 

 species the spire is quite hidden by the ex- 

 pansion of the outer lip. In the Stn>mbiis 

 gil/as, a very large species, which is caught for 

 the table, pearls are said to be occasionally, 

 though very rarely, found. Mr. Wood, in 



FELECAN'S-FOOT SHELL 

 (8TBOMBU8 [APORBHAIS] PES-PELKCANI.) 



his ' Zoography,' relates that he saw a pink 

 pearl, weighing twenty-four grains, taken 

 from the body of one of this species that was 

 caught off the island of Barbadoes. As an 

 example of this group of shells we have sub- 

 joined a figure of the Strombus (Aporrliais) 

 ' ell, which 



Pelecani, or Pelecan's-foot shell 

 has received its name from the processes 

 round the mouth being arranged and con- 

 nected much as in the foot of that well- 

 known bird. Some of the Strombs are used 

 to make artificial cameos. [See HELMET 

 SHELL.] 

 STRUTHIO. [See OSTRICH.] 



STRUTHIOL.ARIA. A genus of marine 

 Mollusca, found in New Holland and New 

 Zealand. The shells are oval, in shape like 

 a Buccinum, but differ in having a thickened 

 lip ; the spire is elevated ; mouth oval, ter- 

 minated by a very short straight canal ; no 

 varices ; operculum horny : they are both 

 rare and singular. 



STRUTHIONID^. The name of a fa- 

 mily of large birds, incapable of flight, 

 having mere rudimentary wings, but long 



and strong legs ; including the Ostrich, the 

 Cassowary, and other congeneric species. 



STURGEON. (Accipenser.) A genus of 

 large Cartilaginous fish, allied somewhat to 

 the Shark and Ray, but differing essentially 

 in structure, as well as in habits. There 

 are several species. 



The COMMON STVRGEQTX (Accipenser stiirio) 

 is generally about six feet long, but sometimes 

 attains to the length of eighteen. It inhabits 

 the Noriheru, European, and American seas, 

 migrating during the early summer months 

 into the larger rivers and lakes, and return- 

 ing to the sea again in autumn, after having 



deposited its spawn. Its form is long and 

 slender, gradually tapering towards the tail, 

 and covered throughout the whole length 

 by five rows of strong, large, bony tubercles, 

 rounded at the base, and terminated above 

 by a sharp curved point in a reversed direc- 

 tion. The body of the Sturgeon is more or 

 less covered with bony plates, arranged in 

 longitudinal rows ; and the head is armed 

 in a similar manner : the snout is long and 

 slander, obtuse at the tip, and furnished 

 beneath, at some distance from the end, with 

 four long worm-shaped cirri : the mouth, 

 placed under the elongated muzzle, is small 

 and toothless ; and the palatal bones farm 

 the upper jaw ; the air-bladder is very large, 

 and communicates by a wide opening with 

 the gullet. The pectoral fins are oval, and 

 middle-sized ; the dorsal small, and situated 

 very near the tail ; the ventral and anal fins 

 are also small, and placed nearly opposite 

 the dorsal. The tail is lobed or slightly 

 forked, the upper lobe extending far beyond 

 the lower. The general colour is cinereous 

 above, with dusky specks, and yellowish- 

 white beneath ; and the tops of the tubercles 

 are of a similar cast. Though generally 

 considered as a fish of slow motion, it is 

 sometimes seen to swim with great rapidity, 

 and also to spring out of the water with 

 great force at intervals. It is rarely taken 

 at any great distance from shore, but fre- 

 quents such parts of the sea as are not re- 

 mote from the estuaries of large rivers. In 

 North America they appear in great abun- 

 dance during the early summer months. 

 The flesh of the Sturgeon is white, delicate, 

 and firm : it is said to resemble veal, when 

 roasted ; but it is generally eaten pickled, 

 and the major part of what we receive in 

 that state comes either from the Baltic rivers 

 or those of North America. It annually 

 ascends the large rivers in our country, but 

 not in any quantities, and is occasionally 

 taken in the salmon-nets. From the roe, 

 when properly salted and dried, is prepared 

 the substance known by the name of caviar ; 

 but a very superior sort is made from a 

 smaller species, called the Sterlet. 

 The Sturgeon was a fish in high repute 



