37^ TRAVELS IN UPPER 



convex above, and almost as thick as broad. The 

 claws were short, the thighs broad and thick ; 

 those of the posterior pair of claws in particular, 

 were uncommonly broad, and had the form of 

 little balls in some degree flattened. This extra- 

 ordinary size of the hinder legs gave this scarabeus 

 a very singular carriage. 



Its colours are easy to describe. It is of a beau- 

 tiful shining black above : a golden line marks the 

 separation of the head and the corselet *, the an- 

 tennae, the claws, and the under part of the body, 

 are entirely reddish. 



I had observed upon the sand a trace, which 

 formed a regular design, and which at first led me 

 to imagine that this was the impression of the folds 

 of a serpent. Curious to know to what animal this 

 track belonged, I followed it for about a hundred 

 paces, and I discovered the scarabeus, which was 

 proceeding on his way heavily and incessantly. He 

 must have taken a long time to traverse this space. 

 His thick and round body, his short claws of an 

 astonishing size, in comparison of the whole mass, 

 indicated his strength, which he seemed to employ 

 in making little journies through the desert. 



We likewise saw a very little serpent shining 

 with the most beautiful colours. We could not 

 come up with it before it had creeped into a hole, 

 concealed bv the low branches of a shrub. 



