136 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



A STRANGE INSECT. 



(Megalodon ensifer.) 



By Malcolm Burr, F.E.S. 



' I 'HERE are some insects that attract interest 

 from peculiarities of habits or metamorphoses, 

 some from their bright colours or beauty, or 

 protective resemblance to 

 their surroundings ; but 

 of all orders perhaps the 

 most varied and curious 

 forms are included in the 

 Orthoptera. In the Or- 

 thoptera, excluding the 

 Phasmodea, the strangest 

 creatures are certain of 

 the Locustodea, and one 

 of the most striking is 

 the insect so faithfully 

 represented in the accom- 

 panying illustration by 

 Mr. Fredk. O. Pickard- 

 Cambridge. Megalodon en- 

 sifer, Brulle, is really a 

 most fantastic insect, as 

 the reader will see from 

 the drawings. 



The head of this Orthop- 

 teron seems to be dispro- 

 portionately large, and the 

 jaws are big and powerful, 

 their shining black colour 

 making them conspicuous. 

 In front of the head is a 

 curious knob, and there is 

 a sharp spike on the top 

 of the head between the 

 antennae. The pronotum 

 is the most formidable part ; 

 it is very large, and has the 

 appearance of a pincushion 

 with the pins pointing out- 

 wards ; on each side there 

 are two large spiky pro- 

 cesses, each armed with 

 several stout spines. It is 

 produced backwards, some- 

 thing like a saddle in 



shape, but it would make a most uncomfortable 

 saddle, as, in addition to these great thorns 

 mentioned, there are sundry points and spikes, all 

 sharp and long. The legs are armed with rows of 

 similar spines, even the coxae being provided with 

 them. 



The wings and elytra are short and probably 

 useless for flight, but in the male apparently act 



Megalodon ensifer. 

 Dorsal view and side view of head and thorax of male 



as a musical apparatus. The female has a great 

 sword-shaped ovipositor, with a head and pronotum 

 much out of proportion to the rest of the 

 creature. It is probably 

 not a very active insect, 

 but more likely is a clumsy 

 thing, capable of making 

 short leaps. It is a most 

 formidable animal, and, like 

 all carnivorous Locustodea, 

 would be likely to give a 

 good nip with its powerful 

 jaws. It should be safe 

 from its enemies ; birds at 

 least would find it a tough 

 and indigestible morsel. 



Although practically no- 

 thing is recorded of its 

 habits and haunts in a 

 wild state, Megalodon ensifer 

 has been known to science 

 for over sixty years, having 

 been first described by 

 Brulle in 1835. It has since 

 been noticed by several 

 authors, as Serville, Bur- 

 meister, Blanchard, De 

 Haan, Charpentier, West- 

 wood, Redtenbacher and 

 Brogniart. The genus Me- 

 galodon is placed by Brunner 

 in the Conocephalidae, 

 where it is retained by Red- 

 tenbacher in his recent ex- 

 cellent Monograph of that 

 family ; but Brogniart re- 

 fers it to his genus Eumc- 

 gaiodon, for which he has 

 erected a new family, 

 Eumegalodontidae, where 

 he also ranges another spe- 

 cies, Eumegalodon bianchardi, 

 if possible a more formid- 

 able insect than the species 

 before us. There is a fine figure of that remark- 

 able insect in Dr. Sharp's excellent contribution 

 upon "Orthoptera" in the " Cambridge Natural 

 History." Megalodon ensifer is a native of Java, 

 Borneo and Sumatra. The specimen from which 

 the above drawing was taken was captured at Mons 

 Cede" in Western Java. 



Bellagio, East Grinstead ; August 20th, 1S97. 



