B I P 



BIOT, in Geography, a to\vn of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Var, and c!:ief place of a canton, in the diilric^ 

 of Grade, 3 miles north of Antibes. 



BIOTA, in Zoology, a name introduced by Dr. Hill for 

 the PoLY"PE genus called Hydra, by Linnxus, as it is believed 

 from the reproduftion or repullulation of the parts wh^n 

 cut off; and this name I'wta is likevvife given it on the fame 

 account, being derived from /3»o,-, life. See HvDiiA. 



BIOTHANATI, from ,5iK, violence, and Sawl^j, death, 

 in fome Medical Writers, denote thofe who die a violent 

 death. The word is alfo written, and with more propriety, 

 hiathanali ; fometimes biisothartal!. 



In a more particular fenfe, it denotes thofe who kill thcm- 

 felves, more properly called autothanali. See Suicide. In 

 this fenfe it is that the word is nfed both by Greek and La- 

 tin writers. By the ancient difciplinc of the church, they 

 were punifhed by denying them burial, and refufing all com- 

 memoration of them in the prayers and offices of the 

 church. 



BioTH ANATi, fuppoftd by fbme to be derived from /?io,-, 

 iife, and 'iv.-. A:, death, and alluding to the belief of a future 

 life after death, was alfo a name of reproach given by the 

 heathens to the primitive Chiiftians, for their conftancy 

 and fonvardnefs to lay down their lives in martyrdom. 



BiOTHANATOS is alfo ufcd in fome writers of the barba- 

 rous age for wicked, damnable, or accurfcd. Du-Caiige. 



BIOUAC, Bivouac, or Biovac, in the Military Art, 

 a nightly guard performed by the whole army, when there 

 is an apprehenfion of danger from the enemy. The word is 

 formed by corruption from the German '■jueyiuacht, a double 

 'u.'c.lch or guard. See Guard. 



BIOULLE, in Geography, a tov.-n of Fiance, in the de- 

 partment of the Lot, and chief place of a canton, in the di- 

 ilrlft of Montauban, 3 leagues N.E. of Montauban. 



BIPARTIENT, in Arithmetic, is a number that divides 

 another into two equal parts without a remainder. Thus 2 

 is a bipartient to 4, &c. 



BIPARTITA, in Entomology, a fpecies of Leptura, 

 thiit inhabits Upper Aullria. It is of a black colour; tho- 

 rax ferruginous, with a longitudinal black line ; a common 

 ferruginous fpot on the wing-cafes. 



BIPARTITE Leaf, in Botany. See Leaf. 



BIPARTITION, lignifies a diviCon into two equal 

 parts. 



BIPED, in Zoologx, an animal furnifhed with only two 

 legs. Men and birds are bipeds. Apes occafionally walk 

 on their hind legs, and feem to be of this tribe, but that is 

 not a natural pofition for them, and they reft; upon all their 

 legs like other quadrupeds. The jerboas are alfo of the lat- 

 ter defctiption, jumping and leaping on their hind legs, but 

 re;ling on the fore Isgs likewife. 



Plato, we are told, once defined a man to be a biped 

 without feathers ; and Diogenes, in order to fhcw what he 

 deemed the abfurdity of this definition, plucked all the fea- 

 thers off a cock, and placing it in the midft of the Acade- 

 mic fchool, exclaimed, " there is one of Plato's men!" 



Biped, Bip^de, Bipes, a genus of reptiles that be- 

 longs to the hzard family, in the fyftem of La Ce- 

 pede. Thefe have, according to the charafter eilablilhed 

 by that author, a very long body covered with fcales ; and 

 the toes of the two little feet, which are placed anteriorly, 

 are armed with nails. La Cepede defcribes onlv one fpecies 

 of this genus, which he calls le cannelk ; it is a native of 

 Mexico, and prcferved in the mufeum at Paris. La Cepede, 

 it appears, was the firft writer who defcribed this creature ; 

 b.it Dr. Shaw noticed it afterwards in the Naiuialift's Mif- 



Voi. IV. 



B 1 P 



cellany, urder tiic name ol lacirta luwbricoides, lumbricifona 

 lizard, which fee ; and a fpecimcn of it, about half the lize 

 oi that in the mufeum at Paris, is preferved in the Britifh 

 mufeum. This mull not be confounded with lacerla bipes of 

 Linnsus. Pallas has defcribed another kind of biped lizard, 

 which is called lacerla apus, but ia that the legs are very 

 fmall, monodaclylou?, and placed far behind : fome have al- 

 moft doubted whether thefe may not rather be part of the 

 organs of generation than legs ; and in general appearance 

 the creature approaches rather to the fnake than lizard tribe. 

 It is a nauve of t!ie fouthcrn parts of Siberia, and alfo of 

 Greece, and is of a ferruginous colour. 



EIPENNIS, in Roman Antiquity, a two edged as, ufcd 

 anciently by the Amazons in fight : as alfo by the ftamcn, 

 to cut afunder the ropes and cordage of the enemy's vclFels. 

 The bipennis was a weapon chietiy of the oriental nations, 

 made like a double ax, or two axes joined back to back, 

 with a fhort handle. Some compare it to a figure of a pen, 

 and fuppofe it hence to have acquired the name hif.nnis ; 

 the tube or barrel of the pen reprefenting the handle, and 

 tlie point or nib the head. iSIodern writers nfually compare 

 It to our halbard, or partizan ; from which it differed in that 

 it had no point, and that its Ihaft or handle was much fhort- 

 er. See Halbard. 



BIPES, in Zoology,,^ fpecies of Lacerta, with the 

 body fubequal, round, imbricated, and pv.le ; on each fcale 

 a browr dat ; no anterior feet ; poilerior feet v.ith two toei 

 unarmed. Gmelin. Anguii lipcs, with 1 00 abdominal, and 

 60 fubcaudal plates. Linn. Muf. Ad. Frid. A native of 

 South America and India. Length about fix inches ; body 

 cylindrical and {lender ; colour pale yellow. Biped Lizard. 



BiPEs, a fpecies of Coluber, defcribed by Gmelin on 

 the authority of Scopoli, as an inhabitant of the Tyrolefe 

 waters, where it is fdid to feed on frogs and fifhes ; it has 

 two feet, fulvous eyes, whitiih under-jaw, elliptic, marginate, 

 dorfal fcales ; fides fpotted with white ; abdominal plate* 

 whitilli, with a brown I'pot in the middle. Gmtliu defcribes 

 it fpecilicaliy as having 116 plates o.t the belly, and 58 fub- 

 caudal fcales. 



BIPINNULA, in Botany. See Arethusa. 



BIPLICATA, in Conchohgy, a fpecies of Volvta, 

 figured by Martini only. It is of a tapering fhape, fmobth, 

 white fpotted with yellow, and dotted with black ; lip acute; 

 pillar with two plaits. 



BIPUNCTARIA, in Entomology, a fpeciesof Phal.t- 

 na (Geometra), the anterior wings of wliich are cinereous, 

 undulated with brown ; a duiky band in the middle, and 

 two black dots. Fabricius, &c. 



BIPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Apis, thatinhabitsSiberia. 

 This infedl is hairy and black, with two yellow belts ; the 

 fi.-ii with two lateral black dots. Lepechin. it. Gmel. 



BiPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Ap.anea, with a black, glo- 

 bofe abdomen, marked with two excavated dots. Liiii:. Fn. 

 Suec. 



BiPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Cantharis, with two black 

 fpots on the thorax ; wing-cafes black at the tip. Fabri- 

 cius. Inhabits Leiplic. 



BiPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Cassida, of a yellowidi 

 colour, with two black dots on the wing-cafes. Ihi^ is a 

 native of India. Fabriciu5. 



BiPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Chrysomela, defcribed by 

 Fabricius as a native of the cape of Good Hope. It is teila- 

 ceous, with a brown fpot on each of the wing-cafes. 



BiPUNCTATA, a fpecies of Cicada, defcribed by Lin- 

 nxus. It is yellow, with tv.-o brown fpots in front; wing- 

 cafes white, veined w'nh yellow. A native of Europe. 



3D BiPUNC- 



