ANIMATED NATURE 



127 



name has been adopted as an appropriate term for all the 

 corresponding groups. An enumeration of some other 

 examples cf the natatorial type, as the cephalopoda (in- 

 stanced in the cuttle-fish) in the mollusca ; the Crustacea 

 (crabs, &x.) in the annulosa; the owls (which often duck 

 for fish) in the raptores ; the ichthyosaurus, plesiosaurus, 

 &c, among reptilia, will serve to bring the general char- 

 acter, and its pervasion of the whole animal world, forcibly 

 before the mind of the reader. 



The next type is that of meanest and most imperfect or- 

 ganization, the lower termination of all groups, as the ty- 

 pical is the upper. It is called by Mr. Swainson, the suc- 

 torial, from a very generally prevalent peculiarity, that of 

 drawing sustenance by suction. The acrita, or polypes, 

 among the sub-kingdoms ; the intestina, among the annu- 

 losa ; the tortoises, among the reptilia ; the armadillo and 

 scaly ant-eater, pig, mouse, jerboa, and kangaroo, among 

 quadrupeds ; the waders and tenuirostres, among birds ; 

 the coleoptera, (bug, louse, flea, &c.,) among insects ; the 

 gastrobranchus, among fishes ; are examples which will 

 illustrate the special character of this type. These are 

 smallness, particularly in the head and mouth, feebleness, 

 and want of offensive protection, defect of organs of masti- 

 cation, considerable powers of swift movement, and often 

 a parasitic mode of living ; while of negative qualities, 

 there are, besides, indisposition to domestication, and an 

 unsuitableness to serve as human food. 



The rasorial type comprehends most of the animals 

 which become domesticated and useful to man, as first, the 

 fowls which give a name to the type, the ungulata, and 

 more particularly the ruminantia, among quadrupeds, and 

 the dog among the ferae. Gentleness, familiarity with man 

 and a peculiar approach to human intelligence, are the 

 leading mental characteristics of animals of this type. 

 Amongst external characters, we generally find power of 

 limbs and feet for locomotion on land, (to which the raso- 

 rial type is confined,) abundant tail and ornaments for the 

 head, whether in the form of tufts, crests, horns, or bony 

 excrescer ces. In the animal kingdom, the mollusca are 

 the rasorial type, which, however, only shows itself there 

 in their soft and sluggish character, and their being very 

 generally edible. In the ptilota, or winged insects, the 

 hymenopterous are the rasorial type, and it is not there- 

 fore surprising to find amongst them the ants and bees 



