182 TlMEHRI. 
position could not be distinguished from the small fungi 
that grew on the same stem. I kept the little fellow 
some days in a percussion cap box, but he at last 
succeeded in making his escape. Specimens of a grass- 
hopper were also met with that on first inspection might 
have been mistaken for dried twigs. A beetle scarcely 
larger than an English pea, had the appearance of 
only half an insect, the elytra or wing cases projecting 
a considerable distance beyond the abdomen which 
appeared to have been cut off ; it also possessed the 
power of feigning death, and when in this state, looked 
more like the head and thorax of a beetle than a perfect 
insect ; to render the deception more complete it was 
semi-transparent, and may have passed as the dried 
remains of an insect that had fallen a prey to some 
cunning spider. Other two examples were frogs, the 
back of one being a perfect representation of a skeleton 
leaf in which every vein could be distinctly seen, the 
mid-rib of the leaf being represented by a raised vein, 
which, running along the back of the frog, terminated 
in a short rudimentary tail, and took the place of a 
foot-stalk. The other specimen was of a dirty white 
colour with green spots on the joints of its legs curiously 
resembling moss, so that when the animal remained 
quiet the likeness it presented to a piece of quartz that 
had been discoloured by exposure to the atmosphere was 
truly remarkable, in fact few would have taken it for a 
living creature at all. I may add that it was found on 
the banks of a creek where fragments of quartz lay scat- 
tered about in profusion, and it would seem that this 
protective colouring was given to the species to prevent 
its utter annihilation by snakes which were most numerous 
