54 
MADAGASCAR 
{Pyxis arachnoides') is remarkable from its having the 
divisions of the carapace movable. The East African 
Pelomedusa galeata is classed with the fresh-water turtles. 
The Amphibia are poor on the whole. There is indeed 
a dark-red frog, probably peculiar to the island {Dys- 
cophus Guineii)^ but it is rare. Rana Delalandi^ indig¬ 
enous everywhere in tropical Africa, gets as far as the 
belt of forest; the Mascarene frog is yet more common. 
A small tree-frog {Rhacophorus) climbs about on the 
screw palms and may be seen in the morning sitting on 
the dagger-like leaves, but quickly makes its way back 
to the base of the leaf if any attempt is made to catch it. 
The freshwater fish chiefly belong to the chromidae so 
distinctive of Africa. Sibree remarks that eels of magnificent 
size are found in the interior. Small species, caught in the 
swamps by the Malagasy women, by means of a plaited 
bamboo net, are regularly brought to market in Tamatave. 
The Invertebrata have not yet been fully investigated, 
but up to the present time have presented to us many 
remarkable phenomena. 
The class Insecta is rich in splendidly coloured forms, 
distributed among almost all the orders. Of the family 
of ground beetles the, genus Homalosonia deserves 
mention. Gadflies of the genus Polybothris are widely 
distributed as well as cetonidae and large lucanidae. 
Lithinus Hildebrandti amone true beetles is known as 
one of the finest examples of protective resemblance, or 
mimicry; its resemblance in colour to a greyish white 
lichen being so deceptive that when it remains at rest 
it is almost invariably overlooked. Magnificent ceram- 
bycidae gnaw into the trunks of the trees, in the larva 
stage; coccinellidae are common. The glow-worms 
{Luciold) make a splendid show in warm evenings, 
swarming about the bushes and giving out their bright 
yellow light at regular intervals. The Hymenoptera have 
now been worked out with tolerable completeness. In 
