Dr. John Hunter[1] has advanced the opinion that hybernation, although a result of cold, is not its immediate consequence, but is attributable to that deprivation of food and other essentials which extreme cold occasions, and against the recurrence of which nature makes a timely provision by a suspension of her functions. Excessive heat in the tropics produces an effect upon animals and vegetables analogous to that of excessive cold in northern regions, and hence it is reasonable to suppose that the torpor induced by the one may be but the counterpart of the hybernation which results from the other. The frost which imprisons the alligator in the Mississippi as effectually cuts him off from food and action as the drought which incarcerates the crocodile in the sun-burnt clay of a Ceylon tank. The hedgehog of Europe enters on a period of absolute torpidity as soon as the inclemency of winter deprives it of its ordinary supply of slugs and insects; and the Tenrec[2] of Madagascar, its tropical representative, exhibits the same tendency during the period when excessive heat produces in that climate a like result.

[Footnote 1: HUNTER'S Observations on parts of the Animal Oeconomy, p. 88.]

[Footnote 2: Centetes ecaudatus, Illiger.]

The descent of the Ampullaria, and other fresh-water molluscs, into the mud of the tank, has its parallel in the conduct of the Bulimi and Helices on land. The European snail, in the beginning of winter, either buries itself in the earth or withdraws to some crevice or overarching stone to await the returning vegetation of spring. So, in the season of intense heat, the Helix Waltoni of Ceylon, and others of the same family, before retiring under cover, close the aperture of their shells with an impervious epiphragm, which effectually protects their moisture and juices from evaporation during the period of their aestivation. The Bulimi of Chili have been found alive in England in a box packed in cotton after an interval of two years, and the animal inhabiting a land-shell from Suez, which was attached to a tablet and deposited in the British Museum in 1846, was found in 1850 to have formed a fresh epiphragm, and on being immersed in tepid water, it emerged from its shell. It became torpid again on the 15th November, 1851, and was found dead and dried up in March, 1852.[1] But the exceptions serve to prove the accuracy of Hunter's opinion almost as strikingly as accordances, since the same genera of animals which hybernate in Europe, where extreme cold disarranges their oeconomy, evince no symptoms of lethargy in the tropics, provided their food be not diminished by the heat. Ants, which are torpid in Europe during winter, work all the year round in India, where sustenance is uniform.[2] The Shrews of Ceylon (Sorex montanus and S. ferrugineus of Kelaart) which, like those at home, subsist upon insects, inhabit a region where the equable temperature admits of the pursuit of their prey at all seasons of the year; and hence, unlike those of Europe, they never hybernate. A similar observation applies to the bats, which are dormant during a northern winter when insects are rare, but never become torpid in any part of the tropics.

[Footnote 1: Annals of Natural History, 1850. See Dr. BAIRD's Account of Helix desertorum; Excelsior, &c., ch. i. p. 345.]

[Footnote 2: Colonel SYKES has described in the Entomological Trans. the operations of an ant which laid up a store of hay against the rainy season.]

The bear, in like manner, is nowhere deprived of its activity except when the rigour of severe frost cuts off its access to its accustomed food. On the other hand, the tortoise, which immerses itself in indurated mud during the hot months in Venezuela, shows no tendency to torpor in Ceylon, where its food is permanent; and yet is subject to hybernation when carried to the colder regions of Europe.

To the fish in the detached tanks and pools when the heat, by exhausting the water, deprives them at once of motion and sustenance, the practical effect must be the same as when the frost of a northern winter encases them in ice. Nor is it difficult to believe that they can successfully undergo the one crisis when we know beyond question that they may survive the other.[1]

[Footnote 1: YARRELL, vol. i. p. 364, quotes the authority of Dr. J. Hunter in his Animal OEconomy, that fish, "after being frozen still retain so much of life as when thawed to resume their vital actions;" and in the same volume (Introd. vol. i. p. xvii.) he relates from JESSE'S Gleanings in Natural History, the story of a gold fish (Cyprinus auratus) which, together with the water in a marble basin, was frozen into one solid lump of ice, yet, on the water being thawed, the fish became as lively as usual Dr. RICHARDSON, in the third vol. of his Fauna Borealis Americana, says the grey sucking carp found in the fur countries of North America, may be frozen and thawed again without being killed in the process.]

Hot-water Fishes.—Another incident is striking in connection with the fresh-water fishes of Ceylon. I have mentioned elsewhere the hot springs of Kannea, in the vicinity of Trincomalie, the water in which flows at a temperature varying at different seasons from 85 deg. to 115 deg. In the stream formed by these wells M. Reynaud found and forwarded to Cuvier two fishes which he took from the water at a time when his thermometer indicated a temperature of 37 deg. Reaumur, equal to 115 deg. of Fahrenheit. The one was an Apogon, the other an Ambassis, and to each, from the heat of its habitat, he assigned the specific name of "Thermalis."[1]

[Footnote 1: CUV. and VAL., vol. iii. p. 363. In addition to the two fishes above named, a loche Cobitis thermalis, and a carp, Nuria thermoicos, were found in the hot-springs of Kannea at a heat 40 deg. Cent., 114 deg. Fahr., and a roach, Leuciscus thermalis, when the thermometer indicated 50 deg. Cent., 122 deg. Fahr.—Ib. xviii. p. 59, xvi. p. 182, xvii. p. 94. Fish have been taken from a hot spring at Pooree when the thermometer stood at 112 deg. Fahr., and as they belonged to a carnivorous genus, they must have found prey living in the same high temperature.—Journ. Asiatic Soc. Beng. vol. vi. p. 465. Fishes have been observed in a hot spring at Manilla which raises the thermometer to 187 deg., and in another in Barbary, the usual temperature of which is 172 deg.; and Humboidt and Bonpland, when travelling in South America, saw fishes thrown up alive from a volcano, in water that raised the temperature to 210 deg., being two degrees below the boiling point. PATTERSON'S Zoology. Pt. ii p. 211; YARRELL'S History of British Fishes, vol. i. In. p. xvi.]

List of Ceylon Fishes.

I. OSSEOUS.

Acanthopterygii.

Perca argentea, Bennett. Apogon roseipinnis, Cuv. & Val. Zeylonicus, Cuv. & Val. thermalis, Cuv. & Val. Ambassis thermalis, Cuv. & Val. Serranus biguttatus, Cuv. & Val. Tankervillae, Benn. lemniscatus, Cuv. & Val. Sonneratii, Cuv. & Val. flavo-ceruleus, Lacep. marginalis, Cuv. & Val. Boelang, Cuv. & Val. Serranus faveatus, Cuv. & Val. angularis, Cuv. & Val. punctulatas, Cuv. & Val. Diacope decem-lineatus, Cuv. & Val. spilura, Benn. xanthopus, Cuv. & Val. Mesoprion annularis, Cuv. & Val. Holocentrus orientale, Cuv. & Val. spinifera, Cuv. & Val. argenteus, Cuv. & Val. Upeneus taeniopterus, Cuv. & Val. Zeylonicus, Cuv. & Val. Russeli, Cuv. & Val. cinnabarinus, Cuv. & Val. Platycephalus punctatus, Cuv. & Val. scaber, Linn. tuberculatus, Cuv. & Val. serratus, Cuv. & Val. Pterois volitans, Gm. muricata, Cuv. & Val. Diagramma cinerascens, Cuv. & Val. Blochii, Cuv. & Val. poeciloptera, Cuv. & Val. Cuvieri, Benn. Sibbaldi, E. Benn. Lobotes crate, Cuv. & Val. Scolopsides bimaculatus, Rupp. Amphiprion Clarkii, J. Benn. Dascyllus aruanus, Cuv. & Val. Glyphisodon Rahti, Cuv. & Val. Brownrigii, Benn. Sparus Hardwickii, J. Benn. Pagrus longifilis, Cuv. & Val. Lethrinus opercularis, Cuv. & Val. fasciatus, Cuv. & Val. fraenatus, Cuv. & Val. cythrurus, Cuv. & Val. cinereus, Cuv. & Val. Smaris balteatus, Cuv. & Val. Caesio coerulaureus, Lacep. Gerres oblongus, Cuv. & Val. Chaetodon vagabundus, Linn. Sebanus, Cuv. & Val. Layardi, Blyth. xanthocephalus, E. Bennett. guttatissimus, E. Benn. Haeniochus macrolepidotus, Linn. Scatophagus argus, Cuv. & Val. Holacanthus xanthurus, E. Benn. Platax Raynaldi, Cuv. & Val. ocellatus Cuv. & Val. Ehrenbergii, Cuv. & Val. Anabas scandens, Dald. Helostoma. Polyacanthus. Ophicephalus. Cybium guttatum, Bloeh. Chorinemus moadetta, Ehren. Rhynchobdella ocellata, Cuv. & Val. Mastocemblus Skinneri, H. Smith. Caranx Heberi, J. Benn. speciosus, Forsk. Rhombus triocellatus, Cuv. & Val. Equula dacer, Cuv. & Val. filigera, Cuv. & Val. Amphacanthus javus, Linn. sutor, Cuv. & Val. Acanthurus xanthurus, Blyth. triostegus, Bloch. Delisiani, Cuv. & Val. lineatus, Lacep. melas, Cuv. & Val. Atherina duodecimalis, Cuv. & Val. Blennius. Salarias marmoratus, Benn. alticus, Cuv. & Val. Eleotris sexguttata, Cuv. & Val. Cheironectes hispidus, Cuv. & Val. Tautoga fasciata, Bloch. Julis lunaris, Linn. decussatus, W. Benn. formosus, Cuv. & Val. quadricolor, Lesson. dorsalis, Quoy & Gaim. aureomaculatus, W. Benn. Ceilanicus, E. Benn. Finlaysoni, Cuv. & Val. purpureo-lineatus, Cuv. & Val. Gomphosus fuscus, Cuv. & Val. viridis, W. Benn. Scarus pepo, W. Benn. harid, Forsk.

Malacopterygrii (abdominales).

Silurus. Bagrus albilabris, Cuv. & Val. Plotosus lineatus, Cuv. & Val. Cyprinus. Barbus tor, Cuv. & Val. Nuria thermoicos, Cuv. & Val. Leuciscus Zeylonicus, E. Benn. thermalis, Cuv. & Val. Cobitis thermalis, Cuv. & Val. Hemirhamphus Reynaldi, Cuv. & Val. Georgii, Cuv. & Val. Exocoetus evolans, Linn. Sardinella leiogaster, Cuv. & Val. lineolata, Cuv. & Val. Saurus myops, Val.

Malacopterygii (Sub-brachiati).

Pleuronectes, L.

Malacopterygii (Apoda).

Muraena.

Lophobranchi.

Syngnathus, L.

Plectognathii.

Tetraodon ocellatus, W. Benn. argyropleura, E. Bennett. argentatus, Blyth. Balistes biaculeatus, W. Benn. Triacanthus biaculeatus, W. Benn.

II. CARTILAGINOUS

Squabus, L. Pristis antiquorum, Lath. cuspidatus, Lath. pectinatus, Lath. Raia, L.



NOTE (A.)

INSTANCES OF FISHES FALLING FROM THE CLOUDS IN INDIA.

From the Bombay Times, 1856.

Dr. Buist, after enumerating cases in which fishes were said to have been thrown out from volcanoes in South America and precipitated from clouds in various parts of the world, adduces the following instances of similar occurrences in India. "In 1824," he says, "fishes fell at Meerut, on the men of Her Majesty's 14th Regiment, then out at drill, and were caught in numbers. In July, 1826, live fish were seen to fall on the grass at Moradabad during a storm. They were the common cyprinus, so prevalent in our Indian waters. On the 19th of February, 1830, at noon, a heavy fall of fish occurred at the Nokulhatty factory, in the Daccah zillah; depositions on the subject were obtained from nine different parties. The fish were all dead; most of them were large: some were fresh, others were rotten and mutilated. They were seen at first in the sky, like a flock of birds, descending rapidly to the ground; there was rain drizzling, but no storm. On the 16th and 17th of May, 1833, a fall of fish occurred in the zillah of Futtehpoor, about three miles north of the Jumna, after a violent storm of wind and rain. The fish were from a pound and a half to three pounds in weight, and of the same species as those found in the tanks in the neighbourhood. They were all dead and dry. A fall of fish occurred at Allahabad, during a storm in May, 1835; they were of the chowla species, and were found dead and dry after the storm had passed over the district. On the 20th of September, 1839, after a smart shower of rain, a quantity of live fish, about three inches in length and all of the same kind, fell at the Sunderbunds, about twenty miles south of Calcutta. On this occasion it was remarked that the fish did not fall here and there irregularly over the ground, but in a continuous straight line, not more than a span in breadth. The vast multitudes of fish, with which the low grounds round Bombay are covered, about a week or ten days after the first burst of the monsoon, appear to be derived from the adjoining pools or rivulets and not to descend from the sky. They are not, so far as I know, found in the higher parts of the island. I have never seen them, though I have watched carefully, in casks collecting water from the roofs of buildings, or heard of them on the decks or awnings of vessels in the harbour, where they must have appeared had they descended from the sky. One of the most remarkable phenomena of this kind occurred during a tremendous deluge of rain at Kattywar, on the 25th of July, 1850, when the ground around Rajkote was found literally covered with fish; some of them were found on the tops of haystacks, where probably they had been drifted by the storm. In the course of twenty-four successive hours twenty-seven inches of rain fell, thirty-five fell in twenty-six hours, seven inches within one hour and a half, being the heaviest fall on record. At Poonah, on the 3rd of August, 1852, after a very heavy fall of rain, multitudes of fish were caught on the ground in the cantonments, full half a mile from the nearest stream. If showers of fish are to be explained on the assumption that they are carried up by squalls or violent winds, from rivers or spaces of water not far away from where they fall, it would be nothing wonderful were they seen to descend from the air during the furious squalls which occasionally occur in June."

* * * * *



NOTE (B.)

MIGRATION OF FISHES OVER LAND.

Opinions of the Greeks and Romans.

It is an illustration of the eagerness with which, after the expedition of Alexander the Great, particulars connected with the natural history of India were sought for and arranged by the Greeks, that in the works both of ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS the facts are recorded of the fishes in the Indian rivers migrating in search of water, of their burying themselves in the mud on its failure, of their being dug out thence alive during the dry season, and of their spontaneous reappearance on the return of the rains. The earliest notice is in the treatise of ARISTOTLE De Respiratione, chap. ix., who mentions the strange discovery of living fish found beneath the surface of the soil, [Greek: ton ichthuon oi polloi zosin en te ge, akinetizontes mentoi, kai euriskontai oruttomenoi]; and in his History of Animals he conjectures that in ponds periodically dried the ova of the fish so buried become vivified at the change of the season.[1] HERODOTUS had previously hazarded a similar theory to account for the sudden appearance of fry in the Egyptian marshes on the rising of the Nile; but the cases are not parallel. THEOPHRASTUS, the friend and pupil of Aristotle, gave importance to the subject by devoting to it his essay [Greek: Peri tes ton ichthyon en zero diamones], De Piscibus in sicco degentibus. In this, after adverting to the fish called exocoetus, from its habit of going on shore to sleep, [Greek: apo tes koites], he instances the small fish ([Greek: ichthydia]), which leave the rivers of India to wander like frogs on the land; and likewise a species found near Babylon, which, when the Euphrates runs low, leave the dry channels in search of food, "moving themselves along by means of their fins and tail." He proceeds to state that at Heraclea Pontica there are places in which fish are dug out of the earth, ([Greek: oryktoi ton ichthyon]), and he accounts for their being found under such circumstances by the subsidence of the rivers, "when the water being evaporated the fish gradually descend beneath the soil in search of moisture; and the surface becoming hard they are preserved in the damp clay below it, in a state of torpor, but are capable of vigorous movements when disturbed. In this manner, too," Theophrastus adds, "the buried fish propagate, leaving behind them their spawn, which becomes vivified on the return of the waters to their accustomed bed." This work of Theophrastus became the great authority for all subsequent writers on this question. ATHENAEUS quotes it[2], and adds the further testimony of POLYBIUS, that in Gallia Narbonensis fish are similarly dug out of the ground.[3] STRABO repeats the story[4], and one and all the Greek naturalists received the statement as founded on reliable authority.

[Footnote 1: Lib. vi. ch, 15, 16, 17.]

[Footnote 2: Lib. viii. ch. 2.]

[Footnote 3: Ib. ch. 4.]

[Footnote 4: Lib. iv. and xii.]

Not so the Romans. LIVY mentions it as one of the prodigies which were to be "expiated," on the approach of a rupture with Macedon, that "in Gallico agro qua induceretur aratrum sub glebis pisces emersisse,"[1] thus taking it out of the category of natural occurrences. POMPONIUS MELA, obliged to notice the matter in his account of Narbon Gaul, accompanies it with the intimation that although asserted by both Greek and Roman authorities, the story was either a delusion or a fraud.[2] JUVENAL has a sneer for the rustic—

"miranti sub aratro Piscibus inventis."—Sat. xiii. 63.

[Footnote 1: Lib. xlii. ch. 2.]

[Footnote 2: Lib. ii ch, 5.]

And SENECA, whilst he quotes Theophrastus, adds ironically, that now we must go to fish with a hatchet instead of a hook; "non cum hamis, sed cum dolabra ire piscatum."[1] PLINY, who devotes the 35th chapter of his 9th book to this subject, uses the narrative of Theophrastus, but with obvious caution, and universally the Latin writers treated the story as a fable.

[Footnote 1: Nat. Quaest. vii 16.]

In later times the subject received more enlightened attention, and Beckmann, who in 1736 published his commentary on the collection [Greek: Peri Thaumasion akousmaton], ascribed to Aristotle, has given a list of the authorities about his own times,—Georgius Agricola, Gesner, Rondelet, Dalechamp, Bomare, and Gronovius, who not only gave credence to the assertions of Theophrastus, but adduced modern instances in corroboration of his Indian authorities.

* * * * *



NOTE (C.)

CEYLON FISHES.

(Memorandum, by Professor Huxley.)

See p. 205.

The large series of beautifully coloured drawings of the fishes of Ceylon, which has been submitted to my inspection, possesses an unusual value for several reasons.

The fishes, it appears, were all captured at Colombo, and even had those from other parts of Ceylon been added, the geographical area would not have been very extended. Nevertheless there are more than 600 drawings, and though it is possible that some of these represent varieties in different stages of growth of the same species, I have not been able to find definite evidence of the fact in any of those groups which I have particularly tested. If, however, these drawings represent six hundred distinct species of fish, they constitute, so far as I know, the largest collection of fish from one locality in existence.

The number of known British fishes may be safely assumed to be less than 250, and Mr. Yarrell enumerates only 226, Dr. Cantor's valuable work on Malayan fishes enumerates not more than 238, while Dr. Russell has figured only 200 from Coromandel. Even the enormous area of the Chinese and Japanese seas has as yet not yielded 800 species of fishes.

The large extent of the collection alone, then, renders it of great importance; but its value is immeasurably enhanced by two circumstances,—the first, that every drawing was made while the fish retained all that vividness of colouring which becomes lost so soon after its removal from its native element; second, that when the sketch was finished its subject was carefully labelled, preserved in spirits, and forwarded to England, so that at the present moment the original of every drawing can be subjected to anatomical examination, and compared with already named species.

Under these circumstances, I do not hesitate to say that the collection is one of the most valuable in existence, and might, if properly worked out, become a large and secure foundation for all future investigation into the ichthyology of the Indian Ocean.

It would be very hazardous to express an opinion as to the novelty or otherwise of the species and genera figured without the study of the specimens themselves, as the specific distinctions of fish are for the most part based upon character; the fin-rays, teeth, the operculum, &c., which can only be made out by close and careful examination of the object, and cannot be represented in ordinary drawings however accurate.

There are certain groups of fish, however, whose family traits are so marked as to render it almost impossible to mistake even their portraits, and hence I may venture, without fear of being far wrong, upon a few remarks as to the general features of the ichthyological fauna of Ceylon.

In our own seas rather less than a tenth of the species of fishes belong to the cod tribe. I have not found one represented in these drawings, nor do either Russell or Cantor mention any in the surrounding seas, and the result is in general harmony with the known laws of distribution of these most useful of fishes.

On the other hand, the mackerel family, including the tunnies, the bonitos, the dories, the horse-mackerels, &c., which form not more than one sixteenth of our own fish fauna, but which are known to increase their proportion in hot climates, appear in wonderful variety of form and colour, and constitute not less than one fifth of the whole of the species of Ceylon fish. In Russell's catalogue they form less than one fifth, in Cantor's less than one sixth.

Marine and other siluroid fishes, a group represented on the continent of Europe, but doubtfully, if at all, in this country, constitute one twentieth of the Ceylon fishes. In Russell's and Cantor's lists they form about one thirtieth of the whole.

The sharks and rays form about one seventh of our own fish fauna. They constitute about one tenth or one eleventh of Russell and Cantor's lists, while among these Ceylon drawings I find not more than twenty, or about one thirtieth of the whole, which can be referred to this group of fishes. It must be extremely interesting to know whether this circumstance is owing to accident, or to the local peculiarities of Colombo, or whether the fauna of Ceylon really is deficient in such fishes.

The like exceptional character is to be noticed in the proportion of the tribe of flat fishes, or Pleuronectidae. Soles, turbots, and the like, form nearly one twelfth of our own fishes. Both Cantor and Russell give the flat fishes as making one twenty-second part of their collection, while in the whole 600 Ceylon drawings I can find but five Pleuronectidae.

When this great collection has been carefully studied, I doubt not that many more interesting distributional facts will be evolved.

* * * * *

Since receiving this note from Professor Huxley, the drawings in question have been submitted to Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, and that eminent naturalist, after a careful analysis, has favoured me with the following memorandum of the fishes they exhibit, numerically contrasting them with those of China and Japan, so far as we are acquainted with the ichthyology of those seas:—

Cartilaginea. China and Ceylon Japan.

Squali 12 15 Raiae 19 20 Sturiones 0 1

Ostinopterygii.

Plectognathi. tetraodontidae 10 21 balistidae 9 19 Lophobranchii syngnathidae 2 2 pegasidae 0 3 Ctenobranchii lophidae 1 3 Cyclopodii. echeneidae 0 1 cyclopteridae 0 1 gobidae 7 35

China and Ceylon Japan.

Percini. callionymidae 0 7 uranoscopidae 0 7 cottidae 0 13 triglidae 11 37 polynemidae 12 3 mullidae 1 7 percidae 26 12 berycidae 0 5 sillaginidae 3 1 sciaenidae 19 13 haemulinidae 6 12 serranidae 31 38 theraponidae 8 20 cirrhitidae 0 2 maenidiae 37 25 sparidae 16 17 acanthuridae 14 6 chaetodontidae 25 21 fistularidae 2 3 Periodopharyngi. mugilidae 5 7 anabantidae 6 15 pomacentridae 10 11 Pharyngognathi. labridae 16 35 scomberesocidae 13 6 blenniidae 3 8 Scomberina. zeidae 0 2 sphyraenidae 5 4 scomberidae 118 62 xiphiidae 0 1 cepolidae 0 5 Heterosomata. platessoideae 5 22 siluridae 31 24 cyprinidae 19 52 scopelinidae 2 7 salmonidae 0 1 clupeidae 43 22 gadidae 0 2 macruridae 1 0 Apodes. anguillidae 8 12 muraenidae 8 6 sphagebranchidae 8 10



CHAP. V.

CONCHOLOGY, ETC.

I. THE SHELLS OF CEYLON.

Allusion has been made elsewhere to the profusion and variety of shells which abound in the seas and inland waters of Ceylon[1], and to the habits of the Moormen, who monopolise the trade of collecting and arranging them in satin-wood cabinets for transmission to Europe. But, although naturalists have long been familiar with the marine testacea of this island, no successful attempt has yet been made to form a classified catalogue of the species; and I am indebted to the eminent conchologist, Mr. Sylvanus Hanley, for the list which accompanies this notice of those found in the island.

[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. P. ix. ch. v.]

In drawing it up, Mr. Hanley observes that he found it a task of more difficulty than would at first be surmised, owing to the almost total absence of reliable data from which to construct it. Three sources were available: collections formed by resident naturalists, the contents of the well-known satin-wood boxes prepared at Trincomalie, and the laborious elimination of locality from the habitats ascribed to all the known species in the multitude of works on conchology in general.

But, unfortunately, the first resource proved fallacious. There is no large collection in this country composed exclusively of Ceylon shells. And the very few cabinets rich in the marine treasures of the island having been filled as much by purchase as by personal exertion, there is an absence of the requisite confidence that all professing to be Singhalese have been actually captured in the island and its waters.

The cabinets arranged by the native dealers, though professing to contain the productions of Ceylon, include shells which have been obtained from other islands in the Indian seas; and books, probably from these very facts, are either obscure or deceptive. The old writers content themselves with assigning to any particular shell the too-comprehensive habitat of "the Indian Ocean," and seldom discriminate between a specimen from Ceylon and one from the Eastern Archipelago or Hindustan. In a very few instances, Ceylon has been indicated with precision as the habitat of particular shells, but even here the views of specific essentials adopted by modern conchologists, and the subdivisions established in consequence, leave us in doubt for which of the described forms the collective locality should be retained.

Valuable notices of Ceylon shells are to be found in detached papers, in periodicals, and in the scientific surveys of exploring voyages. The authentic facts embodied in the monographs of Reeve, Kuster, Sowerby, and Kienn, have greatly enlarged the knowledge of the marine testacea; and the land and fresh-water mollusca have been similarly illustrated by the contributions of Benson and Layard in the Annals of Natural History.

The dredge has been used but only in a few insulated spots along the coasts of Ceylon; European explorers have been rare; and the natives, anxious only to secure the showy and saleable shells of the sea, have neglected the less attractive ones of the land and the lakes. Hence Mr. Hanley finds it necessary to premise that the list appended, although the result of infinite labour and research, is less satisfactory than could have been wished. "It is offered," he says, "with diffidence, not pretending to the merit of completeness as a shell-fauna of the island, but rather as a form, which the zeal of other collectors may hereafter elaborate and fill up."

Looking at the little that has yet been done, compared with the vast and almost untried field which invites explorers, an assiduous collector may quadruple the species hitherto described. The minute shells especially may be said to be unknown; a vigilant examination of the corals and excrescences upon the spondyli and pearl-oysters would signally increase our knowledge of the Rissoae, Chemnitziae, and other perforating testacea, whilst the dredge from the deep water will astonish the amateur by the wholly new forms it can scarcely fail to display.

Dr. Kelaart, an indefatigable observer, has recently undertaken to investigate the Nudibranchiata, Inferobranchiata, and Tectibranchiata; and a recently-received report from him, in the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, in which he has described fifty-six species,—thirty-three belonging to the genus Doris alone—gives ample evidence of what may be expected from the researches of a naturalist of his acquirements and industry.

List of Ceylon Shells.

The arrangement here adopted is a modified Lamarckian one, very similar to that used by Reeve and Sowerby, and by MR. HANLEY, in his Illustrated Catalogue of Recent Shells.[1]

[Footnote 1: Below will be found a general reference to the Works or Papers in which are given descriptive notices of the shells contained in the following list; the names of the authors (in full or abbreviated) being, as usual, annexed to each species.

ADAMS, Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1853, 54, 56; Thesaur. Conch. ALBERS, Zeitsch. Malakoz. 1853. ANTON, Wiegm. Arch. Nat. 1837; Verzeichn. Conch. BECK in Pfeiffer, Symbol. Helic. BENSON, Ann. Nat. Hist. vii. 1851; xii. 1853; xviii. 1856. BLAINVILLE, Dict. Sc. Nat.; Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. i. BOLTEN, Mus. BORN, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. BRODERIP, Zool. Journ. i. iii. BRUGUIDRE, Ency. Method. Vers. CARPENTER, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. CHEMNITZ, Conch. Cab. CHENU, Illus. Conch. DESHAYES, Encyc. Meth. Vers.; Mag. Zool. 1831; Voy. Belanger; Edit. Lam. An. s. Vert.; Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1853, 54, 55. DILLWYN, Descr. Cat. Shells. DOHRN, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857, 58; Malak. Blatter; Land and Fluviatile Shells of Ceylon. DUCLOS, Monog. of Oliva. FABRICIUS, in Pfeiffer Monog. Helic.; in Dohrn's MSS. FERUSSAC, Hist. Mollusques. FORSKAEL, Anim. Orient. GMELIN, Syst. Nat. GRAY, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834, 52; Index Testaceologicus Suppl.; Spicilegia Zool.; Zool. Journ. i.; Zool. Beechey Voy. GRATELOUP, Act. Linn. Bourdeaux, xi. GUERIN, Rev. Zool. 1847. HANLEY, Thesaur. Conch. i.; Recent Bivalves; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. HINDS, Zool. Voy. Sulphur; Proc. Zool. Soc. HUTTON, Journ. As. Soc. KARSTEN, Mus. Lesk. KIENER, Coquilles Vivantes. KRAUSS, Sud-Afrik Mollusk. LAMARCK, An. sans Verteb. LAYARD, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. LEA, Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1850, LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. MARTINI, Conch. Cab. MAWE, Introd. Linn. Conch.; Index. Test. Suppl. MEUSCHEN, in Gronov. Zoophylac. MENKE, Synop. Mollus. MULLER, Hist. Verm. Terrest. PETIT, Pro. Zool. Soc. 1842. PFEIFFER, Monog. Helic.; Monog. Pneumon.; Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1852, 53, 54, 55, 56 Zeitschr. Malacoz. 1853. PHILIPPI, Zeitsch. Mal. 1846, 47; Abbild. Neuer Conch. POTIEZ et MICHAUD, Galerie Douai. RANG, Mag. Zool. ser. i. p. 100. RECLUZ, Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1845; Revue Zool. Cuv.1841; Mag. Conch. REEVE, Conch. Icon.; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1842, 52. SCHUMACHER, Syst. SHUTTLEWORTH. SOLANDER, in Dillwyn's Desc. Cat. Shells. SOWERBY, Genera Shells; Species Conch.; Conch. Misc.; Thesaur. Conch.; Conch. Illus.; Proc. Zool. Soc.; App. to Tankerville Cat. SPENGLER, Skrivt. Nat. Selsk. Kiobenhav. 1792. SWAINSON, Zool. Illust. ser. ii. TEMPLETON, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1858. TROSCHEL, in Pfeiffer, Mon. Pneum; Zeitschr. Malak. 1847; Weigm. Arch. Nat. 1837. WOOD, General Conch.]

Aspergillum Javanum, Brug. Enc. Met. sparsum, Sowerby, Gen. Shells.[1] clavatum, Chenu, Illust. Conch. Teredo nucivorus, Spengl. Skr. Nat. Sels.[2] Solen truncatus, Wood, Gen. Conch. linearis, Wood, Gen. Conch. cultellus, Linn. Syst. Nat. radiatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Anatina subrostrata, Lamarck, Anim. s. Vert. Anatinella Nicobarica, Gm. Syst. Nat. Lutraria Egyptiaca, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Blainvillea vitrea, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[3] Scrobicularia angulata, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[4] Mactra complanata, Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc.[5] tumida, Chemn. Conch. Cab. antiquata, Reeve (as of Spengler), Conch. Icon. cygnea, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Corbiculoides, Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Mesodesma Layardi, Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. striata, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[6] Crassatella rostrata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. sulcata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Amphidesma duplicatum, Sowerby. Species Conch. Pandora Ceylonica, Sowerby, Conch. Mis. Galeomma Layardi. Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Kellia peculiaris, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Petricola cultellus, Deshayes Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853. Sanguinolaria rosea, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Psammobia rostrata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. occidens, Gm. Systema Naturae. Skinneri, Reeve, Conch. Icon.[7] Layardi, Desh. P.Z. Soc. 1854. lunulata, Desh. P.Z. Soc. 1854. amethystus, Wood, Gen. Conch.[8] rugosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert.[9] Tellina virgata, Linn. Syst. Nat.[10] rugosa, Born. Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. ostracea, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. ala, Hanley, Thesaur. Conch. i. inaequalis, Hanley, Thesaur. Conch. i. Layardi, Deshayes, P.Z. Soc. 1854. callosa, Deshayes, P.Z. Soc. 1854. rubra, Deshayes, P.Z. Soc. 1854. abbreviata, Deshayes, P.Z. Soc. 1854. foliacea, Linn. Systema Naturae. lingua-felis, Linn. Systema Naturae, vulsella, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[11] Lucina interrupta, Lam. Anim. s. Vert.[12] Layardi, Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855. Donax scortum, Linn. Syst. Nat. cuneata, Linn. Syst, Nat. faba, Chem. Conch. Cab. spinosa, Gm. Syst. Nat. paxillus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Cyrena Ceylanica, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Tennentii, Hanley, P. Z. Soc. 1858. Cytherea Erycina, Linn. Syst. Nat.[13] meretrix, Linn. Syst. Nat.[14] castanea, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. castrensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. casta, Gm. Syst. Nat. costata, Chemn. Conch. Cab. laeta, Gm. Syst. Nat. trimaculata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Hebraea, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. rugifera, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. scripta, Linn. Syst. Nat gibbia, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Meroe, Linn. Syst. Nat. testudinalis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. seminuda, Anton. Wiegm. Arch. Nat. 1837. Cytherea seminuda, Anton.[15] Venus reticulata, Linn. Syst. Nat.[16] pinguis, Chemn. Conch. Cab. recens, Philippi, Abbild. Neuer Conch. thiara, Dillw. Descriptive Cat. Shells. Malabarica, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Bruguieri, Hanley, Recent Bivalves, papilionacea, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Indica, Sowerby, Thesaur. Conch. ii. inflata, Deshayes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853.[17] Ceylonensis, Sowerby, Thes. Conch. ii. literata, Linn. Systema Naturae, textrix, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[18] Cardium unedo, Linn. Syst. Nat. maculosum, Wood, Gen. Con. leucostomum, Born. Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. rugosum, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. biradiatum, Bruguiere, Encyc. Meth. Vers. attenuatum, Sowerby, Conch. Illust. enode, Sowerby, Conch Illust. papyraceum, Chemn. Conch. Cab. ringiculum, Sowerby, Conch. Illust. subrugosum, Sowerby, Conch. Illust. latum, Born, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. Asiaticum, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Cardita variegata, Bruguiere, Encyc. Method. Vers. bicolor, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Arca rhombea, Born, Test. Mus. vellicata, Reeve, Conch. Icon. cruciata, Philippi, Ab. Neuer Conch. decussata, Reeve (as of Sowerby), Conch. Icon.[19] scapha, Meuschen, in Gronov. Zoo. Pectunculus nodosus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. pectiniformis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Nucula mitralis, Hinds, Zool. voy. Sul. Layardi, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Nucula Mauritii (Hanley as of Hinds), Recent Bivalves. Unio corrugatus, Mueller, Hist. Verm Ter.[20] marginalis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Lithodomus cinnamoneus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Mytilus viridis, Linn. Syst. Nat.[21] bilocularis, Linn. Syst. Nat. Pinna inflata, Chemn. Conch. Cab. cancellata, Mawe, Intr. Lin. Conch. Malleus vulgaris, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. albus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Meleagrina margaritifera, Linn. Syst. Nat. vexillum, Reeve, Conch. Icon.[22] Avicula macroptera, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Lima squamosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Pecten plica, Linn. Syst. Nat. radula, Linn. Syst. Nat. pleuronectes, Linn. Syst. Nat. pallium, Linn. Syst. Nat. senator, Gm. Syst. Nat. histrionicus, Gm, Syst. Nat. Indicus, Deshayes, Voyage Belanger. Layardi, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Spondylus Layardi, Reeve, Conch. Icon, candidus, Reeve (as of Lam.) Conch. Icon. Ostrea hyotis, Linn. Syst. Nat. glaucina, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Mytiloides, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, cucullata? var. Born. Test. Mus Vind.[23] Vulsella Pholadiformis, Reeve, Conch. Icon. (immature). Placuna placenta, Linn. Syst. Nat. Lingula anatina, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Hyalaea tridentata, For. Anim. Orient.[24] Chiton, 2 species (Layard). Patella Reynaudii, Deshayes, Voy. Be. testudinaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. Emarginula fissurata, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[25] Lam. Calyptraea (Crucibulum) violascens, Carpenter, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Dentalium octogonum, Lam. Anim. s. Vert aprinum, Linn. Syst. Nat. Bulla soluta, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[26] vexillum, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Bruguieri, Adams, Thes. Conch. elongata, Adams, Thes. Conch. ampulla, Linn. Syst. Nat. Lamellaria (as Marsenia Indica, Leach. in Brit. Mus.) allied to L. Mauritiana, if not it. Vaginula maculata, Templ. An. Nat. Limax, 2 sp. Parmacella Tennentii, Templ.[27] Vitrina irradians, Pfeiffer, Hon. Helic. Edgariana, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) membranacea, Benson, Annal. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) Helix haemastoma, Linn. Syst. Nat. vittata, Mueller, Vermium Terrestrium. bistrialis, Beck, in Pfeiffer, Symbol. Helic. Tranquebarica, Fabricius, in Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Juliana, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834. Waltoni, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1842. Skinneri, Reeve, Conch. Icon, vii. corylus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. vii. umbrina, (Reeve, as of Pfeiff.), Conch. Icon. vii. fallaciosa, Ferassac Hist. Mollus. Rivolii, Deshayes, Enc. Meth. Vers. ii. Charpentieri, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. erronea, Albers, Zeitschr. Mal. 1853. carneola, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. convexiuscula, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. ganoma, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Chenui, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. semidecussata, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. phoenix, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. superba, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Ceylanica, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Gardneri, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. coriaria, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Layardi, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. concavospira, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. novella, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. verrucula, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. hyphasma, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Emiliana, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Woodiana, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. partita, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. biciliata, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Isabellina, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. trifilosa, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool Soc. 1854. politissima, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Thwaitesii, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. nepos, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855. subopaca, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853. subconoidea, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. ceraria. Benson, Annals Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) vilipensa, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) perfucata, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) puteolus, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) mononema, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) marcida, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) galerus, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1856 (xviii.) albizonata, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Nietneri, Dohrn, MS.[28] Grevillei, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Streptaxis Layardi, Pfeiff. Mon. Helic. Cingalensis, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Pupa muscerda, Benson, Annals Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) mimula, Benson, Ann. Nat Hist. 1856 (xviii.) Ceylanica, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Bulimus trifasciatus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. pullus, Gray. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834. gracilis, Hutton, Journ. Asiat. Soc. iii. punctatus, Anton, Verzeichn. Conch. Ceylanicus, Pfeiff. (? laevis, Gray, in Index Testaceologicus.) adumbratus, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. intermedius, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. proletarius, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. albizonatus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. mavortius, Reeve, Conch. Icon. fuscoventris, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1856 (xviii.) rufopictus, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1856 (xviii.) panos, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) Achatina nitens, Gray, Spicilegia Zool. inornata, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. capillacea, Pfeiff. Monog, Helic. Ceylanica, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Punctogallana, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. pachycheila, Benson. veruina, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) parabilis, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist 1856 (xviii.) Succinea Ceylanica, Pfeiff. Monog. Helic. Auricula Ceylanica, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854.[29] Ceylanica, Petit, Proc. Zool Soc. 1842.[30] Layardi, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854.[31] pellucens, Menke, Synopsis Moll. Pythia Ceylanica, Pfeiff. Zeitschr. Malacoz. 1853. ovata, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Truncatella Ceylanica, Pfeiff Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Cyclostoma (Cyclophorus) Ceylanicum, Sowerby, Thes. Conch. involvulum, Mueller, Verm. Terrest. Menkeanum, Philippi, Zeitsch. Mal. 1847. punctatum, Grateloup. Act. Lin. Bordeaux (xi.) Loxostoma, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. alabastrum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. Bairdii, Pfeiff. Monog Pneumon. Thwaitesii, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. annulatum, Troschel, in Pfeiff. Mon. Pneumon. parapsis, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist 1853 (xii.) parma, Bens. Ann. Nat Hist. 1856 (xviii.) cratera, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist 1856 (xviii.) (Leptopoma) halophilum, Benson, Ann. Nat. Hist. (ser. 2. vii.) 1851. orophilum, Bens. Annals Nat. Hist. (ser. 2. xi.) apicatum, Bens. Ann. Nat Hist 1856 (xviii.) conulus, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. flammeum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. semiclausum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. poecilum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. elatum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. Cyclostoma (Aulopoma). Itieri, Guerin, Rev. Zool. 1847. helicinum, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Hoffmeisteri, Troschel, Zeitschr. Mal. 1847. grande, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. spheroideum, Dohrn, Malak. Blaetter. (?) gradatum, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneum. Cyclostoma (Pterocyclos). Cingalense, Bens. Ann. Nat Hist. (ser. 2. xi.) Troscheli, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist 1851. Cumingii, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. bifrons, Pfeiff. Monog. Pneumon. Cataulus Templemani, Pfeiff. Mon. Pneu. eurytrema, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. marginatus, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853. duplicatus, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. aureus, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855. Layardi, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. Austenianus Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853 (xii.) Thwaitesii, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. Cumingii, Pfeiff, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. decorus, Bens. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1853. haemastoma, Pfeiff. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856. Planorbis Coromandelianus, Fabric, in Dorhrn's MS. Stelzeneri, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. elegantulus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Limnaea tigrina, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. pinguis, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Melania tuberculata, Mueller, Verm. Ter.[32] spinulosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. corrugata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. rudis, Lea, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1850. acanthica, Lea, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1850. Zeylanica, Lea, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1850. confusa, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. datura, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Layardi, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Paludomus abbreviatus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. clavatus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. dilatatus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. globulosus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. decussatus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. nigricans, Reeve, Conch. Icon. constrictus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. bicinctus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. phasianinus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. laevis, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. palustris, Layard, Proc. Zool. So. 1854. fulguratus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1857. nasutus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. sphaericus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1857. solidus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. distinguendus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. Cumingianus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. dromedarius, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. Skinneri, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. Swainsoni, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1857. nodulosus, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1857. Paludomus (Tanalia). loricatus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. erinaceus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. aereus, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. Layardi, Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852. undatus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Gardneri, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Tennentii, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Reevei, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. violaceus, Layard, Proc. Zool. So. 1854. similis, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. funiculatus, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Paludomus (Philopotamis). sulcatus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. regalis, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Thwaitesii, Layard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Pirena atra, Linn. Systema Naturae. Paludina melanostoma, Bens. Ceylanica, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1857. Bythinia stenothyroides, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. modesta, Dohrn, MS. inconspicua, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857. Ampullaria Layardi, Reeve, Conch. Icon. moesta, Reeve, Conch. Icon. cinerea, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Woodwardi, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. Tischbeini, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. carinata, Swainson, Zool. Illus ser. 2 paludinoides, Cat. Cristofori & Jan.[33] Malabarica, Philippi, in Kust. ed. Chem.[33] Luzonica, Reeve, Conch. Icon.[33] Sumatrensis, Philippi, in Kust. ed. Chem.[33] Navicella eximia, Reeve, Conch. Icon, reticulata, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Livesayi, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858. squamata, Dohrn, Proc. Zool. So. 1858. depressa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Neritina crepidularia, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. melanostoma, Troschel, Wiegm. Arch. Nat. 1837. triserialis, Sowerby, Conch. Illustr. Colombaria, Recluz, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1845. Perottetiana, Recluz, Revue Zool. Cuvier, 1841. Ceylanensis, Recluz, Mag. Conch. 1851. Layardi, Reeve, Conch. Icon. rostrata, Reeve, Conch. Icon. reticulata, Sowerby, Conch. Illustr. Nerita plicata, Linn. Systema Naturae. costata, Chemn. Conch. Cab. plexa, Chemn. Conch. Cab.[34] Natica aurantia, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. mammilla, Linn. Systema Naturae. picta, Reeve (as of Recluz), Conch. Icon. arachnoidea, Gm. Systema Naturae. lineata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. adusta, Chemn. Conch. Cab f. 1926-7, and Karsten.[35] pellis-tigrina, Karsten, Mus. Lesk.[36] didyma, Bolten, Mus.[37] Ianthina prolongata, Blainv., Diction. Sciences Nat. xxiv. communis, Krauss, (as of Lamarck in part) Sud-Afrik. Mollusk. Sigaretus. A species (possibly Javanicus) is known to have been collected. I have not seen it. Stomatella calliostoma, Adams, Thesaur. Conch Holiotis varia, Linn. Systema Naturae. striata, Martini (as of Linn.), Conch. Cab. i. semistriata, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Tornatella solidula, Linn. Systema Nat. Pyramidella maculosa, Lam., Anim. s. Vert. Eulima Martini, Adams, Thes. Conch. ii. Siliquaria muricata, Born, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. Scalaria raricostata, Lam., Anim. s. Vert. Delphinula laciniata, Lam., Anim. s. Vert. distorta, Linn., Syst. Nat.[38] Solarium perdix, Hinds., Proc. Zool. Soc. Layardi, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854.[39] Rotella vestiaria, Linn., Syst. Nat. Phorus pallidulus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. i. Trochus elegantulus, Gray, Index Tes. Suppl. Niloticus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Monodonta labio, Linn. Syst. Nat. canaliculata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Turbo versicolor, Gm. Syst. Nat. princeps, Philippi.[40] Planaxis undulatus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert.[41] Littorina angulifera, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. melanostoma, Gray, Zool., Beech. Chemnitzia trilineata, Adams, Proc. Zool Soc. 1853.. lirata, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853. Phasianella lineolata, Gray, Index Test. Suppl. Turritella bacillum, Kiener, Coquilles Vivantes. columnaris, Kiener, Coquilles Vivantes. duplicata, Linn. Syst. Nat. attenuata, Reeve, Syst. Nat. Cerithium fluviatile, Potiez & Michaud, Galerie Douai. Layardi (Cerithidea), Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. aluco, Linn. Syst. Nat. asperum, Linn. Syst. Nat. telescopium, Linn. Syst. Nat. palustre obeliscus, Linn. Syst. Nat. fasciatum, Brug., Encycl. Meth. Vers rubus, Sowerby (as of Martyn), Thes. Conch. ii. Sowerbyi, Kiener, Coquilles Vivantes (teste Sir E. Tennent). Pleurotoma Indica, Deshayes, Voyage Belanger. virgo, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Turbinella pyrum, Linn. Syst. Nat. rapa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. (the Chank.) cornigera, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. spirillus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Cancellaria trigonostoma, Lam. Anim. s. Vert.[43] scalata, Sowerby, Thesaur. Conch. articularis, Sowerby, Thesaur, Conch. Littoriniformis, Sowerby, Thes. Conch. contabulata, Sowerby, Thes. Conch. Fasciolaria filamentosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. trapezium, Linn. Syst. Nat. Fusus longissimus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. colus, Linn. Mus. Lud. Ulricae. toreuma, Deshayes, (as Murex t. Martyn). ed. Lam. Amin. s. Vert. laticostatus, Deshayes, Magas. Zool. 1831. Blosvillei, Deshayes, Encyl. Method. Vers., ii. Pyrula rapa, Linn. Syst. Nat.[44] citrina, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. pugilina, Born, Test. Mus. Vind.[45] ficus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ficoides, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Ranella crumena, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. spinosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. rana, Linn. Syst. Nat.[46] margaritula, Deshayes, Voy. Belanger. Murex haustellum, Linn. Syst. Nat. adustus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. microphyllus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. anguliferus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. palmarosae, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. ternispina, Kiener, (as of Lam.), Coquilles Vivantes. tenuispina, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. ferrugo, Mawe, Index. Test. Suppl.[47] Reeveanus, Shuttleworth, (teste Cuming) Triton anus, Linn, Syst. Nat.[48] mulus, Dillwyn, Descript. Cat. Shells. retusus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. pyrum, Linn. Syst. Nat. clavator, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Ceylonensis, Sowerby, Proc. Zool. Soc. lotorium, Lam. (not Linn.) Anim. s. Vert. lampas, Linn. Syst. Nat. Pterocera lambis, Linn. Syst. Nat. millepeda, Linn. Syst. Nat. Strombus canarium, Linn. Syst. Nat.[49] succinctus, Linn. Syst. Nat. fasciatus, Born, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. Sibbaldii, Sowerby, Thesaur. Conch. t. lentiginosus, Linn. Syst. Nat. marginatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Lamarckii, Sowerby, Thesaur. Conch. Cassis glauca, Linn. Syst. Nat.[50] canaliculata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Zeylanica, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. areola, Linn. Syst. Nat. Ricinula alboiabris, Blainv. Nouv. Ann. Mus. H. N. i.[51] horrida, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. morus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Purpura fiscella, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Persica, Linn. Syst. Nat. hystrix, Lam. (not Linn.) Anim. s. Vert. granatina, Deshayes, Voy. Belanger. mancinella, Lam. (as of Linn.) Anim. s. Vert. bufo, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. carinifera, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Harpa conoidalis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. minor, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Dolium pomum, Linn. Syst. Nat. olearium, Linn. Syst. Nat. perdix, Linn. Syst. Nat. maculatum, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Nassa ornata, Kiener, Coq. Vivantes.[52] verrucosa, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. crenulata, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. olivacea, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. glans, Linn. Syst. Nat. arcularia, Linn. Syst. Nat. papillosa, Linn. Syst. Nat. Phos virgatus, Hinds, Zool. Sul. Moll. retecosus, Hinds, Zool. Sulphur, Moll. senticosus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Buccinum melanostoma, Sowerly, App. to Tankerv. Cat. erythrostoma, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Proteus, Reeve, Conch. Icon. rubiginosum, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Eburna spirata, Linn. Syst. Nat.[53] canaliculata, Schumacher, Sys. Anim. s. Vert.[54] Ceylanica, Bruguiere, En. Meth. Vers. Bullia vittata, Linn. Syst. Nat. lineolata, Sowerby, Tankerv. Cat.[55] Melanoides, Deshayes, Voy. Belan Terebra chlorata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. muscaria, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. laevigata, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834. maculata, Linn. Syst. Nat. subulata, Linn. Syst. Nat. concinna, Deshayes, ed. Lam. Anim. s. Vert. myurus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. tigrina, Gm. Syst. Nat. Cerithina, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Columbella flavida, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. fulgurans, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. mendicaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. scripta, Lam. Anim. s. Vert.(teste Jay). Mitra episcopalis, Dillwyn, Descript. Cat. Shells. cardinalis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. crebrilirata, Reeve, Conch. Icon. punctostriata, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. insculpta, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854. Layard, Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854.[56] Voluta vexillum, Chemn. Conch. Cab. Lapponica, Linn. Syst. Nat. Melo Indicus, Gm. Syst. Nat. Marginella Sarda, Kiener, Coq. Vivantes. Ovulum ovum, Linn. Syst. Nat. verrucosum, Linn. Syst. Nat. pudicum, Adams, Proc. Zool Soc. 1854. Cypraea Argus, Linn. Syst. Nat. Arabica, Linn. Syst. Nat. Mauritiana, Linn. Syst. Nat. hirundo, Linn. Syst. Nat. Lynx, Linn. Syst. Nat. asellus, Linn. Syst. Nat. erosa, Linn. Syst. Nat. vitellus, Linn. Syst. Nat. stolida, Linn. Syst. Nat. mappa, Linn. Syst. Nat. helvola, Linn. Syst. Nat. errones, Linn. Syst. Nat. cribraria, Linn. Syst. Nat. globulus, Linn. Syst. Nat. clandestina, Linn. Syst. Nat. ocellata, Linn. Syst. Nat. caurica, Linn. Syst. Nat. tabescens, Solander, in Dillwyn Descr. Cat. Shells. gangrenosa, Solander, in Dillwyn Desc. Cat. Shells. interrupta, Gray, Zool. Journ. i. lentiginosa, Gray, Zool. Journ. i. pyriformis, Gray, Zool. Journ. i. nivosa, Broderip, Zool. Journ. iii. poraria, Linn. Syst. Nat. testudinaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. Terebellum subulatum, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Ancillaria glabrata, Linn. Syst Nat. candida, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Oliva Maura, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. erythrostoma, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, gibbosa, Born, Test. Mus. Caes.[57] nebulosa, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. Macleayana, Duclos, Monograph of Oliva. episcopalis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, elegans, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, ispidula, Linn. Syst. Nat. (partly).[58] Zeilanica, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, undata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. frisans, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, (teste Duclos). Conus miles, Linn. Syst. Nat. generalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. betulinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. stercus-muscarum, Linn. Syst. Nat. Hebraeus, Linn. Syst. Nat. virgo, Linn. Syst. Nat. geographicus, Linn. Syst. Nat. aulicus, Linn. Syst. Nat. figulinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. striatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. senator, Linn. Syst. Nat.[58] literatus, Linn. Syst. Nat imperialis, Linn. Syst. Nat. textile, Linn. Syst. Nat. terebra, Born, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. tessellatus, Born, Test. Mus. Caes. Vind. Augur, Bruguiere, Encycl. Meth. Vers. obesus, Bruguiere Encycl. Meth. Vers. araneosus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. gubernator, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. monile, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. nimbosus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. eburneus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. vitulinus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. quercinus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. lividus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Omaria, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Maldivus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. nocturnus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Ceylonensis, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. arenatus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Nicobaricus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. glans, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Amadis, Chemn. Conch. Cab. punctatus, Chemn. Conch. Cab. minimus, Reeve (as of Linn.), Conch. Icon. terminus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. lineatus, Chemn. Conch. Cab. episcopus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. verriculum, Reeve, Conch. Cab. zonatus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. rattus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. (teste Chemn.) pertusus, Brug. Encycl. Meth. Vers. Nussatella, Linn. Syst. Nat. lithoglyphus, Brug. En. Meth. Vers.[59] tulipa, Linn. Syst. Nat. Ammiralis, var. Linn, teste Brug. Spirula Peronii, Lam. Anim. s. Vett. Sepia Hieredda, Rang. Magas, Zool, ser. i. p. 100. Sepioteuthis, Sp. Loligo, Sp.

[Footnote 1: A. dichotomum, Chenu.]

[Footnote 2: Fistulana gregata, Lam.]

[Footnote 3: Blainvillea, Hupe.]

[Footnote 4: Latraria tellinoides, Lam.]

[Footnote 5: I have also seen M. hians of Philippi in a Ceylon collection.]

[Footnote 6: M. Taprobanensis, Index Test. Suppl.]

[Footnote 7: Psammotella Skinneri, Reeve.]

[Footnote 8: P. caerulescens, Lam.]

[Footnote 9: Sanguinolaria rugosa, Lam.]

[Footnote 10: T. striatula of Lamarck is also supposed to be indigenous to Ceylon.]

[Footnote 11: T. rostrata, Lam.]

[Footnote 12: L. divaricata is found, also, in mixed Ceylon collections.]

[Footnote 13: C. dispar of Chemnitz is occasionally found in Ceylon collections.]

[Footnote 14: C. impudica, Lam.]

[Footnote 15: As Donax.]

[Footnote 16: V. corbis, Lam.]

[Footnote 17: As Tapes.]

[Footnote 18: V. textile, Lam.]

[Footnote 19: ? Arca Helblingii, Chemn.]

[Footnote 20: Mr. Cuming informs me that he has forwarded no less than six distinct Uniones from Ceylon to Isaac Lea of Philadelphia for determination or description.]

[Footnote 21: M. smaragdinus, Chemn.]

[Footnote 22: As Avicula.]

[Footnote 23: The specimens are not in a fitting state for positive determination. They are strong, extremely narrow, with the beak of the lower valve much produced, the inner edge of the upper valve denticulated throughout. The muscular impressions are dusky brown.]

[Footnote 24: An Anomia.]

[Footnote 25: The fissurata of Humphreys and Dacosta, pl. 4—E. rubra, Lamarck.]

[Footnote 26: B. Ceylanica, Brug.]

[Footnote 27: P. Tennentii. "Greyish brown, with longitudinal rows of rufous spots, forming interrupted bands along the sides. A singularly handsome species, having similar habits to Limax. Found in the valleys of the Kalany Ganga, near Ruanwelle."—Templeton MSS.]

[Footnote 28: Not far from bistrialis and Ceylanica. The manuscript species of Mr. Dohrn will shortly appear in his intended work upon the land and fluviatile shells of Ceylon.]

[Footnote 29: As Ellobium.]

[Footnote 30: As Melampus.]

[Footnote 31: As Ophicardelis.]

[Footnote 32: M. fasciolata, Olivier.]

[Footnote 33: These four species are included on the authority of Mr. Dohrn.]

[Footnote 34: N. exuvia, Lam. not Linn.]

[Footnote 35: Conch. Cab. f. 1926-7, and N. melanostoma, Lam. in part.]

[Footnote 36: Chemn, Conch. Cab, 1892-3.]

[Footnote 37: N. glaucina, Lam. not Linn.]

[Footnote 38: Not of Lamarck. D. atrata. Reeve.]

[Footnote 39: Philippia L.]

[Footnote 40: Zeit. Mal. 1846 for T. argyrostoma, Lam. not Linn.]

[Footnote 41: Buccinum pyramidatum, Gm. in part: B. sulcatum, var. C. of Brug.]

[Footnote 42: Teste Cuming.]

[Footnote 43: As Delphinulat.]

[Footnote 44: P. papyracea, Lam. In mixed collections I have seen the Chinese P. bezoar of Lamarck as from Ceylon.]

[Footnote 45: P. vespertilio, Gm.]

[Footnote 46: R. albivaricosa, Reeve.]

[Footnote 47: M. anguliferus var. Lam.]

[Footnote 48: T. cynocephalus of Lamarck is also met with in Ceylon collections.]

[Footnote 49: S. incisus of the Index Testaceologicus (urceus, var. Sow. Thesaur.) is found in mixed Ceylon collections.]

[Footnote 50: C. plicaria of Lamarck, and C. coronulata of Sowerby, are also said to be found in Ceylon.]

[Footnote 51: As Purpura.]

[Footnote 52: N. suturalis, Reeve (as of Lam.), is met with in mixed Ceylon collections.]

[Footnote 53: E. areolata Lam.]

[Footnote 54: E. spirata, Lam. not Linn.]

[Footnote 55: B Belangeri, Kiener.]

[Footnote 56: As Turricula L.]

[Footnote 57: 0. utriculus, Dillwyn.]

[Footnote 58: C. planorbis, Born; C, vulpinus, Lam.]

[Footnote 59: Conus ermineus, Born, in part.]

A conclusion not unworthy of observation may be deduced from this catalogue; namely, that Ceylon was the unknown, and hence unacknowledged, source of almost every extra-European shell which has been described by Linnaeus without a recorded habitat. This fact gives to Ceylon specimens an importance which can only be appreciated by collectors and the students of Mollusca.

2 RADIATA.

The eastern seas are profusely stocked with radiated animals, but it is to be regretted that they have as yet received but little attention from English naturalists. Dr. Kelaart has, however, devoted himself to the investigation of some of the Singhalese species, and has given the fruits of his discoveries in the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Asiatic Society for 1856-8. Our information respecting the radiata on the confines of the island is, therefore, very scanty; with the exception of the genera[1] examined by him. Hence the notice of this extensive class of animals must be limited to indicating a few of those which exhibit striking peculiarities, or which admit of the most common observation.

[Footnote 1: Actinia, 9 sp.: Anthea, 4 sp.; Actinodendron, 3 sp.; Dioscosoma, 1 sp.; Peechea, 1 sp.; Zoanthura, 1 sp.]

Star Fish.—Very large species of Ophiuridae are to be met with at Trincomalie, crawling busily about, and insinuating their long serpentine arms into the irregularities and perforations in the rocks. To these they attach themselves with such a firm grasp, especially when they perceive that they have attracted attention, that it is next to impossible to procure unmutilated specimens without previously depriving them of life, or at least modifying their muscular tenacity. The upper surface is of a dark purple colour, and coarsely spined; the arms of the largest specimens are more than a foot in length, and very fragile.

The star fishes, with immovable rays[1], are not by any means rare; many kinds are brought up in the nets, or may be extracted from the stomachs of the larger market fish. One very large species[2], figured by Joinville in the manuscript volume in the library at the India House, is not uncommon; it has thick arms, from which and the disc numerous large fleshy cirrhi of a bright crimson colour project downwards, giving the creature a remarkable aspect. No description of it, so far as I am aware has appeared in any systematic work on zoology.

[Footnote 1: Asterias, Linn.]

[Footnote 2: Pentaceros?]

Sea Slugs.—There are a few species of Holothuriae, of which the trepang is the best known example. It is largely collected in the Gulf of Manaar, and dried in the sun to prepare it for export to China. A good description and figure of it are still desiderata.

Parasitic Worms.—Of these entozoa, the Filaria medinensis, or guinea worm, which burrows in the cellular tissue under the skin, is well known in the north of the island, but rarely found in the damper districts of the south and west. In Ceylon, as elsewhere, the natives attribute its occurrence to drinking the waters of particular wells; but this belief is inconsistent with the fact that its lodgment in the human body is almost always effected just above the ankle, which shows that the minute parasites are transferred to the skin of the leg from the moist vegetation bordering the footpaths leading to wells. The creatures are at this period minute, and the process of insinuation is painless and imperceptible. It is only when they attain to considerable size, a foot or more in length, that the operation of extracting them is resorted to, when exercise may have given rise to inconvenience and inflammation.

Planaria.—In the journal above alluded to, Dr. Kelaart has given descriptions of fifteen species of planaria, and four of a new genus, instituted by him for the reception of those differing from the normal kinds by some peculiarities which they exhibit in common. At Point Pedro, Mr. Edgar Layard met with one on the bark of trees, after heavy rain, which would appear to belong to the subgenus geoplana.[1]

[Footnote 1: "A curious species, which is of a light brown above, white underneath; very broad and thin, and has a peculiarly shaped tail, half-moon-shaped, in fact, like a grocer's cheese knife."]

Acalephae.—Acalephae[1] are plentiful, so much so, indeed, that they occasionally tempt the larger cetacea into the Gulf of Manaar. In the calmer months of the year, when the sea is glassy, and for hours together undisturbed by a ripple, the minute descriptions are rendered perceptible by their beautiful prismatic tinting. So great is their transparency that they are only to be distinguished from the water by the return of the reflected light that glances from their delicate and polished surfaces. Less frequently they are traced by the faint hues of their tiny peduncles, arms, or tentaculae; and it has been well observed that they often give the seas in which they abound the appearance of being crowded with flakes of half-melted snow. The larger kinds, when undisturbed in their native haunts, attain to considerable size. A faintly blue medusa, nearly a foot across, may be seen in the Gulf of Manaar, where, no doubt, others of still larger growth are to be found.

[Footnote 1: Jellyfish.]

The remaining orders, including the corals, madrepores, and other polypi, have yet to find a naturalist to undertake their investigation, but in all probability the species are not very numerous.



CHAP. VI

INSECTS.

Owing to the combination of heat, moisture, and vegetation, the myriads of insects in Ceylon form one of the characteristic features of the island. In the solitude of the forests there is a perpetual music from their soothing and melodious hum, which frequently swells to a startling sound as the cicada trills his sonorous drum on the sunny bark of some tall tree. At morning the dew hangs in diamond drops on the threads and gossamer which the spiders suspend across every pathway; and above the pool dragon flies, of more than metallic lustre, flash in the early sunbeams. The earth teems with countless ants, which emerge from beneath its surface, or make their devious highways to ascend to their nests in the trees. Lustrous beetles, with their golden elytra, bask on the leaves, whilst minuter species dash through the air in circles, which the ear can follow by the booming of their tiny wings. Butterflies of large size and gorgeous colouring flutter over the endless expanse of flowers, and frequently the extraordinary sight presents itself of flights of these delicate creatures, generally of a white or pale yellow hue, apparently miles in breadth, and of such prodigious extension as to occupy hours, and even days, uninterruptedly in their passage—whence coming no one knows; wither going no one can tell.[1] As day declines, the moths issue from their retreats, the crickets add their shrill voices to swell the din; and when darkness descends, the eye is charmed with the millions of emerald lamps lighted up by the fire-flies amidst the surrounding gloom.

[Footnote 1: The butterflies I have seen in these wonderful migrations in Ceylon were mostly Callidryas Hilariae, C. Alcmeone, and C. Pyranthe, with straggling individuals of the genus Euploea, E. Coras, and E. Prothoe. Their passage took place in April and May, generally in a north-easterly direction.]

No attempt has as yet been made to describe the class systematically, much less to enumerate the prodigious number of species which abound in every locality. Occasional observers have, from time to time, contributed notices of particular families to the Scientific Associations of Europe, but their papers remain undigested, and the time has not yet arrived for the preparation of an Entomology of the island.

What Darwin remarks of the Coleoptera of Brazil is nearly as applicable to the same order of insects in Ceylon: "The number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great; the cabinets of Europe can as yet, with partial exceptions, boast only of the larger species from tropical climates, and it is sufficient to disturb the composure of an entomologist to look forward to the future dimensions of a catalogue with any pretensions to completeness."[l]

[Footnote 1: Nat. Journal, p. 39.]

M. Neitner, a German entomologist, who has spent some years in Ceylon, has recently published, in one of the local periodicals, a series of papers on the Coleoptera of the island, in which every species introduced is stated to be previously undescribed.[1]

[Footnote 1: Republished in the Ann. Nat. Hist.]

COLEOPTERA.—Buprestidoe; Golden Beetles.—In the morning the herbaceous plants, especially on the eastern side of the island, are studded with these gorgeous beetles whose golden elytra[1] are used to enrich the embroidery of the Indian zenana, whilst the lustrous joints of the legs are strung on silken threads, and form necklaces and bracelets of singular brilliancy.

[Footnote 1: Sternocera Chrysis; S. sternicornis.]

These exquisite colours are not confined to one order, and some of the Elateridae[1] and Lamellicorns exhibit hues of green and blue, that rival the deepest tints of the emerald and sapphire.

[Footnote 1: Of the family of Elateridae, one of the finest is a Singhalese species, the Compsosternus Templetonii, of an exquisite golden green colour, with blue reflections (described and figured by Mr. WESTWOOD in his Cabinet of Oriental Entomology, pl. 35, f. 1). In the same work is figured another species of large size, also from Ceylon, this is the Alaus sordidus.—WESTWOOD, 1. c. pl. 35, f. 9.]

Scavenger Beetles.—Scavenger beetles[1] are to be seen wherever the presence of putrescent and offensive matter affords opportunity for the display of their repulsive but most curious instincts; fastening on it with eagerness, severing it into lumps proportionate to their strength, and rolling it along in search of some place sufficiently soft in which to bury it, after having deposited their eggs in the centre. I had frequent opportunities, especially in traversing the sandy jungles in the level plains to the north of the island, of observing the unfailing appearance of these creatures instantly on the dropping of horse dung, or any other substance suitable for their purpose; although not one was visible but a moment before. Their approach through the air is announced by a loud and joyous booming sound, as they dash in rapid circles in search of the desired object, led by their sense of smell, but evidently little assisted by the eye in shaping their course towards it. In these excursions they exhibit a strength of wing and sustained power of flight, such as is possessed by no other class of beetles with which I am acquainted, but which is obviously indispensable for the due performance of the useful functions they discharge.

[Footnote 1: Ateuchus sacer; Copris sagax; C. capucinus, &c. &c.]

The Coco-nut Beetle.—In the luxuriant forests of Ceylon, the extensive family of Longicorns live in destructive abundance. Their ravages are painfully familiar to the coco-nut planters.[1] The larva of one species of large dimensions, Batocera rubus[2], called by the Singhalese "Cooroominya" makes its way into the stems of the younger trees, and after perforating them in all directions, it forms a cocoon of the gnawed wood and sawdust, in which it reposes during its sleep as a pupa, till the arrival of the period when it emerges as a perfect beetle. Notwithstanding the repulsive aspect of the large pulpy larvae of these beetles, they are esteemed a luxury by the Malabar coolies, who so far avail themselves of the privilege accorded by the Levitical law, which permitted the Hebrews to eat "the beetle after his kind."[3]

[Footnote 1: There is a paper in the Journ. of the Asiat. Society of Ceylon, May, 1845, by Mr. CAPPER, on the ravages perpetrated by these beetles. The writer had recently passed through several coco-nut plantations, "varying in extent from 20 to 150 acres, and about two to three years old; and in these he did not discover a single young tree untouched by the cooroominya."—P. 49.]

[Footnote 2: Called also B. octo-maculatus; Lamia rubus, Fabr.]

[Footnote 3: Leviticus, xi. 22.]

Tortoise Beetles.—There is one family of insects, the members of which cannot fail to strike the traveller by their singular beauty, the Cassidiadae or tortoise beetles, in which the outer shell overlaps the body, and the limbs are susceptible of being drawn entirely within it. The rim is frequently of a different tint from the centre, and one species which I have seen is quite startling from the brilliancy of its colouring, which gives it the appearance of a ruby enclosed in a frame of pearl; but this wonderful effect disappears immediately on the death of the insect.[1]

[Footnote 1: One species, the Cassida farinosa, frequent in the jungle which surrounded my official residence at Kandy, is covered profusely with a snow-white powder, arranged in delicate filaments, which it moves without dispersing: but when dead they fall rapidly to dust.]

ORTHOPTERA. The Soothsayer.—But the admiration of colours is still less exciting than the astonishment created by the forms in which some of the insect families present themselves, especially the "soothsayers" (Mantidae) and "walking leaves." The latter[1], exhibiting the most cunning of all nature's devices for the preservation of her creatures, are found in the jungle in all varieties of hue, from the pale yellow of an opening bud to the rich green of the full-blown leaf, and the withered tint of decaying foliage. And so perfect is the imitation in structure and articulation, that these amazing insects when at rest are almost indistinguishable from the verdure around them: not the wings alone being modelled to resemble ribbed and fibrous follicles, but every joint of the legs being expanded into a broad plait like a half-opened leaflet.

[Footnote 1: Phyllium siccifolium.]

It rests on its abdomen, the legs serving to drag it slowly along, and thus the flatness of its attitude serves still further to add to the appearance of a leaf. One of the most marvellous incidents connected with its organisation was exhibited by one which I kept under a glass shade on my table; it laid a quantity of eggs, that, in colour and shape, were not to be discerned from seeds. They were brown and pentangular, with a short stem, and slightly punctured at the intersections.



The "soothsayer," on the other hand (Mantis superstitiosa Fab.[1]), little justifies by its propensities the appearance of gentleness, and the attitudes of sanctity, which have obtained for it its title of the praying mantis. Its habits are carnivorous, and degenerate into cannibalism, as it preys on the weaker individuals of its own species. Two which I enclosed in a box were both found dead a few hours after, literally severed limb from limb in their encounter. The formation of the foreleg enables the tibia to be so closed on the sharp edge of the thigh as to amputate any slender substance grasped within it.

[Footnote 1: M. aridifolia and M. extensicollis, as well as Empusa gongyloides, remarkable for the long leaf-like head, and dilatations on the posterior thighs, are common in the island.]

The Stick-insect—The Phasmidoe or spectres, another class of orthoptera, present as close a resemblance to small branches or leafless twigs as their congeners do to green leaves. The wing-covers, where they exist, instead of being expanded, are applied so closely to the body as to detract nothing from its rounded form, and hence the name which they have acquired of "walking-sticks." Like the Phyllium, the Phasma lives exclusively on vegetables, and some attain the length of several inches.

Of all the other tribes of the Orthoptera Ceylon possesses many representatives; in swarms of cockroaches, grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets.

NEUROPTERA. Dragon-flies.—Of the Neuroptera, some of the dragon-flies are pre-eminently beautiful; one species, with rich brown-coloured spots upon its gauzy wings, is to be seen near every pool.[1] Another[2], which dances above the mountain streams in Oovah, and amongst the hills descending towards Kandy, gleams in the sun as if each of its green enamelled wings had been sliced from an emerald.[3]

[Footnote 1: Libellula pulchella.]

[Footnote 2: Euphoea splendens, Hagen.]

[Footnote 3: Gymnacantha subinterrupta, Ramb. distinguished by its large size, is plentiful about the mountain streamlets.]

The Ant-lion.—Of the ant-lion, whose larvae have earned a bad renown from their predaceous ingenuity, Ceylon has, at least, four species, which seem peculiar to the island.[1] This singular creature, preparatory to its pupal transformation, contrives to excavate a conical pitfall in the dust to the depth of about an inch, in the bottom of which it conceals itself, exposing only its open mandibles above the surface; and here every ant and soft-bodied insect which, curiosity tempts to descend, or accident may precipitate into the trap, is ruthlessly seized and devoured by its ambushed inhabitant.

[Footnote 1: Palpares contrarius, Walker; Myrmeleon gravis, Walker; M. dirus, Walker; M. barbarus, Walker.]

The White Ant—But of the insects of this order the most noted are the white ants or termites (which are ants only by a misnomer). They are, unfortunately, at once ubiquitous and innumerable in every spot where the climate is not too chilly, or the soil too sandy, for them to construct their domed edifices.

These they raise from a considerable depth under ground, excavating the clay with their mandibles, and moistening it with tenacious saliva[1] until it assume the appearance, and almost the consistency, of sandstone. So delicate is the trituration to which they subject this material, that the goldsmiths of Ceylon employ the powdered clay of the ant hills in preference to all other substances in the preparation of crucibles and moulds for their finer castings; and KNOX says, in his time, "the people used this clay to make their earthen gods of, it is so pure and fine."[2] These structures the termites erect with such perseverance and durability that they frequently rise to the height of ten or twelve feet from the ground, with a corresponding diameter. They are so firm in their texture that the weight of a horse makes no apparent indentation on their solidity; and even the intense rains of the monsoon, which no cement or mortar can long resist, fail to penetrate the surface or substance of an ant hill.[3]

[Footnote 1: It becomes an interesting question whence the termites derive the large supplies of moisture with which they not only temper the clay for the construction of their long covered-ways above ground, but for keeping their passages uniformly damp and cool below the surface. Yet their habits in this particular are unvarying, in the seasons of droughts as well as after rain; in the driest and least promising positions, in situations inaccessible to drainage from above, and cut off by rocks and impervious strata from springs from below. Dr. Livingstone, struck with this phenomenon in Southern Africa, asks: "Can the white ants possess the power of combining the oxygen and hydrogen of their vegetable food by vital force so as to form water?"—Travels, p. 22. And he describes at Angola an insect (A. goudotti? Bennett.) resembling the Aphrophora spumaria; seven or eight individuals of which distil several pints of water every night.—P. 414. It is highly probable that the termites are endowed with some such faculty: nor is it more remarkable that an insect should combine the gases of its food to produce water, than that a fish should decompose water in order to provide itself with gas. FOURCROIX found the contents of the air-bladder in a carp to be pure nitrogen.—Yarrell, vol. i. p. 42. And the aquatic larva of the dragon-fly extracts air for its respiration from the water in which it is submerged. A similar mystery pervades the inquiry whence plants under peculiar circumstances derive the water essential to vegetation.]

[Footnote 2: KNOX'S Ceylon, Part I, ch. vi. p. 24.]

[Footnote 3: Dr. HOOKER, in his Himalayan Journal (vol. i. p. 20) is of opinion that the nests of the termites are not independent structures, but that their nucleus is "the debris of clumps of bamboos or the trunks of large trees which these insects have destroyed." He supposes that the dead tree falls leaving the stump coated with sand, which the action of the weather soon fashions info a cone. But independently of the fact that the "action of the weather" produces little or no effect on the closely cemented clay of the white ants' nest, they may be daily seen constructing their edifices in the very form of a cone, which they ever after retain. Besides which, they appear in the midst of terraces and fields where no trees are to be seen; and Dr. Hooker seems to overlook the fact that the termites rarely attack a living tree; and although their nests may be built against one, it continues to flourish not the less for their presence.]

In their earlier stages the termites proceed with such energetic rapidity, that I have seen a pinnacle of moist clay, six inches in height and twice as large in diameter, constructed underneath a table between sitting down to dinner and the removal of the cloth.

As these lofty mounds of earth have all been carried up from beneath the surface, a cave of corresponding dimensions is necessarily scooped out below, and here, under the multitude of cupolas and pinnacles which canopy it above, the termites hollow out the royal chamber for their queen, with spacious nurseries surrounding it on all sides. Store-rooms and magazines occupy the lower apartments, and all are connected by arched galleries, long passages, and doorways of the most intricate and elaborate construction. In the centre and underneath the spacious dome is the recess for the queen—a hideous creature, with the head and thorax of an ordinary termite, but a body swollen to a hundred times its usual and proportionate bulk, and presenting the appearance of a mass of shapeless pulp. From this great progenitrix proceed the myriads which people the subterranean hive, consisting, like the communities of the genuine ants, of labourers and soldiers, which are destined never to acquire a fuller development than that of larvas, and the perfect insects which in due time become invested with wings and take their departing flight from the cave. But their new equipment seems only destined to facilitate their dispersion from the parent nest, which takes place at dusk; and almost as quickly as they leave it they divest themselves of their ineffectual wings, waving them impatiently and twisting them in every direction till they become detached and drop off, and the swarm, within a few hours of their emancipation, become a prey to the night-jars and bats, which are instantly attracted to them as they issue in a cloud from the ground. I am not prepared to say that the other insectivorous birds would not gladly make a meal of the termites, but, seeing that in Ceylon their numbers are chiefly kept in check by the crepuscular birds, it is observable, at least as a coincidence, that the dispersion of the swarm generally takes place at twilight. Those that escape the caprimulgi lose their wings before morning, and are then disposed of by the crows.

The strange peculiarity of the omnivorous ravages of the white ants is that they shrink from the light, in all their expeditions for providing food they construct a covered pathway of moistened clay, and their galleries above ground extend to an incredible distance from the central nest. No timber, except ebony and ironwood, which are too hard, and those which are strongly impregnated with camphor or aromatic oils, which they dislike, presents any obstacle to their ingress. I have had a case of wine filled, in the course of two days, with almost solid clay, and only discovered the presence of the white ants by the bursting of the corks. I have had a portmanteau in my tent so peopled with them in the course of a single night that the contents were found worthless in the morning. In an incredibly short time a detachment of these pests will destroy a press full of records, reducing the paper to fragments; and a shelf of books will be tunnelled into a gallery if it happen to be in their line of march.

The timbers of a house when fairly attacked are eaten from within till the beams are reduced to an absolute shell, so thin that it may be punched through with the point of the finger: and even kyanized wood, unless impregnated with an extra quantity of corrosive sublimate, appears to occasion them no inconvenience. The only effectual precaution for the protection of furniture is incessant vigilance—the constant watching of every article, and its daily removal from place to place, in order to baffle their assaults.

They do not appear in the hills above the elevation of 2000 feet. One species of white ant, the Termes Taprobanes, was at one time believed by Mr. Walker to be peculiar to the island, but it has recently been found in Sumatra and Borneo, and in some parts of Hindustan.

HYMENOPTERA. Mason Wasp.—In Ceylon as in all other countries, the order of hymenopterous insects arrests us less by the beauty of their forms than the marvels of their sagacity and the achievements of their instinct. A fossorial wasp of the family of Sphegidoe,[1] which is distinguished by its metallic lustre, enters by the open windows, and disarms irritation at its movements by admiration of the graceful industry with which it stops up the keyholes and similar apertures with clay in order to build in them a cell, into which it thrusts the pupa of some other insect, within whose body it has previously introduced its own eggs; and, enclosing the whole with moistened earth, the young parasite, after undergoing its transformations, gnaws its way into light, and emerges a four-winged fly.[2]

[Footnote 1: It belongs to the genus Pelopoeus, P. Spinoloe, St. Fargeau. The Ampulex compressa, which drags about the larvae of cockroaches into which it has implanted its eggs, belongs to the same family.]

[Footnote 2: Mr. E. L. Layard has given an interesting account of this Mason wasp in the Annals and Magazine of Nat. History for May, 1853.

"I have frequently," he says, "selected one of these flies for observation, and have seen their labours extend over a period of a fortnight or twenty days; sometimes only half a cell was completed in a day, at others as much as two. I never saw more than twenty cells in one nest, seldom indeed that number, and whence the caterpillars were procured was always to me a mystery. I have seen thirty or forty brought in of a species which I knew to be very rare in the perfect state, and which I had sought for in vain, although I knew on what plant they fed.

"Then again how are they disabled by the wasp, and yet not injured so as to cause their immediate death? Die they all do, at least all that I have ever tried to rear, after taking them from the nest.

"The perfected fly never effects its egress from the closed aperture, through which the caterpillars were inserted, and when cells are placed end to end, as they are in many instances, the outward end of each is always selected. I cannot detect any difference in the thickness in the crust of the cell to cause this uniformity of practice. It is often as much as half an inch through, of great hardness, and as far as I can see impervious to air and light. How then does the enclosed fly always select the right end, and with what secretion is it supplied to decompose this mortar?"]

Wasps.—Of the wasps, one formidable species (Sphex ferruginea of St. Fargeau), which is common to India and most of the eastern islands, is regarded with the utmost dread by the unclad natives, who fly precipitately on finding themselves in the vicinity[1] of its nests, which are of such ample dimensions, that when suspended from a branch, they often measure upwards of six feet in length.[2]

[Footnote 1: In ought to be remembered in travelling in the forests of Ceylon that sal volatile applied immediately is a specific for the sting of a wasp.]

[Footnote 2: At the January (1839) meeting of the Entomological Society, Mr. Whitehouse exhibited portions of a wasps' nest from Ceylon, between seven and eight feet long and two feet in diameter, and showed that the construction of the cells was perfectly analogous to those of the hive bee, and that when connected each has a tendency to assume a circular outline. In one specimen where there were three cells united the outer part was circular, whilst the portions common to the three formed straight walls. From this Singhalese nest Mr. Whitehouse demonstrated that the wasps at the commencement of their comb proceed slowly, forming the bases of several together, whereby they assume the hexagonal shape, whereas, if constructed separately, he thought each single cell would be circular. See Proc. Ent. Soc. vol. iii. p. xvi.]

Bees.—Bees of several species and genera, some divested of stings, and some in size scarcely exceeding a house-fly, deposit their honey in hollow trees, or suspend their combs from a branch; and the spoils of their industry form one of the chief resources of the uncivilised Veddahs, who collect the wax in their upland forests, to be bartered for arrow points and clothes in the lowlands.[1] I have never heard of an instance of persons being attacked by the bees of Ceylon, and hence the natives assert, that those most productive of honey are destitute of stings.

[Footnote 1: A gentleman connected with the department of the Surveyor-General writes to me that he measured a honey-comb which he found fastened to the overhanging branch of a small tree in the forest near Adam's Peak, and found it nine links of his chain or about six feet in length and a foot in breadth where it was attached to the branch, but tapering towards the other extremity. "It was a single comb with a layer of cells on either side, but so weighty that the branch broke by the strain."]

The Carpenter Bee.—The operations of one of the most interesting of the tribe, the Carpenter bee,[1] I have watched with admiration from the window of the Colonial Secretary's official residence at Kandy. So soon as the day grew warm, these active creatures were at work perforating the wooden columns which supported the verandah. They poised themselves on their shining purple wings, as they made the first lodgment in the wood, enlivening the work with an uninterrupted hum of delight, which was audible to a considerable distance. When the excavation had proceeded so far as that the insect could descend into it, the music was suspended, but renewed from time to time, as the little creature came to the orifice to throw out the chips, to rest, or to enjoy the fresh air. By degrees, a mound of saw-dust was formed at the base of the pillar, consisting of particles abraded by the mandibles of the bee; and these, when the hollow was completed to the depth of several inches, were partially replaced in the excavation after being agglutinated to form partitions between the eggs, as they are deposited within.

[Footnote 1: Xylocopa tenuiscapa, Westw.; X. latipes, Drury.]

Ants.—As to ants, I apprehend that, notwithstanding their numbers and familiarity, information is very imperfect relative to the varieties and habits of these marvellous insects in Ceylon.[1] In point of multitude it is scarcely an exaggeration to apply to them the figure of "the sands of the sea." They are everywhere; in the earth, in the houses, and in the trees; they are to be seen in every room and cupboard, and almost on every plant in the jungle. To some of the latter they are, perhaps, attracted by the sweet juices secreted by the aphides and coccidae; and such is the passion of the ants for sugar, and their wonderful faculty of discovering it, that the smallest particle of a substance containing it, though placed in the least conspicuous position, is quickly covered with them, where not a single one may have been visible a moment before. But it is not sweet substances alone that they attack; no animal or vegetable matter comes amiss to them; no aperture appears too small to admit them; it is necessary to place everything which it may be desirable to keep free from their invasion, under the closest cover, or on tables with cups of water under every foot. As scavengers, they are invaluable; and as ants never sleep, but work without cessation, during the night as well as by day, every particle of decaying vegetable or putrid animal matter is removed with inconceivable speed and certainty. In collecting shells, I have been able to turn this propensity to good account; by placing them within their reach, the ants in a few days will remove every vestige of the mollusc from the innermost and otherwise inaccessible whorls; thus avoiding all risk of injuring the enamel by any mechanical process.

[Footnote 1: Mr. Jerdan, in a series of papers in the thirteenth volume of the Annals of Natural History, has described forty-seven species of ants in Southern India. But M. Nietner has recently forwarded to the Berlin Museum upwards of seventy species taken by him in Ceylon, chiefly in the western province and the vicinity of Colombo, Of these many are identical with those noted by Mr. Jerdan as belonging to the Indian continent. One (probably Drepanognathus saltator of Jerdan) is described by M. Nietner as "moving by jumps of several inches at a spring."]

But the assaults of the ants are not confined to dead animals alone, they attack equally such small insects as they can overcome, or find disabled by accidents or wounds; and it is not unusual to see some hundreds of them surrounding a maimed beetle, or a bruised cockroach, and hurrying it along in spite of its struggles. I have, on more than one occasion, seen a contest between them and one of the viscous ophidians, Coecilia glutinosa[1], a reptile resembling an enormous earthworm, common in the Kandyan hills, of an inch in diameter, and nearly two feet in length. It would seem as if the whole community had been summoned and turned out for such a prodigious effort; they surrounded their victim literally in tens of thousands, inflicting wounds on all parts, and forcing it along towards their nest in spite of resistance. In one instance to which I was a witness, the conflict lasted for the latter part of a day, but towards evening the Caecilia was completely exhausted, and in the morning it had totally disappeared, having been carried away either whole or piecemeal by its assailants.

[Footnote 1: See ante, Pt, 1. ch. iii. p. 201]

The species I here allude to, is a very small ant, called the Koombiya in Ceylon. There is a still more minute description, which frequents the caraffes and toilet vessels, and is evidently a distinct species. A third, probably the Formica nidificans of Jerdan, is black, of the same size as that last mentioned, and, from its colour, called the Kalu koombiya by the natives. In the houses its propensities and habits are the same as the others; but I have observed that it frequents the trees more profusely, forming small paper cells for its young, like miniature wasps' nests, in which it deposits its eggs, suspending them from the leaf of a plant.