hieroglyphical representations of the Theban temples. It also occurs in the southern regions of Africa, and has not unfrequently been imported into Britain to beautify the waters of our pleasuregrounds; but the love of liberty is deeply implanted in this bird, and it is with difficulty that even the young, born and bred in northern climates, are retained for a continuance in a state of satisfied domestication.

The crimson-billed sheldrake (Tadorna erythrorhyncha) inhabits the Cape of Good Hope; and a species of musk-duck (Anas Nilotica of Gmelin) is found in Upper Egypt. It is easily tamed, and live on good terms with other poultry.

From the preceding summary, the student of ornithology will be able to form a sufficiently correct idea of the prevailing features which characterise this branch of science in Africa; and, by comparing the present sketch with those which we purpose to exhibit of other countries in the future volumes of our series, he will likewise be enabled to estimate the peculiarities by which the continent in question is distinguished from all the other quarters of the globe.

CHAPTER XX.

Natural History of the Reptiles, Fishes, Shells, Insects, &c. of Africa.

INTERMEDIATE between the birds and fishes are the reptile race, divided by naturalists into four principal branches, the Chelonian, the Saurian, the Ophidian, and the Batrachian reptiles. Of all these, Africa, "fruitful in monsters," produces some remarkable examples.

In regard to the geographical distribution of reptiles, the first and most general observation is, that they augment in number as we advance towards the equatorial regions. While Sweden possesses scarcely a dozen lizards and snakes, about three or four frogs and toads, and not a single tortoise, the temperate parts of Europe produce about forty snakes and lizards, and several of the tortoise tribe. As soon as we gain the southern extremity of Spain, the number of species in these tribes greatly increases, and in Andalusia the African complexion of the country is still further manifested by the appearance of the chameleon. On proceeding further south, not only does the number of reptiles increase, but they also augment in size, till, from the Tropic of Cancer, onwards and beyond the Line, we meet with the crocodiles, caymans, boas, and other giants of the reptile race. For the present, however, we

must confine ourselves to a brief allusion to a very limited number of the African tribes.

1st, Chelonian reptiles, or tortoises and turtles. Several of this division occur in Africa, such as the Testudo Græca, the Testudo triunguis, &c.

2d, Saurian reptiles. To this division belong the crocodiles and lizards, the geckos, chameleons, and many others.

The common crocodile (Lacerta crocodilus), celebrated in the ancient history of Egypt, is spread over a considerable extent of this continent.

"'Ere while, emerging from the brooding sand,
With tiger paw he prints the brineless strand;
High on the flood, with speckled bosom swims,
Helmed with brood tail, and oared with giant limbs;
Rolls his fierce eye-balls, clasps his iron claws,
And champs with gnashing teeth his massy jaws.
Old Nilus sighs thro' all his cane-crowned shores,
And swarthy Memphis trembles and adores."

There are several different kinds of crocodile in the old and new world, and their tempers and dispositions seem to vary in different localities. Hum boldt and Mungo Park regarded them with fear and trembling, whilst Audubon and Mr Waterton hold them in little consideration either as friends or foes. Though seldom tamed, they are not by any means incapable of domestication, as has been demonstrated by many examples, both in ancient and modern

times.

Many lizards occur in Africa. We shall only

mention one found near Mourzouk. It is called aselis, and, if not a true lizard, resembles one in form. When alarmed, it buries itself in the sand; and, when dropped from a height, it immediately sinks beneath the surface of the spot on which it fell. "These little creatures," says Captain Lyon,

" are eagerly bought by the girls and married women, for the purpose of ascertaining how many children they shall have. By stretching them the skin will immediately crack, and the women most religiously believe that for every sound they shall bear a child."

One of the most remarkable families of the saurian tribe is that which contains the chameleons. The common species (Lacerta Africana) is found in Egypt, Barbary, and the South of Spain. The changes of colour in these animals, though by some deemed fabulous, are now beyond dispute. The causes of these changes, however, and their mode of action, may still be classed among the more obscure points of natural history. They seem independent of external objects, and vary within a certain range, almost every hour.

"Non mihi tot cultus numero comprendere fas est: Adjicit ornatus proxima quæque dies."

3d, Ophidian reptiles, or serpents. Among the most remarkable of the African species of this division, is the cerastes, or horned viper. It is characterised by a small curved horn over each eye-lid. It lives in the sand, and was well known to the ancients. Another singular serpent is the haje (Coluber haje, Linn.). The Egyptian jugglers, by pressing the neck of this creature between their fingers, produce a kind of catalepsy which renders it stiff and motionless. This is rather a curious fact when considered in connexion with the scriptural narrative in the seventh chapter of Exodus, where the rods of the magicians when thrown down are converted into serpents.

This species was regarded by the ancient Egyp

tians as the emblem of the protecting divinity of the world, and its figure is frequently sculptured on each side of a globe, on the outer gates of their temples.

4th, The Batrachian reptiles, such as frogs, &c. Africa produces comparatively few species of this division. The soil is probably too dry. We shall here mention only the short-headed toad (Rana breviceps) described by Linnæus in the Amanitates Academicæ, vol. i. It is a very small species, native to Senegal and some other parts of Africa.

The great and almost inexhaustible class of fishes next demands our attention.

Our acquaintance with the laws which regulate the geographical distribution of this class is extremely meagre in other words, the facts illustrating the greater or less extension of their localities are few, and have never been properly generalized. From the immeasurable extent and continuous nature of the fluid which they inhabit, they are supplied by nature with greater facilities of dispersion than most other animals; while the greater equality of the temperature of water, when compared with that of either earth or air, admits, in several instances, of the same species inhabiting almost every latitude from pole to pole. Those races especially, which, travelling together in vast shoals, speedily consume the natural food which each particular spot affords, are obliged like the pastoral tribes of old, or the woodland hunters of America, to remove from place to place in search of additional supplies, and thus the species acquires a more widely-extended geographical distribution. It is thus that the cod and herring are spread over the whole extent of the Northern