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Show 12(} MACLEA Y SYSTEM OJ' expecting any trace of the evil principle, but here, toe, there is a sub-typical division." These, says our naturalist," are distinguished by their caterpillars being armed with formidable spines or prickles, which in general a~e possessed of some highly acrimonious or poisonous qual~Ity, capable of injuring those who touch them. It IS only,'' continues Mr. Swainsun, "when extensive researches bring to light a uniformity of results, that we can venture to believe they are so universal as to deserve being ranked as primary laws. Thus, when a celebrated entomologist denounced as impure the black and lurid beetles fanning- the saprophagous petalocera of Mr. Ma cleay, a tribe living only upon putrid vegetable matter, and hiding themselves in their disgusting food, or in dark hollows of the earth, neither of these cdebrated men suspected the absolute fact, elicited from our analogies of this group, that this very tribe constiturled the sub-typical group of one of the primary divisions of coleopterous insects: nor had they any suspicion that, by the filthy habits and repulsive forms of these beetles, nature had intended that they should be types or emblems of hllndreds of other groups, distinguished by peculiarities equally indicative of evil. On the other hand, the thalerophagous petalocera, forming the typical group of the same division, present us with all the perfections and habits belonging to their kind. These families of beetles live only upon fresh vegetables; they are diurnal, and sport in the glare of day, pure in their food, elegant in their shapes, and beautiful in their colors."* The th!rd type, (first of the three aberrant,) called by Mr. Swainson, the natatorial, or aquatic, are chifly re markable for their bulk, th~ disproportionate size of the 11ead, and the absence, or slight development of the feet. rhey partake of the predaceous and destructive character of the adjoining sub-typical group, and the means of their predacity are generally found in the mouth alone. In the primary division of the animal kingdom, we find the type In the radiata, not one of which lives out of water. In the vertebrata, it is in the fishes. In both of these feet are totally wanting. Descending to the class mam~alia, we ~ave thi~ type in the cetacea, which present a comparatively sltght development of limbs. In the aves, as we have seen, the type is presented in the natatores, whosw! • Distribution and Classification of Animals, p. 248 ( • ANIMATED NArURE' 127 name has h~.!n adopted as an appropriate term for all th~ corresponding groups. An enumeration of some other examplt>.s of the natatorial. type, as the cephalopoda (instanced In th~ cuttle-fish) In the mollusca; the crustacea (cra~s, &:c.) 1n the annulosa; the owls (which often duck tor hsh) 1n the r~l?tore~ ; the ichthyosaurus, plesiosaurus, &c., amonP rephha! w11l serve to bring the general character, and Its pervaswn of the whole animal world forcibly before the rnind of the reader. ' ,.~he !lext type is that of ~ea~est and most imperfect org~ mz~twn, the lower t~rminatJon of all groups, as the ty. ptc.alis the upper. 1t 1s called by Mr. Swainson, the suetonal: from a very generally. pr~valent peculiarity, that of drawing sustena~ce by suction. The acrita, or polypes among the sub~ kingdoms; the intestina, among the annu~ bsa; the tortoise~, among the reptilia; the armadillo and sr;aly ant-eater, ptg, mouse, jerboa, and kangaroo, among quadrupeds; the waders and tenuirostres, among birds ; the coleoptera, (bug, louse, flea, &c.,) among insects; the gastrobranchus, a~ong fishes; are examples which will Illustrate the sr?ecial cl~aracter of this type. These ar~ Rmallness, particularly 1n the head and mouth feebleness an~ want of ?ffensive protection, defect of org;ns of masti~ catwn, considerable powers of s\vift movement and often a parasitic m?de o~ li~ing ;, ~hile of negative' qualities, there. are, bes1des, Indisposttion to domestication, and an unsuitableness to serve as human food. The ras01·ial type comprehends most of the animals which be<tome domesticated and useful to man, as first, the fowls whi.ch give a name ~o th.e type, the ungulata, and more particularly the rum1nanha, among quadrupeds,. and the dog amo_ng the ferre. Gentleness, familiarity with n1an and ~peculiar approach ~o .human intelligence, are the leading mental characteristics of animals of this type. ~mongst external charact~rs, we generally find power of l~mbs an~ feet for locomotwn on land, (to which the rasorlal type 1' con~ned,) dJ.bundant tail and ornaments for the hea~, w~z:ther In the for~ of tu_fts, crests, horns, or bony exc1esce: ces. In the an1mal kino-dam the mollusca are ~he ra~or : al type, whi~h, however~ only show11 itselfthero m their soft .and sluggtsh ch~racter, and their being very generally edible. In the pt~lota, or winged insects, the hymenopt.e~·ous are the rasonal type, and it is not there .. fore surpr1s1ng to find amongst them the ants and beea |