Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-04-06
BIOLOGICAL GARDENS. PHOENIX PARK

We have had an opportunity of visiting those
gardens and seeing what raritieS the council have
prepared for the Christmas holidays at the low rate
of one penny admission The first and chief is the
Lepit!oSiren mudtish of Africa, and there is one
specimen from the Gambia, another from the Niger
Many of us no doubt think have seen an am
phibious animal-and popularity an otter,
die, Il seal, and whale are talked of as amphhi-
ons-but some will perhaps be surprised when they
arc told that not one Of those animals is amphbi-
GUS and that If they have not the mudtSh they
have never an amphibious Animal truly so call
cd. n whale, an otter, or seal, is no more am
phbous than an eagle or al clcphant-that is not
of those animals any more than another can live
under water or in air ndifcrcntly; and the strict
meaning of the word is this-an animal that can
sustain life in two clements. a porposc can dive
longer than seal, and seal can dive longer than
an otter, and an otter longer than man. and duck
longer than canary bird but it is only question
of longer or shorter diving among them all they
must all come up to breathe air. and all would he
equally drowned if they kept under water
Now the only animal we know of at present in
the whole creation of animated creatures that can
live in'lifercntly and for any heightened period of
life equally under water or air, is this strange ami
NAL at present in the reptile house in the gardens;
he is provided, too with four appcndagcs like long
legs Of LIZARDS that serve him to move along
land and help him to swim in the water The
means by which he is truly amphibious is the pos
session of both lungs and glls; and it will give
correct idea of his formation if our readers will sup
pose that waterdog, in addition to his lungs, like
any other dog, had appended under his ears the gls
of fish, which would enable him to live under
water instead of being obliged to come up at inter-
walls to breathe. Projecting just where the ears
might lie in the mudfSh are two little tufts, these
are his gs, with which he breathes and lives under
water. In his chest he has in addition lungs to
hrnof hn with IuSto fho AnOh oc
But it would be very nconvencnt if he had to work
at all times both gills and lungs for then there
would be double the useless labor as the glls would
be of no use in the air and the lungs of use in
the water. To this, he has two tubes from his
heart-one goes to the lungs and the other to the
gills. When he is on dry land the tube to the
lungs open and that to the gills shut when he is
under water the tube to the glls is open and that to
the lungs shut. Thus, he only works gis or lungs
his whereabouts for the time may require, and
there is no unnecessary labor thrown upon any of
his organs.
We cannot here explain how all this wonderful
mechanism is formed and carried out but we can
refer readers to the source from which we have
ourselves obtained this acknowledgement admirable
lecture on the formation of the animal by the emil
nent Professor of Anatomy to Trinity College, Dub
lin, Doctor NJ D0wcll, copy of whose lecture with
diagram, is appended over the tank in which the
mal is kept. There is scientific discussion at pre-
sent as to whether the animal is reptile or fish
For our own part we think he is both He can live
| out of water, and we never knew mere fish that
could do that; and he can live for any length of
time under water and if he not more that rep
tile he could not do that. lie casts his skin, too
just as the serpent does, so VIC must claim him as
half and half As to his power of living out of wa
ter and supporting life for long time without food
one Of the specimens affords convincing proof 1t
was presented to the gardens by DR.. R. MDonnell,
and the history of its transit is curious Its domi
Gle in the banks of the river Niger discovered
in the usual way, by the opening which it makes in
the clay for breathing through The lump of mud
in which it was imbedded was dug out without dis
turbing the fish, put into box, and placed on board
ship. The vessel sailed for South America and then
turned homewards. 1t is sarcely necessary to say
that the block of mud was as hard Roman ce-
ment when it arrived at Dublin. On saving through
to arrive at as it thought the skeleton of the
fish, the animal made the most unearthly noises,
and resented still further the intrusion on its castle
by laying hold of the Investigators finger, and it
can give wicked bite, for it has teeth both large
and stronghold paper.