 Reference Base  Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the a... |
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Smith, Andrew, 1828. Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the animal kingdom, found in the South of Africa [no.2]. South African Commercial Advertiser 3 (no. 145) - 5 November 1828: 2, column 2
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| Location: |
Africa - Southern Africa - South Africa |
| Subject: |
History |
| Species: |
African Rhino Species |
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Descriptions of New or imperfectly known Objects of the Animal Kingdom, found in the South of Africa. South African Commercial Advertiser, 5 November 1828, vol. iii, no. 145, p.2 column 2.
Text
Descriptions of New or imperfectly known Objects of the Animal Kingdom, found in the South of Africa, by Dr. Smith.
Sp. - - - ANODON TYPUS. Mihi. - - - Eyer-vreter of the Colonists.
Color above cinereous, passing to bluish gray, with three rows of irregular shaped black spots and carinated scales; below a shining silvery hue. Length from two to three feet; thickness about that of a man’s little finger. Found in the vicinity of Cape Town, and also on the west coast, as far as the Orange River. Lives principally upon eggs, which it swallows entire.
TOADS.
BUFO PANTHERINUS. Mihi.
Color above greenish yellow, with a number of large deep reddish brown spots on the back, each of which is surrounded by a narrow edging off bright yellow coma and a line of that colour extends along the centre of the back, from the interocular space to the termination of back bone; sides variegated reddish brown and yellowish green; belly an uniform yellowish green; legs with reddish brown spots and yellowish intersections; fore toes free, hinder slightly palmated, and the fourth by far the longest; parotid glands somewhat reniform, long, and of a reddish brown hue; granulations numerous on back, and rather larger than those on sides and belly. Length of animal three or four inches. Progressive motion either a crawl or a slight spring. Found in moist situations in various parts of South Africa.
FISHES.
Genus. - - - RHINIODON. Mihi.
Teeth small, slightly curved, placed in longitudinal rows and altogether so disposed towards the anterior edges of jaws as to exhibit the resemblance of a rasp or file lying across each; head compressed and quadrangular; mouth directly in front, and the gape of nearly the same width as head; body carinated above, anterior to first dorsal fin, and rounded or flat behind it; a spiracle behind each eye, two dorsal fins and an anal nearly opposite the hindermost.
Sp. - - - RHINIODON TYPUS. Mihi. - - - Ground Shark.
Colour of back and sides greenish gray, with numerous white spots varying in size from that of a sixpence to a halfpenny; also, several white lines about the sides of the head, body, and Branchiae; below reddish white, passing into vermillion red. Length of specimen (from which description was taken) fifteen feet, greatest circumference nine feet. Was caught by fishermen in Table Bay during the month of April 1828.
Sp. - - - TRIGON CHRYSONOTUS. Mihi.
Muzzle pointed; body somewhat rhomboidal; ground color above golden green, variegated with purple or bluish, waved streaks or bars; Fwhich, fom numerous conjunctions, form a sort of confused net-work on back; muzzle and hinder part of pectoral fins, more or less tinged with red; below with dashes of red; length of body and tail nearly equal, and each slightly exceeded by the breadth. Spike on tail, strong and of moderate length. Found in the various bays about the Cape.
Sp. - - - LICHIA CAPENSIS. Mihi.
(B. 8. D. 7. 22. P. 18. A. 2. 20. V. 6. C. 17 or 23.)
Body compressed and somewhat inclined to a diamond form, having a more or less distinct angle, before dorsal and anal fins; color silvery towards the back, with a strong tinge of blueish green on the top of the head; below dull white, varied with silvery; scales ovate, imbricate, and pointed behind. Pectoral fins, between a yellow and a blackish green, the rest red and greenish in varying proportions. Found in the seas about the Cape, as well as in many of the rivers of South Africa.
(To be continued.)
***
Rookmaaker 2016, p. 17-18, no. 50
Rookmaaker, L.C., 2016. The zoological contributions of Andrew Smith (1797–1872) with an annotated bibliography and a numerical analysis of newly described animal species. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 72 (2): 105-173 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2016.1230078
Cutting present in the volume of Smith’s collected papers in Yale University, mentioned by Ripley 1957 (no.5). Facsimile in Branch & Bauer (2005: 28).
See also:
Brooke, R.K. 2010. The date of publication of certain names of reptiles and amphibians proposed by Andrew Smith. Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 41 (1): 9.
Second installment in series.
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