At the
Rio Negro I conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old
age.
(PLATE 38. OPUNTIA DARWINII.)
The zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its Flora. (8/9. I found
here a species of cactus, described by Professor Henslow, under the
name of Opuntia Darwinii "Magazine of Zoology and Botany" volume 1
page 466, which was remarkable for the irritability of the stamens,
when I inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in
the flower. The segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil,
but more slowly than the stamens. Plants of this family, generally
considered as tropical, occur in North America "Lewis and Clarke's
Travels" page 221, in the same high latitude as here, namely, in
both cases, in 47 degrees.) On the arid plains a few black beetles
(Heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling about, and occasionally
a lizard darted from side to side. Of birds we have three carrion
hawks, and in the valleys a few finches and insect-feeders. An ibis
(Theristicus melanops--a species said to be found in central
Africa) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in their stomachs
I found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions.
Pages:
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344