Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/483

ANABASIS ANACONDA 451 ded with teeth ; but the two other upper pharyn- geals on each side are dilated into thin and con- voluted laminae, capable of retaining a considera- ble amount of water ; this labyrinth communi- cates with the gills by a small opening which may be entirely closed. The water enters this cavity every time the fish opens its mouth, and may be retained for a considerable period. A fish dies out of water, not from immediate want of oxygen, but because the gills become dry and improper for its transmission. The anabas can live many hours and perhaps days on the land, as the water contained in its pharyngeal receptacle trickles slowly over the gills and keeps them moist at the will of the animal, which leaves the rivers and pools, and crawls by means of its fins and tail considerable dis- tances. Another peculiarity of this fish is the number of sharp spines which project from the edge of the operculum and suboperculum, the latter being uncommonly movable. The specific name is derived from its alleged habit of climb- ing trees, which it is said to do by fixing its opercular spines in the bark, flexing its tail, and fastening the spines of the anal fin ; then de- taching the head, it throws itself forward, to recommence the planting of the anal spines. It certainly moves on land in this way, and may perhaps ascend low trees, though this is denied by some writers. It inhabits the streams and pools of India and the Indian islands, living principally on aquatic insects; it is used as food, though small and full of bones ; it grows from 6 to 10 inches long. It is brought alive to the Calcutta markets from a distance of over 150 miles; from its being found at a great dis- tance from water, the natives believe that it falls from the heavens. ANABASIS, a Greek word signifying originally ascension, then a campaign or march from a lower to a superior region ; for example, from the shores of a sea to the interior of a country. In this signification the word forms the title to two historical works of antiquity : the one, by Xenophon, describing the anabasis or campaign of Cyrus the Younger against his brother Ar- taxerxes II., and the celebrated retreat of the 10,000 Greeks, auxiliaries of Cyrus, from the battlefield of Cunaxa, where that prince per- ished, to the shores of the Euxine; and the other by Arrian, relating the anabasis or cam- paigns of Alexander the Great. ANABLEPS, a genus of soft-rayed fishes of the carp family (cyprinidm), so named because the division of the cornea and iris by transverse ligaments gives the appearance of double eyes, from the dumb-bell-shaped pupil. The lens, retina, and vitreous humor are single. As one half of each eye apparently looks upward and the other half downward, they have been pop- ularly called four-eyed fishes. The A. Oronomi or tetrophthalmus, of Surinam and Cuyuni rivers, is about 10 inches long, with a cylindri- cal body and strong scales, flattened head, and blunt snout with the upper jaw the longer. This genus is also viviparous, but the vascular adhesion of the embryonic membranes is rup- tured long before the birth of the young, in- stead of at the time of exclusion as in mam- mals ; the gestation is almost wholly ovarian. (See FISHES.) . AVUI1 ARSIS, a Scythian philosopher who made his appearance at Athens in the early part of the 6th century B. C. He became very intimate with Solon, and was so esteemed for his virtue, learning, and sagacity, that some ranked him among the seven wise men. He was made a citizen of Athens, and is said to have been even initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. According to Herodotus, he was killed by his brother after his return to his native country. Many of the sayings of Ana- charsis have been preserved by Diogenes Laer- tius, Athenseus, and other ancient writers. ANACLETUS. I. A saint and pope of the Ro- man church, according to some, the second after St. Peter, and a martyr under Domitian in 91 ; according to others, martyred about 109, hav- ing succeeded Clement I. as the fifth bishop of Kome. II. An anti-pope, whose original name was Peter de Leon. He was said to be of Jew- ish descent, was born in Italy, and educated at the university of Paris. He entered the order of Cluny, and was afterward cardinal .and legate of Pope Calixtus II. both in England and France. He was elected pope in 1130 by a portion of the cardinals in opposition to In- nocent II., and was sustained by the Romans, Milanese, and Sicilians. In spite of the arms of the emperor Lothaire and the opposition of other sovereigns and of the clergy generally, Anacletus maintained himself at Rome till his death, Jan. 7, 1138. ANACONDA (eunectes murinus, "Wagler), a large serpent of the boa family, found in most parts of intertropical America. The genus boa, which contains the large American serpents, has been made to include many species which do not be- Anaconda (Eunectes murinus). long to it, among others the anaconda ; and we find accordingly this species named boa scytale, boa murina, boa gigas, and boa aquatica, by various authors. The genus eunectes may be distinguished from all others of the boa family by the nostrils opening at the upper part of the end of the muzzle, and looking directly up- ward ; this peculiarity, added to their very small size, the little space between them, and