Part 36

KING-CRAB, the name given to an Arachnid, belonging to the order Xiphosurae, of the grade Delobranchia or Hydropneustea. King-crabs, of which four, possibly five, existing species are known, were formerly referred to the genus _Limulus_, a name still applied to them in all zoological textbooks. It has recently been shown, however, that the structural differences between some of the species are sufficiently numerous and important to warrant the recognition of three genera--_Xiphosura_, of which _Limulus_ is a synonym, _Tachypleus_ and _Carcinoscorpius_. In _Xiphosura_ the genital operculum structurally resembles the gill-bearing appendages in that the inner branches consist of three distinct segments, the distal of which is lobate and projects freely beyond the margin of the adjacent distal segment of the outer branch; the entosternite (see ARACHNIDA) has two pairs of antero-lateral processes, and in the male only the ambulatory appendages of the second pair are modified as claspers. In _Tachypleus_ and _Carcinoscorpius_, on the other hand, the genital operculum differs from the gill-bearing appendages in that the inner branches consist of two segments, the distal of which are apically pointed, partially or completely fused in the middle line, and do not project beyond the distal segments of the outer branches; the entosternite has only one pair of antero-lateral processes, and in the male the second and third pairs of ambulatory limbs are modified as claspers. _Tachypleus_ differs from _Carcinoscorpius_ in possessing a long movable spur upon the fourth segment of the sixth ambulatory limb, in having the postanal spine triangular in section instead of round, and the claspers in the male hemichelate, owing to the suppression of the immovable finger, which is well developed in _Carcinoscorpius_. At the present time king-crabs have a wide but discontinuous distribution. _Xiphosura_, of which there is but one species, _X. polyphemus_, ranges along the eastern side of North America from the coast of Maine to Yucatan. _Carcinoscorpius_, which is also represented by a single species, _C. rotundicauda_, extends from the Bay of Bengal to the coast of the Moluccas and the Philippines, while of the two better-known species of _Tachypleus_, _T. gigas_ (= _moluccanus_) ranges from Singapore to Torres Straits, and _T. tridentatus_ from Borneo to southern Japan. A third species, _T. hoeveni_, has been recorded from the Moluccas. But although _Xiphosura_ is now so widely sundered geographically from _Tachypleus_ and _Carcinoscorpius_, the occurrence of the remains of extinct species of king-crabs in Europe, both in Tertiary deposits and in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous strata, suggests that there was formerly a continuous coast-line, with tropical or temperate conditions, extending from Europe westward to America, and eastward to southern Asia. There are, however, no grounds for the assumption that the supposed coast-line between America and Europe synchronized with that between Europe and south Asia. King-crabs do not appear to differ from each other in habits. Except in the breeding season they live in water ranging in depth from about two to six fathoms, and creep about the bottom or bury themselves in the sand. Their food consists for the most part of soft marine worms, which are picked up in the nippers, thrust into the mouth, and masticated by the basal segments of the appendages between which the mouth lies. At the approach of the breeding season, which in the case of _Xiphosura polyphemus_ is in May, June and July, king-crabs advance in pairs into very shallow water at the time of the high tides, the male holding securely to the back of the female by means of his clasping nippers. No actual union between the sexes takes place, the spawn of the female being fertilized by the male at the time of being laid in the sand or soon afterwards. This act accomplished, the two retreat again into deeper water. Deposited in the mud or sand near high-water mark, the eggs are eventually hatched by the heat of the sun, to which they are exposed every day for a considerable time. The newly hatched young is minute and subcircular in shape, but bears a close resemblance to its parents except in the absence of the caudal spine and in the presence of a fringe of stiff bristles round the margin of the body. During growth it undergoes a succession of moults, making its exit from the old integument through a wide split running round the edge of the carapace. Moulting is effected in exactly the same way in scorpions, Pedipalpi, and normally in spiders. The caudal spine appears at the second moult and gradually increases in length with successive changes of the skin. This organ is of considerable importance, since it enables the king-crab to right itself when overturned by rough water or other causes. Without it the animal would remain helpless like an upturned turtle, because it is unable to reach the ground with its legs when lying on its back. Before the tail is sufficiently developed to be used for that purpose, the young king-crab succeeds in regaining the normal position by flapping its flattened abdominal appendages and rising in the water by that means. The king-crab fishery is an industry of some importance in the United States, and in the East Indies the natives eat the animal and tip their lances and arrows with the caudal spine. They also use the hollow empty shell as a water-ladle or pan--hence the name "pan-fish" or "saucepan-crab" by which the animal is sometimes known. Fossil king-crabs have been recorded from strata of the Tertiary and Secondary epochs, and related but less specialized types of the same order are found in rocks of Palaeozoic age. Of these the most important are _Belinurus_ of the Carboniferous, _Protolimulus_ of the Devonian, and _Hemiaspis_ of the Silurian periods. These ancient forms differ principally from true king-crabs in having the segments of the opisthosoma or hinder half of the body distinctly defined instead of welded into a hexagonal shield. (R. I. P.)

[Illustration: FIG. 1.

1, _Limulus polyphemus_, adult (dorsal aspect). 2, _Limulus polyphemus_, young (dorsal aspect). 3, _Prestwichia rotundata_, Coal M., Shropshire. 4, _Prestwichia Birtwelli_, Coal M., Lancashire. 5, _Neolimulus falcatus_, U. Silurian, Lanark. 6, _Hemiaspis limuloides_, L. Ludlow, Leintwardine, Shropshire. 7, _Pseudoniscus aculeatus_, U. Silurian, Russia.]

KINGFISHER (Ger.[1] _Königsfischer_; Walloon _Roi-péheux_ = _pêcheur_), the _Alcedo ispida_ of ornithologists, one of the most beautiful and well-known of European birds, being found, though nowhere very abundantly, in every European country, as well as in North Africa and South-Western Asia as far as Sindh. Its blue-green back and rich chestnut breast render it conspicuous as it frequents the streams and ponds whence it procures its food, by plunging almost perpendicularly into the water, and emerging a moment after with the prey--whether a small fish, crustacean, or an aquatic insect--it has captured. In hard frosts it resorts to the sea-shore, but a severe winter is sure to occasion a great mortality in the species, for many of its individuals seem unable to reach the tidal waters where only in such a season they could obtain sustenance; and to this cause rather than any other is perhaps to be ascribed its general scarcity. Very early in the year it prepares its nest, which is at the end of a tunnel bored by itself in a bank, and therein the six or eight white, glossy, translucent eggs are laid, sometimes on the bare soil, but often on the fishbones which, being indigestible, are thrown up in pellets by the birds; and, in any case, before incubation is completed these _rejectamenta_ accumulate so as to form a pretty cup-shaped structure that increases in bulk after the young are hatched, but, mixed with their fluid excretions and with decaying fishes brought for their support, soon becomes a dripping fetid mass.

The kingfisher is the subject of a variety of legends and superstitions, both classical and medieval. Of the latter one of the most curious is that having been originally a plain grey bird it acquired its present bright colours by flying towards the sun on its liberation from Noah's ark, when its upper surface assumed the hue of the sky above it and its lower plumage was scorched by the heat of the setting orb to the tint it now bears.[2] More than this, the kingfisher was supposed to possess many virtues. Its dried body would avert thunderbolts, and if kept in a wardrobe would preserve from moths the woollen stuffs therein laid, or hung by a thread to the ceiling of a chamber would point with its bill to the quarter whence the wind blew. All readers of Ovid (_Metam._, bk. xi.) know how the faithful but unfortunate Ceyx and Alcyone were changed into kingfishers--birds which bred at the winter solstice, when through the influence of Aeolus, the wind-god and father of the fond wife, all gales were hushed and the sea calmed so that their floating nest might ride uninjured over the waves during the seven proverbial "Halcyon days"; while a variant or further development of the fable assigned to the halcyon itself the power of quelling storms.[3]

The common kingfisher of Europe is the representative of a well-marked family of birds, the _Alcedinidae_ or _Halcyonidae_ of ornithologists, which is considered by most authorities[4] to be closely related to the _Bucerotidae_ (see HORNBILL); but the affinity can scarcely be said as yet to be proved. Be that as it may, the present family forms the subject of an important work by Bowdler Sharpe.[5] Herein are described one hundred and twenty-five species, nearly all of them being beautifully figured by Keulemans, and that number may be taken even now as approximately correct; for, while the validity of a few has been denied by some eminent men, nearly as many have since been made known, and it seems likely that two or three more described by older writers may yet be rediscovered. These one hundred and twenty-five species Sharpe groups in nineteen genera, and divides into two sub-families, _Alcedininae_ and _Daceloninae_,[6] the one containing five and the other fourteen genera. With existing anatomical materials perhaps no better arrangement could have been made, but the method afterwards published by Sundevall (_Tentamen_, pp. 95, 96) differs from it not inconsiderably. Here, however, it will be convenient to follow Sharpe. Externally, which is almost all we can at present say, kingfishers present a great uniformity of structure. One of their most remarkable features is the feebleness of their feet, and the union (syndactylism) of the third and fourth digits for the greater part of their length; while, as if still further to show the comparatively functionless character of these members, in two of the genera, _Alcyone_ and _Ceyx_, the second digit is aborted, and the birds have but three toes. In most forms the bill does not differ much from that of the common _Alcedo ispida_, but in _Syma_ its edges are serrated, while in _Carcineutes_, _Dacelo_ and _Melidora_ the maxilla is prolonged, becoming in the last a very pronounced hook. Generally the wings are short and rounded, and the tail is in many forms inconspicuous; but in _Tanysiptera_, one of the most beautiful groups, the middle pair of feathers is greatly elongated and spatulate, while this genus possesses only ten rectrices, all the rest having twelve. Sundevall relies on a character not noticed by Sharpe, and makes his principal divisions depend on the size of the scapulars, which in one form a mantle, and in the other are so small as not to cover the back. The _Alcedinidae_ are a cosmopolitan family, but only one genus, _Ceryle_, is found in America, and that extends as well over a great part of the Old World, though not into the Australian region, which affords by far the greater number both of genera and species, having no fewer than ten of the former and fifty-nine of the latter peculiar to it.[7]

In habits kingfishers display considerable diversity, though all, it would seem, have it in common to sit at times motionless on the watch for their prey, and on its appearance to dart upon it, seize it as they fly or dive, and return to a perch where it may be conveniently swallowed. But some species, and especially that which is the type of the family, are not always content to await at rest their victim's showing itself. They will hover like a hawk over the waters that conceal it, and, in the manner already described, precipitate themselves upon it. This is particularly the way with those that are fishers in fact as well as in name; but no inconsiderable number live almost entirely in forests, feeding on insects, while reptiles furnish the chief sustenance of others. The last is characteristic of at least one Australian form, which manages to thrive in the driest districts of that country, where not a drop of water is to be found for miles, and the air is at times heated to a degree that is insupportable by most animals. The belted kingfisher of North America, _Ceryle alcyon_, is a characteristic bird of that country, though its habits greatly resemble those of the European species; and the so-called "laughing jackass" of New South Wales and South Australia, _Dacelo gigas_--with its kindred forms, _D. leachi_, _D. cervina_ and _D. occidentalis_, from other parts of the country--deserve special mention. Attention must also be called to the speculations of Dr Bowdler Sharpe (op. cit., pp. xliv.-xlvii.) on the genetic affinity of the various forms of _Alcedinidae_, and it is to be regretted that hitherto no light has been shed by palaeontologists on this interesting subject, for the only fossil referred to the neighbourhood of the family is the _Halcyornis toliapicus_ of Sir R. Owen (_Br. Foss. Mamm. and Birds_, p. 554) from the Eocene of Sheppey--the very specimen said to have been previously placed by König (_Icon. foss. secliles_, fig. 153) in the genus _Larus_. (A. N.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] But more commonly called _Eisvogel_, which finds its counterpart in the Anglo-Saxon _Isern_ or _Isen_.

[2] Rolland, _Faune populaire de la France_, ii. 74.

[3] In many of the islands of the Pacific Ocean the prevalent kingfisher is the object of much veneration.

[4] Cf. Eyton, _Contrib. Ornithology_ (1850), p. 80; Wallace, _Ann. Nat. History_, series 2, vol. xviii. pp. 201, 205; and Huxley, _Proc. Zool. Society_ (1867), p. 467.

[5] _A Monograph of the Alcedinidae or Family of the Kingfishers_, by R. B. Sharpe, 4to (London, 1868-1871). Some important anatomical points were briefly noticed by Professor Cunningham (_Proc. Zool. Soc._, 1870, p. 280).

[6] The name of this latter sub-family as constituted by Sharpe would seem to be more correctly _Ceycinae_--the genus _Ceyx_, founded in 1801 by Lacépède, being the oldest included in it. The word _Dacelo_, invented by Leach in 1815, is simply an anagram of _Alcedo_, and, though of course without any etymological meaning, has been very generally adopted.

[7] Cf. Wallace. _Geog. Distr. Animals_, ii. 315.

KINGHORN, a royal and police burgh of Fifeshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901), 1550. It is situated on the Firth of Forth, 2¼ m. E. by N. of Burntisland, on the North British railway. The public buildings include a library and town-hall. It enjoys some repute as a summer resort. The leading industries are ship-building, bleaching and the making of flax and glue. At the time of his visit Daniel Defoe found thread-making in vogue, which employed the women while the men were at sea. Alexander III. created Kinghorn a burgh, but his connexion with the town proved fatal to him. As he was riding from Inverkeithing on the 12th of March 1286 he was thrown by his horse and fell over the cliffs, since called King's Wud End, a little to the west of the burgh, and killed. A monument was erected in 1887 to mark the supposed scene of the accident. The Witch Hill used to be the place of execution of those poor wretches. Kinghorn belongs to the Kirkcaldy district group of parliamentary burghs. At PETTYCUR, 1 m. to the south, is a good harbour for its size, and at Kinghorn Ness a battery has been established in connexion with the fortifications on Inchkeith. The hill above the battery was purchased by government in 1903 and is used as a point of observation. About 1 m. to the north of Kinghorn is the estate of Grange, which belonged to Sir William Kirkcaldy. INCHKEITH, an island in the fairway of the Firth of Forth, 2½ m. S. by E. of Kinghorn and 3½ m. N. by E. of Leith, belongs to the parish of Kinghorn. It has a north-westerly and south-easterly trend, and is nearly 1 m. long and ¼ m. wide. It is a barren rock, on the summit of which stands a lighthouse visible at night for 21 m. In 1881 forts connected by a military road were erected on the northern, western and southern headlands.

KINGLAKE, ALEXANDER WILLIAM (1800-1891), English historian and traveller, was born at Taunton on the 5th of August 1809. His father, a successful solicitor, intended his son for a legal career. Kinglake went to Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1828, being a contemporary and friend of Tennyson and Thackeray. After leaving Cambridge he joined Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1837. While still a student he travelled, in 1835, throughout the East, and the impression made upon him by his experiences was so powerful that he was seized with a desire to record them in literature. _Eothen_, a sensitive and witty record of impressions keenly felt and remembered, was published in 1844, and enjoyed considerable reputation. In 1854 he went to the Crimea, and was present at the battle of the Alma. During the campaign he made the acquaintance of Lord Raglan, who was so much attracted by his talents that he suggested to Kinglake the plan for an elaborate _History of the Crimean War_, and placed his private papers at the writer's disposal. For the rest of his life Kinglake was engaged upon the task of completing this monumental history. Thirty-two years elapsed between its commencement and the publication of the last volume, and eight volumes in all appeared at intervals between 1863 and 1887. Kinglake lived principally in London, and sat in parliament for Bridgwater from 1857 until the disfranchisement of the borough in 1868. He died on the 2nd of January 1891. Kinglake's life-work, _The History of the Crimean War_, is in scheme and execution too minute and conscientious to be altogether in proportion, but it is a wonderful example of painstaking and talented industry. It is not without errors of partisanship, but it shows remarkable skill in the moulding of vast masses of despatches and technical details into an absorbingly interesting narrative; it is illumined by natural descriptions and character-sketches of great fidelity and acumen; and, despite its length, it remains one of the most picturesque, most vivid and most actual pieces of historical narrative in the English language.

KINGLET, a name applied in many books to the bird called by Linnaeus _Motacilla regulus_, and by most modern ornithologists _Regulus cristatus_, the golden-crested or golden-crowned wren of ordinary persons. This species is the type of a small group which has been generally placed among the _Sylviidae_ or true warblers, but by certain systematists it is referred to the titmouse family, _Paridae_. That the kinglets possess many of the habits and actions of the latter is undeniable, but on the other hand they are not known to differ in any important points of organization or appearance from the former--the chief distinction being that the nostril is covered by a single bristly feather directed forwards. The golden-crested wren is the smallest of British birds, its whole length being about 3½ in., and its wing measuring only 2 in. from the carpal joint. Generally of an olive-green colour, the top of its head is bright yellow, deepening into orange, and bounded on either side by a black line, while the wing coverts are dull black, and some of them tipped with white, forming a somewhat conspicuous bar. The cock has a pleasant but weak song. The nest is a beautiful object, thickly felted of the softest moss, wool, and spiders' webs, lined with feathers, and usually built under and near the end of the branch of a yew, fir or cedar, supported by the interweaving of two or three laterally diverging and pendent twigs, and sheltered by the rest. The eggs are from six to ten in number, of a dull white sometimes finely freckled with reddish-brown. The species is particularly social, living for the most part of the year in family parties, and often joining bands of any species of titmouse in a common search for food. Though to be met with in Britain at all seasons, the bird in autumn visits the east coast in enormous flocks, apparently emigrants from Scandinavia, while hundreds perish in crossing the North Sea, where they are well known to the fishermen as "woodcock's pilots." A second and more local European species is the fire-crested wren, _R. ignicapillus_, easily recognizable by the black streak on each side of the head, before and behind the eye, as well as by the deeper colour of its crown. A third species, _R. maderensis_, inhabits the Madeiras, to which it is peculiar; and examples from the Himalayas and Japan have been differentiated as _R. himalayensis_ and _R. japonicus_. North America has two well-known species, _R. satrapa_, very like the European _R. ignicapillus_, and the ruby-crowned wren, _R. calendula_, which is remarkable for a loud song that has been compared to that of a canary-bird or a skylark, and for having the characteristic nasal feather in a rudimentary or aborted condition. (A. N.)

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF, two books of the Bible, the last of the series of Old Testament histories known as the Earlier or Former Prophets. They were originally reckoned as a single book (Josephus; Origen _ap._ Eus., _H.E._ vi. 25; Peshitta; Talmud), though modern Bibles follow the bipartition which is derived from the Septuagint. In that version they are called the third and fourth books of "kingdoms" ([Greek: Basileiôn]), the first and second being our books of Samuel. The division into two books is not felicitous, and even the old Hebrew separation between Kings and Samuel must not be taken to mean that the history from the birth of Samuel to the exile was treated by two distinct authors in independent volumes. We cannot speak of the author of Kings or Samuel, but only of an editor or of successive editors whose main work was to arrange in a continuous form extracts or abstracts from earlier sources. The introduction of a chronological scheme and of a series of editorial comments and additions, chiefly designed to enforce the religious meaning of the history, gives a kind of unity to the book of Kings as we now read it; but beneath this we can still distinguish a variety of documents, which, though sometimes mutilated in the process of piecing together, retain sufficient individuality of style and colour to prove their original independence.