The Instinct of Feigning Death 203 



years ago I described the death-feigning of certain 

 species of terrestrial amphipod crustaceans which 

 are frequently found on sandy beaches near the sea- 

 shore. On account of their peculiar hopping move- 

 ments these crustaceans are commonly known as 

 sand-hoppers or sand-fleas, although they have of 



FIG. 10. A sand flea, Talorchestia, in the death feint. 



course no relation to the ordinary fleas of human 

 experience. One of the largest species of sand- 

 hopper, Talorchestia, is common along our Atlantic 

 coast, where it lives during the day in burrows 

 made in the sand, coming out only at night to feed 

 upon the seaweed and other material washed ashore 

 by the waves. When the Talorchestias are dug out 

 of their burrows, they usually lie curled up with their 



