392 A HISTOKY OF KECENT CEUSTACEA 



CHAPTER XXVI 



TRIBE VI. EPICARIDEA 



THIS tribe consists of Crustacea which in the adult 

 state are parasitic upon other Crustacea, to which allusion 

 is made in the tribal name signifying 'dwellers upon 

 shrimps.' The females become degraded in form and often 

 very unsymmetrical, while the males, much smaller and 

 symmetrical, are often free, but usually do not quit their 

 partners. 



The notion entertained of old by the French fisher-folk, 

 that the Bopyri in the prawn were young flat-fish, received 

 scientific support from M. Deslandes in 1722, but in 1772 

 was disproved by M. Fougeroux de Bondaroy. For some 

 sixty or seventy years after his time the knowledge of the 

 group was but slowly advanced. Remarkable forms were 

 obscurely described by Cavolini, Montagu, and Risso. 

 Others were made known later on with clearer definition 

 by H. Rathke and Kroyer. Duvernoy and Dana contri- 

 buted new genera ; and by degrees the tribe both gathered 

 volume and evoked attention. During the last thirty 

 years Fritz Miiller, R. Kossmann, Paul Fraisse, and 

 various other writers of eminence have thrown light upon 

 the subject from several points of view, and in the latter 

 part of that period the labours of MM. Giard and Bonnier 

 have introduced order and clearness into its arrangement. 

 The writings of these last-named observers will not soon 

 or easily be superseded as the leading authorities on this 

 tribe. They ascribe to it seven families, the Microniscidae, 

 Cyproniscidae, Dajidae, Cabiropsiclfe, Cryptoniscidae, Ento- 

 niscidse, and Bopyridae, for which they propose the follow- 

 ing phylogenetic table : 



