270 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



PONTOBDELLA MURICATA SKATE-LEECH. 



" Gem, flower and fish, the bird, the brute, 



Of every kind occult or known 

 (Each exquisitely form'd to suit 



Its humble lot, and that alone), 

 Through ocean, earth and air fulfil 

 Unconsciously their Maker's will." 



THE Pontobdella, or Skate-leech (PL V. fig. 3), preys 

 on the living skate, and it is said also 011 other flat- 

 fish, sucking their blood, which seems to constitute 

 its proper food. The firm adhesion of the sucker to 

 the skin of its prey must render this animal a cruel 

 and inveterate enemy. 



During the day this singular leech reposes in abso- 

 lute quiescence, but towards evening its wonted coil 

 relaxes into wider curves, and it rears itself erect, 

 with the head turned inwards. 



The Skate-leech propagates by eggs or capsules of 

 a very remarkable configuration, which are more or 

 less numerous, according to the fertility of indivi- 

 duals; and they appear either singly, which is rare, 

 or in a considerable group, perhaps fifty, deposited on 

 the exterior or interior surface of a shell. 



Each of these capsules consists of a short stalk or 



