OBSERVATIONS 



ON THE HABITS AND NATURAL HISTORY OF 

 AMPHITHOE LONGIMANA SMITH. 



SAMUEL J. HOLMES. 



IN the present paper I have given the results of my observa- 

 tions made at Woods Holl, Mass., during the past summer on 

 a species of amphipod, AmpJiitJioc longimana Smith. Com- 

 paratively little is known of the habits of amphipods, and most 

 of what is known has been collected from scattered and casual 

 observations. There is a value in getting together all the facts 

 that can be obtained concerning any one species of animal, so 

 that they may be viewed in their ensemble and thus give us 

 some idea of the general life of the creature. For this reason 

 it was deemed best to devote the short time that could be 

 given to the study of amphipod behavior mainly to the observa- 

 tion of a single species. 



Throughout the paper I have used many terms which imply 

 the existence in the animal of certain psychical states, such as 

 hunger, fear, and courage, without intending to affirm that such 

 psychical states really exist in the animal's consciousness, or 

 even that the animal possesses consciousness at all. It is diffi- 

 cult to describe the behavior of an animal without the use of 

 terms which have certain psychological connotations. Such 

 terms are here used simply as a matter of convenience in 

 describing actions simply as actions. The Crustacea may or 

 may not be " Reflexmachinen," and Bethe and others may or 

 may not be right in denying that they possess consciousness ; but, 

 however this may be, descriptions of actions in psychological 

 terms stand for certain peculiarities of conduct that could not 

 otherwise be easily described, and if the sense in which such 

 terms are used is understood, no confusion need result. 



Amp hit hoe longimana may be obtained in large numbers 

 from the eel pond near the laboratory by simply drawing a 



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