44 



THREE CRUISES OF THE " BLAKE.' 



genus is closely allied to our lobster : its species have very small 

 and colorless eyes. 



Fig. 240. Nephropsis Agassizii. ^. (S. I. Smith.) 



Phoberus ccecus (Fig. 241), taken in 416 fathoms off Gre- 

 nada, is a gigantic crustacean, combining, according to Milne- 

 Edwards, characters of several families of macrurans. It is as 

 large as a lobster, the carapace in one specimen being seven 

 inches in length ; and the whole animal, from the end of the 

 tail to the tip of the outstretched claws, is twenty-eight inches, 

 while the claw alone is eight inches. The eyes are rudimentary, 

 and do not project beyond the carapace. 



It is difficult to draw any conclusions from the great diversity 

 presented by the conditions of the organs of sight in the crus- 

 taceans. Even among allied species we find that some are blind, 

 while others have well-developed organs of vision ; in one group 

 the eyestalks are flexible, while they are rigid in the next. One 

 cannot help being struck with the fact that a comparatively 

 small number of deep-sea crustaceans have lost their eyes. 



Glyphocrangon (Fig. 242) represents a new family, of which 

 several species were taken both in the West Indian region and 

 off the Atlantic coast of the United States in 250 to 1,200 

 fathoms ; these very characteristic deep-water forms are all large 

 and shrimp-like, with massive, highly sculptured, spiny, and tuber- 

 culose integument. The carapace, owing to a peculiar articula- 



