REPORT ON THE AMPHIPODA. 509 



1880. Grimm, Oscar. 



Beitrag zur Kenntniss einiger blindeu Amphipoden des Kaspisees. Archiv fiir 

 Naturgescliichte. Sechs und vierzigster Jahrgang. Erster Band. Berlin, 1880. 

 pp. 117-126. 



On some Blind Amphipoda of the Casjnan Sea. By Dr. Oscar Grimm. 

 Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from the " Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte," 1880. 

 The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. No. 26. February 1880. London, 

 1880. pp. 85-92. 



Dr. Grimm says, " Ganiuiaracanthus caspius, milii, from a depth of 108 fathoms in the Caspian, 

 Boeckia spinosa, nasuta, and Injftfrix, mihi, from depths of 70-1.50 fathoms in the Caspian, 

 and various species of Mi/ds from the same sea, and from depths down to 500 fathoms, 

 all have well-developed, large, prominent, and black-pigmented eyes. This sufficiently proves 

 that at the depths indicated the visual organ can be and is made use of, as here absolute 

 darkness does not prevail, but only a dark night." 



" In the Caspian Sea, at 0° 12' E. long, (from Baku) and 39° 51' jS!. lat., I obtained in a single 

 cast of the dredge ten new species of Gammarida3 (namely Gammarus pau.viUus, G. erawsMs, 

 G. Gm/orlv/oii, G. portentosus, G. coronifera, G. thaumops, Pandora caca, Ipjldgeneia 

 ahyssorum, Gammaracanthus caspius, and Amatliilinella cristata), aU of which are furnished 

 with eyes, but in very different degrees of development : thus Gammaracanthus caspius has 

 very large round eyes, Gammarus coronifera and AmathilineUa cristata long but narrow 

 eyes, Gammarus thaumops triangular unpigmented eyes, and Pandora cceca small unpig- 

 mented eyes, which can hardly be endowed with the faculty of sight. A still better example 

 is furnished by the following new Amphipoda discovered by me in the Caspian Sea : — 



Onesimus caspius from the depth of 75-250 fathoms, 



,, pomposus ,, ,, 180 ,, 



,, platyuros ,, ,, 40 and 48 „ 



Pantoporeia microphthalma ,, ,, 80-90 „ 



Niphargus caspius ,, ,, 35-90 ,, 



of which the last two species, together with Onesimus caspius, were also taken in one cast, 

 and, indeed, at a depth of 80-90 fathoms, at 0" 26' E. long, and 41° 6' N. lat. Pantoporeia 

 microphthalma and Niphargus caspius possess pigmented but small eyes ; of the species of 

 Onesimus some possess red, others (On. casijius) perfectly unpigmented eyes, which, in the 

 last-mentioned species at least, are deprived of the faculty of sight ; and with these more or 

 less blind species there live Mysid», the large, convex, and black eyes of which certainly 

 absorb a sufficiency of light even in the darkness of the depths." 



While taking the quotations from Mr. Dallas's version, I have not followed him in altering his 

 author's Gammarus coronifera into Gammarus coronlfer. It may be observed that the 

 generic name Boeckia, is preoccupied, having been used by JNlalm in 1870, when it forth- 

 with lapsed as a synonym of Leptocheirus. PantojMreia, if it be not intended for Panto- 

 poreia, is inconveniently near it. Iphigeneia makes an even closer approach to Ipihirjenia, 

 a genus of molluscs. Pandora is preoccupied over and over again. 



Of Nipjhargus caspius, Grimm says, "from this species N. jjuteanus is probably derived. It is 

 possible that it is identical with iV. ponticus, Czern. ; unfortunately I have been unable 

 rightly to determine the latter, as the description which Hr. W. Czernjawsky has given of 

 it appears to be very defective. (See his ' Materialia ad zoographiam ponticam compara- 

 tam 1868.') It must, however, be remarked that our j!f. caspius differs in many respects from 



