REPORT ON THE CRUSTACEA MACRURA. 



o5 



was first taken from the stomach of a flat fish by Mr. W. Thomson, and in 1845 by 



MacAndrew and Professor Forbes in Loch Fyne, at a depth of 80 fathoms, and more 



recently (1869) by G. 0. Sars, in 150 



fathoms of water, in several places off the 



coast of Norway, 1 in which situation it is 



fossorial in sandy mud. Living at such a 



depth, and being of fossorial habits, distinct 



vision would be useless, and this at once 



accounts for the rudimentary character of 



its eyes, the colour of which is entirely 



white. " The general colour [of the 



animal] is a delicate pink or pale rose, 



varying in depth in different parts." 



Dr. v. Willemoes-Suhm in his account 

 of Thaumastocheles (loc. cit., p. 50), says : 

 " A. zaleucus, came up on the swabs of the 

 dredge, together with the large chelae of 

 another smaller specimen, the body of which 

 was lost. The one we got had the red 

 colour of all deep-sea Crustacea. It lived 

 on a bottom of Globigerine ooze, evidently 

 frequented by a great many animals. 

 Several Sponges and seven Echinoderms 

 (Ophiomusium, Luiclia, Ar chaster, Astro- 

 gonium, Cidaris, and Echinus), a Planu- 

 laria, Mopsea, and an Isis, several 

 Annelids, and a Sipunculus, a Galatliea, 

 a Peneid, an Arcturus, and the fine Crus- 

 tacean, to which was given the name of 

 Willemcesia crucifera, — four Bryozoa, a 

 Dentalium, and many small shells — finally, 

 a fish probably belonging to the genus 

 CJiauliodus, were got in the same place 

 with this extraordinary Astacus. Unfortun- 

 ately, our stay in the West Indies was only 

 a very short one. The few hauls, however, which we had near Sombrero Island and St. 

 Thomas showed us that a great quantity of new and probably also interesting animals 

 live there in moderate depths (300 to 400 fathoms)." 



The specimen is a female, but without any ova attached. 



1 Undersbgelser over Hardangerfjordens Fauna ; 1 Crustacea, af G. O. Sars (Oversigt K. D. Vid. Selsk. Forliandl., 1871). 



Fig. 4a. — Thaumastochleles zaleuca, from a drawing by Dr. v. 

 Willenioes-Suhm (natural size). 



