380 SUMMARY OF CUKKENT RKHKAKGHES RELATING TO 



appears to disseminate the spotted fever of the Rocky Mountains. 

 African recurrent fever, due to Spirochseta diMoni, is known to be spread 

 by Ornithodorus moiihata ; European recurrent fever, due to Spirochseta 

 recurrentis, is probably spread by Argas persiciis, or by the bed-bug ; 

 American typanosomiasis, due to Trypanosoma cruzi, may be carried by 

 Ornithodorus mouhata and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ; and a recurrent 

 fever of Persia is said to be carried by Ornithodoros tholozani and 

 0. canestrinii. J. A. T. 



New Harvest Mite.— A. Beelese {" Redia,'' 1918, 13,93-7, 1 pL). 

 A diagnosis is given of Parathromhidium paolii g. et sp. n., a beautiful 

 form found in Apulia, underground, among the oothecge of Dociostaurus 

 maroccanus. The author shows how the new genus differs from 

 JSutrombidium, Neotrombidium, Microtrombidium, and other related 

 genera. • J. A. T. 



f. Crustacea. 



Reactions of Sand Crab. — Harold T. Mead (Univ. California 

 Fubl. Zoology, 1917, 16, 4.S1-8, 6 figs.). Experiments on Eremita 

 analoga, common on the wave-washed parts of the sandy beaches of 

 California, show that the animals tend (1) to run down slopes, and 

 (2) to go towards the ocean, when within 200 feet at least of it, although 

 their view of tbe ocean be intercepted. A 7 p.c. slope away from the 

 ocean neutralizes the ocean ward tendency. Normally the eyes count 

 for much in guiding the crabs to their feeding beds (they catch small 

 organisms with their feathery antennae), and in apprising them of the 

 proximity of birds and other enemies. No " learning " the way out of 

 a simple labyrinth was detected. The range of stimuli to which the 

 animals are susceptible is comparatively narrow. J. A. T. 



Sensory Structures of Crab's Claw. — I. Salkind (Annales Sci. 

 Nat. ZooL, 1918, 2, 121-31, 5 figs.). The forceps or great claw of 

 the common shore-crab {Carcinus msenas) is very sensitive, especially 

 near the tips of the propodite and dactylopodite. It bears three kinds 

 of sensory structures : (1) crypts in the cuticle innervated by nerve- 

 fibres, (2) peripheral nerve-ending in simple contact with the cuticle, 

 and (8) complex rosette-shaped structures with a vibratory apparatus in 

 the centre. J. A. T. 



Further Observations on Xenocceloma brumpti. — M. Caullery and 

 F. Mesnil {JBull. Soc. ZooL France, 1918, 42, 169-78, 5 figs.). This 

 remarkable Copepod is embedded between the ectoderm and the somaioo- 

 pleure of Polycirrus arenivorm, and has neither appendages nor digestive 

 canal, nor nervous system. It is enveloped in epithelium continuous 

 with the ectoderm of the Annelid, and its axial cavity is continuous 

 with the coelom of its host. The united stage has not been found. A 

 description is given of a " meandriform " organ, of ovaries, oviducts, 

 testes, and seminal vesicle. The hermaphroditism is noteworthy. The 

 spermatozoa are filiform and very long. The nearest ally is Saccopsis 

 alleni, with a distinct fixing apparatus, which Brumpt found at Plymouth 

 as a parasite of Polycirrus aurantiacus. J. A. T. 



