Dr. W. Baird on British Entomostraca. 83 



born ; 9th, it has moulted and got two eggs clear brown co- 

 loured; 11th, eggs are elongated, eye visible; 13th, a second 

 accouchement ; 14th, has moulted and has two eggs ; 17th, a 

 third accouchement; 19th, has moulted and has three eggs; 

 20th, a fourth accouchement ; 21st, moulted and has two eggs ; 

 22nd, a fifth accouchement ; 23rd, moulted and has two eggs ; 

 25th a sixth accouchement ; 26th, moulted and has two eggs ; 

 28th, a seventh accouchement ; July 3rd, moulted and has two 

 eggs ; 8th, an eighth accouchement ; 9th, moulted, cannot ex- 

 actly determine whether it has eggs the insect is so yellow ; 

 11th, moulted, cannot see eggs; 14th, ninth accouchement, 

 young ones dead; 15th, mother herself dead. 5 ' (Jurine,pp. 155, 

 156.) The young are born perfect; and even before they are 

 ushered into the world, and whilst still in the matrix, we dis- 

 cern the eye and its accompanying black spot. These in- 

 sects are said by Jurine to be subject, like the Daphnia, to the 

 formation of the saddle or ephippium ; and that in each ephip- 

 pium there is only one egg, which is placed in the middle of 

 the saddle and makes a projection from it. I have never my- 

 self met with an individual having the saddle ; and in general 

 I have found those which I have kept very short-lived as com- 

 pared with the Daphnics. The motion of these insects through 

 the water is somewhat different from that of the genus Daph- 

 nia. Instead of swimming by short irregular bounds as these 

 latter do, they direct themselves by a rapid motion of their 

 rami and legs straight towards the point to which they wish to 

 go. This was noticed by Eichhorn as already mentioned, who 

 seems to be the only person who remarks it till the time of 

 Jurine, and it appears chiefly perhaps to depend upon the 

 comparative shortness and position of the rami, as the Daphnia 

 cornuta, which has also very short rami situated as in the 

 Lyncei, has the same kind of motion. [Vide Mag. Zool. and 

 Bot. vol. ii. p. 412.] The food of the Lyncei consists of both 

 animal and vegetable matter, and whilst they prey upon ani- 

 malcules smaller than themselves, they in their turn are de- 

 voured in great numbers by insects larger than they are. 

 According to Pritchard the Lynceus sphaericus is the choice 

 food of a species of freshwater Nats which he calls the Lurco. 

 " So great is the voracity," he says, * of this creature, that I 

 have seen a middle-sized one devour seven Lyncei in half an 

 hour. Five of these were moving about in the first cavity ; at 

 the end of that time the other two having passed into the se- 

 cond had become exhausted *." 



Anatomy. — In general formation the animals of this genus 

 are very much like the preceding, the Daphnice, the most re- 

 markable point of difference being a small black spot a little 

 * Vide Pritchard's Microscopic Cabinet, p. 81. 

 G2 



