670 Caprella acanthi/era. 



Encyc, vii. 404. ; Suppl. Encyc. Brit., i. 426. ; Sam. Ent. 

 Comp., 105.; Desm., Crust., 278. — Cancer Phasma Mon- 

 tagu, in Lin. Trans., vii. 66. pi. 6. fig. 3. ; Fleming, in Edin. 

 Phil. Journ., viii. 297. — ^4'stacus Phasma Pen., Brit. Zool., 

 iv. 27. edit. 1812, desc. only. 



Hab. — Coast of Devon, Montagu ; Isle of May, Rev. Dr. Fleming. 



" With a slender body of six joints, independent of the head : on the 

 first joint are two spines, a third on the fore part of the second joint, and 

 a fourth on the head, all pointing forward : the rest of the body smooth : 

 antennae four, the upper pair nearly as long as the body ; lower pair half 

 that length, and the extreme joint of each pectinated with bristles : eyes 

 fixed, reticulated, usually of a reddish colour. Close to the mouth are 

 two very short palpi, or feelers, with hooked claws : behind these are two 

 others, much longer, armed with single movable fangs. On the first joint 

 of the body are two long arms, with very large oblong-oval hands, fur- 

 nished with a strong spine on the inside, and a long movable fang, which 

 is capable of closing upon the spine, in order to secure its prey. The front 

 of the hand in some is also narrowed &nd elongated into a spine. The 

 second and third joints of the body are each provided with a pair of flat 

 oval fins; the three posterior joints are each furnished with a pair of long 

 slender legs, with a single hooked claw : the hindmost are the longest, and 

 originate from the extremity of the body, the animal being destitute of 

 tail. 



" Length rarely exceeds three quarters of an inch, and seldom so 

 much : colour various ; sometimes red, but more commonly pellucid olive 

 green. 



" The female differs in possessing several plates or valves beneath the 

 body, situated between the two pairs of fins : the office of these is to carry 

 and protect its eggs or young, at which time they extend very considerably, 

 and form a kind of pouch. We have seen this receptacle distended with 

 ova from fifteen to twenty, readily distinguished through the transparent 

 plates. In this part a very strong pulsation is observable. 



* While examining a female in a watch-glass of sea water under a micro- 

 scope, we were agreeably surprised to observe not less than ten young 

 ones crawl from the abdominal pouch of the parent, all perfectly formed, 

 and moving with considerable agility over the body of the mother, holding 

 fast by their hind claws, and erecting their heads and arms. 



" On a small species of Fucus (the name of which was not noted) a vast 

 number of these curious insects were collected, of both sexes, and of all 

 sizes. When at rest, they only held by their hind claws : in motion, the 

 arms were also used, and the progression was somewhat similar to that of 

 the looper caterpillars, or larvae of the moths of the Linnaean division of 

 Geometrae." — 



2. C. acanthifera. — Head armed with a short spine ; the 

 post-occipital segment with two tubercles : hands of the 

 second pair of legs ovate, lunate, with a denticle at the base : 

 terminal joint of the antennae hispid. Leach, in Edin. Encyc, 

 vii. 404. — Cap. acuminifera Desm., Crust., 277. ; Johnston, 

 in Mag. Nat. Hist., vi. 40. fig. 7. a. (The figure is repeated 

 in the present instance (Jig. 70.) 



? var. " Head with one little tubercle ; hand of the second 

 pair of feet with three teeth on the inner edge." — Cap. linearis 

 Leach., in Edin. Encyc, vii. 404. 



