Campontia eruciformis. 3^5 



Ord. Apodes. Lam. 

 Gen. Campontia. 



Char. Body cylindrical, naked, annulose. Mouth with ex- 

 sertile corneous mandibles. Two prolegs* on the anal segment; 

 ^nd two on the first segment. 



Camp, eruciformis. 



Desc. Bodi/ filiform, cylindrical, of twelve equal segments 

 (exclusive of the head), of a clear faint water green colour, 

 smooth, and somewhat corneous. Head distinct, subquadrate, 

 sparingly ciliate on the margins. Antenna two, short, inarticu- 

 late, setaceous, placed in front. When in motion it is seen in* 

 cessantly io protrude and retract two strong hooked mandibles of 

 a brown colour. No proboscis. Eyes two, black, remote, not 

 marginal, placed on the anterior portion of the head. On the 

 front and ventral margin of the first segment are two prolegs, 

 short, unjointed, armed with retractile claws : and the last seg- 

 ment is as it were divided into two similar but larger foot-like 

 processes, the margins of which are surrounded with a circle of 

 strong yellow retractile hooks, resembling those oi the prolegs of 

 some caterpillars. (Kirby and Spence, Pi. xviii. fig. 11.) The 

 other segments are naked, if we except a few hairs on the dorsum 

 of the last but one. Length four lines. 



Hab, Amongst confervae in pools left by the tide, common, 

 Obs, This animal moves with considerable quickness by means 

 of its mandibles and prolegs, for the former seem as subservient io 

 progressive motion as the latter. It would appear that it is 

 amongst the marine Annelides that we are to seek for the ana- 

 logues of the caterpillars of insects. Montagu has remarked the 

 great similitude of some of the marine animals he has described to 

 larvae ; (Linn. Trans, xi. p. 203.) Our Galba marina has a re- 

 markable resemblance to the maggot, and its habits probably 

 correspond with some of those aquatic larvae that inhabit tubes of 

 extraneous matters : — while the animal just described bears a no 

 less close resemblance to the caterpillars of some of the moth 



* Kirby and Spence's Entomology, vol. iv. p. 353. 



