134 Transactions. 



Sphaeroma quoyana Milne- Edwards. 



Sphaeroma quoyana Milne-Edwards, Hist. Nat. des Crust., vol. 111. 

 p. 206, 1840 ; Heller, Eeise der Novara, Crust, p. 137, 1868 ; 

 Haswell, Cat, Aust. Crust., p. 287, 1882; Hedley, Rep. Aust. 

 Assoc, vol. 8, p. 239, pi. 10, fig. 1, 1901. S. verrucauda White, 

 List Crust. Brit, Mus., p. 102 (sine descr.), 1847 ; Dana, U.S. 

 Explor. Exped., vol. 14, Crust., pt. 2, p. 779, pi. 52, fig. 6, 1853 : 

 Miers, Cat. N.Z. Crust., p. Ill, 1876 ; Haswell. Cat. Aust, Crust,, 

 p. 288, 1882 ; Hutton, Index Faunae N.Z., p. 263, 1904 ; Steb- 

 bing, Spolia Zeylanica, vol. 11, pt. 5, p. 21, 1904 ; Hansen, Q. J. 

 Micro. Soc, vol. 49, pt, 1, p. 116, 1905 ; Hedley, Rep. Aust. 

 Assoc, vol. 8, p. 239, 1901. 



Sphaeroma quoyana was described by Milne-Edwards in 1840 from 

 Australian specimens, but nothing appears to have been recorded by him 

 about its boring habits. Haswell had not seen the species when preparing 

 the " Catalogue of the Australian Crustacea." 



In 1853 Dana described a species under the name of S. verrucauda. 

 from the Ray of Islands, New Zealand, his specimens having been found 

 " in rotten wood in cavities bored by Teredo." Miers, in his " Catalogue 

 of the New Zealand Crustacea," in 1876, records the species from " Auck- 

 land, Hobson's Bay," and notes that these specimens inhabited " similar 

 cavities in a piece of sandstone." He also mentioned that specimens from 

 Port Jackson, Australia, were in the collections of the British Museum, 

 but that the New Zealand specimens were much more hairy than those 

 from Australia. Many years ago Mr. J. Macmahon sent me numerous 

 specimens that I identified as S. verrucauda, which he found boring into 

 soft sandstone on the shores of Kenepuru Sound, and in July, 1910, I found 

 similar specimens in the neighbouring Queen Charlotte Sound, and was 

 able to see for myself beyond doubt that the holes in the sandstone were 

 bored by the Sphaeroma and not by a Teredo ; the holes vary in size 

 from 2 mm. to 7 mm. in diameter, and were occupied by Sphaeromae 

 of corresponding sizes, and there was no trace of any Teredo in the 

 sandstone. 



In 1901 Hedley, in a paper on the " Marine Wood-borers of Austral- 

 asia," mentions both S. verrucauda and S. quoyana, the latter having 

 been found boring in wood in Sydney Harbour, and mentions that it 

 hardly differs from S. verrucauda. In 1903 I received from Mr. T. White- 

 legge specimens of S. quoyana from Sydney Harbour, and in forwarding 

 them he said, " S. quoyana is identical with specimens from Mr. Thom- 

 son's collection labelled ' S. verrucauda.'' " These specimens were some of 

 those that had been handed on by me to Mr. Thomson. 



I have now been able to compare specimens from different parts of 

 New Zealand, and also others, labelled " S. quoyana," from Victoria and 

 Tasmania, and I quite agree with Mr. Whitelegge that the two species 

 should be united. The species belongs to the same section of Sphaeroma 

 as S. terebrans Spence Bate and the other species found boring into 

 wood in various parts of the world, and the fact that S. quoyana is 

 undoubtedly able to bore into sandstone seems worthy of definite 

 record. 



Iais pubescens var. longistylis (see above) seems to be regularly asso- 

 ciated with S. quoyana as a commensal or semiparasite just as the typical 

 form of /. pubescens is with Sphaeroma gigas. 



