110 LIMN^ID^. 



neck and mantle and over the tentacles of the moUusk, 

 incessantly vibrating, and apparently not parasitic but 

 feeding on animalcules. Possibly, however, these worms 

 may have the same truly parasitic propensities which are 

 attributed to the Nereid, that often takes up its abode 

 with the Hermit-crab in the same empty shell, and of 

 which my friend Mr. S pence Bate has given in the ' Zoo- 

 logist' (1859, p. 6687) an amusing account, as follows : 

 — " The soft and serpent-like Annelide smells the repast 

 that the master of the house is enjoying, and, like a wily 

 guest, takes care to be present at the meal, even though 

 unbidden. See ! beneath the Crab the beautiful head 

 glides out. While the self-confident owner is devouring 

 one piece, and in his full enjoyment looking round and, 

 perhaps, admiring the submarine scenery, the worm at- 

 tacks that which is in the other hand, and by little and 

 little the Crab feels it going, and makes an effort to stop 

 it on the way ; but it evidently can be seen, by his man- 

 ner, that he cannot believe that any one would be so 

 rude as to steal his dinner out of his very mouth, and 

 does not think much about the undevoured food, but 

 which, nevertheless, is slowly, gradually and surely taken 

 away." 



Draparnaud noticed, besides the parasitic worms, four 

 long and very minute filaments or tubes, which he 

 thought were auxiliary organs of respiration; but sub- 

 sequent naturalists have not confirmed this discovery. 

 Muller states that he kept a specimen of L. auricularia 

 alive from June to October in the clearest water, which 

 was never renewed, and that it appeared to have no 

 other nourishment than Cryptogamia or Confervoid 

 spores. 



This species chiefly difi'ers from some of the varieties 

 of the last, with which it is connected by the form acuta, 



