THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND i6i 



On another occasion, August 22, 1906, Robert Whyte and I 

 watched for a full hour an /. cambridgii carrying an AnneHd in its 

 chelicerae. During all this time the False-scorpion never once 

 used its great nippers. At first the Annelid was juicy and actively 

 writhed under the grip of the False-scorpion ; later it shrivelled into 

 a dry thin stick, but even in this condition was still carried about 

 by the False- scorpion. As the False -scorpion gave no sign of 

 removing the remains of its feast from its chelicerse, we at length 

 used a pin to force it to quit the Annelid, but for four minutes we 

 played with the False-scorpion before we could compel it to drop 

 the dried-up worm. During the time we watched it, the False- 

 scorpion kept constantly on the move, having its great nippers open 

 as it prowled about. 



The existence of a nest for any purpose whatever in this species 

 has yet to be proved. All the creatures found so far — and the 

 only months in which I have not seen them are May, July, and 

 October — have been living free. Neither adults nor young appear 

 to hibernate; at Portincross, from January 14 to the end of March 

 1904, I saw numbers of immature examples, in the colourless 

 condition of those just beginning a free life, moving about actively 

 under the stones. The adults also, though rather inert, were 

 leading free lives throughout the winter. 



The time and the manner of moulting are still unknown, 

 though probably this part at least of the animal's life-history takes 

 place inside a nest. 



It still also remains an open question whether or not this 

 species makes a nest for reproductive purposes. Very immature 

 youngsters are to be met with in September, as well as in January, 

 February, and March ; but the female has not yet been observed 

 carrying her eggs or embryonic mass. 



Obisium maritimum, Leach, 181 7. 



Two important facts connected with O. maritijuuin bestow upon 

 it an interest which is not attached to our other British species. 

 The first is its distribution, which, so far as I have ascertained, is 

 confined to Great Britain, the Isle of Man, and the Channel 

 Islands. The second is its habitat, which normally lies between 

 tide-marks. 



Mr. Wallis Kew has very kindly transcribed for me the recorded 

 history of the species from its discovery by Montagu to the present 

 time. It appears to have been taken first (for there is hardly any 

 doubt that this species is indicated) in Cornwall " on the rocks con- 

 tiguous to the sea," whence it was described and figured by Montagu 

 in a paper read before the Linnean Society in 1807, ^^^d published 

 in 1 81 5. Leach, in 181 7, described and figured it under the name 

 it now bears, and says of it, " Habitat in Anglia occidentali inter 

 71 D 



