42 Art. 3.— T. Kabiiraki : 



only during copulation. The limulus deposits its eggs chietl}^ in 

 August. On calm nights during that month, males and females, 

 the former on the abdominal shield of the latter, return with the 

 rising tide from the deep water towards sandy shores to breed; 

 egg-laying taking place between the tide marks. This meeting of 

 the sexes doubtless affords the parasites a good opportunit}^ to 

 shift from one host to another. 



I will now give some general remarks of the parasitism of 

 these animals. 3Iicropharynx is regarded as a true parasite and is^ 

 wholly destitute of eyes. The body-shape is that of the blade of 

 an ovate leaf, the posterior end being often obliquely truncated 

 and exhibiting some small folds on the inferiorly turned edge, 

 which is more or less distinctly marked off, but shows a great 

 variation in appearance. The worms are very firmly attached to 

 tlieir host's body by means of the caudal disc. In the limulus- 

 infesting Bdellourids the body is generally lanceolate, the posterior 

 end being truncated. The posterior portion known as the caudal 

 adhesive disc is generally distinctly marked off by a constriction 

 of the body from the anterior. While Ect. Umuli is of a slender 

 body which is entirely devoid of any such distinct part or organ as 

 the special caudal disc mentioned just above. The worms, hoAv- 

 ever, are able to adhere with surprising firmness to the surface of 

 the host's body b}^ means of slime which is being constantly 

 secreted on the ventral surface of the body, especially on a narrow 

 zone completely surrounding the liody just within the lower 

 ventral edge. Quite a considerable effort is required to displace 

 them. When removed by means of a spatula together with the 

 mud which is usually present on the ventral surface of Limulvs, 

 they adhere to the spatula so firmly that they cannot be washed 

 aw^ay with ease. Their movement is rather ponderous, due to the 

 powerful nature of their slime, as compared with that of the other 

 species. They never leave the host of their own accord. 



Among the limulus-infesting species, Bd. propinqua contains 

 but a few rhabdites in the epidermis, while in the case of Bd. 

 Candida, Bd. lüheeleri and Syn. pellucldum the epidermis is wholly 

 destitute of them. Hence Wiliielmi (70) has come to the conclu- 



