aS. I. Smith — Karly Sfagei< of Ifippa talpoida. ;i:^8 



segment itself. The termiiuil lamelUe :ire nearly alike, each being 

 almost as long as the peduncle, less than half as broad, oval, broadly 

 rounded at the tip, and fringed with slender, plnmose seta", which are 

 A'ery long at the tips of the lamelhv but shorter along the sides. The 

 outer lamella, or exopod, is connected with the peduncle by a very 

 short basal segment. 



The young in the megalops-stage were frequently taken at the 

 surface in the towing-net from the "JSth of August to the 10th of 

 September. Most of them were taken in the evening, but single 

 individuals were once or twice taken in the day-time. They were 

 also several times obtained directly from specimens in the last zoea- 

 stage kept in aquaria, though the greater part of the zoeae so kept 

 died during the process of molting. The color of the megalops 

 (luring life is very much like that of the zoeae, except that the 

 megalops wants the spots of bright metallic pigment so conspicuous 

 in the zoea. 



While in aquaria, the young in the megalops-stage swam rapidly 

 about the walls, at the surface of the water, but not quite as actively 

 as in the zoea-stages. When placed in a shallow dish of sea-water 

 with a little sand heaped up upon one side, they at once, on approach- 

 ing it, darted for the edge of the miniature sand-beach and backed 

 themselves into it, with an evident satisfaction and with an ease and 

 agility that could not have been excelled by their sand-loving parents 

 after months or years of practice. One, only a few hours after 

 changing from the zoea-stage, evinced the same anxiety to be settled 

 in a home of changing sand. They seemed perfectly content to 

 remain thus buried just at the edge of the water and were never 

 noticed to leave their tiny sand-beach, unless disturbed. If pushed 

 out of the sand and placed on the opposite side of the dish, they 

 swam uneasily about until they found their former retreat and at 

 once plunged themselves backward quite out of sight into it. 



On the southern side of Fire Island Beach, Long Island, in Septem- 

 ber, 1870, I noticed the alacrity with which the young hippas buried 

 themselves in the beach, Avhen they were brought in and left on the 

 w^et sand by the waves, and then suspected they were just relinquish- 

 ino- their early pelagic hal)its, but unfortunately I preserved no 

 specimens at this time. A few days later, the young were found in 

 considerable numbers Inirrowing in the damp sand in company with 

 species of Orchestidte, just above the edge of the waves; a situation 

 in which I have never since observed either the young or adults. 



