44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 122 



was collected in a sediment consisting of fine sand and shell; the 

 specimen from 200 m was collected in sandy mud. 



Food: The specimen from 200 m depth on the North Carolina shelf 

 contained in its stomach a large, whole harpacticoid copepod, several 

 arthropod appendages, and a diatom. One of Darby's specimens 

 (UMMP 48S19) examined by me contains 2 free-living nematodes in 

 the stomach: 1 appears to be partly digested, and the good condition 

 of the other suggests that it had been ingested only prior to capture 

 of the ostracod. 



Parasites: No parasites were observed on the 2 specimens from the 

 North Carolina shelf. One of Darby's specimens from off Georgia, 

 however, contained in the brood chamber a parasitic female copepod 

 of the family Choniostomatidae along with several clusters of copepod 

 eggs. The shde (UMMP 48818, no. 86) containing the copepod and 

 copepod eggs is labeled "Eggs" by Darby, who apparently thought 

 them to be ostracod eggs. The shell of the specimen containing the 

 parasite is quite symmetrical indicating that the parasitic copepod is 

 not the cause of some specimens of S. disparalis having asymmetrical 

 shells. 



