" WIND-SCORPIONSr 321 



Before leaving the subject of the results of the bite, it 

 is to be noted that all the early writers assume it to be 

 extremely poisonous ; compare, for instance, the German 

 name for Galeodes, " Gift-kanker ". Further, the pain and 

 violent inflammation caused can hardly be accounted for 

 except on this assumption. Dufour searched in vain for 

 poison glands such as those well known in the jaws of 

 spiders, and not finding them gave the problem up. The 

 present writer has suggested that the poison may be the 

 result of simple exudation of matter through the setal pores 

 which can be traced along the tips of the pincers. Such 

 matter would be partly excretory, and hence deleterious to 

 living tissues. It would probably be closely allied to that 

 which, in the hypodermal cells, builds up the chitin and 

 supplies material for the bristles. On the other hand. 

 Captain Hutton records^ the case of a lizard bitten by a 

 Galeodes, which entirely recovered in three days, and uses 

 this as an argument against there being any venom trans- 

 mitted by the bite. Here the matter rests for the present ; 

 we know little beyond the facts that there are no poison 

 glands and that the bite nevertheless sets up violent inflam- 

 mation. 



Among other points to be investigated, mention should 

 be made of the marvellous variety of bristles and hairs 

 which cover many parts of the body ; the forms and uses of 

 these are well worthy of study. One obvious suggestion is 

 that they are to a large extent protective. After a good 

 meal, the bag-like abdomen of Galeodes may be stretched 

 by fluids to such dimensions that the animal can hardly crawl 

 away. At such a time it would form a rich and easily digested 

 nitrogenous morsel for birds and small mammals. One of 

 its characteristic attitudes of defence is to raise its abdomen 

 right over its back, so that that defenceless member may 

 come under the protection of the legs, for it is on the limbs 

 that the most marvellous bristles occur. Among them are 

 certain curious forked hairs which I have suggested may 

 act as buttoned rapiers, safe to the animal itself but 



^ Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xii., p. 81, 1843. 



22 



