418 TAGR SKOOSBERG 



JieiatiuntoPii.(Ph.) Remarks: — It is impossible to decide for certain whether this species is identical with 



laevipes aiay. pj^ (Ph.) luevipes, though it does not seem impossible. As a preliminary I considered it best 



to describe it as a new species. The description of Ph. laevipes that is found in E. von Daday, 



1908, p. 12 is exceedingly deficient, clearly drawn up without the author having the necessary 



knowledge of the forms belonging to this sub-genus. 



/'h. hiiviiu's = In passing I may point out that Pli. laevipes is probably a larva of the species Ph. Char- 



l'h.chnrcnuDad,n/> ^^^^.^ which is described by E. von Daday in the same treatise. Daday himself indicates the 

 possibility of these two forms being identical. Thus we read on p. 15 of this treatise: ,,En 

 general, les particularites de I'organism rappellent beaucoup la PhUomedes Charcoti, et, si la 

 structure des pattes vermiformes ne dilferait pas autant, on pourrait reunir les deux especes, 

 vu que toutes deux sont du meme endroit ,,(la cote de I'ile Booth- Wandel, Terre de Graham, 

 Antarctis)", encore que capturees a des dates differentes." According to this author the seventh 

 limb of Ph. laevipes is, unlike that of Ph. Charcoti. quite bare. This character to which Daday 

 attached such great importance that he derived the name of the species from it, can, of course, 

 not be regarded as any reason for not identifying these species. It is known that this absence 

 of armatm-e on the seventh limb is a character of the larva; all species of this genus seem to 

 have a seventh limb of this type during the third larval stage. Other characters as well, such 

 as the length of the shell, the number of furcal claws, etc. support the idea that Ph. laevipes is 

 a larva of Ph. Charcoti in the third stage. 



The form dealt with by me here seems to differ from Ph. Charcoti, of which only the male 

 is described, in at least one character, namely the number of bristles on the seventh limb. Ph. 

 Charcoti is said to have only thirteen bristles, six on one side and seven on the other, while Ph. 

 (Ph.) rotunda is characterized, as we have seen above, by having a somewhat larger number 

 (23-26). 



HHaiiontoPh.fPh.j Another species to which Ph. rotunda is certainly very closely related is Ph. (Ph.) orbicu- 



icu ans I a y. ^^^^^^ — which, curiously enough and certainly incorrectly, is regarded by its author, G. S. Brady, 

 as a southern variety of Ph. (Ph.) globosa — ,,It is in all respects very similar to the well-known 

 Eurojaean species P. Brenda"' (globosa) ,,and may perhaps be fairly looked upon as a southern 

 variation of that form". G. S. Brady's description is unfortunately too incomplete to permit 

 of a certain identification. The relatively great length of the shell (2,5 mm.) antl the fact that 

 ,,the surface of the shell is smooth and densely clothed with a villous coating of very short hairs" 

 (G. S. Brady, 1907, p. 4) seem, however, to argue against the identity of these forms. It is, 

 however, not impossible that they are identical, nor can it be considered impossible that G. W. 

 MULLER was right when in 1912 he identified Ph. orbicularis with Ph. laevipes. 



Habitat: — Sou t li G e o r g i a: S. A. E., Station 18, mouth of the West Fiord, Cumber- 

 land Bay, lat. 54" 15' S., long. 36" 25' W.; 22. IV. 1902; depth, 250 ni.; k)Ose clay; temperature 

 at the bottom + 1,2" C: 1 mature female; R. M. S. 136. S. A. E., Station 22, off May Bay, 

 lat. 54" 17' S., long. 36" 28' W. (type locality); 14. V. 1902; depth, 75 m.; clay with 

 scattered algae; temperature at the bottom + 1,5" C: 1 mature female; R. M. S., on slides. 

 S. A. E., Station 23, of! the mouth of Moran Fiord, lat. 54" 23' S., long. 36" 26' W.; 16. V. 1902; 



