342 A HISTORY OF RECENT CRUSTACEA 
The foregoing table has the special advantage of 
enabling a specimen in almost all cases to be referred to 
its proper family without dissection. 
It may not be superfluous to remark that tables of this 
kind are not only dry and fatiguing, but to a great extent 
useless and unprofitable reading, until the moment comes 
for practical application. With specimens in hand, and 
possibly with all the literature relating to the specimens 
freely at his command, a naturalist may still be bewildered, 
until he lights upon the page, hitherto dull and unread- 
able, which briefly states the distinguishing points between 
several closely allied families or genera. If the characters 
have been skilfully chosen and clearly and accurately de- 
scribed, the apparently lifeless record at once becomes 
luminous and delightful. It will not indeed be available 
as a specimen of style in a book of elegant extracts, nor 
should it be selected as a choice morsel for public recita- 
tion ; it is rather like a bank-note or a cheque, prosaic in 
expression, but the representative of solid value. 
Family A.—Cirolanide. 
Of the five genera grouped under this heading one 
may require to be transferred to an independent family. 
Cirolana, Leach, 1818, has the peduncle of the second 
antenne five-jointed; the plete of the second 
joint of the maxillipeds furnished with hooks; 
the first and second pleopods alike, with at least 
the iner branch submembranaceous; the uropods 
with the inner angle of the peduncle produced. 
Coniléra, Leach, 1818, has the same charasters, except 
that the first pleopods are opercular, with both 
branches hard. 
Eurydice, Leach, 1815, has the peduncle of the second 
antenne four-jointed; the plate of the second 
joint of the maxillipeds without hooks ; the pleo- 
pods with both branches submembranaceous ; the 
uropods with the inner angle of the peduncle 
very little produced. 
