OUR CARCINOLOGICAL FRIENDS. 97 
these (Idotea ceca) is the little creature whose ser- 
pentine tracks over the sand have so frequently 
called forth the query, What animal made them ? 
The species is found all the way from Massachusetts 
to Florida. A second form (Stenosoma irrorata, P|. 
7, Fig. 4), of a deep-purple or sea-green color, will 
probably be recognized by many as the active spirit 
of the quieter waters, whose gyrations strongly sug- 
gest a scheme of self-imposed perpetual motion. A 
third species (Limnoria terebrans, Pl. 7, Fig. 2) can 
generally be found only beneath the water-surface, 
where it attacks almost any timber—piles, piers of 
bridges, wharves, etc.—that may be brought within 
its reach. It is asserted that piles lose as much as 
an inch in diameter annually through the ravages 
of this pest. Coating with verdigris or creosote, 
or sheathing with metallic copper, has proved effi- 
cacious as a preventive of destruction. 
In all these forms the body is largely symmetrical 
in outline, and the numerous pairs of legs are of 
nearly equal size and equally disposed along the 
sides of the body; hence the term Isopoda, equal- 
footed, that has been applied to the group in general. 
SQUILL. 
Our description of the Crustacea of the coast 
would not be complete without reference being 
made to a somewhat rare species, the squill, which 
is figured on the following page. The animal can 
be immediately recognized by its greatly elongated 
and flattened body, measuring from four to six, 
or exceptionally ten, inches in length, the great 
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