54 CAPE VERDE. 



surface, by which small particles of food or minute animals 

 can be caught. No doubt these forceps catch the food of the 

 Atya, and the larger legs with simple pointed ends enable it 

 to hold on to the stones in the rapid stream. 



The pair of forceps is not attached directly at its hinge joint 

 to the end of the limb, but at a point on the side of one of the 

 arms. Here it is hinged on to a crescent-shaped joint, into 

 the crescent of which the rounded end of the forceps is 

 received when the apparatus is retracted and at rest. The 

 complicated manner of jointing gives a very wide sweep and 

 great mobility to these very curious prehensile organs. 



The genus Atya must, from its very wide distribution, be a 

 very ancient one. Species of the genus occur in the West 

 Indies, in the Philippines, in Samoa, and in Mexico, besides 

 in the Cape Verde Islands. The Cape Verde species* is 

 possibly identical with one occurring in Mexico. In Mexico 

 and the West Indies the animal occurs in the sea : elsewhere 

 in fresh water. 



I am greatly indebted to Sr. Jose M. Quirino Chaves, U. S. 

 Vice-Consul of Porto Praya, who most kindly sent me speci- 

 mens of the above described Crustacea, on my writing to him, 

 when preparing this journal for the press. The only specimen 

 which I secured on my visit was lost by accident on board 

 the " Challenger." The Palaemon is called in the island 

 " Christao," the Atya " Mouro." 



John Antonio said there were no fish in the San Domingo 

 stream, " cos river fresh water." He evidently thought that 

 fish were to be found only in the sea. 



We passed the village of San Domingo, which consists of 

 scattered thatched stone houses, and the road became worse 

 and worse, being sometimes knee-deep in mud. The ponies, 

 small fine-built bays, began to show signs of giving in, 

 and soon spurring would not make mine move further. I 

 had to dismount and flounder back to a cottage, where we 

 had a rest, and fed the ponies with grass. The excursion up 

 the mountain is evidently too long for one day, although John 

 Antonio had declared beforehand that it was. an easy matter. 

 I had been riding five hours, and we were still a long way from 

 the place where the actual ascent commences. The ponies 

 went very badly, at little more than a foot-pace. It was raining 

 more or less during the whole time that we were in the valley. 



* At3'a sulcatipcs (Newport). A. scabra (Leach). "Ann. and Mag. 

 Nat. Hi&t," 1847, p. 158, where is a list of species. Upoki is in it placed 

 by mistake in New Zealand instead of Samoa. M. Edwards places 

 Atya with Alpheus. Dana (U. S. E.xp. Ex. Crustacea), places Atya, 

 Atyoidcs and Caridina in a special family, Atyida;, next the Astacida:, 



