THE GENERA AND SPECIES OP SYMPHYLA. 61 



Spurious or insufficiently described Species. 



1. Scut, gratiae, Ryder. — This name, without description, 

 was given by Ryder in ' The American Naturalist/ xiv, p. 375, 

 1880; the next year he described and figured the species in 

 'Proceed, of the Acad, of Natur. Sciences of Philadelphia/ 

 1881, p. 375. He had captured specimens in "Fairniount Park, 

 Philad. ; Havre de Grace, Md. ; Washington, D.C.; Franklin 

 Co., Pa." It is impossible to decide whether it is identical 

 with the European Scut, nivea (Scop.) or a distinct species. 



2. Scolopendrella latipes, Scudder ('Proceed. Boston 

 Soc. Nat. Hist.,' vol. xxii, 1882-3, pp. 64, 65). — This 

 species was established on one specimen, which was crushed 

 before the examination liad been finished; it had been 

 captured near Bostou. The description of the scuta makes it 

 clear that it belouged to Scutigerella, but the author's 

 statement "there are no hairs upon the body " (p. 65) shows 

 evidently that the specimen had been badly preserved, the 

 hairs on the scuta being lost. The statement '' seven abdo- 

 minal joints, each with a pair of legs," seems to indicate that 

 the specimen had possessed in all only ten pairs of legs and 

 was immature ; it measured 3 mm. in length. The description 

 and the drawing (fig. 5) of the antennas show clearly that 

 they had been strongly contracted ; the description and the 

 drawings (figs. 2 and 3) of the legs can scarcely be understood 

 without assuming that these appendages had been com- 

 pressed by contraction or shrivelling. It is impossible to 

 discover in the whole description more than one valuable 

 character, viz. the shortness of the " parapodia; " but this is, 

 of course, not sufficient for a recognition of the species, and 

 I think I can pronounce with certainty that it will never 

 be found again. It will therefore be practical to cancel it 

 completely. 



