of fhe North Atlantic and of North-Western Ew'ope. 629 



but furnished with no spines or teeth. Vermiform limb as usual. Caudal laminae 

 very short, the extremity beset with ungues. Seven pairs of imbricated, elongated, 

 thin branchial lamellae on the back of the hinder portion of the body. 



The family is widely separated from other Myodocopa by the peculiar structure 

 of the three pairs of maxillae, and the presence of dorsal branchiae. 



Genus AsTEROPE, Philippi, 1840. 



(= CoPECHCETE, Hesse, 1879.*) 



Shell more or less oblong or elliptical, polished, smooth, in male rather larger 

 than in female, and higher behind, where the edges are also more pouting. Eyes 

 well developed in both sexes. Frontal tentacle long and slender. Antennules of 

 female with sensory organ on antepenultimate joint terminating in a flabellately 

 divided extremity mounted on an annulated j^edicel (PI. L., fig. 3); in male in 

 the form of a large densely setose, robust, annulated seta (PI. l., fig. 2). Antennae, 

 with swimming branch well developed, appendicular brancli in ? small, ending 

 in a seta, in S , three-jointed, formed for grasping (PI. l., figs. 4, 10) ; last joint 

 falcate, reflexed on the second. Mandibular foot strongly built ; basal joint with 

 a large falcate, reflexed, masticating process, serrated on the edge at the tip 

 (PI. L., fig. 6) ; second joint, with a backward directed lobe at the base, furnished 

 with a few spines of very peculiar structure (PI. l., fig. 9) : limb terminating 



* M. E. Hesse, in 1879, publislied a paper in Ann. Soi. Nat. Zool., 6' ser., vol. vii., p. 1-20 (separate 

 copy), pi. xii. — "Description des Crustaces rares on nouveaux des cotes de France. Vingt.-huitieme 

 article" — in whicli he described a genus Copechcete witli four species, and a family CopecMtiens, wHcli he 

 placed among the Cladocera and next to the Bosminidiens. His genus Copechate is undoubtedly a synonym 

 of Asterope ; but what his species are it is impossible, from the descriptions and extraordinaiy drawings, 

 to say — possibly Copeclimte elongata and affinis are referable to A. elUptica, Phil., and C. armoricana to 

 A. teres, Norman. 



Herr. G. "W. Miiller, in his recently puhlished wort, " On the Ostracoda of the Gulf of Naples and 

 adjacent Sea," adopts instead of Asterope the generic name Cylindroleleris, his reason for this course being, 

 that the term Asterope had been proposed also by Miiller and Troschel for a genus of Echinodermata, 

 simultaneously (1840) with Philippi's publication of the same name for the genus of Ostracoda now under 

 consideration. It is doubtful, however, which of the two memoirs (Philippi or Miiller and Troschel) was 

 first in the field ; we therefore think it best, to adhere, for the present, to the name Asterope, by which 

 this genus of Ostracoda is hest known. Should this name prove to be later in date than that of Miiller 

 and Troschel, we shall, of course, have to follow Herr G. W. Miiller in adopting the generic term 

 Cylindroleleris, which was applied to the group by one of us in 1868. 



Miiller and Troschel formed their genus Asterope to receive a starfish, which, in the same year, 

 J. E. Gray also took as the type of a new genus, Gymnasteria. Sladen, in " The ' Challenger ' Report — 

 Asteroidea," uses the latter name on account of the doubt in date of the two Asteropes ; but if the 

 Echinoderm Asterope antedates that of the Crustacean it must undoubtedly he used, inasmuch as Gray's 

 genus was not published until the end of the year (December 1). 



TRANS. HOT. DVB. SOC, N.S. VOI. V., PAEI XII, 4 TJ 



kd 



