4) 4, M.E. Hesse on the Pranizee and Ancei. 
branchiz ; they also attach themselves to the body, and are fre- 
quently found upon its surface, having probably escaped from 
the mouth or gills when alarmed by the capture of the fish. It 
is chiefly in the months of July, August, September, and October 
that Pranize are met with upon fishes. 
On the shore, the Pranize and Ancei are usually found under 
sea-weeds, especially the Solenie which grow upon the walls of 
harbours; they also hide themselves in the interstices of the 
masonry, or under stones slightly covered with mud. In the 
Praniza-state, they do not seem to fear either heat or hght, or 
to suffer by the absence of water; in this state, also, they are 
extremely active, swimming and running with great rapidity. 
Natation is effected by means of the abdominal feet, the anmal 
extending itself horizontally, and holding its legs extended in 
the attitude of walking: it swims in circles, in the manner of 
the Caligi when seeking a fish to which to attach themselves. 
In the perfect state, the Ancei are far less active, swimming 
and walking very little and with difficulty, and hiding themselves 
from the light; their habits are evidently sedentary, and in 
striking contrast to their previous mode of life. They then lie 
constantly on the shore, in little burrows or galleries. Their 
bodies being thus protected, their large mandibles may serve to 
defend them against all aggressions from without ; and that they 
constitute powerful cutting organs is evidenced by the fact, ob- 
served by the author, that when several male Ancez are kept to- 
gether in a vessel, the limbs of some of them will be amputated 
by a clean cut. They probably serve also for the purpose of 
seizing prey, although the author attributes to the ciliated 
lamine of the mouth a certain part im procuring nourishment 
consisting of Infusoria and minute Mollusca and Crustacea. 
On the Food of the Ancei. 
As to the nature of the food of these animals, however, 
M. Hesse does not appear to have arrived at any positive cer- 
tainty. In the Praniza-state they live on the shore, under stones 
or seaweeds, about which the author found the débris of animal 
and vegetable substances, small Crustacea, Mollusca, &. By 
furnishing his living specimens with similar articles, the author 
was unable to bring his Pranize to maturity; and all those which 
he obtained from the ova died in about six weeks after their 
exclusion. Nevertheless some of those which he collected in an 
early form on the shore arrived at their full size in his aquaria ; 
and their not undergoing their final metamorphosis is probably 
due to their being females, which could not be transformed until 
after they had received the influence of the male. All those 
collected from fishes became converted into Ancez in a few days 
