﻿380 
  Dr. 
  C. 
  Chilton 
  on 
  

  

  XLIII. 
  — 
  The 
  Species 
  of 
  Limnoria, 
  a 
  Genus 
  of 
  Wood-horing 
  

   Isopoda. 
  Bj 
  Chas. 
  Chilton, 
  M.A., 
  D.Sc, 
  LL.D., 
  

   M.B., 
  CM., 
  F.L.S., 
  Professor 
  of 
  Biology, 
  Canterbury 
  

   College, 
  N.Z. 
  

  

  [Plate 
  XVII.] 
  

  

  On 
  July 
  29tli, 
  1913, 
  1 
  received 
  from 
  the 
  authorities 
  of 
  the 
  

   Auckland 
  Harbour 
  Board 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  timber 
  that 
  was 
  being 
  

   destroyed 
  by 
  a 
  marine 
  borer, 
  with 
  the 
  request 
  that 
  I 
  would 
  

   see 
  if 
  the 
  borer 
  was 
  the 
  "gribble," 
  Limnoria 
  lignorum, 
  

   Hathke. 
  An 
  examination 
  at 
  once 
  showed 
  that 
  the 
  borer 
  

   was 
  certainly 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Limjioria 
  ; 
  the 
  decision 
  as 
  to 
  

   whether 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  European 
  species 
  or 
  not 
  required 
  some 
  

   care, 
  as 
  in 
  1883 
  * 
  I 
  had 
  described 
  from 
  Lyttelton 
  Harbour, 
  

   New 
  Zealand, 
  another 
  species, 
  Limnoria 
  segnis, 
  which 
  in 
  

   general 
  appearance 
  was 
  extremely 
  like 
  L. 
  lignorum^ 
  though 
  

   differing 
  from 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  characters 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  mouth- 
  

   parts 
  and 
  living 
  on 
  seaweed 
  instead 
  of 
  boring 
  into 
  wood. 
  

   A 
  detailed 
  examination 
  and 
  a 
  comparison 
  with 
  specimens 
  

   from 
  Plymouth, 
  England, 
  showed, 
  however, 
  that 
  the 
  animal 
  

   boring 
  into 
  the 
  wood 
  in 
  Auckland 
  Harbour 
  was 
  indeed 
  

   L. 
  lignorum. 
  This 
  conclusion, 
  moreover^ 
  was 
  confirmed 
  by 
  

   the 
  fact 
  that, 
  accompanying 
  the 
  Limnoria, 
  there 
  were 
  also 
  

   some 
  specimens 
  of 
  an 
  Amphipodan 
  borer, 
  which, 
  on 
  com- 
  

   parison 
  with 
  specimens 
  from 
  Plymouth, 
  England, 
  proved 
  to 
  

   to 
  be 
  identical 
  with 
  Chelura 
  terebrans^ 
  Philippi, 
  a 
  species 
  

   associated 
  with 
  Limnoria 
  lignorum 
  in 
  Europe 
  f. 
  These 
  two 
  

   species 
  must 
  evidently 
  have 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  New 
  

   Zealand, 
  probably 
  in 
  some 
  old 
  wooden 
  vessel, 
  and 
  they 
  thus 
  

   afford 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  the 
  accidental 
  dispersal 
  of 
  marine 
  

   Crustacea 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  ships, 
  additional 
  to 
  those 
  already 
  

   recorded 
  by 
  me 
  (1911, 
  p. 
  131). 
  

  

  It 
  cannot 
  be 
  ascertained 
  for 
  certain 
  how 
  long 
  ago 
  these 
  

   two 
  Crustacea 
  were 
  introduced 
  into 
  Auckland 
  Harbour, 
  but 
  

   in 
  all 
  probability 
  it 
  was 
  many 
  years 
  ago. 
  They 
  appear 
  to 
  

   find 
  the 
  locality 
  favourable, 
  for 
  they 
  were 
  extremely 
  numerous 
  

   in 
  the 
  samples 
  of 
  wood 
  that 
  were 
  sent 
  down 
  to 
  me, 
  and 
  they 
  

   seem 
  to 
  be 
  causing 
  rapid 
  destruction, 
  both 
  of 
  the 
  softer 
  

   timbers, 
  such 
  as 
  Kauri, 
  and 
  even 
  of 
  harder 
  kinds, 
  such 
  as 
  

   Totara. 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  references 
  are 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  year 
  of 
  publication 
  to 
  the 
  list 
  at 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  the 
  paper. 
  

  

  t 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  at 
  Christmas 
  Island, 
  Indian 
  Ocean, 
  

   another 
  species, 
  Livinoria 
  andreiusi, 
  is 
  associated 
  with 
  a 
  diti'event 
  species 
  

   of 
  Chelura, 
  i. 
  e. 
  C. 
  ijimlci, 
  Caiman 
  (see 
  Caiman, 
  1910, 
  p. 
  18-). 
  

  

  