l66 BY THE DEEP SEA. 



Prawn's dimensions. L. fabricii has the rostrum nearly 

 straight, with five teeth above and three beneath ; in addition, 

 this species has the rostrum covered with a multitude of 

 minute reddish dots. There are similar dots in the Prawn, 

 but none in L. squilla, with which it agrees more closely in 

 size. These two, with young specimens of L. serratus, get 

 mixed up and sold together under the name of Red Shrimps 

 or Cup Shrimps. 



There is a somewhat similar form called the ^Esop Prawn 

 (Pandalus montagut). It may be distinguished by the fact 

 that the carapace is distinctly keeled along the foremost half 

 of its upper part, and this keel is continued forward as the 

 rostrum, which is armed above with moveable spines, while 

 below it has five fixed teeth. The outer antennae are long, and 

 marked throughout by alternate light and dark bands. The 

 inner antennae have two lashes, the outer of the two thicker 

 than its fellow. The first pair of legs are not furnished with 

 nippers ; and the second pair are very unequal in length and 

 stoutness. It is reddish-grey in colour, dotted with a darker 

 tint. Its length on our shores, according to Bell, does not 

 exceed two and a half inches ; but on the coasts of the United 

 States it is said to attain to a length of four or five inches. 



There is a beautiful little Crustacean, which may fitly be 

 named the Varying Prawn (Hippolyte varians) ; it swarms 

 in certain rock-pools and among the rocks at low-water. In 

 such situations it is not so widely distributed as some of the 

 species we have named, but it is worth looking for on account 

 of its remarkable sensitiveness to the, colour of its sur- 

 roundings. Specimens taken from a pool in which the green 

 Ulva or Enteromorpha is the prevailing vegetation are green ; 

 but if transferred to a vessel containing only brown, red, or 

 yellow weeds, will in the course of a few hours be found to 

 have changed their colours to harmonise with their new 

 environment. So complete is this change that one can well 

 understand how this shrimp may be commonly distributed all 



