268 



PHYLLOPODA ; BRINE-SHRIMP. 



spring and beginning of the summer. They are sometimes raised 

 into the air by whirlwinds, and scattered again like rain. Their 

 eggs are of a red colour, and fall to the bottom of the water, when 

 set free from the egg-cases which the parent bears near its tail. 

 When first hatched, the young differ considerably from their pa- 

 rents, having but one eye, four legs, no tail, and the shell cover- 

 ing only the front half of the body. These Crustacea, which are 

 amongst the largest members of this section, appear to feed chiefly 

 upon the smaller Entomostraca, and are in their turn attacked 

 by Frogs. They swim well on the back, and burrow in the sand, 

 elevating their tails in the water. 



878. In the species included in the second division of the 

 Order, there is neither bivalve shell, nor any trace of a shield- 

 like carapace ; but the body is entirely soft. It is usually much 

 prolonged, and composed of a large number of segments ; but 

 the branchial appendages or gill-feet do not exceed eleven pairs. 



To this group belongs the 

 curious Artemia salina, or 

 Brine-shrimp ; a small Crus- 

 tacean, about half an inch in 

 length, commonly found in the 

 salt-pans at Lymington, when 

 the evaporation of the water 

 is so far advanced that the 

 fluid contains a quarter of a 

 pound of salt in the pint. The 

 accompanying figures repre- 

 sent the progressive stages of its development. "Nature having 

 constructed it with members solely adapted for swimming, it 

 seems to be in perpetual quest of prey, gliding with an almost 

 even motion through the water, 

 and moving with equal indif- 

 ference on the back, belly, and 

 sides ; the shape of the animal, 

 the undulating movements of 

 its fins, and the glossy appearance of its coat, render it an 

 object of a very interesting description." The reservoirs in 



-ARTEMIA SAUNA, in different 

 stages. 



FIG. 603 CHIROCEPHALTJS DIOPHANX.S. 



