Dr. J. Young on the Malacostraca of Aristotle, 257 



attention to the 'History of Animals^ (B. iv. c. 2), we find the 

 characters there stated generally applicable to the Loricata of 

 Van der Hoeven's classification. But, considering the other 

 passages in which the pincers of Carabi arc referred to as de- 

 scriptive not of sexual but generic characters, and looking else- 

 where for forms which without violence may be supposed to 

 have, in part at least, contributed to a description probably 

 written chiefly from memory, the genera Gebia and Calliaxis, 

 separated by Heller from the Astacina, and placed between that 

 family and the Loricata, present the chelate first pair, and are 

 probably included in the term Caraboid, which is frequently 

 used for Carabi, and, though sometimes perhaps including 

 Astacus, may be held as limited to the Loricata and allied forms 

 unnamed. 



Of the families Loricata and Thalassinidse eight genera and 

 eleven species are found in the Mediterranean. 



Karis, — The animals of this group have an elongated body 

 like Carabus, but are without pincers. The number of feet 

 exceeds ten ; their arrangement distinguishes two groups : at 

 KV(j)al have five pairs, those next the head being sharp ; they 

 are followed by other five pairs, whose extremities are flattened : 

 abdominal appendages are wanting ; the surface of the body is 

 similar to that of Carabus ; the central plate of the tail is spinous 

 and pointed. 'H Kpa^yycov, on the other hand (to avairaXLv) has 

 first two pairs (four feet) flat, then other three pairs of slender 

 feet ; the posterior part of the body is without feet ; the central 

 plate of the tail is spinous and broad. The precision with which 

 these characters are stated at first sight gives hope that they 

 will be easily used in identification. But it is not so : the iden- 

 tifications hitherto proposed are beset with difficulties, whose 

 solution requires the previous assumption that Aristotle has 

 been too negligent in his observations, or has shown unusual 

 precision in assigning to limbs their morphological values, 

 Guided by the description of the tail, Cuvier has recognized in 

 the former the Crevette {Gammaj'us locusta), in the latter Squilla 

 Mantis, In so far as this interpretation rests upon the lection 

 adopted in the first clause descriptive of Kpayjcov, I cannot see 

 much force in Meyer^s objection to Schneider^s rendering. 

 Having placed the sharp claws anterior to the flat in al Kv<f>al, 

 Aristotle goes on, *H Se Kpd'y'ywv to avdiraXLV tou? irpcorov^^ 

 fydp e'xei TeTTapa<; icj) eKarepa [TrXaret?] , elr aXkov^ i^o/j,6Vov<i 

 XeTTTov? Tpet9 e<^' eKarepa k. t. X. Granting that dvaTraXcv 

 does not necessarily mean " reversely," yet the antithetical con- 

 struction of the following sentence seems to require in the first 

 clause a descriptive adjective corresponding to Xctttou? : ifKarel^ 

 is that most naturally suggested by the foregoing passage 3 but 



Ann, i^ Mag, N, Hist, ISer.3. Fo/.xv. 17 



