HOMARUS AND NEPHROPS. 



259 



fully developed pleurobranchiae. Moreover, the bran- 

 chial filaments of these gills are much stiffer and more 

 closely set than in most crayfishes. But the most im- 

 portant distinction is presented by the podobranchia?, in 

 which the stem is, as it were, completely split into two 

 parts longitudinally (as in fig. 68, B) ; one half (ep) 



FIG. 68. Podobranchiae of A, Puraxtacu* ; B. Xeph roj)s ; C. Pal&mon.. 

 A , C', transverse sections of A and C respectively, a, point of attach- 

 ment ; al, wing-like expansion of the stem ; b, base ; Zr, branchial 

 filaments ; ep, epipodite ; /, branchial laminae ; pi, plume ; sf, stem. 



corresponding with the lamina of the crayfish gill, and the 

 other (pi) with its plume. Hence the base (b) of the 

 podobranchia bears the gill in front; while, behind, it 

 is continued into a broad epipoditic plate (ep) slightly 

 folded upon itself longitudinally but not plaited, as in the 

 crayfish. 



The Norway Lobster (Nephrops norveyicus, fig. 69) 



