loS 



RErouT — 1884. 



bolieved to derive llieir ori^iii from a fomniou parent, have ftttaiiied their habitats 

 without any conuectinfr intluenco ii.s far as we can determine. 



Moils. A. Certea says that lie tuok .sinuo carefully collected sediment, from which 

 ke evaporated the water, and kept for tliree years ; he then heated the material with 

 boiled and liltered rain water. 



On the foUowinj.'' day, notwithstandinjr all care had been taken to keep out friTms 

 from the air, s])ecimens of Flaiieliafd and Ciliafa exhibited themselves, ai'.d twn 

 months later, uaupliiis-liiie forms appeared, which rapidly increased, and later 

 assimied the I'orm of Artvmia saliii'i. 



Jiife beinjj; so long' persistent, in animals so hii.vh in orprauic structm-e is siif.'j:estive 

 tliat, under more favourable conditions, others still iiifiher mij^lil retain tlieir vitality 

 for a lon<rer time than is frenerally belie\ed, ami that wading birds may be the 

 means of carrying mud in which small crust acea, such as Afoi/dca, may have ])eon 

 encased with their ova, and so have transferred to a considerable distance tbesiieci- 

 mensof a distant locality. 



One of the most abundant of .specific forms is that of tiie genus A/jiJi'fii.^, in 

 which I include those congeners that have been separated from it, more i'ur *\w 

 convenience of classiticalion than on account of any structural value. 



It contains twenty recognised species, and, witli the exception of one siiio'l,: 

 instance, tiiey have all been taken witliiii a de})th of tifty fathoms (if wator. 

 Tle'V are mosily recovered from muddy liottoms, but they are frequently t'ouml 

 sheltered among masses of sponge or en; al, Trom tlieir peculiar habitat, luidthf 

 protected condition of their eyes, I am induced, to believe tiiat they lj\iriow 

 beneath the surface of the mud. 



They are mostly inhabitants of the warm seas, abounding in tropical and sul;- 

 tropical regi(Uis. becoming more scarce in the temperate, and gradually disajiprarin;.' 

 towards the cold temperate and Antarctic regions. One species, tliiit of J!(t(m 

 tnmcaius, is recorded from Ca])e Horn, where it was dredged in a))"ut ten fatlinnis 

 of water. With this exceptiun none has been observed farther soutii tiian N.w 

 Zealand, or oO'^ of .S. latitude, or farther iiortli than the English Chaiuiel, orK'til' 

 N. latitude. 



They are essentially a sub-lulural form, for t!ie instances of their having been 

 taken beyond twenty fathoms of water are lew, and those are suggestive of a doubt- 

 ful record. 



Alphfcus avarus is twice recorded in the ' Challenger * collection as having been 

 taken off the coast of New Holland— once at a depth of eight fathoms, and once 

 at 2,075 fathoms. 



I cannot conclude this .short sketch of th'"' habits and range of some of the more 

 common and abundant species of ])rawns without notinur that of a miiuite swiuimiii:' 

 Bpecimeu that is called, in 'Bell's History of the British Crustacea,' T/iasauopodn 

 CoucJdi. 



In the spring of the year this little creature, scarcely three-quarters of an inch 

 in length, appears in great abundance in the English ( 'hannel a short distance 

 beneath the surface of the sea; myriads come pouring in from the Atlantic. 



These, which are mostly laden with ova, are of a slightly yellowisli colour, an'l 

 semitransparent ; following these the herring comes raventtusly on, and devours all 

 it meets with ; after the herring swim larger iish, which, in their turn, are chased 

 by others. The geographical distribution of the more miiuito Crustacea guides and 

 limits that of the more important animal, and the study of the former will un- 

 doubtedly add much to our knowledsre of the latter, and teach us that much of 

 our own position iu the worbl is dependent n])on the existence and the condition 

 of life of other animals, which, from our want of knowledge of them and their 

 habits, we are accustomed to regard as unimportant and insignificant. 



2. On the Geograi^liical and BatJnjmetrical Distribution of the Crinoidea. 

 By P. Herbert CAurENXER, B.Sc. 



The geographical distribution of the Crinoids is fully as extensive as that of 

 the other echinoderms. Comatuloe range between the two pai'allels of 81° N. and 



l,lu>,^ii-iL 



