CaRPENTER—On some Pycnogonida from the Irish Coasts. 199 
Two distinguishable forms of Phovichilus occur in our seas, 
yet so nearly related that it is doubtful whether they should be 
regarded as distinct species. ‘They have, however, been differen- 
tiated and named by former observers ; so I venture to keep them 
separate, at least until intermediate forms are found connecting 
them. 
Phoxichilus spinosus, Mont. 
(REIS sane toss Teiotoe7 | 
P. spinosus, Hoek (in part). 
A single male of what I believe to be the typical form (11) of 
Montagu’s species, was dredged by the “ Fingal” off Aran Island 
in July, 1890. In his remarks on the Phowichili from the coast of 
Brittany, Hoek (4) mentions that two males, out of ten referred 
by him to P. spinosus, were much larger and more spiny than the 
others. He found no corresponding females, and was hence led 
to infer ‘“‘un dimorphisme dans le sexe masculin.” Through the 
kindness of my friend, Prof. D’Arcy Thompson, of Dundee (who has 
in many ways helped me in the study of this group), I have been 
able to examine a male and female from Plymouth (where Mon- 
tagu’s type was taken), and females from Jersey, which correspond 
closely with the Aran specimen; the females are, however, less 
_ spiny than their mates. hey differ from the next form (P. /evis) 
in being nearly twice as large,' having the proboscis much thicker 
proportionally at the end, bearing conspicuous spines on their 
lateral processes, and showing more numerous and larger spines 
on the legs. The openings of the cement-glands on the femora of 
the male number twenty-five or twenty-six (fig.5): nearly the 
same number (twenty-four) as Dohrn (9) gives for his large 
Mediterranean species, P. charybdeus. Our form agrees with 
P. charybdeus in its swollen proboscis; but the latter species 
has the spines on its lateral processes less conspicuous or absent. 
It has, moreover, relatively longer legs than P. spinosus. Two 
conspicuous blunt spines are present (fig. 1) at the front of the 
cephalic segment in the male; in the female they are hardly to 
be recognized. 
16mm. long and 40 mm. in extent. Montagu gave one-fourth of an inch as the 
length of his type. 
SCIEN. PROC. R.D.S., Vol. VIIl., PART II, P 
