ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 367 



New Species of Polydesmus with Eyes.* — The species of Poly- 

 desmus, a genus embracing some of the most common Myriopods, are, 

 as a rule, eyeless. Dr. A. S. Packard, jun., has, however, found at 

 Portland, in Oregon, a form in which eyes are present. The characters 

 in general are such as not, perhaps, to warrant a separation from the 

 genus, and he proposes to name it P. ocellatus. It might be easily 

 mistaken for a Trichopetalus. The individuals were mature, or nearly 

 so, as they were horn-brown. The 12-13 ocelli were conspicuous 

 and black. In the cylindrical body and thick antennae it approaches 

 P. cavicola Pack., from a cave on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. 

 It differs from that species, which is eyeless, in the fusiform body, 

 much thicker antennae, and the finer granulations as well as the 

 larger number of segments. 



S. Crustacea. 



Caprellidae.t — P. Mayer commences with an account of the 

 systematic characters of these Crustacea, reviewing the work of his 

 predecessors, and showing how these have advanced the study of the 

 group. An account of the families, genera, and species then follows, 

 more especial attention being, of course, given to the forms found in 

 the Bay of Naples, This section concludes with an alphabetical list 

 of the genera and species. An account of the little that is known as 

 to the geographical distribution then follows ; and this is succeeded 

 by a series of chapters on the anatomical and histological characters. 



The diificult question of the relation of the Caprellidae to the 

 Cyamidte is in conclusion discussed, though we have no palasontological 

 and but little embryological evidence to assist us. Some answer, how- 

 ever, must be given to the question : Are theCyamidae really allied to the 

 Caprellidfe, and is the group of the Laemodipoda a natural one ? We 

 find that the external and internal organization of a Cyamid is similar 

 to that of a Caprellid ; in both the abdomen has undergone a like 

 kind of degeneration, and there is much in common in the characters 

 of the liver, the external generative organs, and the general segmen- 

 tation of the body. The group, then, of the Laemodipoda being a 

 natural one, we have to see whether the ancestor of the group stood 

 closer to the Caprellidae or the Cyamidae. The result of the inquiry 

 is in favour of the former, and leads to the view that the latter were 

 derived from a form not unlike Gaprella. The genus Platijcyamus 

 appears to be a very lately developed Cyamid. The Lfemodipod 

 ancestor seems to stand in closest alliance to the Gammaridae amongst 

 the Amphipoda, but the cause of the peculiarities in its organization 

 cannot be certainly defined ; there is not as yet sufficient evidence to 

 justify us in ascribing it to their more sessile mode of life. 



Coloration of Idotea tricuspidata.t — C. Matzdorff divides his 

 essay into three portions ; in the first or descriptive part he gives an 

 account of the coloration of these Isopods, which he arranges in five 



* Ainer. Natural., xvii. (1883) pp. 428-9 (6 figs.). 



t Fauna u. Flora des Golfes Neapel, vi. 4to, Leipzig, 1882. 201 pp. (10 

 pis. and 39 zincographs). 



X Jen. Zeitscbr. f. Naturwiss., ix. (1882) jip. 1-58 (2 pis.). 



