86 Dr. Salter on Lerneonema Bairdii. 



" I could discover," he says, " no fracture or injury to either of 

 the specimens, so I have no doubt of their integrity, and they 

 appeared both exactly alike. Besides the drawing I sent you, I 

 made a figure at another time, and both drawings, made from 

 the animal itself, are exactly alike." Unfortunately the speci- 

 mens were lost, having been, along with the herring to which 

 they had been attached, thrown away by Dr. Salter's servant in 

 mistake. As I know Dr. Salter to be an accurate observer, I 

 think the accompanying sketch and description are worthy of a 

 place in your Journal, and I therefore willingly comply with 

 Dr. Salter's request to forward them to you for insertion. 



I remain, yours truly, 



W. Baird, M.D. 



The animal, to which I have applied the name Lerneonema 

 Bairdii, was presented to me by my friend Mr. Jordan of Teign- 

 mouth, who obtained it from the coast of Devonshire. It was 

 found adhering to the eye of a herring, and by its side, attached 

 to the same cornea, was a smaller one, similar to it in every re- 

 spect but its size. The colours were, at the time it was fresh, 

 remarkably bright, flesh-coloured and green. 



It appears, from its general form, to belong to the genus Ler- 

 neonema, though it does not strictly come within the definition 

 of it given by Dr. Baird, who says that the head is " furnished 

 with two or three simple curved horn-shaped appendages ;" 

 whereas in this individual there is but one simple hook. In 

 every other respect it falls within the generic description, and 

 here the discrepancy is probably from the definition not being 

 sufficiently comprehensive. 



This Lerneonema difi^ers little from L. spratta, excepting in the 

 form of the head. 



The headoiL. Bairdii consists of one simple hook (PI. VII. B. 

 fig. 3 a) composed of a little horny cylindrical thread bent upon 

 itself in the form of a hook, pointed at its free extremity and 

 attenuated where it joins the neck, the intermediate portion being 

 somewhat, though slightly, swollen out. This hook, if extended, 

 would measure about one line and a half. 



The neck, which measures about three-sixteenths of an inch, is 

 flattened laterally, so that, when viewed in front or behind, it 

 appears a mere line (fig. 2 b), but when seen on one side its di- 

 mensions are more considerable (fig. 3 b). Its edges are serrated, 

 and present about nine or ten serrations on each edge. At the 

 point where the neck joins the head the structures are greatly 

 attenuated, so that the head can move freely in any direction. 



The body is a little more than five-eighths of an inch long. 



