6 Fishery Board for Scotland. 



curved and spiniform, on its upper distal angle ; the third joint is 

 very short, but the fourth is elongated, stout, and somewhat gibbous 

 at the proximal end, and considerably narrowed towards the distal 

 extremity ; the end joint is very small and bears two or three 

 /£./ moderately long and slender Epical spines ; the penultimate joint has 

 / its upper margin densely clothed with setae (PL II., fig. 7). 



Maxillce. — The first, second, and third pairs of maxillse are all 

 somewhat similar to the same appendages in Cypridina mediterranea, 

 and differ from them only in some minor details. The third pair is 

 provided with four not very clearly-defined lobes, and on the outside 

 of these is a small sub-triangular lamina, with its distal margin 

 boldly rounded and densely fringed with feathered setae (PL II., 

 fig. 10). 



The post-abdomen is also similar to that of the species mentioned. 

 Its armature consists of eleven spines ; the apical one is of consider- 

 able length, while the others become gradualty shorter ; the margins 

 are all fringed with denticles of a similar kind (PL II., fig. 12). 



The Vermiform Appendages. — These, which are of great length, are 

 rather slender ; the head is wedge-shaped and pointed, and the edges 

 of the lips of the jaw-like apex are fringed with minute spinules. 

 These appendages are also furnished at the distal end, and especially 

 near the apex, with numerous long slender bristles such as are usually 

 found on these organs. 



Habitat. — Collected by the " Goldseeker " in August 1910, in Lat. 

 58°43 N, Long. 9°6 W., between 90 and 95 miles W. by N. of 

 the Butt of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, at a depth of about 1448 meters 

 (over 780 fathoms). I have only seen one specimen. 



Remarks. — Large Ostracods have been obtained at various times, 

 usually in tolerabty deep water, but there has apparently been no 

 record of their occurrence hitherto off the West Coast of Scotland. 



The genus Gigantocypris was instituted by Professor G. W. Miiller 

 in 1895 to include some large Ostracods collected by the U.S. Fish 

 Commission steamer " Albatross " while carrying on dredging 

 operations off the West Coast of Central America. Two species were 

 described — G. agassizii and G. pellucida, and the specimen recorded 

 here seems to agree fairly well with the latter. Dr. G. H. Fowler, in 

 his account of the Ostracoda obtained from collections made by 

 H.M.S. " Research " in the Bay of Biscay in 1900,* reports the 

 occurrence of two examples of G. pellucida, one of which — a perfect 

 specimen — measured about 13 mm. Both specimens were obtained 

 at considerable depths. In recording these specimens Dr. Fowler 

 remarks — " 1 regard it, however, as possible that pellucida is the 

 penultimate stage of agassizii!' 



G. agassizii is apparently a much larger form than the other ; Dr. 

 Miiller states that " Die Thiere e rreichen eine Lange von 23 mm., 

 bei eine Hohe von 19-5, und eine Breite von 18 mm." 



Gigantocypris appears to have a wide distribution, for, besides the 

 occurrences mentioned above, Professor Chun, in his account of the 

 Valdivia Expedition, also records the capture of similar specimens in 

 the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, in 



* Biscayan plankton collected during a cruise of H.M.S. "Research," 1900; 

 Part XII. Ostracoda. Trans. Linn. Soc, London, Ser. 2, Zool., Vol. x., p. 257 

 (1909). 



