No. 26.] ARTHROSTRACA OF CONNECTICUT. 37 



process by its preference when in a glass receptacle for burrowing 

 along the side of the glass. Talorchestia burrows only in fine, 

 loose sand, and when coarser sand or shell fragments are 

 encountered below the surface the animal ceases to burrow. 

 The second antennae are bent back sharply at the second joint and 

 the head is pushed into the sand. The grains of sand are passed 

 back from the first gnathopods to the anterior pairs of pereio- 

 pods while the body is largely supported by the posterior pairs. 

 The sand thus accumulates behind the body, which is more or 

 less curled. At intervals the body is vigorously straightened and 

 the sand projected some centimeters. As the burrow deepens, 

 the sand is simply pushed behind the body by the pereiopods and 

 the hole is closed. 



FOOD. 



The Amphipoda, so far as our knowledge goes, are voracious 

 feeders, consuming all kinds of animal and vegetable matter, 

 whether in the fresh condition or putrid. It is only rarely that 

 they have been known to attack and consume living animals, but 

 freshly killed animals are eagerly fed upon. By roughly estimat- 

 ing the amount of fecal matter discharged by a single Amphithoe 

 supplied with an abundance of food (Ulva), Holmes concluded 

 that in twenty-four hours about one-tenth of the body weight was 

 consumed. The greater part of the food of the Amphipoda, 

 probably because of its usually greater abundance, is vegetable; 

 but molluscs, fish, and annelids as well as dead individuals of 

 their own species are quickly consumed. The cast skin is fre- 

 quently eaten, for in aquarium jars in the laboratory usually only 

 small fragments of the molted skin are observed. 



The Amphipoda are not at all discriminating in their choice 

 of food; bleached fronds of Ulva are consumed as readily as 

 fresh green ones which may be lying beside them, and paint- 

 covered straws from old brooms and paper will be eaten when 

 there may be an an abundance of fresh sea weeds and animal 

 tissues at hand. 



In eating, the food mass is held by the gnathopods and anterior 

 pereiopods and chewed directly without first being torn apart by 

 the gnathopods. When algas like Ulva are eaten, the frond is 

 gnawed from the edge into an irregularly shaped excavation of 



