Entomostraca (Water-Fleas). 455 



of food they quickly pine away. But it is not only on dead 

 animal food that they subsist ; they devour voraciously mul- 

 titudes of infusorial animalcules, and even, as we have noticed 

 in the Artemia, their own young. The Cyprides are among the 

 most bloodthirsty of the race. They not only prey upon each 

 other, but upon animals much larger than themselves, such as 

 the Clvirocephalus. 



The free-swimming Entomostraca are mostly very active in 

 their habits, but there is great variety in the character of their 

 motions. Cyclops swims through the water with a succession 

 of short, rapid jerks ; the Cy prides work their bivalve shells 

 along steadily, but rapidly, by means of their lower antennas 

 acting as a pair of paddles; whilst an allied genus (Candona) 

 is unable to swim because these lower antennas are not armed 

 with the long filaments which give swimming power to Cypris. 

 Candona, therefore, is content to crawl on the bottom, or on 

 the leaves and stems of water-plants. The beautiful motions 

 of Chirocephalus and Artemia have already been referred to. 

 The most grotesque and amusing of the whole tribe are the 

 Dapliniai ; these curious creatures use a pair of long arms or 

 antennas as propellers, which they work up and down most 

 energetically; and as the machinery comes to an occasional 

 stand-still, they look, with arms raised high above their heads 

 and great staring eye, as if transfixed with stupid astonish- 

 ment. 



Standing in strange contrast to the liveliness of the 

 Daphnice is the lazy helplessness of a nearly allied form, Acan- 

 tholeberis sordida. This singular species has, within the last 

 few months, been found for the first time in Britain by the Rev. 

 A. M. Norman, whose account of it has not yet been published. 

 It has been taken on the Continent by two naturalists, but 

 they each found only one specimen, nor could they ever suc- 

 ceed in re-discovering it. Their attention was first drawn to 

 the animal by observing it lying motionless — a bright red 

 speck — at the bottom of their collecting bottle. Mr. Norman's 

 experience was precisely similar, but he has been more fortu- 

 nate as regards the number of specimens taken, his captures 

 having amounted to four or five. Still, it is evidently a species 

 of excessive rarity, and not more rare than curious. The crea- 

 ture is built, so to speak, on the model of a Daphnian, for 

 swimming, but its antennas, which ought to raise and propel it 

 through the water, seem too weak for their purpose ; and as 

 no crawling apparatus is provided, it lies on its back, waving 

 its clumsy arms, and reminding one forcibly of the man who, 

 when his cart got into the mire, did nothing but throw up his 

 hands and call to Jupiter for help. The only progression 

 which I have ever seen it make was a sort of jumping, pro- 



