History of British Entomostraca. 41 



the Entomostraca themselves were seen to be full, sufficiently prov- 

 ing that they had not fasted during that time. This assertion, how- 

 ever, I am much inclined to doubt, at least with regard to some of 

 the species, as I have seen dead specimens of Cypris, for example, 

 attacked almost immediately upon their being placed in the water, 

 by quantities of the Cyclops quadricornis, who, in a few minutes, had 

 fastened themselves apparently upon the dead animal, and were so 

 intent upon their prey that they were scarcely frightened away from 

 it by being touched with the brush. In a short time the Cypris 

 might be seen lying at the bottom of the vessel, the valves of the 

 shell separated and emptied of their contents. Leeuwenhoek and De 

 Geer not only maintain that the Cyclops quadricornis lives upon ani- 

 malcules, but that they also prey upon their own young ; a fact which 

 I have also noticed myself. Jurine also asserts that the Cyclops 

 quadricornis is carnivorous from taste, and only herbivorous from ne- 

 cessity, while the Dapknia pennata he distinctly says lives upon ani- 

 malcules. When, indeed, we consider the amazing quantity of animals 

 which swarm in our ponds and ditches, and the deterioration to the 

 surrounding atmosphere which might ensue from the putrefaction 

 of their dead bodies, we see a decided fitness in these Entomostraca 

 being carnivorous, thus helping to prevent the noxious effects of pu- 

 trid air which might otherwise ensue ; whilst they in their turn 

 become a prey to other insects which no doubt serve their purposes 

 also in the economy of nature. The fresh water Gammari seem to 

 prey upon them, and the Hydrachnse are their decided enemies, for, 

 says Muller, " they seize hold of them, when swimming, by their 

 feet, and daintily suck the life's blood out of their captives with their 

 sharp beaks."* " The Hydra also, and not a few aquatic larvae, lay 

 snares for them, and many Vorticellea frequently grievously infest 

 them, for they not only adhere, often in heaps, to the members pro- 

 jecting beyond the shell, but also nestling themselves within the 

 shell, they overspread the whole body with their own colonies, not 

 a little retarding the motion and agility of their host."t The trans- 

 formation which the young of the genus Cyclops undergo in their 

 progress to maturity, the changing their skin, not only of the body 

 of the animal but also the Avhole shell, with various other very in- 

 teresting details, I shall not insist upon here, but reserve them for 

 a future number under the history of each genus. 



(Z'o be continued.} 

 * Entomostraca, p. 8. f Ibid. 



