AND THE ZOOLOGY OF CHINA 6 1 



bitten by them whilst bathing in rivers. The Amy da 

 Maackii can be seen not only in the Amur and Sungari rivers, 

 but also in the Nonni, Ghoal and the northern affluents of 

 the Amur. This tortoise is extremely abundant in Northern 

 parts of China and represents a characteristic reptile of 

 East Asia. 



VII. — On the Fresh Water Shrimps in Manchuria 



and China. 



China and Manchuria, remarkable for their native fishes, 

 can pride themselves on their fresh water shrimps, which 

 occur in many places of this vast region. At the present 

 time for some reason or another no attention has been paid 

 to these crustaceans, though they are very commonly ob- 

 served in fresh water : they are known in tropical Africa, 

 Italy, Greenland and in some other places. It appears that 

 in Manchuria there are 5 kinds of these shrimps. One form 

 inhabits the water of the Amur river, while the other two — 

 the one in the Sungari and the other in the Choal (affluents 

 of the Nonni river near the Hingan mountains). The size of 

 the Manchurian shrimp varies from 2 to 6 cm. in length; in 

 the Sungari river one form is very abundant and every 

 Spring the Chinese are engaged in catching them with the 

 aid of a particular large single-sided bag-nets and round 

 hand-nets. The shrimps are used as food and in favourable 

 years the catch amounts to hundreds of pounds, which dried 

 or otherwise provide food for the winter. In the Sungari the 

 shrimps are numerous from Spring to the middle of Summer, 

 and they are always seen near the shore. We meet also 

 shrimps in water courses and in lakes but in stagnant water 

 they are not common. They develop in Spring and Sum- 

 mer and as the observations of D. P. Keller show the 

 Manchurian shrimps can be reared in aquariums; one form 

 is herbivorous, another carnivorous. 



Besides Manchuria the fresh water shrimps are very 

 common in North and South China. They are observed near 

 Tientsin— at the junction of the Pai-ho river and the Grand 

 Canal; at Chen-ting on the Pu-to river in Chili province ;#at 

 Shanghai in ponds and canals; at Hankow and other places 

 in the middle and lower Yangtze and in the Han river, at 

 Focchow on the Min river and ponds; Hongkong and Canton 

 in the Pearl Eiver. # 



In some of the above districts these shrimps are very 

 abundant : they are caught with special nets and baskets and 

 are dried and sent to the markets. The origin of these cru- 

 staceans must be full of interest. Undoubtedly they come 

 from the sea and gradually spread into fresh water. 



