AUSTRALIAN CUMACEA. NO. 7! 
THE GENUS CYCLASPIS 
By HERBERT M. HALE, DIRECTOR, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 
Summary 
Until recently, little intensive collecting of Cumacea was carried out in the Pacific. A 
rather prolonged investigation of some areas off southern and eastern Australia makes 
it possible to state now that these crustaceans, while not so abundant as the 
Amphipoda, here constitute an important part of the bottom fauna. They are found in 
the stomachs of some of the Australian fishes but, excepting the more strongly 
calcified forms, are usually in such fragmentary condition that specific identification 
is not possible. In jars of sea water, Amphipoda collected at the same time as 
Cumacea have been observed feeding upon the latter, biting off the anterior part of the 
thorax and discarding the rest of the body with the spiny legs and uropods attached. 
