THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
Vor. xi. — OCTOBER, 1879. — No. 10. 
AN ACCOUNT OF A NEW GENUS OF MINUTE 
PAUROPOD MYRIAPODS. 
BY JOHN A. RYDER. 
N 1866 Sir John Lubbock first called attention to the remark- 
able little myriapod which he named Pauropus in reference to 
the fewness of its feet. He discovered the animal in considerable 
numbers under decaying leaves; he did not consider it exactly 
social in its habits; not noticing each other’s presence, they did 
not exhibit the extreme ferocity toward each other which charac- 
terize some of the large carnivorous myriapods. In specimens 
of the same genus, however, which I found in Fairmount Park, 
Phiiadelphia, in the nests of Termes flavipes, upon two occasions, 
I noticed that when the point of a dissecting needle was carefully 
brought into contact with them so as to not injure their delicate 
little bodies, they would throw their heads around towards the 
offending needle point and “show fight” like the species of the car- 
` nivorous genus Lithobius. This was not noticed in the specimens of 
Seurshasropeis which I am about to describe, and which I kept in 
confinement for about three months ; in fact, the “ bustling, active, 
neat and cleanly ” little Pauropus ie in strong:contrast with the 
former in the two first particulars. The habitat of the new 
American form is much the same as that of Pauropus, being 
found in moist situations under sticks and decaying vegetable 
matter, and like it appearing to respire through the skin, so that if 
placed in a dry atmosphere it soon dies. None of the members 
of this group attain a large size, P. huxleyi being about »'5 of an 
inch long, which is about the size of the new form, whilst P. 
pedunculatus and lubbockii are both smaller. 
- Upon the occasion when Sir John Lubbock first exhibited his 
VOL. XITI.—No, X. 41 
