AMAZONS 269 



There is a still larger number of deep-sea prawns 

 of this genus Aristceus in which the rostrum of the 

 female is very much larger than that of the male. Now 

 the rostrum is generally regarded as the most formid- 

 able weapon of offence that a prawn possesses, so that 

 where it presents any sexual differences at all, we should 

 expect it to be largest in the male, which, as a rule, is 

 the more emulous and more pugnacious sex. Where, 

 however, as in so many species of Aristceus, we find 

 that it is largest in the female, we are inclined to 

 suspect that the character of the sexes is reversed, and 

 that instead of the males tilting for the favours of the 

 females, the latter fight with each other over the males ; 

 this suspicion is strengthened by the facts that, in the 

 species we are considering, the females are far larger 

 and more numerous than the males, so that the latter 

 puny sex must be at a great premium. This difference 

 between the two sexes is perhaps better marked in 

 Aristceus crassipes (Fig. 64) than in any other Indian 

 species. 



An interesting fact, which throws some light upon 

 the exigencies of life in the depths, is that many of the 

 deep-sea Crustacea lay eggs of relatively enormous size, 

 of which, of course, only a few can be produced at each 

 brood. This points to the conclusion that the young are 

 hatched in the likeness of their parents, and not, as 

 in the case of most shore-crustaceans, as minute larvae 

 which only reach the adult form after a prolonged 



