87 



CHORDATED STYLEPHORUS. 



Stylephorus Chordatus. S. argenteus,jilo caudali lojigissimo. 

 Silvery Stylephorus, with extremely long caudal thread. 

 Stylephorus chordatus. Ian. Trans, vol. 1. p. QO. pi. 6. Na- 

 turalist's Miscellany, vol. 8. pi. 274. 



The head of this extraordinary animal bears some 

 distant resemblance to that of the genus Syngna- 

 thus, and its true structure cannot so easily be de- 

 scribed in words as conceived by the figure. The 

 rostrum or narrow part, which is terminated by the 

 mouth, is connected to the back part of the head 

 by a flexible leathery duplicature, which permits it 

 to be either extended in such a manner that the 

 mouth points directly upwards, or to fall back, so 

 as to be received into a sort of case formed by the 

 upper part of the head. On the top of the head are 

 placed the eyes, which are of a form very nearly ap- 

 proaching to those of the genus Cancer, except that 

 the columns or parts on which each eye is placed 

 are much broader or thicker than in that genus : 

 they are also placed close to each other, and the 

 outward surface of the eye, when magnified, does 

 not shew the least appearance of a reticulated struc- 

 ture. The colour of the eyes, as well as of the co- 

 lumns on which they stand, is a clear chesnut brown, 

 with a sort of coppery gloss. Below the head, on 

 each side, is a considerable compressed semicircular 

 space, the fore part ol which is bounded by the 

 covering of the gills, which covering seems to con- 

 sist of a single membrane, of a moderately strong 



