Nicholls — T'WO New Plircaloirid.s. 
199 
malcHj and in 1\ Joyncri (wiu'rc I took all that 1 ('ould see) at least 
as large a proportion are of this sex. Of the JI ypcroedc.^ipus m ujy 
collec'tion probaldy less than d ]>er eent. are females, while of 
Hyysimetoyas there is no record of tlu* ca])tare of females. The 
early collections of Pli rcaio'icopsi.s, also, consisted wholly of male 
specimens, but it should bev noted that, in most, if not all of these 
species, the mail* is tlu' larger as well as h'ss prone to couceal- 
iiient. In Amphiao})us liiiloni, on the other hand, niy material 
showed an overwhelming jirej)onderaiice of feJiiales. In this case, 
however, the female attains to a size nearly twice that of the 
average male, au<l is ])erhaps less able to td'i'ectively <-onceal hc'isell. 
In the i)artly grown forms it is often not [)ossible to distinguish 
between immature male and f(miak‘ by ius])ection only, and tlu* 
dis])roj)ortion in numbers between the sexes may not be as great as 
would a])})ear from tlu* comjtosition of a given colUM-tion. In P. 
(yjiicus the mah‘ is a]t])arently unknown. 
Ill pairing, as Cllaiu'rt has noted (be.), the male, of A. paluslris 
makes use of his strongly (leveloi)t'd gnathojH)ds, the fourth pair of 
peraeopods not being esjieeially mollified in this g('nus. I have 
observed, however, that the rather hook-like peraeopfsls of the 
anterior series, may all, at times, be caught under the ])roJecting 
epimera of the female. The structure of the second and tliird 
peraeopods of P. jm/neri suggvsts that thes(' have a somewhat pre- 
hensile cliaractei'. 
Of Hyperoedesipus it is worthy of note that the remarkably 
developed gnathopocis of the male seem never to be used for this 
purpose, the hold being effected entirely by the fourth pair. An 
obvious explanation is, however, at once forthcoming. Ihe greatest 
danger to which a blind, subterranean form Such as this coilld 
be exposed, is that of bc'ing swe]it irrevocably to tln^ siii'face, tlieio 
to bo wmshed out to sea, or, esca])ing tli.at, almost eertaiiily to iierish 
in competition with, or a prey to, surfae.-living forms.* During 
pairing, when a double strain niiglit be imposed upon its earth hold, 
there is clearly a need, in the male, for a greater muscular develop- 
ment of its gripidng ai.pemlage, I have never seen lUiprroedenipun 
feeding on animal matter, ami I believe that the great Is 
are not raptorial. The fourth peraeopod appears to be but slightly 
*In the tiny hollow, in wliieh alone 1 have found these forms, they 
have beeen associated with three other obviously underground 
forms (a small ,\niphi]io(l, a planarian, and a minute earth- 
worm, probably a Phraeo.lrilid), from none of which would they 
be likely to have much to fear in their subterranean haunts, 
excepting only for the competition for such food as there may 
be. 
