The South Australian Naturalist. 
87 
„prDetrate an atrocious pun. The spice of wit is seldom missing 
from learned dissertations on life of plant or animal, frequent and 
l aps inane interpretations are not unknown. As an instance 
* a ladv is capable when driven at bay the writer of these 
Interesting memories was only recently described as “old fashion- 
•d out of date, obsolete and slightly intolerant.” But jokes like 
this are taken in good part, and provoke the hearty laugh, the 
surest token of good fellowship. 
A FAMILY OF ISOPOD CRUSTACEA. 
— W. H. BAKER. ^ _ , , , . ^ 
The Sphaeromidae are a marine tamily ot isopods belonging to 
the sub order Ilabellifera or fantails. They are compact of body, 
usually in shape approaching the oval, none having elongate form 
so common in other families of the order. They are so called 
from the habit which most of the species possess of rolling into 
a ball more or less spherical, probably as a protection Some 
merely fold the body from about the middle, others become 
globular with the outer tranches of the posterior fan outstanding, 
others again tuck away every limb and become a complete sphere 
capable of rolling about for a considerable time. 
So conceive of a creature of the oval shape when not alarmed, 
with rounded head bearing eyes, seveii segments of thorax follow- 
ing, all narrow fore and aft, behind which is an abdomen composed 
of an anterior portion and a posterior, the_ anterior being marked 
with transverse lines, more or less distinct, indicating a few 
segments which have grown together, and the posterior portion 
which is complete, although primitively supposed to consist of 
2 or 3 segments, this last piece bearing the tail-fan, more or less 
altered and the only appendages perhaps showing from a back 
view'. 
Underneath we shall find on the head, two pairs of antennae 
these probably have the same function as in insects — an upper 
lip above the mouth held in place by a structure called^ the 
epistome, a pair of mandibles with biting and crushing projections, 
a lower lip cleft in the middle, two pairs of maxillae (accessory for 
feeding) and a pair of maxillipcds more or less covering or ap- 
plied to these mouth limbs— this pair belongs to the 1st segment 
or thorax which really numbers eight In all — ; then come seven 
pairs of legs, all ambulatory with the 1st and 2nd for prehensile 
purpose also. The abdomen carries beside the tail fan, five 
pairs of pleopods which are leaf-like, their function being to carry 
and fan the gills, these last with one known exception being at- 
tached to the two last pairs. In the adult males, however, the 
2nd pleopods carry an apparatus for transferring the sperm 
bundles to the female. 
