486 
THE SHARE-SUGKER. 
the order of the Lerneadse, in which the mouth is formed for suction, and the limbs scarcely 
visible. All these beings are parasitic upon fishes, and are often so deeply buried in the 
tissues, that the whole body is concealed and only the egg-bearing tubes suffered to appear. 
As is the case with many creatures, especially those that occupy a low place in the scale of 
creation, the young enjoy a wider range than the parent, being able to roam about at will, and 
not settling down to a motionless existence until they have attained maturity. 
LERNEADA. 
There seems to be no bound to the wondrous forms which these parasites assume, as may 
be learned from the following example : the Ghondr acanthus zei. It is called so because its 
body is covered with cartilaginous spines or tubercles. The name is derived from two Greek 
words, the former signifying cartilage and the second a thorn. This strange being is found 
upon the gills of the John Dory. 
The two most extraordinary beings, which are called Lernceodiscus and Jacculina , were 
discovered under the abdomen of a lobster. In both these creatures (which certainly seem to 
belong to the Lerneans), the whole of the head becomes modified into a set of branching fibres, 
much resembling the roots of a tree. There is no mouth whatever, all nourishment being 
transmitted through these fibres. They are quite recent discoveries. 
Though our space is rapidly diminishing, we may still mention a few more of these 
creatures. One of common occurrence is the Perch-sucker, in which exists a great dis- 
similarity between the female and her small mate. Another species is termed Anchorella 
uncinata. In this parasite the arm-like appendages are very short, and united from the base 
so as to look like a single organ. The body of the female Anchorella is white, and the short 
arms end in a rounded knob. This creature is rather more than half an inch in length. The 
male of the same species would hardly be recognized as having any connection with the 
long-bodied creature that has just been described. The length of the male is about the 
forty-eighth of an inch. Another species of the same genus is the Anchorella rugosa , so called 
because the body is notched at the side. This creature is about the seventh of an inch in 
length. All these creatures infest the cod, haddock, and similar fishes. 
A wonderful example of a parasitic crustacean is the Tracheliastes, with its long egg-bags 
and strangely-developed upper extremity. 
Ih the next tribe of Entomostraca the head is kept buried in the tissues of the animal to 
which the parasites cling, and are there held firmly by some horn-like processes that spring 
from the back part of the head. They are, in fact, living spears, the barbed heads being sunk 
into their prey. The two best-known members of this tribe are the Lamproglena pulchella 
and the Lernentoma asellina. 
Hot the least strange-looking among them is termed Olialimus scombri. It is, like many 
others of its class, parasitical upon a parasite, and it is found adhering to the caligus. With 
its long tube and sucker it adheres to its prey, and it may often be seen hanging to the lower 
part of the caligus like a fish at the end of a line. This is one of the many instances that 
prove the truth of that quaint and far-seeing old saying, namely — 
“ Big fleas and little fleas 
Have lesser fleas to Mte ’em ; 
The lesser fleas have smaller fleas. 
And so, ad infinitum.” 
A creature that is found upon the sun-fish, and adheres to the gills, is called Cecrops. It 
is not always fixed to this habitation, but floats about by thousands in the Mediterranean, 
where it is preyed upon by many fishes. 
Our next example is the Shark-sucker, a species that is found adherent to the eyes of 
the Arctic shark, and appears to blind it. The sharks to which this unpleasant appendage 
was attached seemed to be quite destitute of sight, and did not flinch in the least when a blow 
