48 
PHALANGIUM. 
Europe it appears to arrive at twice that length. It preys 
on the fmaller and weaker kind of infe&s, as the Termes 
pulfatorium, the larvae of Ptini and Dermeftides, &c. but 
the abfurd idea, that either this or the P. acaroides gets 
into perfons’ legs and creates humours, is certainly with¬ 
out foundation, neither of them being furnished with a 
probofeis like the Acarus ; and it is more than probable 
that the habits of Acarus autumnalis have been aferibed 
to thefe infefts. That little creature, almoft invifible to 
the naked eye, abounds in dry fummers fo much as to 
be extremely diftrefling to thofe who enjoy rural fports 5 
and, where the habit is readily excited to inflammation, 
dreadfully inflamed legs will frequently be the confe- 
quence. The P. cancroides, fays Mr. Montague, “is 
more commonly found amongft colleftions of natural 
fubjedts than elfewhere; it is not uncommon to fee four 
or five together in one cafe of my preferved birds, and yet 
I have never obferved it in any other part of my houfe.” 
The progreflive motion of this infedi is very flow and 
uniform, contrafling its arms and becoming motionlefs 
when touched. This curious infedt is fliown magnified 
at fig. 8. and of the natural fize at fig. 9. The following 
figures are all magnified. 
16. Phalangium acaroides: eyesonly two; body oblong, 
truncated at the pofterior end ; thorax fmooth, gloffy, 
the other part divided into eight joints befet with hairs ; 
palpi ftiort, chelate, and porrefted; the thumb or move- 
able fang much hooked at the point; feelers, or more 
properly the arms, as long as the body, and cheliferous ; 
the hand ovate; fangs (lender, (lightly hooked, and 
fmooth, but furniflied with hair: legs eight, each provi¬ 
ded with a pair of minute claws ; thefe are alfo hirfute : 
eyes two, placed on the Tides of the head, and none on 
the top; the colour is chefnut; the length one eighth of 
an inch. 
For a very interefting defeription and correft figure of 
this infedt, we are indebted to Mr. Montague in Linn. 
Tranf. vol. xi. “Although it appears that this curious 
infedt has been now and then met with in this country ; 
yet, as it is efteemed rare, and is fo little known, fome 
further accounts of it from perfonal obfervation may not 
be unacceptable to the curious entomologift; and 
fig. 10. in the plate will at once convey fome idea of its 
ilrudture, and evince that it is perfedtly diftindt from 
either the Ph. cancroides or the lobfter-infeft figured in 
Adams on the Microfcope, by Kanmacher, Plate XVIII. 
The firft I obtained was from Cornwall, taken on the 
rocks contiguous to the fea ; but I have fince found them 
to be very common in my own neighbourhood, the fouth 
coaft of Devon. In an old (late-quarry fituated in a wood, 
and now overgrown with trees, where the rays of the fun 
can enter only for a ftiort time in its diurnal courfe, I 
was greatly furprifed to find feveral of thefe infedts adhe¬ 
ring to one of the fiat (tones: they were not expofed on 
the upper furface, but lying quiefeent on the other fide, 
with their arms drawn clofe to the body. This difeovery 
induced me to fearcli for more; and, by turning up many 
of the loofe (tones, it was obvious that this hitherto 
efteemed rare infedt was colonized here in confiderable 
abundance. It was in the beginning of April when thefe 
were firft noticed, and at that time they were fcarcely 
larger than Ph. cancroides, and tender, as well as much 
paler in colour than the fpecimen from Cornwall. In the 
latter end of May I again vifited my colony', and found 
them equally plentiful and increafed in fize, but not one 
fo large as the Cornifli Ph. acaroides. Rather later in the 
year, perhaps about the middle of June, I found one in a 
different place, but under a (late, that was not much in¬ 
ferior in fize to my former fpecimen ; and circumftances 
prevented me from vifiting my colony again till Oftober, 
when with the utinoft fearch not one was to be found. 
From thefe circumftances it may be concluded, that the 
life of this animal is extended to only fix or eight months, 
or at lead (hort of a year, for not one old or full grown 
one was to be found : it is therefore probable that the 
eggs are depofited early in the autumn, or latter end of 
fummer, and are brought to life by the firft warm weather 
in the fpring. LikePh. biinaculatum, the Ph. acaroides 
delights in dry (hady places amongft (tones, efpecially 
(late. But aridity as well as much heat appears to deftroy 
both thefe infedts: even confinement in a bottle or box 
is ufually fatal in a few hours. Thus the temperature of 
a (late expofed to the folar rays would inftantly deftroy 
them, from the great abforption of heat by fo dark a body, 
although an ant finds no inconvenience from fuch accu¬ 
mulated heat. I cannot conclude without obferving, that, 
although it has been thought proper to affix to the infedt 
in queftion the titles by which it is generally known, yet 
it mult be remarked that, according to the Linnaean cha- 
radter of the genus Phalangium, the acaroides can have 
no claim to a place in that family: and certainly thofe 
who, like Fabricius, have confidered it as a Scorpio, have 
not mended the matter, for in fadt it wants all the effen- 
tial charadters-of that genus; the eyes on the back, the 
pedtoral combs, and the articulated tail armed with a 
fpine. De Geer has inftituted a new genus for it under 
the title of Chelifer, to which the cancroides and the 
other fpecies figured by Kanmacher (hould be referred. 
It will be obferved, that the Ph. acaroides differs from the 
laft-mentioned fpecies in being deftitute of the cleft on 
the infide of the thick part of the claw, or rather the hand, 
which is fo confpicuous in the fpecies figured by Kanma¬ 
cher, and which fpecies at prefent feems to be the only 
one noticed in this country, although that author re¬ 
marks that he received four from Holland very perfedh 
17. Phalangium Americanum. This is extremely al¬ 
lied to the preceding ; but differs in having the body not 
truncate, but of a lengthened form, and rounded off, like 
the aranoides and mod other infedts. It is found in 
many parts of America, where it is called the lobfter-in¬ 
feft. Colour pale brown. See fig. 11. 
18. Phalangium hirfutum : feelers ferrate; body fub- 
oval, with ten angles. It is found in this country. 
19. Phalangium reniforme: feelers ferrate; fore-legs 
very long and filiform ; thorax kidney-lhaped. It is one 
of the largeft of the genus; and is a native of the hotter 
regions of the globe, being found in Africa and South 
America. It has the general appearance of a very large 
fpider, with the thorax rather kidney-fhaped, and the 
abdomen rounded: the legs are very long, and the palpi 
or clafpers are ftrongiy toothed on the inner fide by feve¬ 
ral (harp-pointed curved proceffes: the firft pair of legs 
have all the appearance of a pair of antennas ; far exceed¬ 
ing the reft in length, and being of a (lender or filiform 
fhape. The whole infedt is of a deep chefnut-brovvn 
colour, with a yellowifh caft on the abdomen. Its parti¬ 
cular hiftory feems to be little known ; but there can be 
no doubt of its being of a predacious nature, living, 
probably, on the fmaller infedts. For the handfome 
magnified figure of this infedt, we are indebted to Shaw’s 
General Zoology. See fig. 12. 
20. Phalangium caudatum: the tailed phalangium. 
Of rather fmaller fize than the former, and of a length¬ 
ened (hape, with (hotter limbs in proportion: it is princi¬ 
pally diftinguiflied by the long fetaceous procefs in which 
the abdomen terminates : the chelas or clafpers are large, 
and toothed on the infide towards the tips. The general 
colour of the animal is chefnut-brown : it is a native of 
the Eaft Indies; and has the appearance of a lobfter in 
miniature. For this alfo we are indebted to Dr. Shaw. 
See fig. 13. -w 
21. Phalangium lunatum : feelers very long, and fpi- 
nous at the tip; thorax kidney-ftiaped. It inhabits 
America. The feelers are four times as long as the body ; 
they are fmooth, except at the tip, which is very fpinous. 
PHALANGO'SIS,/. [from t paha.y%, Gr. a row of fol- 
diers.] A difeafe, in which the row of hairs, compofing 
the eye-lafhes, turn inward, and irritate the eye. 
PHALAN'THUS, a Lacedaemonian, who founded 
Tarentum in Italy, at the head of the Partlienia. (Seethe 
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