NOTICES OF SERIALS. 
25 
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. No. 91, July; No. 92, 
August; No. 93, September, 1855. 8vo. With Plates. London : Taylor and 
Francis. Price 2s. Gd. each. 
No. 91, July:—(H. J. Carter, Assistant-Surgeon H.C.S. Bombay) Observa¬ 
tions on the Development of Gonidia (?) from the cell-contents of the Characese, 
and on the circulation of the mucus-substance of the cell; (S. P. Woodward, 
F.G.S.) Descriptions of the Animals of certain Genera of Conchifera; (P. H. 
Gosse, F.L.S.) Notes on some New or Little-known Marine Animals, with two 
Plates. We have, in this paper, descriptions of nine new animals, two of which 
belong to the class Arachnida, order Acarina, and are a great addition to our British 
marine mites. One belongs to the class Crustacea, two to the Annelidm, 
two more to the genus Othonia of Johnston, and one to the Polyzoa, family Vesicu- 
lariadse, for which a new genus is made—Nolella, from nola, a little bell. (C. 
Spence Bate, F.L.S.) On the Homologies of the Carapace, and on the structure 
and function of the Antennas in Crustacea. After describing the anterior or 
internal antennae and the inferior or external antennae, the author continues:— 
“ The next question which we have to consider is, to which sense either of these 
two sets of organs belongs; whether the upper belongs to the auditory and the 
lower to the olfactory, as I shall endeavour to prove, or vice versa, as maintained 
by Prof. Milne-Edwards. We shall divide the evidences on either side under two 
heads—the first, that which is derived from an external observation ; and the 
second, that which is derived from its internal organization. First, then, from 
external circumstances :—An auditory apparatus is an organ furnished to an ani¬ 
mal for one or both of two objects—first, for protection from danger; second, for 
the pleasure derivable from sounds. To animals so low in the scale of beings as 
the Crustacea, placed, as they are, in a medium which must considerably modify 
its character, sound can convey little to the consciousness of the animal beyond a 
sense of security or danger. To enable this to be of the most extensive value, the 
auditory organ must be, and always is, so placed as to be most exposed to external 
impressions at all periods; particularly when the animal is at rest or pre-occupied. 
Now, if we look at the organ the present state of science attributes to the sense of 
hearing, we find that in the most perfectly-formed animals, the Brachyura , it is 
enclosed within a bony case, and secured by a calcareous operculum; that it is 
always so in a state of rest, and only exposed when especially required. Not only 
is this the case throughout the order, but in some genera—as Corystes , Cancer , 
&c.; it is again covered by the supplying organs of the mouth. If we take into 
consideration that the inferior antenna is frequently developed into organs assimi¬ 
lating to feet, and frequently used for the purpose of assisting to climb, &c., it 
seems difficult to admit that it is an organ capable of protecting the animal by its 
quick detection of the sound of approaching danger. If we turn our attention to 
the superior antenna, we find that in the living animal it is always elevated in the 
water, and never at rest—always playing with a constant vibration, and a jerking 
motion peculiar to itself in the higher orders. Among the Amphipoda, though 
constantly erect, the motion is more regular and graceful; this, probably, is con¬ 
sequent upon the greater relative length of the organ. This organ is one that 
appears as if always on the watch—let the animal be at rest, let it be feeding, no 
YOL. II. D 
