447 
The anomalously swollen conditioii of the head with the first thoracic 
segment is certainly characteristic for the female of the genus, but 
most probably the male agrees more with the same sex of other 
genera as to the shape and condition of that portion of the body. 
The shape of the rostrum and especially of the genital segment — 
the latter being only a little broader than the following one — is 
certainly of generic value. The number and shape of the setæ and 
the spilles on the rami of the natatory legs present other generic 
characters which can be extracted from my representation as soon 
as more forms of the new sub-family have been examined. 
I will conclude this small contribution with a few remarks on 
the geographical distribution of the family and allied questions. The 
discovery of Echinocheres glohosus in spines of an Echinothurid 
opens a small new field of searching: most probably some other 
species occupy cavities in spines of various Echinids. Giesbrecht 
writes on p. 203 and 204 that „die Zahl der bisher bekannten und 
ausreichend beschriebenen Species“ is 46, all from Great Britain 
and Ireland, northern Erance, northern part of the Adriatic and the 
gulf of Naples, and a few of these species have besides been taken 
in some places at the western coast of Scandinavia and a single 
specimen in the Kara sea. „Ausserdem sind ganz vereinzelte Funde 
nur .... von Neuseeland und dem tropischen Theil des Atlantischen 
und Pacifischen Oceans zu verzeichnen“. Furthermore he states oii 
p. 204: „Die Asterocheriden gehoren zur Microfauna des marinen 
Litorals^ und das erklart die Diirftigkeit der chorologischen Daten, 
die iiber sie vorliegen. Kein Theil der marinen Fauna ist so ver- 
nachlåssigt; unsere Kenntnisse von der Microfauna der Ktisten 
aussereuropaischer Meere sind kaum der Kede werth“. This state¬ 
ment as to our ignorance is quite correct; I will add that according 
to my own experience on the „Ingolf“-Expedition the deeper parts 
of the ocean between 500 and 1500 fathoms are exceedingly rich 
