Alimentary Canal.—Œsophagus, somewhat curved at the lower end, where it enters the stomach, which has no cæca; rectum, unusually short, extending from the anus only to the base of the fifth pair of cirri. Within the stomach, from top to bottom, there were thousands of a bivalve entomostracous crustacean.

Generative System.—Both ovaria and testes are largely developed; the former fill the long peduncle; the testes enter both the pedicels of the cirri, and the filamentary appendages on the prosoma; vesiculæ seminales very large, reflected at their ends, extending across each side of the stomach. Penis rather small, coloured purplish, with numerous little tufts of bristles.

Variation.—In some specimens in the British Museum, collected by Sir J. Ross, in the Southern ocean, and in another older set from an unknown source, several parts of the outer tunic of the animal’s body presented the remarkable fact of being calcified, but to a variable degree; whereas in several specimens from California, there was no vestige of this encasement. Considering it most improbable that the calcification of the integuments should be a variable character, I most carefully compared the above-mentioned sets of specimens, valve by valve, trophi by trophi, and cirri by cirri, and found no other difference of any kind; therefore I cannot hesitate to consider both to be the same species. The first Southern specimen which I examined presented the following characters: on the prosoma there was a central longitudinal band, formed of a thin, brittle, brown-coloured calcified layer, which became irregularly rather narrow towards the thorax; on each side it sent out six or seven irregular rectangular plates, which surrounded and supported the bases of the two rows of filamentary appendages; and outside these, some of the papilliform projections also had their bases surrounded by small, calcified, separate rings. The thoracic segments corresponding with the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth cirri had, on each side, an elongated calcified plate; on the ventral surface of the thorax, between the first and second cirri, there were two minute plates. In all the cirri, excepting the first pair, the segments of the rami, and in the three posterior pairs, the segments of the pedicels, had their dorsal surfaces strengthened by oblong, quadrilateral, calcified shields, the upper margins of which are notched for the dorsal tufts of spine, and the two lateral margins are also slightly hollowed out; these are represented in [figure 27]. The lower segments of the pedicels of some of the cirri, had an additional calcified plate on the antero-lateral face.

These plates are of a faint-brown or yellowish colour, and are conspicuous: the degree of calcification differs considerably; some are quite brittle and very thin, others half horny, and effervesce only slightly in acids. After having been placed in acid, there is no apparent difference between the parts before occupied by the calcified plates and the surrounding membrane; these plates, however, are not superficial, but consist of several of the laminæ, which together compose the ordinary integument, in a calcified condition. Like the integuments of the body, and unlike the valves of the capitulum, these calcified plates are thrown off at each exuviation. Neither the exact shape nor number of the plates corresponded in different individuals, nor even on opposite sides of the same individual. The margins of the plates often have a sinuous corroded appearance; they are, moreover, often penetrated by minute rounded holes, that is, by minute, rounded, non-calcified portions. In one specimen from the Antarctic expedition, there were only here and there a single shield on the segments of the posterior rami, and no plate on the prosoma. Of two specimens in another and older set in the British Museum, from an unknown locality, both had shields on the segments of the cirri, but only one had the large plate on the prosoma. I may here mention that in one specimen, in which the calcified plates were most developed, and which was nearly ready to moult, there were, within the filamentary appendages on the prosoma, small irregular balls of calcareous matter, appearing to me as if calcareous matter had been morbidly excreted, and not like a provision for the future.

Range.—This species, in the present state of our knowledge, seems to range further than any other of the genus, extending from Upper California, (lat. 32° to 35° N.,) across the Pacific, to at least 32° S., perhaps much farther south, for it was collected during the Antarctic expedition, and 32° was the highest latitude traversed by that expedition.

Affinities.—This species is closely related to P. cornucopia and P. elegans, but differs rather more from them, than these two do from each other. In the capitulum the chief distinctive characters are—the more perfect graduation in size, and the greater number, (taking equal-sized specimens,) of the whorls of latera—the darker colours—the central part of the basal margin of the carina in this species, being considerably excised—the peculiar form of the basal margin of the scuta—and lastly, the scutal margin of the terga being more hollowed out. In the animal’s body, the most obvious distinctive character is the uniarticulate caudal appendage. This species agrees with P. elegans, in the presence of the singular elbowed teeth, on some of the spines in the first three pairs of cirri.

4. Pollicipes mitella. [Pl. VII], [fig. 3.]

Lepas mitella. Linn. Systema Naturæ, 1767.

Pollicipes mitella. G. B. Sowerby. Genera of Shells, fig. 2.

Polylepas mitella. De Blainville. Dict. Sc. Nat. (1824) Plate, fig. 5.