I. (fœm.) valvarum marginibus lateralibus, et superficie interiore, cæruleis: pedunculi spinis plerumque annulis cæruleo-fuscis.
Fem.—Valves coloured, along the lateral margins and on the upper interior surface, blue: spines on the peduncle, generally ringed with blueish-brown.
Caudal appendages barely exceeding in length the pedicels of the sixth cirrus: rami of the first cirrus unequal in length by about two segments.
Male,—with scarcely a vestige of a capitulum: maxillæ with fewer spines than in the female.
Hab.—Philippine Archipelago, Island of Guimavas; invariably attached to the peduncle of [Pollicipes mitella], in groups of two or three together; Mus. Cuming. Tavoy, British Burmah Empire; Mus. A. Gould of Boston.
FEMALE.
The capitulum is formed of four valves, but is hardly distinct from the peduncle. The latter includes, in its wide upper part, the animal’s body. The valves, namely, a pair of scuta and terga, are composed of an extremely hard, horny substance, or properly chitine, and do not contain any calcareous matter; they are extremely flat or thin, and both pairs project freely, like curved horns, to a considerable height above the sack enclosing the body: the terga project about twice as much as the scuta, and their flat apices generally diverge a little. The tips of the valves are frequently broken off; their surfaces are plainly marked or ribbed by the layers of growth, which are wide apart. The bases of the valves externally are hidden by the long spines of the peduncle.
Scuta.—These are shorter and broader than the terga; their internal ([Pl. IV], [fig. 8 b´]) growing or corium-covered surfaces are slightly concave, triangular, with the basal margin longer than the other margins and slightly excised in the middle: there is no depression for the strong adductor muscle: the internal surface of the free horn-like portion, has a small central fold (formed by an oblique crest) running from the summit of the triangular growing surface to the tip of the valve: in perfect specimens, the growing and the free horn-like portions (the latter represented much too long in [fig. 8 a´ and b´]) are about equal in length: the basal portion of one side of the scutum overlaps the tergum.
Terga.—The internal glowing surface ([fig. 8 b´]) is almost diamond-shaped, and less in area than the sputa: external surface rounded; internal surface of the free horn-like portion, slightly concave.
Colour and Structure of Valves.—The external surfaces of the scuta and terga are yellow along the middle, plainly marked by zones of growth, and finely ribbed longitudinally: the internal surfaces and sides of the horns of the two valves, are coloured fine blue or purple; in the terga, however, the internal surface is mottled with yellow. In some specimens, especially in one from Tavoy, each zone of growth was only very narrowly edged with blue. When a thin layer is removed from one of the valves, the dark blue or rather purple appears by transmitted light a beautiful pale blue; and it is a very singular fact, that this blue portion is permanently turned by very gentle into a fiery red; the same singular effect is produced by muriatic and acetic acids. This blue part is much harder than the yellow; the latter exhibits, under a high power, a folded structure, and is penetrated by a few tubuli, whereas the harder blue portion has a cellular or scaled appearance. The spines of the peduncle exhibit, in a smaller degree, similar phenomena.