II. One pair of lateral fins lying on the trunk and tail; one row of spines; body slender; epidermis not thickened.
(i.) Hooks 8-9, bent like an elbow at the point, serrated in the young; 20-25 spines in a row; ovary reddish; length 3-4 cm.—Krohnia hamata.
(ii.) Hooks 8, broad at their base but very sharply pointed; spines in a curved row, about 18, with a constriction below like the neck of a bottle; body thin; length 1-1.5 cm.—Krohnia subtilis.
III. One pair of lateral fins, these lie on the tail; body relatively very broad in consequence of the thickening of the epidermis lying behind the head; two rows of spines; greatest length 1 cm.; tail and trunk usually the same length.
(i.) A great extension of the epidermis behind the head, consisting of very large cells; amongst these, at the level of the ventral ganglion, lies a bundle of stiff hairs; tactile organ on papillae; hooks 9-10; anterior spines 6-8; posterior spines 12-18.—Spadella draco.
(ii.) Lateral extension of the epidermis not so conspicuous, and the cells composing it smaller. Tactile organs in little depressions. Transverse as well as longitudinal muscles in the trunk. Adhesive cells on the ventral surface of the body. No interval between the lateral fins and the tail fin. Two papillae on the head-hood elongated into club-shaped tentacles. Hooks 8-9, slightly serrated; anterior spines 3-4; posterior spines 3-4.—Spadella cephaloptera.
(iii.) Similar to the last-mentioned species, but the tail segment is larger than the trunk; in the above it is of the same size. No adhesive cells. The fins are covered with papillae, and with a number of serrated spines pointed at both ends.—Spadella pontica.
(iv.) Tactile organs and adhesive cells are unmodified epidermal cells. Anus dorsal. Orifice of oviducts ventral. No olfactory organ. Epidermis colourless. Lateral fins without rays. A pair of ganglia at the postero-lateral angle of the brain.—Spadella marioni.
(v.) Tactile organs well developed on the head, trunk, and fins; tail segment a little shorter than the trunk. Body short, length 3-4 mm. Hooks 9; anterior spines 4-5, posterior spines 6-7.—Spadella vougai.