. The popular natural history . Zoology. 57° lUJi WUOVLOUSE. the Sessile-eyed Crustacea, because their eyes, instead of being placed on footstalks, are seated directlyupon the shell. The bo 'y is divided tolenljle distinctness into three parts, for which ihe ordinary titles of head, thorax, and abdomen are retained as being more convenient and intelhgible than the ingenious and more correct, though ra'.her repulsive, titles that have lately been affixed to ttiese divisions of the body. They have no carapace, like the stalk-eyid crustaceans, nor do they breathe withgilh, butby msansof a c
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 57° lUJi WUOVLOUSE. the Sessile-eyed Crustacea, because their eyes, instead of being placed on footstalks, are seated directlyupon the shell. The bo 'y is divided tolenljle distinctness into three parts, for which ihe ordinary titles of head, thorax, and abdomen are retained as being more convenient and intelhgible than the ingenious and more correct, though ra'.her repulsive, titles that have lately been affixed to ttiese divisions of the body. They have no carapace, like the stalk-eyid crustaceans, nor do they breathe withgilh, butby msansof a curious adaptation of so ⢠e of the;r hmos. None of the Sessile-eyed Crustacea attain any 1 irge size, an inch and a half being nearly their utmost limit point of length. Most of these animals reside along the sea-shores, where they are of very great use in clearing away the mass of dead apiimal and vegetable matter which is conscanily found in the sea. I n the illustration we have an example of the tirst family, calle J by the name of Orchesiidas, or Jumpers, bee luse they possess the power of leaping upon dry ground. The figure represents the most familiar of these little crusta- ceans. This is the httle Sanp-hoi'Per, or San'ji-skipper, which is seen in such myriads along all our sandy shores, leaping about vigorously just before the advancing or behind the retning tide, and looking 1 ke a low mist edging the sea, so coun'less are then- numbers. Paley has a well-known passage respecting this phenomenon, too familiar for quotation. The leap of the .Sand-hoppar is produced by bending the body and then flinging it open with a sudden jerkin fact, the exact converse of the mode of progression adjpted by the Ijbster an;l "^hrimp. The Sand-hopper feeds on almost everything that is soft and capable of decay, and seems to care 1 ttle whither the food be of an animal or \egetable nature. Decaying seaweed is a favourite article of food, and wherever a b of blackened an
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
