Smilium Peronii. J. E. Gray. Annals of Philosoph., new series, tom. x, 1825.
———— ———— . . . . . . . . Spicilegia Zoologica, tab. iii, fig. 10, 1830.
Anatifa obliqua. Quoy et Gaimard. Voyage de l’Astrolabe, Pl. xciii, fig. 16, 1823-1834.
Pollicipes obliqua. Lamarck. An. sans Vertebres (2d edition).
S. (Herm.) valvis 13: laterum paribus tribus; pari superiore multùm elongato: pedunculi squamis calcareis nullis.
(Herm.) Capitulum with 13 valves: three pair of latera; upper latera much elongated: peduncle without calcareous scales.
Mandibles with 10 or 11 unequal teeth: maxillæ with the edge nearly straight, bearing numerous spines.
Complemental Male, attached externally, between the scuta and below the adductor muscle; pedunculated; capitulum formed of six valves, with the carina descending far beneath the basal angle of the terga; mouth and cirri prehensile.
Swan River, Australia, attached to a coralline; Mus. Cuming. Port Western, Bass’s Straits, as stated in the Voyage of the Astrolabe. Mus. Brit.
HERMAPHRODITE.
Capitulum formed of 13 valves; namely, two scuta, two terga, a carina and sub-carina, a rostrum, a pair of upper latera, and two pair of lower latera; these latter valves, with the sub-carina and the rostrum, make a whorl of six pieces. The upper part of the capitulum is, as usual, produced. The upper valves are separated (in specimens which have not been dried) by rather wide interspaces of membrane; they are covered (excepting, generally, their umbones,) by membrane, which in the interspaces is clothed with fine spines. The spines, or the marks where they were once articulated, are visible over nearly the entire surface of the membrane covering the valves. The spines are particularly numerous round the orifice of the sack. The whole capitulum, (in a dried condition), is coloured dull purplish-red, which is only in part due to the underlying corium, for the valves themselves are pale red. After having been long kept in spirits, the whole capitulum becomes colourless. The valves are smooth, faintly marked by lines of growth. The umbones of the lower valves project outwards, giving a denticulated appearance to the base of the capitulum.
Scuta, slightly convex, oblong, breadth about two thirds of the length, almost quadrilateral, with the upper portion produced into a flat projection; this projection is almost spear-shaped, being constricted a little on each side below the apex. There is a deep pit for the adductor muscle. The umbo is near the apex, the part above not being above one fifth of the whole length of the valve. As in S. vulgare, the growth is at first downwards, and subsequently a little upwards and downwards, thus producing the upper, small, spear-like projection, which lies at a lower level than the umbo. There is a fold on the occludent margin.
Terga, large, flat, triangular; carinal margin slightly hollowed out; occludent margin slightly arched, with a small portion protuberant to a variable amount. The apex is slightly curved towards the carina.
Carina, long, internally deeply concave, angularly bent, the lower portion slightly longer and wider than the upper part; the two halves meet each other at about an angle of 135°; the upper half is parallel to the longer axis of the terga, between which it extends for three fourths of their length. The external surface is rounded, except near the umbo, where the edge is carinated; growth almost equally upwards and downwards; the parietes and tectum are not separated by ridges.
The Sub-carina lies close under the carina, and is placed almost transversely to the longer axis of the capitulum; external surface arched and smooth, the whole having the shape of half of a cone, with the apex a little curved outwards; seen internally, it may be said to be formed of two triangular wings placed at right angles to each other; basal margin straight; in size equalling the carinal latera.
Rostrum, lying almost transversely to the longer axis of the capitulum, under the basal margins of the scuta; in shape (fig. 6 a) closely resembling the sub-carina, but about one third larger than it; larger also than either the rostral or carinal latera; seen externally, appears like a half cone; seen internally, is formed of two triangular wings (with curved edges), placed at right-angles to each other.
Upper Latera, internally flat, oblong, twice as long as broad; upper end square, truncated; upper half rather wider than the lower half; fully twice as large as either of the lower latera. The basal points extend below the basal margins of the scuta. The umbo is placed a little above the centre.
Rostral Latera, minute, scarcely exceeding one third of the size of the carinal latera, and very much less than the rostrum; they are placed transversely under the basal point of the upper latus, or rather between it and the baso-lateral angle of the scutum; basal margin, as seen internally, straight; upper margin arched; rostral angle produced; internally flat; the whole valve is very thick and solid, so that the umbo which lies at the rostral end, projects rectangularly outwards.
Carinal Latera, oblong, nearly quadrilateral, with the upper angle produced; placed obliquely, parallel to the lower half of the upper latera; umbo slightly prominent, seated near the apex, with three rounded ridges proceeding from it; internal surface very slightly concave.
Peduncle and Attachment.—The peduncle is short, not equalling the capitulum in length. The whole surface is most thickly clothed with minute spines, which are not visible when the specimen is dry; I think it probable that they may sometimes all drop off before a new period of exuviation. The peduncle does not (at least in the specimens which I have examined, which were grouped in a bunch) taper at the lower end to a point; and after careful examination, I feel sure that the cement does not debouch from several successively formed orifices, as in S. vulgare and as in some Pollicipes, but only from the two original orifices in the prehensile antennæ of the larva. In these latter organs, the sucking disc is hoof-like and pointed, and is narrower than the basal segment. The ultimate segment has on its inner side (supposing this segment stretched straight forwards,) a notch or step bearing at least three spines. The proportions of the different parts differ slightly from those in S. vulgare; but, as I shall hereafter have to give all the measurements, I do not think them worth repeating here. In the one large group of specimens examined by me, in Mr. Cuming’s possession, all were attached symmetrically to the coralline, as in the case of S. vulgare, capitulum upwards, and their carinas outwards.
Length of capitulum about three quarters of an inch; width about half an inch; entire length, with peduncle, a little more than one inch.
The Mouth is placed far from the adductor muscle.
Labrum, with its basal margin much produced; upper part highly bullate, forming a rounded projection equalling the longitudinal axis of the rest of the mouth; crest without any teeth.
Palpi, triangular, with the two margins, thickly clothed with bristles; on each side of the mouth, near where the palpi are united to the mandibles, there is a slight, orbicular, shield-like swelling.
The Mandibles (Pl. X, fig. 3) have nine or ten very unequal teeth, with the inferior angle rather broad and pectinated; of these, there are four main teeth, of which the second is always the smallest, and between the four, one or two small teeth are interpolated; so that the total number is either nine or ten, and often varies on the two sides of the same individual, as likewise does the shape of the inferior angle.
Maxillæ, with the edge nearly half as long as that of the mandibles, supporting from seventeen to twenty pairs of spines; the upper pair is only slightly larger than the others; a part near the inferior angle projects slightly beyond the rest of the nearly straight edge. The apodeme, at its base or point of origin, is unusually broad and flat.
Outer Maxillæ, large and triangular. The inner margin is slightly concave, and continuously covered with short spines. The outer margin is bilobed, as in S. vulgare, with the basal part supporting a great tuft of long bristles, of which the greater number turn outwards, and almost cover the olfactory orifices. The latter are slightly prominent, placed some way apart from each other, with the above-mentioned tufts of bristles between them. All the spines of the trophi are in some degree doubly serrated.
Cirri.—The first pair is seated rather far from the second pair, and the prosoma being little developed, the shape of the body nearly resembles that of S. vulgare. The posterior cirri are elongated, very little curled, with the segments much flattened, not at all protuberant, bearing from five to seven pair of long serrated spines, with a few small spines in an exterior row; between each pair there is a very minute tuft of small bristles; the upper lateral rim of each segment is toothed with small spines; spines of the dorsal tufts, long, serrated. First pair, elongated, having numerous segments, namely, seventeen, whilst the sixth pair in the same individual had only twenty-one segments; rami nearly equal; segments short, nearly cylindrical, thickly clothed with long serrated spines. The second and third pair are nearly equal in length; they have their anterior rami slightly thicker than their posterior rami, both being much more thickly clothed with spines, than are the three posterior pair of cirri. Pedicels, rather short, with their inner edges not forming a projection, as in S. vulgare.
Caudal Appendages (Pl. X, fig. 20), uni-articulate, flat, rounded at their ends and moderately long; clothed most thickly, like brushes, with very fine bristles, which latter are serrated, and are longer than the appendages themselves.
Penis, of small size, narrow, pointed, and thickly clothed with delicate hairs; in length equalling only one fourth of the sixth cirrus.
Ovigerous Fræna, small, semicircular; entire edge thickly covered with glands. Ovarian tubes, within the peduncle, fully developed as usual.
Affinities.—This species differs from all the others in the absence of calcareous scales on the peduncle; but it has no other character which at all justifies its generic separation. In the shape of the scuta and carina it comes nearest to S. vulgare. Taking all the characters together, it is scarcely possible to say to which of the other species it is most closely allied, having close affinities with all. In the entire structure, however, of the Complemental Male, immediately to be described, this species certainly comes nearer to S. villosum than to any other species. I may add, that in S. villosum the latera are almost rudimentary, and therefore tend to disappear, whereas in S. Peronii it is the calcareous scales on the peduncle which have actually disappeared.
COMPLEMENTAL MALE. Pl. VI, fig. 3.
I examined, owing to the great kindness of Mr. Cunning, six dry specimens of the hermaphrodite S. Peronii, from Swan River, and one in spirits from another locality, in the British Museum. Out of these seven specimens, only three appeared to have had parasites attached to them, and these I infer, from reasons to be more fully given at the end of the genus, are Complemental Males. One of the three specimens, however, had two males close together. These parasites were firmly cemented to the integument of the hermaphrodite, in a fold, in a central line between the scuta, a little below (the animal being in the position in which it is figured) the adductor scutorum muscle, and therefore some way below the umbones of these valves. When the scuta are closed, the parasites, from their small size, are enclosed and protected. In every detail of structure, they are obviously pedunculated Cirripedia.
The Capitulum (Pl. VI, fig. 3) has six valves; namely, a pair of scuta and of terga, a carina, and a rostrum, all united by finely-villose membrane, furnished near the orifice with some much longer and thicker spines. The capitulum is truncated in a remarkable manner, the orifice not being, as in the hermaphrodite, in the same line with the peduncle, but almost transverse to it, and therefore almost parallel to the surface of attachment. The largest specimen measured transversely, through the scuta and terga, was 30/1000ths of an inch in breadth; another was only 26/1000ths to 27/1000ths: this latter specimen, measured longitudinally, from the base of the carina to the tips of the terga, was 15/1000ths of an inch. A scutum of the largest specimen was 17/1000ths in length. The scuta and terga are broadly oval, with the primordial valves very plain at their upper ends. I may here mention, that in a central line between the scuta, I observed the apparently single, minute, black eye, as in ordinary Cirripedia.
The Carina is straight, triangular, and internally slightly concave; its basal margin descends far below the basal points of the terga.
The Rostrum is shorter, and internally more concave than the carina: I believe it projects more abruptly outwards than is represented in the figure.
The Peduncle commences some little way below the scuta: it is narrow and very short: it is finely villose: it is lined by delicate transverse striæ-less muscles, within which there are the usual stronger, longitudinal muscles. The base is flat and truncated. I examined, and carefully compared, the prehensile antennæ with those of the hermaphrodite, and found every part and every measurement the same. The full importance of this identity will hereafter be more fully insisted on. The antennæ are represented of their proper proportional size in fig. 3.
Mouth.—The labrum, as in the hermaphrodite, is highly bullate, and far removed from the adductor scutorum muscle. The Palpi are small and triangular, with their blunt apices clothed with a very few scattered bristles.
Mandibles, with only three teeth, and the lower angle minute, slightly pectinated; the first tooth is distant from the second, and larger than it. Width of the whole organ, .0021 of an inch.
Maxillæ, bearing only a few spines, furnished with a long apodeme; beneath the upper large pair there is a notch, under which there are two spines of considerable size and a small tuft of fine bristles; width .001 of an inch, and therefore only 1/16th of the size of the same organ in the hermaphrodite: the relative sizes of the maxillæ and mandibles are the same in the male and hermaphrodite.
Outer Maxillæ blunt, triangular, with a few thinly-scattered bristles on the inner face; those on the outside being longer.
Cirri.—The First pair is far removed from the second; the rami are very short, barely exceeding the pedicel in length; they are formed of only four segments, each bearing a pair of spines; but on the end of the terminal segment, there are three spines, of which the central one is very long. Second pair also short. In the sixth pair there are five or six elongated segments, each bearing three pair of long spines; dorsal tufts large. The cirri are furnished with transversely-striated muscles.
The Caudal Appendages exist as two very minute plates, with a few bristles at their apices.
The Penis is not acuminated, with four bristles at the end; it is short, equalling only the lower segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. In the one specimen preserved in spirits, I unfortunately omitted to search for the vesiculæ seminales; I cannot doubt that such existed, but it would have been important to have ascertained whether they contained spermatozoa. I made out, most distinctly, that there was no trace of ovarian tubes within the peduncle; and my assertion may be believed when I state, that I traced the two much finer and more transparent cement-ducts, from the prehensile antennæ up to the body of the animal: in Lepas I have repeatedly detected, with ease, the ovarian tubes within the peduncle, before the calcification of the valves had even commenced, and therefore at a much earlier period of growth than in these parasites. Consequently I am prepared to affirm, that these parasites are not females, but that, as far as can be judged, from external organs, they are exclusively males.
Concluding Remarks.—In comparing the capitulum of the hermaphrodite with that of the complemental male (Pl. VI, figs. 6 and 3), we must be struck with the differences in their shape, in the number, relative sizes, and forms of the several valves. It should, however, be borne in mind, that the scuta and carina in the hermaphrodite at first grow exclusively downwards; so that if we remove the upper portions subsequently added, the difference in shape in these valves is not so great as it at first appears. The rostrum in the male is of much larger relative size; whilst of the upper latera there is not a trace, although in the hermaphrodite these valves are larger than the rostrum. The terga, compared with those of the hermaphrodite, differ more essentially than do the other valves; and the manner in which the primordial valves project, shows that from the first commencement of calcification, the lines of growth have followed an unusual course. The great breadth and shortness of the terga is evidently related to the shortening of the whole capitulum, and the transverse position of the orifice; and this shortening of the capitulum, no doubt, is rendered necessary for its reception and protection within the shallow furrow between the scuta of the hermaphrodite. Finally, if we compare the internal parts of the hermaphrodite and male, the differences are considerable, though partly to be accounted for by the youth of the latter: the form and position of the labrum, and the distance between the first and second pair of cirri, is the same in both; but the mandibles and maxillæ differ considerably.
To put the case as I have before done, if a specimen of one of these parasites had been brought to me to class without any information of its habits,—the downward direction of growth in all the valves, the presence of a rostrum, the villose outer integument, all the details of the prehensile antennæ, the form of the animal’s body, and the position of the labrum, would have convinced me that, though a quite new genus, it ought to have stood close to Scalpellum, and nearer to it than to Ibla.
6. Scalpellum villosum. Pl. VI, fig. 8.
Pollicipes villosus on Plate (TOMENTOSUS in text). Leach. Encyclop. Brit., Suppl., vol. iii, 1824, Pl. lvii.
————— villosus.[59] G. B. Sowerby. Genera of Shells, Pollicipes, fig. 3, 1826.
Calantica Homii. J. E. Gray. Annals of Phil., vol. x, p. 100, 1825.
[59] As Mr. Sowerby has adopted the name villosus, I have followed him; though as tomentosus is used through some mistake by Leach in the text, both names have equal claims as far as priority is concerned.
In Lamarck, ‘Animaux Sans. Vert.,’ the P. villosus of Sowerby is made synonymous with Anatifa villosa of Brugière, which is certainly incorrect, although the A. villosa of this latter author is not positively known.
S. (Herm.) valvis 14: sub-rostro præsente: carinâ pæne rectâ: laterum paribus tribus; pari superiore triangulo.
(Herm.) Capitulum with 14 valves: sub-rostrum present: carina nearly straight: three pair of latera; upper latera triangular.
Mandibles with four teeth, of which the second is the smallest: maxillæ with a projection near the inferior angle: no caudal appendage.
Complemental male, attached externally between the scuta, below the adductor muscle; pedunculated; capitulum formed of six valves, with the carina not descending much below the basal angles of the terga: mouth and cirri prehensile.
Eastern Seas[60] (?) attached to shells and rocks. Mus. Brit.; College of Surgeons; Cuming.
[60] No habitat is attached to any of these specimens; but Mr. Sowerby informs me that he has seen specimens attached to the Modiola albicostata of Lamarck, which shell is said by the latter author to be found in the seas of India, Timor, and New Holland.
HERMAPHRODITE.
Capitulum with fourteen valves, consisting of a pair of scuta and of terga, a carina, (which five valves are much larger than the others,) a rostrum, sub-rostrum, sub-carina, and three pair of small latera. All the valves are covered by membrane, as are the calcareous scales on the peduncle; and this membrane everywhere is densely clothed with spines. The upper valves are not very thick; they stand rather close together. The eight valves of the lower whorl are more solid, and are placed far apart; they are small, tending to become rudimentary. None of the valves are added to at their upper ends, in which respect this species differs remarkably from the others of the genus, and approaches in character to Pollicipes.
Scuta, with a deep hollow for the adductor muscle, triangular, with the basal margin elongated, and protuberant.
Terga, large, flat, triangular, basal point blunt, with the carinal margin slightly hollowed out, and the scutal margin protuberant. Apex solid.
Carina, rather longer than the terga, straight, gradually widening from the upper to the basal end, deeply concave. In young specimens the upper part is slightly bowed inwards. Apex solid.
Sub-carina, with the inner surface crescent-shaped; the umbo points transversely outwards; in width it exceeds the largest of the latera.
Rostrum, triangular, internally (fig. 8 a) concave; basal margin slightly hollowed out, and deeply notched; rather less in width than the carina; short, with the umbo pointing upwards and outwards. In young specimens the apex curves a little inwards.
Sub-rostrum, with the inner surface transversely elongated (fig. 8 b), slightly crescent-shaped, about two thirds as wide as the rostrum. The apex points transversely outwards.
Latera, three pair; the middle pair apparently corresponds with the upper latera of the other species of the genus. The two other pair of latera, together with the rostrum and sub-carina, form a whorl. The sub-rostrum lies by itself, a little beneath this whorl. The latera are smaller than the rostrum or the sub-carina. They are placed far distant from each other; their inner surfaces are triangular; their umbones point upwards; the rostral pair is smaller than the other two pair, which are of equal size. The exact position of the rostral latus differed on the two sides of the specimen examined; apparently its normal position is at the baso-lateral angle of the scuta.
Peduncle, wide at the summit, longer than the capitulum; calcified scales small, not arranged very regularly; flattened, spindle-shaped, rather far separated from each other; imbedded in membrane, so that even their summits are rarely uncovered. The surface of the membrane is thickly clothed with spines, which are strong, thick, yellow, pointed, and furnished with large tubuli running to the underlying corium. These spines are arranged in groups of from three or four, to five or six. Besides these larger spines, the whole surface is villose with very minute colourless spines, not above 1/20th of the length of the larger ones. The surface of attachment is broad. This species, not being symmetrically attached to a coralline, the peduncle does not curve, as in most of the other species, towards the rostrum.
The capitulum is above half an inch in length.
Mouth.—The labrum is much produced downwards, but yet the mouth is not very far distant from the adductor muscle: the upper part is bullate, forming a small overhanging point, and in longitudinal diameter equals the rest of the mouth. Palpi blunt.
Mandibles with four teeth, strong, short, thick, the second tooth much smaller than the others; inferior angle broad, pectinated.
Maxillæ with a long, rather sinuous edge, which, near the inferior angle, has a narrow projecting point, bearing rather finer spines; there is, also, apparently, a very minute tuft of small spines close under the two large upper spines: there are, altogether, about twenty pair of spines, without counting the smaller ones.
Outer Maxillæ, with the inner edge slightly concave, continuously covered with bristles; exteriorly, with a prominence covered with longer bristles. Olfactory orifices prominent, protected by a slight punctured swelling between the bases of the first pair of cirri.
Cirri.—Prosoma moderately developed; first pair of cirri rather far removed from the second pair. The segments of the three posterior pair are not elongated, short, slightly protuberant in front, bearing four or five pairs of strong spines; a little below each pair, there is an intermediate tuft of very fine straight bristles, of which the upper tuft is the largest; on the lateral upper rims there are some short, strong spines; dorsal tufts rather small and thick; spines all more or less serrated, especially on the broad basal segments of the three anterior cirri. Pedicels of the cirri not particularly protuberant in front. First cirrus with rami, slightly unequal in length; not short; basal segments much thicker and more protuberant than the upper segments. Second cirrus; anterior ramus with six or seven basal segments highly protuberant, and crowded with spines; posterior ramus with about six segments, similarly characterised. Third cirrus with the anterior ramus having six, and the posterior ramus five segments, also similarly characterised.
Caudal Appendages absent, there being only a slight swelling on each side of the anus.
The œsophagus runs parallel to the labrum, and enters obliquely the summit of the stomach, which is destitute of cæca: the biliary envelope is longitudinally plicated.
There are no Filamentary Appendages.
Testes large, branched like a stag’s horns, attached in a sheet to the ventral surface of the stomach: the vesiculæ seminales enter the prosoma, and have their reflexed ends not very blunt. The Penis is rather narrow, with the terminal half plainly ringed, and bearing tufts of fine bristles arranged in circles, one tuft below the other; on the basal half there are only a few scattered minute bristles.
Affinities.—In the downward growth of all the valves, in the presence of a sub-rostrum, in the shape of the scuta, carina, and more especially of the triangular latera, in the form of the peduncle, with its irregularly-scattered calcified scales, in the shape of the animal’s body, in the structure both of the mandibles and maxillæ, in the arrangement of the spines, both on the anterior and posterior cirri, Scalpellum villosum most closely resembles, or rather is identical with, Pollicipes. Had it not been for the formation of the valves forming the capitulum, and from the presence of Complemental Males, I should have placed this species alongside of Pollicipes spinosus and sertus. In not having caudal appendages, S. villosum differs from all the species of Scalpellum and Pollicipes; but this organ is variable to an unusual degree in Pollicipes.
COMPLEMENTAL MALE. Pl. VI, fig. 4.
From the kindness of Professor Owen, Mr. Gray, and Mr. Cuming, I have been enabled to examine six specimens of this species; and on two of them I found Complemental males. They were attached in the same position as in S. Peronii; namely, beneath the adductor muscle, in the fold between the scuta, so as to be protected by the latter when closed. This parasite is six-valved, and has a close general resemblance with that of S. Peronii, but differs in very many points of detail. It is represented of the natural size at á fig. 4. The capitulum is 43/1000ths of an inch, measured across the scuta and terga; and the same measured from the base of the carina to the top of the capitulum; hence it is broader, by a quarter of the above measurement, and considerably higher than the male of S. Peronii. From the capitulum being higher, that is, not so much truncated, the orifice is placed more obliquely. The membrane connecting the valves is finely villose, and is besides furnished with spines, conspicuously thicker and longer than those on the male S. Peronii. The scuta and terga are much more elongated, a scutum being here 35/1000ths of an inch in length. The carina descends only just below the basal points of the terga, instead of far below them. The rostrum is a little broader and more arched than the carina; it is 2/1000ths in length, and therefore more than two thirds of the length of the carina, the latter being 28/1000ths of an inch from the apex to the basal margin. The primordial valves, with the usual hexagonal tissue, are seated on the tips of the scuta, terga, and carina, but not on the rostrum; so that these valves follow the same law of development, as in the ordinary and hermaphrodite form of Scalpellum. The scuta (a, fig. 4, greatly enlarged), the terga (b), and carina (c) of the male, resemble the same valves in the hermaphrodite, much more closely than do these valves in the male and hermaphrodite S. Peronii. The rostrum has not its basal margin hollowed out, and is very much larger relatively to the carina, than in the hermaphrodite. The large relative size of the rostrum in the complemental male both of this species and of S. Peronii, is a remarkable character, which I can in no way account for.
The peduncle is narrow and short, but in a different degree in the two specimens examined. It is naked. The prehensile antennæ were not in a good state of preservation: the disc is narrower than the basal segment, and only slightly pointed, in which important respect it differs from the same part in the foregoing species; at its distal end, rather on the inner side, there are two or three spines, apparently in place of the excessively minute hairs, which are found at the same spot in some or in all the other species of Scalpellum, and in Ibla: similar strong spines occur in Pollicipes. Unfortunately, for the sake of comparison, I was not able to find the prehensile antennæ in the hermaphrodite S. villosum.
Mouth.—Labrum bullate, with teeth on the crest. Palpi blunt, spinose.
Mandibles, with three teeth; inferior point rather strongly pectinated.
Maxillæ, with a considerable notch under the upper pair of large spines; inferior part of the edge not prominent.
Outer Maxillæ, with the spines on the inner edge arranged into two groups. Olfactory orifices tubular and prominent, with some long bristles near their bases. In the mandibles having only three teeth, in the maxillæ being notched and in the lower part not being prominent, and, lastly, in the bristles on the inner face of the outer maxillæ being arranged in two groups, these several organs differ from those in the hermaphrodite.
Cirri.—First pair short, with only three or four segments in each ramus: second cirrus, with the basal segments not very thickly clothed with spines: sixth cirrus with seven segments, not protuberant in front, each bearing four pairs of spines, without intermediate tufts.
Caudal appendages, none. This is an interesting fact, considering that these organs are likewise absent in the hermaphrodite S. villosum,—an absence highly remarkable, and confined to the genus Conchoderma and the one species of Anelasma.
Penis thick, not tapering, rather exceeding in length the pedicel of the sixth cirrus, square at the end, and furnished with some spines. In one specimen, I believe I distinguished the vesiculæ seminales: if so, they contained only pulpy matter, and not spermatozoa. There were no ovarian tubes within the peduncle, which was lined by the usual muscles; I traced the two delicate cement-ducts, running from within the antennæ close up to the animal’s body. Hence in this case, as in that of S. Peronii, I dare positively affirm that ovarian tubes do not occur; for it is out of the question that I could have traced the cement-ducts, and, at the same time, overlooked the far larger and more conspicuous ovarian tubes, into which, moreover, the ducts, had they existed, would have run. Consequently, these parasites are not females; but judging from the probosciformed penis, and from the presence, as I believe, of vesiculæ seminales, they are males.
The complemental males of the present species, and of S. Peronii, so closely resemble each other, that what I have stated regarding the affinities of the latter, are here quite applicable. It is singular how much more alike the parts of the mouth and the cirri of these two complemental males are, than the corresponding parts in the two hermaphrodites: this no doubt is due to the two males having been arrested in their development, at a corresponding early period of growth. Several of the characters, by which the hermaphrodite S. villosum so closely approaches, and almost blends into the genus Pollicipes,—such as the thicker cirri, with the intermediate tufts of bristles, the small second tooth of the mandibles, and the little brush-like prominence on the maxillæ,—are not in the least apparent in the complemental male.
SUMMARY ON THE NATURE AND RELATIONS OF THE MALES AND COMPLEMENTAL MALES, IN IBLA AND SCALPELLUM.
Had the question been, whether the parasites which I have now described, were simply the males of the Cirripedes to which they are attached, the present summary and discussion would perhaps have been superfluous; but it is so novel a fact, that there should exist in the animal kingdom hermaphrodites, aided in their sexual functions by independent and, as I have called them, Complemental males, that a brief consideration of the evidence already advanced, and of some fresh points, will not be useless. These parasites are confined to the allied genera Ibla and Scalpellum; but they do not occur in Pollicipes,—a genus still more closely allied to Scalpellum; and it deserves notice, that their presence is only occasional in those species of Scalpellum which come nearest to Pollicipes. In the genera Ibla and Scalpellum, the facts present a singular parallelism; in both we have the simpler case of a female, with one or more males of an abnormal structure attached to her; and in both the far more extraordinary case of an hermaphrodite, with similarly attached Complemental males. In the two species of Ibla, the complemental and ordinary males resemble each other, as closely as do the corresponding hermaphrodite and female forms; so it is with two sets of the species of Scalpellum. But the males of Ibla and the males of Scalpellum certainly present no special relations to each other, as might have been expected, had they been distinct parasites independent of the animals to which they are attached, and considering that they are all Cirripedes having the same most unusual habits. On the contrary, it is certain that the animals which I consider to be the males and complemental males of the two species of Ibla, if classed by their own characters, would, from the reasons formerly assigned, form a new genus, nearer to Ibla than to the parasites of Scalpellum: so, again, the assumed males of the three latter species of Scalpellum would form two new genera, both of which would be more closely allied to Scalpellum, than to the parasites of Ibla. With respect to the parasites of the first three species of Scalpellum, they are in such an extraordinarily modified and embryonic condition, that they can hardly be compared with other Cirripedes; but certainly they do not approach the parasites of Ibla, more closely than the parasites of Scalpellum; and in the one important character of the antennæ, they are identical both with the parasitic and ordinary forms of Scalpellum. That two sets of parasites having closely similar habits, and belonging to the same sub-class, should be more closely related in their whole organisation to the animals to which they are respectively attached, than to each other, would, if the parasites were really distinct and independent creatures, be a most singular phenomenon; but on the view that they differ only sexually from the Cirripedes on which they are parasitic, this relationship is obviously what might have been expected.
The two species of Ibla differ extremely little from each other, and so, as above remarked, do the two males. In Scalpellum the species differ more from each other, and so do the males. In this latter genus the species may be divided into two groups, the first containing S. vulgare, S. ornatum and S. rutilum, characterised by not having a sub-carina, by the rostrum being small, by the constant presence of four pair of latera, and by the peculiar shape of the carinal latera; the second group is characterised by having a sub-carina and a large rostrum, and may be subdivided into two little groups; viz., S. rostratum having four pairs of latera, and S. Peronii and villosum having only three pairs of latera: now the males, if classed by themselves, would inevitably be divided in exactly the same manner, namely, into two main groups,—the one including the closely similar, sack-formed males of S. vulgare, ornatum, and rutilum, the other the pedunculated males of S. rostratum, Peronii, and villosum; but this latter group would have to be subdivided into two little sub-groups, the one containing the three-valved male of S. rostratum, and the other the six-valved males of S. Peronii and S. villosum. It should not, however, be overlooked, that the two main groups of parasites differ from each other, far more than do the two corresponding groups of species to which they are attached; and, on the other hand, that the parasitic males of S. Peronii and S. villosum resemble each other more closely, than do the two hermaphrodite forms;—but it is very difficult to weigh the value of the differences in the different parts of species.
Besides these general, there are some closer relations between the parasites and the animals to which they are attached; thus the most conspicuous internal character by which Ibla quadrivalvis is distinguished from I. Cumingii, is the length of the caudal appendages and the greater size of the parts of the mouth; in the parasites, we have exactly corresponding differences. Out of the six species of Scalpellum in their ordinary state, S. ornatum is alone quite destitute of spines on the membrane connecting the valves; and had it not been for this circumstance, I should even have used the presence of spines as a generic character; on the other hand, S. villosum, in accordance with its specific name, has larger and more conspicuous spines than any other species. In the parasites we have an exactly parallel case; the parasite of S. ornatum being the only one without spines, and the spines on the parasite of S. villosum being much the largest! This latter species is highly singular in having no caudal appendages, and the parasite is destitute of these same organs, though present inn the parasites of S. rostratum and S. Peronii. Again, S. villosum approaches, in all its characters, very closely to the genus Pollicipes, and the parasite in having prehensile antennæ, with the disc but little pointed, and with spines at the further end, departs from Scalpellum and approaches Pollicipes! Will any one believe that these several parallel differences, between the Cirripedial parasites and the Cirripedes to which they are attached, are accidental, and without signification? yet, this must be admitted, if my view of their male sex and mature be rejected.
One more, and the most important special relation between the parasites and the cirripedes to which they are attached, remains to be noticed, namely that of their prehensile larval antennæ. I observed the antennæ more or less perfectly in the males of all, and except in S. villosum, in all the species, though so utterly different in general appearance and structure, I found the peculiar, pointed, hoof-like discs, which are confined, I believe, to the genera Ibla and Scalpellum. In the hermaphrodite forms of Scalpellum, I was enabled to examine the antennæ only in two species, S. vulgare and S. Peronii, (belonging, fortunately, to the two most distinct sections of the genus,) and after the most careful measurements of every part, I can affirm that, in S. vulgare, the antennæ of the male and of the hermaphrodite are identical; but that they differ slightly in the proportional lengths of their segments, and in no other respect, from these same organs in S. Peronii,—in which again the antennæ of the male and of the hermaphrodite are identical. The importance of this agreement will be more fully appreciated, if the reader will consider the following table, in which the generic and specific differences of the antennæ in the Lepadidæ, as far as known to me, are given. These organs are of high functional importance; they serve the larva for crawling, and being furnished with long, sometimes plumose spines, they serve apparently as organs of touch; and lastly, they are indispensable as a means of permanent attachment, being adapted to the different objects, to which the larva adheres. Hence the antennæ might, à priori, have been deemed of high importance for classification. They are, moreover, embryonic in their nature; and embryonic parts, as is well known, possess the highest classificatory value. From these considerations, and looking to the actual facts as exhibited in the following table, the improbability that the parasites of S. vulgare and S. Peronii, so utterly different in external structure and habits one from the other, and from the Cirripedes to which they are attached, should yet have absolutely similar prehensile antennæ with these Cirripedes, appears to me, on the supposition of the parasites being really independent creatures, and not, as I fully believe, merely in a different state of sexual development, insurmountably great.
The parasites of S. vulgare take advantage of a pre-existing fold on the edge of the scutum, where the chitine border is thicker; and in this respect there is nothing different from what would naturally happen with an independent parasite; but in S. ornatum the case is very different, for here the two scuta are specially modified, before the attachment of the parasites, in a manner which it is impossible to believe can be of any service to the species itself, irrespectively of the lodgment thus afforded for the males. So again in S. rutilum, the shape of the scutum seems adapted for the reception of the male, in a manner which must be attributed to its own growth, and not to the pressure or attachment of a foreign body. Now there is a strong and manifest improbability in an animal being specially modified to favour the parasitism of another, though there are innumerable instances in which parasites take advantage of pre-existing structures in the animals to which they are attached. On the other hand, there is no greater improbability in the female being modified for the attachment of the male, in a class in which all the individuals are attached to some object, than in the mutual organs of copulation being adapted to each other throughout the animal kingdom.