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171<br />

last segment considerably produced. Eyes large, sublateral. Antennulse with the<br />

terminal joint well developed. Antennae slender and elongated, with the flagellum<br />

composed of 3 articulations. Mandibles with numerous penicils behind the cutting<br />

part. Legs moderately slender, gradually increasing posteriorly. Opercular plates<br />

of uropoda without any air-cavities, those of the 2 anterior pairs deeply bilobed.<br />

Uropoda rather produced, with the inner ramus originating far in front of<br />

the outer.<br />

Remarks. This is the genus first established, and indeed formerly em-<br />

braced all the Oniscoida. In the restriction now generally adopted, it comprises<br />

only a restricted number of species, chiefly characterised by the broad, depressed<br />

body and the 3-articulated flagellum of the antenna?. Only a single species be-<br />

longs to the fauna of Norway,<br />

and will be described below.<br />

Oniscus asellus, Lin.<br />

(PI. LXXV.)<br />

Oniscus asellus, Linnaeus, Fauna suecica, IV. p. 183.<br />

Syn: Oniscus murarius, Cuvier.<br />

/bssor, Koch?<br />

Specific Characters. Body rather regularly oval, greatest width exceeding<br />

half the length, dorsal face but slightly convex, and, in adult specimens, nearly<br />

smooth, and glossy, in younger specimens of a duller appearance, being rough owing<br />

to small tubercles occurring especially on the anterior part of the body. Cephalon to<br />

a great extent flanked by the side-plates of the 1st segment of mesosome, and<br />

fully twice as broad as it is long, frontal edge obtusely angular in the middle,<br />

lateral lobes rather prominent, narrow linguiform, dorsal face clothed with small<br />

rounded tubercles. Side-plates of mesosome greatly prominent, lamellar, sub-<br />

contiguous, all terminating<br />

behind in an acute corner. Metasome about half the<br />

length of the mesosome and not much narrower, the 2 anterior segments very<br />

small and wholly embraced by the preceding segment, epimeral plates of the 3<br />

succeeding segments narrowly produced and strongly recurved, the posterior pair<br />

extending almost as far as the last segment; the latter much longer<br />

than it is broad<br />

at the base, outer part narrow conic, convex above. Eyes oval and but slightly<br />

convex. Antennulae with the terminal joint about the length of the basal one,<br />

and conically tapered. Antennae long and slender exceeding half the length of<br />

the body, flagellum shorter than the last peduncular joint, and having<br />

the 1st<br />

and last articulations of about equal length, the middle one shorter. Legs rather<br />

slender, with the outer joints densely spinous inside. Uropoda with the outer

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