Elementary Zoology, Second EditionKellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Science
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition
Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Animals; Zoology
=Wood lice (Isopoda).=--TECHNICAL NOTE.--Specimens of wood lice,
pill bugs, or damp bugs, as they are variously called, may be
readily found in concealed moist places, as under stones or boards
on damp soil. They are often common in houses, near drains or in
dark, damp places. Examine some live wood lice, and some dead
specimens (killed by chloroform or in an insect-killing bottle).
Note the division of the body into the head, thorax, and abdomen;
find the eyes, the antennæ and the mouthparts (mandibles and
maxillæ are usually pressed closely together). All the locomotory
appendages are adapted for walking or running, not swimming. Note
the number of pairs of legs; the structure of a leg; find gills
and gill-covers. Some females may be found with eggs on the under
side of the thorax near the bases of the legs, the eggs being
covered by thin membranous plates. Make drawings showing the
general form and character of body and details of legs, gills,
etc. Compare with the crayfish and _Cyclops_.
The wood-lice (fig. 36) are among the few Crustacea which have a
wholly terrestrial life. They run about quickly and feed chiefly on
decaying vegetable matter. They are night scavengers. They have the
body oval and convex above, rather purplish or grayish brown, and
smooth. Although they do not live in the water they breathe partly at
least by means of gills (though they may breathe partly through the
skin). It is therefore necessary for them to live in a damp atmosphere
so that the gill membranes may be kept damp. If not kept moist they
could not serve as osmotic membranes.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--A damp bug, Isopod, species not determined.
(From specimen.)]
=Lobsters, Shrimps and Crabs (Decapoda).=--TECHNICAL
NOTE.--Teachers living near the sea-shore can get specimens of
live and dead lobsters, shrimps, and crabs in the markets. Schools
in the interior should have a few preserved specimens for
examination. These specimens should be compared with the crayfish;
although differences in shape of body are evident, the character
and arrangement of body parts will be found to be very similar.
The largest and most familiar Crustaceans, as the crayfishes,
lobsters, shrimps, prawns and crabs, all belong to the order Decapoda,
or ten-legged Crustacea. The members of this order have, including the
large claws, ten walking feet; they all have eyes on movable stalks,
and the front portion of the body is covered by a horny fold of the
body-wall called the carapace.
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