The foot is attached to the distal end of the leg. It is slightly narrower at its attached extremity than at its free end. It bears two sickle-shaped claws and a few papillae. The part of the foot which carries the claws is especially retractile, and is generally found more or less telescoped into the proximal part. The legs of the fourth and fifth pairs differ from the others in {9}the fact that the proximal pad is broken up into three, a small central and two larger lateral. The enlarged nephridia of these legs open on the small central division. The males are generally rather smaller than the females. In those species in which the number of legs varies, the male has a smaller number of legs than the female. HABITS. They live beneath the bark of rotten stumps of trees, in the crevices of rock, and beneath stones. They require a moist atmosphere, and are exceedingly susceptible to drought. They avoid light, and are therefore rarely seen. They move with great deliberation, picking their course by means of their antennae and eyes. It is by the former that they acquire a knowledge of the ground over which they are travelling, and by the latter that they avoid the light. The antennae are extraordinarily sensitive, and so delicate, indeed, that they seem to be able to perceive the nature of objects without actual contact. When irritated they eject with considerable force the contents of their slime reservoirs from the oral papillae. The force is supplied by the sudden contraction of the muscular body wall. They can squirt the slime to the distance of almost a foot. The slime, which appears to be perfectly harmless, is extremely sticky, but it easily comes away from the skin of the animal itself. I have never seen them use this apparatus for the capture of prey, but Hutton describes the New Zealand species as using it for this purpose. So far as I can judge, it is used as a defensive weapon; but this of course will not exclude its offensive use. They will turn their heads to any part of the body which is being irritated and violently discharge their slime at the offending object. Locomotion is effected entirely by means of the legs, with the body fully extended. Of their food in the natural state we know little; but it is probably mainly, if not entirely, animal. Hutton describes his specimens as sucking the juices of flies which they had stuck down with their slime, and those which I kept in captivity eagerly devoured the entrails of their fellows, and the developing young from the uterus. They also like raw sheep's liver. They move their mouths in a suctorial manner, tearing the food with their jaws. They have the power of extruding their jaws from {10}the mouth, and of working them alternately backwards or forwards. This is readily observed in individuals immersed in water. BREEDING.