Ɛpsilon

To Henry Lee   23 December [1871]

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Dec 23

My dear Sir

I am sorry that you had the trouble to send me your last kind note.1 I have now looked at both lots of specimens, & I think both are the variable L. anatifera.— I have disarticulated the right-hand scutal valve in both & the umbonal teeth are plain in both. This with position of the carina suffices, though the latter ought to be disarticulated and cleaned. But I have hardly any doubt that both are L. anatifera.—2

Shall I return the specimens by Railway? I have added a little spirits to the specimens, as corks leak.— I do not return them without asking as this species is of so little value.—3

Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Postmark: DE 23 71

1
Lee’s letter has not been found, but see the letter to Henry Lee, 17 December [1871].
2
In the introduction to Living Cirripedia (1851), pp. 3–8, CD discussed the confusion in nomenclature used in the description of the valves of cirripedes and instituted terminology that has become standard. He noted in his description of Lepas anatifera (ibid., p. 73), that the right-hand scutum alone had an internal umbonal tooth. In L. australis, the scuta have umbonal teeth on both sides (ibid., p. 89), while in L. hillii, the scuta have no internal umbonal teeth (ibid., p. 77). Lee may have suggested that the specimens were L. australis or L. hillii or both (see letters to Henry Lee, 26 November 1871 and 17 December [1871]). For CD’s description of the carina in these three species, see ibid., pp. 74, 78, 90.
3
In Living Cirripedia (1851), p. x, CD described Lepas anatifera as the most common of the Lepadidae, or pedunculated cirripedes.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.5 hardly any] over del ‘no’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8118B,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8118B