ISOPODS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



209 



ROCINELA SIGNATA Schioedte and Meinert. 



Rocinela signata SCHICEDTE and MEINERT, Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift (3), XII, 

 1879-80, pp. 399-401, pi. xin, figs. 3-6. RICHARDSON, Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., XXIII, 1901, p. 524. MOORE, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., XX, Pt. 2, 

 1902, p. 171, pi. x, fig. 2. 



Localities. West Indies; shores of Central America; St. Croix 

 Island; St. Bartholomew Island; Marco and No Name Key, Florida; 

 between delta of the Mississippi and Cedar Keys, Florida; Key West, 

 Florida; Anclote section; Gulf of Mexico; Culebra, Porto Rico. 



Depth. 2-26 fathoms. 



Found in coarse sand and coral; in rocks. From back of grouper; 

 off fish Diplectrum formosum; in the gills of Thunnus alatunga; in 

 gills of a scaroid; on "ffsem- 

 ulon or Scisena" (Schioedte 

 and Meinert). 



Body oblong-ovate, a little 

 more than twice as long as 

 wide, 6 mm. : 13 mm. 



Head twice as wide as long, 

 2 mm.: 4 mm., triangular in 

 shape and produced in front 

 over the basal articles of the 

 antennae. Eyes large, oval, 

 composite, separated in front 

 by a distance somewhat 



greater than the width of FlG ail.-RodNELA SIGNATA (AFTER SCHKEDTE AND 

 One eye. The first pair of MEINERT). o, ADULT FEMALE. 6, YOUNG FEMALE, c, 



antennae have the basal arti- 

 cle short, and covered by the 

 front of the head; second article about twice as long as the first; third 

 article about one and a half times as long as the second. The flagellum 

 is composed of four articles. The first pair of antennae extend to the 

 middle of the fifth article of the peduncle of the second antennas. 

 The first two articles of the second antennae are short, the second one 

 being somewhat shorter than the first; the third and fourth are sub- 

 equal and each is twice as long as the first; the fifth is a little longer 

 than the fourth. The flagellum is composed of twelve articles. The 

 second antennae extend almost, but not quite, to the posterior margin 

 of the second thoracic segment. The frontal lamina is small, almost 

 inconspicuous, rhomboid-shaped and ventrally placed. The maxilliped 

 has a palp of two articles. 



The first, fourth, fifth, and sixth segments of the thorax are a little 

 longer than any of the others. The epimera are distinct from the seg- 

 ments in all but the first. They are narrow plates, with the posterior 

 2858905 14 



FRONTAL MARGIN WITH BOTH ANTENNAE AND FRONTAL 

 LAMINA. (ENLARGED.) 



