14 Annals of the South African Museum. 



FAMILY GECAKCINLD^E. 



1900. GeocarcinidcB, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. Ixix., 

 pt. 2, pp. 283, 440. 



The primary genus of this family is Leach's Gecarcinus, not, as the 

 name is sometimes printed, Geocarcimis. 



GEN. CAEDISOMA, Latreille. 



1825. Cardisoma, Latreille, Encycl. Meth., vol. x., p. 685. 

 1900. Cardiosoma, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. Ixix., 

 pt. 2, p. 444. 



CARDISOMA CARNIFEX (Herbst). 

 1796. Cancer carnifex, Herbst, Naturg. Krabben u. Krebse, vol. ii., 



pt. 6, p. 163, pi. 41, fig. 1. 

 1825. Cardisoma carnifex, Latreille, Encycl. Meth., vol. x., 



p. 685. 

 1900. Cardiosoma carnifex, Alcock, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 



vol. Ixix., pt. 2, p. 445. 

 1906. Cardiosoma carnifex, Nobili, Bull. Sci. France-Belgique, vol. 



xl, p. 156. 



On this species Alcock (loc. cit.) gives a fund of valuable informa- 

 tion. In the ample synonymy he includes Cancer hydromus [err. for 

 hydrodromus] , Herbst, with a reference to Herbst's work, imme- 

 diately following that for C. carnifex, namely, p. 164, pi. 41, fig. 2. 

 But according to Ortmann, Zool. Jahrb., vol. x., p. 302, 1897, the 

 species in question should be called Potamon hydrodromum, and 

 Miss M. J. Rathbun in her fine Monograph of the Potamonidse, 

 Nouv. Arch, du Museum, vol. vi., p. 287, 1904, gives the name as 

 Potamon (Potamon) liydrodromus (Herbst), with a full synonymy 

 which appears to be conclusive. In 1894 Ortmann, Zool. Jahrb., 

 vol. vii., p. 735, gives the species Cardisoma guanhumi, Latreille, with 

 carnifex (Herbst) as a variety. But, if the two forms are specifically 

 identical, it is Latreille's guanhumi that must take the subordinate 

 position, since the employment of the name by the Marcgrave de 

 Liebstad in 1648, being pre-Linnean, does not count in a question 

 of priority. The carapace of the dried specimen from the Durban 

 Museum is 70 mm. in greatest breadth, with a length of 65 mm. 

 The specimen is a female, with the right cheliped much larger than 

 the left. 



