South African Crustacea. 19 



GEN. GALACANTHA, A. Milne-Edwards. 



1880. Galacantha, A. Milne-Edwards, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 

 vol. viii., p. 52. 



1901. Galacantha, Alcock, loc. cit., p. 274. 



1902. Galacantha, Benedict, loc, cit., p. 304. 



In Colonel Alcock's work above cited, so far as its date allows, 

 references to authorities are given for the tribe or legion, the family, 

 and the genus, with definitions and other information. Though other 

 writers Benedict, Hodgson, de Man, C. E. Porter, Caiman, Chilton, 

 W. H. Baker, and MacGilchrist have dealt with members of this 

 family since 1901, no considerable addition appears to have been made 

 to our knowledge of the genus Galacantha. Benedict enumerates 

 seven species: G. camclus, Ortmann, G. diomedece, Faxon, G. faxoni, 

 Benedict, G. investigatoris, Alcock and Anderson, G. rostrata, A. 

 Milne-Edwards, G. spinosa, A. Milne-Edwards, and G. trachynotus, 

 Anderson. The Zoological Eecord for 1904, Crustacea, p. 32, sup- 

 plying an omitted record of Illustrations of the Zoology of the 

 Investigator, pt. 9, 1901, quotes G, areolata, Alcock and McArdle, 

 as if Wood-Mason's species had been accepted by those authors. In 

 their explanation, however, of plate lv., on which the name occurs, 

 it will be found that they reduce it to a synonym of G. rostrata, 

 A. M.-E. G. faxoni, Benedict, is a new name for the Albatross 

 specimens which Faxon himself attributed to G. rostrata, though 

 pointing out some small features in which they constantly differed 

 from West Indian examples. Opinions will vary as to the need of 

 a new name. Faxon inclines to behold " in G. rostrata a somewhat 

 variable abyssal species of world- wide distribution, represented on 

 both sides of the Atlantic, off the Pacific coast of America, in the 

 Banda Sea, and in the Bay of Bengal." Alcock evidently agrees 

 with him, not only accepting Henderson's G. bellis and G. talismanii 

 as synonyms of the species, but in addition reducing G. investigatoris 

 to a variety of it. Alcock also regards G. trachynotus as a variety 

 of G. spinosa. On this view there are only four species which can 

 be sharply distinguished. 



Lateral margin of carapace with four subequal 



t ee th G. camelus, Ortmann, 1892. 



Lateral margin of carapace with teeth not sub- 

 equal or fewer than four 2. 



Rostrum without lateral teeth G. diomedea", Faxon, 1893. 



Rostrum with lateral teeth 3. 



