18 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGEE. 



Family II. H o m o L i D ^. 



Homoliem, Milne-Edwards, Hist. Nat. dcs Crust., t. ii. p. 180, 1837 {part.). 



Carapace quadrangular or sub triangular. Legs flattened (Homola), or remarkably 

 long, slender, and cylindrical {Latreillia, LatreiUoj)sis) ; the last pair of small size, 

 prehensile and subdorsal in position. Ocular peduncles usually slender and of great 

 length ; orbits scarcely represented. Antennules not capable of retraction into special 

 fossae. Species extending to moderate depths. 



The genus LatreiUo'psis forms an interesting link between Homola and Latreillia, and 

 emphasises the necessity (previously pointed out by De Haan) of grouping the two together. 

 Dicranodromia, A. Milne-Edwards, apparently occupies an intermediate position between 

 the Dromidse and the Homolidse ; it agrees with the former in the arrangement of the 

 last two pairs of legs, and with the latter in the absence of orbits and antennular fossae. 

 The features of this genus appear, however, on the whole to warrant its position in 

 the family now under consideration. 



Genus Homola, Leach. 



Homola, Leach, Trans. Linn. Soo. Lond., vol xi. p. 324, 1815; Zool. Miscell., vol. ii. tab. Ixxxviii., 1815. 

 „ MUne-Edwards, Hist. Nat. des Crust., t. ii. p. 181, 1837. 

 ,, De Haan, Crust. Japon., p. 105, 1850. 



,, Dana, U.S. Explor. E.xped., vol. xiii., Crust., part i. p. 403, 1852. 

 ,, Heller, Crust, siidlichen Europa, p. 148, 1863. 



Carapace quadrilateral, of greater length than breadth, terminating anteriorly in a 

 bi- or unidentate rostrum, the sides vertical. Orbits incomplete, only aflbrding pro- 

 tection to the basal portion of the eye-stalks. Ocular peduncles composed of a long, 

 slender, basal part, and a shorter but dilated corneal portion. Antenules not placed in 

 special fossae, the proximal joint of the peduncle swollen, the second and third joints 

 slender. Anteunal peduncle slender. Chelipedes of moderate size, with slender dactyli ; 

 ambulatory limbs long and compressed, the ultimate pair subdorsal in position, and 

 subcheliform. Abdomen composed of seven segments, of which the first five bear 

 appendages in the female. 



The previously known species of Homola are three in number, viz., Homola barbata 

 (Herbst) and Homola cuvieri, Risso, from the Mediterranean and adjacent part of the 

 Atlantic (the former also occurring off" the east coast of the United States and in the 

 West Indies), and Homola vigil, A. Milne-Edwards, from the West Indies. To these the 

 Challenger collection has added a fourth species from the Eastern seas. All of these live 

 in moderately deep water, and both Homola barbata and Homola vigil have been 

 obtained from considerable depths. 



