120 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



present on the inner margin between the central spine and the distal end. The merus 

 and carpus of the chelipedes are spinose internally, the propodus usually bears a row of 

 short spinules on its outer border, and the upper surface is pubescent and somewhat 

 flattened ; the fingers are as a rule straight and in close contact, but in old males those 

 of the right side become bent,' the dactylus is provided with a prominent tubercular 

 tooth on the inner margin, and there is a considerable intervening hiatus ; a slight hiatus 

 may also exist between the fingers of the left side. 



The foregoing characters are furnished by specimens taken in the British seas, where 

 this species occurs commonly in shallow water. After careful examination I am unable 

 to find any points of difierence in the Challenger examples. 



Two species of Galathea were taken in Simon's Bay, South Africa, at a depth of 5 to 

 18 fathoms, from which locality the type of Galathea labidolepta, Stimpson, was 

 procured. The first of these, represented by a single male specimen (figured twice the 

 natural size on PL XII.), which I refer with considerable hesitation to Stimpson's species, 

 is either very closely allied to or identical with Galathea dispersa. The second species, 

 represented by three imperfect specimens, is of much smaller size, the body of a male 

 measuring 17 "5 mm. in length, while a female with ova measures only 11 mm. In 

 these the merus of the external maxillipedes is considerably longer and narrower than the 

 ischium (a character in which it agrees with the common European Galathea squami- 

 fera, Leach), the inner margin bears two acute spinules near its distal end, and a few 

 minute spinules are present on the outer margin. The chelipedes in the single specimen 

 in which they are still present (a female) are very slender, and the fingers exceed the 

 palm in length. It is impossible to say which of these species, or indeed whether either 

 of them, is referable to Galathea labidolepta. The original description of the latter is 

 very incomplete and the size is not recorded ; the brief diagnosis would indeed apply 

 to either of the Challenger species in most respects, but as regards the external maxilli- 

 pedes, in the form of which they difi"er to a marked extent, Stimpson has furnished no 

 account. 



Galathea aculeata, Haswell. 



Galathea aculeata, Haswell, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vol. vi. p. 761, 1882; Catal. Austral. 

 Crust, p. 162, 1882. 



Habitat. — Station 172, ofi" Nukalofa, Tongatabu ; depth, 18 fathoms; bottom, coral 

 mud. A male specimen. 



Station 208, off Manila; depth, 18 fathoms; bottom, blue mud. Several specimens, 

 including a female with ova. 



The brevity of Haswell's description renders the identification of this species very 

 uncertain. It is apparently allied to Galathea australiensis, Stimpson, but the gastric 



