138 MEMOIES OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



flagella ; second anteiiiiie long, withont a scale ; the first pair of thoracic legs no longer than the 

 four succeeding ])airs ; the hfth pair of legs as long and well developed as the others ; carapace 

 ovate, smooth, without transverse impressed Hues, with a long, acute rostrum; with lateral spines 

 on the anterior half; abdomen rather broad, nearly as much so as the carapace ; the telson broad 

 and differentiated into two median pieces, the basal piece with broad, rounded membranaceous 

 lobes, one on each side, fringed like the two rami of each uropod, with long setai. 



After the foregoing paper was written, and an abstract published in the American Naturalist 

 for September, 1885, I sent the specimens to Dr. Kingsley to be drawn, and on their return he 

 made the following criticisms, which are here quoted : 



" From the characters shown in the specimens before me, Anthrapaliemou apparently has 

 nothing to do with the EryonidiE, but belongs rather to the Schizosomi of Stimpson. The thoracic 

 structure, antenniv, sternum, and telson are all paralleled in that group. The telson is much like 

 that of the Porcellaiu crabs. The absence of the distal pedal joints of the legs renders its family 

 uncertain. It may belong to some of those existing in the fauna of to-day. It certainly shows no 

 features which would justify the creation. of a new family for it." 



While I should hardly agree with the view that Anthrapalwmon belongs to the Schizosomi, 

 since Porcellaua is a brachyurau, with a broad, round cephalothorax and small abdomen, 

 folded beneath the body, the differentiation of the telson is somewhat as in Porcellaua, 

 as will be seen by referen(;e to Fig. 7, copied from Milne Edwards.* O n the other hand, I 

 have erred in regarding it as closely allied to the Eryonida?, as defiued by Zittel in his 

 Handbuch der Palaeoutologie. Having already drawn attention to the highly difleren- Fig.7.— 

 tiated telson of the Galatheid.t, 1 am now much inclined to regard the Anthracarid;!? Alulomen 

 as more nearly related to this group. The resemblance to the Galatlieidre is seen in the "^ Poicel- 

 general shape of the body, the proportions of the carapace with its sharp rostrum, and 

 the proportions of the abdomen with its broad telson and uropoda. The tirst pair of auteume differ, 

 however, from those of the Galatheidte in having two well-developed tlagella. and the first pair of 

 legs are much smaller, while the fifth pair are larger in projiortion ; the last pair of uropoda are 

 more as in the Glyphneida?, and Astacida", the outer ramus being divided into a long basal and short 

 broad distal segment. 



It seems to us, from what we now know of the characters of Anthrapakemou, as we have 

 wox^ked them out, that it cannot be placed in any kuown family of Decapoda. We should now be 

 inclined to place the Authracaridiie nearest the GalatheidiB, most of which are deep sea forms. 

 It is not improbable that they were the forerunners or ancestors of the Galatheidie.t That the 

 family is a synthetic group is shown by the resemblance of its telson to that of Porcellana, a 

 Brachyurau. It certainly does not beloug among the Palinurida-, nor, on the other hand, among 

 the Glyphffiidse. 



In Zittel's valuable Handbuch der Palaeontologie (Bd. 1, 2d Abth., Lief, iv, p. 682), Anthrapa- 

 Iremon is jdaced among the PemBidiB, but its characters appear to be such as to forbid such an 

 alliance. PaltEoutology is an inexact science, but the attempt to seek the natural position of 

 extinct forms leads us to examine their remains more closely, to make further explorations for 

 more perfectly preserved specimens, while the final result is to lead us to enlarge our concep- 

 tions as to the affinities of existing types of life. It seems to us better to establish new groups for 

 Palfeozoic forms of uncertain positions than to crowd them into groups of highly specialized 

 modern forms. Yet this tendency may be carried too far. Whether we have erred in the present 

 instance we leave to the judgment of those who, with a special knowledge of modern Crustacea, 

 also possess both critical skill and broad views in dealing with natural groups. 



Note on the Palj30zoic Shrimps {Carididcc). 



The form provisionally referred to Anthrapalfemon by Salter (his fig. a. Quart. Journ. Geol. 

 Soc. Loudon, xvii, 1861), occurring in the Carboniferous beds at Lanarkshire, Scotland, which has 



"Crustac^s, pi. 22, fig. 7. 



t After writing the foregoing remarks I found I had overlooked Professor Dana's opinion, expressed on p. 350 of 

 his Manual of Geology, 3d edition, where, after referring to the British species of Anthrapalaeinon, he adds, " but the 

 broad flattened carapax indicates a nearer relation to ^Eglea and Galathea than to Pahemon." 



