84 



ubevægelige stærkt indbøiet. Følerne med 2det og 3die 

 Led af ens Længde, sidste Led længere end næstsidste. 

 De falske Fadder hos Hannen næsten Va længere end 

 Legemet. Endedelen noget længere end 5te Led, Rand- 

 tornerne forholdsvis noget smækrere end hos foregaaende 

 Art. Grangfødderne næsten 5 Gange længere end Legemet, 

 stærkt afsmalnende; 2det Lægled særdeles smalt og for- 

 længet, dog neppe dobbelt saa langt som Laarleddet; Tar- 

 salleddet og Fodleddet omtrent af ens Længde, begge meget 

 spinkle og lineære; Endekloen stærkt forlænget, næsten af 

 Fodleddets Længde ; Bikløerne yderst smaa. Legemets 

 Længde 18"""; Spandvidde 190""". 



Bemærkninger. Næiwærende Form staar vistnok 

 overordentlig nær foregaaende, men forekommer mig dog 

 at maatte specifiskt adskilles, da jeg ved Undersøgelse 

 af talrige Eemplarer af begge har kunnet paavise flere 

 distinctive Characterer, der synes mig at være konstante. 

 Vistnok tror saavel Hoek som Hansen at have seet Over- 

 gangsformer; men begge disse Forskere har væsentlig kun 

 henholdt sig til en enkelt Karakter, nemlig Kloens Længde 

 paa G-angfødderne. At denne til en vis Grad vil kunne 

 variere, anser jeg ikke for umuligt, skjøndt jeg hos ingen 

 af de under Nordhavs -Expeditionen indsamlede talrige 

 Exemplarer har fundet nogen mærkbar Forskjel i denne 

 Henseende. Hoek har, som Støtte for sin Antagelse af 

 begge Formers Identitet, af bildet de ydre Fodled af Iste 

 Par Gangfodder hos et og samme Individ, hvoraf den ene 

 Fod viser det sædvanlige Forhold af Kloen, medens den 

 anden har mere Karakteren af N. Strømii. Jeg kan imid- 

 lertid ikke indrømme, at dette er et fuldgyldigt Bevis for 

 begge Formers Artsidentitet, da det ikke saa ganske 

 sjelden hænder, at de ydre Led kan være deformerede 

 paa en eller anden af Fødderne, som Følge af en tilfeldig 

 Læsion og ufuldkommen Regeneration. Foruden ved de 

 ydre Fodleds indbyrdes Længdeforhold og Endekloens 

 betydelige Længde, skiller nærværende Art sig, som a f 

 ovenstaaende Diagnose vil sees, ved de endnu kraftigere 

 udviklede Saxlemmer, paa hvilke Fingrene er kjendelig 

 længere i Forhold til Palmen, fremdeles ved det indbyrdes 

 Længdeforhold af Følernes Led, endelig ved Legemets be- 

 tydeligere Størrelse og noget mere robuste Form. 



Da Miers omtrent samtidigt med Heller har beskre- 

 vet en Nyniphon-Art fra det antarktiske Hav under samme 

 Navn, har Bøhn l foreslaaet at forandre Artsnavnet gra- 

 cilipes til Helleri. Miers har imidlertid i en senere Af- 

 handling selv omdobt sin Art til N. antarcticum, hvorfor 

 den af Bøhn foreslaaede Navneforandring bliver unød- 

 vendig. 



Beskrivelse. Legemets Længde hos de største under 

 Nordhavs-Expeditionen indsamlede ExenipLarer er ikke mindre 

 end 18""", med en Spandvidde af 190'"'", og denne Art er 

 saaledes ikke blot den største af Slægten, men tillige en af 

 de største bekjendte Pycnogonideer. 



Pyonogoniden des Museums zu Berlin. 



almost straight, and of the immobile one greatly incurvated. 

 Palpi with 2nd and 3rd joints equal in length, ultimate joint 

 longer than the penultimate one. False legs in the male almost 

 one-third longer than the body, terminal part somewhat 

 longer than oth joint, marginal spines relatively more slender 

 than in the preceding species. Ambulatory legs almost 5 

 times longer than the body. rapidly tapering; 2nd tibial 

 joint exceedingly slim and elongate, yet harclly twice as 

 long as the femoral joint ; tarsal joint aud propodal joint 

 about equal in length, both very slender and linear; terminal 

 claw greatly elongated, length almost that of the propodal 

 joint; auxiliary claws exceedingly small. Lengtli of body 

 18'" n , extent 190""". 



Bemarks. The present form no doubt approximates 

 to the preceding one very closely, but yet, should, it seems to 

 me, be specifically distinguished, as, on examining numerous 

 specimens of both, I have succeeded in detecting several 

 distinctive characters, which appear, to me, to be constant 

 ones. Both Hoek and Hansen believe. it is true, that they 

 have observed transition forms; but both those naturalists 

 have dwelt chiefly on a single character, viz., the length of 

 the claw on the ambulatory legs. That the character in 

 question may vary to a certain extent, I do not regard as 

 impossible, though I have not found any appreciable variation 

 in that respect in any of the numerous specimens collectecl on 

 the North Atlantic Expedition. To support his assumption of 

 the identity of both forms, Hoek has drawn the outer leg-joints 

 of the Ist pair of ambulatory legs in one and the same in- 

 dividual, with the one leg exhibiting the usual relations in 

 the claw, whereas the other shows more the character of the 

 relations in N. Strbmii. I can not, however, admit that 

 to be a perfectly satisfactoiw proof of the specific identity 

 of both forms, as the outer joints are not so very infrequeritly 

 deformed on one or other of the legs, in consequence of an 

 accidental lesion and imperfect regeneration. Besides the 

 longitudinal relations of the outer leg-joints inter se and the 

 considerable length of the terminal claw. the present species 

 is, as seen from the above diagnosis, distinguished by the 

 still more powerfully developed chelifori in which the fingers 

 are appreciably longer in proportion to the palm, further, 

 by the longitudinal proportion of the joints of the palpi inter 

 se, and, finally, by the considerably larger size and some- 

 what more robust form of the body. 



Dr. Miers having described about contemporaneously 

 with Heller a Nymphon species from the Antar ctic Ocean 

 under the same designation, Bohn * has proposed to change 

 the specific name of gracilipes to Helleri. Miers has. how- 

 ever, himself, in a subsequent memoir, renamed his species 

 N. antarcticum ; the change of name proposed by Bohn is 

 therefore no w unnecessarv. 



Description. The length of the body in the largest 

 specimens collected .on the North Atlantic Expedition, is 

 not less than 18""", with an exteiit of 190"""; this species 

 is, thus, not only the largest of the genus but also one of 

 the largest Pycnogonidea known. 



Pyonogoniden des Museums zu Berlin. 



