42Ó 



63. Alpheus pareuchirus Cout. var. imitatrix de Man. 



J. G. DE Man, in: Tijdschr. d. Ned. Dierk. Vereen. (2) Dl. XI, 1909, p. 106. 

 Confer: H. COUTIÈRE, Alpheidae Mald. and Laccad. Archip. 1905, p. 906, PI. LXXXIV, 

 fig- 43- 



Stat. 153. August 14. o°3'.8N., I30°24'.3E. Halmahera Sea. 141 m. Fine and coarse sand 



with dead shells. 1 female with eggs. 

 Stat. 162. August 18. Between Loslos and Broken-islands, West coast of Salavvatti. 18 m. 



Coarse and fine sand with clay and shells. 1 female with eggs. 

 Stat. 164. August 20. i°42'.5 S., I30°47'.5 E. Between Misool and New Guinea. 32 m. Sand, 



small stones and shells. 2 specimens, one of which with eggs. 

 Stat. 305. February 8. Mid-channel in Solor-strait off Kampong Menanga. 113 m. Bottom 



stony. 7 specimens, 3 of which are adult and ova-bearing. 



It is a known fact that in some species of the Edwardsii group the dactylus of the 

 small chela of the male, though usually presenting the Balacniccps-ïorm., sometimes appears 

 simple, devoid of the lateral carinae that are usually developed and then resembles the dactylus 

 of the female: this remarkable fact has e. g. been observed in A. Bastardi Cout. On the 

 contrary one observes, according to Coutière, sometimes specimens of A. Audouini, in which 

 the dactylus of the small chela of the female shows "la tracé tres marquée des crêtes sétifères 

 du doigt mobile du male" (Coutière, 1. c, 1905, p. 914). It is therefore that the above mentioned 

 specimens, in which the small chela of the female resembles that of the male, 

 the dactylus being Balaetiicefts-s h a p e d and the palm presenting the s a m e 

 grooves, are considered as a variety of A. paraichirus. The specimens from the stations 

 162 and 164 resemble the variety Leucothea as regards the characters of the second and third 

 legs, but the specimens from Stat. 305 somewhat differ, for the meri of the third and fourth 

 legs appear here j u s t as s 1 e n d e r as in the typical species. 



In the egg-bearing female from Stat. 162 which is 18,5 mm. long, the large chela appears 

 3-times as long as high, but the fingers are longer than usually, the proportion between their 

 length and that of the chela being 2,33. In the small chela that measures almost 7 mm., the 

 fingers are as long as the palm and this chela is 4-times as long as high ; for the rest it 

 fully resembles the small chela of the male of the variety Leucothea de Man. 



The legs of the second pair are missing. The merus of the third legs is 5,26-times 

 as long as broad, the proportion between the length of the propodus and that of the carpus 

 is 1,31 and the dactylus is almost half as long as the propodus: all proportions like in the 

 variety Leucothea. 



In the ova-bearing female, long 20 mm., from Stat. 164 the large chela is also 3-times 

 as long as high, but the fingers are somewhat shorter than in the preceding female ; the smaller 

 chela appears a little more slender, 5-times as long as high, but for the rest resembles 

 that of the female from Stat. 162. In this specimen the carpal segments of the 2 nJ legs are 

 1,44 mm., 1,35 mm., 0,48 mm., 0,46 mm. and 0,7 mm. long, the chela 1,33111111. long (palm 

 0,6 mm., fingers 0,73 mm.) and the third segment appears just twice as long as thick. 



Merus of 3 vd legs 5,77-times as long as broad, proportion between the length of the 

 propodus and that of the carpus 1,38, dactylus two-fifths of the propodus. 



294 



