Pearse and Williams, 1951). Wass (1955) found 

 the species in sponges of the genus Ircinia in 

 Florida. Near low-water mark to 37 fathoms. 



Type locality. — St. Catherines Island, Ga. 



Known range. — Off Cape Hatteras, N.C., to 

 Port Aransas, Tex.; West Indies to Barbados; 

 Contoy, Mexico; Bahia Caledonia, Panama. 



Remarks. — This small porcellanid crab has had 

 a varied taxonomic history. First, Say's trivial 

 name was misspelled by subsequent authors (so- 

 ciata for soriata), as pointed out by Benedict 

 (1901), and second, the generic designation has 

 been changed four times as understanding of 

 relationships has been variously interpreted. 

 Chace '(1942) shifted soriata from Porcellana to 

 Porccllanopsis. The most recent reviser (Haig, 

 1960), after reviewing all species referred to 

 Megalobrachium and Porcellanopsis, deemed it 

 best to combine all forms in a single genus. 



A close congener of the eastern Pacific is M. 

 tuberculvpes (Lockington), and Haig suggested 

 that they may not be distinct. 



Ovigerous females have been taken off the 

 Carolinas in June, July, and August, and in July 

 in Florida (Wass, 1955). 



Genus Polyonyx Stimpson, 1858 



Stimpson, 1858, p. 233.— Haig, 1960, p. 232. 



Polyonyx gibbesi Haig 



Figure 90 

 Porcellana macrocheles Gibbes, 1850, p. 191. 

 Polyonyx macrocheles: Hay and Shore, 1918, p. 405, pi. 29, 

 fig. 8. 



Polyonyx gibbesi: Haig, 1956, p. 28 (rev.). 



Figure 90. — Polyonyx gibbesi Haig. Female in dorsal 

 view, second, third, fourth, and fifth legs of left side not 

 shown, 5 mm. indicated. 



Recognition characters. — Carapace smooth, 

 finely plicate, transversely oval, about one-fourth 

 to one-third wider than long; front hardly pro- 

 duced, margin slightly sinuous; posterolateral 

 portions with scattered, feathered hairs; infolded 

 lateral portions separated from rest of carapace 

 by a deep fissure. Orbits small, eyes small, cornea 

 reduced. Antenna slender, about 1.5 times as long 

 as body ; basal article strongly produced forward ; 

 movable articles far removed from orbit. 



Chelipeds unequal, long and distorted; larger 

 hand nearly twice as long as carapace; superior 

 margin of hands convex, with thin fringe of 

 plumose hairs, inferior margin nearly straight, 

 with fringe of long plumose hairs; distal two- 

 thirds of propodus with single row of fine, close- 

 set, subtruncate teeth, larger and less closely set 

 distally (row longer on small hand) ; fingers 

 short, hooked at tip, toothed on cutting edges, 

 dactyl falciform, sparsely hairy (straighter on 

 small hand) ; carpus as long as palm, thick, an- 

 terior margin produced into a thin crest, proximal 

 end markedly subrectangular, entire margin with 

 fringe of fine plumose hairs, a thinner fringe of 

 shorter hairs on outer margin ; merus subcubical, 

 finely rugose above, upper margin produced in 

 front, plumose-hairy dorsolaterally. First three 

 pairs of walking legs sparsely hairy, last pair 

 with long tuft on chela and distal end of carpus; 

 merus of second and third legs spinulose below, 

 dactyls of first to third legs with four corneous 

 spines on internal margin closing against weaker 

 spines on distal portion of propodus. 



Measurements. — Carapace: male, width, 11 

 mm. ; nonovigerous female, length, 9 mm., width, 

 13 mm.; ovigerous female, width, 16 mm. 



Color. — Grayish white, sometimes stained with 

 brown. 



Habitat. — A common commensal of the an- 

 nelid Chaetopterus variopvdatus [ = pergament- 

 aceus], seldom found outside tubes of this worm; 

 intertidal to 8 fathoms. 



Type locality. — Coast of South Carolina. 



Known range. — Woods Hole, Mass. ; Rhode Is- 

 land; Beaufort, N.C., to Alligator Harbor, Fla.; 

 Puerto Rico ; Bahia Caledonia, Panama. Notes in 

 Haig's (1956) account for P. gibbesi indicate that 

 the species may range to Brazil. 



Remarks. — It is unfortunate that this distinc- 

 tive species, known so long under the name Poly- 



MARINE DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS OF THE CAROLINAS 



113 



