straight, terminating in a spine, lamella of scale 

 rounded distally, slightly exceeding spine. 



Third maxillipeds with merus and carpus broad, 

 closing whole front of buccal region ; two terminal 

 articles flattened, much more slender, and ex- 

 tended straight forward. Second pair of legs 

 much stronger than first, exceeding rostrum by 

 length of chela ; fingers more than half length of 

 palm. Last three pairs of legs with dactyls 

 bifurcate. 



Abdomen with last three segments abruptly 

 smaller than preceding segments and strongly 

 flexed. Telson with a pair of marginal spines at 

 about distal third and a minute pair near tip, tip 

 with median point and with three pairs of spines, 

 intermediate pair longest. 



Measurements. — Length of ovigerous holotypic 

 female, 21 mm. 



Color. — Body deep brown with many scattered 

 small yellow and a few larger orange spots; anten- 

 na! scale, distal portions of rostrum and tail fan 

 clear; orbital margins and eyestalks white; legs 

 grading from brown proximally through purple 

 to white distally but barred with purple un distal 

 portion of some elements; markings of yellow 

 below and on some articles of appendages 

 (Manning, 1963). 



Habitat. — Found around clumps of coral and 

 sponges in shallow water; to 15 fathoms. 



Type locality. — Beaufort, N.C. 



Known range. — Beaufort, N.C. ; Biscayne Bay, 

 Fla. 



Remarks. — This species, long known only from 

 Hay's type specimen, has recently been reported 

 from Florida (Manning, 1963). Manning re- 

 viewed the east American species of Gnatho- 

 phylhim, pointing out the close similarity of G. 

 modestum to the eastern Atlantic species G. 

 elegans, and giving detail on the importance of 

 color patterns in living material as diagnostic 

 characters in the genus. Excellent figures accom- 

 pany Manning's discussion. 



Ovigerous females are known from Florida in 

 June. The date of collection for Hay's specimen 

 is unknown. 



Family Alpheidae 



Carapace smooth, with cardiac grooves; rostrum 

 reduced; antennal and branchiostegal spines al- 

 ways absent; carapace almost always projecting 



over eyes {Automate excepted). Antennular base 

 cylindrical, basal article not longer than sum of 

 other two articles. Antennal scale rarely longer 

 than antennal peduncle. Mandible bipartite with 

 palp of two points. Chela of first leg predomi- 

 nant, always large (usually asymmetrical) ; 

 carpus short. Second legs weakly developed; 

 carpus multiarticulate. Third to fifth legs with 

 spinous propodi and simple or bifurcate dactyls; 

 propodus of fifth leg with more or less well- 

 developed brush of bristles in transverse to ob- 

 lique rows. Abdomen usually with gradual curve, 

 no pronounced bend at third segment; sixth seg- 

 ment short, broad, sexually dimorphic. (Adapted 

 from Banner, 1953). 



The biology of snapping shrimp occurring on 

 the east coast of the United States has been re- 

 viewed by Knowlton (1960) and the reader is 

 referred to this unpublished but useful work for 

 more complete information than is included here. 



KEY TO GENERA IN THE CAROLINAS 



a. Eyestalks completely exposed 



Aut&mate kingsleyi (p. 62). 

 aa. Eyestalks covered by carapace. 



b. Epipods present on at least first two pairs of legs 



Alpheus (p. 63). 

 lib. Legs without epipods Synalpheiis (p. 69). 



Genus Automate de Man, 1887 



Man, J. G. de, 1887, p. 529. 



-Hay and Shore, 1918, 



Automate kingsleyi Hay 



Figure 51 



Automate kingsleyi Hay, 1917, p. 72. 

 p. 387, text-flg. 10 ; pi. 26, fig. 7. 



Recognition characters. — Carapace about half 

 length of abdomen; subcylindrical ; deeply emar- 

 ginate dorsally behind eyestalks with rostrum a 

 small median projection; anterior margin entire, 

 produced farthest forward at base of antennular 

 and antennal peduncles. Eyestalks contiguous, 

 broad at base; cornea well developed with a min- 

 ute point on anterior surface in lateral view. 

 Antennular and antennal peduncles long; stylo- 

 cerite scalelike, reaching to end of basal anten- 

 nular article; second antennular article nearly 

 equal in length to first ; third very short. Antennal 

 scale extending to middle of terminal article of 

 antennal peduncle; lateral border ending in a 

 small spine; lamella broadly rounded distally, 

 equaling spine. Third maxilliped exceeding an- 



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