rounded medially, 3 times longer than greatest 

 width, greatest width in basal half. Third 

 maxilliped, when extended, exceeding eyestalks. 



First legs exceeding midlength of antennal 

 peduncle by full length of chelae; fingers of chelae 

 pointed, agape when closed. 



Telson with anterior pair of spines placed 

 well behind lateral prominences. Uropods with 

 exopods slightly falciform, lateral borders nearly 

 straight. Telson with three horny ridges at 

 proximolateral corners ventrally, and uropods 

 with an interlocking horny eminence on basal 

 article dorsally. 



Measurements.- — Length of body: ovigerous 

 holotypic female, 16 mm. 



Variations. — Individual variations are shown 

 in the number of spines on the postrostral crest 

 and in the lengths of the spines of the stylocerite. 



Color. — Female with general body structure 

 colorless, clear; internal organs visible; gut dark; 

 hepatopancreas light brown; eyestalks, antennal 

 and antennular peduncles, and distal portions of 

 anterior appendages with red and yellow spots; 

 uropods and sixth segment of abdomen with scat- 

 tered red spots. Ovigerous females with yellow 

 green (chartreuse) colored eggs on swimmerets 

 (Williams, 1955c). 



Habitat. — On (or in) the bottom of muddy 

 estuaries, or in plankton; surface to 2.5 fathoms. 

 Collections have been made in an observed bot- 

 tom salinity range of 9 to 31°/ 00 ., but salinities 

 in sounds near inlets often range higher than this. 



Type locality. — Mouth of Far Creek at Engel- 

 hard, Hyde County, N.C. 



Known range. — Eastern shore of Accomac 

 County, and lower James Kiver, Va., to Lake 

 Pontchartrain, La. 



Remarks. — The systematic confusion surround- 

 ing the two species 0. alphaerostris and 0. limicola 

 was discussed by Williams (1955c). The two 

 species are quite distinct morphologically and 

 differ in total size, 0. limicola being the smaller. 

 The latter occurs most frequently in collections 

 from estuaries. Young specimens have frequently 

 been taken in plankton tows made at night in 

 Bogue Sound, N.C, but adults are seldom taken 

 by this method of collection. Occurrence of adults 

 in samples taken with a beam trawl suggests 

 burrowing habits similar to those described for 

 0. alphaerostris, but in muddier situations and 



often in low salinities. The type locality and a 

 number of other productive collecting spots in 

 North Carolina are shallow, mud-bottomed, non- 

 tidal estuarine streams. 



In North Carolina, collections of 0. limicola 

 have been made in all seasons of the year, and 

 ovigerous females have been taken from May to 

 September. 



Ogyrides alphaerostris (Kingsley) 



Figure 61 



Ogyris alphaerostris Kingsley, 1880, p. 420, pi. 14, fig. 7. 

 Ogyrides alphaerostris: Stebbing, 1914, p. 31. — Hay and Shore, 

 1918, p. 388, fig. 11, pi. 26, fig. 9. 



Recognition characters. — Rostrum depressed, 

 equilaterally triangular, tipped with setae. A 

 single, postrostral, movable spine. Pterygostomian 

 area obtuse. Eyestalks long, setiferous medially, 

 narrowest in middle, exceeding antennular pedun- 

 cle by approximately twice corneal length. An- 

 tennal and antennular peduncle nearly equal in 

 length; second article of antennular peduncle 

 slightly over twice as long as third article; 



Figure 61. — Ogyrides alphaeroBtris (Kingsley). A 

 carapace in lateral view ; B, carapace and anterior 

 appendages in dorsal view ; C, uropods and telson 

 in dorsal view ; D, sterna of last three thoracic 

 segments showing thelycum of female : A-C fe- 

 male X 5, D X 7.8 (after Hay and Shore. 1918). 



MARINE DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS OF THE CAROLINAS 



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