296 



Transaction's. 



Length of male reaching 29 mm. ; females smaller. 



Occurrence. — On sandy beaches all round the coasts of New Zealand. 



Remarks. — This is the largest and commonest sand-hopper in New Zea- 

 land ; it occurs in great abundance on all sandy beaches under decaying 

 seaweed or burrowing in the sand about high-water mark, usually a little 

 below extreme high-water mark. It is probably somewhat nocturnal in 



Fig. 5a. — Second gnathopod of young male. 



Fig. 5b. — Second gnathopod of older but immature male. 



habit, seldom being seen in large numbers during the day unless disturbed 

 from its burrows, when it leaps about with great agility. The colour is 

 usually a light-yellowish brown with marbled markings of a darker brown, 

 generally assimilating to the appearance of the sand. 



Immature males have the second antenna shorter and more slender, 

 resembling those of the females, and the second gnathopod small and feeble 

 like that of the female except that the carpus is shorter and the propod 

 broader. Two transitional stages are shown in figs. 5a and 56. 



Talorchestia tumida (G. M. Thomson). (Figs. 6 to 13.) 



Talorchestia tumida G. M. Thomson, 1885. vol. 2, p. 577, and 1899, 

 p. 203 ; Chilton. 1892, p. 259 ; Stebbing, 1906, p. 550 (with 

 synonymy). 



Specific Diagnosis.— -Back broad and body swollen, especially in old 

 males. Antenna 1 reaching to end of penultimate joint of peduncle of 

 antenna 2, short, flagellurn shorter than peduncle. Antenna 2 less than 

 one-third the length of the body, last joint of peduncle about twice as long- 

 as the preceding, flagellurn rather shorter than the peduncle. Gnathopod 1 

 in male spinose, carpus much longer than the propod, its hind margin 

 with a narrowly rounded lobe near the distal end, propod with a similar 

 lobe at distal end forming a transverse or slightly projecting palm. Gnatho- 

 pod 1 in female similar but without the lobes, though the postero-distal 



