NO. 9 manning: Atlantic stomatopod Crustacea 11 



Basal prolongation of uropod with three spines, outer longest, ex- 

 tending almost to distal margin of outer branch of uropod ; median 

 spine extending to distal margin of penultimate segment of uropod ; 

 inner spine extending to level of apex of lateral tooth, and armed with a 

 row of tubercles on inner margin; ultimate segment of outer branch 

 about two-thirds length of penultimate; outer margin of penultimate 

 segment with 7-10 (usually 9), graded, movable spines, last spine ex- 

 tending past midpoint of ultimate segment. 



Discussion : This species is closely related to the endemic Mediter- 

 ranean species, Pseudosquilla ferussaci (Roux), which is here trans- 

 ferred to Parasquilla. Both P. ferussaci and P. meridionalis share 

 characters which place them in an intermediate position between Pseudo- 

 squilla and Squilla. The short carinae on the carapace, cervical groove 

 across the dorsum of the carapace, and longitudinal carinae of the abdo- 

 men are characteristic of Squilla. Although the telson and uropods of 

 Parasquilla resemble those found in Pseudosquilla, no other species of 

 the latter genus possesses the minute, movable submedian denticles of 

 the telson. Both Miers (1880) and Kemp (1913) felt that P. ferussaci 

 was more closely related to Pseudosquilla than to Squilla. 



Since the time of Kemp's 1913 monograph of Indo-Pacific stoma- 

 topods, students of this group have been very cautious about erecting 

 new genera for various species that seemed to fit none of the recognized 

 genera. Hansen's Coronidopsis described in 1926 was the only excep- 

 tion, and that is the only genus to be described as new since before the 

 turn of the century. Consequently, Kemp's generic diagnoses have been 

 emended in several respects, and the genera as he saw them, notably 

 Pseudosquilla and Lysiosquilla, have become "catch-baskets" for several 

 species of indeterminate position. For example, Chace (1958) com- 

 mented upon the heterogeneity of Lysiosquilla, and Chopra (1939) dis- 

 cussed the position of his Lysiosquilla sewelli, showing that it combined 

 the characters of several genera, including Lysiosquilla and Pseudo- 

 squilla. 



In my opinion, several new genera are needed to express more clearly 

 the interrelationships of the stomatopods, and Parasquilla is one of 

 these. 



The name meridionalis is derived from the Latin, meridies, and 

 refers to the geographic proximity of the species to the prime meridian. 



Remarks: The color of this species is as follows: dorsal surface of 

 carapace, exposed thoracic somites, and abdomen, light brown. Pos- 



