210 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL.21 



Depth : Shore to 50 fathoms. Specimens from any considerable depth 

 are very young. 



Size and sex: Although less comprehensive in point of localities rep- 

 resented, the Hancock series of Taliepus nuttalli contains a greater num- 

 ber of individuals and exhibits more diversity as to size than the material 

 available to Rathbun in 1925. Included are males to 106 mm, the largest 

 on record, and females to 83 mm, together with young as small as 4 mm, 

 from which it is possible to present a fairly complete picture of post- 

 larval growth and development. 



In specimens of 8 mm and less the carapace is narrow and pyriform 

 like the young of Sphenocarcinus. The slope of the anterolateral and 

 rostral margins is continuous, interrupted only by the eye, which is 

 sessile and relatively larger than in the adult. The rostral horns curve 

 abruptly inward at the tip, and each is surmounted by a sharp spinule. 

 The margins of the rostral sinus are fringed with clavate hairs, those of 

 opposite sides crisscrossing in a delicate network. The spinules of the 

 dactyls of the ambulatory legs are sharp and erect and resemble those of 

 Podochela veleronis or Inachoides laevis. In freshly preserved specimens 

 the bases of these spines, as well as the tips of the fingers, are pinkish in 

 color. In addition to the dense, short pile of the carapace and appendages, 

 the young have occasional longer hairs on the ambulatory legs. 



Sex can be determined in specimens as small as 7 mm, the males first 

 by the narrow abdomen, since at this stage pleopod 1 is but little longer 

 than pleopod 2. 



The size at which the dense pile is lost can be placed at between 35 

 and 47 mm, all but the largest of four specimens within this range being 

 "in velvet." Judging from the ease with which this covering may be 

 removed and the number of scars or bare spots on the tests of medium- 

 sized individuals, its fate is to be scraped off against rocks and boulders. 

 In the old, numerous punctae remain, each with the stub of a papilla at 

 its center. 



The size at which the male cheliped enlarges was not determined, 

 specimens of 37, 39, 47, and 61 mm showing little difference with re- 

 spect to size of chelipeds from females of corresponding dimensions. 



Breeding: The single ovigerous female in Hancock collections is an 

 83 mm individual taken at the north end of Cedros Island, Mexico, in 

 March. 



Remarks: Specimens collected by Allan Hancock expeditions prior 

 to 1949 were all from north of the Mexican border. It remained for the 

 Velero IV to recover Taliepus nuttalli from a succession of well-spaced 



