232 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



Squilla desmarestii Risso, as described by Giesbrecht (1910), and are possibly identical with Alima 

 bidens of Claus (1871) and of Brooks (1886) which, according to Gurney (1945), are probably 

 synonymous with A. longicandata Jurich (1904). The larvae are certainly much alike except that 

 A. bidens has no dorsal spine on the carapace. (Only two specimens were described by Brooks, and 

 it is possible that the spine may have been broken which seems to be a common occurrence, or 

 alternatively it may have disappeared in the last stage.) Jurich's A. longicaudata, about stage VII, 

 which was obtained in the Benguela Current, is almost certainly the same as the present form and 

 we may presume that it belongs to Squilla armata. 



Description of first pelagic stage (Fig. 6 a) 



Length 47 mm. Long spiny rostrum about equal in length to the carapace. Conspicuous anterior 

 lateral spines, slightly spiny, about one-third the length of the rostrum. Posterior lateral carapace 

 spines spiny, about half the length of the carapace. Posterior median spine on carapace short. 

 Carapace covering two thoracic somites and a half. Five abdominal somites without lateral spines. 

 Four pairs of setose pleopods. Raptorial claw with unarmed dactyl, except for a spine underneath the 

 cuticle, the propod with fine spines internally. Telson with a series of teeth laterally, the first two 

 separated by a space larger than the others, c. twenty-four spines internal to the terminal lateral 

 spines. 



The following stages progress in a manner similar to those of Squilla desmarestii. The latest seen 

 which corresponds to stage IX of that species still has a small medium posterior spine on the carapace, 

 the anterior lateral spines have dwindled and the rostrum and posterior lateral spine are shorter. None 

 of them has spines. The carapace is about three times as long as broad. The thoracic limbs are all well 

 developed and there are gills on maxillipedes 1-4. There are six abdominal somites and five pairs of 

 setose pleopods, somites 1-5 with long lateral spines. The raptorial claw has a long spine and a series 

 of small spines on the propod internally, and the dactyl has four free spines and three still covered. 

 The telson has a small tooth just behind the lateral tooth and there are nineteen spines each side, 

 between the intermediate and sub-median teeth, and thirty-six between the sub-median teeth. Length 

 of larva from tip of rostrum to end of telson 20 mm. Uropods very like those of the adult S. armata. 



As S. armata is the common Squilla of this district and has much the same distribution as jfasus 

 lalandii and as only one Squilla larva occurred in the plankton hauls, and in one case together with 

 a first larval stage of jfasus lalandii, it seems almost certain that these larvae belong to Squilla armata, 

 which is known from a wide area including the region of the Benguela Current (Balss, 1938). It has 

 been described by several authorities including Bigelow (1895) and Kemp (1913). 



Although it is nearly certain that these larvae belong to S. armata, occurring as they do in exactly 

 the same locality as the adult, it is just possible that they may belong to Caiman's S. africana (Caiman, 

 1916). His specimen of the adult came from the West African coast, from the Congo northwards, and 

 he shows that Jurich's (1904) S. empusa from the Congo belongs to this species, as do other specimens 

 from West Africa in the British Museum. All, however, are obtained farther north than the present 

 specimens and it seems more probable that these latter belong to S. armata. 



LITERATURE 



Balss, H., 1927. Macrura der Deutsche/! Tiefsee-Expedition, 3. Natantia. Teil B. VViss. Ergeb. deutsch. Tiefsee-Expedition 



'Valdivia', xxm, pp. 247-75. 

 Barnard, K. H., 1950. Descriptive Catalogue of S. African Decapod Crustacea. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. xxxvm. 

 Bouvier, E. L., 1905. Nouvelles Observations sur les Glaucothoes. Bull. Mus. Oceanogr. Monaco, no. 51, pp. 1-14. 

 Calman, W. T., 1925. On Macrurous Decapod Crustacea collected in South African Waters by S.S. 'Pickle'. Rep. Fish & 

 Mar. Biol. Survey, iv. Special Report 3, pp. 1-26. 



