108 RECORDS OF IHK AUSTKAMAN MfSEUM. 



Solomon Islands — var. nitlJn and stages intermediate between var. 

 vo))ien'g and vai'. fjipica. 



Fiji — var. hijiira nnd vnr. nili'ld. 



Andaman ]slan<ls, Indian Ocean — vai'. niliihi. 



Family XANTHID.F:. 

 Snb-family MP]N1PP]N^. 



PSKHDOCARCINUS, Milne Kil iranh. 

 PsEUnOCARCINUS (ilUAS, Lil DKirrk . 



Cancer ij'njux, riamaick, Hist. Nat. Anim. sans Vert., v., 1818, p. 272. 



Pseudocarci)uis ijltjuf, M. Edw., Hist. Nat. Crust., i., 1884, p. 409. Id., 

 Haswell, Cat. Austr. Crust., 1882, p. 52. hi., Miers, Chall. Kept., 

 Zool., xvii., 1886, p. 141 footnote. Id., Wliitelegge, Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 N.S.Wales, xxiii., 2, 1889, p. 227. Id., McCoy, Pi'odr. Zool. Vict., 

 Dec. xviii., 1889, p. 298, pis. clx.xix. and clxxx. 



The recent acquisition of a specimen enables nie to detinitel}' i-eeord 

 I'sinnhh-iu-riiiat; ijigas fi-om New South Wales' waters. Fiirtliei'more, 

 Mr. A. K.. McCnlloch has supplied me with some notes n)ade by him iu 

 the early part of 1914, whilst on the Federal Trawler " Endeavour," on 

 the colouration and occurrence of the species. 



Coloiirntion. — While the " Endeavoui' " was ti'awling eastwai'd of 

 Babel Island, liass Strait, in 60-100 fathoms, each haul of the net biought 

 up one or more of this species. 'IMieir colouration vai'ied from a beautiful 

 red and wliite reticulate pattern to a deep red, but tlie variation was not 

 connected witli either sex or age. The comparison of differently marked 

 specimens failed to reveal any sti-nctural differences. 



Occun-eiice. — -Some medium sized examples were found inside large 

 sponges, while a very small specimen, little moie than one inch aci'oss tlie 

 cai'a|)ace, together with another a little laiger, was taken out of a lai'ge 

 sponge cavity. 



Meatiuremeiits. — .Accoiding to Haswell, the cai'apace of this s[)ecies is 

 .sometimes two feet in bieadth, but I am unable to find any i-ecord of 

 specimens attaining that width, 'i'he largest specimen in the Austialian 

 Museum measures 826 mm. across the cara|)ace at its greatest breadth, 

 and the hand is 442 mm. long fi'om the postero-inferior angle of the palm 

 to the lip tif the immovable tingei- ; its weight when fresh was twenty 

 pounds. .Vnother large example in the Tasmanian Museum, Hobart, is 

 about 18 inches (880 Tnm.) across the carapace, and the hand is alxmf 

 17} inches (488 mm.) in length, measured as above. 



Ijiuuilitij. — According to Lanuircrk, this species was collecti'd in Port 

 .Iacks(jn, New South Wales, by Pcron ami iiesueiir, while Wliitelegge, on 

 the authority of Trebeck, has included it in a Port Jackson list fiom the 

 Latie Cove River. We now know the species to be an iidiabitant of mcxler- 

 ately deep water, ami it mdy ascemls to lesser depths in southern latitudes. 



