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4. Metopograpsus latifrons (White). 



1847. Grapsus latifrons White. Jukes' Voy. "Fly", v. 2, p. 337, pi. 2, f. 2. 

 1853. Metopograpsus latifrojis H. Milne-Edwards. Ann. Sc. Nat. (3) t. 20, p. i66. 

 1867. Metopograpsus pictus A. Milne-Edwards. Ann. Soc. Entom. France, t. 7, p. 283. 

 1873. Metopograpsus pictus A. Milne-Edwards. Nouv. Arch. Mus. Paris, t. g, p. 289. pi. 13, f. 2. 



1879. Metopograpsus pictus de Man. Notes Leiden Mus., v. i, p. 68. 



1880. Metopograpsus latifrons Kingsley. Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, 1880, p. 191. 

 1888. Metopograpsus latifrons de Man. Arch. Naturgesch., Jahrg. 53, i., p. 360. 

 1888. Metopograpsus pictus de Man. Ibid., p. 363. 



1892. Metopograpsus latifrons de Man. Weber's zool. Erg. Reise niederl. Ost-Indien, Bd 2, 



P- 314- 

 1894. Metopograpsus latifrons Ortmann. Zool. Jahrb., Syst., Bd 7, p. 703. 

 19 10. Metopograpsus latifrons Rathbun. K. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skr., 7. Raekke, Afd. 5, n" 4, 



P- 325- 



Stat. 47. Bay of Bima, Sumbawa. 2 cf, 3 9 (o'le with eggs). 

 Stat. 86. Dongala, west coast of Celebes, i 9 with eggs. 

 Stat. 200. Bay of Bara, Buru, i (^ juv. 



In 1888 DE Man was inclined to unite J/, latifrons and JM. niaculatus^ but in 1892 he 

 clearly discriminated these species and M. pictus. It is a matter of some disappointment, that in 

 1 9 10 Miss Rathbun again takes J/, inaculatus as a synonym of M. latifrons^ quite as Alcock 

 has done before, with absolute disregard of de Man's painstaking researches on this subject. 



With the aid of the Leiden Museum material I again undertook the task of comparing 

 M. latifrons and M. macttlatus and found that in the latter species the greatest breadth of 

 the carapace (distance between e.\ternal orbital angles) to the length is 100 : 77 — 80, but in 

 M. latifrons the proportion is 100:84 — 91 1 according to age, viz.: in young and medium- 

 sized specimens of both species the carapace is proportionally broader than in old individuals. 

 According to de Man (1892) the proportion is 30 ; 23 in M. inaailatus, but 30 : 26 in 

 M. latifrons. 



Although the longer carapace of M. latifrons enables us to distinguish both species, 

 ' the same cannot be said of M. latifrons and ill. pictus. I have measured 1 9 specimens that 

 I take to be M. latifrons, and among them the type of '''Grapsus ' dilatatus de Haan, which 

 was declared by de Man (1879) to be identical with M. pictns, in which the ratio of the 

 maximum breadth of the carapace to the length varies from 100 : 84 — 85 in the smaller 

 individuals (breadth of carapace 16.5 — + 25 mm.) to 100 : 86 — 91 in older specimens (breadth 

 of carapace up to 35.5 mm.; in the largest specimens only the length is 90°/^ or more of the 

 maximum breadth). It is true, that in Milne -Edwards' original description of J/, pictus the 

 maximum breadth is said to be equal to the length of the carapace (37 mm.), but in the figure 

 the latter dimension is less (92°/^ of the maximum breadth). Conform to Ortmann's opinion 

 (1894) I presume, then, that indeed J/, latifrons and M. pictus are identical and that the 

 latter species has been founded on a very large individual. 



I. Metopograpsus oceanictis (Jacquinot et Lucas). 



1842. Grapsus oceanicus Jacquinot et Lucas. Voy. "Astrolabe" et "Zelee", Crust., p. 73, 

 pi. 6, f. 9. 



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