ii6 



Records of the Indian Musenm. 



[Vol. X, 



IQ02. Hippolyte ki'tkentliali, de Man, ibid., \), '6^0. 



igtiS- Xdiiticaris iiiiirecedens, Pearson f;7er Bate ), (evlon Pe.irl Oyster 



Rep.. IV, p. 81. 

 iqt)/. fl ippoh'SDKifa khkenfliiili. i.\i- Man, Trans. I .inn. Soc. Zool.iii, IX, 



p." 426. 



Along with an example of the preceding specie.s obtained by 

 Mr. T. Southwell on the Ceylon pearl banks and forwarded to the 

 Indian Museum pieserved in formalin are specimens of a very 

 closely allied form which appears to be the same as that originally 

 described b}' de Man under the name of Merhippolytc orientalis, 

 Bate When received, the two forms were distinguished at once 

 by their colouration, for the specimen of H . vittata was streaked 

 longitudinally with narrow red stripes, as already described, 

 while those of H. kUkenthali were broadly banded transversely, 

 the colour of the bands being bright red in the preserved material. 



The species is so closely allied to H. vittata that had it not 

 been for the colour distinction it is possible that the distinctions 

 would have escaped detection ; the only important structural 

 differences that I have been able to find are the following : — 



H. vittata. 



A minute spine at antero- 

 lateral angles of carapace 



(fig. ^). 

 Fingers of first peraeopods, 

 when closed, meeting onl}^ 

 at the tips (fig. 7). 



H. kiikenthali. 



No spine at antero-lateral angles of 



carapace 

 Fingers of first peraeopods, when 



closed, meeting throughout their 



length (fig 11) 



These two characters seem to prevail with absolute constancy. 



The rostrum in H. kiikenthali is a trifle more bent downwards 

 and is provided on an average with fewer teeth. On the dorsal 

 margin there are from four to seven, usually five or six; the 

 two hindmost, as in H vittata, are situated on the carapace and are 

 separated by a considerable interval from the next of the series. 

 On the inferior margin there are one or two. rarely three, small 

 teeth. 



The lateral process of the antennular peduncle is a trifle 

 longer than in the allied form and often reaches the distal end of 

 the proximal segment. 



In the antennal scale, oral appendages, maxillipedes and 

 peraeopods there appears to be the closest resemblance between 

 the two forms, the only difference being that noticed above in the 

 shape of the chelae of the first peraeopods, a feature not men- 

 tioned by de Man. The carpus of the second peraeopod is 

 divided into 19-21 segments, the proportions of the proximal 

 segment and of the chela being as in H. vittata ; the spinulation 

 of the dactyli of the last three pairs is the same as in that species. 



The epipod at the base of the fourth leg appears to be more 

 deeply bifid apically than in H. vittata, otherwise the branchial 

 formulae of the two forms are in agreement. No differences 

 could be found in the structure of the male pleopods, in the 



