376 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XII, 



Except that the teeth on the carapace are blunter and that 

 the abdominal sculpture is a little less sharply defined, I can find 

 no difference between the two Indian specimens and others of 

 similar size from the Mediterranean. 



Characteristic of A. calaphractus are the supernumerary tu- 

 bercles between the longitudinal carinae of the carapace. Between 

 the median and uppermost carinae are two or three tubercles 

 arranged to form an oblique transverse row, which commences in 

 the middle of the carapace and extends forwards and outwards on 

 either side. Between the first and second lateral carinae there is 

 a single tubercle placed on the posterior edge of the hepatic groove. 

 Though both the Indian examples are small these tubercles are 

 clearly visible. 



The occurrence of this species in India is interesting, for very 

 few sub-littoral Decapoda are common to the Mediterranean and 

 to Indian waters. Miers, however, states that the species prob- 

 ably occurs at Senegambia, while vStebbing records it from the Cape 

 of Good Hope, so that there is reason to believe that the distribu- 

 tion is continuous round the x^frican coasts. 



In Indian waters A. cataphractus appears to be very scarce. 

 Pearson has recorded it from the Ceylon Pearl Banks and there are 

 two specimens in the Indian Museum, both obtained on the west 

 coast of the peninsula : — 



Anjii 26 mi. W. S. W. of Honawar, N. ' Inxestigator. ' i?. 15111111. 

 Kanara dist., Bombay Pres., 28 fins. 

 Karachi. W. T. Blaiifcord. i^J, 23 mm. 



)i 3 1 



Aegeon pennata (Bate). 



1888. Po)itocni'i.s pennata, Bate, Rep. ' Challenger ' Ma crura, p. 44.9, 



pi. xci. 

 1895. Pontocaris pennata, Ortm.-iiin, Proc. Acad. Sci. Pliiladelphia, 



P- 175- 

 1 901. Aegeon affi)ie, Alcock, Cat. Indian deep-sea Crust. Macritra and 



Anomala, p. 188, and Illiist. Zool. 'Investigator,^ pi. li, figs. 3, 4. 

 1914. Aegeon obsoletum, Balss, Ahh. math.-pJiys. Klasse Baver. Akad. 



iViss. Mfinc/ien. Suppl. Bd. II, p. 70, pi. i, figs. 3. 



Alcock, when describing Aegeon affine, suggested that the 

 species might prove to be identical with Bate's Pontocaris pennata. 

 The description and figures of the latter species being inadequate, 

 the point could only be determined by actual comparison of speci- 

 mens. In order to settle the question I sent co-types of A. affine 

 to Dr. Caiman, who, with his usual kindness, readily undertook to 

 give me an opinion. He informs me that Alcock's suggestion is 

 correct and that there is no doubt that the two forms are specific- 

 ally identical. 



An example of Aegeon obsoletum^ determined by Balss, has 

 been received in exchange from the Munich Museum ; it was ob- 

 tained in vSagami Bay, Japan, at a depth of 50-100 m The in- 

 dividual agrees precisely with Indian specimens of A. pennata. 



In addition to the characters noted by Alcock for the separa- 

 tion of this species from A . medium { = A . propensalata. Bate), 



