IV. NOTES ON CRUSTACEA DECAPODA IN 

 THE INDIAN MUSEUM. 



V. — HlPPOLYTIDAE. 



By Stanley Kemp, B.A., Assistant Superintendent, Indimi 



Museum. 



(Plates I-VII.) 



With the exception of a few more or less isolated records little 

 has hitherto been wiitten on the Hippolytidae occurring in Indian 

 waters. The family is well represented in the Indian Museum, 

 but there can be no doubt that many new and unrecorded forms 

 remain to be discovered. 



On a recent visit to the coasts of S. India in the vicinity of 

 Rameswaram Island, made in company with Dr. J. R. Henderson 

 of the Madras Museum, several species hitherto unknown from 

 Indian coasts were obtained and there is httle doubt that collec- 

 tions from other localities would prove equally interesting. Hip- 

 polytidae seem, for the most part, to prefer shallow water and a 

 weedy bottom ; it was at any rate in such situations that all the 

 species found in S. India were obtained. Our collection was made 

 in February and at this season the majority of the females were 

 found bearing eggs. 



The family Hippolytidae is one of somewhat unusual interest 

 on account of the great diversity of form found in the different 

 genera and of the different modes in which the secondary sexual 

 characters may find expression. 



Several genera such as Leontocaris, Cryptocheles, Tozemna and 

 Gelastocaris exhibit structural modifications of the most bizarre 

 character ; this specialization is presumably correlated with some 

 unusual form of livelihood, but the reasons for the peculiar adap- 

 tations have not as yet been definitely ascertained. 



In many of the genera no conspicuous secondary sexual 

 characters are developed, but in others they form a most notice- 

 able feature. In some, such as Latreutes and to a less marked 

 Extent in Saron, the sexes may be distinguished by the develop- 

 ment of the upper antennular flagellum, that of the male being 

 longer and stouter than that of the female. Young males of Saron 

 in other respects bear a close resemblance to females, but in large 

 individuals of the former sex the third maxillipedes and first 

 peraeopods ma^^ attain a monstrous development, being often 

 proportionately twice as long as those of the female. This condi- 



