376 Records of the Indian Museum. [VOr.2cr, 
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. cataphractus 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 Stebbing records it from the Cape 
of Good Hope, so that there is reason to believe that the distribu- 
tion is continuous round the African 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 :— 
5646 26 mi. W.S.W. of Honawar, N. ‘Investigator.’ 19, 15 mm. 
Kanara dist., Bombay Pres., 28 fms. 
9131 Karachi. W. TT. Blanford. 1¢, 23 mm. 
Aegeon pennata (Bate). 
1888. Pontocaris pennata, Bate, Rep. ‘ Challenger’ Macrura, p. 449, 
pl. xci. 
1895. Pontocaris pennata, Ortmann, Proc. Acad. Sci. Philadelphia, 
p- 175; ; 
1901. Aegeon affine, Alcock, Cat. /ndzan deep-sea Crust. Macrura and 
Anomala, p. 188, and //lust. Zool. ‘ Investigator,’ pl. li, figs. 3, 4. 
1914. Aegeon obsoletum, Balss, Abh. math.-phys. Klasse Bayer, Akad. 
Wiss. Munchen, Suppl. Bd. 1, p. 70, pl. i, figs. 3 
So 
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. Calman, 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 Sagami 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), 
