IX. PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTIONS OF 



NEW SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF 



CRUSTACEA STOMATOPODA IN 



THE INDIAN MUSEUM. 



By Stani^ey Kemp, B.A., Assistant Superintendent , 

 Indian Museum. 



The following short descriptions of twelve new forms are pre- 

 liminary in nature and will be succeeded, at no distant date it is 

 hoped, by a full illustrated account. 



The late Mr. J Wood-Mason took a special interest in this 

 group and would doubtless have published an extensive memoir 

 on them, had he lived. To a considerable number of the new 

 forms he had assigned manuscript names and from the notes and 

 figures which he had made Col. Alcock, in 1895/ w^as able to edit 

 an account of nine species Other forms were also recognized under 

 manuscript names^ but from the rough notes which were available 

 it was found impossible to draft adequate specific descriptions. 



Wherever possible I have retained the names adopted by Wood- 

 Mason and, thanks to the considerable additions which have since 

 been made to the collection, I have also to introduce a number of 

 other new species, most of which have been obtained by the 

 R.I.M.S.S. ' Investigator.' 



Gonodactylus (Protosquilla) nefandus, sp. nov. 



This species is allied to Goiiodactylus trispinosus, Dana, G. 

 pulchellns,^ Miers, and G. tnberosus, Pocock. Its closest affinities 

 are with G. pulchellus and along with that species it may be dis- 

 tinguished from G. trispinosus and tuberostis by the smooth and 

 unsculptured median portion of the fifth abdominal somite. 



Several examples of G. pulchellus from Ceylon (the type lo- 

 cality) are preserved in the Indian Museum and, compared with 

 these, G. nefandus shows the following distinctive features: — 



The antero-lateral pair of rostral spines are short and stout 

 and though acute are not nearly so slender as the median ^ the 

 distal concavities between the teeth are also much less deep with 

 the result that the undivided basal part is considerably longer. 

 The dorsal processes of the ophthalmic somite consist of two 



1 J Wood-Mason, Figures and descriptions of nine species of Squillidae in the 

 Indian Museum. Calcutta, 1895. 



2 G piilch llus was originally described by Miers as a variety of trispinosus, 

 but in my opinion is entitled to rank as a distinct species. 



