50 



dorsal carina of the 3'^'^ somite are dorsally flattened. The lower margin of the i** abdominal 

 pleuron is truncate, straight and makes an obtuse angle with the anterior margin, which is 

 rounded anteriorly, but which in the two females from Stat. 46=' appears very slightly concave 

 or excised near the lower angle, exacdy as in Hate's figure i ; in the two young females from 

 the Stations 211 and 291 the anterior margin of the i*« pleuron is little more emarginate, but 

 in the two male specimens the excision is deeper and more pronounced, though neither in the 

 male nor in the female specimens the lower angle is produced like a tooth, as is usually the 

 case in Hopl. gracilirostris A. M.-Edw. Though the two male specimens are perhaps not yet 

 full-grown, it seems, however, quite jjrobable that in Hopl. typus the lower angle is never 

 dentiform, a character by which this species should differ from IIopl. gracilirostris and 

 Hopl. longirostris. 



In the largest specimen, the ova-bearing female long 66 mm., the external maxillipeds 

 project by half their terminal joint beyond the antennal peduncle, the legs of the 1*' pair reach 

 almost as far forward as that peduncle, those of the 2"'^ and ^i''' are hardly shorter and the 

 legs of the last pair extend as far as the antero-lateral angle of the carapace. There is a small 

 spine near the distal extremity of the lower margin of the merus of 3'''' legs. 



Ova large, 3 mm. long and 2,5 mm. broad. 



Hopl. hrevirostris Bate is no doubt identical with this species, for it only differs by the 

 shorter rostrum, the rostrum, however, is proved by the preceding to be variable. Hopl. gracili- 

 rostris A. M.-Edw. differs from Hopl. typus H. M.-Edw. by the longer rostrum, by the spine of the 

 3rd abdominal tergum being very much longer than those of the 4"^ and 5"* and by the anterior 

 border of the pleuron of the i^' abdominal .somite being deeply excised in the male with the 

 lower or posterior angle of the notch pronounced and usually produced (A. Alcock, I.e. 1901, 

 p. 74). Hopl. longirostris Bate seems to differ from Hopl. gracilirostris only by the three 

 spines of the abdomen being of equal length and should perhaps be regarded as a variety. 



General distribution: New Guinea (H. Milne-Edwards); North of New Guinea 

 (Spenck Bate); Philippine Islands (Spence Bate). 



Systellaspis Bate. 



The genus Systellaspis Bate, the validity of which has been clearly demonstrated by 

 Professor Coutiere, includes at present 5 species and i variety. Systell. dcdilis (A. M.-Edw.) is 

 distributed throughout the Atlantic, both on the east and on the west side, from South of 

 Iceland to near Tristan da Cunha, but a solitary specimen has also been taken in the vicinity 

 of Kauai Island, one of the Hawaiian Islands. Another specimen was obtained by the "Siboga" 

 in the Halmaheira Sea; this specimen, however, presents some differences from the typical 

 species, so that it is described as a new variety. In view of this fact it is to be regretted that 

 not any observation concerning the Hawaiian specimen has been published, because its characters 

 have perhaps been the same as those of the female from the Halmaheira Sea. Systell. lanceo- 

 catidata Bate, the type species of the genus, was obtained by the "Challenger" off Japan, but 

 only one specimen, a female, was taken. Still a third species is known from the Indoijacific, 



