348 



of the blade is fringed with feathered hairs, but in some specimens these hairs are partly or 



all worn off. 



In the eo-cr-bearino- female from Stat. 142 the 2°'^ antennular article, 2,5-times as long 

 as the visible part of the i^\ appears somewhat thicker than in the other specimens, namely 

 only 3,6-times as long as thick; the carpocerite reaches just beyond the apex of 2°'^ antennular 

 article and the scaphocerite, the terminal spine of which occupies half its length, extends almost 

 to the extremity of that article. I believe it to be a local or individual variety. In adult specimens 

 the palm of the small chela appears one and a half as long as the lingers or even a little 

 more, in younger individuals the fingers are longer. 



In an adult, ova-bearing female from Stat. 213 the carpal segments of the longer (left) leg 

 of the 2'^'i pair are 2,8 mm., 4 mm., i mm., 1,4 mm. and 1,7 mm. long; the chela 2,9 mm. long 

 (palm 1,7 mm., fingers 1,2 mm.). In the shorter (right) leg these measurements are: 1,45 mm., 

 2 mm., 0,6 mm., 0,7 mm. and 0,9 mm.; the chela is 1,9 mm. long (palm 1,05 mm., fingers 

 0,85 mm.). As regards their form, the carpal segments of the longer leg agree with Bate's 

 figure 5/, the 4*1^ segment is, in the longer leg, 3,9-times, in the shorter 2,4-times as long as 

 thick in the middle. 



In the ova-bearing female from Stat. 1 1 5 the carpal segments of the longer leg are 

 2,1 mm., 3 mm., 0,75 mm., 1,2 mm. and 1,32 mm. long, the chela 2,3 mm. long (palm 1,3 mm., 

 fingers i mm.); the carpal segments of the shorter leg are 1,4 mm., 1,65 mm.. 0,5 mm., 0,54mm. 

 and 0,8 mm. long; the chela is 1,63 mm. long (palm i mm., fingers 0,63 mm.). The 4''^ carpal 

 seo-ment is in the longer leg 3,4-times, in the other only 1,7-times as long as thick. These 

 numbers show that the 2"'^ segment in the shorter leg has a somewhat variable length and 

 that the form of these segments is also variable, the 4.^'^ being in the female from Stat. 213 

 2,4-times, in that from Stat. 115 1,7-times as long as thick. Merus of 3''^ legs 3,8- to 4-times, in 

 the specimen from Stat. 142 even 3,7-times as long as wide in the middle; carpus 4,8- to 5-times 

 as long as thick in the middle, in the specimen from Stat. 142 4, 4-times ; propodus somewhat 

 shorter than the carpus, the proportion being 1,25 — 1,26, in the specimen from Stat. 142 

 1,2-times. There are 5 or 6 spines on the lower margin of the propodus, the three distal ones 

 each with a smaller spinule near them on the outer surface. Dactylus one-fourth the length 

 of the propodus. Telson 4- to 5-times as long as its posterior margin is wide, the proportion 

 between the width at base and that of the posterior margin somewhat variable. 



Remarks. Alphcns phrygiamts Cout. from the Maldive and Laccadive Archijaelagoes 

 is probably identical with this species, for A. phrygiamts apparently only differs by its scaphocerite 

 extending only to the middle instead of to the distal third part of 2°<^ antennular article. 



As regards A. persicus Nob. I wish to remark that the proportion between the length 

 of the two first carpal segments is 1,13, not 1,31 as indicated in Nobili's paper, these joints 

 being 1,5 and 1,7mm. long (Nobili, I.e. p. 34); this species apparently bears a close resem- 

 blance to the specimen from Stat. 142, for the 2°<J antennular article is a little more than 

 3-times as long as thick and therefore this species also will perhaps once prove to be a variety 

 of A. inalleodigihis. 



General distribution: Fiji Islands (Spence Bate); Ternate (de Man). 



216 



