536 



BEPORT ON THE ORDER STOMATOPODA—BIGELOW. 



LocaUtij. — The collection contains two female specimens. One of 

 these is from Singapore (Xo. 2120, U.S.N.M,), and was collected by 

 J. D, Dana while with the U. S. Exploring Expedition under Wilkes. 

 The original label bears the name '• Squilla rhctorica, S. «& M." The 

 other one is labeled Borneo ("Ko. 15027, U.S.lSr.M.), and the name of 

 the collector is not given. 



Eemarlcs on synonymy. — In tlie collection of the JSTational Museum 

 I have found two sets of specimens, either of which corresponds perfectly 



with the description of Squilla 

 nepa,! Latreille, as given by 

 Miers, but which are evidently 

 distinct. The most striking 

 difference is in the eyes. Of 

 one set, these are small and of 

 the ChJoridella type; of the 

 other, they are large and of the 

 type found in S. mantis. Fur- 

 ther comparison shows other 

 points of difference. The ques- 

 tion immediately presents it- 

 self, which of these is the form 

 that was originally described 

 as Squilla nepa f and this sug- 

 gests the further question, is 

 the other form a new species, 

 or has it been described under 

 one of the several names now 

 regarded as synonymous with 

 nepa, F 



Latreille's original descrip- 

 tion of Squ ilia nepa is based ona 

 single specimen from China, is very short, and applies equally well to 

 either of our forms; but he refers to the ligure given by Herbst (1796) of 

 Squilla digitalis, and in this the animal is represented as having small 

 eyes, the corneal axis not exceeding the peduncular one. This would 

 indicate that the original 8. nepa was our small-eyed form. Miers 

 says, to be sure, that this figure seems intended for 8, mantis, but this 

 does not seem to me to be true. Although Herbst gives Squilla 

 mantis, De Geer, etc., as a synonym of his ^'•Cancer {mantis) digitalis,^'' 

 it appears to me that he had chiefly in mind the East Indian form, and 

 took it for granted that the Mediterranean one was the same, for in 

 his figure (Tab. 33, fig. 1) the margins of the thoracic segments are 

 bilobed, thus plainly showing the chief characteristic that separates 

 the two species, and in the text he says: 



Das Vaterlantl ist Ostindien ; aiicli findet man ibu biiufig im Adriatisclieu Meere 

 iind im Liburuischeu Meerbuseu, ■\voselbst er Canocbia genauut wird. 



Except in a few points, however, the description given by Herbst 



Fig. 21. 



CEPHALir KEGION OF SQUILLA NEPA. 



Sliglilly eniareed. 



