﻿674 
  FIIOCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  MUSEUM. 
  vouxx. 
  

  

  first 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  a 
  thin 
  and 
  weakly 
  state, 
  but 
  soon 
  recovers 
  and 
  gets 
  plump 
  

   and 
  fat, 
  at 
  which 
  time 
  it 
  is 
  most 
  excellent 
  eating. 
  Thousands 
  are 
  pro- 
  

   cured 
  from 
  a 
  small 
  space 
  of 
  ground 
  with 
  ease, 
  and 
  hundreds 
  of 
  natives 
  

   are 
  supported 
  in 
  abundance 
  and 
  luxury 
  by 
  them 
  for 
  many 
  weeks 
  

   together. 
  It 
  sometimes 
  happens 
  that 
  the 
  flood 
  does 
  not 
  occur 
  every 
  

   year, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  the 
  eu-kod-ko 
  lie 
  dormant 
  until 
  the 
  next, 
  and 
  a 
  

   year 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  would 
  thus 
  be 
  i^assed 
  below 
  the 
  surface. 
  I 
  have 
  often 
  

   seen 
  them 
  dug 
  out 
  of 
  my 
  garden, 
  or 
  in 
  my 
  wheat 
  field, 
  by 
  men 
  engaged 
  

   in 
  digging 
  ditches 
  for 
  irrigation. 
  The 
  floods 
  usually 
  overflow 
  the 
  river 
  

   flats 
  in 
  August 
  or 
  September, 
  and 
  recede 
  again 
  in 
  February 
  or 
  March." 
  

  

  This 
  species 
  has 
  been 
  well 
  figured 
  (in 
  color) 
  by 
  McCoy. 
  Diflerent 
  

   specimens 
  vary 
  considerably 
  in 
  color, 
  " 
  some 
  having 
  the 
  body 
  and 
  

   abdomen 
  dark 
  olive, 
  others 
  paler 
  or 
  with 
  a 
  yellow 
  tinge, 
  and 
  some 
  are 
  

   of 
  a 
  dull 
  pale 
  brown 
  or 
  horn 
  color; 
  the 
  large 
  anterior 
  pair 
  of 
  claws 
  are 
  

   always 
  blue, 
  with 
  red 
  joints, 
  and 
  the 
  flexilile 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  five 
  tail 
  fins 
  

   dull 
  brown; 
  the 
  smaller 
  j)airs 
  of 
  legs 
  are 
  blue, 
  or 
  greenish, 
  or 
  whitish 
  

   in 
  different 
  living 
  individuals." 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  author, 
  this 
  

   species 
  is 
  commonly 
  known 
  about 
  Melbourne 
  by 
  the 
  native 
  name 
  of 
  

   Yabher 
  or 
  Yahbie. 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  inhabit 
  the 
  streams, 
  "but 
  is 
  abundant 
  

   in 
  the 
  quarry 
  holes 
  and 
  swamps 
  round 
  Melbourne 
  and 
  in 
  most 
  water- 
  

   holes 
  in 
  the 
  colony, 
  doing 
  great 
  damage 
  to 
  drams 
  and 
  reservoirs 
  from 
  

   burrowing 
  holes 
  through 
  the 
  banks. 
  The 
  individuals 
  live 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  

   time 
  underground 
  in 
  their 
  burrows 
  after 
  the 
  pools 
  of 
  water 
  on 
  the 
  

   surface 
  have 
  dried 
  up." 
  Professor 
  McCoy 
  could 
  detect 
  no 
  difterence 
  

   between 
  specimens 
  from 
  the 
  swamps 
  near 
  Melbourne 
  and 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   Murray 
  district. 
  

  

  As 
  noted 
  above, 
  the 
  lateral 
  teeth 
  near 
  the 
  tip 
  of 
  the 
  rostrum 
  are 
  

   sometimes 
  obsolete, 
  and 
  the 
  proportional 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  fingers 
  may 
  

   vary 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  specimen. 
  It 
  therefore 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  

   probable 
  that 
  the 
  specimen 
  from 
  Victoria 
  in 
  the 
  Strasburg 
  Museum 
  

   assigned 
  to 
  Gheraps 
  preissii 
  by 
  Ortmann 
  is 
  in 
  reality 
  Cheraps 
  hicarinafus. 
  

   The 
  obsolescence 
  of 
  the 
  lateral 
  rostral 
  spines 
  is, 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  cases, 
  accompa- 
  

   nied 
  by 
  an 
  appreciable 
  shortening 
  of 
  tlie 
  rostrum, 
  but, 
  after 
  examining 
  

   all 
  the 
  material 
  before 
  me, 
  I 
  can 
  see 
  no 
  ground 
  for 
  forming 
  two 
  species. 
  

  

  List 
  of 
  specimens 
  examined: 
  Australia, 
  eight 
  males, 
  four 
  females 
  

   (Coll. 
  Mus. 
  Comp. 
  Zool.); 
  Sydney, 
  Australia, 
  one 
  male, 
  one 
  female 
  (Coll. 
  

   Mns. 
  Comp. 
  Zool.) 
  ; 
  Melbourne, 
  Australia, 
  two 
  females 
  (Coll. 
  Mus. 
  Comp. 
  

   Zool.) 
  ; 
  no 
  locality, 
  one 
  male, 
  one 
  female 
  (Coll. 
  Mus. 
  Com}). 
  Zool.) 
  ; 
  south- 
  

   ern 
  Australia, 
  two 
  males 
  (Coll. 
  U.S.N.M.) 
  ; 
  Happy 
  Valley 
  Creek, 
  South 
  

   Australia, 
  two 
  males 
  (Coll. 
  U.S.N.M.). 
  

  

  For 
  convenience 
  of 
  reference 
  I 
  append 
  a 
  sumnmry 
  of 
  the 
  Austra- 
  

   lian 
  and 
  Tasmanian 
  species 
  of 
  crayfish 
  that 
  are 
  doubtful 
  or 
  that 
  are 
  

   unknown 
  to 
  me. 
  

  

  