412 Mr. E. J. Miersow the Genera 



Suya lihasiana^ ii. sp. 

 (tourteen examples compared), 

 a. Has a general tinge of ferruginous throughout, whicli is 

 particularly strong upon the forehead and wing ; 



h. Generally pure white on abdomen and centre of breast ; 



c. Thigh-coverts pure rufous ; 



d. The terminal white spots on the black feathers of the 

 lower part of the neck are larger. 



. XXXIX. — Note on the 6^e/iera Astacoides awt? Paranephrops. 

 By Edward J. Miers, Assistant in the Zoological Depart- 

 ment, British Museum. 



In the 'Annals' for last month Professor J. Wood-Mason 

 published a very interesting note "On the Mode in whicli the 

 Young of the New-Zealand Astacidce. attach themselves to the 

 Mother." He states (p. 306) that he observed this peculiar 

 mode of attachment in the young of " a female of Astacoides 

 zealandicus^^^ which, he adds in a footnote, '"''■= Paranephrojis 

 setosuSj Hutton ;" and, in another footnote, he cites the genus 

 Paranejyhrops of White as synonymous with Astacoides of 

 Guerin-Meneville. As it appears to me still uncertain to 

 what species Professor Wood-Mason refers in his communi- 

 cation, the following observations may be of interest. 



Guerin-Meneville founded the genus Astacoides^ in April 

 1839*, for a species of crayfish described as occurring very fre- 

 quently in the rivers of Madagascar, to which he applied the 

 name of A . Goudotii^ after its discoverer M. Goudot. This 

 species was noticed almost contemporaneously by M. Milne- 

 Edwardsf, and subsequently described at greater length and 

 well figured by him:]:, under the name of A. madagascariensis. 

 Of this species, unfortunately, no specimens are in the collection 

 of the British Museum ; but the published descriptions and 

 figure suffice, I think, to show that the genus is well charac- 

 terized by its robust form, powerful anterior legs, with broad 

 hands and short palm, and tlie position of the antenna?, which 

 are inserted beneath the antennules and are furnished with a 

 small or rudimentary basal scale. 



In the genus Paranefphrops of White §, as exemplified in 



* Eevue Zoologique, ii. p. 109 (1840). 

 t L'Institut, p. 1.52 (1839). _ 



\ Archives dii Museum cl'Histoire Naturelle, ii. p. 35, pi. iii. figs. 1-5 

 (1841). 



§ Zoological Miscellany, ii. p. 79 (1842). 



