70 MR. GEOFFREY WATKIN SMITH ON THE 



Family Paeastacida 



The classification of the Australian and Tasmanian Crayfishes is at present in the 

 greatest confusion, owing to the imperfect descriptions given by the earlier observei's. 

 I must postpone a detailed account of the Tasmanian species until the large collection 

 now in my hands, from all parts of Australia, has been carefully examined. 



Pour distinct members of the family, and possibly more, exist in Tasmania. 



There is, first of all, the very large Crayfish found in the cloudy streams and rivers of 

 the north coast, and on the west coast as far south as the Gordon River. This species 

 may attain to the weight of 8 or 9 lbs. and exceed in size our marine lobster. The 

 name Astacopsis frariklvnii (Gray) should be reserved for this species. There is another 

 much smaller, but closely allied, species, to which the name A. tasmanicus (Erichson) 

 will be applied. This species is never, when adult, more than six or seven inches long, 

 and it inhabits the small mountain-streams of Southern Tasmania, e. g. the streams 

 round the base of Mt. Wellington. It is distinguished from the large species by a 

 number of small constant characters : e. g., the pincers of the great chela in A.franhlinii 

 have two enlarged tubercles on their internal edges, while there is only one in 

 A. tasmanicus ; the wrist in A.franklinii has only two spines on its upper internal border, 

 while A. tasmanicus has three or more; the brauchiostegites in A. tasmanicus are 

 uniformly rugose, while those of A. franklinii are smooth with a few enlarged rounded 

 tubercles. 



The Land-Crayfish, known locally as the Land-Crab, occurs all over the northern and 

 western parts of Tasmania, from sea-level to the tops of the mountains at 4000 ft., on 

 marshy plains or in damp situations in the " myrtle " forests (Fagns Cunninghamii, Hook.) 

 of the "West Coast. It belongs to Erichson's species Engceus cnnicularis . 



There also appears to be a very interesting form in Tasmania intermediate both in 

 structure and habits between Engceus and Astacojjsis. I did not myself meet with this 

 form, but Prof. Haswell, Sydney, has given me some which were collected in the western 

 Lake District of Tasmania, and there are some very similar specimens from Victoria in 

 the large collection entrusted to me by Professor Spencer of Melbourne. 



Order ANASPIDACEA. 



Eamily Anaspididje. 



Thomson, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania, 1892, p. 51 ; id. Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. ser. 2, Zool. vol. vi. 

 (1894) p. 285 ; Caiman, Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, vol. xxxviii. p. 787; Smith, Proc. Roy. 

 Soc. London, ser. B, vol. lxxx. (1908) p. 465. 



Genus Anaspides, Thomson. 



ANASPIDES TASMANIA. 



This species occurs in isolated pools and in the pools of the North- West Bay River on 

 the top of Mt. Wellington, in the tarns on the top of the Harz Mountains and on 

 Mt. Pield, and in the tarns on Mt. Read, and probably other mountains on the West 



