204 EDIBLE CRUSTACEANS OF NEW SOrXH WAXES. 



PEX^UrS MACLEAYI. 



Pencrus macleai/i, HaswelL Proc. Liun. Soc. X. S. "Wales, iv. 1879, p. 40, 

 r/nt/ Austr. Malacostr. p. 201. • 



Mud or Eiver Prawn. 



Eo?(ram extending nearly as far forward as the end of the antcnnary 

 scale, very slender and styliform near the apex, -uhich is recurved; armed 

 Avith five or six teeth above, of which the fifth is separated from the fourth 

 by an interval greater than that separating the others ; unarmed below ; 

 produced behind into a low carina, which broadens out and becomes lost 

 before attaining the posterior third of the carapace ; a lateral groove at the 

 side of the rostrum and the anterior pai-t of the carapace. Gastro-hepatic 

 sulcus deep. Supraorbital spine absent ; antennary and hepatic spines 

 present. Filaments of antennules subequal, scarcely equal in length to the 

 two last joints of the peduucle. External maxillipedes slender, hairy ; palp 

 extending as far as the middle of the third articulation of the endopodite. 

 First pair of ambulatory legs as long as the antennary scale, very hairy in- 

 ternally ; second and third progressively longer ; fourth shorter than third ; 

 fifth the longest of all and very slender. First and second and sometimes 

 third pairs each with a spine at the base of the second joint. Abdomen 

 having the fourth, fifth, and sixth segments dorsally carinated ; carina ending 

 in a small spine at the posterior border of the sixth segment. Terminal 

 segment longitudinally grooved in the middle dorsal line, eudnig in a spini- 

 form apex, ciliated laterally, and armed on each side near the extremity 

 with a strong spine, with two or three weaker spines immediatelv anterior to 

 it (RasiceU). 



The remarks on the last species apply equally well to this. 



The four following species often occur in the market and are used as 

 food : — 



Tbacus peroni ; a few may be picked up in the market during any month in 

 the year, but they are never common ; we have seen them taken both by 

 trawl and dredge in Ball's Head Bay, Port Jackson. 



They are used as food and are said to be of good quality; they grow to a 

 length of seven inches. 



Goniosoma crucifera sometimes occurs in the market in considerable 

 numbers, and is a large and handsome species, generally eaten, and attaining 

 to a weight of at least one pound. 



Plati/onyclius hipusiulatiis occasionally appears in numbers in the market, 

 and we have seen the shore at Lady Eobinson's Beach, Botany Bay, covered 

 Avith them after a southerly gale. 



Squilla Icevis ; this crustacean is always obtainable among prawns (PencEUS 

 canalicidatus) in the market, but is sometimes much more abundant than at 

 others, in fact we have known them to form about one third of the total 

 supply. They reach a length of about six inches. 



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