CRUSTACEA. 245 



margin ; the wrist smooth, its inner margin angulatcd, the angle 

 with a fringe of long stiff hairs, its anterior margin and outer and 

 upper surface have also some hairs ; the palm is scarcely longer than 

 vertically deep, its upper margin (and that of the mobile finger at 

 base) closely fringed with long stiff hairs, and there are some shorter 

 hairs on the lower margin ; the outer surface is smooth, with a few 

 scattered punctulations ; the fingers are scarcely longer than the 

 palm, denticulated on their inner margins and acute at their apices, 

 witli scarcely any intramarginal hiatus. The ambulatory legs are 

 slender and somewhat hairy ; the tarsi styliform, straight, and longer 

 than the penultimate joints. Colour (in spirit) yellowish white. 

 Length of carapace about 2h lines (5 millira.), breadth about 3 lines 

 (6| millim.). 



The single specimen (a female) was dredged in the Arafura Sea, 

 32-36 fms. (No. 160). 



Prom the preceding species (C. arena ta) this form is at once dis- 

 tinguished by the very differently shaped, smooth, and transverse 

 carapace, longer basal antennal joint, &c. 



Ccratoplax ciliata, Stimpson, the type of the genus, from the 

 N. China Sea, has the body transversely semicylindrical, palm of 

 chelipedes with depressed granulations on its outer surface, &c. 



M. A. Milne-Edwards has described a genus and species (Notonycc 

 nitidus) from New Caledonia*, which in many of its characters and 

 in external appearance is very like Ceratoplaxl lavis. It is de- 

 scribed and figured, however, as having the carapace, eyes, and 

 chelipedes entirely glabrous, there is apparently no tooth on the 

 upper margin of the arm, and the dactyli of the ambulatory legs are 

 carinated ; the carapace is more quadrate, and the merus of the outer 

 maxillipedes longer, not transverse, with the antero-exteroal angle 

 less prominent. 



89. Metopograpsus messor (Forskal). 



This common and widely distributed species is represented in the 

 first collection by a male and female from Port Molle, obtained on 

 the beach (No. 95), and two males from Port Curtis, 0-19 fms. 

 (Nos. 85-92) ; and in the second collection by a small female from 

 the beach at Thursday Island (No. 167) and a male and female from 

 West Island, Prince of Wales Channel (No. 149). Specimens are 

 in the British Museum from Facing Island, Port Curtis, obtained 

 under stones at low water (J. Macgillivray, H.M.S. ' Pattlesnake '). 

 The other Australian localities whence there are specimens in the 

 Museum collection are : — Port Essington ; Nicol Bay, N.W. Austra- 

 lia (M. du Boulay) ; Keppel Islands, from mud among mangrove- 

 roots (J. Macgillivray'); Moreton Bay (purchased of Warivick); and 

 Shark Bay, W. Australia (F. M. Rayner, H.M.S. ' Herald '). 



Specimens also are in the collection of the Museum from :he Gulf 

 of Suez (R. Mac Andrew, Esq.) ; Eed Sea (Major J. Burton) ; Mada- 



* Nout. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat. ix. pp. 268, 269, pi. xii. fig. 3 (1872). 



