298 COLLECTIONS FKOII MELANESIA. 



STOMATOPODA. 



1. Squilla nepa, Latr. 



A small male is in the collection from Port Darwin, 7-12 fms. 

 (No. 173). 



For remarks on the geographical distribution, and an enumera- 

 tion of localities whence the British-Museum collection possesses 

 examples of this common and widely-distributed species, I may 

 refer to my revision of the group*. 



Since its publication specimens have been added to the National 

 Collection from W. Borneo f. 



2. Gonodactylus chiragra (Fair.). 



Two small males are in the collection from Port Alolle (beach, 

 No. 98) in the first collection, and one from the beach at Thursday 

 Island (No. 167) in the second collection, of larger size. 



Since I referred to the distribution of G. chiragra in 1880, spe- 

 cimens both of this species and of G. graphurus have been added to 

 the collection from various Malayasian localities J ; and of G. chira- 

 gra also from Ceylon {Dr. W. Ondaatje). 



Dr. Kossmann§ confidently identifies this very common species 

 with the Cancer falcatus of Forskal ||, whose name, having priority 

 over that of Fabricius, would displace the almost universally 

 adopted designation G. chiragra, if the identification be correct. 

 But I am inclined to think that ForskaTs description may not im- 

 probably have been based upon a specimen of the almost equally 

 common G. graphurus; tho words (used of the terminal segment) 

 " in medio scuti gibbus, elatus, hemisphasricus, carinis longitudi- 

 nalibus, convexis, pone mucronatis numero quinque " will apply 

 better to the latter form, on the supposition that Forskal overlooked 

 the small outermost pair of lateral prominences ; in G. chiragra but 

 three dorsal carinas are distinctly developed, and these, in the adult 

 at least, are not mucronate. Under these circumstances it will be 

 better, perhaps, to retain the accepted designations than to run the 

 risk of further unnecessarily complicating the synonyms by applying 

 ForskaTs doubtful name to either species. 



3. G-onodactylus graphurus, White (ined.), Miers. 



Specimens of this widely distributed species, which appears to be 

 very abundant on the N.E. Australian coasts, are in the collection 



* Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 5, v. pp. 25, 118, 120 (1880). 

 t Vide ' Annals,' t. c. pp. 458, 45!). 

 \ Vide ' Annals,' t. c. p. 459. 



£ Blalacostraca, in ' Zool. Ergebn. einer Eeise in Kiistengeb. cles roth. Meeres,' 

 p 100(1880). 



|| ' Descriptiones Animalium,' &c. p. 96 (1775). 



