320 COLLECTIONS FROM MELANESIA. 



This species is very nearly allied to the British Podocerus falcatus, 

 Montagu (of which the male is figured by Sp. Bate and Wcstwood as 

 P. pulchellus), and also to P. validus (Dana), from Bio de Janeiro, 

 in the form of the legs of the second pair. I have not been able to 

 compare it with specimens of the last-mentioned species. Prom 

 P. falcatus it is apparently distinguished by the inferior antennae, 

 whose flagellum (in the specimens of P. australis I have examined) 

 has a very long stout basal joint which much exceeds the united 

 length of the remaining joints of the flagellum ; these are two or 

 three in number, very short, and diminish successively in length. 



10. Caprella aquilibra (Say). 



A good series of specimens were obtained from weed on the ship's 

 bottom at Port Jackson with Podocervs australis. 



Mr. Haswell's examples (designated Q. obesa) were from Clark 

 Island in the same harbour. 



All appear to be males. A conical spine, not mentioned by Mr. 

 Haswell, exists on the ventral surface of the body, between the 

 second pair of legs (gnathopoda). 



A female obtained with the foregoing, and which probably belongs 

 to the same species, has the joints of the peduncle of the superior 

 antennas less dilated and the flagellum more elongated ; the basus- 

 joints of the second gnathopoda are less dilated ; but one of the 

 distal teeth of the inferior margin of the palm is developed, and 

 this is very indistinct. 



I may refer to Dr. Paul Mayer's recently published fine mono- 

 graph of the Caprellidae * for the synonyms of this very widely dis- 

 tributed species. There can be no doubt of the correctness of his 

 identification of C. obesa, Haswell, with C. a>qiiilibra (Say). Say's 

 specimen in the British-Museum collection, although dried and in a 

 somewhat shrivelled condition, does not differ appreciably from our 

 Australian examples, nor from a specimen from the Mediterranean 

 (Hennah), and the dried one from Hong Kong (Harrington) in the 

 Museum collection, which was identified with C. cequilibra by Mr. 

 Spence Bate. Out of three (presumably) British examples in spirit 

 in the Museum collection, designated C. cequilibra by Mr. Sp. Bate, 

 one only belongs to this species, and this also does not differ from 

 the Australian examples. 



11. Caprella attermata, Dana? (Plate XXXIV. fig. C.) 



I refer here with much hesitation a male obtained at Port Jackson 

 with Caprella cequilibra. It differs from C. attenuata as figured 

 by Dana and by Dr. Mayer (t. c. p. 67) in the much more robust 



* fn ' Fauna unci Flora des Golfes von Neapel,' vi. p. 45, pi. i. fig. 7, pi- ii- 

 figs. 1-11, pi. iv. figs. 20-25, pi. v. figs. 10-18 (1882). 



