250 Capt. A. C. MacGilclirist on Decapod Crustacea 



The clielipecis are long and smooth, except for a spinule on 

 the dorsal margin of the ischium at its distal extremity and 

 1-3 prominent spinules at the distal ends of hoth merus and 

 carpus on their ui)|)or and inner aspects. There are a few 

 tufts of liairs (2-5 in each tuft) scattered sparingly on the 

 joints, but mosth^ on the carpus ; these tufts may escape 

 notice unless looked for with a lens. On the fingers there 

 are numerous liairs. The ])alra is very slightly shorter than 

 the Avrist and slightly dilated. The fingers are elegantly 

 curved, forming at their base a -wide hiatus, into which a 

 conical tooth projects from the prehensile edge of each 

 finger — that from the free finger being the larger and more 

 distally placed. The summits of these two teeth are seen 

 under a strong lens to be furnished with numerous spiniform 

 cusps. In slightly more than their distal or apical third 

 the closed fingers leave no gap, the prehensile margins in 

 that region being smooth or veiy minutely serrulate. The 

 chclipcds are about five times the length of the carapace, 

 including the rostrum. 



The ambulatory legs are about one third tlie stoutness of the 

 chelipeds ; the first pair are slightly shorter than the second, 

 which are about lialf the length of the chclipcds ; the third 

 pair are more than a dactylus shorter than the first or second 

 pair. The legs arc smootli, unarmed, and glabrous, except 

 the dactyli and the posterior border of the propodites. 

 These latter parts are well coated with hairs. The dactyli 

 are strongly curved and long, being about the same length 

 as the ])ropodite, and their posterior border is finely toothed 

 in its distal two thirds; the posterior border of the pro- 

 podites is unarmed. 



The abdomen is smooth and has hairs only on the margins 

 of the pleura, telson, and caudal swimmerets. The telson is 

 much shorter than (about half the length of) the caudal 

 swimmerets. 



The ova are large, about 1 mm. diameter, and compara- 

 tively few in number. 



One male and an egg-laden female were trawled at Sta. 

 331, east of the Andamans, 5G9 fathoms. The iemale was 

 found and preserved clinging to a species of Virgidaria, the 

 first pair of ambulatory legs fixed to the stem from below 

 upwards, and the second and third pairs clasping the stem 

 from above downwards (or behind forwards). 



In the female neither spines nor hairs are so well deve- 

 loped as in the male. For instance, the spine at the distal 

 end of the upper margin of ischium of cheliped is hardly 

 evident, and there arc fewer and less prominent spines at 



