264 DR. J. Gr. DE MAN- ON THE PODOPHTHALMOTJS 



first sight from A. maldbmncus, as described in tlie ' Fauna 

 Japonica,' by the absence of the longitudinal crests on the 

 outer surface of the larger hand, and by the fingers of the 

 smaller hand being comparatively shorter in proportion to the 

 length of the palm. In Alplieus Kinqsleyi, Miers, the fingers of 

 the larger hand are nearly as long as the palm, those of the 

 smaller cLelipede about twice as long as the palm, and the upper 

 surface of the palm of the larger hand does not present the 

 characteristic crests of A. hrevirostris. 



A. irevirosh^is appears to inhabit the Indian Ocean, having 

 been collected by Peron on the coast of New Holland and at 

 Zanzibar by Peters, according to Dr. Hilgeudorf, who, however, 

 was wrong in referring it to de Haan's A. malaharicus. 



I am more inclined to refer de Haan's A. malaharicus to the 

 malaharicus of Fabricius than the A. hrevirostris, as that part of 

 Fabricius's description of his species, viz. " palma minuta, digitis 

 longissimis," is much more applicable to the species which was 

 described by de Haan than to A. hrevirostris. Nevertheless I 

 am not aware whether the species described in the ' Fauna Ja- 

 ponica ' under the name of ^. malaharicus really occurs in the 

 Indian Seas. 



148. Alpketjs eapax {Fair.), de Haan. 



Alpheus rapax, de Haan, Fauna Japonica, Crustacea, p. 177, tab. xlv. 

 fig. 2. 



A fine, nearly adult specimen was collected in King Island 

 Bay. 



Though closely allied to the preceding species, A. rapax of 

 the ' Fauna Japonica ' may be distinguished from it by the 

 following characters : — The rostrum, even in the adult, extends 

 backwards to the middle of the carapace. The arms of both 

 chelipedes are armed with an acute spine at their distal ends, 

 both margins of the palm of the larger hand are entire (as 

 may also be distinctly seen in de Haan's figure), and the fingers 

 of the smaller hand are somewhat longer in proportion to 

 the palm, being twice and a half as long as the palm in the 

 adult, whereas in A. hrevirostris they measure only once and 

 a half the length of the palm. Finally, it is not the first joint 

 of the carpus of the legs of the second pair that is the longest 



