£ I B It A R ^ 



ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF A TOUR IN THE FAR EAST. 

 DECAPOD AND STOMATOPOD CRUSTACEA. 



By Stanley 'K^mf,B.A.,F.A.S.B., 



Superintendent, Zoological Survey of India. 



The collection of Decapoda and Stomatopoda made by Dr. Annandale during his 

 recent tour is one of very great interest and I am much indebted to him for the op- 

 portunity of examining it. It contains ninety-five species and subspecies all of which 

 were obtained in fresh or brackish water. 



The chief value of the collection lies in the precise information it affords regard- 

 ing the environment of the different species. lyittle attention has been paid to this 

 matter hitherto ; when doubts arise as to the habitat of a particular form, the pub- 

 lished accounts generally prove valueless and even where the most exact details of the 

 locality are given no reference is as a rule made to the salinity of the water. In 

 consequence, the number of forms which have succeeded in establishing themselves 

 in fresh water has probably been much under-estimated ; in the collection under con- 

 sideration members of no less than twelve genera and subgenera were found living far 

 beyond the reach of tidal influence. 



The principal object of Dr. Annandale's tour was the investigation of the faunas 

 of three lakes situated in eastern Asia, — ^Ivake Biwa in Japan, the Tai Hu in the 

 Kiangsu province of China, and the Tale Sap on the east coast of Peninsular Siam ; 

 maps and brief descriptions of these are given in the Introduction to this volume. 

 The collection of Crustacea was, however, not restricted to the lakes ; specimens 

 were obtained in various parts of Japan, at three localities in China and at a number 

 of places in the Malay Peninsula. 



The Japanese collection contains examples of nine species and one subspecies, 

 namely : — 



Eriocheir japonicus (de Haan). Leander paucidens (de Haan). 



Sesarma dehaani (Milne-Edwards). Caridina denticulata (de Haan). 



Hélice tridens, de Haan. Paratya compressa (de Haan). 



Potamon {G eotelphusa) dehaani {White). ,, ,, snbsp. improvisa, Kemp. 



Palaemon uipponensis , de Haan. Acetes japonicus, Kishinouye. 



Hélice tridens and Acetes japonicus probably came from water that was slightly 

 brackish; all the remainder were found in pure fresh water. The only Decapods 

 actually found in l^ake Biwa are the three prawns Leander paucidens, Caridina den- 

 ticulata, and Paratya compressa, but the crabs Eriocheir japonicus and Potamon de- 

 haani are said to enter the lake at times. 



