206 FUNAFUTI ATOLL. 



Lifu, in the Loyalty Islands, were much larger, extending to 7 

 or 8 inches in length, (in Htt.). 



The other species in the Funafuti collection is new to science. 

 I propose to associate it with the name of Mr. Hedley. 



FAMILY PTYCHODERID^]. 



PTYCHODEBA, Spengel. 



PTYCHODERA HEDLEYI, sp. nov. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Mode of Occurrence and External Characters. Mr. Hedley has 

 supplied me with the following field notes: "The centre of the 

 principal islet of Funafuti Atoll is occupied by a large bare flat, 

 surrounded by a hedge of Rhizophora this locality is described 

 (ante p. 10) as the Mangrove Swamp. At the north end of this, 

 near the holes through which the tide ebbs and flows, are 

 numerous, shallow, sandy or muddy puddles covered at half tide ; 

 the most prolific being some under the shade of the mangroves. 

 In such a puddle, 3 inches deep and 2 feet across, a dozen 

 specimens might be found. The animals were best secured by 

 taking up a handful of wet mud and combing the fingers care- 

 fully through it. The primrose yellow of the Ptychodera dis- 

 tinguished the least exposure of its body, and it was carefully 

 washed off the fingers into a vessel of water. Even with care 

 many specimens were torn. The two species were found associa- 

 ted together." 



The external characters alone suffice to mark off this species 

 from all the described species of the genus Ptychodera. 



P.flava, as Willey has shown, is at once characterised by the 

 great development and extreme ventral origin of the genital wings 

 (or better, genital pleura, as Willey has suggested), and thus belongs 

 to Spengel's provisional subgenus Chlamydothorax, of the family 

 Ptychoderidae. P. hedleyi, on the contrary, is entirely devoid 

 of genital pleura, and is hence to be associated with P. minuta 

 and P. sarniensis, in the subgenus Ptychodera (sensu stricto). 

 The complete specimens of this species at my disposal vary in 

 length from about 6 to 14 cm. 



Mr. Hedley supplies the following notes on the mode of pre- 

 servation : " On arriving at the camp, the tube containing the 

 take of Ptychodera was emptied into a photographic dish filled 

 with sea water; a little cocaine was added, which seemed to 

 induce the animals to crawl about freely. After four or five 

 hours they had rid themselves of mud and mucus, and were killed 

 by a weak solution of chromic acid. Having remained in this 

 for twelve hours, they were finally transferred to three per cent, 

 solution of formol." 



