1899.] A. Alcock—Carcinological Fauna of India, 15 



Sub-family II. FORTUNING. 



Benthochascon, Alcock. 



Benthochascon Hemingi, Alcock and Anderson, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Jan. 1899, 

 p. 10. 



Benthochascon, Alcock, Investigator Deep Sea Brachyura, p. 68. 



Carapace sub-quadrate, nearly as broad as long, its anterior portion 

 arched and declivous, its posterior portion flat, the regions hardly 

 defined : no transverse ridges. 



Front not very well demarcated from the inner supra-orbital 

 angles, about a fourth the greatest breadth of the carapace in width, 

 cut into 3 (or 4) teeth. 



Antero-lateral borders much shorter than the postero-lateral, cut 

 into four teeth including the outer orbital angle. Posterior border 

 broadly excised. 



Orbits with indistinct traces of two grooves in the upper border, 

 the lower border concave with the inner angle dentiform and pro- 

 minent. The antennules fold nearly transversely. 



Basal antennal joint short, but longer than broad, freely movable ; 

 the flagellum, which is not very long, stands in the orbital hiatus. 



Epistome of good length fore-and-aft, not only in the middle but 

 at the sides, well delimited from the palate, not encroached upon by 

 the external maxillipeds. Buccal cavern square, rather broader than 

 long ; the external maxillipeds not elongate, their merus as broad as 

 long. The efferent branchial channels defined by ridges. 



Chelipeds massive, shorter than any of the first 3 pair of legs, 

 slightly unequal : arm short, without spines : inner angle of wrist alone 

 spiniform : hand deep, smooth or nearly so : fingers stout, as long as or 

 longer than hand, strongly toothed. 



Legs stoutish : in the last pair the merus is elongate, the carpus 

 is shortened and somewhat broadened, and the propodite and dactylus 

 are typically foliaceous for swimming. 



2. Benthochascon Hemingi, Alcock and Anderson. 



Benthochascon Hemingi, Alcock and Anderson, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., January, 

 1899, p. 10 : Alcock, Investigator Deep Sea Brachyura, p. 69, pi. iii. fig. 2. 



Carapace almost as broad as long, smooth (though finely frosted) 

 except for slight inequalities of level that scarcely define the regions, 

 strongly declivous in its anterior third. 



Front cut into three lobes of which the middle one is bifid at tip : 

 the front is separated from the inner supra-orbital angles by a groove, 

 not by a notch. 



