1900.] A. Alcock — Carcinological Fauna of India. 3G9 



Scopimera, De Haan. 



Scopimera, De Haan, Faun. Japon. Crast., p. 24 (1835): Milne Edwards, Ann. 

 Sci. Nat., Zool., (3) XVIII. 1852, p. 153. 



Scopimera has the same deep " cubical " carapace and the same 

 general facies as Dotilla, but differs in the following characters : — 



The carapace is much broader than long and has none of the 

 curious sculpture, resembling brain convolutions, that is found, at any 

 rate on the sidewalls, in Dotilla : the external maxillipeds are un- 

 sculptured and their merus, though large, is smaller than their ischium : 

 the abdomen of the male has a curious wasp-like form owing to the 

 length and narrowness of its fifth segment, which segment may even 

 become elongate-linear by constriction ; it has no bristles either on the 

 4th tergum or elsewhere : in the female the abdomen consists of 7 

 separate segments. 



Distribution : Indo-Pacific shores, from Karachi to Japan. 



Key to the Indian species of Scopimera. 



I. Chelipeds and legs with a reticulate or subsquamiform 

 granulation, the chelipeds in the male about twice the 

 length of the carapace : most of the tympana on the 

 legs are traversed by a longitudinal ridge : fifth 

 abdominal tergum of male long and narrow, but not 



linear... 8. investigatoris. 



II. Chelipeds and legs finely and uniformly granular, the 

 chelipeds in the male nearer 3 times than twice the 

 length of the carapace : the tympana not subdivided 

 by a ridge : the fifth abdominal tergum of the male is 



long and linear ..... . S. crabricauda. 



According to F. Muller, S. globosa, De Haan, is found in Indian waters. The 

 form of the abdomen in this species is similar to that of 8. investigatoris, but the 

 carapace is smooth, and the tympana of the legs are different. 



64. Scopimera investigatoris, n. sp. 



Carapace much broader than long, decidedly pentagonal, without 

 distinction of regions, smooth except anteriorly and laterally where 

 there are numerous irregularly-scattered granules : the sidewalls and 

 pterygostomian regions finely granular. 



Orbits broad as in Ocypoda, shallow, the upper border very oblique, 

 the lower border finely denticulated and very prominent as in Gelasimus. 



External maxillipeds with some obsolescent granulation. Chelipeds 

 and legs finely granular in a somewhat reticulate or subsquamiform 

 way. 



