1921 ] Schmitt: The Marine Decapod Crustacea of California 107 



abyssal species. On the other hand, the structure of its visual organs and its 

 absence from collections made with the surface tow-net preclude the thought of its 

 living at or very near the surface. 



EemarJcs. — There seems to be some variation in the number of spines before 

 the cervical groove. The formula above in the ' ' Characters ' ' adapted from Faxon 

 gives one more spine just before the cervical groove than appears in the "Alba- 

 tross" California specimen, for which the formula reads: Eostrum -\- 1, 2, 1; 

 cervical groove 2, 2, 1, 2. That this is no more than variation seems borne out 

 by an examination of several of the juvenile specimens identified by Faxon and 

 deposited in the U. S. National Museum. For three of these the formulas are: 



1. (Length 37 mm.) : Rostrum + 1, 2, 1, 1, denticle; cervical groove, 2, 2, 1, 2. 



2. (Length 20 mm.) : Eostrum + 1, 2, 1, denticle; cervical groove, 2, 2, 1, 2. 



3. (Length 19 mm.): Eostrum + 1, 2, 1, denticle; cervical groove, 2, 2, 1, 2. 

 There are also some slight variations in the number of median abdominal 



spines, as well as slight discrepancy between Faxon's colored figure (Faxon, 1895, 

 pi. B) and his published description, as follows: 



Abdominal somite 12 3 4 5 6 Telson 



Faxon's description 12 2 2 2 12 



Faxon 's colored figure 1 1 2 2 12 3 



Faxon 's juvenile No. 1 112 3 2 12 



Faxon's juvenile No. 2 112 2 2 12 



Faxon's juvenile No. 3 112 2 2 12 



' ' Albatross ' ' California speci- 

 men 1113 2 12 



In Bouvier's paper cited in synonymy above, the name agassizi for Faxon's 

 caecus is introduced without comment: " . . . E. Agassizi (=2J. emeus Faxon) 



Owing to the fact that Bate had only one immature specimen it is not easy to 

 point out a number of valid differences between his species and that described by 

 Faxon; but one which seems to be of prime importance is the presence of only 

 one median spine on the base of the telson in Bate's material whereas all of 

 Faxon 's specimens and my own have two, a character which would immediately 

 separate them in the key given by Selbie (1914, p. 28) for the species of Eryonicus. 



Family Palinuridae 



Carapace longitudinally subcylindrical, with rostrum wanting or represented 

 by a tooth. Orbits only partially excavated; the eyes may be protected by a 

 spine above or below, or both, but are never lodged in true orbits. Antennal 

 peduncle four-jointed, the basal joint fused with the epistome; with a long, 

 cylindrical, quite rigid, multiarticulate flagellum. Telson roughly square behind. 



Genus Panulirus White 



No central rostriform tooth. The ocular segment exposed and membranous, 

 ocular peduncles small and free. Flagella of antennules long and slender, their 

 segment produced considerably in advance of the frontal margin, and generally 

 armed with strong teeth. 



