224 Carcinological Fauna of India. 



Egeriaherhstii, Milne -Edwards, Hist Nat. Crust. 1.292; and Heller, * No vara ' 

 Crust., p. 4; and Haswell, P. L. S., N. S. Wales, IV. 1879, p. 439, and Cat. Austr. 

 Crust., p. 12. 



Our large series of perfect specimens fully supports Mr. Miers' 

 conclusion that all the hitherto described species of Egeria may be re- 

 garded as identical with the species rather poorly figured in Rumph's 

 Amboinisclie Bariteitkamer. 



Carapace subpyriform, or, rostrum excluded, subcircular, its 

 breadth being equal to its length behind the base of the eye-stalks : the 

 regions are distinctly delimited, and the surface is uneven and armed 

 with some symmetrically disposed spines and spinules of which the six 

 following are very conspicuously large, namely : — in the middle line, one 

 on the cardiac and one on the intestinal region, and, on either side, a sub- 

 hepatic and a lateral epibranchial : besides these there is (1) a con- 

 spicuous set of spinules arranged in the form of a T on the gastric region 

 — the last in the vertical limb of the T being a distinct spine ; and (2) 

 two series of distant spinules on either branchial region. 



The rostrum varies somewhat : it is always short, and typically, 

 consists of two vertically compressed spines which are fused in rather 

 more than half their extent and have the tips slightly divergent : but 

 sometimes the fusion is more extensive, or the tips are broken, and the 

 rostrum then has the form of an emarginate stump. The supra-ocular 

 eave is surmounted by a small sharp tooth anteriorly. 



The chelipeds in the adult male are more than half again as long as 

 the carapace and rostrum : the merus is a little enlarged distally, and the 

 palm is inflated and distally enlarged : the fingers, which are half the 

 length of the palm, are slightly separated at the base when clenched. 



The chelipeds in the female are only one-fourth longer than the 

 carapace and rostrum, and are the slenderest of all the trunk-legs. 



The first pair of ambulatory legs are at least six times the length 

 of the carapace and rostrum, rather more than a third of their extent 

 being formed by the dactylus : the other legs gradually decrease in 

 length to the fourth and last, which are about 2 J times the length of 

 the carapace and rostrum. The joints in all are very slender, cylin- 

 drical, and except for a spine at the distal end of the upper border of 

 the merus, quite smooth. 



Conspicuous on the sternum of the male is a pair of large teeth, 

 placed between the front legs. 



The body and lege are usually covered with an excessively short 

 fine down : the legs are often banded, sometimes very distinctly, with 

 dull red. 



70 



