I. *0S. 101 



Size.— The largest specimen examined measures 31J mm. 



General distribution. —West Finmark to the Mediterranean, 

 usually found in great abundance. 



Irish distribution. — Extremely common all round the coast. 



Vertical range. — Hip poly te varians has been found at prac- 

 tically all depths in the Irish Sea— it has frequently been 

 taken in 70-80 fathoms in Lambay Deep. Off the west coast 

 it has occurred in 75 fathoms, while in the north a single speci- 

 men has been dredged between 110 and 130 fathoms in Eathlin 

 Deep. Between tide marks and down to 25 fathoms the 

 species is abundant, but in the deeper water it is much scarcer. 



Hippolyte prideauxiana, Leach. 



PI. XIII, figs. 8-10. 



Hippolyte prideauxiana, Bell, 1853, fig., p. 292. 

 Hippolyte viridis, Heller, 1863, PI. x, fig. 3. 

 Hippolyte prideauxiana, Norman and Scott, 1906 {ubi 

 syn.). 



Colour in life. Usually of a uniform brilliant green colour 

 with or without a conspicuous longitudinal white stripe down 

 the middle of the carapace and abdomen. Specimens coloured 

 brown, crimson, and crimson with vertical white stripes have 

 also been noticed. It seems probable that the range of colour 

 is almost as great in the present species as it is in H . varians. 



Size. — The largest example in the collection measures 42 

 mm. 



The absence of a dorsal spine at the base of the rostrum 

 cannot be regarded as a trustworthy character for the separa- 

 tion of this species from its congener, H. varians. Some 

 specimens of H . prideauxiana, more especially those of small 

 size, possess a small but well developed spine in this position 

 (fig. 10), while in other examples rudimentary traces of its 

 existence are apparent. The mouth parts of the two species 

 are almost identical, but the characters noticed above will be 

 found reliable — in particular, the long and slender form and 

 the small eye of the present species distinguish it at a glance. 



Some of the specimens examined possess tufts or plumes of 

 setae on the carapace and abdomen exactly as in the fasci- 

 gerous form of H . varians. This feature has also been noticed 

 by Walker (1899) in H. gracilis (Heller). 



General distribution. — This species has been recorded from 

 the Mediterranean and Adriatic (Heller, etc.), from the Black 

 Sea (Czerniavsky) and from the west coast of France 

 (Fischer, Barrois, etc.). It is well known on the coasts of 

 Cornwall and Devonshire (Bell, Norman, etc.) and has been 

 taken at the Scilly Is. (Norman). There is a single record 

 from Scotland, from the Firth of Clyde (Scott). 



