I. '08. 151 



Philocheras fasciatus (Risso). 

 PL XXI, figs. 3, a and b. 



Crangon fasciatus, Bell, 1853, fig., p. 259. 

 Aegean fasciatus, Kinahan, 1861, fig. viii. 

 Crangon fasciatus, Heller, 1863, PI. vii, fig. 10. 

 Crangon fasciatus, Norman, 1887. 



Rostrum very broad, dorsally hollowed, and abruptly trun- 

 cate at apex. Carapace with a single median spine in the an- 

 terior third ; from this spine a carina rims backwards, becom- 

 ing obsolete before reaching the posterior edge. On either 

 side of the middle line are two lobe-like folds, the outer of 

 which reaches further forw^ards than the inner ; anteriorly 

 these lobes are well-defined and rounded. From the orbital 

 spine a carina runs backw^ards and outwards and meets a third 

 lateral lobe which is more pointed ; inferiorly this lobe is de- 

 fined by a groove, which runs towards the branchial region, 

 and superiorly by another groove which runs backwards past 

 the posterior ends of the two inner lobes, becoming obsolete 

 near the middle line on the cardiac region. 



A hdominal somites dorsally smooth and rounded ; occasion- 

 ally very faint traces of dorsal carination are discernible on 

 the fourth and fifth. Telson dorsally sulcate and shorter than 

 both inner and outer uropods. 



Basal joint of antennular peduncle about as long as second 

 and third combined, its lateral process distally rounded and 

 reaching to the end of the segment ; second joint longer than 

 third. AntcJinal scale (fig. 3 b) only about twice as long as 

 broad, its outer edge convex ; the short apical tooth does not 

 surpass the distal end of the lamella. 



The joints of the second pereiopods are proportionately much 

 wider in this than in the other species of the genus. 



Size. — The largest specimen examined measures 19 mm. 



Colour in life. — The carapace and abdomen are, as a rule, 

 whitish, the latter having two transverse dark umber brown 

 bands, one across the fourth somite and the other across the 

 posterior half of the sixth somite, telson, and uropods. In 

 some specimens the carapace is dark umber brown, in others 

 the posterior of the two abdominal bands is missing ; forms 

 occur very rarely in which all trace of the brown pigment is 

 missing. 



It should be noticed that the striking brown banding in this 

 species also occurs in P. bispinosus v. neglectus and in some 

 forms of P. sculptus. The colour of these smaller Cran- 

 gonidae is extremely variable , and cannot be considered of any 

 value for systematic purposes. 



General distrihution. — P. fasciatus has been recorded by 

 various authorities from the Adriatic and Mediterranean and 

 is also known from the Azores (Barrois), Gironde (Fischer), 

 the Channel Is. (Norman), the Scilly Is. (Vallentin), from 



