42 



Tribe SCYLLARIDEA. 



Family PALINURIDAE. 



Genus Palinuras, Fabricius. 



The two Irish species may be separated thus : — 



On the middle of the carapace there are 

 two rows of large spines, parallel in front 

 of the cervical groove, slightly converging 

 behind it. Merus of first pereiopods has four 

 small teeth on proximal part of inner keel, 

 and a large distal spine ; on under side of 

 propodite there is a small, sharp tooth 

 near the distal end, . . . . . . P. Thomsoni, 



Middle of carapace has no such rows of 

 spines. Except for a distal spine the inner 

 keel of the merus of the first pereiopods is 

 smooth. There is a very large and broad 

 triangular tooth on under side of propodite, 

 near the distal end, ., . . . . P. vulgaris. 



Palinurus vulgaris, Latreille, 



PL VI, fig. 3. 

 Palinurus vulgaris, Bell, 1853. 

 Palinurus vulgaris, Gruvel, 1912. 



This species has been very fully described by Gruvel in his 

 recent monograph on the Palinuridae, so that there is no need 

 to repeat its characteristics here. 



General Distribution. — ^The species reaches its maximum 

 development as regards numbers in the Mediterranean and 

 on the west coasts of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. In the 

 Mediterranean it is extremely abundant around Corsica and 

 Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, and off the coast of Tunis and 

 Tripoli. It also occurs in large numbers in the Adriatic and 

 the Aegean. It is found at Madeira, and extends southwards 

 as far as Cape Bojador (Gruvel). It extends northwards 

 through the Bay of Biscay to the coasts of Britain, which 

 form the northern limit to its range. 



On the east coast of England* it is present only in small 

 numbers, and becomes scarcer towards the north, ceasing 

 altogether about Flamborough Head. It extends, however, 

 along the whole w^est coast, being plentiful in the Bristol 

 Channel and the Irish Sea. On the west of Scotland it is not 

 common, but has been recorded from the Firth of Clyde, Loch 



♦For British distribution, see Ritchie, Proc. Boyal Phys. Soc, Edin.. vol. XVIII, 

 1909-1910. 



