89 



Genus Axius, Leach. 



Borradaile (1903) has divided Axius into five subgenera Axius, 

 Neaxius, Iconaxiopsis, Eiconaxius , and Paraxius. The only 

 one of these with which we have to deal is the first, which is 

 distinguished by having "the flat area of the back and the cer- 

 vical groove well marked, the eyes well-pigmented, the antenna! 

 thorns both of a good size, pleurobranchs on the second to fifth 

 legs, vestiges of a podobranch and an arthrobranch on the second 

 maxillipede, and a shallow-water habitat." 



Axius stirhynchus. Leach. 



PL XIV, figs. 1-4. 



Axius stirhynchus, Bell, 1853. 

 Axius stirhynchus, Norman, 1868. 



The carapace is strongly compressed, and very slightly 

 narrower in front and behind than in the middle. The rostrum 

 is short and flat, triangular in shape and furnished with a slight 

 ridge on either margin, and a median crest; its edges are lined 

 with short, blunt teeth, and it bears setae on the dorsal surface. 

 The gastric area is slightly flattened. The cervical groove is 

 very distinct. The posterior margin of the carapace is deeply 

 concave in its central part ; the lateral parts of the margin 

 project slightly over the first abdominal segment, and buckle 

 it to the carapace. The ridges from the margins and centre 

 of the rostrum are continued backwards on the gastric area, but 

 do not extend more than one third of the distance to the cervical 

 groove. The whole carapace surface is sparsely punctate. 



The abdomen is very nearly twice as long as the carapace. 

 The first segment is shorter and narrower than the others, which 

 are practically uniform. The segments are all quite smooth, 

 bearing no ridges, and are sparsely punctate. They have a 

 slight sprinkling of fine setae. The pleura of the first segment 

 are narrow and taper to a fine point, while those of the other 

 segments are very broad and quite shallow, with rounded angles. 

 On each pleuron of the third, fourth, and fifth segments there 

 is a low oblique ridge from which springs a row of backward 

 pointing hairs. 



The telson is as long as the preceding abdominal segment, 

 and slightly narrower at the base, from which it tapers very 

 slightly towards the posterior end, which is truncate. The pos- 

 terior angles are rounded, and the margin between them is fringed 

 with setae. There are two small spines about the middle of 

 the dorsal surface of the telson, and also a few scales from which 

 spring tufts of bristles all pointing backwards. There is also 

 a median tooth on the posterior margin. 



The eyes are small and the eyestalks short. They are half 

 hidden beneath the rostrum, and are fairly well pigmented. 



The antennulary peduncle extends beyond the tip of the 



