CKTTSIACEA. 279 



pace; its lateral margin armed witli about 8 spinules; the joints of the 

 chelipedea also spinulose_and hairy ; fingers rather shorter than the 

 palm, minutely denticulated on their inner margins, not gaping when 

 closed, with the tips incurved ; the merus- and carpus-joints of the 

 first and second ambulatory legs are spinulose on their anterior mar- 

 gins ; and one of the denticules of the inferior margin of the terminal 

 joint is more prominent than the others. 



If the Australian specimen does not belong to G. elegans, it may 

 be referable to(?. longirostris, Dana*, from the Fijis, which is very 

 incompletely known, which it resembles in the minute serrulation of 

 the carapace and rostrum and the shorter fingers of the chelipedes, 

 which are not, however, less than half the length of the palms, as in 

 Dana's description. 



In more than dne of the specimens in the Museuni collection 

 the rostrum is slightly deflexed, and I think it probable that (?. de- 

 flexifrons, Haswell (Cat. p. 163), from Albany Passage (KM.S. 

 'Alert'), should be regarded merely as a marked variety of G. elegans, 



23. Munida spinulifera. (Pmte XXXI. fig. B.) . 



This species is evidently nearly allied to Munida japoniea, Stimp- 

 son ; and it wiU suffice here to allude to the distinctive characters 

 and some other points not mentioned in Stimpson's description. As 

 in M. japoniea, the anterior part of the gastric region is armed with 

 a transverse series of thirteen spinules. On the sides of the cara- 

 pace, at a short distance behind the spine at the outer orbital angle, 

 is usually a single small spinule (whereas Stimpson, in his deScrip- 

 tiom of M. japoniea, says, " Eegio gastrica superflcie utrinque tri- 

 spinulosa "). On the front of the branchial regions, just behind the 

 cervical suture, is another small spinule not mentioned by Mr. 

 Stimpson. -The lateral margins of the carapace have about seven 

 spinules, inclusive of the outer orbital spine, which is rather 

 long. 



The median spine of the rostrum (in the specimens I have exa- 

 mined) is considerably more than twice the length of the lateral 

 spines, and is arcuated, with scarcely any trace of lateral denticula- 

 tions. The second postabdominal segment has several spinules on 

 its upper surface on the anterior margin. The merus, .carpus, 

 and penultimate joints of the ambulatory legs are spinulose ; the 

 spinules on the penultimate joints usually developed only on the 

 posterior (or inferior) margins. 



Three specimens, of which one (the only one having a chelipede) 

 is a male, the tw;o others females with ova, were obtained in the 

 Arafura Sea, 32-36 fms. (No. 160). 



In the specimen of M. japoniea from the Corean Straits, referred 

 to in my Eeport on Capt. St. John's eoUectionf, not only are the 

 lateral frontal spines relatively much longer (half the length of the 



* OruBt. in U.S. Explor. Bxped. xiii. p. 482, pi. xxx. fig. 11 (1852). i 



t Proo. Zool. Soo. p. 51 (1879). 



