CRUSTACEA. 
31 
Ckelis longissimis et maximis, prismaticis, jugis angularibus, tubereulis rotundis, subobtusis, ex ordine 
dispositis, arm at is ; quatuor postcribus pedum paribus gracilliuus parvis, pari 1 on git udi n c, et omniiio celutis 
sub lateralibus lamellaribus extensionibus thoracis. 
Abdomme lccvi, septem articulis, serie parvorum tuberculorum ad utrumcpie latus subeminentis inter- 
mediffi line® : articulo penultimo ceteris latiore. 
Vivus colore tuvbide-carneolo, fuscis distinctionibus, et miuutis nigris punctis ; in utraque chela crocea 
lineari macula; superficic inferiore alba, subrubro colore in pectore. Siccatus obscuro, turbido, albo 
colore est. 
Hab. Mare Suluense ; fundo scruposo. 
Carapace flattened, very large, triangular, slightly elevated in the middle, nearly twice 
as wide as long, slightly sinuated posteriorly, strongly marked round the edges with coarse, 
rounded crenations ; the greater part of the back covered with slight pustular elevations ; on 
the posterior part of the carapace two deep grooves, placed longitudinally, and slightly bent, 
so as to have a lyre-shaped form. 
Front horizontal, much produced, rounded anteriorly, and having three rather sharp 
crenulations on either side, eyes small, retractile. 
Fore-legs very long and large, prismatic in form, with the angular ridges armed with 
regular, round, rather blunt tubercles ; the four hind pairs of legs very slender, small, 
equal in length, and entirely concealed beneath the lateral lamellar extension of the carapace. 
Abdomen smooth, seven jointed, with a row of small tubercles on either side of the 
slightly prominent, middle line ; penultimate joint wider than the rest. When alive it is 
of a dirty flesh-colour, with brown markings, and minute black specks ; on each chela there 
is an orange, linear spot ; the under surface is of a dead white, with a reddish tinge on 
the breast. In the dried state it is of a dull, dirty white. 
Hab. Sooloo Sea ; twenty fathoms, stony bottom. 
The species of this genus resemble those of Calappa, in their habit of simulating death 
when disturbed, folding the chelae close to the front of the carapace, and concealing their 
legs under the dilated sides of the carapace. They are always found in deep water, while 
the Calappidce are observed on sandy flats, under the shelter of stones, or even sometimes 
buried in the sands. 
In the distinct and beautiful species of the singular genus described above, the lyre-shaped 
grooves on the carapace at once distinguish it from the other two known species ; it, however, 
differs from the Cryptopodia fornicata of Herbst, and the C. angulata of Edwards and Lucas, in 
other and minor particulars. The carapace is narrower and wider than the same part in C. for- 
nicata, and the posterior edge is furnished with coarser and rounder crenations, the ridges on 
the chelae have blunter tubercles ; the front, moreover, is longer, more rounded in outline, and 
more deeply crenulated. From C. angulata, Edwards and Lucas, (Archives du Museum, vol. ii. 
t 28. f. 15-19,) described in 1841, it differs in the rounded form of the posterior portion of 
the carapace, which, in that species, is sharply angulated and spiniferous, and also in the 
