42 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
third and fourth not prominent, outer margins arcuate; the fifth more prominent and dentiform, 
subacute. The granules of chelipeds fine and reticulate; no carpal groove; fingers pointed, color of 
fingers not continued on palm. 
Color of carapace, a brilliant purplish blue; wrist and hand bluish; proximal upper half of 
movable finger pink; remainder of finger porcelain white; lower portion of chelipeds and also the 
carpal tooth yellow. 
Length of male, 22 mm. ; width, 32.8 mm. ; fronto-orbital width, 17.4 mm.; frontal width, 8.1 mm. 
New York to Brazil; Bermudas. Ensenada Honda, Culebra. 
Genus ERIPHIA Latreille. 
Eriphia Latreille, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., x, 404, 1817. 
Carapace thick and deep, approaching a quadrilateral shape, very little convex or nearly flat, not 
remarkably broader than long. Antero-lateral borders slightly curved, much shorter than postero- 
lateral, and meeting the latter, not at a strong angle, as in most cancrids, but at a very open and 
imperceptible angle; though spinate, they are not cut into lobes. Fronto-orbital border extremely 
broad, much more than three-quarters the greatest breadth of carapace; the front, which is therefore 
broad also, is strongly deflexed, almost straight, cut in the middle, the outer part on each side 
broadly in contact — far beyond limits of antennal base — with a singularly broad prolongation of infra- 
orbital plate. The orbits, which are deep and oval, are therefore completely closed and widely 
separated from the antennas. Basal antennal joint very small, short, and broad; flagellum long, more 
than major diameter of large orbit. The antennules fold transversely. The crests of endostome, 
defining the expiratory canals, are strong, and the canal is completed below by the foliaceous process 
of first maxillipeds, the anterior edge of that process being concave. Oblique anterior border of rnerus 
of external maxillipeds not notched. Chelipeds massive, unequal in both sexes; fingers stout, pointed, 
not hollowed. The abdomen of the male has all seven segments separate. 
Eriphia gonagra (Fabricius). 
Cancer gonagra Fabricius, Sp. Ins., 505, 1781. 
Eriphia gonagra Milne Edwards, Hist. Nat. Crust., I, 426, pi. xvi, figs. 16 and 17, 1834. 
Carapace of moderate width, regions clearly marked on anterior two-thirds; postorbital grooves 
very deep; a transverse granulated line in front of epigastric lobes, another line across protogastric 
and hepatic lobes; a line of tubercles parallel to antero-lateral margins; these last armed with six 
spiniform teeth. Front very wide, deflexed, and divided into four lobes; the two median wider and 
more advanced than the lateral, truncate, with a finely granulated border; lateral lobes slightly concave 
in dorsal view. Fronto-orbital suture A r ery sinuous; below it a line of large tubercles. Chelipeds 
strong, swollen, unequal. Hand covered with large, round, flattened, squamiform tubercles, more 
elevated on the small hand than on the large. The larger movable finger has a large rounded tooth 
at its base. Wrist covered with less prominent tubercles. Legs clothed with fine, stiff hairs on the 
last three segments. 
Color, reddish brown or yellowish brown; the spines and margins of front and orbits orange; 
tubercles on upper half of claws dark red or blue, on lower half yellow; legs light yellow with fine 
red dots. 
Male: Length, 26.5 mm. ; width, 38.7 mm. ; fronto-orbital width, 30 mm. ; width of front, 19 mm. 
South Carolina (Rankin); Florida Keys to Brazil; Bahamas; Bermudas. Porto Rico: Mayaguez, 
on coral reef; Boqueron Bay; Ponce reefs; Caballo Blanco Reef, Vieques; Ensenada Honda, Culebra; 
Hucares; Aguadilla (Gundlach). 
Genus MELYBIA Stimpson. 
Melybia Stimpson, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoo)., ii, 144, 1871. 
Carapace rather narrow, subquadrate, slightly convex, regions faintly marked. Antero-lateral 
margins very short, with four teeth or spines, including the orbital. Fronto-orbital width great, 
about five-sixths the greatest width of carapace. Front about two-fifths the width of carapace. Front 
depressed, bilobed, separated by a notch from inner orbital angle. Orbits large, completely filled by 
stout eyes; two superior notches in margin, and a broader notch below on outside. Basal joint of 
antenna narrow, reaching a process of front and closing the orbital hiatus. Outer maxillipeds much 
