Cancer novae-zealandiae (Jacquinot and Lucas).

Platycarcinus novae-zealandiae Jacquinot and Lucas, Voyage au Pole Sud., Zool., vol. 3, Crust., p. 34, Pl. 3, Fig. 6. 1853.

Cancer novae-zealandiae Milne-Edwards, Nouv. Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat., vol. 1, p. 189. 1865.

— Miers, “Erebus and Terror,” Zool., Crust., p. 2, Pl. 1, Fig. 5. 1874.

— Miers, Cat. Crust. N.Z., p. 14. 1876.

— Filhol, Mission de l'Ile Campbell, p. 371. 1885.

— Lenz, Zool., Jahrb., 14, p. 459. 1901.

— Chilton, Subant. Isl. N.Z., vol. 2, p. 608. 1909.

— Chilton, Records Cant. Mus., vol. 1, No. 3, p. 291. 1911.

— Thomson, Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 45, p. 237. 1913.

— Stephensen, Dr. Th. Mortensen's Pacific Exped. 1914-16, 40, p. 293. 1927.

Carapace wide, moderately flattened in the male, much more in the female. Surface covered with little granulations; regions scarcely distinct; antero-lateral margins with ten lobes, which project very slightly beyond their lines of coalescence; each lobe with 2 to 5 crenulations. The posterior lateral margin, which commences immediately behind the tenth lobe, is closely granulous. First lobe small, on upper orbital margin; the latter has no tooth or spine except the point at the inner corner, which is less prominent than the front. Front with three other teeth, of which the median is much smaller and more depressed than the rest. Anterior legs with the wrist very granulous externally, usually with a large tubercle near the margin, and a strong tooth on the inner side; hand granulous above, with two parallel lines, each having three or four tubercles larger than the granulations, and with five granulous lines on the outer side, of which the lower four are well marked. Movable finger granulous above, both fingers strongly denticulate within, black within and at the tips. Ambulatory legs robust and of moderate length. Seventh joint of the abdomen of the male slender and elongate.

“This species is very probably identical with the C. plebeius Poeppig, from Chili. The graulated ridges on the claws, and the shape of the teeth on the latero-anterior margin vary much in the specimens in the Museum, from both localities, but A. Milne-Edwards in his monograph above quoted, considers the species distinct.” (Miers, 1874). Though we have not seen specimens from Chili, we have verified that the New Zealand form is variable in the respects mentioned by Miers, and also in the distinctness or otherwise of the outer tubercle of the hand. The lobes of the antero-lateral margins are sometimes black.

In order to settle the question of the distinctness or otherwise of the two species specimens of C. novaezealandiae were, in 1910, sent to Dr. Calman of the British Museum for comparison with C. plebeius. In his reply he drew attention to Miss Rathbun's paper on “The Stalk-eyed Crustacea of Peru and the adjacent coast (Proc. U.S. Nat. Museum, vol. 38, pp. 531-620) in which the original figure of C. plebeius is reproduced and added “There is no doubt, from the speci-