Nectocarcinus antarcticus (Jacq. and Lucas).

Portunus antarcticus Jacq. and Lucas, Voyage au Pole Sud, 3, Crust., p. 51, Pl 5, Fig. 1. 1853.

Nectocarcinus antarcticus A. Milne-Edwards, Archiv. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, 10, p. 407. 1861.

— Miers, Cat. Crust. N.Z., p. 30. 1876.

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

— Hutton, Trans, N.Z. Inst., vol. 11, p. 340. 1880.

— Filhol, Mission de l'Ile Campbell, p. 383. 1885.

— Hodgson,“Southern Cross,” Crust., p. 229. 1902.

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

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

— Rathbun, Austr. Ant. Exped., vol. 5, pt. 2, p. 3. 1918.

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

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

In addition to specimens from other localities clearly belonging to this species we have a good series of small crabs, including egg-bearing females whose breadth in some cases is only 12 mm., from Colville Channel and off Little Barrier. We have provisionally referred them to this species, but they may prove to be different and possibly to belong to another genus. The back is more corrugated and the frontal and antero-lateral spines are prominent, especially the pair of post-lateral spines; the latter give rise to a ridge across the carapace resembling the dorsal structure of Thalamita and related genera.

Jacquinot and Lucas and others describe the front as 4-toothed, Miers as 6-toothed; the latter reckoning includes the inner orbital spine.

“It is an extremely active and pugnacious species.” (Thomson).