Report on the zoological collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean ...

;260 COIIECTIONS TROM MELANESIA.the penultimate and antepenultimate joints of the ambulatory legsare more distinct.2. Petalomera pulchra. (Plate XXVII. fig. A.)Carapace somewhat oblong-oval, and a little longer than broad,moderately convex and granulated ; its anterior parts are ratherthinly pubescent, the front in its median portion is nearly verticallydeilexed (see fig. a) ; the lateral frontal lobes are prominent, in adorsal view triangulate, and are separated from one another by adeeply concave interspace. The upper orbital margin is thin, prominent,and entire ; there is a small notch at the outer angle ; thesides of the carapace are armed with three small teeth placed in anoblique series, the anterior of which is situated upon the subhepaticregion ; the carapace in front of these teeth is somewhat coarselygranulated. Distinct longitudinal ridges exist on the endostome orpalate. The sternal sit Zfi in the female are remote from one another,and terminate in tubercles which are situated a little behind thebases of the second pair of legs (see fig. a'). The eyes are ofmoderate length, cornese distinct ; the peduncles of the antennae arerather robust ; the second joint somewhat longer than the first orthe third. The merus-joint of the outer maxillipedes is about aslong as the ischium, truncated at its distal end, and without anynotch at its antero-external angle where the next joint articulateswith it. The chelipedes are subequal : the merus has its uppermargin produced into a high arched crest, its inner surface is smoothand polished, its outer pubescent, the inner and lower margin issharp-edged and entire ; the wrist and palm are also slightly cristatedabove, and have their outer surfaces granulated and pubescentthe wrist has two larger tubercles or prominences at its distal end ;the granules on the palm disposed in six longitudinal series ; fingerssomewhat shorter than the palm and meeting along their regularlyserrated inner edges when closed, excavate and naked at the apices.The ambulatory legs are pubescent and moderately robust ; themerus-joint of the first pair has its upper margin produced (as in thechelipedes) into a high arched crest, in the next pair this joint isnot specially dilated and its upper margin is straight : the last twolegs terminate in a small curved claw, but the penultimate joint hasno terminal spiniform process. Colour (in spirit) greyish or cinereous.Length of carapace nearly ^ inch (19 millim.), breadth^ lines (18 millim).The females were obtained in Prince of Wales Channel, 7-9 fms.This species is distinguished from P. gramdatcf, 8timpson, thetype of the genus, from Kajosima, Japan, by the absence of a distinctsupraocular tooth, and by the non-cristated merus-joint of thethird pair of legs, &c. It cannot be confounded with any of theAustralian Dromice described by Mr. Haswell (Catal. pp. 139-141).