On the crustacea collected during the 'Skeat expedition' to the Malay peninsula : together with a note on the genus Actaeopsis. Pt. I. [Brachyura, Stomatopoda, and Macrura] / by W.F. Lanchester.

Lanchester, William Foster.

Date:: 1901

Credit: On the crustacea collected during the 'Skeat expedition' to the Malay peninsula : together with a note on the genus Actaeopsis. Pt. I. [Brachyura, Stomatopoda, and Macrura] / by W.F. Lanchester. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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$On the Crustacea collected during the Skeat Expedi- tion to the Malay Peninsula, together with a Note on the Genus Actaopsis. By W. F. Lanchester, M.A., King^s College, Cambridge \ Part I.—BRACHTUEA, STOMATOPODA, axd MACEUEA. (Plates XXXIII. & XXXIV.^) Owing to the number of species that are represented, through the different groups, in the Crustacea collected by the “Skeat” Expedition, I have thought it best to divide the account of them into two parts : the present paper dealing with the groups mentioned above, the second paper to deal with the remaining groups—namely, the Anomura, Arthrostraca, and Cirripedia. The present part deals systematically with 90 species, comprised in 48 genera, so that the collection may be seen to be very fairly representative; though the Oxyrhyncha, among the Brachyura, are represented but poorly and the Leucosiid group of the Oxystomata not at all. Of these 90 species, moreover, I have found it jiecessary to describe 6 as new—2 among the Brachyura, 4 among the Macrura,—and to refer 2 forms among the Macrura to new varieties of already-known species. Further, I will note that 50 of the species were obtained from localities on the east coast of the Peninsula, 29 from the west coast, 5 from localities on either coast {i. e., common to both), and 6 of uncertain locality. The small number of forms common to both coasts is not surprising; from two more closely situated localities, Singapore and Malacca, I myself only succeeded in obtaining 12 common forms out of 120 species of crabs, and this I believe to be due very largely to the differing nature of the sea-bottom, currents, &c., in different parts of the same large area. Not that I wish to give undue promi- nence to this particular reason : the amount of time spent or the facilities available in different localities are varying; and, if I may judge from my own experience, there is a disposition in the collector not to overload his probably limited stock of bottles with specimens he remembers to have already collected elsewhere. These causes may easily bring it about that the number of “ common ” forms is apparently so small. Notwithstanding this, however, I am inclined to think that the smallness of the number is not entirely apparent, but in part real; and what I would point out is that the value of any collection from a given area would be greatly enhanced were a species, or better a group of species, dealt with distributionally, so that each specimen, or group of specimens, collected might be accompanied by notes on the points I have mentioned above (^^ e,, all details of habitat), in addition to the note of simple locality. For, besides the broad areas of distribution that may be peculiar to a species, there are again ^ Communicated by Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.Z.S. ^ For exolanation of the Plates, see p. 574, [2]$