A contribution to Indian carcinology

Henderson J. R. (John Robertson) B. 1863

Description

rc\ cCC^ r4 CJLr €^ ^i'C(C (CC(f 'T'r«u';i r^: t 325w.--^ ][i^^-^^ JJJ^:^ Contribution to Indian Bij 11. IIexdersox, 31.B., F.L.S.,X. A Carcinology./ J. Fellow the TJniversity Biology in the Iladras ChristianIlodras, Professorof of of College. XXXVI.-XL.)(Plates June, l.«02.Read ICth IXTRODl'CTIOX. though furnished1 IIE Decapod and Stomatopod Crustacea referred to in this paper, it has therefore beenby several distinct collections, are all from Indian localities, and examination in a single report.found most convenient to incorporate the results of their collections, both of considerableA large proportion of the species are contained in two Superintendent of the Madrassize, the first formed by my friend Mr. Edgar Thurston, of Manaar, the second by myself",Government Museum, chiefly from stations in the Gulf various Both collections were to some extentfrom localities in the Madras Presidency. my return to England on leaveexamined and the species identified in India, prior to in period of work at the British Museum1891, and I fully anticipated that a short would But the time thus occupiedhave enabled me to complete the identifications.

Sujets

• Crustacea
• India

Informations

• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 20
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

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.'3nd 3r. ZOOLOGY. V.
I rVOL. PART 1
THE
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TRANSACTIONS
OF
THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON.
A CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN CARCINOLOUY
BY
J. R. HENDERSON, MB., F.L.S.,
pKIXOW OF THE UNn'KnSlTY PKOFESSOIt BIOI.OOY IX CO..LK(il:OF MADRAS, OF THF. MADRAS CHBISTIAN
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LONDON
PRINTED FOR THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
COURT.BY TAYLOR AND KliANCIS, UKU l.ION FLEET STREET.
W.,APARTMENTS, BUKLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCAl'n^I'Y.SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S
PATERNOSTER-ROW-AND BY LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.,
^fay 1893.^Q>^:
t 325w.--^ ][i^^-^^ JJJ^:^
Contribution to Indian Bij 11. IIexdersox, 31.B., F.L.S.,X. A Carcinology./ J.
Fellow the TJniversity Biology in the Iladras ChristianIlodras, Professorof of of
College.
XXXVI.-XL.)(Plates
June, l.«02.Read ICth
IXTRODl'CTIOX.
though furnished1 IIE Decapod and Stomatopod Crustacea referred to in this paper,
it has therefore beenby several distinct collections, are all from Indian localities, and
examination in a single report.found most convenient to incorporate the results of their
collections, both of considerableA large proportion of the species are contained in two
Superintendent of the Madrassize, the first formed by my friend Mr. Edgar Thurston,
of Manaar, the second by myself",Government Museum, chiefly from stations in the Gulf
various Both collections were to some extentfrom localities in the Madras Presidency.
my return to England on leaveexamined and the species identified in India, prior to
in period of work at the British Museum1891, and I fully anticipated that a short
would But the time thus occupiedhave enabled me to complete the identifications.
proved large portion of it being taken up withmuch longer than I had calculated, a
the longest known forms, which are certainlyexamination of some of the commonest and
not so well ought to be ; and may add that my later studies have con-known as they I
vinced me that working out of a large collection of shallow-water species cannot bethe
satisfactorily accomplished in India.
Wiiile engaged in this work, Dr. Giinther and Mr. Pocock, of the British Museum,
deposited inkindly placed my hands for examination a series of Indian Crustaceain
specimens pi-esented by the latethe National Collection, including a large number of
have meSurgeon-General E. and Mr. E. W. Gates, F.Z.S., which enabledDay, C.I.E.,
collection consists chieflyconsi(kn-ably to enlarge the scope of this paper. Dr. Day's
localities, as wellof the larger and better known Indian marine Decapods, from various
large series of freshx^iteras a number of land and freshwater Crabs (Telphusidas), and a
Bcnceus, which have inducedand marine Prawns, belonging to the genera Palcemon and
characters species belonging to the latterme to revise, to some extent, the of the Indian
not includes number of mostgenus. Mr. Gates's collection, though of large extent, a
interesting —taken dredging depths of from tea to twentyforms principallyMacrura by at—
Burmah might expected, it contains some offathoms, in the Gulf of Martaban, ; and, as be
species De Man, from the neighbouring Mergui Archipelago.the lately described by Dr.
theIn addition to these examined tAVo small collections from Ceylon, ^lii'stI have
identilicationconsisting of between sixty species, which were sent me forfifty and
SECOXD SERIES.—ZOOLOGY, VOL. V. ISA CONTKIBUTION.1. R. HP;NDEKS0N—MK.326
Museum, second small seriestbe Colombo the aMr. Ilalv, ofbefore I left India, by
byMuseum Mr. H. Nevill.littoral presented to the Britishof forms,
to identify hundred and eighty-nineable twosources I have beenProm all these
new science, including two which aredescribed as tospecies, of which thirty-three are
number of new species is perhaps smallergenera. Theregarded as the types of new
of that reported on, but I may state thatcollection the sizethan might be expected in a
aside a considerable nuniber, either not yetme to setwant of time has compelled
certain of the larger genera, e. Filummis, Leu-to l)e new. In g.identified or believed
name only the l)etter known forms ; for, tillI have attempted tocosia, and Alphem;
us Avitli a revision of these groups, the determi-Avith access to types providessomeone
Theremain uncertain, if not impossible. materialof many of the species mustnation
previously constituted species tome to reduce several themy disposal has enabledat
perhaps quite as important as adding tothis kind is therank of synonyms, and work of
considerations have forced me to makeSpace and other mylist of known forms.
as brief as possible, and I havepreviously known species onlyremarks concerning
which these are originally or most fully described,record the publications inattempted to
while, in regard to distribution, I liavesynonymy is discussed ; merelyor where their
they have been previously found, and in thethe chief localities in which caseindicated
added the authorities for these.less perfectly known species haveof the
in regard to most groups of the Invertebrate faunalimited knowledge we possessThe
commented on, and is notew orthy cousideriugIndia has more than once been theof
country has been inhabited by Europeans ; indeed, aslength of time that the regards
to comparatively recent date, there was less definite knowledgeCrustacea, up a of
fauna than of the fauna of many other Asiatic and Australasian countries.the Indian
writers are often extremely vague in the localization of their species, l)ut thereThe older
recorded underdoubt that a large proportion of the Crustacea suchcan be little general
" Seas," Indies," came originallyas "Seas of Asia," Eastern or "East from India.terms
end of described a considerableand Hei-bst, towards the last century, numberEabricius
at later period collections, chiefly from Pondicherry,Indian species, and a found theirof
some of the species are recorded Milne-Edwards, in histo Paris, and by well-linownway
' JsaturcUe des Crustaces." Comparatively few JMiglish naturalistsHistoirc in India
paid any attention to this group, but collections, both comparativelyappear to have small,
firstmade by General Hardwicke and Colonel Sykes, and the of thesewere collections
infrequently referred to by White in his List of the Crustacea the Britishis Maseum.
the Sir Walter the Madras Civilmore recent times late Elliot, of Service, formedIn a
Coromandel coast which the liauds of the latecollection on the passed into 'Mv. Spence
'refers to a few of the species in Report on the Clialleuger 'Bate, who his Macrura.
of Professor Wood-Mason, Superintendent of tlie Indian Museum,The work Calcutta,
known during the last twenty years he has published valuableis well ; paj)ors, more
onon the Telphusidae, and during the past year a Ileport theespecially deep-sea
'from the Bay of Bengal, taken Investigator,' in wCrustacea byll.M.S. hieh a number
are described.of new forms
'the Austrian frigate Novara,' voyage round theIn 1857 on a scientific world, touchedTO CAECINOLOGY.INDIAN 327
Ceylon, and the Nicobars, Prof.at Madras, and Camil Heller, in his Keport on the
Crustacea of the Expedition, enumerates over one hundred species of Dec;ipods and
Stomatopods taken in these localities. theRecently Crustacea collected by the lirothers
Sarasin at Trincomali in Ceylon, and amounting to ninety-two havespecies, been re-
cord(>d, and some new species descril)ed by Dr. F. Midler*. But the most valuable
contribution to the sulijeet hitherto published is the Report by Dr. De Man, of Middel-
burg, on the Crustacea collected in the Mergui Archipelago by Dr. Anderson, late
Superintendent of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. This Report, which was publislied in
1887-88, and forms vol. xxii. of the Linnean Society's Jovtrnal in Zoology, is valuable,
not merely on account of its dealing with the first collection of any extent made
onein the Bay of Bengal, which uatiu-ally comprised a considerable proportion of new
species, but also on account of the careful manner in which the author has redescribed
number of common species, which had been imperfectly cliaracterized by theira first
describers.
All naturalists who have worked at this group have felt the impossibility, in many
cases, of determining the actual species which furnished the crude figures, or brief
diagnoses, by means of which most of the commoner and more widely distributed forms
have been handed down to us in the works of Herl)st and Eabricius. MUne-Edwards
appears to have interpreted the species of last-century writers, without an actual exami-
theirnation of types, andany errors he mayhave made in consequence have been followed
by most subsequent writers. It is therefore highly desirable, as De Man has suggested
and i^artly done, to re-examine the earlier types, which were described in a manner
that ampler material and increased knowledge have shown to be quite inadequate. In
most cases where the original specimens are sufficiently well preserved to render their
identity certain, and where there can be no doubt as to correctness of labelling, it is
originalprobably advisable to adopt the designation, though wl