OCR Text |
Show 916 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON ISOPODA COLLECTED [D 3. Preliminary Notice of the Isopoda collected during the Voyage of H.M.S. f Challenger/-Part II.1 Munnop-sida. By F R A N K E. BEDDARD, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S., Prosector to the Society 2. [Eeceived November 19, 1885.] The family of the Munnopsidse, originally founded by Prof. M. Sars on a single species, Munnopsis typica, is now known to include a large number of species, which have been referred by Prof. G. O. Sars to four distinct genera, viz. : Munnopsis, Desmosoma, llyarachna, and Eurycope ; the majority of these Isopoda have been dredged off the coast of Norway by G. O. Sars ; Munnopsis typica and Eurycope gigantea have been described as occurring in the Arctic region, and two species Munnopsis typica and Eurycope robusta have been recorded by Harger from the E. coast of N. America. Beyond a few scattered observations in papers communicated to the Royal Society of London (Proc. Roy. Soc. 1874) by the late Dr. v. Willemoes Suhm, nothing is known of the forms which inhabit the southern hemisphere. The specimens dredged by the ' Challenger' nearly all come from the antarctic area ; they are referable to fourteen distinct species, including one new genus. I have named them as follows :- 1. Eurycope sarsii. 2. Eurycope nova-zealandia. 3. Eurycope atlantica. 4. Eurycope fray His. 5. Eurycope pellucida. 6. Eurycope abyssicola. 7. Eurycope spinosa. 8. Eurycope intermedia. 9. llyarachna, sp. 10. Munnopsis latifrons. 11 Munnopsis australis. 12. Munnopsis gracilis. 13. Acanthocope spinicauda. 14. Acanthocope acutispina. All these species are, with the exception of llyarachna, inhabitants of deep water. M U N N O P S I S , Sars. Three out of the fourteen Munnopsids obtained by the ' Challenger ' appear to me to be referable to the genus Munnopsis ; in one instance (M. gracilis) there can be, I should imagine, but little doubt of the correctness of this identification. Both the remaining species diverge somewhat in structure from Munnopsis typica ; the differences are, however, perhaps not greater than those which separate different species of other genera (e. g. Desmosoma), and I prefer, therefore, for the present at least, to retain both species within the genus Munnopsis without pledging myself definitely. 1. MUNNOPSIS GRACILIS, n. sp. A single specimen of this species was dredged off the North Island of New Zealand in 1100 fathoms of water. The single specimen is a male and measures 12 millim. in length. 1 See P. Z. S. 1884, p. 330. s Pubbshed by permission of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. |