Table Of ContentTHE RAFFLES BULLETINOF ZOOLOGY200149(1): 83-100
© National UniversityofSingapore
BRACHYURAN TYPE SPECIMENS (CRUSTACEA: DECAPODA)
IN THE MACLEAY COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Peter K. L. Ng
DepartmentofBiologicalSciences, National UniversityofSingapore, KentRidge, Singapore 119260, RepublicofSingapore
Email: [email protected]
ShaDe T. AhyoDg
DepartmentofMarine Invertebrates, AustralianMuseum, 6CollegeSt, Sydney, NSW2010,Australia
Email.·[email protected]
ABSTRACT.- WilliamSharpMacLeay's(1838)paperwasoneofthemostimportantforthe 19thcentury,
withtheauthorestablishing17supragenerictaxa,sevennewgeneraand23newspeciesfromSouthAfrica,
described.Thestatus,validityandtaxonomyofthesetaxaarediscussedandtheextanttypespecimensare
figuredindetailforthefirsttime.Ofthe23speciesdescribed,typesareextantfor 18species.Examination
ofthesespecimensalsoleadstosomechangestothetaxonomyofseveralspeciesofEriphia[EriphiidaeJ,
Trapezia (= Grapsillus) [Trapeziidae], andPlanes (=Nautilograpsus) [Grapsidae].
KEYWORDS. - MacLeaycollections, Brachyura, systematics.
INTRODUCTION crabs are considered to be just one family), four are still
recognised. IntherecentreappraisaloftheMajidae,Griffin
Ofthe many 19th century papers published on Brachyura, and Tranter (1986) recognised Macleay's Inachinae,
MacLeay's (1838) work must rank as one of the most EpialtinaeandMithracinae, with the status ofEurypodinae
significant. Although small, the size ofMacLeay's (1838) pending and they synonymised Huenidae under the
paper belies its substantial contribution to brachyuran Epialtinae. MacLeay also recognised many other families
taxonomy. Ofthe53 extantbrachyuranfamilies recognised which he attributed to H. Milne Edwards, viz. Dorippidae,
by Ng (1998), 10, viz. the Dorippidae, Hymenosomatidae, Thelphusidae,Goneplacidae(sicGonoplacidae),Grapsidae,
Gecarcinidae, Goneplacidae, Grapsidae, Parthenopidae, Gecarcinidae, HymenosomatidaeandParthenopidae. Henri
Eriphiidae, Portunidae, CancridaeandXanthidae werefirst MilneEdwards (1834)hadindeedrecognisedmany groups
validlyestablishedbyMacLeay (1838). Sevennew genera, in the Brachyurabut unfortunately, he consistently applied
Antilibinia, Dehaanius, Leachium, Matutinus, Grapsillus, French vernaculars for them and his names are thus
Gnathochasmus andPotamonautes were also described, as technicallyinvalidundermodemnomeclaturalrules(seealso
well as 23 new species, viz. Dromia rotunda, Acanthonyx Chia & Ng, 2000). Because MacLeay was the first to
scutellatus, Antilibinia smithii, Mithrax quadridentatus, formally recognise H. Milne Edwards' groups as families,
Dehaaniusacanthopus,Leuciscasqualina,Xaivapulchella, he is effectively the author of these suprageneric taxa. In
Charybdis smithii, Achelous crassimanus, Eriphia smithii, addition, three otherfamilies wereestablishedbyMacleay,
E. fordii, Atergatis compressipes, Chlorodius perlatus, viz. Eriphiidae, Portunidae and Cancridae. Of these, the
Halimede pisifer, Grapsillus dentatus, G. maculatus, G. Eriphiidae, long synonymised under Oziidae Dana, 1851,
subinteger, Goniopsisjlavipes, Gnathochasmus barbatus, orMenippidaeOrtmann, 1893,wasrecentlyresurrected(Ng,
Nautilograpsus major, N. smithii, Plagusia spinosa and 1998). One family, the Thelphusidae Macleay, 1838,
Cleistostoma edwardsii. although a senior synonym of Potamidae Ortmann, 1896,
wassuppressedforstability.TheInternationalCommission
Of the five new majoid families established by MacLeay on Zoological Nomenclature, under its plenary power
(1838),viz.Inachidae,Eurypodidae,Epialtidae,Mithracidae (Opinion 712, International Commission of Zoological
and Huenidae (now equivalent to subfamilies ifthe spider Nomenclature, 1964: 336) gave the name Potamidae
Received 21 Ju12000 Accepted 3Nov 2000
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Ng & Ahyong: Brachyuran specimens in the MacLeay Collection
Table 1. Currentnames for MacLeay's generaand species.
MacLeay's name Currentname
Dromia rotunda Pseudodromia rotunda (MacLeay, 1838)
Leucisca squalina Leucisca squalinaMacLeay, 1838
Acanthonyxscutellatus AcanthonyxscutellatusMacLeay, 1838
Antilibinia AntilibiniaMacLeay, 1838
Antilibinia Smithii AntilibiniasmithiiMacLeay, 1838
Mithrax quadridentatus Schizophrys aspera (H. MilneEdwards, 1834)
Dehaanius AcanthonyxLatreille, 1828
Dehaaniusacanthopus Acanthonyxdentatus (H. MilneEdwards, 1834)
Leachium Hymenosoma Desmarest, 1825
Matutinus Matuta Weber, 1795
Xaiva Xaiva MacLeay, 1838
Xaiva pulchella Xaiva biguttatus (Risso, 1816)
Charybdis Smithii Charybdis smithiiMacLeay, 1838
Achelous crassimanus Scylla serrata (Forskal, 1775)
Eriphia Smithii Eriphia smithiiMacLeay, 1838
Eriphia Fordii Eriphia sebana (Shaw & Nodder, 1803)
Atergatis compressipes Atergatisjloridus (Linnaeus, 1767)
Chlorodiusperlatus Pilodius areolatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834)
Halimedepisifer Serenepilumnuspisifer(MacLeay, 1838)
Grapsillus Trapezia Latreille, 1828
Grapsillus dentatus Trapezia cymodoce (Herbst, 1801)
Grapsillus maculatus Trapezia rufopunctata (Herbst, 1799)
Grapsillus subinteger Trapeziaferruginea (Latreille, 1828)
Goniopsisjlavipes Grapsus tenuicrustatus (Herbst, 1783)
Plagusia spinosa Plagusia chabrus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Gnathochasmus Cyclograpsus H. MilneEdwards, 1837
Gnathochasmus barbatus CyclograpsuspunctatusH. MilneEdwards, 1837
Nautilograpsus major Planes majorMacLeay, 1838
Nautilograpsus smithii Planesminutus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Cleistostoma Edwardsii Cleistostoma edwardsiiMacLeay, 1838
Potamonautes Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838
Ortmann, 1896, precedence over Thelphusidae MacLeay, extant. Some ofthe measurements MacLeay provided are
1838, but only for carcinologists who regard the names as problematic. We have found only some specimens with
synonymous. MacLeay (1838) attributed the family name measurementssimilarorclosetohispublishedmeasurements
CarcinidaetoLeach,butthenamewasactuallyvalidatedby (i.e., Grapsillus subinteger), and it seems that some ofhis
MacLeay.TheCarcinidaeMacLeay, 1838,isnowregarded measurementswereveryapproximateatbest!Insomecases,
as a subfamily ofthe Portunidae. his carapace length measurements actually more or less
matchthose ofthecarapacewidth (e.g. Eriphia smithiiand
Of the four genera established by MacLeay (1838), only E.fordii) andinthesecases,itseemsthathemayhavebeen
Antilibiniaisnowgenerallyrecognised.Theothershavebeen mistaken. For some species, however, such as Atergatis
synonymised:DehaaniuswithAcanthonyx,Grapsilluswith compressipes, MacLeayactuallygives carapacelengthand
Trapezia, and Gnathochasmus with Cyclograpsus. Ofthe width measurements which differ considerably from the
speciesMacLeaydescribed,ninearestillvalid,viz.Dromia single extant specimen. Possibly in some cases, specimens
rotunda, Acanthonyx scutellatus, Antilibinia smithii, for which measurements were given are now lost. In four
Leucisca squalina, Charybdis smithii, Eriphia smithii, specieswhichhefiguredincolourandforwhichspecimens
Halimede pisifer, Nautilograpsus major and Cleistostoma arestillextant(viz.Antilibiniasmithii,Grapsillusdentatus,
edwardsii, although some oftheirgeneric placementshave XaivapulchellaandGnathochasmusbarbatus),thecarapace
changed(Table 1).Theotherspecieshavebeenfoundtobe size of these figures agree closely with our present
junior synonyms (Table 1). measurementsofthespecimens.Thestyleandlayoutofthe
two plates indicate that most ofthese species were figured
MacLeay rarely recorded the number ofspecimens that he life-size. Only for Leucisca squalina did he state in the
examined in making species descriptions. Even when he captionsthatthecolouredfigure was magnified.Therefore,
provided single measurements in his description or regardlessofthescenariosstated,measurementsalonecannot
discussion, MacLeay may have used more specimens (e.g. beusedtodeterminethetypestatusofthevariousspecimens
forParapilumnuspisifer).Therefore,exceptwhereMacLeay concerned.
explicitly stated he only had one specimen attributable to
thetypeseries(e.g.forDehaaniusacanthopus),weconsider The style of writing the name MacLeay varies between
hisspecimensassyntypes,evenifonlyonespecimenisstill "Macleay", "MacLeay" and "McLeay". Manning and
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THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2001
Holthuis (1981) for example, use "MacLeay" throughout work, "Illustrations ofthe Annulosa ofSouth Africa".
their text, whereas Barnard (1950) uses "McLeay".
AccordingtostaffattheMacleayMuseum(whichholdsthe MacLeay was also avisionary in some ways, forseeing the
material from three members of the Macleay family), the challenges for taxonomy and nomenclature in the 20th and
Macleay's themselves were not consistent in the way they 21 centuries. Inhis introduction to his work, he wrote "...
SI
spelttheir name, and this seems to be somewhattypical in Itrustno one will detectsymptoms ofmy being tormented
the 19thcentury.AlowercaseLwasfrequentlyusedintheir by thatmorbid thirst for naming new species which makes
correspondenceandvariousotherdocuments.Allmemorials somanymodemworksinentomology,rathermagazinesof
to the Macleay's, however, are spelt with a lower case L undigestedandinsulatedfacts thanharmonioushistoriesof
and for consistency, the museum spells the name as nature. Itis really distressing to see the philosophy ofour
"Macleay" (see also Stanbury & Homing, 1988; Ti1brook, science lost sightofin a pUlling passionfor that miserable
1992; Horning, 1994; Ahyong & Norrington, 1997). immortality which is made to depend on the invention of
However, L. B. Holthuis (personal communication) somebarbaroustechnicalnames ... Thepreservationofthe
comments: "On the title page of the ANNULOSA, the earliestnameisadutysomuchtothenameastothescience
author'snameMACLEAYisgivenentirelyincapitalletters ... Ishallendeavourtobe rigidly observantofthatleading
so that it is not possible to see whether or not the L ofthe principleofnomenclaturewhichistherightofpriority.This
namewasmeanttobeinlowercase.Inthetextofthepaper, right, in my opinion, is so necessary to be sustained, if we
theauthorusuallyciteshisnameinabbreviatedform"M'L". have any regard for the interests of natural history, that I
However, on p. 72 (line 14), the author speaks of "... my shall never for one moment wait to consider whether the
brother, Mr. George MacLeay" and on p. 75, he uses the first namer ofa species be an author ofreputation or not."
same spelling; furthermore, the specific name of (MacLeay,1838:2).Thesesentimentsarerelevantevenmore
"Arthropterus MacLeaii Don[ovan]", the L is also so today.
capitalized. The fact that Macleay consistently capitalizes
theLinhis 1838paperwouldbeagoodreasontoadoptthat
spelling here.". It seems therefore, that William MacLeay TAXONOMY
himself acceptedandused bothstyles.Forconsistencyand
stability,andaftermanydiscussionswithourcarcinological FAMILY DROMIIDAE DE HAAN, 1833
colleagues,wefeelthatthespellingwhichMacLeayusedin
his 1838workshouldbeadopted, atleastforthecrustacean Dromia rotunda MacLeay, 1838
literature. As such, we will use "MacLeay" in this paper. (Fig. lA, B)
Theabbreviationscwandclareusedforcarapacewidthand Dromia rotunda MacLeay, 1838: 71.
lengthmeasurementsrespectively.Thefamilyclassification
follows that used by Ng (1998). The original names and Material.-C2922,lectotype,male,cl22.2mm,cw18.1mm,Cape
combination, as used by MacLeay (1838) is followed and ofGood Hope.
the state ofthe taxonomy ofeach species is discussed. As
the original publicationisdifficultto obtain, andseveral of Remarks. - MacLeay wrote that the species was about
the species MacLeay described were actually figured in sixteenlines(=33.87mm)longbutthenumberofspecimens
wasnotspecified.Thereisonlyoneextantspecimen,andit
colour, wereproduce someoftheseinthepresentpaperfor
the benefit ofthe reader. is here regarded as the lectotype ofthe species.
Barnard (1947) first referredDromia rotunda to the genus
A NOTE ON WILLIAM SHARP MACLEAY Pseudodromia, and this classification was followed by
McLay (1993) in his revision ofthe dromiid genera.
William Sharp MacLeay was born in London on 21 July
1792. He was educated at Cambridge University, but also
spent time abroad furthering his scientific knowledge. In FAMILY MAJIDAE SAMOUELLE, 1819
Paris,MacLeaybenefittedfromFrenchcontemporariessuch
asLatreille,Cuvier,andLamarck.InLondon,MacLeaywas Acanthonyxscutellatus MacLeay, 1838
activeintheLinneanSocietyandtheZoologicalClub(which (Fig. 1C-E)
some authors have regarded as the forerunner to the
AcanthonyxscutellatusMacLeay, 1838: 57.
Zoological Society), where he was among those who
encouraged a young Charles Darwin to publish an account
Material.- C2912,lectotypemale,cl16.7mm,cw12.6mm,glued
ofthe zoologyofthe expeditionsofthe"Beagle" (Holland, toglass,CapeofGoodHope;C2913,paralectotypefemale,cl22.8
1988). MacLeay servedthe BritishGovernmentaroundthe mm, cw 16.2 mm, glued to glass, Cape ofGood Hope.
world in severalcapacities, and ineach place made natural
historycollections,manyofwhichremaininthecollections Remarks.- MacLeaydidnotindicatehowmanyspecimens
oftheMacLeayMuseumtoday.From1825,MacLeayserved heexamined,butmentionedaspecimen"morethananinch
inCubaandin 1836returnedtoLondonPriortoleavingfor long" (i.e., more than 25.4 mm long). The species was
AustraliainNovember1838,MacLeaypublishedtheclassic described in detail by Barnard (1950), Serene (1971) and
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Ng & Ahyong: Brachyuran specimens in the MacLeay Collection
Fig. 1. A, B, Dromia rotunda, C2922, lectotype, male, cl 22.2 mm, cw 18.1 mm; A, dorsal view; B, frontal view. C-E, Acanthonyx
scutellatus;C,afterMacLeay (1838: pI.3);D,C2912, lectotype, male,cl 16.7mm,cw 12.6mill;E,C2913, paralectotype,female, cl22.8
mm, cw 16.2 mm. F, Milhrax quadridentatus, C2914, lectotype, female, cl 30.8 mm, cw 26.5 mm.
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THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2001
Tirmizi& Kazmi (1986) (see alsokey inGriffin& Tranter, andperhapsSouthAfricaas well.OnthebasisofGriffin&
1986: 66).Thepresentmalespecimenisheredesignatedas Tranter's(1986)key anddescriptions,M. quadridentatusis
the lectotype ofAcanthonyx scutellatus MacLeay, 1838. unlikelytobeS.dahlak,especiallywithregardstothesmooth
(against granulated) gastric region of the latter species..
Tirmizi and Kazmi (1995) distinguished S. pakistanensis
Antilibinia MacLeay, 1838 from S. aspera primarily because ofits loweranterolateral
spines,granulatedsuborbitalmarginandtheinterantennular
Remarks. - MacLeay established Antilibinia for only one spinebeingveryprominentandspear-shaped; as wellas its
species,AntilibiniasmithiiMacLeay, 1838,andistherefore differentlarvae(seeSiddiquietal.,2000).Thetypespecimen
the type species ofthe genus by monotypy. The gender of of M. quadridentatus has the relatively lower carapace
the genus is feminine. spines, but in the form of the suborbital margin and low
interantennular spine, itis closerto S. aspera. Because the
strengthofspinesmayvarywithageandsize,itseemsbetter
Antilibiniasmithii MacLeay, 1838 toregardM. quadridentatusMacLeay, 1838,asasubjective
(Fig. 2A, B) junior synonym ofS. aspera (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) at
present.
AntilibiniaSmithii MacLeay, 1838: 57, pI. 2.
Material. - C2972, lectotype, male, cl 57.0 mm, cw 52.7 mm,
Dehaanius MacLeay, 1838
Cape ofGood Hope.
Remarks.- MacLeayestablishedthegenusDehaaniuswith
Remarks. - MacLeay neither mentioned the number of
onlyDehaaniusacanthopusMacLeay, 1838,whichbecomes
specimens northeirsizes. Thecolourfigure ofthis species,
its type species by monotypy (gender of the genus
presumably life-sized, has a cl of 58 mm and a cw of 50
masculine). Most authors, however, regard Dehaanius
mm.TheonlyextantspecimenofA.smithiiishereregarded
MacLeay,1838,asajuniorsynonymofAcanthonyxLatreille,
as the lectotype.
1828b. In fact, the only character that apparently
distinguishesthetwogeneraiswhethertherearesixorfewer
Antilibinia smithii was redescribed and figured by Barnard
maleabdominalsomites(i.e.ifthereisanyfusion)(excluding
(1950: 38,Fig.7c,d).GriffinandTranter(1986:70)provide
the telson). Manning & Holthuis (1981) discussed the
a key to all the species and note that the western Pacific
problemsofwhetherthegenusAcanthonyxLatreille, 1828,
species ofAntilibinia should be recompared with the type
is synonymous with Dehaanius MacLeay, 1838 (see also
species.
Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1986). Acanthonyx is characterised by
having six male abdominal somites (i.e. with the sutures
discernible)(exclusiveoftelson)whileDehaaniushas only
Mithrax quadridentatus MacLeay, 1838
fiveorfewerabdominalsegments(i.e.twoorthreesegments
(Fig. IF)
are fused and the suture separating them not discernible).
Mithrax quadridentatusMacLeay, 1838: 57. Both Stephensen (1946) and Barnard (1950) doubted the
value of this character. Recently, Wu et al. (1999) also
Material. - C2914, lectotype, female, cl 30.8 mm, cw 26.5 mm, queriedthevalueofthis characteron thebasisthatitis the
glued to glass, Cape ofGood Hope.
fusion or articulation of the segments that is informative
rather than the presence or absence of a suture separating
Remarks.- MacLeaydidnotrecordthenumberofspecimens
thesomites. Insomecrabs,eventhoughthesuturesare still
examined, but the carapace size given for the species was
clearlyvisible,thesomitescannotarticulate(seeNg& Chia,
oneandahalfinches (= 38.1 mm) long. Theonlyavailable
1994). For example, inA. formosa Wu, Yu & Ng, 1999,
specimen, afemale, is hereregarded as the lectotypeofthe
from Taiwan, male abdominal somites three to five are
species.
immovable,butthesuturesdemarcatingthemarestillvisible.
Griffin & Tranter (1986: 243) reviewed the genus
Schizophrys, without commenting on Mitkrax
Dehaanius acanthopus MacLeay, 1838
quadridentatus MacLeay, 1838. Barnard (1950: 60) had,
however, synonymised Mithrax quadridentatus with S.
Dehaanius acanthopus MacLeay, 1838: 58, pI. 3.
aspera (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) (see also Griffin &
Stanbury, 1970: 123).Thematter,however,isnotsosimple. Material. - MacLeay noted that he had only one specimen from
Schizophrysasperabelongstoagroupofspecieswhichhave Dr. Smith but no size was mentioned. The colour figure of the
species,presumablylife-sized,hasaclof22mm(rostrumincluded)
anaccessoryspineatthebaseofeachrostralhorn.Theother
andacwof20mm.ThetypeofDehaaniusacanthopusMacLeay,
speciesin this groupareS. dahlakGriffin& Tranter, 1986,
1838, is no longerextant.
S. rufescensGriffinandTranter, 1986,andS. pakistanensis
Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1995. Whilst S. aspera has a wide Remarks.- DehaaniusacanthopusMacLeay, 1838,is now
Indo-WestPacificdistribution,S.dahlakandS.pakistanensis regarded as ajunior synonym ofAcanthonyx dentatus (H.
are presently known only from the northern Indian Ocean, MilneEdwards, 1834)(Barnard, 1950:44).Thisspecieshas
87
Ng & Ahyong: Brachyuran specimens in the MacLeay Collection
beendescribedandfiguredbyBamard(1950: 44,Fig. lOa, regarded as ajuniorsynonym ofLeucisca MacLeay, 1838.
b),andisapparentlyrestrictedtothewesternIndianOcean. The type species of Carcinaspis Stimpson, 1858, C.
marginatusStimpson, 1858,isajuniorsynonymofLeucisca
squalina MacLeay, 1838 (see Stebbing, 1910).
FAMILY HYMENOSOMATIDAE MACLEAY, 1838 Peyrot-Clausade & Serene (1976) synonymised Nursia
rubiferaMuller, 1886, withL. squalina,butas there appear
Leachium MacLeay, 1838 to be somedifferences, until specimens ofboth species are
directly compared, we believe itprudentto regard them as
Remarks. - MacLeay (1938: 68) validated the name distinct taxa.
Leachium (incorrectly attributing it to H. Mi1ne Edwards)
when he used it for a group which he includes one named The number of specimens of L. squalina available to
species, Hymenosoma orbiculare, noting that "Mi1ne MacLeay is not known, but the measurement for one was
EdwardshasshownthattheHymenosomaLeachiiofGuerin given as about three lines (= 6.35 mm) long. The coloured
belongs to another sub-genus". As such, Hymenosoma figure ofthespecieswasstatedasbeingdrawnenlargedbut
orbiculare Desmarest, 1825, becomes the type species of the degree ofmagnification was not indicated.
LeachiumMacLeay, 1838,bymonotypy(genderofthegenus
neuter).Unfortunately,HymenosomaorbiculareDesmarest,
1825, is also the type species ofHymenosoma Desmarest, FAMILY PORTUNIDAE RAFINESQUE, 1815
1825; and as such Hymenosoma and Leachium become
objective synonyms, with the formernamehaving priority. Xaiva MacLeay, 1838
Hymenosoma leachii Guerin-Meneville, 1838, is now
regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Halicarcinus Remarks.- The genus Xaiva was established by MacLeay
planatus (Fabricius, 1775). (1838: 62) withXaivapulchellaMacLeay, 1838,asthetype
species.XaivaistheseniorsynonymofPortumnoidesBohn,
1901, whose type species, P. garstangi Bohn, 1901, is
FAMILY MATUTIDAE DE HAAN, 1835 regardedas ajuniorsynonymofPortunus biguttatusRisso,
1816.
Matutinus MacLeay, 1838
Remarks. - MacLeay (1838: 70) established Matutinus Xaiva pulchella MacLeay, 1838
withoutcomment, andlistedonlyonenamedspeciesinthe (Fig.2C-E)
genus,viz."(Matutinus)Matuta Victor,Fab.".Cancervictor
Fabricius, 1781,thusbecomesthetypespeciesofMatutinus Xaiva pulchellaMacLeay, 1838: 62, pI. 3.
MacLeay, 1838, by monotypy. The gender ofthe genus is
Material. - C2906-2907, !ectotype, male, cl 15.1 mm, cw 17.6
masculine. However, CancervictorFabricius, 1781,isalso
mm;paralectotype,male,cl 17.0mm,cw18.8mm,gluedtoglass,
the type species of Matuta Weber, 1795, and as such,
CapeofGood Hope.
Matutinus MacLeay, 1838, is an objectivejuniorsynonym
of Matuta. Remarks.- Thenumberofspecimenswasnotindicatedbut
thesizewasgivenas"lessthananinch"(25.4mm)inlength
(MacLeay, 1838). Thespecimenfiguredhadaclof16mm
FAMILY LEUCOSIIDAE SAMOUELLE, 1819 andcwof18mm.Ofthetwoextantmalesyntypespecimens,
we select the more intact specimen (cl 15.1 mm, cw 17.6
Leucisca MacLeay, 1838 mm) as the lectotype.
Remarks.- ThisgenuswasestablishedbyMacLeayforone According to Monod (1956), Xaiva pulchella MacLeay,
species, Leucisca squalina MacLeay, 1838, and is its type 1838, is a junior synonym of X. biguttatus (Risso, 1816).
species by monotypy. Thegenderofthe genus isfeminine. ManningandHolthuis(1981:76),however,commentedthat
"Materialofthisspeciesfromthenorthernandsouthernparts
ofitsreportedrange (EnglandtoCapeVerdeIslands versus
Leucisca squalina MacLeay, 1838 South-West Africa and South Africa) should be studied to
(Fig.6G) determine whetherornottwo speciesmightberecognized.
Ifthe southern form proves to be distinct, the name Xaiva
Leucisca squalina MacLeay, 1838: 70, pI. 3. pulchella MacLeay, 1838, is available".
Material. - No longerextant.
Charybdis smithii MacLeay, 1838
Remarks.- The taxonomic position ofthe genus, like that
(Fig.3A)
ofthespecies,ispoorlyknown,butBarnard(1950: 371,Fig.
71a-c) redescribed and figured its carapace, frontal region
Charybdis Smithii MacLeay, 1838: 61.
andmalefirstpleopod. CarcinaspisStimpson, 1858,isnow
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THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2001
Material.- C2908, leetotype, female, cw 55.5 mm, cl 41.8 mm, Africa as the neotype male ofAchelous crassimanus MacLeay,
glued to glass, Cape ofGood Hope. 1838.
Remarks. - MacLeay noted that this crab was about two Remarks. - MacLeay commented that this was a large
inches (= 50.8 mm) long, but did not explicitly state that species measuring "five inches long by seven wide" (127.0
only one specimen was avallable to him. Ng and Takeda mm by 177.8 mm).
(1999) reported on this specimen and recorded it as the
holotype but itshould be regarded as the lectotype instead.
FAMILY ERIPHlIDAE MACLEAY, 1838
The taxonomyofthisspecieswas reviewed and clarified by
Ng &Takeda (1999). Charybdis (Goniohellenus) edwardsi Eriphia smithii MacLeay, 1838
Leene & Buitendijk, 1949, is a junior synonym; and its (Fig. 3C)
relationship with the closely allied Charybdis omanensis
Leene, 1938, has beenclarified byTlirkay(1986) and Ng& Eriphia Smith!! MacLeay, 1838: 60.
Takeda (1999). Both Barnard (1950) and Stephenson and
Material.-C2926,lectotype, male,c143.0mm,cw56.4mm,Cape
Rees(1967)alluded tothetypeofC. smithiibutitwasfigured
ofGood Hope, coli. Dr Smith.
for the first time by Ng & Takeda (1999) The biology of
thisIndianOceanspeciesiswell known (seeVanCouwelaar
Remarks. - MacLeay's brief comments suggest he had at
et aI., 1997; Ng & Takeda, J999). least one male, and he also mentions a specimen (possibly
the samemale) two inches (30.8 mm) long. Theonlyextant
male specimen is here designated the lectotype.
Achelous crassimanus MacLeay, 1838
Eriphiasmithiiisawell knownspecies,although itsaffinities
Achelous crassimanus MacLeay, 1838: 61.
with the closely allied E. sebana (Shaw & Nodder, 1803)
(whether they are distinct, only subspecies or synonyms)
Material.- The numberofspecimens was not listed butonemale
washighlightedinthedescription. Barnard(1950: 161)commented have been debated. Both were traditionally separated based
that"Mr.Ward informsmethatMcLeay'stypeisnotintheMcLeay solelyon whethertheoutersurfaceofthechelaisgranulated
collection intheAustralian Museum".Thetype(s)iscertainlylost (E. smithii) or smooth (E. sebona). However, whereas the
(Griffin and Stanbury, 1970). Achelous crassimanus MacLeay,
conditionoftheoutersurfaceofthechelaisusuallyareliable
1838, is, however, now acknowledged to be synonymous with
distinguishing feature, it is not always reliable (Ng, 1998).
Scy//a serrata(Forskal, 1775)(KeenanetaI., 1998: 228). Keenan
etal.(1998:228)designatedaspecimen(cw 141.7mm,Queensland A recent revision ofthe genus (S. K. Koh and P. K. L. Ng,
Museum catalogue number W21553) from Richard's Bay, South unpublished data) shows that the two species can easily be
E
Fig. 2. A, B, An/i/ibinia smithii; A. after MacLeay (1838: pI. 2); B, C2972, lectotype, male, cl 57.0 mm, cw 52.7 mm. C, D, E, Xaiva
pulche//a; C, after MacLeay (1838: pI. 3); D, C2906, lectotype, male, c115.1 mm, cw 17.6 mm; E, C2907, paralectotype, male, cl 17.0
mm, CIV 18.8 mm.
89
Ng & Ahyong: Brachyuran specimens in the MacLeay Collection
separated by the structures oftheir frontal margin, chelae, Chlorodiusperlatus MacLeay, 1838
setalpatternontheambulatorymeriandmalefirstgonopods. (Fig.3E)
In addition, the 'true' E. smithii is apparently restricted to
the western IndianOcean. All other records of"E. smithii" Chlorodiusperlatus MacLeay, 1838: 59.
fromtheremainderoftheIndianOcean,SoutheastAsiaand
Material. - C2919, leetotype, female, cl 7.3 mm, cw 11.2 mm;
East Asia are referable to a new species. The two species
C2918,paralectotypemale,clll.7mm,cw15.0mm,CapeofGood
are easily separatedby several distinctcarapace, chelaand
Hope.
malegonopodcharacters,inadditiontothesmallermaximum
size ofE. smithii s. str. Remarks.- Thenumberofspecimenswasnotrecorded,but
the size was given as eight lines (= 16.93 mm). The more
completefemale specimenis here designatedthe lectotype.
Eriphiafordii MacLeay, 1838
(Fig.3B) Griffin& Stanbury(1970: 123)commentthatC.perlatusis
ajuniorsynonymofPilodiusareolatus(H. MilneEdwards,
Eriphia Fordii MacLeay, 1838: 60.
1834)following Barnard (1950). However, the two species
had already been synonymized (A. Milne Edwards, 1873).
Material. - C2927, lectotype, female, cl 39.2 mm, cw 52.3 mm,
Cape ofGood Hope,coil. Dr Smith. Thepresentspecimensagreewellwithexistingdescriptions
ofP. areolatus(seeSerene, 1984;Clark& Galil, 1993)and
Remarks.- FromMacLeay's (1838: 61)comments,hehad we have no reason to question the synonymy.
at least one female specimen, and one (perhaps the same
female) twoinches(50.8 mm) long.Theonlyextantfemale
specimen is here regarded as the lectotype. FAMILY PILUMNlDAE SAMOUELLE, 1819
Ever since Miers (1880), Eriphiafordii has been regarded HalimedepisiferMacLeay, 1838
asajuniorsynonymofE. smithiiMacLeay, 1838,butarecent (Fig. 3F-H)
revisionofthegenus(S.K. KohandP.K.L.Ng,unpublished
data) shows that it is instead synonymous with E. sebana HalimedepisiferMacLeay, 1838: 60.
(Shaw & Nodder, 1803). Intheform ofthefront, chelaand
Material. - C2909-2911, lectotype, male, cl 11.5 mm, cw 15.2
setal pattern on the ambulatory meri, E. fordii closely
mm; paralectotypes, 2females, cl 8.3 mm, cw 12.2 mm; cl 8.8
resembles E. sebana. Eriphia sebana is widely distributed mm, cw 12.3 mm, Cape ofGood Hope.
in the Indo-West Pacific.
Remarks.- MacLeay's notes imply that he examined only
asingle specimen"sevenlines (14.82 mm) long", butthree
FAMILY XANTHlDAE MACLEAY, 1838 specimens are infact presentin the collection, all ofwhich
must be considered syntypes. The male specimen is here
Atergatis compressipes MacLeay, 1838 designated the 1ectotype.
(Fig. 3D)
Stebbing(1910)notedthatHalimedepisiferMacLeay, 1838,
Atergatis compressipes MacLeay, 1838: 59. is a senior synonym of Pilumnus verrucosipes Stimpson,
1858, both of which were described from South Africa.
Material.- C2973,lectotype,male, 27.4mm, cw39.9mm, Cape
Barnard (1950) classified placed Halimede pisifer in
ofGood Hope.
ParapilumnusKossmann, 1877,anditwasalsolistedunder
thiscombinationinTakeda& Miyake's(1969: 139)review.
Remarks.- MacLeayrecordedaspecimentwoinches(50.8
Takeda(1974: 216)subsequentlycommentedthatP.pisifer
mm) long and about four inches wide (= 101.6 mm) wide.
was closer to Leopoldius Serene, 1971 (type species
He also described amale, but we are unsure ifthis was the
Parapilumnus leopoldi Gordon, 1934), a suggestion with
specimen measured. The only extant specimen is here
which Manning & Holthuis (1981) concurred. Manning &
designated the lectotype.
Holthuis (1981: 136) commented that the generic name
Leopoldiusis preoccupiedand wouldbe replacedby Raoul
Thisspeciesisnowgenerallyrecognisedasajuniorsynonym
Serenehimself.This,however,couldnotbedonebySerene
ofthewiderangingAtergatisfloridus (Linnaeus, 1767).We
inviewofhisuntimelydeath.Tiirkay& Schuhmacher(1985)
have examined specimens from the eastern Indian Ocean
replacedthenameLeopoldiuswithSerenepilumnus.Whereas
which have a different colourpattern to those in Southeast
Halimedepisiferis certainlynotreferable toHalimede (see
Asia and Pacific, which suggests thatAtergatisfloridus as
Guinot, 1969,1978),itsplacementinSerenepilumnusshould
currentlyrecognised, maybe morethanone species. Ifthis
also be reviewed (P. K. L. Ng, unpublished data).
is indeed the case, then A. compressipes may become an
available name. Another junior synonym ofA. floridus to
Serenepilumnus pisifer is essentially a West and South
consider in this case is Cancer ocyroe Herbst, 1801, also
African species.
from the Indian Ocean.
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THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY2001
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G
Fig. 3.A, Charybdissmithii,C2908,lectotype, female, cw55.5 mm,cl41.8 mm. B,Eriphiajordii, C2927,lectotype, female, cl39.2mm,
cw 52.3 mm. C, Eriphia smithii, C2926, lectotype, male, cl 43.0 mm, cw 56.4 mm. D,Atergatis compressipes, C2973, lectotype, male,
27.4 mm, cw 39.9 mm. E, Chlorodius perlalus, C2919, lectotype, female, cl 7.3 mm, cw 11.2 mm. F-H, Halimede pisifer; F, C2909,
lectotype, male, cl 11.5 mm, cw 15.2 mm; G, C291O, paralectotype, female, cl 8.8 mm, cw 12.3 mm; H, C2911, paralectotype, female,
8.3 mm, cw 12.2 mm.
91
Ng & Ahyong: Brachyuran specimens in the MacLeay Collection
FAMILY TRAPEZIIDAE MIERS, 1886 Remarks.- MacLeay noted thatthisspecieswas"fourlines
(8.47 mm) long, by more than five (= 10.58 mm) broad".
Grapsillus MacLeay, 1838 The only extant specimen, which is close to his
measurements, is regarded as the lectotype ofthe species.
Remarks. -MacLeay(1838)establishedthegenusGrapsillus
for three new species from South Africa, viz. Grapsillus There has been some confusion in the literature about the
dentatus, Grapsillus maculatus and Grapsillus subinteger, fateandidentityofMacLeay'sGrapsillusmaculatus. Griffin
withoutdesignatingatypespecies. Rathbun (1930) was the & Stanbury (1970: 124) noted thatthis species was ajunior
first to designate Grapsillus maculatus MacLeay, 1838, as synonym of T. rujopunctata (Herbst, 1799) following
the type species of Grapsillus MacLeay, 1838. The genus Barnard (1950), and that the holotype was intactand in fair
Grapsillus MacLeay, 1838, is now generally regarded as a condition.
junior synonym of Trapezia Latreille, 1828a (type species
T. dentijrons Latreille, 1828, a junior synonym of T. In theirrevision ofT. tigrina, however, Galil & Lewinsohn
cymodoce (Herbst, 1801». (1984: 171) commented that "Dana (1852) [sic for 1855]
was the first to include T. tigrina into synonymy with T.
maculata (Macleay), not his fault really, as Macleay's
Grapsillus dentatus MacLeay, 1838 description (1838) consisted of just three lines....
(Fig. 4A, B) Unfortunately, Macleay's type is lost now. Mrs Helen
Tranter of the Australian Museum, Sydney wrote us: 'The
Grapsillus dentatus MacLeay, 1838: 67, pI. 3. position is that the Macleay Museum no longer appears to
have the type ofthis species and there is no record ofthere
Material. - C2923, Icctotype, female, cl 10.5 mm, cw 13.0 mm,
ever being any paratypes ... The locality of the type must
Cape ofGood Hope.
now be regarded as unknown. However, it seems that T.
maculata(MacLeay)isclosetoT. rujopunctata. Ward(1939)
Remarks. - Grapsillus dentatus was measured at "half an
examined Macleay's type and then went on to establish a
inch (= 12.7 mm) long, and about the same width", butthe
newspecies, T. danaeforT. maculataasdescribedbyDana,
numberofspecimenswas notspecified.In thecolourfigure
1852 [sic for 1855] ... Barnard (1950: 278) writes 'fromthe
provided, presumably life-sized, the cl was 11 mm and the
photograph ofMcLeay's specimen sentmeby Mr. Ward, it
cw 13mm.Theonlyspecimenextantishereregardedasthe
appearsthatKrauss' surmisethatthiswas rujopunctata was
lectotype.
correct. The photograph shows traces oflarge spots on the
cheliped, which has a serrulate lower border'. Alas, this
Grapsillusdentatusis nowregarded asajuniorsynonymof
photographwaslost.D.GriffinandP.Stanbury[necStabury]
T. cymodoce (Herbst, 1801) (see Castro, 1999). Grapsillus
(1970)examinedthetypeandidentifieditasT. rujopunctata.
dentatus has been regarded as a distinct species only by
J. S. Garth (1974), who checked this type too, agrees with
Klunzinger(1913) butthename has notbeen ingeneraluse
this identification."
for a long time. The present type agrees with the current
definitionofthisspeciesbyCastro(1997,1999).Thepresent
In theirsubsequent paperrevising T. rujopunctata, Galil &
type specimen ofG. dentatus has the sharp external orbital
Lewinsohn (1985: 213) further commented that "From
and epibranchial teeth, sinuous anterolateral margin and
Macleay's (1838) laconic description it was impossible to
weakly keeled proximal dorsal margin of the cheliped
decide which species was Grapsillus maculatus.
propodus characteristic of T. cymodoce (see Serene, 1984:
UnfortunatelyMacleay'stypeislostnow.However,Barnard
270,271, PI. 38B; Castro, 1997: 73, Figs. 2A, 2B, pIs. 2A,
(1950), whoexamined aphotographofthe typeidentifiedit
3A). The frontal margin ofthe type ofG. dentatus is badly
as T. rujopunctata. Alas, thatphotograph too islost. Griffin
damaged, butthe cleftbetween the innersupraorbital tooth
&Stanbury (1970)and Garth (1974)agreed withBarnard's
and theremnantsofthesubmedianfrontal toothisdistinctly
identification."
deep, with the submedian tooth distinctly anterior to the
supraorbitalteethasdescribedbySerene.Tracesofthedense
Despite the above comments, the type specimen of G.
tomentum on the outer surface ofthe chela (diagnostic for
maculatusiscertainly notlost,andisactuallyin arelatively
T. cymodoce and T. lutea Castro, 1997) are visible on the
goodcondition. Howitwas"overlooked"or"misplaced"in
type. Mostofthe tomentum has probably been lost through
the years between 1970 and 1984 cannot be explained.
prolonged dessication. The figure of G. dentatus is rather
schematic, butthe colouris certainly closerto T. cymodoce
Serene(1984:270,271,277,PI.39B)recognised T. maculata
than T. lutea.
as adistinctspecies,separatingitfrom thecloselyrelated T.
rujopunctata primarily by its carapace having many fewer
(40-50 vs. 100-200) but larger spots. Its carapace and
Grapsillus maculatus MacLeay, 1838
ambulatory legs similarly also had fewer and larger spots.
(Fig.4E)
Galil & Lewinsohn (1985) and all subsequent workers,
however, regarded the two names as synonymous with
Grapsillus maculatus MacLeay, 1838: 67.
minimal comment, and have not commented on Serene's
Material.- C2924,lectotype,male,cl8.5mm,cw10.5mm,Cape character. Interestingly, the type specimen of T. maculata
ofGood Hope.
92
