THE DECAPOD CRUSTACEAIN^S OF WEST AFRICA. By Mary J. Eathbun, Second Assistant Curator, Division of Marine Invertebrates, This paper was prepared at the request of Prof. O. F. Cook, for the help of collectors aucl students ou the west coast of Africa, aud it was his iutentiou to publish it as an appendix to his report of work done for the New York State Colonization Society. The preparation of that report haviug been unavoidably delayed, it was thought best to publish this portion while it is complete. The region covered extends on the continent from Senegal to Portuguese West Africa, inclusive, or from the Eiver Senegal at about 16° north latitude to the Eiver Kunene at 17° south latitude. It includes the fresh waters tributary to this coast aud the islands in the Gulf of Ouiiiea, namely, Princes Island, St. Thomas, and Eolas. A comparison of the ranges of the species found in this area empha-sizes the relation of the fauna to those of America and Europe rather than to the fauna of South and East Africa. Of the 152 species enumer-ated, 40 occur also in some of the islands west and northwest of Africa — the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries, Cape Yerde Islands, Ascension Island, or St. Helena — 24 species have been recorded from the Atlantic coast of America, 25 from Europe or the Mediterranean, 8 are South African, 5 East African, 6 extend to the west coast of America, while 15 occur in the oriental region. The widespread species. Planes minutus, Grapsus gra/psiis, and Pachygrapsiis transversus are excluded from the foregoing count. More than half the species of the list are known to the writer only from descriptions. Professor Cook and his colleagues have extended the range of several species, and have added one, CUbanarius cooM, to those hitherto known The classification used in this paper is chiefly, but not wholly, that of Claus in the Grundziige der Zoologie. The key to families is made up partly from definitions in that work, and largely from those in Stebbiug's History of Crustacea. Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXII— No. 1199. ' 271
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