Biological results of the Snellius expedition : XXVIII. The Galatheid Crustacea of the Snellius expedition

During a visit of three weeks to the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden in 1974, I examined, through the courtesy of Prof. L. B. Holthuis, unidentified galatheid specimens collected by the Snellius Expedition. According to Boschma (1936) collections of biological material were made mostly on shore in order to avoid interference with the principal aim of the expedition which was hydrological and geological investigation in the eastern part of the East Indian Archipelago. Therefore the present material consists mainly of common reef-dwellers; however, a few were collected by dredging. There were also several additional unidentified galatheids in the Museum which were collected from New Guinea, the Maldives and the Seychelles. On examination they proved to be reef-inhabitants and have been included in this report. A total of 17 species are dealt with here, including a new species of Munidopsis. For the biological data of the Snellius Expedition the reader is referred to Boschma (1936) which also provides extensive notes on topography. I am grateful to Dr. L. B. Holthuis for offering me the opportunity and facilities to study these interesting specimens, and to Dr. H. Boschma for encouragement. I thank Miss Janet Haig of the University of Southern California who at my request compared the Ryukyu specimen of Galathea subsquamata with the Australian G. aculeata and confirmed that they are conspecific. Dr. Fenner A. Chace, Jr. of the Smithsonian Institution kindly reviewed the manuscript. ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIES Galathea aegyptiaca Paulson, 1875 Galathea aegyptiaca Paulson, 1875: 94, pl. 12 figs. 1, 1a, 1b; Nobili, 1906: 126, fig. 8,