Macrophthalmus latipes Borradaile 1903

"Dredged from 36 /. South Nilandu Atoll." (Borradaile, 1903: pg. 433)

"In the flattened shape of its last pair of legs, this species recalls the Portunid genus Fodophthalmus, already curiously like Macrophthalmus in the length of its eyestalks and its broad body."

" A Macrophthalmus whose length is to its breadth as 5:8; with the front very strongly bent downwards ; the upper edge of the orbit slightly sinuous, slanting so much backwards that the sharp thorn at its outer angle lies far behind the level of the front ; no stridulating organ ; the anterolateral edge with one blunt tooth behind the orbital angle and faint traces of two mounds behind this tooth ; eyes outreaching the orbital angle by more than a third of their length ; chelipeds small, simple in shape, with one blunt tooth on the moveable finger and no thorn on the inside of the palm ; and walking legs with a spine near the end of the upper edge of the meropodites and long slender end- joints, except in the case of the hindermost pair, where the last three joints are broad and flattened." (Borradaile, 1903: pg. 433)

"Front broad; deflexed; slightly constricted between bases of ocular peduncles; with smooth margins; anterior margin evenly and smoothly convex; median furrow extremely faint. Upper orbital border backwardly sloping, with straight central region, without granules on margin. Lower orbital border without granules or tubercles on margin, except on outer quarter where a few, very small granules. Carapace surface smooth and shiny; without granules; with hair only on extreme lateral borders, where hair short, fine and sparse; without any clumps or rows of granules or hairs on branchial regions; furrows extremely indistinct, excepting poorly marked cardiac, intestinal and anterior branchial; groove across carapace immediately behind the front clearly demarcating that region from remainder of carapace. Greatest carapace breadth across external orbital angles, behind which lateral margins only slightly convergent. Lateral margins with sparse hair and few very small granules, especially at posterolateral angle. Posterior margin without granules. Two anterolateral teeth (fig. lA). External orbital angle large, broad, strongly pointed, directed straight outwards; margins with few small granules and scattered hairs; separated from second lateral tooth by wide U-shaped incision. Second lateral tooth large, broad, blunt, wedge-shaped, directed outwards; margins with small granules and scattered hairs, long outer margin grades smoothly into lateral carapace margins, although tooth-like swelling may be present along posterior half of outer margin.

Ocular peduncles long and narrow, extending beyond tip of external orbital angle for just less than half their total length. Male cheliped. (a) Merus. Upper and inner margins with rows of small granules and long fine hairs, those on upper margin mainly proximally, those on inner margin mainly distally; outer margin with row of small granules cen trally and distally. All surfaces without granules, inner and outer surfaces without hair, lower surface with patch of hair distally. (b) Carpus. Without granules, tubercles or spines, except for a row of very small granules along anterior margin of outer surface. Upper margin with fringe of long, fine, sparse hairs; lower margin with fine scattered hairs, mainly anteriorly. (c) Palm. Outer surface with small scattered granules, with longitudinal ridge (fig. IB) capped by row of granules very close to and subparallel with lower margin; inner surface without granules, without tubercle near joint with palm, with row of hairs close to and subparallel with upper margin, with scattered fine hairs over lower half. Upper margin without granules, with scattered fine hairs; lower margin smooth. (d) Index. Undeflexed. Outer surface with continuation of longitudinal ridge of palm forming lower margin, without hairs except near cutting margin, without granules except on longitudinal ridge; inner surface without granules, with scat tered hairs near cutting margin. Cutting margin with long low tooth, formed by row of separate granules, occupying all but extreme tip; lower margin curved and formed by longitudinal ridge. (e) Dactylus. Curved. Outer surface with few scattered granules and with few hairs near tip of cutting margin; inner surface with fine hairs near upper margin. Upper margin with long fine hairs; cutting margin with large, quadrangular, crenulated tooth in proximal half, with few small granules distally. Extreme tip down-curved. Pereiopod segments with long, fine, but sparse hair along margins; without granules; meri with sub terminal spine; carpus, propodus and dactylus of fourth pereiopod markedly laterally flattened and broadened, especially the two terminal segments (fig. 1C), and with fringe of long, sparse, fine hair along margins. External maxilliped. Internal margin of ischium slightly convex; external margin markedly convex distally, with <-shaped excavation proximally (fig. ID). Internal margin of merus more or less straight; external margin smoothly convex without any differentiated convexities; anterior margin very shallowly concave. Merus/ischium suture strongly sloping from proximal position internally to distal externally. Without surface sculpturing. Male abdomen. Fourth, fifth and sixth segments with bulge in lateral margins in morphologically anterior half. First male pleopod with well developed terminal process, without hair on internal margin except at tip; slightly curved. Epistome with broad, bluntly pointed protuberance on central region." (Barnes, 1973)

Its "length is to its breadth as 5:8"

"Length of only specimen (a male) : 5 ram. Breadth : 8 mm." (Borradaile, 1903: pg. 433)

"Dimensions:
Carapace breadth: 8.3 mm; carapace length: 4.4 mm;
breadth of front: 1.8 mm; length of propodus of male cheliped: 3.4 mm." (Barnes, 1973)