Ko, or koon-go-la, is found in the alluvial
flats of the river Murray, in South Australia, which are subject
to a periodical flooding by the river; it burrows deep below the
surface of the ground as the floods recede and are dried up, and
remains dormant, until the next flooding recals it to the surface;
at first it is in a thin and weakly state, but soon recovers and gets
plump and fat, at which time it is most excellent eating. Thousands
are procured from a small space of ground with ease, and hundreds
of natives are supported in abundance and luxury by them for many
weeks together. It sometimes happens that the flood does not recur
every year, and in this case the eu-kod-ko lie dormant until the next,
and a year and a half would thus be passed below the surface. I have
often seen them dug out of my garden, or in my wheat field, by the men
engaged in digging ditches for irrigation. The floods usually overflow
the river flats in August or September, and recede again in February or
March. For further particulars respecting the modes of catching the
eu-kod-kos, vide vol. ii. pages 252 and 267."
"I have spoken of this cray-fish as the SMALLER variety as respects the
Murray. It is LARGER than the one found in the ponds of the river Torrens
at Adelaide; but in the river Murray one is procured of a size ranging to
4 1/2 lbs., and which is QUITE EQUAL in flavour to the FINEST lobster."
These latter have not yet been received in any of our collections, so
that we are unable to state how it differs from those now described: they
must be the giants of the genus.
1. The Van Diemen's Land Cray-fish. ASTACUS FRANKLINII, t. 3. f.
1. - Carapace convex on the sides, rather rugose on the sides behind, the
front only slightly produced and edged with a toothed raised margin not
reaching beyond the front edge of the lower orbit, and with a very short
ridge at the middle of each orbit behind; the hands compressed, rather
rugose, edge thick and toothed: wrist with four or five conical spines on
the inner side, the front the largest: the central caudal lobe, broad,
continuous, calcareous to the tip, lateral lobes, with a very slight
central keel; the sides of the second abdominal rings spinose.
Inhab. Van Diemen's Land.
Mr. Milne Edwards, (Archives du Museum, ii. 35. t. 3.) has recently
described a species of this genus from Madagascar, under the name of A.
MADAGASCARIENSIS, which is nearly allied to the Van Diemen's Land
species, in the shortness of the frontal process, the spines on the sides
of the second abdominal segment, and in the lobes of the tail; but it
differs from it in the length of the claws, and other particulars.
Madagascar appears to be the tropical confines of the genus.
2. The Western Australia Cray-fish. ASTACUS QUINQUE-CARINATUS, t. 3. f.
3. - Carapace smooth, rather convex, and with three keels above; the beak,
longly produced, ending in a spine, simple on the side and produced into
a keel on each side behind; the central caudal lobe rather narrow,
indistinctly divided in half, and like the other lobes flexile at the
end, the lateral lobes with a central keel ending a slight spine; the
hands elongated, compressed, smooth, with a thickened, toothed, inner
margin, which is ciliated above; wrist with two conical spines on the
inner side.
Inhab. Western Australia, near Swan River.
3. The Port Essington Cray-fish. ASTACUS BICARINATUS, t. 3.f.
2. - Carapace smooth, rather flattened, with a keel on each side above in
front; the beak longly produced, flattened, three toothed at the top;
hands rather compressed, smooth, thinner and slightly toothed on the
inner edge; the wrist triangular, angularly produced in front; the
central caudal lobes with two slightly diverging keels continued, and
like the others thin and flexible at the end, the inner lateral lobes
with two keels, each ending with a spine.
Inhab. Port Essington, Mr. Gilbert.
The A. AUSTRALASIENSIS, Milne Edwards, Crust ii. 332. t. 24. f. 1 - 5.
agrees with this species in the form of the beak, but the keels on the
thorax are not noticed either in the description or in the figure; and
the caudal lobes in the figure appear most to resemble A. FRANKLINII.
As the genus ASTACUS is now becoming more numerous in species, it may be
divided, with advantage, into three sections, according to the form of
the caudal lobes; thus: -
A. The central caudal lobes divided by a transverse suture into two
parts, both being hard and calcareous, and with a small spine at the
outer angle of the suture (PATAMOBIUS, LEACH) as A. FLUVIATILIS of
Europe, and A. AFFINIS of North America, with an elongated rostrum, and
A. BARTONII of North America, with a short rostrum.
B. The central caudal lobe continued hard and calcareous to the end, as
ASTACUS FRANKLINII of Van Diemen's Land, and A. MADAGASCARIENSIS of
Madagascar; both have a very short beak, and the second abdominal ring
spinose.
C. The central caudal lobe continued or only slightly divided on the
middle of each side; but it and all the lateral lobes are thin and
flexible at the hinder parts, as ASTACUS QUINQUE-CARINATUS, and A.
BICARINATUS of Australia, and A. CHILIENSIS of Chili.
CATALOGUE OF REPTILES AND FISH,
FOUND AT KING GEORGE'S SOUND,
BY DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSARY-GENERAL NEILL,
IN A LETTER TO J. E. GRAY, ESQ. BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON.
* * * * *
"Sir, - Although in the course of my life, I have had little opportunity
to pay attention to the study of Ichthyology, it occurred to me, as now
and then a leisure moment was afforded from official duties, that it
would perhaps be useful, as well as amusing, to collect and make drawings
of the fish about King George's Sound; and I have been in a great degree
stimulated to do so, from an accidental visit of my friend, His
Excellency Captain Grey, Governor of South Australia, who advised me to
forward the drawings to you for the purpose of being placed with others
of a similar kind in the British Museum, where ultimately sufficient
material may be collected to give some account of the New Holland fish.
