191 



f:o believe that they are merely crabs ready for casting.* 

 Mr. T. N. Cregeen, of the Biological Station, Port 

 Erin, kindly examined and measured for me a number of 

 crabs during the summer of 1907. The table inserted 

 below gives a summary of the results obtained. 



One thousand and ninety-four crabs were examined, 

 and of this number 318 were males and the remainder 

 females. Of the 776 females, 112 were " grannies." It 

 will be observed that there are no male " grannies " in the 

 list, and that practically the whole of the female 

 " grannies " are six inches or more in width. General 

 information from Port Erin bears this out. Male 

 '' grannies " and small female " grannies " are almost 

 unknown. 



Crabs obtained between the Calf of Man and Bradda 

 Head, Port Erin, during the summer (July to September) 

 of 1907. 



* In ' ' granny ' ' crabs that I have examined there has been a well- 

 defined cuticle beneath the hard exoskeleton. This condition is 

 found in crabs preparing for ecdysis. 



