OCCURRENCE OF A RARE CRAB IN SCOTTISH WATERS 13 



insufficient for definitely including the species in the Scottish 

 fauna. In view of the recent captures, however, it is highly 

 probable that the crab will eventually be found in deep 

 water off the western coast of Scotland." 



Recently a specimen has been received by the Royal 

 Scottish Museum which fulfils Mr. Halbert's prophecy, con- 

 firms the earlier record, and gives Paromola cuvieri a 

 definite place among Scottish crustaceans. The specimen 

 was forwarded to the Museum by Mr. L. G. Esson of 

 Aberdeen, by whom it had been obtained from a trawl-boat 

 which had captured it alive between the Flannan Islands 

 and the Butt of Lewis, on loth October, 1909. It is a 

 moderately sized male, the detailed measurements of which 

 agree very closely with those of the specimen recorded by 

 Halbert. 



Length of carapace (including rostral spine) 6| inches. 

 Breadth of carapace . 5i 



Length of abdomen . . . 6^ 



Length of right cheliped . . . 2 if ,, 



Length of legs 2, 3, and 4, about . . 1 7 

 Length of fifth pair .... 7 



Yet even this great size is considerably short of that attained 

 by mature specimens in the Mediterranean Sea, where 

 carapaces eight inches long are not uncommon. 



The recent Scottish example is complete but for the 

 absence of the second walking leg on the left side, and of 

 the dactylopodite of the third walking leg on the right, 

 the latter having evidently been lost for some time. Like 

 the Cork example it is encrusted by many epizoites, most 

 evident of which are small specimens of a delicate bivalve, 

 Anomia, abundantly scattered over the carapace and legs, 

 while a few twisted Serpula worm-tubes cling to the per- 

 pendicular side of the carapace, and rare zoophytes 

 a polyzoon, Bicellaria ciliata (L.), and two indeterminable 

 species of Campanularian Hydroids, one of which is probably 

 Clytia joJmstoni (Alder) straggle in the neighbourhood of 

 the rostrum or on the limbs. 



Since Mr. Esson forwarded the specimen to which 

 reference has just been made, he writes to say that he is 

 aware of the existence in Aberdeen of another specimen of 



