Mr. W. Thompson on the Crustacea of Ireland. 277 



coast of Ireland the H. aranea is very much preyed on by the cod- 

 fish. 



In January 1840, I saw specimens of this crab of very large size 

 on the coast near Edinburgh : the carapace of one which I measured 

 was 3 inches in length, and the extent from the extremities of the 

 first pair of legs, 1 1 inches. 



Hyas coarctata, Leach, Mai. pi. 21 b ; Edw. Crust, t. i. p. 312. 



This species is set down as Irish in Mr. J. V. Thompson's cata- 

 logue, his specimens being most probably from the southern coast. 

 In Mr. Ball's collection are examples fromYoughal, and some dredged 

 by him in Dalkey Sound near Dublin. In the loughs of Belfast and 

 Strangford we take it very commonly with the dredge. I have seen 

 an example from the Giant's Causeway — thus from the north to 

 the south of Ireland the species prevails. 



Dr. J. L. Drummond has found numbers of these crabs in the 

 stomachs of cod-fish brought to Belfast market. The largest exam- 

 ple I have seen was found in the mouth of a haddock taken at Kil- 

 lough, county Down. Its carapace is 2 inches 2 lines in length ; 

 each arm from base to point of claw 3 inches 7 J lines. The body, 

 legs and arms of my specimens of H. coarctata are very much invested 

 with zoophytes, sponges, and algae. 



Examples of this crab have been sent me from Portpatrick by Capt. 

 Fayrer, R.N. ; and I have myself obtained it on the opposite or east- 

 ern coast, at Newhaven near Edinburgh. Captain Beechey, R.N., 

 brought up four examples of this species alive in the dredge from a 

 depth of about 140 fathoms off the Mull of Galloway. See p. 21 of 

 the present volume. 



Maia squinado, Latr. Leach, Mai. pi. 18 ; Edw. Crust, t. i. p. 327 ; 



Desm. pi. 21. 

 Cancer spinosus, Penn. 



Inhabits the southern coast. Native specimens of this crab are 

 in Mr. J. V. Thompson's collection. Mr. R. Ball informs me that 

 it is taken not unfrequently with lobsters about Youghal, where it is 

 called horrid- crab ; it is not brought to market, but is sometimes 

 eaten by the fishermen — the carapace of a specimen from that loca- 

 lity in this gentleman's collection is 7 inches in length, and others 

 are little inferior to it. 



One of these crabs was brought to me at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, 

 where it was taken in a crab-pot at the same time with a Galathea 

 strigosa. 



Eurynome aspera, Leach, Mai. pi. 17 ; Edw. Crust, t. i. p. 351 ; Desm. 



pi. 20. f. 2. 

 Cancer asper, Penn. vol. iv. p. 13. pi. 10. f. 3. 



Marked as Irish in Mr. J. V. Thompson's collection. It is rather 

 a rare species, and an inhabitant of deep water. In Strangford 

 lough a single specimen was taken in the dredge by Mr. Hyndman 

 and myself in Oct. 1834, and on a subsequent occasion we obtained 

 several individuals in the same locality. It has been dredged in Bel- 



