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



1834, and subsequently by Mr. Hyndman and myself. It is gene- 

 rally found in connection with large shell-fish brought up from deep 

 water, such as oysters, horse-mussels {Modiolus vulgaris) or clams 

 (Pecten maximus), and shelters itself under any extraneous matter or 

 natural roughness (as between the testaceous layers of an old oyster) 

 sufficient for the purpose. Mr. R. Ball's collection contains speci- 

 mens from Youghal* and Dublin Bay : — on the shore of the island 

 of Lambay I have taken it alive, as well as at Lahinch on the west- 

 ern coast. 



Specimens of this crab have been sent me from the coast of Wig- 

 tonshire, Scotland, by Captain Fayrer, R.N. 



Order Decapoda. 

 3rd Section. Decapoda Macroura. 

 Galathea strigosa, Edw. Crust, t. ii. p. 273 ; Desm. p. 189. pi. 33. f. 1. 

 G. spinigera, Leach, Mai. pi. 28 B. 

 Plaited lobster, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. p. 24. pi. 15. 



Would appear to be distributed around the coast, but everywhere 

 in very limited numbers. Templeton notes it as found at " Bangor, 

 co. Down, November 1819, and in the stomach of a cod-fish." 

 It is enumerated in Mr. J. V. Thompson's catalogue, his specimen 

 being probably from Cork. Two were captured by Mr. Hyndman 

 and myself, when dredging in Strangford lough in October 1834; 

 and others have subsequently been added to my cabinet from the 

 rocky coast of Antrim, as from Island Magee ; Glenarm ; the vicinity 

 of the Giant's Causeway ; one or two only from each place : at the 

 last-named, a couple of individuals, which were brought to me 

 alive in the month of June, were captured under stones at low water. 

 The species may probably resort to the shallows to deposit their ova, 

 which in these examples were ready for exclusion. The Ordnance 

 collection contains the G. strigosa from Belfast bay. Mr. R. Ball 

 has a specimen from Dublin bay: — its length of body is 4 J inches; 

 arm from basal insertion to end of claw 4|- inches. 



In March 1835, a G. strigosa from Portpatrick was kindly sent to 

 me by Captain Fayrer, R.N. ; and on the beach at Newhaven, near 

 Edinburgh, I once picked up a very large one, which had probably 

 been thrown out of some of the fishing- boats. At Ventnor, in the Isle 

 of Wight, one which had been captured in a crab-pot was brought to 

 me ; it was 5J inches in length from the points of the claws to the 

 extremity of the tail-plates. 



Both the young and adult specimens in my cabinet are highly at- 

 tractive, from still retaining their fine red and bright blue markings. 

 Galathea rv.gosa, Leach, Mai. pi. 29 ; Edw. Crust, t. ii. p. 274. 

 Astacus Bamffius, Long-clawed lobster, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. 

 • p. 23. pi. 24. 



Is noticed as Irish by Mr. J. V. Thompson. The specimens which 

 I have seen were mostly found in the stomach of the cod-fish. Dr. 



* Mr. J. V. Thompson mentions a "species of Porcellana" being in 

 " abundance in the deep water of the harbour of Cove." Ent. Mag - , vol. iii. 

 p. 275. The Irish species contained in his collection (lioyal College of 

 Surgeons, Dublin) is the P % longicornis — it is named P. Linneana. 



