192 The Irish Naturalisl. October, 



The specimen of Adamsia palliata taken in the same 

 dredging with Cerianthns, was a small one, roughly globular 

 and little more than an inch in diameter. Although no 

 vestige of the supporting shell was visible, a living hermit 

 crab inhabited the sea-anemone, or, at all events, appeared 

 to inhabit it, for the gaudily blotched body of the anemone 

 completely surrounded the small opening through which 

 the head and fore limbs of the crab were protruded. No 

 particular attention was paid to the species of the crab, 

 but from recollection of the comparative smoothness of the 

 claws, I am inclined to think it was Pagunis Prideauxii, 

 the species so frequently found commensal with this sea- 

 anemone. It was only on the death of this Adamsia, a 

 week after its capture, that I was able to discover the 

 species of shell which it so completely invested. This 

 turned out to be Turritella terehra. A fragment of an old 

 shell, three whorls including the body whorl, had been 

 selected by the Adamsia as its support, and the defect in 

 size of the broken shell the sea-anemone had made good by 

 constructing a leathery, membranous ring attached to the 

 shell mouth and extending beyond it to a length exceeding 

 that of the three whorls. 



In the selection of its univalve support Adamsia appears 

 to be quite as impartial as are the various species of Hermit 

 Crab. Amongst the genera made use of are Buccinum, 

 Fusus, Trochus, Natica and Bulla. Broken shells are 

 frequently selected, and Dr. Landsborough, some three 



.quarters of a century ago, took a specimen off Arran in 



the Clyde inhabiting, or rather investing, just as the Skerries 



specimen did, a fragment of Turritella. Irish records for 



.Adamsia as collected in Miss Stephens' List are not numerous, 



. though the species appears to be widely distributed round 

 our coasts in from 7 to 70 fathoms. The Skerries specimen 

 is the first which has occurred to me off the Dublin coast 

 out of more than a hundred and sixty effective dredgings 

 in shallow waters up to 18 fathoms. The species evidently 

 affects deep water. 



f 



Sandycove, Co. Dublin. 



