BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 121 



21.-NOTES ON THE LOBSTER- IIOIT1ARUS AM ERIC ANUS. 



By A. €. SMITH. 



I cannot learn of lobsters having been found on the coast of Labrador. 

 In this province (New Brunswick) they are found as far north as the 

 mouth of the Restigouche. Newfoundland lobsters are very much 

 larger than those caught in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. The lob- 

 sters known to fishermen on the coast of Nova Scotia are roughly dis- 

 tinguished into three kinds according to the nature of their feeding 

 grounds— cove lobsters, coast lobsters, and deep-sea lobsters. There is 

 no appreciable difference in size or structure, but chiefly in the color- 

 ing and composition of the shell, a circumstance which enables one 

 to decide with tolerable accuracy where any given specimen has been 

 caught. The cove lobster is chiefly found near the shores in small har- 

 bors and other sheltered places where the bottom is soft, and covered 

 with a dense growth of sea- weed. Its shell is never so thick or firm as 

 that of the other kinds, is generally of a dull, somber color, and con- 

 tains a smaller proportion of calcareous matter. Consequently it yields 

 quite readily to slight pressure, except near the claws. They are not 

 in great demand because not fitted to stand the necessary handling, or 

 to survive when packed in the wells of smacks. 



In New Brunswick, as in the sister province, the coast lobster is the 

 oue sought after. This lobster has its haunts around the ledges of the 

 coast, and in the deeper waters of open bays. Thickets of kelp on the 

 bottom, and patches of other marine weeds, are favorite resorts for this 

 kind, especially in early spring. Its shell is dark, mottled with green, and 

 sometimes beautifully diversified near the under edges with a variety 

 of hues. It is capable of considerable resistance, and serves effectually 

 as a protection against the rocks, and against attacks. When plentiful 

 they can be seen in great numbers when the water is clear and still, all 

 crawling in one direction over some stretch of sandy bottom, and appar- 

 ently migrating towards a more suitable locality. The deep-sea lobster 

 rarely approaches within several miles of the coast. It is not much 

 sought after by our fishermen, the water being too deep for the ordinary 

 trap to be managed with profit. Cod-fishers sometimes pull them up 

 on their hooks. When taken out of the water these lobsters soon be- 

 come limp and torpid. The sunlight proves fatal to them in a few 

 moments. Their shell is brittle, being, composed largely of limy matter. 



The natural food of the lobster consists of clams, mussels, and small 

 shell -fish, for the crushing of which its two great claws are admirably 

 adapted. The larger claw is furnished with what answers the purpose 

 of molars in the higher animals, while the smaller one is thickly set 

 with incisors, perhaps mostly used in dividing the softer portions of its 

 prey; as the lobster never pursues anything capable of active flight, 



