250 Bulletin Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. VII 



Colour: The general colour of the body is pale flesh with 

 deeper tones of this marking the pattern and with light brown 

 pubescence ; eyes shining black. 



Technical description: This species, which is one of the 

 most valued edible species of Ireland, Iceland and the Scandi- 

 navian countries, attains a total body length of 120 millimeters, 

 of which the carapace and rostrum is 80 millimeters, the ros- 

 trum being 27 millimeters from apex to the orbital angle. 



The carapace is produced anteriorly into a strong, acuminate 

 rostrum, projecting, almost three-fifths as long as the carapace; 

 seen dorsally the rostrum has a triangular form with the nar- 

 rowed portion beyond the eye distinctly deflected and the apical 

 portion beyond the subdistal lateral spines curved sharply up- 

 ward. There is one inferior subdistal spine. There are four 

 pairs of strong spines on the lateral margins of the rostrum, 

 these spines being directed obliquely upward and outward, the 

 proximal first and second pairs, situated respectively above and 

 anterior to the cornea are usually weaker, the third and fourth 

 pairs increasing in size; there is a median groove on the ros- 

 trum between these teeth, which also extends for a short dis- 

 tance back on the carapace, the lateral borders of this groove 

 being thickened and also continued backward on the carapace, 

 where they diverge and are replaced posteriorly by a linear series 

 of four to six forward directed spinules. Between these two 

 rows there is a median series of vestigal spines which extend 

 variously half or all the way to the cervical margin. The cervical 

 and hepatic grooves are very deep. The postcervical portion of 

 the carapace has a strong median carina which bears a double 

 series of several small spines, this carina being in line with the 

 median row of the precervical region. A short distance behind 

 the orbital margin and approximately opposite the posterior ter- 

 mination of the rostral carinae is a longitudinal series of three 

 or four strong, sharp, forward-directed spines, the posterior of 

 which is anterior to the gastric sulcus. In line with these, but on 

 the postcervical region there is a strong spine immediately be- 

 hind the cervical groove and behind this spine a strong ridge, 

 which anteriorly curves forward and outward, confluent with the 

 posterior border of the cervical groove. Posterior to the orbital 

 margin and slightly above the blunt orbital angle, there is a sin- 

 gle tooth, in line with the first spine of the series above this one, 



