DREDOINi; IN THK kl\F.R CROUCil. 87 



not very lively. Such reversed shells are not uncommon, hut this^ 

 1 helieve, is the first record of a genuine Essex native The shell, 

 operculum, and a portion of the body I have preserved ; but I found 

 it impossible to remove the remainder of the body from the shell. 



A fine specimen of one of the Cephalopods was taken in the 

 Crouch on the 21st November last, by the crew of the smack 

 "Effort '' whilst sprat fishing. After being on view at the Old Shi[) 

 Hotel, it was bought by Mr. Rogers, who sent il on to Mr. Eitch, 

 and he brought it on to me. It is a fine, well-grown specimen of 

 the Common Squid {Lo/igo forbesii), and from the end of the body 

 to the extreme tip of the long arms measures 2 feet 5^ inches, the 

 body itself being 14I inches in length. The greatest width of the 

 body, including the lateral lobes or fins, is 6^ inches. The suckers 

 are all seriated, thus enabling the creature to grasp with a firm hold, 

 the largest being -^^r of an inch in diameter on the long arms ; and 

 on measuring I found that one of these arms is half an inch Icnger 

 than the other, one measuring i2j, and the other 12} ; the head is 

 about 2 inches long. This specimen is certainly a well-grown one, 

 and I hoped that it had not been surpassed ; but the internal " pen " 

 (which I have not extracted) cannot be more than 15 inches in 

 length. I have subsequently been informed by Mr. Edgar Smith 

 that the Newcastle Museum has one of these "pens" 22 inches 

 in length, from a Squid taken on the Northumberland coast. That 

 must have been a veritable giant among his fellows. 



Among the Crustaceans — the new captures were three speci- 

 mens of a Spider Crab {Stenorhyncus temdrostris) ; a form I was 

 rather surprised to see brought up here, though it is fairly common 

 on the Dorset coast. 



Several of the Pvcnogons were also taken, both male and female 

 of P. littorale, the latter possessing a pair of six-jointed false feet for 

 carrying the eggs ; and several specimens of Nxinphoii gracile of 

 good size. On looking over the debris at home, I found two minute 

 forms which form a new Essex record ; but I had a great deal of 

 trouble in their identification. They turn out to be Anoplodactyhis 

 petiolatus and Ammothea hevis ; and, from the specimen I have 

 mounted as a micro-slide, it may be seen how interesting these 

 small and little-known species are. 



I am indebted to Mr. A. O. Walker, of Colwyn Bay, for kindly 

 identifying these. 



Until recently, the identification of these curious creatures has 



