CRUSTACEANS 



near Sandgate, by myself.' ' Bell says that ' he has dredged it on 

 oyster-beds at Sandgate, of large size, at from ten to twelve fathoms,' 

 and as to its habits makes the following observation : ' Mr. Hailstone 

 states that this crab spawns in February ; this, however, cannot be 

 universally the case, as I took several females at Sandgate early in May, 

 in the year 1843, every one of which was carrying her load of spawn, 

 which is of a rich deep orange colour.' " Of H. coarctatus. Leach, Bell 

 says, ' Dr. Leach mentions Sandgate as a particular habitat, where I 

 also obtained several specimens by dredging in May.' To this he 

 presently adds : 'It is said by Mr. Hailstone to spawn in January. 

 Amongst those which I obtained at Sandgate in the month of May, 

 were several females, all without spawn.' ^ The distinctness of this species 

 from H. araneus, its very constant companion, is said by competentobser- 

 vers not to be doubtful. The specific name refers to the constriction of the 

 carapace, and the amount of variation of which this is susceptible does 

 not appear to have been as yet subjected to any exact investigation. The 

 Handbook to Trover says, ' Hyas araneus, Pisa tetraodon, and one of the 

 Stenorhynchus, presumably tefiuirostrls, all bearing the same trivial name 

 [spider crab], are sometimes to be met with between high and low 

 water marks on rocky parts of the coast.' But while corroborating 

 other authorities for these three, the Handbook is the sole voucher for a 

 more important species than any of them, by the following statement : 

 '■ Maia squinado, the spider crab, with its spinous carapace, is not nearly 

 so abundant with us as in many other seaside places ; the young speci- 

 mens of it are occasionally taken in crab and lobster pots. Its somewhat 

 fierce aspect may be against it, but if it were only better known, it 

 would command a large sale among gastronomic epicures.' The 

 spines and hairs of the carapace often give shelter to various species of 

 small amphipods. The propriety of its current technical name, Maia 

 squinado (Herbst), involves questions almost more prickly than its coat. 

 The genus Maja, with the alternative spelling Maia, was established by 

 the celebrated Lamarck in 1801,* nominally to include the two genera 

 which Fabricius had called Inachiis and Parthe?7ope. But the reference 

 which Lamarck gives to Herbst for the first of these divisions has 

 nothing to do with Inachus. It guides the reader to Herbst's descrip- 

 tion and figure of Cancer maja, which, as will presently be seen, belongs 

 to an entirely different group of crustaceans. Since both Inachus and 

 Parthenope are perfectly valid, Lamarck's Maja on its author's own 

 showing has no standing place. It has no right to displace either of 

 them, let alone both. In reality it was still-born, although for a 

 hundred years authors in ignorance of the facts have allowed it a 

 fictitious life. Independently of Lamarck's fatal confusion, there is a 

 further difficulty, already pointed out by Miss M. J. Rathbun, that 

 '■Maia was used by Brisson, 1760, for a genus of birds, accepted by 



• Malacostraca Podophthalmata Britannia, text to pi. 2Ia (iSi6). 



2 Brit. Stalk-eyed Crust, pp. 33, 34. ^ Loc. cit. pp. 38, 39. 



• Systeme des Animaux sans vertehres, pp. 154, 428. 



243 



