39 



(3) Mr. Tonge showed photo-micrographs of the ova of 

 nearly every species of butterfly found in Great Britain. 



FEBRUARY 22nd, 1906. 



Mr. Handisyde, of Bayswater, was elected a member. 



Mr. Step exhibited specimens of the small crab Eurynome 

 aspcra (Pennant), and contributed the following note : 



" The Rough, or Strawberry-crab [Eurynome asp era), is one 

 of the more remarkable of our native Crustacea. It is also 

 one of the smallest and least known of them. So far as 

 general appearance goes it might be a piece of stone carved 

 into a grotesque resemblance to a crab. The naturalist who 

 is accustomed to the consideration of protective resemblance 

 in animals, would have little hesitation in guessing its habitat 

 to be among corals or corallines. Such a surmise would be 

 perfectly correct, for it is found on rough coralline ground in 

 deep water (15 to 25 fathoms), off our S.W. shores. It is 

 consequently only to be obtained by dredging. The three 

 specimens exhibited I took in one haul of the dredge, among 

 masses of coral — a piece of which I also exhibit. 



" The carapace of the crab is produced in a large number 

 of broad-topped tubercles of various sizes and more or less 

 circular form, and, in some specimens, these have a pinkish 

 tinge of colour. The limbs are rugged, with low, thick 

 prominences. The hindmost pair are usually clasped round 

 a branch of coral, the others held closely to the body, so that 

 they appear only as part of the coral, and the long, anterior 

 arms of the male, when not actively in use, are doubled on 

 themselves to help in carrying out this counterfeit resem- 

 blance. One of the specimens is a female, and it will be 

 noticed that, as in some other species, her first pair of limbs 

 are ridiculously small in comparison with those of the male. 

 This difference gives her a more squat and solid appearance. 

 Her pleon, or 'tail,' however, is about three times the width 

 of her mate's, and it serves in her case to cover and protect 

 the bright crimson eggs. 



" My fisherman friend who helped me with the dredge ex- 

 pressed his astonishment when I showed him my find, and 

 said that such a crab was formerly quite unknown in those 

 waters ; but I attached no importance to such a statement, 

 because when fishermen are trawling for their living they do 

 not closely scrutinise the rubbish that comes up with every 

 haul, and the protective resemblance of this species would 

 render it invisible to their eyes." 



