DECAPODA. 375 



in, when to my surprise they were not only living, but able to move about 

 as actively as ever. Wishing to verify the remembrance of this boyish 

 prank, I took some of the crabs in the summer of 1837, threw a piece of 

 sea-weed on them, and buried them to the depth of twelve or fourteen 

 inches, the soil above them, being closely beaten down. When leaving 

 the country seventeen days afterwards I found them living, and one in- 

 dividual was so brisk that he caught the spade in his claws. I have had 

 no opportunity of ascertaining what is the limit of the time they Avould 

 live under such circumstances." 



When at the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1841, I remarked this to 

 be the most common crab on all parts of the coast. At Ventnor it was 

 flung from the crab-pots as useless. 



I don't know whether the C. Manas be found in the Adriatic Sea, but 

 a crab which I saw under one of the bridges at Venice seemed to be this 

 species. I remarked several crab-pots set at the sea or eastei'n entrance 

 of one of the canals here where the bottom is oozy. 



Genus PoRTUMNUS. 

 P. variegatus, Leach, 



Is occasionally found thrown ashore on extensive sandy beaches. I have 

 seen examples from Macgilligan and Portrush on the northern, and Poi't- 

 marnock on the eastern coast. Leach mentions this as "the most com- 

 mon species of the Malacostracous animals that inhabit our coasts," and 

 that " it is found thrown on all the sandy shores of Great Britain in great 

 abundance, especially during storms." On the Irish coast it is quite a 

 local species. In the course of dredging in the open sea ofl' Down, in the 

 Loughs of Strangford and Belfast, a single example only of this species 

 has occurred either to my friends or to myself. In dredging on the Con- 

 naught coast, and about Dublin Bay on the opposite side of the island, I 

 never saw this species brought uj) — some of the localities dredged over 

 were sandy and ofl" extensive beaches of the same nature. After severe 

 storms chiefly, we find it cast ashore upon the sand. Cori/stes Cassivelaunus 

 is much more generally distributed on the sandy coasts of Ireland than 

 Portumnus variegatus. 



July 25, 1 837. — Portumnus variegatus [Sept. a second specimen obtained), 

 Newcastle, Co. Down. 



Dec, 1851. — I received a specimen from Bartra Island, Killala Bay, 

 from Mr. Robert Warren, jun. 



Genus Portunus. 

 P. jmber, Leach. 



Of this species, the velvet crab of British authors — noticed by Templeton 

 and J. V. Thompson as Irish — I have seen examples from all quarters of 

 the coast. Dr. J. L. Drummond informs me that it is taken commonly at 

 Bangor (Co. Down) by boys, who find it lurking inider large stones in 

 rocky pools at low-water. Between tide-marks we found it common at 

 Lahinch. Dr. Ball states that at Youghal, where the species groAvs to a 

 large size, and is known by the name of Kerry Witch, it is caught along 

 with Carcinu.s Mccnas, witii fish-entrails used as bait. 



Under stones on beach, Tory Island, Mr. Hyndman, 



P. Dcpurator, Leach. 

 Fr9m Templeton noting this crab merely as "found on the sands at 

 Duufanaghy, Co. Donegal, July 13, 1815," and from the specimen named 



