of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 261 



dark blotches and streaks on its integument, which is other- 

 wise pellucid and almost transparent. There does not seem 

 to be any previous record of its occurrence in the Forth 

 (S.F.B.). 

 Padnalus annulicornis, Leach. 



Pandalus annulicornis, Bell, Brit. Stalk-eyed Crust., p. 297, 1853. 

 A common species throughout the Forth ; frequently observed 

 in the stomachs of the haddock and cod. 

 Pandalus brevirostris, Eathke. 



Pandalus brevirostris, Norman, Mus. Nor., pt. iii. p. 8, 1886. 

 Hippolyte Thomsoni, Bell, Brit. Stalk-eyed Crust., p. 290, 1853. 

 Firth of Forth (F. M. Balfour; L. & H.). One specimen 

 dredged in deep water a little west of Inchkeith, October 1887 

 (S.F.B.). This appears to be a rare species in the Forth. 

 (?) Palmmon squilla (Linne). 



Palaimon squilla, Bell, Brit. Stalk-eyed Crust., p. 305, 1853. 

 Frequent in rock pools near the mouth of the Firth (L. & H.). 



Remarks. — The Decapod Crustacea here recorded as having been 

 observed in the Firth of Forth, amount in number to nearly a half of the 

 whole British species. Scarcely a third of them, however, are of frequent 

 or common occurrence, and of several only a few specimens have as yet 

 been noticed in the estuary. The common species of the Decapods are 

 frequently observed among the contents of fishes' stomachs, and form a 

 considerable part of the food of those fishes that feed at or near the bottom. 

 It does not appear that the species of Crustacea belonging to this group 

 are to any appreciable extent more abundant at one season than another, 

 although some are found to frequent the littoral zone during the spring 

 and summer months more than at other times, and Hyas araneus may be 

 cited as an example of this. It is rather curious that this spider crab, 

 though not confined so exclusively to deep water as the other species, 

 Hyas coarctatus is yet frequently captured by the dredge in water of 

 10 or 15 fathoms depth, it is nevertheless very rarely found in the stomachs 

 of fishes, even of that omniverous feeder the cod ; whereas Hyas 

 coarctatus is of common occurrence, especially in cods' stomachs, six, 

 eight, and sometimes a dozen or more specimens being found in a single 

 fish. 



That Hyas araneus is more a littoral species cannot be given as a satis- 

 factory reason for its practical exemption ; that it is larger is a reason 

 hardly more tenable, for cuttle-fish, Norwegian lobsters, and even sea- 

 fowl are devoured by cod ; nor are they so active in their movements as 

 to be able to escape by that means more readily than other crabs. What- 

 ever the reason is, it seems evident that fishes, as well as fishermen, have 

 a decided dislike to Hyas araneus. 



The common food fishes, throughout all stages of their growth, feed 

 very generally and largely on species belonging to nearly all the orders of 

 Crustacea, both in their young and mature conditions. Where Crustacea 

 are abundant, it may reasonably be expected that fishes will be more or 

 less numerous. It goes without saying, then, that the study of the 

 Crustacea, — their distribution, habits, and development, — forms by no 

 means an unimportant part of fishery investigations. 



With comparatively few exceptions, the various species of Decapods 

 frequent the bottom, seeking shelter under stones, among sea-weed, 

 Loophytes, or, as is the case with some, burrowing in the mud or sand, 

 and sometimes to a considerable depth. The Cumacea seem also to fre- 

 quent the bottom. The Schizopoda, or at least very many of them. are v 



x 2 



