I. '08. 163 



The eyes are dull black with golden brown reflections. The 

 antennal scale is mottled with many dark brown and with a 

 few red chromatophores ; the apical spine is orange as are also 

 all three pairs of flagella. The outer maxillipedes are pig- 

 mented with dark umber brown. The first pair of pereiopods 

 are of a rather redder tone ; the second and third pairs are 

 biownish red basally with transparent terminal joints ; in the 

 fourth and fifth jmirs the dactylus is colourless, the propodus, 

 carpus, merus, coxa and basus are reddish brown, while the 

 ischium is ti'ansparent wdth a few white chromatophores. The 

 pleopods, uropods and telson are dull mottled reddish brown. 

 In an ovigerous female the eggs w^ere a pale wood-brown 

 colour. 



Size. — P. norvegicus is known to attain a length of 64 mm. 

 (Ohlin) ; but an ovigerous female from the Irish coast measured 

 only 38 mm. 



As in the case of P. spinosus small specimens possess a rela- 

 tively longer rostrum than in the adult and the small addi- 

 tional tooth is always present in front of the median anterior 

 spine. 



In a few small specimens (from S.E. 364) the posterior 

 spines of the median and of the first lateral carina are missing, 

 while other examples taken at the same time exhibit the nor- 

 mal spinulation. This variation is similar in character to that 

 described above in the case of P. spinosus ; the very small size 

 of the specimens suggests the phenomenon is possibly due to 

 immaturity. 



General distribution. — Pontophilus norvegicus is known 

 from Spitzbergen (Ohlin), Iceland (Hansen), E. Finmark to 

 S, Norway (Norman and Sars), Sweden (Goes), Denmark 

 (Meinert), and from the Bay of Biscay (Caullery). The 

 species has been found off Greenland and in Davis Straits 

 (Hansen), and has been taken off the east coast of America 

 from Nova Scotia to Long Island (Smith). 



Irish distribution. — P. norvegicus has been found on many 

 occasions off the west and south- w^est coasts of Ireland. Out- 

 side the 300-fathom line it is by far the commonest Decapod 

 met with. The species is doubtless abundant at suitable 

 depths over the whole of the N.E. Atlantic from the Bay of 

 Biscay northwards. 



The Irish records are : — 

 Helga. 

 CXXL— 24/8/'01.— 53° 52' N., 11° 56' W., 199 fathoms. Trawl-- 



One, 15 nun. 

 S,R. 152— 27/8 /'04.— 54° 7' K, 11° 37' W., 220 fathoms. Trawl 



— Fragments. 

 S.R. 164— 3/11 /'04.— 52° 6'N., 12° 0' 30" W., 375 fathoms. Dredge. 

 Temperature at 350 fathoms 9-78^' C, saUnity 35-70°y^^ 

 — One, 45 mm. 



L 2 



