196 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



The large Belfast lobster (no. 6, table i), which came into my possession in 1893, 

 was captured in Penobscot Bay, near Belfast, Me. , in 1 891 . (For full account with photo- 

 graphs see 149.) Its total length, had the rostrum been perfect, would have been 21 

 inches. The body seems surprisingly short for so powerful an animal, and it is indeed 

 in the large claws that the greater part of the weight and strength resides. This may 

 possibly be explained by the fact that as age advances the increase in length at each 

 molt becomes less, while there is a corresponding gain in the volume of the body and 

 of the claws. Thus Ehrenbaum mentions a lobster 42.2 cm. long, which showed an 

 increase in length of scarcely i mm. on molting. The length of the crushing claw of 

 the Belfast giant is 13.75 inches, and its greatest girth 16.87 inches. 



GREATEST SIZE ATTAINED BY THE LOBSTER. 



It is difficult to obtain exact data regarding the true weights and measurements 

 of all big animals, and the lobster seems to be particularly deceitful in this respect. 

 Remembering the decision of the judge that "affidavits are not lobsters," I endeavored 

 to take a conservative position on this subject, when writing in 1895 (see 149, chap- 

 ter v) . Fortunately since that time two specimens of the mammoth class have been 

 added to the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

 Through the kind offices of the museum I have been able to obtain data and to present 

 a sketch of one of the biggest known lobsters in the world. The larger (no. 9, table 

 i), when received in the fresh state, weighed, according to Whitfield {278), "about 34 

 pounds;" the weight of the smaller (no. 11 of table) is given as "about 31 pounds." 

 Both were taken alive by fishermen off the Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey in 

 the spring of 1897. The larger animal was exhibited in one of the tanks at the Cas- 

 tle Garden Aquarium, but neither lived more than a few days in captivity. Both 

 specimens have been remounted at the museum, the smaller to show the upper (fig. i) 

 and the larger the under side. 



The most important measurements upon which we can rely for exact comparisons 

 are: (i) The length of the carapace from the tip of rostrum to hinder border, (2) the 

 length of each of the big claws, taken with callipers from the short spur near the proximal 

 end of the larger division of the claw to its apex," and (3) the greatest girth of the 

 propodus, measured in a line at right angles to the last. These values should be fairly 

 constant by whomsoever made, and in whatever form the skeleton is mounted. 



Knowing the measurements in the American Museum specimens to be correct, 

 and assuming that the weights as given by Whitfield are correct also, I have taken 

 these data as a new basis for estimating the weights of other large lobsters recorded 

 in table i, and believe them to be a closer approximation to the facts in each case than 

 I was able to make in 1895. The former estimates were founded on the measurements 

 and supposed weight of the Belfast lobster (no. 6, table i), the largest specimen known 

 at the time. I was assured that this animal weighed 23 pounds after it had been boiled, 

 and allowing a shrinkage of 40 per cent in the process, its living weight was estimated 

 at 28 pounds. Notwithstanding the doubts cast upon this statement at the time, com- 



o Or from the spur near the proximal articulation to apex of propodus, the last measurement being somewhat less. Where 

 big claws are chopped off for preservation, the joint is apt to be defective. 



