NOTES AND QUERIES. 211 



" -Replying to your letter of April 20th, I am not authority for the 

 statement that a large Lobster, recently exhibited in the Aquarium and 

 now in the taxidermist's hands, is the ' largest Lobster in the world.' Its 

 weight, as given to me by an assistant of Prof. Bristol, of New York 

 University, was 33 lbs., of which the large forceps furnished 17 lbs. The 

 total length he found to be 23| in., from rostrum to end of telson, not 

 including hairs. The straight measurement of the large forceps is 15 in., 

 and its girth 20£ in. The length of the small forceps is 15| in., and its 

 girth 15£ in. The carapace is 9| in., exclusive of rostrum, which is 

 2 T 5 y in., and its girth behind the cervical groove is 19f in. The Lobster is 

 Hornarus americanus (M. Edw.). The example was taken by a cod-fishing 

 smack off Sandy Hook late in March. It lived in the Aquarium only 

 three weeks. The lower salinity of the water supply and the reduced 

 pressure were the probable causes of its death. It took no food during 

 captivity. When the salinity of the water is greater, as occurs in the fall 

 of the year, it is practicable to keep large Lobsters alive during the entire 

 winter, and they can easily be induced to feed upon pieces of cod or herring." 

 — Tarleton H. Bean, Director (New York Aquarium). 



Zool. 4th ser. vol. I., June, 1897. 



