476 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOO!S, BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
scuttling crabs in the posture previously described. With 
a quick rush it generally reaches its prey and renders 
it incapable of motion by spreading its arms over the crab. 
Sometimes it gathers up several crabs simultaneously in 
this way—taking an armful as it were. These are then 
consumed one by one. At other times it secures its prey 
by quickly swooping down upon it from the water above, 
with the arms outstretched. 
How, exactly, Hledone opens the crab cannot be seen, 
as the arms cover over and so hide the prey from view 
when it is being consumed. If, however, the dorsal 
carapace 1s removed from a crab in the easiest way 
possible, beginning at the posterior edge, and simply 
pulling the shell away, the portion which comes away is 
exactly similar in shape to that which Eledone leaves. 
Hence probably it adopts this method of removing the 
carapace with its beak, and then eats the soft body of 
the crab. Usually the ventral exoskeleton and limbs of 
the victim are left attached to one another, or the limbs 
may be broken away. While feeding, Eledone curls its 
arms about in the water, as though with pleasurable 
excitement. No accurate observations have been made as 
to the amount of food consumed in any given time. They 
have been known to attack and eat one another, the arms 
only of the victim, which is not necessarily killed, being 
generally devoured. Only two records have been made 
of the occurrence of H. cérrosa in the stomach of British 
fish (the Angler and the Ling—see list below). It is not 
improbable that dolphins and porpoises prey on the large 
Eledones, while the young and therefore small and feeble 
ones probably form food for various marine animals. 
When they attain some size, the suckers and beak will 
render them decidedly uninviting. Possibly their sinister 
attitude and bright colour also protect them. Congers 
