1886.] | Zoölogy. 3 
THE MOLTING OF THE LossterR.—During the past season I 
have been able to make some observations on the mode of molt- 
ing of the lobster. In Casco bay, Maine, the lobster molted 
during the second and third week of July. According to the 
lobster-fishermen, the creature molts but once a year, and as con- 
firmatory of this the lobsters we saw were in several cases covered 
with patches of polyzoans, with large barnacles, mussels, etc., 
which could not have been of the present year’s growth. 
Shortly before the animal molts the parts between the segments 
are much swollen, and have a livid color. Meanwhile the inner 
side of the flattened basal joints (3-5) of the large claws become 
soft, the lime on the crust partly disappearing, leaving an irregu- 
lar oval solid portion; in this way the contents of the large hand 
or claw can be drawn through the basal portion of the limb. The 
first step in the ecdysis is the splitting or partial separation of 
the two halves of the carapace; it may entirely separate poste- 
riorly, or the two halves remain together, and the animal 
withdraws its body out of the sutures between the thorax and 
first abdominal segment, The integument of the legs is molted 
last, and when owing to rough handling, the process is delayed, 
the extremities of the legs slough off. The entire integument, 
with all the appendages of the head,thorax, and the abdomen are 
molted as a whole, but the abdominal legs are molted before 
the thoracic ones. I have found all the parts of the crust con- 
nected, and floating in the “lobster car,” even including the 
lining of the proventricle or stomach, and the apodemes of the 
head and thorax. After the molt the soft and flabby lobster lies 
nearly motionless, occasionally, if disturbed, giving a flap wit 
its “tail.” It remains inactive for nearly or quite a week, until 
the new crust becomes hard. 
am convinced from my observations that the deformities in 
the big claws as well as other parts occur at the time of molt- 
ing; as after disturbing the symmetry of the claws in our speci- 
men, the deformity persisted —A. S. Packard. 
Tue Orpesr Tarsus (Archegosaurus).—The Neues Jahrbuch 
für Mineralogie, Jahrgang 1861, pp. 294-300, contains a paper by 
Professor Quenstedt, of Tiibingen: “ Bemerkungen zum Arche- 
gosaurus.” On Plate 111, connected with that article, a nearly 
entire hind-foot of Archegosaurus is figured (fig. 6). The tarsals 
of this foot are preserved in their original position, and it is of 
very high interest ; but, strange to say, this figure of Archegosau- 
rus has been entirely overlooked, and is never mentioned in any 
Paper relating to the tarsus of vertebrates. 
Professor Quenstedt believes that there are ten or twelve tarsal 
ones preserved, The question now is, What are the homologies 
of these bones ? 
On the whole, the hind-foot recalls very much that of Crypto- 
branchus and Menopoma. One or perhaps two bones are con- 
