WHITBY. 

 By Henry Crowther. 

 (Concluded.) 



The torn-up seaweeds entangled the bodies of hundreds of star-fish, 

 and the pools yielded the common sun-star, Solaster papposa, specimens 

 having the full complement of fifteen rays not being rare ; the purple 

 sun-star S. endeca ; the eyed cribella, Gribella oculata ; lesser sand-star, 

 Ophiura albida ; and the common cross-fish, Uraster ruhens, of which 

 there are large quantities, chiefly noticeable at low water at the 

 harbour's mouth, crawling over the mussel beds which occur at the 

 foot of each pier. Amongst the Crustacea the palm for numbers most 

 certainly was earned by the Idoteadoe, which have the appearance of so 

 many aquatic wood-lice, and are distinguished by having feet armed 

 with pointed claws, and possessing two simple folding plates beneath 

 the abdomen ; shrimps {Crangon vulgaris), small specimens of the 

 great crab. Cancer pagurus ; the dwarf swimming crab, Portunus 

 pusillus; one representative of the masked crab, Corystes Cassive- 

 launus (male) ; amongst mussels the pea-crab, Pinnotheres pisum ; 

 and lastly, but not the least interesting, the hermit crab, Pagurus 

 Bernhardus, in possession of slj^l-houses of all sizes from Nassa 

 pygmoea to Buccinum undatum, and plentiful. ^ 



Nineteen species of recent mollusca, exclusive of varieties, which 

 are often the species of some author or other, were obtained. Purpura 

 lapillus and Patella vulgata were so numerous that they covered yards 

 of rock surface. The latter should be well scrutinised, for at no time 

 can types and their deviations be compared so advantageously as 

 when an almost inexhaustible number may be examined ; in this 

 case the varieties elevata, jncta, and coerulea were taken, on the fronds 

 of seaweed Helclon pellacidum and its variety loevis. This mollusc is 

 easily found by searching the food-plant. 



Much has been said about the depressions formed on rock surfaces 

 by the continual returning to the same place of P. vulgata ; as illus- 

 trative of the same thing, we may add that in our possession is a piece 

 of seaweed stalk in which is embedded a specimen of H. pellucidum 

 so deeply as to bring the apex of its shell on a level with the outer 

 surface of the stalk. These rock depressions, although occurring, are 

 not as noticeable here as those seen by us at one or two places on the 

 ■east coast of Ireland, particularly about Howth. Whilst examining 

 these, a specimen of Tectura testudinalis attracted our attention, and 

 a good search resulted in eight or ten examples. Twice were seen 



N. S., Vol. iv., Jan., 1879. 



