^o^ '^ike Fishery Board for Scotland. 131 



Amongst the annelids the sea mouse (Aphrodite) occurs plentifully in 

 the stomachs of the haddock, though not so frequently as in the cod. 



In glancing over the list of Crustacea it is interesting to note the occur- 

 rence of Calocaris Macandi-ete, a deep-water form, which is rare around 

 our coasts. The specimens occurred in one of the stomachs from fish 

 captured 18 miles off the Coquet on the 26th January 1885. Dr Norman 

 informs me that Stonehaven is the only other East Coast locality at which 

 this form has been taken. It is principally met with in the deeper por- 

 tions of Loch Fyne and at other points along the West Coast. I 



With the exception of Hyas coarctatus the hrachyurous decapods do not 

 occur in large numbers. The Anomura, on the other hand, contribute the 

 greater portion of the crustacean food, being mainly represented by species 

 of the genera Pagurus and Galathea. The other groups do not present 

 any point calling for remarks here. 



An examination of Table II. will show that the echinoderms form by 

 far the greater portion of the food of the haddock. It is important, how- 

 ever, to note that in twelve stomachs from the Coquet in January, only a 

 single echinoderm was found, and that the Crustacea and mollusca formed 

 in this case the bulk of the food, the annelids also not being present in 

 the large quantity. 



Amongst the echinoderms it is worthy of note that the ' star fishes,' 

 properly so called, do not form an important part of the food of the 

 haddock, the only specimen met with being a young specimen of an 

 Asterias, probably the A. aurantiaca. This may, no doubt, partly be 

 accounted for from the fact that the commoner species of star fish are 

 mainly littoral in their habit, but this cannot be the only reason. There 

 must be some other objection to the use of the star fish group as food for 

 the haddock and other fishes, as they occur in considerable quantities in 

 the parts frequented by these fishes. For instance, the range of the 

 common star fish Asterias ruhens, of A. violacea and other forms, extends 

 some distance beyond the estuary of the Forth, St Andrew's Bay, (fee. 

 They are probably found up to a considerable depth all along the east 

 coast. The frequent occurrence of Echinocyamus pusillus, a very small 

 species of the ' sea urchin ' group is also worthy of note. So far as the 

 material at my disposal is concerned, the Crustacea rank next in import- 

 ance in the food supply of the haddock. At least seventeen species have 

 been found in the ninety stomachs examined, and there are several which 

 are too much digested to allow of identification. Amongst the Crustacea 

 the hermit crabs [Pagurus) and squat lobsters {Galathea) are of by far the 

 most frequent occurrence. Next in importance come the amphipods, but 

 of these no species have been identified. Hyas coarctatus, one of the 

 spider crabs, was found in four stomachs, while Hyas araneus, the 

 common shore form, was not met with at all. Hyas coarctatus is a 

 smaller species, and almost entirely takes the place of H. araneus in 

 deeper water. This fact, doubtless, accounts to a great extent for the 

 absence of the shore form in the stomachs examined, A similar relation 

 appears to exist between the common shrimp Crangon vidgaris, and its 

 ally C. Allmani. The latter almost entirely replaces the former in deep 

 water. This relationship is found to be carried out in the present statis- 

 tics. Crangon Allmani occurred in four stomachs, while C. vulgaris was 

 not met with at all. The worms and molluscs come next in importance 

 as food material, each supplying about an equal share. With regard to 

 the annelids it will be seen that the sea mouse (Aphrodite) and other 

 ' errant annelids ' are of most frequent occurrence. The majority of the 

 annelida are, however, difiicult to identify unless in a fresh condition. 



A study of the molluscan contents of the stomachs brings out two 



