Hyatt.] 
84 
[November 3, 
Jonathan Conch in 1837 gave one account, at second-hand, of 
the moulting of a lobster. The fisherman from whom he received 
the shell told him that a lobster had effected his escape out of his 
hands and out of his shell at the same time. A mythical account 
of no value except in so far as it increases the number of those 
who state that the cast shells of the lobster are found to be split 
longitudinally along the median dorsal line of the carapax. 
Salter in 1859 published an account, also from information 
derived from others, of the moulting of the lobster. In this 
paper he says that there is no recorded account of the moulting. 
His account was taken from an animal confined in an aquarium in 
the museum at Scarborough, on the coast of Yorkshire, England, 
and is extremely interesting. The process was witnessed in 
July by a Mr. Cooke and the wife of the Curator of the 
museum. The lobster built for himself a concealment by collect- 
ing a heap of sea weed in one corner of the aquarium and when 
this was completed began to extricate himself through an aper- 
ture, which appeared between the carapax and the first abdominal 
ring. This was attended with great exertion on his part. By 
strong “ vibratory ” action, one segment after another of the abdo- 
men was drawn out until the whole were free, and not until then 
did the extraction of the cephalothorax begin. This began by 
a sjhitting of the shell along the median line of the carapax. 
The withdrawal of the legs began with the posterior pair and pro- 
ceeded forwards, being taken out pair by j>air. The extrica- 
tion of the claws was attended with great violence and it is 
expressly stated that no splitting of the shell of the claw took 
place to assist in this process. The time occupied was in all twenty 
minutes. The body is reported to have been much elongated and 
the claws drawn and out of shape, and that during subsequent 
hours after the moult the body became shorter and much enlarged. 
The shell hardened completely in seven days. The same observers 
saw another lobster moult, repeating the same process, a few 
months later, in November, with the exception of the hardening 
of the shell which now occupied fourteen days. Mr. Salter also 
records two other specimens of moulted shell observed by him, 
which were also split along the median dorsal line of the carapax. 
