Mate Part III.—Twenty-eighth Annual Report 
CRUSTACEA. 
The crustacea most frequently observed were Nephrops norvegicus, hermit 
crabs, chiefly Hupagurus bernhardus, Portunus depurator, and one or two 
other species such as Corystes cassivelanus, Hyas coarctatus, small Galathea 
sp., and Pandalus montagut. In one stomach no fewer than a dozen small 
Corystes cassivelaunus were counted, while some of the Nephrops and hermit 
crabs observed were of fairly large size. 
CUTTLEFISHES. 
Cuttlefishes were rarely met with in the stomachs examined in January, 
and those observed appeared to be Eledones. No Annelids nor starfishes 
were observed. 
February. 
The number of halibut stomachs examined in February was 160, and of 
these 125 contained food ; the others were empty, or their contents could not 
be identified. 
A considerable proportion of the halibut were small, being under 3 
feet in leneth, and only a few of them were from 3 to 34 feet long. 
Fishes—Gadoids and sand-eels for the most part—formed the only food 
observed in nearly sixty per cent. of these, and the stomachs in which 
crustacea alone constituted the food contents amounted only to a little over 
nine per cent. On the other hand, the number that contained a mixture of 
crustavea, fish, and other organisms was larger in proportion than in the 
previous months. Cuttlefishes were also much more frequently met with. 
FISHES. 
As indicated above, the fishes observed consisted chiefly of whitings, . 
haddocks, and sand-eels, several of the former being tolerably large. One of 
the stomachs, for example, contained a fairly large haddock 18 inches long and 
a small one 8 or 9 inches; another stomach contained two whiting, and, 
judging by the size of their earstones, both were at least 15 inches long, 
The occurrence of such large specimens was, however, exceptional ; the sizes 
of haddock and whiting more commonly noticed ranged from about 7 to 10 
inches. Most of the sand-eels were only half-grown specimens, but a few 
were adults, or nearly so, and were full of ripe or nearly ripe spawn. Other 
fishes which were observed, though somewhat sparingly, included brassies and 
Gadus (%) esmarki, long rough dabs, small plaice, and the remains of herring. 
CRUSTACEA. 
The crustacea comprised such forms as Hupagurus bernhardus, and 
Eupagurus prideaux, Nephrops norvegicus, Hyas coarctatus, Portunus 
holsatus, Crangon almanni, and the leg of a fairly large JLithodes 
mata, as well as the digested remains of Lernea branchialis and other 
nondescript forms. A number of Schizopods (Thysanoessa) and Huthemisto 
compressa were also observed, but these were doubtless from the stomachs of 
- some of the fishes swallowed by the halibut. 
CUTTLEFISHES. 
Cuttlefishes occurred in no fewer than about 20 of the stomachs examined 
in February, and in about 13 of these they formed the only organisms 
present. Theonly species that could be determined were Loligo vulgaris and 
Eledone cirrosa, the remains being usually too imperfect for identification 
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