Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/305

"Replying to your letter of April 20th, I am not authority for the statement that a large Lobster, recently exhibited in the Aquarium and now in the taxidermist's hands, is the 'largest Lobster in the world.' Its weight, as given to me by an assistant of Prof. Bristol, of New York University, was 33 lbs., of which the large forceps furnished 17 lbs. The total length he found to be 23¾ in., from rostrum to end of telson, not including hairs. The straight measurement of the large forceps is 15 in., and its girth 20½ in. The length of the small forceps is 15½ in., and its girth 15¼ in. The carapace is 9¾ in., exclusive of rostrum, which is 2⁵⁄₁₆ in., and its girth behind the cervical groove is 19¾ in. The Lobster is Homarus americanus (M. Edw.). The example was taken by a cod-fishing smack off Sandy Hook late in March. It lived in the Aquarium only three weeks. The lower salinity of the water supply and the reduced pressure were the probable causes of its death. It took no food during captivity. When the salinity of the water is greater, as occurs in the fall of the year, it is practicable to keep large Lobsters alive during the entire winter, and they can easily be induced to feed upon pieces of cod or herring."— Tarleton H. Bean, Director (New York Aquarium).