The Reproduction of the Lobster

Abstract

Amongst the numerous subjects which have occupied the attention of the fishery authorities of the United States, that of the great decline in the productiveness of the lobster fishing industry has received much consideration, and several competent naturalists have, in consequence, devoted themselves to a scientific study of the habits and life-history of the American species. This species (Homarus Americanus) is so nearly allied to the European lobster (Homarus vulgaris), that the results arrived at for it, with regard to such questions as the time of year at which spawning takes place, the length of time during which the eggs are carried by the female attached to the under side of the abdomen, and the time of year at which the eggs are hatched, might be expected to apply, to some extent at least, to the latter. That this is so, appears to be abundantly proved by Dr. Ehrenbaum's study of the lobsters which frequent the shores of Heligoland, and certain observations which I have been able to make on lobsters taken in the neighbourhood of Plymouth during the last two years, in the course of my work on the nervous system of the embryo, also tend to confirm this view.