Mr. H. H. Read, of the firm of Toeg & Read, has put on loan in the Shanghai Museum (Royal Asiatic Society) a magnificent specimen of the Giant Japanese Crab (Macrocheirai kempferi), which was caught some years ago by some Japanese fishermen in their nets in Tokio Bay, and purchased by Mr. H. J. Sharp. Mr. Sharp had the specimen sent Home to London and it was mounted by Roland Ward, the well-known taxidermist in Piccadilly. Since then it has been kept in Mrs. Sharp's house in Avenue Joffre, where it has always been. a source of interest to visitors.
This specimen appears to be the largest in any collection. Its across the claws is 10 ft. 3 in. In the Natural History Museum at South Kensington there are three specimens, none of which is up to the present one in size. The crab is apparently a deep water species, and though well known, is comparatively rare in museum collections.
The magnificent specimen should form a great attraction to visitors to the Museum. It is hung on the wall of the room above the library,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.