The effect of dantrolene sodium, a muscle relaxant effective on vertebrate skeletal muscle, has been studied on the stretcher muscle of a crab (Callinectes sapidus). The drug rapidly and reversibly attenuates the muscle contractile response to direct and indirect stimulation. Neuromuscular transmission is unaffected, as are the electrical properties of the muscle membrane. It is concluded that dantrolene sodium uncouples excitation–contraction mechanisms in crustacean tonic muscle.