292 THE SEA SHOES 



Another abundant and well-known species is the Edible Crab 

 (Cancer pagurus), which is as familiar an object in town as on the 

 sea coast. Unlike the common lobster, its natural colour is not 

 considerably changed by boiling, being only turned from a dull to 

 a brighter red. 



The finest specimens of this crab are to be caught beyond low- 

 water-mark, the usual snare being the basket or pot, baited with 

 fish refuse, but large numbers live among the stones and rocks 

 left exposed at low tide, and sometimes include specimens of consider- 

 able size. They should be looked for under large stones that are 

 loosely piled together, or in the narrow chinks of rocks. 



It is very interesting to compare the habits of the two common 

 crabs just mentioned. The former, when molested, will run off 

 in great haste, but always retreat with its front to the enemy, 

 and its sharp and powerful pincers far apart and wide open, 

 ready for immediate use in its own defence if necessary. The latter 

 species, on the other hand, though strongly built and provided with 

 formidable claws, seldom runs far, and hardly ever attacks one in 

 the act of pulling it out of its hiding-place ; but, on the contrary, 

 doubles all its ten legs under its body as if endeavouring to 

 approach, as nearly as possible, the form of a ball, and will allow 

 itself to be rolled about without showing any signs of life. 



The genus Xantho contains two or three species that are 

 common on the Cornish and Devon coasts, and which may be 

 known by their depressed and deeply-grooved carapace and the 

 presence of three or four prominent tubercles on the latero-anterior 

 margins. The abdomen of the female has seven joints, while that 

 of the male has only five. One of these (Xantho florida), shown 

 on Plate VI., is a powerfully built crab, as may be seen when, after 

 being disturbed, it pushes its way among the loose stones of the 

 beach, often lifting masses many times its own weight. 



On the same plate is also a figure of the pretty Velvet Crab 

 (Portunus puber), also known as the Lady Crab and the Violet 

 Fiddler. The first of these popular names has its origin in the 

 dense covering of close hairs that clothe the carapace, and the 

 last refers to the beautiful violet colouring of parts of the front 

 legs, and, to a lesser extent, of the remaining legs. This is, 

 perhaps, the most ferocious of all our shore crabs, and its attacks, 

 when disturbed, are of such a determined nature that the catching 

 of the larger specimens is quite a lively sport. Though it can 

 hardly be described as an abundant species, yet it sometimes occurs 



