PRAWNS 



sandy shores it is translucent, pale in color, and often specked, closely 

 resembling the sand, while on dark, muddy bottoms it is much darker. 

 This is an edible shrimp, eagerly devoured by fishes ; it is also gathered 

 for the markets. The body of C. vul- 

 garis is broad at the anterior end and 

 tapers to a sharp point at the posterior 

 extremity. A pair of broad, divided 

 appendages on the cylindrical segment, 

 which is next to the last on the abdomen, 

 together with the sharp telson, form 

 a fan-like swimming-tail. As in all 

 shrimps, the antennas are long and have 

 plate-like antennal scales at the base, 

 which are fringed with hairs. The man- 

 dibles are long. The movable finger of 

 the chela is folded across the extremity 

 of the claw. 



C. franciscorum, the California 

 shrimp. This species is about three 

 inches in length. It is distinguished 

 from C. vulgaris by its larger size and 

 by the greater length of the movable 

 finger of the chela, which folds parallel 

 to the side of the claw instead of across 

 its extremity. Its color is light or dark 

 yellowish-gray, mottled. This is the 

 shrimp extensively gathered by the 

 Chinese for commercial purposes. The 

 shrimp-meat is dried and cured, and 

 then separated by blowers very much 

 as wheat is cleaned. It is exported to 

 Eastern countries in great quantities, 

 the value of the export being estimated at 



, j , , j j 11 Crangonvulgans, the common sand-shrimp; 



one hundred thousand dollars per annum. male, natural size. 



CREEPING FORMS: LOBSTERS AND CRAWFISH 



FAMILY ASTACOIDJE 



GENUS Homarus 



There are but three species of this genus, which is the most im- 

 portant one of all the Crustacea. They are H. vulgaris of Europe, 

 H. capensis of the Cape of Good Hope, and H. americanus, which 

 occurs on the eastern coast of the United States from Labrador 

 to New Jersey. The lobster-fishery is one of great importance, 

 of such value that it is governed by stringent laws. The 



