372 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



and capable of moving freely in all directions, as 

 though suspended on gimbals. 



The prawn then slowly sways itself to and fro, and 

 from side to side, with strong muscular efforts, appa- 

 rently for the purpose of loosening the whole surface 

 of the body from the carapace ; the two pairs of pre- 

 hensile or didactylous legs are at the same time kept 

 raised from the ground stretched forwards, and fre- 

 quently passed over each other with a rubbing motion, 

 as if to destroy any remaining adhesion ; the eyes 

 also may be observed to be moved within their cover- 

 ing, from side to side, by muscular contraction ; and 

 when every precaution appears to have been perfectly 

 taken for the withdrawal of its body from its too 

 limited habiliments, a fissure is observed to take place 

 between the carapace and the abdomen, at the upper 

 and back part, and the head, antennae, legs, feet, and 

 all their appendages, are slowly and carefully drawn 

 backwards and out from the dorsal shield, until the 

 eyes are quite clear of the body-shell or carapace, and 

 appear above its margin ; the prawn, thus half re- 

 leased, then makes a sudden backward spring or jerk, 

 and the whole of the exuvium is left behind, generally 

 adhering by the shell of the six feet to the surface it 

 had selected for its purpose. 



A moment's consideration will develope to the 

 contemplative mind, writes Mr. Warington, what a 

 truly wondrous process this act of exuviation really 

 is. When we reflect on the small size of this crusta- 

 cean, and the extreme delicacy and intricacy of all its 

 various organs, and then find that in this moulting, 

 the shell of the most minute and complicated of these 



