NOTES ON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE FIDDLER (RAH. 185 



lations mentioned above and the terminal hooks (dactylopodits) 

 sink into the sand. The legs are not bent at once but one after 

 another in a quick rhythm which helps to make the sand lighter. 

 If the sand is hard those efforts are repeated, until the whole 

 dactylopodits and a good part of propodits enter into it. \ 

 portion of sand lies now between the legs 2, 3, 4 and the side of 

 the thorax. Now the legs become also bent in the articulation 

 coxo-basipodit which works in the same direction as the former 

 two. The portion of sand becomes loosened from the ground 

 and tightly pressed to the side of the carapace. The crab walks 

 a few centimeters aside carrying the sand, then it stops and the 

 legs 2, 3, 4 become bent also in the articulation sternum-coxopodit 

 working nearly at right angles to the former three. Through 

 this movement the pellet is directed towards the sagital plane 

 of the body and forward. It is pushed in this direction by the 

 side surface of the working legs. A further bending of the same 

 articulation causes the legs to touch the pellet with their external 

 surface. As soon as this occurred the legs become extended in 

 the articulation mero-carpopodit one after another as at the 

 beginning. The pellet may be now pushed still further towards 

 the side I.-V. The sand is not very wet at the surface and the 

 pellet does not hold together. The lose sand grains are to be 

 prevented from falling back into the hollow remaining at the 

 place of the removed pellet and the crab does it very carefully. 

 In this work of pushing away the sand which is not any more 

 held by the legs the small chela helps also. Very often it starts 

 helping even before, when the pellet is first formed, pushing it 

 together with legs 2, 3, 4. But it is never used for digging in 

 the proper sense. The leg 5 also remains inactive in digging as 

 it has a different task to accomplish. After having pushed the 

 sand away, removed the grains that remained on the legs and 

 kneaded the sand a little the animal returns to the hollow and 

 grasps another portion of sand in the same way. But even the 

 second pellet brings some difficulty with it as it is never carried 

 far away and the lose grains of sand easily roll back. Therefore 

 as the work progresses, more and more legs participate in it. 

 Besides the legs 1,2, 3, 4 the leg II. begins to help. When the 

 pellet is already pushed beyond the sagittal plane of the body 



