COMMON SHORE-CRAB. 79 



fish, and almost any other animal .substance. Indeed, 

 the most common method of taking 1 these Crabs at Poole, 

 where numbers are caught by the fishermen's children, is 

 by tying a mass of the intestines of either a fowl or of 

 any fish to a line, and hanging it over the quay : the 

 Crabs seize upon this bait, and are drawn up in considera- 

 ble numbers. Mr. Hailstone states, that they attack 

 mussels, and that he once saw one carrying about on its 

 hand a mussel which had closed its shell upon it. They 

 run with considerable rapidity, and with an awkward 

 sidelong gait ; and they lurk in pools of water left by the 

 tide, partially concealed in the sand, but with the anterior 

 part of the carapace, including the eyes, exposed, so as to 

 watch for the approach of their small living prey, on 

 which they spring with great activity. They are, however, 

 very timid and wary, and will not move if they discover 

 that they are watched. They simulate death, if disturbed, 

 as completely as do many coleopterous insects. 



The process of exuviation takes place at various parts 

 of the year, from spring to autumn. I have found the fe- 

 male carrying spawn as early as April, and as late as Sep- 

 tember. 



The eggs continue to increase in size in this and in the 

 rest of the Portunida, until the abdomen is forced back- 

 wards to an obtuse angle with the body. Like most of 

 the Brachyura, this species buries its ova in the sand ; 

 and " when they are disengaged," says Mr. Couch, " the 

 Crab stands high on the points of its legs, and employs a 

 couple of them, one on each side, in working the loose ten- 

 drils to which the ova are attached.'' 1 For the following 

 interesting account of the development of this species, T 

 am indebted to the kindness of the same indefatigable ob- 

 server. " The ova come to life in about forty-eight hours 



