130 THE STRAWBERRY CRAB. 



attacliment, and to tlie softness of the rock, a sort of 

 indurated clay, on which (at least with us) they gene- 

 rally grow; a substance which often grinds away 

 under the chisel, instead of splitting off. 



THE STRAWBERRY CRAB. 



Among the multitudes of curious creatures which 

 the dredge rakes up from the prolific bottom of 

 Weymouth Bay there occurs occasionally a pretty 

 little Crab, which is sometimes called the Strawberry, 

 from its being studded all over with pink tubercles on 

 a white ground, remotely resembling the seeds that 

 adhere to the fleshy surface of that delicious fruit. 

 The same peculiarity has been seized to give its 

 scientific appellation, Eurynome asjpera. These tu- 

 bercles under a low magnifier are very curious, con- 

 sisting of short cylindrical columns, the truncate 

 ends of which are beset with polished red or white 

 hemispherical knobs. The first pair of legs have 

 the joints very long, projecting awkwardly in an 

 angle on each side, and the wrists have a curious 

 twist. 



Mr. Bell, in his beautiful work on the British Crus- 

 tacea, calls this one of our rare species, and says that 

 little is known of its habits. I am the more pleased 

 to have an opportunity of adding an item to its history, 

 and of tracing some connexion between its habits and 

 the peculiarities of its conformation. 



The story may be summed up in a word; the 

 Strawberry Crab is a climber. If it were a terrestrial 

 animal, I should say its habits are arboreal. True, 

 it now and then wanders over the bottom of its abode, 



