CRABS. 41 



silk mussel, is here found in the bottom of the sea in 

 large quantities, and is a foot long. The cuttle-fish 

 watches the opportunity when the mussel opens her 

 shell to creep in and devour her ; hut a little Crab 

 which has scarcely any shell, or has at least only a 

 very thin one, lodges constantly in this shell-fish. 

 She pays a good rent by saving the life of her land- 

 lady, for she keeps a constant look-out through the 

 aperture of the shell, and on seeing the enemy approach 

 she begins to stir, when the iriva (for so the Greeks 

 call the shell-fish) shuts up her house, and the rapa- 

 cious animal is excluded. I saw this shell-fish first 

 at the Island of Milo, and found such a little Crab in 

 all I opened. I wondered not a little what was her 

 business there ; but when I came here, I was first 

 informed of it by the Secretary of our Consul, M. 

 Justi, a curious and ingenious man, wdio has travelled 

 much, and lived long in this place. This was after- 

 wards confirmed by several Greeks who daily catch 

 and eat both these animals." 



The common Pea Crab {Pinnotheres ^Jisi^m), repre- 

 sented in the annexed cut, and of enlarged scale, is an 

 inhabitant of our own coasts, and frequently found 

 residing within the shell of the common edible mussel, 

 {Mytilus edulis) ; but it is very remarkable that the 

 female Crabs are very much more numerous than the 

 males, and that although the male Crab may be 



