106 Bulletin, Vanderhilt Marine Museum, Vol. II 



was as indistinguishable from the maze of their own vivid orange 

 colonies as a khaki-clad soldier marching with his regiment. Deciding 

 to watch for the tubular eye of the crab-mosaic, I found that it became 

 lost through resemblance in a maze of sponge osculi. Only when a 

 seeming Eocene pebble seized with flashing rapidity a silvery rose 

 minnow and forced it with mimic tyrant power under the seeming 

 orange sponge could I truly say: ** There is eutheca!" A second and 

 the rainbow minnow was gone — the seeming pebble immutable. Over 

 the pebble a shadow presaged danger — seen from above, a school of 

 ethereally beautiful blue parrot fish — seen by the tiny tube-encased 

 crab-eye, a school of titanic carnivorous enemies, whose powerful beak 

 could crush even the little fighting conch. Inscrutable as Buddha, the 

 crab awaited Fate, its weapon claws powerless against these Titans, 

 lay as immutable pebbles beside an orange flame * * sponge, ' ' an animal 

 as unpalatable to fishes as crabs are desirable, the tiny eyes staring — 

 unwinking, two sponge osculi, watched danger pass ; the hungry keen- 

 eyed parrots were outwitted in a game begun by their ancestors mil- 

 lions of years ago. Eeaching down to examine this gallant little chap, 

 my careful hand disturbed the waters and a miracle was enacted in 

 my hand — the orange-flame paled, faded, was gone ; I held only a gro- 

 tesque fragment of colorless, creamy coral rock that sought to "flat- 

 ten itself" into the new environment. Carefully avoiding touching 

 the legs, because of their well-known habit of breaking off in an effort 

 to effect escape, I placed eutheca in a jar with white algae. In a few 

 minutes the little claws were engaged in removing bit by bit the dress 

 of orange sponges and green-brown algae and, with infinite patience, 

 replacing little white algae under the hook-like hairs that hold this 

 robe de camouflage in place. Two hours and thirteen minutes were 

 required for this transformation. Later on, at the laboratory, I 

 placed this same specimen, still garbed in white algae, in a large 

 aquarium, equidistant from a clump of orange sponge, one of white 

 algae and one of green sea-lettuce. With unerring precision, my little 

 friend scuttled for the orange sponge, cast off the white algae robe 

 and patiently dressed in orange. This procedure, repeated a score of 

 times with several specimens, invariably resulted in a selection of 

 orange sponge. 



Technicali DESCRIPTION: Carapacc rugose, subpyriform, contour 

 subtrapezoidal, decidedly constricted behind the orbits. Rostral 

 horns, slender, graceful, largely subparallel, tips a little divergent, 

 sinus broad, U-shaped. Orbital sheath decidedly prominent, directed 



