92 



SEA-SHORE LIFE 



legs are slender and about five inches long. This shrimp ranges 

 from New York to Brazil, but is found also among the tropical islands 



of the Pacific. It 

 lives among the cor- 

 als, the male and fe- 

 male swimming side 

 by side. The eggs 

 are of a delicate 

 green color, and are 

 carried about at- 

 tached to the abdo- 

 minal appendages 

 of the female. When 

 disturbed theshrimp 

 retreats within the 

 crevices of the corals. 

 The Feather-Footed Shrimp, (Mijsis sfenolepis, Fig. 57 J, is a 

 little translucent brown creature about one-half an inch long and 

 may be recognized by the feathery hairs on its legs and antennae, 

 large eyes, and spines on the sides of the body. It has no claws, 

 and the abdomen is "broken-backed," and somewhat longer than 

 the forward part of the body. It is most abundant on our coast in 

 winter in shallow muddy or grassy places, and often occurs in great 

 swarms. 



HERMIT CRABS 



Ftg^. 59; HERMIT CRAB. From Life. Showing tiie 



borrowed sliell covered with sea weeds and Hydrac- 



tinia. Cape Ann, Mass. 



The Hermit Crabs, {PaguridceJ. In these animals the abdomen 

 is soft and covered only by a delicate skin, but the crab protects 

 it by inserting its abdomen within the cavity of some empty 

 shell which it drags about in all of its wanderings. This habit of 

 occupying shells has profoundly modified the structure of the body. 

 The abdominal appendages are reduced or wanting, and the sixth 

 pair have become hook-like, allowing the crab to anchor itself with- 

 in the shell. The abdomen is twisted so as to fit into the coils of 

 the shell, while in some species all of the legs on one side are shorter 

 than those of the other, thus giving the body a one-sided appear- 

 ance. The front legs and claws of the crab are covered with a hard 

 crust, and the eyes are mounted upon long stalks. When disturbed 



