96 SEA-SHORE LIFE 



It becomes about ten inches in length, and lives in long, winding 

 barrows below low tide level. It extends from Florida to Cape 

 Cod. The carapace, or back shield, of the creature is short and soft, 

 while the abdomen is about three times as long as the carapace and 

 is broad, flat and segmented. The large pair of feelers end in 

 three branches, while at the base of each of the small feelers there 

 is a broad, flat scale having its edges fringed with hairs. The eye- 

 stalks are curiously bent, and project above the head. The last 

 joint of the great claw is bent forward over the second joint, and is 

 armed with six sharp spines which fit into corresponding sockets 

 at the bottom of a groove on the outer side of the second joint. 

 This constitutes a formidable weapon, and serves in the capture of 

 many sorts of marine animals upon which the Sqinlla feeds. There 

 are three pairs of Aveak walking legs which arise from the first 

 three segments of the abdomen. The leaf-like, hair-edged gills, 

 are seen attached to the lower surface of the abdominal segments. 

 Tlie posterior end of the body is blunt but beset with sharp spines, 

 while a pair of spiny jointed flippers arise from each side. 



The Sqiiilla is an active creature, and when seized it makes 

 effective use of its sharp claws and tail spines, and will inflict a 

 painful wound. It is very attractively colored, for the body is pale 

 green, each segment being bordered posteriorly with dark green 

 and edged with bright yellow. The tail is tinged with rose color 

 and mottled with yellow, green and black. It is nocturnal, remain- 

 ing hidden away in its burrow during the day, and wandering about 

 at night in search of prey. The eggs are laid within the burrow 

 and a current of water is made to flow over them by fanning witli 

 the abdominal appendages. The transparent larva- are found, dur- 

 ing the summer, swimming at the surface. In the Mediterranean 

 and tropical Pacific various species of Sqiiilla are highly esteemed 

 as food. The species eaten in Tahiti is the most delicately flavored 

 crustacean the writer has ever partaken of, and it is possible tliat 

 our Squilla may also be palataljle. Certainly the large species of 

 the Florida coast and Bahamas bears a close resemblance to the 

 edible one of Samoa and Tahiti. 



THE SAND FLEAS 



These little crustaceans live upon our beaches, remaining dur- 

 ing the day in burrows under heaps of decaying sea weeds upon 



