THE CRUSTACEANS 



105 



Fig. 73; fiHOST CRAB. Florida Beaches. 



her legs and claws are now too weak to he of any service in the 



battle for life outside of the cavity of the oyster shell. The eggs 



are carried by the female until 



they hatch. The larvte then 



swim through the water, and 



the little females enter oysters 



in their last larval stages. 



Another little crab (Finno- 

 i/te/"e.s//iac»Zai«t//iJisfound with- 

 in the cavity of the shells of the 

 common mussel, and the scallop. 



The Ghost Crab, fOcijpoda arenaria, Fig.^. 73, 77 J, ranges from 

 Brazil to New Jersey. The young are often found late in summer 

 on the hot sandy beaches of the southern coast of Long Island, al- 

 though they probably die in the winter. The shell of the crab is 

 about two inches wide and a little less than this in length, and is 

 quite rectangular with an angular ridge along each side. The eyes 



are mounted on the ends of 

 long stalks, which are usu- 

 ally held upright, but may 

 be folded back into sockets 

 on the face of the shell. The 

 crab is dull yellowish-white, 

 and the surface of the shell is 

 granulated. The claws are 

 sharp and powerful, one claw 

 being about twice the size of 

 the other. This crab digs 

 long inclined burrows fully 

 three feet deep into the sandy 

 beaches. It scrapes the sand 

 out "sidewise" with its 

 legs and throws it away from the mouth of the burrow by a 

 sudden dash. It is a scavenger, feeding upon decomposing animals 

 and plants, and even eating beach-fleas. Although these crabs are 

 relatively inactive during the day, at night they swarm in great 

 numbers over our southern beaches. As they flit rapidly about in 

 the moonlight their popular name of ghost crab seems remarkably 



Fig. 74; FIDDLER CRAB. 

 Long Island, N. Y. 



Male, 



