42 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEAS 



The crushing claw may be either right- or left-handed, speci- 

 mens occasionally having both claws of the crushing or 

 cutting type. Lobsters show great variety of colour, 

 deep water specimens tending to be of a darker blue than 

 the shallow-water forms, whilst such colour freaks as pale 

 blue, mauve, red and even albino lobsters are not unknown. 

 These crustaceans are omnivorous and are highly pug- 

 nacious. The entire group has the power to reproduce 

 lost limbs, a useful provision since injuries necessitating 

 the discarding of the limb at a special joint are of frequent 

 occurrence. 



The smaller and more elongate Norway Lobster or 

 Dublin Bay Prawn (Nephrops norvegius) occurs in deep 

 water off our western coasts. 



Allied to the lobsters are the handsome Crawfish and 

 Flat Lobsters, which lack the large pincered claw of the 

 true lobsters. The Common Crawfish, or Langouste of 

 the French (Palinurus vulgaris), is the largest of all the long- 

 tailed crustaceans, the body and tail often measuring 

 2 ft. in length, whilst the long and inflexible antennas 

 considerably exceed this measurement. By rubbing the 

 bases of its antennas against the central beak or rostrum 

 it can produce a loud grunting noise. 



In the related Flat Lobster {Arctus ursus) the antennas 

 form large broad flattened plates, which serve to shovel 

 up silt and conceal food. 



Recent researches have shown that the long-tailed 

 Crustacea, though like the other groups without any 

 true hearing apparatus, can " tune in " or at least pick 

 up vibrations in the surrounding water by means of certain 

 " auditory hairs " fringing their legs. These convey the 



