The first indication which he gave that he was 

 about to slough, was a convulsive twitching of his 

 appendages. This was immediately followed by a 

 cracking of the crust. Except for the region of the 

 rostrum, where the eyes and mouth appendages 

 are located at the front, the top of the shell sepa- 

 rated from the underpart and legs and began to 

 lift at the rear, opening like the hinged cover of 

 a box. Slowly the crab, with spasmodic tremors of 

 its frame, worked its way backward out of the 

 carapace until it was finally free, and then re- 

 mained motionless — doubtless exhausted from 

 this travail. The entire operation lasted a little 

 less than half an hour. 



Now Jim, prior to shedding his armor, had, like 

 most males of his kind, shown visible evidence of 

 many battles. He was, in fact, maimed when I 

 first found him, having lost one of his rearmost 

 legs. Perfect specimens among spider-crabs are the 

 exception rather than the rule; for generally these 

 creatures are minus one or several appendages. 

 Notwithstanding their sluggish habits, the males 

 particularly are prone to engage in quarrels. Bat- 

 tle-scars and such disfigurations as the loss of a 

 leg, while inconvenient, perhaps, are but tem- 



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