164 



ANIMAL LIFE OF THE DEEP SEA BOTTOM 



Twn sjudts of hermit crab (Parapagurus), one with a sea-diuinniw, 

 colony of sea-anemones, on the shell. About two-thirds natural size. 



l/w other with a whole 



but the reproductive organs fail to develop and the result is a condition 

 of parasitic castration. Ethusa is related to the sponge crabs, having, as 

 the picture shows, the last pair of legs swung up on its back. When con- 

 sidering what would be the natural position of the crab, we were tempted 

 to draw it carrying a sponge between the dorsal legs in the manner of 

 some of its shallow-water relatives. We could imagine the usefulness of 

 carrying a glass-sponge in the claws to deceive a hungry fish which might 

 come into contact with the crab in its blind search for food. But though 

 often found, these deep-sea crabs always came up without anything be- 

 tween the dorsal claws, which is really not surprising considering the hours 

 they had spent being tumbled about in the trawl. 



Hermit crabs are other roving carnivorous animals in the deep. In this 

 particular trawl there were 13, the shells of 12 of which were overgrown 

 by a reddish- violet sea-anemone (Fig. above), while one had a whole 

 colony of coral-like animals (Epizoanthus) surrounding it. This is one 



