A CAREFUL TOILETTE 



115 



considered. One curious point as to their distribution 

 may be noticed. When the female is loaded with eggs, 

 the basal segment or segments of the pleon are forced 

 upwards so as to need concealment like the carapace. 

 The result is, in some at least of the Oxyrrhyncha, that 

 hooks for the attachment of foreign objects occur upon 

 these segments in the females but not in the males. 



While dressing themselves the crabs invariably bring 

 each portion of their intended coat to their mouths as if 



FxG. 8.—Chorinvs aculeatus, Milne-Edwards [Aurivillius]. 



they were going to eat or at least to taste it. Aurivillius 

 noticed that if a piece did not hold firm where the crab 

 was seeking to plant it, recourse was had again to the 

 mouth, and if the piece still proved intractable, it would 

 be brought to the mouth a third time and then tried on a 

 fresh spot. The object of this assiduous application to 

 the mouth is, he thinks, that each piece may be well 

 licked, a secretion from the mouth organs, especially the 

 first pair of maxillipeds, bestowing the requisite adhesive 

 10 



