PROFESSOR BROOKS ON BURROWING 285 
highly polished, and without carinzee or spines. The 
female is much larger than the male, of an opaque olive 
brown, almost black colour, while the male is of a trans- 
parent grey. Professor Brooks gives an interesting ac- 
count of its habits :— 
‘It is found in the sand of the ocean beach just below 
low-tide mark, where it is exposed to the full force of the 
ocean swell, and it inhabits a very deep cylindrical burrow 
which is nearly vertical and goes down for several feet. 
While watching for its prey the animal stations itself at 
the mouth of the burrow, which is arched over with sand, 
so that only the tips of the eyes are exposed. The food 
consists of small Crustacea, fishes, and other small animals, 
and when one approaches within reach the Coronis [{ Lysio- 
squilla] darts out of the burrow, knocking away the loose 
sand, and seizing it in its raptorial claw it darts backwards 
with it and retreats to the bottom of the burrow. When 
hungry it often captures prey at a distance of six or eight 
inches, but, as a rule, it waits until it is near enough to 
be caught without leaving the opening. The food which 
is captured is usually stored away at the bottom of the 
burrow, and the animal returns to the mouth and resumes 
its watch. In excavating its burrow the animal begins 
by stretching its body out on the sand, which is then 
swept away from under it by the action of the abdominal 
appendages, until all of the body except the eyes and 
telson are buried. I[t then forces its head into the loose 
sand which has been stirred up by the action of the 
abdominal appendages, and dragging its body down it 
quickly becomes buried vertically, head downwards, and it 
continues to burrow until it reaches the hard undisturbed 
sand, when it bends upon itself, and passing the head up 
on the ventral side of the swimmerets it reverses its posi- 
tion and works upwards to the surface, hardening and 
compressing the sand by the pressure of the dorsal surface. 
After the upper end of the burrow is thus rendered firm 
and circular, it again doubles upon itself, and going to 
the bottom gathers an armful of sand, which is clasped 
against the ventral surface of the body between the large 
