100 SEA-SHORE LIFE 
and many other marine animals. In fact, almost any decomposing 
animal will be greedily devoured by crabs. The shell is shed at 

Fig. 68; GREEN CRAB.  Annisquam, Mass. 
least once during the summer and the crab then expands consider- 
ably, but remains soft for a few days, and is then sold in the mar- 
kets as a “‘soft-shelled crab.” The soft-shelled male crabs hide 
away during this period, for they are quite defenceless, but the 
soft-shelled female is protected by a hard-shelled male who clings 
to her. The paddle-like expansions of the last joints of the hinder- 
most pairs of legs enable the blue crab to swim rapidly, while its 
other legs are used in crawling. It is exceedingly pugnacious 
and makes effective use of its sharp, powerful claws. 
The eggs are laid during the summer soon after the annual 
moult, and are carried about attached to the abdominal appendages 
of the female until they hatch. 
This blue crab can be at once distinguished from all other 
species of our coast by the sharp spine which projects outward 
from each side of the body. It becomes fully six inches in width. 
The Green Crab, (Carcinus menas, Fig. 6S). This crab is dark 
olive-green mottled with yellow-green, and is abundant in Long 
Island Sound, and on the New England Coast north of Cape Cod. 
It is also found on the northern coasts of Europe, where it is sold 
