THE CRUSTACEANS 101 
in the markets. In this country it is used only for bait. It grows 
to be about three inches in width, and two in length. There are 
ten sharp-edged 
teeth, five on each 
side, which pro- 
ject forward from 
the front edges 
of the shell. The 
right hand claw 
is somewhat larg- 
er and blunter 
than the left. It 
is a pugnacious 
fighter and rapid 
runner. 
The Lady 
Crab, (Platyoni- 
chus ocellatus, 
Fig. 63), 18 a 
beautiful species common on sandy bottoms from Cape Cod to 
Florida, and is abundant on the southern Long Island coast. It is 
of a delicate greenish-yellow profusely spotted with purple-colored 
rings. The powerful claws are 

Fig. 69; LADY CRAB. From a specimen in the 
New York Aquarium. 
armed with jagged teeth which 
enable the crab to seize upon 
the fish and other animals 
which it devours. This crab 
is often seen partially buried 
beneath the sand with only the 

eye-stalks protruding. The 
hind legs are paddle-shaped 
Fig 70; GULF-WEED CRAB. From float- and the crab uses them very 
ing Gulf-weed. Tortugas, Florida. effectually in swimming, al- 
though it can also craw] with its 
other legs. It grows to be about two and a half inches long and 
three broad. The Gulf-Weed Crab, ( Portunus sayi, Fig. LOY. 
lives within the masses of gulf-weed (Sargassum) which float 
over the tropical Atlantic, and is sometimes drifted upon our coast 
