THE CRUSTACEANS 105 
her legs and claws are now too weak to be of any service in the 
battle for life outside of the cavity of the oyster shell. The eggs 
are carried by the female until 
they hatch. The larve then 
swim through the water, and 
the little females enter oysters 
in their last larval stages. 
Another little crab ( Pinno- 
theresmaculatum )isfound with-  — 


in the cavity of the shellsofthe 5, ... GHosr CRAB. 
common mussel, and the scallop. 
The Ghost Crab, (Ocypoda arenaria, Figs. 73,77), ranges from 
Brazil to New Jersey. The young are often found late in summer 
on the hot sandy beaches of the southern coast of Long Island, al- 
though they probably die in the winter. The shell of the crab is 
about two inches wide and a little less than this in length, and is 
Florida Beaches. 
quite rectangular with an angular ridge along each side. ‘The eyes 
are mounted on the ends of 
long stalks, which are usu- 
ally held upright, but may 
be folded back into sockets 
on the face of the shell. The 
crab is dull yellowish-white, 
and the surface of the shell is 
granulated. The claws are 
sharp and powerful, one claw 
being about twice the size of 
the other. This crab digs 

long inclined burrows fully 
three feet deep into the sandy 
Fig. 74; FIDDLER CRAB. Male, beaches. It scrapes the sand 
Long Island, N. Y. ‘ 
out “sidewise” with its 
legs and throws it away from the mouth of the burrow by a 
sudden dash. It is ascavenger, feeding upon decomposing animals 
and plants, and even eating beach-fleas. Although these crabs are 
relatively inactive during the day, at night they swarm in great 
numbers over our southern beaches. As they flit rapidly about in 
the moonlight their popular name of ghost crab seems remarkably 
