254 THE LIFE OF CRUSTACEA 



{Limnoria lignorum — Fig. 80), which is distributed 

 from Norway to the Black Sea,|and[occurs^^also on 

 the Atlantic coast of North America. Several species 

 of the same genus having similar habits are found in 

 other parts of the world. The Gribble was first 

 discovered as a British species by Robert Stevenson, 

 the celebrated lighthouse engineer, who found it in 



Fig. 80— The Gribble {Limnoria lignorum). Much enlarged 

 (From British Museum Guide, after Sars.) 



181 1 destroying the woodwork employed in the 

 erection of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, and sent 

 specimens to Dr. Leach of the British Museum. 

 The animal is only about one-eighth of an inch in 

 length, and its cylindrical burrow is about one- 

 fifteenth of an inch in diameter, and penetrates for a 

 depth of one or two inches. The excavation of the 

 wood is effected by means of the mandibles, which 

 are unusually strong ; and when the animals are 



