﻿CRAWFISH AND LOBSTER. 133 



claws, and for this reason the fisherman drives in a little 

 wedge of wood to prevent the animal from opening the mov- 

 able part, so that he can handle it without being bitten. 



The other legs are long and slender. The two forward 

 pairs end in slender nippers, while the two hinder pairs end 

 in a single projecting claw. With these four smaller pairs 

 of legs the crawfish and lobster crawl or walk. 



On the under side of the abdomen are little flattened ap- 

 pendages arranged in pairs, a pair to each ring or segment. 

 The animal not only swims backward by means of the broad 



Fia. 124.— One of the Flattened or Abdominal Appendages of a Lobster. 



fins on the end of the tail, or abdomen, but has the povv^er 

 besides to swim in a forward direction by extending the ab- 

 domen, and using the little fins below as swimming organs. 



123. The crawfish, like the lobster, breathes in the water 

 by means of gills. These are attached to the base of the 

 legs and are concealed on the sides of the thorax by the 

 carapace, which covers them. By forcibly tearing up the 

 side of the carapace, there will be exposed the gills which 



