Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, Barnacles, etc. (Crustacea). 



Some of the Crabs with a square body have similar habits. 

 Dorippe lanata (fig. 142) gets hold of any living or dead object 

 within its reach, holds it above its body with the claws of the two 

 last pairs of legs, and walks about thus concealed. Sea-cucumbers 

 and ascidians, crabs and starfishes, fishes' heads, bits of glass 

 or wood, in fact anything and everything which can serve as a 

 shield, is annexed without further ado. Naturally, when the 

 desired shield happens to be a living animal, there often ensue 

 very laughable conflicts between the instinct-obeying crab and 

 its reluctant victim. Dromia, the Woolly-crab (fig. 141), covers 

 itself so completely with an orange-coloured sponge {Subcrites, 

 p. 62), or with a colony of compound ascidians, that, if you look 

 at the animal from above, only its legs are visible. Here, too, 

 the living coat, which increases in size as fast as the crab, is held 

 on by means of the two last pairs of legs. The formation and 

 position of these legs are best seen in the rare Homola Cuvieri 

 (tank No 3). This animal often loses its protection covering, in be- 

 ing hauled up from the considerable depths in which it lives, and, 

 finding no suitable substitute in the Aquarium, it nevertheless 

 holds its hind legs up, as if carrying a burden. This, together 

 with the long stilt-like form of the legs makes it a grotesque sight. 



The Crabs with a round body behave very different, for they 

 are extremely clean. Calappa, the Bashful-crab (fig. 134), seeks 

 protection by burying itself in the sand. With a few vigorous 

 movements of its large shovel-like legs it sinks itself up to the 

 eyes in the sand, and carefully surveys the country from this 

 retreat. Ilia (fig. 133) acts in the same way. A touching example 

 of friendliness has been observed in Calappa. As mentioned above, 

 immediately after moulting and before the hardening of the new 

 armour, crustaceans are helpless against their enemies. In the 

 time of their need the Calappas protect their younger companions 

 by taking them under their broad and strong claws, until the 

 shells have become hard again. 



The most highly developed kinds of this group are the Shore- 

 crabs, of which we will only mention Carcinus (Green Crab, fig. 136), 

 Eriphia (fig. 137) and Lupa (fig. 135). Their agility and slyness 

 are surprising and, together with their power of living and moving 

 on land, point to a further progress in their organisation. Those 

 who have tried to catch one •will remember the difficulty in ob- 

 taining even one of a hundred, and will have noticed how cleverly 

 the little fugitive availed itself of every hiding-place, and how 

 boldly it defended itself when finally driven into a corner. The 

 strong Eriphiac are especially ready to fight, and with their strong 

 claws they violently pinch every thing which is held out at them. 

 In the Aquarium they have been seen to break thick glass tubes. 

 If one picks up a crab by a claw or a walking-leg, the limb remains 

 in the hand and the crab runs off, for more than other crustaceans 



