SEA-SCORPIONS 55 
beautiful restoration in wax of Eurypterus Fischeri may be seen 
in the Gallery of Crustacea in the Natural History Museum. 
Our Sea-scorpions are related to the king-crab of the present 
day. Now, this creature, it is well known, burrows into the mud 
and sand at the bottom of the sea. This it does by shoving its 
broad sharp-edged head-shield downwards, working rapidly at 
the same time with its hinder feet, or appendages, and by push- 
ing with the long spike that forms a kind of tail. It will 
thus sink deeper and deeper until nothing can be seen of its 
body, and only the eyes peep out of the mud. It will crawl and 
wander about by night, but remains hidden by day. Some indi- 
viduals are of large size, and occasionally measure two feet in 
length. They possess six pairs of well-formed feet, the joints of 
which, near the body, are armed with teeth and spines, and serve 
the purpose of jaws, being used to masticate the food and force it 
into the mouth, which is situated between them. 
Now, this fact is of great importance; for it helps us to under- 
stand the use of the four pairs of “ jaw-feet” in our Sea-scorpions. 
What curious animals they must have been, using the same 
limbs for walking, holding their prey, and eating! Look at the 
broad plates at the base of the oar-like limbs, or appendages, with 
their tooth-like edges. These are the plates found by Hugh 
Miller’s quarrymen, and compared by them to the wings of 
seraphim. The reader will easily perceive that by a backward 
and forward movement, they would perform the office of teeth 
and jaws, while the long antenne with their nippers—helped by 
the other and smaller appendages—held the unfortunate victim 
in a relentless grasp. And even these smaller limbs, as seen 
from the figure, had their first joints, near the mouth, provided 
with toothed edges like a saw. 
With regard to the habits of Sea-scorpions, it would not be 
