PORTUNID^. 



their nearly circular foU obliquely outwarda Tb boooal frame it 

 little wider backwards thmn it i in front, and tho third joint of the 

 jaw-feet b much dibtsd externally, and notched it iU two internal 

 ache. The sternal pUwtron b limiUr to that of the /'erfmti, and *o 

 would be the feet, if it wen not that the tarsus of the posterior feet 

 b not ranch enlarged, and b of a flattened lanceolate form, though 

 Barrow, whilst that of the preceding feet b styuforui. The abdomen 

 of the male b only composed of fire segments. (MUne- Ed wards.) 



'f.nuu (CVmon- Manat of author* ; Crtbe Enrage* of the inhabit- 

 anU of the cos** of Normandy), the amall Common Crab hawked 

 about London and eaten by the poorer classes. Length rather uiorr 

 than two ipcihea 



IMrftsr^Mi 



Thb species b very common on the coasts of England and France, 

 when it b found at low tide between stones and buried in the sand. 

 Thb species runs on the beach with rapidity, and can sustain a long 

 absence) from the water. It b edible, though not much used as an 



article of food in England ; but during the summer a great many are 

 brought to Paris. Colour dirty green ; red when boiled. 



PtmtymydHU (Latreille). - Carapace narrower and more regularly 

 convex than that of the other Portuniaju, often much longer than it 

 b wide, and sometimes circular. Front very narrow and dentated. 

 Latero-enterior borden a little cut-red and directed backwards, and 

 like tfaoae of the Carcini, the Polykii, and the greater portion of the 

 .fuifnai. divided into fire teeth. Orbit* not deep, and directed 

 forwards. Internal antennae bent back obliquely forwards, with their 

 fosscts very imperfectly aeparated from the orbit* Disposition of the 

 external antenna different from that in the Carrini, the forluni, the 

 T&aiamt/ir, and the Lvpea; their first joint, which b very small, is 

 not soldered to the front, but b moveable, like the succeeding ones, 

 and b inserted between the lower orbital border and the antennary 



M. Milne- Edwards divides the genus into the following sections and 

 subsections : 



a. Species having the frontal teeth unequal in number, one of them 

 occupying the median line, and a single fissure at the superior 

 orbital border. 



a. Tarsi of the posterior feet of lanceolate form. 

 P. latifta (Canter tatiptt, Penn. ; Porlmnntu tnrugatiu, I/rnch, 

 ' Malac.' ; Plotymyck** de^ralar, Latreille). Length about an inch. 

 It b a native of the coasts of England and France. [PoBTfMJtus.] 



oa. Tarsi of the posterior feet oral and obtuse at the end. 

 P. oetUaliu (Cancer oceUatui. Herbst ; Porlunta picltu, Say ; Platy- 

 onytmm of-rllalta, Latreille). Length about two inches. 

 & Sprcies having the frontal teeth equal, and consequently not one 

 on the median line, and two fissures at the superior orbital border. 

 P. MfMufWoia*. Length from two to five inches. It b found in 

 the Indian Ocean. 



y. Species having the front advanced in form of a IrinnguUr muzzle 



and simply undulatrd on its borders. 



P. HOM/IU (Port***, kyutlal*,, Kbo, 'Crust Nice.'), very amall. 

 It b found on the coasts of the Mediterranean. 



/W)*'J <Lcach).-Very nearly allied to Plot ye.***., from which 

 It hardly diners, except in the form of the feet, which are all natatory ; 

 those of the second, third, and fourth pairs are very much flattened, 

 and terminated by a very large and lanceokte joint, which has the 

 - form throughout The posterior feet have the same form a- 



those of Platyonfduu biptuiulotiu, excepting that their third joint i < 

 extremely abort anil nearly globular. The sternal plaxtron is wider, 

 especially posteriorly, than in /'laiyanyclna, but presents the same 

 disposition as to the mediin suture. The abdomen of the male lia* the 

 ordinary number (five) of joint*. (Milne-Edwards.) 



/'. Ifauloteii. Length about two inches; colour brown. It b 

 found in the British Channel, where it appears to haunt at a distance 

 from the coast 



I'olj/laia Hrnilolcii. 



Porlunut (Fabr.). Carapace nearly of the same form as in t'lirriim*, 

 wider than it is long, but with it? longitudinal diameter at least 

 equal to two-thirds of its transversal diameter, and the contour of 

 its anterior portion ordinarily more curved than it is in that genii.-. 

 The froiitn-orhitnl border occupies hardly more than the half of the 

 transversal diameter of the carapace, and the front, which is narrow, 

 advances always much beyond the insertion of the external antcmi.' . 

 and reaches in a remarkable manner beyond the level of tho inferior 

 bonier of the orbit, and the external angle of this cavity. The 

 latero-anterior border of the carapace is delicate, and armed with four 

 or five large teeth ; the orbits are oval. The anteunary fowet* are 

 placed on the same level with the eyes, are transversal, and are sepa- 

 rated from each other by a partition, the border of which U never 

 prolonged into the form of a spine. The basilary joint of the external 

 antenna: b but little developed, but completely separates the unt n- 

 nary fosset from the orbit, and is soldered to the front ; the moveable 

 stem which succeeds to this joint would seem to spring from tho 

 internal angle of the orbit. The structure of the mouth present* 

 nothing remarkable, but it b to be borne in mind that the third joint 

 of the external jaw-feet is at least as wide as it is long, and that iU 

 anterior and internal angle b much truncated. 



The Portani, though essentially aquatic and swimming with much 

 ease, are not met with far out at sea like the Z;vr. Their haunts 

 are near the shore, and at spring-tides they are often found during* 

 the ebb hidden under stones, in the small pools of water left by tho 

 sea. Some species inhabit still greater depths, on oyster-beds, &c., 

 and they are never seen to run, like the Carcini, on the shore. When 

 withdrawn from the water, they perish in a few hours. They are 

 eminently carnivorous, feeding mostly on the dead bodies of animals 

 which they find in the sea. Many of the species are eatable, and all, 

 with a single exception, inhabit the coasts of England and France. 

 (Milne-Edwards.) 



Milne-Edwards divides tho species into the following sections and 

 sub-sections. 



o. Species having the front armed with very distinct teeth. 



a. Front armed with at least 10 teeth or spines. 

 P. puber (Cancer p*btr, Linn. ; Cancer relHtinut, Penn ). Length 

 about 2{ inches. 



IHHUJI fttibcr. 



It is a native of the coasU of England and Fr.vncc. This is the 

 Crikbe a Lainr, Crtbe Enpagnot, Ac., of the French. 



