B I R 



433 



B I R 



third pair terminated simply, in other words, by a single 

 nail ; fourth pair smaller and didactylous, or terminated by 

 two fingers, one moveable; fifth pair rudimentary, very 

 small, but didactylous ; carapace somewhat in the form of a 

 reversed heart, with the apex pointing forwards ; post- 

 abdomen or tail orbicular, crustaceous above, the plates 

 being subannular or rudiments of rings. 



There are two species recorded : and of these Birgus La- 

 fro, Leach, Pagurus Latro, Fabr. and Lam., Cancer Latro, 

 Linn., Cancer crumenatus, Beurstcrabbe (purse crab) of 

 Rumphius is the largest. Its rostrum is terminated by a 

 single point. The pincers are red, the left being much 

 larger than the right, and both deeply toothed. The feet 

 of the three next pair are toothed on the edges, and marked 

 with undulated streaks. It is a native of Amboyna and 

 other neighbouring islands, where it is said to inhabit the 

 fissures of rocks by day, and to come forth at night to seek 

 its food on the beach. Mr. Cuming found it sufficiently 

 abundant in Lord Hood's Island in the Pacific, but there 

 the purse-crabs dwelt at the roots of trees, and not in holes 

 in the rocks. When he met them in his road, they set 

 themselves up in a threatening attitude and then retreated 

 backwards, making both at first and afterwards a great 

 snapping with their pincers. There appears to be a tradi- 

 tion among the natives that it climbs cocoa-nut trees (cocos 

 nucifera) in the night to get the cocoa-nuts. Linnaeus, 

 Herbst, and Cuvier, repeat this story, which, as Owen ob- 

 serves in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1832 

 (part 2. p. 17.), is confirmed in a degree by Quoy and Gai- 

 mard, who relate that individuals of this species were fed 

 by them for many months on cocoa-nuts alone, and still 

 more amply by the observations communicated to him by 

 Mr. Cuming, who states that these purse-crabs climb the 

 Pandanus ndnratissimus, a kind of palm, for the purpose of 

 feeding on the small nut that grows thereon, and that he 

 saw them in the tree. 



Linnaeus gives the Antilles as the locality of this purse- 

 crab, as well as Amboyna, and quotes Rochefort's History 

 of the Antilles, 1. o. 21, ' Boursires.' In the text of Rum- 

 phius's Amboinsche Rariteit-Kamer, Book 1. p. 9, is a si- 

 niil.'.r quotation. 



Neither Sloane, Browne, Hughes, nor Catesby, make 

 any mention of this species, nor indeed of the genus ; and 

 on turning to Rochefort, upon whose authority Linnaeus 

 and others have evidently rested for the assertion that 

 puree-crabs, properly so called, inhabit the Antilles, we 

 think that it will appear that there is no foundation for 

 giving them such a locality, so far at least as Rochefort is 

 concerned, but that those who gave him as authority, either 

 read his book very hastily, or, without reading the passage 

 cited at all, made the quotation as soon as their eye fell 

 upon the word ' Boursieres,' not ' Boursires,' as it is written 

 in the Amboinsche Rariteit-Kamer, and also by Linnseus, 

 who probably copied the quotation from the Amboinsche 

 Rariteit-Kaner. 



Rochefort's book, ' Histoire naturelle et morale des lies 

 Antilles de 1'Araerique,' 4to. Rotterdam, 1681, is not in the 

 hands of every one, and therefore we offer no apology for 

 giving the passage, on reading which we have ventured to 

 call in question the accuracy of Linnseus. 



There is no mention of ' Boursires,' at the place quoted 

 by Linnaeus, but at I.e. 22, p. 57, the term ' Crabes Bour- 

 sieres,' appears not as a name for a species, but as the 

 name given by the inhabitants to some of the land-crabs 

 (Tourlouroux) when they are in a soft state, after moulting 

 anil before their new crust is hardened. 



Speaking of some of these crabs under the name of 

 ' Crabes peintes,' Rochefort thus proceeds : 



' Ce qui est de plus considerable en ces crabes, est 

 qu'une Ibis 1'an, assavoir, apres qu'elles sont retournees du 

 vniago tie la mer, elles se cachent toutes en terre, durant 

 quelques six semaines : de sorte qu'il n'en paroit aucune. 

 Pendant ce turns-la, elles changent de peau, ou d'ecaille, et 

 se renouvelleut enlierenieut. Elles poussent alors do la 

 terre gi proprement a I'entrce de lours tanieres, que Ton 

 n'en appcri^it pas 1'ouverture. Ce qu'elles font pour ne 

 point prendre d'air. Car quand elles posent ainsi leur vieille 

 robe, tout leur corps est comme a nud, n'6tant couvert que 

 d'une pcllic-ule tendre et delicate, laquelle s'i'paissit et se 

 diirmt puu a peu en croute ; suivant la soliditf de celle 

 qu ellos ont quittees. 



' Monsieur du Montel rapporte, qu'il a fait creuser a des- 

 toin en des lieus ou il y avoit apparence qu'il y en eut de 



cachees. ^ Et en ayant rencontre en effet, qu il trouva 

 qu'elles etoyent comme envellopces dans des feiiilles d'ar- 

 bres, qui sans doute leur servoient de nourriture et de nid 

 durant cette retraite : mais elles 6 toient si languissantes et 

 si incapables de supporter 1'air vif, qu'elles sembloient a 

 demy mortes, quoy que d'ailleurs elles fussent grasses et 

 tres-delicates a manger. Les habitans des lies les nom- 

 ment pour lors Crabes Bourtieres, et les estiment beau- 

 coup. Tout aupres d'elles il voyoit leur vieille depoiiille, 

 c'es't a dire, leur coque, qui paroissoit aussi entiere que si 

 1'animal eut encore dte dedans. Est ce qui est merveilleus, 

 c'est qu'i peine, quoy qu'il y employast de fort bons yeus, 

 pouvoit il reconnoitre d'ouverture ou de fente par oft le 

 corps de la beste fust sorty, et se fut de'gage' de cette prison. 

 Neantmoins, apres y avoir pris garde bien exactement, il 

 remarquoit en ces depoiiilles une petite separation du costs' 

 de la queue, par ou les crabes s'etoient d'evelloppdes.' 



' What is the more worthy of note relating to these crabs 

 is, that once a year, namely, after they are returned from 

 their journey to the sea, they hide themselves entirely in 

 the earth, for some six weeks, so that not one appears. 

 During this time they change their skin, or crust, and re- 

 new themselves altogether. They place the earth at this 

 season so dexterously at the entrance of their holes, that 

 one cannot perceive the opening. This they do that they 

 may not be exposed to the air. For when they thus throw 

 aside their old garb, the whole of their body is as it were 

 naked, being only covered by a thin and delicate skin, 

 which thickens and hardens by degrees into a crust as solid 

 as that which they have left. Monsieur du Montel reports 

 that he caused people to dig on purpose in those places 

 where there was any appearance of their lying hid, and 

 having met with some of them, that he found that they 

 were enveloped as it were in the leaves of trees, which with- 

 out doubt served them for nourishment and for a nest 

 during this retreat : but they were so languid and so inca- 

 pable of supporting the fresh air, that they seemed half 

 dead, though in other respects they were fat and very deli- 

 cate food. The inhabitants of the Isles call them at this 

 period purse crabs, and esteem them much. He saw quite 

 close to them their old covering, that is to say, their shell, 

 which appeared as entire as if the animal had been still 

 within. What is wonderful is, that though he employed very 

 good eyes, he could scarcely observe the opening or slit 

 whence the body of the animal had come forth, and had 

 disengaged itself from this prison. Nevertheless, after 

 having taken great care, he remarked in the empty shells a 

 small separation near the tail, by which the crabs had extri- 

 cated themselves.' 



Then follows the most approved way of dressing these 

 land-crabs for the table, a mode which is still in practice 

 with little variation in the West Indies at the present day. 



In a MS. entitled ' Memoires en forme de Dictionnairo 

 contenant I'histoire- naturelle notamment de Cacao, 1'In- 

 digo, le Sucre, et le Tabac, Par M. * * *, Inspecteur pom- 

 la Compagnie de Chandernagor,' in the possession of a 

 friend of the author of this article, there is a very full ac- 

 count of the land-crabs (Tourlouroux) of the Antilles, and 

 the writer of the MS., speaking of their condition after 

 they have thrown off their old crusts, says ' Si on les prend 

 alors, on les trouve couvertes seulement d'une petite peau 

 rouge, tendre et mince corame du parchemin mouillt 1 , elles 

 sont bien plus dedicates qu'en tout autre terns : on les ap- 

 pelle alors Crabes Boursieres.' ' If they take the crabs 

 then, they find them covered only with a slight red skin, 

 tender and delicate as moistened parchment : the crabs are 

 then much more delicious than they are at any other sea- 

 son : they call them at that period purse-crabs' (torn. ii. p, 

 520). The MS. is without date, but was written after the 

 publication of Labat's works, which the writer quotes. 



There is a smaller species (Birgus laticauda), which is a 

 native of the Mauritius. Birgus Latro, which grows to a 

 large size, is said to be excellent food when properly 

 prepared. It was a favourite diet with the natives of Lord 

 Hood's Island, but Mr. Cuming did not taste it. 



There is a specimen in Room 9, of the British Museum, 

 case ' Crustacea,' 6 ; and another in the museum of the 

 Zoological Society. 



The locality of Alya scabra (see ATYA), which does 

 not appear to have been known to Dr. Leach, has been 

 given by the late Rev. Lansdown Guilding, who has stated 

 that they occur in incredible numbers in the mountain 

 streams of St. Vincent's, in company with Paleemon Cam- 



NO. 259. 



[THE PENNY CYCLOPAEDIA.] 



VOL. IV. -3 K 



