446 THE OCEANIC SWIMMING CRAB. 



the eye can scarcely follow it, and as true of aim as the serpent's dart, draws back the victim, 

 seizes it immediately with the other claw, and begins to pull it to pieces before it can recover 

 from the shock. 



The Green Crab has a most extended distribution, the North American species being the 

 same as the above. It is also found in European seas, South America, and the Sandwich 

 Islands. Its range here is from Cape Cod to Maryland. Martha's Vineyard is a good locality 

 for this species. 



The little crustacean which is called by the name of the VELVET FIDDLER-CRAB, derives 

 its popular and appropriate title from the movements which it makes while swimming through 

 the water. 



The last joints of the hinder feet are extremely flat, and it is by their movements that the 

 crab is enabled to swim. Their motions are very like those of an oar when used in " sculling" 

 a boat, and are popularly thought to resemble the movements of a fiddler's arm while playing 

 a lively tune. The word " velvet" is affixed to the name, because the entire shell of a perfect 

 specimen is thickly covered with shining hairs, short, silken, and soft, something like the pile 

 of velvet or fine plush. It is seldom, however, that a really perfect specimen is seen, as the 

 soft velvety pile is easily rubbed off, and in almost every instance has sustained some damage, 

 so that the blackish shell is seen, with its polished surface. The edges are very seldom clothed 

 with their normal coating of hair. When tolerably perfect, a full-grown specimen is a really 

 handsome creature, with its coat of velvet pile, its striped feet and legs, its scarlet and blue 

 claws, and its vermilion eyes set in their jetty sockets. 



This species is not one whit less voracious or cruel than the edible or the green crab, and 

 as it enjoys all their activity, with the additional privilege of swimming through the water, it 

 is even a more formidable animal, chasing and killing every creature that it can overcome. 

 Even the hermit-crab, that lies so snugly in its shelly cell, with the large fighting-claw guarding 

 the entrance, and its body withdrawn into the inmost recesses of the shell, is frequently captured 

 and killed by this doughty warrior. Every one who has tried to pull a hermit-crab out of its 

 house, knows the difficulty of the task. The creature has the art of retreating into its 

 dwelling so far, and pressing its claws and legs so firmly against the inner mouth of the shell, 

 that there is nothing by which the animal can be grasped, except, perhaps, the antennae ; 

 and the crab will allow itself to be pulled to pieces rather than loosen its hold. Yet the 

 Fiddler-crab makes little account of the hermit, but pokes his claw into the shell, pinches the 

 poor hermit across the throax, and drags him out of his cell. It then pulls off and eats the 

 soft abdomen, tears up the body and limbs, and flings them away in fragments, as if for sheer 

 wantonness of destruction. 



There are many species belonging to this genus, which are scattered all over the world, 

 especially where the seas are warm or temperate. The Velvet Fiddler is tolerably common. 

 Of these the MARBLED FIDDLER (Portunus marmoreus) is perhaps the handsomest, on account 

 of the regular patterns of buff, brown of various shades, and red, which are seen upon the 

 body. The shape of the patterns is variable, but their arrangement is always symmetrical. 

 These colors are, however, very fugitive, and can only be preserved by removing the whole of 

 the soft parts, and dyeing the carapace with great care. All the species seem to be decidedly 

 local, so that in the space of two or three miles of coast as many species of Portunus may be 

 found, each in its own particular locality. 



Perhaps the very best swimmer in the family is the OCEANIC SWIMMING CRAB, a creature 

 to which the generic name of Neptunus has been given on account of its wonderful mastery 

 over the waves. 



This crab is apparently made for speed, its flattened limbs and body being calculated to 

 offer the least possible resistance to the dense fluid through which it has to pass. The Oceanic 

 Swimming Crab is among crustaceans what the albatross is among birds, being able to sustain 

 itself for days together without needing rest, and whenever it does seek a brief repose, 

 needing nothing but the floating algse as a temporary resting-place. The movements of this 

 species are achieved with an easy grace and freedom that remind the observer of the swallow's 

 flight, as the crab flies swiftly through the water, its claws ready to seize their prey, and its 



