THE SPOTTED LEUCOSIA. 453 



not a, Poutrance, both parties have usually to deplore a limb or two crushed in the nippers of 

 the opponent. Were no means provided for replacing the injured members, the poor creatures 

 would die of starvation, as would an elephant if deprived of his proboscis, or a lion whose feet 

 had been cut off and teeth drawn. 



Every injured limb, therefore, is at once discarded at some joint, no bleeding takes place, 

 and the stump heals almost immediately. After a short time, a little button seems to be 

 protruding from the joint, and before many days have passed, a very small but perfect claw 

 is seen to protrude. This new member grows regularly though slowly, and so in process of 

 time the creature is re-supplied with its full complement of limbs. Every one has noticed 

 the frequent inequality in the size of lobsters' claws, how one side is armed with a huge 

 weapon nearly as large as a man's hand, while the other can only boast of a puny, soft-shelled 

 claw an inch or so in length. This inequality is the result of some injury tliat has been 

 inflicted on the limb from which the little claw has sprouted, and in almost every instance the 

 original claw has been lost in battle. After the moult, and the induing of a fresh suit of 

 armor, the growth of the new claw proceeds more rapidly. 



It must be noticed that this power of reproduction of a lost or injured members always 

 denotes that the creature possessing this capability is not very highly organized. Very few of 

 the vertebrates, and those mostly belonging to the reptiles, are able to reproduce a lost member, 

 and even in these few instances, the restorative power is very limited. A veiy few examples 

 have been recorded where a limb has been lost and replaced, but such phenomena are extremely 

 rare, and can only be looked upon as variations from the usual system. 



The faculty of avoiding danger by closing all the joints of the limbs and merging them as 

 far as possible under the carapace, is carried to a wonderful extent in the TORTOISE-CRAB, a 

 crustacean that derives its popular title from its general similitude to the reptile from which 

 it derives its name. There are, indeed, many of the tortoise tribe which are not able to enclose 

 themselves nearly so perfectly as does this crab, and excepting the box-tortoise, there is perhaps 

 none that exceeds it in the very perfect concealment of all vestige of their limbs. The 

 carapace is wide, flattened at the edges, and dome-like in shape, so as to afford a perfect 

 cover to the limbs. Owing to the manner in which these crabs conceal their limbs, Cuvier 

 called them by the appropriate name of Cryptopods, or Hidden Feet. In all of these creatures 

 the carapace is domed or vaulted, so as to form a shelter for the legs, while in the typical 

 genus, the claw-feet are very large and compressed, with a decided upper edge which is 

 notched or toothed so as to form a crest. The French know these crabs by various names, 

 such as Migranes, Coqs de mer, and Crabes honteux. 



The claws are broad, flattish, notched at the edge, and scooped in a peculiar fashion, so 

 that when folded over the body they exactly fit to the shell, as if they were part of the same 

 piece. Two sides of this species are given in order to show the crab in its upper and under 

 aspects. The Tortoise-crab is a native of the Mauritius. 



Crested and Armed Crabs, and the Tortoise-crab (Camard), are found on the Florida Reef. 

 The latter reminds one strongly of the box-tortoise, its parts shut so admirably together. 

 The creature seen from above, appears when at rest or alarmed, as if there were no limbs. 



IN the family of the Leucosiidse, the carapace is more or less rounded, and projects some- 

 what in front. 



The URANIA-CRAB is an example of the typical genus. It has a smooth carapace with 

 rounded edges, and the claw limbs are very large and powerful in proportion to the size of 

 the body. On their edges they are covered with rounded tubercles, and one or two of these 

 projections are scattered upon the surface of several joints. In all these crabs, the apertures 

 through which water passes to cover the gills are in the form of canals. One curious char- 

 acteristic of these crustaceans is that the external antennse are very small indeed, and are 

 inserted in a narrow but deep notch near the eyes. In common with nearly all this genus, 

 it is a native of Philippines. 



A much smaller species of the same genus is called SPOTTED LEUCOSIA (Leucosia Jierma- 

 tostica). In it are observable the same characteristics which have already been mentioned, 





