300 



ZOOLOGY. 



[Part U. 



Ceustacea. — The seas around Ceylon abound with 

 marine articulata ; but a knowledge of the Crustacea of 

 the island is at present a desideratum ; and with the 

 exception of the few commoner species which frequent 

 the shores, or are offered in the markets, we are literally 

 without information,- excepting the little that can be 

 gleaned from already pubhshed systematic works. 



In the bazaars several species of edible crabs are ex- 

 posed for sale ; and amongst the dehcacies at the tables 

 of Europeans, curries made from prawns and lobsters 

 are the triumphs of tlie Ceylon cuisine. Of these latter 

 the fishermen sometimes exhibit specimens ^ of extra- 

 ordinary dimensions, and of 

 a beautiful purple hue, varie- 

 gated with white. Along the 

 level shore north and south of 

 Colombo, and in no less pro- 

 fusion elsewhere, the nimble 

 little Calling Crabs - scamper 

 carrying aloft the enormous 

 hand (sometimes larger than the rest of the body), 

 which is their peculiar characteristic, and which, from 

 its beckoning gesture, has suggested their popular 

 name. They hurry to conceal themselves in the deep 

 retreats which they hollow out in the banks that border 

 the sea. 



Sand Crabs. — In the same localities, or a httle farther 

 inland, the ocypode^ burrows in the dry soil, maldng 

 deep excavations, bringing up literally armfuls of sand ; 

 which with a spring in the air, and employing its other 

 limbs, it jerks far from its burrows, distributing it in 

 radii to the distance of several feet."* So inconvenient 

 are the operations of these industrious pests that men 



CALLIis(j ol.^b Oe CEYLON. 



over the moist sands. 



^ Pdliimrus orncdus, Fab. 



* Gelasimus tetrar/onon ? Edw. ; G. 

 amiulipes ? Edw, ; G, Dnssmnicri ? 

 Edw. 



^ Ocypode ceratophtliahnns. Pall. 

 '^ Ann. Nat. Hist. April, 1852. 

 Paper hy Mr. Edgar L. Layaed. 



