Sea-Spiders.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



307 



They are frequently boiled and served up whole, 

 but are commonly stewed when served up at the 

 more sumptuous tables. We believe that when 

 simply cooked in its own juices, in its shell, a 

 squeeze of lime-juice is all that it requires to render 

 it delicious. We do not see why these land-crabs 

 may not with proper care be as regularly sent to 

 our metropolis as turtle ; surely they would not be 

 unworthy the epuUe adjicicdes of the City. The ad- 

 juncts may be the same as to Whitebait. But we 

 must leave these crabs, so valued by the Transatlantic 

 epicurean, for others. 



Between the Oeypodians and Grapsoideans, ac- 

 cording to Milne Edwards, intervenes a tribe termed 

 Gonoplaceans, having the carapace square or rhom- 

 boidal, and wider than it is long. The ocular pe- 

 duncles a'-e generally much elongated, and the eye, 

 which terminates them, is small. To this tribe be- 

 longs the genus Gonoplax, in which the anterior 

 pair of limbs are extremely elongated, and nearly 

 cylindrical, appearing indeed far too much deve- 

 loped in comparison with the small square carapace 

 between them at their base. The animals are marine. 

 The Gonoplax rhomboides, Fig. 3145, is a native 

 of the Mediterranean and the ocean ; it keeps among 

 rocks at considerable depths, and appears to be soli- 

 tary. It possesses considerable powers of swimming, 

 and often rises to the surface of the water, but never 

 comes on shore. Its length is about an inch (that 

 is, of the carapace) ; and its colour yellowish min- 

 gled with red. Small fish and radiated animals con- 

 stitute its food. 



The Grapsoideans are less regularly quadrilateral 

 than the Gonoplaceans, and the body is nearly 

 always compressed ; the ocular peduncles are thick, 

 but short, and the eye occupies half their length. 

 The anterior limbs are in general short, and the rest 

 are very much compressed, the last pair sometimes 

 assuming the natatory character. As far as their 

 habits appear to be known, these crabs live much 

 on the shore, or on the rocks bordering the coast, 

 and on reefs of coral ; ihey are very timid, and run 

 with great alacrity. 



The (jenus Grapsus contains those species re- 

 markable lor the extreme flatness of the body. The 

 first pair of limbs are very short and spiny ; the re- 

 maining limbs very much compressed, with the tar- 

 sal portion large, broad, and spiny. 



One species, the Grapsus pictus, Fig. 3146, is very 

 beautifully marked ; it is of a reddish colour with 

 irregular and waved stains of yellow ; length about 

 two inches. It is a native of the Antilles, and is 

 not uncommon in collections. 



The species of the genus Grapsus are widely 

 spread. These animals, says Latreille, " conceal 

 themselves during the day under stones and other 

 bodies in the sea ; some, even, as I have been in- 

 formed, climb on the trees of the shore, and creep 

 under the bark ; the broad and flattened form of the 

 body and limbs gives them the faculty of sustaining 

 themselves for an instant on the surface of the water; 

 their progress on land is sideways, sometimes to the 

 right, sometimes to the left. Certain species live in 

 rivers where the tide comes in, but mostly on the 

 borders of the water. They associate in considerable 

 numbers, and on the appearance of any one betake 

 themselves to the water, making a great noise with 

 their claws, which they strike against each other. 

 In general respects their mode of life resembles that 

 of other Carnivorous Crustacea." 



From the genus Grapsus have been separated 

 several subgenera, among which we may notice 

 Pseudograpsus, in which the jaw-feet close the 

 mouth, contrarj' to what is found in Grapsus — of this 

 form the Porte-pinceau (Grapsus penciliger). Fig. 

 3147, is an example. It is remarkable for the size 

 of the claws in the male, and the tufts of long hairs 

 which spring from them. The other limbs are fur- 

 nished with thickset down. This crab is found in 

 the seas of Asia. 



Another subgenus is termed Plagusia. It is distin- 

 guished from Grapsus by the internal antennae being 

 bent back under the front and lodged in a deep 

 notch so as to be uncovered above. The body and 

 imbs are flattened. As an example we select the 

 Plagusia clavimana (Cancer planissimus). Fig. 3148, 

 a native of the shores of New Holland, New Zealand, 

 Vanicoro, &c. 



We now turn to a group of small crustaceans 

 termed Pinnotherians, remarkable for their singular 

 habits; they live housed between the mantle lobes 

 of bivalve mollusks, as mussels. Pinnae, &c., and 

 were well known to the ancients, who have dis- 

 tinctly alluded to them, under the names of ttiv- 

 vorrifni^, irii/yo97)jo<ny, iri/o<j>v\ai '' i" Latin, Pinnotheras 

 and Pmnophylax. They believed that a sort of part- 

 nership existed between these little crabs and the 

 shell-fish, and that when the latter lay with the 

 valves open, as a trap for prey, the crab gave notice 

 to it when to close them upon its captive, after 

 which they commenced the feast at leisure. Pliny 

 describes the Pinnotheras as tenanting the empty 

 shells of oysters ; and in another place speaks of it 

 Vot. II. 



as residing in the shell of the Pinna ; but it is pro- 

 bable that under the same names he refers to two 

 different crustaceans. 



Hasselquist, the pupil and friend of Linnaeus, in 

 a letter to his great preceptor, dated Smyrna, De- 

 cember 16, 1749, gives another version of the services 

 rendered by the Pinnotheres to the Pinna. " The 

 time I have been here," he says, " has afforded me 

 an opportunity of seeing the kinds both of fish and 

 shell-fish which the Greeks use during their Lent. 

 No people, 1 believe, make so much use of shell-fish 

 and other marine animals as do the Greeks. I have 

 seen them eat ten different sorts of shell-fish, when 

 with us oysters only are eaten. Amongst other ani- 

 mals they sell here a sepia or cuttle-fish, which is 

 by them called oktwitiJSio (Octopodia); it has only 

 eight tentacula, all of equal length ; and the ani- 

 mal is a foot long and thick in proportion. Of this 

 the Greeks have related to me an anecdote which 

 I think remarkable. The Pinna muricata, or great 

 silk-mussel, is here found in large quantities at the 

 bottom of the sea; and is a foot in length. The 

 octopodia, or cuttle-fish with eight arms, watches 

 the opportunity when the mussel opens its shell, to 

 creep in it and devour the contents ; but a little 

 crab which has scarcely any shell, or at least only 

 a thin one, lodges constantly in this shell fish, and 

 pays a good rent by saving the life of its landlady. 

 This crab keeps a constant look-out through the 

 aperture of the shell, and on seeing the approach of 

 the enemy begins to stir, when the Pinna closes the 

 valves and thus excludes the rapacious animal. I 

 saw this shell-fish first at the island of Milo, and 

 found such a little crab in all I opened ; I wondered 

 not a little what was its business there, but on com- 

 ing here, the circumstances were explained to me by 

 M. Juste, the secretary of our consul, a curious and 

 ingenious man who has travelled much, and lived 

 long in this place. The account was afterwards con- 

 firmed by several Greeks, who daily catch and eat 

 both these animals." 



The Pinnotherians are of small size, with a cara- 

 pace nearly circular, with small and feeble limbs ; 

 the eyes are minute, on abbreviated peduncles. 



In the restricted genus Pinnotheres, the parts of 

 the mouth are developed ; the external jaw-feet are 

 placed obliquely, and the third joint enlarged. Fig. 

 3149 represents the under side of the anterior part 

 of Pinnotheres, displaying the eyes, jaw-feet, &c.. 

 magnified. 



One species of Pinnotheres, the Pea-crab (P. 

 Pisum% is very common in mussels on our coast. 

 According to Mr. Thompson, it resembles Zoea in 

 the early stages of its existence, having an elongated 

 abdomen terminated by a fin, a carapace armed with 

 three long spines, large eyes, and swimming feet. 



Another species, the Pinnotheres veterum. Fig. 

 3150, is found in the Pinnae, on the coasts of Greece 

 and Italy. It measures about eight lines in length. 

 To the present group the genus Hymenosoma ap- 

 pears to be referable. The carapace is flattened and 

 nearly circular, with a narrow front. The fore-limbs 

 are small, the others slender but rather elongated. 

 Fig. 3151 represents the Hymenosoma orbiculare, 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. It measures an inch 

 in length ; two spiniform processes project anteriorly 

 from the carapace, one on each side of the eyes : a, 

 internal antenna ; b, external antenna ; c, external 

 jaw-foot ; d, abdomen of male ; e, abdomen of 

 female. 



Between Pinnotheres and Ocypodes, according to 

 Milne Edwards, may be placed the genus Mycteris, 

 characterized by the carapace being very delicate, 

 nearly circular, and convex. The external jaw-feet 

 are placed vertically, and form by their union a short 

 and wide reversed cone ; the limbs are long and 

 slender. Fig. 3152 represents the Mycteris longi- 

 carpis, from the Australian Seas. The carapace 

 is divided by furrows into three longitudinal tumuli, 

 and projects anteriorly. Length about one inch. 



A closely allied form has been characterized by 

 Milne Edwards under the generic title of Doto. It 

 approximates in the general form of the body, feet, 

 and eyes, to the Ocypodes, but in some other points 

 to Mycteris. The species on which this genus is 

 founded is figured by Savigny in the great work on 

 Egypt ; it is the Mycteris sulcatus of Aiidouin, 

 Cancer sulcatus of Forsk, and Doto sulcatus of Milne 

 Edwards. 



The carapace is nearly square, and furrowed above ; 

 the front orbital border occupying nearly the whole 

 of its width. The region around the mouth, and 

 the external jaw-feet, equally furrowed ; feet, rather 

 long and compressed, length six lines. It is a native 

 of the Red Sea. Fig. 3153 represents this crab mag- 

 nified ; a, a profile still more enlarged, without the 

 legs, to show the grooves ; b, a view of the under 

 part of the carapace. 



An extensive group of crabs, distinguished by the 

 projection and acuteness of the anterior part of the 

 carapace so as to form a snout, has been termed by 

 Milne Edwards Oxyrhynchi. This group contains 

 several tribes, of which one is the Macropodian ; 



the species being remarkable for the enormous length 

 of their limbs, which has obtained for them the name 

 of Sea Spiders. 



The form of the carapace is various, but in general 

 triangular ; the anterior limbs are feeble, slender, 

 and shorter than the rest which are more or less 

 filiform ; the basal joint of the external antennse 

 nearly always constitutes the major part of the lower 

 wall of the orbit, and (iroceeds to solder itself to the 

 front. The Macropodians inhabit the sea at con- 

 siderable depths, where they lie concealed among 

 the fronds of sea-weed ; they are also found on 

 oyster-banks; from the length and slenderness of 

 their limbs they proceed slowly and unsteadily. 

 Their food consists of minute molluisks and other 

 sort marine animals. The first genus we shall notice 

 is Leptopodia of Leach, remarkable for the excessive 

 elongation of the limbs, and the manner in which 

 the carapace is carried out anteriorily into a long 

 styliform snout or rostrum. The eyes are compara- 

 tively large, and not retractile. The species are 

 found on the coasts of America and the Antilles. 



As an example of this genus we select the Lepto- 

 podia sagittaria (Cancer seticornis, Herbst ; Trachus 

 Sagittarius, Fabricius). It is represented at Fig. 3154. 

 In this species we have, as it were, in an exaggerated 

 manner, all the distinctive character of the great 

 group or family and tribe to which it belongs. 



Another genus, the species of which are found in 

 the European Seas, is termed Stenorhynchus. In 

 this the rostrum is projecting, bifid, and sharp : the 

 eyes are not retractile; the fore-limbs are much 

 stouter than the others, which are long and filiform. 



Fig. 3155 represents the Stenorhynchus phalan- 

 gium (Cancer phalangium, Pennant ; Cancer ro- 

 stratus, Linn. ; Macropus phalangium, Latreille ; 

 Macropodia phalangium. Leach), "it is a native of 

 the coasts on each side of the English channel, and 

 of the other seas of Europe. 



In the seas of Asia are found various species of a 

 genus termed Camposcia. In this the rostrum ad- 

 vances but little beyond the eyes, which are sup- 

 ported upon peduncles and not retractile, though 

 capable of being reflected backwards. The carapace 

 is convex and pear-shaped ; the feet are slender. 

 Fig. 3156 represents the Camposcia retusa; a, a 

 view of the under surface of the head, showing the 

 details of the eyes, antennae, and mouth. 



The genus Eurypodius is also found in the Asiatic 

 Seas. In this the rostrum is formed by tvvo long and 

 horizontal horns; in the male the anterior limbs 

 are as long as the body, but shorter in the female. 

 The succeeding limbs are long and slender, and their 

 terminal joint is curved and very sharp, and capable 

 of being bent back against the lower edge of the 

 preceding joint, so as to give to the animal the 

 power of attaching itself firmly to any object. 



Fig. 3157 represents the Eurypodius Latreillii ; 

 it is found on the shores of the Falkland Islands. 



The genus Inachus as restricted by modern writers 

 may hero be noticed ; it contains several small 

 species natives of the seas of Europe, and found 

 more particularly on the coasts of England and 

 France. They haunt bays and coves, where beds of 

 oysters exist, and all have the body and limbs covered 

 with down and hairs ; small sponges and corallines 

 are often found attached to them. 



The rostrum is short ; the eyes are on peduncles 

 capable of being reflected backwards and lodged in 

 an orbitary cavity, which though not deep is distinct. 

 The anterior limbs are stout and large in the male, 

 very small in the female ; the second pair are the 

 longest. The carapace is triangular and much 

 embossed above : the general colour is brownish. 

 Fig. 3158 represents the Inachus Scorpio, a native 

 of the British Channel, &c. : a, the male ; b, the 

 female ; c, the abdomen of the male ; d, the abdomen 

 of the mature female ; e, the abdomen of the im- 

 mature female. Among several other genera belong- 

 ing to this tribe, as Latreillia, Achaeus, Amathia, 

 &c., we may select for notice that termed by Dr. 

 Leach Doclea. 



In this form the carapace is nearly globular, hairy, 

 and more or less beset with spines ; the rostrum is 

 short and narrow ; the eyes are very small, and en- 

 tirely lodged on the orbits. The anterior limbs are 

 very small and feeble; the succeeding limbs long. 

 The species are found, as far as yet ascertained, in 

 the Indian seas. Fig. 3159 represents the Doclea 

 Rissonii. According to Milne Edwards it forms a 

 passage to the tribe of Maiians, or Maiidae. 



The tribe of Maiians, or Maiidae, is composed of 

 Oxyrhynchi, whose carapace is mostly spiny, and 

 generally speaking longer than it is wide ; the ros- 

 trum is usually bifid, or composed of two horns. 

 In the males, the first pair of limbs are longer and 

 more robust than the second pair ; but in the females 

 they do not exceed, and sometimes do not equal, the 

 second pair. The succeeding feet are of moderate 

 length. 



The first genus of this tribe which we notice is 

 that termed Libinia by Leach: the carapace is 

 nearly circular, and very convex above, the eyes are 



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