38 Life Beneath the Waves. 



trifling exceptions, they are drawn from 

 specimens which have inhabited my own 

 aquaria. 



A broad back, strong claws, tiny eyes, 

 and side-long walk are familiar associations 

 in our minds with respect to the common 

 or edible crab ; but the fact is not perhaps 

 equally familiar, that when this "dainty 

 morsel " is, so to speak, in his infancy, his 

 outward form bears no resemblance to that 

 which it attains when he arrives at years 

 of maturity. 



Indeed so very different are the Zoea, or 

 young crabs, from the old ones, that at one 

 time they were supposed to be a distinct 

 race of creatures. The transformations 

 they undergo before attaining the shape 

 familiar to us all are very extraordinary, 

 and well worthy of description. 



