52 Life Beneath the Waves. 



least, from those already described. Edible 

 crabs, and many of their relations, can 

 crawl with great rapidity at the bottom of 

 the sea, or on the shore, but they are quite 

 unable to swim. But when dredging in 

 deep water, various specimens of swimming 

 crabs may be obtained, and they form very 

 interesting additions to an aquarium, their 

 movements being so different from those of 

 other species. 



The bodies of these crabs are much 

 broader than they are long, and much 

 wider in front than behind, and their eyes 

 are placed a considerable distance apart; 

 their chief peculiarity, however, consists 

 in their hindermost legs, which are broad 

 and flat at the end, and are used by their 

 owners as oars or paddles, thereby 

 enabling them to swim or float with the 

 utmost ease. But the fact of these crabs 



