140 NATURAL HISTORY OF OUR SHORES 



The craw-fish is a " sound-emitting crustacean " (this 

 and Alpheus the only two British examples). The appliance 

 for this consists of horny plates on the sides of the rostrum 

 and a polished surface to the large basal joint of the an- 

 tennae, which lie close against the rostrum. When the 

 antennae are moved the friction causes a loud grunting 

 sound. (This can be exactly imitated by drawing an 

 office ruler across a bit of india-rubber, holding the latter 

 on a table to act as sounding board.) I have on two 

 occasions, when boating on the coast of Sark, heard this 

 grunting, and, coming from several fathoms under water, 

 it seems very mysterious and " uncanny." It can always 

 be heard when fishermen are bringing in their catch of this 

 crustacean. 



The other representative of the family is not so well 

 known : it is Scyllarus arctus (Fig. 56). (It has other 

 names, but this is the best known.) This crustacean is 

 about five inches long, and one and a half or so in breadth 

 across the carapace. It resembles Palinurus in many 

 respects, but differs greatly in others, the most marked 

 difference being in the antennae. These are short, flat, 

 orbicular, or rather leaflike, organs with strongly serrated 

 edges. Its colour is deep chocolate-brown, the shell is 

 closely and finely sculptured, and the depressions are black, 

 while a scarlet band marks each joint in the abdomen. The 

 eyes are black, set on scarlet stalks, these closely resembling 

 the little scarlet and black beans (Abrus) often seen in 

 bottles among the chimney ornaments in the homes of 

 seafaring men. 



I have not heard of this species being taken on the 

 English coast, except one or two examples in Cornwall, 

 but it occurs in all the Channel Islands, although I 

 must say that I have had but two specimens, in Jersey. 

 In Guernsey it is frequently taken, and there known to 

 the fishermen as the " Square-faced Lobster." 



