144 BY THE DEEP SEA. 



that it was a splendid fit and most becoming ; but the whole 

 business was absurd. The shell was so small that it did not 

 protect his soft parts, and in case of danger he could not defend 

 himself from an attack in the rear. To add to his troubles 

 he cast his natural shell, and was, of course, much larger than 

 before. For a day or two he still pretended that he lived in a 

 sufficiently roomy house ; then I suppose the pressure on his 

 abdomen became awkward at dinner time, for he publicly 

 owned up that he had committed an error of judgment, quitted 

 the Winkle shell, and resumed possession of his old top-coat, 

 though this necessitated another murder. After he had vaca- 

 ted it a much smaller individual took possession, but as he 

 fitted very loosely it was no very difficult matter for the pre- 

 vious owner to have him out "by the scruff of his neck," 

 and give him his quietus. 



The most familiar of the Hermits is Eupagurus bernhardus, 

 the Common Hermit-crab, but we are not likely to find full- 

 grown individuals, which keep out in deep water. When full 

 grown, they are about five inches long, and house themselves 

 in large Whelk-shells. The characters by which this species 

 may be distinguished are : the right pincer-claw (cheliped) is 

 usually much larger than the left, and the plentiful granulations 

 of its surface are almost large enough to be described as tuber- 

 cles ; the last joints of the second and third pairs of legs are 

 edged on the upper side with spiny teeth, and they are a wee 

 bit twisted. 



Prideaux's Hermit-crab (Eupagurus prideaux), is so-called 

 because Dr. Leach, who first identified it as a species distinct 

 from E. bernhardus, received it from his friend Prideaux, who 

 had taken large numbers of it in Plymouth Sound. The 

 granulations of the pincer-claws are much smaller than in 

 bernhardus, and whereas the next joint to the pincers in the 

 latter species has its inner margin decorated with a row of 

 spines, those \i\prideauxaxe innocent tubercles. Then, again, 

 the second and third pairs of legs are nearly smooth, and their 



