234 SEPTEMBER. 



wholly concealed by the smooth and rounded shell, that 

 the curious sailor often picks it up and pockets it, as a 

 pretty white stone, little suspecting that he has a living 

 Crab in his fob. And there it lies for hours, perhaps, till 

 he pulls out his supposed pebble, which has not ventured 

 all the while to attempt to crawl 



I believe almost all we yet know of the habits of the 

 timid little Nut-crabs is derived from the portrait that 

 I drew of one of them 1 some years ago, from specimens 

 that I obtained at Weymouth. Since then I have re- 

 peatedly kept it in captivity for long periods at a time, 

 and indeed I have one or two now. Yet I have little 

 to add to the sketch I then drew of its manners. It 

 is inert, folding its tiny legs on itself when touched, 

 and remaining motionless for some time. It buries 

 itself in the gravel, descending backwards : this is a 

 somewhat slow process, suited to its usual phlegmatic 

 habit. It brings its hindmost pairs of feet on each side 

 together ; then thrusting down their united points, opens 

 and expands them, forcing apart the gravel ; at the same 

 moment the posterior part of the body is brought down 

 into the hollow thus made, and the action of the feet is 

 repeated. The process is continued until the hinder 

 parts are covered and the muzzle alone is visible, with 

 the two claws. Thus it sits quite still, reminding one 



1 E. Pennantii. 



