GREAT CKAK. 257 



prising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa- 

 nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. The 

 Malays sometimes take advantage of this, and col- 

 lect the fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs 

 ai-e very good to eat ; moreover, under the tail of 

 the larger ones there is a great mass of fat, which, 

 when melted, sometimes yields as much as a quart 

 bottle full of limpid oil. It has been stated by 

 some authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa- 

 nut trees for the purpose of stealing the nuts : I 

 very much doubt the possibility of this ; but with 

 the Pandanus* the task would be very much easier. 

 I was told by Mr. Liesk that on these islands the 

 Birgos lives only on the nuts which have fallen to 

 the gi'ound. 



Captain Moresby informs me that this crab in- 

 habits the Chagos and Seychelle groups, but not 

 the neighbouring Maldiva Archipelago. It former- 

 ly abounded at Mauritius, but only a few small 

 ones are now found there. In the Pacific, this 

 species, or one mth closely-allied habits, is saidt 

 to inhabit a single coral island north of the Society 

 group. To show the wonderful strength of the 

 front pair of pincers, I may mention that Captain 

 Moresby confined one in a strong tin box, which 

 had held biscuits, the lid being secured with wire ; 

 but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. 

 In turning down the edges, it actually punched 

 many small holes quite through the tin ! 



I was a good deal surprised by finding two spe- 

 cies of coral, of the genus Millepora (M. compla- 

 nata and alcicornis), possessed of the power of 

 stinging. The stony branches or plates, when ta- 

 ken fresh from the water, have a harsh feel and 

 are not slimy, although possessing a strong and 



* See Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1832, p. 17. 

 t Tyerman and Bennett. Voyage, &c., vol. ii., p. 33. 

 II. 17 



