SWIFT LAND-CRABS 



cocoa-nuts, for in the Meia-co-shimah group of islands he 

 found that they frequented cemeteries and fed on the bodies 

 of the dead. 



It is really quite a pleasant relief to turn from a story 

 with such a gruesome ending to the amusing antics of 

 another crab which is largely terrestrial in its habits. This 

 crab is appropriately named Gelasimus, which means " laugh- 

 able," and a queer little fellow he is. The male has one 

 claw of immense size, the other being quite small. The big 

 claw is gaily coloured, and when the animal runs he waves it 

 about as if energetically beckoning, or playing some very 

 stirring tune on a violin ; hence he is often known as a 

 " Calling-crab " or " Fiddler-crab. " The calling-crabs in- 

 habit various parts of the world, and are usually found in 

 large numbers on muddy or sandy flats left dry by the tide, 

 where they may be seen hurrying over the sand or peering 

 out of their holes, into which they immediately vanish when 

 alarmed. The burrows, which are about a foot in depth, 

 are made by the crab persistently digging up and carrying 

 away little masses of mud or sand. When thus engaged the 

 appearance of the animal is extremely comic. Scraping up 

 a quantity of sand into a little heap, he grasps it with three 

 of the legs of one side and hurries away with it to some dis- 

 tance. Having deposited his load, he raises his eyes (he 

 can do that quite effectively, because they are situated at the 

 end of very long, slender stalks), peers curiously around, and 

 scuttles back to the burrow for another load of sand. The 

 male is less timorous than the female as indeed he ought to 

 be, with such a mighty claw and occasionally makes some 

 show of guarding his retreat. 



The Swift land -crabs (Ocypoda\ which run with such 

 speed that catching them is quite an exciting game, bore 

 deep holes in the sand below high- water mark, so that they 



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