SHALLOW-WATER FAUNA OF THE TROPICS. 65 



A few days' hunting on a Coral-reef will reveal 

 the fact that it supports a very considerable 

 population of Crustaceans. They are not at all 

 obvious at first to one who has had no previous 

 experience of reef-work, partly because they re- 

 semble the general appearance of their surround- 

 ings very closely, and partly because of their 

 habit of remaining perfectly motionless when 

 first alarmed. In form, many of them are, like 

 the Lobsters, Crabs and Prawns of our own 

 coasts, but their colours and markings are, like 

 those of the reef-fishes, characterised by their 

 brilliancy and their arrangement in bands and 

 stripes. The smaller ones can be caught after 

 a little practice with a simple hand-net, but the 

 larger ones are more easily captured by a rattan 



: noose in the pools, after the blocks of Coral are 

 loosened by a pick-axe and slowly turned over. 



The Coral-reef is a favourite hunting-ground 

 for the conchologist, some of the largest and 

 most beautiful shells in the world being found 

 amongst the Corals. In Celebes, the giant bi- 

 valves, the huge Tridacnas, which are sometimes 



, two feet across, and whose shells have been 

 known to weigh as much as 500 Ibs., may be 

 seen wedged in among the Corals. The mantle 

 of the living animal presents to the observer a 

 wonderful display of colour as it lies in the 

 shallow water with its shells open. The animal 

 is eaten by the Malays, who roast it on a tripod 

 spit over a fire, and cut it into steaks. A fair- 

 sized Tridacna will afford a good meal for four 

 or five men. The great Cowries, Helmet-shells, 

 and many other species may be found in hunting 

 E 



