128 UTILIZATION OF MINUTE LIFE. 



But some of the most useful and most remark- 

 able of crabs are undoubtedly the land crabs, which 

 belong to the genera Thelplmsa and Gecarcinus. 

 Of the former some live far away from the ocean, 

 under damp stones in the woods ; others, such as 

 T.fiuviatilis (Fig. 11), which would be taken by a 



FIG. 11. Thelphusa fluviatilis (European land-crab) . 



casual observer for a small common crab, burrows 

 in the earth on the banks of rivers. This animal is 

 about two and a half inches long, and of a yellowish 

 colour ; it was known to Hippocrates and Aristotle, 

 and is represented on certain ancient medals. The 

 Greek monks eat it raw, and the Italians feed upon 

 it during Easter. It is not uncommon in the south 

 of Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Syria. 



The crabs of the genus Gecarcinus resemble that 

 just mentioned. They abound in the hilly districts 

 of the Antilles, where they are known to the French 

 as Toulourous. They are likewise found in the 



