ABOUT THE LOBSTER. 217 



strange, wild life of its own, and belonging, indeed, to 

 some singular world of monstrosities in which the ordi- 

 nary laws of Nature had no control. But, on the con- 

 trary, it fills its proper place in the scale of animated life ; 

 its structure is admirably adapted to the conditions under 

 which it performs the vital functions ; and in its organiza- 

 tion the same great principles obtain as are apparent in 

 the economy of all created beings. 



The lobster is a crustaceous animal, belonging to the 

 sub-order Macrura, or long-tailed Decapods. Its scien- 

 tific name is Homarus vulgaris. 



On examining it we see at once that its body is com- 

 posed of two parts, popularly called the " head " and the 

 " tail," the latter being jointed and flexible. The so- 

 called "head" is really composed of both the head, 

 strictly so termed, and the thorax (or "chest") the two 

 being wedded into a single mass which naturalists call 

 the " cephalo thorax." On the other hand, what is 

 popularly called the "tail" is really the "abdomen." 

 Along the lower surface of the body are disposed the 

 feelers, claws, legs, and other appendages; and these, 

 as well as the entire body, are enclosed in a complete 

 suit of armour, a strong chitinous (or partly horny) 

 shell, or ex-skeleton, while the cephalothorax is covered 

 by a great cephalic shield or plate, termed the "cara- 

 pace." 



Each segment of the body is composed, in the main, of 

 a convex upper plate, termed the "tergum," which is 

 closed underneath by a flatter plate known as the " ster- 

 num " the line where the two unite being extended, 

 downwards and outwards, into a plate called the " plue- 

 ron," or " pluera." 



