COURTSHIP AMONG ANIMALS 9 



by the prolonged parade of beauty and strength. 

 The most gorgeous or the strongest male, having 

 gained the victory over his less-favoured rivals, is 

 left on the field, and becomes the successful possessor 

 of the object of his desires. Courtship, as thus 

 interpreted, is seen to perform a very useful purpose 

 in life, being a preliminary sex play and a necessary 

 step towards the final act of mating. In considering 

 the various modes of courtship, we shall commence 

 with the lower animals and gradually work up to the 

 higher. 



1. INVERTEBRATES. 



No real case of courtship has been observed in 

 animals lower than the Crusters, to which the crabs 

 and lobsters belong. Among the crabs there are no 

 great sexual differences between male and female; 

 but in some the right front claw or " hand " of the 

 male differs in structure from the left. This shows 

 itself in an exaggerated form in the Fiddler-Crab 

 (Fig. 5). According to Pycraft, the male here has 

 one hand tremendously enlarged, so that it attains 

 a size twice as great as the body of the crab itself. 

 It serves chiefly as a war club in the fights which 

 the males indulge in for possession of the females. 

 It is of a beautiful cherry-red colour, and is waved 

 about wildly to attract the female when she is 

 near. 



We find among the Scorpions the first example of 

 a more elaborate courtship. The scorpion is a near 

 relation of the spider, and has a poisonous sting 

 that is used for offence and defence. There is 

 little difference in size or colouring between the sexes. 



