CRESTED CRAB. 



a philaryus. 



ARMED CRAB. Tliedlia acanthdphora. 



at the joint immediately below the wound, and then seems to recover itself from the 

 shock. This faculty is very needful to creatures who depend upon their claws for 

 obtaining food, and who are so quarrelsome in disposition. As has already been 

 mentioned, the crustaceans fight terribly, and in those cases where the combat is not 

 a Voutrance, both parties have usually to deplore a limb or two crushed in the nippers 

 of the opponent. Were no means provided for replacing the injured members, the poor 

 creatures would die of starvation, as would an elephant if deprived of his proboscis, or a 

 lion whose feet had been cut off and teeth drawn. 



Every injured limb therefore is at once discarded at some joint, no bleeding takes place, 

 and the stump heals almost immediately. After a short time, a little button seems to be 

 protruding from the joint, and before many days have passed, a very small but perfect claw 

 is seen to protrude. This new member grows regularly though slowly, and so in process 

 of time the creature is re-supplied with its full complement of limbs. Every one has 

 noticed the frequent inequality in the size of lobsters' claws, how one side is armed with 

 a huge weapon nearly as large as a man's hand, while the other can only boast of a puny, 

 soft-shelled claw an inch or so in length. This inequality is the result of some injury 

 that has been inflicted on the limb from which the little claw has sprouted, and in almost 

 every instance the original claw has been lost in battle. After the moult, and the induing 

 of a fresh suit of armour, the growth of the new claw proceeds more rapidly. 



It must be noticed that this power of reproduction of a lost or injured member always 



denotes that the creature possessing this capability is not very highly organized. Very 



few of the vertebrates, and those mostly belonging to the reptiles, are able to reproduce a 



lost member, and even in these few instances, the restorative power is very limited. A 



3. Q Q 



