SYMNISTA. 



syronwtu 



TOOTHED FROG-CRAB. .Ranina rtentefa. 



and the last two pairs ascend upon the back. All the Eanidas inhabit hot countries, and 

 are found chiefly in the Mauritius, the Philippines, and India. The TOOTHED FROG-CKAB 

 (Ranina serrata) is a good and tolerably common example of this family. It is a native 

 of the Mauritius and Japan. 



It is altogether a curious-looking creature, with a broad flattish carapace edged, in 

 front with the most formidable-looking teeth, that hardly seem to belong to the shell, but 

 to have been taken from the mouth of a shark and fastened artificially upon the front 

 edge of the carapace. The legs of this creature seem quite insufficient to carry the great 

 broad carapace, and the abdomen is almost absurdly small. The colour of the shell is 

 very pale pink, and the spines which cover its surface are of a whiter hue, looking almost 

 as if they had been pricked into the carapace by human means. All the points are 

 directed forward, and have a very rough effect when the hand is drawn from front to rear. 

 When full grown, the Toothed Frog-crab is about as large as a man's fist. 



THE smaller figure on the same illustration represents a rather pretty-looking and 

 decidedly curious crab, which is an example of another family, termed the Hippidss. In 

 this family the carapace is long, rounded, and rather thimble-shaped, in most cases slightly 

 flattened above. The abdomen is very small, and from the upper view of the body is 

 hardly visible. In one species of the typical genus, the ASIATIC HIPPA (Hippa asiatica), 

 the carapace is very round, elongated, and altogether egg-shaped, so that it would hardly 

 be taken for a part of a crustacean. Even its colour is a hue rarely seen among the shelly 

 race, being a soft pale yellow very like the chrysalis case of the oak egger-moth, which 

 indeed it also resembles in shape. 





