THE COMMON THORNBACK-CRAB. 



565 



cognizance of the putrefying substances, which to them are sweeter than the choicest 

 perfumes vended at Cologne or elsewhere, and their owners crowd around on allsides, 

 i\u;vr to enjoy the coming feast. 



The Squinado, together with other crabs, sets to work boldly : with one claw holds 

 tightly to the banquet, and with the other tears off morsels and deftly feeds himself 

 therewith, putting them into his comical mouth with the regularity of clockwork, and 

 with a rapidity that reminds the observer of a Chinese flinging rice into his 

 mouth with his chopsticks. The strength and sharpness of the claws are such, that 

 the toughest muscle cannot long withstand their power, and the flesh is torn from the 

 bones as perfectly as if scraped away by a knife. 



COMMON THORNBACK-CRAB. (Female.) 



COMMON THORNBACK-CRAB. - >la/a Squinado. 

 THREE-SP1NED SPIDER-CRAB. -Ptr/cera Msplaosa. 



But this tearing and pulling is but rough work, and leaves a vast number of tiny 

 atoms floating in the waves, that, in the aggregate, would be extremely injurious to the 

 purity of the water. They are far too small for the large and coarse pincers of the crab to 

 seize, but are exactly adapted for another set of scavengers which accompany the Squi- 

 nado wherever it goes. If the reader will again refer to the illustration, he will see in 

 the upper right-hand corner a small specimen of this crab, seated on a rock, and having 

 a large tuft of some substance on either side. These tufts are composed of corallines 

 and zoophytes, such as sertularia, coryne, campanularia, bugula, and the like. In this 

 example, the extraneous growths have capriciously settled on the limbs, but in many 

 instances they wholly cover the entire body and limbs, so that the crab moves along 

 like Macduff s army under its leafy shade. These creatures live on the minute floating 

 atoms of animal matter, just as the Squinado feeds on the larger pieces, and it is one of 



