THE ARMED CRAB. 



593 



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 ob- 

 taining 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 dfoutrance, 

 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 



CRESTED CRAB. Calappa phiiargus. 



ARMED CRAB. Thealia acantbophoc*. 



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 armor, the growth of the new claw proceeds 

 more rapidly. 



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

 ways 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 



