380 THE MANTIS SHRIMP. 



small fragment of weed, if it be tolerably well peopled 

 with Plumularm or Pedicellina, some much larger 

 than others, and beautifully mottled with transparent 

 ruby- colour on a clear horn, and distinguished by 

 variations in the relative size, in the shape, and in 

 the armature of these formidable weapons ; and there 

 is a species larger still, of a dull purplish-red hue- 

 But all have pretty much the same manners, except 

 that the smaller species are more agile. 



These manners are excessively amusing. The 

 middle part of their long body is destitute of hmbs, 

 having instead of legs two pairs of oval clear vesicles, 

 biit the hinder extremity is furnished with three pairs 

 of legs armed with spines and a terminal-hooked 

 blade like that already described. With these 

 hindmost legs the animal takes a firm grasp of the 

 twigs of the polypidom, and rears up into the free 

 water its gaunt skeleton of a body, stretching wide its 

 scythe-like arms, with which it keeps up a see-saw 

 motion, swaying its whole body to and fro. Ever 

 and anon the blade is shut forcibly upon the grooved 

 haft, and woe be to the unfortunate Infusorium, 

 or Mite, or Eotifer, that comes within that grasp. 

 The whole action, the posture, the figure of the 

 animal, and the structure of the limb are so closely 

 like those of the tropical genus Mantis among in- 

 sects, which T have watched thus taking its prey in 

 the Southern United States and the West Indies, that 

 I have no doubt passing animals are caught by the 

 Crustacean also in this way, though I have not seen 

 any actually secured. The antennse, too, at least the 

 inferior pair, are certainly, I should think, accessory 



