508 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



reappear at the end of a few months with a perfect limb, vigorous, 

 and ready for service. O Nature, how thou fillest our souls ^vith 

 astonishment and wonder !" 



On the Spanish coast there is a species of crab known singularly 

 enough by the name oi Boccaccio. It is caught for its claw, which is 

 considered excellent eating ; this is taken off, and the mutilated 

 animal is thrown into the sea, to be re-taken at some future time 

 when the claw has reappeared. 



Crustaceans are nearly all carnivorous, and eat eagerly all other 

 animals, whether living or dead, fresh or decomposed. Little think 

 they of the quality or condition of their food. It is amusing to 

 witness the address and gravity with which the common crab, when 

 it has seized an unfortunate mussel, holds the valve open with one 

 claw, while with the other it rapidly detaches the animal, carrying each 

 morsel to its mouth, as one might do with the hand, until the shell 

 is entirely empty. The crab does not kill its prey directly, like the 

 lobster ; it swallows it, certainly, but with greater appreciation. 



M. Charles Lespes surprised upon the shore at Royan a shoal 

 of crabs at their repast. This day they seemed to have dined in 

 common, and " God knows the enjoyment," as the good Fontaines 

 said. They were in rows, every head turned to the same side, and 

 nearly on end on their eight feet. They seized the small objects on 

 the shore, which they carried to their mouths, each hand in its turn in 

 regular order ; when the right hand reached the mouth the left was on 

 the ground. Only imagine a company of disciplined soldiers thus 

 messing together at the same table ! 



The Long-horned Corophius [Corop/iiiim longiconie), remarkable 

 for its long antennae, knows perfectly well how to cut the byssus by 

 which the mussels suspend themselves, in order that the bivalve may 

 fall on the weeds among them. Other Crustaceans are also great 

 oyster-eaters, and have the cunning or instinct to attack this mollusc 

 without exposing themselves to danger. When the bivalve half opens 

 its shell to enjoy the rays of the sun or take food, the evil-disposed 

 Crustacean is romantically said to slip a stone between the valves ; 

 this done, it devours the poor inhabitant of the shell at its leisure. 



The Corophii, respecting whom this assertion is hazarded, are 

 extremely numerous on the shores of the Atlantic towards the end of 

 summer and autumn. They make constant war upon certain marine 

 worms. Off the coast of La Rochelle they may be seen in myriads 

 beating the muddy bottom with their long antennse in search of their 

 prey. Sometimes they meet a Nereid or Arenicola many times their 

 own size, when they unite in a body to attack it. In the oyster beds 



