246 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



the eastern ''Australian coast, where it 

 occurs in depths down to forty fathoms, 

 and it is commonly secured in the nets 

 of the trawlers. 



In the crabs of the family Dorippidae, 

 we find the hinder legs in a position 

 corresponding to that of the same 

 appendages of the members of the 

 Dromiidae. These creatures are not so 

 prone to the hiding habit as their near 

 allies, and they are commonly secured 

 without any covering other than an 

 accumulation of silt, which probably 

 helps to render them indistinguishable 

 as they lie on the bottom. When 

 coverings are affected, however, they 

 are always novel in form, and of such a 

 nature as to excite but little suspicion 

 in the minds of natural enemies. 

 A species occuring in the waters of the 

 Malay Archipelago, and known as 

 Dorippe astuta, has the peculiar habit 

 of grasping a mangrove leaf with its 

 hinder limbs in the same manner as 

 Conchoecetes gi asps a -hf 11. With this 

 covering held over its back for pro- 

 tection the crab offers an unusual 

 spectacle as it moves along the 

 shore. Another member of the genus 

 (D. dorsipes) is not uncommon on 

 the sand and mud flats in and 

 around Port Denison, Queensland, and 

 an example recently forwarded to the 

 Museum by Mr. E. H. Rainford was 

 captured whilst carrying a starfish on 

 its back. Considering the nature of 

 this covering, it is interesting to note 

 here some of the impressions of the 

 collector, which are vividly set out in a 

 note accompanying the specimens. He 

 writes that he was walking on the beach 

 at low water when his attention was 

 drawn to the erratic progress of a small 

 starfish. It was apparently rolling and 

 staggering about like a sailor " half 

 seas" over. Accustomed to the demure, 

 quaker-like movements of these crea- 

 tures, Mr. Rainford could not fathom for 

 the moment the true meaning of the 

 scene he was witnessing. On closer ex- 



A Crab (Dorippe dorsipes), with its burden 

 of starfish (Pentaceros nodulosus), as it was 

 received at the Museum from the collector, 

 Mr. E. H. Rainford. The lower illustration 

 is that of a similar crab about the same size, 

 and shows the wonderful prehensile modifi- 

 cation of the hinder limbs. 



[Photo.— G. C. Clutton. 



amination, however, he found that the 

 starfish was firmly held on the back of 

 the crab by the four posterior legs, 

 which accounted for its " unseemly 

 conduct." He says that he admired 

 the instinct which taught the crab to 

 camouflage itself in this way, but could 

 not but feel that in this case it fell some- 

 what short of perfection. He considers 

 that a starfish is quite an unsuitable 

 disguise for Dorippe dorsipes, which 

 apparently fnds its burden a clumsy 

 one to balance, tending rather to 

 attract than escape the eye of an 

 enemy. 



