MOUTH-FOOTED CRUSTACEANS. 469 



that was needful was to drop the dead animal into the water so that it should pass the spot 

 where the Prawn had made its home. As soon as it approached, the Prawn used to dart out 

 like a tiger from its den, its long antenna? waving in great excitement, and its forceps open 

 and extended so as to be in readiness. The claws appear to be very feeble, but they are 

 stronger than they seem, and are perfectly adequate to the task which they are called upon to 

 perform. The creature would quickly grasp its prey with one claw, carry it off to its home, 

 and there leisurely pick it to pieces, displaying considerable discrimination in choosing the 

 ».nost delicate morsels, and abandoning the remainder to its smaller companions who still 

 lived in the same tank, and preserved their lives by hiding themselves in little nooks and 

 crevices, wherein they were safe from their giant kinsman. The air of utter contempt with 

 which the Prawn would twist off and fling aside the legs and antennae of a shrimp or a hermit- 

 crab was very amusing. Its greatest dainty, for which it would leave almost every other kind 

 of food, was the soft abdomen of the hermit-crab. 



The forceps employed for this purpose are those at the extremity of the second pair of 

 feet, those of the first pair being used for a different purpose. Mr. Gosse has given the follow- 

 ing account of those limbs and their tise. After mentioning that they are covered with hairs 

 set at right angles to the limb, like the bristles of a bottle brush, lie proceeds as follows : — 

 "These are the Prawn's washing brushes, especially applied to th< j cleansing of the under 

 surface of the thorax and abdomen. When engaged in this operation, the animal commonly 

 throws in the tail under the body, in that manner which we see assumed in the finest speci- 

 mens that are brought to table, which is not, however, the ordinary position of life, the body 

 being nearly straight. Then he brings his fore-feet to bear on the belly, thrusting the bottle 

 brushes to and fro into every angle and hollow with zealous industry, withdrawing them now 

 and then, and clearing them of dirt by passing them between the foot- jaws. 



" The reason of the inbending of the tail is manifest. The brushes coidd not else reach 

 the hinder joints of the body, and still less the swimming-plates, but by this means every part 

 is brought within easy reach. Sometimes the brushes are inserted between the edge of the 

 carapace and the body, and are thrust to and fro, penetrating to an astonishing distance, as 

 may be distinctly seen through the transparent integument. Ever and anon the tiny forceps 

 of the hand are employed to seize and pull off any fragment of extraneous matter which clings 

 to the skin too firmly to be removed by brushing ; it is plucked off and thrown away clear of 

 the body and limbs. The long antennae and all the other limbs are cleaned by means of the 

 foot- jaws principally." 



The Swoed-sheimp, a native of Japan, belongs to another family, termed the Penaddae. 

 All the members of this family have a very long and much compressed abdomen, ana the 

 beak very small or absent. One of them is the Grooved Sheijip (Penceics sulcdtus), a com- 

 mon species in the Mediterranean. It has three grooves on the carapace, two long and one 

 shorter in the middle. It is a large species, sometimes attaining the length of seven inches. 



Another species is the Sivado, sometimes called the Swobd-shrimp, or the White 

 Shrimp, the last-mentioned term, however, being applied very loosely by the fishermen. It is 

 a very beautiful little creature, being of a translucent white color, dashed and spotted with 

 rich crimson. It is said that this species cannot endure exposure to the air, and that it dies 

 immediately on being removed from the water. 



MOUTH-FOOTED CRUSTACEANS; STOMAPODA. 



Another order of crustaceans now comes before us, called the Stomapoda, or Mouth- 

 footed Crustaceans, so called because their legs mostly issue from the neighborhood of the 

 mouth. The gills are external, and are formed in a most curious manner of a series of tiny 

 cylinders. The greater number of Stomapods live in the hotter seas, but a few are inhabitants 

 of the English coasts. 



