IV THE NORTH AND WEST COAST 119 



The fallen beech leaves and decaying timber 

 form a thick carpet over the ground, and by 

 scraping about, a wonderful variety of inverte- 

 brate life is discovered, comprising Centipedes, 

 Spiders, land Planarians, and land Crustaceans of 

 the Amphipodan genus Talitrus, resembling the 

 Sand-Hoppers of our shores. There are thousands 

 of these Hoppers under every log, ranging from 

 half an inch in length downwards, and of every 

 conceivable colour from red through bluish to 

 white. 



Another very interesting land Crustacean is the 

 so-called Land Crab (Engaeus), which is really 

 a kind of Crayfish related to the freshwater 

 Astacopsis already described. The Land Crab is 

 confined in Tasmania to the north and west, but 

 several species are found in Victoria, and there 

 are also species found in Tasmania and Victoria 

 which are intermediate, both in structure and 

 habits, between the true Land Crabs and the 

 Astacopsis which live in the streams. The true 

 Land Crab is distinguished from the Astacopsis or 

 River Crayfish by the small size of the tail and 

 the great depth of the body from front to back, 

 the back being acutely arched. The adult reaches 

 about four to five inches in length and varies 

 from red to pale blue or white in colour. The 

 animal makes a very deep burrow in the ground, 

 of a tubular shape, which may branch several 

 times, and at the end of each tube is a round 

 chamber, filled with liquid mud, where the animal 



