74 FISHERIES OF THE ORIENTAL REGION, 



Finally, some mention is due to the Birgus latro or cocoa-nut 

 land-crabs, which, if mentioned last, are certainly not the least 

 amongst the Crustacea. The Malays call them Ketam-calappa or 

 cocoa-nut crab, and Ketam-canary and Ketam-mulana. In 

 Amboyna in the days of Rumphius they were called Katattut 

 and Atattut, I presume in the Alfura dialect. The animals are 

 not common anywhere, and as they are very destructive to cocoa- 

 nuts they are vigorously sought after, more particularly as they 

 are excellent eating. Amboyna and some of the Philippine 

 Islands are the places where they seem to be best known. They 

 are nocturnal in their habits, and live in burrows under-ground, 

 sometimes at a little distance from the sea, and 300 feet and more 

 above it. As to how the cocoa-nuts are procured there are 

 conflicting accounts. Some say that the cocoa-nut tree is climbed, 

 which seems difficult to believe. The popular account about the 

 animal scooping out the nut through the germinal eye is absurd. 

 The eye is beaten out, and the shell broken away by the huge 

 claws. The husk is first completely stripped off, and the shell 

 nipped into pieces by the powerful pincers. A great deal of oil 

 is at certain seasons got from the tail. 



When in Borneo at Labuan, I saw large tracts of the low- 

 marshy ground dug up into heaps, which the natives informed me 

 was done by land-crabs. I tried to get specimens but was unsuc- 

 cessful. 



The following is a list of Crustacea collected at Singapore by 

 Surgeon-Major Archer, supplemented by a few species found by 

 myself : — 



PODOPHTHALMIA. 



BRACHYURA. 



OXYRYNCHA. 



MAIID^E. 

 Maia miersii, Walker (n.sp.) 

 Oncinopus neptunus, Adams and White. 

 Doclea muricata, Herbst. 



