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 with 
astonishment and wonder !” 
On the Spanish coast there is a species of crab known singularly 
enough by the name of 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 Lespés 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 (Corophium longicorne), remarkable 
for its long antennze, 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 irthabitant 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 antennz 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 
