Handbook of Paleontology 171 



jects between the eyes, more delicate feelers and slender 

 legs. THe Feather- footed Shrimp is a small,, brown, 

 translucent creature about half an inch long that is dis- 

 tinguished by its large eyes, spines along the sides of the 

 body and feathery hairs on the legs and antennae. It is 

 likely to occur in large swarms in shallow muddy or 

 grassy places and is most abundant along our coast in the 

 winter time. The Mantis Shrimp {Squilla empusa) is 

 so named because of the resemblance of its claws to those 

 of the Praying Mantis. It lives in long, winding, muddy 

 burrows below low-water level, ranging from Florida to 

 Cape Cod. This creature grows ten inches long. Other 

 species are highly esteemed for food in the Mediterranean 

 and tropical Pacific. The Mud Crabs (Panopeus) are 

 small dark olive-brown crabs which extend in their range 

 from the tropics to Massachusetts bay. As their name 

 implies they have a fondness for muddy shores and live 

 under stones or in moist burrows within muddy banks 

 or marshes. The common Mud Crab of Long Island 

 (P. herbsii) ranges from Brazil to Rhode Island. It 

 grows one and a half inches broad. There are three 

 species of Fiddler Crabs (Uca) common on our eastern 

 coast. The species found on sandy beaches ( U. pugilator) 

 also inhabits muddy beaches. Another form ( U. pugnax) 

 lives in salt marshes, completely riddling the muddy banks 

 with holes. It extends from Provincetown, Massachu- 

 setts to Georgia and a variety is abundant in the West 

 Indies and Gulf of Mexico. The holes are two or more 

 feet in depth. The largest of our Fiddler Crabs {U. 

 minax), recognized by the red spots at the joints of the 

 legs, ranges from New England to Florida and digs bur- 

 rows along the banks of rivers or brooks where the water 

 is only slightly brackish or even fresh. 



