120 CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR 



thrive in a sufficiently capacious tank, if all other requisites 

 are taken into consideration and properly attended to, so 

 as to imitate, as nearly as possible, the natural habitat of 

 each of these creatures, and care being had not to excite 

 them too much, by going near the tank oftencr than will be 

 necessary for feeding, observation or attention to their well- 

 being ; for it must be remembered that deep-sea creatures 

 are not accustomed to look upon man, and if we wish to 

 keep them (and many of them are strange of form and 

 will well repay a little extra attention), we must be par- 

 ticular not to disturb them too often. 



Among the Crustacea — or " animals with their bodies 

 divided into movable rings more or less distinct, having 

 an outer coating of a calcareous (formed of lime) or mem- 

 branous texture, more or less solid, and which, in many of 

 them, as the lobster and crab, contain a coloring matter, 

 which turns of a brilliant scarlet on immersion in warm 

 water or alcohol" — that which has been recognized in Eng- 

 land as fair prey for the naturalist, and to introduce into 

 his Aquarium, presents a form and habits that we would 

 hardly expect to meet with in these creatures as they arc 

 exhibited to us in the common edible crab, is the strange 

 little hermit crab — two species of which are found upon the 

 New York coast. 



The first of these (Pagurus pollicaris), is rndre rare than 

 the next to be described, and the largest of the American 

 species. Its right hand sometimes being 0.8 of an inch 

 long. It is frequently found in the shell of the Fulgur 

 carica. It is difficult to meet with a perfect specimen, as 

 they are frequently found deprived of their antenna 1 , and 



