124- CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOK 



fact may present itself when the P. Bcrnhardus is watched ; 

 but it is by no means so with the P. lovgicarpus of our 

 coast, which is the one that my readers will be most 

 likely to obtain, although P. Bcrnhardus has been observed 

 by Dr. Gould on the coast of Massachusetts. 



It is a curious fact, that when a hermit in captivity 

 feels unwell, he crawls out of his shell ; and, soon after 

 dies. This propensity is shared by the tube-inhabiting 

 worms, as the Serpula. The habit is the more remark- 

 able, as the usual instinct of animals leads them to the 

 most retired spots they can find and there resign them- 

 selves to death. 



Small Hermit Crab. 



The other hermit crab (Pagurgus lovgicarpus) is very 

 common on our coast and may bo caught during the 

 spring or autumn at low tide in great numbers, bearing 

 shells of Buccinum, Pyrula, Nalica, Fusus and sometimes 

 others. They generally are small in size ; the largest 

 mentioned by Dr. De Kay measuring 1.5 inches in 

 length. 



The common Fidler Crab {Gclasimus vocans — Plate VII. 

 Fig. 3), when young, maybe introduced into the Aq arium, 



