230 



Marvels of the Universe 



HERMITS AND THEIR MESSMATES 



BY EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. 



In the article upon a Tree-climbing Crab we spoke of the Robber Crab as a Hermit Crab that had 

 abandoned the habit of protecting its unarmoured hinder parts b}^ thrusting them into an empty 

 shell. The true Hermits may be found commonl}- upon our own shores, and the commonest of 

 them must be very familiar to all who have spent a seaside holiday away from the crowded resorts, 

 and where there are rocks and rock-pools. In the fascinating employment of watching the varied 



life in one of these natural 

 aquaria, we are sure to 

 see one or more baby 

 Hermit Crabs scuttling 

 across the bottom, the 

 crab almost hidden by the 

 red or yeUow shell into 

 which it has curled its 

 tender tail. As soon as 

 the young Hermits have 

 passed through their in- 

 fant swimming stage, and 

 assumed the form of their 

 parents, they look about 

 for an empty sea-snail's 

 shell of the right size, and 

 thereafter they spend their 

 days in dragging a shell 

 about wherever they go. 

 They grow and, like other 

 crabs, have to throw off 

 their natural armour as it 

 gets too small for their ex- 

 panding bodies. With each 

 casting of their natural 

 shell comes the necessity 

 for obtaining a more roomy 

 snail's shell for their 

 hinder parts. The suit- 

 able shell may be found ; 

 often it is found by two 

 Hermits at once, and both decide that it is the only possible shell worth having. In that case the 

 onlooker will be amused at the conflict that will ensue between them, each in turn gaining a tem- 

 porary advantage of the other and momentary possession of the shell. At length one of the claimants 

 to the property will feel that he has no chance against the superior tactics of his opponent, and 

 possibly will come to the conclusion that there are much better houses in the market — more solidly 

 built, more sanitary, or more artistically designed and ornamented. 



At every change of the natural shell this sort of thing goes on ; but when the j^oung Hermit 

 has made several changes into more commodious residences, he finds that the rock-pool is too small 

 a world for his ambitious ideas, and one day when the risen tide has come far above his pool, and 



l^hoto bti'\ 



{A. Leal. 



THE CRYSTAL CREST-BEARER. 



In general structure the Crystal Crest-bearer is much like the Creeping Plumes. The 



base of the exquisite plunied crest takes the form of two horse-shoes. 



