232 



Marvels of the Universe 



FMtotui [/;. S!.-/'. F.L.f:. 



HERMIT AND SPONGE. 



This little Hermit, which lives in deep water, induces a sponge to grow over it, 

 into which it can retreat when necessar>'. The growth of the sponge does away 

 with the necessity for finding a larger house every time the Hermit casts his natural 



made it for the time being a 

 mere little hollow of the bound- 

 less ocean, he walks out and 

 down to deeper water. Here he 

 grows apace, and soon we find 

 him full-grown and occupjang 

 a big whelk-sheU, perhaps four 

 inches long and weighing more 

 than two ounces. 



At this stage in his existence 

 we shall find that he is not 

 leading the solitary life usually 

 attributed to human hermits. 

 Our Hermit Crab is a sociable 

 being, though his leaning may 

 not be to his own kind. We 

 are almost sure to find perched 

 up on his house a broad, tall 

 column of flesh surmounted by 

 a spreading nimbus of broad 

 flat rays. This living tower is 

 sii^ii- a sea-anemone, to which the 



erroneous name of Parasite Anemone was given in days when friendship among the lower 

 animals was not understood, and if one species attached itself to another it was regarded as a case 

 of parasitism. But this anemone is more in the way of being a paying guest than the expensive 

 hanger-on implied by his name. 



The Hermit is rather a nervous fellow, and at the slightest alarm pulls hirnself back into the whelk 

 shell with a jerk. If you pick him up now you will observe what you may not have noticed much 

 before — that his right hand with the pincer-claws is at least twice the size of the left, and that now 

 when all else but the tips of his long walking legs is inside the shell, this big right hand is folded across 

 the opening and forms an efficient street-door. But though the street-door may be sufficient to keep 

 off minor foes, it could not save the Hermit from a big-mouthed fish whose palate teeth would be 

 able to crush the whelk-shell. It is here, probably, that the services of his anemone friend come 

 in. If you handle this anemone you will find your fingers covered with an evil-smelling slime, which 

 is only to be got rid of after much expenditure of soap. It is probable that its odour is objectionable 

 to crab-loving fishes, who are thus warned off by the presence of the anemone. On his part, he would 

 benefit by getting tit-bits when the Hermit is cutting up his meals. Another advantage to the 

 anemone consists of frequent change of scene without any exertion on his part, and the certainty 

 of being conveyed to places where meals are to be had instead of waiting patiently for something 

 to turn up. 



But the Parasite Anemone is not the only companion of the Hermit. In the hinder and other- 

 wise empty part of the whelk-sheU, a beautiful creature, six or eight inches in length, and known 

 as a Nereis, winds his richly-tinted, iridescent body round the spiral chamber. When meal-time 

 comes this Xereis, smelling the feast, pops out his head over the head of the Hermit and helps himself 

 to a portion. This Nereis is one of a group of sea-worms that form most deadly baits for the salt- 

 water angler, no fish being able to resist it. It is, therefore, a good thing for Nereis to be provided 

 with safe quarters and a share of the Hermit's meals ; and in return it is surmised that he acts the 

 part of a scavenger and keeps the house clean. Just inside the Hermit's doorway may also be found 

 a minute zoophyte, related to the corals, whose exact importance in the household is not so clear. 



