176 



Garnater. 



Fanfe, or 



Trold-krab- 



ber. 



NATURAL HISTORY of NOR WA T. 



fandy bottom, and are in feafon from Michaelmas day to Chriftmas, 

 but reckoned to be fatter during the increafe, than they are at the 

 decreafe of the moon They are caught in a triner, in the fame 

 manner as theLobfters are, and are reckoned by fome as well tafted, 

 efpecially when" they have a good deal of fpawn. The female 

 Crab has a broader tail than the male, to cover the private parts, 

 and both fexes have double genitals, according to Anderfon's Ob- 

 fervation, in his Defcription of Iceland, p 175. I have before 

 obferved this particular of Gul-haaen. I have alfo mentioned the 

 Crabs artifice in throwing a ftone between the fhells of the Oyfter 

 when open, fo that it cannot fhut ; and by that means feizing it 

 as a prey. On the other hand, the Crab is conquered by the Eel, 

 which twines itfelf about that creature's claws, and by fqueezing 

 itfelf together, breaks them off, and fucks them with great 

 eagernefs. Pliny tells us, Lib ix. c. 3 1. that Crabs fight with 

 one another as the rams do, by butting againft each other with 

 the fmall fharp horn they have on their heads : but that they 

 mould be at a certain time transformed into Scorpions, is not at 

 all probable. " Sole cancri fignum tranfeunte & ipforum cum 

 exanimati fint corpus transfigurari in fcorpiones narrantur in ficco" 



The Garnater, or Duck-crab, is a fmaller fort of Crab, with 

 a grey fhell. Thefe keep near the Ihore, fo that one may take 

 them up with one's hands ? - but they are only ufed for baits. 

 Thefe, as well as feveral other kinds of Crabs, and fuch flow- 

 crawling fpecies, feem to be ordained by the wife and good Crea- 

 tor, as food for the whole tribe of Flat-fifli, which alfo are 

 flow in their motion, and ufually live on the fandy bottom, and 

 live chiefly on thofe crawling kinds. 



The Fanfe, or Trold-krabber, the Prickly Crab. Our fifher- 

 men give it the latter name, Trold-krabber, becaufe it is not fit 

 to eat. It is alfo called by fbme the Sea-fpider, probably on ac- 

 count of its long legs, which, on fome that I have in my pof- 

 feffion, are a foot long ; though the body is not much bigger than 

 a Duck Crab, only a little thicker. The fore-part in this kind 

 is oval, and there is a pretty long horn growing from the fore- 

 head, which is divided at the end into two points. The body, as 

 well as the long legs of this Crab, is covered with prickles. On 

 this account Olig. Jac. in Mufeo Reg. p. 112, calls this fort 

 Cancer Spinofus. Matth. Hen. Schaftius fays, that the Trold- 

 krabber (though he does not call it by any particular name, for 

 the names were entirely unknown to him, but by the defcription 

 he muft mean this kind of Crab) by changing its colour, prog- 

 nosticates a fudden change of weather. " Rarum certe eft na- 

 tural 



