176 



THE VELVET FIDDLER. 



the chief distinctions lying in the shape of the 

 hinder pair of legs, which in the common crab are 

 sharp and rounded, but in the swimming crab 

 are flattened at their extremities. These flattened 

 limbs are used as oars or paddles, and by their 

 repeated strokes the creature is able to urge 

 itself through the water with some velocity. The 

 peculiar movement of the limbs being thought 

 to resemble the action of a violinist's arm, the 

 crab has thence derived its name of Fiddler. 



The Velvet Fiddler (Fortunus puber) is common 

 enough on our coasts, and is a tolerably hardy 

 inhabitant of an aquarium, but not a safe tenant. 

 It is a most ferocious creature, lurking unseen in 

 a corner, and from its den darting forth at any 

 unsuspicious inhabitant that may come near. One 

 of these creatures has been known to attack a 

 moderately-sized hermit crab, and to destroy it 

 with a single snap, despite its shelly habitation 

 and strong claws. After having killed the poor 

 hermit, the fiddler proceeded to eat its body. 



There are some crabs, again, which, in con- 

 sequence of their peculiarly shaped body and 

 long sprawling limbs, are termed Spider Crabs; 

 for an example of which creatures, see plate m, 

 fig. 3. The bodies of these crustaceans are short, 

 wide, and produced into a snout-like form in 



