NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 
663 
these were Tornaria, and larvae of Sipunculids and Chirodota. The place would be a 
most convenient and productive one to a working zoologist. 
The Brachiopod, Lingula , is so abundant in shallow water close to the town, that 
two bo) T s gathered more than a hundred specimens at a single low tide at the request of 
von Willemoes Suhm. 
A King Crab ( Limulus rotundicaudatus ) is not uncommon near Samboangan, and is 
called “ cancreio.” Yon Willemoes Suhm thought that he had obtained a series of 
young larvae of Limulus amongst the surface animals collected by the net, but he 
subsequently came to the conclusion that he had been mistaken, and that the larvae 
were probably those of Cirripeds. 1 At low tide, by wading and turning over stones, 
enormous Planarians belonging to the genus Tliysanozoon are to be found in abundance ; 
they are of a dark purple colour, and measure, some of them, as much as 5 inches in 
length and 2 inches in breadth. 
Mr. Moseley, accompanied by von Willemoes Suhm, paid a visit to the island of Santa 
Cruz Major, sailing over in a Lutao canoe managed by two of these natives ; the boat 
was armed with a large number of bamboo spears, simple light bamboos cut off slanting 
at one end so as to form a sharp cutting point like that of a quill tooth-pick in shape. 
A bamboo so cut is extremely sharp, and the spears must be formidable weapons, especially 
against a thinly clad adversary. Two or three dozen of these spears were placed on rests 
on either gunwale of the boat, and there were besides two round shields of a kind of 
basket-work in the boat. 
The object in visiting Santa Cruz Major Island was to search for the great Cocoanut- 
eating Crab ( Birgus latro). It is called “Tatos” at Samboangan, and survives in Santa 
Cruz Major because there are no pigs in the island. Wild pigs destroy not only these 
crabs, but dig up Shore Crabs ( Ocypoda ) and Land Crabs from their holes. In Ceylon, 
near Trincomali, the wild swine come down every night to the beach to dig up crabs, 
and large tracts of sandy beach are ploughed up by them in the search. The “ tatos ” is 
sought for and eaten as a delicacy by the inhabitants of Samboangan. 
Landing was effected close to a Moro house built out into the sea, so as to be 
surrounded at high w T ater. The inhabitants were lolling about in the shade, and though 
offered good pay they would not go a quarter of a mile to look for “ tatos.” At last a 
boy consented to go as guide ; instead of searching for the crabs under the cocoanut trees 
as expected, he showed as the haunts of the animals hollows at the roots of mangrove 
and other trees in swampy ground, amongst the holes of ordinary land crabs, but 
no “tatos” was discovered. Von Willemoes Suhm was anxious to investigate the 
development of the Birgus from the egg. An intelligent native at Samboangan, who 
collected for the Expedition, said that the female crab carries about large masses of 
eggs with it in the month of May, and retains them so attached until the young are 
1 See Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., N. S., vol. xxiii. p. 145, 1883. 
(narr. ch all exp. — vol. i. — 1885 .) 
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