THE EDIBLE CRAB. 
443 
The Domed Ceab is a very remarkable example of this family, and in addition to certain 
generic peculiarities, well displays the characteristics of the family. The claw-legs are very 
large throughout their entire structure, and are furnished at their extremities with short but 
powerful nippers. The carapace of this creature is extremely wide, but the width is due, 
not so much to the body as to the shell, which is expanded in such a manner as to conceal the 
legs under its shelter. 
The generic name Cryptopodia is derived from two Greek words signifying Hidden-legs, 
and is an extremely appropriate title. Even the large claw-legs can be folded up and tucked 
away so neatly under the carapace, that, when the creature lies still on the ground^, no vestige 
of limbs can be seen, and it might easily be mistaken for a stone thrown casually on the shore. 
In fact, the whole contour of this crab, whether when moving or quiescent, irresistibly reminds 
the observer of the tortoise tribe, and bears a special analogy to the box-tortoise, which has 
already been described and figured. The eyes of this genus are very small, and, like the limbs, 
can be wholly retracted and hidden under the shell. The Domed Crab is a native of Japan. 
A very singular and unprepossessing crab, called Spixose Parthexope ( Parthenope 
Jiorridci ), belongs to the typical genus of the family. At present, this genus seems to be very 
small, the number of known species being decidedly limited. Owing to the marine residence 
of these creatures, and the extreme difficulty, not to say impossibility, of watching them in 
their watery homes, the habits of these Parthenopidse are but little known, and in most cases 
can only be conjectured from the bodily form, just as the fossil animals are known to be 
carnivorous or herbivorous by the structure of their teeth and jaws, to be swimming creatures 
because they possess fins and paddles, or to be capable of flight because they are furnished 
with wings. 
In the Spinose Parthenope, the carapace approaches to a five-sided figure, rather wider 
than its length, moulded into a series of the oddest imaginable protuberances, and covered with 
knobs, tubercles, and spines. The beak is sharp, short, pointed, and has a strong tooth just 
between the antennae. The claw-legs are very large, armed with powerful forceps at their 
extremities, and covered thickly with such a multitude of knobs, spikes, and protuberances, 
that they really seem as if they were subject to disease and had thrown out a crop of 
unhealthy growths. The hinder limbs are comparatively small, but yet are strongly made, 
and armed with a whole array of thorny spines, so that, what with the claws and what with 
the spines, the creature is a truly formidable being, and one that may not be grasped with 
impunity by a careless hand. 
This species inhabits some of the hotter parts of the world, and specimens were procured 
from the Mauritius. 
The little Str a wberry-c e ab is very appropriately named, as its color is of a pleasing 
red, and its surface studded with numerous tubercles, so as to bear some resemblance to the 
fruit whence it derives its popular name. It is a European species, and is generally found in 
deep water, so that the dredge is the instrument usually employed in its capture. 
The Spixe- armed Lambeus is a member of a moderately large genus, inhabiting the 
Mediterranean and the warmer seas of the world in general. In many respects the genus 
Lambrus resembles the parthenope, but is distinguishable by having one plate fewer in the 
abdomen, and by the manner in which the antennae are jointed. The eyes of this Spine-armed 
Lambrus are retractile and placed on footstalks of an elaborate and curious construction. 
The large family of the Canceridse now comes before us, and is familiarly known through 
the medium of the common Edible Ceab, which is represented in the accompanying illustra- 
tion, the figure being drawn from a young specimen. 
This is a very common species, being plentiful around rocky coasts, and generally remain- 
ing just under low- water mark. The fishermen catch it in various ways ; but the most usual 
method, and that by which the greatest number of these crustaceans are captured, is by means 
of certain baskets, called crab-pots, cruives, or creels, according to the locality. These baskets 
are round, and in shape something like a flattened apple, and have an aperture at the top 
through which the crab gains access to the interior. When once within the basket, it cannot 
