THE GREEN , OR SHORE-CRAB. 
445 
a reddish, tinge of greater or less intensity, according to the individual. The legs are dusky- 
red, relieved by a series of bands of a grayish-yellow color. 
In many characteristics, the genus Zozymus resembles the genus iEgle so closely, that the 
two genera have been blended together by several systematic zoologists. 
As a general fact, it is much to be wished that the modern fashion of breaking up the old 
and established genera into a host of new ones, many of which contain but a single species, had 
not proved so fascinating to the authors. In many cases, the characteristics employed as 
generic differences are so very trifling, that they are barely of sufficient importance for the 
establishment of a species. New families also have been invented with reckless profusion, and in 
many instances, known to every naturalist, the characteristics on which the family is founded 
serve equally for the genus and the species. Needful as is some definite system of nomencla- 
ture, and admirable as is the system which Linnaeus founded, and which has since formed the 
basis of all arrangement, it can be pushed too far, and, as is well known to be the case, is so 
widely abused, that merely to learn the multitude of sesquipedalian titles with which the study 
of zoology is now encumbered, requires a greater exercise of memory than to study the habits 
and peculiarities of structures which alone form the true objects of zoological science. 
The Brassy Crab is remarkable for the curious protuberances into which the carapace is 
moulded, and which cover the claws and legs. Only three or four species are ranked under 
this genus, and all of them are natives of the Mauritius or the Philippines. 
The genus to which the Spotted Crab is assigned is rather more comprehensive than the 
preceding, and contains six or eight species, all being remarkable for their round and smooth 
bodies, the peculiar notches and projections on the edge of the carapace, and the huge claws 
that terminate the first pair of legs. 
The members of this genus belong to the tropical regions. Some species are found about 
Jamaica and the West Indies in general. Others inhabit the Philippines, and others, again, 
are natives of the Mauritius. Except from the peculiar spots with which the carapace is deco- 
rated, this crab might easily escape detection while lying with its limbs withdrawn, and its 
frame in a state of quietude, for it is so round and so smooth that it looks very like a large 
pebble that has received a partial polish from the action of the waves. Many specimens are 
covered more or less with vegetable and animal growths, such as corallines, algae, barnacles and 
zoophytes, and are therefore almost undistinguishable while they are quiet. 
The spots upon the carapace are bright red. 
Examples of two dissimilar species of the same genus are the Tubercled Galehe and the 
Smooth Galene. The Tubercled Galene derives its name from the profuse warty excrescences 
which grow upon the claw-feet and the pincers. In the Smooth Galene the claws are very 
much smaller in proportion, and destitute of the tubercles which are so characteristic in the 
former species. Both these crabs are natives of the East Indies. 
We now arrive at the family of the Portunidse, or Swimming Crabs, in which the last pair 
of feet are flattened sideways, and have the last joint dilated into a thin oblique plate, which 
answers as an oar or a fin, and enables the creature to propel itself through the water. The 
first example of this family is the Greem, or Shore-crab, so familiar to every one who has 
passed even an hour on the coast between the time of high and low water. Although one of 
the commonest of the crustaceans, it is at the same time one of the most interesting, and, owing 
to its diurnal habits, its fearless nature, and its love for the shallow waters, it is very easily 
observed. I have spent many a pleasant hour in watching the habits of this little creature, 
and could hardly have imagined the activity, the piercing sight, and the cleverness with which 
this crab is endowed. 
It is a fierce and even voracious animal, chasing and fairly running down living prey, 
and actually leaping upon its victim with a spring like that of the hunting spider. I have 
seen the Green Crabs run after and catch even the active sandhoppers, calculating with 
nice precision the spot on which they alighted, and pouncing on them before they could 
get themselves into position for a second leap. If the prey should be of tolerable size, the 
crab does not leap at it, but darts out one of its claws with a stroke so sharp and quick, that 
