486 
THE OCEAN WORLD. 
or not at all curved backwards ; the front strongly recurved, or, rather, 
bent downwards; the orbits oval-shaped and of moderate size; the 
lateral edges of the carapace slightly curving and trenchant; the 
ocular pedicles large, but short: their insertion beneath the front 
and the cornea occupies one half of their length. 
The Hermit or Soldier Crab (Pagurus Bernhardus, Fabricius, 
Fig. 337) is, perhaps, the oddest and most curious of Crustaceans. It 
Fig. 337. Pagurus Bernhardus. 1 , out of (he shell ; a, right jaw-foot ; l>, in the shell. 
differs from most other Crustaceans in this : in place of having the body 
protected by a calcareous armour, more or less thick and solid, it b» s 
only a cuirass and head-piece to protect the head and breast ; all the 
rest of the body is invested in a soft yielding skin ; and this, the vul- 
nerable part of the hermit crab, is the delicate morsel devoured by 
gourmet. Nor is our somewhat evil-disposed Crustacean ignorant of the 
perfectly weak and defenceless state of its posterior quarters. Prudence 
