Tank No. 6. 
37 
anterior portion bears the stalked eyes and two pairs of antennae or 
feelers, one pair very long, the other shorter and forked. Behind these, 
and on the under surface is the mouth, furnished with six pairs of ap¬ 
pendages or feet modified for purposes of mastication. Of these first we 
have a pair of mandibles followed by two pairs of maxillae, forming 
the "jaws” of the Lobster. Then there are three pairs of "foot-jaws” 
or maxillipedes, used by the animal to hold and turn about his prey 
or food, while the jaws proper are employed for biting and chewing. 
Behind the foot-jaws we find five pairs of walking-legs, the first three 
pairs of which end in pinching claws. The claws of the first pair of 
these walking-legs are of immense size and strength, and serve as weapons 
of attack or defence. The tail also bears a pair of limbs on each joint; 
they are termed the swimming-legs, but serve in the female Lobster to 
carry the eggs. 
Fig. 54. Homarus vulgaris, 1/3 nat. size. Tank 6 . 
If we observe the Lobster more carefully, it seems to be constantly 
fanning itself with the feathery tassels on its foot-jaws, and often performs 
similar movements with its abdominal legs. This is its method of breathing. 
Just as man renews the air . in his lungs by the contraction and expansion 
of his chest, so the Lobster, by these movements of its feet, causes fresh 
water to flow to its gills, which lie under its shell at the base of the 
legs. Another noticeable action is the constant twitching of the smaller 
pair of feelers; these probably serve as olfactory organs, while the larger 
ones are the organs of touch. 
An important event in the life of a crab or lobster is the annual 
moult, when the animal literally creeps out of its shell, or as one might 
say: "jumps out of its skin”. At these periods a crack makes its ap¬ 
pearance at the hind end of the carapace, and through this the Lobster 
has to work its way out; first the tail, and then the head and body, being 
