104 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
Not only is the shell of the body shed during 
the moulting periods, but the covering of the 
antennae and legs, as well as the lining of the 
gills, stomach, and eyes, is also discarded. 
The new shell, formed beneath the old one, 
is quite soft at first, but gradually becomes 
hardened — this transformation sometimes 
taking but a few hours to complete, while 
at other times it may be extended over a period 
of several days. Before the shell has become 
hard, the crab is quite defenceless and runs 
great risk of being devoured by its enemies ; 
but in order to avoid such a calamity as far 
as possible, the creature hides itself within the 
crevice of a rock, from whence it does not 
venture forth until its armour is in a service¬ 
able condition. 
The general appearance of the shore crab 
is so familiar as to need no detailed description, 
but it is not generally known that the sexes 
can readily be distinguished the one from the 
other by the size of the tail, that of the male 
being narrower and more pointed than that 
of the female. It appears that these crabs 
possess a remarkable homing instinct, for 
experiments carried out by the Eastern Sea 
Fisheries Commission have proved that if one 
of the creatures be removed from its native 
locality it will make every effort to return. 
