. The sea-beach at ebb-tide : a guide to the study of the seaweeds and the lower animal life found between tidemarks . PLATE LXIII. Ilyas frracilIiiliii aciili-tita. FIDDLER-CRABS of fiddler-crabs occur on the Atlantic coast. They congregate inimmense numbers, and excavate their holes in convenient localitiesabove the reach of the tides — on salt-marshes, far up the estuaries, andalong the mouths of rivers, even where the water is quite fresh. Themales have one claw very largely developed; the other chela is former is likened to a
. The sea-beach at ebb-tide : a guide to the study of the seaweeds and the lower animal life found between tidemarks . PLATE LXIII. Ilyas frracilIiiliii aciili-tita. FIDDLER-CRABS of fiddler-crabs occur on the Atlantic coast. They congregate inimmense numbers, and excavate their holes in convenient localitiesabove the reach of the tides — on salt-marshes, far up the estuaries, andalong the mouths of rivers, even where the water is quite fresh. Themales have one claw very largely developed; the other chela is former is likened to a fiddle, the latter to a bow, and this, toge-ther with the waving motion of the large claw, gives them their popularname. This comparatively enormous claw is a distinguishing feature bywhich they arc easily recognized without other description. The femalehas claws of small and equal size. These crabs burrow holes in themud or sand hah?an inch to twoinches in diameterand a foot or morein depth. Theupper part is nearlyperpendicular, be-. r>;i (<;<liisiiiins) , the tiddler-crab ; male. coming horizontalbelow, with a cham-ber at the end. Onespecies, U. ,constructs an arch-way over the mouthof its burrow, inwhich it sits andsurveys the surroundings, but quickly retreats when danger crab makes its burrow by scraping up the mud or sand and forming itinto pellets, which it carries under the three anterior walking-feet on theunder side, using the legs on the side moving forward, and the fourthone on the other side, to climb out of the hole. After peering cautiouslyabout, the crab emerges, and carries its load four or live feet awaybefore dropping it; then again looks about before quickly runningback; and, finally, turning its stalked eyes, looks in all directions andsuddenly disappears, soon to return with another load. The burrowscover considerable areas, and the crabs are so abundant that the marshesand shores sometimes seem to be alive with them. When
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmarinea, bookyear1901
