PLATE IV

Penæus caramote, FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN. (ABOUT HALF NATURAL SIZE) (From Brit. Mus. Guide)

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The second suborder, that of the Reptantia, is much more diversified, but the animals composing it are united by certain characteristics, of which the most obvious are their creeping habits (although some species can swim well), their heavily armoured bodies, often more or less flattened from above downwards, with the rostrum never thin and saw-edged, and the swimmerets not used to any great extent for swimming.

The first section of the Reptantia, the Palinura, includes the Spiny Lobsters, Rock Lobsters, or Sea-Crawfish, and their allies, forming the tribe Scyllaridea. They are distinguished by having no large pincer-claws, though the last pair of legs may have small pincers in the female sex. One species, the Common Spiny Lobster ([Plate V].), is found on the southern and western coasts of the British Islands. The other tribe belonging to this section is the Eryonidea, comprising a number of small lobster-like forms living in the deep sea. They have pincer-claws on the first four, or on all five, pairs of legs, and they are of special interest on account of their geological antiquity.

PLATE V