We have just mentioned the fact that the head and thorax of a decapod is usually covered by a large shield--the carapace. Now, the general character of this carapace may be seen at once in either the shrimp or the lobster. In these animals the segments that form the head and the thorax are all fused together, and are completely covered by the protective buckler of hardened skin; but in the Stomapoda the carapace is much smaller in proportion, and a few of the segments of the thorax, instead of being fused into the general mass of the _cephalo-thorax_, are quite distinct from it. The abdomen, also, is large and strongly formed in these animals. Five pairs of the thoracic limbs are directed forwards, and are adapted both for catching food and for climbing, while others are used in walking. The limbs of the abdomen generally number six pairs, of which the first five bear feathery gills. [Illustration: FIG. 201.--THE MANTIS SHRIMP (_Squilla Mantis_)] Two species of Mantis Shrimps, one of which is represented in fig. 201, have been found off the south and south-west coasts, but these are not likely to be seen on the shore, since they inhabit deep water. Allied to these, and sometimes included with the Stomapods, are the Opossum shrimps, so called because the females of some species carry their eggs in a kind of pouch, thus reminding us of the marsupial quadrupeds of the same name. They are of very slender build compared with the mantis shrimps, and differ from them in that the carapace completely covers the thorax; but though this is the case, the fusion of the thoracic segments is not complete, since the posterior ones have still a certain amount of freedom of movement. Some species of opossum shrimps are abundant in the rock pools of our coasts, particularly in the south-west, but their bodies being often so transparent as to be almost invisible, they are consequently easily overlooked. Their general appearance may be gathered from our illustration of _Mysis chamæleon_, which is probably the most common species inhabiting our coast. The highest crustaceans--the Decapods--are divided into two sub-orders--the _Macrura_, or Great-tailed, including lobsters, shrimps, &c.; and the _Brachyura_ (Short-tailed), containing the crabs; but the number of British species is so large that it is impossible to give, in our limited space, a detailed description of all the commonest even. All we can do is to note a few of the more interesting features of certain species, to introduce such illustrations as will enable the young naturalist to identify a number of the commoner ones, and to give the general characteristics of the main divisions so that the student may be able to classify his specimens intelligently. [Illustration: FIG. 202.--THE OPOSSUM SHRIMP (_Mysis chamæleon_)]