<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> <a name="fig211" id="fig211"></a> <img src="images/i_308.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="" /> FIG. 211.--THE PRAWN (_Palæmon serratus_) </div> In addition to the common species mentioned there are quite a number of shrimps and prawns to be found in our seas, but some of them inhabit deep water and are rarely to be found between the tide-marks. All, however, are eagerly devoured by fishes, and, on that account, are often to be obtained in good condition by examining the contents of the stomachs of freshly caught fishes. In fact, this mode of search for the smaller species of deep-sea life is not to be despised, for it is a means by which we can obtain specimens that are not often secured by the methods coming within the ordinary range of the amateur’s work. It will be remembered that we spoke of the Decapods as consisting of two main groups--the Great-tailed (_Macrura_) and the Short-tailed (_Brachyura_). Frequently, however, we find the order divided into three sub-orders as follows:-- 1. _Macrura_ (Great-tailed), 2. _Anomura_ (Peculiar-tailed), 3. _Brachyura_ (Short-tailed); the first containing lobsters, shrimps, &c.; the third the typical crabs, such as the shore crab and the edible crab; while in the second are placed those species of crabs which have been regarded as intermediate in character. Thus, in the _Anomura_ we find decapods in which the abdomen, though not so well developed as in the _Macrura_, is either permanently extended or is capable of being extended and used for swimming as occasion requires. The hindmost legs, also, are not well developed and adapted for walking, but are employed only as organs of prehension; and, as is the case with the first sub-order, there are often two pairs of well-developed antennæ. In this sub-order of ‘queer tails’ we find the Soldier or Hermit Crabs, and those flat-bodied crabs that live almost exclusively on the surface of stones, and are hence known as Stone Crabs; but as opinion now seems inclined against the formation of a special suborder for these creatures, we shall briefly deal with them as a first section of the _Brachyura_. The Stone Crabs are extremely interesting creatures, and the observation of their habits, both in and out of the water, is particularly entertaining and instructive. One species--the Broad-Clawed Porcelain Crab (_Porcellana platycheles_), shown on Plate VI.--is very abundant on all our rocky coasts, and may be found in immense numbers near low-water mark.