Abstract
OUT of a collection of nearly seventy corals which I made in these islands, nearly a quarter are new or undescribed; and from this fact, as I am informed by Mr. S. Ridley, it may be inferred that there is yet much to be learned of the corals of this region. After describing in my paper the characters of a typical reef, I proceeded to refer to the complex relations that exist between the multitudes of creatures that frequent coral reefs. The protective colouring of the small crabs that live among the branching corals often attracted my attention. I recall, in particular, the instance of a small crab that finds its home among the branches of a Pocillopora. The light purple colour of its carapace corresponds with the hue of the coral at the base of the branches, where it lives; whilst the light red colour of the big claws, as they are held up in their usual attitude, similarly imitates the colour of the branches. To make the guise more complete, both carapace and claws possess rude hexagonal markings, which correspond exactly in size and appearance with the polyp-cells of the coral. Another species of crabs that climbs about the blue-tipped branches of a Madrepora, has the points of its pincer-claws similarly coloured. It is interesting to note that these two crabs are adapted to live each on its own species of coral. Had I caused them to exchange their homes, their borrowed hues and markings would have at once made them conspicuous objects for their enemies.
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The Coral Reefs of the Solomon Islands 1 . Nature 35, 77–78 (1886). https://doi.org/10.1038/035077a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/035077a0