The Descent of Man

of Mr. Bate fighting with a Carcinus maenas,
the latter was soon thrown on its back, and had
every limb torn from its body. When several
males of a Brazilian Gelasimus, a species furnished
with immense pincers, were placed together
in a glass vessel by Fritz Muller, they
mutilated and killed one another. Mr. Bate put
a large male Carcinus maenas into a pan of water,
inhabited by a female which was paired
with a smaller male; but the latter was soon
dispossessed. Mr. Bate adds, "if they fought, the
victory was a bloodless one, for I saw no
wounds." This same naturalist separated a male
sand-skipper (so common on our sea-shores),
Gammarus marinus, from its female, both of
whom were imprisoned in the same vessel with
many individuals of the same species. The female,
when thus divorced, soon joined the others.
After a time the male was put again into
the same vessel; and he then, after swimming
about for a time, dashed into the crowd, and
without any fighting at once took away his wi-