State Library of NSW
[Page 193]
yellow dab was a small crab – Body about ¾ of an inch & speckled black & white - The yellow was due to a large 1 inch single claw - They scuttled into holes as soon as you approached – the claw acting as a lid (like the cat's eye) - If you stopped one by catching hold of his claw he instantly shed it & off he went as lively as ever - He'd only one claw & that on the Right side - He had 2 stalked eyes - I collected a handful of hermit crabs for Rawdon - There are millions of them -
I noticed also how the mangrove shrubs send down roots from the trunk & branches to grow into the mud - They are long brown supple sticks with a small black cap on the end of each & they seek the ground, just like the screw pines do with their roots - Once in the ground they throw out roots & eventually the shrub looks as if it grew out of the top of a big crab or lobster pot - There shrubs with their roots & their fruit – torpedo shaped & ready formed to stick into the mud & start growing - Lines much of the shore -
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