The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-07-26
AQUARIUM's YELLOW LOBSTER.
Not Only o Curiously Marked but Appar-
entity an Intelligent C%rustacean.

entity An lntell8ent Crustacean.
They've got a yellow lobster down a,
the aquarium. and yellow Holsters are G
rarity; In the dozen years or more tina,
the aquarium has been established it has
had, including this one but two.
This one. which came from Gravesend
Bay. is about ten inches in length; with its
big claws Strengthened out in front it would
measure about fifteen inches. In color
it is yellow and brown, notified; the yellow
being of a bright deep lemon color and
the yellow areas being as great or greater
than those Of brown, while these yellow mark
ings extend not only over the Holsters
shell but over its big and little claws.
What is it?' visitors ask, taking it for
some strange creature; but a closer inspec-
ton shows 1t to be a true and perfect lobster.
strange only in its freak colorings, and
these it may lose when next it sheds its
shell. growing one hen Of the Holsters
natural green.
This yellow lobster appears to be very
intelligent; an evidence Of this that it gave
the other day drew a crowd around it's tank
In nature the lobster backs into crevices
in rocks. holding its big claws to the front
to seize upon such prey as it can capture
and for protection, against enemies that
might attack it. On a sandy bottom it
might dig out with its big claws a hollow
place into which 1t could settle.
The bottom of the yellow Holsters tank
Is covered with sand. in which the yellow
lobster likes to dig. 1t will go to one corner
and scoop out the sand there and push it
over to the furthest opposite corner; and
then at some other time 1t will attack the
mound thus made n dig a hole in that
corner and push the and back again to
the corner from which il had brought il,
Its digging is interesting: the special ex-
hibition Of intelligence that the lobster gave
the other day was incidental to this. in
its handling OF an interfering green crab.
In the tank with the yellow lobster there
are q n lumber Of green crabs Unlike the
blue crab. the green crab has no swimming
claws, but it can run rapidly on the bottom,
and with its sharp pointed claws to hold on
with 1t walks readily up the front OF YER
teal faced rock g.. A quick moving, agile
creature is the green crab. and one OF these
green crabs here in this tank set out SEEM
ingly to bother the yellow lobster.
The lobster had dug quite a hole In the
sand in one corner, pushing the ~excavated
sand over to the corner diagonally opposite
and piling it up there, making quite a slope
up between, and once when the lobster had
pushed up some sand in that way and gone
baok down the slope to the hollow place
for more 1t was followed by the green crab,
apparently bent on teasing Il.
The yellow lobster took that bothersome
green crab between its two big claws. hold.
ing 1t far enough out between them 90 mat
the crab couldn't bite II or hurt IL, and Mold
ing II 30 It started hack with IL up the slope.
Any sort OF lobster walking along on the
bottom on it's long slender legs and CARRYING
its two big claws out in front OF II il an in
teresting object. but this yellow lobster
walking up the and slope carrying a green
crab a prisoner made a sight that was
more h doubly interesting, and then a
moment later, when II had got to the top
Of the slope, the people looking on saw the
lobster thrust the a down into the sand
And then the lobster turned around and
went down for more sand.
Being stuck into the SAND like that was
nothing to the orab-it Is a common thing
for crabs to bury themselves In mud or
sand, leaving only their eyes sticking out
and this green crab was out Of the sand in
moment and scuttling down the slope after
the yellow lobster again. Again the lobster
seized the crab In it's claws and carried il
up the slope and thrust It into the sand In
the same manner, and 10 did this four times
in succession, with all the people looking
OF with great interest. A woman In the
uowd when she saw the yellow lobster
walking up the slope with the green crab
for the fourth time laughed aloud,