The young are likewise hatched, and live for some time,
on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they hollow
out beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate
surprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk,
on which they rest as on a bed. The Malays sometimes take advantage
of this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs
are very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones
there is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as
much as a quart-bottleful of limpid oil. It has been stated by some
authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the
purpose of stealing the nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of
this; but with the Pandanus the task would be very much easier.
(20/8. See "Proceedings of the Zoological Society" 1832 page 17.) I
was told by Mr. Liesk that on these islands the Birgos lives only
on the nuts which have fallen to the ground.
Captain Moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the Chagos and
Seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring Maldiva archipelago. It
formerly abounded at Mauritius, but only a few small ones are now
found there. In the Pacific this species, or one with closely
allied habits, is said to inhabit a single coral island north of
the Society group.
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