over a giant box crab.

They are trying to contact a group of boys who handed in the bucket containing the unusually large crab and then ran off.

"We did not get any information about the crab,'' said Mrs. Lisa Greene, the museum's collections officer yesterday.

"We don't know where it was found, or what type of habitat it was in. If these boys could help us by coming forward, it would be very much appreciated.'' Mrs. Greene said the seven inch box crab, with purple stripes on its shell, was not uncommon.

"It is unusual, however, for them to be this large,'' she added.

Mrs. Greene said the crab would probably be added to the museum's stock of animal skeletons and plants.

It was important to collate as much data on each specimen for an overall picture of how animals interrelate, she explained.

BOX OF PUZZLES -- Museum collections officer Mrs. Lisa Green with the mystery box crab.