HERMIT-CRABS 



267 



with hermits. Adamsia palliata is always found on the shell oc- 

 cupied by Eupagurus prideaux, and never on any other. This is a 

 European form. On our own coast 

 a red anemone, the Epizoantlius 

 americanus, found in deep water off 

 the entire eastern shore, fastens on 

 the shell occupied by the hermits 

 Eupagurus pubescens and E. Jcroyeri. 

 This anemone in time absorbs the 

 shell of its host and itself becomes 

 its protector an advantage to the 

 hermit, who finds room in the yield- 

 ing polyp-mass for its increasing 

 size, and feels no longer the necessity for change of domicile. The 

 female hermit holds its eggs in the posterior feet until they are 

 hatched ; the young are then released, pass into the water, and 

 soon find shells for themselves. 



A colony of sen-anemones ( Epizonnthns 

 americamis) which had completely cov- 

 ered and absorbed a shell occupied by a 

 hertnit-crab ( Eitpagurua pnbescens), which 

 still lived within the cavity. The polyps 

 are not expanded. 



GENUS Pagurus 



P. bernhardus. This is a large species, bright red in color, rough 

 and hairy. It inhabits the shells of Fulgur carica or of Polynices 



her os. It ranges from Cape Cod north- 

 ward, and is replaced on the northern 

 California coast by P. alaskensis and P. 

 aleuticus. 



P. pollicaris. This hermit inhabits 

 shells similar to those occupied by the last, 

 but is pale red in color, and its surface is 

 granulated and not hairy. The short joint 

 of the chela has a broad angle. It ranges 

 from Massachusetts to Florida, and occurs 

 at low-water mark on rocky and shelly 

 bottoms of bays and sounds. 



P. longicarpus. A quick-moving little 

 hermit with long chelipeds, found in small 



Pagurus bemhardv*, the hermit-crab. ^ ells at * he pater's edge Ul quiet places. 



ihey exist in great numbers and are 



eaten, shell and all, by fish. This species can be distinguished from 

 all others by its very light color and metallic luster. 



&ENUS Clibanarius 



C. vittatus. This hermit is found from North Carolina southward 

 along the edge of the water and in tide-pools. It cannot be mistaken. 



