Figure 211. — Vca pugilator (Bosc). Male in dorsal 

 view, about natural size (after Rathbuu, 18S4). 



granulated, rugose lines above and with isolated 

 dark hairs proximally, nearly smooth outside, 

 lower margins granulate; merus of small cheli- 

 peds with scattered hairs. Carpus and outer sur- 

 face of large hand with tubercles diminishing to 

 granules on lower face of hand. Inner surface of 

 palm without oblique tuberculate ridge as in U. 

 minax and V. pugnax, but with a tuberculate 

 ridge running along immovable finger from tip 

 backward on internal distal border; surface gran- 

 ulate, granules coarser on thickest part of palm. 

 Fingers strong, gaping; immovable finger with 

 largest tubercles just behind middle and near 

 truncate tip, inferior surface convex; dactyl 

 evenly denticulate and with irregularly placed 

 large tubercles, strongly curving downward past 

 tip of opposed finger. Walking legs narrow. 



Measurements. — Carapace: male, length, 17 

 mm. ; width, 26 mm. 



Color. — Carapace of male a dull light purplish 

 or grayish blue of varying shades, or with ir- 

 regular markings of brown or dark gray, a large 

 patch of deep purplish blue on anterior half; 

 large cheliped dull light blue at base with white 

 tubercles, articulations yellowish; fingers mostly 

 white; small chelipeds and legs buff with blue or 

 brown speckles (various authors). Specimens 

 from Massachusetts, bluish gray; those from Flor- 

 ida, reddish yellow (Demeusy, 1957). 



Habitat. — This species occurs in countless num- 

 bers on sandy and muddy beaches bordering 

 marshes, and along banks of tidal creeks. The 

 crabs also occur farther from water in sandy situ- 

 ations of the Salicornm-Distichlis marsh and at 

 times in Juncus marsh where the soil is sandy 

 (Teal, 1958). The species burrows much as does 

 V. pugnax, and populations of the two species are 



often intermingled (Pearse, 1914), though V. 

 pugilator prefers sandier situations (Hyman, 

 1922). Dembowski (1926) found that choice of a 

 place to burrow depends upon many factors, 

 among them phototaxis and thigmotaxis. Bur- 

 rows may have any shape but are unbranched and 

 usually dug at an angle to the surface of the 

 ground, the length of the burrow depending in 

 part on the amount of moisture in the ground. 

 Digging by males is done with legs on the side 

 opposite the large claw. The crabs plug the open- 

 ing as soon as they feel the water level rising in 

 the burrow with the tide, and do this by pulling 

 in the edges of the burrow and by ramming sand 

 up from below. The end chamber, thus, functions 

 as an air chamber during high tide. 



Type locality. — "Caroline." 



Known range. — Boston Harbor, Mass., to 

 Texas; Old Providence Island (Coventry, 1944) ; 

 Haiti. 



Remarks. — Vca pugilator, like its east Ameri- 

 can congeners, has been the subject of much study, 

 and one of the most readable accounts of its nat- 

 ural history is that of Hyman (1922). 



In the vicinity of Beaufort, N.C., ovigerous fe- 

 males are found in spring and early summer. In 

 Virginia, they are known from March to July 

 (U.S. National Museum records). Schwartz and 

 Safir (1915) found ovigerous females at Long Is- 

 land, New York, from the first week in July until 

 mid- August; in Massachusetts, Pearse (1914) 

 found no ovigerous specimens until the first part 

 of August. In Texas, Hedgpeth (1950) reported 

 zoeae taken in a plankton net on May 20 at Long 

 Lake. The breeding season, thus, is similar to 

 those of the species discussed above in being sea- 

 sonally related to latitude. Schwartz and Safir 

 (1915) and Hyman (1920, 1922) stated that ovi- 

 gerous females were rarely seen at the surface, but 

 Hyman found that they left their burrows to 

 aerate the eggs in water for a time at dusk. When 

 the eggs were ready to hatch, the zoeae were re- 

 leased at such time in the water. 



The larval and postlarval stages of the East 

 Coast species of Vca were described and illus- 

 trated by Hyman (1920) based largely on study 

 of V. pugilator. Hyman could find no consistent 

 morphological differences among each stage of the 

 three species. Five zoeal stages and a megalops 

 stage were described. Gray (1942) described a 



MARINE DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS OF THE CAROLINAS 



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