Boone, Crustacea, Cruises of "Eagle" and "Ara," 1921-28 131 



Habits : So secretive is this crab during the shedding stage that a 

 soft-shell specimen, or cast shell, is practically unknown. It is com- 

 monly believed by the fishermen of the West Indian region that this 

 crab does not shed. So hard and strong is the shell, that not infre- 

 quently several strong blows with a hammer will be required to break 

 it. The meat of this crab has the most delicious flavor of all the 

 Southern Crustacea, and the crab is therefore much sought by fisher- 

 men who obtain it by baited lobster pots, or by spearing it in coral 

 rock crevices. 



According to Hay and Shore, the first post-larval stages of the 

 young crabs spend their time in deeper water among the pebbles, 

 coming into shallower water when about an inch long. This observa- 

 tion was made at Beaufort, N. C, a rather northern range for the 

 species. May it not be possible that in more southern waters the 

 young do not seek such depths ? 



Color: In life the crab is a rich translucent green, mottled with 

 grayish-green spots and with minute flecks of blackish-gray on the 

 upper surface. The underside is creamy white. The tips of the claws 

 are black. 



Technical description : Carapace transversely oval, longitudinally 

 convex ; frontal border about one-fourth the width of carapace, promi- 

 nent, divided into two lobes on each side ; the inner pair are the more 

 prominent, rounded. The anterolateral margin is wide and regularly 

 convex, cut into five teeth, including the postorbital; of these, the 

 postorbital is the shortest, the second, third and fourth are wide and 

 blunt ; the fifth tooth is at the lateral angle and is short, prominent, its 

 postlateral margin confluent with the posterior margin of carapace, 

 which is but little convex, converging obliquely posteriorly; the pos- 

 terior margin is short, not quite straight. The regions of the carapace 

 are weakly delineated. The gastric region has two low, rounded 

 lobes and the anterior branchial region is also slightly lobed. There 

 is a definite sulcus on each side of the cardiac region and an arcuate 

 line of coarse pits on the branchial region. The upper surface of the 

 carapace is relatively smooth, with numerous coarse, pore-like pits 

 irregularly scattered. There are three well-marked, closed sinuses on 

 the outer half of the superior orbital margin. The superior and 

 inferior inner orbital angles are both well defined, nodular. The male 

 abdominal belt is rather broad, seven-segmented; the female belt is 

 also seven-segmented. 



