178 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The diamond-back terrapin {Malaclemmys 2)alustris) is found in suit- 

 able situations tlironghout the bay. It is said to be most abundant 

 in the southern part. It is said to be somewhat inferior in food value 

 to the same terrapin taken farther north. No efforts are made to take 

 it for shipment or local sale. 



CRUSTACEANS. 



This section is well snpi)lied with crustaceans suitable for food, but, 

 owing to tlie absence of any fislieries for them, their abundance and 

 local distribution are only imperfectly known. 



The common blue crab {GalUnectes) is found throughout the bay in 

 considerable numbers, and it or an allied si^ecies also exists in the 

 fresh- water streams flowing from the everglades. The stone crab 

 {Menippe) frec^uents the inlets and channels of the section, and is well 

 known to the people of the bay, but is eaten in only limited quantities. 

 The lady crab {Platyonichus) is observed along the sandy beaches of 

 the keys, and is reported to be abundant. 



The horseshoe crab or king crab [Limulus) is found throughout Bis- 

 cayne Bay and in other suitable localities along this coast. It is not 

 utilized. 



Perhaps the most valuable crustacean of this region is tl^e salt-water 

 crawfish or spiny lobster {Panulirns)^ which is reported to occur in 

 immense bodies around the keys forming tbe eastern boundary of the 

 lower part of the bay. It is marketable as food and bait and is similar 

 to the "lobster" of the Pacific coast^ which is eaten in large numbers, 

 but no use is at present made of the animal in the Biscayne Bay region, 

 except its casual employment in very small quantities for bait and 

 family supply. 



Shrimp [Fenams) are probably present in sufficient numbers to war- 

 rant the prosecution of a fishery, if the facilities for marketing the 

 catch were better. 



OYSTERS. 



There is a luxuriant growth of oysters in parts of Biscayne Bay. 

 They are all raccoon oysters, growing in dense reefs or beds in the open 

 bay, and on the roots and submerged limbs of mangrove and other 

 trees along the shores. In places they hang in large compact bunches 

 to the mangroves, forming long continuous lines of oysters 10 or 12 

 inches deep. They also attach themselves to the piling of docks, the 

 bottoms of boats, and submerged logs and branches. 



The oysters are uniformly small. The average length of the shells 

 is under 2i inches and the maximum size of the oysters growing on the 

 reefs is but little over 4 inches. When the clusters are separated, how- 

 ever, the oysters attain a much larger average size. The oysters grow 

 very rapidly. Mr. Ealph Munroe, of Cocoanut Grove, has seen oysters 

 on the bottom of a boat at his wharf attain a length of over 2 inches 

 from the spat in nine months. A large proportion of the oysters on 



