486 O. W. HYMAN 



estuary leads north from Taylor's creek, a few hundred yards 

 west from Lenoxville Point. This species is also abundant on 

 the banks of the Beaufort end of the Inlet Canal from Pamlico 

 to Beaufort. 



The third species, Gelasimus minax, is not common. It seems 

 to prefer higher ground bordering a marsh, and frequently occurs 

 at some distance from salt water. It occurs along the banks of 

 the Inlet Canal from Pamlico to Beaufort, and especially in one 

 of the large estuaries on the Shackelford Banks east of the Mullet 

 Pond. 



METHODS OF STUDY 



In studying the larval history of these forms, the first zoeae 

 were hatched in the laboratorj^ The ovigerous females of G. 

 pugnax and (1 . minax were secured readily by digging them from 

 their burrows in the marshes. Egg-bearing females of G. pugi- 

 lator at first were very hard to find. I have dug the crabs from 

 their bmTows for hours and searched the hundreds at the water's 

 edge at ebb tide without finding a single ovigerous female. Quite 

 by accident I discovered a method of securing all the eggs of this 

 species to be desired. Landing on Horse Island just at dusk one 

 evening, I noticed that a number of the fiddlers hm-rying to their 

 burrows were egg-bearing females. Investigation showed that a 

 large percentage of the females carried eggs. Thereafter I had 

 no difficulty in securing all the eggs I wished by going to some 

 favorable spot at dusk during an ebb tide. The crabs were taken 

 to the laboratory and kept in crystallization dishes partially filled 

 with water, until the eggs hatched. C^enerally the eggs hatched 

 within a few days. The approximate age of the embryos can be 

 determined at a glance. When the eggs are newly laid they are 

 a deep purple — almost black. As the embryo develops it be- 

 comes lighter and distinctly purple. It continues to lose its color, 

 becoming a dirty gray when it is nearly ready to hatch. The 

 eggs of all three species hatch soon after 7 p.m., that is, at about 

 dusk. This fact probably explains the presence of the females 

 at the water's edge at that time. 



