46o REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



Cape May Point, though not up the shores of Delaware 

 Bay. It inhabits the broad sandy beaches and sand dunes, 

 living in holes. These holes or burrows are often well 

 above the tide, and may be found scattered here and there, 

 either in level places or sometimes in declivous places where 

 the sands have drifted. Thus they may be located either 

 where the flattened and hardened wet portion of the beach is 

 continually bathed with the tides, or up among the loose dry 

 sand among the tough beach grass. Frequently, in the latter 

 locations, I have found that they have well-worn runways. On 

 the open beaches their recent travels may often be traced by 

 the tracks they make, these radiating in all directions from 

 their burrow. The holes are made or dug, to a corresponding 

 size of the individual, and thus one finds the little crabs have 

 quite small burrows while those of large crabs are quite pre- 

 tentious. These burrows remind one somewhat of a prairie 

 dog colony, only they are more scattered and spread over a 

 greater area in proportion to the size of the animals. The 

 aperture of the burrow of a large crab will be sometimes about 

 two inches in diameter, and as the animal throws out the sand 

 in all directions, it is sometimes quite conspicuous. When 

 digging the sand is thrown out suddenly, and if windy may 

 be blown about in any direction. I have never seen any of the 

 large crabs with burrow down on the wet portion of the beach 

 where the tides flow, though the young are often abundant there. 

 The Ghost Crab is the most active and vigilant, perhaps, of 

 all our crustaceans. In its movements it is also swift, agile 

 and deliberate, scurrying over the sands with great swiftness 

 if pursued. Sometimes when pursuing a large one I have seen 

 them scamper in a straight line through a large and very shallow 

 sheet of water, left by the tide, directly to their burrow. Again 

 when intercepted in such a way they will usually make a short 

 detour around the still shallower end of the "pond," especially 

 if the latter is large. They appear always to make for their 

 burrow if possible, though, if intercepted, will often use an- 

 other burrow w^hen available, or again scurry further away, 

 sometimes hiding among the beach debris. To capture a large 



