6 NEW-YORK FAUNA — CRUSTACEA. 



GENUS PLATYCARCINUS. Latreille. 



Shield wider than long, rounded in front, truncate behind. First joint of the exterior antennae 

 small ; the second received like the first into a furrow, and scarcely reaching the front. 



Platycarcinus irroratus. 



PLATE II. FIG. 2. 



Cancer irroratus. Sav, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Vol. 1, p. 59. 



C. id. Bell, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. Vol. 1, p. 340, pi. 46. 



Platycarcinus id. Milne-Edwards, Hist. Nat. des Crust. Vol. 1, p. 414. 



Cancer irroratus. Gould, lnvertebrata of Mass. p. 322. 



Description. Shield convex, transversely oval, with elevated granulations, and with nine 

 crenate teeth on the antero-lateral margin. (In the female, these are rather indistinct ; and 

 the rostrum, if we take the internal canthi into account, is apparently five-toothed.) The 

 lateral teeth often assume the appearance of blunt lobes, which are denticulated on the edges. 

 Rostrum or front three-toothed ; the middle one longest, but occasionally obscure. The sur- 

 face of the shield with distinct granulations, and impressed with irregular furrows, some of 

 which form an appearance resembling the letter H on the posterior portion. Legs shorter 

 than in the following species ; " the thighs of the second and third pair not attaining the mar- 

 gin " {Gould). Carpus with a robust spine on its inner anterior angle, which is hairy on its 

 edges. Hands compressed, carinate above with serratures ; four granulated lines, on the 

 outer side of which two are continued on the fingers ; occasionally two others, one above and 

 the other below. Thumb and finger with eight to ten teeth ; the finger much curved ; the 

 thumb somewhat shortest. Thighs compressed to an acute edge above, where they are 

 hairy, with an elevated band round their tips. Extremities of the claws acute, with deeply 

 impressed furrows. Abdomen, particularly in the female, very hairy. 



Color. Above dark horn, with numerous red points which give the prevailing hue. This 

 color extends over the superior part of all the feet ; the upper internal parts of the thighs, 

 and the carpus, deep red. Tips of the thumb and finger deep purplish black. Abdomen 

 and inferior portions of the feet white. Furrows on the back dull yellowish. 



Length, 3'0. Transverse diameter, 4'0. 



This and the succeeding species are both designated by our fishermen as the Spotted Crab 

 and Sand Crab, and are frequently seen in the months of July and August on the sandy 

 shores of Long island in shallow waters. I have noticed them most abundantly in the mar- 

 kets of New-York about the beginning of April. They are considered inferior as an article 

 of food to the Lupa dicantha, or common New- York Crab hereafter described. In indivi- 

 duals from Rhode-Island, larger than the specimen described above, the shell is of a bright 

 indian red, with the finger and thumb deep jet black. They form an excellent bait for the 

 large Black-fish (Tautoga americana). Dr. Gould, in the Report above referred to> has 



