304- A, E. Verrill — Decapod Crustacea of Bermuda. 



way. The various species of Portunidoe are active swimmers in 

 shallow water and must be taken by means of nets. Many species 

 are partial to the outlying reefs, living in holes and crevices, or 

 under broken blocks of stone. A few species have been obtained 

 only by dredging, but so little dredging has hitherto been done, 

 except in xerj shallow water, that we really know very little about 

 the extensive fauna that undoubtedly inhabits the zone between 10 

 and 150 fathoms. A few hauls of the dredge were made by the 

 " Challenger " outside the reefs. The expedition sent out by the 

 Field Museum of Chicago, under Dr. Bean, did a small amount of 

 dredging on the Argus and Challenger Banks, and obtained there 

 some interesting additions to the Crustacean fauna, which have been 

 sent to me for study. A few successful hauls were also made there 

 by a party from the Bermuda Biological Station. 



Dredging outside the reefs, in 10 to 30 fathoms, where the fauna 

 should be richest, is difficult, not only because of the rough seas 

 that prevail there at the seasons when most collectors visit the 

 islands, but also because the bottom itself is very broken and rough, 

 being covered in most places by large masses of broken rocks and 

 dead corals, and in many localities by living branched corals ( Ocu- 

 lina) and gorgonians, so that the dredges are apt to be lost or the 

 nets speedily torn. Even tangles are liable to be caught among 

 the rough rocks and lost. The larger Crustacea, living in such 

 places, can only be obtained by means of baited fish-traps or lobster 

 pots. In this way thi'ee large species of Sci/llarides or " Spanish- 

 lobsters " have been obtained, as well as several large crabs. The 

 collections of Crustacea made by my own pai'ties are very much 

 larger than those made by any of the other expeditions, both in the 

 number of species and in the number of specimens, but they were 

 all obtained in the spring, from March 1st to June 4th, and very 

 few were dredged. The same is true of several other collections. 

 Mr. Jones and Mr. Goode collected both in the winter and spring, 

 but the dates are seldom indicated on their labels. The colleciion 

 from the University of New York, worked out by Dr. Rankin, was 

 made in midsummer, and therefore affords some additional seasonal 

 information. Probably considerable differences would be found 

 between large collections made in midsummer or autumn and those 

 made in winter or spring. 



In this respect the collection made by the expedition from the 

 Field Museum of Natural History is of special interest. That 

 party worked from Aug, 18 to Nov, 10, 1905, The collection of 



