420 A. E. Verrill — Decapod Crustacea of Bermuda. 



OXYSTOMATA or LEUCOSOIDEA. 



Family CAIiAPPID^. Box Crabs. 



Calappa flammea (Herbst) Bosc. Box Crab. 



Cancer flammea Herbst, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 161, pi. xl, fig. 2, 1794. 



Calappa flammea Bosc, Hist. nat. Crust., i, p. 185, 1802. Miers, Voy. Chal- 

 lenger, xvii, p. 284, pi. xxiii, figs. 1-1?>, 1886 ^synouymy). Eaukin, op. cit., 

 p. 533. 



Calappa tnarmorata Latr. , Hist. nat. Crnst., v, p. 392, 1803 {non Fabr.). 

 Desmarest, Consid. Crust., p, 109, 1825. H. Milne-Edw., Hist. nat. Crust., 

 ii, p. 104, 1887. Smith, these Trans., iv, p. 263, 1880 (young at Woods 

 Hole; descr. of megalops); Ann. Rep. U. S. Com. Fish and Fisheries for 

 1885, p. 31, 1886. 



Calappa flammea M. J. Eathbnn. Brach. and Macr. Porto Eico, p. 84, jdI. ii 

 (colored). 



Plate XXV, Figcre 1. 



This large and curious species is easily distinguished from all 

 others by its form and. colors. 



The most common color variety, taken in Castle Harbor, had the 

 ground-color of the carapace dull olive-brown, in life, streaked 

 irregularly with many flame-shaped blotches of bright red ; edges 

 of carapace bright yellow. Distal part of chelipeds yellow, with 

 large broad patches of dark red; digits pale red or pink. Ambula- 

 tory legs pink above; the anterior edges bright red; the posterior 

 edges and tarsi bright yellow. 



Other specimens had the carapace covered with pretty regular, 

 round, ocellat^l spots, the center white, surrounded by a ring of 

 dark red or reddish brown. Chelipeds pink, spotted with roundish 

 spots of deep red; spines red; ti[)s of digits yellow. Ambulatory 

 legs purple, with the articulations and posterior edges red ; tarsi 

 yellow. Its colors appear to be nocturnall}^ protective. 



The young of this species are narrower than the older ones, as 

 shown by the following table. The ratios of the length to breadth 

 of the carapace increases pretty regularly from 1:1.22, up to 1:1.59 

 in the largest. In still younger specimens examined the ratio is 

 even smaller than the smallest in this table. 



