DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS OF THE BEAUFORT, N. C, REGION. 43 1 



of the first pair is in striking contrast with that of the rest of the crab. The very young specimens did not 

 show this distinction in the color of the legs, so far as observed. ' ' 



This crab, reported from Fort Macon by Coues and by Kingsley has not been collected here for many 

 years, so far as our records go. The United States National Museum has no specimens from farther north 

 than Key West, Fla., and the Bahamas. Prof. Verrill reports it as very common at Bermuda. The 

 original description by Stimpson was based on specimens from the coast of South Carolina and the Florida 

 Keys. It is liable to be found here at any time. 



Portunus (Achelotis) anceps (Saussure). PI. xxxiii, fig. 8. 



Lupea anceps Saussure, 185S. p. 434. 



Achelous anceps Stimpson. 1871, p. 113; Smith, 1886, p. 634; Verrill, 1908, p. 378. 



Nepiunus ventralis A. Milne-Edwards, 1879, p. 215, pi. xi,, fig. 3. 



Portunus (Acfietous) anceps Rathbun, 1900, p. 141. 



Portunus ventralis Rathbun, igoi, p. 45. 



Carapace twice as mde as long, pubescent and with several distinct arching, granulate, transverse 

 ridges; frontal teeth 6, including the inner orbitals which are bltint and considerably shorter than the 

 outer pair of true frontal teeth; median pair of teeth very short and smaller than the inner orbitals; 

 anterolateral teeth small, acute and cm-ved forward, the last one sharp, slender, and about as long as the 

 space occupied by the fotu- preceding teeth. 



Chelipeds long; meros with four spines in front and a distal one behind; carpus ridged and with a 

 strong internal and a smaller external spine ; hand with ridges on the outer and superior surfaces, most of 

 which are continued onto the fingers, the superointemal ridge more elevated than the others and ending 

 distally in two spines, one behind the other. 



Length of a male, 13 mm. ; width, 26 mm. (Verrill). 



Color: "Mottled gray and yellowish white so as to imitate the sand pretty closely; the first pair of 

 legs in some were red, in others yellow; the chelipeds and other legs had, in part, the same color." 

 (Verrill.) 



The nattiral habitat of this species is in more tropical waters than those of the Beaufort region, but 

 it, like the other swimming crabs, is carried northward in the Gulf Stream and itsoccurrence here would 

 occasion no surprise. A good series of specimens was reported by Smith from off Cape Hatteras in 7 

 to 16 fathoms. Verrill stated that it is not uncommon at Bermuda. 



The identity of P. anceps and P. ventralis was first suspected by Verrill <^ from the comparison of the 

 measurements of Bermudean specimens of P. anceps with those given by Dr. Mary J. Rathbun for Porto 

 Rican specimens identified by her as P. ventralis. A careful comparison of specimens in the National 

 Museum shows that Prof. Verrill's suspicion was well founded. 



Portunus (Achelotis) ordwayi (Stimpson). PI. xxxin, fig. 6. 



Achelous ordwayi Stimpson, i860, p. 224: Smith, 1869, p. 9: ibid., 1870, p. 148; Verrill, 1908, p. 381. 

 Neptunus ordwayi A. Milne- Edwards, 1879, p. 217. 

 Portunus {Achelous) ordwayi Rathbun, 1901, p. 46. 



Carapace one and one-half times as wide as long, tmeven, the elevations granulate and the depres- 

 sions pubescent, with a number of conspicuous, ciu~ving, transverse ridges; frontal teeth 6, including the 

 inner orbitals which are acuminate; true frontal teeth of about one size, triangular, acute, the middle 

 pair advanced beyond the others; outer orbital tooth large; anterolateral teeth diminishing slightly in 

 size from the first to the seventh, inclusive, the eighth about as long as the space occupied by the two 

 preceding teeth, the tips of all acute and tinned forward. 



Chelipeds of moderate length; meros with four or five strong spines in front and a single distal one 

 behind ; carpus ribbed and with a strong internal and a much smaller external spine ; hand ribbed on all 

 its surfaces except the superior one, which is flat and highly iridescent over more or less of its area; the 

 superointemal ridge is raised into a crest which terminates distally in a sharp spine. The margins of the 

 carapace and chelipeds are more or less fringed with silky hairs. 



Length of a male, 24.5 mm. ; width, 37.5 mm. 



Color, carapace and legs reddish brown, due to a fine mottling with red, yellowish brown, and gray; 

 beneath pale orange, deeper on the chelipeds and legs; chelae, above, deep red-brown, the fingers with 

 two cross bands of light orange-red. 



Taken by the Albatross in 32 fathoms between Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout. 



" Op. cit., p. 379. 



