THE EOCK CEAB OF THE PACIFIC. 771 



This species has quite an extended range, having been recorded from Sitka, Alaska, in the 

 north, and from Magdalena Bay, Lower California, in the south ; but whether these are its extreme 

 northern and southern limits or not is unknown. In the Bay of San Francisco it is very abundant, 

 and large quantities are constantly captured and brought to the markets in that city ; it is also 

 taken for food in Monterey Bay, California. 



It occurs most commonly on the sandy bottoms, below low-tide level, and is seldom found, at 

 least to any extent, between tide-marks. The supplies sent to the San Francisco markets come 

 mainly from the San Francisco side of the bay, especially from the south side of the G-olden Gate, 

 between the city and the sea. They are also taken in abundance from about the wharves and piers 

 in the Bay of San Francisco. Crab-nets baited with fish and offal are used for catching them. 

 Ifothing is known regarding the spawning season and habits of this species. The fishermen say 

 they spawn in March or April. The occurrence of a female with spawn in the San Francisco 

 market has not yet been recorded by any naturalist. 



The Ebd Crab — Cancer prodtjcttjs, Eandall. 



This is a very common species in the Bay of San Francisco, although less abundant than the 

 last {Cancer magister). It also attains a large size, adult individuals measuring from five to seven 

 or more inches in breadth across the carapax, and from two and a half to four inches in length. 

 The proportion of width to length is rather greater.in the males than in the females. The antero- 

 lateral borders of the carapax form an ellipse, broken in the center in front by a slight projection, 

 by which the specific name was suggested. The teeth of the front and of the anterolateral bor- 

 ders are distinctly separate in the adult, but in the very young exist only as wrinklings of the 

 edge of the carapax. The postero-lateral margins are concave and short. The claws are of 

 medium size compared with the carapax, and the posterior limbs are slender and plain. The color 

 of adult specimens is an intense dark red or reddish-brown above and yellowish-white below; the 

 young differ from the adults in their more variable coloring, some being of a dark reddish- 

 brown, others yeUow spotted with red, and still others banded with red and yellow. The shape of 

 the carapax, with its produced front, sufiSciently distinguishes this species of Cancer from all the 

 others on the Pacific coast. 



Cancer ^producttis is found along the entire Pacific coast of the United States, and has been 

 recorded from Magdalena Bay, Lower California, and the Queen Charlotte's Islands and other 

 localities, in British Columbia. It is very abundant in the Bays of San Francisco, Monterey, and 

 Tomales, and also occurs at Santa Barbara and San Diego. Its habitat is in the shallow water 

 along the shores, principally in rocky sections, and it is frequently found between tide-marks, 

 often taking refuge in pools under stones near low-tide level. 



Stimpson, in 1856, recorded seeing this species in the San Francisco markets, but it is no 

 longer taken there, unless by accident or inadvertence, the larger and more abundant Cancer 

 magister fully supplying the demands. In case of the latter becoming scarce, however. Cancer 

 productus would become an important article of capture. 



The Eock Crab of the Paoipic coast— Cancer antennarius, Stimpson. 



This species is of about the same average size as Cancer productus, and is tolerably abundant 

 along the Pacific coast, from Queen Charlotte's Islands, in the north, to Magdalena Bay, Lower 

 California, in the south. Although as regards edible qualities it is said to compare -favorably 

 with. Cancer magister, it has not, up to the present time, been brought to the San Francisco 

 markets. The carapax of adult specimens measures three and a half or more inches in length, 



