786 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



Over this groundwork the outer margin of the claw has a broad banding of dark olive brown or 

 black, and numerous large spots of the same color cover more or less of the remaining surface. 

 The under sides of the large claws are almost always an orange of variable intensity, the terminal 

 joints being more intense than the inner ones, which are more or less marked with green or blue. 

 The other legs are much lighter below than the claws, with green or blue markings, especially 

 above and at the ends of the joints. The tips end in deep orange red, while the bunches of hairs 

 which ornament them and other parts of the body are almost a ruby red, when the specimen has 

 just been taken from the water. The soft skin covering the under surface of the abdomen, and 

 the swimmerets are of a faint pinkish color, due to the presence of multitudes of very minute red 

 spots. 



These color variations of Lobsters probably depend, to a certain extent, upon the character 

 or color of the bottom inhabited by them, but some of the varieties cannot be accounted for in 

 that manner. The character of their food may also have some influence in the matter. Lobsters 

 obtained from rocky bottoms more or less covered with sea weeds, and from dark grassy bottoms, 

 are said to be generally much darker in color than those from sandy bottoms, and also to average 

 shorter in proportion to their weight. Lobsters from open sandy bottoms are not only lighter in 

 color, but also appear to be, usually, brighter. We have several recorded instances of red Lobsters 

 from sandy bottoms, some of the specimens examined having been nearly as red as Lobsters 

 ordinarily are after boiling. Nearly white Lobsters also occur occasionally in similar situations. 

 One of the most curious color varieties we ever saw had numerous round, bright yellow spots, 

 ranging in size from very small to about half an inch in diameter, scattered without order over 

 the entire body. It is well known to all consumers of Lobsters that the shell of these animals 

 quickly changes to a nearly uniform bright-red color on boiling. 



Distribution — Geogkap.ical range. — The American Lobster ranges along the Atlantic 

 coast from Delaware to Labrador, and has even been found as far south as the northeastern corner 

 of Virginia. A correspondent at Johnsontown, Virginia, informs us that he has seen two or three 

 stragglers taken in that neighborhood, and he believes them to have wandered naturally to that 

 far southern limit, as he cannot account for their being carried there through the agency of man. 

 The vicinity of the Delaware breakwater can be regarded with greater certainty as their southern 

 limit, for there they occur in moderate abundance, and are occasionally fished for witli lobster- 

 pots. They are also sometimes taken on the fishing banks off Cape Henlopen and Cape May. 

 The stonework of the Delaware breakwater seems, however, to form quite an attractive place for 

 them at present, though previous to its construction they may not have existed there at all. They 

 may be caught in the immediate vicinity of the breakwater in lobster-pots, and are also incidentally 

 taken in gill-nets and on hand-lines, but the fishery is not carried on regularly, mainly on account 

 of their scarcity, and partly from the fact that the pots are liable to be disturbed by the anchors 

 of vessels seeking the protection of the breakwater. Mr. Burbage, of Ocean View, Delaware, 

 states that he has occasionally seen small Lobsters in the surf along the beach, near Indian River 

 Inlet. 



Along the New Jersey coast. Lobsters have been recorded from a few places, but are no- 

 where very abundant. A fisherman of long experience about Cape May writes that he has never 

 seen Lobsters in that region. Off Monmouth County they occur near to and south of Nave- 

 sink. At Long Branch and Atlantic City small amounts are taken annually for local consump- 

 tion and for shipment to New York and Philadelphia. Lobsters are more plentiful on a fishing 

 ledge of rocks lying a short distance off Long Branch, and those found near the shore are 

 supposed to be summer visitants from this locality. Several instances of large Lobsters are 



