BIOLOGICAL STUDY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERS 
359 
Ground between Cape Charles and Cape Charles City; during December, 1915, at 
area L, a little above the mouth of the Potomac River; and during July, 1916, at area 
G in the mouth of the bay. This species which is known to occur along the coast of 
Carolina and Florida was found in waters of low salinity such as those of the region of 
the mouth of the Potomac River and also of localities where the salinity was fairly 
high, as at area G (surface 24.90, bottom 31.64 per mille). 
Two burrowing forms, Callianassa stimpsoni Smith and Upogebia affinis (Say), 
were collected, the first at areas F and B and the last at area G. None were found 
above the extreme lower part of the bay and none where the bottom salinity was less 
than 22.69 per mille. All were taken with a commercial dredge known as the “ orange- 
peel bucket,” which penetrates to a considerable depth. Other specimens have been 
found along the shores of Virginia, according to the records of the United States 
National Museum. 
All but three of the eight species of hermit crabs in the collection have been 
dredged outside of the bay only, in rather deep water off the coasts of Maryland and 
Virginia. Two of the three species, Pagurus longicarpus Say and P. pollicaris Say, 
have been found commonly in the lower bay and outside. The other species, Cli- 
banarius vittatus (Bose), which is known to occur along the coast from North Carolina 
southward, was not collected on our cruises and is represented in the National Museum 
only by two specimens, both from Gunston, Va., far up in the Potomac River. 
Pagurus longicarpus was collected from the following areas: E, F, G, A, D, 0, J, 
/, and R. With the exception of three specimens collected at R and in the immediate 
vicinity of that area, all of the 170 specimens were taken below the mouth of the 
Potomac River. This form was found living in water the salinity of which varied 
from 30.60 to 17.95 per mille, and the data show that it has been collected during 
every season and during practically every month of the year. Not much can be 
said of its breeding habits, but an ovigerous female was collected in October, 1915, 
off York Spit Light, in about the middle of the bay. 
Pagurus pollicaris, the so-called “warty hermit crab,” seems to have its distribu- 
tion in the offshore waters of Chesapeake Bay limited to the southernmost part. 
It was taken some twenty different times during our cruises but only at areas G', 
E, G, F, A, and D, or localities in the near vicinity of those areas. It has been found 
at all seasons of the year (January, March, April, June, July, October, December), 
and the occurrence of ovigerous females during the month of April indicates a spring 
breeding season. Specimens have been found living in water the salinity of which 
ranged from 18.91 to 30.96 per mille. 
No hippas were collected during our cruises. This little crustacean is usually 
found burrowing in sandy beaches or the shallow waters of sand flats. While our 
failure to get any specimens does not necessarily indicate its absence from Chesa- 
peake Bay, the records of the National Museum support such a conclusion, since 
they do not show that it has been collected along the shores of the bay. However, 
outside of the bay at Virginia Beach, Va., specimens of the hippa, Emerita talpoida 
(Say), have been collected, and they are now in the Museum’s collection. 
The best known, if not the most common, crab that is found in Chesapeake 
Bay is the “edible crab” or “blue crab,” Callinedes sapidus Rathbun, which is 
found along almost the whole Atlantic coast of the United States. It frequents espe- 
cially the muddy bottoms of bays and estuaries. This crab was taken infrequently in 
our offshore dredging and trawling in Chesapeake Bay, and most of the specimens 
which were captured were juveniles. However, on one occasion, a large catch of 
