Pirimela

Pirimela denticulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Pirimelidae
Genus: Pirimela
Leach, 1816
Species: P. denticulata
Binomial name
Pirimela denticulata
(Montagu, 1808)
Synonyms [1]
  • Cancer denticulata Montagu, 1808
  • Pirimela princeps Hope, 1851

Pirimela is a genus of crab containing a single species, Pirimela denticulata.

Description

Pirimela denticulata is a "small, pretty crab",[2] up to 12 mm (0.5 in) long and 15 mm (0.6 in) across the carapace.[3] Its colouring is mostly green, with mottling of brown, purple or red.[2] The front edge of the carapace has three teeth between the eyes, two teeth around the orbits of the eyes and five teeth along either side.[2]

Distribution and ecology

Pirimela denticulata is found from the British Isles to Mauritania, the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Azores.[4] It lives in burrows in sandy sediments, or on underwater vegetation, at depths of up to 250 m (820 ft).[4]

Taxonomy

Pirimela denticulata was first described by George Montagu in 1808, under the name Cancer denticulata.[5] It was later transferred by William Elford Leach to his new genus Pirimela, which contains only P. denticulata.[6] A second species of Pirimela, P. princeps, is now considered to be synonymous with P. denticulata.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Charles Fransen & Michael Türkay (2011). "Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Nellie Barbara Eales (1961). "Decapoda". Littoral Fauna of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–139. ISBN 978-0-521-04862-0.
  3. ↑ Mario de Kluijver & Sarita S. Ingalsuo. "Pirimela denticulata". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Carla M. Vieira & Telmo Morato (2001). "First record of the crabs Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808) and Xaiva biguttata (Risso, 1816) (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Azores". Life and Marine Science 18A: 89–91.
  5. ↑ George Montagu (1808). "Description of several Marine Animals found on the South Coast of Devonshire". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 9 (1): 81–114. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1818.tb00327.x.
  6. ↑ Peter K. L. Ng, Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 17: 1–286.

External links

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