Pirimela

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

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

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. Charles Fransen & Michael Türkay (2011). "Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  2. 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. 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. hdl:10400.3/159.
  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.
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