Pirimela

Last updated

Pirimela denticulata
Pirimela denticulata 2.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Infraorder:
Family:
Genus:
Pirimela

Leach, 1816
Species:
P. denticulata
Binomial name
Pirimela denticulata
(Montagu, 1808)
Synonyms   [1]
  • Cancer denticulataMontagu, 1808
  • Pirimela princepsHope, 1851

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

Contents

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]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cancer pagurus</i> species of crustacean

Cancer pagurus, commonly known as the edible crab or brown crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width up to 25 cm (10 in) and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). C. pagurus is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred on the coasts of the British Isles, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually.

<i>Leptograpsus</i> Genus of crabs

Leptograpsus variegatus, known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the family Grapsidae, found in southern subtropical Indo-Pacific Oceans. It grows to around 50 millimetres (2.0 in) shell width. It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsus.

<i>Liocarcinus marmoreus</i> Species of crab

Liocarcinus marmoreus, sometimes known as the marbled swimming crab, is a species of crab found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. It may be found on sand and gravel in the sublittoral and lower littoral zones, down to a depth of 84 metres (276 ft), from the Azores and the Alboran Sea as far north as the Shetland Islands. It reaches a carapace length of 35 millimetres (1.4 in), and is distinguished from other similar species by the presence of three similarly-sized teeth on the edge of the carapace, between the eyes, and by the marbled colouration on the carapace. L. marmoreus is sometimes parasitised by the barnacle Sacculina.

Pinnixa faba, known as the pea crab, mantle pea crab or large pea crab, is a pea crab which lives harmlessly within a large edible clam. This species is a symbiont of Tresus capax and Tresus nuttallii in its mature stage.

<i>Liocarcinus depurator</i> Species of crab

Liocarcinus depurator, sometimes called the harbour crab or sandy swimming crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea. It grows up to 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in width and 40 mm (1.6 in) long, and can be distinguished from other crabs, such as the shore crab Carcinus maenas, by the curved rows of white spots on its carapace.

<i>Galathea squamifera</i>

Galathea squamifera, the black squat lobster, or Montagu's plated lobster, is a species of squat lobster that lives in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Pilumnus hirtellus</i> Species of crustacean

Pilumnus hirtellus, the bristly crab or hairy crab, is a species of European crab. It is less than 1 inch (25 mm) long and covered in hair. It lives in shallow water and feeds on carrion.

Periclimenes dardanicola is a species of shrimp found in the western Pacific Ocean. It lives in association with sea anemones that live on the gastropod shells carried by hermit crabs. It was first named by Alexander J. Bruce and Junji Okuno in 2006. It is mainly white, and grows up to a carapace length of 4 mm (0.16 in).

<i>Xantho hydrophilus</i> Species of crab

Xantho hydrophilus, the furrowed crab or Montagu's crab, is a species of crab from the family Xanthidae. It is yellowish-brown and grows to a carapace width of 70 mm (2.8 in). It is a nocturnal Omnivore that lives in shallow marine waters from western Scotland to the Cape Verde Islands.

<i>Inachus phalangium</i> Species of crab

Inachus phalangium, Leach's spider crab, is a species of crabs from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is up to 20.5 mm (0.81 in) wide, and is very similar to other species in the genus Inachus.

<i>Zosimus aeneus</i> Species of crab

Zosimus aeneus, also known as devil crab, is a species of crab that lives on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaii. It grows to a size of 60 mm × 90 mm and has distinctive patterns of brownish blotches on a paler background. It is potentially lethal due to the presence of the neurotoxins tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin in its flesh and shell.

<i>Paromola cuvieri</i> Species of crab

Paromola cuvieri is a species of crab in the family Homolidae, the carrier crabs. It occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, from Angola to Norway, the Northern Isles and Iceland. It is demersal, occurring at depths of 10–1,212 metres (33–3,976 ft), but it is primarily found deeper than 80 m (260 ft). It prefers areas with mud and emerging rocks, and has been observed in deep-water coral gardens and sponge aggregations. It is locally common.

Jurellana tithonia, the only species in the genus Jurellana, is a fossil crab. It was found in limestone rocks from the Ernstbrunn Formation in Austria, which have been dated to the Tithonian. It was originally thought to be the world's oldest porcelain crab, but was later determined to actually be a true crab.

P. princeps may refer to:

Crabs of the British Isles

Around 65 species of crab occur in the waters of the British Isles. All are marine, with the exception of the introduced Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, which occurs in fresh and brackish water. They range in size from the deep-water species Paromola cuvieri, which can reach a claw span of 1.2 metres, to the pea crab, which is only 4 mm (0.16 in) wide and lives inside mussel shells.

<i>Ebalia tumefacta</i> Species of crab

Ebalia tumefacta, sometimes called Bryer's nut crab, is a species of crab in the family Leucosiidae.

<i>Geryon trispinosus</i> Species of crab

Geryon trispinosus is a species of crab that lives in deep water in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Brachynotus sexdentatus is a species of crab in the family Varunidae. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, and became established for a time in Swansea Docks. It grows to a maximum carapace width of 18 mm (0.71 in), and lives in shallow water on muddy bottoms.

<i>Cyclocoeloma</i> Genus of crabs

Cyclocoeloma is a genus of crabs in the family Majidae, containing the single species Cyclocoeloma tuberculata.

<i>Tunicotheres</i> Genus of crabs

Tunicotheres is a monotypic genus of crabs in the family Pinnotheridae, and Tunicotheres moseri is the only species in the genus. This crab lives commensally in the atrial chamber of a small ascidian. It is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

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. 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.