Published July 4, 2012 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson 1860

Description

Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson, 1860

(Fig. 34B, Pl.7 B)

Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson, 1860: 245. — Holmes 1900: 112. — Schmitt 1921: 163, pl. 31, fig. 2. — Haig et al. 1970: 22. — Blackburn 1977: 178. — Jensen 1995: 74, fig. 146. — Hendrickx & Harvey 1998: 377. — Kuris et al. 2007: 647. — Macpherson et al. 2010: 234.

Diagnosis. Rostrum long, slender, flanked by two spine-like supraorbital teeth. Eye large, globular, pigmented. Carapace transversely rugose, with latero-inferior regions swollen; spine at anterolateral angle with few spines on lateral margin. Abdomen dorsally unarmed. Chelipeds, pereopods 2–4 flattened, edged with setae. Carapace length to 50 mm.

Color in life. Red, setae golden. The color notes are from craylets from Santa Catalina I.

Habitat and depth. Existing as both a swimming and benthic phase, surface to 90 m.

Range. San Francisco, California to the Gulf of California and Central America. Southern range limit not defined; has been taken in Costa Rica (J. Haig, pers. comm.) Type localities "Pacific Ocean, 24˚N, 130˚W and Monterey, California.”

Remarks. Fishermen call this species the "pelagic red crab" or "tuna crab.” Usually, it occurs off the coast of Baja California, Mexico but can be carried northward during years of warm currents. The crabs may be stranded in tide pools and on the beach. Numerous pelagic fishes, dolphins and the humpback whale eat these crabs. Hendrickx & Harvey (1998) provided an extensive list of references.

Notes

Published as part of Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, pp. 1-307 in Zootaxa 3371 on pages 147-149

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Family
Galatheidae
Genus
Pleuroncodes
Kingdom
Animalia
Order
Decapoda
Phylum
Arthropoda
Scientific name authorship
Stimpson
Species
planipes
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson, 1860 sec. Wicksten, 2012

References

  • Holmes, S. J. (1900) Synopsis of California stalk-eyed Crustacea. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 7, 12 - 62.
  • Schmitt, W. L. (1921) The marine decapod Crustacea of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, 23, 1 - 470.
  • Haig, J., Hopkins, T. S, & Scanland, T. B. (1970) The shallow water anomuran crab fauna of southwestern Baja California, Mexico. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, 16, 13 - 32.
  • Blackburn, M. (1977) Temporal changes in pelagic biomass of Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheidae) off Baja California Mexico. Crustaceana, 32, 178 - 184.
  • Jensen, G. C. (1995) Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimps. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, 87 pp.
  • Kuris, A. M., Sadeghian, P. & Carlton, J. T. (2007) Keys to Decapod Crustacea. In: Carlton, J. T. (Ed.) The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates Central California to Oregon. University of California Press, Berkeley, 4 th ed., pp. 636 - 656.
  • Benedict, J. E. (1902) Descriptions of a new genus and forty-six new species of crustaceans of the family Galatheidae, with a list of the known marine species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 26, 243 - 334.
  • Baba, K. & Wicksten, M. (1997) Janetogalathea, a new genus of squat lobster, with redescription of its type spe cies Galathea californiensis Benedict, 1902 (Anomura, Galatheidae). Journal of Crustacean Research, 2, 38 - 46.
  • Hendrickx, M. E. (1995 a) Anomuros. In: Guia FAO para la Identificacion de Especies para los Fines de la Pesca Pacifico Centro - Oriental Vol. 1. United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome, pp. 540 - 564.