Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification Alpheus crassimanus Heller, 1862 (cf. Balss, 1936); Alpheus lobidens de Haan, 1850 (cf. Banner and Banner, 1981) * Note : the taxonomic position of the species is under investigation.  photo : Bella Galil

SHORT DESCRIPTION Rostrum triangular, reaching near end of first antennular article. Large chela 2.4 times as long as broad. Superior margin of chela proximal to dactyl with transverse shallow depression, extending on inner palm as shallow triangular depression, on outer palm as quadrangular depression. Inferior margin of chela deeply notched opposite superior groove, notch U-shaped. Small chela sexually dimorphic, male chela balaeniceps. Ischium of third pereopod bearing movable spine. color : body greenish-brown, faint pale longitudinal stripes on abdomen, chela brownish, fingers of larger chela orange apically violet. common size : TL 5.5 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Orbital hoods unarmed, autochthonous species with large grooved chela have spinose orbital hoods. Inner lip of notch on upper surface of chela not overhanging, movable finger of smaller chela in male with fringe of setae. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Euryhaline. Ovigerous females in July, August. habitat : sand, mud flat, rock and rubble; intertidal to 18 m, once record in 36 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Egypt, 1936 [1933]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indian Ocean, Red Sea to Pakistan. Mediterranean : recorded first from Egypt as Alpheus crassimanus (Balss, 1936 [1933]). Successively recorded from southern Tunisia (Forest and Guinot, 1956); Israel (Forest and Guinot, 1958; Holthuis and Gottlieb, 1958); southern Turkey (Geldiay, 1969); Syria (Hasan et al., 2008). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Common along the Israeli coast. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal (Gruvel, 1936). IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Balss H., 1936. Decapoda (with an appendix, Schizopoda, by C. Zimmer). Part VII in The Fishery Grounds near Alexandria. Fisheries Research Directorate Notes and Memoirs (Cairo), 15: 1-67. Banner D.M. and Banner A.H., 1981. Annoted checklist of the Alpheid Shrimp of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden, 190: 1-99. Chace F.A., 1988. The Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910, Part 5: Family Alpheidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 466: 1-99.   Holthuis L.B. and E. Gottlieb, 1958. An annotated list of the decapod crustacea of the Mediterranean coast of Israel, with an appendix listing the decapoda of the eastern Mediterranean. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, 7B. Zoology (1-2): 1-126. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: October 2008 ©ciesm 2002