Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification -  photo : Bella Galil

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace transversely suboval, convex, minutely punctate, regions undefined. Front narrow, deflexed, somewhat projecting. Antennulae folding transversely, inter-antennular septum broad. Orbital margin finely tri-sutured, eyestalk short, thickened. Antero-lateral margin prominently arched, bluntly carinate. Postero-lateral margin strongly convergent, straight. Underside of carapace concave laterally. Chelipeds subequal, superior margin of chela bluntly crested, fingers fluted. Walking legs dilate, distally crested. color : carapace dark reddish-brown, Cheliped fingers black. Carapace of young reddish orange rimmed with white. common size : CL 6 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Carapace wide, quite smooth, anterolateral margins convex, nearly entire, crested, walking legs laterally compressed, crested. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Poorly known. habitat : 0-12 m, rocks and rubble.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1964 [1961]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-Pacific, Red Sea to Fiji. Mediterranean : recorded first from Israel (Lewinsohn and Holthuis, 1964 [1961]). Successively recorded from Lebanon (Shiber, 1981); southern Turkey (Enzenross et al., 1990) and Syria (Saker and Farah, 1994). Collected between 1996 and 2003, at depths between 3 and 26 m, off Kas Peninsula, off the southwestern coast of Turkey (Yokes and Galil, 2004). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Common. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Presumably via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Lewinsohn C. and L.B. Holthuis, 1964. New records of Decapod Crustacea from the Mediterranean coast of Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean. Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden, 40(8): 45-63. Serène R., 1984. Crustacés Décapodes Brachyoures de l'Océan Indien occidental et de la Mer Rouge. Xanthoidea: Xanthidae et Trapeziidae. Faune tropicale, 24: 1-400. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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