Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification -  photo: Bella Galil

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace subquadrate, somewhat broader than long, glabrous, minutely punctate, regions undefined. Fronto-orbital margin horizontal, wide, front medially notched, with two broad square-cut lobes. Antero-lateral margin short, convex, with four teeth, penultimate the largest; postero-lateral margins convergent. Basal antennal segment filling orbital hiatus, antennulae folded transversely. Eye-stalk short, stout. Chelipeds robust, smooth, subequal. Setose patch distally on outer surface of carpus, propodus smooth, rounded, with longitudinal ridge ventrally. Legs slender, fifth leg propodus and dactyl compressed. Male pleopod curved in proximal two thirds with straight, evenly tapering, minutely spinulose horny tip. color : carapace cream, finely speckled with purple, with two prominent hepatic marks. common size : CL 3.5 cm (max.). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Carapace subquadrate, front with two broad, square-cut lobes, setose patch distally on outer surface of cheliped carpus. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Poorly known. habitat : 10-100 m, sandy, muddy bottoms. In the Gulf of Gabès, collected in depths of 10-20 m on dumping sites of gypsum muds from phosphate industry.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Egypt, 1927 [1924]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-Pacific, Red Sea to Hawaii. Mediterranean : recorded first from Egypt, Port Said (Calman, 1927 [1924]. Successively recorded from southern Turkey (Enzenross [misspelled as Enzenrou] et al., 1992); Tunisia, Gulf of Gabès (Zaouali, 1993a); Israel (Galil, 1997). Recently observed in the Southern Lake of Tunis (Ben Souissi et al., 2004a; Ben Souissi et al., 2004b). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Locally common. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal (Calman, 1927). IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Ben Souissi J., Rezig M. and Zaouali J., 2004a. Appearance of Invasive Species in Southern Lake of Tunis. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, MEDCOAST 03, E. Ozhan (ed.) 7-11 October 2003, Ravenna, Italy: 911-922. Ben Souissi J., Zaouali J., Rezig M., Bradai M.N., Quignard J.P. and Rudman B., 2004b. Contribution à l'étude de quelques récentes migrations d'espèces exotiques dans les eaux tunisiennes. Rapp. Comm. Int. Mr Médit., 37: 302. Calman W.T., 1927. Report on the Crustacea Decapoda (Brachyura). Zoological Results of the Cambridge Expedition to the Suez Canal, 1924. XIII. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 22: 211-217.   Campbell B.M., 1969. The genus Eucrate (Crustacea: Goneplacidae) in Eastern Australia and the Indo-West Pacific. Memoires of the Queensland Museum, 15(3): 117-140. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: 2009 ©ciesm 2002