Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification -  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace pyriform, dorsal surface granulose, with well defined regions, six spines along midline, three dorsal spines on branchial region and up to six spines along lateral margins, posteriormost spine largest. Rostrum moderately elongate, distally bifid. color : brownish, with bluish spot on gastric region and on inner side of cheliped propodus. common size : CL up to 10 cm in males, 7.5 cm in females. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Chelipeds and walking legs not tuberculate, sparsely setose. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Juveniles associated with and feeding upon scyphomedusae. Adult benthic. habitat : 5-25 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Southern Tunisia, 1997 [1996]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : western Atlantic origin, from Massachusetts to Cuba. Mediterranean : repeatedly collected from southern Tunisia (Enzenross et al., 1997 [1996]). The species is spreading along the Tunisian coast (Ben Souissi, pers. com.). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Common if the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Probably transported in ballast. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Enzenross R., L. Enzenross and A. El Abed, 1997. Nouvelles mentions de deux Crustacés d'origine non-Méditerranéenne dans les eaux du Golfe de Gabès (Tunisie). Rapports et Documents de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer, Salammbo, 1: 1-13. Enzenross R. and L. Enzenross, 2000. Nichtmediterrane Crustacea-Arten in tunesischen Gewässern (Decapoda, Macrura und Brachyura). Crustaceana, 73(2): 187-195. Williams A. B., 1984. Shrimps, lobsters, and crabs of the Atlantic coasts of the Eastern United States, Maine to Florida. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 550 pp.   FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: 2009 ©ciesm 2002