Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification -  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace subovate, convex, widest anteriorly, undivided into regions, medially pitted. Anterior margin bearing five spines separated by deep grooves; serrate ridge between lateral pair of spines. Antero-lateral margin of carapace with flattened granules. Eyestalks long, slender. Chela with setose rows of flattened serrations on internal, and external surface, fixed finger bearing distinct tooth distally. Walking legs fringed with long, stiff setae, dactyls broad; carpus and merus of last leg leaflike. color : carapace reddish, spines on anterior margin pale, two brown spots encircled in white laterally on branchial regions. common size : CL 2.5 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Anterior margin of carapace armed with five spines; abdomen not concealed beneath carapace; propodi, dactyli of walking legs flattened. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Poorly known. habitat : sandy bottoms, 50-100 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1964 [1962]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-West Pacific, Red Sea to Malay Archipelago. Mediterranean : a single record from Israel (Lewinsohn and Holthuis, 1964 [1962]). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Known from a single record. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Presumably via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Goeke G.D., 1985. Decapoda Crustacea: Raninidae. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Séries A. Zoologie, 133: 205-228. 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): 75-82. Sakai T., 1976. Crabs of Japan and the adjacent seas. 3 Vols. Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo, 1-773, pls 1-251.   FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2002 ©ciesm 2002