Pirimela Explained

Pirimela is a genus of crab containing a single species, Pirimela denticulata.

Description

Pirimela denticulata is a "small, pretty crab",^[1] up to 12mm long and 15mm across the carapace.^[2] Its colouring is mostly green, with mottling of brown, purple or red.^[1] The front edge of the carapace has three teeth between the eyes, two teeth around the orbits of the eyes and five teeth along either side.^[1]

Distribution and ecology

Pirimela denticulata is found from the British Isles to Mauritania, the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Azores.^[3] It lives in burrows in sandy sediments, or on underwater vegetation, at depths of up to 250m (820feet).^[3]

Taxonomy

Pirimela denticulata was first described by George Montagu in 1808, under the name Cancer denticulata.^[4] It was later transferred by William Elford Leach to his new genus Pirimela, which contains only P. denticulata.^[5] A second species of Pirimela, P. princeps, is now considered to be synonymous with P. denticulata.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Nellie Barbara Eales . 1961 . Littoral Fauna of the British Isles . . 978-0-521-04862-0 . Decapoda . 123–139 . https://books.google.com/books?id=SBY9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA133.
2. Web site: Pirimela denticulata . Macrobenthos of the North Sea . Mario de Kluijver . Sarita S. Ingalsuo . amp . July 8, 2011.
3. Carla M. Vieira . Telmo Morato . amp . 2001 . First record of the crabs Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808) and Xaiva biguttata (Risso, 1816) (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Azores . . 18A . 89–91 . 10400.3/159 .
4. George Montagu . George Montagu (naturalist) . 1808 . Description of several Marine Animals found on the South Coast of Devonshire . . 9 . 1 . 81–114 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1818.tb00327.x .
5. . 2008 . 17 . 1–286 . Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world . Peter K. L. Ng . Danièle Guinot . Peter J. F. Davie . amp .
6. Web site: Charles Fransen . Michael Türkay . amp . 2011 . Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808) . . July 8, 2011.