Herbstia parvifrons Randall, 1840

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 221

Herbstia parvifrons Randall, 1840

( Fig. 52A, Pl. 12F)

Herbstia parvifrons Randall, 1840: 107 . — Holmes 1900: 38. — Schmitt 1921: 215, text fig. 135. — Rathbun 1925: 296, pl. 106, text fig. 99. — Garth 1958: 316, pl. 8, fig. 5; pl. 34, fig. 2.— Garth & Abbott 1980: 602, fig. 25.13. — Jensen 1995: 21, fig. 14. — Hendrickx 1999: 124, pl. 4B, D. — Kuris et al. 2007: 641.

Rhodia parvifrons . — Rathbun 1904: 175. — Weymouth 1910: 34, pl. 7, fig. 18.

Diagnosis. Rostral horns short, notch shallow. Carapace ovate, tuberculate, flattened, setose, gastric region with 4 inconspicuous tubercles in transverse row, median tubercle on posterior portion; 3–4 small tubercles on cardiac region, 5 on each branchial region; 2 tubercles in transverse line on intestinal area, intestinal area projecting slightly beyond posterior marginal level. Preorbital spine present, acute; 2 small spines at margin of orbit between preorbital, postorbital spines; anterolateral margin of carapace provided with postorbital spine, 5 other spines, several smaller spines above these on posterior margin. Three subhepatic spines, row of 5–6 pterygostomian spinules. First movable segment of antenna short, not reaching rostrum apex. Male cheliped more robust than pereopods 2–5, exceeding length of pereopod 2; female cheliped more slender. Merus with 5 larger spines on superior inner margin, numerous smaller external spines; carpus with 10–11 spinules; hand with 5–6 blunt spines on superoproximal border, male dactyl with ridge in gape, female chela without gape. Pereopods 2–5 elongate, setose; meri with 7–9 spinules on anterior margins; no more than 3 on posterior margins; carpi with single distal spinule; propodi long, unarmed; dactyls spinulous. Male carapace length 33.0 mm, width 30.0; female length 19.5 mm, width 17.1 mm.

Color in life. Tan mottled with dark brown to reddish, legs barred with reddish brown. The color notes are from crabs from Santa Catalina I.

Habitat and depth. Almost always among rocks or rocky rubble, intertidal to 74 m.

Range. Monterey Bay, California to Magdalena Bay , Baja California. Type locality "western America.”

Remarks. In its natural habitat, H. parvifrons slips into narrow spaces between and under rocks. The crab frequently is covered with small calcareous sponges. Kuris et al. (2007) gave the northern range of this species as "Monterey and north" without any records or exact locations. I know of no records of this species from north of Monterey. It is common in rock falls off the islands of southern California.

Holmes (1900) reported Herbstia camptacantha ( Stimpson, 1871) from San Pedro, San Clemente I. and Santa Catalina I. , California, but Garth (1958: 318) determined that these records belong to H. parvifrons .