Pagurus venturensis Coffin, 1957

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 194

Pagurus venturensis Coffin, 1957

( Fig. 45A, B, Pl. 10C)

Pagurus hirsutiusculus venturensis Coffin, 1957: 1 , fig. 2. — McLaughlin 1974: 185, figs. 43d, 44. — Haig & Abbott 1980: 585. — McLaughlin et al. 1988: 431.

Pagurus venturensis . — Crain & McLaughlin 1993: 985, figs. 1–11 (extensive synonymy). — Lemaitre & Castaño 2004: 79.

Diagnosis. Rostrum triangular, reaching beyond base of ocular scale, exceeding lateral projections of carapace. Eyestalk stout, cornea weakly dilated, ocular scale subacute, with subterminal spine. Major cheliped tuberculate, carpus with dorsal setae; fingers very short, stout; gap between fingers. Minor cheliped with 2 rows of sharp dorsal spines on carpus, palm tuberculate. Pereopods 2, 3 stout, setose; dactyls subequal to propodi, dactyls with row of ventral spines, carpi with 2–3 rows of spines. Telson asymmetrical, with cleft on lateral margin, concavity in terminal margin; terminal margin with teeth. Uropods asymmetrical. Carapace length to 4.6 mm.

Color in life. Olive brown to light gray. Apices of chelae white. Pereopods 2, 3 with white bands at distal ends of merus, carpus, propodus. Carpus with white stripe. Dactyl pale blue, with longitudinal reddish stripes. Eyestalk light golden brown. Antennal flagella translucent brown. The color notes are from crabs from Cabrillo Beach, Los Angeles County, California.

Habitat and depth. Sheltered bays, tide pools with mixed rocks and sand; low intertidal zone.

Range. Monterey Peninsula to San Diego, California. Type locality 12 miles north of Ventura , California .

Remarks. In life, P. venturensis usually is lighter in color than P. hirsutiusuculus . It does not grow to as large a size as its northern counterpart. Pagurus venturensis often inhabits the shells of Callianax biplicata and Acanthina spp. in Los Angeles Harbor.