Metacarcinus magister (Dana, 1852)

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 231

publication ID	11755334
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5255304
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C5657B52-FF7A-B3F5-44D1-FC1FC8D90C7D
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-08-24 08:22:12, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-04 15:45:02)
scientific name	Metacarcinus magister (Dana, 1852)
status

Treatment

Metacarcinus magister (Dana, 1852) View in CoL

( Fig. 54C, Pl. 14A)

Cancer magister Dana, 1852: 73 View in CoL . — Holmes 1900: 50. — Rathbun 1904: 177; 1930: 222, text figs. 35, 36. — Weymouth 1910: 42, pl. 9, fig. 25. — Schmitt 1921: 229, text fig. 138. — Johnson & Snook 1927: 379, fig. 335. — Phillips 1939: 21, fig. 15. — Nations 1975: 37, figs. 17AB, 18AB, 23, 34-1, 34-2. — Garth & Abbott 1980: 605, Fig. 25.20. — Hart 1982: 212, fig. 87. — Ricketts et al. 1985: 199, fig. 170. — Jensen & Armstrong 1987: 216. — Jensen 1995: 27, fig. 31. — Kuris et al. 2007: 641.

Metacarcinus magister View in CoL . — Schweitzer & Feldmann 2000: 235.

Diagnosis. Front of carapace not produced, with 3 small median teeth. Carapace granulate, widest at anterolateral tooth 10, no eleventh tooth, anterolateral teeth serrate anteriorly. Carpus of cheliped with single distal tooth, palm with dorsal serrate ridge having conspicuous teeth, ridges on sides; movable finger with dorsal teeth, lateral ridges. Merus of third maxilliped widened distally, its anterior margin forming obtuse angle with outer margin. Pereopods 2–5 broad, flat. Carapace length 120.7 mm.

Color in life. Carapace brown to gray, lower surface, appendages creamy white to yellowish. Fingers of chelipeds light-colored. The color notes are from crabs from Princeton Harbor, San Mateo County; and Coyote Point, San Francisco Bay, California.

Habitat and depth. Bays, harbors, sandy beaches, eelgrass flats, sandy areas of continental shelf, low intertidal zone to 230 m.

Range. North and east of St. George I., Pribilof Is. to Pismo Beach, California. Old records from Santa Barbara, California and Magdalena Bay, Baja California are unconfirmed. Type locality San Francisco Bay .

Remarks. The Dungeness crab is the most important commercial crab of the Pacific coast of the United States. Adult crabs usually are trapped off shore, but juveniles often can be found in bays and harbors at low tide. Very small juveniles and megalops larvae sometimes ride on medusae and the by-the-wind sailor Velella sp. ( Wickham 1979) .

References

Garth, J. S. & Abbott, D. (1980) Brachyura: the true crabs. In: Morris, D., Abbott, D. & Haderlie, E. (Eds). Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, pp. 594 - 630.

Hart, J. F. L. (1982) Crabs and their Relatives of British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum Handbook 40, Victoria, 267 pp.

Holmes, S. J. (1900) Synopsis of California stalk-eyed Crustacea. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 7, 12 - 62.

Jensen, G. C. & Armstrong, D. A. (1987) Range extensions of some northeastern Pacific Decapoda. Crustaceana, 52, 215 - 217.

Jensen, G. C. (1995) Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimps. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, 87 pp.

Johnson, M. E. & Snook, H. J. (1927) Seashore Animals of the Pacific Coast. Dover Publications, New York, reprint 1967, 659 pp.

Kuris, A. M., Sadeghian, P. & Carlton, J. T. (2007) Keys to Decapod Crustacea. In: Carlton, J. T. (Ed.) The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates Central California to Oregon. University of California Press, Berkeley, 4 th ed., pp. 636 - 656.

Nations, J. D. (1975) The genus Cancer (Crustacea: Brachyura): systematics, biogeography and fossil record. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Bulletin, 23, 1 - 104.

Phillips, J. B. (1939) The market crab of California and its close relatives. California Fish and Game, 25, 18 - 29.

Rathbun, M. J. (1904) Decapod crustaceans of the northwest coast of North America. Harriman Alaska Expedition, 10, 1 - 219.

Rathbun, M. J. (1930) The cancroid crabs of America of the families Euryalidae, Portunidae, Atelecyclidae, Cancridae and Xanthidae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 152, 1 - 593.

Ricketts, E. F., Calvin, J., Hedgpeth, J. W. & Phillips, D. W. (1985) Between Pacific Tides. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 5 th ed., 652 pp.

Schmitt, W. L. (1921) The marine decapod Crustacea of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, 23, 1 - 470.

Schweitzer, C. E. & R. M. Feldmann, R. M. (2000) Re-evaluation of the Cancridae Latreille 1802 (Decapoda: Brachyura) including three new genera and three new species. Contributions to Zoology, 69, 223 - 250.

Weymouth, F. W. (1910) Synopsis of the true crabs (Brachyura) of Monterey Bay, California. Leland Stanford Junior University Publications, University series 4, 1 - 64.

Wickham, D. E. (1979) The relationship between megalopae of the dungeness crab, Cancer magister, and the hydroid, Velella velella, and its influence on abdundanc estimates of C. magister megalopae. California Fish and Game, 65, 184 - 186.