Parthenopidae MacLeay, 1838
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11755334 |
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https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C5657B52-FF7D-B3F2-44D1-FD33CC250F79 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe (2021-08-24 08:22:12, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-04 15:45:02) |
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scientific name |
Parthenopidae MacLeay, 1838 |
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Family Parthenopidae MacLeay, 1838 View in CoL
Members of the family Parthenopidae commonly are called elbow crabs. The elongate chelipeds, folded across the front, suggest the name. These sand-dwelling crabs, mostly tropical in distribution, are represented in California by only one species.
Parthenopid crabs have retractile eyes with small and well-defined orbits. The basal antennal segment is small and deeply imbedded between the inner angle of the orbit and the pits at the bases of the first antennae. The first antennae fold somewhat obliquely, not vertically. The distinctive chelipeds have fingers bent at an angle. Pereopods 2–5 are short, flattened and have broad segments.
Elbow crabs can dig into sand and remain motionless with only the eye, apex of the rostrum and a respiratory passage exposed. Their cryptic coloration renders them further difficult to detect.
MacLeay, W. S. (1838) On the brachyurous Crustacea brought from the Cape by Dr. Smith. In: Smith, A. Illustrations of the Annulosa of South Africa; Being a Portion of the Objects of Natural History Chiefly Collected During an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, Under the Direction of Dr. Andrew Smith, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836; Fitted out by The Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa. Smith, Elder and Company, London, pp. 53 - 71.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
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