Palaemon ritteri Holmes, 1895

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 53

Palaemon ritteri Holmes, 1895

( Fig. 12B–D)

Palaemon ritteri Holmes, 1895: 579 , pl. 21, figs. 29–35; 1900: 216. — Rathbun 1904: 29. — Schmitt 1921: 35, fig. 21. — Holthuis 1952a: 173, pl. 44, figs. a–g. — Word & Charwat 1976: 163. — Chace & Abbott 1980: 569. — Méndez 1981: 73, fig. 252. — Wicksten 1983b: 10; 1989a: 14; 2006: 6. — Kerstitch 1989: 76, fig. 184. — Wicksten & Hendrickx 2003: 60.

Diagnosis. Rostrum as long as or longer than scaphocerite, with 8–10 dorsal, 3–4 ventral teeth, distal part unarmed. Carapace with antennal, branchiostegal teeth. Basal segment of antennular peduncle with anterolateral tooth, small distolateral tooth. Scaphocerite with blade overreaching lateral tooth. Pereopod 1 chelate, shorter than pereopod 2. Carpus of pereopod 2 shorter than chela proper. Pereopods 3–5 with simple dactyls. Pleura of abdominal somites 1–4 rounded, pleura of somite 5 with anterolateral tooth. Telson with 2 pairs anterolateral spines. Total length 40 mm.

Color in l ife. Translucent with scattered dark chromatophores or banded with brown.

Habitat and depth. Tide pools, bays, usually intertidal.

Range. San Diego , California to Galapagos Is. Type locality San Diego. Although Chace & Abbott (1980: 569) reported this species as occurring naturally in California, I know of no specimens of this species reported in California since the type was collected .

Remarks. Palaemon ritteri has been collected on the western coast of Baja California at Estero de Punta Banda and Magdalena Bay (Wicksten 1983, 2006). The species is common in tide pools of the Gulf of California and farther south ( Holthuis 1952a).