Spirontocaris prionota ( Stimpson, 1864 )

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 93

Spirontocaris prionota ( Stimpson, 1864)

( Fig. 23C, Pl. 1F)

Hippolyte prionota Stimpson, 1864: 153 .

Spirontocaris prionota . — Holmes 1900: 206. — Rathbun 1904: 61. — Schmitt 1921: 52, fig. 28. — Kobyakova 1937: 129. — Holthuis 1947: 8. — Kozloff 1974: 166. — Word & Charwat 1976: 154. — Hayashi 1977: 175, fig. 7. — Butler 1980: 161. — Chace & Abbott 1980: 574, fig. 23.10. — Carvacho & Olson 1984: 64. — Ricketts et al. 1985: 197, fig. 109. — Wicksten 1990b: 590. — Jensen 1995: 51, fig. 92. — Chace 1997: 57. — Kuris et al. 2007: 638.

Diagnosis. Rostrum deep, extending beyond end of antennular peduncle with 10–15 dorsal, 6 or 7 ventral teeth in male; 12–26 dorsal, 3–8 ventral teeth in female, 3 or 4 large serrate teeth on dorsal midline of carapace proper. Second, third segments of antennular peduncle each bearing spine. Stylocerite reaching third segment of antennular peduncle. Carapace with 3–4 supraorbital teeth. Pereopods 1–3 with epipods. Pereopods 3–5 stout, dactyls spinose, bifid. Merus of pereopod 3 with 1–2 spines, pereopod 4, with 0–2 spines; pereopod 5, 0–1 spine. Pleura of abdominal somites 1–3 rounded, 4–5 pointed to sharp-tipped. Telson with 4 pairs dorsolateral spines, acute apex. Male total length to 19 mm, female to 28 mm.

Color in life. Red-spotted with blue steaks; carapace, uropods olive, rest of body rufous ( Butler 1980). Carapace, rostrum china white, rest of body rusty red or green (H. Cheney, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, pers. comm., Jensen 1995).

Habitat and depth. Eelgrass beds, lower rocky intertidal zone, rocky subtidal areas, low subtidal areas to 163 m. Specimens from California usually are collected at 30 m or less .

Range. Nunivak I. and Bering I., Bering Sea to Todos Santos Bay , Baja California, Mexico. Type locality Puget Sound .