Pagurus prideaux Leach, 1815

(Fig. 17)

Pagurus Prideaux Leach, 1815: text to and pl. 26 figs. 5, 6. Pagurus prideauxi . — Forest, 1966: 158.

Pagurus prideaux . — Ingle, 1993: 148, figs. 121–124 (lit.).

Material examined. MU86, 91– 103 m, (1); MU88, 94– 120 m, (1); MU201, 87 m, (2); MU205, 89– 93 m, (2).

Males: 6.17–6.86 mm, ovigerous females: 5.87–7.86 mm

Habitat. Bottoms of Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1753, maerl and littoral detritic bottoms to bathyal muds (d’Udekem d’Acoz 1999). Also reported in Posidonia oceanica meadows (Pipitone & Arculeo 2003; Ates et al. 2004) and rocky bottoms (Pipitone & Arculeo 2003; Pipitone & Vaccaro 2011).

Pagurus prideaux was mainly found inhabiting shells of Fusinus rostratus (Olivi, 1792), Naticarius hebraeus (Martyn, 1786) and Naticarius stercusmuscarum (Gmelin, 1791) but was also found in Buccinum humphreysianum Bennett, 1824 and Galeodea echinophora (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean Sea (Caruso et al. 2004).

The symbionts on shells were summarized by Williams & McDermott (2004).

We found our specimens on sandy bottoms, inhabiting shells of the gastropod species Calliostoma granulatum (Born, 1778), Natica canariensis Odhner, 1932 and an unidentified species of the genus Natica, associated with hydrozoan species Clytia paulensis (Vanhöffen, 1910) and Hydractinia multitentaculata (Millard, 1975), as well as with the cirriped Amphibalanus amphitrite (Darwin, 1854) . All specimens were in symbiosis with the actinian Adamsia palliata (O. F. Müller, 1776) .

Distribution. Widely distributed in the eastern Atlantic from the southwestern Norwegian coast to Guinea, including Madeira, the Canary and Cape Verde Islands and the Mediterranean Sea (Caruso et al. 2004). The record from the Red Sea was considered dubious by d’Udekem d’Acoz (1999). Bathymetric distribution from the intertidal zone (d’Udekem d’Acoz 1999) down to 678 m depth (Caruso et al. 2004).

Other records of this species (Ates et al. 2004; Ungaro et al. 2005; Ates et al. 2006; Serrano et al. 2006; Fanelli et al. 2007; Cartes et al. 2007; García-Muñoz et al. 2008; Sánchez et al. 2008; Koçak et al. 2010; Serrano et al. 2011; Pipitone & Vaccaro 2011; El Lakhrach et al. 2010; Ellis et al. 2013) fit well with the above-mentioned distribution.

Remarks. Our specimens coincide with those described and figured by Ingle (1993).