Macrophthalmus (Venitus) Barnes, 1967

Barnes, R. S. K., 2010, A Review Of The Sentinel And Allied Crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Macrophthalmidae), With Particular Reference To The Genus Macrophthalmus, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58 (1), pp. 31-49 : 42-43

Macrophthalmus (Venitus) Barnes, 1967

( Fig. 5B )

Often very large (up to 80+ mm carapace breadth, and leg span of up to 30 cm); ocular peduncles elongate but not projecting beyond lateral carapace margins, much longer than breadth of front; front narrow, constricted between bases of ocular peduncles, where its breadth is 5–15% the distance between external orbital angles; ischium of external maxilliped> 1.7 times length of merus; carapace with breadth from, in small species/individuals, 1.3 to, in large species/individuals, 1.7 times length, with lateral margins subparallel or diverging posteriorly, with large and often projecting, broad-based, subtriangular, pointed anterolateral teeth (especially in large adults), heavily granular surface but without specific system of rows or clumps of granules; central region of posterior border of epistome straight; males of one species ( M. dentipes ) with stridulatory apparatus as described above in Paramareotis ; fingers of male chelae usually moderately elongate with index straight and with a differentiated tooth only on dactylus; pereipods often with large tubercles or spines. Low intertidal and subtidal, in very soft muds; intertidally, the mouth of the burrow is often located in a large, water-filled, saucer-shaped depression.

Venitus contains three species: M. barnesi Serène, 1971 , M. dentipes Lucas, 1836 , and M. latreillei ( Desmarest, 1817) (type species). The names M. serratus Adams & White, 1849 and M. vietnamensis Serène, 1971 listed by Ng et al. (2008) as extant species are still, as earlier ( Barnes, 1977), regarded by this author as being synonyms of species within this group.

Figures

Fig. 5. Form of the carapace and adult male chela of subgroups of the genus Macrophthalmus V: (a) subgenus Tasmanoplax and (b) subgenus Venitus. Scale bars = 5mm.