Pugettia richii Dana, 1851

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 210-212

Pugettia richii Dana, 1851

( Fig. 48B)

Pugettia richii Dana 1851: 268 . — Holmes 1900: 24. — Rathbun 1904: 173; 1925: 176, text fig. 66. — Weymouth 1910: 30, pl. 4, fig. 11. — Schmitt 1921: 207, pl. 33, fig. 6, text fig. 129. — Johnson & Snook 1927: figs. 322, 324. — Garth & Abbott 1980: 599, fig. 25.6. — Hart 1982: 188, fig. 75. — Jensen 1995: 22, fig. 17. — Hendrickx 1999: 111, pl. 2C. — Kuris et al. 2007: 641.

Pugettia richi .— Garth 1958: 193, pl. L, fig. 3, pl. 20, fig. 1.

Diagnosis. Rostrum with long horns, deep notch, hooked setae.Carapace ovate, tuberculate, constricted at base of hepatic tooth, broader in female than in male. Median region of carapace with three anterior tubercles in row, one somewhat anterior to them; rows of hooked setae near lateral tubercles, cardiac, intestinal regions with tubercle each, 2 tubercles on branchial region, posterior margin of carapace markedly convex. Supraorbital tooth acute, directed forward; postorbital tooth acute, triangular; large, slender tooth posterior to postorbital tooth, prominent pointed tubercle on posterolateral margin of carapace, spine on subbranchial region, pterygostomian region with 3- 6 small teeth. Flagella of antennae visible near rostrum. Male chelipeds larger, more robust than those of female; merus with tubercles, ridge along inner side in adult; carpus with 2 or 3 ridges, especially in adult, hands compressed, fingers gaping in adult. Female chelipeds more slender, fingers not gaping. Pereopods 2–5 subcylindrical, dactyls sharp. Male carapace length 44 mm, width 36 mm; female 33 mm, width 26.5 mm.

Color in life. Bright to dark red, matching red algae. Pereopods 2–5 banded with dark red, tan. The color notes are from crabs from Monterey Bay , California .

Habitat and depth. Tide pools, docks, pilings, among algae or sea grasses; intertidal zone to 98 m but usually in shallow areas near shore.

Range. Prince of Wales I., Alaska to San Geronimo I. and Asuncion Bay , Baja California. Type locality " California ", possibly San Diego or San Francisco, from which Dana received specimens .

Remarks. Pugettia richii decorates heavily throughout its lifespan.The crab may be covered by pieces of algae, hydroids or bryozoans, often with long "streamers" of material projecting forward from the rostrum.