Info
Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808)
Pirimela denticulata was first described by George Montagu in 1808 under the name Cancer denticulata. It was later transferred by William Elford Leach to his new genus Pirimela, which contains only Pirimela denticulata. A second Pirimela species, Pirimela princeps, is now considered a synonym for Pirimela denticulata. The genus Pirimela currently only contains one recognized species, Pirimela denticulata.
Pirimela denticulata is a small crab with a shell length of up to 18 mm and a shell width of 15 mm. The crab is predominantly green with brown, purple or red spots. The front edge of the carapace has three teeth between the eyes, two teeth around the eye sockets and five teeth on either side.
The species name “denticulata” refers to the numerous teeth on the shell.
It lives in burrows in sandy sediments or on underwater vegetation at depths of up to 250 m.
Pirimela denticulata is host to the following parasites:
Ptychogonimus megastomum (Rudolphi, 1819) Lühe, 1900
Sacculina carcini Thompson, 1836
The parasite Sacculina carcini causes crab infertility.
Synonymised names
Cancer denticulatus Montagu, 1808 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Pirimela princeps Hope, 1851 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Pirimela denticulata was first described by George Montagu in 1808 under the name Cancer denticulata. It was later transferred by William Elford Leach to his new genus Pirimela, which contains only Pirimela denticulata. A second Pirimela species, Pirimela princeps, is now considered a synonym for Pirimela denticulata. The genus Pirimela currently only contains one recognized species, Pirimela denticulata.
Pirimela denticulata is a small crab with a shell length of up to 18 mm and a shell width of 15 mm. The crab is predominantly green with brown, purple or red spots. The front edge of the carapace has three teeth between the eyes, two teeth around the eye sockets and five teeth on either side.
The species name “denticulata” refers to the numerous teeth on the shell.
It lives in burrows in sandy sediments or on underwater vegetation at depths of up to 250 m.
Pirimela denticulata is host to the following parasites:
Ptychogonimus megastomum (Rudolphi, 1819) Lühe, 1900
Sacculina carcini Thompson, 1836
The parasite Sacculina carcini causes crab infertility.
Synonymised names
Cancer denticulatus Montagu, 1808 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Pirimela princeps Hope, 1851 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
