Rochinia crassa

Rochinia crassa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Epialtidae
Genus: Rochinia
Species: R. crassa
Binomial name
Rochinia crassa
(A. Milne-Edwards, 1879)

Rochinia crassa, also known as the inflated spiny crab,[1][2] is a species of crab in the family Epialtidae.[3]

Description

Rochinia crassa has a spiny, elongate-triancular carpace. The rostrum comprises two short, stout spines. The chelipeds are very long and thin, and in adults can be approximately four times the length of the carpace. The walking legs are also long and slender.[4]

Distribution

This species is found in the western Atlantic including the Gulf of Mexico, and ranges from Nova Scotia, Canada in the north,[5] to Massachusetts and Texas in United States waters. It also occurs from northern Cuba to Colombia and French Guiana.[4]

Habitat

It lives in soft bottoms, in substrates of mud and sand at depths of between 66 and 1,216 metres.[4] This species does not occur near vents or seep sites.[6]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/21/2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.