Arcania brevifrons
Scientific Name:-
Arcania brevifronsCommon Name:-
Purse Crab
Malayalam Name:-
Purse Njandu
Category:-
Crabs
Status:-
Not evaluated
Description:-
Carapace longitudinally oval in males and globular in females. Carapace and merus of the cheliped uniformly covered by large number of minute prickles, except the regions classifying carapace regions. Palms slender and elongated. Tip of fingers inwardly curved. Body reddish rose coloured but preserved specimens in formaline turned light rose. Eleven marginal spines on the carapace, one each on either side in the inter branchio-gastric region relatively smaller in size compared to others. Surface of carapace well defined. Spines absent in the lines separating surface of carapace. Presence of claw-shaped spine on either side of the carapace on the margin of the median epibranchial region. Two spines (one on each side) project forwards in the antero lateral border. One spine each on either side of the carapace in the mid of postero-lateral side and one median spine pointing backwards in the posterior borders, below which on either side of it are present two stout spines. Chelipeds and appendages much slender. Dactyli of the pereiopods on their outer margins contain hairs. The anterior spine between orbits very sharp; slightly pointed upwards. The abdomen of males slender and elongated; females longitudinally ovate. Third maxilliped bears hairs only in the inner margins. The merus of the external maxillipeds half as long as the ischium along the inner border but exopodite is long and almost reach the level of tip of the merus. Exopod of second maxillipeds hairless whereas endopods hairy on the inner border of ischium, merus, carpus, propodus and dactylus. Distinct lobe of the endopod in first maxilliped hairy on the upper margin and are larger than exopod. Mandibles on the teeth bearing end transversely-oval shaped. Scaphognathite of second maxillae longitudinally sub-ovate. First maxillae (maxillule) marginally hairy. Antennae hairless and smaller than antennule.
Remark:-
Bijukumar et al. (2013) and Sushilkumar (2013) recorded it from the trawl by-catch along Kerala coast.
Habitat:-
Muddy and Sandy.
Synonyms:-
Arcania granulosa Miers, 1877; Arcania undecimspinosa Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1988; Devi et al., 1988a; Arcania brevifrons Chen, 1989.
References:-
Biju Kumar, A., Sushil Kumar, M, and Galil, B.S. (2013). Calappid and leucosiid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) from Kerala, India, with the description of a new species of Mursia Desmarest, 1823, from the Arabian Sea and redescription of M. bicristimana Alcock & Anderson, 1894. Zootaxa, 3746 (4): 529-551.
Sushilkumar, M. (2013). Diversity and proximate composition of brachyuran crabs in the trawl by-catch of Kerala coast. PhD Thesis submitted to University of Kerala, India.