Dardanus megistos

Scientific Name:-

Dardanus megistos

Common Name:-

Malayalam Name:-

Category:-

Hermit crabs

Status:-

Not evaluated

Description:-

Carapace bright red with white spots bordered by black. Ocular peduncles bright reddish. Chelipeds and ambulatory legs bright reddish with numerous white spots bordered by black. Dark red setae all over the shield and legs. Shield longer than broad; rostrum rounded. Ocular peduncles long and slender; corneas slightly dilated; ocular acicles subtriangular, spinose. Antennular peduncles overreaching the distal margin of corneas. Antennal peduncles reaching at the base of corneas; antennal acicle with few spines on the dorsal margin interspersed by setae. Chelipeds and ambulatory legs covered with tufts of long bristles and corneous-tipped spines. Chelipeds unequal, left larger. Upper surface of left chela with 3-4 large spines. Palm of right cheliped with double row of prominent spines on upper margin; outer surface with 2 rows of smaller spines and rows of spinules in lower half. Dactyls of ambulatory legs longer than propodi. Propodus of left third pereopod subcylindrical, outer surface with densely-packed corneous-tipped spines. Telson asymmetrical with shallow median cleft; terminal margins with row of corneous spines.

Threats:-

Not recorded

Remark:-

This species is recorded for the first time in India by Thomas in 1989. Later Reshmi (2014) recorded this from Kerala coast.

Habitat:-

Coastal seas; depth 100m along Kerala coast.

Synonyms:-

Cancer megistos Herbst, 1804: 23, pl.61, fig. 1; Pagurus megistos- Olivier, 1811: 639; Pagurus punculatus Olivier, 1811: 641; Pagurus spinimanus H. Milne Edwards, 1848: 61; Dardanus megistos- Rathbun, 1907: 205; Cancer magistes- Yao-Chiongco in Estampador, 1937: 503; Dardanus megistos- Ward, 1942: 64; Dardanus spinimanus- Holthusi, 1953: 49.

References:-

Reshmi, R. (2014). Taxonomy and diversity of anomuran crabs (Decapoda: Anomura) of Kerala coast. PhD Thesis submitted to University of Kerala, India.
Thomas, M. M., 1989. On a collection of hermit crabs from the Indian waters. Journal of Marine Biological Association of India, 31(1&2): 59–79.

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