Platyxanthus crenulatus

Platyxanthus crenulatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Platyxanthidae
Genus: Platyxanthus
Species:
P. crenulatus
Binomial name
Platyxanthus crenulatus

Platyxanthus crenulatus is a species of crab in the family Platyxanthidae.[1] The species is found along the sublittoral zone of the western Atlantic in the waters of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina,[2] associated mostly with hard bottoms. Adults are robust and conspicuous crabs, with a smooth carapace, dorsally purple and white ventrally. Their claws have marked heterochely and right-handedness (i.e. dimorphism between chelae and the tendency of bearing the major claw on the right-hand side of the body), traits associated with shell-breaking feeding habits.[3] Due to its abundance, large size and diet, P. crenulatus presumably has an important ecological role as a predator in benthic communities.[4]

  1. ^ Peter Davie (2010). "Platyxanthus crenulatus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Marine Species Identification Portal : Platyxanthus crenulatus". Species-identification.org. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  3. ^ Laitano, M.V.; Farias, N. E.; Cledón, M. (2013). "Prey preference of the stone crab Platyxanthus crenulatus (Decapoda : Platyxanthidae) in laboratory conditions". Nauplius. 21: 17–23. doi:10.1590/S0104-64972013000100003. hdl:11336/3343.
  4. ^ Farias, N. E.; Luppi, T. A.; Spivak, E. D. (2014). "Habitat use, relative growth and size at maturity of the purple stone crab Platyxanthus crenulatus (Decapoda : Brachyura), calculated under different models". Scientia Marina. 78: 567–578. doi:10.3989/scimar.04108.10A. hdl:11336/35513.