Description ⁶

The invasive and suspected non-native green porcelain crab Petrolisthes armatus is a small, flat crab that is usually orange-brown to dark brown as an adult, with a speckled and somewhat lighter appearance as juveniles. Individuals may also be olive green to dark green in color, giving rise to the common name. Mature specimens of both sexes have portions of their mouthparts pigmented brilliant blue. The chelae (pincers) are long and each possesses a distinct orange spot that is visible when they are open.As is characteristic for all porcelain crabs, the antennae are inserted external to the eyes, not between them as is observed in most other crab families (Knott and King undated, IRL Field Guide).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91167&one=T
2. (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91065&one=T
3. (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91166&one=T
4. (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91168&one=T
5. (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91397&one=T
6. (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526641

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• BugGuide
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SeaLifeBase
• World Register of Marine Species

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

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