Pugettia productus

Pugettia productus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Epialtidae
Genus: Pugettia
Species: P. productus
Binomial name
Pugettia productus
(J. W. Randall, 1840)
Synonyms
  • Pugettia producta
  • Epialtus producta
  • Epialtus productus

Pugettia productus, known as the northern kelp crab or shield-backed kelp crab,[1] is a species of crab in the family Epialtidae.[2]

Distribution

Found along the Pacific Coast from southern Alaska to northern Mexico.[3]

Description

Dark brown coloured with carapace shaped like a police officer's badge or shield. As the name suggests, it feeds on kelp. Size to 9 cm (3.5 in) across the carapace.

References

  1. Dave Cowles (2005). "Pugettia producta (Randall, 1839)". Walla Walla University. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  2. Peter K. L. Ng, Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 17: 1–286.
  3. Andy Lamb & Bernard P. Hanby (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishers. ISBN 978-1-55017-361-1.

External links