Chaceon Atopus
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''Chaceon atopus'' is a species of
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
.Manning, Raymond B., and L. B. Holthuis. "Two new genera and nine new species of geryonid crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Geryonidae)." Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102.1 (1989): 50-77. This species resembles '' C. gordonae'', from the Cape Verde Islands and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, in many features: its large size, well-developed frontal and anterolateral teeth on the
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
, and compressed dactyli of the walking legs. It differs from ''C. gordonae'' in having much longer walking legs, with the merus more than 6 times longer than high, and in its habitat. ''Chaceon gordonae'' generally occurs in depths in excess of , ''C. atopus'' occurs in less than . The species can be distinguished on sight from '' C. sanctaehelenae'' by the long, slender walking legs, the distal meral spine on the walking legs, and the well-developed anterolateral spines of the carapace. ''Chaceon atopus'' is named after Greek ''atopos'', meaning “atypical”, referring to the scientists' reaction after seeing its distinct appearance when compared to ''C. sanctaehelenae''.


Description

It is large, its size varying between , with well-developed anterolateral teeth on the carapace in adults and with laterally compressed dactyli on the walking legs. The carapace is 1.4 times broader than long, very inflated and strongly convex from front to back. It possesses a median pair of long and sharp frontal teeth, separated by a narrow, V-shaped emargination. The carapace's surface is finely granular posterolaterally. The suborbital tooth is strong and sharply pointed, visible in dorsal view; the suborbital margin is evenly curved and tuberculate. The cheliped merus has a sharp spine subdistally and with a distal dorsal spine; carpus roughened dorsally, with distal outer spine, denticulate anterior margin, and strong and slender distal spine. Its right chela has a distal angled projection. The meri of its walking legs have a distinct distal dorsal spine. The dactyli of its walking legs are laterally compressed, the height at midlength greater than width.


Distribution

Known only from Saint Helena Island.


References


External links

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ADW entryWORMS entry
Portunoidea Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Crustaceans described in 1989 {{crab-stub