''Liocarcinus zariquieyi'' 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 ...

found in the Mediterranean Sea. It closely resembles '' Liocarcinus pusillus'' and was for a long time confused with that species.

Taxonomic history

The species now known as ''Liocarcinus zariquieyi'' was first recognised by

Bruno Parisi Bruno Parisi (6 June 1884 – 26 January 1957) was an Italian zoologist and museum director. His main research field were the crustaceans (Crustacea). From 1928 to 1951 he was director of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano. Career Parisi ...

in 1915. Parisi realised that the species then known as "''Portunus pusillus''" comprised two separate taxa. The species was recognised during the revision of two species originally described in the genus ''

Portunus ''Portunus'' is a genus of crab which includes several important species for fisheries, such as the blue swimming crab, ''Portunus pelagicus'' and the Gazami crab, '' P. trituberculatus''. Other species, such as the three-spotted crab ('' P ...

'' by Parisi, "''Portunus pusillus''" and "''Portunus parvulus''". Parisi mistakenly asserted, however, that of his two species, "''P. parvulus''" was the new one. In fact, his "''P. pusillus''" was the new species. This error was recognised by the Dutch carcinologist Lipke Holthuis in 1958 who continued using Parisi's names while awaiting Gordon's revision. In 1968, Gordon published a paper in the journal '' Crustaceana'', distinguishing "''Macropipus zariquieyi''" from the species that by then had become "''Macropipus pusillus''" (now '' Liocarcinus pusillus''). She selected as the holotype a specimen from Sorrento, collected at a depth of . The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

' commemorates Ricardo Zariquiey Alvarez, who had recognised the two species in Spanish waters, and provided material to Gordon that allowed her to describe the new species.

Distribution

''Liocarcinus zariquieyi'' is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. A single specimen, in the collections of Alfred Merle Norman, purports to be from the east coast of Great Britain. The crab inhabits depths of on coarse sandy or gravelly substrates.

Description

Froglia and Manning reported a range of

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 ...

lengths among males of ; females up to have been reported. It differs from other species in the "''pusillus'' group" ('' Liocarcinus maculatus'' and '' Liocarcinus pusillus'') in having a smooth carapace. Also, the teeth on the antero-lateral margin of the carapace are all rounded at the tip, and the fourth is larger than the fifth, and the carpus (4th segment) is shorter than the propodus (6th segment) on the third and fourth

pereiopod The decapod (crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various g ...

s in ''L. zariquieyi'' but not ''L. pusillus'' of ''L. maculatus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6555250 Portunoidea Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Crustaceans described in 1968