Pachycheles cristobalensis Gore, 1970

Ferreira, Luciane Augusto De Azevedo & Anker, Arthur, 2021, An annotated and illustrated checklist of the porcelain crabs of Panama (Decapoda: Anomura), Zootaxa 5045 (1), pp. 1-154 : 50

Pachycheles cristobalensis Gore, 1970

( Fig. 24 )

Pachycheles cristobalensis Gore 1970: 958 , figs. 1, 2; Gore & Abele 1976: 19; Gore 1982: 8; Rodríguez et al. 2005: 555, pl. 1, fig. E; Vargas & Cortés 2006: 463.

Material examined. Panama [Caribbean]: 1 male, cl 5.0, cw 6.1 ( MZUSP 33479 ), about 3 km west of Portobelo , near-shore reef flat, sand with abundant coral rubble and some seagrass, depth 0.5–1.5 m, in coral rocks, leg. A. Anker & J.F. Lazarus-Agudelo, 25.03.2015 .

Previous records from Panama. Gore (1970, 1982); Gore & Abele (1976); Rodríguez et al., 2005.

Distribution. West Atlantic: Costa Rica and Panama (Bocas del Toro, Bahía Limón / Caribbean entrance to Panama Canal, Punta Galeta, Portobelo) ( Gore 1970, 1982; Rodríguez et al. 2005; Vargas & Cortés 2006).

Remarks. Pachycheles cristobalensis is presently known exclusively from the Caribbean coast of Panama and Costa Rica. The species closely resembles P. serratus , with which it sometimes co-occurs, but can be distinguished from the latter by the presence of a distinct conical tubercle on the first movable antennal article; the lack of setae on the dorsal surface of the P1; the presence of a large tubercle on the cutting edge of the P1 dactylus; and the absence of pleopods in males ( Gore 1970). The colour pattern of P. cristobalensis is rather inconspicuous ( Fig. 24 ) and resembles that of P. serratus and P. chacei (see also colour photograph in Rodríguez et al. 2005).

Figures

FIGURE 24. Pachycheles cristobalensis Gore, 1970: male (cl cw indet.) from Bocas del Toro, Panama (originally deposited under ULLZ 6097, now in USNM), dorsal view [photograph courtesy of Darryl L. Felder].