Pagurus samuelis (Stimpson, 1857)

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 192-193

Pagurus samuelis (Stimpson, 1857)

( Fig. 45C–G, Pl. 10A)

Eupagurus samuelis Stimpson, 1857a: 86 . — Stimpson 1860: 90, pl. 1, fig. 8.

Pagurus samuelis . — Holmes 1900:144. — Rathbun 1904: 160, pl. 5, fig. 7. — Schmitt 1921: 139, pl. 16, figs. 2, 3. — Johnson & Snook 1927: 334, figs. 281, 284a. — McLaughlin 1974: 166, figs. 41, 42; 1976: 24. — Haig & Abbott 1980: 584, fig. 24.10. — Hart 1982: 132, fig. 48. — Ricketts et al. 1985: 37, fig. 22. — Jensen 1995: 65, fig. 120. — Lemaitre & Castaño 2004: 79. — Kuris et al. 2007: 649, pl. 326 F.

Diagnosis. Rostrum triangular and low, longer than lateral projections of carapace. Eyestalk stout, cornea not dilated; ocular scale pointed. Major cheliped shorter than pereopods 2, 3; carpus, hand with granules, lateral margins beaded; fingers broad. Minor cheliped barely longer than carpus of major cheliped, ventral margin of merus with strong teeth; carpus, chela with granules. Pereopods 2, 3 stout, dorsal margins with stiff setae, dactyls stout, curved; propodus, dactyl of left pereopod 3 with spines, granules ventrally. Telson asymmetrical proximal to left lateral groove, terminal margin with very shallow concavity, teeth. Uropods asymmetrical. Carapace length to 19 mm.

Color in life. Greenish brown to olive with red granules. Fingers of chelae with orange apices. Pereopods 2, 3 with prominent blue band in adult, bands of blue and white in juvenile. Antennal flagellum red, carapace with white stripes. Crabs close to molting may be colored blue. Hart (1982) gave a more detailed description of the living color.

Habitat and depth. Rocks, tide pools and jetties, high intertidal zone.

Range. Nootka Sound, British Columbia to Point Eugenia, Baja California, Mexico. Type locality Tomales Bay , California. Reports from Japan and Russia should be referred to a sibling species, Pagurus geminus McLaughlin, 1976 .

Remarks. This is the best-known intertidal hermit crab of California and Oregon. It is abundant along the outer coastline and just inside the mouths of larger bays and harbors, such as San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles Harbor. It usually inhabits shells of Tegula spp. Slipper shells ( Calyptraeidae ) may live inside the aperture of the shell or on top of it.