Plesionika mexicana Chace, 1937

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 104-105

Plesionika mexicana Chace, 1937

( Fig. 26E, F)

Plesionika mexicana Chace, 1937: 112 , fig.1. — Wicksten 1978b: 85; 1983b: 21. — Méndez 1981: 103, figs. 314–315. — Hendrickx & Wicksten 1989: 78, fig. 6. — Wicksten & Hendrickx 2003: 69.

Diagnosis. Rostrum twice as long as carapace, slightly ascending. Five spines at base of rostrum, 4 or 5 teeth on dorsal surface of rostrum proper; apex trifid; 10–14 ventral teeth. Eye large and globular. Stylocerite of first antennae slightly exceeding first segment. Length of flagella of first antennae about 1.5 times length of rostrum. Scaphocerite narrow, exceeded bilateral tooth. Length of antennal flagella about twice body length. Third maxillipeds with exopods. Pereopod 1 microscopically chelate. Pereopods 2 unequal, right shorter, with 20 carpal articles; left longer than rostrum, with about 100 carpal articles. Posterior pereopods long, slender, with simple dactyls and 5 or 6 meral spines. Abdomen smooth, without carina. Pleura of somites rounded except for points on posterolateral angles of somites 4, 5. Length of somite 6, 1.6 times as long as length of somite 5. Telson with 3 pairs dorsolateral, 3 pairs terminal spines. Total length 50–60 mm.

Color in life. Translucent white with short scarlet longitudinal stripes. Antennae, pereopods barred with scarlet, white. Eyes greenish ( Chace 1937).

Habitat and depth. Mud, sand or shell bottoms, 4–258 m but usually at 50–150 m.

Range. Redondo Beach, California to Mancora Bank, Peru, but usually from Gulf of California southward. Type locality Arena Bank, off Baja California, Mexico .