Heptacarpus palpator ( Owen, 1839 )

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 85

Heptacarpus palpator ( Owen, 1839)

( Fig. 21C, Pl. 3B)

Hippolyte palpator Owen, 1839: 89 , pl. 28, fig. 3. — Stimpson 1856: 97. Heptacarpus palpator . — Holmes 1900: 196, pl. 3, figs. 48, 49. — Holthuis 1947: 12.— Word & Charwat 1976: 121. —

Chace & Abbott 1980: 569. — Ricketts et al. 1985: 197, fig. 167. — Wicksten 1986: 51, fig. 34; 1990b: 596. — Jensen

1995: 46, fig. 76. — Chace 1997: 44. — Wicksten & Hendrickx 2003: 67.— Kuris et al. 2007; 640, Pl. 318 A. Spirontocaris palpator . — Rathbun 1904: 98. — Schmitt 1921: 65, fig. 43. — Johnson & Snook 1927: 307, fig. 259b.

Diagnosis. Similar to H. brevirostris except rostrum reaching at least to end of cornea, often to end of first segment of antennular peduncle or slightly beyond, with 4–7 dorsal, 0–2 ventral teeth. First segment of antennular peduncle with 2 or 3 dorsal dorsal spinules, 1 lateral spine. Third maxilliped long, heavy, especially in males. No spine on merus of first pereopod. Pereopods 3–5 with short, spinose dactyls, 1 or 2 meral spines apiece. All abdominal somites with tubercles on ventral midline, somites 1, 2 with 2 tubercles each, other somites with 1 ventral tubercle. Pleura of somites 4, 5 ending in small, sharp points. Abdominal somite 6 longer than somite 5, with 2 sharp lateral points. Telson shorter than uropods, with 4 or 5 pairs dorsolateral spines, apex acute. Total length 46.6 mm.

Color in life. Individuals are well camouflaged aong algae. Translucent to dark brown. Anterior part of body translucent with brown mottled bands, with similar markings on appendages, dark brown bands on abdomen, tail fan. The color notes are from shrimp from San Pedro, California.

Habitat and depth. Tide pools, shallow rocky areas and wharf pilings, 0 –37 m.

Range. San Francisco Bay , California to Magdalena Bay, Baja California ; one record from Epiritu Santo I., Gulf of California . Most common south of Point Conception along the California mainland, rarely north of Monterey Bay. Type locality Monterey, California .

Remarks. The record from San Francisco Bay was by Stimpson (1856). There have been no reports of this shrimp from the bay ever since then.