Macrophthalmus transversus (Latreille, 1817)

Barnes, R. S. K., 2010, A Review Of The Sentinel And Allied Crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Macrophthalmidae), With Particular Reference To The Genus Macrophthalmus, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58 (1), pp. 31-49 : 40

Macrophthalmus transversus

The intertidal type species of the genus, M. transversus ( Latreille, 1817) ( Fig. 3A ), does not fit easily into any of the three subgroups above, although it does possess the typical broad carapace (breadth> 2 × length) and narrow front (breadth ca. 12% that of carapace) of the subgenus. It has extremely long ocular peduncles with projecting corneas like the M. telescopicus group and anterolateral teeth equivalent to those of the M. brevis group, but is singular in its elongate, deflexed and highly laterally flattened, blade-like chelae which bear spiniform teeth on their cutting margins; the chelae, however, do bear the typical spine of the M. brevis group on the palm near the carpal joint. The carapace, chelipeds and pereiopods also bear tubercles and spines to a degree greater than any other species in the genus except the very large M. (Venitus) dentipes ( Barnes, 1970) .

Figures

Fig. 3. Form of the carapace and adult male chela of subgroups of the genus Macrophthalmus III: (a, b) the subgenus Macrophthalmus part 2, M. transversus (a) and Macrophthalmus dentatus (b); (c) the M. crinitus group of the subgenus Mareotis. Scale bars = 5mm.