Romaleon jordani ( Rathbun, 1900 )

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 234

Romaleon jordani ( Rathbun, 1900)

( Fig. 54D)

Cancer jordani Rathbun, 1900: 133 ; 1904: 176, pl. 6, fig. 4; 1930: 215, pl. 94, figs. 1, 2. — Weymouth 1910: 45, pl. 10, fig. 30. — Schmitt 1921: 228, pl. 36, figs. 5, 6. — Johnson & Snook 1927: 379, fig. 333. — Nations 1975: 36, fig. 15C, D, 16C, D, 31-3, 31-4. — Word & Charwat 1975: 50. — Garth & Abbott 1980: 605, fig. 25.19. — Jensen & Armstrong 1987: 216. — Jensen 1995: 29, fig. 38. — Kuris et al. 2007: 642.

Romaleon jordani . — Schweitzer & Feldmann 2000: 243.

Diagnosis. Carapace slightly areolated, setose. Front with 5 teeth, almost hidden by setae, median tooth very small; anterolateral carapace margin with 9 prominent teeth, often alternating in size; tooth 10 present in older specimens. Merus of third maxilliped obliquely truncated. Carpus of cheliped with 2 spines, palm of cheliped with 2 superior, 5 external ridges, fringed with setae, several spines on upper ridges, movable finger without spines. Male carapace length 25.4 mm, female 15.5.

Color in life. Mottled with light brown, tan, lower surface yellowish, setae brownish to golden, fingers of chelae dark; see color photograph by Jensen (1995).

Habitat and depth. On sand or among kelp holdfasts, lowest intertidal zone to 104 m. Juveniles often cling to large medusae.

Range. Between Sekiu and Neah Bay , Washington to Cape Thurloe, Baja California . Type locality Monterey Bay , California .

Remarks. The illustration shows a juvenile, which has a more narrow carapace than an adult, and omits some of the dense setae usually seen in this species.