Platymera gaudichaudii H. Milne-Edwards, 1837

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 205-206

Platymera gaudichaudii H. Milne-Edwards, 1837

(Pl. 10D)

Platymera gaudichaudii H. Milne-Edwards, 1837: 108 . — Holmes 1900: 99. — Rathbun 1904: 170. — Galil 1993: 371. — Hendrickx 1997: 101, fig. 77 (extensive synonymy).— Kuris et al. 2007: 640, pl. 319, fig. K.

Mursia gaudichaudii . — Weymouth 1910: 19. — Schmitt 1921: 190. — Rathbun 1937: 220, pl. 66, figs. 1–3. — Garth 1957: 16. — Haig & Wicksten 1975: 102. — Hart 1982: 173, fig. 68.

Diagnosis. Carapace convex, front narrow, lateral margins edged by about 15 small teeth, very large lateral spine. Eye not completely retractile into orbit. Third maxillipeds not completely covering mouth field. Chelipeds strong, chelae proper armed with teeth, ridges bearing tubercles, fingers at right angle to palm, bearing teeth; cheliped folding flat against frontal part of cephalothorax. Pereopods 2–5 lateral, similar, decreasing in size from anterior to posterior, with sharp dactyls. Abdomen concealed under cephalothorax. Male genital openings coxal, female sternal. Male carapace width 162.5 mm, female 71.8 mm.

Color in life. Carapace with light olive gray background, covered with orange to red to overall brick red with cream tubercles. Chelae dull gray with red shading to brick red, lower surface pale yellow to whitish. Pereopods 2–5 pale olive gray with purple spots to overall reddish, lower parts, apices of dactyls whitish to cream. The color notes are from crabs taken off Newport Beach, California.

Habitat and depth. Sand or mud, 48–402 m, rarely cast ashore.

Range. Off Englefield Bay, Queen Charlotte Is. and SW of La Pérouse Bank, British Columbia, to Talcahuano,

Chile. Type locality "coast of Chile.”