Portunus pulchricristatus

(Gordon, 1931)

Postero-lateral junction of carapace angular; front distinctly 4-toothed or 4-lobed; last antero-lateral tooth relatively long, carapace breadth including last tooth rarely less than 2.3 times carapace length; posterior border of arm of cheliped with 2 spines; posterior border of merus of natatory leg with a distal spine. (Davie 1999)

Carapace convex, about 2.3 times as broad as long. Regions distinct, each one composed of patches of coarse granules. Front cut into 4 lobes; the inner one narrow and small, the outer one broader, rounded. Dorsal margin of orbit serrated, with 2 fissures. Antero-lateral margin armed with 9 teeth. First tooth somewhat acute and triangular; second and third obtuse; sequent 5 teeth nearly triangular. The last one long and large, its length about 1 1/3-1 1/2 times the breadth of the carapace. Posterior margin straight, microscopically serrated, its outer angle acutely triangular, merus of the third maxilliped narrower, with outer-distal angle rounded.
Merus of the cheliped armed with 3 spines on its anterior margin, 2 on the posterior margin. Dorsal surface of carpus with ridges, armed with 2 spines. Palm armed with a sharp spine situated at the distal one-third of the dorsal ridge, near the dorsal outer side a ridge, its base with an obtuse tooth. Fingers slender, bearing ridges. Merus of the last ambulatory leg with a spine at distal end of the posterior margin.
Male first pleopod tapering, slightly curved upwards, triangular spinules on both the outer and the inner margin of the distal portion. Sixth segment of the male abdomen 1.5 times as long as the basal breadth. Seventh segment somewhat acutely triangular. Female abdomen oval. Carapace length of the male 11.2 mm, breadth 26 mm; of the female, length 8.1 mm, breadth 19.5 mm. (Dai & Yang, 1991)

Type locality: Hong Kong.
Range: Gulf of Oman - Muscat (Alcock, 1899a); Pakistan (Ghani & Tirmizi, 1993, Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1996); India - Madras coast (Alcock, 1899a), Calcutta (Stephenson, 1972a); Andaman Islands (Alcock, 1899a); Arakan coast (Alcock, 1899a); Gulf of Martaban (Alcock, 1899a, Apel & Spiridonov, 1998); Malaysia; Taiwan - Tung-chiang (Huang & Yu, 1997); China - Hong Kong (Gordon, 1931, Apel & Spiridonov, 1998), Guangdong and Hainan Island (Dai & Yang, 1991); South China Sea - Nansha Islands (Dai & Xu, 1991); Philippines - Mindanao (Stephenson, 1972a), Manila Bay and north of Lubang Island (Moosa, 1981); Indonesia - Java, Sunda Strait, Lampong Bay, Makassar Strait and Ambon Bay (Stephenson, 1972a), Kupang, Timor, and Kaoe Bay, Halmahera (Stephenson, 1975); Australia - north Queensland (Davie, 1987); 10-830 m.

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