(Montagu, 1813)
Description:
Pleon segments 1 to 4 each with a large dorsal tooth. Distal angle of epimeral plate 3 with a large tooth. Head with irregular lateral lobes, subacute; eyes large in female, very large in male, white in colour. Antenna 1 peduncle article 1 with a large distoventral tooth, article 2 very long and slender, flagellum slender, multi-articulate. Antenna 2 in female shorter than antenna 1; in male much longer than antenna 1; flagellum very slender; peduncle articles 3 and 4 in male with tufts of short fine setules. Propodus of gnathopod 1 short and broad, palm oblique delimited by a pair of slender spines. Gnathopod 2 longer and more slender than gnathopod 1, palmar structure similar. Basis of pereiopod 5 with an oval posterior lobe, prolonged distally; basis of pereiopod 6 with a broad proximal lobe, emarginate distally; basis of pereiopod 7 oval, posterior lobe narrowing distally. Coxal gills weakly pleated. Rami of uropod 3 twice the length of the peduncle, spinose and with few marginal setae. Telson elongate, cleft almost to the base, each lobe with few dorsolateral spinules.
Size:
Up to about 14 mm.
Colour:
Often very striking, may be red, or red with brown markings, frequently with brilliant white speckles on the body and a few black patches on the pleon and pereiopods.
Habitat:
Depth range from the lower intertidal to about 60 metres; locally common.
Distribution:
North East Atlantic; widespread on all European coasts from northern Norway to the Mediterranean; also Black Sea and North Africa to Senegal; Canaries and Azores. |
