Platyxanthus crenulatus

Platyxanthus crenulatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Platyxanthidae
Genus:	Platyxanthus
Species:	P. crenulatus
Binomial name
Platyxanthus crenulatus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879

Platyxanthus crenulatus is a species of crab in the family Platyxanthidae.^[1] The species is found along the sublittoral zone of the western Atlantic in the waters of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina,^[2] associated mostly with hard bottoms. Adults are robust and conspicuous crabs, with a smooth carapace, dorsally purple and white ventrally. Their claws have marked heterochely and right-handedness (i.e. dimorphism between chelae and the tendency of bearing the major claw on the right-hand side of the body), traits associated with shell-breaking feeding habits.^[3] Due to its abundance, large size and diet, P. crenulatus presumably has an important ecological role as a predator in benthic communities.^[4]

References

1. Peter Davie (2010). "Platyxanthus crenulatus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
2. "Marine Species Identification Portal : Platyxanthus crenulatus". Species-identification.org. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
3. Laitano, M.V.; Farias, N. E.; Cledón, M. (2013). "Prey preference of the stone crab Platyxanthus crenulatus (Decapoda : Platyxanthidae) in laboratory conditions". Nauplius. 21: 17-23.
4. Farias, N. E.; Luppi, T. A.; Spivak, E. D. (2014). "Habitat use, relative growth and size at maturity of the purple stone crab Platyxanthus crenulatus (Decapoda : Brachyura), calculated under different models". Scientia Marina. 78: 567-578. doi:10.3989/scimar.04108.10A.